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While here (he cry'd) the flying Greeks are ¦ Fix'd as the bar between two warring powers,
flain ;
Trojans on Trojans yonder load the plain.
Before great Ajax fee the mingled throng
Of men and chariots driven in heaps along!
I know him well, diftinguish'd o'er the field
By the broad glittering of the feven-fold fhield,
Thither, O Hector, thither urge thy fteeds, 650
There danger calls, and there the combat bleeds;
There horfe and foot in mingled deaths unite,
And groans of flaughter mix with fhouts of fight.
Thus having fpoke, the driver's lafh refounds;
Swift through the ranks the rapid chariot bounds;
655
Stung by the stroke, the courfers fcour the fields,
O'er heaps of carcafes, and hills of fhields.
The horses' hoofs are bath'd in heroes' gore,
And, dashing, purple all the car before;
The groaning axle fable drops distils,
And mangled carnage clogs the rapid wheels.
Here Hector, plunging through the thickest
fight,

While hiffing darts defcend in iron fhowers:
In his broad buckler many a weapon stood,
Its furface bristled with a quivering wood;
And many a javelin, guiltless on the plain,
Marks the dry duft, and thirfts for blood in vain.
But bold Eurypylus his aid imparts,
And dauntlefs fprings beneath a cloud of darts;
Whofe cager javelin launch'd against the foe,
Great Apifaon felt the fatal blow;
From his torn liver the red current flow'd,
And his flack knees defert their dying load.
The victor rufhing to defpoil the dead,
From Paris' bow a vengeful arrow fled :
Fix'd in his nervous thigh the weapon stood, 710
Fix'd was the point, but broken was the wood.
Back to the lines the wounded Greek retir'd,
Yet thus, retreating, his affociates fir'd:

660

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Amaz'd he stood, with terrours not his own.
O'er his broad back his moony fhield he threw,
And, glaring round, with tardy fteps withdrew.
Thus the grim lion his retreat maintains,
Befet with watchful dogs and fhouting fwains,
675

Repuls'd by numbers from the nightly ftalls,
Though rage impels him, and though hunger
calls,

Long ftands the showering darts, and miffile
fires;

Then fourly flow th' indignant beast retires.
So turn'd ftern Ajax, by whole hofts repell'd,

While his fwoln heart at every step rebell'd.

680

As the flow beaft with heavy ftrength endued, In fome wide field by troops of boys pursued, Though round his fides a wooden tempeft rain, Crops the tall harvest, and lays waste the plain; 685

690

Thick on his hide the hollow blows refound,
The patient animal maintains his ground,
Scarce from the field with all their efforts chac'd,
And stirs but flowly when he ftirs at last.
On Ajax thus a weight of Trojans hung,
The ftrokes redoubled on his buckler rung;
Confiding now in bulky ftrength he stands,
Now turns, and backwards bears the yielding
bands;

705

What God, O Grecians! has your heart dif-
may'd?

Oh, turn to arms; 'tis Ajax claims your aid. 715
This hour he fstands the mark of hostile rage,
And this the last brave battle he shall wage;
Hafte, join your forces; from the gloomy grave
The warriour refcue, and your country fave.
Thus urg'd the chief; a generous troop ap-
pears,

720

Who fpread their bucklers, and advance their fpears,

To guard their wounded friend: while thus they
stand

With pious care, great Ajax joins the band:
Each takes new courage at the hero's fight;
The hero rallies and renews the fight.

725

Thus rag'd both armies like conflicting fires,
While Neftor's chariot far from fight retires:
His courfers, fteep'd in fweat, and ftain'd with
gore,

The Greeks' preferver, great Machaon, bore,
That hour Achilles, from the topmost height 730
Of his proud fleet, o'erlook'd the fields of fight;
His feafted eyes beheld around the plain
The Grecian rout, the flaying, and the flain,
His friend Machaon fingled from the reft,
A tranfient pity touch'd his vengeful breast. 735
Straight to Menatius' much-lov'd fon he fent;
Graceful as Mars, Patroclus quits his tent:
In evil hour! Then fate decreed his doom;
And fix'd the date of all his woes to come.
Why calls my friend? Thy lov'd injunctions

lay;

Whate'er they will, Patroclus fhall obey.

O first of friends! (Pelides thus reply'd)
Still at my heart, and ever at my fide!
The time is come, when yon despairing hoft
Shall learn the value of the man they loft:
Now at my knees the Greeks fhall pour their

moan,

745

And proud Atrides tremble on his throne. Go now to Neftor, and from him be taught What wounded warriour late his chariot brought For, feen at diftance, and but feen behind, 750 His form recall'd Machaon to my mind; Nor could I, through yon cloud, difcern his face, And threats his followers with retorted eye. 695 The courfers pafs'd me with fo fwift a pace.

Now stiff recedes, yet hardly feems to fly,

The hero faid. His friend obey'd with haste, Through intermingled fhips and tents he pafs'd;

755

760

The chiefs defcending from their car he found;
The panting steeds Eurymedon unbound.
The warriours ftanding on the breezy thore,
To dry their fweat, and wash away the gore,
He paus'd a moment, while the gentle gale
Convey'd that freshness the cool feas exhale;
Then to confult on farther methods went,
And took their feats beneath the fhady tent.
The draught prefcrib'd, fair Hecamede pre-
pares,

Arfinous' daughter, grac'd with golden hairs: 765
(Whom to his aged arms, a royal slave,
Greece, as the prize of Neftor's wifdom, gave)
A table first with azure feet the plac'd;
Whofe ample orb a brazen charger grac'd:
Honey new prefs'd, the facred flower of wheat,

770 And wholesome garlick, crowned the favoury

treat.

Next her white hand an antique goblet brings,
A goblet facred to the Pylian kings
From eldest times: the maily fculptur'd vase,
Glittering with golden ftuds, four handles grace;
775

And curling vines around each handle roll'd
Support two turtle-doves embofs'd in gold.
A maily weight, yet heav'd with eafe by him,
When the brisk nectar overlook'd the brim.
Temper'd in this, the nymph of form divine 780
Pours a large portion of the Pramnian wine;
With goat's-milk cheefe a flavourous tafte be-
ftows,

And laft with flour the fmiling furface ftrows.
This for the wounded prince the dame prepares;
The cordial beverage reverend Neftor fhares: 785
Salubrious draughts the warriours' thirst allay,
And pleafing conference beguiles the day.

Meantime Patroclus, by Achilles fent, Unheard approach'd, and stood before the tent. Old Neftor rifing then, the hero led To his high feat; the chief refus'd, and faid: 'Tis now no feafon for these kind delays; The great Achilles with impatience stays. Το at Achilles this refpećt I owe;

790

Chief after chief the raging foe destroys;
Calm he looks on, and every death enjoys.
Now the flow courfe of all-impairing time
Unftrings my nerves, and ends my manly prime

815

Oh! had I ftill that strength my youth poffefs'd.
When this bold arm th' Epeian powers opprefs'd,
The bulls of Elis in glad triumph led,
And stretch'd the great Itymonæus dead!
Then, from my fury fled the trembling swains,
820

And ours was all the plunder of the plains:
Fifty white flocks, full fifty herds of swine,
As many goats, as many lowing kine:
And thrice the number of unrivall'd steeds,
All teeming females, and of generous breeds. 825
Thefe, as my first effay of arms, I won;
Old Neleus glory'd in his conquering fon.
Thus Elis forc'd, her long arrears reftor'd,
And shares were parted to each Pylian lord.
The state of Pyle was funk to last despair,
When the proud Elians first commenc'd the war;
For Neleus fons Alcides' rage had flain;
Of twelve bold brothers, I alone remain !
Opprefs'd, we arm'd; and now this conquest
gain'd,

830

My fire three hundred chofen fheep obtain'd. 835

(That large reprisal he might justly claim,
For prize defrauded, and infulted fame,
When Elis' monarch at the public course
Detain'd his chariot and victorious horse.)
The reft the people fhar'd; myself furvey'd 840
The juft partition, and due victims pay'd.
Three days were paft, when Elis rose to war,
With many a courfer, and with many a car;
The fons of Actor at their army's head
(Young as they were) the vengeful fquadrons led.

845

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Thou krow'ft the fiery temper of my friend.

855

Can then the fons of Greece (the fage rejoin'd)

800

Excite compaffion in Achilles' mind?

Seeks he the forrows of our host to know?

This is not half the ftory of our woc.

My fire deny'd in vain: on foot I fied
Amidft our chariots: for the Goddefs led.
Along fair Arene's delightful plain,
Soft Minyas rolls his waters to the main.
There, horfe and foot, the Pylian troops unite,

Who atks what hero, wounded by the foe, 795
Was borne from combat by the foaming steeds.
With grief I fee the great Machaon bleeds:
This to report my hafty courfe I bend;

860

805 And, fheath'd in arms, expect the dawning light.
Thence, ere the fun advanc'd his noon-day flame
To great Alpheus' facred fource we came.
There firft to Jove our folemn rites were paid;
An untanı'd heifer pleas'd the blue-ey'd Maid

Tell him, not great Machaon bleeds alone,
Our bravest heroes in the navy groan,
Ulyffes, Agamemnon, Diomed,
And stern Eurypylus, already bleed.
But ah! what flattering hopes I entertain!
Achilles hee's not, but derides our pain:
Ev'n till the flames confume our fleet he stays, 810
And waits the rifing of the fatal blaze.

A bull Alphæus; and a bull was flain
To the blue menarch of the watery main

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870

In arms we flept, befide the winding flood,
While round the town the fierce Epeians stood.
Soon as the fun, with all revealing ray,
Flam'd in the front of heaven, and gave the day;
Bright fcenes of arms, and works of war appear;
The nations meet; there Pylos, Elis here.
The first who fell, beneath my javelin bled;
King Augias' fon, and spouse of Agamede: 875
(She that all fimples' healing virtues knew,
And every herb that drinks the morning dew.)
I feiz'd his car, the van of battle led;

Th' Epeians faw, they trembled, and they fled. The foe difpers'd, their braveft warriour kill'd, 880

Fierce as a whirlwind now I fwept the field:
Full fifty captive chariots grac'd my train;
Two chiefs from each fell breathlefs to the plain.
Then Actor's fons had dy'd, but Neptune shrouds
The youthful heroes in a veil of clouds. 885
O'er heapy fhields, and o'er the proftrate throng,
Collecting fpoils, and flaughtering all along,
Through wide Buprafian fields we forc'd the
foes,

Where o'er the vales th' Olenian rocks arofe;
Till Pallas ftopp'd us where Alifum flows. 890
Ev'n there the hindmost of their rear I flay,
And the fame arm that led, concludes the day,
Then back to Pyle triumphant take my way.
There to high Jove were public thanks affign'd,
As firft of Gods; to Neftor, of mankind.
Such then I was, impell'd by youthful blood;
So prov'd my valour for my country's good.
Achilles with unactive fury glows,
And gives to paffion what to Greece he owes.
How shall he grieve, when to th' eternal fhade
900

895

Her hofts fhall fink, nor his the power to aid?
O friend! my memory recalls the day,
When, gathering aids along the Grecian fea,
I, and Ulyffes, touch'd at Phthia's port,
And enter'd Peleus' hofpitable court.

A bull to Jove he flew in facrifice,

905

910

And pour'd libations on the flaming thighs.
Thyfelf, Achilles, and thy reverend fire
Mencetius, turn'd the fragments on the fire.
Achilles fees us, to the feast invites;
Social we fit, and share the genial rites.
We then explain'd the caufe on which we came,
Urg'd you to arms, and found you fierce for fame.
Your ancient fathers generous precepts gave;
Peleus faid only this-" My fon! be brave:" 915
Mencetius thus: "Though great Achilles fhine
"In strength superior, and of race divine,

"Yet cooler thoughts thy elder years attend;

Let thy juft counfels aid, and rule thy friend." Thus fpoke your father at Theffalia's court; 920 Words now forgot, though now of vast import. Ah! try the utmost that a friend can fay, Such gentle force the fierceft minds obey. Some favouring God Achilles' heart may move; Though deaf to glory, he may yield to love. 925 If fome dire oracle his breast alarm,

If aught from heaven with-hold his faving arm; VOL. VI.

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940

Along the fhore with hafty ftrides he went; 935
Soon as he came, where, on the crouded ftrand,
The public mart and court of justice stand,
Where the tall fleet of great Ulyffeslies,
And altars to the guardian Gods arife;
There fad he met the brave Evæmon's fon,
Large painful drops from all his members run;
An arrow's head yet rooted in his wound,
The fable blood in circles mark'd the ground.
As faintly reeling he confefs'a the fmart;
Weak was his pace, but dauntlefs was his heart;
945

Divine compaffion touch'd Patroclus' breaft,
Who, fighing, thus his bleeding friend addrest:
Ah, haplefs leaders of the Grecian hoft!
Thus muft ye perith on a barbarous coaft?
Is this your fate, to glut the dogs with gore,
Far from your friends, and from your native
fhore?

950

955

Say, great Eurypylus! fhall Greece yet ftand?
Refifts the yet the raging Hector's hand?
Or are her heroes doom'd to die with fhame,
And this the period of our wars and fame>
Eurypylus replies: No more, my friend,
Greece is no more! this day her glories end.
Ev'n to the hips victorious Troy pursues,
Her force encreafing as her toil renews.
Thofe chiefs, that us'd her utmost rage to meet,
960
Lie pierc'd with wounds, and bleeding in the
fleet.

But thou, Patroclus! act a friendly part,
Lead to my fhips, and draw this deadly dart;
With lukewarm water wafh the gore away,
With healing balms the raging fmart allay,
Such as fage Chiron, fire of Pharmacy,
Once taught Achilles, and Achilles thee.
Of two fam'd furgeons, Podalirius ftands
This hour furrounded by the Trojan bands;
And great Machaon, wounded in his tent,
Now wants that fuccour which fo oft he lent.

965

970

To him the chief: What then remains to do? Th' event of things the Gods alone can view. Charg'd by Achilles' great command I fly, And bear with hafte the Pylian king's reply; 975 But thy diftrefs this inftant claims relief. He faid, and in his arms upheld the chief. The flaves their mafter's flow approach furvey'd, And hides of oxen on the floor difplay'd; There ftretch'd at length the wounded hero lay,

980

Patroclus cut the forky fteel away.
Then in his hands a bitter root he bruis'd;
The wound he wash'd, the ftyptic juice infus'd.
The closing flesh that inftant ceas'd to glow,
The wound to torture, and the blood to flow.
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THE Greeks being retired into their entrenchments, Helor attempts to force them; but it proving impoffible to pass the ditch, Polydamas advifes to quit their chariots, and manage the attack on foot. The Trojans follow his counfel, and, having divided their army into five bodies of foot, begin the affault. But upon the fignal of an eagle with a ferpent in his talons, which appeared on the left hand of the Trojans, Polydamas endeavours to withdraw them again. This Hector oppofes, and continues the attack; in which, after many allions, Sarpedon makes the first breach in the wall: Hector alfo cafting 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.

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HILE thus the hero's pious cares attend
The care and fafety of his wounded friend,
Trojans and Greeks with clafhing shields engage,
And mutual deaths are dealt with mutual rage.
Nor long the trench or lofty walls oppose;
With Gods averfe-th' ill-fated works arofe:
Their powers neglected, and no victim flain,
The walls were rais'd, the trenches funk in vain.
Without the Gods, how fhort a period ftands
The proudest monument of mortal hands!
This flood, while Hector and Achilles rag'd,
While facred Trey the warring hosts engag'd;
But when her fons were flain, her city burn'd,
And what furviv'd of Greece to Greece return'd;
Then Neptune and Apollo fhook the shore,
Then Ida's fummits pour'd their watery store;
Rhefus and Rhodius then unite their rills,
Carefus roaring down the ftony hills,
Efepus, Granicus, with mingled force,

15

And Xanthus foaming from his fruitful fource;

20

And gulphy Simoïs, rolling to the main
Helmets, and fhields, and god-like heroes flain:
Thefe turn'd by Phoebus from their wonted ways,
Deluged the rampire nine continual days;
The weight of waters faps the yielding wall, 25
And to the fea the floating bulwarks fall.

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No fragment tells where once the wonder toed;
In their old bounds the rivers roll again, 34
Shine 'twixt the hills, or wander o'er the plain.
But this the Gods in later times perform;
As yet the bulwark ftood, and brav'd the ftorm;
The ftrokes yet echoed of contending powers;
War thunder'd at the gates, and blood diftain'
the towers.

Smote by the arm of Jove, with dire difmay,
Clofe by their hollow fhips the Grecians lay:
Hector's approach in every wind they hear,
And Hector's fury every moment fear.
He, like a whirlwind, tofs'd the fcattering throng,

Mingled the troops, and drove the field along.
So 'midft the dogs and hunters daring bands,
Fierce of his might, a boar or lion stands;

45

50

Arm'd foes around a dreadful circle form,
And hiffing javelins rain an iron storm:
His powers untam'd their bold affault defy,
And where he turns, the rout difperfe, or die:
He foams, he glares, he bounds against them all,
And if he falls, his courage makes him fall.
With equal rage encompass'd Hector glows;
Exhorts his armies, and the trenches fhows.
The panting fteeds impatient fury breathe,
But fnort and tremble at the gulph beneath;
Juft on the brink they neigh, and paw the
ground,

110

115

In arms with thefe the mighty Afius ftood,
Who drew from Hyrtacus his noble blood,
And whom Arifba's yellow courfers bore,
The courfers fed on Selle's winding fhore.
Antenor's fons the fourth battalion guide,
And great Eneas, born on fountful Ide.
55 Divine Sarpedon the last band obey'd,
Whom Glaucus and Afteropæus aid;
Next him, the braveft at their army's head,
But he more brave than all the hofts he led.
Now with compacted fhields, in clofe array,
The moving legions fpeed their headlong way:
Already in their hopes they fire the fleet,
And fee the Grecians gafping at their feet.
While every Trojan thus, and every aid,
Th' advice of wife Polydamas obey'd;
Afius alone, confiding in his car,

And the turf trembles, and the skies refound. 60
Eager they view'd the profpećt dark and deep,
Vaft was the leap, and headlong hung the fteep;
The bottom bare (a formidable show!)
And briftled thick with fharpened stakes below.
The foot alone this strong defence could force, 65
And try the pass impervious to the horse.
This faw Polydamas: who, wifely brave,
Reftrain'd great Hector, and his counfel gave:
Oh thou! bold leader of the Trojan bands,
And
you, confederate chiefs from foreign lands!

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This counfel pleas'd: the God-like Hector fprung

His vaunted courfers urg'd to meet the war.
Unhappy hero! and advis'd in vain!

120

Those wheels returning ne'er fhall mark the plain:

139

No more thofe courfers with triumphant joy
Reftore their maiter to the gates of Troy !
Black death attends behind the Grecian wall,
And great Idomeneus fhall boast thy fall.
Fierce to the left he drives, where from the
plain

The flying Grecians ftrove their fhips to gain ;
Swift through the wall their horfe and chariots
paft,

The gates half-open'd to receive the laft.
Thither, exalting in his force, he flier:
His following hoft with clamours rend the kies;
To plunge the Grecians headlong in the main,
Such their proud hopes, but all their hopes were

vain.

To guard the gates, two mighty chiefs attend,
Who from the Lapiths' warlike race defcend;
This Pily poetes' great Pirithous' heir,
And that Leonteus, like the God of war.

As two tall oaks, before the wall they rife; 145
Their roots in earth, their heads amidst the skies:

Whofe fpreading arms, with leafy honours
crown'd,

Forbid the tempeft, and protect the ground;
High on the hill appears their stately form,
And their deep roots for ever brave the ftorm

150.

95

So graceful thefe, and fo the fhock they stand
Of raging Aftus, and his furious band.
Oreftes, Acamus, in front appear,
And Oenomaus and Thoon ciofe the rear;
In vain their clamours thake the ambient fields,

155

Swift from his feat; his clanging armour rung.
The chief's example follow'd by his train,
Each quits his car, and ifiues on the plain.
By orders ftrict the charioteers enjoin'd,
Compel the courfers to their ranks behind.
The forces part in five distinguish'd bands,
And all obey their feveral chiefs' commands. 100
The best and bravest in the first confpire,
Pant for the fight, and threat the flect with fire:
Great Hector glorious in the van of thefe,
Pelydamas, and brave Cebriones,

Before the next the graceful Paris fhines,
And bold Alcathoüs, and Agen.or jeins.
The fons of Priam with the third appear,
Desphobus, and Helenus the feer;

In vain around them beat their hollow fhields;
The fearless brothers on the Grecians call,
To guard their navics, and defend the wall.
Ev'n when they faw Troy's fable troops inipend,
And Grecce tumultuous from her towers defcend,

160

Forth from the portals rufh'd th' intrepid pair, 105 Oppos'd their breaks, and ftood themfelves the

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