All joined, and thou of many wert but one; I asked no friend, nor had, but him alone; Who, had he not been well assured, that art And conduct were of war the better part, And more availed than strength, my valiant friend Had urged a better right, than Ajax can pretend; As good, at least, Eurypylus may claim, And the more moderate Ajax of the name; The Cretan king, and his brave charioteer, And Menelaus, bold with sword and spear: All these had been my rivals in the shield, And yet all these to my pretensions yield. Thy boisterous hands are then of use, when I With this directing head those hands apply. Brawn without brain is thine; my prudent care Foresees, provides, administers the war: Thy province is to fight; but when shall be The time to fight, the king consults with me. No drachm of judgment with thy force is joined; Thy body is of profit, and my mind. But, how much more the ship her safety owes To him who steers, than him that only rows; By how much more the captain merits praise Than he who fights, and, fighting, but obeys; By so much greater is my worth than thine, Who canst but execute what I design. What gain'st thou, brutal man, if I confess Thy strength superior, when thy wit is less? Mind is the man; I claim my whole desert From the mind's vigour, and the immortal part. But you, O Grecian chiefs, reward my care, Be grateful to your watchman of the war; For all my labours in so long a space, Sure I may plead a title to your grace. Enter the town; I then unbarred the gates, When I removed their tutelary fates. By all our common hopes, if hopes they be, Which I have now reduced to certainty; By falling Troy, by yonder tottering towers, And by their taken gods, which now are ours; Or, if there yet a farther task remains, To be performed by prudence or by pains; If yet some desperate action rests behind, That asks high conduct, and a dauntless mind; If aught be wanting to the Trojan doom, Which none but I can manage and o'ercome; Award those arms I ask, by your decree; Or give to this what you refuse to me. He ceased, and, ceasing, with respect he bowed, And with his hand at once the fatal statue shewed. Heaven, air, and ocean rung, with loud applause, And by the general vote he gained his cause. Thus conduct won the prize, when courage failed, And eloquence o'er brutal force prevailed. THE DEATH OF AJAX.