“Atrides, and ye other chiefs of Greece! Full many a long-haired warrior of our host Hath perished. Cruel Mars hath spilt their blood Beside Scamander’s gentle stream; their souls Have gone to Hades. Give thou, then, command, That all the Greeks tomorrow pause from war, And come together at the early dawn, And bring the dead in chariots drawn by mules And oxen, and consume them near our fleet With fire, that we, when we return from war, May carry to our native land the bones, And give them to the children of the slain. And then will we go forth and heap from earth, Upon the plain, a common tomb for all Around the funeral pile, and build high towers With speed beside it, which shall be alike A bulwark for our navy and our host. And let the entrance be a massive gate, Through which shall pass an ample chariot-way. And in a circle on its outer edge Sink we a trench so deep that neither steeds Nor men may pass, if these proud Trojans yet Should, in the coming battles, press us sore.”
He spake; the princes all approved his words. Meanwhile, beside the lofty citadel Of Ilium and at Priam’s palace-gates In turbulence and fear the Trojans held A council, and the wise Antenor spake:—
“Hearken, ye Trojans, Dardans, and allies, To what my sober judgment bids me speak. Send we the Argive Helen back with all Her treasures; let the sons of Atreus lead The dame away; for now we wage the war After our faith is broken, and I deem We cannot prosper till we make amends.”
He spake, and sat him down. The noble chief Paris, the fair-haired Helen’s husband, rose To answer him, and spake this wingèd speech:—
“Thy words, Antenor, please me not. Thy skill Could offer better counsels. If those words Were gravely meant, the gods have made thee mad. But let me here, amid these knights of Troy, Speak openly my mind. Give up my wife I never will; but all the wealth I brought With her from Argos I most willingly Restore, with added treasures of my own.”