And on the Trojan Plain. 171 
wounded within the ramparts, he is borne 
away “behind the tumult of the fight,” that is, 
through the Trojan army, for he was fighting 
in advance, to the place where he had left 
his chariot, which, as we read before, was 
at the brink of the fosse. In book XVI, 
Patroclus drives the Trojans from the ships ; 
they continue fighting in retreat till they reach 
the ramparts, where they break into a tu- 
multuous flight. 
We can scarcely, therefore, avoid the con- 
clusion, that the distance from the upper line 
of ships to the ramparts must have been very 
considerable, and to allow for this and the 
triple line of vessels, the space of half a mile 
cannot be deemed extravagant. 
It may be observed, from the nature of 
the ground, that the length of the ramparts, 
and consequent labour and time necessary for 
their erection, would be nearly the same, 
whether the space included within them were 
100 yards wide or 1000 yards. There was 
no motive therefore for straitening themselves 
in point of room. 
