Page:Homer - Iliad, translation Pope, 1909.djvu/220

⁠"O first of friends," Pelides thus replied,
"Still at my heart, and ever at my side!
The time is come, when yon despairing host
Shall learn the value of the man they lost:
Now at my knees the Greeks shall pour their moan,
And proud Atrides tremble on his throne.
Go now to Nestor, and from him be taught
What wounded warrior late his chariot brought?
For, seen at distance, and but seen behind,
His form recalled Machaon to my mind;
Nor could I, through yon cloud, discern his face,
The coursers passed me with so swift a pace."
⁠The hero said. His friend obeyed with haste;
Through intermingled ships and tents he passed;
The chiefs descending from their car he found;
The panting steeds Eurymedon unbound.
The warriors, standing on the breezy shore,
To dry their sweat, and wash away the gore,
Here paused a moment, while the gentle gale
Conveyed that freshness the cool seas exhale;
Then to consult on farther methods went,
And took their seats beneath the shady tent.
The draught prescribed fair Hecamede prepares,
Arsinoüs' daughter, graced with golden hairs;
Whom to his aged arms, a royal slave,
Greece, as the prize of Nestor's wisdom, gave;
A table first with azure feet she placed;
Whose ample orb a brazen charger graced:
Honey new pressed, the sacred flower of wheat,
And wholesome garlicks crowned the savoury treat.
Next her white hand an antique goblet brings,
A goblet sacred to the Pylian kings,
From eldest times: embossed with studs of gold,
Two feet support it, and four handles hold;
On each bright handle, bending o'er the brink,
In sculptured gold, two turtles seem to drink:
A massy weight, yet heaved with ease by him,
When the brisk nectar overlooked the brim.
Tempered in this, the nymph of form divine
Pours a large portion of the Pramnian wine;
With goat's-milk cheese a flavorous taste bestows,
And last with flour the smiling surface strews.
This for the wounded prince the dame prepares;
The cordial beverage reverend Nestor shares:
Salubrious draughts the warrior's thirst allay,
And pleasing conference beguiles the day.
⁠Meantime Patroclus, by Achilles sent,
Unheard approached, and stood before the tent.

Old Nestor, rising then, the hero led