Complete Works of Homer

by Homer

  Full in his nape infix'd the fatal spear;

  Swift through his crackling jaws the weapon glides,

  And the cold tongue and grinning teeth divides.

  Then died Hypsenor, generous and divine,

  Sprung from the brave Dolopion's mighty line,

  Who near adored Scamander made abode,

  Priest of the stream, and honoured as a god.

  On him, amidst the flying numbers found,

  Eurypylus inflicts a deadly wound;

  On his broad shoulders fell the forceful brand,

  Thence glancing downwards, lopp'd his holy hand,

  Which stain'd with sacred blood the blushing sand.

  Down sunk the priest: the purple hand of death

  Closed his dim eye, and fate suppress'd his breath.

  Thus toil'd the chiefs, in different parts engaged.

  In every quarter fierce Tydides raged;

  Amid the Greek, amid the Trojan train,

  Rapt through the ranks he thunders o'er the plain;

  Now here, now there, he darts from place to place,

  Pours on the rear, or lightens in their face.

  Thus from high hills the torrents swift and strong

  Deluge whole fields, and sweep the trees along,

  Through ruin'd moles the rushing wave resounds,

  O'erwhelm's the bridge, and bursts the lofty bounds;

  The yellow harvests of the ripen'd year,

  And flatted vineyards, one sad waste appear!

  While Jove descends in sluicy sheets of rain,

  And all the labours of mankind are vain.

  So raged Tydides, boundless in his ire,

  Drove armies back, and made all Troy retire.

  With grief the leader of the Lycian band

  Saw the wide waste of his destructive hand:

  His bended bow against the chief he drew;

  Swift to the mark the thirsty arrow flew,

  Whose forky point the hollow breastplate tore,

  Deep in his shoulder pierced, and drank the gore:

  The rushing stream his brazen armour dyed,

  While the proud archer thus exulting cried:

  "Hither, ye Trojans, hither drive your steeds!

  Lo! by our hand the bravest Grecian bleeds,

  Not long the deathful dart he can sustain;

  Or Phoebus urged me to these fields in vain."

  So spoke he, boastful: but the winged dart

  Stopp'd short of life, and mock'd the shooter's art.

  The wounded chief, behind his car retired,

  The helping hand of Sthenelus required;

  Swift from his seat he leap'd upon the ground,

  And tugg'd the weapon from the gushing wound;

  When thus the king his guardian power address'd,

  The purple current wandering o'er his vest:

  "O progeny of Jove! unconquer'd maid!

  If e'er my godlike sire deserved thy aid,

  If e'er I felt thee in the fighting field;

  Now, goddess, now, thy sacred succour yield.

  O give my lance to reach the Trojan knight,

  Whose arrow wounds the chief thou guard'st in fight;

  And lay the boaster grovelling on the shore,

  That vaunts these eyes shall view the light no more."

  Thus pray'd Tydides, and Minerva heard,

  His nerves confirm'd, his languid spirits cheer'd;

  He feels each limb with wonted vigour light;

  His beating bosom claim'd the promised fight.

  "Be bold, (she cried), in every combat shine,

  War be thy province, thy protection mine;

  Rush to the fight, and every foe control;

  Wake each paternal virtue in thy soul:

  Strength swells thy boiling breast, infused by me,

  And all thy godlike father breathes in thee;

  Yet more, from mortal mists I purge thy eyes,

  And set to view the warring deities.

  These see thou shun, through all the embattled plain;

  Nor rashly strive where human force is vain.

  If Venus mingle in the martial band,

  Her shalt thou wound: so Pallas gives command."

  With that, the blue-eyed virgin wing'd her flight;

  The hero rush'd impetuous to the fight;

  With tenfold ardour now invades the plain,

  Wild with delay, and more enraged by pain.

  As on the fleecy flocks when hunger calls,

  Amidst the field a brindled lion falls;

  If chance some shepherd with a distant dart

  The savage wound, he rouses at the smart,

  He foams, he roars; the shepherd dares not stay,

  But trembling leaves the scattering flocks a prey;

  Heaps fall on heaps; he bathes with blood the ground,

  Then leaps victorious o'er the lofty mound.

  Not with less fury stern Tydides flew;

  And two brave leaders at an instant slew;

  Astynous breathless fell, and by his side,

  His people's pastor, good Hypenor, died;

  Astynous' breast the deadly lance receives,

  Hypenor's shoulder his broad falchion cleaves.

  Those slain he left, and sprung with noble rage

  Abas and Polyidus to engage;

  Sons of Eurydamus, who, wise and old,

  Could fate foresee, and mystic dreams unfold;

  The youths return'd not from the doubtful plain,

  And the sad father tried his arts in vain;

  No mystic dream could make their fates appear,

  Though now determined by Tydides' spear.

  Young Xanthus next, and Thoon felt his rage;

  The joy and hope of Phaenops' feeble age:

  Vast was his wealth, and these the only heirs

  Of all his labours and a life of cares.

  Cold death o'ertakes them in their blooming years,

  And leaves the father unavailing tears:

  To strangers now descends his heapy store,

  The race forgotten, and the name no more.

  Two sons of Priam in one chariot ride,

  Glittering in arms, and combat side by side.

  As when the lordly lion seeks his food

  Where grazing heifers range the lonely wood,

  He leaps amidst them with a furious bound,

  Bends their strong necks, and tears them to the ground:

  So from their seats the brother chiefs are torn,

  Their steeds and chariot to the navy borne.

  With deep concern divine Æneas view'd

  The foe prevailing, and his friends pursued;

  Through the thick storm of singing spears he flies,

  Exploring Pandarus with careful eyes.

  At length he found Lycaon's mighty son;

  To whom the chief of Venus' race begun:

  "Where, Pandarus, are all thy honours now,

  Thy winged arrows and unerring bow,

  Thy matchless skill, thy yet unrivall'd fame,

  And boasted glory of the Lycian name?

  O pierce that mortal! if we mortal call

  That wondrous force by which whole armies fall;

  Or god incensed, who quits the distant skies

  To punish Troy for slighted sacrifice;

  (Which, oh avert from our unhappy state!

  For what so dreadful as celestial hate)?

  Whoe'er he be, propitiate Jove with prayer;

  If man, destroy; if god, entreat to spare."

  To him the Lycian: "Whom your eyes behold,

  If right I judge, is Diomed the bold:

  Such coursers whirl him o'er the dusty field,

  So towers his helmet, and so flames his shield.

  If 'tis a god, he wears that chief's disguise:

  Or if that chief, some guardian of the skies,

  Involved in clouds, protects him in the fray,

  And turns unseen the frustrate
dart away.

  I wing'd an arrow, which not idly fell,

  The stroke had fix'd him to the gates of hell;

  And, but some god, some angry god withstands,

  His fate was due to these unerring hands.

  Skill'd in the bow, on foot I sought the war,

  Nor join'd swift horses to the rapid car.

  Ten polish'd chariots I possess'd at home,

  And still they grace Lycaon's princely dome:

  There veil'd in spacious coverlets they stand;

  And twice ten coursers wait their lord's command.

  The good old warrior bade me trust to these,

  When first for Troy I sail'd the sacred seas;

  In fields, aloft, the whirling car to guide,

  And through the ranks of death triumphant ride.

  But vain with youth, and yet to thrift inclined,

  I heard his counsels with unheedful mind,

  And thought the steeds (your large supplies unknown)

  Might fail of forage in the straiten'd town;

  So took my bow and pointed darts in hand

  And left the chariots in my native land.

  "Too late, O friend! my rashness I deplore;

  These shafts, once fatal, carry death no more.

  Tydeus' and Atreus' sons their points have found,

  And undissembled gore pursued the wound.

  In vain they bleed: this unavailing bow

  Serves, not to slaughter, but provoke the foe.

  In evil hour these bended horns I strung,

  And seized the quiver where it idly hung.

  Cursed be the fate that sent me to the field

  Without a warrior's arms, the spear and shield!

  If e'er with life I quit the Trojan plain,

  If e'er I see my spouse and sire again,

  This bow, unfaithful to my glorious aims,

  Broke by my hand, shall feed the blazing flames."

  To whom the leader of the Dardan race:

  "Be calm, nor Phoebus' honour'd gift disgrace.

  The distant dart be praised, though here we need

  The rushing chariot and the bounding steed.

  Against yon hero let us bend our course,

  And, hand to hand, encounter force with force.

  Now mount my seat, and from the chariot's height

  Observe my father's steeds, renown'd in fight;

  Practised alike to turn, to stop, to chase,

  To dare the shock, or urge the rapid race;

  Secure with these, through fighting fields we go;

  Or safe to Troy, if Jove assist the foe.

  Haste, seize the whip, and snatch the guiding rein;

  The warrior's fury let this arm sustain;

  Or, if to combat thy bold heart incline,

  Take thou the spear, the chariot's care be mine."

  "O prince! (Lycaon's valiant son replied)

  As thine the steeds, be thine the task to guide.

  The horses, practised to their lord's command,

  Shall bear the rein, and answer to thy hand;

  But, if, unhappy, we desert the fight,

  Thy voice alone can animate their flight;

  Else shall our fates be number'd with the dead,

  And these, the victor's prize, in triumph led.

  Thine be the guidance, then: with spear and shield

  Myself will charge this terror of the field."

  And now both heroes mount the glittering car;

  The bounding coursers rush amidst the war;

  Their fierce approach bold Sthenelus espied,

  Who thus, alarm'd, to great Tydides cried:

  "O friend! two chiefs of force immense I see,

  Dreadful they come, and bend their rage on thee:

  Lo the brave heir of old Lycaon's line,

  And great Æneas, sprung from race divine!

  Enough is given to fame. Ascend thy car!

  And save a life, the bulwark of our war."

  At this the hero cast a gloomy look,

  Fix'd on the chief with scorn; and thus he spoke:

  "Me dost thou bid to shun the coming fight?

  Me wouldst thou move to base, inglorious flight?

  Know, 'tis not honest in my soul to fear,

  Nor was Tydides born to tremble here.

  I hate the cumbrous chariot's slow advance,

  And the long distance of the flying lance;

  But while my nerves are strong, my force entire,

  Thus front the foe, and emulate my sire.

  Nor shall yon steeds, that fierce to fight convey

  Those threatening heroes, bear them both away;

  One chief at least beneath this arm shall die;

  So Pallas tells me, and forbids to fly.

  But if she dooms, and if no god withstand,

  That both shall fall by one victorious hand,

  Then heed my words: my horses here detain,

  Fix'd to the chariot by the straiten'd rein;

  Swift to Æneas' empty seat proceed,

  And seize the coursers of ethereal breed;

  The race of those, which once the thundering god

  For ravish'd Ganymede on Tros bestow'd,

  The best that e'er on earth's broad surface run,

  Beneath the rising or the setting sun.

  Hence great Anchises stole a breed unknown,

  By mortal mares, from fierce Laomedon:

  Four of this race his ample stalls contain,

  And two transport Æneas o'er the plain.

  These, were the rich immortal prize our own,

  Through the wide world should make our glory known."

  Thus while they spoke, the foe came furious on,

  And stern Lycaon's warlike race begun:

  "Prince, thou art met. Though late in vain assail'd,

  The spear may enter where the arrow fail'd."

  He said, then shook the ponderous lance, and flung;

  On his broad shield the sounding weapon rung,

  Pierced the tough orb, and in his cuirass hung,

  "He bleeds! the pride of Greece! (the boaster cries,)

  Our triumph now, the mighty warrior lies!"

  "Mistaken vaunter! (Diomed replied;)

  Thy dart has erred, and now my spear be tried;

  Ye 'scape not both; one, headlong from his car,

  With hostile blood shall glut the god of war."

  He spoke, and rising hurl'd his forceful dart,

  Which, driven by Pallas, pierced a vital part;

  Full in his face it enter'd, and betwixt

  The nose and eye-ball the proud Lycian fix'd;

  Crash'd all his jaws, and cleft the tongue within,

  Till the bright point look'd out beneath the chin.

  Headlong he falls, his helmet knocks the ground:

  Earth groans beneath him, and his arms resound;

  The starting coursers tremble with affright;

  The soul indignant seeks the realms of night.

  To guard his slaughter'd friend, Æneas flies,

  His spear extending where the carcase lies;

  Watchful he wheels, protects it every way,

  As the grim lion stalks around his prey.

  O'er the fall'n trunk his ample shield display'd,

  He hides the hero with his mighty shade,

  And threats aloud! the Greeks with longing eyes

  Behold at distance, but forbear the prize.

  Then fierce Tydides stoops; and from the fields

  Heaved with vast force, a rocky fragment wields.

  Not two strong men the enormous weight could raise,

  Such men as live in these degenerate days:

  He swung it round; and, gathering strength to throw,

  Discharged the ponderous ruin at the foe.

  Where to the hip the inserted thigh unites,

  Full on the bone the pointed marble lights;

  Through both the tendons broke the rugged stone,
/>   And stripp'd the skin, and crack'd the solid bone.

  Sunk on his knees, and staggering with his pains,

  His falling bulk his bended arm sustains;

  Lost in a dizzy mist the warrior lies;

  A sudden cloud comes swimming o'er his eyes.

  There the brave chief, who mighty numbers sway'd,

  Oppress'd had sunk to death's eternal shade,

  But heavenly Venus, mindful of the love

  She bore Anchises in the Idaean grove,

  His danger views with anguish and despair,

  And guards her offspring with a mother's care.

  About her much-loved son her arms she throws,

  Her arms whose whiteness match the falling snows.

  Screen'd from the foe behind her shining veil,

  The swords wave harmless, and the javelins fail;

  Safe through the rushing horse, and feather'd flight

  Of sounding shafts, she bears him from the fight.

  Nor Sthenelus, with unassisting hands,

  Remain'd unheedful of his lord's commands:

  His panting steeds, removed from out the war,

  He fix'd with straiten'd traces to the car,

  Next, rushing to the Dardan spoil, detains

  The heavenly coursers with the flowing manes:

  These in proud triumph to the fleet convey'd,

  No longer now a Trojan lord obey'd.

  That charge to bold Deipylus he gave,

  (Whom most he loved, as brave men love the brave,)

  Then mounting on his car, resumed the rein,

  And follow'd where Tydides swept the plain.

  Meanwhile (his conquest ravished from his eyes)

  The raging chief in chase of Venus flies:

  No goddess she, commission'd to the field,

  Like Pallas dreadful with her sable shield,

  Or fierce Bellona thundering at the wall,

  While flames ascend, and mighty ruins fall;

  He knew soft combats suit the tender dame,

  New to the field, and still a foe to fame.

  Through breaking ranks his furious course he bends,

  And at the goddess his broad lance extends;

  Through her bright veil the daring weapon drove,

  The ambrosial veil which all the Graces wove;

  Her snowy hand the razing steel profaned,

  And the transparent skin with crimson stain'd,

  From the clear vein a stream immortal flow'd,

  Such stream as issues from a wounded god;

  Pure emanation! uncorrupted flood!

  Unlike our gross, diseased, terrestrial blood:

  (For not the bread of man their life sustains,

  Nor wine's inflaming juice supplies their veins:)

  With tender shrieks the goddess fill'd the place,