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But given by Jove the fons of men to awe, Now fways the nations, and confirms the law) A day fhall come, when for this hour's difdain The Greeks fhall with for me, and wifh in vain; Nor thou, though griev'd, the wanted aid afford, • When heaps on heaps fhall fall by Hector's fword : Too late with anguifh fhall thy heart be torn, • That the first Greek was made the public fcorn.' He said. And, mounting with a furious bound, He dafh'd his ftudded fceptre on the ground; Then fat. Atrides, eager to reply,

On the fierce champion glanc'd a vengeful eye.

'Twas then, the madding monarchs to compofe,
The Pylian prince, the fmooth-fpeech'd Neftor rose.
His tongue dropp'd honey. Full of days was he;
Two ages paft, he liv'd the third to fee:
And, his first race of fubjects long decay'd,
O'er their fons fons a peaceful fceptre fway'd.

Alas for Greece! he cries, and what with joy
Shall Priam hear, and every fon of Troy!
That you, the firft in wisdom as in wars,
Wafte your great fouls in poor ignoble jars!
Go to! you both are young. Yet oft rever'd
• Greater than you have the wife Neftor heard.
Their equals never shall these eyes behold:
Cæneus the juft, Pirithous the bold,
Exadius, Dryas, born to high command,
Shepherds of men, and rulers of the land,
Thefeus unrival'd in his fire's abodes,
And mighty Polypheme, a match for gods.

They,

They, greatest names that ancient story knows,
In mortal conflict met as dreadful foes:

Fearless through rocks and wilds their prey pursued,
And the huge double Centaur race fubdued.
With them my early youth was pleas'd to roam
Through regions, far from my fweet native home;
They call'd me to the wars. No living hand
Could match their valour, or their ftrength withstand;
Yet wont they oft my fage advice to hear.

Then liften both, with an attentive ear.

Seize not thou, king of men, the beauteous slave, Th' allotted prize the Grecian voices gave. Nor thou, Pelides, in a threatening tone Urge him to wrath, who fills that facred throne, The king of forty kings, and honour'd more By mighty Jove, than e'er was king before. • Brave though thou art, and of a race divine, Thou must obey a power more great than thine. And thou, O king, forbear. Myself will fue Great Thetis' fon his vengeance to subdue: Great Thetis' valiant fon, our country's boast, The fhield and bulwark of the Grecian hoft.' Wife are thy words, O fire, the king began, But what can fatiate this aspiring man ? Unbounded power he claims o'er human-kind, And hopes for flaves, I truft he ne'er fhall find. Shall we, because the gods have form'd him strong, • Bear the lewd language of his lawless tongue!

If aw'd by thee, the Greeks might well despise My name,' the prince, precipitate, replies.

In vain thou nodd'ft from thy imperial throne.
Thy vaffals feek elsewhere: for I am none.
But break we here. The fair, though jufly mine,
With fword undrawn I purpose to refign.

• On aught befide, I once for all command,
Lay not, I charge thee, thy prefumptuous hand.
'Come not within my reach. Nor dare advance.
Or thy heart's blood fhall reek upon my lance.'
Thus both in foul debate prolong'd the day.
The council broke, each takes his feparate way.
Achilles fecks his tent with restless mind;
Patroclus and his train move flow behind.

Mean time, a bark was haul'd along the fand,
Twice ten felected Greeks, a brawny band,
Tug the tough oars, at the great king's command.
The gifts, the hecatomb, the captive fair,
Are all intrusted to Ulyffes' care.

They mount the deck. The vessel takes its flight,
Bounds o'er the furge, and leffens to the fight.
Next he ordains along the winding coaft
By hallow'd rites to purify the host.
A herd of chofen victims they provide,
And caft their offals on the briny tide.

Fat bulls and goats to great Apollo die.
In clouds the favory fteam afcends the sky.

The Greeks to heaven their folemn vows addreft; But dire revenge roll'd in the monarch's breast. Obfequious at his call two heralds ftand:

To them in frowns he gives this harsh command. Ye heralds, to Achilles' tent repair;

Thence fwift the female flave Brifeïs bear.

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With arms, if difobey'd, myself will come. Bid him refign her, or he tempts his doom." The heralds, though unwillingly, obey. Along the fea-beat shore they speed their way: And, now the Myrmidonian quarter past, At his tent-door they find the hero plac'd. Difturb'd the folemn meffengers he faw : They too ftood filent, with respectful awe, Before the royal youth, they neither spoke. He guefs'd their meffage, and the filence broke: Ye minifters of gods and men, draw near, Not you, but him whose heralds ye appear, Robb'd of my right I blame. Patroclus, bring The damfel forth for this difdainful king. But ye, my wrongs, O heralds, bear in mind, And clear me to the gods and all mankind, Ev'n to your thoughtless king; if ever more My aid be wanted on the hoftile fhore.

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Thoughtless he is, nor knows his certain doom, Blind to the past, nor fees the woes to come, His best defence thus rafhly to forgo,

And leave a naked army to the foe.

He ceas'd. Patroclus his dear friend obey'd,
And usher'd in the lovely weeping maid.
Sore figh'd fhe, as the heralds took her hand,
And oft look'd back flow-moving o'er the strand.
The widow'd hero, when the fair was gone,
Far from his friends fat bath'd in tears alone.
On the cold beach he fat, and fix'd his eyes
Where black with ftorms the curling billows rife,

And

And as the fea wide-rolling he furvey'd,
With out-ftretch'd arms to his fond mother pray'd:
Since to fhort life thy hapless fon was born,
Great Jove stands bound by promise to adorn
His ftinted courfe, with an immortal name.
Is this the great amends? the promis'd fame?
The fon of Atreus, proud of lawless sway,
Demands, poffeffes, and enjoys my prey.'
Near her old fire enthron'd, fhe heard him weep
From the low filent caverns of the deep :
Then in a morning mift her head fhe rears,

Sits by her fon, and mingles tears with tears;

Clofe grafps her darling's hand. My fon, fhe cries, Why heaves thy heart? and why o'erflow thy eyes? Oh tell me, tell thy mother all thy care,

That both may know it, and that both may share."

Oh! goddefs!' cry'd he, with an inward groan,
Thou know't it all: to thee are all things known.
Eëtian Thebes we fack'd, their ranfack'd towers,
The plunder of a people, all was ours.
We flood agreed the booty to divide.
• Chryfeis rofy-cheek'd, and gloffy-ey`d,
Fell to the king; but holy Chryfes bore
· Vast gifts of ransom, to the tented shore :
His fceptre ftretching forth (the golden rod
Hung round with hallow'd garlands of his god)
Of all the hoft, of every princely chief,

But first of Atreus' fons, he begg'd relief.
Throughout the host consenting murmurs ran,
To yield her to the venerable man ;
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