The Iliad of Homer


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The chief shall mount his chariot, and depart,  
Then Jove shall string thy arm, and fire thy breast,  
Then to her ships shall flying Greece be press'd,  
Till to the main the burning sun descend,  
And sacred night her awful shade extend."  
She said, and vanish'd. Hector, with a bound,  
Springs from his chariot on the trembling ground,  
In clanging arms: he grasps in either hand  
A pointed lance, and speeds from band to band;  
Revives their ardour, turns their steps from flight,  
And wakes anew the dying flames of fight.  
They stand to arms: the Greeks their onset dare,  
Condense their powers, and wait the coming war.  
New force, new spirit, to each breast returns;  
The fight renew'd with fiercer fury burns:  
The king leads on: all fix on him their eye,  
And learn from him to conquer, or to die.  
Ye sacred nine! celestial Muses! tell,  
Who faced him first, and by his prowess fell?  
The great Iphidamas, the bold and young,  
From sage Antenor and Theano sprung;  
Whom from his youth his grandsire Cisseus bred,  
And nursed in Thrace where snowy flocks are fed.  
Scarce did the down his rosy cheeks invest,  
415  


Page
413 414 415 416 417

Quick Jump
1 245 490 735 980