“Shame on you, Argive youths! I put my trust In your tried valor to defend our fleet; But if ye fear to face the perilous fight, The day has risen which shall behold us fall Vanquished before the Trojans. O ye gods! These eyes have seen a marvel, a strange sight And terrible, which I had never thought Could be⁠—the Trojans close upon our ships, They who, erewhile, were like the timid deer That wander in the wood an easy prey To jackals, pards, and wolves⁠—weak things, unapt For combat, fleeing, but without an aim. Such were the Trojans, who till now ne’er dared Withstand the might and prowess of the Greeks Even for an hour. But now, afar from Troy They give us battle at the hollow ships, All through our general’s fault, and through the sloth Of the Greek warriors, who, displeased with him, Fight not for their swift galleys, but are slain Beside them. Yet although our sovereign chief, Atrides Agamemnon, may have done Foul wrong, dishonoring the swift-footed son Of Peleus, still ye cannot without blame Decline the combat. Let us then repair