But I am willing to give her back, even so, if that is best for all. What I really want is to keep my people safe, not see them dying. But fetch me another prize, and straight off too, else I alone of the Argives go without my honor.

But I am willing to give her back, even so,
if that is best for all. What I really want
is to keep my people safe, not see them dying.
But fetch me another prize, and straight off too,
else I alone of the Argives go without my honor.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 1, lines 135-139. The proud Agamemnon is a very selfish king. He is willing to give back his spoil of war, the enslaved daughter of Apollo’s priest Chryses. But he will only do so if he is given another "prize," because otherwise he would be left without honor.

Homer Quotes