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RHESUS.
’Twould please me best to fight these Greeks alone.
Yet, if ’twould irk thine honour not to have thrown
One firebrand on the ships with me, why, then
490
Set us to face Achilles and his men.
’Twould please me best to fight these Greeks alone.
Yet, if ’twould irk thine honour not to have thrown
One firebrand on the ships with me, why, then
490
Set us to face Achilles and his men.
HECTOR.
Achilles? Nay, his spear ye cannot meet.
Achilles? Nay, his spear ye cannot meet.
RHESUS.
How so? Fame said he sailed here with the fleet.
How so? Fame said he sailed here with the fleet.
HECTOR.
He sailed, and he is here. But some despite
’Gainst the great King now keeps him from the fight.
495
He sailed, and he is here. But some despite
’Gainst the great King now keeps him from the fight.
495
RHESUS.
Who next to him hath honour in their host?
Who next to him hath honour in their host?
HECTOR.
Next, to my seeming, Ajax hath the most,
Or Diomede.—But Odysseus is a tough
And subtle fox, and brave; aye, brave enough.
No man of them hath harmed us more than he.
500
He climbed here to Athena’s sanctuary
1
One night, and stole her image clean away
To the
Argive
ships. Yes, and another day,
Guised as a wandering priest, in rags, he came
And walked straight through the Gates, made loud acclaim
Of curses on the Greek, spied out alone
All that he sought in
Ilion
, and was gone—
505
Gone, and the watch and helpers of the Gate
Dead! And in every ambush they have set
By the old Altar, close to Troy, we know
He sits—a murderous reptile of a foe!
Next, to my seeming, Ajax hath the most,
Or Diomede.—But Odysseus is a tough
And subtle fox, and brave; aye, brave enough.
No man of them hath harmed us more than he.
500
He climbed here to Athena’s sanctuary
1
One night, and stole her image clean away
To the
Argive
ships. Yes, and another day,
Guised as a wandering priest, in rags, he came
And walked straight through the Gates, made loud acclaim
Of curses on the Greek, spied out alone
All that he sought in
Ilion
, and was gone—
505
Gone, and the watch and helpers of the Gate
Dead! And in every ambush they have set
By the old Altar, close to Troy, we know
He sits—a murderous reptile of a foe!
RHESUS.
No brave man seeks so dastardly to harm
510
His battle-foes; he meets them arm to arm.
This Greek of thine, this sitter like a thief
In ambush, I will make of him my chief
Care. I will take him living, drive a straight
Stake through him, and so star him at the Gate
515
To feed your wide-winged vultures. ’Tis the death
Most meet for a lewd thief, who pillageth
God’s sanctuary, or so we hold in
Thrace
.
No brave man seeks so dastardly to harm
510
His battle-foes; he meets them arm to arm.
This Greek of thine, this sitter like a thief
In ambush, I will make of him my chief
Care. I will take him living, drive a straight
Stake through him, and so star him at the Gate
515
To feed your wide-winged vultures. ’Tis the death
Most meet for a lewd thief, who pillageth
God’s sanctuary, or so we hold in
Thrace
.
HECTOR.
(making no answer)
Seek first some sleep. There still remains a space
Of darkness.—I will show the spot that best
May suit you, somewhat sundered from the rest.
520
Should need arise, the password of the night
Is Phoebus: see your Thracians have it right.
Turning to the Guards before he goes.
Advance beyond your stations, men, at some
Distance, and stay on watch till Dolon come
With word of the Argives’ counsel. If his vow
525
Prosper, he should be nearing us by now.
2
Seek first some sleep. There still remains a space
Of darkness.—I will show the spot that best
May suit you, somewhat sundered from the rest.
520
Should need arise, the password of the night
Is Phoebus: see your Thracians have it right.
Advance beyond your stations, men, at some
Distance, and stay on watch till Dolon come
With word of the Argives’ counsel. If his vow
525
Prosper, he should be nearing us by now.
2
Rhesus. Euripides. Gilbert Murray (Translator). London. 1913.
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