ὡς ἔφαθ' οἱ δ' ἄρα πάντες ἀκὴν ἐγένοντο σιωπῇ:
τοῖσι δὲ καὶ μετέειπε βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Μενέλαος:
κέκλυτε νῦν καὶ ἐμεῖο: μάλιστα γὰρ ἄλγος ἱ̈κάνει
θυμὸν ἐμόν: φρονέω δὲ διακρινθήμεναι ἤδη
Ἀργείους καὶ Τρῶας, ἐπεὶ κακὰ πολλὰ πέποσθεπέπασθε
εἵνεκ' ἐμῆς ἔριδος. καὶ Ἀλεξάνδρου ἕνεκ' ἀρχῆς:
ἡμέων δ' ὁπποτέρῳ θάνατος καὶ μοῖρα τέτυκται:
τεθναίη. ἄλλοι δὲ διακρινθεῖτε τάχιστα:
οἴσετε δ' ἄρν': ἕτερον λευκόν. ἑτέρην δὲ μέλαιναν
Γῇ τε καὶ Ἠελίῳ: Διῒ δ' ἡμεῖς οἴσομεν ἄλλον:
ἄξετε δὲ Πριάμοιο βίην, ὄφρ' ὅρκια τάμνῃ
αὐτὸς. ἐπεί οἱ παῖδες ὑπερφίαλοι καὶ ἄπιστοι:
μή τις ὑπερβασίῃ Διὸς ὅρκια δηλήσηται:
αἰεὶ δ' ὁπλοτέρων ἀνδρῶν φρένες ἠερέθονται:
οἷς δ' ὁ γέρων μετέῃσιν. ἅμα πρόσσὼ καὶ ὀπίσσω
λεύσσει ὅπως όχ' ἄριστα μετ ἀμφοτέροισι γένηται
So spake he, and they all became hushed in silence; and among them spake Menelaus, good at the war-cry: "Hearken ye now also unto me, for upon my heart above all others hath sorrow come; my mind is that Argives and Trojans now be parted, seeing ye have suffered many woes because of my quarrel and Alexander's beginning thereof. And for whichsoever of us twain death and fate are appointed, let him lie dead; but be ye others parted with all speed. Bring ye two lambs, a white ram and a black ewe, for Earth and Sun, and for Zeus we will bring another; and fetch ye hither the mighty Priam, that he may himself swear an oath with sacrifice, seeing that his sons are over-weening and faithless; lest any by presumptuous act should do violence to the oaths of Zeus. Ever unstable are the hearts of the young; but in whatsoever an old man taketh part, he looketh both before and after, that the issue may be far the best for either side."
