Togail na Tebe = The Thebiad of Statius : the Irish text

;THE THEBAIDafter a rough snedding, and excellent lethal arrows from yellowsteel-tipped bows. They used to sing together fche praise ofHercules whilst advancing on the way as allies of Hippomedon.And bands for conflict came from the woods of Nemea, and thefollowing of Molorchus from the branching woods of Cleonae inthe company of that high-spirited horseman, Hippomedon.The allies of Hippomedon are those.Thereafter uprose the strong contemptuous man, to wit,Capaneus ; and he used to carry his shoulders above thebattalions on both sides, and he seized his great warlike shieldcompacted together of four bull-hides and well engraved withimages of serpents, toads, and all other monsters of the earth,so that the body of that hero was protected from sole to crownand he donned his thread-knotted, plaited, hooked corslet abovethe under-parts of his raiment, and that battle-soldier put hisengraved gleaming helmet on his head, and he took in his handhis thick-shafted equally balanced spear which no other man onearth could lift save only the brave heroic king, to wit, Capaneus.And as allies of that king came the inhabitants of the city ofAmphigenia, the spirited soldiers of Messene, the war veteransof the city of Ithome, the daring mighty men of the city ofThryon, the assemblies of Aepy, the well-known hosts of Helos,the excellent men of Pteleon, and troops of a fine army fromDorion.The muster of Capaneus son of Tarsis thus far.Then, moreover, uprose the noble king and priest, to wit,Amphiaraus, to the sack of Thebes ;and though he went thither,he knew every evil that could thence arise to himself and everyone else ; and not willingly did he go thither but throughpersuasion of necessity ; for Amphiaraus had hidden him[self]for dread of the Theban war, and no human being knew wherehe was save his own wife. And when they were seeking him,Eriphyle said to Argia ": Give me," said she, " the necklace ofgold which thou hast, and I shallbetray to thee my spouse, towit, Amphiaraus ;for, he being absent, there is no profit in this95