“Great son of Tydeus, warrior brave and skill’d, My shaft, it seems, has fail’d to reach thy life; Try we then now what hap attends my spear.” He said; and, poising, hurl’d his pond’rous spear, And struck Tydides’ shield; right through the shield Drove the keen weapon, and the breastplate reach’d. Then shouted loud Lycaon’s noble son: “Thou hast it through the flank, nor canst thou long Survive the blow; great glory now is mine.” To whom, unmov’d, the valiant Diomed: “Thine aim hath failed, I am not touch’d; and now I deem we part not hence till one of ye Glut with his blood th’ insatiate Lord of War.” He said: the spear, by Pallas guided, struck Beside the nostril, underneath the eye; Crash’d thro’ the teeth, and cutting thro’ the tongue Beneath the angle of the jaw came forth: Down from the car he fell; and loudly rang His glitt’ring arms: aside the startled steeds Sprang devious: from his limbs the spirit fled. Down leap’d Æneas, spear and shield in hand, Against the Greeks to guard the valiant dead; And like a lion, fearless in his strength, Around the corpse he stalk’d, this way and that, His spear and buckler round before him held, To all who dar’d approach him threat’ning death, With fearful shouts; a rocky fragment then Tydides lifted up, a mighty mass, Which scarce two men could raise, as men are now: But he, unaided, lifted it with ease. With this he smote Æneas near the groin, Where the thigh-bone, inserted in the hip, Turns in the socket-joint; the rugged mass The socket crush’d, and both the tendons broke, And tore away the flesh: down on his knees, Yet resting on his hand, the hero fell; And o’er his eyes the shades of darkness spread. Then had Æneas, King of men, been slain, Had not his mother, Venus, child of Jove, Who to Anchises, where he fed his flocks, The hero bore, his peril quickly seen: Around her son she threw her snowy arms, And with a veil, thick-folded, wrapt him round, From hostile spears to guard him, lest some Greek Should pierce his breast, and rob him of his life. She from the battle thus her son removed; Nor did the son of Capaneus neglect The strict injunction by Tydides giv’n; His reins attaching to the chariot-rail, Far from the battle-din he check’d, and left, His own fleet steeds; then rushing forward, seiz’d, And from the Trojans tow’rd the camp drove off, The sleek-skinn’d horses of Æneas’ car. These to Deipylus, his chosen friend, He gave, of all his comrades best esteem’d, Of soundest judgment, tow’rd the ships to drive. Then, his own car remounting, seiz’d the reins, And urg’d with eager haste his fiery steeds, Seeking Tydides; he, meanwhile, press’d on In keen pursuit of Venus; her he knew A weak, unwarlike Goddess, not of those That like Bellona fierce, or Pallas, range Exulting through the blood-stain’d fields of war.