Verse

Iliad

Book 16, Line 734 by Samuel Butler (English)

with a spear in his left hand, and in his right a jagged stone as large as his hand could hold. He stood still and threw it, nor did it go far without hitting some one; the cast was not in vain, for the stone struck Kebriones, Hektor's charioteer, a bastard son of Priam, as he held the reins in his hands. The stone hit him on the forehead and drove his brows into his head for the bone was smashed, and his eyes fell to the ground at his feet. He dropped dead from his chariot as though he were diving, and there was no more life left in him. Over him did you then vaunt, O horseman Patroklos, saying, "Bless my heart, how active he is, and how well he dives. If we had been at sea [ pontos ] this man would have dived from the ship's side and brought up as many oysters as the whole crew could stomach, even in rough water, for he has dived beautifully off his chariot on to the ground. It seems, then, that there are divers also among the Trojans."

IliadBook 16, Line 734Samuel ButlerEnglishVerse permalinkRead in Book 16

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Samuel Butler's public-domain English prose Iliad via Perseus canonical TEI; prose segments are assigned to their source line span.