If I oppofe thee, prince, thy wrath with-hold, 45
The laws of council bid my tongue be bold.
Thou first, and thou alone, in fields of fight,
Durft brand my courage, and defame my might:
Nor from a friend th' unkind reproach appear'd,
The Greeks ftood witnefs, all our army heard. 50
The Gods, O chief! from whom our honours
fpring,

The Gods have made thee but by halves a king.
They gave thee fceptres, and a wide command,
They gave dominion o'er the feas and land;
The nobleft power that might the world controul
55

They gave thee not-a brave and virtuous foul.
Is this a general's voice, that would fuggeft
Fears like his own to every Grecian breast?
Confiding in our want of worth, he ftands;
And if we fly, 'tis what our king commands. 60
Go thou, inglorious! from th' embattled plain;
Ships thou haft ftore, and nearest to the main;
A nobler care the Grecians thall employ,
To combat, conquer, and extirpate Troy.
Here Greece shall stay; or, if all Greece retire,

65

70

Myself will stay, till Troy or I expire;
Myfelf and Sthenelus will fight for fame;
God bade us fight, and 'twas with God we came.
He ceas'd; the Greeks loud acclamations raife,
And voice to voice refounds Tydides praife.
Wife Neftor then his reverend figure rear'd;
He spoke; the hoft in ftill attention heard:
O truly great! in whom the Gods have join'd
Such strength of body with fuch force of mind;
In conduct, as in courage, you excel,
Still first to act what you advise fo well.
Thofe wholefome counfels which thy wifdom
moves,

75

Applauding Greece, with common voice, approves.

Kings thou canst blame; a bold, but prudent youth;

And blame ev'n kings with praife, becaufe with truth.

And yet thofe years that fince thy birth have run,
Would hardly ftyle thee Neftor's youngest son.
Then let me add what yet remains behind,
A thought unfinish'd in that generous mind;.
Age bids me fpeak; nor fhall th' advice I bring

Diftate the people, or offend the king:

85

Curs'd is the man, and void of law and right, Unworthy property, unworthy light, Unfit for public rule, or private care; That wretch, that monster, who delights in war:

Wife, weighty counfels, aid a ftate diftreft,
And fuch a monarch as can chuse the best.
See! what a blaze from hostile tents afpires,
How near our fleet approach the Trojan fires!
Who can, unmov'd, behold the dreadful light?
105

What eye beholds them, and can close to-night?
This dreadful interval determines all;
To-morrow, Troy muft flame, or Greece must
fall.

Thus fpoke the hoary fage: the rest obey; Swift through the gates the guards direct their way.

115

His fon was first to pass the lofty mound,
The generous Thrafymed, in arms renown'd:
Next him, Afcalaphus, Iälmen, stood,
The double offspring of the Warriour-God.
Deipyrus, Apharius, Merion, join,
And Lycomed, of Creon's noble line.
Seven were the leaders of the nightly bands;
And each bold chief a hundred fpears commands.
The fires they light, to fhort repafts they fall;
Some line the trench, and others man the wall.

130

O king the counfels of my age attend;
With thee my cares begin, in thee must end;
Thee, prince! it fits alike to fpeak and hear,
Pronounce with judgment, with regard give ear,
To fee no wholefome motion be withstood, 135
And ratify the best for public good.

Nor, though a meaner give advice, repine,
But follow it, and make the wifdom thine.
Hear then a thought, not now conceiv'd in hafte,
At once my prefent judgment, and my past: 140
When from Pelides' tent you forc'd the maid,
I first oppos'd, and faithful durft diffuade;
But bold of foul, when headlong fury fir'd,
You wrong'd the man, by men and Gods ad-
mir'd:

Now feek fome means his fatal wrath to end, 145
With prayers to move him, or with gifts to bend.
To whom the king: With justice haft thou
fhown

Ten weighty talents of the pureft gold,
And twice ten vafcs of refulgent mold;
Seven facred tripods, whofe unfully'd frame
Yet knows no office, nor has felt the flame: 160
Twelve steeds unmatch'd in flectnefs and in force,
And ftill victorious in the dufty course;
(Rich were the man whofe an ple ftores exceed
The prizes purchas'd by their winged speed).
Seven lovely captives of the Lesbian line, 165
Skill'd in each art, unmatch'd, in form divine;
The fame I chofe for more than vulgar charms,
When Lefbos funk beneath the hero's arms:
All thefe, to buy his friendship, thall be paid,
And, join'd with thefe, the long-contefted maid;

170

With all her charms, Brifeis I refiga,
And folemn fwear thofe charms were never mine:
Untouch'd fhe itay'd, uninjer'd the removes,
Pure from my arms, and guiltless of my loves.
Thefe, inftant, fhall be his: and if the Powers 173
Give to cur aims proud Ilion's hoftile towers,
Then shall he ftore (when Grecce the fpoil di-
vides)

With gold and brafs his loaded navy's fides.
Befices, full twenty nymphs of Trojan race
With copious love fhall crown his warm em-
brace;
180
Such as himself will choofe; who yield to none,
Or yield to Helen's heavenly charms alone.
Ye hear me farther: when our wars are o'er,
If fafe we land on Argos' fruitful shore,
There iball he live my fon, our honours thare, 185
And with Oreftes' felf divide my care.
Yet more-three daughters in my court are bred,
And each well worthy of a royal bɩd;
Landicé and Iphigenia fair,

And bright Chryfothemis with golden hair; 190
Her let him choofe, whom moft his eyes approve;
Lofk O prefents, no reward for love:
Myfelf will give the dower; fo vaft a ftore
As never father gave a child before.
Seven ample cities fhall cor fefs his fway-
Him Enopé, and Phare him obey,
Cardamyle with ample turrets crown'd,
And facred Pejafus for vines renown'd;

195

2CO

pea fair, the paftures Hira yields,
And rich Antheia with her flowery fields:
The whole extent to Pylos' fandy plain,
Along the verdant margin of the main.
There heifers graze, and labouring oxen toil;
Bold are the men, and generous is the foil;
There shall he reign with power and justice
crown'd,

And rule the tributary realms around.
All this I give, his vengeance to controul,
And fure all this may move his mighty foul.
Pluto, the grifly God, who never spares,
Who feels no mercy, and who hears no prayers,

210

Lives dark and dreadful in deep hell's abodes,
And mortals hate him, as the worst of Gods.
Great though he be, it fits him t› obey;
Since more than his my years, and more my fway.
The monarch thus. The reverend Neitor then:
215

Great Agamemnon! glorious king of men!

Now prav to Jove to grant what Greece demands; 225 Pray, in deep filence, and with pureft hands.

He faid, and all approv'd. The heralds bring
The cleaning water from the living fpring.
The youth with wine the facred goblets crown'd,
And large libations drench'd the fands around.
230

The rite perform'd, the chiefs their thirft allay,
Then from the royal tent they take their way;
Wife Neftor turns on each his careful eye,
Forbids t' offend, inftructs them to apply
Much he advis'd them all, Ulyffes moft,
To deprecate the chief, and fave the hoft.
Through the ftill night they march, and hear the

roar

235

Of murmuring billows on the founding fhore.
To Neptune, ruler of the feas profound,
Whofe liquid arms the mighty globe furround, 246
They pour fo th vows, their embaffy to bleís,
And calm the rage of ftern Aacides.
And now, arriv'd where on the sandy bay
The Myrmidonian tents and veffels lay,
Amus'd at eafe, the od-like man they found, 249
Pleas'd with the folemn harp's harmonious found:
(The well-wrought harp from conquer'd Theba

came,

Of polish'd filver was its coftly frame) :
With this he footh, his angry foul, and fings
Th' immortal deeds of heroes and of kings, 2:0
Patroclus only of the royal train,

255

Plac'd in his tent, attends the loftv ftrain:
Full oppofite he fate, and liften'd long,
In filence waiting till he ceas'd the fong,
Unfeen the Grecian embaffy proceeds
To his high tent: the great Ulyffes leads.
Achilles, ftarting, as the chiefs he 'fpy'd,
Leap'd from his feat, and laid the harp afide.
With like urprize arofe Mencetios' fon:
Pelides grafp'd their hands, and thus begun: 260
Princes, all hail! whatever brought you here,
Or trong neceffity, or urgent fear;
Welcome, though Greeks! for not as foes ye

Achilles at the genial feast prefides,

275

280

285

The parts transfixes, and with fill divides.
Meanwhile Patroclus fweats the fire to raife;
The tent is brighten'd with the rifing blaze:
Then, when the languid flames at length fubfide.
He ftrows a bed of glowing embers wide,
Above the coals the fmoking fragments turns,
And fprinkles facred falt from lifted urns;
With bread the glittering canisters they load,
Which round the board Mencetius' fon beftow'd;
Himfelf, oppofed t Ulyffes full in fight,
Each portion parts, and orders every rite.
The first fat offerings, to th' Immortals due,
Amidst the greedy flames Patroclus threw ;
Then each, indulging in the focial feast,
His thirst and hunger foberly represt.
That done, to Phonix Ajax gave the fign;
Not unperceiv'd; Ulyffes crown'd with wine
The foaming bowl, and inftant thus began,
His fpeech addreffing to the god-like man:

290

Health to Achilles! happy are thy guests! 295 Not thofe more honour'd whom Atrides feafts: Though generous plenty crown thy loaded boards, That Agamemnon's regai tent affords; But greater cares fit heavy on our fouls, Not eas'd by banquets or by flowing bowls. What fcenes of flaughter in yon fields appear! The dead we mourn, and for the living fear; Greece on the brink of fate all doubtful stands, And owns no help but from thy faving hands: Troy, and her aids, for ready vengeance call;

300

305

Their threatening tents already fhade our wall: Hear how with shouts their conqueft they proclaim,

And point at every ship their vengeful flame!
For them the Father of the Gods declares,
Theirs are his omens, and his thunder theirs, 310
See, fall of Jove, avenging Hector rife!
See, heaven and earth the raging chief defies;
What fury in his breast, what lightning in his
eyes!

He waits but for the morn, to fink in flame
The fhips, the Greeks, and all the Grecian

From gentler manners let thy glory grow,
And thun contention, the fure fource of woe: 335
That young and old may in thy praife combine,
The virtues of humanity be thine-

This, now defpis'd, a tvice thy father gave;
Ah, check thy a ger, and be truly brave,
If thou wilt yield to great Atrides' prayers, 340
Gifts worthy thee his roval hand prepares;
If not but hear me, while i nonber o'er
The proffer'd prefents, an exhaustless store:
Ten weighty talents of the pureft gold,
And twice ten vafes of refulgent mould;
Seven facred tripods, whofe unfully'd frame
Yet knows no office, nor has felt the flame:
Twelve steeds unmatch'd in fleetnefs and in force,
And still victorious in the dufty courie;
(Rich were the man whofe ample stores exceed

345

350

The prizes purchas'd by their winged speed).
Seven lovely captives of the Lesbian line,
Skill'd in each art, unmatch'd, in form divine;
The fame he chofe for more than vulgar charms,
When Lesbos funk beneath thy conquering arms.

355
All thef, to buy thy friendship, shall be paid,
And, join'd with thefe, the long-contefted maid;
With all her charms, Brifeis he'll refign,
And falemn fwear thofe charms were only thine;
Untouch'd the stay'd, uninjur'd fhe removes, 360
Pure from his arms, and guiltlefs of his loves.
Thefe, inftant, fhall be thine; and if the Powers
Give to our arms proud Țlion's hoftile towers,
Then fhalt thou ftore (when Greece the spoil
divides)

With gold and brafs thy loaded navy's fides. 365
Befides, full twenty nymphs of Trojan race
With copious love fhall crown thy warm em-

brace;

Such as thyfelf fhall chufe; who yield to none,
Or yield to Helen's heavenly charms alone.
Yet hear me farther; when our wars are o'er,

370

If fafe we land on Argos' fruitful fhore,
There fhalt thou live his fon, his honours fhare,
And with Oreites' felf divide his care.
Yet more three daughters in his court are bred,
And each well worthy of a royal bed;
Laodicé and Iphigenin fair,

375

And bright Cryfothemis with golden hair;
Her fhalt thou wed whom most thy eyes approve;
He afks no prefents, no reward for love:
Himfelf will give the dower; fo vaft a store 380
As never father gave a child before.
Seven ample cities fhall confefs thy fway,
Thee Enopé, and Phere thee obev,
Cardamyle with ample turrets crown'd,
And facred Pedafus, for vines renown'd:
pea fair, the paftures Hira yields,
And rich Antheia with her flowery fields:
The whole extent to Pylos' fandy plain
Along the verdant margin of the main,
There heifers graze, and labouring oxen toil; 390
Bold are the men, and generous is the foil.
There shalt thou reign with power and juftice

385

395

Such are the proffers which this day we bring,
Such the repentance of a fuppliant king.
But if all this, relentless, thou difdain,
If honour, and if intereft, plead in vain ;
Yet fome redrefs to fuppliant Greece afford,
And be, amongst her guardian Gods, ador'd.
If no regard thy fuffering country claim,
Hear thy own glory, and the vo'ce of fame :
For know that chief, whofe unrefifted ive
Made nations tremble, and whole hofts retire,
Proud Hector, now, th' unequal fight demands,
And only triumphs to deferve thy hands.

400

405

Then thus the Goddess-born: Ulyffes, hear A faithful fpeech, that knows nor art, nor fear; What in my fecret foul is understood, My tongue shall utter, and my deeds make good. Let Greece then know, my purpose I retain; 410 Nor with new treaties vex my peace in vain. Who dares think one thing, and another tell, My heart detefts him as the gates of hell.

Then thus, in fhort, my fixt refolves attend, Which nor Atrides, nor his Greeks, can bend ; 415

Long toils, long perils, in their cause I bore,
But now th unfruitful glories charm no more.
Fight or fight not, a like reward we claim,
The wretch and hero find their prize the fame ;
Alike regretted in the duft he lies,
Who yields ignobly, or who bravely dies.
Of all my dangers, all my glorious pains,

420

A life of labours, lo! what fruit remains?
As the bold bird her helpless young attends,
From danger guards them, and from want de-
fends:

In fearch of prey fhe wings the spacious air,
And with th' untafted food fupplies her care:
For thanklefs Greece fuch hardships have I brav'd,
Her wives, her infants, by my, labours fav'd;
Long fleepless nights in heavy arms I stood, 430
And sweat laborious days in duft and blood.
I fack'd twelve ample cities on the main,
And twelve lay fmoaking on the Trojan plain:
Then at Atrides' haughty feet were laid
The wealth I gather'd, and the fpoils I made. 435
Your mighty monarch thefe in peace poffeft;
Some few my foldiers had, hinfelf the reft.
Some prefent too to every prince was paid;
And every prince enjoys the gift he made;
I only must refund of all his train ;
See what preheminence our merits gain!
My fpoil alone his greedy foul delights:
My fpoufe alone must blefs his luftful nights:
The woman, let him (as he may) enjoy;
But what's the quarrel then of Greece to Troy?
445

440

480

The wealth he left for this detefted fhore:
Thither the spoils of this long war fhall pafs,
The ruddy gold, the fteel, and shining brass;
My beauteous captives thither I'll convey,
And all that refts of my unravifh'd prey.
One only valued gift your tyrant gave,
And that refum'd, the fair Lyrnessian slave.
Then tell him, loud, that all the Greeks may
hear,

And learn to fcorn the wretch they basely fear; (For, armı'd in impudence, mankind he braves, 485

And meditates new cheats on all his flaves;
Though fhameless as he is, to face thefe eyes
Is what he dares not; if he dares he dies)
Tell him, all terms, all commerce, I decline,
Nor share his council, nor his battle join; 140
For once deceiv'd was his; but twice were
mine.

495

No-let the ftupid prince, whom Jove deprives
Of fenfe and juftice, run where frenzy drives;
His gifts are hateful: kings of such a kind
Stand but as flaves before a noble mind.
Not though he proffer'd all himself poffeft,
And all his rapine could from others wreft;
Not all the golden tides of wealth that crown
The many-peopled Orchomenian town;
Not all proud Thebes' unrivall'd walls contain,
500

The world's great emprefs on th' Ægyptian plain,
(That spreads her conquests o'er a thousand states,
And pours her heroes through a hundred gates,
Two hundred horfemen, and two hundred cars
From each wide portal iffuing to the wars) 505
Though bribes were heap'd on bribes, in number

nore

Than duft in fields, or fands along the shore; Should all thefe offers for my friendship call; 'Tis he that offers, and I fcorn them all. Atrides' daughter never fhall be led (An ill-match'd confort) to Achilles' bed; Like golden Venus though the charm'd the heart, And vy'd with Pallas in the works of art,

510

515

Some greater Greek let those high nuptials grace,
I hate alliance with a tyrant's race.
If Heaven restore me to my realms with life,
The reverend Peleus fhall clect my wife.
Theffalian nymphs there are, of form divine,
And kings that fue to mix their blood with mine.
Bleft in kind love my years fhall glide away, 520
Content with just hereditary fway;
There, deaf for ever to the martial ftrife,
Enjoy the dear prerogative of life.

Life is not to be bought with heaps of gold;
Not all Apollo's Pythian treasures hold,

525

530

Or Troy once held, in peace and pride of fway, Can bribe the poor possession of a day! Loft herds and treasures, we by arms regain, And steeds unrivall'd on the dusty plain: But from our lips the vital spirit fled, Returns no more to wake the filent dead. My fates long fince by Thetis were difclos'd, And each alternate, life or fame, propos'd; Here, if I ftay, before the Trojan town, Short is my date, but deathlefs my renown; 535 If I return, I quit inmortal praise For years on years, and long-extended days. Convinc'd, thongh late, I find my fond mistake, And warn the Greeks the wifer choice to make; To quit thefe fhores, their native feats enjoy, 540 Nor hope the fall of heaven-defended Troy. Jove's arm difplay'd afferts her from the skies; Her hearts are ftrengthen'd, and her glories rife. Go then, to Greece report our fix'd defign; Bid all your counfels, all your armies join, Let all your forces, all your arts confpire, To fave the fhips, the troops, the chiefs from fire. One ftratagem has fail'd, and others will: Ye find, Achilles is unconquer'd ftill. Go then-digeft my meflage as ye mayBut here this night let reverend Phoenix stay: His tedious toils and hoary hairs demand A peaceful death in Phthia's friendly land. But whether he remain, or fail with me. His age be facred, and his will be free.

545

550

555

The fon of Peleus ceas'd: the chiefs around In filence wrapt, in confternation drown'd, Attend the stern reply. Then Phoenix rofe; (Down his white beard a stream of forrow flows) And while the fate of fuffering Greece he mourn'd, 560

With accent weak thefe tender words return'd:
Divine Achilles! wilt thou then retire,
And leave our hofts in blood, our fleets on fire?
If wrath fo dreadful fill thy ruthless mind,
How fhall thy friend, thy Phoenix, stay behind?

The royal Peleus, when from Phthia's coaft
Ee fent thee early to th' Achaian host ;
Thy youth, as then in fage debates unskill'd,
And new to perils of the direful field:

565

He bade me teach thee all the ways of war; 570
To fhine in councils and in camps to dare.
Never, ah never let me leave thy fide!
No time fhall part us, and no fate divide.
Not though the God, that breath'd my life, reftore
The bloom I boafted, and the port I bore,
When Greece of old beheld my youthful flames,
Delightful Greece, the land of lovely dames!)

575

580

My father, faithlefs to my mother's arms,
Old as he was, ador'd a ftranger's charms.
I try'd what youth could do 'at her defire)
To win the damfel, and prevent my fire.
My fire with curfes loads my hated head,
And cries, "Ye furies! barren be his bed."
Infernal Jovc, the vengeful fiends below,
And ruthlefs Proferpine, confirm'd his vow. 58%
Defpair and grief distract my labouring mind!
Gods! what a crime my impious heart defign'd!
I thought (but fome kind God that thought fup-
preft)

To plunge the poniard in my father's breast:
Then meditate my flight; my friends in vain 590
With prayers entreat me, and with force detain.
On fat of rams, black bulls, and brawny fwine,
They daily feaft, with draughts of fragrant
wine:

Strong guards they plac'd, and watch'd nine nights entire;

The roofs and porches flam'd with conftant fire.

595

The tenth, I forc'd the gates unfeen of all;
And, favour'd by the night, o'erleap'd the wall.
My travels thence through fpacious Greece ex-
tend;

600

In Phthia's court at last my labours end.
Your fire receiv'd me, as his fon oarefs'd,
With gifts eurich'd, and with poffeffions blefs'd.
The ftrong Dolopians thenceforth own'd my reign.
And all the coast that runs along the main.
By love to thee his bounties I repaid,
And early wisdom to thy foul convey'd :
Great as thou art, my leffons made thee brave,
A child I took thee, but a hero gave.
Thy infant breaft a like affection fhow'd;
Still in my arms (an ever-pleasing load),
Or at my knee, by Phoenix would't thou stand;
610

605

615

No food was grateful but from Phoenix' hand.
I pafs my watchings o'er thy helpless years,
The tender labours, the compliant cares;
The Gods (I thought) revers'd their hard decree,
And Phoenix felt a father's joy in thee:
Thy growing virtues juftify'd my cares,
And promis'd comfort to my filver hairs.
Now be thy rage, thy fatal rage, refign'd;
A cruel heart ill fuits a manly mind:
The Gods (the only great, and only wife)
Are mov'd by offerings, vows, and facrifice;
Offending man their high compaffion wins,
And daily prayers atone for daily fins.
Prayers are Jove's daughters, of celestial race,
Lame are their feet, and wrinkled is their face;
625

620

With humble mien and with dejected eyes,
Conftant they follow, where injustice flies:
Injustice, fwift, erect, and unconfin'd,
Sweeps the wide earth, and tramples o'er man-
kind,

While prayers, to heal her wrongs, move flow

behind

Who hears thefe daughters of almighty Jove, For him they mediate to the throne above: When man rejects the humble fuit they make, The fire revenges for the daughter's fake;