With Ilium’s sons—lurk never in the fleet— Yet saw I at no time, or have remark’d Steeds such as these; which therefore I believe Perforce, that ye have gained by gift divine; For cloud-assembler Jove, and azure-eyed655 Minerva, Jove’s own daughter, love you both. To whom Ulysses, thus, discreet, replied. Neleian Nestor, glory of the Greeks! A God, so willing, could have given us steeds Superior, for their bounty knows no bounds.660 But, venerable Chief! these which thou seest Are Thracians new-arrived. Their master lies Slain by the valiant Diomede, with twelve The noblest of his warriors at his side, A thirteenth[20] also, at small distance hence665 We slew, by Hector and the Chiefs of Troy Sent to inspect the posture of our host. He said; then, high in exultation, drove The coursers o’er the trench, and with him pass’d The glad Achaians; at the spacious tent670 Of Diomede arrived, with even thongs They tied them at the cribs where stood the steeds Of Tydeus’ son, with winnow’d wheat supplied. Ulysses in his bark the gory spoils Of Dolon placed, designing them a gift675 To Pallas. Then, descending to the sea, Neck, thighs, and legs from sweat profuse they cleansed, And, so refresh’d and purified, their last Ablution in bright tepid baths perform’d. Each thus completely laved, and with smooth oil680 Anointed, at the well-spread board they sat, And quaff’d, in honor of Minerva, wine Delicious, from the brimming beaker drawn. The vividness of the scenes presented to us in this Book constitute its chief beauty. The reader sees the most natural night-scene in the world. He is led step by step with the adventurers, and made the companion of all their expectations and uncertainties. We see the very color of the sky; know the time to a minute; are impatient while the heroes are arming; our imagination follows them, knows all their doubts, and even the secret wishes of their hearts sent up to Minerva. We are alarmed at the approach of Dolon, hear his very footsteps, assist the two chiefs in pursuing him, and stop just with the spear that arrests him. We are perfectly acquainted with the situation of all the forces, with the figure in which they lie, with the disposition of Rhesus and the Thracians, with the posture of his chariot and horses. The marshy spot of ground where Dolon is killed, the tamarisk, or aquatic plant upon which they hung his spoils, and the reeds that are heaped together to mark the place, are circumstances the most picturesque imaginable. BOOK XI. ARGUMENT OF THE ELEVENTH BOOK.