Then thus (the godlike Diomed rejoin'd): My choice declares the impulse of my mind, How can I doubt, while great Ulyffes ftands To lend his counfels, and affift our hands? A chief, whofe fafety is Minerva's care; So fam'd, fo dreadful, in the works of war: Bleft in his conduct, I no aid require; Wisdom like his might pals through flames of fire.

It fits thee not, before these chiefs of fame, (Reply'd the fage) to praife me, or to blame: Praise from a friend, or cenfure from a foe, Are loft on hearers that our merits know. But let us hafte-Night rolls the hours away, The reddening orient fhows the coming day, The ftars fhine fainter on th' æthereal plains, And of Night's empire but a third remains. Thus having spoke, with generous ardour preft, In arms terrific their huge limbs they dreft. A two-edg'd faulchion Thrafymed the brave, And ample buckler, to Tydides gave: Then in a leathern helm he cas'd his head, Short of its creft, and with no plume o'eripead: (Such as by youths unus'd to arms are worn; No fpoils enrich it, and no ftuds adorn.) Next him Ulyffes took a fhining fword, A bow and quiver, with bright arrows ftor'd: A well-prov'd cafque, with leather braces bound, (Thy gift, Meriones) his temples crown'd: Soft wool within; without, in order fpread, A boar's white teeth grinn'd horrid o'er his head. This from Amyntor, rich Ormenus' fon, Autolychus by fraudful rapine won, And gave Amphidamas; from him the prize Molys receiv'd, the pledge of focial ties; The helmet next by Merion was poffefs'd, And now Ulyffes' thoughtful temples prefs'd. Thus fheath'd in armis, the council they forfake, And dark through paths oblique their progrefs Juft then, in fign the favour'd their intent, [take. A long-wing'd heron great Minerva fent: This, though furrounding shades obscur'd their view,

[knew. By the thrill clang, and whistling wings, they As from the right the foar'd, Ulyffes pray'd, Hail'd the glad omen, and addrefs'd the Maid:

O daughter of that God, whofe arm can wield Th' avenging bolt, and shake the dreadful shield! O thou! for ever present in my way, Who all my motions, all my toils, furvey! Şafe may we pafs beneath the gloomy shade, Safe by thy fuccour to our hips convey'd; And let fome deed this fignal night adorn, To claim the tears of Trojans yet unborn.

Then godlike Diomed preferr'd his prayer: Daughter of Jove, unconquer'd Pallas! hear. Great queen of arms, whofe favour Tydeus won, As thou defend'ft the fire, defend the fon. When on lopus' banks the banded powers Of Greece he left, and fought the Theban towfhow, Peace was his charge; receiv'd with peaceful 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 So now be prefent, Oh celeftial Maid! So ftill continue to the race shine aid!

ers,

[yield.

A youthful fteer fhall fall beneath the strokes
Untam'd, unconscious of the galling yoke,
With ample forehead, and with spreading borns,
Whofe taper tops refulgent gold adorns.

The heroes pray'd; and Pallas from the skies
Accords their vow, fucceeds their enterprize.
Now, like two lions panting for the prey,
With dreadful thoughts they trace the dreary way,
Through the black horrors of th' enfanguin'd
plain,

Through duft, through blood, o'er arms and hills of flain.

Nor lefs bold Hector, and the fons of Troy, On high defigns the wakeful hours employ : Th' affembled peers their lofty chief inclos'd; Who thus the counfels of his breast propos'd:

What glorious man for high attempts prepar`d Dares greatly venture, for a rich reward, Of yonder fleet a bold difcovery make, {take? What watch they keep, and what refolves they If now fubdued they meditate their flight, And spent with toil neglect the watch of night? His he the chariot that fhall please him molt, Of all the plunder of the vanquish'd hoft; His the fair steeds that all the reft excel, And his the glory to have ferv'd fo well.

A youth there was among the tribes of Troy, Dalon his name, Eumedes' only boy (Five girls befide the reverend herald told) Rich was the fon in brafs, and rich in gold, Not bleft by nature with the charms of face, But fwift of foot, and matchlefs in the race. Hector! (he faid) my courage bids me meet This high achievement, and explore the fleet : . But first exalt thy fceptre to the skies, And swear to grant me the demanded prize: Th' immortal courfers, and the glittering car, That bear Pelides through the ranks of war, Encourag'd thus, no idle fcout I go, Fulfil thy wish, their whole intention know. Ev'n to the royal tent purfue my way, And all their counfels, all their aims betray. The chief then heav'd the golden fceptre high, Attefting thus the monarch of the sky: Be witness thou! immortal Lord of all! Whofe thunder fhakes the dark acrial ball: By none but Dolon fhall this prize be borne, And him alone th' immortal steeds adorn.

Thus Hector fwore: the Gods were call'd in'

vain;

But the rash youth prepares to fcour the plain :
Acrofs his back the bended bow he flung,
A wolf's grey hide around his fhoulders hung,
A ferret's downy fur his helmet lin'd,
And in his hand a pointed javelin shin'd.
Then (never to return) he fought the shore,
And trod the path his feet must tread no more.
Scarce had he pass'd the steeds and Trojan throng
(Still bending forward as he cours'd along),
When, on the hollow way, th' approaching tread
Ulyffes mark'd, and thus to Diomed:

O friend! I hear some step of hoftile feet,
Moving this way, or haftening to the fleet:
Some fpy perhaps, to lurk beide the main;
Or nightly pillager that ftrips the fiain.
Yet let him pafs, and win a little space;
Then rush behind him, and prevent his pace.

But if too fwift of foot he flies before,
Confine his courfe along the fleet and shore,
Betwixt the camp and him our fpears employ,
And intercept his hop'd return to Troy.
With that they ftepp'd afide, and ftoop'd their
(As Dolon pafs'd) behind a heap of dead: [head
Along the path the spy unwary flew;
Soft, at juft diftance, both the chiefs purfue.
So diftant they, and fuch the space between,
As when two teams of mules divide the green
(To whom the hind like shares of land allows),
When now new furrows part th' approaching
ploughs.

Now Dolon liftening heard them as they pait;
Hector (he thought) had fent, and check'd his
Till scarce at diftance of a javelin's throw, [hafte,
No voice fucceding, he perceiv'd 'the foe.
As when two skilful hounds the leveret wind;
Or chace through woods obfcure the trembling
Now loft, now feen, they intercept his way, [hind;
And from the herd ftill turn the flying prey:
So faft, and with fuch fears, the Trojan flew;
So clofe, fo conftant, the bold Greeks purfue.
Now almost on the fleet the daftard falls,
And mingles with the guards that watch the walls;
When brave Tydides stopp'd; a generous thought
(Inspir'd by Pallas) in his bofom wrought,
Left on the foe fome forward Greek advance,
And fnatch the glory from his lifted lance.
Then thus aloud: Whoe'er thou art remain;
This javelin elfe fhall fix thee to the plain.
He faid, and high in air the weapon caft,
Which wilful err'd, and o'er his shoulder paft;
Then fix'd in earth. Against the trembling wood
The wretch stood propp'd, and quiver'd as he
A fudden palfy feiz'd his turning head; [ftood;
His loose teeth chatter'd, and his colour fled :
The panting warriors feize him as he ftands,
And with unmanly tears his life demands.

O fpare my youth, and for the breath I owe,
Large gifts of price my father hall bestow.
Vaft heaps of brass shall in your fhips be told,
And fteel well-temper'd, and refulgent gold.
To whom Ulyffes made this wife reply;
Whoe'er thou art, be bold, nor fear to die.
What moves thee, fay, when fleep has clos'd the
To roam the filent fields in dead of night? [fight,
Cam'ft thou the fecrets of our camp to find,
By Hector prompted, or thy daring mind?
Or art fome wretch by hopes of plunder led
Through heaps of carnage to defpoil the dead?
Then thus pale Dolon with a fearful look,
(Still as he spoke, his limbs with horror fhook)
Hither I came, by Hector's words deceiv'd;
Much did he promife, rafhly I believ'd:
No lefs a bribe than great Achilles' car,
And thofe fwift fteeds that fweeps the ranks of
Urg'd me, unwilling, this attempt to make; [war,
To learn what counfels, what refolves you take:
If, now fubdued, you fix your hopes on flight,
And, tir'd with toils, neglect the watch of night?
Bold was thy aim, and glorious was the prize!
(Ulyffes, with a scornful fiile, replies)
Far other rulers thofe proud Iteeds demand,
And fcorn the guidance of a vulgar hand;
Ev'n great Achilles fcarce their rage can tame,
Achilles, fprung from an immortal dame.

But fay, be faithful, and the truth recite!
Where lies encamp'd the Trojan chief to night ?
Where ftand his courfers in what quarter sleep
Their other princes? tell what watch they keep:
Say, fince their conqueft, what their counfels
Or here to combat, from their city far, [are;
Or back to Ilion's wall transfer the war.
Ulyffes thus, and thus Eumedes' fon :
What Dolon knows, his faithful tongue shall own.
Hector, the peers affembling in his tent,
A council holds at Ilus' monument,
No certain guards the nightly watch partake;
Where'er yon fires afcend, the Trojans wake:
Anxious for Troy, the guard the natives keep;
Safe in their cares, th' auxiliar forces fleep,
Whofe wives and infants, from the danger far,
Difcharge their fouls of half the fears of war.

Then fleep thofe aids among the Trojan train, (Enquir'd the chief) or scatter'd o'er the plain? To whom the spy: Their powers they thus dif. pofe :

The Peons, dreadful with their bended bows,
The Carians, Caucons, the Pelasgian host,
And Leleges, encamp along the coaft.
Not diftant far, lie higher on the land
The Lycian, Myfian, and Mæonian band,
And Phrygia's horfe, by Thymbras' ancient wall;
The Thracians utmost, and apart from all.
Thefe Troy but lately to her fuccour won,
Led on by Rhefus, great Eioneus' fon :
I faw his courfers in proud triumph go,
Swift as the wind, and white as winter fnow:
Rich filver plates his fhining car infold;
His folid arms, refulgent, flame with gold;
No mortal fhoulders fuit the glorious load,
Celestial Panoply, to grace a God!

Let me, unhappy, to your fleet be borne,
Or leave me here, a captive's fate to mourn,
In cruel chains; till you return reveal,
The truth or falfehood of the news I tell.

To this Tydides, with a gloomy frown:
Think not to live though all the truth be shown
Shall we difmifs thee, in fome future ftrife
To risk more bravely thy now forfeit life?
Or that again our camps thou may'st explore;
No-.-once a traitor, thou betray'ft no more.

Sternly he spoke, and as the wretch prepar'd With humble blandishment to stroke his beard, Like lightning fwift the wrathful faulchion flew, Divides the neck, and cuts the nerves in two; One inftant fnatch'd his trembling foul to hell, The head, yet fpeaking, mutter'd as it fell. The furry helmet from his brow they tear, The wolf's grey hide, th' unbended bow and spear; Thefe great Ulyffes lifting to the Ikies, To favouring Pallas dedicates the prize:

Great Queen of arms! receive this hoftile spoil, And let the Thracian feeds reward our toil: Thee first of all the heavenly hoft we praise; O fpeed our labours, and direct our ways! This faid, the spoils with dropping gore defac'd, High on a fpreading tamarifk he plac'd; Then heap'd with reeds and gather'd boughs the To guide their footsteps to the place again. [plain, Through the ftill night they cross the devious [fhields, Slippery with blood, o'er arms and heaps of

fields

;

Close to the limits of the trench and mound,
The fiery courfers to their chariots bound [wield
The fquires reftrain'd: the foot, with thofe who
The lighter arms, ruth forward to the field.
To second these, in close array combin'd,,
The fquadrons fpread their fable wings behind.
Now fhouts and tumults wake the tardy fun,
As with the light the warriors toils begun.
Ev'n Jove, whofe thunder fpoke his wrath, diftill'd
Red drops of blood o'er all the fatal field;
The woes of men unwilling to survey,
And all the flaughters that muft ftain the day.
Near Ilus' tomb, in order rang'd around,
The Trojan lines poffefs'd the rifing ground:
There wife Polydamas and Hector ftood;
Æneas, honour'd as a guardian God;
Bold Polybus, Agenor the divine,
The brother warriors of Antenor's line
With youthful Acamas, whofe beauteous face
And fair proportion match'd th' etherial race;
Great Hector cover'd with his fpacious shield,
Plies all the troops, and orders all the field.
As the red ftar now fhows his fanguine fires
Through the dark clouds, and now in night retires;
Thus through the ranks appear'd the god-like man,
Plung'd in the rear, or blazing in the van;
While ftreamy fparkles, reftlefs as he flies,
Flath from his arms as lightning from the fkies.
As fweating reapers in fome wealthy field,
Rang'd in two bands, their crooked weapons wield,
Bear down the furrows, till their labours meet;
Thick falls the heapy harvest at their feet:
So Greece and Troy the field of war divide,
And falling ranks are ftrow'd on every fide,
None ftoop'd a thought to bafe inglorious flight;
But horfe to horfe, and man to man, they fight.
Not rabid wolves more fierce contest their prey;
Each wounds, each bleeds, but none refign the
day.

Difcord with joy the scene of death defcries,
And drinks large laughter at her fanguine eyes:
Discord alone, of all th' immortal train,
Swells the red horrors of this direful plain:
The Gods in peace their golden manfions fill,
Rang'd in bright order on th' Olympian hill;
But general murmurs told their griefs above,
And each accus'd the partial will of Jove.
Mean while apart, fuperior and alone,

Th' eternal monarch on his awful throne,
Wrapt in the blaze of boundless glory fate;
And, fix'd, fulfill'd the juft decrees of fate;
On earth he turn'd his all-confidering eyes,
And mark'd the fpot where Ilion's towers arife;
The fea with fhips, the fields with armies spread,
The victor's rage, the dying and the dead.

Thus while the morning beams increasing bright
O'er heaven's pure azure spread the glowing light,
Commutual death the fate of war confounds,
Each adverse battle gor'd with equal wounds.
But now (what time in fome fequefter'd vale
The weary woodman spreads his sparing meal,
When his tir'd arms refuse the axe to rear,
And claim a refpite from the fylvan war;
But not till half the proftrate forest lay
Stretch'd in long ruin, and expos'd to day)
"Then, nor till then, the Greeks' impulfive might
Pierc'd the black phalanx, and let in the light,

Great Agamemnon then the laughter led,
And flew Bienor at his people's head:
Whole fquire Oileus, with a fudden fpring,
Leap'd from the chariot to revenge his king;
But in his front he felt the fatal wound,
Which pierc'd his brain, and stretch'd him on the
ground.

Atrides fpoil'd, and left him on the plain :
Vain was their youth, that glittering armour vain a
Now foil'd with dust, and naked to the sky,
Their fnowy limbs and beauteous bodies lie.

Two fons of Priam next to battle move,
The product one of marriage, one of love!
In the fame car the brother warriors ride,
This took the charge to combat, that to guide :
Far other talks, than when they wont to keep,
On Ida's tops, their father's fleecy theep!
These on the mountains once Achilles found,
And captive led, with pliant ofiers bound;
Then to their fire for ample fums reftor'd;
But now to perifh by Atrides' fword;
Pierc'd in the breaft the bafe born Ifus bleeds:
Cleft through the head, his brother's fate fucceeds,
Swift to the fpoil the hafty victor falls,
And ftript, their features to his mind recalls,
The Trojans fee the youths untimely die;
But helpless tremble for themselves, and fly.
So when a lion, raging o'er the lawns,
Finds, on fome grafly lair, the couching fawns,
Their bones he cracks, their reeking vitals draws,
And grinds the quivering flesh with bloody jaws;
The frighted hind beholds, and dares not stay,
But fwift through rustling thickets bursts her way:
All drown'd in fweat the panting mother flies,
And the big tears roll trickling from her eyes.

Amidst the tumult of the routed train,
The fons of falfe Antimachus were flain;
He, who for bribes his faithlefs counfels fold,
And voted Helen ftay for Paris' gold.
Atrides mark'd, as thefe their fafety fought,
And flew the children for the fathers fault;
Their headstrong horse unable to restrain,
They thook with fear, and dropp'd the filken rein;
Then in their chariot on their knees they fall,
And thus with lifted hands for mercy call:

O fpare our youth, and for the life we owe,
Antimachus fhall copious gifts bestow;
Soon as he hears, that not in battle flain,
The Grecian fhips his captive fons detain,
Large heaps of brafs in ranfor fhall be told,
And steel well-temper'd and perfuafive gold.

These words, attended with a flood of tears
The youths addrefs'd to unrelenting ears:
The vengeful monarch gave this ftern reply---
If from Antimachus ye fpring, ye die:
The daring wretch who once in council stood
To fhed Ulyffes' and my brother's blood,
For proffer'd peace! and fues his feed for grace?
No, die, and pay the forfeit of your race.

This faid, Pifander from the car He cast,
And pierc'd his breast: supine he breath'd his last.
His brother leap'd to earth; but as he lay,
The trenchent falchion lopp'd his hands away;
His fever'd head was tofs'd among the throng,
And, rolling, drew a bloody train along.
Then where the thickest fought, the victor flew
The kings example all his Greeks pursue.