Page 424 - the-iliad

But the mighty god ceased not in his pursuit, and sprang
upon him with a dark-crested wave, to stay his hands and
save the Trojans from destruction. The son of Peleus dart-
ed away a spear’s throw from him; swift as the swoop of a
black hunter-eagle which is the strongest and fleetest of all
birds, even so did he spring forward, and the armour rang
loudly about his breast. He fled on in front, but the river
with a loud roar came tearing after. As one who would wa-
ter his garden leads a stream from some fountain over his
plants, and all his ground-spade in hand he clears away the
dams to free the channels, and the little stones run rolling
round and round with the water as it goes merrily down the
bank faster than the man can follow—even so did the river
keep catching up with Achilles albeit he was a fleet runner,
for the gods are stronger than men. As often as he would
strive to stand his ground, and see whether or no all the
gods in heaven were in league against him, so often would
the mighty wave come beating down upon his shoulders,
and be would have to keep flying on and on in great dismay;
for the angry flood was tiring him out as it flowed past him
and ate the ground from under his feet.
Then the son of Peleus lifted up his voice to heaven say-
ing, ‘Father Jove, is there none of the gods who will take pity
upon me, and save me from the river? I do not care what
may happen to me afterwards. I blame none of the other
dwellers on Olympus so severely as I do my dear moth-
er, who has beguiled and tricked me. She told me I was to
fall under the walls of Troy by the flying arrows of Apollo;
would that Hector, the best man among the Trojans, might