He ended. Hector of the beamy helm Heard him, and answered not; but Helen spake, And thus with soothing words addressed the chief:⁠—

“Brother-in-law⁠—for such thou art, though I Am lost to shame, and cause of many ills⁠— Would that some violent blast when I was born Had whirled me to the mountain wilds, or waves Of the hoarse sea, that they might swallow me, Ere deeds like these were done! But since the gods Have thus decreed, why was I not the wife Of one who bears a braver heart and feels Keenly the anger and reproach of men? For Paris hath not, and will never have, A resolute mind, and must abide the effect Of his own folly. Enter thou meanwhile, My brother; seat thee here, for heavily Must press on thee the labors thou dost bear For one so vile as I, and for the sake Of guilty Paris. An unhappy lot, By Jupiter’s appointment, waits us both⁠— A theme of song for men in time to come.”