Page:Iliad of Homer - Bryant - 1870.djvu/33

Achilles, the swift-footed, answered thus:—
"Fear nothing, but speak boldly out whate'er
Thou knowest, and declare the will of Heaven.
For by Apollo, dear to Jove, whom thou, 110
Calchas, dost pray to, when thou givest forth
The sacred oracles to men of Greece,
No man, while yet I live, and see the light
Of day, shall lay a violent hand on thee
Among our roomy ships; no man of all 115
The Grecian armies, though thou name the name
Of Agamemnon, whose high boast it is
To stand in power and rank above them all."
Encouraged thus, the blameless seer went on:—
"'T is not neglected vows or hecatombs 120
That move him, but the insult shown his priest,
Whom Agamemnon spurned, when he refused
To set his daughter free, and to receive
Her ransom. Therefore sends the archer-god
These woes, and still will send them on the Greeks, 125
Nor ever will withdraw his heavy hand
From our destruction, till the dark-eyed maid
Freely, and without ransom, be restored
To her beloved father, and with her
A sacred hecatomb to Chrysa sent. 130
So may we haply pacify the god."
Thus having said, the augur took his seat.
And then the hero-son of Atreus rose,
Wide-ruling Agamemnon, greatly chafed.
His gloomy heart was full of wrath, his eyes 135