The best told lie bears but a short-lived fruit.
Chorus.
Speak the truth plainly, if thou canst not pleasantly;
These twain be seldom wedded; and here, alas!
They stand out sundered with too clear a mark.
Herald.
The man is vanished from the Achæan host,
He and his vessel. Thou hast heard the truth.
Chorus.
Sailed he from Ilium separate from the fleet?