Complete Works of Homer

by Homer

  "The astonished savage with a roar replies:

  'Oh heavens! oh faith of ancient prophecies!

  This, Telemus Eurymedes foretold

  (The mighty seer who on these hills grew old;

  Skill'd the dark fates of mortals to declare,

  And learn'd in all wing'd omens of the air);

  Long since he menaced, such was Fate's command;

  And named Ulysses as the destined hand.

  I deem'd some godlike giant to behold,

  Or lofty hero, haughty, brave, and bold;

  Not this weak pigmy wretch, of mean design,

  Who, not by strength subdued me, but by wine.

  But come, accept our gifts, and join to pray

  Great Neptune's blessing on the watery way;

  For his I am, and I the lineage own;

  The immortal father no less boasts the son.

  His power can heal me, and relight my eye;

  And only his, of all the gods on high.'

  "'Oh! could this arm (I thus aloud rejoin'd)

  From that vast bulk dislodge thy bloody mind,

  And send thee howling to the realms of night!

  As sure as Neptune cannot give thee sight.'

  "Thus I; while raging he repeats his cries,

  With hands uplifted to the starry skies?

  'Hear me, O Neptune; thou whose arms are hurl'd

  From shore to shore, and gird the solid world;

  If thine I am, nor thou my birth disown,

  And if the unhappy Cyclop be thy son,

  Let not Ulysses breathe his native air,

  Laertes' son, of Ithaca the fair.

  If to review his country be his fate,

  Be it through toils and sufferings long and late;

  His lost companions let him first deplore;

  Some vessel, not his own, transport him o'er;

  And when at home from foreign sufferings freed,

  More near and deep, domestic woes succeed!'

  With imprecations thus he fill'd the air,

  And angry Neptune heard the unrighteous prayer,

  A larger rock then heaving from the plain,

  He whirl'd it round: it sung across the main;

  It fell, and brush'd the stern: the billows roar,

  Shake at the weight, and refluent beat the shore.

  With all our force we kept aloof to sea,

  And gain'd the island where our vessels lay.

  Our sight the whole collected navy cheer'd.

  Who, waiting long, by turns had hoped and fear'd.

  There disembarking on the green sea side,

  We land our cattle, and the spoil divide;

  Of these due shares to every sailor fall;

  The master ram was voted mine by all;

  And him (the guardian of Ulysses' fate)

  With pious mind to heaven I consecrate.

  But the great god, whose thunder rends the skies,

  Averse, beholds the smoking sacrifice;

  And sees me wandering still from coast to coast,

  And all my vessels, all my people, lost!

  While thoughtless we indulge the genial rite,

  As plenteous cates and flowing bowls invite;

  Till evening Phoebus roll'd away the light;

  Stretch'd on the shore in careless ease we rest,

  Till ruddy morning purpled o'er the east;

  Then from their anchors all our ships unbind,

  And mount the decks, and call the willing wind.

  Now, ranged in order on our banks we sweep.

  With hasty strokes the hoarse-resounding deep;

  Blind to the future, pensive with our fears,

  Glad for the living, for the dead in tears."

  BOOK X.

  ARGUMENT.

  ADVENTURES WITH AEOLUS, THE LAESTRYGONS, AND CIRCE.

  Ulysses arrives at the island of AEolus, who gives him prosperous winds, and incloses the adverse ones in a bag, which his companions untying, they are driven back again and rejected. Then they sail to the Laestrygons, where they lose eleven ships, and, with only one remaining, proceed to the island of Circe. Eurylochus is sent first with some companions, all which, except Eurylochus, are transformed into swine. Ulysses then undertakes the adventure, and, by the help of Mercury, who gives him the herb Moly, overcomes the enchantress, and procures the restoration of his men. After a year's stay with her, he prepares, at her instigation, for his voyage to the infernal shades.

  "AT length we reach'd AEolias's sea-girt shore,

  Where great Hippotades the sceptre bore,

  A floating isle! high-raised by toil divine,

  Strong walls of brass the rocky coast confine.

  Six blooming youths, in private grandeur bred,

  And six fair daughters, graced the royal bed;

  These sons their sisters wed, and all remain

  Their parents' pride, and pleasure of their reign.

  All day they feast, all day the bowls flow round,

  And joy and music through the isle resound;

  At night each pair on splendid carpets lay,

  And crown'd with love the pleasures of the day.

  This happy port affords our wandering fleet

  A month's reception, and a safe retreat.

  Full oft the monarch urged me to relate

  The fall of Ilion, and the Grecian fate;

  Full oft I told: at length for parting moved;

  The king with mighty gifts my suit approved.

  The adverse winds in leathern bags he braced,

  Compress'd their force, and lock'd each struggling blast.

  For him the mighty sire of gods assign'd

  The tempest's lood, the tyrant of the wind;

  His word alone the listening storms obey,

  To smooth the deep, or swell the foamy sea.

  These in my hollow ship the monarch hung,

  Securely fetter'd by a silver thong:

  But Zephyrus exempt, with friendly gales

  He charged to fill, and guide the swelling sails:

  Rare gift! but O, what gift to fools avails!

  "Nine prosperous days we plied the labouring oar;

  The tenth presents our welcome native shore:

  The hills display the beacon's friendly light,

  And rising mountains gain upon our sight.

  Then first my eyes, by watchful toils oppress'd,

  Complied to take the balmy gifts of rest:

  Then first my hands did from the rudder part

  (So much the love of home possess'd my heart):

  When lo! on board a fond debate arose;

  What rare device those vessels might inclose?

  What sum, what prize from AEolus I brought?

  Whilst to his neighbour each express'd his thought:

  "'Say, whence ye gods, contending nations strive

  Who most shall please, who most our hero give?

  Long have his coffers groan'd with Trojan spoils:

  Whilst we, the wretched partners of his toils,

  Reproach'd by want, our fruitless labours mourn,

  And only rich in barren fame return.

  Now AEolus, ye see, augments his store:

  But come, my friends, these mystic gifts explore,'

  They said: and (oh cursed fate!) the thongs unbound!

  The gushing tempest sweeps the ocean round;

  Snatch'd in the whirl, the hurried navy flew,

  The ocean widen'd and the shores withdrew.

  Roused from my fatal sleep I long debate

  If still to live, or desperate plunge to fate;

  Thus doubting, prostrate on the deck I lay,

  Till all the coward thoughts of death gave way.

  "Meanwhile our vessels plough the liquid plain,

  And soon the known AEolian coast regain;

  Our groan the rocks remurmur'd to the main.

  We leap'd on shore, and with a scanty feast

  Our thirst and hung
er hastily repress'd;

  That done, two chosen heralds straight attend

  Our second progress to my royal friend;

  And him amidst his jovial sons we found;

  The banquet steaming, and the goblets crown'd;

  There humbly stoop'd with conscious shame and awe,

  Nor nearer than the gate presumed to draw.

  But soon his sons their well-known guest descried,

  And starting from their couches loudly cried:

  'Ulysses here! what demon could'st thou meet

  To thwart thy passage, and repel thy fleet?

  Wast thou not furnish'd by our choicest care

  For Greece, for home and all thy soul held dear?'

  Thus they, In silence long my fate I mourn'd;

  At length these words with accents low return'd:

  `Me, lock'd in sleep, my faithless crew bereft

  Of all the blessing of your godlike gift!

  But grant, oh grant, our loss we may retrieve;

  A favour you, and you alone can give.'

  "Thus I with art to move their pity tried,

  And touch'd the youths; but their stern sire replied:

  'Vile wretch, begone! this instant I command

  Thy fleet accursed to leave our hallow'd land.

  His baneful suit pollutes these bless'd abodes,

  Whose fate proclaims him hateful to the gods.'

  "Thus fierce he said: we sighing went our way,

  And with desponding hearts put off to sea.

  The sailors spent with toils their folly mourn,

  But mourn in vain; no prospect of return

  Six days and nights a doubtful course we steer,

  The next proud Lamos' stately towers appear,

  And Laestrygonia's gates arise distinct in air.

  The shepherd, quitting here at night the plain,

  Calls, to succeed his cares, the watchful swain;

  But he that scorns the chains of sleep to wear,

  And adds the herdsman's to the shepherd's care,

  So near the pastures, and so short the way,

  His double toils may claim a double pay,

  And join the labours of the night and day.

  "Within a long recess a bay there lies,

  Edged round with cliffs high pointing to the skies;

  The jutting shores that swell on either side

  Contract its mouth, and break the rushing tide.

  Our eager sailors seize the fair retreat,

  And bound within the port their crowded fleet:

  For here retired the sinking billows sleep,

  And smiling calmness silver'd o'er the deep.

  I only in the bay refused to moor,

  And fix'd without, my halsers to the shore.

  "From thence we climb'd a point, whose airy brow

  Commands the prospect of the plains below;

  No tracks of beasts, or signs of men, we found,

  But smoky volumes rolling from the ground.

  Two with our herald thither we command,

  With speed to learn what men possess'd the land.

  They went, and kept the wheel's smooth-beaten road

  Which to the city drew the mountain wood;

  When lo! they met, beside a crystal spring,

  The daughter of Antiphates the king;

  She to Artacia's silver streams came down;

  (Artacia's streams alone supply the town);

  The damsel they approach, and ask'd what race

  The people were? who monarch of the place?

  With joy the maid the unwary strangers heard

  And show'd them where the royal dome appear'd.

  They went; but as they entering saw the queen

  Of size enormous, and terrific mien

  (Not yielding to some bulky mountain's height),

  A sudden horror struck their aching sight.

  Swift at her call her husband scour'd away

  To wreak his hunger on the destined prey;

  One for his food the raging glutton slew,

  But two rush'd out, and to the navy flew.

  "Balk'd of his prey, the yelling monster flies,

  And fills the city with his hideous cries;

  A ghastly band of giants hear the roar,

  And, pouring down the mountains, crowd the shore.

  Fragments they rend from off the craggy brow

  And dash the ruins on the ships below;

  The crackling vessels burst; hoarse groans arise,

  And mingled horrors echo to the skies;

  The men like fish, they struck upon the flood,

  And cramm'd their filthy throats with human food.

  Whilst thus their fury rages at the bay,

  My sword our cables cut, I call'd to weigh;

  And charged my men, as they from fate would fly,

  Each nerve to strain, each bending oar to ply.

  The sailors catch the word, their oars they seize,

  And sweep with equal strokes the smoky seas;

  Clear of the rocks the impatient vessel flies;

  Whilst in the port each wretch encumber'd dies.

  With earnest haste my frighted sailors press,

  While kindling transports glow'd at our success;

  But the sad fate that did our friends destroy,

  Cool'd every breast, and damp'd the rising joy.

  "Now dropp'd our anchors in the Aeaean bay,

  Where Circe dwelt, the daughter of the Day!

  Her mother Perse, of old Ocean's strain,

  Thus from the Lun descended, and the Main

  (From the same lineage stern Aeaetes came,

  The far-famed brother of the enchantress dame);

  Goddess, the queen, to whom the powers belong

  Of dreadful magic and commanding song.

  Some god directing to this peaceful bay

  Silent we came, and melancholy lay,

  Spent and o'erwatch'd. Two days and nights roll'd on,

  And now the third succeeding morning shone.

  I climb'd a cliff, with spear and sword in hand,

  Whose ridge o'erlook'd a shady length of land;

  To learn if aught of mortal works appear,

  Or cheerful voice of mortal strike the ear?

  From the high point I mark'd, in distant view,

  A stream of curling smoke ascending blue,

  And spiry tops, the tufted trees above,

  Of Circe's palace bosom'd in the grove.

  "Thither to haste, the region to explore,

  Was first my thought: but speeding back to shore

  I deem'd it best to visit first my crew,

  And send our spies the dubious coast to view.

  As down the hill I solitary go,

  Some power divine, who pities human woe,

  Sent a tall stag, descending from the wood,

  To cool his fervour in the crystal flood;

  Luxuriant on the wave-worn bank he lay,

  Stretch'd forth and panting in the sunny ray.

  I launch'd my spear, and with a sudden wound

  Transpierced his back, and fix'd him to the ground.

  He falls, and mourns his fate with human cries:

  Through the wide wound the vital spirit flies.

  I drew, and casting on the river's side

  The bloody spear, his gather'd feet I tied

  With twining osiers which the bank supplied.

  An ell in length the pliant wisp I weaved,

  And the huge body on my shoulders heaved:

  Then leaning on my spear with both my hands,

  Upbore my load, and press'd the sinking sands

  With weighty steps, till at the ship I threw

  The welcome burden, and bespoke my crew:

  "'Cheer up, my friends! it is not yet our fate

  To glide with ghosts through Pluto's gloomy gate.

  Food in the desert land, behold! is given!

  Live, and enjoy the providen
ce of heaven.'

  "The joyful crew survey his mighty size,

  And on the future banquet feast their eyes,

  As huge in length extended lay the beast;

  Then wash their hands, and hasten to the feast.

  There, till the setting sun roll'd down the light,

  They sate indulging in the genial rite.

  When evening rose, and darkness cover'd o'er

  The face of things, we slept along the shore.

  But when the rosy morning warm'd the east,

  My men I summon'd, and these words address'd:

  "'Followers and friends, attend what I propose:

  Ye sad companions of Ulysses' woes!

  We know not here what land before us lies,

  Or to what quarter now we turn our eyes,

  Or where the sun shall set, or where shall rise.

  Here let us think (if thinking be not vain)

  If any counsel, any hope remain.

  Alas! from yonder promontory's brow

  I view'd the coast, a region flat and low;

  An isle encircled with the boundless flood;

  A length of thickets, and entangled wood.

  Some smoke I saw amid the forest rise,

  And all around it only seas and skies!'

  "With broken hearts my sad companions stood,

  Mindful of Cyclops and his human food,

  And horrid Laestrygons, the men of blood.

  Presaging tears apace began to rain;

  But tears in mortal miseries are vain.

  In equal parts I straight divide my band,

  And name a chief each party to command;

  I led the one, and of the other side

  Appointed brave Eurylochus the guide.

  Then in the brazen helm the lots we throw,

  And fortune casts Eurylochus to go;

  He march'd with twice eleven in his train;

  Pensive they march, and pensive we remain.

  "The palace in a woody vale they found,

  High raised of stone; a shaded space around;

  Where mountain wolves and brindled lions roam,

  (By magic tamed,) familiar to the dome.

  With gentle blandishment our men they meet,

  And wag their tails, and fawning lick their feet.

  As from some feast a man returning late,

  His faithful dogs all meet him at the gate,

  Rejoicing round, some morsel to receive,

  (Such as the good man ever used to give,)

  Domestic thus the grisly beasts drew near;

  They gaze with wonder not unmix'd with fear.

  Now on the threshold of the dome they stood,

  And heard a voice resounding through the wood:

  Placed at her loom within, the goddess sung;

  The vaulted roofs and solid pavement rung.