φυλλα τε καὶ φλοιον· νυν αὐτε μὶν υἱες Ἀχαιων
ἐν παλαμης φορεουσι, δικασπολοι, οἱτε Θεμιστας
προς Διος εἱρυαται· ὁ δε τοι μεγας ἐσσεται ὁρκος.
—Heyne’s Homer, i. v. 233–239.
“But this I say, and with an oath confirm,
By this my royal staff, which never more
Shall put forth leaf nor spray since first it left
Upon the mountain side its parent stem,
Nor blossom more; since all around, the axe
Hath lopped both leaf and bark, and now ’tis borne,