behold a great and terrible portent which I had never thought to
see--the Trojans at our ships--they, who were heretofore like
panic-stricken hinds, the prey of jackals and wolves in a forest, with
no strength but in flight for they cannot defend themselves. Hitherto
the Trojans dared not for one moment face the attack of the Achaeans,
but now they have sallied far from their city and are fighting at our
very ships through the cowardice of our leader and the disaffection of
the people themselves, who in their discontent care not to fight in
defence of the ships but are being slaughtered near them. True, King
Agamemnon son of Atreus is the cause of our disaster by having insulted
the son of Peleus, still this is no reason why we should leave off
fighting. Let us be quick to heal, for the hearts of the brave heal
quickly. You do ill to be thus remiss, you, who are the finest soldiers
in our whole army. I blame no man for keeping out of battle if he is a
weakling, but I am indignant with such men as you are. My good friends,
matters will soon become even worse through this slackness; think, each
one of you, of his own honour and credit, for the hazard of the fight
is extreme. Great Hector is now fighting at our ships; he has broken
through the gates and the strong bolt that held them."

Thus did the earth-encircler address the Achaeans and urge them on.
Thereon round the two Ajaxes there gathered strong bands of men, of
whom not even Mars nor Minerva, marshaller of hosts could make light if
they went among them, for they were the picked men of all those who
were now awaiting the onset of Hector and the Trojans. They made a
living fence, spear to spear, shield to shield, buckler to buckler,
helmet to helmet, and man to man. The horse-hair crests on their
gleaming helmets touched one another as they nodded forward, so closely
serried were they; the spears they brandished in their strong hands
were interlaced, and their hearts were set on battle.

The Trojans advanced in a dense body, with Hector at their head
pressing right on as a rock that comes thundering down the side of some
mountain from whose brow the winter torrents have torn it; the
foundations of the dull thing have been loosened by floods of rain, and
as it bounds headlong on its way it sets the whole forest in an uproar;
it swerves neither to right nor left till it reaches level ground, but
then for all its fury it can go no further--even so easily did Hector
f