The Odyssey of Homer Part 15

So spake the G.o.ddess, and my gen'rous mind 490 Persuaded; thence repairing to the beach, I sought my ship; arrived, I found my crew Lamenting miserably, and their cheeks With tears bedewing ceaseless at her side.

As when the calves within some village rear'd Behold, at eve, the herd returning home From fruitful meads where they have grazed their fill, No longer in the stalls contain'd, they rush With many a frisk abroad, and, blaring oft, With one consent, all dance their dams around, 500 So they, at sight of me, dissolved in tears Of rapt'rous joy, and each his spirit felt With like affections warm'd as he had reach'd Just then his country, and his city seen, Fair Ithaca, where he was born and rear'd.

Then in wing'd accents tender thus they spake.

n.o.ble Ulysses! thy appearance fills Our soul with transports, such as we should feel Arrived in safety on our native sh.o.r.e.

Speak--say how perish'd our unhappy friends? 510 So they; to whom this answer mild I gave.

Hale we our vessel first ash.o.r.e, and hide In caverns all our treasures and our arms, Then, hasting hence, follow me, and ere long Ye shall behold your friends, beneath the roof Of Circe banqueting and drinking wine Abundant, for no dearth attends them there.

So I; whom all with readiness obey'd, All save Eurylochus; he sought alone To stay the rest, and, eager, interposed. 520 Ah whither tend we, miserable men?

Why covet ye this evil, to go down To Circe's palace? she will change us all To lions, wolves or swine, that we may guard Her palace, by necessity constrain'd.

So some were pris'ners of the Cyclops erst, When, led by rash Ulysses, our lost friends Intruded needlessly into his cave, And perish'd by the folly of their Chief.

He spake, whom hearing, occupied I stood 530 In self-debate, whether, my faulchion keen Forth-drawing from beside my st.u.r.dy thigh, To tumble his lopp'd head into the dust, Although he were my kinsman in the bonds Of close affinity; but all my friends As with one voice, thus gently interposed.

n.o.ble Ulysses! we will leave him here Our vessel's guard, if such be thy command, But us lead thou to Circe's dread abode.

So saying, they left the galley, and set forth 540 Climbing the coast; nor would Eurylochus Beside the hollow bark remain, but join'd His comrades by my dreadful menace awed.

Meantime the G.o.ddess, busily employ'd, Bathed and refresh'd my friends with limpid oil, And clothed them. We, arriving, found them all Banqueting in the palace; there they met; These ask'd, and those rehea.r.s.ed the wond'rous tale, And, the recital made, all wept aloud Till the wide dome resounded. Then approach'd 550 The graceful G.o.ddess, and address'd me thus.

Laertes' n.o.ble son, for wiles renown'd!

Provoke ye not each other, now, to tears.

I am not ignorant, myself, how dread Have been your woes both on the fishy Deep, And on the land by force of hostile pow'rs.

But come--Eat now, and drink ye wine, that so Your freshen'd spirit may revive, and ye Courageous grow again, as when ye left The rugged sh.o.r.es of Ithaca, your home. 560 For now, through recollection, day by day, Of all your pains and toils, ye are become Spiritless, strengthless, and the taste forget Of pleasure, such have been your num'rous woes.

She spake, whose invitation kind prevail'd, And won us to her will. There, then, we dwelt The year complete, fed with delicious fare Day after day, and quaffing gen'rous wine.

But when (the year fulfill'd) the circling hours Their course resumed, and the successive months 570 With all their tedious days were spent, my friends, Summoning me abroad, thus greeted me.

Sir! recollect thy country, if indeed The fates ordain thee to revisit safe That country, and thy own glorious abode.

So they; whose admonition I receiv'd Well-pleas'd. Then, all the day, regaled we sat At Circe's board with sav'ry viands rare, And quaffing richest wine; but when, the sun Declining, darkness overshadow'd all, 580 Then, each within the dusky palace took Custom'd repose, and to the G.o.ddess' bed Magnificent ascending, there I urged My earnest suit, which gracious she receiv'd, And in wing'd accents earnest thus I spake.

O Circe! let us prove thy promise true; Dismiss us hence. My own desires, at length, Tend homeward vehement, and the desires No less of all my friends, who with complaints Unheard by thee, wear my sad heart away. 590 So I; to whom the G.o.ddess in return.

Laertes' n.o.ble son, Ulysses famed For deepest wisdom! dwell not longer here, Thou and thy followers, in my abode Reluctant; but your next must be a course Far diff'rent; hence departing, ye must seek The dreary house of Ades and of dread Persephone there to consult the Seer Theban Tiresias, prophet blind, but blest With faculties which death itself hath spared. 600 To him alone, of all the dead, h.e.l.l's Queen Gives still to prophesy, while others flit Mere forms, the shadows of what once they were.

She spake, and by her words dash'd from my soul All courage; weeping on the bed I sat, Reckless of life and of the light of day.

But when, with tears and rolling to and fro Satiate, I felt relief, thus I replied.

O Circe! with what guide shall I perform This voyage, unperform'd by living man? 610 I spake, to whom the G.o.ddess quick replied.

Brave Laertiades! let not the fear To want a guide distress thee. Once on board, Your mast erected, and your canvas white Unfurl'd, sit thou; the breathing North shall waft Thy vessel on. But when ye shall have cross'd The broad expanse of Ocean, and shall reach The oozy sh.o.r.e, where grow the poplar groves And fruitless willows wan of Proserpine, Push thither through the gulphy Deep thy bark, 620 And, landing, haste to Pluto's murky abode.

There, into Acheron runs not alone Dread Pyriphlegethon, but Cocytus loud, From Styx derived; there also stands a rock, At whose broad base the roaring rivers meet.

There, thrusting, as I bid, thy bark ash.o.r.e, O Hero! scoop the soil, op'ning a trench Ell-broad on ev'ry side; then pour around Libation consecrate to all the dead, First, milk with honey mixt, then luscious wine, 630 Then water, sprinkling, last, meal over all.

Next, supplicate the unsubstantial forms Fervently of the dead, vowing to slay, (Return'd to Ithaca) in thy own house, An heifer barren yet, fairest and best Of all thy herds, and to enrich the pile With delicacies such as please the shades; But, in peculiar, to Tiresias vow A sable ram, n.o.blest of all thy flocks.

When thus thou hast propitiated with pray'r 640 All the ill.u.s.trious nations of the dead, Next, thou shalt sacrifice to them a ram And sable ewe, turning the face of each Right toward Erebus, and look thyself, Meantime, askance toward the river's course.

Souls num'rous, soon, of the departed dead Will thither flock; then, strenuous urge thy friends, Flaying the victims which thy ruthless steel Hath slain, to burn them, and to sooth by pray'r Ill.u.s.trious Pluto and dread Proserpine. 650 While thus is done, thou seated at the foss, Faulchion in hand, chace thence the airy forms Afar, nor suffer them to approach the blood, Till with Tiresias thou have first conferr'd.

Then, glorious Chief! the Prophet shall himself Appear, who will instruct thee, and thy course Delineate, measuring from place to place Thy whole return athwart the fishy flood.

While thus she spake, the golden dawn arose, When, putting on me my attire, the nymph 660 Next, cloath'd herself, and girding to her waist With an embroider'd zone her snowy robe Graceful, redundant, veil'd her beauteous head.

Then, ranging the wide palace, I aroused My followers, standing at the side of each-- Up! sleep no longer! let us quick depart, For thus the G.o.ddess hath, herself, advised.

So I, whose early summons my brave friends With readiness obey'd. Yet even thence I brought not all my crew. There was a youth, 670 Youngest of all my train, Elpenor; one Not much in estimation for desert In arms, nor prompt in understanding more, Who overcharged with wine, and covetous Of cooler air, high on the palace-roof Of Circe slept, apart from all the rest.

Awaken'd by the clamour of his friends Newly arisen, he also sprang to rise, And in his haste, forgetful where to find The deep-descending stairs, plunged through the roof. 680 With neck-bone broken from the vertebrae Outstretch'd he lay; his spirit sought the shades.

Then, thus to my a.s.sembling friends I spake.

Ye think, I doubt not, of an homeward course, But Circe points me to the drear abode Of Proserpine and Pluto, to consult The spirit of Tiresias, Theban seer.

I ended, and the hearts of all alike Felt consternation; on the earth they sat Disconsolate, and plucking each his hair, 690 Yet profit none of all their sorrow found.

But while we sought my galley on the beach With tepid tears bedewing, as we went, Our cheeks, meantime the G.o.ddess to the sh.o.r.e Descending, bound within the bark a ram And sable ewe, pa.s.sing us unperceived.

For who hath eyes that can discern a G.o.d Going or coming, if he shun the view?

FOOTNOTES:

[38] It is supposed by Eustathius that the pastures being infested by gad flies and other noxious insects in the day-time, they drove their sheep a-field in the morning, which by their wool were defended from them, and their cattle in the evening, when the insects had withdrawn. It is one of the few pa.s.sages in Homer that must lie at the mercy of conjecture.

[39] The word has the authority of Shakspeare, and signifies overhanging.

BOOK XI

ARGUMENT

Ulysses relates to Alcinous his voyage to the infernal regions, his conference there with the prophet Tiresias concerning his return to Ithaca, and gives him an account of the heroes, heroines, and others whom he saw there.

Arriving on the sh.o.r.e, and launching, first, Our bark into the sacred Deep, we set Our mast and sails, and stow'd secure on board The ram and ewe, then, weeping, and with hearts Sad and disconsolate, embark'd ourselves.

And now, melodious Circe, nymph divine, Sent after us a canvas-stretching breeze, Pleasant companion of our course, and we (The decks and benches clear'd) untoiling sat, While managed gales sped swift the bark along. 10 All day, with sails distended, e'er the Deep She flew, and when the sun, at length, declined, And twilight dim had shadow'd all the ways, Approach'd the bourn of Ocean's vast profound.

The city, there, of the Cimmerians stands With clouds and darkness veil'd, on whom the sun Deigns not to look with his beam-darting eye, Or when he climbs the starry arch, or when Earthward he slopes again his west'ring wheels,[40]

But sad night canopies the woeful race. 20 We haled the bark aground, and, landing there The ram and sable ewe, journey'd beside The Deep, till we arrived where Circe bade.

Here, Perimedes' son Eurylochus Held fast the destined sacrifice, while I Scoop'd with my sword the soil, op'ning a trench Ell-broad on ev'ry side, then pour'd around Libation consecrate to all the dead, First, milk with honey mixt, then luscious wine, Then water, sprinkling, last, meal over all. 30 This done, adoring the unreal forms And shadows of the dead, I vow'd to slay, (Return'd to Ithaca) in my own abode, An heifer barren yet, fairest and best Of all my herds, and to enrich the pile With delicacies, such as please the shades.

But, in peculiar, to the Theban seer I vow'd a sable ram, largest and best Of all my flocks. When thus I had implored With vows and pray'r, the nations of the dead, 40 Piercing the victims next, I turn'd them both To bleed into the trench; then swarming came From Erebus the shades of the deceased, Brides, youths unwedded, seniors long with woe Oppress'd, and tender girls yet new to grief.

Came also many a warrior by the spear In battle pierced, with armour gore-distain'd, And all the mult.i.tude around the foss Stalk'd shrieking dreadful; me pale horror seized.

I next, importunate, my people urged, 50 Flaying the victims which myself had slain, To burn them, and to supplicate in pray'r Ill.u.s.trious Pluto and dread Proserpine.

Then down I sat, and with drawn faulchion chased The ghosts, nor suffer'd them to approach the blood, Till with Tiresias I should first confer.

The spirit, first, of my companion came, Elpenor; for no burial honours yet Had he received, but we had left his corse In Circe's palace, tombless, undeplored, 60 Ourselves by pressure urged of other cares.

Touch'd with compa.s.sion seeing him, I wept, And in wing'd accents brief him thus bespake.

Elpenor! how cam'st thou into the realms Of darkness? Hast thou, though on foot, so far Outstripp'd my speed, who in my bark arrived?

So I, to whom with tears he thus replied.

Laertes' n.o.ble son, for wiles renown'd!

Fool'd by some daemon and the intemp'rate bowl, I perish'd in the house of Circe; there 70 The deep-descending steps heedless I miss'd, And fell precipitated from the roof.

With neck-bone broken from the vertebrae Outstretch'd I lay; my spirit sought the shades.

But now, by those whom thou hast left at home, By thy Penelope, and by thy fire, The gentle nourisher of thy infant growth, And by thy only son Telemachus I make my suit to thee. For, sure, I know That from the house of Pluto safe return'd, 80 Thou shalt ere long thy gallant vessel moor At the aeaean isle. Ah! there arrived Remember me. Leave me not undeplored Nor uninhumed, lest, for my sake, the G.o.ds In vengeance visit thee; but with my arms (What arms soe'er I left) burn me, and raise 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, With outstretch'd faulchion, I, guarding the blood, And my companion's shadowy semblance sad Meantime discoursing me on various themes.

The soul of my departed mother, next, Of Anticleia came, daughter of brave 100 Autolycus; whom, when I sought the sh.o.r.es Of Ilium, I had living left at home.

Seeing her, with compa.s.sion touch'd, I wept, Yet even her, (although it pain'd my soul) Forbad, relentless, to approach the blood, Till with Tiresias I should first confer.

Then came the spirit of the Theban seer Himself, his golden sceptre in his hand, Who knew me, and, enquiring, thus began.

Why, hapless Chief! leaving the cheerful day, 110 Arriv'st thou to behold the dead, and this Unpleasant land? but, from the trench awhile Receding, turn thy faulchion keen away, That I may drink the blood, and tell thee truth.

He spake; I thence receding, deep infix'd My sword bright-studded in the sheath again.

The n.o.ble 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 G.o.d will make 120 That voyage difficult; for, as I judge, Thou wilt not pa.s.s by Neptune unperceiv'd, Whose anger follows thee, for that thou hast Deprived his son Cyclops of his eye.

At length, however, after num'rous woes Endur'd, thou may'st attain thy native isle, If thy own appet.i.te thou wilt controul And theirs who follow thee, what time thy bark Well-built, shall at Thrinacia's sh.o.r.e arrive,[41]

Escaped from perils of the gloomy Deep. 130 There shall ye find grazing the flocks and herds Of the all-seeing and all-hearing Sun, Which, if attentive to thy safe return, Thou leave unharm'd, though after num'rous woes, Ye may at length arrive in Ithaca.

But if thou violate them, I denounce Destruction on thy ship and all thy band, And though thyself escape, late shalt thou reach Thy home and hard-bested,[42] in a strange bark, All thy companions lost; trouble beside 140 Awaits thee there, for thou shalt find within Proud suitors of thy n.o.ble wife, who waste Thy substance, and with promis'd spousal gifts Ceaseless solicit her to wed; yet well Shalt thou avenge all their injurious deeds.

That once perform'd, and ev'ry suitor slain Either by stratagem, or face to face, In thy own palace, bearing, as thou go'st, A shapely oar, journey, till thou hast found A people who the sea know not, nor eat 150 Food salted; they trim galley crimson prow'd Have ne'er beheld, nor yet smooth-shaven oar, With which the vessel wing'd scuds o'er the waves.

Well thou shalt know them; this shall be the sign-- When thou shalt meet a trav'ler, who shall name The oar on thy broad shoulder borne, a van,[43]

There, deep infixing it within the soil, Worship the King of Ocean with a bull, A ram, and a lascivious boar, then seek Thy home again, and sacrifice at home 160 An hecatomb to the Immortal G.o.ds, Adoring each duly, and in his course.

So shalt thou die in peace a gentle death, Remote from Ocean; it shall find thee late, In soft serenity of age, the Chief 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?

So I, to whom Tiresias quick replied.