Thus having spoken, he grasped the right hand of the old man near the wrist, lest he should fear in his mind. They indeed, the herald and Priam, slept there in the porch of the house, having prudent counsels in their mind; while Achilles slept in the interior of the well-built tent; and beside him lay fair-cheeked Briseis.
The other gods indeed and chariot-fighting men slept all night, subdued by gentle slumber; but sleep seized not Mercury, the author of good, revolving in his mind how he should convey away king Priam from the ships, having escaped the notice of the sacred gate-keeper. Accordingly he stood over his head, and addressed him:
"O aged man, certainly evil is not at all a care to thee, that thou sleepest thus amongst hostile men, after Achilles has suffered thee. Now indeed thou hast ransomed thy beloved son, and hast given much; but the sons left behind by thee would give three times as many ransoms for thee alive, if Agamemnon, the son of Atreus, should know of thy being here, and all the Greeks should know of it."