1 Samuel 9:16

Verse 1 Samuel 9:16. Thou shalt anoint him to be captain] Not to be king, but to be נגיד nagid or captain of the Lord's host. But in ancient times no king was esteemed who was not an able warrior. Plutarch informs us that Alexander the Great esteemed the following verse the most correct, as to its sentiment, of any in the whole Iliad of Homer: -

Ουτος γ' Ατρειδης ευρυκρειων Αγαμεμνων,

Αμφοτερον βασιλευς τ' αγαθος, κρατερος τ' αιχμητης.

"The king of kings, Atrides, you survey;

Great in the war, and great in acts of sway."

POPE.