THE SECOND BATTLE, AND THE DISTRESS OF
THE GREEKS.
JUPITER assembles a council of the deities, and threatens them with the pains of Tartarus if they assist either side: Minerva only obtains of him that she may direct the Greeks by her counsels. The armies join battle: Jupiter on mount Ida weighs in his balances the fates of both, and affrights the Greeks with his thunders and lightning. Nestor alone con. tinues in the field in great danger: Diomed relieves him; whose exploits, and those of Hector, are excellently described. Juno endeavours to animate Neptune to the assistance of the Greeks, but in vain. The acts of Tencer, who is at length wounded by Hector, and carried off. Juno and Minerva prepare to aid the Grecians, but are restrained by Iris, sent from Jupiter. The night puts an end to the battle. Hector continues in the field (the Greeks being driven to their forti. fication before the ships), and gives orders to keep the watch all night in the camp, to prevent the enemy from reimbarking and escaping by flight. They kindle fires through all the field, and pass the night under arms.
The time of seven and twenty days is employed from the opening of the poem to the end of this book. The scene here (except of the celestial machines) lies in the field toward the sea-shore.
AURORA now, fair daughter of the dawn,
Sprinkled with rosy light the dewy lawn;
When Jove conven'd the senate of the skies,
Where high Olympus' cloudy tops arise.
The sire of gods his awful silence broke ;
The heavens attentive trembled as he spoke.
Celestial states, immortal gods! give ear,
Hear our decree, and reverence what ye hear;
The fix'd decree which not all heaven can move;
Thou, Fate! fulfil it: and, ye powers! approve!
What god but enters yon forbidden field,
Who yields assistance, or but wills to yield,
Back to the skies with shame he shall be driven,
Gash'd with dishonest wounds, the scorn of heaven;
Or far, O far from steep Olympus thrown,
Low in the dark Tartarean gulf shall groan,
With burning chains fix'd to the brazen floors,
And lock'd by hell's inexorable doors;
As deep beneath the' infernal centre hurl'd,
As from that centre to the' ethereal world.
Let him who tempts me, dread those dire abodes And know, the' Almighty is the god of gods.
League all your forces then, ye powers above,
Join all, and try the' omnipotence of Jove:
Let down our golden everlasting chain, [nain :
Whose strong embrace holds Heaven, and earth, and
Strive all, of mortal and immortal birth,
To drag, by this, the thunderer down to earth:
Ye strive in vain! If I but stretch this hand,
I heave the gods, the ocean, and the land;
I fix the chain to great Olympus' height,
And the vast world hangs trembling in my sight!
For such I reign, unbounded and above;
And such are men, and gods, compar'd to Jove.'
The' Almighty spoke, nor durst the powers reply,
A reverend horror silenc'd all the sky;
Trembling they stood before their sovereign's look;
At length his best-belov'd, the power of wisdom,
'O first and greatest! God, by godsador'd! [spoke.
We own thy might, our father and our lord!
But, ah! permit to pity human state :
If not to help, at least lament their fate.
From fields forbidden we submiss refrain,
With arms unaiding mourn our Argives slain;
Yet grant my counsels still their breasts may move,
Or all must perish in the wrath of Jove.'
The cloud-compelling god her suit approv'd,
And smil'd superior on his best-belov'd.
Then call'd his coursers, and his chariot took ;
The stedfast firmament beneath them shook :
Rapt by the' ethereal steeds the chariot roll'd;
Brass were their hoofs, their curling manes of gold.
Of Heaven's undrossy gold the god's array
Refulgent, flash'd intolerable day.
High on the throne he shines: his coursers fly
Between the' extended earth and starry sky.
But when to Ida's topmost height he came,
(Fair nurse of fountains, and of savage game)
Where o'er her pointed summits proudly rais'd,
His fane breath'd odours, and his altars blaz'd :
There, from his radiant car, the sacred sire
Of gods and men releas'd the steeds of fire:
Blue ambient mists the' immortal steeds embrac'd;
High on the cloudy point his seat he plac'd ;
Thence his broad eye the subject world surveys,
The town, and tents, and navigable seas.
Now had the Grecians snatch'd a short repast,
And buckled on their shining arms with haste.
Troy rous'd as soon; for on this dreadful day
The fate of fathers, wives, and infants lay.
The gates unfolding pour forth all their train;
Squadrons on squadrons cloud the dusky plain :
Men, steeds, and chariots, shake the trembling
ground;
The tumult thickens, and the skies resound.
And now with shouts the shocking armies clos'd,
To lances lances, shields to shields oppos'd,
Host against host with shadowy legions drew,
The sounding darts in iron tempests flew ;
Victors and vanquish'd join promiscuous cries,
Triumphant shouts and dying groans arise;
With streaming blood the slippery fields are dyed,
And slaughter'd heroes swell the dreadful tide.
Long as the morning beams increasing bright
O'er Heaven's clear azure spread the sacred light,
Commutual death the fate of war confounds,
Each adverse battle gor'd with equal wounds.
But when the sun the height of Heaven ascends,
The sire of gods his golden scales suspends,
With equal hand: in these explor'd the fate
Of Greece and Troy, and pois'd the mighty weight.
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