The self-fame night to both a being gave, One wife in counfel, one in action brave):
In free debate, my friends, your sentence fpcak; For me I move, before the morning break, 300 To raife our camp: too dangerous here our post, Far from Troy walls, and on a naked coaft." I deem'd not Greece fo dreadful, while, engag'd In mutual feuds, her king and hero rag'd: [305 Then, while we hop'd our armies might prevail, We boldly camp'd befide a thousand fail. I dread Pelides now: his rage of mind Not long continues to the fhores confin'd, Nor to the fields, where long in equal fray Contending nations won and loft the day; For Troy, for Troy, fhall henceforth be the ftrife, And the hard contest not for fame but life. Hafte then to Ilion, while the favouring night Detains thofe terrors, keeps that arm from fight; If but the morrow's fun behold us here, 315 That arm, thofe terrors, we shall feel, nor fear; And hearts that now difdain, fhall leap with joy, If Heav'n permit them then to enter Troy. Let not my fatal prophecy be true, Nor what I tremble but to think, enfuc, Whatever be our fate, yet let us try What force of thought and reafon can supply; Let us on counsel for our guard depend; The town, her gates and bulwarks shall defend : When morning dawns, our well-appointed powers, Array'd in arms, fhall line the lofty towers. Let the fierce hero then, when fury calls, Vent his mad vengeance on our rocky walls, Or fetch a thousand circles round the plain, Till his fpent courfers feek the fleet again : So may his rage be tir'd, and labour'd down; And dogs fhall tear him ere he lack the town. Return? (faid Hector, fir'd with ftern difdain) What! coop whole armies in our walls again Was't not enough, ye valiant warriors fay, Nine years imprifon'd in those towers ye lay? Wide o'er the world was Ilion fani'd of old For brafs exhaustlefs, and for mines of gold: But while inglorious jn her walls we stay'd, Sunk were her treasures, and her stores decay'd;340 The Phrygians now her fcatter'd spoils enjoy, And proud Mæonia waftes the fruits of Troy. Great Jove at length my arms to conqueft calls, And fhuts the Grecians in their wooden walls: Dar'ft thou difpirit whom the Gods incite; Flies any Trojan? I fhall ftop his flight. To better counfel then attention lend; Take due refreshment, and the watch attend. If there be one whofe riches coft him care, Forth let him bring them for the troops to fhare; 'Tis better generously bestow'd on those, Than left the plunder of our country's foes Soon as the morn the purple orient warms, Fierce on yon navy we will pour our arms; If great Achilles rife in all his might, His be the danger. I shall stand the fight. Honour, ye Gods! or let me gain, or give! And live he glorious, whofoe'er fhall live! Mars is our common lord, alike to all: And oft the victor triumphs but to fall. The shouting hoft in loud applaufes join'd; So Pallas robb'd the many of their mind; VOL. VI.
To their own fense condemn'd, and left to choose The worst advice, the better to refuse.
While the long night extends her fable reign, 365 Around Patroclus mourn'd the Grecian train. Stern in fuperior grief Pelides flood;
Thofe flaughtering arms, fo us d to bathe in blood,
Now clafp'd his clay-cold limbs: then gufhing ftart
The tears, and fighs burft from his fwelling heart.
The lion thus, with dreadful anguish flung, 371
Roars thro' the defart, and demands his young:
When the grim favage, to his rifled den
Too late returning, fnuffs the track of men,
And o'er the vales and o'er the foreft bounds; 375
His clamorous grief the bellowing wood refounds.
So grieves Achilles; and impetuous vents
To all his Myrmidons his loud laments.
In what vain promife, Gods! did I engage,
Wher, to confole Mencetius' feeble age,
I vow'd his much-lov'd offspring to reftore,
Charg'd with rich spoils, to fair Opuntia's shore ?
But mighty Jove cuts fhort, with just difdain,
The long, long views of poor, defigning man!
One fate the warrior and the friend fhall ftrike, 385
And Troy's black fands must drink our blood alike :
Me too a wretched mother fhall deplore,
An aged father never fee me more!
Yet, my Patroclus! yet a space I stay,
Then fwift purfue thee on the darkfome way. 390
Ere thy dear relicks in the grave are laid,
Shall Hector's head be offer'd to thy fhade;
That, with his arms, fhall hang before thy fhrine;
And twelve the nobleft of the Trojan line,
Sacred to vengeance, by this hand expire;
Their lives effus'd around thy flaming pyre.
Thus let me lie till then! thus, clofely preft,
Bathe thy cold face, and fob upon thy breast!
While Trojan captives here thy mourners ftay,
Weep all the night, and murmur all the day: 400
Spoils of my arms, and thine; when, wafting wide,
Our fwords kept time, and conquer'd fide by fide.
He fpoke, and bade the fad attendants round Cleanfe the pale corpfe, and wash each honour'd A maffy caldron of ftupendous frame [wound. 405 They brought, and plac'd it o'er the rifing flame; Then heap the lighted wood; the flame divides Beneath the vafe, and climbs around the fides; In its wide womb they pour the rushing ftream; The boiling water bubbles to the brim. The body then they bathe with pious toil, Embalm the wounds, anoint the limbs with oil, High on a bed of ftate extended laid, And decent cover'd with a linen shade; Laft o'er the dead the milk-white veil they threw; That done, their forrows and their fighs renew. Mean while to Juno, in the realms above, (His wife and fifter) fpoke Almighty Jove: At last thy will prevails: great Peleus' fon Rifes in arms fuch Grace thy Greeks have won. 355 Say (for I know not) is their race divine,
Say, fhall not I, one nation's fate command,
Not wreak my vengeance on one guilty land? 430
So they. Meanwhile the Silver-footed Dame
Reach'd the Vulcanian dome, eternal frame!
High-eminent amid the works divine,
Where Heaven's far beaming brazen manfions
fhine.
There, plac'd behind her on a shining frame, He thus addrefs'd the Silver-footed Dame; Thee, welcome Goddess! what occafion calls 495 (So long a franger) to these honour'd walls? 'Tis thine, fair Thetis, the command to lay, And Vulcan's joy and duty to obey.
To whom the mournful mother thus replies (The cryftal drops ftood trembling in her eyes) Oh, Vulcan! fay, was ever breast divine So pierc'd with forrows, fo o'erwhelm'd, as mine? Of all the Goddeffes, did Jove prepare For Thetis only fuch a weight of care! 440, only I, of all the wat'ry race,
There the lame archited the Goddefs found, 435
Obfcure in smoke, his forges flaming round,
While bath'd in fweat from fire to fire he flew;
And puffing loud, the roaring bellows blew.
That day no common tafk his labour claim'd:
Full twenty tripods for his hall he fram'd,
That, plac'd on living wheels of maffy gold
(Wondrous to tell!) inftinct with spirit roll'd
From place to place, around the blest abodes,
Self-mov'd, obedient to the beck of gods!
For their fair handles now o'erwrought
flowers,
In moulds prepar'd the glowing ore he pours.
Juft os refponfive to his thought the frame
Stood prompt to move, the azure Goddess came :
Charis, his fpoufe, a grace divinely fair
(With purple fillets round her braided hair) 450
Obferv'd her entering? her foft hand the prefs'd,
And, fmiling, thus the watery Queen addrefs'd:
What, Geddefs! this unufual favour draws?
All hail, and welcome! whatfoe'er the cause:
Till now a ftranger, in a happy hour
Approach, and tafle the dainty of the bower.
High on a throne, with slars of filver grac'd, And various artifice, the Queen the plac'd: A footstool at her feet; then, calling, faid, Vulcan, draw near; 'tis Thetis afks your aid. 460 Thetis (reply'd the God) our powers may claim, An ever-dear, an ever-honour'd name! When my proud mother hurl'd me from the sky (My aukward form, it feems, difpleas'd her eye) She and Eurynome my griefs redrest, 465
And foft receiv'd me on their filver breast.
Ev'n then, thefe arts employ'd my infant thought;
Chains, bracelets, pendants, all their toys,
wrought.
Nine years kept fecret in the dark abode,
Secure I lay, conceal'd from man and God: 470
Deep in a cavern'd rock my days were led;
The rushing ocean murmur'd o'er my head.
Now fince her prefence glads our manfion, fay,
For fuch defert what fervice can I pay?
Vouchfafe, O Thetis! at our board to fhare 475
The genial rites, and hofpitable fare;
While I the labours of the forge forego,
And bid the roaring bellows ceafe to blow.
Then from his anvil the lame artist rofe;
Wide with diftorted legs, oblique he goes, 480
And fills the bellows, and (in order laid)
Locks in their chefts his inftruments of trade.
Then with a sponge the footy workman dreft
His brawny arms imbrown'd, and hairy breath.
With his huge fceptre grac'd, and red attire, 465
Came halting forth the Sovereign of the fire:
The monarch's fteps two female forms uphold,
That mov'd, and breath'd, in animated gold;
To whom was voice, and fenfe, and feience given
Of works divine, (fuch wonders are in heaven!)
On thefe fupported, with unequal gait, 491
He reach'd the throne where penfive Thetis fate;
By force fubjected to a man's embrace,
Who, finking now with age and forrow, pays
The mighty fine impos'd on length of days.
Sprung from my bed a godlike hero came,
The braveft fure that ever bore the name; 10
Lake fome fair plant beneath my careful hand,
He grew, he flourish'd, and he grac'd the land;
To Troy I fent him! but his native fhore
Never, ah never, fhall receive him more;
(Ev'n while he lives, he waftes with fecret woe)
Nor I, a Goddess, can retard the blow!
516
Robb'd of the prize the Grecian fuffrage gave,
The king of nations forc'd his royal flave:
For this he griev'd; and, till the Greeks oppreft
Requir'd his arm, he forrow'd unredrest.
520
Large gifts they promife, and their elders fend;
In vain he armis not, but permits his friend
His arms, his fteeds, his forces, to employ;
He marches, combats, almost conquers Troy.
Then, flain by Phoebus (Hector had the name)
At once refigns his armour, life, and fame. 526
But thou, in pity, by my prayer bè won:
Grace with immortal arms this fhort-liv'd fon,
And to the field in martial pomp reflore,
To fhine with glory, till he fhines no more! 530
To her the Artif-god: Thy griefs refign,
Secure, what Vulcan can, is ever thine.
O could I hide him from the Fates as well,
Or with thefe hands the cruel ftroke repel,
As I fhall forge moft envy'd arms, the gaze 535
Of wondering ages, and the world's amaze!
Thus having faid, the Father of the fires
To the black labours of his forge retires.
Soon as he bade them blow, the bellows turn'd
Their iron mouths; and where the furnace burn'd,
Refounding breath'd; at once the blaft expires, [541
And twenty forges catch at once the fires;
Juft as the God directs, now loud, now low,
They raife a tempeft, or they gently blow.
In hilling flames huge fiver bars are roli'd,
And ftubborn brafs, and tin, and folid gold:
Before, deep fix'd, th' eternal anvils ftand;
The ponderous hammer loads his better hand,
His left with tongs turns the vex'd metal round,
And thick, ftrong ftrokes, the doubling vaults re-
550
Then first he form'd th' immenfe and folid fhield; Rich various artifice emblaz'd the field; Its utmoft verge a threefold circle bound; A filver chain fufpends the maffy round; Five ample plates the broad expanfe compof, 555 And godlike labours on the furface role. There hone the image of the mafter-mind: there earth, there heaven, there ocean, he de liga'd;
The unwearied fun, the moon completely round;
The ftarry lights that heaven's high convex
crown'd;
560
The Pleiads, Hyads, with the northern team;
And great Orion's more refulgent beam;
To which, around the axle of the fky,
The Bear revolving points his golden eye,
Still fhines exalted on th' æthereal plain,
Nor bathes his blazing forehead in the main.
Two cities radiant on the fhield appear,
The image one of peace, and one of war.
Here facred pomp and genial feaft delight,
And folemn dance, and Hymenæal rite;
Along the street the new-made brides are led,
With torches flaming, to the nuptial bed:
The youthful dancers in a circle bound
To the foft flute, and cittern's filver found: [575
Through the fair streets, the matrons in a row
Stand in their porches, and enjoy the show.
There, in the forum fwarm a numerous train,
The fubject of debate, a townfman flain;
One pleads the fine difcharg'd, which one deny'd,
And bade the public and the laws decide;
The witness is produc'd on either hand:
For this, or that, the partial people stand:
Th' appointed heralds ftill the noify bands,
And form a ring, with fceptres in their hands
On feats of ftoné, within the facred place,
The reverend elders nodded o'er the cafe ;
Alternate, each th' attefting fceptre took,
And rifing, folemn, each his fentence spoke.
Two golden talents lay amidst, in fight,
The prize of him who beft adjudg'd the right. 590
Another part (a profpect differing far)
Glow'd with refulgent arms, and horrid war.
Two mighty hofts a leaguer'd town embrace,
And one would pillage, one would burn the
place.
[595
Mean time the townfmen, arm'd with filent care,
A fecret ambush on the foe prepare: [band
Their wives, their children, and the watchful
Of trembling parents, on the turrets stand.
They march, by Pallas and by Mars made bold:[600
Gold were the Gods, their radiant garments gold,
And gold their armour: these the fquadron led,
Auguft, divine, fuperior by the head!
A place for ambush fit, they found, and flood
Cover'd with fhields, befide a filver flood.
Two fpies at diftance lurk, and watchful feem 605
If theep or oxen feek the winding stream.
Soon the white flocks proceeded o'er the plains,
And fteers flow moving, and two fhepherd fwains:
Behind them, piping on their reeds, they go,
Nor fear an ambush, nor fufpect a foe.
In arms the glittering fquadron rifing round,
Rush fadden; hills of flaughter heap the ground;
Whole flocks and herds lie bleeding on the plains,
And, all amidst them, dead, the fhepherd fwains!
The bellowing oxen the befiegers hear; [war; 615
They rife, take horfe, approach, and meet the
They fight, they fall, befide the filver flood;
The waving filver feem'd to blush with blood.
There tumult, there contention, ftood confeft;
One rear'd a dagger at a captive's breaft;
One held a living foe, that freshly bled
With new-made wounds; another dragg'd a dead.
Now here, now there, the carcafes they tore
hte ftalk'd amidit them, grim with human gore.
And the whole war came out, and met the eye; 625
And each bold figure feem'd to live, or die.
A field deep-furrow'd next, the God defign'd,
The third time labour'd by the fweating lind;
The fhining fhares full many ploughmen glide,
And turn their crooked yokes on every fide; 630
Still as at either end they wheel around,
The mafter meets them with his goblet crown'd;
The hearty draught rewards, renews their pil,
Then back the turning plough-fhares cleae the
foil:
Behind, the rifing earth, in ridges roll'd:
[635
And fable look'd, though form'd of moltenold.
Another field rofe high with waving grain
With bended fickles ftand the reaper-train :
Here, ftretch'd in ranks, the level'd fwarth are
found,
Sheaves heap'd on fheaves here thicken upthe
ground.
With fweeping froke the mowers ftrow the las;
The gatherers follow, and collect in bands;
And last the children, in whofe arms are born
(Too short to gripe them) the brown fheave
The ruftic manarch of the field deferies, [corn. 5
With filent glee, the heaps around him rife..
A ready banquet on the turf is laid,
Beneath an ample oak's expanded fhade.
The victim ox the sturdy youth prepare;
The reaper's due repaft, the women's care.
Next, ripe in yellow gold, a vineyard fhines
Bent with the ponderous harvest of its vines;
A deeper dye the dangling clusters fhow,
And, curl'd on filver props, in order glow:
A darker metal mixt, intrench'd the place; 65.
And pales of glittering tin th' enclosure grace.
To this, one path-way gently-winding leads,
Where march a train with baskets on their heads
(Fair maids, and blooming youths) that fmiling
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Here herds of oxen march, erect and hold, 661
Rear high their horns, and feem to low in gold,
And speed to meadows, on whofe founding thorea
A rapid torrent through the ruthes roars:
Four golden herdsmen as their guardians stand,
And nine four dogs complete the ruftic band. 670
Two lions rushing from the wood appear'd,
And feiz'd a bull, the master of the herd:
He roar'd in vain the dogs, the men, withstood
They tore his flesh, and drank the fable blood.
The dogs (oft cheer'd in vain) defert the prey 675
Dread the grim terrors, and at distance bay.
Next this, the eye the art of Vulcan leads
Deep through fair forests, and a length of meads
And ftalls, and folds, and scatter'd cots between ;
Ane fleecy flocks, that whiten all the scene. 680
A figur'd dance fucceeds: fuch once was feen
In lofty Gnoffus, for the Cretan queen,
Form'd by Dedalean art: a comely band
Of youths and maidens, bounding hand in hand.
The maids in foft cymars of linen dreft; 638
The youths all graceful in the gloffy veit:
Of thofe the locks with flowery wreaths inroll'd
Of thefe the fides adorn`d with swords of geld,
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Thus the broad fhield complete the arthit
crown'd
With his laft hand, and pour'd the ocean round:
In living filver feem'd the wayes to roll, [whole.
And beat the buckler's verge, and bound the
This done, whate'er a warrior's ufe requires, 705
He forg'd; the cuirafs that outfhines the fires.
The greaves af ductile tin, the helm impreft
With various fculpture, and the golden creft.
At Thetis' feet the finish'd labour lay:
She, as a falcon, cuts th' aerial way,
Swift from Olympus' fnowy fummit flies,
And bears the blazing prefent through the skies.
The Reconciliation of Achilles and Agamemnen.
știs brings to ber fon the armour made by Vulcan. She preferves the body of bis friend from corruption, and ommands bir to affemble the army, to declare his resentment at an end. Agamemnon and Achilles are "olemnly reconciled: the fpeeches, prefents, and ceremonies, on that occafion. Achilles is with great difficulty perfuaded to refrain from the battle till the troops bave refreshed themfelver, by the advice of Ulyffes. The prefents are conveyed to the tent of Achilles; where Brifeis laments over the body of Patroclus. The bere obftinately refufes all repafi, and gives himself up to lamentation for his friend. Minerva defcends to frengthen bim, by the order of Jupiter. He arms for the fight: bis appearance defcribed. He addresses bimself to bis borfes, and reproaches them with the death of Patroclus. One of them is miraculously endues with voice, and infpired to propbefy his fate; but the hero, not aftonifted by that prodigy, rufbes quith fury to
Back shrink the Myrmidons with dread furprife,
And from the broad effulgence turn'd their eyes.
Unmov'd, the hero kindles at the show,
And feels with rage divine his bofom glow;
From his fierce eye-balls living flanes expire,
And flath inceffant like a ftream of fire:
He turns the radiant gift, and feeds his mind
On all th' immortal artist had defign'd.
Goddefs! (he cry'd) thefe glorious arms
fhine
With matchlefs art, confefs the hand divine.
Now to the bloody battle let me bend;
But all! the relicks of a flaughter'd friend!
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Then in the noftrils of the flain the pour'd
Nectareous drops, and rich ambrofia fhower'd 40
O'er all the corpfe. The flies forbid their prey,
Untouch'd it reits, and facred from decay.
Achilies to the ftrand obedient went:
The fhores refounded with the voice be fent,
The heroes heard, and all the naval train
That tend the ships, or guide them o'er the main,
Alarm'd, tranfported, at the well-known found,
Frequent and full, the great affembly crown'd;
Studious to fee that terror of the plain,
Long loft to battle, thine in armas again.
Tydides and Ulyffes first appear,
Lame with their wounds, and leaning on the [Spear; Thele on the facred feats of council plac'd,
The king of men, Atrides, came the last :
He too fore wounded by Agenor's fon.
Achilles (rifing in the midft) begun :
And fad pofterity repeat the tale.
But this, no more the fubject of debate,
Is paft, forgotten, and refign'd to fate:
Why should, alas! a mortal man, as 1,
Burn with a fury that can never die ?
Here then my anger ends; let war fucceed,
And ev'n as Greece has bled, let Ilion bleed.
Now call the hofts, and try, if in our fight
Troy yet fhall dare to camp a fecond night?
I deem their mightieft, when this arm he knows,
Shall 'fcape with transport, and with joy repofe.
He faid: his finish'd wrath with loud acclaim
The Greeks accept, and fhout Pelides' name.
When thus, not rifing from his lofty throne,
In ftate unmov'd, the king of men begun :
Hear me, ye fons of Greece! with filence
hear!
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"Is this day born; from Schenelus he fprings,
"And claims thy promife to be king of kings.
Grief feiz'd the Thunderer, by his oath engag'd;
Stung to the foul, he forrow'd, and he rag'd.
From his ambrofial head, where perch'd the fate,
He fnatch'd the Fury-Goddess of debate,
The dread, th' irrevocable oath he swore,
Th' immortal feats fhould ne'er behold her more;
And whirl'd her headlong down, for ever driven
From bright Olympus and the ftarry heaven: 130
Thence on the nether world the Fury fell;
Ordain'd with man's contentious race to'dwell.
Full oft the God his fon's hard toils bemoan'd
Curs'd the dire Fury, and in fecret groan'd.
Ev'n thus, like Jove himself, was I misled,
While raging Hector heap'd our camps with
What can the errors of my rage atone?
My martial troops, my treafures, are thy own:
[75This inftant from the navy fhall be fent
Whate'er Ulyffes promis'd at thy tent :
But thou! appeas'd, propitious to our prayer,
Refume thy arms, and fhine again in war.
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And grant your monarch an impartial ear;
A while your loud, untimely joy fufpend,
And let your rafh, injurious clamours end:
Unruly murmurs, or ill-tim'd applaufe
Wrong the best fpeaker, and the juftcft caufe.
Nor charge on me, ye Greeks, the dire debate:
Know, angry Jove, and all-compelling Fate,
With fell Erinnys, urg'd my wrath that day
When from Achilles' arms I forc'd the prey.
What then could I against the will of Heaven?
Not by myself, but vengeful Até driven;
She, Jove's dread daughter, fated to infeft
The wrath of mortals, enter'd in my breast.
Not on the ground that haughty Fury treads, 95
But prints her lofty footsteps on the heads
Of mighty men; inflicting as he goes
Long feftering wounds, inextricable woes!
Of old, the flalk'd amid the bright abodes;
And Jove himself, the Sire of men and Gods, roo
The world's great ruler, felt her venom'd dart;
Deceiv'd by Juno's wiles, and female art.
For when Alcmena's nine long months
O king of nations! whofe fuperior fway (Returns Achilles) all our hosts obey! To keep or fend the prefents, be thy care; To us, 'tis equal: all we ask is war. While yet we talk, or but an instant fhun The fight, our glorious work remains undone. Let every Greek, who fees my fpear confound The Trojan ranks, and deal deftruction round, 15@ With emulation what I act furvey,
And learn from thence the bufinefs of the day.
The fon of Peleus thus: and thus replies The great in councils, Ithacus the wife: Though, godlike, thou art by no toils oppreft, 155 At least our armies claim repaft and rest: Long and laborious muft the combat be, When by the Gods infpir'd, and led by thee. Strength is deriv'd from fpirits and from blood, And thofe augment by generous wine and food:
What boastful fon of war, without that stay, Can laft a hero through a fingle day? Courage may prompt; but, ebbing out his ftrength Mere unfupported man muft yield at length; 166 Shrunk with dry famine, and with toils declin'd, The drooping body will defert the mind: But built anew with ftrength-conferring fare, were With limbs and foul untam'd, he tires a war. Difmifs the people then, and give command, With strong repaft to hearten every band; But let the prefents to Achilles made
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And Jove expected his immortal fon:
To Gods and Goddefles th' unruly joy
He show'd, and vaunted of his matchless boy
From us (he faic) this day an infant fprings,
Fated to rule, and born a king of kings.
Saturnia ask'd an oath, to vouch the truth,
And fix'd dominion on the favour'd youth.
The Thunderer, unfufpicious of the fraud,
Pronounc'd thofe folemn words that bind a God.
The joyful Goddess from Olympus' height,
Swift to Achaian Argos bent her flight;
Scarce feven moons gone, lay Stheneleus's wife;
She pofa'd her lingering infant into life;
Her charms Alcmena's coming labours ftay,
And ftop the babe, juft iffuing to the day.
Then bids Saturnius bear his oath in mind;
“A youth (faid he) of Jove's immortal kind 120
In full affembly of all Greece be laid.
The king of men thall rife in public fight,
And folemn fwear (obfervant of the rite)
That, fpotlefs as fhe came, the maid removes, 175
Pure from his arms, and guiltlefs of his loves.
That done, a fumptuous banquet fhall be made,
And the full price of injur'd honour paid.
Stretch not henceforth, O prince! thy fovereign
might
Beyond the bounds of reafon and of right;
'Tis the chief praife that e'er to kings belong'd,
To right with juftice whom with power they
wrong'd.
To him the monarch: Juft is thy decree,
Thy words give joy, and wisdom breathes in thee,
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