honour a god. Hector, too, thou mayest slay, for he will come near thee in his madness, for he deems that there is not a man of all the Greeks that can stand against him."
To him Achilles, fleet of foot, made answer: "Son of Laertes, plain shall be my speech, setting forth my thought and the steadfast purpose of my heart; for I would not have you sit before me, seeking to coax me, one man this way and another another. As for the man that hideth one thing in his heart, and speaketh another with his lips, I hate him as I hate the gates of death. Tell me, why should a man do battle without ceasing with the foe? Surely it is a thankless work, for he that abideth at home hath equal share with him that ceaseth not from battle, and the coward hath like honour with the brave, and death cometh with equal foot to him that toileth not and to him that ceaseth not from toil. No profit have I had for all the tribulation that I have endured, ever staking my life in the battle. For even as a bird carrieth morsels to her unfledged brood, but herself fareth ill, so passed I many sleepless nights, and fought for many toil-
