Classic Poem

Now high advanc'd the night; o'er all the host
Sleep shed his softest balm: restless alone
Atrides lay, and cares revolv'd on cares.
As when with rising vengeance gloomy Jove
Pours down a wat'ry deluge, or in storms
Of hail or snow commands the gorey jaws
Of war to roar, thro' all the kindling skies
With flaming wings on lightnings lightnings play;
So, while Atrides meditates the war,
Sighs after sighs burst from his manly breast,
And shake his inmost soul: round o'er the fields
To Troy he turns his eyes, and round beholds
A thousand fires blaze dreadful! thro' his ears
Passes the direful symphony of war,
Of fife or pipe, and the loud hum of hosts
Strikes him dismay'd; now o'er the Grecian tents
His eyes he rolls; now from his royal head
Rends the fair curl in sacrifice to Jove,
And his brave heart heaves with imperial woes.
Thus groans the thoughtful king; at length resolves
To seek the Pylian sage, in wise debate
To ripen high designs, and from the sword
Preserve his banded legions. Pale and sad
Uprose the monarch; instant o'er his breast
A robe he threw, and on his royal feet
Glitter'd the embroider'd sandals; o'er his back
A dreadful ornament, a lion's spoils,
With hideous grace down to his ancles hung;
Fierce in his hand he grasp'd a glitt'ring spear.
With equal care was Menelaus toss'd;
Sleep from his temples fled: his gen'rous heart
Felt all his people's woes, who in his cause
Stemm'd the proud main, and nobly stood in arms
Confronting death. A leopard's spotted spoils
Terrific clad his limbs; a brazen helm
Beam'd on his head, and in his hand a spear.
Forth from his tent the royal Spartan strode,
To wake the king of men: him wak'd he found
Clasping his polish'd arms: with rising joy
The heroes meet; the Spartan thus began:
" Why thus in arms, my Prince! Send'st thou some spy
" To view the Trojan host? alas! I fear
" Lest the most dauntless sons of glorious war
" Shrink at the bold design. This task demands
" A soul resolv'd to pass the gloom of night,
" And 'midst her legions search the pow'rs of Troy. "
" O Prince! " he cries, " in this disastrous hour
" Greece all our counsel claims; now, now demands
" Our deepest cares. The Pow'r Omnipotent
" Frowns on our arms, but smiles with aspect mild
" On Hector's incense. Heavens! what son of fame
" Renown'd in story e'er such deeds achiev'd
" In a whole life as in one glorious day
" This fav'rite of the skies? and yet a man!
" A mortal! born to die! but such his deeds
" As future Grecians shall repeat with tears
" To children yet unborn. — But haste, repair
" To Ajax and Idorneneus; we wake
" Ourself the Pylian sage; to keep the guards
" On duty be his care; for o'er the guards
" His son presides nocturnal, and in arms
" His great compeer, Meriones the bold. "
" But say, " rejoins the Prince, " these orders borne,
" There shall I stay, or, measuring back the shores,
" To thee return? " — " No more return, " replies
The King of Hosts, " lest treading diff'rent ways
" We meet no more; for thro' the camp the ways
" Lie intricate and various; but aloud
" Wake ev'ry Greek to martial fame and arms;
" Teach them to emulate their godlike sires,
" And thou a while forget thy royal birth,
" And share a soldier's cares. The proudest king
" Is but exalted dust; and when great Jove
" Call'd us to life, and gave us royal pow'r,
" He gave a sad pre-eminence of woes. "
He spoke, and to the tent of Nestor turns
His step majestic. On his couch he found
The hoary warrior; all around him lay
His arms, the shield, the spears, the radiant helm,
And scarf of various dye: with these array'd,
The rev'rend father to the field of fame
Led his bold files; for with a brave disdain,
Old as he was, he scorn'd the ease of age.
Sudden the monarch starts, and half uprais'd,
Thus to the King aloud: " What art thou? say.
" Why in the camp alone? while others sleep
" Why wand'rest thou obscure the midnight hours?
" Seek'st thou some centinel or absent friend?
" Speak instant! — Silent to advance is death. "
" O pride of Greece! " the plaintive King returns,
" Here in thy tent thou Agamemnon view'st,
" A prince the most unhappy of mankind:
" Woes I endure which none but kings can feel,
" Which ne'er will cease until forgot in death:
" Pensive I wander thro' the damp of night,
" Thro' the cold damp of night, distress'd, alone,
" And sleep has grown a stranger to my eyes:
" The weight of all the war, the load of woes
" That presses ev'ry Greek, united falls
" On me — the cares of all the host are mine;
" Grief discomposes and distracts my thoughts;
" My restless panting heart, as if it strove
" To force its prison, beats against my sides;
" My strength is fail'd, and ev'n my feet refuse
" To bear so great a load of wretchedness!
" But if thy wakeful cares (for o'er thy head
" Wakeful the hours glide on) have aught matur'd
" Useful, the thought unfold. But rise, my friend!
" Visit with me the watches of the night,
" Lest tir'd they sleep while Troy with all her war
" Hangs o'er our tents, and now, perhaps ev'n now,
" Arms her proud bands. Arise, my friend! arise. "
To whom the Pylian. " Think not, mighty King
" Jove ratifies vain Hector's haughty views;
" A sudden, sad reverse of mighty woes
" Waits that audacious victor, when in arms
" Dreadful Achilles shines. But now thy steps
" Nestor attends: be it our care to wake
" Sage Ithacus, and Diomed the brave,
" Meges the bold, and in the race renown'd
" Oilean Ajax: to the ships that guard
" Outmost the camp some other speed his way
" To raise stern Ajax and the Cretan king,
" But love nor rev'rence to the mighty name
" Of Menelaus, nor thy wrath, O King!
" Shall stop my free rebuke. Sleep is a crime
" When Agamemnon wakes; on him it lies
" To share thy martial toils, to court the peers
" To act the men: this hour claims all our cares. "
" Reserve, " rejoins the king, " for future hours
" Thy gen'rous anger. Seems the royal youth
" Remiss? it is not thro' indolence of soul,
" But deference to our pow'r; for our commands
" He waits, and follows when we lead the way.
" This night, disdaining rest, his steps he bent
" To our pavilion: now th' illustrious peers,
" Rais'd at his call, a chosen synod stand
" Before the gates. Haste, Nestor, haste away. "
To whom the sage well pleas'd. " In such brave hands
" No Greek will envy pow'r. With loyal joy
" Subjects obey when men of worth command. "
He added not, but o'er his manly breast
Flung a rich robe; beneath his royal feet
The glitt'ring sandals shone; a soft large vest,
Florid with purple wool, his aged limbs
Graceful adorn'd; tipt with a star of brass,
A pond'rous lance he grasp'd, and strode away
To wake sage Ithacus. Aloud his voice
He rais'd; his voice was heard, and from his tent
Instant Ulysses sprung. " And why, " he cry'd,
" Why thus abroad in the chill hours of night?
" What new distress invades? " — " Forgive my cares, "
Reply'd the hoary sage; " for Greece I wake;
" Greece and her dangers bring me to thy tent:
" But haste, our wakeful peers in council meet:
" This, this one night determines flight or war. "
Swift at the word he seiz'd his ample sh'eld,
And strode along; and now they bend their way
To wake the brave Tydides: him they found
Stretch'd on the earth, array'd in shining arms,
And round his brave companions of the war:
Their shields sustain'd their heads; erect their spears
Shot thro' th' illumin'd air a streaming ray,
Keen as Jove's lightning wing'd athwart the skies.
Thus slept the chief; beneath him on the ground
A savage bull's black hide was roll'd, his head
A splendid carpet bore; the slumb'ring king
The Pylian gently with these words awakes:
" Rise, son of Tydeus! ill a whole night's rest
" Suits with the brave; and sleep'st thou while proud Troy
" Hangs o'er our tents, and from yon joining hill
" Prepares her war? Awake, my friend, awake. "
Sudden the chief awoke, and mildly gave
This soft reply: " O! cruel to thy age,
" Thou good old man! ne'er wilt thou, wilt thou cease
" To burden age with cares? has Greece no youths
" To wake the peers? Unweary'd man! to bear
" At once the double load of toils and years! "
" 'Tis true, " he cry'd, " my subjects and my sons
" Might ease a sire and king; but rest's a crime
" When on the edge of fate our country stands:
" Ere yet a few hours more have run their course,
" Important space! Greece triumphs or Greece falls!
" But since an old man's care thy pity moves,
" Haste, gen'rous youth! with speed to council call
" Meges the brave, and in the race renown'd
" Oilean Ajax. " — Straight the chief obey'd,
Straight o'er his shoulders flung the shaggy spoils
Of a huge tawny lion; with dire grace
Down to his feet they hung; fierce in his hand
He grasp'd a glitt'ring spear, and join'd the guards.
Wakeful in arms they fat, a faithful band!
As watchful dogs protect the fleecy train
When the stern lion, furious for his prey,
Rushes thro' crashing woods, and on the fold
Springs from some mountain's brow, while mingled cries
Of men and hounds alarm; to ev'ry sound
Faithful they turn; so thro' the gloom of night
They cast their view, and caught each noise of Troy.
Now met th' illustrions synod; down they sat,
Down on a spot of ground unstain'd with blood,
Where vengeful Hector from the slaughter stay'd
His murd'rous arm, when the dark veil of night
Sabled the pole; to whom thus Nestor spoke:
" Lives there a son of Fame so nobly brave
" That Troyward dares to trace the dang'rous way
" To seize some straggling soe, or learn what Troy
" Now meditates? to pour the flood of war
" Fierce on our fleet, or back within her walls
" Lead her proud legions? O! what fame would crown
" The hero thus triumphant, prais'd o'er earth
" Above the sons of men! and what rewards
" Should he receive! from ev'ry grateful peer
" A sable ewe and lamb, of highest worth
" Memorial, to a brave heroic heart
" The noblest prize! and at the social feast
" Amongst the great be his the fear of fame. "
Abash'd they fat, and ev'n the brave knew fear.
Not so Tydides; unappall'd he rose,
And nobly spoke: " My soul, O rev'rend Sage!
" Fires at the bold design; thro' yon black host
" Vent'rous I bend my way; but if his aid
" Some warrior lend, my courage might arise
" To nobler heights: the wise by mutual aid
" Instruct the wise, and brave men fire the brave. "
Fierce at the word up started from the ground
" The stern Ajaces, fierce bold Merion rose,
" And Thrasymedes, sons of war; nor sat
The royal Spartan, nor great Nestor's heir,
Nor greater Ithacus; his manly heart
Swell'd at the view of fame. — Elate with joy
Atrides saw; " and O thou best of friends!
" Brave Diomed! " he cries, " of all the peers
" Chuse thou the valiantest: when merit pleads
" Titles no deference claim: high birth and state
" To valour yield; and worth is more than pow'r. "
Thus fearing for his brother spoke the king;
Not long, for Diomed dispels his fears.
" Since free my choice, can I forget my friend,
" The man for wisdom's various arts renown'd,
" The man whose dauntless soul no toils dismay,
" Ulysses! lov'd by Pallas? thro' his aid,
" Tho' thousand fires oppose, a thousand fires
" Oppose in vain; his wisdom points the way. "
" Nor praise nor blame, " the hero straight replies;
" You speak to Greeks, and they Ulysses know.
" But haste, swift roll the hours of night; the morn
" Already hastens to display her beams,
" And in the vault of heav'n the stars decay. "
Swift at the word they sheath their manly limbs
Horrid in arms; a two-edg'd sword and shield
Nestor's bold son to stern Tydides gave;
A tough bull's hide his ample helmet form'd;
No cone adorn'd it, and no plumy crest
Wav'd in the air; a quiver and a bow,
And a huge faulchion, great Ulysses bears,
The gift of Merion; on his head an helm
Of leather nodded, firm within, and bound
With many a thong; without, in dreadful rows,
The snowy tusks of a huge savage boar
Grinn'd horrible! Thus arm'd, away they stalk
Undaunted. O'er their heads the martial maid
Sends on the right an hern; the ambient gloom
Conceals him from the view, but loud in air
They hear the clangour of his sounding wings:
Joyful the prosperous sign Ulysses hail'd,
And thus to Pallas: " Offspring of dread Jove,
" Who hurls the burning bolts, O guardian Pow'r!
" Present in all my toils, who view'st my way
" Where'er I move, now thy celestial aid,
" Now, goddess! lend: may deeds this night adorn,
" Deeds that all Troy may weep! may we return
" In safety by thy guidance, heav'nly maid! "
Tydides caught the word; " And O! " he cries,
Virgin armipotent! now grant thy aid
" As to my sire. He, by the gulfy flood
" Of deep Æsopus, left th' embattled bands
" Of Greece in arms, and to imperial Thebes
" Bore terms of peace: but as from haughty Thebes
" Alone he journey'd, deeds, heroic deeds!
" His arm achiev'd, for Tydeus was thy care:
" Thus guard his offspring, O stern queen of arms!
" So shall an heifer on thy altars bleed;
" Young and untam'd; to thee her blood I pour,
" And point her lunar horns with burnish'd gold. "
Thus pray the chiefs, and Pallas hears their pray'r:
Then like two lions, thro' the shades of night,
Dauntless they stride along, and hold their way
Thro' blood and mangled limbs, o'er arms and death;
Nor pass they far ere the sagacious eye
Of Ithacus discerns a distant foe
Coasting from Troy, and thus to Diomed:
" See o'er the plain some Trojan bends this way,
" Perhaps to spoil the slain; or to our host.
" Comes he a spy? beyond us o'er the field
" 'Tis best he pass, then sudden from behind
" Rush we precipitant; but if in flight
" His active feet prevail, thy spear employ
" To force him on our lines, lest hid in shades,
" Thro' the dusk air, he re-escape to Troy. "
Then couching to the ground, ambush'd they lay
Behind a hill of slain: onward the spy
Incessant mov'd; he pass'd, and now arose
The fierce pursuers. Dolon heard the sound
Of trampling feet, and panting, list'ning stood.
Now reach'd the chiefs within a jav'lin's throw,
Stern foes of Dolon! swift along the shores
He wing'd his flight, and swift along the shores
They still pursu'd; as when two skilful hounds
Chase o'er the lawn the hare or bounding roe,
Still from the shelt'ring brake the game they turn,
Stretch ev'ry nerve, and bear upon the prey;
So ran the chiefs, and from the host of Troy
Turn'd the swift foe: now nigh the fleet they flew,
Now almost mingled with the guards, when lo!
The martial Goddess breath'd heroic flames
Fierce on Tydides' soul: the hero fear'd
Lest some bold Greek should interpose a wound,
And ravish half the glories of the night.
" Furious he shook his lance, and " Stand, " he cry'd;
" Stand, or thou dy'st; " then sternly from his arm
Launch'd the wild spear: wilful the jav'lin err'd,
But whizzing o'er his shoulder deep in earth
Stood quiv'ring, and he quaking stopp'd aghast:
His teeth all chatter'd, and his slack knees knock'd;
He seem'd the bloodless image of pale fear.
Panting the spy they seize, who thus with tears
Abject intreats: " Spare me, O spare! " he cries;
" My hoary sire your mercy shall repay,
" Soon as he hears I draw the vital air,
" With ample wealth, with steel, with brass, with gold. "
To whom Ulysses artfully: " Be bold;
" Far hence the thought of death; but instant say
" Why thus alone in the still hours of night,
" While ev'ry eye is clos'd? to spoil the slain
" Com'st thou rapacious? or some nightly spy
" By Hector sent? or has thy vent'rous mind
" Impell'd thee to explore our martial bands? "
" By Hector sent, and by rewards undone, "
Returns the spy, (still as he spoke he shook)
" I come unwilling: the refulgent car
" He promis'd, and immortal steeds that bear
" To fight the great Achilles. Thus betray'd,
" Thro' the dun shades of night I bend my way
" Unprosp'rous, to explore the tented host
" Of adverse Greece, and learn if now they stand
" Wakeful on guard, or vanquish'd by our arms,
" Precipitant desert the shores of Troy. "
To whom with smiles of scorn the sage returns:
" Bold were thy aims, O youth! but those proud steeds,
" Restive, disdain the rule of vulgar hands.
" Scarce ev'n the goddess-born, when the loud din
" Of battle roars, subdues them, to the rein
" Reluctant. But this night where Hector sleeps
" Faithful disclose; where stand the warrior's steeds;
" Where lie his arms and implements of war;
" What guards are kept nocturnal. Say what Troy
" Now meditates; to pour the tide of fight
" Fierce on our fleet, or back within her walls
" Transfer the war? " — — " To these demands, " he cries,
" Faithful my tongue shall speak. The peers of Troy
" Hector in council meets; round Ilus' tomb
" Apart from noise they stand; no guards surround
" The spacious host; where thro' the gloom yon fires
" Blaze frequent, Trojans wake to guard their Troy:
" Secure th' auxiliars sleep; no tender cares
" Of wife or son disturb their calm repose;
" Safe sleep their wives and sons on foreign shores. "
" But say, apart encamp th' auxiliar bands, "
Replies the sage, " or join the pow'rs of Troy? "
" Along the sea-beat shores, " returns the spy,
" The Leleges and Carians stretch their files;
" Near these the Caucons, and Pelasgian train,
" And Paeons, dreadful with the battle-bow,
" Extended lie; on the Thymbraean plain
" The Lysians and the Mysians in array
" Spread their deep ranks; there the Maeonian bands,
" And Phrygians, range the fiery steeds of war.
" But why this nice inquiry? if your way
" Vent'rous you bend to search the host of Troy,
" There, in yon outmost lines, a recent aid,
" The Thracians lie, by Rhesus led, whose steeds
" Outshine the snow, outfly the winged winds:
" With glitt'ring silver plates and radiant gold
" His chariot flames; gold forms his dazzling arms,
Arms that may grace a god! — But to your tents
" Unhappy me convey; or bound with chains,
" Fast bound with cruel chains! sad on the shores
" Here leave me captive till you safe return,
" And witness to the truth my tongue unfolds. "
To whom stern-frowning Diomed replies:
" Tho' every syllable be stamp'd with truth,
" Dolon! thou dy'st. Wouldst thou once more ret
" Darkling a spy, or wage, a nobler foe,
" New war on Greece? Traitor! thou dy'st, nor more
" New war thou wagest, nor return'st a spy. "
He spoke terrific, and as Dolon rais'd
Suppliant his humble hands, the trenchant blade
Sheer thro' his neck descends; the furious blow
Cleaves the tough nerves in twain; down drops the head,
And mutters unintelligible sounds.
Straight they despoil the dead; the wolf's grey hide
They seize, the helm, the spear, and battle-bow:
These, as they dropp'd with gore on high in air,
Ulysses rais'd, and to the martial maid
Thus lowly consecrates: " Stern pow'r of War!
" Virgin armipotent! receive these arms;
" Propitious to my vows, thee, Goddess! thee
" Chiefly I call; direct our prosperous way
" To pierce the Thracian tents, to seize the steeds
" Of Rhesus, and the car that flames with gold. "
Then fierce o'er broken arms thro' streams of blood
They move along; now reach the Thracian bands,
All hush'd in sleep profound; their shining arms
Rang'd in three ranks along the plain around,
Illumin'd the dun air: chariot and horse
By every Thracian stood: Rhesus their king
Slept in the centre of the circling bands,
And his proud steeds were rein'd behind his car.
With joy Ulysses thro' the gloom descry'd
The sleeping King; " And lo! " he cries, " the steeds!
" Lo! Diomed, the chief of Thrace, this night
" Describ'd by Dolon. Now, O! now thy strength
" Dauntless exert! loose thou the furious steeds,
" Or while the steeds I loose, with slaught'ring hands
" Invade the soldiery. " He spoke, and now
The queen of arms inflam'd Tydides' soul
With all her martial fires: his reeking blade
On ev'ry side dealt fate. Low hollow groans
Murmur'd around; blood o'er the crimson field
Well'd from the slain. As in his nightly haunts
The surly lion rushes on the fold
Of sheep or goat, and rends th' unguarded prey,
So he the Thracian bands: twelve by his sword
Lay breathless on the ground: behind him stood
Sage Ithacus, and as the warrior slew,
Swift he remov'd the slain, lest the fierce steeds,
Not yet inur'd to blood, should trembling start,
Impatient of the dead. Now o'er the king
He whirls his wrathful blade, now furious gores
His heaving chest. He wak'd not, but a dream
By Pallas sent, rose in his anxious thoughts;
A visionary warrior frowning stood
Fast by his head, and his aerial sword
Plung'd thro' his lab'ring breast. Meanwhile the steeds
The sage unbinds, and instant with his bow
Drives thro' the sleeping ranks; then to his friend
Gave signals of retreat: but nobler deeds
He meditates, to drag the radiant car,
Or lift it thro' the threefold ranks, up-borne
High on his shoulders, or with slaughter stain
Th' ensanguin'd field; when lo! the martial maid
Down rushes from the battlements of heav'n,
And sudden cries, " Return, brave chief! return,
" Lest from the skies some guardian pow'r of Troy
" Wrathful descend, and rouse the hostile bands. "
Thus speaks the warrior queen; the heav'nly voice
Tydides owns, and mounts the fiery steeds,
Observant of the high command: the bow
Sage Ithacus apply'd, and tow'rds the tents
Scourg'd the proud steeds: the steeds flew o'er the plain.