And bade him sit. Then from the polished car They took the costly ransom of the corse Of Hector, save two cloaks, which back they laid With a fair tunic, that their chief might give The body shrouded to be borne to Troy. And then he called the maidens, bidding them Wash and anoint the dead, yet far apart From Priam, lest, with looking on his son, The grief within his heart might rise uncurbed To anger, and Achilles in his rage
Might slay him and transgress the laws of Jove. And when the handmaids finished, having washed The body and anointed it with oil,
And wrapped a sumptuous cloak and tunic round The limbs, Achilles lifted it himself
And placed it on a bier. His comrades gave Their aid, and raised it to the polished car. When all was done, Achilles groaned, and called By name the friend he dearly loved, and said:- "O my Patroclus, be not wroth with me Shouldst thou in Hades hear that I restore Hector to his dear father, since I take A ransom not unworthy; but of this I yield to thee the portion justly thine." So spake the godlike warrior, and withdrew Into his tent, and took the princely seat From which he had arisen, opposite To that of Priam, whom he thus bespake:-- "Behold thy son is ransomed, aged man, As thou hast asked, and lies upon his bier. Thou shalt behold him with the early dawn, And bear him hence. Now let us break our fast, For even Niobe, the golden-haired,
Refrained not from her food, though children twelve
Perished within her palace,-six young sons And six fair daughters. Phoebus slew the sons With arrows from his silver bow, incensed At Niobe, while Dian, archer-queen,
Struck down the daughters; for the mother dared To make herself the peer of rosy-cheeked Latona, who, she boastfully proclaimed,
Had borne two children only, while herself Had brought forth many. Yet, though only two, The children of Latona took the lives
Of all her own. Nine days the corses lay In blood, and there was none to bury them, For Jove had changed the dwellers of the place To stone; but on the tenth the gods of heaven Gave burial to the dead. Yet Niobe, Though spent with weeping long, did not refrain From food. And now forever mid the rocks And desert hills of Sipylus, where lie,
Fame says, the couches of the goddess-nymphs, Who lead the dance where Acheloüs flows, Although she be transformed to stone, she broods Over the woes inflicted by the gods. But now, O noble Ancient, let us sit
At our repast, and thou mayst afterward Mourn thy beloved son, while bearing him Homeward, to be bewailed with many tears." Achilles, the swift-footed, spake, and left His scat, and, slaying a white sheep, he bade His comrades flay and dress it. Then they carved The flesh in portions which they fixed on spits, And roasted carefully, and drew them back. And then Automedon distributed
The bread in shapely canisters around
The table, while Achilles served the flesh,
And all put forth their hands and shared the feast. But when their thirst and hunger were appeased, Dardanian Priam fixed a wondering look Upon Achilles, who in nobleness
Of form was like the gods. Achilles fixed A look of equal wonder on his guest, Dardanian Priam, for he much admired His gracious aspect and his pleasant speech. And when at length they both withdrew their gaze, Priam, the godlike Ancient, spake, and said:— "Nursling of Jove, dismiss me speedily To rest, that we may lie, and be refreshed With gentle slumbers. Never have these eyes Been closed beneath their lids, since by thy hand My Hector lost his life; and evermore
I mourn and cherish all my griefs, and writhe Upon the ground within my palace courts; But I have taken food at last, and drunk Draughts of red wine, untasted till this hour."
Achilles bade the attending men and maids Place couches in the porch, and over them Draw sumptuous purple mats on which to lay Embroidered tapestries, and on each of these Spread a broad, fleecy mantle, covering all. Forth went the train with torches in their hands, And quickly spread two couches. Then the swift Achilles pleasantly to Priam said:-
“Sleep, excellent old man, without the tent, Lest some one of our counselors arrive, Such as oft come within my tent to sit And talk of warlike matters. Seeing thee In the dark hours of night, he might relate The tale to Agamemnon, king of men, And hinder thus the ransom of thy son.
But say, and truly say, how many days Requirest thou to pay the funeral rites To noble Hector, so that I may rest
As many, and restrain the troops from war." Then answered godlike Priam, aged king: "Since, then, thou wilt, Achilles, that we pay The rites of burial to my noble son,
I own the favor. Well thou knowest how
We Trojans are constrained to keep within
The city walls, for it is far to bring
Wood from the mountains, and we fear to dare The journey. Nine days would we mourn the dead Within our dwellings, and upon the tenth Would bury him, and make a solemn feast, And the next day would rear his monument, And on the twelfth, if needful, fight again." And swift Achilles, godlike chief, rejoined: "Be it, O reverend Priam, as thou wilt, And for that space will I delay the war."
He spake, and that the aged king might feel No fear, he grasped his right hand at the wrist; And then King Priam and the herald went To sleep within the porch, but wary still. Achilles slumbered in his stately tent, And all the other gods and men who fought In chariots gave themselves to slumber, save Beneficent Hermes; sleep came not to him, For still he meditated how to bring King Priam back from the Achaian fleet Unnoticed by the watchers at the gate.
So at the monarch's head he stood, and spake:- "O aged king, thou givest little heed
To danger, sleeping thus amid thy foes, Because Achilles spares thee. Thou hast paid
Large ransom for thy well-beloved son,
And yet the sons whom thou hast left in Troy Would pay three times that ransom for thy life, Should Agamemnon, son of Atreus, learn-
of the Greeks-that thou art here.' He spake: the aged king in fear awaked
The herald. Hermes yoked the steeds and mules, And drave them quickly through the camp unmarked By any there. But when they reached the ford Where Xanthus, progeny of Jupiter,
Rolls the smooth eddies of his stream, the god Departed for the Olympian height, and Morn In saffron robes o'erspread the Earth with light. Townward they urged the steeds, and as they went Sorrowed and wailed: the mules conveyed the dead, And they were seen by none of all the men And graceful dames of Troy save one alone. Cassandra, beautiful as Venus, stood On Pergamus, and from its height discerned. Her father, standing on the chariot-seat,
And knew the herald, him whose voice so oft Summoned the citizens, and knew the dead
Stretched on a litter drawn by mules. She raised Her voice, and called to all the city thus:— "O Trojan men and women, hasten forth To look on Hector, if ye e'er rejoiced To see him coming from the field alive,
The pride of Troy, and all who dwell in her." She spake, and suddenly was neither man
Nor woman left within the city bounds. Deep grief was on them all; they went to meet, Near to the gates, the monarch bringing home
The dead. And first the wife whom Hector loved Rushed with his reverend mother to the car
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