Scaife ATLAS

CTS Library / Rhesus

Rhesus (56-82)

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0006.tlg019.perseus-eng4:56-82
Refs {'start': {'reference': '56', 'human_reference': 'Line 56'}, 'end': {'reference': '82', 'human_reference': 'Line 82'}}
Ancestors []
Children []
prev
plain text • XML
next
O Zeus above, who checked my conquering way,
Who baulked the hungry lion of his prey
Or ever I could sweep my country clear
Of these despoilers, dost thou hate my spear?
Had but the sun’s bright arrows failed me not,
I ne’er had rested till the ships were hot
With fire, and through the tents upon the plain
This bloody hand had passed and passed again!
Myself, I longed to try the battle-cast
By night, and use God’s vantage to the last,
But sage and prophet, learned in the way
Of seercraft, bade me wait for dawn of day,
And then—leave no Greek living in the land.
They wait not, they, for what my prophets planned
So sagely. In the dark a runaway
Beats a pursuer.
Through our whole array
Send runners! Bid them shake off sleep and wait
Ready with shield and spear. ’Tis not too late
To catch them as they climb on board, and slash
Their crouching shoulders till the gangways splash
With blood, or teach them, fettered leg and arm,
To dig the stiff clods of some Trojan farm.
LEADER.
My Prince, thy words run fast. Nor thou nor I
Have knowledge yet that the Greeks mean to fly.
HECTOR.
What makes them light their beacons? Tell me, what?
LEADER.
God knows! And, for my part, I like it not.
HECTOR.
What, feared? Thou wouldst be feared of everything!
LEADER.
They never lit such light before, O King.
HECTOR.
They never fled, man, in such wild dismay.

Tokens

O 1 w 1
Zeus 1 w 5
above 1 w 10
who 1 w 14
checked 1 w 21
my 1 w 23
conquering 1 w 33
way 1 w 36
Who 1 w 40
baulked 1 w 47
the 1 w 50
hungry 1 w 56
lion 1 w 60
of 1 w 62
his 1 w 65
prey 1 w 69
Or 1 w 71
ever 1 w 75
I 1 w 76
could 1 w 81
sweep 1 w 86
my 2 w 88
country 1 w 95
clear 1 w 100
Of 1 w 102
these 1 w 107
despoilers 1 w 117
dost 1 w 122
thou 1 w 126
hate 1 w 130
my 3 w 132
spear 1 w 137
Had 1 w 141
but 1 w 144
the 3 w 147
sun 1 w 150
s 10 w 152
bright 1 w 158
arrows 1 w 164
failed 1 w 170
me 1 w 172
not 1 w 175
I 2 w 177
ne 1 w 179
er 4 w 182
had 1 w 185
rested 1 w 191
till 1 w 195
the 4 w 198
ships 1 w 203
were 1 w 207
hot 1 w 210
With 1 w 214
fire 1 w 218
and 1 w 222
through 1 w 229
the 5 w 232
tents 1 w 237
upon 1 w 241
the 6 w 244
plain 1 w 249
This 1 w 253
bloody 1 w 259
hand 1 w 263
had 2 w 266
passed 1 w 272
and 3 w 275
passed 2 w 281
again 1 w 286
Myself 1 w 293
I 3 w 295
longed 1 w 301
to 1 w 303
try 2 w 306
the 7 w 309
battle-cast 1 w 320
By 1 w 322
night 1 w 327
and 4 w 331
use 1 w 334
God 1 w 337
s 24 w 339
vantage 1 w 346
to 2 w 348
the 8 w 351
last 1 w 355
But 1 w 359
sage 1 w 363
and 5 w 366
prophet 1 w 373
learned 1 w 381
in 4 w 383
the 9 w 386
way 2 w 389
Of 2 w 391
seercraft 1 w 400
bade 1 w 405
me 2 w 407
wait 1 w 411
for 1 w 414
dawn 1 w 418
of 2 w 420
day 1 w 423
And 1 w 427
then 1 w 431
leave 1 w 437
no 2 w 439
Greek 1 w 444
living 1 w 450
in 6 w 452
the 11 w 455
land 1 w 459
They 1 w 464
wait 2 w 468
not 2 w 471
they 1 w 476
for 2 w 480
what 1 w 484
my 4 w 486
prophets 1 w 494
planned 1 w 501
So 1 w 503
sagely 1 w 509
In 1 w 512
the 13 w 515
dark 1 w 519
a 42 w 520
runaway 1 w 527
Beats 1 w 532
a 46 w 533
pursuer 1 w 540
Through 1 w 548
our 1 w 551
whole 1 w 556
array 1 w 561
Send 1 w 565
runners 1 w 572
Bid 1 w 576
them 1 w 580
shake 1 w 585
off 1 w 588
sleep 1 w 593
and 7 w 596
wait 3 w 600
Ready 1 w 605
with 1 w 609
shield 1 w 615
and 8 w 618
spear 2 w 623
Tis 1 w 628
not 3 w 631
too 1 w 634
late 1 w 638
To 1 w 640
catch 1 w 645
them 2 w 649
as 5 w 651
they 2 w 655
climb 1 w 660
on 5 w 662
board 1 w 667
and 9 w 671
slash 1 w 676
Their 1 w 681
crouching 1 w 690
shoulders 1 w 699
till 2 w 703
the 17 w 706
gangways 1 w 714
splash 1 w 720
With 2 w 724
blood 2 w 729
or 3 w 732
teach 1 w 737
them 3 w 741
fettered 1 w 750
leg 1 w 753
and 10 w 756
arm 1 w 759
To 2 w 762
dig 1 w 765
the 19 w 768
stiff 1 w 773
clods 1 w 778
of 4 w 780
some 1 w 784
Trojan 1 w 790
farm 1 w 794
LEADER 1 w 801
My 2 w 804
Prince 1 w 810
thy 1 w 814
words 1 w 819
run 3 w 822
fast 1 w 826
Nor 1 w 830
thou 2 w 834
nor 1 w 837
I 5 w 838
Have 1 w 842
knowledge 1 w 851
yet 1 w 854
that 1 w 858
the 20 w 861
Greeks 1 w 867
mean 1 w 871
to 4 w 873
fly 1 w 876
HECTOR 1 w 883
What 1 w 888
makes 1 w 893
them 4 w 897
light 1 w 902
their 1 w 907
beacons 1 w 914
Tell 1 w 919
me 5 w 921
what 2 w 926
LEADER 2 w 933
God 2 w 937
knows 1 w 942
And 2 w 946
for 3 w 950
my 5 w 952
part 1 w 956
I 6 w 958
like 1 w 962
it 7 w 964
not 4 w 967
HECTOR 2 w 974
What 2 w 979
feared 1 w 986
Thou 1 w 991
wouldst 1 w 998
be 2 w 1000
feared 2 w 1006
of 5 w 1008
everything 1 w 1018
LEADER 3 w 1025
They 2 w 1030
never 1 w 1035
lit 1 w 1038
such 1 w 1042
light 2 w 1047
before 1 w 1053
O 7 w 1055
King 1 w 1059
HECTOR 3 w 1066
They 3 w 1071
never 2 w 1076
fled 1 w 1080
man 1 w 1084
in 11 w 1087
such 2 w 1091
wild 1 w 1095
dismay 1 w 1101