And Agamemnon, king of men, rejoined:— “Thou touchest me, Ulysses, to the heart With thy harsh censure; yet I did not give Command to drag our good ships to the sea, Against the will of the Greeks. And would there were Some other, young or old, to counsel them More prudently, for that would please me well.”
Then spake the great in battle, Diomed:— “The man is here, nor have ye far to look If ye will be persuaded, and refrain To blame me angrily, because my years Are fewest midst you all. I too can boast Of noble birth; my father, Tydeus, lies Buried beneath a mound of earth at Thebes. To Portheus three illustrious sons were born, Who dwelt in Pleuron, and in Calydon The lofty—Agrius, Melas, and the knight, My father’s father, Oeneus, eminent Among the rest for valor; he remained At home, but, wandering thence, my father went To Argos, for the will of Jove was such— Jove and the other gods. He wedded there A daughter of Adrastus, and he dwelt Within a mansion filled with wealth; broad fields Fertile in corn were his, and many rows Of trees and vines around him; large his flocks, And great his fame as one expert to wield, Beyond all other Greeks, the spear in war. This should ye know, for this is true; nor yet Contemn my counsel given with careful thought And for your good, nor deem it comes from one Unwarlike and low-born. Now let us join The battle, wounded as we are, for much It needs our presence, keeping carefully Beyond the reach of weapons, to avoid Wound upon wound, and, cheering on the rest, Send back into the combat those who stand Apart, indulgent to their weariness.”
He spake: they hearkened, and with hasty steps Went on, King Agamemnon at their head.
Nor was the glorious power that shakes the earth Unmindful of his charge. He went among The warriors in the semblance of a man Stricken in years, and, seizing the right hand Of Agamemnon, spake these wingèd words:—