Page:Iliad of Homer - Bryant - 1870.djvu/32

Since now our aim is baffled, to return
Homeward, if death o'ertake us not; for war
And pestilence at once destroy the Greeks. 80
But let us first consult some seer or priest,
Or dream-interpreter,—for even dreams
Are sent by Jove,—and ask him by what cause
Phœbus Apollo has been angered thus;
If by neglected vows or hecatombs, 85
And whether savor of fat bulls and goats
May move the god to stay the pestilence."
He spake, and took again his seat ; and next
Rose Calchas, son of Thestor, and the chief
Of augurs, one to whom were known things past 90
And present and to come. He, through the art
Of divination, which Apollo gave,
Had guided Iliumward the ships of Greece.
With words well ordered courteously he spake:—
"Achilles, loved of Jove, thou biddest me 95
Explain the wrath of Phœbus, monarch-god,
Who sends afar his arrows. Willingly
Will I make known the cause; but covenant thou,
And swear to stand prepared, by word and hand,
To bring me succor. For my mind misgives 100
That he who rules the Argives, and to whom
The Achaian race are subject, will be wroth.
A sovereign is too strong for humbler men,
And though he keep his choler down awhile,
It rankles, till he sate it, in his heart. 105
And now consider: wilt thou hold me safe?"