αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ τάρπημεν ἐδητύος ἠδὲ ποτῆτος:
ἦρχον ἐγὼ μύθοιο κελεύων ὔμμ' ἅμ' ἕπεσθαι:
σφὼ δὲ μάλ' ἠθέλετον: τὼ δ' ἄμφω πὸλλ' ἐπέτελλον:
Πηλεὺς μὲν ᾧ παιδὶ γέρων ἐπέτελλ' Ἀχιλῆϊ
αἰὲν ἀριστεύειν καὶ ὑπείροχον ἔμμεναι ἄλλων:
σοὶ δ' αὖθ' ᾧδ' ἐπέτελλε Μενοίτιος Ἄκτορος υἱός:
τέκνον ἐμὸν: γενεῇ μὲν ὑπέρτερός ἐστιν Ἀχιλλεύς:
πρεσβύτερος δὲ σύ ἐσσι: βίῃ δ' ὅ γε πολλὸν ἀμείνων:
ἂλλ' εὖ, οἱ, φᾶσθαι πυκινὸν ἔπος ἠδ' ὑποθέσθαι.
καί οἱ, σημαίνειν: ὁ δὲ πείσεται εἰς ἀγαθόν περ:
ὡς ἐπέτελλ' ὁ γέρων: σὺ δὲ λήθεαι: ἀλλ' έτι καὶ νῦν
ταῦτ' εἴποις Ἀχιλῆϊ δαΐφρονι αί κε πίθηται:
τίς δ' οἶδ' εἴ κέν οἱ, σὺν δαίμονι θυμὸν ὀρίναις
παρειπὼν. ἀγαθὴ δὲ παραίφασίς ἐστιν ἑταίρου:
εἰ δέ τινα φρεσὶν, ᾗσι θεοπροπίην ἀλεείνει.
καί τινά οἱ, παρ Ζηνὸς ἐπέφραδε πότνια μήτηρ.
ἀλλὰ σέ περ προέτω: ἅμα δ' ἄλλος λαὸς ἑπέσθω
Μυρμιδόνων. αἴ κέν τι φόως Δαναοῖσι γένηαι:
καί τοι τεύχεα καλὰ δότω πόλεμον δὲ φέρεσθαι.
αἴ κέ σε τῷ ἴ̈σκοντες ἀπόσχωνται πολέμοιο
Τρῶες. ἀναπνεύσωσι δ' ἀρήϊοι υἷες Ἀχαιῶν
τειρόμενοι: ὀλίγη δέ τ' ἀνάπνευσις πολέμοιο:
ῥεῖα δέ κ' ἀκμῆτες κεκμηῶτας ἄνδρας. ἀϋτῇ
ὤσεσθε προτὶ ἄστυ νεῶν ἄπο καὶ κλισιάων:
"But when we had had our fill of food and drink, I was first to speak, and bade you follow with us; and ye were both right eager, and those twain laid on you many commands. Old Peleus bade his son Achilles ever be bravest, and pre-eminent above all, but to thee did Menoetius, son of Actor, thus give command: ‘My child, in birth is Achilles nobler than thou, but thou art the elder though in might he is the better far. Yet do thou speak to him well a word of wisdom and give him counsel, and direct him; and he will obey thee to his profit.’ Thus did the old man charge thee, but thou forgettest. Yet even now at the last do thou speak thus to wise-hearted Achilles, if so be he may hearken. Who knows but that heaven helping thou mightest rouse his spirit with thy persuading? A good thing is the persuasion of a friend. But if in his heart he is shunning some oracle and his queenly mother hath declared to him aught from Zeus, yet let him send thee forth, and with thee let the rest of the host of the Myrmidons follow, if so be thou mayest prove a light of deliverance to the Danaans; and let him give thee his fair armour to bear into the war, in hope that the Trojans may take thee for him, and so hold aloof from battle, and the warlike sons of the Achaeans may take breath, wearied though they be; for scant is the breathing-space in battle. And lightly might ye that are unwearied drive men that are wearied with battle back toward the city from the ships and the huts."
