A reverend horror filenc'd all the sky; Trembling they stood before their Sovereign's look;

At length his best-lov'd, the Power of Wisdom, fpoke:

Oh first and greateft! God, by Gods ador'd! We own thy might, our Father and our Lord! 40 But ah! permit to pity human ftate;

If not to help, at least lament their fate.
From fields forbidden we fubmifs refrain,
With arms unaiding mourn our Argives flain;
Yet grant my counfels ftill their breafts may move,
45

Or all must perish in the wrath of Jove.

The cloud-compelling God her fuit approv'd,
And fiil'd fuperiour on his best-belov'd.
Then call'd his courfers, and his charict took ;
The ftedfaft firmament beneath him thook:
Rapt by th' æthereal feeds the chariot roll'd;
Brafs were their hoofs, their curling manes of
gold.

Of heaven's undroffy gold the God's array
Refelgent, fah'd intolerable day.

50

High on the throne he fhines: his courfers fly 55
Between th' extended earth and starry sky.
But when to Ida's topmoft height he came,
(Fair nurse of fountains, and of favage game)
Where, o'er her pointed fummits proudly rais'd,
His fane breath'd odours, and his altars blaz'd: 60
There, from his radiant car the facred Sire
Of Gods and men releas'd the fteeds of fire:
Blue ambient mifls th' immortal steeds embrac'd;
High on the cloudy point his feat he plac'd;
Thence his broad eye the fubject world furveys, 65
The town, and tents, and navigable feas.

Now had the Grecians fnatch'd a short repast,
And buckied on their fhining arms with hafte.
Troy rouz'd as foon; for on this dreadful day
The fate of fathers, wives, and infants, lay. 70
The gates u folding pour forth all their train;
Squadrons on fquadrons cloud the dufky plain:
Men, feeds, and chariots, thake the trembling
ground;

The tumult thickens, and the skies refound.
And now with fhouts the shocking armies clos'd;

Prefs'd with its load, the Grecian balance lies
Low funk on earth, the Trojan ftrikes the skies,
Then Jove from Ida's top his horrours spreads;
The clouds burft dreadful o'er the Grecian heads:
Thick lightnings flash; the muttering thunder
rolls;

100

Their ftrength he withers, and unmans their fouls.
Before his wrath the trembling hosts retire,
The God in terrors, and the skies on fire.
Nor great domeneus that fight could bear,
Nor each stern Ajax, thunderbolts of war:
Nor he, the king of men, th' alarm sustain'd;
Neftor alone amidst the ftorm remain'd.
Unwilling he remain'd, for Paris' dart
Had pierc'd his courfer in a mortal part:
Fix'd in the forehead where the springing mane
105
Curl'd o'er the brow, it stung him to the brain:
Mad with his anguifh, he begins to rear,
Paw with his hoofs aloft, and lafh the air.
Scarce had his faulchion cut the reins, and freed
Th' encumber'd chariot from the dying fteed, 110
When dreadful Hector, thundering through the

war,

115

Pour'd to the tumult on his whirling car.
That day had ftretch'd beneath his matchlefs hand
The hoary monarch of the Pylian band:
But Diomed beheld: from forth the croud
He rush'd, and on Ulyffes call'd aloud.
Whither, oh whither does Ulyffes run?
Oh flight unworthy great Laertes' fon!
Mix'd with the vulgar fhall thy fate be found,
Pierc'd in the back, a vile, dithonest wound? 120
Oh turn and fave from Hector's d reful rage
The glory of the Greeks, the Pylian fage.
His fruitless words are loft unheard in air,
Ulyffes feeks the ships, and shelters there.
But bold Tydides to the refcue goes,
A fingle warriour 'midst a host of foes;
Before the courfers with a fudden fpring
He leap'd, and anxious thus bespoke the king:
Great perils, father! wait th' unequal fight;
These younger champions will opprefs thy might.

Thy veins no more with ancient vigour glow;
Weak is thy fervant, and thy courfers flow.
Then hafte, afcend my feat, and from the car
Obferve the fleeds of Tros, renown'd in war,
Practis'd alike to turn, to ftop, to chace,
To dare the fight, or urge the rapid race:
Thefe late obey'd Eneas' guiding rein:
Leave thou thy chariot to our faithful train;
With thefe against yon Trojans will we go,
Nor fhall great He&tor want an equal foe;
Fierce as he is, ev'n he may learn to fear
The thirsty fury of my flying fpear.

125

130

135

140

Thus faid the chief; and Neftor, skill'd in war, Approves his counfel, and afcends the car. The fteeds he left, their trufty fervants hold;

The spear with erring hafte miftook its way,
But plung'd in Eniopeus' bofom lay.

His opening hand in death forfakes the rein;
The steeds fly back: he falls, and spurns the
plain.

155

Great Hector forrows for his fervant kill'd,
Yet unreveng'd permits to prefs the field;
Till to fupply his place and rule the car,
Rofe Archeptolemus, the fierce in war.
And now had death and horror cover'd all ;
Like timorous flocks the Trojans in their wall
160

Inclos'd had bled: but Jove with awful found
Roll'd the big thunder o'er the vaft profound:
Full in Tydides' face the lightning flew ;
The ground before him flam'd with fulphur blue;
The quivering steeds fell proftrate at the fight;

165 And Neftor's trembling hand confess'd his fright; He dropt the reins; and, fhook with facred dread,

Thus, turning, warn'd th' intrepid Diomed:

O chief! too daring in thy friend's defence, Retire advis'd, and urge the chariot hence. 170 This day, averfe, the Sovereign of the fkies Aflifts great Hector, and our palm denies. Some other fun may fee the happier hour, When Greece fhall conquer by his heavenly power.

'Tis not in man his fix'd decree to move : 175 The great will glory to fubmit to Jove.

O reverend prince! (Tydides thus replies) Thy years are awful, and thy words are wife. But ah, what grief, fhould haughty Hector boaft, I fled inglorious to the guarded coaft! 180 Before that dire difgrace fhall blast my fame, O'erwhelm me, earth; and hide a warriour's shame.

To whom Gerenian Neftor thus reply'd ; Gods! can thy courage fear the Phrygian's pride?

Hector may vaunt, but who fhall heed the boaft?

185

Now fears diffuade him, and now hopes in

vite,

To ftop his courfers, and to stand the fight; 205
Thrice turn'd the chief, and thrice imperial Jove
On Ida's fummits thunder'd from above:
Great Hector heard; he faw the flashing light,
(The fign of conqueft) and thus urg'd the fight:

Hear, every Trojan, Lycian, Dardan band, 210
All fam'd in war, and dreadful hand to hand.
Be mindful of the wreaths your arms have won,
Your great forefathers' glories, and your own.
Heard ye the voice of Jove? Succefs and fame
Await on Troy, on Greece eternal thame.
215
In vain they fkulk behind their boafted wall,
Weak bulwarks! deftin'd by this arm to fall.
High o'er their flighted trench our fteeds fhall
bound;

220

And país victorious o'er the level'd mound.
Soon as before yon hollow ships we stand,
Fight each with flames, and tofs the blazing
brand;

Till, their proud navy wrapt in smoke and fires,
All Greece, encompafs'd, in one blaze expires.

Furious he faid; then, bending o'er the yoke, Encourag'd his proud steeds, while thus he fpoke:

225 Now, Xanthus, Athon, Lampus! urge the chace, And, thou, Podargus! prove thy generous race: Be fleet, be fearlefs, this important day, And all your mafter's well-fpent care repay. For this, high-fed in plenteous ftalls ye ftand,

230

Serv'd with pure wheat, and by a princess' hand;
For this my fpoufe, of great Aëtion's line,
So oft has steep'd the ftrengthening grain in
wine.

Now swift purfue, now thunder uncontroul'd;
Give me to feize rich Neftor's fhield of gold; 235
From Tydeus' fhoulders ftrip the coftly load,
Vulcanian arms, the labour of a God
Thefe if we gain, then victory, ye powers!
This night; this glorious night, the fleet is ours.
That heard, deep anguish itung Saturnia's foul;

275

There, from Ulyffes' deck his voice was heard:
To Ajax and Achilles reach'd the found,
Whofe diftant fhips the guarded navy bound.
Oh Argives! thame of human race; he cri'd,
(The hollow veffels to his voice reply'd)
Where now are all your glorious boasts of yore,
Your hafty triumphs on the Lemnian fhore?
Each fearless hero dares an hundred foes,
While the feaft lafts, and while the goblet flows;
But who to meet one martial man is found, 280
When the fight rages, and the flames furround?
O mighty Jove! oh fire of the diftrefs'd?
Was ever king like me, like me opprefs'd?
With power inmenfe, with juftice arm'd in vain;
My glory ravish'd, and my people flain!
To thee my vows were breath'd from every
thore ;

285

What altar fmok'd not with our victims' gore?
With fat of bulls I fed the constant flame,
And afk'd destruction to the Trojan name.
Now, gracious God! far humbler our demand!
290
Give thefe at least t' escape from Hector's hand,
And fave the relicks of the Grecian land!

Thus pray'd the king; and Heaven's great Father heard

His vows, in bitterness of foul preferr'd;
The wrath appeas'd, by happy signs declares, 295
And gives the people to their monarch's prayers.
His eagle, fac: ed bird of Heaven! he fent,
A fawn his talons trufs'd (divine portent!)
High o'er the wondering hosts he foar'd above,
Who paid their vows to Panomphaan Jove; 300
Then let the prey before his altar fall,

305

The Greeks beheld, and tranfport feiz'd on all:
Encourag'd by the fign, the troops revive,
And fierce on Troy with double fury drive.
Tydides first of all the Grecian force,
O'er the broad ditch impell'd his foaming horfe,
Pierc'd the deep ranks, their strongest battle tore,
And dy'd his javelin red with Troian gore.
Young Agelaus (Phradmon was his fire)
With flying couriers fhun'd his dreadful ire: 310
Struck through the back, the Phrygian fel op-|
preft;

The dait drove on, and issued at his breaft;
Headlong he quits the car; his arms refound:
His ponderous buckler thunders on the ground.

Forth rush a tide of Greeks, the paffage freed 315

Th' Atridæ first, th' Ajaces next fucceed :
Meriones, like Mars in arms renown'd,
And god-like Idomen, now pais'd the mound :
Evæmon's fon next issues to the foe,

And last, young Teucer with his bended bow. 320

Secure behind the Telamonian shield
The fkilful archer wide furvey'd the field,

330

With every fhaft fome hostile victim flew,
Then clofe beneath the seven-fold orb withdrew:
The confcious infant fo, when fear alarms, 325
Retires for fafety to the mother's arnis.
Thus Ajax guards his brother in the field,
Moves as he moves, and turns the fhining shield.
Who first by Teucer's mortal arrows bled?
Orfilochus; then fell Ormenus dead:
The god-like Lycophon next preís'd the plain,
With Chromius, Dator, Opheleftes flain:
Bold Hamopäon breathless funk to ground;
The bloody pile great Menalippus crown'd.
Heaps fell on heaps, fad trophies of his art, 335
A Trojan ghoft attended every dart.
Great Agamemnon views with joyful eye
The ranks grow thinner as his arrows Ay:
Oh youth for ever dear! (the monarch cry'd)
Thus, always thus, thy early worth be try'd; 340
Thy brave example fhall retrieve our host,
Thy country's faviour, and thy father's boast!
Sprung from an alien's bed thy fine to grace,
The vigorous offspring of a stol'n embrace,
Proud of his boy, he own'd the generous flame,
345

And the brave son repays his cares with fame.
Now hear a monarch's vow: If Heaven's high
Powers

375

380

So finks the youth: his beauteous head, depreft
Beneath his helmet, drops upon his breast,
Another shaft the raging archer drew:
That other shaft with erring fury flew,
(From Hector Phoebus turn'd the flying wound)
Yet fell not dry or guiltless to the ground:
Thy breaft, brave Archeptolemus ! it tore,
And dipt its feathers in no vulgar gore.
Headlong he falls: his fudden fall alarms
The steeds, that startle at his founding arms..
Hector with grief his charioteer beheld,
All pale and breathless on the fanguine field.
Then bids Cebriones direct the rein,
Quits his bright car, and iffues on the plain.
Dreadful he fhouts: from earth a stone he took,
And rush'd on Teucer with the lifted rock.
The youth already ftrain'd the forceful yew:
The shaft already to his thoulder drew:
The feather in his hand, juft wing'd for flight,
Touch'd where the neck and hollow cheft unite
There, where the juncture knits the channel
bone,

385

390

Troy yet found grace before th' Olympian Sire, He arm'd their hands, and fill'd their breafts with fire.

The Greeks, repuls'd, retreat behind their wall, Or in the trench on heaps confus'dly fall.

First of the foe, great Hector march'd along, 405 With terrour cloath'd, and more than mortal strong.

415

As the bold hound, that gives the lion chace,
With beating bofom, and with eager pace,
Hangs on his haunch, or faftens on his heels,
Guards as he turns, and circles as he wheels: 410
Thus oft the Grecians turn'd, but ftill they flew;
Thus following Hector ftill the hindmoft flew.
When flying they had pafs'd the trench profound,
And many a chief lay gafping on the ground;
Before the ships a defperate stand they made,
And fired the troops, and call'd the Gods to aid.
Fierce on his rattling chariot Hector came;
His eyes like Gorgon fhot a fanguine flame
That wither'd all their hoft: like Mars he stood;
Dire as the monster, dreadful as the God!
Their ftrong distress the wife of Jove furvey'd;
Then penfive thus, to War's triumphant Maid:
Oh daughter of that God, whofe arm can wield
Th' avenging bolt, and shake the fable fhield!
Now, in this moment of her last despair,
Shall wretched Greece no more confefs our care,
Condemn'd to fuffer the full force of fate,
And drain the dregs of Heaven's relentlefs hate?
Gods! fhall one raging hand thus level all?
What numbers fell! what numbers yet shall fall!

420

425

430

What power divine fhall Hector's wrath affuage? Sail (wells the slaughter, and still grows the rage!

So fpake th' imperial Regent of the skies.

To whom the Goddefs with the azure eyes:
Long fince had Hector ftain'd thefe fields with gore,.
Stretch'd by fome Argive on his native fhore;
But He above, the Sire of Heaven, withstands,
Mocks our attempts, and flights our just demands.
The ftubborn God, inflexible and hard,
Forgets my fervice and deferv'd reward:
Sav'd 1, for this, his favourite

fon diftrefs'd.

440

By stern Euristheus with long labours prefs'd?
He begg'd, with tears he begg'd, in deep difmay;
I thot from heaven, and gave his arm the day.
Oh had my wifdom known this dire event,
445
When to grim Pluto's gloomy gates he went ;
The triple dog had never felt his chain,
Nor Styx been crofs'd, nor hell explor'd in vain
Averfe to me of all his heaven of Gods,
At Thetis' fuit the partial Thunderer nods.
To grace her gloomy, fierce, resenting fon,
My hopes are fruftrate, and my Greeks undone.
Some future day, perhaps, he may be mov'd
To call his blue-ey'd Maid his best belǝv'd,
Hafte, launch thy chariot, thro' yon ranks to ride;
455

450

Myfelf will arm, and thunder at thy fide.
Then, Goddefs! fay, fhall Hector glory then,
(That terrour of the Greeks, that Man of men)
When Juno's felf, and Pallas fhall appear,
Ail dreadful in the crimfon walks of war!
What mighty Trojan then, on yonder shore,
Expiring, pale, and terrible no more,
Shall feaft the fowls, and glut the dogs with gore?
She ceas'd, and Juno rein'd the steeds with

care;

460

(Heaven's awful emprefs, Saturn's other heir) 465
Pallas, meanwhile, her various veil unbound,
With flowers adorn'd, with art immortal crown'd;
The radiant robe her facred fingers wove

Floats in rich waves, and fpreads the court of
Jove.

Her father's arms her mighty limbs inveft,
His cuirafs blazes on her ample breast.

470

The vigorous power the trembling car afcends;
Shook by her arm, the maffy javelin bends;
Huge, ponderous, strong! that, when her fury