Complete works of homer, p.420
Complete Works of Homer, page 420
Such were the ample blessings on the house
Of King Alcinoüs by the Gods bestow'd.
Ulysses wond'ring stood, and when, at length,
Silent he had the whole fair scene admired,
With rapid step enter'd the royal gate.
The Chiefs he found and Senators within
Libation pouring to the vigilant spy
Mercurius, whom with wine they worshipp'd last 170
Of all the Gods, and at the hour of rest.
Ulysses, toil-worn Hero, through the house
Pass'd undelaying, by Minerva thick
With darkness circumfus'd, till he arrived
Where King Alcinoüs and Areta sat.
Around Areta's knees his arms he cast,
And, in that moment, broken clear away
The cloud all went, shed on him from above.
Dumb sat the guests, seeing the unknown Chief,
And wond'ring gazed. He thus his suit preferr'd. 180
Areta, daughter of the Godlike Prince
Rhexenor! suppliant at thy knees I fall,
Thy royal spouse imploring, and thyself,
(After ten thousand toils) and these your guests,
To whom heav'n grant felicity, and to leave
Their treasures to their babes, with all the rights
And honours, by the people's suffrage, theirs!
But oh vouchsafe me, who have wanted long
And ardent wish'd my home, without delay
Safe conduct to my native shores again! 190
Such suit he made, and in the ashes sat
At the hearth-side; they mute long time remain'd,
Till, at the last, the antient Hero spake
Echeneus, eldest of Phæacia's sons,
With eloquence beyond the rest endow'd,
Rich in traditionary lore, and wise
In all, who thus, benevolent, began.
Not honourable to thyself, O King!
Is such a sight, a stranger on the ground
At the hearth-side seated, and in the dust. 200
Meantime, thy guests, expecting thy command,
Move not; thou therefore raising by his hand
The stranger, lead him to a throne, and bid
The heralds mingle wine, that we may pour
To thunder-bearing Jove, the suppliant's friend.
Then let the cat'ress for thy guest produce
Supply, a supper from the last regale.
Soon as those words Alcinoüs heard, the King,
Upraising by his hand the prudent Chief
Ulysses from the hearth, he made him sit, 210
On a bright throne, displacing for his sake
Laodamas his son, the virtuous youth
Who sat beside him, and whom most he lov'd.
And now, a maiden charg'd with golden ew'r
And with an argent laver, pouring, first,
Pure water on his hands, supply'd him, next,
With a resplendent table, which the chaste
Directress of the stores furnish'd with bread
And dainties, remnants of the last regale.
Then ate the Hero toil-inured, and drank, 220
And to his herald thus Alcinoüs spake.
Pontonoüs! mingling wine, bear it around
To ev'ry guest in turn, that we may pour
To thunder-bearer Jove, the stranger's friend,
And guardian of the suppliant's sacred rights.
He said; Pontonoüs, as he bade, the wine
Mingled delicious, and the cups dispensed
With distribution regular to all.
When each had made libation, and had drunk
Sufficient, then, Alcinoüs thus began. 230
Phæacian Chiefs and Senators, I speak
The dictates of my mind, therefore attend!
Ye all have feasted--To your homes and sleep.
We will assemble at the dawn of day
More senior Chiefs, that we may entertain
The stranger here, and to the Gods perform
Due sacrifice; the convoy that he asks
Shall next engage our thoughts, that free from pain
And from vexation, by our friendly aid
He may revisit, joyful and with speed, 240
His native shore, however far remote.
No inconvenience let him feel or harm,
Ere his arrival; but, arrived, thenceforth
He must endure whatever lot the Fates
Spun for him in the moment of his birth.
But should he prove some Deity from heav'n
Descended, then the Immortals have in view
Designs not yet apparent; for the Gods
Have ever from of old reveal'd themselves
At our solemnities, have on our seats 250
Sat with us evident, and shared the feast;
And even if a single traveller
Of the Phæacians meet them, all reserve
They lay aside; for with the Gods we boast
As near affinity as do themselves
The Cyclops, or the Giant race profane.
To whom Ulysses, ever-wise, replied.
Alcinoüs! think not so. Resemblance none
In figure or in lineaments I bear
To the immortal tenants of the skies, 260
But to the sons of earth; if ye have known
A man afflicted with a weight of woe
Peculiar, let me be with him compared;
Woes even passing his could I relate,
And all inflicted on me by the Gods.
But let me eat, comfortless as I am,
Uninterrupted; for no call is loud
As that of hunger in the ears of man;
Importunate, unreas'nable, it constrains
His notice, more than all his woes beside. 270
So, I much sorrow feel, yet not the less
Hear I the blatant appetite demand
Due sustenance, and with a voice that drowns
E'en all my suff'rings, till itself be fill'd.
But expedite ye at the dawn of day
My safe return into my native land,
After much mis'ry; and let life itself
Forsake me, may I but once more behold
All that is mine, in my own lofty abode.
He spake, whom all applauded, and advised, 280
Unanimous, the guest's conveyance home,
Who had so fitly spoken. When, at length,
All had libation made, and were sufficed,
Departing to his house, each sought repose.
But still Ulysses in the hall remain'd,
Where, godlike King, Alcinoüs at his side
Sat, and Areta; the attendants clear'd
Meantime the board, and thus the Queen white-arm'd,
(Marking the vest and mantle, which he wore
And which her maidens and herself had made) 290
In accents wing'd with eager haste began.
Stranger! the first enquiry shall be mine;
Who art, and whence? From whom receiv'dst thou these?
Saidst not--I came a wand'rer o'er the Deep?
To whom Ulysses, ever-wise, replied.
Oh Queen! the task were difficult to unfold
In all its length the story of my woes,
For I have num'rous from the Gods receiv'd;
But I will answer thee as best I may.
There is a certain isle, Ogygia, placed 300
Far distant in the Deep; there dwells, by man
Alike unvisited, and by the Gods,
Calypso, beauteous nymph, but deeply skill'd
In artifice, and terrible in pow'r,
Daughter of Atlas. Me alone my fate
Her miserable inmate made, when Jove
Had riv'n asunder with his candent bolt
My bark in the mid-sea. There perish'd all
The valiant partners of my toils, and I
My vessel's keel embracing day and night 310
With folded arms, nine days was borne along.
But on the tenth dark night, as pleas'd the Gods,
They drove me to Ogygia, where resides
Calypso, beauteous nymph, dreadful in pow'r;
She rescued, cherish'd, fed me, and her wish
Was to confer on me immortal life,
Exempt for ever from the sap of age.
But me her offer'd boon sway'd not. Sev'n years
I there abode continual, with my tears
Bedewing ceaseless my ambrosial robes, 320
Calypso's gift divine; but when, at length,
(Sev'n years elaps'd) the circling eighth arrived,
She then, herself, my quick departure thence
Advised, by Jove's own mandate overaw'd,
Which even her had influenced to a change.
On a well-corded raft she sent me forth
With num'rous presents; bread she put and wine
On board, and cloath'd me in immortal robes;
She sent before me also a fair wind
Fresh-blowing, but not dang'rous. Sev'nteen days 330
I sail'd the flood continual, and descried,
On the eighteenth, your shadowy mountains tall
When my exulting heart sprang at the sight,
All wretched as I was, and still ordain'd
To strive with difficulties many and hard
From adverse Neptune; he the stormy winds
Exciting opposite, my wat'ry way
Impeded, and the waves heav'd to a bulk
Immeasurable, such as robb'd me soon
Deep-groaning, of the raft, my only hope; 340
For her the tempest scatter'd, and myself
This ocean measur'd swimming, till the winds
And mighty waters cast me on your shore.
Me there emerging, the huge waves had dash'd
Full on the land, where, incommodious most,
The shore presented only roughest rocks,
But, leaving it, I swam the Deep again,
Till now, at last, a river's gentle stream
Receiv'd me, by no rocks deform'd, and where
No violent winds the shelter'd bank annoy'd. 350
I flung myself on shore, exhausted, weak,
Needing repose; ambrosial night came on,
When from the Jove-descended stream withdrawn,
I in a thicket lay'd me down on leaves
Which I had heap'd together, and the Gods
O'erwhelm'd my eye-lids with a flood of sleep.
There under wither'd leaves, forlorn, I slept
All the long night, the morning and the noon,
But balmy sleep, at the decline of day,
Broke from me; then, your daughter's train I heard 360
Sporting, with whom she also sported, fair
And graceful as the Gods. To her I kneel'd.
She, following the dictates of a mind
Ingenuous, pass'd in her behaviour all
Which even ye could from an age like hers
Have hoped; for youth is ever indiscrete.
She gave me plenteous food, with richest wine
Refresh'd my spirit, taught me where to bathe,
And cloath'd me as thou seest; thus, though a prey
To many sorrows, I have told thee truth. 370
To whom Alcinoüs answer thus return'd.
My daughter's conduct, I perceive, hath been
In this erroneous, that she led thee not
Hither, at once, with her attendant train,
For thy first suit was to herself alone.
Thus then Ulysses, wary Chief, replied.
Blame not, O Hero, for so slight a cause
Thy faultless child; she bade me follow them,
But I refused, by fear and awe restrain'd,
Lest thou should'st feel displeasure at that sight 380
Thyself; for we are all, in ev'ry clime,
Suspicious, and to worst constructions prone.
So spake Ulysses, to whom thus the King.
I bear not, stranger! in my breast an heart
Causeless irascible; for at all times
A temp'rate equanimity is best.
And oh, I would to heav'n, that, being such
As now thou art, and of one mind with me,
Thou would'st accept my daughter, would'st become
My son-in-law, and dwell contented here! 390
House would I give thee, and possessions too,
Were such thy choice; else, if thou chuse it not,
No man in all Phæacia shall by force
Detain thee. Jupiter himself forbid!
For proof, I will appoint thee convoy hence
To-morrow; and while thou by sleep subdued
Shalt on thy bed repose, they with their oars
Shall brush the placid flood, till thou arrive
At home, or at what place soe'er thou would'st,
Though far more distant than Eubœa lies, 400
Remotest isle from us, by the report
Of ours, who saw it when they thither bore
Golden-hair'd Rhadamanthus o'er the Deep,
To visit earth-born Tityus. To that isle
They went; they reach'd it, and they brought him thence
Back to Phæacia, in one day, with ease.
Thou also shalt be taught what ships I boast
Unmatch'd in swiftness, and how far my crews
Excel, upturning with their oars the brine.
He ceas'd; Ulysses toil-inur'd his words 410
Exulting heard, and, praying, thus replied.
Eternal Father! may the King perform
His whole kind promise! grant him in all lands
A never-dying name, and grant to me
To visit safe my native shores again!
Thus they conferr'd; and now Areta bade
Her fair attendants dress a fleecy couch
Under the portico, with purple rugs
Resplendent, and with arras spread beneath,
And over all with cloaks of shaggy pile. 420
Forth went the maidens, bearing each a torch,
And, as she bade, prepared in haste a couch
Of depth commodious, then, returning, gave
Ulysses welcome summons to repose.
Stranger! thy couch is spread. Hence to thy rest.
So they--Thrice grateful to his soul the thought
Seem'd of repose. There slept Ulysses, then,
On his carv'd couch, beneath the portico,
But in the inner-house Alcinoüs found
His place of rest, and hers with royal state 430
Prepared, the Queen his consort, at his side.
FOOTNOTES:
Καιροσέων δ' οθονεων ἀπολείβεται ὑγρον ἔλαιον.
Pope has given no translation of this line in the text of his work, but
has translated it in a note. It is variously interpreted by commentators;
the sense which is here given of it is that recommended by Eustathius.
The Scholiast explains the passage thus--We resemble the Gods in
righteousness as much as the Cyclops and Giants resembled each other in
impiety. But in this sense of it there is something intricate and
contrary to Homer's manner. We have seen that they derived themselves
from Neptune, which sufficiently justifies the above interpretation.
BOOK VIII
ARGUMENT
The Phæacians consult on the subject of Ulysses. Preparation is made for
his departure. Antinoüs entertains them at his table. Games follow the
entertainment. Demodocus the bard sings, first the loves of Mars and
Venus, then the introduction of the wooden horse into Troy. Ulysses, much
affected by his song, is questioned by Alcinoüs, whence, and who he is,
and what is the cause of his sorrow.
But when Aurora, daughter of the dawn,
Blush'd in the East, then from his bed arose
The sacred might of the Phæacian King.
Then uprose also, city-waster Chief,
Ulysses, whom the King Alcinoüs
Led forth to council at the ships convened.
There, side by side, on polish'd stones they sat
Frequent; meantime, Minerva in the form
Of King Alcinoüs' herald ranged the town,
With purpose to accelerate the return 10
Of brave Ulysses to his native home,
And thus to ev'ry Chief the Goddess spake.
Phæacian Chiefs and Senators, away!
Haste all to council on the stranger held,
Who hath of late beneath Alcinoüs' roof
Our King arrived, a wand'rer o'er the Deep,
But, in his form, majestic as a God.
So saying, she roused the people, and at once
The seats of all the senate-court were fill'd
With fast-assembling throngs, no few of whom 20
Had mark'd Ulysses with admiring eyes.
Then, Pallas o'er his head and shoulders broad
Diffusing grace celestial, his whole form
Dilated, and to the statelier height advanced,
That worthier of all rev'rence he might seem
To the Phæacians, and might many a feat
Atchieve, with which they should assay his force.
When, therefore, the assembly now was full,
Alcinoüs, them addressing, thus began.
Phæacian Chiefs and Senators! I speak 30
The dictates of my mind, therefore attend.
This guest, unknown to me, hath, wand'ring, found
My palace, either from the East arrived,
Or from some nation on our western side.
Safe conduct home he asks, and our consent
Here wishes ratified, whose quick return
Be it our part, as usual, to promote;
For at no time the stranger, from what coast
Soe'er, who hath resorted to our doors,
Hath long complain'd of his detention here. 40
Haste--draw ye down into the sacred Deep
A vessel of prime speed, and, from among
The people, fifty and two youths select,
Approved the best; then, lashing fast the oars,
Leave her, that at my palace ye may make
Short feast, for which myself will all provide.
Thus I enjoin the crew; but as for those
Of sceptred rank, I bid them all alike
To my own board, that here we may regale
The stranger nobly, and let none refuse. 50
Call, too, Demodocus, the bard divine,
To share my banquet, whom the Gods have blest
