id in dust,
And shall hereafter, matchless in his power. 30
Haste therefore. My advice is, that we all
Fly with our fleet into our native land,
For wide-built Ilium shall not yet be ours.
He ceased, and all sat silent; long the sons
Of Greece, o'erwhelm'd with sorrow, silent sat, 35
When thus, at last, bold Diomede began.
Atrides! foremost of the Chiefs I rise
To contravert thy purpose ill-conceived,
And with such freedom as the laws, O King!
Of consultation and debate allow. 40
Hear patient. Thou hast been thyself the first
Who e'er reproach'd me in the public ear
As one effeminate and slow to fight;
How truly, let both young and old decide.
The son of wily Saturn hath to thee 45
Given, and refused; he placed thee high in power,
Gave thee to sway the sceptre o'er us all,
But courage gave thee not, his noblest gift.[2]
Art thou in truth persuaded that the Greeks
Are pusillanimous, as thou hast said? 50
If thy own fears impel thee to depart,
Go thou, the way is open; numerous ships,
Thy followers from Mycenae, line the shore.
But we, the rest, depart not, 'till the spoil
Of Troy reward us. Or if all incline 55
To seek again their native home, fly all;
Myself and Sthenelus will persevere
Till Ilium fall, for with the Gods we came.
He ended; all the admiring sons of Greece
With shouts the warlike Diomede extoll'd, 60
When thus equestrian Nestor next began.
Tydides, thou art eminently brave
In fight, and all the princes of thy years
Excell'st in council. None of all the Greeks
Shall find occasion just to blame thy speech 65
Or to gainsay; yet thou hast fallen short.
What wonder? Thou art young; and were myself
Thy father, thou should'st be my latest born.
Yet when thy speech is to the Kings of Greece,
It is well-framed and prudent. Now attend! 70
Myself will speak, who have more years to boast
Than thou hast seen, and will so closely scan
The matter, that Atrides, our supreme,
Himself shall have no cause to censure _me_.
He is a wretch, insensible and dead 75
To all the charities of social life,
Whose pleasure is in civil broils alone.[3]
But Night is urgent, and with Night's