ee. Now there was a brood of young sparrows, quite
small, upon the topmost bough, peeping out from under the leaves, eight
in all, and their mother that hatched them made nine. The serpent ate
the poor cheeping things, while the old bird flew about lamenting her
little ones; but the serpent threw his coils about her and caught her
by the wing as she was screaming. Then, when he had eaten both the
sparrow and her young, the god who had sent him made him become a sign;
for the son of scheming Saturn turned him into stone, and we stood
there wondering at that which had come to pass. Seeing, then, that such
a fearful portent had broken in upon our hecatombs, Calchas forthwith
declared to us the oracles of heaven. 'Why, Achaeans,' said he, 'are
you thus speechless? Jove has sent us this sign, long in coming, and
long ere it be fulfilled, though its fame shall last for ever. As the
serpent ate the eight fledglings and the sparrow that hatched them,
which makes nine, so shall we fight nine years at Troy, but in the
tenth shall take the town.' This was what he said, and now it is all
coming true. Stay here, therefore, all of you, till we take the city of
Priam."

On this the Argives raised a shout, till the ships rang again with the
uproar. Nestor, knight of Gerene, then addressed them. "Shame on you,"
he cried, "to stay talking here like children, when you should fight
like men. Where are our covenants now, and where the oaths that we have
taken? Shall our counsels be flung into the fire, with our
drink-offerings and the right hands of fellowship wherein we have put
our trust? We waste our time in words, and for all our talking here
shall be no further forward. Stand, therefore, son of Atreus, by your
own steadfast purpose; lead the Argives on to battle, and leave this
handful of men to rot, who scheme, and scheme in vain, to get back to
Argos ere they have learned whether Jove be true or a liar. For the
mighty son of Saturn surely promised that we should succeed, when we
Argives set sail to bring death and destruction upon the Trojans. He
showed us favourable signs by flashing his lightning on our right
hands; therefore let none make haste to go till he has first lain with
the wife of some Trojan, and avenged the toil and sorrow that he has
suffered for the sake of Helen. Nevertheless, if any man is in such
haste to be at home again, let him lay his hand to his ship that he may
meet his doom in the sight of all. But, O king,