Therefore Achilles: but, whate’er, know this: In the extremity of great and little, Valour and pride excel themselves in Hector; The one almost as infinite as all, The other blank as nothing. Weigh him well, And that which looks like pride is courtesy. This Ajax is half made of Hector’s blood: In love whereof, half Hector stays at home; Half heart, half hand, half Hector comes to seek This blended knight, half Trojan and half Greek.
Then you must be Achilles. But, whatever the case, know this: In the extreme of both greatness and smallness, Courage and pride are both at their best in Hector; One is almost limitless, like everything, The other is as empty as nothing. Consider him carefully, And what looks like pride is actually politeness. This Ajax is partly made of Hector’s blood: In love with which, half of Hector stays at home; Half heart, half hand, half of Hector comes to seek This combined knight, half Trojan and half Greek.
Aeneas · Act 4, Scene 5
Aeneas greets Achilles by name, then launches into a portrait of Hector as the ideal warrior—unmatched in both valor and courtesy. The speech matters because it sets Hector as the standard against which all others will be measured, and Aeneas names the paradox: what looks like pride in Hector is actually grace. It tells us that nobility is not about boasting but about how you carry yourself when the world is watching.
Health to you, valiant sir, During all question of the gentle truce; But when I meet you arm’d, as black defiance As heart can think or courage execute.
Good health to you, brave sir, As long as we’re observing the truce; But when I meet you armed, as hostile as can be, Ready to challenge with all your heart and strength.
Aeneas · Act 4, Scene 1
Aeneas and Diomedes meet in a moment of truce, offering each other courtesies before battle. The line sticks because it captures the strange double-speak of war—peace now, murder later, both somehow honorable. It reveals that in this play, courtesy and killing are not opposites but partners in the same dance.
Why, then will I no more: Thou art, great lord, my father’s sister’s son, A cousin-german to great Priam’s seed; The obligation of our blood forbids A gory emulation ’twixt us twain: Were thy commixtion Greek and Trojan so That thou couldst say ’This hand is Grecian all, And this is Trojan; the sinews of this leg All Greek, and this all Troy; my mother’s blood Runs on the dexter cheek, and this sinister Bounds in my father’s;’ by Jove multipotent, Thou shouldst not bear from me a Greekish member Wherein my sword had not impressure made Of our rank feud: but the just gods gainsay That any drop thou borrow’dst from thy mother, My sacred aunt, should by my mortal sword Be drain’d! Let me embrace thee, Ajax: By him that thunders, thou hast lusty arms; Hector would have them fall upon him thus: Cousin, all honour to thee!
Well, then I won’t fight anymore: You are, great lord, my father’s sister’s son, A cousin to great Priam’s family; The bond of our blood forbids A bloody rivalry between us two: If your mix of Greek and Trojan blood were such That you could say, ‘This hand is all Greek, And this one is Trojan; the muscles of this leg All Greek, and this all Troy; my mother’s blood Flows on my right cheek, and this left cheek Is from my father’s side;’ by mighty Jove, You still wouldn’t bear from me a Greek part Where my sword hadn’t marked it With the mark of our deep feud: but the gods forbid That any blood you inherited from your mother, My dear aunt, should be spilled by my sword! Let me hug you, Ajax: By him who strikes with thunder, you have strong arms; Hector would want them to strike him like this: Cousin, all honor to you!
Aeneas · Act 4, Scene 5
Hector stops fighting Ajax mid-combat when he realizes Ajax is his cousin, bound to him by blood. The moment lands because Hector chooses kinship over victory, turning the battle into an embrace. His choice shows that for him, family honor transcends the glory of war, even though the world will soon teach him that such mercy has no place in it.
