Ossian Collection > Life and letters of James Macpherson

220 JAMES MACPHERSON.
vanity joins issue with my indolence. I hate
to fight without spectators." Nor did he
pubhsh anything more about the Celts ; he
confined himself to discussing with his country-
men what he used to call "a dish of Gaelic".
His next venture was a translation of the
Iliad. This he is said to have executed in
the space of three months. ^ According to
his ow^n account, the work was put upon
him by his Scotch friends, who conceived
that his performances with the remains of
Ossian well fitted him to render Homer into
attractive English. When they approached
him on the subject he was, as he tells us, at
first disinclined to undertake the work ; but
he was afterwards induced to do so by the
representations of a gentleman for whose judg-
ment he professed a high respect. This gentle-
man had mentioned that he and others would
like to see parts of Homer translated in the
manner of Fingal; and to please him the trial
was made, and then continued.^ Blair en-
couraged him to proceed. "I am exceedingly
glad," he wrote, '' to hear that you have under-
^Laing, op. cit., i. 41.
^ Preface to the work .