Thus they remained that night, but early in the morning they arose, and
repaired to the Ford of Combat. "What weapons shall we turn to to-day,
O Ferdia?" said Cuchulain. "Thou hast the choice of weapons until the
night," answered Ferdia, "because it is I who had my choice of them in
the day that is past." "Let us then," said Cuchulain, "resort to our
great, broad-bladed, heavy spears this day, for nearer shall we be to
our battle by the thrusting of our spears this day than we were by the
throwing weapons of yesterday: let our horses be harnessed for us, and
our chariots yoked, that upon this day from our chariots and our horses
we may fight." "Let us turn to these indeed," said Ferdia. They then
took to them two exceedingly stout, broad shields, and they resorted to
their great, broad-bladed, heavy spears that day. And each of them
continued to thrust at, and to pierce through, and to redden, and to
tear the body of the other from the dawn of the morning until the ninth
hour of the evening; and if it were the custom for birds in their
flight to pass through the bodies of men, they could have passed
through the bodies of those warriors that day, carrying with them
pieces of their flesh from their wounds into the clouds and to the sky
around them. So when the ninth hour of the evening was come, the
horses were weary, and the charioteers were weak; and they themselves,
champions and heroes of valour as they were, had themselves become
weary; and "Let us cease now from this, O Ferdia!" said Cuchulain, "for
our horses are weary, and our charioteers are weak; and now that these
are weary, why should not we be weary too?" and then it was that he
sang this stave:
Not like Fomorians, men of the sea,
Stubborn, unending our struggle should be;
Now that the clamour of combat must cease,
Quarrels forget, and between us be peace.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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