The Iliad of Homer by Homer (some good books to read txt) 📕

within spear's cast, or less they came,
250 Knowing them enemies he turn'd to flight
Incontinent, whom they as swift pursued.
As two fleet hounds sharp fang'd, train'd to the chase,
Hang on the rear of flying hind or hare,425
And drive her, never swerving from the track,
Through copses close; she screaming scuds before;
So Diomede and dread Ulysses him
Chased constant, intercepting his return.
And now, fast-fleeting to the ships, he soon430
Had reach'd the guard, but Pallas with new force
Inspired Tydides, lest a meaner Greek
Should boast that he had smitten Dolon first,
And Diomede win only second praise.
He poised his lifted spear, and thus exclaim'd.435

Stand! or my spear shall stop thee. Death impends
At every step; thou canst not 'scape me long.

He said, and threw his spear, but by design,
Err'd from the man. The polish'd weapon swift
O'er-glancing his right shoulder, in the soil440
Stood fixt, beyond him. Terrified he stood,
Stammering, and sounding through his lips the clash
Of chattering teeth, with visage deadly wan.
They panting rush'd on him, and both his hands
Seized fast; he wept, and suppliant them bespake.445

Take me alive, and I will pay the price
Of my redemption. I have gold at home,
Brass also, and bright steel, and when report
Of my captivity within your fleet
Shall reach my father, treasures he will give450
Not to be told, for ransom of his son.

To whom Ulysses politic replied.
Take courage; entertain no thought of death.[16]
But haste! this tell me, and disclose the truth.
Why thus toward the ships comest thou alone455
251 From yonder host, by night, while others sleep?
To spoil some carcase? or from Hector sent
A spy of all that passes in the fleet?
Or by thy curiosity impell'd?

Then Dolon, his limbs trembling, thus replied.460
To my great detriment, and far beyond
My own design, Hector trepann'd me forth,
Who promised me the steeds of Peleus' son
Illustrious, and his brazen chariot bright.
He bade me, under night's fast-flitting shades465
Approach our enemies, a spy, to learn
If still as heretofore, ye station guards
For safety of your fleet, or if subdued
Completely, ye intend immediate flight,
And worn with labor, have no will to watch.470

To whom Ulysses, smiling, thus replied.
Thou hadst, in truth, an appetite to gifts
Of no mean value, coveting the steeds
Of brave Æacides; but steeds are they
Of fiery sort, difficult to be ruled475
By force of mortal man, Achilles' self
Except, whom an immortal mother bore.
But tell me yet again; use no disguise;
Where left'st thou, at thy coming forth, your Chief,
The valiant Hector? where hath he disposed480
His armor battle-worn, and where his steeds?
What other quar4ers of your host are watch'd?
Where lodge the guard, and what intend ye next?
Still to abide in prospect of the fleet?
Or well-content that ye have thus reduced485
Achaia's host, will ye retire to Troy?

To whom this answer Dolon straight returned
Son of Eumedes. With unfeigning truth
Simply and plainly will I utter all.
Hector, with all the Senatorial Chiefs,490
Beside the tomb of sacred Ilius sits
Consulting, from the noisy camp remote.
But for the guards, Hero! concerning whom
252 Thou hast inquired, there is no certain watch
And regular appointed o'er the camp;495
The native[17] Trojans (for they can no less)
Sit sleepless all, and each his next exhorts
To vigilance; but all our foreign aids,
Who neither wives nor children hazard here,
Trusting the Trojans for that service, sleep.500

To whom Ulysses, ever wise, replied.
How sleep the strangers and allies?—apart?
Or with the Trojans mingled?—I would learn.

So spake Ulysses; to whom Dolon 4hus,
Son of Eumedes. I will all unfold,505
And all most truly. By the sea are lodged
The Carians, the Pæonians arm'd with bows,
The Leleges, with the Pelasgian band,
And the Caucones. On the skirts encamp
Of Thymbra, the Mæonians crested high,510
The Phrygian horsemen, with the Lycian host,
And the bold troop of Mysia's haughty sons.
But wherefore these inquiries thus minu4e?
For if ye wish to penetrate the host,
These who possess the borders of the camp515
Farthest removed of all, are Thracian powers
Newly arrived; among them Rhesus sleeps,
Son of Eïoneus, their Chief and King.
His steeds I saw, the fairest by these eyes
Ever beheld, and loftiest; snow itself520
They pass in whiteness, and in speed the winds,
With gold and silver all his chariot burns,
And he arrived in golden armor clad
Stupendous! little suited to the state
Of mortal man—fit for a God to wear!525
Now, either lead me to your gallant fleet,
Or where ye find me leave me straitly bound
Till ye return, and after trial made,
Shall know if I have spoken false or true.

253 But him brave Diomede with aspect stern530
Answer'd. Since, Dolon! thou art caught, although
Thy tidings have been good, hope not to live;
For should we now release thee and dismiss,
Thou wilt revisit yet again the fleet
A spy or open foe; but smitten once535
By this death-dealing arm, thou shall return
To render mischief to the Greeks no more.

He ceased, and Dolon would have stretch'd his hand
Toward his beard, and pleaded hard for life,
But with his falchion, rising to the blow,540
On the mid-neck he smote him, cutting sheer
Both tendons with a stroke so swift, that ere
His tongue had ceased, his head was in the dust.[18]
They took his helmet clothed with ferret's felt,
Stripp'd off his wolf-skin, seized his bow and spear,545
And brave Ulysses lifting in his hand
The trophy to Minerva, pray'd and said:

Hail Goddess; these are thine! for thee of all
Who in Olympus dwell, we will invoke
First to our aid. Now also guide our steps,550
Propitious, to the Thracian tents and steeds.

He ceased, and at arm's-length the lifted spoils
Hung on a tamarisk; but mark'd the spot,
Plucking away with handful grasp the reeds
And spreading boughs, lest they should seek the prize555
Themselves in vain, returning ere the night,
Swift traveller, should have fled before the dawn.
Thence, o'er the bloody champain strew'd with arms
Proceeding, to the Thracian lines they came.
They, wearied, slept profound; beside them lay,560
In triple order regular arranged,
Their radiant armor, and their steeds in pairs.
Amid them Rhesus slept, and at his side
His coursers, to the outer chariot-ring
254 Fasten'd secure. Ulysses saw him first,565
And, seeing, mark'd him out to Diomede.

Behold the man, Tydides! Lo! the steeds
By Dolon specified whom we have slain.
Be quick. Exert thy force. Arm'd as thou art,
Sleep not. Loose thou the steeds, or slaughter thou570
The Thracians, and the steeds shall be my care.

He ceased; then blue-eyed Pallas with fresh force
Invigor'd Diomede. From side to side
He slew; dread groans arose of dying men
Hewn with the sword, and the earth swam with blood.575
As if he find a flock unguarded, sheep
Or goats, the lion rushes on his prey,
With such unsparing force Tydides smote
The men of Thrace, till he had slaughter'd twelve;
And whom Tydides with his falchion struck580
Laertes' son dragg'd by his feet abroad,
Forecasting that the steeds might pass with ease,
Nor start, as yet uncustom'd to the dead.
But when the son of Tydeus found the King,
Him also panting forth his last, last, breath,585
He added to the twelve; for at his head
An evil dream that night had stood, the form
Of Diomede, by Pallas' art devised.
Meantime, the bold Ulysses loosed the steeds,
Which, to each other rein'd, he drove abroad,590
Smiting them with his bow (for of the scourge
He thought not in the chariot-seat secured)
And as he went, hiss'd, warning Diomede.
But he, projecting still some hardier deed,
Stood doubtful, whether by the pole to draw595
The chariot thence, laden with gorgeous arms,
Or whether heaving it on high, to bear
The burthen off, or whether yet to take
More Thracian lives; when him with various thoughts
Perplex'd, Minerva, drawing near, bespake.600

Son of bold Tydeus! think on thy return
To yonder fleet, lest thou depart constrain'd.
255 Some other God may rouse the powers of Troy.

She ended, and he knew the voice divine.
At once he mounted. With his bow the steeds605
Ulysses plyed, and to the ships they flew.

Nor look'd the bender of the silver bow,
Apollo, forth in vain, but at the sight
Of Pallas following Diomede incensed,
Descended to the field where numerous most610
He saw the Trojans, and the Thracian Chief
And counsellor, Hippocoön aroused,[19]
Kinsman of Rhesus, and renown'd in arms.
He, starting from his sleep, soon as he saw
The spot deserted where so lately lay615
Those fiery coursers, and his warrior friends
Gasping around him, sounded loud the name
Of his loved Rhesus. Instant, at the voice,
Wild stir arose and clamorous uproar
Of fast-assembling Trojans. Deeds they saw—620
Terrible deeds, and marvellous perform'd,
But not their authors—they had sought the ships.

Meantime arrived where they had slain the spy
Of Hector, there Ulysses, dear to Jove,
The coursers stay'd, and, leaping to the ground,625
The son of Tydeus in Ulysses' hands
The arms of Dolon placed foul with his blood,
Then vaulted light into his seat again.
He lash'd the steeds, they, not unwilling, flew
To the deep-bellied barks, as to their home.630
First Nestor heard the sound, and thus he said.

Friends! Counsellors! and leaders of the Greeks!
False shall I speak, or true?—but speak I must.
The echoing sound of hoofs alarms my ear.
Oh, that Ulysses, and brave Diomede635
This moment might arrive drawn into camp
By Trojan steeds! But, ah, the dread I feel!
Lest some disaster have for ever quell'd
256 In yon rude host those noblest of the Greeks.

He hath not ended, when themselves arrived,640
Both quick dismounted; joy at their return
Fill'd every bosom; each with kind salute
Cordial, and right-hand welcome greeted them,
And first Gerenian Nestor thus inquired.

Oh Chief by all extoll'd, glory of Greece,645
Ulysses! how have ye these steeds acquired?
In yonder host? or met ye as ye went
Some God who gave them to you? for they show
A lustre dazzling as the beams of day.
Old as I am, I mingle yet in fight650
With Ilium's sons—lurk never in the fleet—
Yet saw I at no time, or have remark'd
Steeds such as these; which therefore I believe
Perforce, that ye have gained by gift divine;
For cloud-assembler Jove, and azure-eyed655
Minerva, Jove's own daughter, love you both.

To whom Ulysses, thus, discreet, replied.
Neleian Nestor, glory of the Greeks!
A God, so willing, could have given us steeds
Superior, for their bounty knows no bounds.660
But, venerable Chief! these which thou seest
Are Thracians new-arrived. Their master lies
Slain by the valiant Diomede, with twelve
The noblest of his warriors at his side,
A thirteenth[20] also, at small distance hence665
We slew, by Hector and the Chiefs of Troy
Sent to inspect the posture of our host.

He said; then, high in exultation, drove
The coursers o'er the trench, and with him pass'd
The glad Achaians; at the spacious tent670
Of Diomede arrived, with even thongs
They tied them at the cribs where stood the steeds
Of Tydeus' son, with winnow'd wheat supplied.
257 Ulysses in his bark the gory spoils
Of Dolon placed, designing them a gift675
To Pallas. Then, descending to the sea,
Neck, thighs, and legs from sweat profuse they cleansed,
And, so refresh'd and purified, their last
Ablution in bright tepid baths perform'd.
Each thus completely laved, and with smooth oil680
Anointed, at the well-spread board they sat,
And quaff'd, in honor of Minerva, wine
Delicious, from the brimming beaker drawn.

The vividness of the scenes presented to us in this Book constitute its chief beauty. The reader sees the most natural night-scene in the world. He is led step by step with the adventurers, and made the companion of all their expectations and uncertainties. We see the very color of the sky; know the time to a minute; are impatient while the heroes are arming; our imagination follows them, knows all their doubts, and even the secret wishes of their hearts sent up to Minerva. We are alarmed at the approach of Dolon, hear his very footsteps, assist the two chiefs in pursuing him, and stop just with the spear that arrests him. We are perfectly acquainted with the situation of all the forces, with the figure in which they lie, with the disposition of Rhesus and the Thracians, with the posture of his chariot and horses. The marshy spot of ground where Dolon is killed, the tamarisk, or aquatic plant upon which they hung his spoils, and the reeds that are heaped together to mark the place, are circumstances the most picturesque imaginable.

259 THE ILIAD. BOOK XI. 260 ARGUMENT OF