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LXII.
Pond'ring the Deities in Silence sat,
Hard was[1] the Task, the desp'rate Field to win;
Nor Prophet Phœbus[2] open'd the Debate,
Nor sage Minerva[3] ventur'd to begin.
615 At length impatient Mars disclos'd his Mind,
Spoiler of Cities, stain'd with human Gore,
Scarcely so loud[4] three thousand Warriors join'd,
Or shout when Fighting, or when wounded roar.
Thus from his brazen Chest the Murd'rer spoke,
620 Whilst rattling with his Voice, th' extended Welkin shook.
Pond'ring the Deities in Silence sat,
Hard was[1] the Task, the desp'rate Field to win;
Nor Prophet Phœbus[2] open'd the Debate,
Nor sage Minerva[3] ventur'd to begin.
615 At length impatient Mars disclos'd his Mind,
Spoiler of Cities, stain'd with human Gore,
Scarcely so loud[4] three thousand Warriors join'd,
Or shout when Fighting, or when wounded roar.
Thus from his brazen Chest the Murd'rer spoke,
620 Whilst rattling with his Voice, th' extended Welkin shook.
- ↑ v. 612. Hard was.] Neptune, in Il. 13. supposes the Assistance of Jupiter himself might be useless to the Trojans; and no wonder therefore if it might be ineffectual to have the Succour of any inferior Divinities.
- ↑ v. 613. Nor Prophet Phœbus.] Apollo being nothing but Destiny, ought not to side with either Part before Jupiter declares himself.
- ↑ v. 614. Nor sage Minerva.] It is agreeable also to the Character of Wisdom to hear others speak first.
- ↑ v. 618. Scarcely so loud.] This Hyperbole, strong as it is, yet is not extravagant. The Voice is not Human, but that of a Deity; and the Comparison being taken from an Army, renders it more natural with respect to the God of War. So Polyphemus, a mere Mortal, shook the whole Isle of Sicily with his Cries.
LXIII.
