The Iliad 4.350–355

Son of Atreus, what a word hath escaped the barrier of thy teeth! How sayest thou that we are slack in battle, whenso we Achaeans rouse keen war against the horse-taming Trojans? Thou shalt see, if so be thou wilt and if thou carest aught therefor, the father of Telemachus mingling with the foremost fightersof the horse-taming Trojans. This that thou sayest is as empty wind. Then lord Agamemnon spake to him with a smile, when he knew that he was wroth, and took back his words: Zeus-born son of Laertes, Odysseus of many wiles, neither do I chide thee overmuch nor urge thee on,for I know that the heart in thy breast knoweth kindly thoughts, seeing thou art minded even as I am. Nay, come, these things will we make good hereafter, if any harsh word hath been spoken now; and may the gods make all to come to naught. So saying he left them there and went to others. of the horse-taming Trojans. This that thou sayest is as empty wind.