The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1852-03-02

We referred.the other day, in d casual manner,
TO the recent classic discourse of Mr.. WEBSTER
to the Historical Society Of New York. We
must superadl some observations.
Mr. WEBSTER alluded to many great intel
lectual works, and dwelt upon the unity of de-
sign they displayed-the unity in variety. His
own discourse was distinguished for its unity in
variety-and it contained long tribute at its
close, to this Union.
But to confirm the general tenor of his views
Mr.. WEBSTER quoted some classic authorities
which we are not willing to concede him. lie
cited the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Had was
work Of vast variety-but all illustrated the
"wrath of ACHILLES" Mr.. WEBSTER was, per-
haps, willing to leave the inference to others
that ACHILLES was secesslonist, ana thai IL
was that secession, which brought such great
calamities on the Greeks
Now, such is the first impression made on
the mind by reading the first lines of the Had !:
Achilles wrath, to Greece the dirsful spring
or woes unnumbered, heavenly goddess sing
That wrath which hurPd to Pluto's gloomy
reign
The souls of mighty chiefs untmely slain,
Whose limbs, unburied on the naked shore,
Devouring dogs and hungry vultures tore"
Such would seem to be the idea which HOMER
intended to convey in these lines thus far
ACHILLES was one of the soveregns of Greece,
and seeded, and seeded from wrath-from vio-
lent passion, and hence the woes of the Greek
Union. But HOmsR does not stop here. Either
constrained by the actual history, or by his own
wisdom, from such monstrous conclusion as
that mighty confederacy was doomed to dis
aster for nine long years, and many of its mighty
chiefs to untimely death, and to dogs and vult-
ures by the wrath of single man-HoMER pro-
ceeds to unfold the real cause, and adds
:. Since great Achilles and Atrides strove.
Such was the sovereign doom and such the ,ciH Of
Jope."
So the power of destiny, or the will Of Hea-
ven is introduced-and the ancients were great
or believers in destiny, in manifest destiny, than
the modern disciples of that school. But either
HOMER was not an implicit believer in it, or
history or tradition corrected him. So he pro
ceeds to give still better reasons.
declare o Muse in what Inflated hour
Latona's son dire contagon spread
And heaped the camp with mountains of the dead
The king of men his reperend priest defied
find for the kings offence the people died.
Here then the original cause of the calamity
that befel the Union Of the Greeks is disclosed.
The king of men was ATRIDEs, the commander.
in.chief of the army and navy of the Greek
UniOn-the executive or federal power lie
had detied and insulted the priest of APOLLO
A council or Congress of the Greeks was
convened to deliberate on the pestilence that
prevailed. On that occasion, CHALcAs, proph-
ct of the Greeks, rose to declare the cause
Of the evil and the remedy. For the reli-
gion of the Greeks was restraint, a sort of
constitution that limited the power of govern
ment But before he dared to proceed he ask
ed the protection of ACHILLES, either as one of
the most religious or one of the most powerful
of the Greek sovereigns, against the vengeance
of the federal executive for what he was about
to declare. And ACHILLES promptly pledged
him protection. So CHALcAS then announced
that the pestilence was owing to the refusal Of
ArRIDEs to deliver up CHRYsEIs, female cap
tive, to her father the priest of APOLLO, refusal
delivered with insult and defiance. And CHAL-
CAS- said she must be delivered up in order to
appease APOLLO and arrest the pestence. And
at this the wrath of ATRIDEs was kndled, as
was quite natural at any limitation of executive
power or spoils. So he breaks forth
Z" For this are Phebus' oracles explored,
n "a n m nj r
But as the assembled kings applauded the
words of CHALcAs, ATRIDEs had to yield. He
however resolved that his spoils should not be
Iessened, but that he would indemnify himself
out of ACHILLES, whose only fault was that he
had given protection to the oracle, to declare
the counsel for the general good-and thus ad-
dresses him:
e" Even in thy tent, III seize the blooming prize,
Thy loved Briseis with the radiant eyes;
Hence shalt thou prove my might, and curse the
hour
Thou stoodst rial to imperial po,oer-
And hence to all our host it shall be known
That kings are subject TO the gods alone"
This anger at the successful resistance of one
sovereign member of the confederacy to the
federal power, and this assumption of absolute
or divine authority for the Union, have recently
had remarkable parallels in the history of this
country.
At this proclamation of despotism and ag.t|
gression, ACHILLES naturally enough fell into
passion, and threatened an immediate resort
to the "right of revolution"-he threatened |
civil war, and was preparing to attack ATRIDEs,
the federal authority, ut once with arms-he
proposed to resort to the remedy Of the South
ern. Union party, and even of Mr. WEBSTER, in a
case of uncomfortable wrong. But the goddess
of ,oisdom, MINERVA, suddenly descended to his
side--inuisible TO all The rest, and recommended
secession And she foretold the consequence
'sFor pronounce land trust on heavenly power,)
Thy injured honor has its fated hour
When the proud monarch shall thy arms implore. ("
ACHILLES listened to these counses of wis