Ye who are younger than myself,- for I

Have lived with braver men than you, and yet
They held me not in light esteem.

I never saw, nor shall I see again,—

Such men

Men like Pirithoüs and like Druas, lord

Of nations, Cæneus and Exadius,

And the great Polypheme, and Theseus, son

Of Ægeus, likest to the immortal gods.

Strongest of all the earth-born race they fought-
The strongest
with the strongest of their time—

With Centaurs, the wild dwellers of the hills,
And fearfully destroyed them. With these men
Did I hold converse, coming to their camp
From Pylos in a distant land. They sent
To bid me join the war, and by their side

I fought my best, but no man living now

On the wide earth would dare to fight with them.
Great as they were, they listened to my words
And took my counsel. Hearken also ye,
And let my words persuade you for the best.
Thou, powerful as thou art, take not from him
The maiden; suffer him to keep the prize
Decreed him by the sons of Greece; and thou,
Pelides, strive no longer with the king,

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Since never Jove on sceptred prince bestowed
Like eminence to his. Though braver thou,
And goddess-born, yet hath he greater power
And wider sway. Atrides, calm thy wrath-
'Tis I who ask-against the chief who stands
The bulwark of the Greeks in this fierce war."
To him the sovereign Agamemnon said:—
"The things which thou hast uttered, aged chief,
Are fitly spoken; but this man would stand

Above all others; he aspires to be

The master, over all to domineer,

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And to direct in all things; yet, I think,

There may be one who will not suffer this.

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For if by favor of the immortal gods

He was made brave, have they for such a cause

Given him the liberty of insolent speech?"

Hereat the great Achilles, breaking in,

Answered: "Yea, well might I deserve the name
Of coward and of wretch, should I submit
In all things to thy bidding. Such commands
Lay thou on others, not on me; nor think
I shall obey thee longer. This I say, -
And bear it well in mind,—I shall not lift
My hand to keep the maiden whom ye gave

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And now take from me; but whatever else

May be on board that swift black ship of mine,
Beware thou carry not away the least

Without my leave. Come, make the trial now,

That these may see thy black blood bathe my spear."
Then, rising from that strife of words, the twain
Dissolved the assembly at the Grecian fleet.
Pelides to his tents and well-manned ships

Went with Patroclus and his warrior friends,
While Agamemnon bade upon the sea
Launch a swift bark with twenty chosen men
To ply the oar, and put a hecatomb
Upon it for the god. He thither led

He

The fair-cheeked maid Chryseis; the command
gave to wise Ulysses; forth they went,
Leader and crew, upon their watery path.
Meanwhile, he bade the camp be purified;

camp,

And straight the warriors purified the
And, casting the pollutions to the waves,
They burned to Phoebus chosen hecatombs
Of bulls and goats beside the barren main,
From which the savor rose in smoke to heaven.
So was the host employed. But not the less
Did Agamemnon persevere to urge

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His quarrel with Pelides; and he thus
Addressed Talthybius and Eurybates,

His heralds and his faithful ministers:

"Go ye to where Achilles holds his tent,
And take the fair Briseis by the hand,
And bring her hither. If he yield her not,
I shall come forth to claim her with a band
Of warriors, and it shall be worse for him.”
He spake, and sent them forth with added words
Of menace. With unwilling steps they went

Beside the barren deep, until they reached

The tents and vessels of the Myrmidons,

And found Achilles seated by his tent

And his black ship; their coming pleased him not.
They, moved by fear and reverence of the king,
Stopped, and bespake him not, nor signified

Their errand; he perceived their thought and said:—
"Hail, heralds, messengers of Jove and men!

Draw near; I blame you not. I only blame

Atrides, who hath sent you for the maid.
Noble Patroclus! bring the damsel forth,
And let them lead her hence. My witnesses
Are ye, before the blessed deities,

And mortal men, and this remorseless king,

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L

If ever he shall need me to avert

The doom of utter ruin from his host.

Most sure it is, he madly yields himself
To fatal counsels, thoughtless of the past
And of the future, nor forecasting how

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The Greeks may fight, unvanquished, by their fleet." 430 He spake. Meantime Patroclus had obeyed

The word of his beloved friend. He brought

The fair-cheeked maid Briseis from the tent,

And she was led away. The messengers

Returned to where their barks were moored, and she 435

Unwillingly went with them. Then in tears

Achilles, from his friends withdrawing, sat
Beside the hoary ocean-marge, and gazed

On the black deep beyond, and stretched his hands,
And prayed to his dear mother, earnestly: -

"Mother! since thou didst bring me forth to dwell

Brief space on earth, Olympian Jupiter,

Who thunders in the highest, should have filled

That

space with honors, but he grants them not. Wide-ruling Agamemnon takes and holds

The prize I won, and thus dishonors me."

Thus, shedding tears, he spake. His mother heard, Sitting within the ocean deeps, beside

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