XXVII. Hector's reprehension of Paris for avoiding Menelaus.
PARIS! poor maniac, bound in woman's chains, Of matchless form, but false as thou art fair, Oh that thy birth had fail'd, or that thy death Had barr'd thy nuptials! thou hadst then escap'd This ignominious gaze, this public shame.
Vain wish! but kind as can be felt for thee. How loud the Grecians laugh! thy noble form Promis'd them deeds as noble; but thy mind Ill suits it, timid, feminine and frail.
Couldst thou be such, yet traverse, with thy friends, The billowy deep into a foreign land,
Feast with the natives, bring the beauteous bride Of valiant princes hither, and in her
Grief to thy father, mischief to us all,
Shame to thyself, and triumph to us our foes?
And dar'st not meet him? Ah! thou shouldst have known. How brave a chief thou didst not fear to wrong;
And that thy lyre, and all thy specious gifts
From Venus' hand, bright locks and beauteous form, Would lose their charms once mingled with the dust. A slavish awe restrains them, or the host: This moment, to requite thy many crimes, Would new-attire thee in a suit of stone.
XXVIII. Paris' reply to Hector.
IIECTOR! I merit it; thy blame is just; And thy own heart is like the temper'd axe That in the shipwright's hand divides the plank. Not else divisible. The steel defies
All opposition, and all danger thou. Yet, let the gifts of Venus 'scape thy blame The gods are absolute, and what they give, Or good, or ill, mere mortals must receive. Now, therefore, if it please thee that I wage This desp'rate conflict, bid the people sit, Both Greeks and Trojans, and between them place.
The warlike Menelaus and myself
To fight for Helen and the wealth she brought. The conqu'ror wins them both; if mine the palm, I keep them, and if his, he bears them home. Then peace confirm'd, the Greeks shall see again The lovely women of their native land, And ye in safety till the fields of Troy.
XXIX. Agamemnon to his troops, exciting them to battle, and exhorting the leaders, by praises and reproofs.
ARGIVES! abate no spark of all your fire. The faithless never have a friend in Jove. Yon violaters of their sacred oath
Shall feed the vultures; Troy shall be our own; And ev'ry wife, and ev'ry child in Troy, Made captive, shall attend us home to Greece.
To the supine or remiss.
Dead marks for archers! shame ye thus your home, And feel no shame? Why stand ye thus aghast Like heartless fawns that after long pursuit Stand terror-fixt? Such seems your fixt amaze, And such your dread of battle. Or ye wait, It may be, till the Trojans shall invade Your gallies on the shore, in hope that Jove To save you then, himself will interpose.
To Idomeneus of the Cretans.
In battle, in division of the spoil, On all occasions I distinguish thee Idomeneus! and when the mantling cup Rewards the valour of the Grecian chiers, If others drink by measure, measure none Thou know'st, but thy cup constantly as mine Replenish'd stands, thy will thy sole restraint. Haste then, and fight as thou hast ever fought.
Brave leaders of the male-clad host of Greece! I move not you to duty; ye yourselves
Move others, and no lesson need from me. Jove! Pallas! and Apollo!! Were but all Courageous as yourselves, soon Priam's tow'rs Should totter, and his Ilium storm'd and sack'd By Grecian hands, a formless ruin lie.
-thy dauntless spirit asks But time unhinges all.
Oh that the burthen of thy ears were laid
On one far younger, and his youth were thine!
To Menestheus, son of Peteos, and the wary chief Ulysses.
O son of Peteos, gallant prince! and thou All trick, all subtlety and sly design! Why stand ye trembling here, and from afar Observing others? Foremost to defy
The burning battle's rage should ye be found, Whom foremost I invite of all to share
The banquet, when the princes feast with me. There ye are prompt; ye find it pleasant there To eat your sav'ry food, and quaff your wine Delicious, till satiety ensue;
But here, though ten embattled bands should wage Fierce conflict first, ye could be well content.
To Diomede, son of Tydeus.
Ah son of Tydeus, the renown'd in war! Why skulking here? why peering through the lines ? So did not Tydeus, but the foremost fight Chose rather; as is testified by those Who saw with wonder his heroic deeds. He never met my view, but by report Of all who knew him, none was brave as he. For with the godlike Polynices once He enter'd, but unarm'd and as a friend, Mycena, seeking powerful aids to join The host assembled for the siege of Thebes, And earnestly they sued. We, well-inclined, Had granted their request, but were deterr'd
By unpropitious omens from above, Departing; therefore, to the reedy banks. Of the Asopus, there thy sire received An embassy to sacred Thebes in charge. He went; and found in Eteocles' hall Num'rous Cadmeans feasting. With a heart Estranged from fear, unfriended as he was, The noble Tydens yet provok'd them forth To proof of manhood, and such aid obtain'd From Pallas, that with ease he foil'd them all. Shamed and resentful, fifty of the town Lay in close ambush waiting his return Mæon and Lycophontes at their head,
Both dauntless warriors. These thy father slew, Save Maon, slew them all. A voice from heav'n Bade spare the herald, therefore him he sent To tell at Thebes that he alone surviv'd. Such once was Tydeus; and he left a son Less valiant, though more eloquent than he.
XXX. Jove's prohibition of all interference of the Gods, convened in council, between the Greeks and Trojans.
HEAR, all ye gods and goddesses, my word And purpose irreversible. Beware
That none presumptuously, of either sex, Seek to rescind, but rather all promote Its full accomplishment. Whom I shall see Descending from Olympus to the aid Of either host, or shamefully chastised He shall return to the Olympian heights, Or I will hurt him deep into the gulphs Of gloomy Tartarus, where hell shuts fast Iler iron gates, and spreads her brazen floor, As far below the shades, as earth from heav'n. There shall he learn how much I pass in might All others; which if ye incline to doubt,
Now prove me. Let ye down the golden chain From heav'n, and pull at its inferior links Both goddesses and gods. But me your king, Supreme in wisdom, ye shall never draw
To earth from heav'n, strive with me as ye may. - But I, if willing to exert my power, The earth itself, itself the sea, and you Will lift with ease together, and will wind The chain around the spiry summit sharp Of the Olympian, that all things upheaved Shall hang in the mid heav'n. So much am I Alone superior both to gods and men.
XXXI. The embassy from Agamemnon to Achilles.
HEALTH to Achilles! hospitable cheer
And well prepared, we want not at the board Of royal Agamemnon, or at thine,
For both are nobly spread; but dainties now, Or plenteous boards, are little our concern. Oh godlike chief! tremendous are our themes Of contemplation, while in doubt we sit If life or death with loss of all our ships Attend us, unless thou put on thy might. För lo! the haughty Trojans, with their friends Call'd from afar, beside the fleet encamp Fast by the wall, where they have kindled fires Num'rous, and threaten that no force of ours Shall check their purpos'd inroad on the camp. Jove grants them favourable signs from heav'n, Bright lightnings; Hector glares revenge, with rage Infuriate, and by Jove assisted, heeds
Nor God nor man, but, maniac-like, implores Incessantly the morn at once to rise, That he may hew away our vessel-heads, Burn all our fleet with fire, and at their sides Slay the Achaians panting in the smoke. Dread overwhelms my spirit, lest the gods His threats accomplish, and it be our doom To perish here, from Argos far remote. Up, therefore! if thou can'st at last relent, Oh! rise and save Achaia's weary sons From Trojan violence. Regret, but vain, Shall else be thine hereafter, when no cure Of such great ill, once suffer'd, can be found.
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