Read both versions of the passage and choose the one you prefer.
Translator names will be revealed after you vote.
Book 9, Lines 410–416
Achilles Weighs His Two Fates
A
Mother tells me,
the immortal goddess Thetis with her glistening feet,
that two fates bear me on to the day of death.
If I hold out here and I lay siege to Troy,
my journey home is gone, but my glory never dies.
If I voyage back to the fatherland I love,
my pride, my glory dies ...
true, but the life that's left me will be long,
the stroke of death will not come on me quickly.
B
Thetis, my goddess mother, has declared
That o'er me double destinies impend:
That should I at the siege of Troy remain
Immortal glory will my portion be,
But never shall I see my home again.
But, on the other hand, should I return.
Glory I lose, but length of days is mine.