Page 333 - the-iliad

richest man among the Myrmidons. Glaucus turned round
suddenly, just as Bathycles who was pursuing him was about
to lay hold of him, and drove his spear right into the middle
of his chest, whereon he fell heavily to the ground, and the
fall of so good a man filled the Achaeans with dismay, while
the Trojans were exultant, and came up in a body round the
corpse. Nevertheless the Achaeans, mindful of their prow-
ess, bore straight down upon them.
Meriones then killed a helmed warrior of the Trojans,
Laogonus son of Onetor, who was priest of Jove of Mt. Ida,
and was honoured by the people as though he were a god.
Meriones struck him under the jaw and ear, so that life went
out of him and the darkness of death laid hold upon him.
Aeneas then aimed a spear at Meriones, hoping to hit him
under the shield as he was advancing, but Meriones saw it
coming and stooped forward to avoid it, whereon the spear
flew past him and the point stuck in the ground, while the
butt-end went on quivering till Mars robbed it of its force.
The spear, therefore, sped from Aeneas’s hand in vain and
fell quivering to the ground. Aeneas was angry and said,
‘Meriones, you are a good dancer, but if I had hit you my
spear would soon have made an end of you.’
And Meriones answered, ‘Aeneas, for all your bravery,
you will not be able to make an end of every one who comes
against you. You are only a mortal like myself, and if I were
to hit you in the middle of your shield with my spear, how-
ever strong and self-confident you may be, I should soon
vanquish you, and you would yield your life to Hades of the
noble steeds.’

The Iliad