Page:Aeneid (Conington 1866).djvu/172

148 But fortune, with malicious glee,

That baffled Salius, baffled me.'

And saying thus, his face he reared,

And showed his limbs with ordure smeared.

The good sire smiled, and bade be brought

A shield by Didymaon wrought,

A Danaan spoil, which erst he tore

From Grecian Neptune's temple door:

Then to the gallant youth presents

The guerdon, and his heart contents.

The foot-race done, the meeds assigned,

'Now for the prompt collected mind,

Stout heart, and watchful eye:

Stand forth, your wrists with gauntlets bind,

And lift your arms on high.'

He said, and for the boxing-fray

Two prizes he proposed:

A bull for him that wins the day,

Its horns with gold enclosed:

A shining helmet and a glaive

To reassure the beaten brave.

At once, gigantic, broad, and strong,

Amid the plaudits of the throng

Uprises Dares, who alone

With Paris' skill dared match his own:

Nay, at the tomb where Hector lies,

The champion Butes, vast of size,

Who plumed him on an athlete's breed

From Amycus' Bebrycian seed,

Fell, stricken by his conquering hand,

And gasped expiring on the sand.

Such Dares in the lists appears,

His lofty head defiant rears,

The compass of his shoulders shows,

His arms by turns before him throws,

And on the air expends his blows.