Fly hence, deluding dream! and, light as air, To Agamemnon's ample tent repair; Bid him in arms draw forth th' embattled train, Lead all his Grecians to the dufty plain. Declare, ev'n now 'tis given him to destroy The lofty towers of wide extended Troy. For now no more the Gods with fate contend; At Juno's fuit the heavenly factions end. Deftruction hangs o'er yon devoted wall, And nodding Ilion waits th' impending fall. Swift as the word the vain illufion fled, Defcends, and hovers o'er Atrides' head; Cloth'd in the figure of the Pilian sage, Renown'd for wisdom, and rever'd for age; Around his temples fpreads his golden wing, And thus the flattering dream deceives the king:

Can't thou, with all a monarch's cares opprest,
Oh, Atreus fon! can'ft thou indulge thy rest?
Ill fits a chief who mighty nations guides,
Directs in council, and in war prefides,
To whom its fafety a whole people owes,
To wafte long nights in indolent repose.
Monarch, awake! 'tis Jove's commands I bear;
Thou, and thy glory, claim his heavenly care.
In just array draw forth th' embattled train,
Lead all thy Grecians to the dusty plain;
Ev'n now, O king! 'tis given thee to destroy
The lofty towers of wide-extended Troy.
For now no more the Gods with fate contend,
At Juno's fur the heavenly factions end.
Deftruction hangs o'er yon devoted wall,
And nodding Ilion waits th' impending fall,
Awake; but waking, this advice approve,
And trust the vision that defcends from Jove.
The phantom faid; then vanish'd from his
fight,

Refolves to air, and mixes with the night.
A thousand fchemes the monarch's mind employ;
Elate in thought he facks untaken Troy:
Vain as he was, and to the future blind;
Nor faw what Jove and fecret fate defign'd,
"What mighty toils to either hoft remain,
What fcenes of grief, and numbers of the flain!
Eager he rifes, and in fancy hears

The voice celeftial murmuring in his ears.
First on his limbs a flender veft he drew,
Around him next the regal mantle threw ;
Th' embroider'd fandals on his feet were tied,
The ftarry faulchion glitter'd at his fide;
And laft his arm the mafly fceptre loads,
Unftain'd, immortal, and the gift of Gods.
Now rofy morn afcends the court of Jove,
Lifts up her light, and opens day above.
The king difpatch'd his heralds with commands
To range the camp, and fummon all the bands;
The gathering hoits the monarch's word obey;
While to the fleet Atrides bends his way.
In his black flip the Pylian prince he found;
There calls a fenate of the Peers around;
Th' affembly plac'd, the king of men exprest
The counfels labouring in his artful breast:

Friends and confederates! with attentive ear
Receive my words, and credit what you hear.
Late as I flumber'd in the fhades of night,
A dream divine appear'd before my fight;
Whofe vifionery form like Neftor came,
The fame in habit, and in mien the fame.

The heavenly phantom hover'd o'er my head,
And, doft thou fleep, Oh, Atreus' fon? (he faid)
Ill fits a chief whe mighty nations guides,
Directs in council, and in war prefides,
To whom its fafety a whole people owes;
To wafte long night in indolent repofe.
Monarch, awake! 'tis Jove's command I bear,
Thou and thy glory claim his heavenly care.
In just array draw forth th' embattled train,
And lead the Grecians to the dusty plain;
Ev'n now, O king! 'tis given thee to destroy
The lofty towers of wide-extended Troy.
For now no more the Gods with fate contend;
At Juno's fuit the heavenly factions end.
Deftruction hangs on yon devoted wall,
And nodding Ilion waits th' impending fail.
This hear obfervant, and the Gods obey!
The vision spoke, and past in air away.
Now, valiant chiefs! fince Heav'n itself alarms.
Unite, and roufe the fons of Greece to arms.
But first, with caution try what yet they dare,
Worn with nine years of unfuccessful war!
To move the troops to measure back the main,
Be mine; and your's the province to detain.

He spoke, and fat; when Neftor rising faid,
(Neftor, whom Pylos' fandy realms obey'd).
Princes of Greece, your faithful ears incline,
Nor doubt the vifion of the Powers divine;
Sent by great Jove to him who rules the hoft,
Forbid it, Heaven! this warning should be loft!
Then let us hafte, obey the God's alarms,
And join to roufe the fons of Greece to arms.

Thus fpoke the fage: The kings without delay
Diffolve the council, and their chief obey:
The fceptred rulers lead; the following hoft
Pour'd forth by thousands, darkens all the coaft.
As from fome rocky cleft the shepherd fees
Clustering in heaps on heaps the driving becs,
Rolling, and blackening, fwarms fucceeding
fwarms,

With deeper murmurs and more hoarse alarms;
Dufky they spread, a close embody'd crowd,
And o'er the vale defcends the living cloud.
So, from the tents and fhips, a lengthening train
Spreads all the beach, and wide o'erfhades the
Along the region runs a deafening found; [plain :
Beneath their footfteps groans the trembling
Fame flies before, the inefienger of Jove, [ground.
And fhining foars, and claps her wings above.
Nine facred heralds now, proclaiming loud
The monarch's will, fufpend the liftening crowd.
Soon as the throngs in order rang'd appear,
And fainter murmurs dy'd upon the ear,
The king of kings his awful figure rais'd;
High in his hand the golden fceptre blaz'd:
The golden fceptre, of celeftial frame,
By Vulcan form'd, from Jove to Hermes came :
To Pelops he th' immortal gift refign'd;
Th' immortal gift great Pelops left behind,
In Atreus' hand, which not with Atreus ends,
To rich Thyeftes next the prize defcends:
And now the mark of Agamemnon's reign,
Subjects all Argos, and controls the main.

On this bright fceptre now the king reclin'd, And artful thus pronounc'd the speech defign'd: Ye fons of Mars! partake your leader's care, Heroes of Greece, and brothers of the war!

Of partial Jove with juftice I complain,
And heavenly oracles believ'd in vain.
A fafe return was promis'd to our toils,
Renown'd, triumphant, and enrich'd with spoils.
Now thameful flight alone can save the host,
Our blood, our treafure, and our glory loft.
So Jove decrees, refiftless lord of all!

At whofe command whole empires rise or fall:
He thakes the feeble props of human truft,
And towns and armies humbles to the dust.
What fhame to Greece a fruitles war to wage,
Oh, lasting shame in every future age!
Once great in arms, the common fcorn we grow,
Repuls'd and baffled by a feeble foe:

So fmall their number, that if wars were ceas'd,
And Greece triumphant held a general feast,
All rank'd by tens, whole decades when they dine
Muft want a Trojan slave to pour the wine.
But other forces have our hopes o'erthrown,
And Troy prevails by armies not her own.
Now nine long years of mighty Jove are run,
Since firft the labours of this war begun :
Our cordage torn, decay'd our veffels lie,
And scarce enfure the wretched power to fly.
Hafte then, for ever leave the Trojan wall!
Our weeping wives, our tender children call :
Love, duty, fafety, fummon us away,
'Tis nature's voice, and nature we obey.
Our shatter'd barks may yet transport us o'er,
Safe and inglorious, to our native fhore.
Fly, Grecians, fly, your fails and oars employ,
And dream no more of Heav'n-defended Troy.
His deep defign unknown, the hofts approve
Atrides' ípeech. The mighty numbers move.
So roll the billows to th' Icarian fhore,

From Eaft and South when winds, begin to roar,
Burft their dark manfions in the clouds, and fweep
The whitening furface of the ruffled deep,
And as on corn when western gufts defcend,
Before the blaft the lofty harvest bends:
Thus o'er the field the moving hoft appears,
With nodding plumes, and groves of waving
ípears.
[feet
The gathering murmur fpreads, their trampling
Beat the loofe fands, and thicken to the fleet.
With long rofounding cries they urge the train
To fit the fhips, and launch into the main.
They toil, they fweat, thick clouds of dust arise,
The doubling clamours echo to the skies.
Ev'n then the Greeks had left the hoftile plain,
And fate decreed the fall of Troy in vain;
But Jove's imperial queen their flight furvey'd,
And fighing, thus bespoke the blue-ey'd maid:
Shall then the Grecians fly! O dire disgrace!
And leave unpunith'd this perfidious race?
Shall Troy, fhall Priam, and th' adulterous spouse,
In peace enjoy the fruits of broken vows?
And braveft chiefs, in Helen's quarrel flain,
Lie unreveng'd on yon detefted plain?
No: let my Greeks, unmov'd by vain alarms,
Once more refulgent fhine in brazen arms.
Haite, Goddess, hafte! the flying host detain,
Nor let one fail be hoifted on the main.

Pallas obeys, and from Olympus' height
Swift to the fhips precipitates her flight;
Ulyffes, firft in public cares, fhe found,

Opprefs'd with gen/rous grief the hero stood,
Nor drew his fable veffels to the flood.
And is it thus, divine Laërtes' fon!
Thus fly the Greeks (the martial maid begun)
Thus to their country bear their own difgrace,
And fame eternal leave to Priam's race?
Shall beauteous Helen ftill remain unfreed,
Still unreveng'd a thousand heroes bleed?
Hafte, generous Ithacus! prevent the shame,
Recall your armies, and your chiefs reclaim.
Your own refiftlefs eloquence employ,
And to the immortals truft the fall of Troy.

The voice divine confefs'd the warlike maid,
Ulyffes heard, nor uninspir'd obey'd:
Then meeting firft Atrides, from his hand
Receiv'd th' imperial fceptre of command.
Thus grac'd, attention and respect to gain,
He runs, he flies, through all the Grecian train;
Each prince of name, or chief in arms approv'd,
He fir'd with praise, or with persuasion mov'd.

Warriors, like you, with ftrength and wildom By brave examples fhould confirm, the reft. [bleft, The monarch's will not yet reveal'd appears; He tries our courage, but refents our fears: Th' unwary Greeks his fury may provoke; Not thus the king in fecret council ipoke. Jove loves our chief, from Jove his honour springs, Beware for dreadful is the wrath of kings.

But if a clamorous vile plebeian rofe, Him with reproof he check'd, or tam'd with blows. Be ftill, thou flave, and to thy betters yield; Unknown alike in council and in field! Ye Gods, what daftards would our hoft command, Swept to the war, the lumber of a land! Be filent, wretch, and think not here allow'd That worst of tyrants, an ufurping crowd: To one fole monarch Jove commits the fway; His are the laws, and him let all obey. ↑

With words like thefe the troops Ulyffes rul'd,
The loudest filenc'd, and the fiercest cool'd.
Back to th' aflembly roll'd the thronging train,
Defert the fhips, and pour upon the plain.
Murmuring they move, as when old Ocean roars,
And heaves huge furges to the trembling.fhores:
The groaning banks are burft with bellowing
found,

The rocks remurmur, and the deeps rebound.
At length the tumult finks, the noises cease,
And a ftill filence lulls the camp to peace,
Therfites only clamour'd in the throng,
Loquacious, loud, and turbulent of tongue :
Aw'd by no flame, by no refpects control'd,
In fcandal bufy, in reproaches bold:
With witty malice ftudious to defame:
Scorn all his joy, and laughter all his aim;
But chief he glory'd, with licentious style,
To lath the great, and monarchs to revile.
His figure fuch as might his foul proclaim;
One eye was blinking, and one leg was lame;
His mountain fhoulders half his breaft o'erfpread,
Thin hairs beftrew'd his long mishapen head.
Spleen to mankind his envious heart poffeft,
And much he hated all, but most the best.
Ulyffes or Achilles ftill his theme;
But royal fcandal his delight fupreme.
Long had he liv'd the fcorn of every Greek,

Fly hence, deluding dream! and, light as air, To Agamemnon's ample tent repair;

Bid him in arms draw forth th' embattled train,
Lead all his Grecians to the dufty plain.
Declare, ev'n now 'tis given him to deftroy
The lofty towers of wide extended Troy.
For now no more the Gods with fate contend;
At Juno's fuit the heavenly factions end.
Deftruction hangs o'er yon devoted wall,
And nodding Ilion waits th' impending fall.
Swift as the word the vain illufion fled,
Defcends, and hovers o'er Atrides' head;
Cloth'd in the figure of the Pilian fage,
Renown'd for wifdom, and rever'd for
age;
Around his temples fpreads his golden wing,
And thus the flattering dream deceives the king:
Can't thou, with all a monarch's cares oppreft,
Oh, Atreus fon! can't thou indulge thy reit?
Ill fits a chief who mighty nations guides,
Directs in council, and in war prefides,
To whom its fafety a whole people owes,
To wafte long nights in indolent repose.
Monarch, awake! 'tis Jove's commands I bear;
Thou, and thy glory, claim his heavenly care.
In just array draw forth th' embattled train,
Lead all thy Grecians to the dusty plain;
Ev'n now, O king! 'tis given thee to destroy
The lofty towers of wide-extended Troy.
For now no more the Gods with fate contend,
At Juno's fun the heavenly factions end.
Deftruction hangs o'er yon devoted wall,
And nodding Ilion waits th' impending fall,
Awake; but waking, this advice approve,
And trust the vifion that defcends from Jove.

The phantom faid; then vanish'd from his
fight,

Refolves to air, and mixes with the night.
A thoufand fchemes the monarch's mind employ;
Elate in thought he facks untaken Troy:
Vain as he was, and to the future blind;
Nor faw what Jove and fecret fate defign'd,
"What mighty toils to either hoft remain,
What scenes of grief, and numbers of the flain!
Eager he rifes, and in fancy hears

The voice celeftial murmuring in his ears.
First on his limbs a flender veft he drew,
Around him next the regal mantle threw;
Th' embroider'd fandals on his feet were tied,
The ftarry faulchion glitter'd at his fide;
And laft his arm the mafly fceptre loads,
Unftain'd, immortal, and the gift of Gods.
Now rofy morn afcends the court of Jove,
Lifts up her light, and opens day above.
The king dispatch'd his heralds with commands
To range the camp, and fummon all the bands;
The gathering hots the monarch's word obey;
While to the fiçet Atrides bends his way.
In his black ship the Pylian prince he found
There calls a fenate of the Peers around;
Th' affembly plac'd, the king of men expreft
The counfels labouring in his artful breaft:

Friends and confederates! with attentive ear Receive my words, and credit what you hear. Late as I flumber'd in the fhades of night, A dream divine appear'd before my fight; Whofe vifionary form like Neftor came, The fame in habit, and in mien the fame.

The heavenly phantom hover'd o'er my head,
And, doft thou fleep, Oh, Atreus' fon? (he faid)
Ill fits a chief who mighty nations guides,
Directs in council, and in war prefides,
To whom its fafety a whole people owes;
To wafte long night in indolent repofe.
Monarch, awake! 'tis Jove's command I bear,
Thou and thy glory claim his heavenly care.
In just array draw forth th' embattled train,
And lead the Grecians to the dusty plain;
Ev'n now, O king! 'tis given thee to destroy
The lofty towers of wide-extended Troy.
For now no more the Gods with fate contend
At Juno's fuit the heavenly factions end.
Destruction hangs on yon devoted wall,
And nodding Ilion waits th' impending fail.
This hear obfervant, and the Gods abey!
The vision (poke, and paft in air away.

Now, valiant chiefs! fince Heav'n itself alarms;
Unite, and roufe the fons of Greece to arms.
But first, with caution try what yet they dare,
Worn with nine years of unfuccessful war!
To move the troops to measure back the main,
Be mine; and your's the province to detain.

He fpoke, and fat; when Neftor rifing said,
(Neftor, whom Pylos' fandy realms obey'd)
Princes of Greece, your faithful ears incline,
Nor doubt the vifion of the Powers divine;
Sent by great Jove to him who rules the hoft,
Forbid it, Heaven! this warning fhould be loft!
Then let us hafte, obey the God's alarms,
And join to route the fons of Greece to arms.

Thus fpoke the fage: The kings without delay
Diffolve the council, and their chief obey:
The fceptred rulers lead; the following hoft
Pour'd forth by thoufands, darkens all the coast.
As from fome rocky cleft the fhepherd fees
Cluftering in heaps on heaps the driving becs,
Rolling, and blackening, fwarms fucceeding
fwarms,

With deeper murmurs and more hoarfe alarms;
Dufky they fpread, a clofe embody'd crowd,
And o'er the vale defcends the living cloud.
So, from the tents and fhips, a lengthening train
Spreads all the beach, and wide o'erfhades the
Along the region runs a deafening found; [plain :
Beneath their footsteps groans the trembling
Fame flies before, the ineflenger of Jove, [ground.
And fhining foars, and claps her wings above.
Nine facred heralds now, proclaiming loud
The monarch's will, fufpend the listening crowd.
Soon as the throngs in order rang'd appear,
And fainter murmurs dy'd upon the ear,
The king of kings his awful figure rais'd;
High in his band the golden fceptre blaz'd:
The golden fceptre, of celeftial frame,

By Vulcan form'd, from Jove to Hermes came :
To Pelops he th' immortal gift refign'd;
Th' immortal gift great Pelops left behind,
In Atreus' hand, which not with Atreus ends,
To rich Thyeftes next the prize defcends:
And now the mark of Agamemnon's reign,
Subjects all Argos, and controls the main.

On this bright fceptre now the king reclin'd, And artful thus pronounc'd the speech defign'd: Ye fons of Mars! partake your leader's care, Heroes of Greece, and brothers of the war!

Of partial Jove with juftice I complain,
And heavenly oracles believ'd in vain.
A safe return was promis'd to our toils,
Renown'd, triumphant, and enrich'd with spoils.
Now thameful flight alone can save the hoft,
Our blood, our treasure, and our glory loft.
So Jove decrees, refiftlefs lord of all!

At whofe command whole empires rife or fall:
He shakes the feeble props of human trust,
And towns and armies humbles to the duft.
What shame to Greece a fruitles war to wage,
Oh, lafting fhame in every future age!
Once great in arms, the common fcorn we grow,
Repuls'd and baffled by a feeble foe:

So fmall their number, that if wars were ceas'd,
And Greece triumphant held a general feast,
All rank'd by tens, whole decades when they dine
Muft want a Trojan slave to pour the wine.
But other forces have our hopes o'erthrown,
And Troy prevails by armies not her own.
Now nine long years of mighty Jove are run,
Since firft the labours of this war begun :
Our cordage torn, decay'd our veffels lie,
And scarce enfure the wretched power to fly.
Hafte then, for ever leave the Trojan wall!
Our weeping wives, our tender children call:
Love, duty, fafety, fummon us away,
'Tis nature's voice, and nature we obey.
Our shatter'd barks may yet transport us o'er,
Safe and inglorious, to our native fhore.
Fly, Grecians, fly, your fails and oars employ,
And dream no more of Heav'n-defended Troy.
His deep defign unknown, the hofts approve
Atrides' fpeech. The mighty numbers move.
So roll the billows to th' Icarian fhore,

From East and South when winds, begin to roar,
Burft their dark manfions in the clouds, and fweep
The whitening furface of the ruffled deep,
And as on corn when western gufts defcend,
Before the blaft the lofty harvest bends:
Thus o'er the field the moving hoft appears,
With nodding plumes, and groves of waving
fpears.
[feet
The gathering murmur fpreads, their trampling
Beat the loofe fands, and thicken to the fleet.
With long-rofounding cries they urge the train
To fit the fhips, and launch into the main.
They toil, they fweat, thick clouds of dust arife,
The doubling clamours echo to the skies.
Er'n then the Greeks had left the hostile plain,
And fate decreed the fall of Troy in vain;
But Jove's imperial queen their flight survey'd,
And fighing, thus bespoke the blue-ey'd maid:
Shall then the Grecians fly! O dire disgrace!
And leave unpunifh'd this perfidious race?
Shall Troy, fhall Priam, and th' adulterous fpoufe,
In peace enjoy the fruits of broken vows?
And braveft chiefs, in Helen's quarrel flain,
Lie unreveng'd on yon detested plain ?
No: let my Greeks, unmov'd by vain alarms,
Once more refulgent thine in brazen arms.
Hafte, Goddess, hafte! the flying host detain,
Nor let one fail be hoisted on the main.

Pallas obeys, and from Olympus' height
Swift to the fhips precipitates her flight;
Ulyffes, first in public cares, the found,

Opprefs'd with gen/rous grief the hero stood,
Nor drew his fable veffels to the flood.
And is it thus, divine Laërtes' fon!
Thus fly the Greeks (the martial maid begun)
Thus to their country bear their own difgrace,
And fame eternal leave to Priam's race?
Shall beauteous Helen ftill remain unfreed,
Still unreveng'd a thousand heroes bleed?
Hafte, generous Ithacus! prevent the shame,
Recall your armies, and your chiefs reclaim.
Your own refiftlefs eloquence employ,
And to the immortals truft the fall of Troy.

The voice divine confefs'd the warlike maid,
Ulyffes heard, nor uninfpir'd obey'd:
Then meeting firft Atrides, from his hand
Receiv'd th' imperial fceptre of command.
Thus grac'd, attention and respect to gain,
He runs, he flies, through all the Grecian train;
Each prince of name, or chief in arms approv'd,
He fir'd with praise, or with perfuafion mov'd.

Warriors, like you, with ftrength and wifdom By brave examples should confirm the reft. [bleft, The monarch's will not yet reveal'd appears; He tries our courage, but reients our fears: Th' unwary Greeks his fury may provoke; Not thus the king in fecret council ipoke. Jove loves our chief, from Jove his honour fprings, Beware for dreadful is the wrath of kings.

But if a clamorous vile plebeian rose, Him with reproof he check'd, or tam'd with blows. Be ftill, thou flave, and to thy betters yield; Unknown alike in council and in field! Ye Gods, what daftards would our hoft command, Swept to the war, the lumber of a land! Be filent, wretch, and think not here allow'd That worst of tyrants, an ufurping crowd: To one fole monarch Jove commits the fway; His are the laws, and him let all obey. I

With words like thefe the troops Ulyffes rul'd,
The loudest filenc'd, and the fiercest cool'd.
Back to th' aflembly roll'd the thronging train,
Defert the ships, and pour upon the plain.
Murmuring they move, as when old Ocean roars,
And heaves huge furges to the trembling.fhores:
The groaning banks are burft with bellowing
found,

The rocks remurmur, and the deeps rebound.
At length the tumult finks, the noises cease,
And a ftill filence lulls the camp to peace,
Therfites only clamour'd in the throng,
Loquacious, loud, and turbulent of tongue :
Aw'd by no flame, by no refpects control'd,
In fcandal bufy, in reproaches bold:
With witty malice ftudious to defame:
Scorn all his joy, and laughter all his aim;
But chief he glory'd, with licentious style,
To lath the great, and monarchs to revile.
His figure fuch as might his foul proclaim;
One eye was blinking, and one leg was lame;
His mountain fhoulders half his breaft o'erfpread,
Thin hairs beftrew'd his long mishapen head.
Spleen to mankind his envious heart poffeft,
And much he hated all, but most the best.
Ulyffes or Achilles ftill his theme;
But royal fcandal his delight fupreme.
Long had he liv'd the fcorn of every Greek,

Sharp was his voice, which, in the fhrilleft tone,
Thus with injurious taunts attack'd the throne:
Amidst the glories of fo bright a reign,
What moves the great Atrides to complain?
"Tis thine whate'er the warrior's breaft inflames,
The golden spoil, and thine the lovely dames.
With all the wealth our wars and blood bestow,
Thy tents are crowded, and thy chefts o'erflow:
Thus at full eafe in heaps of riches roll'd,
What grieves the monarch? Is it thirft of gold?
Say, thall we march with our unconquer'd powers,
(The Greeks and I) to Ilion's hoftile towers,
And bring the race of royal baftards here,
For Troy to ranfom at a price too dear?
But fafer plunder thy own hoft supplies;
Say, would't thou feize fome valiant leader's prize?
Or, if thy heart to generous love be led,
Some captive fair, to bless thy kingly bed?
Whate'er our master craves, fubmit we muft,
Plagued with his pride, or punish'd for his luft.
Oh women of Achaia! men no more!
Hence let us fly, and let him wafte his store
In loves and pleasures on the Phrygian fhore;
We may be wanted on fome bufy day,
When Hector comes: fo great Achilles may :
From him he forc'd the prize we jointly gave,
From him, the fierce, the fearlefs, and the brave:
And durft he, as he ought, refent that wrong,
This mighty tyrant were no tyrant long.
Fierce from his feat at this Ulyffes fprings,
In generous vengeance of the king of kings;
With indignation fparkling in his eyes,
He views the wretch, and fternly thus replies:

Peace, factious monster, born to vex the state,
With wrangling talents form'd for foul debate:
Curb that impetuous tongue, nor, rafhly vain
And fingly mad, afperfe the fovereign reign.
Have we not known thee, flave! of all our hoft,
The man who acts the least, upbraids the most?
Think not the Greeks to fhameful flight to bring,
Nor let thofe lips profane the name of king.
For our return we trust the heavenly Powers;
Be that their care; to fight like men be ours.
But grant the hoft with wealth the general load,
Except detraction, what haft thou bestow'd?
Suppose fome hero fhould his spoils refign,
Art thou that hero, could thofe fpoils be thine?
Gods let me perish on this hateful shore,
And let thefe eyes behold my fon no more;
If, on thy next offence, this hand forbear
To ftrip thofe arms thou ill deferv't to wear,
Expel the council where our princes meet,
And fend thee fcourg'd and howling thro' the fleet.

He faid, and cowering as the daftard bends, The weighty fceptre on his back defcends : On the round bunch the bloody tumors rife ; The tears spring starting from his haggard eyes: Trembling he fat, and, fhrunk in abject fears, From his vile vifage wip'd the fcalding tears. While to his neighbour each exprefs'd his thought: Ye Gods! what wonders has Ulyffes wrought! What fruits his conduct and his courage yield; Great in the council, glorious in the held Generous he rifes in the crown's defence, To curb the factious tongue of infolence. Such juft examples on offenders fhown, Sedition filence, and affert the throne.

'Twas thus the general voice the hero prais♂, Who, rifing, high th' imperial fceptre rais'd: The blue-ey'd Pallas, his celeftial friend, (In form a herald) bade the crowds attend. Th' expecting crowds in ftill attention hung, To hear the wisdom of his heavenly tongue. Then deeply thoughtful, paufing ere he ipoke, His filence thus the prudent hero broke:

Unhappy monarch whom the Grecian race,
With shame deserting, heap with vile disgrace.
Not fuch at Argos was their generous vow,
Once all their voice, but, ah! forgotten now:
Ne'er to return, was then the common cry,
Till Troy's proud structures should in afhes lie.
Behold them weeping for their native shore !
What could their wives or helpless children more ?
What heart but melts to leave the tender train,
And, one fhort month, endure the wintery main ?
Few leagues remov'd, we wish our peaceful feat,
When the fhip toffes, and the tempests beat:
Then well may this long ftay provoke their tears,
The tedious length of nine revolving years.
Not for their grief the Grecian host I blame;
But vanquish'd baffled! oh, eternal shame!
Expect the time to Troy's deftruction given,
And try the faith of Chalcas and of Heaven.
What pafs'd at Aulis, Greece can witness bear,
And all who live to breathe this Phrygian air.
Befide a fountain's facred brink we rais'd
Our verdant altars, and the victims blaz'd;
('Twas where the plane-tree fpreads its shades
around)

The altars heav'd; and from the crumbling ground
A mighty dragon fhot, of dire portent;
From Jove himself the dreadful fign was fent.
Strait to the tree his fanguine fpire he roll'd,
And curl'd around in many a winding fold.
The topmaft branch a mother-bird poffet;
Eight callow infants fill'd the moffy neft;
Herself the ninth; the ferpent, as he hung,
Stretch'd his black jaws, and crufh'd the crying
While hovering near, with miferable moan, [young;
The drooping mother wail'd her children gone.
The mother laft, as round the neft the flew,
Seiz'd by the beating wing, the monster flew :
Nor long furviv'd; to marble turn'd, he stands
A lafting prodigy on Aulis' fands.

Such was the will of Jove; and hence we dare
Truft in his omen, and fupport the war.
For while around we gaze with wondering eyes,
And trembling fought the powers with facrifice,
Full of his God, the reverend Chalcas cried,
Ye Grecian warriors! lay your fears afide.
This wond'rous fignal Jove himself difplays,
Of long, long labours, but eternal praise.
As many birds as by the fnake were flain,
So many years the toils of Greece remain;
But wait the tenth, for Ilion's fall decreed:
Thus spoke the prophet, thus the fates fucceed.
Obey, ye Grecians! with fubmiffion wait,
Nor let your flight avert the Trojan fate.

He faid: the theres with loud applaufes found,
The hollow fhips each deafening fhout rebound.
Then Neftor thus---Thefe vain debates forbear,
Ye talk like children, not like heroes dare.
Where now are all your high resolves at laft?
Your leagues concluded, your engagements paft?