But to Idomeneus and Atreus' son Spake Nestor apart, and willingly they heard: "Friends, a great woe and unendurable This day the careless Gods have laid on us, In that into this lamentable strife Aias the mighty hath been thrust by them Against Odysseus passing-wise. For he, To whichsoe'er God gives the victor's glory-- O yea, he shall rejoice! But he that loseth-- All for the grief in all the Danaans' hearts For him! And ours shall be the deepest grief Of all; for that man will not in the war Stand by us as of old. A sorrowful day It shall be for us, whichsoe'er of these Shall break into fierce anger, seeing they Are of our heroes chiefest, this in war, And that in counsel. Hearken then to me, Seeing that I am older far than ye, Not by a few years only: with mine age Is prudence joined, for I have suffered and wrought Much; and in counsel ever the old man, Who knoweth much, excelleth younger men. Therefore let us ordain to judge this cause 'Twixt godlike Aias and war-fain Odysseus, Our Trojan captives. They shall say whom most Our foes dread, and who saved Peleides' corse From that most deadly fight. Lo, in our midst Be many spear-won Trojans, thralls of Fate; And these will pass true judgment on these twain, To neither showing favour, since they hate Alike all authors of their misery." He spake: replied Agamemnon lord of spears: "Ancient, there is none other in our midst Wiser than thou, of Danaans young or old, In that thou say'st that unforgiving wrath Will burn in him to whom the Gods herein Deny the victory; for these which strive Are both our chiefest. Therefore mine heart too Is set on this, that to the thralls of war This judgment we commit: the loser then Shall against Troy devise his deadly work Of vengeance, and shall not be wroth with us."