Hlast thou reviled the king? It is because
The Grecians nobly recompense his toils.
But mark me, If I find three yet again
Raring and foaming at the lips as now,
May never man behold Ulysses' head
On these my shoulders more, and may my son
Prove the begotten of another sire,
If I not strip thee to that hide of thine
As bare as thou wast born, and whip thee hence
Home to thy galley, snivelling like a boy.

1

XXVL Agamemnon's reply to Nestor, his generous

confession, and his spirited address.

OLDEST, and worthiest of Achaia’s sons
To be consulted! Oh would to heay'n
That I had ten, in council wise as thou,
Then, soon should Priam's royal city fall,
And yield her spoils to our victorious hands.
But jove afflicts me. From Saturnian Jove
My doom is altercation to no end;
Thence came, between Achilles and myself
That fiery clash of words, a girl the cause,
Myself aggressor. - Once that breach repair'd,
Troy's long reprieve thenceforth is at an endi
Go-take refreshment now, that we may march
Forth to our enemies. Let each whet well
His

spear, brace well his shield, well feed his brisk
High-mettled horses, well survey and search
His chariot on all sides, that no defect
Disgrace his bright habiliments of war.
So will we give the day from morn to eve
To dreadfal battle. Pause there shall be none
Till night divide us. Ev'ry buckler's thong
Shall sweat on the toil'd bosom, every hand
That shakes the spear shall ache, and every steed
Shall smoke that whirls the chariot o'er the plain.
Woe then to whom I shall discoyer here
Loitering among

the tents; none such with ease
Shall 'scape due punishment. The vulture's maw
Shall have his carcase, and the dogs his bones.

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'a 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.

Hector! 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 defics
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,
Bath Greeks and Trojans, and between them place

The warlike Menelaus and myself
To fight for llelen 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.

home,

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 Jore.
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 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 chiefs,
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 tight as thou hast ever fought.

To the Ajaces.
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 A pollo !! Were but all
Courageous as yourselves, soon Priam's tow'ts
Should totter, and his Ilium stórm’d and sack'd
By Grecian hands, a formless ruin lie.

To Nestor.
Old chief! thy dauntless spirit asks
As firm a knee. 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 tary 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,
Mycenæ, 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.
Ile went; and found in Eteocles' hall
Num'rous Cadineans feasting. With a heart
Estranged from fear, unfriended as he was,
The noble Tydeus yet provok'd them forth
To proof of manhood, and such aid obtain'd
From Pallas, that with ease he foild 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 slow,
Save Mæon, slew thein all. A voice from heavă
Bade spare the herald, therefore him he sent
To tell at Thebes that he alone surviv'd.
Such once was Tydens; and he left a son
Less valiant, though more eloquent than ho.

XXX. Jove's prohibition of all interference of the

Gods, convened in council, between the Greeks and
Trojans.

HEAR, all ye gods and goddesses, nty word
And purpose irreversible. Beware
That none presumptuously, of either sex,
Seek to rescind, but rather all promote
Its full accomplishment. Whom I shall sce
Descending from Olympus to the aid
Of either host, or shamefully chastised
He shall return to the Olympian heights,
Or I will hurl him deep into the gulphs
Of gloomy Tartarus, where hell shuts fast
ller iron gates, and spreads her bråzen 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.

Lét

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