Old French translations of the Iliad were reviewed with acute insight by Emile Egger in 1846. He criticized a decasyllabic version of Hugues Salel, and its continuation in Alexandrine verse by Amadis Jamyn, both in the sixteenth century. The seventeenth and eighteenth century translators (La Valterie, Mme Dacier, La Motte-Houdart) were also condemned by him because of their "elegant" style, in which they made no scruple in omitting all "unrefined" expressions in Homer's text, in full compliance with the aesthetic doctrine of French classicism. His conclusion suggested a new principle of translation : "closer to the original text." The article tries to show that, with exception of Leconte de l'Isle in 1866, this. principle has since been adopted invariably by French translators, especially by Paul Mazon and his disciples in the Sorbonne. In 1937 that eminent scholar completed his French version of the Iliad closest to the original in collaboration with Pierre Chantraine, Paul Collart and Rene Langumier. Under its influence Prof. Robert Flaceliere and Mario Meunier published severally new translations of their own during last four years. In contrast with the entirely narrative form of the latter, Prof. Flaceliere's work aims at exploiting a subtle cadence latent in the prose. It will be most interesting and edifying for us to compare in detail his succesful effort with Prof. Kure's admirable Japanese version. We can recognize in both of them similar poetic effects in prose which these translations have subtly devised to bring about by making use of the rhythm inherent in their own languages.
