Complete Works of Homer

by Homer

  No friend in Ithaca my place supplies,

  No powerful hands are there, no watchful eyes:

  My stores exposed and fenceless house demand

  The speediest succour from my guardian hand;

  Lest, in a search too anxious and too vain,

  Of one lost joy, I lose what yet remain."

  His purpose when the generous warrior heard,

  He charged the household cates to be prepared.

  Now with the dawn, from his adjoining home,

  Was Boethoedes Eteoneus come;

  Swift at the word he forms the rising blaze,

  And o'er the coals the smoking fragments lays.

  Meantime the king, his son, and Helen went

  Where the rich wardrobe breathed a costly scent;

  The king selected from the glittering rows

  A bowl; the prince a silver beaker chose.

  The beauteous queen revolved with careful eyes

  Her various textures of unnumber'd dyes,

  And chose the largest; with no vulgar art

  Her own fair hands embroider'd every part;

  Beneath the rest it lay divinely bright,

  Like radiant Hesper o'er the gems of night,

  Then with each gift they hasten'd to their guest,

  And thus the king Ulysses' heir address'd:

  "Since fix'd are thy resolves, may thundering Jove

  With happiest omens thy desires approve!

  This silver bowl, whose costly margins shine

  Enchased with old, this valued gift be thine;

  To me this present, of Vulcanian frame,

  From Sidon's hospitable monarch came;

  To thee we now consign the precious load,

  The pride of kings, and labour of a god."

  Then gave the cup, while Megapenthe brought

  The silver vase with living sculpture wrought.

  The beauteous queen, advancing next, display'd

  The shining veil, and thus endearing said:

  "Accept, dear youth, this monument of love,

  Long since, in better days, by Helen wove:

  Safe in thy mother's care the vesture lay,

  To deck thy bride and grace thy nuptial day.

  Meantime may'st thou with happiest speed regain

  Thy stately palace, and thy wide domain."

  She said, and gave the veil; with grateful look

  The prince the variegated present took.

  And now, when through the royal dome they pass'd,

  High on a throne the king each stranger placed.

  A golden ewer the attendant damsel brings,

  Replete with water from the crystal springs;

  With copious streams the shining vase supplies

  A silver layer of capacious size.

  They wash. The tables in fair order spread,

  The glittering canisters are crown'd with bread;

  Viands of various kinds allure the taste,

  Of choicest sort and savour; rich repast!

  Whilst Eteoneus portions out the shares

  Atrides' son the purple draught prepares,

  And now (each sated with the genial feast,

  And the short rage of thirst and hunger ceased)

  Ulysses' son, with his illustrious friend,

  The horses join, the polish'd car ascend,

  Along the court the fiery steeds rebound,

  And the wide portal echoes to the sound.

  The king precedes; a bowl with fragrant wine

  (Libation destined to the powers divine)

  His right hand held: before the steed he stands,

  Then, mix'd with prayers, he utters these commands:

  "Farewell, and prosper, youths! let Nestor know

  What grateful thoughts still in this bosom glow,

  For all the proofs of his paternal care,

  Through the long dangers of the ten years' war."

  "Ah! doubt not our report (the prince rejoin'd)

  Of all the virtues of thy generous mind.

  And oh! return'd might we Ulysses meet!

  To him thy presents show, thy words repeat:

  How will each speech his grateful wonder raise!

  How will each gift indulge us in thy praise!"

  Scarce ended thus the prince, when on the right

  Advanced the bird of Jove: auspicious sight!

  A milk-white fowl his clinching talons bore,

  With care domestic pampered at the floor.

  Peasants in vain with threatening cries pursue,

  In solemn speed the bird majestic flew

  Full dexter to the car; the prosperous sight

  Fill'd every breast with wonder and delight.

  But Nestor's son the cheerful silence broke,

  And in these words the Spartan chief bespoke:

  "Say if to us the gods these omens send,

  Or fates peculiar to thyself portend?"

  Whilst yet the monarch paused, with doubts oppress'd

  The beauteous queen relieved his labouring breast:

  "Hear me (she cried), to whom the gods have given

  To read this sign, and mystic sense of heaven,

  As thus the plumy sovereign of the air

  Left on the mountain's brow his callow care,

  And wander'd through the wide ethereal way

  To pour his wrath on yon luxurious prey;

  So shall thy godlike father, toss'd in vain

  Through all the dangers of the boundless main,

  Arrive (or if perchance already come)

  From slaughter'd gluttons to release the dome."

  "Oh! if this promised bliss by thundering Jove

  (The prince replied) stand fix'd in fate above;

  To thee, as to some god, I'll temples raise.

  And crown thy altars with the costly blaze."

  He said; and bending o'er his chariot, flung

  Athwart the fiery steeds the smarting thong;

  The bounding shafts upon the harness play,

  Till night descending intercepts the way.

  To Diocles at Pherae they repair,

  Whose boasted sire was sacred Alpheus' heir;

  With him all night the youthful stranger stay'd,

  Nor found the hospitable rites unpaid,

  But soon as morning from her orient bed

  Had tinged the mountains with her earliest red,

  They join'd the steeds, and on the chariot sprung,

  The brazen portals in their passage rung.

  To Pylos soon they came; when thus begun

  To Nestor's heir Ulysses' godlike son:

  "Let not Pisistratus in vain be press'd,

  Nor unconsenting hear his friend's request;

  His friend by long hereditary claim,

  In toils his equal, and in years the same.

  No farther from our vessel, I implore,

  The courses drive; but lash them to the shore.

  Too long thy father would his friend detain;

  I dread his proffer'd kindness urged in vain."

  The hero paused, and ponder'd this request,

  While love and duty warr'd within his breast.

  At length resolved, he turn'd his ready hand,

  And lash'd his panting coursers to the strand.

  There, while within the poop with care he stored

  The regal presents of the Spartan lord,

  "With speed begone (said he); call every mate,

  Ere yet to Nestor I the tale relate:

  'Tis true, the fervour of his generous heart

  Brooks no repulse, nor couldst thou soon depart:

  Himself will seek thee here, nor wilt thou find,

  In words alone, the Pylian monarch kind.

  But when, arrived, he thy return shall know

  How will his breast with honest fury glow!"

  This said, the sounding strokes his horses fire,

  And soon he reached the palace of his sire.

  "No
w (cried Telemachus) with speedy care

  Hoist every sail, and every oar prepare."

  Swift as the word his willing mates obey,

  And seize their seats, impatient for the sea.

  Meantime the prince with sacrifice adores

  Minerva, and her guardian aid implores;

  When lo! a wretch ran breathless to the shore,

  New from his crime; and reeking yet with gore.

  A seer he was, from great Melampus sprung,

  Melampus, who in Pylos flourish'd long,

  Till, urged by wrongs, a foreign realm he chose,

  Far from the hateful cause of all his woes.

  Neleus his treasures one long year detains,

  As long he groan'd in Philacus' chains:

  Meantime, what anguish and what rage combined

  For lovely Pero rack'd his labouring mind!

  Yet 'scaped he death; and vengeful of his wrong

  To Pylos drove the lowing herds along:

  Then (Neleus vanquish'd, and consign'd the fair

  To Bias' arms) he so sought a foreign air;

  Argos the rich for his retreat he chose,

  There form'd his empire; there his palace rose.

  From him Antiphates and Mantius came:

  The first begot Oicleus great in fame,

  And he Amphiaraus, immortal name!

  The people's saviour, and divinely wise,

  Beloved by Jove, and him who gilds the skies;

  Yet short his date of life! by female pride he dies.

  From Mantius Clitus, whom Aurora's love

  Snatch'd for his beauty to the thrones above;

  And Polyphides, on whom Phoebus shone

  With fullest rays, Amphiaraus now gone;

  In Hyperesia's groves he made abode,

  And taught mankind the counsels of the god.

  From him sprung Theoclymenus, who found

  (The sacred wine yet foaming on the ground)

  Telemachus: whom, as to Heaven he press'd

  His ardent vows, the stranger thus address'd:

  "O thou! that dost thy happy course prepare

  With pure libations and with solemn prayer:

  By that dread power to whom thy vows are paid;

  By all the lives of these; thy own dear head,

  Declare sincerely to no foe's demand

  Thy name, thy lineage, and paternal land."

  "Prepare, then (said Telemachus), to know

  A tale from falsehood free, not free from woe.

  From Ithaca, of royal birth I came,

  And great Ulysses (ever honour'd name!)

  Once was my sire, though now, for ever lost,

  In Stygian gloom he glides a pensive ghost!

  Whose fate inquiring through the world we rove;

  The last, the wretched proof of filial love."

  The stranger then: "Nor shall I aught conceal,

  But the dire secret of my fate reveal.

  Of my own tribe an Argive wretch I slew;

  Whose powerful friends the luckless deed pursue

  With unrelenting rage, and force from home

  The blood-stain'd exile, ever doom'd to roam.

  But bear, oh bear me o'er yon azure flood;

  Receive the suppliant! spare my destined blood!"

  "Stranger (replied the prince) securely rest

  Affianced in our faith; henceforth our guest."

  Thus affable, Ulysses' godlike heir

  Takes from the stranger's hand the glittering spear:

  He climbs the ship, ascends the stern with haste

  And by his side the guest accepted placed.

  The chief his order gives: the obedient band,

  With due observance wait the chief's command:

  With speed the mast they rear, with speed unbind

  The spacious sheet, and stretch it to the wind.

  Minerva calls; the ready gales obey

  With rapid speed to whirl them o'er the sea.

  Crunus they pass'd, next Chalcis roll'd away,

  With thickening darkness closed the doubtful day;

  The silver Phaea's glittering rills they lost,

  And skimm'd along by Elis' sacred coast.

  Then cautious through the rocky reaches wind,

  And turning sudden, shun the death design'd.

  Meantime, the king, Eumaeus, and the rest,

  Sate in the cottage, at their rural feast:

  The banquet pass'd, and satiate every man,

  To try his host, Ulysses thus began:

  "Yet one night more, my friends, indulge your guest;

  The last I purpose in your walls to rest:

  To-morrow for myself I must provide,

  And only ask your counsel, and a guide;

  Patient to roam the street, by hunger led,

  And bless the friendly hand that gives me bread.

  There in Ulysses' roof I may relate

  Ulysses' wanderings to his royal mate;

  Or, mingling with the suitors' haughty train,

  Not undeserving some support obtain.

  Hermes to me his various gifts imparts.

  Patron of industry and manual arts:

  Few can with me in dexterous works contend,

  The pyre to build, the stubborn oak to rend;

  To turn the tasteful viand o'er the flame;

  Or foam the goblet with a purple stream.

  Such are the tasks of men of mean estate,

  Whom fortune dooms to serve the rich and great."

  "Alas! (Eumaeus with a sigh rejoin'd).

  How sprung a thought so monstrous in thy mind?

  If on that godless race thou would'st attend,

  Fate owes thee sure a miserable end!

  Their wrongs and blasphemies ascend the sky,

  And pull descending vengeance from on high.

  Not such, my friend, the servants of their feast:

  A blooming train in rich embroidery dress'd,

  With earth's whole tribute the bright table bends,

  And smiling round celestial youth attends.

  Stay, then: no eye askance beholds thee here;

  Sweet is thy converse to each social ear;

  Well pleased, and pleasing, in our cottage rest,

  Till good Telemachus accepts his guest

  With genial gifts, and change of fair attires,

  And safe conveys thee where thy soul desires."

  To him the man of woes; "O gracious Jove!

  Reward this stranger's hospitable love!

  Who knows the son of sorrow to relieve,

  Cheers the sad heart, nor lets affliction grieve.

  Of all the ills unhappy mortals know,

  A life of wanderings is the greatest woe;

  On all their weary ways wait care and pain,

  And pine and penury, a meagre train.

  To such a man since harbour you afford,

  Relate the farther fortunes of your lord;

  What cares his mother's tender breast engage,

  And sire forsaken on the verge of age;

  Beneath the sun prolong they yet their breath,

  Or range the house of darkness and of death?"

  To whom the swain: "Attend what you enquire;

  Laertes lives, the miserable sire,

  Lives, but implores of every power to lay

  The burden down, and wishes for the day.

  Torn from his offspring in the eve of life,

  Torn from the embraces of his tender wife,

  Sole, and all comfortless, he wastes away

  Old age, untimely posting ere his day.

  She too, sad mother! for Ulysses lost

  Pined out her bloom, and vanish'd to a ghost;

  (So dire a fate, ye righteous gods! avert

  From every friendly, every feeling heart!)

  While yet she was, though clouded o'er with grief.

  Her pleasing converse minister'd relief:

  With Climene, her young
est daughter, bred,

  One roof contain'd us, and one table fed.

  But when the softly-stealing pace of time

  Crept on from childhood into youthful prime,

  To Samos' isle she sent the wedded fair;

  Me to the fields; to tend the rural care;

  Array'd in garments her own hands had wove,

  Nor less the darling object of her love.

  Her hapless death my brighter days o'ercast,

  Yet Providence deserts me not at last;

  My present labours food and drink procure,

  And more, the pleasure to relieve the poor.

  Small is the comfort from the queen to hear

  Unwelcome news, or vex the royal ear;

  Blank and discountenanced the servants stand,

  Nor dare to question where the proud command;

  No profit springs beneath usurping powers;

  Want feeds not there where luxury devours,

  Nor harbours charity where riot reigns:

  Proud are the lords, and wretched are the swains."

  The suffering chief at this began to melt;

  And, "O Eumaeus! thou (he cries) hast felt

  The spite of fortune too! her cruel hand

  Snatch'd thee an infant from thy native land!

  Snatch'd from thy parents' arms, thy parents' eyes,

  To early wants! a man of miseries!

  The whole sad story, from its first, declare:

  Sunk the fair city by the rage of war,

  Where once thy parents dwelt? or did they keep,

  In humbler life, the lowing herds and sheep?

  So left perhaps to tend the fleecy train,

  Rude pirates seized, and shipp'd thee o'er the main?

  Doom'd a fair prize to grace some prince's board,

  The worthy purchase of a foreign lord."

  "If then my fortunes can delight my friend,

  A story fruitful of events attend:

  Another's sorrow may thy ears enjoy,

  And wine the lengthen'd intervals employ.

  Long nights the now declining year bestows;

  A part we consecrate to soft repose,

  A part in pleasing talk we entertain;

  For too much rest itself becomes a pain.

  Let those, whom sleep invites, the call obey,

  Their cares resuming with the dawning day:

  Here let us feast, and to the feast be join'd

  Discourse, the sweeter banquet of the mind;

  Review the series of our lives, and taste

  The melancholy joy of evils pass'd:

  For he who much has suffer'd, much will know,

  And pleased remembrance builds delight on woe.

  "Above Ortygia lies an isle of fame,

  Far hence remote, and Syria is the name

  (There curious eyes inscribed with wonder trace

  The sun's diurnal, and his annual race);

  Not large, but fruitful; stored with grass to keep