He spake; and wise Ulysses, entering His tent again, upon his shoulders laid His well-wrought shield, and joined them as they went, Till, coming to Tydides Diomed, They found him by his tent among his arms, His comrades sleeping round him with their shields Beneath their heads. Their spears were set upright, The nether points in earth. The polished brass Gleamed like the lightnings of All-Father Jove. In sleep the hero lay; a wild bull’s hide Was spread beneath him, and a carpet dyed With glowing colors propped his head. The knight, Gerenian Nestor, touched him with his foot And roused him, and addressed him chidingly:⁠—

“O son of Tydeus! Wilt thou calmly sleep All the night long? And hast thou, then, not heard That on a height amidst the plain the sons Of Troy are stationed, near the ships, and small The space that parts the enemy’s camp from ours?”

He spake. The son of Tydeus sprang from sleep At once, and answered him with wingèd words: