Iliad

he knows the precise moment at which to pull the rein, and keeps his eye well on the man in front of him. I will give you this certain sign [ sêma ] which cannot escape your notice. There is a stump of a dead tree-oak or pine as it may be - some six feet above the ground, and not yet rotted away by rain; it stands at the fork of the road; it has two white stones set one on each side, and there is a clear course all round it. It may have been a tomb [ sêma ] of someone who died long ago, or it may have been used as a turning-post in days gone by; now, however, it has been fixed on by Achilles as the mark [ terma ] round which the chariots shall turn; hug it as close as you can, but as you stand in your chariot lean over a little to the left; urge on your right-hand horse with voice and lash, and give him a loose rein, but let the left-hand horse keep so close in, that the nave of your wheel shall almost graze the post; but mind the stone, or you will wound your horses and break your chariot in pieces, which would be sport for others but confusion for yourself. Therefore, my dear son, mind well what you are about, for if you can be first to round the post there is no chance of any one giving you the go-by later, not even though you had Adrastos' horse Arion behind you horse which is of divine race - or those of Laomedon, which are the noblest in this country."

IliadBook 23, Line 324Samuel ButlerEnglishVerse permalinkRead in Book 23

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