In war or council, he should rather seek
To strengthen thy authority; yet now
I will declare what seems to me the best :
Let us not combat with the Greeks, to take
Their fleet; for this, I think, will be the end,
If now the omen we have seen be meant
For us of Troy who seek to cross the trench; -
This eagle, flying high upon the left,
Between the hosts, that in his talons bore
A monstrous serpent, bleeding, yet alive,
Hath dropped it mid our host before he came
To his dear nest, nor brought it to his brood;
So we, although by force we break the gates
And rampart, and although the Greeks fall back,
Shall not as happily retrace our way;
For many a Trojan shall we leave behind,
Slain by the weapons of the Greeks, who stand
And fight to save their fleet. Thus will the seer,
Skilled in the lore of prodigies, explain
The portent, and the people will obey.
They mustered in five columns, following close
Their leader. First, the largest, bravest band,
Those who, with resolute daring, longed to break
The rampart and to storm the fleet, were led
By Hector and the good Polydamas,
Joined with Cebriones, for Hector left
His chariot to the care of one who held
An humbler station than Cebriones.
Paris, Alcathous, and Agenor led
A second squadron. Helenus, a son
Of Priam, and Deiphobus, a youth
Of godlike form, his brother, took command
Of yet a third, with whom in rank was joined
The hero Asius, son of Hyrtacus,
Whose bright-haired coursers, of majestic size,
Had borne him from Arisba and the banks
Of Selleis. Eneas led the fourth, -
The brave son of Anchises; and with him
Were joined Archilochus and Acamas,
Sons of Antenor, skilled in arts of war.
The band of Troy's illustrious allies
Followed Sarpedon, who from all the rest
Had chosen, to partake in the command,
Glaucus and brave Asteropæus. These
He deemed the bravest under him; yet he
Stood foremost of them all in warlike might.
And thus King Priam supplicating spake :-
"Think of thy father, an old man like me,
Godlike Achilles! On the dreary verge
Of closing life he stands, and even now
Haply is fiercely pressed by those who dwell
Around him, and has none to shield his age
From war and its disasters. Yet his heart
Rejoices when he hears that thou dost live,
And every day he hopes that his dear son
Will come again from Troy. My lot is hard,
For I was father of the bravest sons
In all wide Troy, and none are left me now.
Fifty were with me when the men of Greece
Arrived upon our coast; nineteen of these
Owned the same mother, and the rest were born
Within my palaces. Remorseless Mars
Already had laid lifeless most of these,
And Hector, whom I cherished most, whose arm
Defended both our city and ourselves,
Him didst thou lately slay while combating
For his dear country. For his sake I come
To the Greek fleet, and to redeem his corse
I bring uncounted ransom. O, revere
The gods, Achilles, and be merciful,
Calling to mind thy father! happier he
Than I; for I have borne what no man else
That dwells on earth could bear, have laid my lips
Upon the hand of him who slew my son."
He spake Achilles sorrowfully thought
Of his own father. By the hand he took
The suppliant, and with gentle force removed
The old man from him. Both in memory
Of those they loved were weeping. The old king,
With many tears, and rolling in the dust
Before Achilles, mourned his gallant son.
Achilles sorrowed for his father's sake,
And then bewailed Patroclus, and the sound
Of lamentation filled the tent. At last
Achilles, when he felt his heart relieved
By tears, and that strong grief had spent its force,
Sprang from his seat; then. lifting by the hand
The aged man, and pitying his white head
And his white chin, he spake these winged words :-
"Great have thy sufferings been, unhappy king!
How couldst thou venture to approach alone
The Grecian fleet, and show thyself to him
Who slew so many of thy valiant sons?
An iron heart is thine. But seat thyself,
And let us, though afflicted grievously,
Allow our woes to sleep awhile, for grief
Indulged can bring no good. The gods ordain
The lot of man to suffer, while themselves
Are free from care. Beside Jove's threshold stand
Two casks of gifts for man. One cask contains
The evil, one the good, and he to whom
The Thunderer gives them mingled sometimes falls
Into misfortune, and is sometimes crowned
With blessings. But the man to whom he gives
The evil only stands a mark exposed
To wrong, and, chased by grim calamity,
Wanders the teaming earth, alike unloved
By gods and man. So did the gods bestow
Munificent gifts on Peleus from his birth,
For eminent was he among mankind
For wealth and plenty; o'er the Myrmidons
He ruled, and, though a mortal, he was given
A goddess for a wife. Yet did the gods
Add evil to the good, for not to him
Was born a family of kingly sons
Within his house, successors to reign.
One short-lived son is his, nor am I there
To cherish him in his old age; but here
Do I remain, far from my native land,
In Troy, and causing grief to thee and thine.
Of thee, too, aged king, they speak, as one
Whose wealth was large in former days, when all
That Lesbos, seat of Macar, owns was thine.
And all in Phrygia and the shores that bound
The Hellespont; men said thou didst excel
All others in thy riches and thy sons.
But since the gods have brought this strife on thee
War and perpetual slaughter of brave men
Will profit nought; it cannot bring the dead
To life again, and while thou dost afflict
Thyself for him fresh woes may fall on thee."
A part of recitation in which many fail is the reading of description. If one will make a careful study of the "phases" he will find that his reading will become more interesting to his audience, because of the variety that will manifest itself.
EXAMPLES OF LITERARY ANALYSIS.
A QUESTION of serious import to the student of literature and vocal expression often arises as to how far he may exercise his originality in interpretation. There is a very common error that the utmost liberty should be allowed in this direction. One often hears the remark that a teacher should not force any particular interpretation upon the student. Now, without following blindly the lead of any instructor in this regard, the student should appreciate the fact that there are certain indications to be found in all great literature of the exact intention of the author, and the discovery of this intention is a matter of scientific method. While it may be true that interpretations may vary, yet it must be conceded that an author had but one interpretation in mind, and has, in all probability, indicated it. To illustrate this, let us take a few examples.
For many years, as annals of the stage show us, Lady Macbeth was regarded as the leading figure in the conspiracy against the king. The attitude of the stage has changed in this direction of late, and we wonder why the former idea should have prevailed so long. The author is at special pains to show us the spirit that animated each of the leading characters in this play. Let us turn to the text, and examine it carefully. The point is to
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