gers, I will give thee the
fleece to bear away, if thou dost wish, when I have tried thee. For
against brave men I bear no grudge, such as ye yourselves tell me of him
who bears sway in Hellas. And the trial of your courage and might shall
be a contest which I myself can compass with my hands, deadly though it
be. Two bulls with feet of bronze I have that pasture on the plain of
Ares, breathing forth flame from their jaws; them do I yoke and drive
over the stubborn field of Ares, four plough-gates; and quickly cleaving
it with the share up to the headland, I cast into the furrows the seed,
not the corn of Demeter, but the teeth of a dread serpent that grow up
into the fashion of armed men; them I slay at once, cutting them down
beneath my spear as they rise against me on all sides. In the morning do
I yoke the oxen, and at eventide I cease from the harvesting. And thou,
if thou wilt accomplish such deeds as these, on that very day shalt
carry off the fleece to the king's palace; ere that time comes I will
not give it, expect it not. For indeed it is unseemly that a brave man
should yield to a coward."

(ll. 422-426) Thus he spake; and Jason, fixing his eyes on the ground,
sat just as he was, speechless, helpless in his evil plight. For a long
time he turned the matter this way and that, and could in no way take on
him the task with courage, for a mighty task it seemed; and at last he
made reply with crafty words:

(ll. 427-431) "With thy plea of right, Aeetes, thou dost shut me in
overmuch. Wherefore also I will dare that contest, monstrous as it is,
though it be my doom to die. For nothing will fall upon men more dread
than dire necessity, which indeed constrained me to come hither at a
king's command."

(ll. 432-438) Thus he spake, smitten by his helpless plight; and the
king with grim words addressed him, sore troubled as he was: "Go forth
now to the gathering, since thou art eager for the toil; but if thou
shouldst fear to lift the yoke upon the oxen or shrink from the deadly
harvesting, then all this shall be my care, so that another too may
shudder to come to a man that is better than he."

(ll. 439-463) He spake outright; and Jason rose from his seat, and
Augeias and Telamon at once; and Argus followed alone, for he signed to
his brothers to stay there on the spot meantime; and so they went forth
from the hall. And wonderfully among them all shone the son of Aeson
for beauty and grace; and the maiden looked a