Homer

“ Receding, turn thy faulchion keen away,
That I may drink the blood, and tell thee truth.
⁠He spake; I thence receding, deep infix'd ⁠115
My sword bright-studded in the sheath again.
The noble prophet then, approaching, drank
The blood, and, satisfied, address'd me thus.
⁠Thou seek'st a pleasant voyage home again,
Renown'd Ulysses! but a God will make ⁠120
That voyage difficult; for, as I judge,
Thou wilt not pass by Neptune unperceiv'd,
Whose anger follows thee, for that thou hast
Deprived his son Cyclops of his eye. ”

“ A sight so piteous, nor in all my toils. ⁠305
⁠From Scylla and Charybdis dire escaped,
We reach'd the noble island of the Sun
Ere long, where bright Hyperion's beauteous herds
Broad-fronted grazed, and his well-batten'd flocks.
I, in the bark and on the sea, the voice ⁠310
Of oxen bellowing in hovels heard,
And of loud-bleating sheep; then dropp'd the word
Into my memory of the sightless Seer,
Theban Tiresias, and the caution strict
Of Circe, my Ææan monitress, ⁠315
Who with such force had caution'd me to avoid
The island of the Sun, joy of mankind. ”

“ The man lives not, nor shall, who while I live,
And faculty of sight retain, shall harm
Telemachus, thy son. For thus I say,
And thus will I perform; his blood shall stream ⁠520
A sable current from my lance's point
That moment; for the city-waster Chief
Ulysses, oft, me placing on his knees,
Hath fill'd my infant grasp with sav'ry food,
And giv'n me ruddy wine. I, therefore, hold ⁠525
Telemachus of all men most my friend,
Nor hath he death to fear from hand of ours.
Yet, if the Gods shall doom him, die he must. ”

“ Resistless even on the land, some God
So roused his fury; but the thirteenth day
The wind all fell, and they embark'd again.
⁠With many a fiction specious, as he sat, ⁠255
He thus her ear amused; she at the sound
Melting, with fluent tears her cheeks bedew'd;
And as the snow by Zephyrus diffused,
Melts on the mountain tops, when Eurus breathes,
And fills the channels of the running streams, ⁠260
So melted she, and down her lovely cheeks
Pour'd fast the tears, him mourning as remote
Who sat beside her. Soft compassion touch'd
Ulysses of his consort's silent woe ”

“ Hermes, Heav'n's messenger, admiring stood
That sight, and having all survey'd, at length
Enter'd the grotto; nor the lovely nymph ⁠90
Him knew not soon as seen, for not unknown
Each to the other the Immortals are,
How far soever sep'rate their abodes.
Yet found he not within the mighty Chief
Ulysses; he sat weeping on the shore, ⁠95
Forlorn, for there his custom was with groans
Of sad regret t' afflict his breaking heart.
Looking continual o'er the barren Deep.
Then thus Calypso, nymph divine, the God
Question'd, from her resplendent throne august. ⁠100
⁠Hermes! ”

“ That no man qualified to give his voice
In public, might affront thy courage more;
Now mark me, therefore, that in time to come,
While feasting with thy children and thy spouse,
Thou may'st inform the Heroes of thy land ⁠290
Even of our proficiency in arts
By Jove enjoin'd us in our father's days.
We boast not much the boxer's skill, nor yet
The wrestler's; but light-footed in the race
Are we, and navigators well-inform'd. ⁠300
Our pleasures are the feast, the harp, the dance,
Garments for change; the tepid bath; the bed. ”

“ Deplored with tears her long-regretted Lord
Till Athenæan Pallas azure-eyed
Dews of soft slumber o'er her lids diffused.
⁠And now, at even-tide, Eumæus reach'd ⁠535
Ulysses and his son. A yearling swine
Just slain they skilfully for food prepared,
When Pallas, drawing nigh, smote with her wand
Ulysses, at the stroke rend'ring him old,
And his apparel sordid as before, ⁠540
Lest, knowing him, the swain at once should seek
Penelope, and let the secret forth.
⁠Then foremost him Telemachus address'd.
Noble Eumæus! thou art come; what news
Bring'st from the city? ”

“ A boar had gash'd him with his iv'ry tusk.
⁠That scar, while chafing him with open palms,
The matron knew; she left his foot to fall;
Down dropp'd his leg into the vase; the brass
Rang, and o'ertilted by the sudden shock,
Poured forth the water, flooding wide the floor.
Her spirit joy at once and sorrow seized;
Tears fill'd her eyes; her intercepted voice
Died in her throat; but to Ulysses' beard
Her hand advancing, thus, at length, she spake.
⁠Thou art himself, Ulysses. Oh my son!
Dear to me, and my master as thou art,
I knew thee not, till I had touch'd the scar. ”

“ By no respect or fear; either thou art
With wine intoxicated, or, perchance,
Art always fool, and therefore babblest now. ⁠405
Say, art thou drunk with joy that thou hast foiled
The beggar Irus? Tremble, lest a man
Stronger than Irus suddenly arise,
Who on thy temples pelting thee with blows
Far heavier than his, shall drive thee hence ⁠410
With many a bruise, and foul with thy own blood.
⁠To whom Ulysses, frowning stern, replied.
Snarler! Telemachus shall be inform'd
This moment of thy eloquent harangue,
That he may hew thee for it, limb from limb. ”

“ Extravagant, whence endless waste ensues;
For no such friend as was Ulysses once ⁠645
Have I to expel the mischief. But might he
Revisit once his native shores again,
Then, aided by his son, he should avenge,
Incontinent, the wrongs which now I mourn.
⁠Then sneezed Telemachus with sudden force, ⁠650
That all the palace rang; his mother laugh'd,
And in wing'd accents thus the swain bespake.
⁠Haste—bid him hither—hear'st thou not the sneeze
Propitious of my son? oh might it prove
A presage of inevitable death ⁠655
To all these revellers! may none escape! ”

“ Within such distance as a voice may reach,
Not unperceived by them the gliding bark ⁠215
Approach'd, and, thus, harmonious they began.
⁠Ulysses, Chief by ev'ry tongue extoll'd,
Achaia's boast, oh hither steer thy bark!
Here stay thy course, and listen to our lay!
These shores none passes in his sable ship ⁠220
Till, first, the warblings of our voice he hear,
Then, happier hence and wiser he departs.
All that the Greeks endured, and all the ills
Inflicted by the Gods on Troy, we know,
Know all that passes on the boundless earth. ”

“ A kind memorial of me on the coast,
Heap'd high with earth; that an unhappy man
May yet enjoy an unforgotten name.
Thus do at my request, and on my hill ⁠90
Funereal, plant the oar with which I row'd,
While yet I lived a mariner of thine.
⁠He spake, to whom thus answer I return'd.
Poor youth! I will perform thy whole desire.
⁠Thus we, there sitting, doleful converse held, ⁠95
With outstretch'd faulchion, I, guarding the blood,
And my companion's shadowy semblance sad
Meantime discoursing me on various themes. ”

“ The palace of the sorceress, a God
Met me, the bearer of the golden wand,
Hermes. He seem'd a stripling in his prime,
His cheeks cloath'd only with their earliest down,
For youth is then most graceful; fast he lock'd ⁠340
His hand in mine, and thus, familiar, spake.
⁠Unhappy! whither, wand'ring o'er the hills,
Stranger to all this region, and alone,
Go'st thou? Thy people—they within the walls
Are shut of Circe, where as swine close-pent ⁠345
She keeps them. Comest thou to set them free?
I tell thee, never wilt thou thence return
Thyself, but wilt be prison'd with the rest. ”

“ With snow that blanch'd us thick as morning rime,
And ev'ry shield with ice was crystall'd o'er.
The rest with cloaks and vests well cover'd, slept
Beneath their bucklers; I alone my cloak, ⁠585
Improvident, had left behind, no thought
Conceiving of a season so severe;
Shield and belt, therefore, and nought else had I.
The night, at last, nigh spent, and all the stars
Declining in their course, with elbow thrust ⁠590
Against Ulysses' side I roused the Chief,
And thus address'd him ever prompt to hear.
⁠Laertes' noble son, for wiles renown'd!
I freeze to death. ”

“ Ulysses—Herald! bear it to the bard
For his regale, whom I will soon embrace ⁠585
In spite of sorrow; for respect is due
And veneration to the sacred bard
From all mankind, for that the muse inspires
Herself his song, and loves the tuneful tribe.
⁠He ended, and the herald bore his charge ⁠590
To the old hero who with joy received
That meed of honour at the bearer's hand.
Then, all, at once, assail'd the ready feast,
And hunger now, and thirst both satisfied,
Thus to Demodocus Ulysses spake. ⁠595
⁠Demodocus! ”

“ Tell me true.
⁠To whom Telemachus discrete replied. ⁠390
Atrides! Menelaus! prince renown'd!
News seeking of my Sire, I have arrived.
My household is devour'd, my fruitful fields
Are desolated, and my palace fill'd
With enemies, who while they mutual wage ⁠395
Proud competition for my mother's love,
My flocks continual slaughter, and my beeves.
For this cause, at thy knees suppliant, I beg
That thou wouldst tell me his disastrous end,
If either thou beheld'st with thine own eyes ⁠400
His death, or from some wand'rer of the Greeks
Hast heard it; for no common woes, alas! ”

“ The arid straws dissipates ev'ry way,
So flew the timbers. He, a single beam
Bestriding, oar'd it onward with his feet, ⁠445
As he had urged an horse. His raiment, then,
Gift of Calypso, putting off, he bound
His girdle on, and prone into the sea
With wide-spread palms prepar'd for swimming, fell.
Shore-shaker Neptune noted him; he shook ⁠450
His awful brows, and in his heart he said,
⁠Thus, suff'ring many mis'ries roam the flood,
Till thou shalt mingle with a race of men
Heav'n's special favourites; yet even there
Fear not that thou shalt feel thy sorrows light. ”

“ The clouds and troubled ocean; ev'ry storm
From ev'ry point he summon'd, earth and sea
Darkening, and the night fell black from heav'n.
The East, the South, the heavy-blowing West,
And the cold North-wind clear, assail'd at once ⁠355
His raft, and heaved on high the billowy flood.
All hope, all courage, in that moment, lost,
The Hero thus within himself complain'd.
⁠Wretch that I am, what destiny at last
Attends me! much I fear the Goddess' words ⁠360
All true, which threaten'd me with num'rous ills
On the wide sea, ere I should reach my home. ”

“ Convening there my friends, I thus began.
⁠My friends! food fails us not, but bread is yet
And wine on board. Abstain we from the herds,
Lest harm ensue; for ye behold the flocks ⁠375
And herds of a most potent God, the Sun!
Whose eye and watchful ear none may elude.
⁠So saying, I sway'd the gen'rous minds of all.
A month complete the South wind ceaseless blew,
Nor other wind blew next, save East and South ⁠380
Yet they, while neither food nor rosy wine
Fail'd them, the herds harm'd not, through fear to die. ”

“ Thy precious stores, that they may thine remain,
Then muse together on thy wisest course. ⁠440
⁠So saying, the Goddess enter'd deep the cave
Caliginous, and its secret nooks explored
From side to side; meantime, Ulysses brought
All his stores into it, the gold, the brass,
And robes magnificent, his gifts received ⁠445
From the Phæacians; safe he lodg'd them all,
And Pallas, daughter of Jove Ægis-arm'd,
Closed fast, herself, the cavern with a stone. ”

“ But as for thee, Achilles! never man
Hath known felicity like thine, or shall,
Whom living we all honour'd as a God,
And who maintain'st, here resident, supreme
Controul among the dead; indulge not then, ⁠590
Achilles, causeless grief that thou hast died.
⁠I ceased, and answer thus instant received.
Renown'd Ulysses! think not death a theme
Of consolation; I had rather live
The servile hind for hire, and eat the bread ⁠595
Of some man scantily himself sustain'd,
Than sov'reign empire hold o'er all the shades. ”

“ So shalt thou die in peace a gentle death,
Remote from Ocean; it shall find thee late,
In soft serenity of age, the Chief ⁠165
Of a blest people.—I have told thee truth.
⁠He spake, to whom I answer thus return'd.
Tiresias! thou, I doubt not, hast reveal'd
The ordinance of heav'n. But tell me, Seer!
And truly. I behold my mother's shade; ⁠170
Silent she sits beside the blood, nor word
Nor even look vouchsafes to her own son.
How shall she learn, prophet, that I am her's? ”