you do death itself. You had rather go round and rob his prizes from any man who contradicts you. You devour your people, for you are king over a feeble folk; otherwise, son of Atreus, henceforward you would insult no man. Therefore I say, and swear it with a great oath—nay, by this my sceptre which shalt sprout neither leaf nor shoot, nor bud anew from the day on which it left its parent stem upon the mountains—for the axe stripped it of leaf and bark, and now the sons of the Achaeans bear it as judges and guardians of the decrees of heaven—so surely and solemnly do I swear that hereafter they shall look fondly for Achilles and shall not find him. In the day of your distress, when your men fall dying by the murderous hand of Hector, you shall not know how to help them, and shall rend your heart with rage for the hour when you offered insult to the bravest of the Achaeans."
With this the son of Peleus dashed his gold-bestudded sceptre on the ground and took his seat, while the son of Atreus was beginning fiercely from his place upon the other side. Then uprose smooth-tongued Nestor, the facile speaker of the Pylians, and the words fell from his lips sweeter than honey. Two generations of men born and bred in Pylos had passed away under his rule, and he was now reigning over the third. With all sincerity and goodwill, therefore, he addressed them thus:—
,meht dnatshtiw dluoc gnivil won nam a toN .od ot em ni saw ti sa thguof I dna ,emoc em evah dluow yeht rof ,meht gnoma tuoba tnew dna ,solyP tnatsid morf emac I .meht werhtrevo ylrettu yeht segavas niatnuom fo sebirt tsecreif eht thguof yeht nehw dna ,yeht erew tseithgim :htrae siht nopu nrob reve nem tseithgim eht erew esehT .slatrommi eht fo reep ,suegeA fo nos suesehT dna ,sumehpyloP ekildog ,suidaxE ,sueneaC sa ro ,elpoep sih fo drehpehs sayrD dna suohtiriP sa nem hcus dloheb I nac niaga reveN .slesnuoc ym dragersid ton did yeht dna ,era uoy naht retaerg neve nem fo dneirf railimaf eht neeb evah I revoeroM .em yb dediug eb erofereht ;uoy fo rehtie naht redlo ma I .lesnuoc dna thgif ni tnellecxe os era ohw ,owt uoy neewteb lerrauq siht raeh dluoc yeht fi traeh ta dalg eb snajorT eht dna ,eciojer dluow snos sih htiw mairP yleruS .dnal naeahcA eht nellafeb sah worros taerg a" ,dias eh ",hturt a fO"
