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in fear for his life. Hector on this, seeing him to be wounded and
giving ground, forced his way through the ranks, and when close up
with him struck him in the lower part of the belly with a spear, driving
the bronze point right through it, so that he fell heavily to the
ground to the great of the Achaeans. As when a lion has fought some
fierce wild-­‐boar and worsted him-­‐ the two fight furiously upon the
mountains over some little fountain at which they would both drink,
and the lion has beaten the boar till he can hardly breathe-­‐ even
so did Hector son of Priam take the life of the brave son of Menoetius
who had killed so many, striking him from close at hand, and vaunting
over him the while. "Patroclus," said he, "you deemed that you should
sack our city, rob our Trojan women of their freedom, and carry them
off in your ships to your own country. Fool; Hector and his fleet
horses were ever straining their utmost to defend them. I am foremost
of all the Trojan warriors to stave the day of bondage from off them;
as for you, vultures shall devour you here. Poor wretch, Achilles
with all his bravery availed you nothing; and yet I ween when you
left him he charged you straitly saying, 'Come not back to the ships,
knight Patroclus, till you have rent the bloodstained shirt of murderous
Hector about his body. Thus I ween did he charge you, and your fool's
heart answered him 'yea' within you."
Then, as the life ebbed out of you, you answered, O knight Patroclus:
"Hector, vaunt as you will, for Jove the son of Saturn and Apollo
have vouchsafed you victory; it is they who have vanquished me so
easily, and they who have stripped the armour from my shoulders; had
twenty such men as you attacked me, all of them would have fallen
before my spear. Fate and the son of Leto have overpowered me, and