Classic Poem

While thus the hero's pious cares attend
The cure and safety of his wounded friend,
Trojans and Greeks with clashing shields engage,
And mutual deaths are dealt with mutual rage.
Nor long the trench or lofty walls oppose;
With Gods averse th' ill-fated works arose;
Their pow'rs neglected, and no victim slain,
The walls were rais'd, the trenches sunk in vain.
Without the Gods, how short a period stands
The proudest monument of mortal hands!
This stood, while Hector and Achilles rag'd,
While sacred Troy the warring hosts engag'd;
But when her sons were slain, her city burn'd,
And what surviv'd of Greece to Greece return'd;
Then Neptune and Apollo shook the shore,
Then Ida 's summits pour'd their wat'ry store;
Rhesus and Rhodius then unite their rills,
Caresus roaring down the stony hills,
Æsepus, Granicus , with mingled force,
And Xanthus foaming from his fruitful source;
And gulphy Simois , rolling to the main
Helmets, and shields, and god-like heroes slain:
These, turn'd by Phaebus from their wonted ways,
Delug'd the rampire nine continual days;
The weight of waters saps the yielding wall,
And to the sea the floating bulwarks fall.
Incessant cataracts the Thund'rer pours,
And half the skies descend in sluicy show'rs.
The God of Ocean, marching stern before,
With his huge trident wounds the trembling shore,
Vast stones and piles from their foundation heaves,
And whelms the smoaky ruin in the waves.
Now smooth'd with sand, and levell'd by the flood,
No fragment tells where once the wonder stood;
In their old bounds the rivers roll again,
Shine 'twixt the hills, or wander o'er the plain.
But this the Gods in later times perform;
As yet the bulwark stood, and brav'd the storm;
The strokes yet echo'd of contending pow'rs;
War thunder'd at the gates, and blood distain'd the tow'rs.
Smote by the arm of Jove , and dire dismay,
Close by their hollow ships the Grecians lay:
Hector 's approach in ev'ry wind they hear,
And Hector 's fury ev'ry moment fear.
He, like a whirlwind, toss'd the scatt'ring throng,
Mingled the troops, and drove the field along.
So 'midst the dogs and hunter's daring bands,
Fierce of his might, a boar or lion stands;
Arm'd foes around a dreadful circle form,
And hissing jav'lins rain an iron storm:
His pow'rs untam'd their bold assault defy,
And where he turns, the rout disperse, or die:
He foams, he glares, he bounds against them all,
And if he falls, his courage makes him fall.
With equal rage encompass'd Hector glows;
Exhorts his armies, and the trenches shows.
The panting steeds impatient fury breathe,
But snort and tremble at the gulph beneath;
Just on the brink, they neigh, and paw the ground,
And the turf trembles, and the skies resound.
Eager they view'd the prospect dark and deep,
Vast was the leap, and headlong hung the steep;
The bottom bare, (a formidable show!)
And bristled thick with sharpen'd stakes below.
The foot alone this strong defence could force,
And try the pass impervious to the horse.
This saw Polydamas ; who, wisely brave,
Restrain'd great Hector , and this counsel gave.
Oh thou! bold leader of our Trojan bands,
And you, confed'rate chiefs from foreign lands!
What entrance here can cumb'rous chariots find,
The stakes beneath, the Grecian walls behind?
No pass thro' those, without a thousand wounds,
No space for combat in yon' narrow bounds.
Proud of the favours mighty Jove has shown,
On certain dangers we too rashly run:
If 'tis his will our haughty foes to tame,
Oh may this instant end the Grecian name!
Here, far from Argos , let their heroes fall,
And one great day destroy, and bury all!
But should they turn, and here oppress our train,
What hopes, what methods of retreat remain?
Wedg'd in the trench, by our own troops confus'd,
In one promiscuous carnage crush'd and bruis'd,
All Troy must perish, if their arms prevail,
Nor shall a Trojan live to tell the tale.
Hear then ye warriours! and obey with speed;
Back from the trenches let your steeds be led;
Then all alighting, wedg'd in firm array,
Proceed on foot, and Hector lead the way.
So Greece shall stoop before our conqu'ring pow'r,
And this (if Jove consent) her fatal hour.
This counsel pleas'd: the god-like Hector sprung
Swift from his seat; his clanging armour rung.
The chief's example follow'd by his train,
Each quits his car, and issues on the plain.
By orders strict the charioteers enjoin'd,
Compel the coursers to their ranks behind.
The forces part in five distinguish'd bands,
And all obey their sev'ral chief's commands.
The best and bravest in the first conspire,
Pant for the fight, and threat the fleet with fire:
Great Hector glorious in the van of these,
Polydamas , and brave Cebriones .
Before the next the graceful Paris shines,
And bold Alcathous , and Agenor joins.
The sons of Priam with the third appear,
Deiphobus , and Helenus the seer:
In arms with these the mighty Asius stood,
Who drew from Hyrtacus his noble blood,
And whom Arisba 's yellow coursers bore,
The coursers fed on Selle 's winding shore.
Antenor 's sons the fourth battalion guide,
And great Æneas , born on fount-full Ide .
Divine Sarpedon the last band obey'd,
Whom Glaucus and Asteropaeus aid,
Next him, the bravest at their army's head,
But he more brave than all the hosts he led.
Now with compacted shields, in close array,
The moving legions speed their headlong way:
Already in their hopes they fire the fleet,
And see the Grecians gasping at their feet.
While ev'ry Trojan thus, and ev'ry Aid,
Th' advice of wise Polydamas obey'd;
Asius alone, confiding in his car,
His vaunted coursers urg'd to meet the war.
Unhappy hero! and advis'd in vain!
Those wheels returning ne'er shall mark the plain;
No more those coursers with triumphant joy
Restore their master to the gates of Troy!
Black death attends behind the Grecian wall,
And great Idomeneus shall boast thy fall!
Fierce to the left he drives, where from the plain
The flying Grecians strove their ships to gain;
Swift thro' the wall their horse and chariots past,
The gates half-open'd to receive the last.
Thither, exulting in his force, he flies;
His following host with clamours rend the skies;
To plunge the Grecians headlong in the main,
Such their proud hopes, but all their hopes were vain!
To guard the gates, two mighty chiefs attend,
Who from the Lapiths warlike race descend;
This Polypaetes , great Perithous' heir,
And that Leonteus , like the God of war.
As two tall oaks, before the wall they rise;
Their roots in earth, their heads amidst the skies,
Whose spreading arms with leafy honours crown'd,
Forbid the tempest, and protect the ground;
High on the hills appears their stately form,
And their deep roots for ever brave the storm.
So graceful these, and so the shock they stand
Of raging Asius , and his furious band.
Orestes, Acamas in front appear,
And Oenomaus and Thoon close the rear;
In vain their clamours shake the ambient fields,
In vain around them beat their hollow shields;
The fearless brothers on the Grecians call,
To guard their navies, and defend the wall.
Ev'n when they saw Troy 's sable Troops impend,
And Greece tumultuous from her tow'rs descend,
Forth from the portals rush'd th' intrepid pair,
Oppos'd their breasts, and stood themselves the war.
So two wild boars spring furious from their den,
Rouz'd with the cries of dogs, and voice of men;
On ev'ry side the crackling trees they tear,
And root the shrubs, and lay the forest bare;
They gnash their tusks, with fire their eye-balls roll,
Till some wide wound lets out their mighty soul.
Around their heads the whistling jav'lins sung;
With sounding strokes their brazen targets rung:
Fierce was the fight, while yet the Grecian pow'rs
Maintain'd the walls and mann'd the lofty tow'rs:
To save their fleet, the last efforts they try,
And stones and darts in mingled tempests fly.
As when sharp Boreas blows abroad, and brings
The dreary winter on his frozen wings;
Beneath the low-hung clouds the sheets of snow
Descend, and whiten all the fields below.
So fast the darts on either army pour,
So down the rampires rolls the rocky show'r;
Heavy, and thick, resound the batter'd shields,
And the deaf echo rattles round the fields.
With shame repuls'd, with grief and fury driv'n,
The frantic Asius thus accuses heav'n.
In pow'rs immortal who shall now believe?
Can those too flatter, and can Jove deceive?
What man could doubt but Troy 's victorious pow'r
Should humble Greece , and this her fatal hour?
But look how wasps from hollow crannies drive,
To guard the entrance of their common hive,
Dark'ning the rock, while with unweary'd wings
They strike th' assailants, and infix their stings;
A race determin'd, that to death contend:
So fierce, these Greeks their last retreats defend.
Gods! shall two warriours only guard their gates,
Repel an army, and defraud the fates?
These empty accents mingled with the wind,
Nor mov'd great Jove 's unalterable mind;
To God-like Hector and his matchless might
Was ow'd the glory of the destin'd fight.
Like deeds of arms thro' all the forts were try'd,
And all the gates sustain'd an equal tide;
Thro' the long walls the stony show'rs were heard,
The blaze of flames, the flash of arms appear'd.
The spirit of a God my breast inspire,
To raise each act to life, and sing with fire!
While Greece unconquer'd kept alive the war,
Secure of death, confiding in despair;
And all her guardian Gods, in deep dismay,
With unassisting arms deplor'd the day.
Ev'n yet the dauntless Lapithae maintain
The dreadful pass, and round them heap the slain.
First Damasus , by Polypaetes' steel,
Pierc'd thro' his helmet's brazen vizor, fell;
The weapon drank the mingled brains and gore;
The warriour sinks, tremendous now no more!
Next Ormenus and Pylon yield their breath:
Nor less Leonteus strows the field with death;
First thro' the belt Hippomachus he goar'd,
Then sudden wav'd his unresisted sword;
Antiphates , as thro' the ranks he broke,
The faulchion strook, and fate pursu'd the stroke;
Iämenus, Orestes, Menon , bled;
And round him rose a monument of dead.
Mean-time the bravest of the Trojan crew
Bold Hector and Polydamas pursue;
Fierce with impatience on the works to fall,
And wrap in rowling flames the fleet and wall.
These on the farther bank now stood and gaz'd,
By heav'n alarm'd, by prodigies amaz'd:
A signal omen stopp'd the passing host,
Their martial fury in their wonder lost.
Jove 's bird on sounding pinions beat the skies;
A bleeding serpent of enormous Size,
His talons truss'd; alive, and curling round,
He stung the bird, whose throat receiv'd the wound:
Mad with the smart, he drops the fatal prey,
In airy circles wings his painful way,
Floats on the winds, and rends the heav'ns with cries:
Amidst the host the fallen serpent lies.
They, pale with terrour, mark its spires unroll'd,
And Jove 's portent with beating hearts behold.
Then first Polydamas the silence broke,
Long weigh'd the signal, and to Hector spoke.
How oft, my brother, thy reproach I bear,
For words well meant, and sentiments sincere?
True to those counsels which I judge the best,
I tell the faithful dictates of my breast.
To speak his thought, is ev'ry freeman's right,
In peace and war, in council and in fight;
And all I move, deferring to thy sway,
But tends to raise that pow'r which I obey.
Then hear my words, nor may my words be vain:
Seek not, this day, the Grecian ships to gain;
For sure to warn us Jove his omen sent,
And thus my mind explains its clear event.
The victor eagle, whose sinister flight
Retards our host, and fills our hearts with fright,
Dismiss'd his conquest in the middle skies,
Allow'd to seize, but not possess the prize;
Thus tho' we gird with fires the Grecian fleet,
Tho' these proud bulwarks tumble at our feet,
Toils unforeseen, and fiercer, are decreed;
More woes shall follow, and more heroes bleed.
So bodes my soul, and bids me thus advise;
For thus a skilful seer would read the skies.
To him then Hector with disdain return'd;
(Fierce as he spoke, his eyes with fury burn'd)
Are these the faithful counsels of thy tongue?
Thy will is partial, not thy reason wrong:
Or if the purpose of thy heart thou vent,
Sure heav'n resumes the little sense it lent.
What coward counsels would thy madness move,
Against the word, the will reveal'd of Jove ?
The leading sign, th' irrevocable nod,
And happy thunders of the fav'ring God,
These shall I slight? and guide my wav'ring mind
By wand'ring birds, that flit with ev'ry wind?
Ye vagrants of the sky! your wings extend,
Or where the suns arise, or where descend;
To right, to left, unheeded take your way,
While I the dictates of high heav'n obey.
Without a sign his sword the brave man draws,
And asks no omen but his country's cause.
But why should'st thou suspect the war's success?
None fears it more, as none promotes it less:
Tho' all our chiefs amid yon' ships expire,
Trust thy own cowardice t' escape their fire.
Troy and her sons may find a gen'ral grave,
But thou can'st live, for thou can'st be a slave.
Yet should the fears that wary mind suggests
Spread their cold poison thro' our soldier's breasts,
My jav'lin can revenge so base a part,
And free the soul that quivers in thy heart.
Furious he spoke, and rushing to the wall,
Calls on his host; his host obey the call;
With ardour follow where their leader flies:
Redoubling clamours thunder in the skies.
Jove breaths a whirlwind from the hills of Ide ,
And drifts of dust the clouded navy hide:
He fills the Greeks with terrour and dismay,
And gives great Hector the predestin'd day.
Strong in themselves, but stronger in his aid,
Close to the works their rigid siege they laid.
In vain the mounds and massy beams defend,
While these they undermine, and those they rend;
Upheave the piles that prop the solid wall;
And heaps on heaps the smoaky ruins fall.
Greece on her rampart stands the fierce alarms;
The crowded bulwarks blaze with waving arms,
Shield touching shield, a long-refulgent row;
Whence hissing darts, incessant, rain below.
The bold Ajaces fly from tow'r to tow'r,
And rouze, with flame divine, the Grecian pow'r.
The gen'rous impulse ev'ry Greek obeys;
Threats urge the fearful, and the valiant, Praise.
Fellows in arms! whose deeds are known to Fame,
And you whose ardour hopes an equal name!
Since not alike endu'd with force or art,
Behold a day when each may act his part!
A day to fire the brave, and warm the cold,
To gain new glories, or augment the old.
Urge those who stand, and those who faint excite;
Drown Hector 's vaunts in loud exhorts of fight;
Conquest, not safety, fill the thoughts of all;
Seek not your fleet, but sally from the wall;
So Jove once more may drive their routed train,
And Troy lie trembling in her walls again.
Their ardour kindles all the Grecian pow'rs;
And now the stones descend in heavier show'rs.
As when high Jove his sharp artill'ry forms,
And opes his cloudy magazine of storms;
In winter's bleak, uncomfortable reign,
A snowy inundation hides the plain;
He stills the winds, and bids the skies to sleep;
Then pours the silent tempest, thick, and deep:
And first the mountain tops are cover'd o'er,
Then the green fields, and then the sandy shore;
Bent with the weight the nodding woods are seen,
And one bright waste hides all the works of men:
The circling seas alone absorbing all,
Drink the dissolving fleeces as they fall.
So from each side increas'd the stony rain,
And the white ruin rises o'er the plain.
Thus God-like Hector and his Troops contend
To force the ramparts, and the gates to rend;
Nor Troy could conquer, nor the Greeks would yield,
Till great Sarpedon tow'r'd amid the field;
For mighty Jove inspir'd with martial flame
His matchless son, and urg'd him on to fame.
In arms he shines, conspicuous from afar,
And bears aloft his ample shield in air;
Within whose orb the thick bull-hides were roll'd,
Pond'rous with brass, and bound with ductile gold:
And while two pointed jav'lins arm his hands,
Majestick moves along, and leads his Lycian bands.
So press'd with hunger, from the mountain's brow
Descends a lion on the flocks below;
So stalks the lordly savage o'er the plain,
In sullen majesty, and stern disdain:
In vain loud mastives bay him from afar,
And shepherds gaul him with an iron war;
Regardless, furious, he pursues his way;
He foams, he roars, he rends the panting prey.
Resolv'd alike, divine Sarpedon glows
With gen'rous rage that drives him on the foes.
He views the tow'rs, and meditates their fall,
To sure destruction dooms th' aspiring wall;
Then casting on his friend an ardent look,
Fir'd with the thirst of glory, thus he spoke.
Why boast we, Glaucus! our extended reign,
Where Xanthus' streams enrich the Lycian plain,
Our num'rous herds that range the fruitful field,
And hills where vines their purple harvest yield,
Our foaming bowls with purer nectar crown'd,
Our feasts enhanc'd with music's sprightly sound?
Why on those shores are we with joy survey'd,
Admir'd as heroes, and as Gods obey'd?
Unless great acts superior merit prove,
And vindicate the bount'ous pow'rs above.
'Tis ours, the dignity they give, to grace;
The first in valour, as the first in place.
That when with wond'ring eyes our martial bands
Behold our deeds transcending our commands,
Such, they may cry, deserve the sov'reign state,
Whom those that envy, dare not imitate!
Could all our care elude the gloomy grave,
Which claims no less the fearful than the brave,
For lust of fame I should not vainly dare
In fighting fields, nor urge thy soul to war.
But since, alas! ignoble age must come,
Disease, and death's inexorable doom;
The life which others pay, let us bestow,
And give to fame what we to nature owe;
Brave tho' we fall, and honour'd if we live,
Or let us glory gain, or glory give!
He said; his words the list'ning chief inspire
With equal warmth, and rouze the warriour's fire;
The troops pursue their leaders with delight,
Rush to the foe, and claim the promis'd fight.
Menestheus from on high the storm beheld,
Threat'ning the fort, and black'ning in the field;
Around the walls he gaz'd, to view from far
What aid appear'd t' avert th' approaching war,
And saw where Teucer with th' Ajaces stood,
Of fight insatiate, prodigal of blood.
In vain he calls; the din of helms and shields
Rings to the skies, and echoes thro' the fields,
The brazen hinges fly, the walls resound,
Heav'n trembles, roar the mountains, thunders all the ground.
Then thus to Thoos; — hence with speed, (he said)
And urge the bold Ajaces to our aid;
Their strength, united, best may help to bear
The bloody labours of the doubtful war:
Hither the Lycian Princes bend their course,
The best and bravest of the hostile force.
But if too fiercely there the foes contend,
Let Telamon , at least, our tow'rs defend,
And Teucer haste with his unerring bow,
To share the danger, and repel the foe.
Swift as the word, the herald speeds along
The lofty ramparts, through the martial throng;
And finds the heroes bath'd in sweat and gore,
Oppos'd in combat on the dusty shore.
Ye valiant leaders of our warlike bands!
Your aid (said Thoos ) Peteus' son demands,
Your strength, united, best may help to bear
The bloody labours of the doubtful war:
Thither the Lycian Princes bend their course,
The best and bravest of the hostile force.
But if too fiercely, here, the foes contend,
At least, let Telamon those tow'rs defend,
And Teucer haste, with his unerring bow,
To share the danger, and repel the foe.
Strait to the fort great Ajax turn'd his care,
And thus bespoke his brothers of the war.
Now valiant Lycomede! exert your might,
And brave Oileus , prove your force in fight:
To you I trust the fortune of the field,
Till by this arm the foe shall be repell'd;
That done, expect me to compleat the day —
Then, with his sev'nfold shield, he strode away.
With equal steps bold Teucer press'd the shore,
Whose fatal bow the strong Pandion bore.
High on the walls appear'd the Lycian pow'rs,
Like some black tempest gath'ring round the tow'rs;
The Greeks , oppress'd, their utmost force unite,
Prepar'd to labour in th' unequal fight;
The war renews, mix'd shouts and groans arise;
Tumultuous clamour mounts, and thickens in the skies.
Fierce Ajax first th' advancing host invades,
And sends the brave Epicles to the shades,
Sarpedon 's friend; across the warriour's way,
Rent from the walls a rocky fragment lay;
In modern ages not the strongest swain
Could heave th' unwieldy burthen from the plain.
He pois'd, and swung it round; then toss'd on high,
It flew with force, and labour'd up the sky;
Full on the Lycian 's helmet thund'ring down,
The pond'rous ruin crush'd his batter'd crown.
As skilful divers, from some airy steep,
Headlong descend, and shoot into the deep,
So falls Epicles ; then in groans expires,
And murm'ring to the shades the soul retires.
While to the ramparts daring Glaucus drew,
From Teucer 's hand a winged arrow flew;
The bearded shaft the destin'd passage found,
And on his naked arm inflicts a wound.
The chief, who fear'd some foe's insulting boast
Might stop the progress of his warlike host,
Conceal'd the wound, and leaping from his height,
Retir'd reluctant from th' unfinish'd fight.
Divine Sarpedon with regret beheld
Disabl'd Glaucus slowly quit the field;
His beating breast with gen'rous ardour glows,
He springs to fight, and flies upon the foes.
Alcmäon first was doom'd his force to feel;
Deep in his breast he plung'd the pointed steel;
Then, from the yawning wound with fury tore
The spear, pursu'd by gushing streams of gore;
Down sinks the warriour with a thund'ring sound,
His brazen armour rings against the ground.
Swift to the battlement the victor flies,
Tugs with full force, and ev'ry nerve applies;
It shakes; the pond'rous stones disjointed yield;
The rowling ruins smoak along the field.
A mighty breach appears; the walls lie bare;
And, like a deluge, rushes in the war.
At once bold Teucer draws the twanging bow,
And Ajax sends his jav'lin at the foe;
Fix'd in his belt the feather'd weapon stood,
And thro' his buckler drove the trembling wood;
But Jove was present in the dire debate,
To shield his offspring, and avert his fate.
The Prince gave back, not meditating flight,
But urging vengeance, and severer fight;
Then rais'd with hope, and fir'd with glory's charms,
His fainting squadrons to new fury warms.
O where, ye Lycians! is the strength you boast?
Your former fame, and ancient virtue lost!
The breach lies open, but your chief in vain
Attempts alone the guarded pass to gain:
Unite, and soon that hostile fleet shall fall;
The force of pow'rful union conquers all.
This just rebuke inflam'd the Lycian crew,
They join, they thicken, and th' assault renew;
Unmov'd th' embody'd Greeks their fury dare,
And fix'd support the weight of all the war;
Nor could the Greeks repel the Lycian pow'rs,
Nor the bold Lycians force the Grecian tow'rs.
As on the confines of adjoining grounds,
Two stubborn swains with blows dispute their bounds;
They tugg, they sweat; but neither gain, nor yield,
One foot, one inch, of the contended field:
Thus obstinate to death, they fight, they fall;
Nor these can keep, nor those can win the wall.
Their manly breasts are pierc'd with many a wound,
Loud strokes are heard, and rattling arms resound,
The copious slaughter covers all the shore,
And the high ramparts drop with human gore.
As when two scales are charg'd with doubtful loads,
From side to side the trembling balance nods,
(While some laborious matron, just and poor,
With nice exactness weighs her woolly store)
Till pois'd aloft, the resting beam suspends
Each equal weight; nor this, nor that, descends.
So stood the war, till Hector 's matchless might
With fates prevailing, turn'd the scale of fight.
Fierce as a whirlwind up the walls he flies,
And fires his host with loud repeated cries.
Advance, ye Trojans! lend your valiant hands,
Hast to the fleet, and toss the blazing brands!
They hear, they run, and gath'ring at his call,
Raise scaling engines, and ascend the wall:
Around the works a wood of glitt'ring spears
Shoots up, and all the rising host appears.
A pond'rous stone bold Hector heav'd to throw,
Pointed above, and rough and gross below:
Not two strong men th' enormous weight could raise,
Such men as live in these degen'rate days.
Yet this, as easy as a swain could bear
The snowy fleece, he toss'd, and shook in air:
For Jove upheld, and lighten'd of its load
Th' unweildy rock, the labour of a God.
Thus arm'd, before the folded gates he came,
Of massy substance and stupendous frame;
With iron bars and brazen hinges strong,
On lofty beams of solid timber hung.
Then thund'ring thro' the planks, with forceful sway,
Drives the sharp rock; the solid beams give way,
The folds are shatter'd; from the crackling door
Leap the resounding bars, the flying hinges roar.
Now rushing in, the furious chief appears,
Gloomy as night! and shakes two shining spears:
A dreadful gleam from his bright armour came,
And from his eye-balls flash'd the living flame.
He moves a God, resistless in his course,
And seems a match for more than mortal force.
Then pouring after, thro' the gaping space,
A tyde of Trojans flows, and fills the place;
The Greeks behold, they tremble, and they fly;
The shore is heap'd with death, and tumult rends the sky.