I ask no presents, no reward for love;[1]
Myself will give the dower; so vast a store
As never father gave a child before.
Seven ample cities shall confess his sway,
Him Enopé, and Pheræ him obey,
Cardamylé with ample turrets crowned,
And sacred Pedasus for vines renowned;
Æpea fair, the pastures Hira yields,
And rich Antheia with her flowery fields:
The whole extent to Pylos' sandy plain,
Along the verdant margin of the main.
There heifers graze, and labouring oxen toil;
Bold are the men, and generous is the soil;
There shall he reign with power and justice crowned,
And rule the tributary realms around.
All this I give, his vengeance to control,
And sure all this may move his mighty soul.
Pluto, the grizly god, who never spares,
Who feels no mercy, and who hears no prayers,
Lives dark and dreadful in deep hell's abodes,
And mortals hate him as the worst of gods.
Great though he be, it fits him to obey:
Since more than his my years, and more my sway."
The monarch thus: the reverend Nestor then:
"Great Agamemnon, glorious king of men!
Such are thy offers as a prince may take,
And such as fits a generous king to make.
Let chosen delegates this hour be sent—
Myself will name them—to Pelides' tent:
Let Phœnix lead, revered for hoary age,
Great Ajax next, and Ithacus the sage.
Yet more to sanctify the word you send,
Let Hodius and Eurybates attend.
Now pray to Jove to grant what Greece demands;
Pray, in deep silence, and with purest hands."
He said, and all approved. The heralds bring
The cleansing water from the living spring.
The youth with wine the sacred goblets crowned,
And large libations drenched the sands around.
The rite performed, the chiefs their thirst allay,
Then from the royal tent they take their way;
Wise Nestor turns on each his careful eye,
Forbids to offend, instructs them to apply:
Much he advised them all, Ulysses most,
To deprecate the chief, and save the host.
- ↑ In Greece, the bridegroom, before he married, was obliged to make two presents; one to his betrothed wife, and the other to his father-in-law. This custom is very ancient; it was practised by the Hebrews in the time of the patriarchs.—Pope.
