“Hear me, O child of aegis-bearing Jove, Goddess invincible! If ever thou Didst aid me or my father in the heat Of battle, aid me, Pallas, yet again. Give me to slay this Trojan; bring him near, Within my javelin’s reach, who wounded me, And now proclaims⁠—the boaster⁠—that not long Shall I behold the brightness of the sun.”

So prayed he, and Minerva heard his prayer And lightened all his limbs⁠—his feet, his hands⁠— And, standing near him, spake these wingèd words:⁠—

“War boldly with the Trojans, Diomed; For even now I breathe into thy frame The ancestral might and fearless soul that dwelt In Tydeus, peerless with the steed and shield. Lo! I remove the darkness from thine eyes, That thou mayst well discern the gods from men; And if a god should tempt thee to the fight, Beware to combat with the immortal race; Only, should Venus, child of Jupiter, Take part in battle, wound her with thy spear.”