Matheson Collection > Togail na Tebe

THE THEBAII)
cruel contentious heroes of that combat were the last posterity
of the same mother, and the acknowledged sons of the same
father, though they were angry with one another at that time.
Then the bold warlike king, to wit, Eteocles, directed his
shining sharp-edged spear at Polynices. Polynices planted his
shield against it, so that it rebounded as if from a rock. Polynices
brandished the thonged very long spear that was in his hand,
and said : " Gods of heaven," said he, " guide this cast, and I
shall sacrifice myself to you out of my kingdom after gaining
the victory over this hero." And when he had said that, he again
hurled from him the spear, so that that war spear shaft was a
beam that glittered from one flank to another of Eteocles' horse.
When the horse was wounded he sprung actively, and broke
his rein, and he began to gallop and to race madly, so that
every way he went was red and crimson with his blood. Polynices
rejoiced at that deed, and quickly urged his horse towards him,
so that the reins of the horses, the hands of the heroes, and the
weapons of the veterans fought together in one place. And
when they fought together, each of them threw his arm around
the other, so that they fell from their horses as they might have
fallen down a rock or because of insecurity. They arose forth-
with together, going roughly and harshly towards one another,
and they fought together without their horses. And such was
the closeness of their fight that there appeared no mark or
distinction between the men at that time, and their helmets
and swords were locked together, the hands of the heroes mingled
as they strongly slaughtered one another, like two raging lions,
or two strong emulous tigers, or two heroic venomous snakes.
Nay, each of them pierced and strongly wounded the other
there, so that the skin of each of them was a perforated sieve ;
and though the wounds there upon the veterans were many, no
terrible dangerous wounds w r ere exchanged from one of them to
the other during that time. Now not kind was the relationship
of those two brothers, for it was a lust with each of them to
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