Complete Works of Homer

by Homer

They roast the fragments, and prepare the feast.

  "'Twas then soft slumber fled my troubled brain;

  Back to the bark I speed along the main.

  When lo! an odour from the feast exhales,

  Spreads o'er the coast and scents the tainted gales;

  A chilly fear congeal'd my vital blood,

  And thus, obtesting Heaven, I mourn'd aloud;

  "'O sire of men and gods, immortal Jove!

  O all ye blissful powers that reign above!

  Why were my cares beguiled in short repose?

  O fatal slumber, paid with lasting woes!

  A deed so dreadful all the gods alarms,

  Vengeance is on the wing, and Heaven in arms!'

  "Meantime Lampetie mounts the aerial way,

  And kindles into rage the god of day;

  "'Vengeance, ye powers (he cries), and then whose hand

  Aims the red bolt, and hurls the writhen brand!

  Slain are those herds which I with pride survey,

  When through the ports of heaven I pour the day,

  Or deep in ocean plunge the burning ray.

  Vengeance, ye gods! or I the skies forego,

  And bear the lamp of heaven to shades below.'

  "To whom the thundering Power: 'O source of day

  Whose radiant lamp adorns the azure way,

  Still may thy beams through heaven's bright portal rise,

  The joy of earth, the glory of the skies:

  Lo! my red arm I bare, my thunders guide,

  To dash the offenders in the whelming tide.'

  "To fair Calypso, from the bright abodes,

  Hermes convey'd these counsels of the gods.

  "Meantime from man to man my tongue exclaims,

  My wrath is kindled, and my soul in flames.

  In vain! I view perform'd the direful deed,

  Beeves, slain in heaps, along the ocean bleed.

  "Now heaven gave signs of wrath: along the ground

  Crept the raw hides, and with a bellowing sound

  Roar'd the dead limbs; the burning entrails groan'd.

  Six guilty days my wretched mates employ

  In impious feasting, and unhallowed joy;

  The seventh arose, and now the sire of gods

  Rein'd the rough storms; and calm'd the tossing floods:

  With speed the bark we climb; the spacious sails.

  Loosed from the yards invite the impelling gales.

  Past sight of shore, along the surge we bound,

  And all above is sky, and ocean all around;

  When lo! a murky cloud the thunderer forms

  Full o'er our heads, and blackens heaven with storms.

  Night dwells o'er all the deep: and now outflies

  The gloomy west, and whistles in the skies.

  The mountain-billows roar! the furious blast

  Howls o'er the shroud, and rends it from the mast:

  The mast gives way, and, crackling as it bends,

  Tears up the deck; then all at once descends:

  The pilot by the tumbling ruin slain,

  Dash'd from the helm, falls headlong in the main.

  Then Jove in anger bids his thunders roll,

  And forky lightnings flash from pole to pole:

  Fierce at our heads his deadly bolt he aims,

  Red with uncommon wrath, and wrapp'd in flames:

  Full on the bark it fell; now high, now low,

  Toss'd and retoss'd, it reel'd beneath the blow;

  At once into the main the crew it shook:

  Sulphurous odours rose, and smouldering smoke.

  Like fowl that haunt the floods, they sink, they rise,

  Now lost, now seen, with shrieks and dreadful cries;

  And strive to gain the bark, but Jove denies.

  Firm at the helm I stand, when fierce the main

  Rush'd with dire noise, and dash'd the sides in twain;

  Again impetuous drove the furious blast,

  Snapp'd the strong helm, and bore to sea the mast.

  Firm to the mast with cords the helm I bind,

  And ride aloft, to Providence resign'd,

  Through tumbling billows and a war of wind.

  "Now sunk the west, and now a southern breeze,

  More dreadful than the tempest lash'd the seas;

  For on the rocks it bore where Scylla raves,

  And dire Charybdis rolls her thundering waves.

  All night I drove; and at the dawn of day,

  Fast by the rocks beheld the desperate way;

  Just when the sea within her gulfs subsides,

  And in the roaring whirlpools rush the tides,

  Swift from the float I vaulted with a bound,

  The lofty fig-tree seized, and clung around;

  So to the beam the bat tenacious clings,

  And pendent round it clasps his leather wings.

  High in the air the tree its boughs display'd,

  And o'er the dungeon cast a dreadful shade;

  All unsustain'd between the wave and sky,

  Beneath my feet the whirling billows fly.

  What time the judge forsakes the noisy bar

  To take repast, and stills the wordy war,

  Charybdis, rumbling from her inmost caves,

  The mast refunded on her refluent waves.

  Swift from the tree, the floating mass to gain,

  Sudden I dropp'd amidst the flashing main;

  Once more undaunted on the ruin rode,

  And oar'd with labouring arms along the flood.

  Unseen I pass'd by Scylla's dire abodes.

  So Jove decreed (dread sire of men and gods).

  Then nine long days I plow'd the calmer seas,

  Heaved by the surge, and wafted by the breeze.

  Weary and wet the Ogygian shores I gain,

  When the tenth sun descended to the main.

  There, in Calypso's ever-fragrant bowers,

  Refresh'd I lay, and joy beguiled the hours.

  "My following fates to thee, O king, are known,

  And the bright partner of thy royal throne.

  Enough: in misery can words avail?

  And what so tedious as a twice-told tale?"

  BOOK XIII

  ARGUMENT.

  THE ARRIVAL OF ULYSSES IN ITHACA.

  Ulysses takes his leave of Alcinous and Arete, and embarks in the evening. Next morning the ship arrives at Ithaca; where the sailors, as Ulysses is yet sleeping, lay him on the shore with all his treasures. On their return, Neptune changes their ship into a rock. In the meantime Ulysses, awaking, knows not his native Ithaca, by reason of a mist which Pallas had cast around him. He breaks into loud lamentations; till the goddess appearing to him in the form of a shepherd, discovers the country to him, and points out the particular places. He then tells a feigned story of his adventures, upon which she manifests herself, and they consult together of the measures to be taken to destroy the suitors. To conceal his return, and disguise his person the more effectually, she changes him into the figure of an old beggar.

  He ceased; but left so pleasing on their ear

  His voice, that listening still they seem'd to hear.

  A pause of silence hush'd the shady rooms:

  The grateful conference then the king resumes:

  "Whatever toils the great Ulysses pass'd,

  Beneath this happy roof they end at last;

  No longer now from shore to shore to roam,

  Smooth seas and gentle winds invite him home.

  But hear me, princes! whom these walls inclose,

  For whom my chanter sings: and goblet flows

  With wine unmix'd (an honour due to age,

  To cheer the grave, and warm the poet's rage);

  Though labour'd gold and many a dazzling vest

  Lie heap'd already for our godlike guest;

  Without new treasures let him not remove,

  Large, and expressive of the public love:

  Each peer a t
ripod, each a vase bestow,

  A general tribute, which the state shall owe."

  This sentence pleased: then all their steps address'd

  To separate mansions, and retired to rest.

  Now did the rosy-finger'd morn arise,

  And shed her sacred light along the skies.

  Down to the haven and the ships in haste

  They bore the treasures, and in safety placed.

  The king himself the vases ranged with care;

  Then bade his followers to the feast prepare.

  A victim ox beneath the sacred hand

  Of great Alcinous falls, and stains the sand.

  To Jove the Eternal (power above all powers!

  Who wings the winds, and darkens heaven with showers)

  The flames ascend: till evening they prolong

  The rites, more sacred made by heavenly song;

  For in the midst, with public honours graced,

  Thy lyre divine, Demodocus! was placed.

  All, but Ulysses, heard with fix'd delight;

  He sate, and eyed the sun, and wish'd the night;

  Slow seem'd the sun to move, the hours to roll,

  His native home deep-imaged in his soul.

  As the tired ploughman, spent with stubborn toil,

  Whose oxen long have torn the furrow'd soil,

  Sees with delight the sun's declining ray,

  When home with feeble knees he bends his way

  To late repast (the day's hard labour done);

  So to Ulysses welcome set the sun;

  Then instant to Alcinous and the rest

  (The Scherian states) he turn'd, and thus address'd:

  "O thou, the first in merit and command!

  And you the peers and princes of the land!

  May every joy be yours! nor this the least,

  When due libation shall have crown'd the feast,

  Safe to my home to send your happy guest.

  Complete are now the bounties you have given,

  Be all those bounties but confirm'd by Heaven!

  So may I find, when all my wanderings cease,

  My consort blameless, and my friends in peace.

  On you be every bliss; and every day,

  In home-felt joys, delighted roll away;

  Yourselves, your wives, your long-descending race,

  May every god enrich with every grace!

  Sure fix'd on virtue may your nation stand,

  And public evil never touch the land!"

  His words well weigh'd, the general voice approved

  Benign, and instant his dismission moved,

  The monarch to Pontonus gave the sign.

  To fill the goblet high with rosy wine;

  "Great Jove the Father first (he cried) implore;'

  Then send the stranger to his native shore."

  The luscious wine the obedient herald brought;

  Around the mansion flow'd the purple draught;

  Each from his seat to each immortal pours,

  Whom glory circles in the Olympian bowers

  Ulysses sole with air majestic stands,

  The bowl presenting to Arete's hands;

  Then thus: "O queen, farewell! be still possess'd

  Of dear remembrance, blessing still and bless'd!

  Till age and death shall gently call thee hence,

  (Sure fate of every mortal excellence!)

  Farewell! and joys successive ever spring

  To thee, to thine, the people, and the king!"

  Thus he: then parting prints the sandy shore

  To the fair port: a herald march'd before,

  Sent by Alcinous; of Arete's train

  Three chosen maids attend him to the main;

  This does a tunic and white vest convey,

  A various casket that, of rich inlay,

  And bread and wine the third. The cheerful mates

  Safe in the hollow poop dispose the cates;

  Upon the deck soft painted robes they spread

  With linen cover'd, for the hero's bed.

  He climbed the lofty stern; then gently press'd

  The swelling couch, and lay composed to rest.

  Now placed in order, the Phaeacian train

  Their cables loose, and launch into the main;

  At once they bend, and strike their equal oars,

  And leave the sinking hills and lessening shores.

  While on the deck the chief in silence lies,

  And pleasing slumbers steal upon his eyes.

  As fiery coursers in the rapid race

  Urged by fierce drivers through the dusty space,

  Toss their high heads, and scour along the plain,

  So mounts the bounding vessel o'er the main.

  Back to the stern the parted billows flow,

  And the black ocean foams and roars below.

  Thus with spread sails the winged galley flies;

  Less swift an eagle cuts the liquid skies;

  Divine Ulysses was her sacred load,

  A man, in wisdom equal to a god!

  Much danger, long and mighty toils he bore,

  In storms by sea, and combats on the shore;

  All which soft sleep now banish'd from his breast,

  Wrapp'd in a pleasing, deep, and death-like rest.

  But when the morning-star with early ray

  Flamed in the front of heaven, and promised day;

  Like distant clouds the mariner descries

  Fair Ithaca's emerging hills arise.

  Far from the town a spacious port appears,

  Sacred to Phorcys' power, whose name it bears;

  Two craggy rocks projecting to the main,

  The roaring wind's tempestuous rage restrain;

  Within the waves in softer murmurs glide,

  And ships secure without their halsers ride.

  High at the head a branching olive grows,

  And crowns the pointed cliffs with shady boughs.

  Beneath, a gloomy grotto's cool recess

  Delights the Nereids of the neighbouring seas,

  Where bowls and urns were form'd of living stone,

  And massy beams in native marble shone,

  On which the labours of the nymphs were roll'd,

  Their webs divine of purple mix'd with gold.

  Within the cave the clustering bees attend

  Their waxen works, or from the roof depend.

  Perpetual waters o'er the pavement glide;

  Two marble doors unfold on either side;

  Sacred the south, by which the gods descend;

  But mortals enter at the northern end.

  Thither they bent, and haul'd their ship to land

  (The crooked keel divides the yellow sand).

  Ulysses sleeping on his couch they bore,

  And gently placed him on the rocky shore.

  His treasures next, Alcinous' gifts, they laid

  In the wild olive's unfrequented shade,

  Secure from theft; then launch'd the bark again,

  Resumed their oars, and measured back the main,

  Nor yet forgot old Ocean's dread supreme,

  The vengeance vow'd for eyeless Polypheme.

  Before the throne of mighty Jove lie stood,

  And sought the secret counsels of the god.

  "Shall then no more, O sire of gods! be mine

  The rights and honours of a power divine?

  Scorn'd e'en by man, and (oh severe disgrace!)

  By soft Phaeacians, my degenerate race!

  Against yon destined head in vain I swore,

  And menaced vengeance, ere he reach'd his shore;

  To reach his natal shore was thy decree;

  Mild I obey'd, for who shall war with thee?

  Behold him landed, careless and asleep,

  From all the eluded dangers of the deep;

  Lo where he lies, amidst a shining store

  Of brass, rich garments, and refulgent ore;

  And bears
triumphant to his native isle

  A prize more worth than Ilion's noble spoil."

  To whom the Father of the immortal powers,

  Who swells the clouds, and gladdens earth with showers,

  "Can mighty Neptune thus of man complain?

  Neptune, tremendous o'er the boundless main!

  Revered and awful e'en in heaven's abodes,

  Ancient and great! a god above the gods!

  If that low race offend thy power divine

  (Weak, daring creatures!) is not vengeance thine?

  Go, then, the guilty at thy will chastise."

  He said. The shaker of the earth replies:

  "This then, I doom: to fix the gallant ship,

  A mark of vengeance on the sable deep;

  To warn the thoughtless, self-confiding train,

  No more unlicensed thus to brave the main.

  Full in their port a Shady hill shall rise,

  If such thy will." — " We will it (Jove replies).

  E'en when with transport blackening all the strand,

  The swarming people hail their ship to land,

  Fix her for ever, a memorial stone:

  Still let her seem to sail, and seem alone.

  The trembling crowds shall see the sudden shade

  Of whelming mountains overhang their head!"

  With that the god whose earthquakes rock the ground

  Fierce to Phaeacia cross'd the vast profound.

  Swift as a swallow sweeps the liquid way,

  The winged pinnace shot along the sea.

  The god arrests her with a sudden stroke,

  And roots her down an everlasting rock.

  Aghast the Scherians stand in deep surprise;

  All press to speak, all question with their eyes.

  What hands unseen the rapid bark restrain!

  And yet it swims, or seems to swim, the main!

  Thus they, unconscious of the deed divine;

  Till great Alcinous, rising, own'd the sign.

  "Behold the long predestined day I (he cries;)

  O certain faith of ancient prophecies

  These ears have heard my royal sire disclose

  A dreadful story, big with future woes;

  How, moved with wrath, that careless we convey

  Promiscuous every guest to every bay,

  Stern Neptune raged; and how by his command

  Firm rooted in the surge a ship should stand

  (A monument of wrath); and mound on mound

  Should hide our walls, or whelm beneath the ground.

  "The Fates have follow'd as declared the seer.

  Be humbled, nations! and your monarch hear.

  No more unlicensed brave the deeps, no more

  With every stranger pass from shore to shore;

  On angry Neptune now for mercy call;

  To his high name let twelve black oxen fall.