lls. They are understood alike in Europe as Asia--in
antiquity as modern times; one unanimous burst of admiration salutes
them from the North Cape to Cape Horn--from the age of Pisistratus to
that of Napoleon.

Strange as it may appear to superficial observers, Cervantes bears a
close analogy, in many particulars, to Homer. Circumstances, and an
inherent turn for humour, made him throw his genius into an exquisite
ridicule of the manners of chivalry; but the author of _Don Quixote_
had in him the spirit of a great epic poet. His lesser pieces prove
it; unequivocal traces of it are to be found in the adventures of the
Knight of La Mancha himself. The elevation of mind which, amidst all
his aberrations, appears in that erratic character; the incomparable
traits of nature with which the work abounds; the faculty of
describing events in the most striking way; of painting scenes in a
few words; of delineating characters with graphic fidelity, and
keeping them up with perfect consistency, which are so conspicuous in
_Don Quixote_, are so many of the most essential qualities of an epic
poet. Nor was the ardour of imagination, the romantic disposition, the
brilliancy of fancy, the lofty aspirations, the tender heart, which
form the more elevated and not less essential part of such a
character, wanting in the Spanish novelist.

Sir Walter Scott more nearly resembles Homer than any poet who has
sung since the siege of Troy. Not that he has produced any poem which
will for a moment bear a comparison with the _Iliad_--fine as the
_Lady of the Lake_ and _Marmion_ are, it would be the height of
national partiality to make any such comparison. But, nevertheless,
Sir Walter's mind is of the same dimensions as that of Homer. We see
in him the same combination of natural sagacity with acquired
information; of pictorial eye with dramatic effect; of observation of
character with reflection and feeling; of graphic power with poetic
fervour; of ardour of imagination with rectitude of principle; of
warlike enthusiasm with pacific tenderness, which have rendered the
Grecian bard immortal. It is in his novels, however, more than his
poetry, that this resemblance appears; the author of _Waverley_ more
nearly approaches the blind bard than the author of the _Lay_. His
romances in verse contain some passages which are sublime, many which
are beautiful, some pathetic. They are all interesting, and written in
the same easy, careless style, intersp