The people’s shepherd. Atreus, when he died,
Bequeathed it to Thyestes, rich in flocks;
And last, Thyestes left it to be borne
By Agamemnon, symbol of his rule
O’er many isles and all the Argive realm.—Bryant.
[104]. Iliad i. 234–239.
By this my sceptre, which can never bear
A leaf or twig, since first it left its stem
Among the mountains,—for the steel has pared
Its boughs and bark away,—to sprout no more,