The Iliad of Homer · Homer
BOOK X.
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. 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 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. 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. Agamemnon distinguishes himself. He is wounded, and retires. Diomede is wounded by Paris; Ulysses by Socus. Ajax with Menelaus flies to the relief of Ulysses, and Eurypylus, soon after, to the relief of Ajax. While he is employed in assisting Ajax, he is shot in the thigh by Paris, who also wounds Machaon. Nestor conveys Machaon from the field. Achilles dispatches Patroclus to the tent of Nestor, and Nestor takes that occasion to exhort Patroclus to engage in battle, clothed in the armor of Achilles.
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.