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When now Minerva saw her Argives slain, From vast Olympus to the gleaming plain Fierce she descends: Apollo mark'd her flight, Nor shot less swift from Ilion's towery height: Radiant they met, beneath the beechen shade; When thus Apollo to the blue-eyed maid:

What cause, O daughter of almighty Jove!

Here, if I fall, by chance of battle slain,
Be his my spoil, and his these arms remain;
But let my body, to my friends return'd,
By Trojan hands and Trojan flames be burn'd:
And if Apollo, in whose aid I trust,

Shall stretch your daring champion in the dust:
If mine the glory to despoil the foe;

Thus wings thy progress from the realms above? 30 On Phœbus' temple I'll his arms bestow:

Once more impetuous dost thou bend thy way,
To give to Greece the long-divided day?
Too much has Troy already felt thy hate,

Now breathe thy rage, and hush the stern de-
bate:

This day, the business of the field suspend;
War soon shall kindle, and great Ilion bend;
Since vengeful goddesses confederate join
To raze her walls, though built by hands divine.
To whom the progeny of Jove replies:

I left, for this, the council of the skies :
But who shall bid conflicting hosts forbear?
What art shall calm the furious sons of war?
To her the god: Great Hector's soul incite
To dare the boldest Greek to single fight,
Till Greece, provoked, from all her numbers show
A warrior worthy to be Hector's foe.

At this agreed, the heavenly powers withdrew;
Sage Helenus their secret counsels knew:
Hector, inspired, he sought to him address'd,
Thus told the dictates of his sacred breast:
O son of Priam! let thy faithful ear
Receive my words; thy friend and brother hear:
Go forth persuasive, and awhile engage
The warring nations to suspend their rage;
Then dare the boldest of the hostile train
To mortal combat on the listed plain.
For not this day shall end thy glorious date;
The gods have spoke it, and their voice is fate.
He said the warrior heard the word with joy;
Then with his spear restrain'd the youth of Troy,
Held by the midst athwart. On either hand
The squadrons part; the expecting Trojans stand:
Great Agamemnon bids the Greeks forbear;
They breathe, and hush the tumult of the war.
The Athenian maid, and glorious god of day,
With silent joy the settling hosts survey:
In form of vultures, on the beech's height
They sit conceal'd, and wait the future fight.

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The breathless carcass to your navy sent,
Greece on the shore shall raise a monument;
Which when some future mariner surveys,
Wash'd by broad Hellespont's resounding seas, 100
Thus shall he say: A valiant Greek lies there,
By Hector slain, the mighty man of war.
The stone shall tell your vanquish'd hero's name,
And distant ages learn the victor's fame.

This fierce defiance Greece astonish'd heard,
Blush'd to refuse, and to accept it fear'd.
40 Stern Menelaus first the silence broke,
And, inly groaning, thus opprobrious spoke :

Women of Greece! oh scandal of your race,
Whose coward souls your manly form disgrace, 110
How great the shame, when every age shall know
That not a Grecian met this noble foe!

Go then, resolve to earth, from whence ye grew,
A heartless, spiritless, inglorious crew!
Be what ye seem, unanimated clay!
Myself will dare the danger of the day.

50 'Tis man's bold task the generous strife to try,
But in the hands of God is victory.

These words scarce spoke, with generous ardour
press'd,

His manly limbs in azure arms he dress'd.
That day, Atrides! a superior hand

120

Had stretch'd thee breathless on the hostile strand.
But all at once, thy fury to compose,

The kings of Greece, an awful band, arose:
E'en he, their chief, great Agamemnon, press'd
60 Thy daring hand, and this advice address'd:
Whither, O Menelaus! wouldst thou run,
And tempt a fate which prudence bids thee shun?
Grieved though thou art, forbear the rash design;
Great Hector's arm is mightier far than thine.
E'en fierce Achilles learn'd its force to fear,
And trembling met this dreadful son of war.
Sit thou secure amidst thy social band;
Greece in our cause shall arm some powerful hand.
The mightiest warrior of the Achaian name,

The thronging troops obscure the dusky fields,
Horrid with bristling spears, and gleaming shields.
As when a general darkness veils the main
(Soft Zephyr curling the wide watery plain,)
The waves scarce heave, the face of ocean sleeps,
And still a horror saddens all the deeps:
Thus in thick orders settling wide around,
At length composed they sit, and shade the ground.
Great Hector first amidst both armies broke
The solemn silence, and their powers bespoke:
Hear, all ye Trojan, all ye Grecian bands,
What my soul prompts, and what some god com-
mands:

Great Jove, averse our warfare to compose,
O'erwhelms the nations with new toils and woes;
War with a fiercer tide once more returns,
Till Ilion falls, or till yon navy burns.
You then, O princes of the Greeks! appear;
"Tis Hector speaks, and calls the gods to hear:
From all your troops select the boldest knight,
And him, the boldest, Hector dares to fight

70 Though bold, and burning with desire of fame,
Content the doubtful honour might forego,
So great the danger, and so brave the foe.

130

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80 Attend on Greece, and all the Grecian name!
How shall, alas! her hoary heroes mourn
Their sons degenerate, and their race a scorn !
What tears shall down thy silver beard be roll'd,
Oh Peleus, old in arms, in wisdom old !
Once with what joy the generous prince would hear
Of every chief who fought this glorious war;
Participate their fame, and, pleased, inquire
Each name, each action, and each hero's sire!

Gods! should he see our warriors trembling stand,
And trembling all before one hostile hand;
How would he lift his aged arms on high,
Lament inglorious Greece, and beg to die!
Oh! would to all the immortal powers above,
Minerva, Phœbus, and almighty Jove!
Years might again roll back, my youth renew,
And give this arm the spring which once it knew.
When, fierce in war, where Jardan's waters fall,
I led my troops to Phea's trembling wall,
And with the Arcadian spears my prowess tried
Where Celadon rolls down his rapid tide.
There Ereuthalion braved us in the field,
Proud, Areïthous' dreadful arms to wield;
Great Areïthous known from shore to shore
By the huge knotted iron mace he bore;
No lance he shook, nor bent the twanging bow,
But broke, with this, the battle of the foe.
Him not by manly force Lycurgus slew,
Whose guileful javelin from the thicket flew!
Deep in a winding way his breast assail'd,

:

Each to his rival yields the mark unknown,
Till godlike Ajax finds the lot his own;
Surveys the inscription with rejoicing eyes,
Then casts before him, and with transport cries:
Warriors; I claim the lot, and arm with joy;
160 Be mine the conquest of this chief of Troy.
Now, while my brightest arms my limbs invest,
To Saturn's son be all your vows address'd:
But pray in secret, lest the foes should hear,
And deem your prayers the mean effect of fear.
Said I in secret? No, your vows declare,
In such a voice as fills the earth and air.
Lives there a chief whom Ajax ought to dread?
Ajax, in all the toils of battle bred?

170

180

230

From warlike Salamis I drew my birth,
And, born to combats, fear no force on earth.
He said. The troops with elevated eyes
Implore the god whose thunder rends the skies: 240
O father of mankind, superior lord!
On lofty Ida's holy hill adored:

Who in the highest heaven hast fix'd thy throne
Supreme of gods! unbounded and alone:
Grant thou, that Telamon may bear away
The praise and conquest of this doubtful day;
Or if illustrious Hector be thy care,

That both may claim it, and that both may share.
Now Ajax braced his dazzling armour on ;
Sheath'd in bright steel the giant-warrior shone; 250
He moves to combat with majestic pace;
So stalks in arms the grizly god of Thrace,
When Jove to punish faithless men prepares,
And gives whole nations to the waste of wars.
Thus march'd the chief, tremendous as a god :
Grimly he smiled; earth trembled as he strode:
His massy javelin quivering in his hand,
190 He stood, the bulwark of the Grecian band.

Nor aught the warrior's thundering mace avail'd,
Supine he fell those arms which Mars before
Had given the vanquish'd, now the victor bore:
But when old age had dimm'd Lycurgus' eyes,
To Ereuthalion he consign'd the prize.
Furious with this he crush'd our levell'd bands,
And dared the trial of the strongest hands;
Nor could the strongest hands his fury stay;
All saw, and fear'd, his huge tempestuous sway:
Till I, the youngest of the host, appear'd,
And, youngest, met whom all our army fear'd.
I fought the chief: my arms Minerva crown'd:
Prone fell the giant o'er a length of ground.
What then he was, oh were your Nestor now!
Not Hector's self should want an equal foe.
But, warriors, you, that youthful vigour boast,
The flower of Greece, the examples of our host,
Sprung from such fathers, who such numbers sway,
Can you stand trembling, and desert the day?

270

Through every Argive heart new transport ran;
All Troy stood trembling at the mighty man: 260
E'en Hector paused; and, with new doubts oppress'd
Felt his great heart suspended in his breast:
'Twas vain to seek retreat, and vain to fear:
Himself had challenged, and the foe drew near.
Stern Telamon behind his ample shield,
As from a brazen tower, o'erlook'd the field:
Huge was its orb, with seven thick folds o'ercast,
200 Of tough bull-hides; of solid brass the last;
(The work of Tychius, who in Hylè dwell'd,
And in all arts of armoury excell'd.)
This Ajax bore before his manly breast,
And threatening, thus his adverse chief address'd:
Hector! approach my arm, and singly know
What strength thou hast, and what the Grecian foe.
Achilles shuns the fight; yet some there are,
Not void of soul, and not unskill'd in war:
Let him, unactive on the sea-beat shore,
Indulge his wrath, and aid our arms no more;
Whole troops of heroes Greece has yet to boast,
And sends thee one, a sample of her host.
Such as I am, I come to prove thy might;
No more-be sudden, and begin the fight.

His warm reproofs the listening kings inflame;
And nine, the noblest of the Grecian name,
Up-started fierce: but far before the rest
The king of men advanced his dauntless breast:
Then bold Tydides, great in arms, appear'd:
And next his bulk gigantic Ajax rear'd:
Oileus follow'd; Idomen was there;
And Merion, dreadful as the god of war:
With these Eurypilus and Thoas stand,
And wise Ulysses closed the daring band.
All these, alike inspired with noble rage,
Demand the fight. To whom the Pylian sage:
Let thirst of glory your brave souls divide;
What chief shall combat let the lots decide.
Whom heaven shall choose, be his the chance to raise
His country's fame, his own immortal praise.

210

The lots produced, each hero signs his own;
Then in the general's helm the fates are thrown.
The people pray, with lifted eyes and hands,
And vows like these ascend from all the bands:
Grant, thou Almighty! in whose hand is fate,
A worthy champion for the Grecian state.
This task let Ajax or Tydides prove,
Or he, the king of kings, beloved by Jove!
Old Nestor shook the casque. By heaven inspired,
Leap'd forth the lot, of every Greek desired.
This from the right to left the herald bears,
Held out in order to the Grecian peers;

220

O son of Telamon, thy country's pride!
(To Ajax thus the Trojan prince replied ;)
Me, as a boy or woman, wouldst thou fright,
New to the field, and trembling at the fight?
Thou meet'st a chief deserving of thy arms,
To combat born, and bred amidst alarms :
I know to shift my ground, remount the ear,
Turn, charge, and answer every call of war;

280

290

To right, to left, the dextrous lance I wield,
And bear thick battle on my sounding shield.
But open be our fight, and bold each blow;
I steal no conquest from a noble foe.

He said, and rising, high above the field

| Return, brave Ajax, to thy Grecian friends,
And joy the nations whom thy arm defends;
As I shall glad each chief, and Trojan wife,
Who wearies heaven with vows for Hector's life.
But let us, on this memorable day,

360

Whirl'd the long lance against the sevenfold shield. Exchange some gift; that Greece and Troy may say

Full on the brass descending from above

301

Through six bull-hides the furious weapon drove,
Till in the seventh it fix'd. Then Ajax threw ;
Through Hector's shield the forceful javelin flew,
His corselet enters, and his garment rends,
And glancing downwards, near his flank descends.
The wary Trojan shrinks, and, bending low
Beneath his buckler, disappoints the blow.
From their bored shields the chiefs their javelins
drew,

310

Then close impetuous, and the charge renew;
Fierce as the mountain-lions bathed in blood,
Or foaming boars, the terror of the wood,
At Ajax, Hector his long lance extends;
The blunted point against the buckler bends:
But Ajax, watchful as his foe drew near,
Drove through the Trojan targe the knotty spear;
It reach'd his neck, with matchless strength impell'd;
Spouts the black gore, and dims his shining shield.
Yet ceased not Hector thus; but, stooping down
In his strong hand up-heaved a flinty stone,
Black, craggy, vast: to this his force he bends;
Full on the brazen boss the stone descends;
The hollow brass resounded with the shock.
Then Ajax seized the fragment of a rock,
Applied each nerve, and swinging round on high,
With force tempestuous let the ruin fly :

320

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The Trojan bands returning Hector wait,
And hail with joy the champion of their state:
Escaped great Ajax, they survey'd him round,
Alive, unharm'd, and vigorous from his wound.
To Troy's high gates the godlike man they bear,
Their present triumph, as their late despair.
But Ajax, glorying in his hardy deed,
The well-arm'd Greeks to Agamemnon lead.
A steer for sacrifice the king design'd,
Of full five years, and of the nobler kind.
The victim falls; they strip the smoking hide,
The beast they quarter, and the joints divide;
Then spread the tables, the repast prepare,
Each takes his seat, and each receives his share
The king himself (an honorary sign)
Before great Ajax placed the mighty chine.
When now the rage of hunger was removed,
Nestor, in each persuasive art approved,
The sage whose counsels long had sway'd the rest,
In words like these his prudent thought express'd:
How dear, O kings! this fatal day has cost,
What Greeks are perish'd! what a people lost!
What tides of blood have drench'd Scamander's
shore !

What crowds of heroes sunk, to rise no more! Then hear me, chief! nor let the morrow's light 330 Awake thy squadrons to new toils of fight;

The huge stone thundering through his buckler broke,
His slacken'd knees received the numbing stroke;
Great Hector falls extended on the field,
His bulk supporting on the shatter'd shield;
Nor wanted heavenly aid: Apollo's might
Confirm'd his sinews, and restored to fight.
And now both heroes their broad falchions drew:
In flaming circles round their heads they flew;
But then by heralds' voice the word was given
The sacred ministers of earth and heaven;
Divine Talthybius whom the Greeks employ,
And sage Idæus on the part of Troy.
Between the swords their peaceful sceptres rear'd:
And first Idæus' awful voice was heard:

Forbear, my sons! your farther force to prove,
Both dear to men, and both beloved of Jove.
To either host your matchless worth is known,
Each sounds your praise, and war is all your own. 340
But now the night extends her awful shade;
The goddess parts you: be the night obey'd.

To whom great Ajax his high soul express'd:
O sage! to Hector be these words address'd.
Let him who first provoked our chiefs to fight,
Let him demand the sanction of the night;
If first he ask it, I content obey,

And cease the strife when Hector shows the way.
O first of Greeks! (his noble foe rejoin'd)
Whom heaven adorns, superior to thy kind,
With strength of body, and with worth of mind!
Now martial law commands us to forbear;
Hereafter we shall meet in glorious war;
Some future day shall lengthen out the strife,
And let the gods decide of death or life!
Since then the night extends her gloomy shade,
And heaven enjoins it, be the night obey'd.

350

Some space at least permit the war to breathe,
While we to flames our slaughter'd friends be-
queath,

From the red field their scatter'd bodies bear, 400
Aud nigh the fleet a funeral structure rear;
So decent urns their snowy bones may keep,
And pious children o'er their ashes weep.
Here, where on one promiscuous pile they blazed
High o'er them all a general tomb be raised;
Next, to secure our camp and naval powers,
Raise an embattled wall with lofty towers;
From space to space be ample gates around,
For passing chariots; and a trench profound.
So Greece to combat shall in safety go,
Nor fear the fierce incursions of the foe.
"Twas thus the sage his wholesome counsel moved;
The sceptred kings of Greece his words approved.
Meanwhile, convened at Priam's palace gate,

410

The Trojan peers in nightly council sat:
A senate void of order, as of choice;
Their hearts were fearful, and confused their voice.
Antenor rising, thus demands their ear:

Ye Trojans, Dardans, and auxiliars, hear!
"Tis heaven the counsel of my breast inspires, 420
And I but move what every god requires:
Let Sparta's treasures be this hour restored,
And Argive Helen own her ancient lord.

The ties of faith, the sworn alliance broke
Our impious battles the just gods provoke.
As this advice ye practice, or reject,
So hope success, or dread the dire effect.

The senior spoke, and sat. To whom replied
The graceful husband of the Spartan bride:
Cold counsels, Trojan, may become thy years,
But sound ungrateful in a warrior's ears:
Old man, if void of fallacy or art

Thy words express the purpose of thy heart,
Thou, in thy time, more sound advice hast given :
But wisdom has its date assign'd by heaven.
Then hear me, princes of the Trojan name!
Their treasures I'll restore, but not the dame.
My treasures too, for peace, I will resign;
But be this bright possession ever mine.

He came, and, standing in the midst, explain'd
The peace rejected, but the truce obtain'd.
Straight to their several cares the Trojans move,
Some search the plain, some fell the sounding grove:
Nor less the Greeks, descending on the shore,
Hew'd the green forests, and the bodies bore.

430 And now from forth the chambers of the main,
To shed his sacred light on earth again,
Arose the golden chariot of the day,

And tipp'd the mountains with a purple ray.

500

In mingled throngs the Greek and Trojan train
Through heaps of carnage search'd the mournful plain.
Scarce could the friend his slaughter'd friend explore,
With dust dishonour'd, and deform'd with gore.
The wounds they wash'd, their pious tears they shed,
And, laid along their cars, deplored the dead.
440 Sage Priam check'd their grief: with silent haste
The bodies decent on their piles were placed :
With melting hearts the cold remains they burn'd;
And sadly slow to sacred Troy return'd.
Nor less the Greeks their pious sorrows shed,
And decent on the pile dispose their dead;
The cold remains consume with equal care;
And slowly, sadly, to their fleet repair.
Now, ere the morn had streak'd with reddening light
The doubtful confines of the day and night,

450 About the dying flames the Greeks appear'd,
And round the pile a general tomb they rear'd.
Then to secure the camp and naval powers,
They raised embattled walls with lofty towers:
From space to space were ample gates around,
For passing chariots; and a trench profound,
Of large extent; and deep in earth, below,
Strong piles infix'd, stood adverse to the foe.

"Twas then, the growing discord to compose,
Slow from his seat the reverend Priam rose:
His godlike aspect deep attention drew:
He paused, and these pacific words ensue :
Ye Trojans, Dardans, and auxiliar bands!
Now take refreshment as the hour demands:
Guard well the walls, relieve the watch of night,
Till the new sun restores the cheerful light:
Then shall our herald, to the Atrides sent,
Before their ships proclaim my son's intent.
Next let a truce be ask'd, that Troy may burn
Her slaughter'd heroes, and their bones inurn;
That done, once more the fate of war be tried,
And whose the conquest, mighty Jove decide!
The monarch spoke: the warriors snatch'd with haste
(Each at his post in arms) a short repast.
Soon as the rosy morn had waked the day,
To the black ships Idæus bent his way;
There, to the son of Mars, in council found,
He raised his voice: the host stood listening round:
Ye sons of Atreus, and ye Greeks, give ear! 460
The words of Troy, and Troy's great monarch, hear.
Pleased may he hear (so heaven succeed my prayers)}
What Paris, author of the war, declares.
The spoils and treasures he to Ilion bore,
(Oh had he perish'd e'er they touch'd our shore!)
He proffers injured Greece; with large increase
Of added Trojan wealth to buy the peace;
But to restore the beauteous bride again,
This Greece demands, and Troy requests in vain.
Next, O ye chiefs! we ask a truce to burn
Our slaughter'd heroes, and their bones inurn.
That done, once more the fate of war be tried,
And whose the conquest, mighty Jove decide!

511

520

531

So toil'd the Greeks: meanwhile the gods above,
In shining circle round their father Jove,
Amazed beheld the wondrous works of man:
Then he, whose trident shakes the earth, began:
What mortals henceforth shall our power adore,
Our fanes frequent, our oracles implore,
If the proud Grecians thus successful boast
Their rising bulwarks on the sea-beat coast ?
See the long walls extending to the main,
No god consulted, and no victim slain!
Their fame shall fill the world's remotest ends,
Wide as the morn her golden beam extends;
470 While old Laomedon's divine abodes,
Those radiant structures raised by labouring gods,
Shall, razed and lost, in long oblivion sleep.
Thus spoke the hoary monarch of the deep.

The Greeks gave ear, but none the silence broke;
At length Tydides rose, and rising spoke :
Oh, take not, friends! defrauded of your fame,
Their proffer'd wealth, nor e'en the Spartan dame:
Let conquest make them ours: fate shakes their wall,
And Troy already totters to her fall.

The admiring chiefs, and all the Grecian name, 480
With general shouts return'd him loud acclaim.
Then thus the king of kings rejects the peace:
Herald in him thou hear'st the voice of Greece,
For what remains; let funeral flames be fed
With heroes' corps; I war not with the dead:
Go search your slaughter'd chiefs on yonder plain,
And gratify the manes of the slain.

Be witness, Jove, whose thunder rolls on high!
He said, and rear'd his sceptre to the sky.

To sacred Troy, where all her princes lay
To wait the event, the herald bent his way.

540

The Almighty Thunderer with a frown repes,
That clouds the world, and blackens half the skies:
Strong god of ocean! thou, whose rage can make
The solid earth's eternal basis shake!
What cause of fear from mortal works could move
The meanest subject of our realms above?
Where'er the sun's refulgent rays are cast,
Thy power is honour'd, and thy fame shall last:
But yon proud work no future age shall view,
No trace remain where once the glory grew.
The sapp'd foundations by thy force shall fall,
And, whelm'd beneath thy waves, drop the huge wall:
Vast drifts of sand shall change the former shore;
The ruin vanish'd, and the name no more.

550

Thus they in heaven: while o'er the Grecian train,
The rolling sun descending to the main
490 Beheld the finish'd work. Their bulls they slew:
Black from the tents the savoury vapours flew.

As from that centre to the ethereal world.

20

Let him who tempts me, dread those dire abodes;
And know, the Almighty is the god of gods.

And now the fleet, arrived from Lemnos' strands, 560 As deep beneath the infernal centre hurl'd,
With Bacchus' blessings cheer'd the generous bands.
Of fragrant wines the rich Eunæus sent
A thousand measures to the royal tent;
(Eunæus, whom Hypsipyle of yore,

To Jason, shepherd of his people, bore ;)
The rest they purchased at their proper cost,
And well the plenteous freight supplied the host:
Each, in exchange, proportion'd treasures gave:
Some brass, or iron; some an ox, or slave.

All night they feast, the Greek and Trojan powers;
Those on the fields, and these within their towers.
But Jove averse the signs of wrath display'd,
And shot red lightnings through the gloomy shade:
Humbled they stood; pale horror seized on all,
While the deep thunder shook the aërial hall.
Each pour'd to Jove, before the bowl was crown'd;
And large libations drench'd the thirsty ground:
Then late, refresh'd with sleep from toils of fight,
Enjoy'd the balmy blessings of the night.

BOOK VIII.

ARGUMENT

League all your forces then, ye powers above,
Join all, and try the omnipotence of Jove:

Let down our golden everlasting chain,

Whose strong embrace holds heaven, and earth, and main:

Strive all, of mortal and immortal birth,

To drag, by this, the Thunderer down to earth:
Ye strive in vain! If I but stretch this hand,
I heave the gods, the ocean, and the land;
I fix the chain to great Olympus' height,
And the vast world hangs trembling in my sight!
For such I reign, unbounded and above;
And such are men, and gods, compared to Jove.

30

The Almighty spoke; nor durst the powers reply:
A reverend horror silenced all the sky;
Trembling they stood before their sovereign's look;
At length his best beloved, the power of wisdom
spoke :

Oh first and greatest! god, by gods adored!
We own thy might, our father and our lord!
But ah! permit to pity human state;
If not to help, at least lament their fate.
From fields forbidden we submiss refrain,
With arms unaiding mourn our Argives slain :

40

The second Battle, and the Distress of the Greeks. Jupiter assembles a council of the deities, and threatens them with the pains of Tartarus if they assist either side: Minerva only obtains of him that she may direct Yet grant my counsels still their breasts may move, the Greeks by her counsels. The armies join battle: Or all must perish in the wrath of Jove. Jupiter on Mount Ida weighs in his balances the fates The cloud-compelling god her suit approved, of both, and affrights the Greeks with his thunders And smiled superior on his best beloved. and lightnings. Nestor alone continues in the field in Then call'd his coursers, and his chariot took; great danger; Diomed relieves him; whose exploits. The steadfast firmament beneath them shook: and those of Hector, are excellently described. Juno endeavours to animate Neptune to the assistance of Rapt by the ethereal steeds the chariots roll'd; the Greeks, but in vain. The acts of Teucer, who is Brass were their hoofs, their curling manes of gold. at length wounded by Hector, and carried off. Juno Of heaven's undrossy gold the god's array and Minerva prepare to aid the Grecians; but are re- Refulgent, flash'd intolerable day. strained by Iris, sent from Jupiter. The night puts an end to the battle. Hector continues in the field (the Greeks being driven to their fortifications before the ships,) and gives orders to keep the watch all night in the camp, to prevent the enemy from re-embarking

and escaping by flight. They kindle fires, through all the field, and pass the night under arms. The time of seven-and-twenty days is employed from the opening of the poem to the end of this book. The scene here (except the celestial machines) lies in the field toward the sea-shore.

BOOK VIII.

AURORA now, fair daughter of the dawn,
Sparkled with rosy light the dewy lawn;
When Jove convened the senate of the skies,
Where high Olympus' cloudy tops arise.
The Sire of Gods his awful silence broke,
The heavens attentive trembled as he spoke:
Celestial states, immortal gods! give ear;
Hear our decree, and reverence what ye hear;
The fix'd decree, which not all heaven can move;
Thou, Fate! fulfil it; and, ye powers! approve!
What god but enters yon forbidden field,
Who yields assistance, or but wills to yield,
Back to the skies with shame he shall be driven,
Gash'd with dishonest wounds, the scorn of heaven:
Or far, oh far from steep Olympus thrown,
Low in the dark Tartarean gulf shall groan,
With burning chains fix'd to the brazen floors,
And lock'd by hell's inexorable doors;

10

High on the throne he shines: his coursers fly
Between the extended earth and starry sky.
But when to Ida's topmost height he came
(Fair nurse of fountains, and of savage game,)
Where, o'er her pointed summits proudly raised,
His fane breathed odours, and his altar blazed:
There, from his radiant car, the sacred sire
Of gods and men released the steeds of fire:
Blue ambient mists the immortal steeds embraced;
High on the cloudy point his seat he placed;
Thence his broad eye the subject world surveys,
The town, and tents, and navigable seas.

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70

Now had the Grecians snatch'd a short repast,
And buckled on their shining arms with haste.
Troy roused as soon; for on this dreadful day
The fate of fathers, wives, and infants, lay.
The gates unfolding pour forth all their train;
Squadrons on squadrons cloud the dusky plain :
Men, steeds, and chariots, shake the trembling ground;
The tumult thickens, and the skies resound.
And now with shouts the shocking armies closed,
To lances lances, shields to shields opposed;
Host against host with shadowy legions drew,
The sounding darts in iron tempests flew ;
Victors and vanquish'd join promiscuous cries,
Triumphant shouts and dying groans arise:
With streaming blood the slippery fields are dyed,
And slaughter'd heroes swell the dreadful tide.
Long as the morning beams increasing bright,
O'er heaven's clear azure spread the sacred light:

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