Page:The Story of the Iliad.djvu/219

Rh where he fought upon the right, pressing hard the Greeks, for there the wall was lowest, and the approach most easy. Yet there also did the defenders of the walls make a brave stand; for in the front around the Greater and the Lesser Ajax stood many mighty chiefs; and behind, the Locrians shot with their arrows. These had neither shield, nor spear, nor helmet; and it was not their custom to mingle in the press of battle. They came to Troy, trusting in their bows and slings of twisted wool, and with these they made havoc among the ranks of Troy, the warriors clad in bronze standing before and sheltering them. Then had the men of Troy fallen back from the ships in grievous disarray, but Polydamas said to Hector:— "O Hector, thou art ever loath to hear counsel from others. Yet think not that because thou art stronger than other men, therefore Zeus hath also made thee wiser. For truly he gives diverse gifts to diverse men—strength to one and counsel to another. Hear, then, my words. Thou seest that the Trojans keep not all together, for some stand aloof, while