| William Shakespeare (1564–1616). The Oxford Shakespeare. 1914. | | | |
| Troilus and Cressida | | | | Act V. Scene VIII. |
| | Another Part of the Plains. | |
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Enter HECTOR. | |
| Hect. Most putrefied core, so fair without, | |
| Thy goodly armour thus hath cost thy life. | |
| Now is my day’s work done; I’ll take good breath: | 5 |
| Rest, sword; thou hast thy fill of blood and death. [Puts off his helmet, and hangs his shield behind him. | |
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Enter ACHILLES and Myrmidons. | |
| Achil. Look, Hector, how the sun begins to set; | |
| How ugly night comes breathing at his heels: | |
| Even with the vail and darking of the sun, | 10 |
| To close the day up, Hector’s life is done. | |
| Hect. I am unarm’d; forego this vantage, Greek. | |
| Achil. Strike, fellows, strike! this is the man I seek. [HECTOR falls. | |
| So, Ilion, fall thou next! now, Troy, sink down! | |
| Here lies thy heart, thy sinews, and thy bone. | 15 |
| On! Myrmidons, and cry you all amain, | |
| ‘Achilles hath the mighty Hector slain.’— [A retreat sounded. | |
| Hark! a retreat upon our Grecian part. | |
| Myr. The Trojan trumpets sound the like, my lord. | |
| Achil. The dragon wing of night o’erspreads the earth, | 20 |
| And, stickler-like, the armies separates. | |
| My half-supp’d sword, that frankly would have fed, | |
| Pleas’d with this dainty bait, thus goes to bed.— [Sheathes his sword. | |
| Come, tie his body to my horse’s tail; | |
| Along the field I will the Trojan trail. [Exeunt. | 25 | | |
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