Page:Homer - Iliad, translation Pope, 1909.djvu/428

A massy spear amid the circle placed,
And ample charger of unsullied frame,
With flowers high wrought, not blackened yet by flame.
For these he bids the heroes prove their art,
Whose dexterous skill directs the flying dart.
Here too great Merion hopes the noble prize;
Nor here disdained the king of men to rise.
With joy Pelides saw the honour paid,
Rose to the monarch, and respectful said:
"Thee first in virtue, as in power supreme,
O king of nations I all thy Greeks proclaim;
In every martial game thy worth attest,
And know thee both their greatest and their best;
Take then the prize, but let brave Merion bear
This beamy javelin in thy brother's war."
Pleased from the hero's lips his praise to hear,
The king to Merion gives the brazen spear;
But, set apart for sacred use, commands
The glittering charger to Talthybius' hands.