Star.
London, England, 1829-10-22 00:00:00

HOMER.

Professor Constantin Koliades, of the lonian Univer-
sity, has made the notable discovery that no such poet as Homer
ever existed; that this name is entirely &detain; and that the
" Iliad" and " Odyssey," attributed to him, were, in fact, written
by Ulysses. Constantin Koliades, the son of Spididion Koliades, a
descendant in the direct line from Eumeus, King of Syros, with
the " Iliad" and " Odyssey" impressed on his memory, or in his
hand, visited all the localities mentioned in both these works, and
was struck by the surprising exactness and truth of the Homeric
descriptions. Such as they bad been sketched 5,000 years ago,
such he found them, with all the features and variety of the plates.
The island and port of Ithaca ; Mount Neritus ; the Grotto of the
Nymphs, and the Fountain of Arethuu ; the spot where Telema-
chus landed on his return from Pylos ; the ruins of the town and
palace.of Ulysses; the Temple of Jupiter ; the platform and para-
pet ;on his plan is even the dunghill where Ulysses's dog, the
faithful Argus, died for joy on beholding his master again in the
banqueting-room ; the Thalamoson and the apartments of the
women ; the staircase ; and, finally, the bedchamber of Penelope,
&scribed with such miraculous accuracy, especially•the nuptial
court, supported by a throne of olive wood ornamented by Ulysses
with gold' and ivory, implying a supposition that Ulysses alone
could know those places which are so well described. Koliades
visited afterwards the other important spots mentioned in both .
poems—the Greek camp, the hill with wild fig.trees, from whence
Troy was to be attacked, the gardens of Priam, and the sources of
the Scamander; the plain where the tombs of Hector and
Myrinna ; that of Ilus, on the road from the town to the camp;
the tombs of Achilles, Patrocious, and Andloohus, on
the eminence of the shores of the Hellespont. The
battles so wonderfully well described, where you may
trace Ajax and Achilles, Hector and Eneas, Ulysses,
and Agatnemmon, even the shades where their tents were pitched.
Nature never showed herself more faithful in justifying the truth
of a description 5,000 years old. Here the elegant and learned
Professor exclaims, " How could a blind man have described so
many countries with such exactness?" He who disguised the hero
of the Odyssey as a beggar, to slay the suitors of Penelope, does
he not appear to have concealed himself under the mask of Ulysses,
to write his own history? It may be objected that apoet might
have visited aU the spots rendered illustrious by the Trojan war.
But Koliades is right in observing that a poet could not have de-
veloped the progress of the war, and the details of the battles, with
s' much order and truth. Voltaire, Tasso, and Virgil, have also
sung battles, but it is very evident that they were not present
thereat. Homer, on the other hand,be he who he may, has borne
a part in whatever he describes. Next comes his unexampled to-
pographical exactness, which is quite unique •among the ancients.
Stubs), a great geographer, falls far short of this truth of descrip-
tion. !ivy destroys Italian towns, the walls of which are still
standing. The marvellous description of Great Britain by Tactics
makes school-boys laugh ; and all this could net be otherwise. The
ancients. had no maps—no plans traced. Thus their mode of
locating places became liable to uncertainty, and it was necessary
for a writer to have long and attentively visited people and cities,
like Cesar and Homer, that posterity might not see every thing
misplaced and displaced in their accounts or in nature. This poet
was a Greek warrior; this be proved sufficiently by his descrip-
tion of his battles; and, finally, this warrior is the King of Ithaca
—of that charming island, whither the ancients sent the songster
of the Odyssey to consult the manes of Ulysses, and where the
oracle of Delphos said this prince of poets was born. Homer lofts
nothing by this commentary ; no one knew who he was, and some
of the learned will tell you that the name of Homer was a mere
nick-name. The antiquity of Greece loses nothing, but many uu-
certainties respecting the reality of this poet's existence.

As a proof of the inutility of the Game Laws, par-
tridges, we are told, scarce as they this year ate, are at this time
selling in London as common as poultry, at three shillings the
brace.
IRISH MANUFACTURES.—the furniture tabinets
ordered from Sir George Whiteford by her Grace the Duchess
of Northumberland, for the splendid mansion of Sir Watkin Wil-
ham Wynn, Bart. at Wynuestay, North Wales, was on Saturday
submitted to the inspection of her Grace and his Excellency the
Lord Lieutenant, who were pleased to repeat their complete
satisfaction of their splendid texture and highly-finished style of
workmanship.
UNITED STATES LEGISLATION.—The good folks of
the town of Vandalia, Illinois, have lately passed an Ordinance for
" regulating the running at large of hogs-within the said town of
Vandalia." By the first section it Is enacted that if any " shoat
or pig," which has the privilege of running at large, should so far
neglect, or give up this liberty, so as to run his nose, or thrust his
body into any garden or enclosure, the owner of such garden shall
have power to kill such pig, " by giving notice to the owner, if
known, afterwards." By the next section, no person is permitted
to keep any " hog, shoat, or pig" in the town of VandAta, unless
the same be " securely kept within an enclosure." This appears
to me to be a new way of regblating the " running at large,"
by, keeping a pole shoat shut up. Perhaps some of our law rea-
ders in this City who pass Ordinances for regulating hackney.
coaches and wheel-harrows, &c. can tell us what this means.—
Philadelphia Clarcesiele.
COMPARATIVE STRENGTH OF VARIOUS SI:R-
ITA ices —The experiments of Mr. Essence give the following
results of the weight borne with safety by a square inch of the
respective substances meationei; iron, 76,4001bs ; brass,
35,6001bs ;. oak, box, yew, plum, 7.115011 b; elm, ash, beech,
4,0701bs ; walnut, 5,3601b5; trtl Si,olly, alder, Lb, birch,
4,290ths ; freestone, 9L4lbs. According to the experiments
on substances, the following are the lengths at which the under-
mentioned substances would break with their own weight: cast
Reel, 39,455 feet; Swedish ken, 19,740 feet; EDO* fUttio,
16,938 feet ; cast iron, 6,110 feet ; cast copper, 5,003' feet ; yel-
low brass 5,180 feet ; cast tin, 1,496 teet; cast leads 394 'feet ;
good hemp rope, 18,790 feet.

REVERENCE FOR THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.

Fiona " Populu Lectures on Biblical Criticism and Interpre
talon," by Wm. Carpenter, we have the following curious fact
not generally known :
In transcribing the Sacred Writings, it has been a constant rule
with the Jews. that wbateeeris considered u corrupt shall never
be used, but shall be burnt, or otherwise destroyed. A book of
the law. wanting but one letter with one letter too much, or with
an error in one single letter, written with any thing but ink, or
written on parchment made of the hide of an unclean animal, or
on parchment not purposely prepared for that use, or prepared by
any but Israelites, or on skins. of parchment tied together by un-
clean strings, shall be hoiden to be corrupt; that no line shall be
written without a line first drawn on the parchment, no word
written by heart, or without having been pronounced orally by the
writer : that before he writes the name of GOD he shall wash his
pen ; that no letter shall be joined to another; and that if the blank
parchment cannot be seen all around each letter, the roll shall
be corrupt. There are certain rules for the length and breadth of
each sheet, and for the space to be left between each letter, each
word, and each section. These Maimonides mentions as some of
the principal rules to be observed in copying the sacred rolls. Even
to this day it is an obligation on the persons copying the sacred
writings for the use of the Synagogue to observe them. Those who
have not seen the rolls used in the Synagogue can have no concep-
tion of the exquisite beauty, correctness, and equality of the writing.
What a contrast does this awe-struck reverence for the Divine
Word—this scrupulous guardedness against the most trivial inter-
polation or variance, afford to the practice of the Romish Church !
The Jews' devout fastidiousness is confined to the Old Testament';
yet a Popish Irish Bishop could express his approbation of the
sacrilegious wretch who held the Old and New Testament, the
Law and the Gospel, the Divine Revelation, and all, in such fiend-
ish abhorrence, that he used a pair of tongs to convey the Bible—
yea, the Bible of our Gun and Raumasa—to the earthly grave
which his darkened and anti-Christian faith had prepared for it.