Of Aetna and its crags, spotted with fire.
Turn then to converse under human laws,
Receive us shipwrecked suppliants, and provide
Food, clothes, and fire, and hospitable gifts; 285
Nor fixing upon oxen-piercing spits
Our limbs, so fill your belly and your jaws.
Priam’s wide land has widowed Greece enough;
And weapon-winged murder leaped together
Enough of dead, and wives are husbandless, 290
And ancient women and gray fathers wail
Their childless age; — if you should roast the rest —
And ‘tis a bitter feast that you prepare —
Where then would any turn? Yet be persuaded;
Forgo the lust of your jaw-bone; prefer 295
Pious humanity to wicked will:
Many have bought too dear their evil joys.
SILENUS:
Let me advise you, do not spare a morsel
Of all his flesh. If you should eat his tongue
You would become most eloquent, O Cyclops. 300
CYCLOPS:
Wealth, my good fellow, is the wise man’s God,
All other things are a pretence and boast.
What are my father’s ocean promontories,
The sacred rocks whereon he dwells, to me?
Stranger, I laugh to scorn Jove’s thunderbolt, 305
I know not that his strength is more than mine.
As to the rest I care not. — When he pours
Rain from above, I have a close pavilion
Under this rock, in which I lie supine,
Feasting on a roast calf or some wild beast, 310
And drinking pans of milk, and gloriously
Emulating the thunder of high Heaven.
And when the Thracian wind pours down the snow,
I wrap my body in the skins of beasts,
Kindle a fire, and bid the snow whirl on. 315
The earth, by force, whether it will or no,
Bringing forth grass, fattens my flocks and herds,
Which, to what other God but to myself
And this great belly, first of deities,
Should I be bound to sacrifice? I well know 320
The wise man’s only Jupiter is this,
To eat and drink during his little day,
And give himself no care. And as for those
Who complicate with laws the life of man,
I freely give them tears for their reward. 325
I will not cheat my soul of its delight,
Or hesitate in dining upon you: —
And that I may be quit of all demands,
These are my hospitable gifts; — fierce fire
And yon ancestral caldron, which o’er-bubbling 330
Shall finely cook your miserable flesh.
Creep in! —
…
ULYSSES:
Ai! ai! I have escaped the Trojan toils,
I have escaped the sea, and now I fall
Under the cruel grasp of one impious man. 335
O Pallas, Mistress, Goddess, sprung from Jove,
Now, now, assist me! Mightier toils than Troy
Are these; — I totter on the chasms of peril; —
And thou who inhabitest the thrones
Of the bright stars, look, hospitable Jove, 340
Upon this outrage of thy deity,
Otherwise be considered as no God!
CHORUS (ALONE):
For your gaping gulf and your gullet wide,
The ravin is ready on every side,
The limbs of the strangers are cooked and done; 345
There is boiled meat, and roast meat, and meat from the coal,
You may chop it, and tear it, and gnash it for fun,
An hairy goat’s-skin contains the whole.
Let me but escape, and ferry me o’er
The stream of your wrath to a safer shore. 350
The Cyclops Aetnean is cruel and bold,
He murders the strangers
That sit on his hearth,
And dreads no avengers
To rise from the earth. 355
He roasts the men before they are cold,
He snatches them broiling from the coal,
And from the caldron pulls them whole,
And minces their flesh and gnaws their bone
With his cursed teeth, till all be gone. 360
Farewell, foul pavilion:
Farewell, rites of dread!
The Cyclops vermilion,
With slaughter uncloying,
Now feasts on the dead, 365
In the flesh of strangers joying!
ULYSSES:
O Jupiter! I saw within the cave
Horrible things; deeds to be feigned in words,
But not to be believed as being done.
CHORUS:
What! sawest thou the impious Polypheme 370
Feasting upon your loved companions now?
ULYSSES:
Selecting two, the plumpest of the crowd,
He grasped them in his hands. —
CHORUS:
Unhappy man!
…
ULYSSES:
Soon as we came into this craggy place,
Kindling a fire, he cast on the broad hearth 375
The knotty limbs of an enormous oak,
Three waggon-loads at least, and then he strewed
Upon the ground, beside the red firelight,
His couch of pine-leaves; and he milked the cows,
And pouring forth the white milk, filled a bowl 380
Three cubits wide and four in depth, as much
As would contain ten amphorae, and bound it
With ivy wreaths; then placed upon the fire
A brazen pot to boil, and made red hot
The points of spits, not sharpened with the sickle 385
But with a fruit tree bough, and with the jaws
Of axes for Aetnean slaughterings.
And when this God-abandoned Cook of Hell
Had made all ready, he seized two of us
And killed them in a kind of measured manner; 390
For he flung one against the brazen rivets
Of the huge caldron, and seized the other
By the foot’s tendon, and knocked out his brains
Upon the sharp edge of the craggy stone:
Then peeled his flesh with a great cooking-knife 395
And put him down to roast. The other’s limbs
He chopped into the caldron to be boiled.
And I, with the tears raining from my eyes,
Stood near the Cyclops, ministering to him;
The rest, in the recesses of the cave, 400
Clung to the rock like bats, bloodless with fear.
When he was filled with my companions’ flesh,
He threw himself upon the ground and sent
A loathsome exhalation from his maw.
Then a divine thought came to me. I filled 405
The cup of Maron, and I offered him
To taste, and said:—’Child of the Ocean God,
Behold what drink the vines of Greece produce,
The exultation and the joy of Bacchus.’
He, satiated with his unnatural food, 410
Received it, and at one draught drank it off,
And taking my hand, praised me:—’Thou hast given
A sweet draught after a sweet meal, dear guest.’
And I, perceiving that it pleased him, filled
Another cup, well knowing that the wine 415
Would wound him soon and take a sure revenge.
And the charm fascinated him, and I
Plied him cup after cup, until the drink
Had warmed his entrails, and he sang aloud
In concert with my wailing fellow-seamen 420
A hideous discord — and the cavern rung.
I have stolen out, so that if you will
You may ac
hieve my safety and your own.
But say, do you desire, or not, to fly
This uncompanionable man, and dwell 425
As was your wont among the Grecian Nymphs
Within the fanes of your beloved God?
Your father there within agrees to it,
But he is weak and overcome with wine,
And caught as if with bird-lime by the cup, 430
He claps his wings and crows in doting joy.
You who are young escape with me, and find
Bacchus your ancient friend; unsuited he
To this rude Cyclops.
CHORUS:
Oh my dearest friend,
That I could see that day, and leave for ever 435
The impious Cyclops.
…
ULYSSES:
Listen then what a punishment I have
For this fell monster, how secure a flight
From your hard servitude.
CHORUS:
O sweeter far
Than is the music of an Asian lyre 440
Would be the news of Polypheme destroyed.
ULYSSES:
Delighted with the Bacchic drink he goes
To call his brother Cyclops — who inhabit
A village upon Aetna not far off.
CHORUS:
I understand, catching him when alone 445
You think by some measure to dispatch him,
Or thrust him from the precipice.
ULYSSES:
Oh no;
Nothing of that kind; my device is subtle.
CHORUS:
How then? I heard of old that thou wert wise.
ULYSSES:
I will dissuade him from this plan, by saying 450
It were unwise to give the Cyclopses
This precious drink, which if enjoyed alone
Would make life sweeter for a longer time.
When, vanquished by the Bacchic power, he sleeps,
There is a trunk of olive wood within, 455
Whose point having made sharp with this good sword
I will conceal in fire, and when I see
It is alight, will fix it, burning yet,
Within the socket of the Cyclops’ eye
And melt it out with fire — as when a man 460
Turns by its handle a great auger round,
Fitting the framework of a ship with beams,
So will I, in the Cyclops’ fiery eye
Turn round the brand and dry the pupil up.
CHORUS:
Joy! I am mad with joy at your device. 465
ULYSSES:
And then with you, my friends, and the old man,
We’ll load the hollow depth of our black ship,
And row with double strokes from this dread shore.
CHORUS:
May I, as in libations to a God,
Share in the blinding him with the red brand? 470
I would have some communion in his death.
ULYSSES:
Doubtless: the brand is a great brand to hold.
CHORUS:
Oh! I would lift an hundred waggon-loads,
If like a wasp’s nest I could scoop the eye out
Of the detested Cyclops.
ULYSSES:
Silence now! 475
Ye know the close device — and when I call,
Look ye obey the masters of the craft.
I will not save myself and leave behind
My comrades in the cave: I might escape,
Having got clear from that obscure recess, 480
But ‘twere unjust to leave in jeopardy
The dear companions who sailed here with me.
CHORUS:
Come! who is first, that with his hand
Will urge down the burning brand
Through the lids, and quench and pierce 485
The Cyclops’ eye so fiery fierce?
SEMICHORUS 1 (SONG WITHIN):
Listen! listen! he is coming,
A most hideous discord humming.
Drunken, museless, awkward, yelling,
Far along his rocky dwelling; 490
Let us with some comic spell
Teach the yet unteachable.
By all means he must be blinded,
If my counsel be but minded.
SEMICHORUS 2:
Happy thou made odorous 495
With the dew which sweet grapes weep,
To the village hastening thus,
Seek the vines that soothe to sleep;
Having first embraced thy friend,
Thou in luxury without end, 500
With the strings of yellow hair,
Of thy voluptuous leman fair,
Shalt sit playing on a bed! —
Speak! what door is opened?
CYCLOPS:
Ha! ha! ha! I’m full of wine, 505
Heavy with the joy divine,
With the young feast oversated;
Like a merchant’s vessel freighted
To the water’s edge, my crop
Is laden to the gullet’s top. 510
The fresh meadow grass of spring
Tempts me forth thus wandering
To my brothers on the mountains,
Who shall share the wine’s sweet fountains.
Bring the cask, O stranger, bring! 515
CHORUS:
One with eyes the fairest
Cometh from his dwelling;
Some one loves thee, rarest
Bright beyond my telling.
In thy grace thou shinest 520
Like some nymph divinest
In her caverns dewy: —
All delights pursue thee,
Soon pied flowers, sweet-breathing,
Shall thy head be wreathing. 525
ULYSSES:
Listen, O Cyclops, for I am well skilled
In Bacchus, whom I gave thee of to drink.
CYCLOPS:
What sort of God is Bacchus then accounted?
ULYSSES:
The greatest among men for joy of life.
CYCLOPS:
I gulped him down with very great delight. 530
ULYSSES:
This is a God who never injures men.
CYCLOPS:
How does the God like living in a skin?
ULYSSES:
He is content wherever he is put.
CYCLOPS:
Gods should not have their body in a skin.
ULYSSES:
If he gives joy, what is his skin to you? 535
CYCLOPS:
I hate the skin, but love the wine within.
ULYSSES:
Stay here now: drink, and make your spirit glad.
CYCLOPS:
Should I not share this liquor with my brothers?
ULYSSES:
Keep it yourself, and be more honoured so.
CYCLOPS:
I were more useful, giving to my friends. 540
ULYSSES:
But village mirth breeds contests, broils, and blows.
CYCLOPS:
When I am drunk none shall lay hands on me. —
ULYSSES:
A drunken man is better within doors.
CYCLOPS:
He is a fool, who drinking, loves not mirth.
ULYSSES:
But he is wise, who drunk, remains at home. 545
CYCLOPS:
What shall I do, Silenus? Shall I stay?
SILENUS:
Stay — for what need have you of pot companions?
CYCLOPS:
Indeed this place is closely carpeted
With flowers and grass.
SILENUS:
And in the sun-warm noon
‘Tis sweet to drink. Lie down beside me now, 550
Placing your mighty sides upon the ground.
CYCLOPS:
What do you put the cup behind me for?
SILENUS:
That no one here may touch it.
; CYCLOPS:
Thievish One!
You want to drink; — here place it in the midst.
And thou, O stranger, tell how art thou called? 555
ULYSSES:
My name is Nobody. What favour now
Shall I receive to praise you at your hands?
CYCLOPS:
I’ll feast on you the last of your companions.
ULYSSES:
You grant your guest a fair reward, O Cyclops.
CYCLOPS:
Ha! what is this? Stealing the wine, you rogue! 560
SILENUS:
It was this stranger kissing me because
I looked so beautiful.
CYCLOPS:
You shall repent
For kissing the coy wine that loves you not.
SILENUS:
By Jupiter! you said that I am fair.
CYCLOPS:
Pour out, and only give me the cup full. 565
SILENUS:
How is it mixed? let me observe.
CYCLOPS:
Curse you!
Give it me so.
SILENUS:
Not till I see you wear
That coronal, and taste the cup to you.
CYCLOPS:
Thou wily traitor!
SILENUS:
But the wine is sweet.
Ay, you will roar if you are caught in drinking. 570
CYCLOPS:
See now, my lip is clean and all my beard.
SILENUS:
Now put your elbow right and drink again.
As you see me drink — …
CYCLOPS:
How now?
SILENUS:
Ye Gods, what a delicious gulp!
CYCLOPS:
Guest, take it; — you pour out the wine for me. 575
ULYSSES:
The wine is well accustomed to my hand.
CYCLOPS:
Pour out the wine!
ULYSSES:
I pour; only be silent.
CYCLOPS:
Silence is a hard task to him who drinks.
ULYSSES:
Take it and drink it off; leave not a dreg.
Oh that the drinker died with his own draught! 580
CYCLOPS:
Papai! the vine must be a sapient plant.
ULYSSES:
If you drink much after a mighty feast,
Moistening your thirsty maw, you will sleep well;
If you leave aught, Bacchus will dry you up.
CYCLOPS:
Ho! ho! I can scarce rise. What pure delight! 585
The heavens and earth appear to whirl about
Confusedly. I see the throne of Jove
And the clear congregation of the Gods.
Now if the Graces tempted me to kiss
I would not — for the loveliest of them all 590
I would not leave this Ganymede.
SILENUS:
Polypheme,
I am the Ganymede of Jupiter.
CYCLOPS:
By Jove, you are; I bore you off from Dardanus.
…
(ULYSSES AND THE CHORUS.)
ULYSSES:
Come, boys of Bacchus, children of high race,
This man within is folded up in sleep, 595
Percy Bysshe Shelley Page 89