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class="calibre1">His valour; yet hereafter, when the Greeks Have perishā€™d all, remorse shall touch his soul.

Dear friend, remember now thā€™ injunctions givā€™n By old Menoetius, when from Phthian land He sent thee forth to Agamemnonā€™s aid: I, and Laertesā€™ godlike son, within,

Heard all his counsel; to the well-built house Of Peleus we on embassy had come,

Throughout Achaiaā€™s fertile lands to raise The means of war; Menoetius there we found, Achilles, and thyself within the house; While in the court-yard aged Peleus slew, And to the Lord of thunder offerā€™d up

A fattenā€™d steer; and from a golden bowl Oā€™er the burnt-offā€™ring pourā€™d the ruddy wine.

We two, while ye were busied with the flesh, Stood at the gate; surprisā€™d, Achilles rose, And took us by the hand, and bade us sit, Dispensing all the hospitable rites.

With food and wine recruited, I began

My speech, and urgā€™d ye both to join the war: Nor were ye loth to go; much sage advice Your elders gave; old Peleus bade his son To aim at highest honours, and surpass His comrades all; Menoetius, Actorā€™s son, To thee this counsel gave: ā€˜My son,ā€™ he said, ā€˜Achilles is by birth above thee far;

Thou art in years the elder; he in strength Surpasses thee; do thou with prudent words And timely speech address him, and advise And guide him; he will, to his good, obey.ā€™

 

ā€œSuch were the old manā€™s words; but thou hast let His counsel slip thy memā€™ry; yet evā€™n now Speak to Achilles thus, and stir his soul, If haply he will hear thee; and who knows But by the grace of Heavā€™n thou mayst prevail?

For great is oft a friendā€™s persuasive powā€™r.

But if the fear of evil prophesied,

Or message by his Goddess-mother brought From Jove, restrain him, let him send thee forth With all his force of warlike Myrmidons, That thou mayst be the saving light of Greece.

Then let him bid thee to the battle bear His glittā€™ring arms; if so the men of Troy, Scarā€™d by his likeness, may forsake the field, And breathing-time afford the sons of Greece, Toil-worn; for little pause has yet been theirs.

Fresh and unwearied, ye with ease may drive To their own city, from our ships and tents, The Trojans, worn and battle-wearied men.ā€

 

Thus he; Patroclusā€™ spirit within him burnā€™d, And towā€™rd Achillesā€™ tent in haste he sped.

But, running, as Ulyssesā€™ ship he passā€™d, Where was the Council and the Justice-seat, And where were built the altars of the Gods, There met him, halting from the battle-field, Shot through the thigh, Euaemonā€™s Heavā€™n-born son, Eurypylus; his head and shoulders dank With clammy sweat, while from his grievous wound Streamā€™d the dark blood; yet firm was still his soul.

Menoetiusā€™ noble son with pity saw,

And deeply sorrowing thus addressā€™d the chief: ā€œWoe for the chiefs and councillors of Greece!

And must ye, far from friends and native home, Glut with your flesh the ravā€™ning dogs of Troy?

Yet tell me this, Heavā€™n-born Eurypylus; Still do the Greeks ā€˜gainst Hectorā€™s giant force Make head? or fall they, vanquishā€™d by his spear?ā€

 

To whom with prudent speech, Eurypylus: ā€œNo source, Heavā€™n-born Patroclus, have the Greeks, Of aid, but all must perish by their ships: For in the ships lie all our bravest late, By spear or arrow struck, by Trojan hands; And fiercer, hour by hour, their onset grows.

But save me now, and lead me to the ships; There cut the arrow out, and from the wound With tepid water cleanse the clotted blood: Then soothing drugs apply, of healing powā€™r, Which from Achilles, thou, ā€˜tis said, hast learnā€™d, From Chiron, justest of the Centaurs, he.

For Podalirius and Machaon both,

Our leeches, one lies wounded in the tents, Himself requiring sore the leechā€™s aid; The other on the plain still dares the fight.ā€

 

To whom again Menoetiusā€™ noble son:

ā€œHow may this be? say, brave Eurypylus, What must I do? a messenger am I,

Sent by Gerenian Nestor, prop of Greece, With tidings to Achilles; yet evā€™n so

I will not leave thee in this weary plight.ā€

 

He said, and passing his supporting hand Beneath his breast, the wounded warrior led Within the tent; thā€™ attendant saw, and spread The ox-hide couch; then as he lay reclinā€™d, Patroclus, with his dagger, from the thigh Cut out the biting shaft; and from the wound With tepid water cleansā€™d the clotted blood; Then, pounded in his hands, a root applied Astringent, anodyne, which all his pain Allayā€™d; the wound was dried, and stanchā€™d the blood.

 

ARGUMENT.

 

THE BATTLE AT THE GRECIAN WALL.

 

The Greeks having retired into their entrenchments, Hector attempts to force them; but it proving impossible to pass the ditch, Polydamas advises to quit their chariots, and manage the attack on foot. The Trojans follow his counsel, and having divided their army into five bodies of foot, begin the assault. But upon the signal of an eagle with a serpent in his talons, which appeared on the left hand of the Trojans, Polydamas endeavours to withdraw them again. This Hector opposes, and continues the attack; in which, after many actions, Sarpedon makes the first breach in the wall: Hector also, casting a stone of a vast size, forces open one of the gates, and enters at the head of his troops, who victoriously pursue the Grecians even to their ships.

 

BOOK XII.

 

Thus oā€™er the wounded chief Eurypylus

Watchā€™d in his tent Menoetiusā€™ noble son; But hand to hand the Greeks and Trojans fought; Nor longer might the ditch thā€™ assault repel, Nor the broad wall above, which Greeks had built, To guard their ships, and round it dug the ditch; But to the Gods no hecatombs had paid, That they the ships and all the stores within Might safely keep; against the will of Heavā€™n The work was done, and thence not long endurā€™d.

While Hector livā€™d, and Peleusā€™ son his wrath Retainā€™d, and Priamā€™s city untaken stood; So long the Grecian wall remainā€™d entire: But of the Trojans when the best had fallā€™n, Of Greeks, when some were slain, some yet survivā€™d; When the tenth year had seen the fall of Troy, And Greeks, embarkā€™d, had taā€™en their homeward way, Then Neptune and Apollo counsel took

To sap the wall by aid of all the streams That seaward from the heights of Ida flow; Rhesus, Caresus, and Heptaporus,

Granicus, and AEsepus, Rhodius,

Scamanderā€™s stream divine, and Simois, Where helms and shields lay buried in the sand, And a whole race of warrior demigods:

These all Apollo to one channel turnā€™d; Nine days against the wall the torrent beat; And Jove sent rain continuous, that the wall Might sooner be submergā€™d; while Neptuneā€™s self, His trident in his hand, led on the stream, Washing away the deep foundations, laid, Laborious, by the Greeks, with logs and stones, Now by fast-flowing Hellespont dispersā€™d.

The wall destroyā€™d, oā€™er all the shore he spread A sandy drift; and bade the streams return To where of old their silver waters flowā€™d.

Such were, in future days, to be the works Of Neptune and Apollo; but meanwhile

Fierce ragā€™d the battle round the firm-built wall, And frequent clatterā€™d on the turretsā€™ beams The hostile missiles: by the scourge of Jove Subdued, the Greeks beside their ships were hemmā€™d, By Hector scarā€™d, fell minister of Dread, Who with the whirlwindā€™s force, as ever, fought.

As when, by dogs and hunters circled round, A boar, or lion, in his pride of strength, Turns on his foes, while they in close array Stand opposite, and frequent shoot their darts; Nor yet his spirit quails, but firm he stands With suicidal courage; swift he turns, Where best to break the circling ranks; whereā€™er He makes his rush, the circling ranks give way: So Hector, here and there, amid the crowd, Urgā€™d his companions on to cross the ditch: The fiery steeds shrank back, and, snorting, stood Upon the topmost brink; for the wide ditch Withheld them, easy nor to leap nor cross: For steep arose on either side the banks, And at the top with sharpenā€™d stakes were crownā€™d, Thick-set and strong, which there the sons of Greece Had planted, to repel thā€™ invading foes.

Scarce might a horse, with well-wheelā€™d car attachā€™d, Essay the passage; but on foot they burnā€™d To make thā€™ attempt; and thus Polydamas, Approaching near, to valiant Hector spoke: ā€œHector, and all ye other chiefs of Troy, And brave Allies, in vain we seek to drive Our horses oā€™er the ditch; ā€˜tis hard to cross; ā€˜Tis crownā€™d with pointed stakes, and them behind Is built the Grecian wall; there to descend And from our cars in narrow space to fight Were certain ruin. If it be indeed

The will of Jove, high-thundā€™ring, to confound The Greeks in utter rout, and us to aid, I should rejoice that evā€™ry Greek forthwith Far from his home should fill a nameless grave; But should they turn, and we again be drivā€™n Back from the ships, and hurried down the ditch, Such were our loss, that scarce a messenger Would live to bear the tidings to the town Of our destruction by the rallied Greeks.

Hear then my counsel; let us all agree With our attendants here upon the bank To leave our horses; and ourselves on foot, All armā€™d, press on where Hector leads; the Greeks, If that their doom be nigh, will make no stand.ā€

 

Thus spoke Polydamas; his counsel pleasā€™d; And Hector sprang, in arms, from off his car; Nor long, the noble Hector when they saw, Delayā€™d the other chiefs; then gave command Each to his own attendant, by the ditch To keep the chariots all in due array; Then parting, formā€™d in order of attack, In five divisions, with their sevā€™ral chiefs.

Round Hector throngā€™d, and bold Polydamas, The best and bravest; they who longā€™d the most To storm the wall, and fight beside the ships.

With them Cebriones; for Hector left,

To guard the horses, one of lesser note.

The nest division was by Paris led,

Agenor, and Alcathous; the third

By Helenus, and brave Deiphobus,

Two sons of Priam; Asius was the third, Asius, the son of Hyrtacus; who brought His towā€™ring fiery steeds from Sellesā€™ stream, Hard by Arisba; stout AEneas led

The fourth, Anchisesā€™ son, Archilochus With him, and Acamas, Antenorā€™s sons;

Both skillā€™d alike in evā€™ry point of war.

Of the far-famā€™d Allies, Sarpedon held The chief command; and for his comrades chose Asteropaeus, and the warlike might

Of Glaucus; these oā€™er all the rest he held Pre-eminent in valour, save himself,

Who oā€™er them all superior stood confessā€™d.

These, interlacā€™d their shields of tough bullā€™s-hide, With eager step advancā€™d, and deemā€™d the Greeks Would, unresisting, fall before their ships.

The other Trojans and renownā€™d Allies

The words of wise Polydamas obeyā€™d:

But Asius, son of Hyrtacus, refusā€™d

His horses and his charioteer to leave, With them advancing to assail the ships.

Blind fool, unconscious! from before those ships, Escapā€™d from death, with horses and with car Triumphant, to the breezy heights of Troy He never shall return; ill-omenā€™d fate Oā€™ershadowing, dooms him by the spear to fall Of brave Idomeneus, Deucalionā€™s son.

He towā€™rd the left inclinā€™d, what way the Greeks With horse and chariot from the plain returnā€™d.

That way he drove his horses; and the gates Unguarded found by bolt or massive bar.

Their warders held them openā€™d wide, to save Perchance some comrade, flying from the plain.

Thither he bent his course; with clamours loud Followā€™d his troops; nor deemā€™d they that the Greeks Would hold their ground, but fall amid their ships.

Little they knew; before the gates they found Two men, two warriors of the prime, two sons Illustrious of the spear-skillā€™d Lapithae: Stout Polypoetes one, Pirithousā€™ son,

With whom Leonteus, bold as blood-stainā€™d Mars:

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