PREFACE

These "Stories" will, I hope, represent Homer not unfaithfully to readers, old and young, who do not know him in the original; may, perhaps, commend him to some of the younger sort who, having made acquaintance with him, do not find this acquaintance tend to love.

We have given by way of illustrations some of Flaxman's famous designs. These we have ventured to colour, hoping that by so doing we should render them more attractive, without transgressing any rule of art. The style of the outlines was suggested by the Etruscan vase painting, and Flaxman himself did some work of a similar kind for Wedgwood. Most of the vase paintings are in black and red, but there is authority for the employment of the butt tint.

From the book