Oh dear as life! did I for this agree The folemn truce, a fatal truce to thee! Wert thou expos'd to all the hostile train, To fight for Greece, and conquer to be flain? The race of Trojans in thy ruin join, 190 And faith is fcorn'd by all the perjur'd line. Not thus our vows, confirm'd with wine and gore, Thofe hands we plighted, and thofe oaths we swore, Shall all be vain: when Heaven's revenge is flow, Jove but prepares to ftrike the fiercer blow. 195 The day fhall come, that great avenging day, Which Troy's proud glories in the duft fhall lay. When Priam's powers and Priam's felf fhall fall, And one prodigious ruin fwallow all.

200

205

I fee the God, already, from the pole
Bare his red arm, and bid the thunder roll;
I fee th' Eternal all his fury shed,
And shake his Ægis o'er their guilty head.
Such mighty woes on perjur'd princes wait:
But thou, alas! deferv'it a happier fate.
Still must I mourn the period of thy days,
And only mourn, without my fhare of praife?
Depriv'd of thee, the heartless Greeks no more
Shall dream of conquefts on the hoftile fhore;
Troy feiz'd of Helen, and our glory lost,
Thy bones fhall moulder on a foreign coaft:
While fome proud Trojan thus infulting cries,
(And fpurns the duft where Menelaus lies)
"Such are the trophies Greece from Ilion brings,
"And fuch the conquefts of her King of Kings!

210

Stiff with the rich embroider'd work around, My varied belt repell'd the flying wound.

225

To whom the King: My brother and my friend, Thus, always thus, may Heaven thy life defend Now feek fome skilful hand, whofe powerful art May ftaunch th' effufion, and extract the dart. Herald, be fwift, and bid Machäon bring 230 His fpeedy fuccour to the Spartan king; Pierc'd with a winged fhaft, (the deed of Troy) The Grecian's forrow, and the Dardan's joy. With hafty zeal the fwift Talthybius flies; Through the thick files he darts his fearching eyes, And finds Machäon, where fublime he ftands In arms encircled with his native bands. Then thus: Machäon, to the king repair, His wounded brother claims thy timely care; Pierc'd by fome Lycian or Dardanian bow, 240 A grief to us, a triumph to the foe.

245

The heavy tidings griev'd the god-like man : Swift to his fuccour through the ranks he ran; The dauntless king yet ftanding firm he found, And all the chiefs in deep concern around. Where to the steely point the reed was join'd, The fhaft he drew, but left the head behind. Straight the broad belt with gay embroidery grac'd, He loos'd: the corflet from his breaft unbrac'd; Then fuck'd the blood, and fovereign balm infus'd, Which Chiron gave, and Æfculapius us'd.

While round the prince the Greeks employ their care,

The Trojans rush tumultuous to the war;
Once more they glitter in refulgent arms,
Once more the fields are fill'd with dire alarms.

265

270

275

On foot through all the martial ranks he moves,
And these encourages, and those reproves.
Brave men! he cries (to fuch who boldly dare
Urge their swift fteeds to face the coming war)
Your ancient valour on the foes approve;
Jove is with Greece, and let us truft in Jove.
'Tis not for us, but guilty Troy to dread,
Whofe crimes fit heavy on her perjur'd head;
Her fons and matrons Greece fhall lead in chains,
And her dead warriours ftrow the mournful plains.
Thus with new ardour he the brave infpires;
Or thus the fearful with reproaches fires:
Shame to your country, fcandal of your kind!
Born to the fate ye well deferve to find!
Why ftand ye gazing round the dreadful plain,
Prepar'd for flight, but doom'd to fly in vain?
Confus'd and panting thus, the hunted deer 280
Falls as he flies, a victim to his fear.
Still muft ye wait the foes, and still retire,
Till yon tall veffels blaze with Trojan fire?
Or tiuft ye, Jove a valiant foe fhall chace,
To fave a trembling, heartless, daftard race? 285
This faid, he stalk'd with ample strides along,
To Crete's brave monarch and his martial throng;

295

300

To worth like thine! what praise shall we bestow?
To thee the foremost honours are decreed,
Firft in the fight, and every graceful deed.
For this, in banquets, when the generous bowls
Reftore our blood, and raife the warriours fouls,
Though all the reft with ftated rules we bound,
Unmix'd, unmeafur'd, are thy goblets crown'd.
Be ftill thy felf; in arms a mighty name;
Maintain thy honours, and enlarge thy fame.
To whom the Cretan thus his fpeech addrest:
Secure of me, O king exhort the reft:
Fix'd to thy fide, in every toil I share,
The firm affociate in the day of war.
But let the fignal be this moment given ;
To mix in fight is all I afk of Heaven.
The field fhall prove how perjuries fucceed,
And chains or death avenge their impious deed.
Charm'd with this heat, the king his courfe
pursues,

305

315

And next the troops of either Ajax views:
In one firm orb the bands were rang'd around,
A cloud of heroes blacken'd all the ground.
Thus from the lofty promontory's brow
A fwain furveys the gathering ftorm below;
Show from the main the heavy vapours rife,
Spread in dim ftreams, and fail along the skies,
Till black at night the fwelling tempeft shows,
The cloud condenfing as the Weft-wind blows:
He dreads th' impending ftorm, and drives his
flock

To the clofe covert of an arching rock.

Such, and fo thick, th' embattled fquadrons stood,

With fpears erect, a moving iron wood;
A fhady light was fhot from glimmering fhields,
And their brown arms obfcur'd the dusky fields.
325

O heroes! worthy fuch a dauntless train,
Whofe God-like virtue we but urge in vain,
(Exclaimed the king) who raife your eager bands
With great examples, more than loud commands:
Ah, would the Gods but breathe in all the reft 330
Such fouls as burn in your exalted breast:

335

Soon fhould our arms with just fuccefs be crown'd,
And Troy's proud walls lie fmoak ing on the ground.
Then to the next the general bends his courfe
(His heart exults, and glories in his force);
There reverend Neftor ranks his Pylian bands,
And with inspiring eloquence commands;
With ftricteft order fets his train in arms,
The chiefs advifes, and the foldiers warms,
Alaftor, Chromius, Hæmon round him wait, 340
Bias the good, and Pelagon the great.
The horfe and chariots to the front affign'd,
The foot (the ftrength of war) he rang'd behind;
The middle fpace fufpected troops fupply,
Inclos'd by both, nor left the power to fly;
He gives command to curb the fiery steed,
Nor cause confufion, nor the ranks exceed;
Before the reft let none too rafhly ride;
No ftrength nor skill, but just in time, be try'd:
VOL. VI.

345

The charge once made, no warriour turn the rein,

350

355

But fight, or fall; a firm embody'd train.
He whom the fortune of the field fhall caft
From forth his chariot, mount the next in hafte;
Nor feek unpractis'd to direct the car,
Content with javelins to provoke the war.
Our great forefathers held this prudent courfe,
Thus rul'd their ardour, thus preferv'd their force,
By laws like thefe immortal conquefts made,
And earth's proud tyrants low in afhes laid.
So fpoke the mafter of the martial art, 360
And touch'd with transport great Atrides' heart!
Oh! had'st thou ftrength to match thy brave defires,
And nerves to fecond what thy foul infpires!
But waiting years, that wither human race,
Exhauft thy fpirits, and thy arms unbrace. 365
What once thou wert, oh ever might'ft thou be?
And age the lot of any chief but thee.

Thus to th' experienc'd prince Atrides cry'd;
He shook his hoary locks and thus reply'd:
Well might I wifh, could mortal with renew, 370
That strength which once in boiling youth I knew ;
Such as I was, when Ereuthalion flain
Beneath this arm fell proftrate on the plain.
But Heaven its gifts not all at once beftows,
Thefe years with wifdom crowns, with action those;
The field of combat fits the young and bold,
The folemn council beft becomes the old :
To you the glorious conflict I refign,
Let fage advice, the palm of age, be mine.
He faid. With joy the monarch march'd before,

380

And found Meneftheus on the dufty fhore,
With whom the firm Athenian phalanx ftands,
And next Ulyffes with his fubject bands.
Remote their forces lay, nor knew fo far
The peace infring'd, nor heard the found of war ;
The tumult late begun, they stood intent
To watch the motion, dubious of th' event.
The king, who faw their fquadrons yet unmov'd,
With hafty ardour thus the chiefs reprov'd:

385

390

Can Petcus' fon forget a warriour's part, And fears Ulyffes, fkill'd in every art? Why ftand you diftant, and the reft expect To mix in combat which yourselves neglect? From you 'twas hop'd among the first to dare The flock of armies, and commence the war. 395 For this your names are call'd before the rest, To share the pleasures of the genial feaft: And can you, chiefs! without a blufh furvey Whole troops before you labouring in the fray? Say, is it thus thofe honours you requite: The first in banquets, but the laft in fight?

400

Ulyffes heard: the hero's warmth o'erspread His cheek with blushes: and fevere, he faid: Take back th' unjust reproach! Behold, we ftand Sheath'd in bright arms, and but expect command. If glorious deeds afford thy foul delight, Behold me plunging in the thickeft fight. Then give thy warriour-chief a warriour's due, Who dares to act whate'er thou dar'ft to view. Struck with his generous wrath the king re

plies;

Oh great in action, and in council wife!

F

410

420

With ours, thy care and ardour are the fame,
Nor need I to command, nor ought to blame.
Sage as thou art, and learn'd in human kind,
Forgive the transport of a martial mind.
Hafte to the fight, fecure of just amends:
The Gods that make, fhall keep the worthy friends.
He faid, and pafs'd where great Tydides lay,
His fteeds and chariots wedg'd in firm array:
(The warlike Sthenelus attends his fide)
To whom with stern reproach the monarch cry'd ;
Oh fon of Tydeus! (he, whofe ftrength could tame
The bounding fteed, in arms a mighty name)
Can't thou, remote, the mingling hosts descry,
With hands unactive, and a careless eve?
Not thus thy fire the fierce encounter fear'd;
Still firft in front the matchlefs prince appear'd;
What glorious toils, what wonders they recite,
Who view'd him labouring through the ranks of
fight!

425

I saw him once, when, gathering martial power,

430

A peaceful gueft, he faw Mycena's tower;
Armies he afk d, and armies had been given,
Not we deny'd, but Jove forbade from heaven;
While dreadful comets glaring from afar
Forewarn'd the horrours of the Theban war. 435
Next, fent by Greece from where Afopus flows,
A fearless envoy, ne approached the foes;
Thebes' hoftile walls, unguarded and alone,
Dauntless he enters, and demands the throne.
The tyrant feafting with his chiefs he found, 440
And dar'd to combat all those chiefs around;
Dar'd and fubdued, before their haughty lord;
For Pallas ftrung his arm, and edg'd his fword.
Stung with the fhame, within the winding way,
To bar his paffage fifty warriours lay;
Two heroes led the fecret fquadron on,
Mæon the fierce, and hardy Lycophon;
Those fifty flaughter'd in the gloomy vale,
He fpar'd but one to bear the dreadful tale.
Such Tydeus was, and fuch his martial fire.
Gods! how the fon degenerates from he fire!
No words the god-like Diomed return'd,
But heard respectful, and in fecret burn'd:
Not fo fierce Capaneus' undaunted fon,
Stern as his fire, the boafter thus begun :

445

450

455

What needs, O Monarch, th ́s invidious praise, Ourselves to leffen, while our fires you raife? Dare to be just, Atrides! and confefs Our valour equal, though our fury lefs.

With fewer troops we storm'd the Theban wall,

460

And happier faw the fevenfold ci y fall.
In impious acts the guilty fathers dy'd;
The fons fubdu'd, for heaven was on their fide,
Far more than heirs of all our parents fame,
Our vlories darken their diminish'd name. 465
To him Tydides thus: My friend, forbear,
Supprefs thy paffion, and the king revere:
His high concern may well excufe this rage,
Whose cause we follow, and whofe war we wage ;
His the firit praife, were Ilion's towers o'erthrown,
And, if we fail, the chief disgrace his own.
Let him the Greeks to hardy toils excite,
"Tis ours to labour in the glorious fight.

He fpoke, and ardent on the trembling ground Sprung from his car; his ringing arms refound.

475

480

Dire was the clang, and dreadful from afar,
Of arm'd Tydides rufhing to the war.
As when the winds, afcending by degrees,
First move the whitening furface of the feas,
The billows float in order to the shore,
The wave behind rolls on the wave before;
Till, with the growing storm, the deeps arise,
Foam o'er the rocks, and thunder to the skies.
So to the fight the thick battalions throng,
Shields urg'd on fhields, and men drove men along.
Sedate and filent move the numerous bands;
No found, no whisper, but the chief's commands,
Those only heard with awe the reft obey,
As if fome God had fnatch'd their voice away.
Not fo the Trojans; from their hoft afcends 490
A general fhout that all the region rends.
As when the fleecy flocks unnumber'd stand
In wealthy folds, and wait the milker's hand;
The hollow vales inceffant bleating fills,
The lambs reply from all the neighbouring hills:

505

The nations bleed, where'er her steps fhe turns,
The groan ftill deepens, and the combat burns.
Now fhield with fhield, with helmet helmet
clos'd,

To armour armour, lance to lance oppos'd,
Hoft against host with shadowy fquadrons drew,510
The founding darts in iron tempests flew,
Victors and vanquifh'd join promifcuous cries,
And thrilling fhouts and dying groans arife;
With streaming blood the flippery fields are dy'd,
And flaughter'd heroes fwell the dreadful tide, 515.
As torrents roll, increas'd by numerous rills,
With rage impetuous down their echoing hills;
Rufh to the vales, and, pour'd along the plain,
Roar through a thousand channels to the main;
The diftant fhepherd trembling hears the found:
520

So mix both hofts, and fo their cries rebound.
The bold Antilochus the flaughter led,
The first who ftruck a valiant Trojan dead:
At great Echepolus the lance arrives;
Raz'd his high creft, and through his helmet drives;
Warm'd in the brain the brazen weapon lies,
And thades eternal fettle o'er his eyes.
So finks a tower, that long affaults had stood
Of force and fire; its walls befmear'd with blood.
Him, the bold leader of th' Abantian throng 530
Seiz'd to defpoil, and dragg'd the corpfe along :

* Elphenor.

But while he ftrove to tug th' inferted dait,
Agenor's javelin reach'd the hero's heart.
His flank unguarded by his ample shield,
Admits the lance: he falls, and fpurns the field;
535
The nerves, unbrac'd, fupport his limbs no more;
The foul comes floating in a tide of gore.
Trojans and Greeks now gather round the flain;
The war renews, the warriours bleed again;
As o'er their prey rapacious wolves engage,
Man dies on man, and all is blood and rage,
In blooming youth fair Simoïfius fell,
Seut by great Ajax to the fhades of hell:
Fair Simoïfius, whom his mother bore,
Amid the flocks on filver Simois' shore;
The nymph defcending from the hills of Ide,
To feek her parents on his flowery fide,
Brought forth the babe, their common care and
joy,

540

545

And thence from Simois nam'd the lovely boy.
Short was his date! by dreadful Ajax flain 550
He falls, and renders all their cares in vain!
So falls a poplar, that in watery ground
Rais'd high the head, with stately branches crown'd,
(Fell'd by fome artist with his fhining steel,
To fh pe the circle of the bending wheel)
Cut down it lies, tall, fmooth, and largely fpread,
With all its beauteous honours on its head;
There, left a fubject to the wind and rain,
And fcorch'd by funs, it withers on the plain.
Thus pierc'd by Ajax, Simoïfius l'es
Stretch'd on the thore, and thus neglected dies.

At Ajax Antiphus his javelin threw ;

555

<60

565

The pointed lance with erring fury flew, And Leucus, lov'd by wife Ulyffes, flew. He drops the corpfe of Sinoifius flain, And finks a breathlefs carcafe on the plain. This faw Ulyffes, and with grief enrag'd Strode where the foremost of the foes engag'd; Arm'd with his fpear, he meditates the wound, In act to throw; but, cautious, look'd around. 570 Struck at his fight the Trojans backward drew, And trembling heard the javelin as it flew. A chief food nigh, who from Abydos came, Old Priam's fon, Democoon was his name ; The weapon enter'd close above his ear, Cold through his temples glides the whizzing spear; With piercing fhricks the youth refigns his breath, His eve-balls darken with the fhades of death; Ponderous he falls; his clanging arms resound ; And his broad buckler rings against the ground. 580

575

Seiz'd with affright the boldest foes appear; Ev'n god-like Hector feems himself to fear; Stow he gave way, the reft tumultuous fled; The Greeks with fhouts prefs on, and spoil the

dead:

But Phoebus now from Ilion's towering height 585 Shines forth reveal'd, and animates the fight. Trojans, be bold, and force with force oppofe ; Your foaming steeds urge headlong on the foes! Nor are their bodies rocks, nor ribb'd with steel; Your weapons enter, and yor strokes they feel.

590 Have ye forgot what seem'd your dread before? The great, the fierce Achilles fights no more. Apollo thus from Ilion's lofty towers Array'd in terrors, rouz'd the Trojan powers: While War's fierce Goddess fires the Grecian foe, 595

And fhouts and thunders in the fields below.
Then great Diores fell, by doom divine,
In vain his valour, and illuftrious line.
A broken rock the force of Pirus threw
(who from cold nus led the Thracian crew);

600

Full on his ankle dropt the ponderous ftone,
Burft the strong nerves, and crafh'd the folid bone.
·Supine he tumbles on the crimson fands,
Before his helpless friends and native bands,
And spreads for aid his unavailing hands. 605.
The foe rufh'd furious as he pants for breath,
And through his navel drove the pointed death:
His gufhing entrails fmok'd upon the ground,
And the warm life came iffuing from the wound.

His lance bold Thoas at the conqueror fent, 610
Deep in his breast above the pap it went.
Amid the lungs was fix'd the winged wood,
And quivering in his heaving bosom stood :
Till from the dying chief, approaching near,
Th' Ætolian warriour tugg'd his weighty fpear:
615

Then fudden wav'd his flaming faulchion round,
And gath'd his belly with a ghaftly wound,
The corpfe now breathlefs on the bloody plain,
To fpoil his arms the victor ftrove in vain;
The Thracian bands against the victor preit; 620
A grove of lances glitter'd at his breast.
Stern Thoas, gl ring with revengeful eyes,
In fullen fury flowly quits the prize.
Thus fell two heroes; one the pride of Thrace,
And one the leader of th' Epeian race:
Death's fable fhade at once o'ercaft their eyes,
In duft the vanquish'd, and the victor lies.
With copicus flaughter all the fields are red,
And heap'd with growing mountains of the dead.

625

Had fome brave chief this martial fcene beheld, By Pallas guarded through the dreadful field'"; Might darts be bid to turn their points away, And fwords around him innocently play; The war's whole art with wonder had he seen, And counted heroes where he counted men. 635

to fought each hoft with thirft of glory fir'd, And crowds on crowds triumphantly expir'd.