Thus did the Trojans watch. But Panic, comrade of blood-stained Rout,
had taken fast hold of the Achaeans and their princes were all of
them in despair. As when the two winds that blow from Thrace- the
north and the northwest- spring up of a sudden and rouse the fury
of the main- in a moment the dark waves uprear their heads and scatter
their sea-wrack in all directions- even thus troubled were the hearts
of the Achaeans.

The son of Atreus in dismay bade the heralds call the people to a
council man by man, but not to cry the matter aloud; he made haste
also himself to call them, and they sat sorry at heart in their assembly.
Agamemnon shed tears as it were a running stream or cataract on the
side of some sheer cliff; and thus, with many a heavy sigh he spoke
to the Achaeans. "My friends," said he, "princes and councillors of
the Argives, the hand of heaven has been laid heavily upon me. Cruel
Jove gave me his solemn promise that I should sack the city of Troy
before returning, but he has played me false, and is now bidding me
go ingloriously back to Argos with the loss of much people. Such is
the will of Jove, who has laid many a proud city in the dust as he
will yet lay others, for his power is above all. Now, therefore, let
us all do as I say and sail back to our own country, for we shall
not take Troy."

Thus he spoke, and the sons of the Achaeans for a long while sat sorrowful
there, but they all held their peace, till at last Diomed of the loud
battle-cry made answer saying, "Son of Atreus, I will chide your folly,
as is my right in council. Be not then aggrieved that I should do
so. In the first place you attacked me before all the Danaans and
said that I was a coward and no soldier. The Argives young and old
know that you did so. But the son of scheming Saturn endowed you by
halves only. He gave you honour as the chief ruler over us, but valour,
which is the highest both right and might he did not give you. Sir,
think you that the sons of the Achaeans are indeed as unwarlike and
cowardly as you say they are? If your own mind is set upon going home-
go- the way is open to you; the many ships that followed you from
Mycene stand ranged upon the seashore; but the rest of us stay here
till we have sacked Troy. Nay though these too should turn homeward
with their ships, Sthenelus and myself will still fight on till we
reach the goal of Ilius, for for heaven was with us when we came."
The sons of the Achaeans shouted applause at the words of Diomed,
and presently Nestor rose to speak. "Son of Tydeus," said he, "in
war your prowess is beyond question, and in council you excel all
who are of your own years; no one of the Achaeans can make light of
what you say nor gainsay it, but you have not yet come to the end
of the whole matter. You are still young- you might be the youngest
of my own children- still you have spoken wisely and have counselled
the chief of the Achaeans not without discretion; nevertheless I am
older than you and I will tell you every" thing; therefore let no
man, not even King Agamemnon, disregard my saying, for he that foments
civil discord is a clanless, hearthless outlaw.

"Now, however, let us obey the behests of night and get our suppers,
but let the sentinels every man of them camp by the trench that is
without the wall. I am giving these instructions to the young men;
when they have been attended to, do you, son of Atreus, give your
orders, for you are the most royal among us all. Prepare a feast for
your councillors; it is right and reasonable that you should do so;
there is abundance of wine in your tents, which the ships of the Achaeans
bring from Thrace daily. You have everything at your disposal wherewith
to entertain guests, and you have many subjects. When many are got
together, you can be guided by him whose counsel is wisest- and sorely
do we need shrewd and prudent counsel, for the foe has lit his watchfires
hard by our ships. Who can be other than dismayed? This night will
either be the ruin of our host, or save it."
Thus did he speak, and they did even as he had said. The sentinels
went out in their armour under command of Nestor's son Thrasymedes,
a captain of the host, and of the bold warriors Ascalaphus and Ialmenus:
there were also Meriones, Aphareus and Deipyrus, and the son of Creion,
noble Lycomedes. There were seven captains of the sentinels, and with
each there went a hundred youths armed with long spears: they took
their places midway between the trench and the wall, and when they
had done so they lit their fires and got every man his supper.

The son of Atreus then bade many councillors of the Achaeans to his
quarters prepared a great feast in their honour. They laid their hands
on the good things that were before them, and as soon as they had
enough to eat and drink, old Nestor, whose counsel was ever truest,
was the first to lay his mind before them. He, therefore, with all
sincerity and goodwill addressed them thus.

"With yourself, most noble son of Atreus, king of men, Agamemnon,
will I both begin my speech and end it, for you are king over much
people. Jove, moreover, has vouchsafed you to wield the sceptre and
to uphold righteousness, that you may take thought for your people
under you; therefore it behooves you above all others both to speak
and to give ear, and to out the counsel of another who shall have
been minded to speak wisely. All turns on you and on your commands,
therefore I will say what I think will be best. No man will be of
a truer mind than that which has been mine from the hour when you,
sir, angered Achilles by taking the girl Briseis from his tent against
my judgment. I urged you not to do so, but you yielded to your own
pride, and dishonoured a hero whom heaven itself had honoured- for
you still hold the prize that had been awarded to him. Now, however,
let us think how we may appease him, both with presents and fair speeches
that may conciliate him."
And King Agamemnon answered, "Sir, you have reproved my folly justly.
I was wrong. I own it. One whom heaven befriends is in himself a host,
and Jove has shown that he befriends this man by destroying much people
of the Achaeans. I was blinded with passion and yielded to my worser
mind; therefore I will make amends, and will give him great gifts
by way of atonement. I will tell them in the presence of you all.
I will give him seven tripods that have never yet been on the fire,
and ten talents of gold. I will give him twenty iron cauldrons and
twelve strong horses that have won races and carried off prizes. Rich,
indeed, both in land and gold is he that has as many prizes as my
horses have won me. I will give him seven excellent workwomen, Lesbians,
whom I chose for myself when he took Lesbos- all of surpassing beauty.
I will give him these, and with them her whom I erewhile took from
him, the daughter of Briseus; and I swear a great oath that I never
went up into her couch, nor have been with her after the manner of
men and women.

"All these things will I give him now down, and if hereafter the gods
vouchsafe me to sack the city of Priam, let him come when we Achaeans
are dividing the spoil, and load his ship with gold and bronze to
his liking; furthermore let him take twenty Trojan women, the loveliest
after Helen herself. Then, when we reach Achaean Argos, wealthiest
of all lands, he shall be my son-in-law and I will show him like honour
with my own dear son Orestes, who is being nurtured in all abundance.
I have three daughters, Chrysothemis, Laodice, and lphianassa, let
him take the one of his choice, freely and without gifts of wooing,
to the house of Peleus; I will add such dower to boot as no man ever
yet gave his daughter, and will give him seven well established cities,
Cardamyle, Enope, and Hire, where there is grass; holy Pherae and
the rich meadows of Anthea; Aepea also, and the vine-clad slopes of
Pedasus, all near the sea, and on the borders of sandy Pylos. The
men that dwell there are rich in cattle and sheep; they will honour
him with gifts as though he were a god, and be obedient to his comfortable
ordinances. All this will I do if he will now forgo his anger. Let
him then yieldit is only Hades who is utterly ruthless and unyielding-
and hence he is of all gods the one most hateful to mankind. Moreover
I am older and more royal than himself. Therefore, let him now obey
me."

Then Nestor answered, "Most noble son of Atreus, king of men, Agamemnon.
The gifts you offer are no small ones, let us then send chosen messengers,
who may go to the tent of Achilles son of Peleus without delay. Let
those go whom I shall name. Let Phoenix, dear to Jove, lead the way;
let Ajax and Ulysses follow, and let the heralds Odius and Eurybates
go with them. Now bring water for our hands, and bid all keep silence
while we pray to Jove the son of Saturn, if so be that he may have
mercy upon us."

Thus did he speak, and his saying pleased them well. Men-servants
poured water over the hands of the guests, while pages filled the
mixing-bowls with wine and water, and handed it round after giving
every man his drink-offering; then, when they had made their offerings,
and had drunk each as much as he was minded, the envoys set out from
the tent of Agamemnon son of Atreus; and Nestor, looking first to
one and then to another, but most especially at Ulysses, was instant
with them that they should prevail with the noble son of Peleus.

They went their way by the shore of the sounding sea, and prayed earnestly
to earth-encircling Neptune that the high spirit of the son of Aeacus
might incline favourably towards them. When they reached the ships
and tents of the Myrmidons, they found Achilles playing on a lyre,
fair, of cunning workmanship, and its cross-bar was of silver. It
was part of the spoils which he had taken when he sacked the city
of Eetion, and he was now diverting himself with it and singing the
feats of heroes. He was alone with Patroclus, who sat opposite to
him and said nothing, waiting till he should cease singing. Ulysses
and Ajax now came in- Ulysses leading the way -and stood before him.
Achilles sprang from his seat with the lyre still in his hand, and
Patroclus, when he saw the strangers, rose also. Achilles then greeted
them saying, "All hail and welcome- you must come upon some great
matter, you, who for all my anger are still dearest to me of the Achaeans."

With this he led them forward, and bade them sit on seats covered
with purple rugs; then he said to Patroclus who was close by him,
"Son of Menoetius, set a larger bowl upon the table, mix less water
with the wine, and give every man his cup, for these are very dear
friends, who are now under my roof."

Patroclus did as his comrade bade him; he set the chopping-block in
front of the fire, and on it he laid the loin of a sheep, the loin
also of a goat, and the chine of a fat hog. Automedon held the meat
while Achilles chopped it; he then sliced the pieces and put them
on spits while the son of Menoetius made the fire burn high. When
the flame had died down, he spread the embers, laid the spits on top
of them, lifting them up and setting them upon the spit-racks; and
he sprinkled them with salt. When the meat was roasted, he set it
on platters, and handed bread round the table in fair baskets, while
Achilles dealt them their portions. Then Achilles took his seat facing
Ulysses against the opposite wall, and bade his comrade Patroclus
offer sacrifice to the gods; so he cast the offerings into the fire,
and they laid their hands upon the good things that were before them.
As soon as they had had enough to eat and drink, Ajax made a sign
to Phoenix, and when he saw this, Ulysses filled his cup with wine
and pledged Achilles.

"Hail," said he, "Achilles, we have had no scant of good cheer, neither
in the tent of Agamemnon, nor yet here; there has been plenty to eat
and drink, but our thought turns upon no such matter. Sir, we are
in the face of great disaster, and without your help know not whether
we shall save our fleet or lose it. The Trojans and their allies have
camped hard by our ships and by the wall; they have lit watchfires
throughout their host and deem that nothing can now prevent them from
falling on our fleet. Jove, moreover, has sent his lightnings on their
right; Hector, in all his glory, rages like a maniac; confident that
Jove is with him he fears neither god nor man, but is gone raving
mad, and prays for the approach of day. He vows that he will hew the
high sterns of our ships in pieces, set fire to their hulls, and make
havoc of the Achaeans while they are dazed and smothered in smoke;
I much fear that heaven will make good his boasting, and it will prove
our lot to perish at Troy far from our home in Argos. Up, then, and
late though it be, save the sons of the Achaeans who faint before
the fury of the Trojans. You will repent bitterly hereafter if you
do not, for when the harm is done there will be no curing it; consider
ere it be too late, and save the Danaans from destruction.

"My good friend, when your father Peleus sent you from Phthia to Agamemnon,
did he not charge you saying, 'Son, Minerva and Juno will make you
strong if they choose, but check your high temper, for the better
part is in goodwill. Eschew vain quarrelling, and the Achaeans old
and young will respect you more for doing so.' These were his words,
but you have forgotten them. Even now, however, be appeased, and put
away your anger from you. Agamemnon will make you great amends if
you will forgive him; listen, and I will tell you what he has said
in his tent that he will give you. He will give you seven tripods
that have never yet been on the fire, and ten talents of gold; twenty
iron cauldrons, and twelve strong horses that have won races and carried
off prizes. Rich indeed both in land and gold is he who has as many
prizes as these horses have won for Agamemnon. Moreover he will give
you seven excellent workwomen, Lesbians, whom he chose for himself,
when you took Lesbos- all of surpassing beauty. He will give you these,
and with them her whom he erewhile took from you, the daughter of
Briseus, and he will swear a great oath, he has never gone up into
her couch nor been with her after the manner of men and women. All
these things will he give you now down, and if hereafter the gods
vouchsafe him to sack the city of Priam, you can come when we Achaeans
are dividing the spoil, and load your ship with gold and bronze to
your liking. You can take twenty Trojan women, the loveliest after
Helen herself. Then, when we reach Achaean Argos, wealthiest of all
lands, you shall be his son-in-law, and he will show you like honour
with his own dear son Orestes, who is being nurtured in all abundance.
Agamemnon has three daughters, Chrysothemis, Laodice, and Iphianassa;
you may take the one of your choice, freely and without gifts of wooing,
to the house of Peleus; he will add such dower to boot as no man ever
yet gave his daughter, and will give you seven well-established cities,
Cardamyle, Enope, and Hire where there is grass; holy Pheras and the
rich meadows of Anthea; Aepea also, and the vine-clad slopes of Pedasus,
all near the sea, and on the borders of sandy Pylos. The men that
dwell there are rich in cattle and sheep; they will honour you with
gifts as though were a god, and be obedient to your comfortable ordinances.
All this will he do if you will now forgo your anger. Moreover, though
you hate both him and his gifts with all your heart, yet pity the
rest of the Achaeans who are being harassed in all their host; they
will honour you as a god, and you will earn great glory at their hands.
You might even kill Hector; he will come within your reach, for he
is infatuated, and declares that not a Danaan whom the ships have
brought can hold his own against him."

Achilles answered, "Ulysses, noble son of Laertes, I should give you
formal notice plainly and in all fixity of purpose that there be no
more of this cajoling, from whatsoever quarter it may come. Him do
I hate even as the gates of hell who says one thing while he hides
another in his heart; therefore I will say what I mean. I will be
appeased neither by Agamemnon son of Atreus nor by any other of the
Danaans, for I see that I have no thanks for all my fighting. He that
fights fares no better than he that does not; coward and hero are
held in equal honour, and death deals like measure to him who works
and him who is idle. I have taken nothing by all my hardships- with
my life ever in my hand; as a bird when she has found a morsel takes
it to her nestlings, and herself fares hardly, even so man a long
night have I been wakeful, and many a bloody battle have I waged by
day against those who were fighting for their women. With my ships
I have taken twelve cities, and eleven round about Troy have I stormed
with my men by land; I took great store of wealth from every one of
them, but I gave all up to Agamemnon son of Atreus. He stayed where
he was by his ships, yet of what came to him he gave little, and kept
much himself.

"Nevertheless he did distribute some meeds of honour among the chieftains
and kings, and these have them still; from me alone of the Achaeans
did he take the woman in whom I delighted- let him keep her and sleep
with her. Why, pray, must the Argives needs fight the Trojans? What
made the son of Atreus gather the host and bring them? Was it not
for the sake of Helen? Are the sons of Atreus the only men in the
world who love their wives? Any man of common right feeling will love
and cherish her who is his own, as I this woman, with my whole heart,
though she was but a fruitling of my spear. Agamemnon has taken her
from me; he has played me false; I know him; let him tempt me no further,
for he shall not move me. Let him look to you, Ulysses, and to the
other princes to save his ships from burning. He has done much without
me already. He has built a wall; he has dug a trench deep and wide
all round it, and he has planted it within with stakes; but even so
he stays not the murderous might of Hector. So long as I fought the
Achaeans Hector suffered not the battle range far from the city walls;
he would come to the Scaean gates and to the oak tree, but no further.
Once he stayed to meet me and hardly did he escape my onset: now,
however, since I am in no mood to fight him, I will to-morrow offer
sacrifice to Jove and to all the gods; I will draw my ships into the
water and then victual them duly; to-morrow morning, if you care to
look, you will see my ships on the Hellespont, and my men rowing out
to sea with might and main. If great Neptune vouchsafes me a fair
passage, in three days I shall be in Phthia. I have much there that
I left behind me when I came here to my sorrow, and I shall bring
back still further store of gold, of red copper, of fair women, and
of iron, my share of the spoils that we have taken; but one prize,
he who gave has insolently taken away. Tell him all as I now bid you,
and tell him in public that the Achaeans may hate him and beware of
him should he think that he can yet dupe others for his effrontery
never fails him.

"As for me, hound that he is, he dares not look me in the face. I
will take no counsel with him, and will undertake nothing in common
with him. He has wronged me and deceived me enough, he shall not cozen
me further; let him go his own way, for Jove has robbed him of his
reason. I loathe his presents, and for himself care not one straw.
He may offer me ten or even twenty times what he has now done, nay-
not though it be all that he has in the world, both now or ever shall
have; he may promise me the wealth of Orchomenus or of Egyptian Thebes,
which is the richest city in the whole world, for it has a hundred
gates through each of which two hundred men may drive at once with
their chariots and horses; he may offer me gifts as the sands of the
sea or the dust of the plain in multitude, but even so he shall not
move me till I have been revenged in full for the bitter wrong he
has done me. I will not marry his daughter; she may be fair as Venus,
and skilful as Minerva, but I will have none of her: let another take
her, who may be a good match for her and who rules a larger kingdom.
If the gods spare me to return home, Peleus will find me a wife; there
are Achaean women in Hellas and Phthia, daughters of kings that have
cities under them; of these I can take whom I will and marry her.
Many a time was I minded when at home in Phthia to woo and wed a woman
who would make me a suitable wife, and to enjoy the riches of my old
father Peleus. My life is more to me than all the wealth of Ilius
while it was yet at peace before the Achaeans went there, or than
all the treasure that lies on the stone floor of Apollo's temple beneath
the cliffs of Pytho. Cattle and sheep are to be had for harrying,
and a man buy both tripods and horses if he wants them, but when his
life has once left him it can neither be bought nor harried back again.

"My mother Thetis tells me that there are two ways in which I may
meet my end. If I stay here and fight, I shall not return alive but
my name will live for ever: whereas if I go home my name will die,
but it will be long ere death shall take me. To the rest of you, then,
I say, 'Go home, for you will not take Ilius.' Jove has held his hand
over her to protect her, and her people have taken heart. Go, therefore,
as in duty bound, and tell the princes of the Achaeans the message
that I have sent them; tell them to find some other plan for the saving
of their ships and people, for so long as my displeasure lasts the
one that they have now hit upon may not be. As for Phoenix, let him
sleep here that he may sail with me in the morning if he so will.
But I will not take him by force."

They all held their peace, dismayed at the sternness with which he
had denied them, till presently the old knight Phoenix in his great
fear for the ships of the Achaeans, burst into tears and said, "Noble
Achilles, if you are now minded to return, and in the fierceness of
your anger will do nothing to save the ships from burning, how, my
son, can I remain here without you? Your father Peleus bade me go
with you when he sent you as a mere lad from Phthia to Agamemnon.
You knew nothing neither of war nor of the arts whereby men make their
mark in council, and he sent me with you to train you in all excellence
of speech and action. Therefore, my son, I will not stay here without
you- no, not though heaven itself vouchsafe to strip my years from
off me, and make me young as I was when I first left Hellas the land
of fair women. I was then flying the anger of father Amyntor, son
of Ormenus, who was furious with me in the matter of his concubine,
of whom he was enamoured to the wronging of his wife my mother. My
mother, therefore, prayed me without ceasing to lie with the woman
myself, that so she hate my father, and in the course of time I yielded.
But my father soon came to know, and cursed me bitterly, calling the
dread Erinyes to witness. He prayed that no son of mine might ever
sit upon knees- and the gods, Jove of the world below and awful Proserpine,
fulfilled his curse. I took counsel to kill him, but some god stayed
my rashness and bade me think on men's evil tongues and how I should
be branded as the murderer of my father: nevertheless I could not
bear to stay in my father's house with him so bitter a against me.
My cousins and clansmen came about me, and pressed me sorely to remain;
many a sheep and many an ox did they slaughter, and many a fat hog
did they set down to roast before the fire; many a jar, too, did they
broach of my father's wine. Nine whole nights did they set a guard
over me taking it in turns to watch, and they kept a fire always burning,
both in the cloister of the outer court and in the inner court at
the doors of the room wherein I lay; but when the darkness of the
tenth night came, I broke through the closed doors of my room, and
climbed the wall of the outer court after passing quickly and unperceived
through the men on guard and the women servants. I then fled through
Hellas till I came to fertile Phthia, mother of sheep, and to King
Peleus, who made me welcome and treated me as a father treats an only
son who will be heir to all his wealth. He made me rich and set me
over much people, establishing me on the borders of Phthia where I
was chief ruler over the Dolopians.

"It was I, Achilles, who had the making of you; I loved you with all
my heart: for you would eat neither at home nor when you had gone
out elsewhere, till I had first set you upon my knees, cut up the
dainty morsel that you were to eat, and held the wine-cup to your
lips. Many a time have you slobbered your wine in baby helplessness
over my shirt; I had infinite trouble with you, but I knew that heaven
had vouchsafed me no offspring of my own, and I made a son of you,
Achilles, that in my hour of need you might protect me. Now, therefore,
I say battle with your pride and beat it; cherish not your anger for
ever; the might and majesty of heaven are more than ours, but even
heaven may be appeased; and if a man has sinned he prays the gods,
and reconciles them to himself by his piteous cries and by frankincense,
with drink-offerings and the savour of burnt sacrifice. For prayers
are as daughters to great Jove; halt, wrinkled, with eyes askance,
they follow in the footsteps of sin, who, being fierce and fleet of
foot, leaves them far behind him, and ever baneful to mankind outstrips
them even to the ends of the world; but nevertheless the prayers come
hobbling and healing after. If a man has pity upon these daughters
of Jove when they draw near him, they will bless him and hear him
too when he is praying; but if he deny them and will not listen to
them, they go to Jove the son of Saturn and pray that he may presently
fall into sin- to his ruing bitterly hereafter. Therefore, Achilles,
give these daughters of Jove due reverence, and bow before them as
all good men will bow. Were not the son of Atreus offering you gifts
and promising others later- if he were still furious and implacable-
I am not he that would bid you throw off your anger and help the Achaeans,
no matter how great their need; but he is giving much now, and more
hereafter; he has sent his captains to urge his suit, and has chosen
those who of all the Argives are most acceptable to you; make not
then their words and their coming to be of none effect. Your anger
has been righteous so far. We have heard in song how heroes of old
time quarrelled when they were roused to fury, but still they could
be won by gifts, and fair words could soothe them.

"I have an old story in my mind- a very old one- but you are all friends
and I will tell it. The Curetes and the Aetolians were fighting and
killing one another round Calydon- the Aetolians defending the city
and the Curetes trying to destroy it. For Diana of the golden throne
was angry and did them hurt because Oeneus had not offered her his
harvest first-fruits. The other gods had all been feasted with hecatombs,
but to the daughter of great Jove alone he had made no sacrifice.
He had forgotten her, or somehow or other it had escaped him, and
this was a grievous sin. Thereon the archer goddess in her displeasure
sent a prodigious creature against him- a savage wild boar with great
white tusks that did much harm to his orchard lands, uprooting apple-trees
in full bloom and throwing them to the ground. But Meleager son of
Oeneus got huntsmen and hounds from many cities and killed it- for
it was so monstrous that not a few were needed, and many a man did
it stretch upon his funeral pyre. On this the goddess set the Curetes
and the Aetolians fighting furiously about the head and skin of the
boar.

"So long as Meleager was in the field things went badly with the Curetes,
and for all their numbers they could not hold their ground under the
city walls; but in the course of time Meleager was angered as even
a wise man will sometimes be. He was incensed with his mother Althaea,
and therefore stayed at home with his wedded wife fair Cleopatra,
who was daughter of Marpessa daughter of Euenus, and of Ides the man
then living. He it was who took his bow and faced King Apollo himself
for fair Marpessa's sake; her father and mother then named her Alcyone,
because her mother had mourned with the plaintive strains of the halcyon-bird
when Phoebus Apollo had carried her off. Meleager, then, stayed at
home with Cleopatra, nursing the anger which he felt by reason of
his mother's curses. His mother, grieving for the death of her brother,
prayed the gods, and beat the earth with her hands, calling upon Hades
and on awful Proserpine; she went down upon her knees and her bosom
was wet with tears as she prayed that they would kill her son- and
Erinys that walks in darkness and knows no ruth heard her from Erebus.

"Then was heard the din of battle about the gates of Calydon, and
the dull thump of the battering against their walls. Thereon the elders
of the Aetolians besought Meleager; they sent the chiefest of their
priests, and begged him to come out and help them, promising him a
great reward. They bade him choose fifty plough-gates, the most fertile
in the plain of Calydon, the one-half vineyard and the other open
plough-land. The old warrior Oeneus implored him, standing at the
threshold of his room and beating the doors in supplication. His sisters
and his mother herself besought him sore, but he the more refused
them; those of his comrades who were nearest and dearest to him also
prayed him, but they could not move him till the foe was battering
at the very doors of his chamber, and the Curetes had scaled the walls
and were setting fire to the city. Then at last his sorrowing wife
detailed the horrors that befall those whose city is taken; she reminded
him how the men are slain, and the city is given over to the flames,
while the women and children are carried into captivity; when he heard
all this, his heart was touched, and he donned his armour to go forth.
Thus of his own inward motion he saved the city of the Aetolians;
but they now gave him nothing of those rich rewards that they had
offered earlier, and though he saved the city he took nothing by it.
Be not then, my son, thus minded; let not heaven lure you into any
such course. When the ships are burning it will be a harder matter
to save them. Take the gifts, and go, for the Achaeans will then honour
you as a god; whereas if you fight without taking them, you may beat
the battle back, but you will not be held in like honour."

And Achilles answered, "Phoenix, old friend and father, I have no
need of such honour. I have honour from Jove himself, which will abide
with me at my ships while I have breath in my body, and my limbs are
strong. I say further- and lay my saying to your heart- vex me no
more with this weeping and lamentation, all in the cause of the son
of Atreus. Love him so well, and you may lose the love I bear you.
You ought to help me rather in troubling those that trouble me; be
king as much as I am, and share like honour with myself; the others
shall take my answer; stay here yourself and sleep comfortably in
your bed; at daybreak we will consider whether to remain or go."

On this she nodded quietly to Patroclus as a sign that he was to prepare
a bed for Phoenix, and that the others should take their leave. Ajax
son of Telamon then said, "Ulysses, noble son of Laertes, let us be
gone, for I see that our journey is vain. We must now take our answer,
unwelcome though it be, to the Danaans who are waiting to receive
it. Achilles is savage and remorseless; he is cruel, and cares nothing
for the love his comrades lavished upon him more than on all the others.
He is implacable- and yet if a man's brother or son has been slain
he will accept a fine by way of amends from him that killed him, and
the wrong-doer having paid in full remains in peace among his own
people; but as for you, Achilles, the gods have put a wicked unforgiving
spirit in your heart, and this, all about one single girl, whereas
we now offer you the seven best we have, and much else into the bargain.
Be then of a more gracious mind, respect the hospitality of your own
roof. We are with you as messengers from the host of the Danaans,
and would fain he held nearest and dearest to yourself of all the
Achaeans."

"Ajax," replied Achilles, "noble son of Telamon, you have spoken much
to my liking, but my blood boils when I think it all over, and remember
how the son of Atreus treated me with contumely as though I were some
vile tramp, and that too in the presence of the Argives. Go, then,
and deliver your message; say that I will have no concern with fighting
till Hector, son of noble Priam, reaches the tents of the Myrmidons
in his murderous course, and flings fire upon their ships. For all
his lust of battle, I take it he will be held in check when he is
at my own tent and ship."

On this they took every man his double cup, made their drink-offerings,
and went back to the ships, Ulysses leading the way. But Patroclus
told his men and the maid-servants to make ready a comfortable bed
for Phoenix; they therefore did so with sheepskins, a rug, and a sheet
of fine linen. The old man then laid himself down and waited till
morning came. But Achilles slept in an inner room, and beside him
the daughter of Phorbas lovely Diomede, whom he had carried off from
Lesbos. Patroclus lay on the other side of the room, and with him
fair Iphis whom Achilles had given him when he took Scyros the city
of Enyeus.

When the envoys reached the tents of the son of Atreus, the Achaeans
rose, pledged them in cups of gold, and began to question them. King
Agamemnon was the first to do so. Tell me, Ulysses," said he, "will
he save the ships from burning, or did be refuse, and is he still
furious?"

Ulysses answered, "Most noble son of Atreus, king of men, Agamemnon,
Achilles will not be calmed, but is more fiercely angry than ever,
and spurns both you and your gifts. He bids you take counsel with
the Achaeans to save the ships and host as you best may; as for himself,
he said that at daybreak he should draw his ships into the water.
He said further that he should advise every one to sail home likewise,
for that you will not reach the goal of Ilius. 'Jove,' he said, 'has
laid his hand over the city to protect it, and the people have taken
heart.' This is what he said, and the others who were with me can
tell you the same story- Ajax and the two heralds, men, both of them,
who may be trusted. The old man Phoenix stayed where he was to sleep,
for so Achilles would have it, that he might go home with him in the
morning if he so would; but he will not take him by force."

They all held their peace, sitting for a long time silent and dejected,
by reason of the sternness with which Achilles had refused them, till
presently Diomed said, "Most noble son of Atreus, king of men, Agamemnon,
you ought not to have sued the son of Peleus nor offered him gifts.
He is proud enough as it is, and you have encouraged him in his pride
am further. Let him stay or go as he will. He will fight later when
he is in the humour, and heaven puts it in his mind to do so. Now,
therefore, let us all do as I say; we have eaten and drunk our fill,
let us then take our rest, for in rest there is both strength and
stay. But when fair rosy-fingered morn appears, forthwith bring out
your host and your horsemen in front of the ships, urging them on,
and yourself fighting among the foremost."

Thus he spoke, and the other chieftains approved his words. They then
made their drink-offerings and went every man to his own tent, where
they laid down to rest and enjoyed the boon of sleep.