Ten weighty talents of the pureft gold,
And twice ten vafes of refulgent mold;
Seven facred tripods, whofe unfully'd frame
Yet knows no office, nor has felt the flame; 160
Twelve steeds unmatch'd in fleetnefs and in force,
And ftill victorious in the dufty course;
(Rich were the man whofe ample ftores exceed
The prizes purchas'd by their winged speed).
Seven lovely captives of the Lesbian line,
Skill'd in each art, unmatch'd, in form divine;
The fame I chofe for more than vulgar charms,
When Lesbos funk beneath the hero's arms:
All thefe, to buy his friendship, fhall be paid,
And, join'd with thefe, the long-contested maid;

165

170

With all her charms, Brifeis I refign,
And folemn fwear thofe charms were never mine:
Untouch'd the ftay'd, uninjur'd the removes,
Pure from my arms, and guiltless of my loves.
Thefe, instant, shall be his and if the Powers 175
Give to our arms proud Ilion's hottile towers,
Then shall be ftore (when Greece the fpoil di-
vides)

With gold and brafs his loaded navy's fides.
Befides, full twenty nymphs of Trojan race
With copious love fhall crown his warm em-
brace;
180
Such as himself will chpofe; who yield to none,
Or yield to Helen's heavenly charms alone.
Yer hear me farther: when our wars are o'er,
If fafe we land on Argos' fruitful thore,
There fhal! he live my fon, our honours thare, 185
And with Oreftes felf divide my care.
Yet more three daughters in my court are bred,
And each well worthy of a royal bed;
Laodicé and Iphigenia fair,

195

And bright Chryfothemis with golden hair; 190
Her let him choofe, whom moft his eyes approve;
I afk no prefents, no reward for love:
Myfelf will give the dower; fo vaft a store
As never father gave a child before.
Seven ample cities fhall confefs his fway,
Him Enoré, and Phaære him obey,
Cardamyle with ample turrets crown'd,
And facred Pedafus for vines renown'd;
Epea fair, the pastures Hira yields,
And rich Antheja with her flowery fields:
The whole extent to Pylos' fandy plain,
Along the verdant margin of the main.
There heifers graze, and labouring oxen toil;
Bold are the men, and generous is the foil;
There shall he reign with power and justice
crown'd,

200

And rule the tributary realms around.
All this I give, his vengeance to controul,
And fure all this may move his mighty foul.
Pluto, the grilly God, who never fpares,
Who feels no mercy, and who hears no prayers,

210

Lives dark and dreadful in deep hell's abodes,
And mortals hate him, as the worst of Gods.
Great though he be, it fits him to obey;
Since more than his my vears, and more my fway.
The monarch thus. The reverend Neftor then:
215

Great Agamemnon! glorious king of men!

Now prav to Jove to grant what Greece demands; 225

Pray, in deep filence, and with pureft hands.

He faid, and all approv'd. The heralds bring
The cle: nfing water from the living spring.
The youth with wine the facred goblets crown'd,
And large libations drench'd the fands around.
239

The rite perform'd, the chiefs their thirst allay,
Then from the royal tent they take their way;
Wife Neftor turns on each his careful eye,
Forbids t' offend, inftructs them to apply,
Much he advis'd them all, Ulyffes moft,
To deprecate the chief, and fave the hoft.
Through the still night they march, and hear the

roar

235

Of murmuring billows on the founding fhore.
To Neptune, ruler of the feas profound,
Whofe liquid arms the mighty globe furround, 249
They pour forth vows, their embassy to bless,
And calm the rage of ftern acices.
And now, arriv'd where on the fandy bay
The Myrmidonian tents and veffels lay,
Amus'd at cafe, the od-like man they found, 245
Fleas'd with the folemn harp's harmonious found:
(The well-wrought harp from conquer'd Theba

came,

Of polish'd filver was its coftly frame) :
With this he fooths his angry foul, and fings
Th' immortal deeds of heroes and of kings. 2:0
Patroclus only of the royal train,

253

Plac'd in his tent, attends the lofty ftrain:
Full oppofite he fate, and liften'd long,
In filence waiting till he ceas'd the fong,
Unfeen the Grecian embaffy proceeds
To his high tent; the great Ulyles leads.
Achilles, ftarting, as the chiefs he 'fpy'd,
Leap'd from his feat, and laid the harp afide.
With like furprize arofe Menoetius' fon:
Pelides grafp'd their hands, and thus begun: 260
Princes, all hail! whatever brought you here,
Or ftrong neceffity, or urgent fear;
Welcome, though Grecks! for not as foes ye

Achilles at the genial feast prefides,

275

The parts tran fixes, and with skill divides.
Meanwhile Patroclus fweats the fire to raise;
The tent is brighten'd with the rifing blaze:
Then, when the languid flames at length fubfide.
He ftrows a bed of glowing embers wide, 280
Above the coals the fmoking fragments turns,
And sprinkles facred falt from lifted urns;
With bread the glittering canisters they load,
Which round the board Mencetius' fon beftow'd;
Himself, opposed t' Ulyffes full in fight,
Each portion parts, and orders every rite.
The first fat offerings, to th' Immortals due,
Amidst the greedy flames Patroclus threw;
Then each, indulging in the focial feast,
His thirft and hunger foberly represt.
That done, to Phonix Ajax gave the fign;
Not unperceiv'd; Ulyffes crown'd with wine
The foaming bowl, and instant thus began,
His fpeech addreffing to the god-like man:

285

290

300

Health to Achilles! happy are thy guests! 295 Not thofe more honour'd whom Atrides feafts: Though generous plenty crown thy loaded boards, That Agamemnon's regal tent affords ; But greater cares fit heavy on our fouls, Not eas'd by banquets or by flowing bowls. What fcenes of flaughter in yon fields appear! The dead we mourn, and for the living fear; Greece on the brink of fate all doubtful stands, And owns no help but from thy faving hands: Troy, and her aids, for ready vengeance call; 305

Their threatening tents already shade our wall: Hear how with fhouts their conqueft they proclaim,

And point at every ship their vengeful flame !
For them the Father of the Gods declares,
Theirs are his omens, and his thunder theirs. 310
See, full of Jove, avenging Hector rife!
See, heaven and earth the raging chief defies;
What fury in his breast, what lightning in his
eyes!

He waits but for the morn, to fink in flame

The fhips, the Greeks, and all the Grecian

From gentler manners let thy glory grow,
And thun contention, the fure fource of woe; 335
That young and old may in thy praise combine,
The virtues of humanity be thine-

This, now defpis'd, advice thy father gave;
Ah, check thy ager, and be truly brave.
If thou wilt yield to great Atrides' prayers, 340
Gifts worthy thee his royal hand prepares;
If not-but hear me, while I number o'er
The proffer'd prefents, an exhauftlefs ftore:
Ten weighty talents of the pureft gold,
And twice ten vafes of refulgent mould;
Seven facred tripods, whofe unfully'd frame
Yet knows no office, nor has felt the flame:
Twelve steeds unmatch'd in fleetness and in force,
And still victorious in the dufty course;
(Rich were the man whofe ample ftores exceed

345

350

The prizes purchas'd by their winged speed).
Seven lovely captives of the Lesbian line,
Skill'd in each art, unmatch'd, in form divine;
The fame he chofe for more than vulgar charms,
When Lefbos funk beneath thy conquering arms.

355
All thefe, to buy thy friendship, fhall be paid,
And, join'd with thefe, the long-contested maid;
With all her charms, Brifeïs he'll refign,
And folemn fwear thofe charms were only thine;
Untouch'd the stay'd, uninjur'd the removes, 360
Pure from his arms, and guiltlefs of his loves.
Thefe, inftant, fhall be thine; and if the Powers
Give to our arms proud Ition's hoftile towers,
Then fhalt thou ftore (when Greece the spoil
divides)

With gold and brafs thy loaded navy's fides. 365
Befides, full twenty nymphs of Trojan race
With copious love fhall crown thy warm em-

brace;

Such as thyfelf fhall chufe; who yield to none,
Or yield to Helen's heavenly charms alone.
Yet hear me farther; when our wars are o'er,

370

If fafe we land on Argos' fruitful shore,
There shalt thou live his fon, his honours share,
And with Oreftes' felf divide his care.
Yet more three daughters in his court are bred,
And each well worthy of a royal bed;
Laodicé and Iphigenia fair,

375

And bright Cryfothemis with golden hair;
Her fhalt thou wed whom moft thy eyes approves
He afks no prefents, no reward for love:
Himself will give the dower; fo vast a store 380
As never father gave a child before.
Seven ample cities thall confefs thy fway,
Thee Enopé, and Phere thee obey,
Cardamylé with ample turrets crown'd,
And facred Pedafus, for vines renown'd:
pea fair, the pastures Hira yields,
And rich Antheia with her flowery fields:
The whole extent to Pylos' fandy plain
Along the verdant margin of the main.
There heifers graze, and labouring oxen toil; 390
Bold are the men, and generous is the foil.
There shalt thou reign with power and justice

crown'd,

And rule the tributary realms around.

385

395

Such are the proffers which this day we bring,
Such the repentance of a fuppliant king.
But if all this, relentless, thou difdain,
If honour, and if intereft, plead in vain ;
Yet fome redrefs to fuppliant Greece afford,
And be, amongst her guardian Gods, ador'd.
If no regard thy fuffering country claim,
Hear thy own glory, and the voice of fame:
For know that chief, whofe unrefifted ire
Made nations tremble, and whole hofts retire,
Proud Hector, now, th' unequal fight demands,
And only triumphs to deferve thy hands.

400

405

Then thus the Goddess-born: Ulyffes, hear A faithful speech, that knows nor art, nor fear; What in my fecret foul is understood, My tongue fhall utter, and my deeds make good. Let Greece then know, my purpofe I retain; 410 Nor with new treaties vex my peace in vain. Who dares think one thing, and another tell, My heart detefts him as the gates of hell.

Then thus, in fhort, my fixt refolves attend, Which nor Atrides, nor his Greeks, can bend;

430

In fearch of prey fhe wings the spacious air,
And with th' untafted food fupplies her care:
For thank lefs Greece fuch hardships have I brav'd,
Her wives, her infants, by my labours fav'd;
Long fleepless nights in heavy arms I ftood,
And fweat laborious days in duft and blood.
I fack'd twelve ample cities on the main,
And twelve lay fmoaking on the Trojan plain:
Then at Atrides' haughty feet were laid
The wealth I gather'd, and the fpoils I made. 435
Your mighty monarch thefe in peace poffeft;
Some few my foldiers had, himself the reft.
Some prefent too to every prince was paid;
And every prince enjoys the gift he made;
I only muft refund of all his train;

440

See what preheminence our merits gain!
My fpoil alone his greedy foul delights:
My fpoufe alone muft blefs his luftful nights:
The woman, let him (as he may) enjoy;
But what's the quarrel then of Greece to Troy?

445

What to these shores th' affembled nations draws,
What calls for vengeance but a woman's cause?
Are fair endowments, and a beauteous face,
Belov'd by none but those of 'Atreus' race?
The wife whom choice and paffion both approve,
450

Sure every wife and worthy man will love.
Nor did my fair-one lefs diftinction claim;
Slave as he was, my foul ador'd the dame.
Wrong'd in my love, al! proffers I difdain;
Deceiv'd for once, I tuft not kings again.

455

470

475

And hear with oars the Hellefpont refound.
The third day hence, fhall Phthia greet our fails,
If mighty Neptune fend propitious gales;
Phthia to her Achilles fhall restore
The wealth he left for this detefted shore:
Thither the fpoils of this long war fhall pass,
The ruddy gold, the fteel, and shining brass;
My beauteous captives thither I'll convey,
And all that refts of my unravish'd prey.
One only valued gift your tyrant gave,
And that refum'd, the fair Lyrnessian slave.
Then tell him, loud, that all the Greeks may
hear,

480

And learn to fcorn the wretch they bafely fear;
(For, arm'd in impudence, mankind he braves,
485

And meditates new cheats on all his flaves;
Though fhameless as he is, to face thefe eyes
Is what he dares not; if he dares he dies)
Tell him, all terms, all commerce, I decline,
Nor fhare his council, nor his battle join; 140
For once deceiv'd, was his; but twice were
mine.

495

No-let the ftupid prince, whom Jove deprives
Of fenfe and juftice, run where frenzy drives;
His gifts are hateful: kings of such a kind
Stand but as flaves before a noble mind.
Not though he proffer'd all himself poffeft,
And all his rapine could from others wreft;
Not all the golden tides of wealth that crown
The many-peopled Orchomenian town;
Not all proud Thebes' unrivall'd walls contain,
500

The world's great emprefs on th' Ægyptian plain,
(That spreads her conquefts o'er a thousand states,
And pours her heroes through a hundred gates,
Two hundred horsemen, and two hundred cars
From each wide portal iffuing to the wars) 505
Though bribes were heap'd on bribes, in number

515

Some greater Greek let those high nuptials grace,
I hate alliance with a tyrant's race.
If Heaven reftore me to my realms with life,
The reverend Peleus fhall elect my wife.
Theffalian nymphs there are, of form divine,
And kings that fue to mix their blood with mine.
Bleft in kind love my years fhall glide away, 520
Content with juft hereditary fway;
There, deaf for ever to the martial strife,
Enjoy the dear prerogative of life.

Life is not to be bought with heaps of gold;
Not all Apollo's Pythian treasures hold,

525

530

535

Or Troy once held, in peace and pride of fway, Can bribe the poor poffeffion of a day! Loft herds and treasures, we by arms regain, And fteeds unrivall'd on the dufty plain: But from our lips the vital spirit fled, Returns no more to wake the filent dead. My fates long fince by Thetis were disclos'd, And each alternate, life or fame, propos'd; Here, if I ftay, before the Trojan town, Short is my date, but deathlefs my renown; If I return, I quit immortal praise For years on years, and long-extended days. Convinc'd, thongh late, I find my fond mistake, And warn the Greeks the wifer choice to make; To quit thefe fhores, their native feats enjoy, 540 Nor hope the fall of heaven-defended Troy. Jove's arm difplay'd afferts her from the fkies; Her hearts are ftrengthen'd, and her glories rise. Go then, to Greece report our fix'd defign; Bid all your counfels, all your armies join, Let all your forces, all your arts confpire, To fave the fhips, the troops, the chiefs from fire. One ftratagem has fail'd, and others will: Ye find, Achilles is unconquer'd still. Go then-digeft my meffage as ve mayBut here this night let reverend Phoenix stay: His tedious toils and hoary hairs demand A peaceful death in Phthia's friendly land. But whether he remain, or fail with me. His age be facred, and his will be free.

545

550

555

The fon of Peleus ceas'd: the chiefs around
In filence wrapt, in confternation drown'd,
Attend the ftern reply. Then Phoenix rofe;
(Down his white beard a stream of forrow flows)
And while the fate of fuffering Greece he mourn'd,
560
With accent weak these tender words return'd:
Divine Achilles ! wilt thou then retire,
And leave our hofts in blood, our fleets on fire?
If wrath fo dreadful fill thy ruthless mind,
How shall thy friend, thy Phoenix, stay behind?

The royal Peleus, when from Phthia's coaft
He fent thee early to th' Achaian hoft;
Thy youth, as then in fage debates unskill'd,
And new to perils of the direful field:

565

He bade me teach thee all the ways of war; 570
To fhine in councils and in camps to dare.
Never, ah never let me leave thy fide!
No time fhall part us, and no fate divide.
Not though the God, that breath'd my life, restore
The bloom I boasted, and the port I bore, 575
When Greece of old beheld my youthful flames,
(Delightful Greece, the land of lovely dames!)

My father, faithlefs to my mother's arms,
Old as he was, ador'd a stranger's charms.
I try'd what youth could do at her defire) 580
To win the damfel, and prevent my fire.
My fire with curfes loads my hated head,
And cries, "Ye furies! barren be his bed."
Infernal Jovc, the vengeful fiends below,
And ruthlefs Proferpine, confirm'd his vow. 585
Defpair and grief diftract my labouring mind?
Gods! what a crime my impious heart defign'd!
I thought (but fome kind God that thought fup-
preft)

To plunge the poniard in my father's breast:
Then meditate my flight; my friends in vain 590
With prayers entreat me, and with force detain.
On fat of rams, black bulls, and brawny fwine,
They daily feaft, with draughts of fragrant
wine:

Strong guards they plac'd, and watch'd nine

nights entire;

The roofs and porches flam'd with conftant fire.

595 The tenth, I forc'd the gates unfeen of all; And, favour'd by the night, o'erleap'd the wall. My travels thence through fpacious Greece extend;

600

In Phthia's court at last my labours end.
Your fire receiv'd me, as his fon carefs'd,
With gifts enrich'd, and with poffeffions bless'd.
The ftrong Dolopians thenceforth own'd my reign,
And all the coaft that runs along the main.
By love to thee his bounties I repaid,
And early wisdom to thy foul convey'd :
Great as thou art, my leffons made thee brave,
A child I took thee, but a hero gave.
Thy infant breaft a like affection fhow'd;
Still in my arms (an ever-pleafing load),

605

Or at my knee, by Phoenix would't thou ftand; 610

615

No food was grateful but from Phoenix' hand.
I país my watchings o'er thy helpless years,
The tender labours, the compliant cares:
The Gods (I thought) revers'd their hard decree,
And Phoenix felt a father's joy in thee:
Thy growing virtues juftify'd my cares,
And promis'd comfort to my filver hairs.
Now be thy rage, thy fatal rage, refign'd;
A cruel heart ill fuits a manly mind:
The Gods (the only great, and only wife)
Are mov'd by offerings, vows, and facrifice;
Offending man their high compaffion wins,
And daily prayers atone for daily fins.
Prayers are Jove's daughters, of celeftial race,
Lame are their feet, and wrinkled is their face

620