id the enemy?
"Had I not done these things, in vain would the son of Telamon been
bearing the seven hides of the bulls on his left arm. On that night was
the victory over Troy gained by me; then did I conquer Pergamus, when I
rendered it capable of being conquered. Forbear by thy looks,[42] and
thy muttering, to show me the son of Tydeus; a part of the glory in
these things is his own. Neither wast thou alone, when for the allied
fleet thou didst grasp thy shield: a multitude was attending thee,
{while} but one fell to me: who, did he not know that a fighting man is
of less value than a wise one, and that the reward is not the due of the
invincible right hand, would himself, too, have been suing for these
{arms}; the more discreet Ajax would have been suing, and the fierce
Eurypilus,[43] and the son of the famous Andremon;[44] no less, {too}
would Idomeneus,[45] and Meriones[46] sprung from the same land, and the
brother of the greater son of Atreus have sought them. But these, brave
in action, (nor are they second to thee in war,) have {all} yielded to
my wisdom. Thy right hand is of value in war, {but} thy temper is one
that stands in need of my direction. Thou hast strength without
intelligence; I have a care for the future. Thou art able to fight; with
me, the son of Atreus chooses the {proper} time for fighting. Thou only
art of service with thy body; I with my mind: and as much as he who
guides the bark, is superior to the capacity of the rower, as much as
the general is greater than the soldier, so much do I excel thee; and in
my body there is an intellect that is superior to hands: in that {lies}
all my vigour.
"But you, ye chieftains, give the reward to your watchful {servant;} and
for the cares of so many years which I have passed in anxiety, grant
this honour as a compensation for my services. Our toil is now at its
close; I have removed the opposing Fates, and by rendering it capable of
being taken, {in effect} I have taken the lofty Pergamus. Now, by our
common hopes, and the walls of the Trojans doomed to fall, and by those
Gods whom lately I took from the enemy, by anything that remains,
through wisdom to be done; if, too, anything {remains} of bold
enterprize, and to be recovered from a dangerous spot; if you think that
anything is still wanting for the downfall of Troy; {then} remember me;
or if you give not me the arms, concede them to this;" and {then} he
discovers the fatal statue of Minerva.
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