420

Alike regretted in the dust he lies,
Who yields ignobly, or who bravely dies.
330 Of all my dangers, all my glorious pains,
A life of labours, lo! what fruit remains?
As the bold bird her helpless young attends,
From danger guards them, and from want defends; 425

In search of prey she wings the spacious air,

335 And with the untasted food supplies her care:

For thankless Greece such hardships have I braved,
Her wives, her infants, by my labours saved;
Long sleepless nights in heavy arms I stood,
And sweat laborious days in dust and blood.

340 I sack'd twelve ample cities on the main,

When Peleus in his aged arms embraced
His parting son, these accents were his last:
My child! with strength, with glory, and success,
Thy arms may Juno and Minerva bless!
Trust that to heaven; but thou, thy cares engage
To calm thy passions and subdue thy rage:
From gentler manners let thy glory grow,
And shun contention, the sure source of woe,
That young and old may in thy praise combine.
The virtues of humanity be thine.-
This, now despised, advice thy father gave;
Ah! check thy anger, and be truly brave.
If thou wilt yield to great Atrides' prayers.
Gifts worthy thee his royal hand prepares;
If not but hear me, while I number o'er
The proffer'd presents, an exhaustless store.
Ten weighty talents of the purest gold,
And twice ten vases of refulgent mould;
Seven sacred tripods, whose unsullied frame
Yet knows no office, nor has felt the flame;
Twelve steeds unmatch'd in fleetness and in force,
And still victorious in the dusty course
(Rich were the man whose ample stores exceed
The prizes purchased by their winged speed):
Seven lovely captives of the Lesbian line,
Skill'd in each art, unmatch'd in form divine:
The same he chose for more than vulgar charms,
When Lesbos sunk beneath thy conquering arms,
All these, to buy thy friendship, shall be paid,
And join'd with these, the long-contested maid;
With all her charms, Briseïs he'll resign,
And solemn swear those charms were only thine;
Untouch'd she stay'd, uninjured she removes,
Pure from his arms, and guiltless of his loves.
These instant shall be thine; and if the powers
Give to our arms proud Ilion's hostile towers,
Then shalt thou store (when Greece the spoil divides)

And twelve lay smoking on the Trojan plain:
Then at Atrides' haughty feet were laid
The wealth I gather'd, and the spoils I made.
Your mighty monarch these in peace possess'd;

345 Some few my soldiers had, himself the rest.
Some present too to every prince was paid;
And every prince enjoys the gift he made;
I only must refund, of all his train;

See what pre-eminence our merits gain!
350 My spoil alone his greedy soul delights;

My spouse alone must bless his lustful nights:
The woman, let him (as he may) enjoy;
But what's the quarrel then of Greece to Troy?
What to these shores the assembled nations draws?

430

435

440

445

450

With gold and brass thy loaded navy's sides.

365

Besides, full twenty nymphs of Trojan race

With copious love shall crown thy warm embrace;

Such as thyself shall choose; who yield to none,

Or yield to Helen's heavenly charms alone.

355 What calls for vengeance, but a woman's cause?
Are fair endowments and a beauteous face
Beloved by none but those of Atreus' race?
The wife whom choice and passion both approve,
Sure every wise and worthy man will love.
360 Nor did my fair-one less distinction claim;
Slave as she was, my soul adored the dame.
Wrong'd in my love, all proffers I disdain;
Deceived for once, I trust not kings again.
Ye have my answer-what remains to do,
Your king, Ulysses, may consult with you.
What needs he the defence this arm can make?
Has he not walls no human force can shake?
Has he not fenced his guarded navy round,
With piles, with ranıparts, and a trench profound?

455

460

Yet hear me farther: when our wars are o'er,

If safe we land on Argos' fruitful shore.

There shalt thou live his son, his honours share,
And with Orestes' self divide his care.

370 And will not these (the wonders he has done!)
Repel the rage of Priam's single son?
There was a time ('twas when for Greece I fought
When Hector's prowess no such wonders wrought; 465
He kept the verge of Troy, nor dared to wait

Yet more-three daughters in his court are bred,
And each well worthy of a royal bed;
Laodice and Iphigenia fair,

375 Achilles' fury at the Scæan gate;

He tried it once, and scarce was saved by fate.
But now those ancient enmities are o'er;
To-morrow we the favouring gods implore;
Then shall you see our parting vessels crown'd,

380 And hear with oars the Hellespont resound.

And bright Chrysothemis with golden hair;
Her shalt thou wed whom most thy eyes approve,
He asks no presents, no reward for love:
Himself will give the dower; so vast a store.
As never father gave a child before.
Seven ample cities shall confess thy sway,
Thee Ænopè and Pheræ thee obey,
Cardamyle with ample turrets crown'd,
And sacred Pedasus for vines renown'd;
Epea fair, the pastures Hira yields,
And rich Antheia with her flowery fields:
The whole extent to Pylos' sandy plain,
Along the verdant margin of the main:
There heifers graze, and labouring oxen toil;
Bold are the men, and generous is the soil:
There shalt thou reign, with power and justice crown'd,
And rule the tributary realms around.

Such are the proffers which this day we bring,
Such the repentance of a suppliant king.
But if all this relentless thou disdain,
If honour, and if interest plead in vain,
Yet some redress to suppliant Greece afford,
And be amongst her guardian gods adored.
If no regard thy suffering country claim,
Hear thy own glory, and the voice of fame:
For now that chief, whose unresisted ire
Made nations tremble, and whole hosts retire,
Proud Hector, now, the unequal fight demands,
And only triumphs to deserve thy hands.

Then thus the goddess-born: Ulysses, hear
A taithful speech, that knows nor art, nor fear;
What in my secret soul is understood,
My tongue shall utter, and my deeds make good.
Let Greece then know, my purpose I retain :
Nor with new treaties vex my peace in vain.
Who dares think one thing, and another tell,
My heart detests him as the gates of hell.

Then thus in short my fix'd resolves attend,
Which nor Atrides nor his Greeks can bend;
Long toils, long perils, in their cause I bore,
But now the unfruitful glories charm no more.
Fight or not fight, a like reward we claim,

The wretch and hero find their prize the same;

The third day hence, shall Pthia greet our sails,
If mighty Neptune send propitious gales;
Pthia to her Achilles shall restore

The wealth he left for this destested shore:
385 Thither the spoils of this long war shall pass,
The ruddy gold, the steel, and shining brass;
My beauteous captives thither I'll convey,
And all that rests of my unravish'd prey.
One only valued gift your tyrant gave,

390

And that resumed, the fair Lyrnessian slave.
Then tell him, loud, that all the Greeks may hear,
And learn to scorn the wretch they basely fear;
(For, arm'd in impudence, mankind he braves,
And meditates new cheats on all his slaves;
395 Though shameless as he is, to face these eyes
Is what he dares not: if he dares, he dies)
Tell him, all terms, all commerce I decline,
Nor share his council nor his battle join;
For once deceived, was his; but twice, were mine.

400 No-let the stupid prince, whom Jove deprives
Of sense and justice, run where frenzy drives;
His gifts are hateful: kings of such a kind
Stand but as slaves before a noble mind.
Not though he proffer'd all himself possess'd,

405 And all his rapine could from others wrest;
Not all the golden tides of wealth that crown
The many peopled Orchomenian town;

470

475

480

485

490

493

500

Not all proud 'Thebes' unrivall'd walls contain,
The world's great empress on the Egyptian plain,
410 (That spreads her conquests o'er a thousand states,
And pours her heroes through a hundred gates,
Two hundred horsemen, and two hundred cars
From each wide portal issuing to the wars);
Though bribes were heap'd on bribes, in number more

415 Than dust in fields, or sands along the shore;
Should all these offers for my friendship call;
'Tis he that offers, and I scorn them all.
Atrides' daughter never shall be led

(An ill-mateh'd consort) to Achilles' bed;

505

510

Like golden Venus though she charm'd the heart,
And vied with Pallas in the works of art.
Some greater Greek let those high nuptials grace,
I hate alliance with a tyrant's race.
If heaven restore me to my realms with life,
The reverend Peleus shall elect my wife.
Thessalian nymphs there are, of form divine.
And kings that sue to mix their blood with mine.
Blest in kind love, my years shall glide away,
Content with just hereditary sway;
There, deaf for ever to the martial strife,
Enjoy the dear prerogative of life.
Life is not to be bought with heaps of gold;
Not ail Apollo's Pythian treasures hold,
Or Troy once held, in peace and pride of sway,
Can bribe the poor possession of a day!
Lost herds and treasures, we by arms regain,
And steeds unrivall'd on the dusty plain:
But from our lips the vital spirit fled,
Returns no more to wake the silent dead.
My fates long since by Thetis were disclosed,
And each alternate, life or fame, proposed;
Here if I stay, before the Trojan town,
Short is my date, but deathless my renown:
If I return, I quit immortal praise
For years on years, and long-extended days.
Convinced, though late, I find my fond mistake,
And warn the Greeks the wiser choice to make:
To quit these shores, their native seats enjoy,
Nor hope the fall of heaven-defended Troy.
Jove's arm display'd asserts her from the skies;
Her hearts are strengthen'd, and her glories rise.
Go then, to Greece report our fix'd design;
Bid all your councils, all your armies join,
Let all your forces, all your arts conspire
To save the ships, the troops, the chiefs from fire.
One stratagem has fail'd, and others will:
Ye find Achilles is unconquer'd still.
Go then-digest my message as ye may-
But here this night let reverend Phenix stay:
His tedious toils and hoary hairs demand
A peaceful death in Pthia's friendly land.
But whether he remain, or sail with me,
His age be sacred, and his will be free.

525 And Phoenix felt a father's joys in thee:
Thy growing virtues justified my cares,
And promised comfort to my silver hairs.
Now be thy rage, thy fatal rage, resign'd;
A cruel heart ill suits a manly mind:
530 The gods (the only great, and only wise)

615

620

625

Are moved by offerings, vows, and sacrifice;
Offending man their high compassion wins,
And daily prayers atone for daily sins.
Prayers are Jove's daughters, of celestial race,
535 Lame are their feet, and wrinkled is their face;
With humble mien and with dejected eyes,
Constant they follow where Injustice flies:
Injustice, swift, erect, and unconfined,
Sweeps the wide earth, and tramples o'er mankind,
540 While prayers, to heal her wrongs, move slow behind.

Who hears these daughters of almighty Jove,
For him they mediate to the throne above:
When man rejects the humble suit they make,
The sire revenges for the daughters' sake;
545 From Jove commission'd, fierce Injustice then
Descends, to punish unrelenting men.
Oh let not headlong passion bear the way;
These reconciling goddesses obey:

Due honours to the seed of Jove belong;

631

635

550 Due honours calm the fierce, and bend the strong. 640
Were these not paid thee by the terms we bring,
Were rage still harbour'd in the haughty king;
Nor Greece, nor all her fortunes, should engage
Thy friend to plead against so just a rage.

555 But since what honour asks, the general sends,

645

The son of Peleus ceased: the chiefs around
In silence wrapp'd, in consternation drown'd.
Attend the stern reply. Then Phenix rose;
(Down his white beard a stream of sorrow flows.)
And while the fate of suffering Greece he mourn'd, 560 A great example drawn from times of old;
With accent weak these tender words return'd :

And sends by those whom most thy heart commends,
The best and noblest of the Grecian train;
Permit not these to sue, and sue in vain!
Let me, my son, an ancient fact unfold,

Hear what our fathers were, and what their praise 650
Who conquer'd their revenge in former days.
Where Calydon on rocky mountains stands,
Once fought the Ætolian and Curetian bands;
565 To guard it those, to conquer these advance;

655

And mutual deaths were dealt with mutual chance.
The silver Cynthia bade Contention rise,
In vengeance of neglected sacrifice;

On Eneus' fields she sent a monstrous boar, 570 That levell'd harvests, and whole forests tore:

Divine Achilles! wilt thou then retire,
And leave our hosts in blood, our fleets on fire?
If wrath so dreadful fill thy ruthless mind,
How shall thy friend, thy Phenix, stay behind?
The royal Peleus, when from Pthia's coast
He sent thee early to the Achaian host;
Thy youth as then in sage debates unskill'd,
And new to perils of the direful field;
He bade me teach thee all the ways of war;
To shine in councils, and in camps to dare.
Never, ah never let me leave thy side!
No time shall part us, and no fate divide.
Not though the god, that breathed my life, restore
The bloom I boasted, and the port I bore,
When Greece of old beheld my youthful flames,
(Delightful Greece, the land of lovely dames!)
My father, faithless to my mother's arms,
Old as he was, adored a stranger's charms.
1 tried what youth could do (at her desire)
To win the damsel, and prevent my sire.
My sire with curses loads my hated head,
And cries, Ye furies! barren be his bed.
Infernal Jove, the vengeful fiends below,
And ruthless Proserpine confirm'd his vow.
Despair and grief distract my labouring mind!
Gods! what a crime my impious heart design'd!
I thought (but some kind god that thought suppress'd)
To plunge the poniard in my father's breast:
Then meditate my flight; my friends in vain
With prayers entreat me, and with force detain.
On fat of rams, black bulls, and brawny swine,
They daily feast, with draughts of fragrant wine:
Strong guards they placed, and watch'd nine nights

This beast (when many a chief his tusks had slain)
Great Meleager stretch'd along the plain.
Then, for his spoils a new debate arose,
The neighbour nations thence commencing foes.

575 Strong as they were, the bold Curetes fail'd,
While Meleager's thundering arm prevail'd:
Till rage at length inflamed his lofty breast,
(For rage invades the wisest and the best.)
Cursed by Althæa, to his wrath he yields,
580 And in his wife's embrace forgets the fields.
'She from Marpessa sprung, divinely fair,
And matchless Idas, more than man in war;
The god of day adored the mother's charms:
Against the god the father bent his arms:

590

585 The afflicted pair, their sorrows to proclaim,
From Cleopatra changed this daughter's name,
And call'd Alcyone; a name to shew
The father's grief, the mourning mother's woe.
To her the chief retired from stern debate,
But found no peace from fierce Althea's hate:
Althea's hate the unhappy warrior drew,
Whose luckless hand his royal uncle slew:
She beat the ground, and call'd the powers beneath
On her own son to wreak her brother's death:
Hell heard her curses from the realms profound,
And the red fiends that walk the nightly round.
In vain Ætolia her deliverer waits,
War shakes her walls, and thunders at her gates.
She sent ambassadors, a chosen band,
Priests of the gods, and elders of the land

660

665

670

675

680

685

690

Your sire received me, as his son caress'd,

600 Besought the chief to save the sinking state:

With gifts enrich'd, and with possessions bless'd.

Their prayers were urgent, and their proffers great:

Rise, son of Tyaeus. to the brave and strong Rest seems inglorious, and the night too long. But sleep'st thou now? when from yon hill the foe Hangs o'er the fleet, and shades our walls below?

At this, soft slumber from his eyelids fled;
The warrior saw the hoary chief, and said:
Wondrous old man! whose soul no respite knows
Though years and honours bid thee seek repose.
Let younger Greeks our sleeping warriors wake;
Ill fits thy age these toils to undertake.

My friend (he answer'd), generous is thy care
These toils, my subjects and my sons might bear
Their loyal thoughts and pious loves conspire
To ease a sovereign, and relieve a sire.
But now the last despair surrounds our host,
No hour must pass, no moment must be lost;
Each single Greek, in this conclusive strife,
tands on the sharpest edge of death or life:
Yet, if my years thy kind regard engage,
Employ thy youth as I employ my age;
Succeed to these my cares, and rouse the rest;
He serves me most, who serves his country best.

This said, the hero o'er his shoulders flung
A lion's spoils, that to his ancles hung;
Then seized his ponderous lance, and strode along.
Meges the bold, with Ajax famed for speed,
The warrior roused, and to the entrenchments led.
And now the chiefs approach the nightly guard;
A wakeful squadron, each in arms prepared:
The unwearied watch their listening leaders keep
And, couching close, repel invading sleep.
So faithful dogs their fleecy charge maintain,
With toil protected from the prowling train,
When the gaunt lioness, with hunger bold,

Then thus (the godlike Diomed rejoin'd)
My choice declares the impulse of my mind.
How can I doubt while great Ulysses stands
195 To lend his counsels, and assist our hands;
A chief, whose safety is Minerva's care;
So famed, so dreadful, in the works of war.
Bless'd in his conduct, I no aid require;
Wisdom like his might pass through flames of fire. 290

200

!

300

It fits thee not, before these chiefs of fame,
(Replied the sage) to praise me or to blame:
Praise from a friend, or censure from a foe,
Are lost on hearers that our merits know.
But let us haste-Night rolls the hours away.
205 The reddening orient shews the coming day,
The stars shine fainter on the ethereal plains,
And of Night's empire but a third remains.
Thus having spoke, with generous ardour press d,
In arms terrific their huge limbs they dress'd.
210 A two-edged falchion Thrasymed the brave,
And ample buckler, to Tydides gave:
Then in a leathern helm he cased his head,
Shornof its crest, and with no plume o'erspread:
(Such as by youths unused to arms are worn.
No spoils enrich it, and no studs adorn).
Next him Ulysses took a shining sword,
A bow and quiver with bright arrows stored:
A well-proved casque, with leather braces bound,
(Thy gift, Meriones) his temples crown'd:

295

305

310

A boar's white teeth grinn'd horrid o'er his head.
This from Amyntor, rich Ormenus' son,
Autolychus by fraudful rapine won,
And gave Amphidamas; from him the prize

315

225 Molus received, the pledge of social ties;
The helmet next by Merion was possess'd,
And now Ulysses' thoughtful temples press'd.
Thus sheath'd in arms, the council they forsake,
And dark through paths oblique their progress take.

321

Springs from the mountains toward the guarded fold:
Through breaking woods her rustling course they hear:
Loud, and more loud, the clamours strike their ear 216
Of hounds and men; they start, they gaze around,
Watch every side, and turn to every sound.

Thus watch'd the Grecians, cautious of surprise,

Each voice, each motion, drew their ears and eyes; 220 Soft wool within; without, in order spread,

Each step of passing feet increased the affright;
And hostile Troy was ever full in sight.
Nestor with joy the wakeful band survey'd,
And thus accosted through the gloomy shade
Tis well, my sons! your nightly cares employ;
Else must our host become the scorn of Troy.
Watch thus, and Greece shall live-The hero said;
Then oer the trench the following chieftains led.
His son, and god-like Merion, march'd behind,
(For these the princes to their council join'd).
The trenches pass'd, the assembled kings around
In silent state the consistory crown'd.
A place there was yet undefiled with gore,
The spot where Hector stopp'd his rage before.
When night descending, from his vengeful hand
Reprieved the relics of the Grecian band:
(The plain beside with mangled corps was spread,
And all his progress mark'd by heaps of dead.)
There sat the mournful kings: when Neleus' son
The council opening, in these words begun :

325

230 Just then, in sign she favour'd their intent,
A long-wing'd heron great Minerva sent:
This, though surrounding shades obscured their view,
By the shrill clang and whistling wings, they knew.
As from the right she soar'd, Ulysses pray'd,
235 Hail'd the glad omen, and address'd the maid:
O daughter of that god, whose arm can wield
The avenging bolt, and shake the dreadful shield!
O thou! for ever present in my way,
Who all my motions, all my toils survey!

:

330

335

240 Safe may we pass beneath the gloomy shade,
Safe by thy succour to our ships convey'd !
And let some deed this signal night adorn,
To claim the tears of Trojans yet unborn.
Then godlike Diomed preferr'd his prayer:
245 Daughter of Jove, unconquer'd Pallas! hear.
Great queen of arms, whose favour Tydeus won,
As thou defend'st the sire, defend the son.
When on Æsopus' banks the banded powers
Of Greece he left, and sought the Theban towers, 340
Peace was his charge; received with peaceful show,
He went a legate, but return'd a foe:
Then help'd by thee, and cover'd by thy shield,
He fought with numbers, and made numbers yield.

Is there (said he) a chief so greatly brave,
His life to hazard, and his country save?
Lives there a man who singly dares to go
To yonder camp, or seize some straggling foe ?
Or favour'd by the night approach so near,
Their speech, their counsels, and designs to hear?
If to besiege our navies they prepare,
Or Troy once more must be the seat of war?
This could he learn, and to our peers recite,
And pass unharm'd the dangers of the night;
What fame were his through all succeeding days,
While Phœbus shines, or men have tongues to praise!
What gifts his grateful country would bestow!
What must not Greece to her deliverer owe!.
A sable ewe each leader should provide,
With each a sable lambkin by her side;
At every rite his share should be increased,
And his the foremost honours of the feast.

250

So now be present, O celestial maid!

255 So still continue to the race thine aid!

A youthful steer shall fall beneath the stroke,
Untamed, unconscious of the galling yoke,
With ample forehead, and with spreading horns,
Whose taper tops refulgent gold adorns.

345

:

Fear held them mute: alone untaught to fear,
Tydides spoke-The man you seek is here.
Through yon black camps to bend my dangerous way,
Some god within commands, and I obey.
But let some other chosen warrior join,

350

260

To raise my hopes, and second my design.
By mutual confidence, and mutual aid,

The heroes pray'd, and Pallas from the skies
Accords their vow, succeeds their enterprize,
Now, like two lions panting for the prey,
With deathful thoughts they trace the dreary way,
Through the black horrors of the ensanguined plain, 355

Great deeds are done, and great discoveries made:
The wise new prudence from the wise acquire,
And one brave hero fans another's fire.

Contending leaders at the word arose: Each generous breast with emulation glows:

265 Through dust, thro' blood, o'er arms and hills of slain.
Nor less bold Hector, and the sons of Troy,
On high designs the wakeful hours employ;
The assembled peers their lofty chief enclosed,
Who thus the counsels of his breast proposed:

360

270

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