To whom Eurypylus, discreet, replied.1000 Patroclus, dear to Jove! there is no help, No remedy. We perish at our ships. The warriors, once most strenuous of the Greeks, Lie wounded in the fleet by foes whose might Increases ever. But thyself afford1005 To me some succor; lead me to my ship; Cut forth the arrow from my thigh; the gore With warm ablution cleanse, and on the wound Smooth unguents spread, the same as by report Achilles taught thee; taught, himself, their use1010 By Chiron, Centaur, justest of his kind For Podalirius and Machaon both Are occupied. Machaon, as I judge, Lies wounded in his tent, needing like aid Himself, and Podalirius in the field1015 Maintains sharp conflict with the sons of Troy. To whom Menœtius’ gallant son replied. Hero! Eurypylus! how shall we act In this perplexity? what course pursue? I seek the brave Achilles, to whose ear1020 I bear a message from the ancient chief Gerenian Nestor, guardian of the Greeks. Yet will I not, even for such a cause, My friend! abandon thee in thy distress. He ended, and his arms folding around1025 The warrior bore him thence into his tent. His servant, on his entrance, spread the floor With hides, on which Patroclus at his length Extended him, and with his knife cut forth The rankling point; with tepid lotion, next,1030 He cleansed the gore, and with a bitter root Bruised small between his palms, sprinkled the wound. At once, the anodyne his pain assuaged, The wound was dried within, and the blood ceased. It will be well here to observe the position of the Greeks. All human aid is cut off by the wounds of their heroes, and all assistance from the Gods forbidden by Jupiter. On the contrary, the Trojans see their general at their head, and Jupiter himself fights on their side. Upon this hinge turns the whole poem. The distress of the Greeks occasions first the assistance of Patroclus, and then the death of that hero brings back Achilles. The poet shows great skill in conducting these incidents. He gives Achilles the pleasure of seeing that the Greeks could not carry on the war without his assistance, and upon this depends the great catastrophe of the poem. BOOK XII. ARGUMENT OF THE TWELFTH BOOK. The Trojans assail the ramparts, and Hector forces the gates. BOOK XII.