The Iliad (tr Edward, Earl of Derby) | Page 4

hecatomb despatch; this done,?The God, appeas'd, his anger may remit."
This said, he sat; and Atreus' godlike son,?The mighty monarch, Agamemnon, rose,?His dark soul fill'd with fury, and his eyes?Flashing like flames of fire; on Calchas first?A with'ring glance he cast, and thus he spoke;
"Prophet of ill! thou never speak'st to me?But words of evil omen; for thy soul?Delights to augur ill, but aught of good?Thou never yet hast promis'd, nor perform'd.?And now among the Greeks thou spread'st abroad?Thy lying prophecies, that all these ills?Come from the Far-destroyer, for that I?Refus'd the ransom of my lovely prize,?And that I rather chose herself to keep,?To me not less than Clytemnestra dear,?My virgin-wedded wife; nor less adorn'd?In gifts of form, of feature, or of mind.?Yet, if it must he so, I give her back;?I wish my people's safety, not their death.?But seek me out forthwith some other spoil,?Lest empty-handed I alone appear?Of all the Greeks; for this would ill beseem;?And how I lose my present share, ye see."
To whom Achilles, swift of foot, replied:?"Haughtiest of men, and greediest of the prey!?How shall our valiant Greeks for thee seek out?Some other spoil? no common fund have we?Of hoarded treasures; what our arms have won?From captur'd towns, has been already shar'd,?Nor can we now resume th' apportion'd spoil.?Restore the maid, obedient to the God!?And if Heav'n will that we the strong-built walls?Of Troy should raze, our warriors will to thee?A threefold, fourfold recompense assign."
To whom the monarch Agamemnon thus:?"Think not, Achilles, valiant though thou art?In fight, and godlike, to defraud me thus;?Thou shalt not so persuade me, nor o'erreach.?Think'st thou to keep thy portion of the spoil,?While I with empty hands sit humbly down??The bright-ey'd girl thou bidd'st me to restore;?If then the valiant Greeks for me seek out?Some other spoil, some compensation just,?'Tis well: if not, I with my own right hand?Will from some other chief, from thee perchance,?Or Ajax, or Ulysses, wrest his prey;?And woe to him, on whomsoe'er I call!?But this for future counsel we remit:?Haste we then now our dark-ribb'd bark to launch,?Muster a fitting crew, and place on board?The sacred hecatomb; then last embark?The fair Chryseis; and in chief command?Let some one of our councillors be plac'd,?Ajax, Ulysses, or Idomeneus,?Or thou, the most ambitious of them all,?That so our rites may soothe the angry God."
To whom Achilles thus with scornful glance;?"Oh, cloth'd in shamelessness! oh, sordid soul!?How canst thou hope that any Greek for thee?Will brave the toils of travel or of war??Well dost thou know that 't was no feud of mine?With Troy's brave sons that brought me here in arms;?They never did me wrong; they never drove?My cattle, or my horses; never sought?In Phthia's fertile, life-sustaining fields?To waste the crops; for wide between us lay?The shadowy mountains and the roaring sea.?With thee, O void of shame! with thee we sail'd,?For Menelaus and for thee, ingrate,?Glory and fame on Trojan crests to win.?All this hast thou forgotten, or despis'd;?And threat'nest now to wrest from me the prize?I labour'd hard to win, and Greeks bestow'd.?Nor does my portion ever equal thine,?When on some populous town our troops have made?Successful war; in the contentious fight?The larger portion of the toil is mine;?But when the day of distribution comes,?Thine is the richest spoil; while I, forsooth,?Must be too well content to bear on board?Some paltry prize for all my warlike toil.?To Phthia now I go; so better far,?To steer my homeward course, and leave thee here?But little like, I deem, dishonouring me,?To fill thy coffers with the spoils of war."
Whom answer'd Agamemnon, King of men:?"Fly then, if such thy mind! I ask thee not?On mine account to stay; others there are?Will guard my honour and avenge my cause:?And chief of all, the Lord of counsel, Jove!?Of all the Heav'n-born Kings, thou art the man?I hate the most; for thou delight'st in nought?But war and strife: thy prowess I allow;?Yet this, remember, is the gift of Heav'n.?Return then, with thy vessels, if thou wilt,?And with thy followers, home; and lord it there?Over thy Myrmidons! I heed thee not!?I care not for thy fury! Hear my threat:?Since Phoebus wrests Chryseis from my arms,?In mine own ship, and with mine own good crew,?Her I send forth; and, in her stead, I mean,?Ev'n from thy tent, myself, to bear thy prize,?The fair Briseis; that henceforth thou know?How far I am thy master; and that, taught?By thine example, others too may fear?To rival me, and brave me to my face."
Thus while he spake, Achilles chaf'd with rage;?And in his manly breast his heart was torn?With thoughts conflicting--whether from his side?To draw his mighty sword, and thrusting by?Th' assembled throng, to kill th' insulting King;?Or school his soul, and keep his anger down.?But while in mind and spirit thus he mus'd,?And half unsheath'd his sword, from Heav'n came