Rape of Helen. Expedition of the Greeks against Troy. House of Fame. The Trojan war. Combat of Achilles and Cygnus. The latter slain and transformed to a swan. Story of Cæneus. Fight of the Lapithæ and Centaurs. Change of Cæneus to a bird. Contest of Hercules with Periclymenos. Death of Achilles. Dispute for his arms.
Rape of Helen. Expedition of the Greeks against Troy. House of Fame. The Trojan war. Combat of Achilles and Cygnus. The latter slain and transformed to a swan. Story of Cæneus. Fight of the Lapithæ and Centaurs. Change of Cæneus to a bird. Contest of Hercules with Periclymenos. Death of Achilles. Dispute for his arms.
Priam the sire, much mourn'd, to him unknownThat still his son, on pinions borne, surviv'd:While Hector and his brethren round the tomb,A name alone possessing, empty ritesPerform'd. Save Paris, from the solemn sceneNone absent were; he with the ravish'd wifeBrought to his shores a long protracted war.Quick was he follow'd by confederate shipsTen hundred, and the whole Pelasgian race.Nor had their vengeance borne so long delay,But adverse raging tempests made the mainImpassable; and on Bœotia's shores,In Aulis' port th' impatient vessels bound.
Here, while the Greeks the rites of Jove prepare,Their country's custom, as the altar blaz'd,They saw an azure serpent writhe aroundA plane, which near the altar rear'd its boughs.Its lofty summit held a nest; withinEight callow birds were lodg'd; on these he seiz'd,And seiz'd the mother, who, with trembling wings,Hover'd around her loss, all burying deepWithin his greedy maw. All stare with dread.But Thestor's son, prophetic truths who stillBeheld, exclaim'd—“Rejoice! O Greeks, rejoice!“Conquest is ours, and lofty Troy must fall.“But great our toil, and tedious our delay.”Then shew'd the birds a nine years' war foretold.The snake, entwining 'mid the virid boughs,Hard stone becomes, but keeps his serpent's form.
But still th' Aönian waves in violent swellWere lash'd by Neptune, nor their vessels bore;And many deem'd that Troy he wish'd to spare,Whose walls his labor rais'd. Not so the sonOf Thestor thought: neither he knew hot so,Nor what he knew conceal'd:—a victim direThe virgin-goddess claim'd; a virgin's blood!When o'er affection public weal prevail'd,The king o'ercame the father; and beforeThe altar Iphigenia stood, prepar'dHer spotless blood to shed, as tears gush'd forthEven from the sacrificial 'tendants. Then“Was Dian' mov'd, and threw before their sightA cloud opaque, and (so tradition tells)The maid Thycenian to an hind was chang'd,Amid the priests, the pious crowd and allWho deprecating heard her doom. This done,Dian' by such a sacrifice appeas'dAs Dian' best became; and sooth'd her ire,The angry aspect of the seas was smooth'd;And all the thousand vessels felt the breezeAbaft, and bore the long impatient crowdTo Phrygia's shores. A spot there lies, whose seatMidst of created space, 'twixt earth, and sea,And heavenly regions, on the confines restsOf the three-sever'd world; whence are beheldAll objects and all actions though remote,And every sound by tending ears is heard.Here Fame resides; and in the loftiest towersHer dwelling chuses; and some thousand ways,And thousand portals to the dwelling makes:No portal clos'd with gates. By day, by night,Open they stand; of sounding brass all form'd;All echoing sound; all back the voice rebound:And all reit'rate every word they hear.No rest within, no silence there is found,Yet clamor is not, but a murmur low;Such as the billows wont to make when heardFrom far, or such as distant thunder sends,When Jove the dark clouds rends and drives aloof.Crowds fill the halls: the trifling vulgar comeAnd issue forth. Ten thousand rumors vagueWith truth commingled to and fro are heard.Words in confusion fly. Amid the throngThese preach their words to vacant air, and thoseTo others tales narrate; the measure stillOf every fiction in narration grows;And every author adds to what he hears.Here lives credulity; and here abidesRash error; transports vain; astonied fear;Sedition sudden; and, uncertain whence,Dark whisperings. Fame herself sits high aloft,And views what deeds in heaven, and earth, and seaAre done, and searches all creation round.The news she spreads, that now the Grecian barksApproach with valiant force; nor did the foeUnlook'd-for threat the realm. All Troy impedesTheir landing, and the shores defends. Thou first,Protesilaüs! by great Hector's spearUnluckily wast slain. The war begun,Their valiant souls, ere yet they Hector knew,Dear cost the Greeks. Nor small the blood which flow'dFrom Phrygia's sons, by Grecia's valor spill'd.
Now blush'd Sigæum's shores with spouting blood,Where Cygnus, Neptune's offspring, gave to deathWhole crowds. Achilles in his chariot stood,And with his forceful Pelian spear o'erthrewThick ranks of Trojans; and as through the fightsCygnus or Hector to engage he sought,Cygnus he met: delay'd was Hector's fateTo the tenth year. Then to his white-neck'd steeds,Press'd by the yoke, with cheering shouts he spoke;And full against the foe his chariot drove.His quivering lance well-pois'd he shook, and call'd,“Whoe'er thou art, O youth! this comfort learn“In death, that by Achilles' arm thou dy'st.”Thus far Pelides; and his massive spearClose follow'd on his words. With truth it fled;Yet did the steely point, unerring hurl'd,Fall harmless: with a deaden'd point his breastWas struck. Then he;—“O goddess-born! (for fame“Thy race to me has long before made known)“Why wonder'st thou that I unwounded stand?”(For wondering stood Pelides.) “Not this helm,“Which thou behold'st, gay with the courser's mane.“Nor the curv'd buckler by my arm sustain'd,“For aid are worn. For comely grace alone“They deck me. Thus is Mars himself adorn'd.“Thrown every guard far from my limbs, my limbs“Unwounded would remain. Sure I may boast!“Sprung not from Nereus' daughter, but from him“Who rules o'er Nereus; o'er his daughter rules;“And all th' extent of ocean.” Cygnus spoke:And at Pelides launch'd his spear to pierceHis orbed shield; its brazen front it pierc'd,And nine bull-hides beneath; stay'd at the tenth,The warrior shook it forth; with strenuous armThe quivering weapon hostile back return'd:Cygnus again unwounded felt the blow.Nor felt his naked bosom, to the forceOf the third weapon vauntingly expos'd,Aught harm'd. Less fiercely in the Circus wideRages the bull not, when the scarlet vestsTo urge his fury fixt, with furious hornTo gore attempting, finds elusion still,The unhurt limbs invading. Seeks he nowIf fall'n the metal from his weapon's point:Fast to the wood the metal still appears;And cries he;—“Weak is then my hand? and spent“On one, is all the strength I once could boast?“For surely strength that arm could boast, which erst“Lyrnessus' wall o'erthrew, and when with gore“It Tenedos, and Thebes made stream; or when“Caÿcus purple flow'd, stain'd with their blood“Who on its banks had dwelt; and when twice prov'd“By Telephus, the virtue of my spear.“This nervous arm has here too shewn its force“In hills of slain by me up-heap'd; these shores“Attest it.” Speaking so, his spear he sentAgainst Menœtes 'mid the Lycian crowd,As doubting faintly deeds perform'd before:And pierc'd at once his corslet and his breast.From the hot smoking wound as forth he drewThe dart,—as with his dying head was struckThe solid ground, he spoke:—“This is the hand,“And this the spear which conquest knew before:“This will I 'gainst him use. May it, when sent,“The same success attend.”—Ere ceas'd his wordsCygnus again with aim he sought, nor swerv'dHis ashen weapon whence he aim'd, but rung,Unshrunk from, on the shoulder: thence repell'd,As from a wall or rugged rock it fell:Yet where the blow was felt, did Cygnus seemWith blood distain'd. Achilles' joy was vain,For wound was not. Menœtes' blood was there.Then furious from his lofty car he sprung,And close at hand his braving foe assail'dWith glittering falchion; by the falchion broke,The helm and shield he saw, but the keen edgeHis stubborn body blunted. More the sonOf Peleus bore not, but the warrior's faceWith furious buffets from his shield, unclasptFirst from his arm, he smote, and with his hiltHeavy his temples; and with headstrong rageBore on him: nor to his astounded soulRespite allow'd. Dread through his bosom spread;Before his eyes swam darkness: when amidstThe plain, a stone his retrogressive feetOppos'd. Pelides, with his mightiest strength,Struck Cygnus against it, and to earthHard forc'd him, thrown supine. Pent with his shield,And nervous knees upon his bosom prestTight, he the lacing of the helmet drew,Which 'neath his chin was ty'd; close press'd his throat,His breathing passage and his life at onceDestroy'd he. When his conquer'd foe to spoilOf all his arms he went, the arms he foundVacant. The ocean-god had to a birdOf snowy plumage chang'd his offspring's form:A bird which still the name of Cygnus bears.
Here stay'd the toil, here did the battle gainOf numerous days a respite, either powerResting on arms unhostile. Then, while guards,Watchful, the Trojan walls protective kept;And sentries equal wakeful o'er the trenchForm'd by the Argives watch'd, a feast was held,Where Cygnus' victor, stout Achilles, gaveAn heifer ribbon-bound to Athen's maid.The sever'd flesh was on the altar plac'd,Whose smoking fragrance, grateful to the gods,High to th' ethereal regions mounted. Part,Their due, th' official sacrificers took;To swell the feast the rest was given. Outstretch'dOn couches, laid the noble guests, and fill'dWith the drest meat their hunger; and with wineAt once their thirst and all their cares assuag'd.No lyre them sooth'd; no sound of vocal song;Nor long extended boxen pipe with holesMultiferous pierc'd: but all night long, discourseProtracted; valiant deeds alone the theme.Alike the valiant acts their foes perform'd,And those their own they speak. Much they enjoyTo tell by turns what hazards they o'ercame;And what they oft successless try'd. What elseCould e'er Achilles' speech employ? What elseBy great Achilles could with joy be heard?Chief in the converse, was the conquest lateO'er Cygnus gain'd, the topic. Strange to allSeem'd it; the youth, from every weapon safeBy wound unconquerable, and with skinBlunting the keenest steel. Wonder the Greeks,And wonders ev'n Pelides: when in wordsLike these, old Nestor hail'd them. “Cygnus, proof“'Gainst steel,—unpierceable by furious blows“Your age alone has known. These eyes have seen“Perrhæbian Cæneus bear ten thousand strokes“Unhurt. He, fam'd for warlike actions, dwelt“On Othrys, and more strange those warlike deeds,“Since female was he born.” The wondering crowd,Mov'd with the novel prodigy, beseech(Their spokesman was Achilles) that the taleNestor would give them. “Eloquent old man!“Of all our age most prudent, tell, for all“The same desire prevails o'er, who was he,“This Cæneus? why was chang'd his sex? what wars“Of fierce encounter made him known to thee?“And if by any conquer'd, tell the name.”
Then thus the senior: “Though decrepid age“Weighs heavy on me, and the deeds beheld“In prime of youth, in numbers 'scape my mind;“Yet than those facts, 'mid all of peace and war,“Nought on my bosom made a deeper print.“Yet may extended age of all beheld“Part of the numerous acts and objects seen“Relate,—I twice one hundred years have pass'd;“Now in the third I breathe. Cænis, a nymph“Sprung from Elateus, fam'd was all around“For brightest beauty; fairest of the maids“Who Thessaly adorn; theme of vain hopes“To crowds of wooers through the neighbouring towns;“And ev'n through thine, Achilles; for the land“Thou claim'st produc'd her. Nay, her nuptial couch,“Peleus perchance had sought, save that the rites“Already with thy mother were compleat,“Or were in promise ready. Nuptial couch“She never press'd, for on the lonely shore“Strolling, so fame declares, the vigorous clasp“Of Ocean's god she felt. The charms possest“Of his new object, Neptune said—whate'er“Thou wishest, chuse, secure of no repulse.—“This too does fame report, that Cænis cry'd—“Wrongs such as mine no trivial gift deserve,“That ne'er such shame again I suffer, grant“I woman be no longer; that will all“Favors comprize.—Her closing words betray'd“A graver sound; manly appear'd her voice:“And masculine it was. Deep ocean's god“Acceded to her wish, and granted, more,“That wounds should never harm her, nor by steel“Should she e'er fall. Joy'd at the gift, the god“Atracia's hero leaves—employs his age“In studies warlike; and among the fields,“Where fertilizing Peneus wanders, roams.
“Now bold Ixion's son had gain'd the hand“Of Hippodamia; and the fierce-soul'd crowd“Cloud-born, had bidden to attend the boards,“In order rang'd within a cavern's mouth,“By trees thick-shaded. All the princes round“Of Thessaly attended: I, myself“Amongst them went. Loud rung the regal feast“With the mixt concourse; all most joyful sung“O Hymen! Iö Hymen! and each hall“Blaz'd bright with fires. The virgin then approach'd“Pre-excellent in fairness, with a band“Of matrons and unwedded nymphs begirt.“Most blest, we all exclaim'd, in such a spouse“Must be Pirithoüs—but such boding hopes“Well nigh deceiv'd us. For when drunken lust“O'er thee, Eurytus! govern'd, of the blood“Of savage Centaurs, far most savage, fir'd“Whether by wine, or by the virgin's charms“Thou saw'st, thy breast. Instant, the board o'erturn'd,“Routed the guests convivial, and the bride“Caught by her locks, was forceful dragg'd away.“Eurytus Hippodamia seiz'd; the rest“Grasp'd such as pleas'd them, or whoe'er they met.“It show'd the image of a captur'd town.
“With female shrieks the place resounded; swift“We start, and Theseus foremost thus exclaims:—“What frenzy, O Eurytus! thee impels“Pirithoüs thus to wrong me still in life!“Ign'rant that two thou wound'st in one?—Nor vain“The chief magnanimous his threat'nings spoke:“Th' aggressors back repell'd; and, while they rag'd,“The ravish'd bride recover'd. Nought he said,“Nor could such acts defence by words allow;“But with rude inconsiderate hands he press'd“Full on her champion's face; his valiant breast“Assaulting. Near by chance a cup there stood,“Of mould antique, and rough with rising forms:“Mighty it was, but Theseus, mightier still,“Seiz'd it, and full against his hostile face“It dash'd; he vomits forth, with clots of gore,“His brains, and wine; these issuing from the wound;“That from his mouth; and on the soaking sand“Supine he sprawls. With rage the two-form'd race“Burn for their brother's slaughter; all with voice“United, eager call—to arms! to arms!“Wine gave them courage, and the primal fight“Was goblets, fragile casks, and hollow jars,“Dash'd on: once instruments to feasts alone“Pertaining; now for slaughter us'd and blood.
“First Amycus, of Ophion son, not fear'd“To rob the sacred chambers of their spoils;“And from its cord suspensive, tore away,“As from the roof it hung, a glittering lamp;“And hurl'd it, lofty-pois'd, full in the front“Of Lapithæan Celadon. So falls“On the white neck the victim bull presents,“The sacrificial axe, and all his bones“Were shatter'd left; one all confounded wound.“His eyes sprang forth; his palate bones displac'd,“His nose driv'n back within his palate falls.“Him Belates Pellæan with a foot“Torn from a maple table, on the ground“Stretch'd prone; his chin forc'd downward on his breast;“And sputtering teeth, with blackest gore commixt,“Sent by a second blow to Stygia's shades.
“As next he stood, and with tremendous brow“The flaming altar view'd, Gryneus exclaim'd—“Why use we this not? and the ponderous load“With all its fires he seiz'd, and 'mid the crowd“Of Lapithæans flung: two low it press'd;“Broteas and bold Orion. From her sphere“Orion's mother Mycalé, by charms“The moon to drag to earth has oft been known.
“Loud cry'd Exodius:—Were but weapons found“That death impunity would boast not. Horns“An ancient stag once brandish'd, on a pine“Hung lofty, serv'd for arms; the forky branch“Hurl'd in his face deep dug out either eye.“Part to the horns adhere; part flowing down“His beard, thence hang in ropes of clotted gore.“Lo! Rhætus snatches from the altar's height“A burning torch of size immense, and through“Charaxus' dexter temple, with bright hair“Shaded, he drives it. Like the arid corn“Caught by the rapid flame, the tresses burn;“And the scorch'd blood the wound sent forth, a sound“Of horrid crackling gave. Oft whizzes steel“So, drawn forth glowing from the fire, with tongs“Bent, and in cooling waters frequent plung'd;“And crackling sounds, immers'd in tepid waves.“The wounded hero from his tresses shook“The greedy flames, and in his arms upheav'd,“Tom from the earth, a mighty threshold stone,“A waggon's burthen; but the ponderous load“Forbade his strength to hurl it on the foe:“And on Cometes, who beside him stood,“Dropp'd the huge bulk. Nor Rhætus then his joy“Disguis'd, exclaiming:—Such may be the aid“That all your friends receive!—Then with his brand“Half burnt, his blows redoubling, burst the skull“With the strong force; and on the pulpy brain“By frequent strokes the bones beat down. From thence“Victor, Evagrus, Corythus, he met“And Dryas. Corythus o'erthrown, whose cheeks“The first down shaded; loud Evagrus cry'd:—“What glory thine, thus a weak boy to slay?—“No more to utter Rhætus gave, but fierce“Plung'd the red-flaming weapon in his mouth,“Thus speaking; and deep forc'd it down his throat.“Thee also, furious Dryas! with the brand,“Whirl'd round and round his head, he next assails.“But thee the same sad fortune not befel:“Him, proud triumphing from increas'd success“In blood, thou piercest with an harden'd stake,“Where the neck meets the shoulder. Rhætus groan'd:“And from the hard bone scarce the wood could draw;“As drench'd in blood his own, by flight he scap'd.“With him fled Lycabas; and Orneus fled;“Thaumas; Pisenor; Medon, who was struck“'Neath the right shoulder; Mermeros, who late“In rapid race all else surpass'd, but now“Mov'd halting with his wound; Abas, of boars“The spoiler; Pholus, and Melaneus too;“With Astylos the seer, who from the war“Dissuaded, but in vain, his brethren crowd.“Nay more, to Nessus, fearing wounds, he cry'd—“Fly not!—thou'lt for Alcides' bow be sav'd.
“Euronymus, nor Lycidas, their fate,“Areos, nor Imbreos fled; whom face to face“Confronting, Dryas' hand smote down. Thou too,“Crenæus! felt thy death in front, though turn'd“For flight thy feet; for looking back thou caught'st“Betwixt thine eyes the massy steel; where joins“The nose's basement to the forehead bones.
“With endless draughts of stupefactive wine“Aphidas lay, 'mid all the raging noise“Unrous'd; and grasping in his languid hand“A ready-mingled bowl: stretch'd was he seen,“On a rough bear-skin, brought from Ossa's hill.“Him from afar, as Phorbas saw, no arms“Dreading, he fix'd his fingers in the thongs,“And said—with Stygian waters mixt, thy wine“Now drink;—and instant round his javelin twin'd“The youth: for as supinely stietch'd he lay“The ash-form'd javelin through his throat was driv'n.“No sense of death he felt; his dark brown gore“Flow'd in full stream upon the couch, and flow'd“In his grasp'd goblet. I, Petræus saw,“An acorn-loaded oak from earth to rend“Endeavoring; which while compass'd with both arms“He strains, now this way, now the other, shook“Appear'd the tottering tree. Pirithous' dart“Driv'n through the ribs, Petræus' straining breast“Nail'd to the rigid wood. Pirithous' arm“Lycus o'erthrew; and 'neath Pirithous' force“Fell Chromis,—so they tell. But less of fame“The conqueror gain'd from these, than from the death“Of Helops, and of Dictys. Helops felt“The dart through both his temples; swift it whizz'd“His right ear enter'd, shewing at his left.“But Dictys, from a dangerous mountain's brow“As flying, trembling from Ixion's son“Close following, he descended, headlong down“He tumbled; with his ponderous fall he broke“A mighty ash; within his riven side“The stumps his bowels tore. Aphareus fierce,“Came on for vengeance; and a massive rock,“Torn from the hill, upheav'd to throw—to throw“Attempted. Theseus with an oaken club“Prevented, and his mighty elbow broke:“Nor now his leisure suits, nor cares he now“A foe disabled to dispatch to hell:“But on Biamor's lofty back he springs,“Unwont to bear, except himself, before:“Press'd with his knees his ribs, and grasping firm,“With his left hand his locks, he bruis'd his face,“His frowning forehead, and his harden'd skull,“With the rough club. With the same club he lays“Nidymnus prostrate; and Lycotas, skill'd“To fling the javelin; Hippasus, whose beard“Immense, his breast o'ershaded; Ripheus sprung“From lofty woods; and Tereus wont to drag“Home furious bears still living, on the hills“Thessalian, caught. Nor longer in the fight“Raging with such success, Demoleon bore“Theseus to see, but from a crowded wood,“With giant efforts strove a pine to rend,“Of ancient growth, up by the roots, but foil'd“He flung the broken fragment 'mid the foe.“Warn'd by Minerva, from the flying wood“Theseus withdrew; so would he we believe.“Yet harmless fell the tree not; from the breast“And shoulder of great Crantor, was the neck“Sever'd. The faithful follower of thy sire“Was he, Achilles. Him, Amyntor, king“Of all Dolopia, in the warlike strife“O'ercome, as pledge of peace and faithful words“Gave to Æäcides. Him mangled so“With cruel wound, Peleus far distant saw;“And thus exclaim'd,—O, Crantor! dearest youth!“Thy funeral obsequies behold.—He said,“And hurl'd his ashen spear with vigorous arm,“And with a spirit not less vigorous, forth,“Full on Demoleon: tearing through the fence“Of his strong chest, it quiver'd in the bones.“The pointless wood his hand dragg'd out; the wood“With difficulty dragg'd he: in his lungs“Deep was the steel retain'd. To his fierce soul“Fresh vigor gave the smart. Hurt as he was“He rear'd against the foe, and with his hoofs“Trampled thy sire. He, with his helm and shield,“Wards off the sounding blows; his shoulders guards;“Holds his protended steel, and his foe's chest“Full 'twixt the shoulders; one strong blow transpierc'd.“Yet had he slain by distant darts before“Both Hylis and Phlegræus; and in fight“More close, had Clanis and Hipponous fall'n.“To these must Dorilas be added, he“A wolf skin round his forehead wore; and, bent,“A double wound presenting, o'er his brows“He bore the weapons of a savage bull;“With streaming gore deep blushing. Loud I cry'd,“While courage gave me strength—see how my steel“Thy horns surpasses—and my dart I flung.“My dart to 'scape unable, o'er his brow“To ward the blow, his hand he held; his hand“Was to his forehead nail'd. Loud shouts were heard,“And Peleus at him, wounded thus, rush'd on,“(He nearer stood) and with a furious blow“Mid belly plac'd, dispatch'd him. High he sprung“On earth his entrails dragging;—as they dragg'd“Madly he trampled;—what he trampled tore:“These round his legs entwining, down he falls;“And with an empty'd body sinks to death.
“Nor could thy beauty, Cyllarus, avail“Aught in the contest! if to forms like thine“Beauty we grant. His beard to sprout began,“His beard of golden hue; golden the locks“That down his neck, and o'er his shoulders flow'd.“Cheerful his face; his shoulders, neck, and arms,“Approach'd the models which the artists praise.“Thus all that man resembled. Nor fell short“The horse's portion: beauteous for a beast.“A neck and head supply'd, a steed were form'd,“Of Castor worthy: so was for the seat“Fitted his back; so full outstood his chest:“His coat all blacker than the darkest pitch;“Save his white legs, and ample flowing tail.“Crowds of his race him lov'd; but one alone,“Hylonomé, could charm him; fairest nymph“Of all the two-form'd race that roam'd the groves.“She sole enraptur'd Cyllarus, with words“Of blandishment; beloved, and her love“For him confessing. Grace in all her limbs“And dress, for him was studied; smooth her hair“For him was comb'd; with rosemary now bound;“Now with the violet; with fresh roses now;“And oft the snow-white lily wore she; twice“Daily she bath'd her features in the stream,“That from Pagasis' woody summit falls;“Twice daily in the current lav'd her limbs.“Nor cloth'd she e'er her shoulders, or her side,“Save with the chosen spoils of beasts which best“Her form became. Most equal was their love:“As one they o'er the mountains stray'd; as one“The caves they sought; and both together then“The Lapithæan roof had enter'd; both“Now wag'd the furious war. By whom unknown,“From the left side a javelin came, and pierc'd“Thee deep, O Cyllarus! 'neath where thy chest“Joins to thy neck. Drawn from the small-form'd wound,“The weapon,—with the mangled heart, the limbs“Grew rigid all. Hylonomé supports“His dying body, and her aiding hand“Presses against the wound; leans face to face,“And tries his fleeting life awhile to stay.“When fled she saw it, with laments which noise“Drown'd ere my ears they reach'd, full on the dart“Which through him stuck she fell; and clasp'd in death“Her dear-lov'd husband's form. Before my eyes“Still stands Phæöcomes, whom, closely-join'd,“Six lions' hides protected; man and horse“Equal the covering shar'd. Phonoleus' son“Fierce on the skull he smote, with stump immense,“Huge as four oxen might with labor move.“Crush'd was the rounding broadness of the head;“And the soft brain gush'd forth at both his ears;“His mouth, his hollow nostrils, and his eyes.“So through the straining oaken twigs appears,“Coagulated milk: so liquid flows“Through the fine sieve, by supercumbent weights“Prest down, the thick curd at the small-form'd holes.“Deep in his lowest flank the foe I pierc'd,“As from our fallen friend the arms to strip“Prepar'd, he stoop'd. Thy father saw the deed.“Chthonius too fell beneath my sword, and fell“Teleboas. Chthonius bore a forky bough;“A javelin arm'd the other; with its steel“He pierc'd me. Lo! the mark the wound has left:—“Still the old scar appears. Then was the time“They should have sent me to the siege of Troy:“Then had I power great Hector's arm to stay;“To check, if not to conquer. Hector then“Was born not, or a boy. Now age me robs“Of all my force. Why should I say how fell“Two-form'd Pyretus, by the strength o'erthrown“Of Periphantes? Why of Amphyx tell,“Who in Oëclus' hostile front deep sunk,“(Oëclus centaur-born) a pointless spear?“Macareus, Erigdupus, (near the hill“Of Pelethronus born, against his chest“Full-bearing,) prostrate laid. Nor should I pass,“How I the spear beheld, by Nessus' hands“Launch'd forth, and bury'd in Cymelus' groin.“Nor think you Mopsus, Amphyx' son, excell'd“Alone to teach the future. By the dart“Of Mopsus, fell Odites double-form'd.“To speak in vain he strove, for tongue to chin,“And chin to throat were by the javelin nail'd.
“Cæneus ere this had five to death dispatch'd“Bromius, Antimachus with hatchet arm'd;“Pyracmon, Stiphelus, and Helimus.“What wounds them slew I know not; well their names,“And numbers I remember. Latreus big“In body and in limbs, sprung forth adorn'd“In the gay arms Halesus once had own'd;“Halesus of Thessalia by him slain:“'Twixt strong virility and age his years,“Still strong virility his arm could boast;“Gray hairs his temples sprinkled. Lofty seen“In helm and shield, and Macedonian spear,“Proudly between the adverse ranks he rode;“And clash'd his arms, and circling scower'd along.“These boasting words to the resounding air“Brave issuing—Cænis, shall I bear thee so?“Still will I think thee Cænis;—female still“By me thou'lt be consider'd. 'Bates it nought“Thy valor, when thy origin thy soul“Reflects on? When thy mind allows to own“What deed the grant obtained? What price was paid“To gain the false resemblance of a man?“What thou was born, remember: mark as well“Who has embrac'd thee. Go, the distaff take,“And carding basket. With thy fingers twirl“The flax, and martial contests leave to men.“The spear which Cæneus hurl'd, deep in his side“Bare as he cours'd, expos'd the blow to meet,“Pierc'd him when boasting thus, just where the man“Join'd the four-footed form. With smart he rag'd,“And to the Phyllian warrior's face his spear“Presented. Back the spear rebounded: so“Bound the hard hailstones from the roof; so leap“The paltry pebbles on the hollow drum.“Now hand to hand he rushes to engage,“And in his harden'd sides attempts to plunge“His weapon deep. Pervious his weapon finds“No spot. Then cry'd he,—still thou shalt not 'scape:“Though blunted is my point my edge shall slay;—“And aim'd a blow oblique, to ope his side,“While round his flank was grasp'd his forceful arm.“Sounded the stroke as marble struck would sound;“The shiver'd steel rebounding from his neck.“His limbs unwounded, to the wondering foe“Thus long expos'd, loud Cæneus call'd;—Now try“Our arms thy limbs to pierce!—Up to the hilt“His deadly weapon 'twixt his shoulders plung'd;“Then thrust and dug with blows unseeing 'mid“His entrails deep; thus forming wounds on wounds.
“Now all the furious crowd of double forms“Rush raging round him; all their weapons hurl;“And all assail with blows this single foe.“Blunted their weapons fall, and Cæneus stands“Unpierc'd, unbleeding, from ten thousand strokes:“Astonish'd at the miracle they gaze;“But Monychus exclaims;—What blasting shame“A race o'erthrown by one; that one a man,“But dubious. Grant him man, our coward deeds“Prove us but what he has been. What avail“Our giant limbs? What boots our double strength;“Strength of created forms the mightiest two,“In us conjoin'd? A goddess-mother we“Assur'dly should not boast; nor boast for sire“Ixion, whose great daring soul him mov'd“To clasp the lofty Juno in his arms.“Now vanquish'd by a foe half-male. Him whelm“With trees, with rocks: whole mountains heap'd on high,“Whole falling forests, let that stubborn soul“Crush out. The woods upon his throat shall press,“And weight for wounds shall serve.—The centaur spoke,“Seizing a tree which lay by chance uptorn“By raging Auster; on his valiant foe“The bulk he hurl'd. All in like efforts join'd:“And quickly Othrys of his woods was stript:“Nor Pelion shade retain'd. Cæneus opprest“Beneath the pile immense—the woody load,—“Hot pants, and with his forceful shoulders bears,“To heave th' unwieldy weight: but soon the heap“Reaches his face, and then o'ertops his head:“Nor breath is left his spirit can inhale.“Now faint he sinks, and struggles now in vain“To lift his head to air, and from him heave“The heap'd-up forests: then the pile but shakes,“As shakes the lofty Ida you behold,“When by an earthquake stirr'd. Doubtful his end.“His body, by the sylvan load down prest,“Some thought that shadowy Tartarus receiv'd.“But Mopsus this deny'd, who spy'd a bird“From 'mid the pile ascend, and mount the skies“On yellow pinions. I the bird beheld,“Then first, then last. As wide on buoyant wing“Our force surveying, Mopsus saw him fly,“And rustling round with mighty noise, his eyes“And soul close mark'd him, and he loud exclaim'd,—“Hail, Cæneus! of the Lapithæan race“The glory! once of men the first, and now“Bird of thy kind unique!—The seer's belief“Made credible the fact. Grief spurr'd our rage.“Nor bore we calmly that a single youth“By hosts of foes should fall. Nor ceas'd our swords“In gore to rage 'till most to death were given:“The rest by favoring darkness say'd in flight.”
While thus the Pylian sage, the wars narratesWag'd by the Lapithæan race, and foeCentaurs half-human; his splenetic ireTlepolemus could hide not, when he foundAlcides' deeds past o'er; but angry spoke.—“Old sire, astonish'd, I perceive the praise“The deeds of Hercules demand, has 'scap'd“Your mind. My father has been wont to tell“Whom, he of cloud-begotten race o'erthrew:“Oft have I heard him.” Nestor sad reply'd;“Why force me thus my miseries to recal“To recollection; freshening up the woes“Long years have blunted; and confess the hate“I bear thy sire for injuries receiv'd.“He, (O, ye gods!) has deeds atchiev'd which far“All faith surpass; and has the wide world fill'd“With his high fame. Would I could this deny!“For praise we e'er Deïphobus? or praise“Give we Polydamas, or Hector's self?“Who can a foe applaud? This sire of thine“Messenia's walls laid prostrate, and destroy'd“Elis and Pylos, unoffending towns;“Rushing with fire and sword in our abode.“To pass the rest who 'neath his fury fell,—“Twice six of Neleus' sons were we beheld;“Twice six save me beneath Alcides' arm,“There dy'd. With ease were conquer'd all but one;“Strange was of Periclymenos the death;“Whom Neptune, founder of our line, had given,“What form he will'd to take; that form thrown off.“His own again resume. When vainly chang'd“To multifarious shapes; he to the bird“Most dear to heaven's high sovereign, whose curv'd claws“The thunders bear, himself transform'd; the strength“That bird possesses, using, with bow'd wings,“His crooked beak and talons pounc'd his face.“'Gainst him Tyrinthius his unerring bow“Bent, and as high amid the clouds he tower'd,“And poising hung, pierc'd where his side and wing“Just met: nor deep the hurt; the sinew torn“Still him disabled, and deny'd the power“To move his wing, or strength to urge his flight.“To earth he fell; his pinions unendow'd“With power to gather air: and the light dart“Fixt superficial in the wing, his fall“Deep in his body pierc'd; out his left side,“Close by his throat the pointed mischief stood.
“Now, valiant leader of the Rhodian fleet,“Judge what from me the great Alcides' deeds“Of blazonry can claim? Yet the revenge“I give my brethren, is on his brave acts“Silent to rest: to thee still firm ally'd“In friendship.” Thus his eloquent discourseThe son of Neleus ended, and the giftOf Bacchus, oft repeated, circled roundTo the old senior's words; then from the boardThey rose, and night's remainder gave to sleep.
But now the deity, whose trident rulesThe ocean waters, with a father's griefMourns for his offspring to a bird transform'd.Savage 'gainst fierce Achilles, he pursuesHis well-remember'd ire with hostile rage.And now the war near twice ten years had seen,When long-hair'd Phœbus, thus the god address'd;“O power! to me most dear, of all the sons“My brother boasts! whose hands with mine uprear'd“In vain the walls of Troy! griev'st thou not now“Those towers beholding as they ruin'd fall?“Griev'st thou not now such thousands to behold“Slain, those high towers attempting to defend?“Griev'st thou not (more I need not speak) to think“Of Hector's body round his own Troy dragg'd,“When still the fierce Achilles, ev'n than war“More ruthless, of our works destroyer, lives?“Would it to me were given—my trident's power,“Well know I, he should prove; but since deny'd“To rush, and hand to hand this foe engage,“Slay him with unsuspected secret dart.”The Delian god consented, and at onceHis uncle's vengeance and his own indulg'd.Veil'd in a cloud amid the Ilian hostHe darts, and 'mid a slaughter'd crowd beholdsWhere Paris, on plebeïan foes his shaftsUnerring hurls: to him confess'd, the godExclaims;—“Why wast'st thou in ignoble blood“Thy weapons? If thy friends employ thy care,“Turn on Pelides every dart, revenge“Thy murder'd brothers.”—Phœbus spoke, and shew'dWhere with his steel Achilles ranks on ranksOf Troy o'erthrew. On him the bow he turns;To him he guides the sure, the deadly dart.
Now may old Priam joy for Hector slain;For thou, Achilles, victor o'er such hosts,Fall'st by the coward's hand, who stole from GreeceThe ravish'd wife. O! if foredoom'd thy lotBy woman-warrior to be slain, to fallBy Amazonian weapon had'st thou chos'n.Now burns Æäcides, the Phrygians' dread;The pride, the guardian of the Grecian name;The chief in war unconquer'd: and the godWho arm'd him once, consumes him. Ashes now;Nought of the great Pelides can be found,Save what with ease a little urn contains.But still his glory lives, and fills all earth:Such bounds alone the hero suit; his fameEquals himself, nor sinks he to the shades.
His shield itself, as conscious whose the shield,Fomented wars; and quarrels for his armsArose. Tydides fear'd to urge his claim;Ajax, Oïleus' son; Atrides' each,Him youngest, and the monarch who surpass'dIn age and warlike skill; and all the crowd.Laërtes' son, and Telamon's aloneTry'd the bold glorious contest. From himselfAll blame invidious Agamemnon mov'd:The Grecian chiefs amid the camp he plac'd,And bade the host around the cause decide.
Contest of Ajax and Ulysses for the arms of Achilles. Success of Ulysses and death of Ajax. Sack of Troy. Sacrifice of Polyxena to the ghost of Achilles. Lamentation of Hecuba. She tears out the eyes of Polymnestor, and is changed into a bitch. Birds arise from the funeral pile of Memnon, and kill each other. Escape of Æneas from Troy, and voyage to Delos. The daughters of Anius transformed to doves. Voyage to Crete and Italy. Story of Acis and Galatea. Love of Glaucus for Scylla.
Contest of Ajax and Ulysses for the arms of Achilles. Success of Ulysses and death of Ajax. Sack of Troy. Sacrifice of Polyxena to the ghost of Achilles. Lamentation of Hecuba. She tears out the eyes of Polymnestor, and is changed into a bitch. Birds arise from the funeral pile of Memnon, and kill each other. Escape of Æneas from Troy, and voyage to Delos. The daughters of Anius transformed to doves. Voyage to Crete and Italy. Story of Acis and Galatea. Love of Glaucus for Scylla.
The princes sate; the common troops in crowdsCircled them round; when Ajax in the midst,Lord of the seven-fold shield, arose, with rageUncurb'd. Sigæum's shores he fiercely view'd;And ship-clad beach, while with extended arms,“O, Jupiter!” he cry'd, “before this fleet“Must then our cause be try'd? With me contends“Ulysses? He who yielded all a prey“To Hector's fires; whom I alone repell'd?“Fires which I from that fleet drove far? More safe“'Tis sure with artful language to contend,“Than battle hand to hand. Hard 'tis for me“To speak; for him 'tis no less hard to fight.“And much as I in keen-urg'd blows excel,“And arduous contest, such in words is he.“My deeds, O Grecians! to rehearse what need?“Have you not seen them? Let Ulysses tell“His actions, feats without a witness done;“Night only privy. Mighty is the prize,“I own; but Ajax' glory suffers much,“Striving with such a rival. Granted, great“Its value; where the boast to have obtain'd“What this Ulysses hop'd for? He ev'n now“Enjoys th' advantage of the contest. Foil'd,“His pride will be to boast with me he strove.“But I, if doubtful is my valor deem'd,“Have claims most potent in my noble race:“Sprung from great Telamon, who Troy's proud town,“'Neath brave Alcides captur'd; and explor'd“The shores of Colchis in th' Hæmonian bark.“His sire was Æäcus, who equal law“Dispenses 'mid the silent shades; where toils“Æölian Sisyphus beneath his stone.“Well mighty Jove knows Æäcus, and owns“Him son. Thus Ajax ranks but third from Jove.“Nor yet, O, Greeks! should this descent my cause“Assist, save that Achilles claim'd the same.“Of brothers born, a kinsman's right I ask.“Why should one sprung of Sisyphæan blood,“Like his progenitor in theft and fraud,“Ingraft an alien name upon the stock“Of Æäcus? Am I the arms refus'd“That first I join'd the warriors? join'd your host“Betray'd not by informers? Worthier he,“That last his arms he took? with madness feign'd“Shunning the warfare; till more crafty came“Naupliades, though luckless for himself;—“Who shew'd his coward soul's devices plain;“And hither dragg'd him to the hated wars?“Now let him arms most glorious take, who arms“To wear refus'd. Let me unhonor'd go,“Robb'd of my kindred right, who first arriv'd“To face the perils. Would, ye gods! that true,“Or thought so, his insanity had been.“Then, counsellor of cruel deeds, he ne'er“Had join'd our camp before the Phrygian walls.“Then thou, O Pæän's son! had Lemnos ne'er“Known—to our shame abandon'd on the shore.“Thou now, so fame reports, in woody caves“Shelter'd, ev'n rocks mov'st with thy rending groans;“Pray'st that Laërtes' son his justest meeds“May gain. Ye gods! ye gods! grant ye his prayers“A favoring ear! Now he, by oath combin'd“With us in war;—O, heavens! a leader too!“Heir to employ Alcides' faithful darts,“Sinks both by famine and disease opprest:“By birds sustain'd, and cloth'd by birds, he spends“Upon his feather'd prey, the darts design'd“To end the fate of Troy. Yet still he lives:“For here he never with Ulysses came.“Content had hapless Palamedes been“Deserted so. Life might he have enjoy'd“Perchance; and blameless sure to death had sunk.“He whom this wretch, too mindful of the time“His counterfeited madness was expos'd,“Feign'd had betray'd the Greeks; and prov'd the crime“By forg'd assistance: shewing forth the gold“First bury'd by himself. Thus he destroys“The strength of Greece, by exile or by death.“Thus fights Ulysses; thus must he be fear'd“Who, though old faithful Nestor he surpass'd“In eloquence, not all would e'er avail,“To prove deserting Nestor was no shame:“Who press'd with age, and with a wounded horse“Delay'd, Ulysses' aid besought: behind“His coward comrade left him. Well, this deed“Tydides can declare, by me not feign'd,“Who oft him reprimanded by his name,“And curs'd the flying of his trembling friend.“Gods with just eyes all mortal actions view.“Lo! he who aid would give not, aid requires!“Who Nestor left, deserted was himself:“Himself prescrib'd the treatment which he found.“Loud call'd he to his friends. I come, I see,“Pale trembling, where he lies, with dread to view“Impending death. My mighty shield I fling;“Beneath it shade him, and his coward breast“(My smallest claim to glory) I protect.“If still persisting, thou the strife wilt urge,“Thither again return. Recal the foe;“Thy wound; thy wonted terror; and lie hid“Beneath my shield. 'Neath that with me contend.“Lo! him I snatch'd from death, whose wounds refus'd“Ev'n power to stand; retarded not by wounds,“In agile flight sped on. Now Hector comes,“Whom in the fight the deities attend.“Where'er he swept, not thou Ulysses sole“Wast struck with dread; the bravest of our host“Shrunk, such the terror which then fill'd the field.“When hand to hand engag'd, him prone I laid,“Proud of his slaughter, on th' ensanguin'd plain,“With a huge stone. I singly him oppos'd,“All single challeng'd; all the Greeks to me“Pray'd for the lot: nor vain your prayers were found.“Enquire ye, what the fortune of the fight?“I stood, by him unconquer'd, when all Troy“Rush'd on the fleet of Greece, with fire, with sword,“And aiding Jove: Where was Ulysses then?“The eloquent Ulysses? I alone,“A thousand ships, the hopes of your return,“Defended with my breast: this crowd of ships“Deserves those arms. Nay, if with truth to speak“You grant, those arms more glory gain from me“Than I from them; our honor is conjoin'd.“Ajax the arms demand, not Ajax arms.“Let Ithacus compare his Rhæsus slain;“And slain unwarlike Dolon; and trepann'd“Helenus, Priam's son; and Pallas' form.“In open day nought done, and nought perform'd,“Save Diomed' assisted. Grant for once,“Such paltry service could the armour claim;“Divide the prize, and lo! the largest share“Tydides must demand. But why this prize“Seeks Ithacus? who all his deeds performs“In private; traversing unarm'd; the foe,“While unsuspecting, conquering by deceit.“This helmet's radiance from the glittering gold“Darting, would shew his plots, and open lay“The latent spy. But his Dulichian head,“Cas'd in Achilles' casque, the weight would 'whelm,“And for his languid arms, the Pelian spear“Too weighty would be found. That shield engrav'd,“With all earth's various scenes, but ill would grace“His arm, for stealthy deeds alone design'd.“Presumptuous fool! to seek a prize, which gain'd“Would only mar thy power. By erring votes“Of Grecians giv'n to thee, cause would it be“The foe would strip thee; not thy prowess fear.“And flight, in which, O trembler! erst alone“Thou all surpass'd, slow would'st thou then pursue;“Such ponderous armor dragging. Those, thy shield“Which bears so rare the brunt of battle, shines“Yet whole: a new successor mine demands,“Which gash'd by weapons, shews a thousand rents.“To end, what need of words? let actions shew“Each one's deserts. Amid the foe be thrown“The valiant warrior's arms. Thence bid us bring“The prize;—who brings it, let him wear the spoil.”
So spake the Telamonian warrior; roundA murmur follow'd from the circling crowd.Till up the chief of Ithaca arose;His eyes (awhile cast down) rais'd from the earth;The chiefs with anxious look'd-for sounds address'd:Nor grace was wanting to persuasive words.“O Grecians! had your prayers and mine been heard,“Owner of what such cause of strife affords“Were now not dubious: thou, Pelides, still“These arms possessing, we possessing thee.“But since unpitying fate, to you, to me,“Denies him”—(here as weeping, o'er his eyesHis hand he draws)—“who with so just a right“Can great Achilles now succeed, as he“Who great Achilles brought the Greeks to join?“Let it not aid his cause, that fool he seems,“Or stupid is indeed; nor aught let harm“The ingenuity I claim, to mine:“Which, O, ye Argives! still has aided you.“Let not my eloquence, if such I boast,“And words, whose 'vantage often you have prov'd,“Now for their author, move invidious thoughts:“Nor what each claims his proper gift, refuse.“Scarce can we call our ancestry, our race,“Or deeds by them perform'd, merits our own:“Yet since of grandsire Jove this Ajax boasts,“I too, can boast him author of my line:“Nor more degrees remov'd. My sire was nam'd“Laërtes; his Arcesius; and from Jove“Arcesius came direct: nor in this line,“E'er any exil'd or condemn'd appear'd.“Cyllenius too, his noble lineage adds“Through my maternal stock. Each parent boasts“A god-descended race. Yet claim I not“The arms contested, merely that I spring“Maternally more noble; nor them claim“That from a brother's blood my sire is free:“By merits solely you the cause adjudge.“These only none to Ajax, that his sire,“And Peleus brethren were, e'er grant. The prize“Desert, and not propinquity of blood,“Should gain. If kindred, then the hero's heir“Demands it: Peleus still survives, his sire;“And Pyrrhus is his son. Where Ajax' right?“To Phthia, or to Scyros be it borne.“Nor less is Teucer cousin than himself;“Yet does he ask, or does he hope the arms?“But since the obvious contest is by deeds“Perform'd, though mine outnumber far what words“Can easy compass; yet will I relate“In order some:—“The Nereïd mother knew“His future fate; her offspring's dress disguis'd;“And all, ev'n Ajax, the fallacious robes“Deceiv'd. With female wares I mingled arms,“Which stir the martial soul. Nor had the youth“Disrob'd him of his virgin dress, when grasp'd“As in his hand the shield and lance he held,“I cry'd'—O, goddess-born! reserv'd for thee“Is Ilium's fate. The mighty Trojan walls“Why to o'erthrow demur'st thou?—Him I seiz'd.“Sent the brave youth, brave actions to atchieve:“And all his actions as my own I claim.“My spear then conquer'd Telephus in fight;“And after heal'd the suppliant vanquish'd foe.“Thebes low by me was laid. I, you must own,“Lesbos, and Tenedos, and Scyros took;“Chrysa, and Cylla, bright Apollo's towns.“My arm Lyrnessus' walls shook, and laid low.“But other deeds I well may pass: since I“Gave to the host what dreadful Hector slew;“By me renowned Hector fell. Those arms“I claim, who gave those arms, which to the Greeks“Achilles found. Living, those arms I gave;“Him dead, those arms I gave, again demand.
“The wrongs of one through every Grecian breast“Spread wide; a thousand ships th' Eubœan port“Of Aulis fill'd. The long-expected gales“Or came not, or blew adverse to the fleet.“The rigid oracle Atrides bade“His guiltless daughter sacrifice to calm“Ruthless Diana. Stern the sire deny'd,“And rag'd against the gods: the sovereign all“Lost in the father. I with soothing words“The parent's bosom mollify'd, and turn'd“To thoughts of public good. Still, I confess,“(And such confession will the king excuse;)“An arduous cause I pleaded, where my judge“Was by affection warp'd. The people's weal,“His brother, and the lofty rank he held“Mov'd him at length; and glory with his blood“He bought. Then to the mother was I sent,“Where reasoning had no force, but subtle craft.“There had you sent the son of Telamon,“Still had jour sails the needful breezes lack'd.“Sent was I also to the Ilian towers,“A daring envoy. Troy's fam'd court I saw;“Troy's court I enter'd, then with heroes fill'd.“There undismay'd, I pleaded all that Greece“Bade for their common cause; Paris accus'd;“Helen demanded, and the stolen spoil;“And Priam and Antenor both convinc'd.“But Paris, Paris' brethren, and the crowd“Who aided in the rape, their impious hands“Could scarce withhold. (Thou, Menelaüs, know'st,“Who then with me the dawning of the war“Didst prove in danger.) Long the tale, to speak“Of all my deeds have done, the public cause“To aid; since first the lengthen'd war began:“By counsel or by valor. Wag'd the first“Rough skirmish, long our foes within their walls“Protected lay; no scope for open war:“But in the tenth year now we fight again.“In all that period what hast thou, who know'st“But fighting, done? Where was thy service then?“I, if my deeds thou seek'st, the foe betray'd“By subtilty; girt us with trenches round;“Inspirited our soldiers; made them bear,“With mind unmurmuring, all the tedious war;“Taught where to find the means to gain supplies“Of food and arms; wherever need me call'd,“There always was I sent. Lo! when the king,“From Jove's deceptive dream, gave word to quit“Th' unfinish'd war, he might the deed defend“Through him who bade. But Ajax disapproves“The flight; insists Troy shall in ruins lie,“Asserts our power may do it! No! our troops“Embarking, he not stay'd. Why seiz'd he not“His arms? Why somewhat to the wavering crowd“Said not, to fix? no weighty task to him“Who ne'er harangues, except on mighty themes.“Why? but that Ajax fled himself! I saw,“But blush'd to see thee, when thy back thou turn'dst“Hasting, thy coward sails to hoist; I spoke“Instant—O fellow soldiers! whither now?“What voice insane now urges you to leave“Already-captur'd Troy? What will you bear“Homeward, a lengthen'd ten years' shame besides?—“With words like these back from the flying fleet“I brought them; eloquence had sorrow's aid.
“Atrides call'd the council, all with dread“Trembling were dumb; nor there dar'd Ajax gape:“But there Thersites durst with galling words“The king provoke; vengeance he met from me.“I rose, our panic-stricken friends, once more“Rous'd 'gainst the foe: I, by my words recall'd“Departed valor. Hence, whoever boasts“Since then of valiant deeds, those deeds are mine,“Who back recall'd him, as he turn'd for flight.“Last, tell me which of all the Greeks applauds,“Or as a comrade seeks thee. All his acts“With me Tydides shares, allows me praise:“Ulysses still his confidential friend.“Sure from such thousands of the Argive ranks“By Diomed' selected, I may boast.“Nor lot me bade to go, when void of fear,“Through double danger of the foe and night,“I went; and Phrygian Dolon slew, who dar'd“On our adventure come; but slew him not“Till made to utter all; the wiles betray“Perfidious Troy intended. All I learnt;“Nor ought for further search remain'd. Now I,“The camp with fame sufficient might have gain'd;“But not content, for Rhesus' tents I push;“Him, and his guard surrounding, in his camp“I slay. Victorious so, possess'd of all“My hopes design'd, the car I mount, and proud“A glad triumpher ride. Now me deny“The arms of him, whose steeds the spy had hop'd“Meed of his bold excursion. Ajax say“More worthy. Why Sarpedon's Lycian troop“Vanquish'd, should I with boastful tongue relate?“I vanquish'd Ceranos, Iphitus' son;“Alastor, Chromius, and Alcander stout;“Halius, Noëmon, Prytanis, with crowds“Slaughter'd beside. Thoön to hell I sent,“Chersidamas, and Charops; and to fates“Unpitying, Ennomus dispatch'd: with these“Beneath yon' walls whole heaps of meaner rank“This hand has slain. And, fellow soldiers, lo!“My wounds are honorable all in place:“Believe not empty words, yourselves behold.”—Then stript his robe, exclaiming—“Here the breast“Still for your good employ'd. No drop of blood“Has Ajax shed since first our host he join'd:“In all these years, his body still remains“Unwounded. Yet on this why should I dwell,“If he must boast, that for the Argive fleet“He fought alone 'gainst Jupiter and Troy?“He fought, I grant it; no malignant spite“Shall move detraction from his valiant deeds.“But let him not the common rites of more“Monopolize; let him to each allow“The honor which they claim. Patroclus, fear'd“In great Pelides' semblance, backward drove“All Troy and Troy's protector from the ships,“Then burning. Next his vanity would boast“He only in the field of Mars durst strive“With Hector; of the king, the chiefs, and me“Forgetful; in the list the ninth alone,“Solely by lot preferr'd. Yet, warrior brave,“What was the issue of this daring fight?“Hector unwounded left you. Mournful theme!“With what deep sorrow I the time recal,“When, bulwark of the Greeks, Achilles fell!“Nor tears, vain lamentations, nor pale fear“Me check'd; the prostrate body from the ground“I rais'd. Upon those shoulders—yes, I swear,“These very shoulders, I Pelides bore,“With all his arms. The arms I now require.“Strength I must have to bear with such a load:“As sure your votes will meet a grateful mind.“Was it because the bright celestial gift“Might clothe the limbs of one without a soul,“Stupidly dull, that all her anxious care“The green-hair'd mother on her son employ'd;“Arms wrought with art so great? Knows he the least“The shield's engravings? Ocean, or the land:“The lofty sky; the planets; Pleiäds bright;“Hyäds; the bear, ne'er plung'd beneath the main;“Orion's glittering sword, or various towns?“Arms he demands he cannot understand.“But how asserts he I the toils of war“Evaded; joining late the fighting host,“Nor sees he scandalizes too the fame“Of great Pelides? If indeed a crime“Dissembling must be call'd,—dissembled both.“If faulty all delay, the first I came.“A tender wife me kept; a tender tie,“A mother, kept Achilles. Our life's spring“To them was given, the rest reserv'd for you.“Nor should I fear, even were this crime, I share“With such a man, of all defence deny'd.“Yet his disguise Ulysses' cunning found:“Ajax ne'er found Ulysses. Needs surprize“To hear th' abusing of his booby tongue,“When with like guilt he stigmatizes you?“Shames most that I this Palamedes brought,“Falsely accus'd your sentence to receive,“Or that you doom'd him so accus'd to die?“But Nauplius' son not ev'n defence could urge,“So plain his crime appear'd; nor did you trust“The accusation heard: obvious you saw“The bribe for which you doom'd him. Nor of blame“Deserve I ought, that Philoctetes stays“In Vulcan's Lemnos. You the deed excuse:“All to the deed assented. Yet my voice,“Persuasive, will I not deny, I us'd;“That spar'd from travel, and from war's fatigue,“In rest he might his cruel pains assuage:“He lik'd my words, and lives. My counsel here“Not merely faithful (though our faith the whole“Our promise can insure) but happy prov'd.“His presence since the seers prophetic ask“T' atchieve the fall of Troy, dispatch not me;“Ajax will better go, will better soothe“With eloquence of tongue, a man who burns“With raging choler, and with smarting pains:“Or with some stratagem him thence allure.“But Simoïs' stream shall sooner backward flow;“Ida unwooded stand: Achaïa aid“The Trojan power, than Ajax' stupid soul“Shall help the Greeks, when first my anxious mind“Striving to aid you, has been found to fail.“O, stubborn Philoctetes! though enrag'd“Against thy comrades, 'gainst the king, and me;“Though thou may'st curse me, and my head devote“Through endless days; though in thy grief thou ask'st“To meet me, and to glut thee with my blood,“Still will I try thee, and if fortune smiles,“So will I gain thy arrows, as I gain'd“The Trojan prophet, whom I captive made;“As I the oracles of heaven laid ope;“And all the fate of Troy: as from its room“Close-hidden, I the form of Pallas brought,“The charm of Troy, through ranks of hostile foes.“Mates Ajax here with me? Fate had deny'd“Of Troy the capture till that prize obtain'd.“Where then the mighty Ajax? Where the boasts“Of this brave hero? Why this risk evade?“Why dar'd Ulysses through the watchful guards“Steal 'mid the darkling night? and find his way,“Not merely past the Trojan walls, but high“Through raging swords their loftiest turrets scale;“Bear off the goddess from her sacred fane,“And with the prize again repass the foe?“This deed not done, Ajax had bore in vain“On his huge arm the sevenfold oxen hide.“From that night's deeds I Ilium's conquest share.“Then Troy I conquer'd, when the fact was done,“Which made Troy vincible. Cease thou to mark“With looks and mutterings Diomed' my friend;“His share in all was glorious. Nor wast thou“Single, when with thy buckler thou didst guard“The general fleet; crowds aided, I was one.“He, but he knows too well that less esteem“Valor demands than wisdom; that the prize,“A mere unconquer'd arm not justly claims,“Had also sought: thy milder namesake too;“Or fierce Eurypilus; or Thoas, son“Of bold Andræmon. Equal right to hope,“Idomeneus, Meriones, might boast,“Each Cretan born; and who the sovereign king“His brother claims; but all their valorous breasts“(Nor does their martial prowess stoop to thine)“Yield to my wisdom. In the fight thy arm“Is mighty; prudence boast I, which that arm“Directs. To thee a force immense is given,“Without a brain; foresight is given to me.“Well, thou canst wage the war; the time that war“To wage, Atrides oft with me resolves.“Thou aidest with thy body, I with mind:“And as the guider of the ship transcends“Him who but plies the oar: as soars above“The soldier, he who leads him, so must I“Thee far surpass; for far the mental powers“In me surpass the merits of my arm:“In mind my vigor lies. Ye nobles, speak;“Give to your watchful guardian this reward,“For the long annual care with anxious mind“He gave you. This reward at length bestow,“To his deserts but due: his labor done.“Th' obstructing destinies by me remov'd,“High Troy by me is captur'd; since by me“The means high Troy to overthrow are given.“Now beg I by our hopes conjoin'd; the walls“Of Troy already tottering; by the gods“Gain'd from the foe so lately; by what more“Through wisdom may be done, if aught remains;“Or aught of boldness, which through peril sought,“Wanting, you still may deem to fill Troy's fate.“If mindful of my merits you would rest,“The arms award to this, if not to me:”And pointed to Minerva's fateful form.
Mov'd were the band of nobles. Plainly shewnWhat eloquence could do:—persuasion gain'dThe valiant warrior's arms. Then he who stood'Gainst steel, and fire, and the whole force of Jove,So oft, his own vexation now o'ercame:Grief conquer'd his unconquerable soul.He seiz'd his sword,—“And surely this”—he cry'd—“Still is my own! or claims Ulysses this?“Against myself this steel must now be us'd:“This stain'd so oft with Phrygian blood, be stain'd“With his who owns it; lest another hand“Than Ajax' own should Ajax overcome.”—No more; but where his breast unguarded lay,Pervious at length to wounds, his deadly bladeHe plung'd, nor could his hand the blade withdraw;The gushing blood expell'd it. Straight there sprungThrough the green turf, form'd by the blood-soak'd earth,A purple flower, like that which sprung beforeFrom Hyäcinthus' wound. Amid the leavesOf each the self-same letters are inscrib'd;The boy's complainings, and the hero's name.
Victorious Ithacus his sails unfurls,To seek the land Hypsipylé once rul'd,And Thoäs fam'd. An isle of old disgrac'dBy slaughter of its males, to bring the darts,The weapons of Tyrinthius. These obtain'dTo Greece, and with their owner brought, at lengthThe furious war was finish'd. Priam fallsWith Troy; and Priam's more unhappy spouse,To crown her losses, loses human shape;With new-heard barkings shaking foreign climes.Where the long Hellespont's contracted boundsAre seen, Troy blaz'd: nor yet the fires were quench'd.The scanty drops of blood Jove's altar soak'd,Which flow'd from aged Priam. By her locksDragg'd on, Apollo's priestess vainly stretch'dTo lofty heaven her arms. The victor GreeksTear off the Trojan mothers as they claspTheir country's imag'd gods; and as they clingTo flaming temples—an invidious prey.Astyänax is from those turrets flung,Whence erst he wont to view his sire, whose armHim guarding, and his ancestorial realmIn fight, his mother shew'd. And Boreas nowDeparture urg'd. Swol'n by a favoring breezeThe rattling canvas warn'd the sailor crew.“O, Troy! farewel!”—The Trojan matrons cry—“Hence are we borne.”—They kiss their natal soil;And leave the smoking ruins of their domes.Last—mournful object! Hecuba, descry'dAmid her children's graves, the bark ascends.Ulysses' hand her dragg'd, as close she grasp'dTheir tombs, and kiss'd their bones which still remain'd.Yet snatch'd she hastily, and bore awayOf Hector's ashes some, and in her breastHugg'd them; and on the top of Hector's tombLeft her grey hairs; her hairs, and flowing tears.Oblation fruitless to his last remains.
Oppos'd to Phrygia, where Troy once was seen,A country stands, where live Bistonia's race:Where Polymnestor, wealthy monarch, rul'd,To whom, O, Polydore! thy cautious sireThee sent; from Iliüm's battles far remov'd,For safe protection. Wisdom sway'd the king;Save that he sent him store of treasure too,Reward of wickedness; and tempting muchHis greedy soul. Soon as Troy's fortune sank,Impious the Thracian monarch plung'd his swordIn his young charge's throat: as if his crimeAnd body from his sight at once 'twere givenTo move, he flung him in the dashing main.
Now on the Thracian coast, Atrides moor'dHis fleet, till placid were the waves again,And favoring more, the winds. Achilles here,Out from the earth, by sudden rupture rent,Appear'd in 'semblance of his living form:Threatening his brow appear'd, as when so fierceHe Agamemnon with rebellious swordSought to assail.—“Depart ye then, O, Greeks!”He cry'd—“of me unmindful? Is the fame“Of all my yaliant acts with me interr'd?“Treat me not thus. That honors due my tomb“May want not, let Polyxena be given“In sacrifice to soothe Achilles' ghost.”He said; his fellows with the ruthless shadeComplying, from the mother's bosom toreHer whom she sole had left to cherish. BraveThan female more, the hapless maid was ledTo the dire tomb in sacrificial pomp.She, of her state still mindful, when beforeThe cruel altar brought; when all prepar'dThe savage-urg'd oblation of herselfShe saw; and Neoptolemus beheldThere stand, the steel there grasping; on his faceHer eyes firm-fixing, spoke.—“My noble blood“This instant spill. Delay not—plunge thy blade“Or in my throat, or bosom;”—and her throatAnd bosom, as she spoke she bar'd—“for ne'er“Polyxena, a slavish life had borne.“Yet grateful is this victim to no god!“My only wish, that from my mother dear“May be my death conceal'd: my mother clogs“My final passage; damps the joys of death.“Yet should she wail my death not, but my life.“But distant stand ye all, that to the shades“Inviolate I sink; if what I ask“Be just, let every hand of man avoid“A virgin's touch. Whoe'er your steel prepares“To move propitiatory with my blood,“A victim quite untainted best must please.“And should the final accents that I speak,“(King Priam's daughter, not a captive sues)“My corse unransom'd to my mother give.“Let her not buy the sad sepulchral rites“With gold, but tears. Yet time has been, with gold“I might have been redeem'd.”—The princess ceas'd,And save her own no cheek unwet was seen.And ev'n the priest reluctant, and in tears,Op'd by a sudden plunge the offer'd breast.She, to earth sinking, 'neath her tottering limbs,Wore to the last a face unmov'd; ev'n thenHer final care was in her fall to veilLimbs that a veil demanded, as she sank;And decent pride of modesty preserve.