Whom thofe that envy, dare not imitate!
Could all our care elude the gloomy grave,
Which claims no lefs the fearful than the brave,
For luft of fame I thould not vainly dare
In fighting fields, nor urge thy foul to war.
But fince, alas! ignoble age must come,
Difeafe, and death's inexorable doom;
The life which others pay, let us beflow,
And give to fame what we to nature owe;
Brave though we fall, and honour'd if we live,

Or let us glory gain, or glory give!

395

He faid; his words the liftening chief infpire With equal warmth, and rouze the warriour's fire;

The troops purfue their leaders with delight, Ruth to the foe, and claim the promis'd fight. 400 Meneftheus from on high the storm beheld Threatening the fort, and blackening in the field:

Around the walls he gaz'd, to view from far What aid appear'd t' avert th' approaching war, And faw where Tencer with th' Ajaces stood,

405

Of fight infatiate, prodigal of blood.
In vain he calls; the din of helms and fhields
Rings to the kies, and echoes through the fields;
The brazen hinges fly, the walls refound,
Heaven trembles, roar the mountains, thunders
all the ground.

Then thus to Thoös;-Hence with speed (he
faid)

And arge the bold Ajaces to our aid;
Their ftrength, united, beft may help to bear
The bloody labours of the doubtful war :
Hither the Lycian princes bend their course, 415
The best and braveft of the hoftile force.
But, if too fiercely there the foes contend,
Let Telamon, at leaft, our towers defend.
And Teucer hafte with his unerring bow,
To fhare the danger, and repel the foe.

420

415

Swift as the word, the herald speeds along
The lofty ramparts, through the martial throng;
And finds the heroes bath'd in fweat and gore,
Oppos'd in combat on the dufty shore.
Ye valiant leaders of our warlike bands!
Your aid (faid Thoös) Peteus' fon demands,
Your ftrength, united, beft may help to bear
The bloody labours of the doubtful war:
Thither the Lycian princes bend their course,
The best and bravest of the hoftile force.
But if too fiercely here the foes contend.
At leaft, let Telamon thofe towers defend.
And Teucer hafte with his unerring bow,
To share the danger, and repel the foe.
Srraight to the fort great Ajax turn'd his care,
435

And thus befpoke his brothers of the war:
Now, valiant Lycomede! exert your might,
And, brave Oileus, prove your force in fight:
To you I trust the fortune of the field,
Till by this arm the foc shall be repell'd;

Fierce Ajax firft th' advancing host invades,
And fends the brave Epicles to the fhades,
Sarpedon's friend; across the warrior's way,
Rent from the walls, a rocky fragment lay;
In modern ages not the ftrongest swain
Could heave th' unwieldy burthen from the plain.
He pois'd, and fwung it round; then, tofs'd on
high,

453

It flew with force, and labour'd up the fky;
Full on the Lycian's helmet thund'ring down,
The ponderous ruin crufh'd his batter'd crown.
460

As fkilful divers from fome airy steep,
Headlong defcend, and fhoot into the deep,
So falls Epicles; then in groans expires,
And murmuring to the thades the foul retires.
While to the ramparts daring Glaucus drew, 465
From Teucer's hand a winged arrow flew;
The bearded fhaft the deftin'd paffage found,
And on his naked arm inflicts a wound.
The chief, who fear'd fome foe's infulting boast
Might ftop the progrefs of his warlike hoft, 47
Conceal'd the wound, and, leaping from his
height,

Retir'd reluctant from th' unfinish'd fight.
Divine Sarpedon with regret beheld
Difabled Glaucus flowly quit the field;

His beating breaft with generous ardour glows, 475

He fprings to fight, and flies upon the foes.
Alemãon first was doom'd his force to feel;
Deep in his breast he plung'd the pointed steel;
Then, from the yawning wound with fury tore
The fpear, purfued by gufhing ftreams of gore;
Down finks the warriour with a thundering
found,

Ilis brazen armour rings against the ground.
Swift to the battlement the victor flies,
Tugs with full force, and every nerve applies;
It fhakes; the ponderous ftones disjointed yield;

485

430

490

a

Then, rais'd with hope, and fir'd with glory's charms,

500

His fainting fquadrons to new fury warms:
O where, ye Lycians! is the strength you boast?
Your former fame and ancient virtue loft!
The breach lies open, but your chief in vain
Attempts alone the guarded pafs to gain;
Unite, and foon that hoftile fleet shall fall;
The force of powerful union conquers all

This juft rebuke inflam'd the Lycian crew, 505
They join, they thicken, and th' affault renew:
Unmov'd th' embodied Greeks their fury dare,
And fix'd fupport the weight of all the war;
Nor could the Greeks repel the Lycian powers,
Nor the bold Lycians force the Grecian towers.
510

As, on the confines of adjoining grounds,
Two stubborn fwains with blows difpute their
bounds;

They tug, thy fweat, but neither gain or yield,
One foot, one inch, of the contended field:
Thus obftinate to death they fight, they fall; 515,
Nor thefe can keep, nor those can win, the wall.
Their manly breafts are pierc'd with many a
wound,

Loud ftrokes are heard, and rattling arms refound,
The copious flaughter covers all the fhore,
And the high ramparts drop with human gore.

520

As when two scales are charg'd with doubtful loads,

From fide to fide the trembling balance nods
(While fome laborious matron, just and poor,
With nice exactnefs weighs her woolly store)
Till, pois'd aloft, the refting beam fufpends 525
Each equal weight, nor this, nor that, defcends:
So ftood the war, till Hector's matchlefs might
With Fates prevailing, turn'd the scale of fight.

530

Fierce as a whirlwind up the walls he flies,
And fires his hoft with loud repeated cries:
Advance, ye Trojans! lend your valiant hands,
Hafte to the fleet, and tofs the blazing brands!
They hear, they run; and, gathering at his call,
Raife fcaling-engines, and afcend the wall:
Around the works a wood of glittering ipears 535
Shoots up, and all the rifing hoft appears.

A ponderous ftone bold Hector heav'd to throw,
Pointed above, and rough and grofs below:
Not two ftrong men th' enormous weight could
raife,

540

Such men as live in thefe degenerate days;
Yet this, as eafy as a fwain could bear
The fnowy fleece, he tofs'd, and thook in air:
For Jove upheld, and lighten'd of its load
Th' unwieldy rock, the labour of a God.
Thus arm'd, before the folded gates he came, 545
Of mally substance, and ftupendous frame;
With iron bars and brazen hinges strong,
On lofty beams of folid timber hung:
Then, thundering through the planks with force-
ful fway,
Drives the sharp rock; the solid beams give way;

550

The folds are fhatter'd; from the crackling door 1 eap the refounding bars, the @ying hinges roar. Now rushing in, the furious chief appears, Gloomy as night! and shakes two fhining (pears: A dreadful gleam from his bright armour came, 555

And from his eye-balls flash'd the living flame.
He moves a God, refistless in his course,
And feems a match for more than mortal force.
Then pouring after, through the gaping space,
A tide of Trojans flows, and fills the place; 560
The Greeks behold, they tremble, and they fly:
The fhore is heap'd with death, and tumult rends
the sky.

Below, fair Ilion's glittering fpires were feen,
The crowded ships, and fable feas between.
There, from the crystal chambers of the main 25
Emerg'd, he fate; and mourn'd his Argives flain.
At Jove incens'd, with grief and fury stung,
Prone down the rocky steep he rufh'd along;
Fierce as he paft, the lofty mountains nod,
The foreft shakes! earth trembled as he trod, 30
And felt the footsteps of th' immortal God.
From realm to realm three ample ftrides he took,
And, at the fourth, the diftant Ege fhook.
Far in the bay his fhining palace ftands,
Eternal frame! not rais'd by mortal hands:
This having reach'd, his brass-hoof'd steeds he
reins,

35

Fleet as the winds, and deck'd with golden manes.
Refulgent arms his mighty limbs infold,
Immortal arms of adamant and gold.

He mounts the car, the golden fcourge applies, 40
He fits fuperior, and the chariot flies:
His whirling wheels the glaffy furface sweep;
Th' enormous monsters, rolling o'er the deep,
Gambol around him on the watery way;
And heavy whales in aukward menfures play: 45
The fea fubfiding spreads a level plain,
Exults, and owns the monarch of the main;
The parting waves before his courfers fly :
The wondering waters leave his axle dry.
Deep in the liquid regions lies a cave;
Between where Tenedos the furges lave,
And rocky Imbrus breaks the rolling wave:
There the great Ruler of the azure round
Stopp'd his fift chariot, and his fteeds un-
bound,

50)

55

Not Calchas this, the venerable feer;
Short as he turn'd, I faw the Power appear:
I mark'd his parting, and the steps he trod;
His own bright evidence reveals a God;
Ev'n now fome energy divine I share,
And feem to walk on wings, and tread in air!
With equal ardour (Telamon returns)
My foul is kindled, and my bofom burns:
New rifing fpirits all my force alarm,
Lift each impatient limb, and brace my arm.

105

60

Fed with ambrofial herbage from his hand,
And link'd their fetlocks with a golden band,
Infrangible, immortal: there they stay,
The Father of the floods pursues his way;
Where, like a tempeft darkening heaven around,
Or fiery deluge that devours the ground.
Th' impatient Trojans, in a gloomy throng,
Embattled roll'd as Hector rufh'd along:
To the loud tumult and the barbarous cry,
The heavens re-echo, and the fhores reply;
They vow deftruction to the Grecian name,
And in their hopes, the fleets already flame.

65

The heroes thus their mutual warmth exprefs'd. Neptune mean-while the routed Greeks infpir'd, Who, breathlefs, pale, with length of labours

tir'd,

But Neptune, rifing from the feas profound, The God whofe earthquakes rock the folid ground, Now wears a mortal form; like Calchas feen, Such his loud voice, and fuch his manly mein; 70 His fhouts inceffant every Greek inspire, But most th' Ajaces, adding fire to fire.

150

155

The foldier's bafenefs, or the general's fault?
Fools! will ye perith for your leader's vice;
The purchafe infamy, and life the price?
'Tis not your caufe, Achilles' injur'd fame :
Another's is the crime, but yours the fhame.
Grant that our chief offend through rage or luft,
Muft you be cowards if your king's unjust?
Prevent this evil, and your country fave:
Small thought retrieves the fpirits of the brave.
Think, and fubdue! on daftards dead to fame
I waste no anger, for they feel no shame:
But you, the pride, the flower of all our host,
My heart weeps blood to fee your glory loft! 160
Nor deem this day, this battle, all you lofe;
A day more black, a fate more vile, enfues.
Let each reflect, who prizes fame or breath,
On endless infamy, on inftant death,

For lo! the fated time, th' appointed fhore; 165
Hark! the gates burft, the brazen barriers roar!
Impetuous Hector thunders at the wall;
The hour, the spot, to conquer, or to fall.

These words the Grecians' fainting hearts infpire,

170

And liftening armies catch the god-like fire.
Fix'd at his poft was each bold Ajax found,
With well-rang'd fquadrons ftrongly circled
/round:

175

So close their order, fo difpos'd their fight,
As Pallas' felf might view with fix'd delight:
Or had the God of War inclin'd his eyes,
The God of War had own'd a juft furprize.
A chofen phalanx, firm, refolv'd as Fate,
Defcending Hector and his battle wait.
An iron fcene gleams dreadful o'er the fields,
Armour in armour lock'd, and thields in thields,
180
Spears lean on fpears, on targets targets throng,
Helms ftuck to helms, and man drove man along.
The floating plumes unnumber'd wave above,
As when an earthquake ftirs the nodding grove;
And, level'd at the fkies with pointing rays, 185
Their brandifh'd lances at each motion blaze.

Thus breathing death in terrible array,
The clofe-compacted legious urg'd their way:
Fierce they drove on, impatient to destroy;
Troy charg'd the first, and Hector firft of Troy.

190

As from fome mountain's craggy forehead torn,
A rock's round f agment flies, with fury borne
(Which from the stubborn ftone a torrent rends)
Precipitate the ponderous mafs defcends:

From steep to fteep the rolling ruin bounds; 195
At every shock the crackling wood refounds;
Still gathering force, it fmokes; and, urg'd
amiain,

Whirls, leaps, and thunders down, impetuous to the plain:

There ftops-So Hector. Their whole force he prov'd,

Refiftlefs when he rag'd, and when he stopt, unmov'd.

On him the war is bent, the darts are shed, And all their falchions wave around his head: Repuls'd he stands, nor from his stand retires; But with repeated thouts his army fires. Trojans! be firm; this arm fhall make your 205 Through yon fquare body, and that black array. Stand, and my spear fhall rout their scattering

way

power,

Strong as they feem, embattled like a tower.
For he that Juno's heavenly bofom warms,
The firft of Gods, this day infpires our arms. 210
He faid, and rouz'd the foul in every breaft;
Urg'd with defire of fame, beyond the rest,
Forth march'd Deiphobus; but, marching, held
Before his wary steps his ample shield.
Bold Merion aim'd a stroke (nor aim'd it wide)

215

The glittering javelin pierc'd the tough bull-hide;
But pierc'd not through: unfaithful to his hand,
The point broke short, and sparkled in the fand.
The Trojan warriour, touch'd with timely fear,
On the rais'd orb to distance bore the fpear: 220
The Greek retreating mourn'd his fruftrate blow,
And curs'd the treacherous lance that fpar'da foe
Then to the fhips with furly fpeed he went,
To feek a furer javelin in his tent.

Meanwhile with rifing rage the battle glows, 12
The tumult thickens, and the clamour grows.
By Teucer's arm the warlike Imbrius bleeds,
The fon of Mentor, rich in generous fteeds.
Ere yet to Troy the fons of Greece were led,
In fair Pedaus' verdant paftures bred, 230
The youth had dwelt; remote from war's alarms,
And blefs'd in bright Medeficafte's arms:
(This nymph, the fruit of Priam's ravish'd joy,
Ally'd the warriour to the house of Troy.)
To Troy, when glory call'd his arms, he came,

235

240

And match'd the braveft of her chiefs in fame:
With Priam's fons, a guardian of the throne,
He liv'd, belov'd and honour'd as his own.
Him Teucer pierc'd between the throat and ear:
He groans beneath the Telamonian spear.
As from fome far-feen mountain's airy crown,
Subdued by fteel, a tall afh tumbles down,
And foils its verdant treffes on the ground:
So falls the youth; his arms the fall refound.
Then Teucer rufhing to defpoil the dead,
From Hector's hand a fhining javelin fled :
He faw, and fhunn'd the death; the forceful dart
Sung on, and pierc'd Amphimachus's heart,
Cteatus' fon, of Neptune's forceful line;
Vain was his courage, and his race divine! 250
Proftrate lie falls; his clanging arms refound,
And his broad buckler thunders on the ground..

245