τοῖσι δὲ καὶ μετέειπε βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης:
ἐγγὺς ἀνὴρ. οὗ δηθὰ μαντεύσομεν: αί κ' εθέλητε
πείθεσθαι, καὶ μή τι κότῳ ἀγάσησθε ἕκαστος
οὕνεκα δὴ γενεῆφι, νεώτατος εἰμὶ μεθ' ὑμῖν:
πατρὸς δ' ἐξ αγαθοῦ καὶ ἐγὼ γένος εὔχομαι εἶναι
Τυδέος. ὃν Θήβῃσι χυτὴ κατὰ γαῖα καλύπτει:
Πορθεῖ: γὰρ, τρεῖς παῖδες ἀμύμονες ἐξεγένοντο:
ᾤκεον δ' ἐν Πλευρῶνι καὶ αἰπεινῇ Καλυδῶνι:
Ἄγριος, ἠ δε Μέλας. τρίτατος δ' ἦν ἱππότα Οἰνεὺς
πατρὸς ἐμοῖο πατήρ. ἀρετῇ δ' ἦν ἔξοχος αὐτῶν:
ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν αὐτόθι μεῖνε. πατὴρ δ' ἐμὸς Ἄργεϊ νάσθη
πλαγχθεὶς, ὣς γάρ που Ζεὺς ἤθελε καὶ θεοὶ ἄλλοι:
Ἀδρήστοιο δ' ἔγημε θυγατρῶν: ναῖε δὲ δῶμα
ἀφνειὸν βιότοιο, άλις δέ οἱ ῆσαν άρουραι
πυροφόροι. πολλοὶ δὲ φυτῶν έσαν ὄρχατοι ἀμφίς:
πολλὰ δέ οἱ πρόβατ' έσκε, κέκαστο δὲ πάντας Ἀχαιοὺς
ἐγχείῃ. τὰ δὲ μέλλετ' ἀκουέμεν. ὡς ἐτεόν περ:
τῶ οὐκ άν με, γένος γε κακὸν καὶ ἀνάλκιδα φάντες.
μῦθον ἀτιμήσαιτε πεφασμένον. ὅν κ' εὖ εἴπω:
δεῦτ' ΐομεν πόλεμον δὲ. καὶ οὐτάμενοί περ, ἀνάγκῃ:
ἔνθα δ' ἔπειτ'. αὐτοὶ μὲν ἐχώμεθα δηϊοτῆτος
ἐκ βελέων. μή που τις ἐφ' ἕλκεϊ ἕλκος ἄρηται.
ἄλλους δ' ὀτρύνοντες ἐν ἥσομεν, οἳ τὸ πάρος περ
θυμῷ ῆρα φέροντες ἀφεστᾶς' οὐδὲ μάχονται:
ὡς εἰπὼν, μέγ' ἄϋσεν ἐπεσσύμενος πεδίοιο:
Then among them spake also Diomedes, good at the war-cry: "Near by is that man; not long shall we seek him, if so be ye are minded to give ear, and be no wise vexed and wroth, each one of you, for that in years I am the youngest among you. Nay, but of a goodly father do I too declare that I am come by lineage, even of Tydeus, whom in Thebe the heaped-up earth covereth. For to Portheus were born three peerless sons, and they dwelt in Pleuron and steep Calydon, even Agrius and Melas, and the third was the horseman Oeneus, that was father to my father, and in valour was pre-eminent among them. He verily abode there, but my father went wandering to Argos, and there was settled, for so I ween was the will of Zeus and the other gods. And he wedded one of the daughters of Adrastus, and dwelt in a house rich in substance, and abundance was his of wheat-bearing fields, and many orchards of trees round about, and withal many sheep; and with his spear he excelled all the Argives. Of these things it must be that ye have heard, whether I speak sooth. Wherefore ye shall not say that by lineage I am a coward and a weakling, and so despise my spoken counsel, whatsoever I may speak aright. Come, let us go down to the battle, wounded though we be, since needs we must. Thereafter will we hold ourselves aloof from the fight, beyond the range of missiles, lest haply any take wound on wound; but the others will we spur on and send into battle, even them that hitherto have done pleasure to their resentment, and that stand aloof and fight not."
