HKB
In all their spirit stirred, and the phalanxes moved hoping for the idle son of Peleus from the ships,--
for the participle [Greek omitted] does not agree with the word "phalanxes," but with the men composing them.
In another way he changes genders, as when he says (O. xii. 75):--
And a dark cloud encompasses it; this never streams away,--
since [Greek omitted] and [Greek omitted], "cloud," are synonyms, using first [Greek omitted] he afterward makes his adjectives agree with [Greek omitted] understood. Like this are these verses (I. ii. 459):--
As various tribes of winged fowl or geese Or cranes or long necked swans Besides Coysters stream, now here, now there, Disporting, ply their wings.
For having first set down generically the kinds of birds, which are neuter, then after speaking of the species in the masculine he comes back again to the neuter--settling down with a noise giving the proper agreement to the general word of the species.
The poet often changes the number as well as the gender (I. xv. 305):--
The crowd approach the ships of the Achaeans.
First comes a singular then a plural verb, plainly looking to the sense, for although the word "crowd" is called singular, yet it embraces many individuals.
Like it in the opposite way is when the plural precedes the singular follows (I. xvi. 264):--
They having a martial heart each one rushes on.
The word [Greek omitted] is singular, being applied to a multitude has the same effect as all ([Greek omitted]). The same kind of figure is the following (O. iii. 4):--
And they reached Pylas, the stablished castle of Neleus, and the people were doing sacrifice on the seashore.
The people of Pylas are meant.
He has changes of cases, the nominative and the vocative being interchanged in the following verse (I. ii. 107):--
To Agamemnon last Thyestis left it,--
and (I. i. 411):--
and (0. xvii. 415):--
Friend [Greek omitted] give me for thou dost not seem to me to be the worst of the Greeks.
The genitive and dative are changed in the next example (I. iii. 16):--
Godlike Paris fights in front for the Trojans,--
instead of "in front of." And the contrary in the next (O. v. 68):--
There about the hollow cave trailed a gadding vine.
Where in the original the Greek word "cave" is in the genitive case, not as it should be, dative. And the cause of the mutation is that the nominative accusative and vocative seem to have a certain relation to one another. On which account nouns of the neuter gender and many masculine and feminine ones have these three cases alike. Likewise the genitive has a certain affinity with the dative. This is found in the dual number of all words. Hence the cases are changed contrary to what is usual. Sometimes it is possible to discover the reason for the change, as in the expression (I. v. 222):--
Understanding of the field,--
and (I. ii. 785):--
They crossed the field,--
just as if he had used the preposition "through."
A fine example of change of case is found in the beginning of both his poems:--
Sing, O Muse, the vengeance, etc., whence to Greece unnumbered ills arose.
Tell me, Muse, of that man, of many a shift and many the woes he suffered.
Sometimes after the genitive he brings in the nominative, as in this (I. i. 272):--
Of others who are now mortal.
He arranges many things in figures in various ways, as the following passage (I. ii. 350):--
For well I ween, that on the day when first We Grecians hitherward our course address'd To Troy the messengers of blood and death Th' o'erruling son of Saturn, on our right His lightning flashing, with auspicious sign Assur'd us of his favor.
And the following is not unlike it (I. vi. 510):--
His bright arms flashing like the gorgeous sun Hasten'd with boastful mien and rapid step.