The Celebrated Speeches Of Ajax and Ulysses For The Armour Of Achilles. In the 13th Book of Ovid's Metamorph. Essay'd in English Verse By Mr. Tate ... And Aaron Hill |
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 | The Celebrated Speeches Of Ajax and Ulysses |  |
1
THE SPEECH of AJAX.
Translated by Mr. TATE.
The Captains take their Seats, the Soldiers stand,
And in a Circle, Crown the Spacious Strand;
Respectful Silence, Aws the Murm'ring Field;
Up starts the Master of the Seven-fold Shield,
Swelling with Choller, the Sigæan Bay
He Sternly View'd, and Ships that Mooring lay;
Then, with up-lifted Hands, O Jove, He cry'd,
Before That Navy, must our Cause be Try'd!
Must I Plead Here? And, what Affronts me more,
The Vile Ulysses, my Competitor!
Ulysses dare with Ajax to Engage?
Ulysses! He that Scowr'd from Hector's Rage;
Which I sustain'd, and when our Squadrons Burn'd,
Upon the Foe, the Conflagration Turn'd:
But well He knows this dry Mock-sight of Words,
Less Perrillous than That of Clashing Swords.
And as in Field of Battle I Excel,
The Petty-Fogger in Harranguing Well.
But blasted Lawrels must the Combat Yield,
In which Ulysses Hopes to win the Field;
And has, I grant, already gain'd a Prize
Beyond his Merit (pray, let That suffice)
For, when o're-come, this will His Tryumph be,
He had the Honour to Contend with Me.
But, Captains, if my Courage You could doubt,
My Noble Blood would make my Title out;
The Worthy Heir of Renown'd Telamon,
Who, under Hercules, Troy's Bull-wark won,
And, with the Brave Adventurers of Greece,
Leapt first on Shoar, to sieze the Golden Fleece;
And Græcians, who his Father was, ye know,
Fam'd Æacus, who Rules the Shades below,
Where Sysiphus, amongst the Sentenc'd Souls,
(Thief Sysiphus, Ulysses Kinsman) Rowls
With Fruitless Labour, a Revolving Stone:
Nor does the Thunderer disdain to own
This Æacus—Thus I my Lineage prove
Deriv'd from Gods; and I the Third from Jove.
And in a Circle, Crown the Spacious Strand;
Respectful Silence, Aws the Murm'ring Field;
Up starts the Master of the Seven-fold Shield,
Swelling with Choller, the Sigæan Bay
He Sternly View'd, and Ships that Mooring lay;
Then, with up-lifted Hands, O Jove, He cry'd,
Before That Navy, must our Cause be Try'd!
Must I Plead Here? And, what Affronts me more,
The Vile Ulysses, my Competitor!
2
Ulysses! He that Scowr'd from Hector's Rage;
Which I sustain'd, and when our Squadrons Burn'd,
Upon the Foe, the Conflagration Turn'd:
But well He knows this dry Mock-sight of Words,
Less Perrillous than That of Clashing Swords.
And as in Field of Battle I Excel,
The Petty-Fogger in Harranguing Well.
But blasted Lawrels must the Combat Yield,
In which Ulysses Hopes to win the Field;
And has, I grant, already gain'd a Prize
Beyond his Merit (pray, let That suffice)
For, when o're-come, this will His Tryumph be,
He had the Honour to Contend with Me.
But, Captains, if my Courage You could doubt,
My Noble Blood would make my Title out;
The Worthy Heir of Renown'd Telamon,
Who, under Hercules, Troy's Bull-wark won,
And, with the Brave Adventurers of Greece,
Leapt first on Shoar, to sieze the Golden Fleece;
And Græcians, who his Father was, ye know,
Fam'd Æacus, who Rules the Shades below,
3
(Thief Sysiphus, Ulysses Kinsman) Rowls
With Fruitless Labour, a Revolving Stone:
Nor does the Thunderer disdain to own
This Æacus—Thus I my Lineage prove
Deriv'd from Gods; and I the Third from Jove.
Nor had I mention'd what before ye knew,
Unless Ally'd to Great Achilles too,
He was my Brother, Chiefs, I crave a Brother's Due.
Unless Ally'd to Great Achilles too,
He was my Brother, Chiefs, I crave a Brother's Due.
Why Spawn of Sysiphus (and the Disgrace
Of thy own Fraudelent Sysiphian Race)
With Rascal Blood, dost Thou attempt to Stain
Æacides's yet untainted Strain?
Why, Chiefs, am I compell'd to make my Claim,
Because I early to your Service came?
And to this Loit'rer must the Booty fall,
Who, if not Forc'd, had never come at all?
Who with fain'd Madness, wou'd have stay'd behind,
But Palamede, of more Sagacious Mind,
Found out the Cheat (tho' Fatal was the Skill)
And Dragg'd him to the Wars against his Will.
Shall He possess These Arms, who Arms Declin'd?
And not a Kinsmans Legacy Assign'd
To Me? Must I Less Qualify'd appear,
For having been your foremost Volunteer?
Of thy own Fraudelent Sysiphian Race)
With Rascal Blood, dost Thou attempt to Stain
Æacides's yet untainted Strain?
Why, Chiefs, am I compell'd to make my Claim,
Because I early to your Service came?
And to this Loit'rer must the Booty fall,
Who, if not Forc'd, had never come at all?
Who with fain'd Madness, wou'd have stay'd behind,
But Palamede, of more Sagacious Mind,
4
And Dragg'd him to the Wars against his Will.
Shall He possess These Arms, who Arms Declin'd?
And not a Kinsmans Legacy Assign'd
To Me? Must I Less Qualify'd appear,
For having been your foremost Volunteer?
Yet, Græcians, Happy had it been for you,
That his Pretended Phrensie had been True,
Or So Believ'd, then with propitious Pow'rs
We had Arriv'd, and Troy long since been Ours:
This Mischief-maker, We behind had left,
Nor been of Pæan's useful Heir bereft,
Who (to our Shame) forlorn in Lemnos dwells,
Wasting his Life in Solitary Cells,
With Imprecations on Laerte's Heir,
(Nor can the Righteous Pow'rs refuse his Pray'r)
This Hopeful Youth, your Sworn Allye, possest
Of Hercules his Darts, with Want opprest,
For Food and Rayment, does on Birds employ
Those Arrows destin'd for the Fall of Troy.
That his Pretended Phrensie had been True,
Or So Believ'd, then with propitious Pow'rs
We had Arriv'd, and Troy long since been Ours:
This Mischief-maker, We behind had left,
Nor been of Pæan's useful Heir bereft,
Who (to our Shame) forlorn in Lemnos dwells,
Wasting his Life in Solitary Cells,
With Imprecations on Laerte's Heir,
(Nor can the Righteous Pow'rs refuse his Pray'r)
This Hopeful Youth, your Sworn Allye, possest
Of Hercules his Darts, with Want opprest,
For Food and Rayment, does on Birds employ
Those Arrows destin'd for the Fall of Troy.
5
Yet still (tho' Wretched) Philoctetes Lives,
(That Benefit Ulysses's Absence gives)
But Palamede, betray'd by this false Guide,
Neither Surviv'd, nor without Scandal Dy'd;
A Victim to our Politician's Hate,
Impeach'd of Treason to the Græcian State,
With Trojan Gold Discover'd in his Tent,
But Gold by Sly Ulysses Thither sent.
(That Benefit Ulysses's Absence gives)
But Palamede, betray'd by this false Guide,
Neither Surviv'd, nor without Scandal Dy'd;
A Victim to our Politician's Hate,
Impeach'd of Treason to the Græcian State,
With Trojan Gold Discover'd in his Tent,
But Gold by Sly Ulysses Thither sent.
By Murder thus, or Banishment, He draws
Our Strength away, and Starves the Common Cause;
'Tis Thus He Fights, Ulysses Thus I own
The dreadfull'st Man in all our Army grown.
Our Strength away, and Starves the Common Cause;
'Tis Thus He Fights, Ulysses Thus I own
The dreadfull'st Man in all our Army grown.
Let him as far surpass in Eloquence
Our Trusty Nestor, as He's short in Sense,
His Sophistry can forge no fair Pretence
For leaving his Comrade in Time of Need,
With Age Retarded, and a Wounded Steed;
Expos'd Tydides knows I do not faign,
Who with reproachful Cries—
Oft to the Scamp'rer call'd, but call'd in vain.
Our Trusty Nestor, as He's short in Sense,
His Sophistry can forge no fair Pretence
For leaving his Comrade in Time of Need,
With Age Retarded, and a Wounded Steed;
6
Who with reproachful Cries—
Oft to the Scamp'rer call'd, but call'd in vain.
Behold the Justice of the Pow'rs on High,
Who keep on Human Deeds, a Watchful Eye;
Into the same Distress our Lurcher falls,
With Foes Surrounded, and for Succour calls:
No Succour came—Till I rusht in, and found
The Wretch half Dead, and Grov'ling on the Ground,
With real Fright, and a Pretended Wound:
Had I not Shielded Him (tho' better Lost)
Our Orator, had been a Silent Ghost.
Who keep on Human Deeds, a Watchful Eye;
Into the same Distress our Lurcher falls,
With Foes Surrounded, and for Succour calls:
No Succour came—Till I rusht in, and found
The Wretch half Dead, and Grov'ling on the Ground,
With real Fright, and a Pretended Wound:
Had I not Shielded Him (tho' better Lost)
Our Orator, had been a Silent Ghost.
But since so Hardy now, his Courage grows,
As dares his Life's Preserver to Oppose,
Then let us Both to that same Field repair,
And He, opprest with the same Foes and Fear,
Behind my Buckler Sculk, and Argue There.
But by the Way, this Passage bear in Mind,
This Wariour, who thro' Loss of Blood could find
No Nerves, no Legs to stand upon in Fight,
While Ajax Fought, found Legs and Heels for Flight;
But these are Trifles. Now prepare to hear
Of Action (Chiefs) that will deserve your Ear.
As dares his Life's Preserver to Oppose,
Then let us Both to that same Field repair,
And He, opprest with the same Foes and Fear,
Behind my Buckler Sculk, and Argue There.
But by the Way, this Passage bear in Mind,
This Wariour, who thro' Loss of Blood could find
7
While Ajax Fought, found Legs and Heels for Flight;
But these are Trifles. Now prepare to hear
Of Action (Chiefs) that will deserve your Ear.
Hector comes on, in all his Martial Pride,
And brings the God's Embattlled on his Side;
Like a Tempestuous Thunder-Bolt He came,
Ulysses Trembl'd (and who then could blame
His Fright, when Men of Valour did the same)
I Ajax only, durst sustain the Shock,
I fac'd and fell'd Him, with a lifted Rock.
And brings the God's Embattlled on his Side;
Like a Tempestuous Thunder-Bolt He came,
Ulysses Trembl'd (and who then could blame
His Fright, when Men of Valour did the same)
I Ajax only, durst sustain the Shock,
I fac'd and fell'd Him, with a lifted Rock.
Remember Sirs, how on his Challenge sent,
For single Combat, You to Consult went;
With Pray'rs and Vows, the Lot might Prosp'rous be:
Your Pray'rs were Answer'd; for it fell on Me.
We Mett and Fought; d'ye ask who Over-came?
I need not Blush to say 'twas a drawn Game
Of Glory, and we Shar'd the Stakes of Fame.
For single Combat, You to Consult went;
With Pray'rs and Vows, the Lot might Prosp'rous be:
Your Pray'rs were Answer'd; for it fell on Me.
We Mett and Fought; d'ye ask who Over-came?
I need not Blush to say 'twas a drawn Game
Of Glory, and we Shar'd the Stakes of Fame.
8
At last the Trojan Army came Intire,
With Sword and Flame, to set our Ships on Fire;
Where was your Man of Eloquence, and then
(Pardon my Freedom) where your Martial Men?
While Both for Flinching had a just Pretence,
This Single Breast was your whole Fleet's Defence:
Else you had seen, your Thousand Vessels Burn,
Your last Reserve, and Hopes of your Return;
Then say, Your Ajax Modestly has Crav'd
A Sett of Armour, for a Navy Sav'd.
But to speak Truth (and who can Truth Condemn?)
These Arms want Ajax more than Ajax them.
With Sword and Flame, to set our Ships on Fire;
Where was your Man of Eloquence, and then
(Pardon my Freedom) where your Martial Men?
While Both for Flinching had a just Pretence,
This Single Breast was your whole Fleet's Defence:
Else you had seen, your Thousand Vessels Burn,
Your last Reserve, and Hopes of your Return;
Then say, Your Ajax Modestly has Crav'd
A Sett of Armour, for a Navy Sav'd.
But to speak Truth (and who can Truth Condemn?)
These Arms want Ajax more than Ajax them.
Now let the Florid Ithacus Relate
Conquests, that only Laughter will Create,
Weak Rhesus, Dolon, Helenus his Fate,
A Stol'n Palladium; nothing done by Day,
Nothing when Diomedes was away.
But if such Petty Champions can be thought
Worthy of Armour for Achilles Wrought,
Let a Just Dividend be made, and Then
Shall Diomedes have Nine Parts in Ten.
Conquests, that only Laughter will Create,
Weak Rhesus, Dolon, Helenus his Fate,
A Stol'n Palladium; nothing done by Day,
Nothing when Diomedes was away.
But if such Petty Champions can be thought
Worthy of Armour for Achilles Wrought,
Let a Just Dividend be made, and Then
Shall Diomedes have Nine Parts in Ten.
9
But what has Ithacus to do with Arms?
Who ne're in open Field his Foe Alarms,
But Wizard-like works all by Mid-night Charms,
The burnish'd Steel would his Dark Plots betray;
Shew his Persuers where the Sculker lay;
'Twould crack the fine-spun Projects of his Brain
Achille's pond'rous Helmet to sustain;
That Nerveless Hand the Pelian Spear to wield!
Those Pilf'ring Fingers lift the Wariours Shield!
That Massy Shield, and of so vast Extent
The Wonders of both Worlds to Represent.
Who ne're in open Field his Foe Alarms,
But Wizard-like works all by Mid-night Charms,
The burnish'd Steel would his Dark Plots betray;
Shew his Persuers where the Sculker lay;
'Twould crack the fine-spun Projects of his Brain
Achille's pond'rous Helmet to sustain;
That Nerveless Hand the Pelian Spear to wield!
Those Pilf'ring Fingers lift the Wariours Shield!
That Massy Shield, and of so vast Extent
The Wonders of both Worlds to Represent.
Why dost Thou Court a Prize will Ruin Thee?
Which, if our Erring Judges shall Decree,
These Arms, instead of Frighting Foes away,
Will only make Thee to thy Foes a Prey;
And when Thou think'st to 'scape, as thou hast done
By Running, will not suffer thee to run.
Behold thy Target, 'tis as free from Scars
And Staunch, as when Thou brought'st it to the Wars,
Then look on Mine, with Restless Service Worn,
Pierc'd with a Thousand Darts, Huckt, Batter'd, Torn
Into a Relict, fit for Sacred Walls,
And for as Worthy a Successor calls.
Which, if our Erring Judges shall Decree,
These Arms, instead of Frighting Foes away,
Will only make Thee to thy Foes a Prey;
And when Thou think'st to 'scape, as thou hast done
By Running, will not suffer thee to run.
Behold thy Target, 'tis as free from Scars
And Staunch, as when Thou brought'st it to the Wars,
10
Pierc'd with a Thousand Darts, Huckt, Batter'd, Torn
Into a Relict, fit for Sacred Walls,
And for as Worthy a Successor calls.
But Why should We in Wire-drawn Words Contend;
When speedy Action should this Difference end:
A Method therefore, Judges, I Propose,
Useful to You, and Fatal to Your Foes;
Yes, such as all Objections will remove,
And Great Achilles Ghost will best Approve;
Into the Trojan Camp the Hero's Armour bear,
And He that Wins it Back, let him the Trophies Wear.
When speedy Action should this Difference end:
A Method therefore, Judges, I Propose,
Useful to You, and Fatal to Your Foes;
Yes, such as all Objections will remove,
And Great Achilles Ghost will best Approve;
Into the Trojan Camp the Hero's Armour bear,
And He that Wins it Back, let him the Trophies Wear.
| The Celebrated Speeches Of Ajax and Ulysses | |