Alas! what skills it man to trust in Gods compelled to good? For lo, Cassandra, Priam's maid, with hair cast all about, From Pallas' house and innermost of holy place dragged out, And straining with her burning eyes in vain to heaven aloft; Her eyes, for they in bonds had bound her tender palms and soft. Nought bore Coroebus' maddened mind to see that show go by, And in the middle of their host he flung himself to die, And all we follow and fall on with points together set. And first from that high temple-top great overthrow we get 410 From weapons of our friends, and thence doth hapless death arise From error of the Greekish crests and armour's Greekish guise; Then crying out for taken maid, fulfilled thereat with wrath, The gathered Greeks fall in on us: comes keenest Ajax forth; The sons of Atreus, all the host of Dolopes are there:-- As whiles, the knit whirl broken up, the winds together bear And strive, the West wind and the South, the East wind glad and free With Eastland steeds; sore groan the woods; and Nereus stirs the sea From lowest deeps, and trident shakes, and foams upon the wave:-- They even to whom by night and cloud great overthrow we gave, 420 Through craft of ours, and drave about through all the town that while, Now show themselves, and know our shields and weapons worn for guile The first of all; our mouths unmeet for Greekish speech they tell Then o'er us sweeps the multitude; and first Coroebus fell By Peneleus before the Maid who ever in the fight Prevaileth most; fell Rhipeus there, the heedfullest of right Of all among the Teucrian folk, the justest man of men; The Gods deemed otherwise. Dymas and Hypanis died then, Shot through by friends, and not a whit availed to cover thee, O Panthus, thine Apollo's bands or plenteous piety. 430 Ashes of Ilium, ye last flames where my beloved ones burned, Bear witness mid your overthrow my face was never turned From Danaan steel and Danaan deed! if fate had willed it so That I should fall, I earned my wage. Borne thence away, we go Pelias and Iphitus and I; but Iphitus was spent By eld, and by Ulysses' hurt half halting Pelias went. So unto Priam's house we come, called by the clamour there, Where such a mighty battle was as though none otherwhere Yet burned: as though none others fell in all the town beside. There all unbridled Mars we saw, the Danaans driving wide 440 Against the house; with shield-roofs' rush the doors thereof beset. The ladders cling unto the walls, men by the door-posts get Some foothold up; with shielded left they meet the weapons' rain, While on the battlements above grip with the right they gain. The Dardans on the other side pluck roof and pinnacle