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10 - The Odyssey - Homer · Classic Adventure Books - Daily

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Speaker 1: Book ten Aeolus the Leystrygynes Curse. Thence we went onto
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Speaker 1: the Aeolian Islands, where lives Iolus, son of Hippatas, dear
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Speaker 1: to the immortal gods. It is an island that floats,
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Speaker 1: as it were, upon the sea, iron bound, with a
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Speaker 1: wall that girds it. Now Iolus has six daughters and
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Speaker 1: six lusty sons. So he made the sons marry the daughters,
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Speaker 1: and they all live with their dear father and mother,
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Speaker 1: feasting and enjoying every conceivable kind of luxury all day long.
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Speaker 1: The atmosphere of the house is loaded with the savor
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Speaker 1: of roasting meat till it groans again, yard and all
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Speaker 1: but by night they on their well made bedsteads, each
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Speaker 1: with his own wife between the blankets. These were the
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Speaker 1: people among whom we had now come. Aeolus entertained me
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Speaker 1: for a whole month, asking me questions all the time
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Speaker 1: about Troy, the Argive fleet, and the return of the Achaeans.
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Speaker 1: I told him exactly how everything had happened. And when
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Speaker 1: I said I must go, and asked him to further
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Speaker 1: me on my way, he made no sort of difficulty,
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Speaker 1: but set about doing so at once. Moreover he flayed
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Speaker 1: me a prime ox hide to hold the way of
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Speaker 1: the roaring winds, which he shut up in the hide
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Speaker 1: as in a sack. For Jove had made him captain
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Speaker 1: over the winds, and he could stir or still each
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Speaker 1: one of them according to his own pleasure. He put
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Speaker 1: the sack in the ship and bound the mouth so
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Speaker 1: tightly with a silver thread, that not even a breath
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Speaker 1: of a side wind could blow from any quarter. The
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Speaker 1: west wind, which was fair for us, did he alone
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Speaker 1: let blow as it chose. But it all came to nothing,
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Speaker 1: for we were lost through our own folly. Nine days
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Speaker 1: and nine nights did we sail, And on the tenth
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Speaker 1: day our native land showed on the horizon. We got
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Speaker 1: so close in that we could see the stubble fires burning,
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Speaker 1: And I, being then dead beat, fell into a light sleep,
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Speaker 1: for I had never let the rudder out of my
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Speaker 1: own hands, that we might get home the faster. On
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Speaker 1: this the men fell to talking amongst themselves, and said,
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Speaker 1: I was bringing back gold and silver in the sack
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Speaker 1: that Aeolus had given me, bless my heart. Would one
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Speaker 1: turn to his neighbor, saying, how this man gets honored
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Speaker 1: and makes friends to whatever city or country, he may
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Speaker 1: go see what fine prizes he is taking home from Troy,
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Speaker 1: While we who have traveled just as far as he,
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Speaker 1: have come back with hands as empty as we set
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Speaker 1: out with. And now Aeolus has given him ever so
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Speaker 1: much more quick let us see what it all is,
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Speaker 1: and how much gold and silver there is in the
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Speaker 1: sack he gave him. Thus they talked, and evil counsels prevailed.
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Speaker 1: They loosed the sack, whereupon the wind flew howling forth
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Speaker 1: and raised a storm that carried us weeping out to
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Speaker 1: sea and away from our own country. Then I awoke
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Speaker 1: and knew not whether to throw myself into the sea
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Speaker 1: or to live on and make the best of it.
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Speaker 1: But I bore it, covered myself up, and lay down
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Speaker 1: in the ship, while the men lamented bitterly, as the
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Speaker 1: fierce winds bore our fleet back to the Aeolian island.
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Speaker 1: When we reached it, we went ashore to take in water,
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Speaker 1: and dined hard by the ships. Immediately after dinner, I
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Speaker 1: took a herald and one of my men and went
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Speaker 1: straight to the house of Aeolus, where I found him
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Speaker 1: feasting with his wife and family. So we sat down
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Speaker 1: as suppliants on the threshold. They were astounded when they
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Speaker 1: saw us, and said, Ulysses, what brings you here? What
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Speaker 1: God has been ill treating you? We took great pains
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Speaker 1: to further you on your way home to Ithaca, or
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Speaker 1: wherever it was that you wanted to go to. Thus
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Speaker 1: did they speak, but I answered sorrowfully, my men have
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Speaker 1: undone me. They and cruel sleep have ruined me. My
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Speaker 1: friends med me this mischief, for you can, if you will.
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Speaker 1: I spoke as movingly as I could, But they said
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Speaker 1: nothing till their father answered, vilest of mankind, get you
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Speaker 1: gone at once out of the islands him whom Heaven hates.
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Speaker 1: Will I in no wise help be off, For you
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Speaker 1: came here as one aboard of heaven, and with these
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Speaker 1: words he sent me sorrowing from his door. Thence we
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Speaker 1: sailed sadly on till the men were worn out with
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Speaker 1: long and fruitless rowing, for there was no longer any
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Speaker 1: wind to help them. Six days, night and day did
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Speaker 1: we toil, And on the seventh day we reached the
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Speaker 1: rocky stronghold of Lamus Telephylus, the city of Les Virginians,
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Speaker 1: where the shepherd who is driving in his sheep and
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Speaker 1: goats to be milked, salutes him who is driving out
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Speaker 1: his flock to feed, and this last answers the salute.
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Speaker 1: In that country, a man who could do without sleep
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Speaker 1: might eurn double wages, one as a herdsman of cattle
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Speaker 1: and another as a shepherd, for they work much the
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Speaker 1: same by night as they do by day. When we
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Speaker 1: reached the harbor, we found it landlocked under steep cliffs,
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Speaker 1: with a narrow entrance between two headlands. My captains took
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Speaker 1: all their ships inside and made them fast close to
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Speaker 1: one another, for there was never so much as a
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Speaker 1: breath of wind inside, but it was always dead calm.
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Speaker 1: I kept my own ship outside and moored it to
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Speaker 1: a rock at the very end of the point. Then
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Speaker 1: I climbed a high rock to reconnoiter, but could see
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Speaker 1: no sign, neither of man nor cat, only some smoke
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Speaker 1: rising from the ground. So I sent two of my
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Speaker 1: company with an attendant to find out what sort of
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Speaker 1: people the inhabitants were. The men, when they got on shore,
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Speaker 1: followed a level road by which the people draw their
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Speaker 1: firewood from the mountains into the town, till presently they
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Speaker 1: met a young woman who had come outside to fetch water,
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Speaker 1: and who was daughter to a Lestrigonian named Antipathes. She
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Speaker 1: was going to the fountain Artasia, from which the people
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Speaker 1: bring in their water, And when my men had come
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Speaker 1: close up to her, they asked her who the king
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Speaker 1: of that country might be, and over what kind of
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Speaker 1: people he ruled. So she directed them to her father's house.
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Speaker 1: But when they got there, they found his wife to
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Speaker 1: be a giantess, as huge as a mountain, and they
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Speaker 1: were horrified at the sight of her. She at once
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Speaker 1: called her husband, Antipathies, from the place of assembly, and
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Speaker 1: forthwith he set about killing my men. He snatched up
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Speaker 1: one of them and began to make his dinner of
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Speaker 1: him then and there where on the other two ran
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Speaker 1: back to the ships as fast as ever they could,
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Speaker 1: But Antipathies raised a hue and cry after them, and
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Speaker 1: thousands of sturdy Lestrigonians sprang up from every quarter, ogres
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Speaker 1: not men. They threw vast rocks at us from the cliffs,
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Speaker 1: as though they had been mere stones. And I heard
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Speaker 1: the horrid sound of the ships crunching up against one
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Speaker 1: another another, and the death cries of my men, as
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Speaker 1: the Lestrigonians speared them like fishes. And took them home
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Speaker 1: to eat them. While they were thus killing my men
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Speaker 1: within the harbor, I drew my sword, cut the cable
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Speaker 1: of my own ship, and told my men to row
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Speaker 1: with all their might if they too were not fair
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Speaker 1: like the So they laid out for their lives, and
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Speaker 1: we were thankful enough when we got into open waters
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Speaker 1: out of reach of the rocks, they hurled at us.
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Speaker 1: As for the others, there was not one of them left.
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Speaker 1: Thence we sailed sadly on, glad to have escaped death,
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Speaker 1: though we had lost our comrades, and came to the
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Speaker 1: Aean island, where Surce lives, a great and cunning goddess
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Speaker 1: who is own sister to the magician eighties, for they
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Speaker 1: are both children of the Sun, by Perse, who is
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Speaker 1: daughter to ocean Us. We brought our ship into a
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Speaker 1: safe harbor without a word, for some God guided us thither,
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Speaker 1: and having landed, we lay there for two days and
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Speaker 1: two nights, worn out in body and mind. When the
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Speaker 1: morning of the third day came, I took my spear
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Speaker 1: and my sword and went away from the ship to
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Speaker 1: reconnoiter and see if I could discover signs of human
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Speaker 1: handiwork or hear the sound of voices. Climbing to the
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Speaker 1: top of a high lookout, I espied the smoke of
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Speaker 1: Sirsay's house rising upwards amid a dense forest of trees.
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Speaker 1: And when I saw this I doubted whether, having seen
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Speaker 1: the smoke, I would not go at once and find
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Speaker 1: out more. But in the end I deemed it best
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Speaker 1: to go back to the ship, give the men their dinners,
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Speaker 1: and send some of them instead of going myself. When
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Speaker 1: I had nearly got back to the ship, some god
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Speaker 1: took pity upon my solitude and sent a fine antlered
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Speaker 1: stag right into the middle of my path. He was
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Speaker 1: coming down his pasture in the forest to drink of
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Speaker 1: the river, for the heat of the sun drove him,
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Speaker 1: and as he passed I struck him in the middle
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Speaker 1: of the back. The point of the spear went clean
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Speaker 1: through him, and he lay groaning in the dust until
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Speaker 1: the life went out of him. Then I set my
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Speaker 1: foot upon him, drew my spear from the wound, and
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Speaker 1: laid it down. I also gathered rough grass and rushes
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Speaker 1: and twisted them into a fathom or so of good
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Speaker 1: stout rope, with which I bound the four feet of
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Speaker 1: the noble creature. Together. Having so done, I hung him
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Speaker 1: round my neck and walked back to the ship, leaning
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Speaker 1: upon my spear, for the stag was much too big
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Speaker 1: for me to be able to carry him on my shoulder,
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Speaker 1: steadying him with one hand. As I threw him down
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Speaker 1: in front of the ship, I called the men and
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Speaker 1: spoke cheeringly, manned by man, to each of them. Look here,
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Speaker 1: my friends, said I. We are not going to die
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Speaker 1: so much before our time after all, and at any rate,
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Speaker 1: we will not starve so long as we have got
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Speaker 1: something to eat and drink on board. From this, they
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Speaker 1: uncovered their heads upon the seashore and admired the stag,
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Speaker 1: for he was indeed a splendid fellow. Then, when they
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Speaker 1: had feasted their eyes upon him sufficiently, they washed their
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Speaker 1: hands and began to cook him for dinner. Thus, through
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Speaker 1: the livelong day to the going down of the sun,
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Speaker 1: we stayed there, eating and drinking our fill. But when
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Speaker 1: the sun went down and it came on dark, we
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Speaker 1: camped upon the seashore. When the child of morning, rosy
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Speaker 1: fingered dawn, appeared, I called a council and said, my friends,
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Speaker 1: we are in very great difficulties. Listen Therefore, to me.
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Speaker 1: We have no idea whether sun either sets or rises,
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Speaker 1: so that we do not even know east from west.
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Speaker 1: I seek no way out of it. Nevertheless, we must
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Speaker 1: try and find one. We are certainly on an island,
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Speaker 1: For I went as high as I could this morning,
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Speaker 1: and saw the sea reaching all round it to the horizon.
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Speaker 1: It lies low, but towards the middle I saw smoke
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Speaker 1: rising from out of a thick forest of trees. Their
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Speaker 1: hearts sank as they heard me, for they remembered how
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Speaker 1: they had been treated by the Lestrigonian antipathies and by
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Speaker 1: the savage ogre polythemus. They wept bitterly in their dismay,
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Speaker 1: But there was nothing to be got by crying. So
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Speaker 1: I divided them into two companies, and set a captain
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Speaker 1: over each. I gave one company to Eurylochus, while I
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Speaker 1: took command of the other myself. Then we cast lots
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Speaker 1: in a helmet, and the lot fell upon Leuri Locus.
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Speaker 1: So he set out with his twenty two men, and
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Speaker 1: they wept, as also did we who were left behind.
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Speaker 1: When they reached Circe's house, they found it built of
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Speaker 1: cut stones, on a site that could be seen from
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Speaker 1: far in the middle of the forest. There were wild
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Speaker 1: mountain wolves and lions prowling all round it, poor bewitched
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Speaker 1: creatures whom she had samed by her enchantments and drugged
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Speaker 1: into subjection. They did not attack my men, but wagged
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Speaker 1: their great tails, fawned upon them, and rubbed their noses
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Speaker 1: lovingly against them, as hounds crowded round their master when
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Speaker 1: they see him coming from dinner, for they know he
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Speaker 1: will bring them something. Even so did these wolves and lions,
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Speaker 1: with their great claws falln upon my men. But the
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Speaker 1: men were terribly frightened at seeing such strange creatures. Presently
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Speaker 1: they reached the gates of the goddess's house, and as
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Speaker 1: they stood there they could hear Cursay within, singing most beautifully,
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Speaker 1: as she worked at her loom, making a web so fine,
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Speaker 1: so soft, and of such dazzling colours, as no one
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Speaker 1: but a goddess could weave. On this Polites, whom I
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Speaker 1: valued and trusted much more than any other of my men, said,
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Speaker 1: there is someone inside, working at a loom and singing
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Speaker 1: most beautifully. The whole place resound with it. Let us
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Speaker 1: call her and see whether she is woman or goddess.
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Speaker 1: They called her, and she came down, unfastened the door
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Speaker 1: and bade them enter. They, thinking no evil, followed her,
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Speaker 1: all except Leurylochus, who suspected mischief and stayed outside. When
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Speaker 1: she had got them into her house, she set them
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Speaker 1: upon benches and seats, and mixed them a mess with cheese, honey, meal,
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Speaker 1: and Pramnian wine. But she drugged it with wicked poisons
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Speaker 1: to make them forget their homes. And when they had drunk,
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Speaker 1: she turned them into pit by a stroke of her
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Speaker 1: wand shut them up in her Pigstyes, they were like pigs, head,
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Speaker 1: hair and door, and they grunted just as pigs do,
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Speaker 1: but their senses were the same as before, and they
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Speaker 1: remembered everything. Thus then were they shut up squealing, And
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Speaker 1: Sir Stay threw them some acorns and beech masts, such
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Speaker 1: as pigs eat. But Eurylochus hurried back to tell me
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Speaker 1: about the sad fate of our comrades. He was so
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Speaker 1: overcome with dismay that though he tried to speak, he
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Speaker 1: could find no words to do. So his eyes filled
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Speaker 1: with tears, and he could only sob and sigh, till
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Speaker 1: at last we forced his story out of him. And
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Speaker 1: he told us what had happened to the others. We went,
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Speaker 1: said he, as you told us, through the forest, and
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Speaker 1: in the middle of it there was a fine house
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Speaker 1: built with cut stones, in a place that could be
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Speaker 1: seen from far. There we found a woman or else.
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Speaker 1: She was a goddess working at her loom and singing sweetly.
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Speaker 1: So the men shouted to her and called her whereon.
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Speaker 1: She once came down, opened the door and invited us in.
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Speaker 1: The others did not suspect any mischief, so they followed
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Speaker 1: her into the house. But I stayed where I was,
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Speaker 1: for I thought there might be some treachery. From that
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Speaker 1: moment I saw them no more, for not one of
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Speaker 1: them ever came out, though I sat a long time
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Speaker 1: watching for them. Then I took my sword of bronze
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Speaker 1: and slung it over my shoulders. I also took my
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Speaker 1: bow and told Eurylochus to come back with me and
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Speaker 1: show me the way. But he laid hold of me
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Speaker 1: with both his hands and spoke piteously, saying, sir, do
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Speaker 1: not force me to go with you, but let me
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Speaker 1: stay here, for I know you will not bring one
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Speaker 1: of them back with you, nor even return alive yourself.
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Speaker 1: Let us. Rather see if we cannot escape at any
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Speaker 1: rate with the few that are left us for me,
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Speaker 1: we may still save our lives. Stay where you are, then,
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Speaker 1: I answered, eating and drinking at the ship, but I
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Speaker 1: must go, for I am most urgently bound to do so.
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Speaker 1: With this, I left the ship and went up in land.
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Speaker 1: When I got through the charmed grove and was near
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Speaker 1: the great house of the enchantress Circe, I met Mercury
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Speaker 1: with his golden wand disguised as a young man in
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Speaker 1: the heyday of his youth and beauty, with a down
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Speaker 1: just coming upon his face. He came up to me
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Speaker 1: and took my hand within his own, saying, my, poor
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Speaker 1: unhappy man, whither are you going over this mountaintop alone
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Speaker 1: and without knowing the way? Your men are shut up
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Speaker 1: in Circe's pigsties like so many wild boars in their lairs.
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Speaker 1: You surely do not fancy that you can set them free.
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Speaker 1: I can tell you that you will never get back
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Speaker 1: and will have to stay there with the rest of them.
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Speaker 1: But never mind, I will protect you and get you
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Speaker 1: out of your difficulty. Take this herb, which is one
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Speaker 1: of great virtue, and keep it about you When you
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Speaker 1: go to Circe's house, it will be a talisman to
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Speaker 1: you against every kind of mischief, And I will tell
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Speaker 1: you of all the wicked witchcraft that Circe will try
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Speaker 1: to practice upon you. She will mix a mess for
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Speaker 1: you to drink, and she will drug the meal with
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Speaker 1: which she makes it. But she will not be able
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Speaker 1: to charm you, for the virtue of the herb that
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Speaker 1: I shall give you will prevent her spells from working.
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Speaker 1: I will tell you all about it. When Circe strikes
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Speaker 1: you with her wand draw your sword and spring upon
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Speaker 1: her as though you are going to kill her. She
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Speaker 1: will then be frightened and will desire you to go
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Speaker 1: to bed with her. On this you must not, point
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Speaker 1: a blank refuse her. You want her to set your
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Speaker 1: companions free, and to take good care also of yourself.
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Speaker 1: But you must make her swear solemnly by all the
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Speaker 1: blessed gods that she will plot no further mischief against
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Speaker 1: you or else. When she has got you naked, she
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Speaker 1: will unman you and make you fit for nothing. As
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Speaker 1: he spoke, he pulled the herb out of the ground
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Speaker 1: and showed me what it was like. The root was black,
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Speaker 1: while the flower was as white as milk. The gods
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Speaker 1: call it mowley, and mortal men cannot uproot it, but
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Speaker 1: the gods can do whatever they like. Then Mercury went
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Speaker 1: back to High Olympus, passing over the wooded island. But
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Speaker 1: I fared onward to the House of Circe, and my
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Speaker 1: heart was clouded with care as I walked along. When
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Speaker 1: I got to the gates, I stood there and called
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Speaker 1: the goddess, and as soon as she heard me, she
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Speaker 1: came down, opened the door and asked me to come in.
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Speaker 1: Followed her, much troubled in my mind. She set me
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Speaker 1: on a richly decorated seat inlaid with silver. There was
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Speaker 1: a footstool also under my feet, and she mixed the
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Speaker 1: mess in a golden goblet for me to drink. But
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Speaker 1: she drugged it, for she meant me mischief. When she
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Speaker 1: had given it me and I had drunk it without
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Speaker 1: its charming me, she struck me with her wand there
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Speaker 1: now she cried, be off to the pigstye and make
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Speaker 1: your lair with the rest of them. But I rushed
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Speaker 1: at her with my sword drawn, as though I would
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Speaker 1: kill her, whereupon she fell with a loud scream, clasped
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Speaker 1: my knees and spoke piteously, saying, who and whence are you? From?
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Speaker 1: What place? And people have you come? How can it
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Speaker 1: be that my drugs have no power to charm you?
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Speaker 1: Never yet was a man able to stand so much
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Speaker 1: as a taste of the herb I gave you. You
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Speaker 1: must be spell proof. Surely you can be none other
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Speaker 1: than the bold hero Ulysses, who Mercury always said would
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Speaker 1: come here someday with his ship while on his way
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Speaker 1: home from Troy. So be it, then, sheath your sword
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Speaker 1: and let us go to bed, that we may make
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Speaker 1: friends and learn to trust each other. And I answered, sir, say,
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Speaker 1: how can you expect me to be friendly with you
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Speaker 1: when you have just been turning all my men into pigs?
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Speaker 1: And now that you've got me here myself, you mean
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Speaker 1: me mischief when you ask me to go to bed
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Speaker 1: with you, and will unman me and make me unfit
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Speaker 1: for nothing. I shall certainly not consent to go to
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Speaker 1: bed with you unless you will first take your solemn
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Speaker 1: oath to plot no further harm against me. So she
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Speaker 1: swore at once as I had told her, And when
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Speaker 1: she had completed her oath, then I went to bed
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Speaker 1: with her. Meanwhile, her four servants, who are her housemaids,
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Speaker 1: set about their work. They are the children of the
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Speaker 1: groves and fountains, and of the holy waters that run
23:04
Speaker 1: down into the sea. One of them spread a fair
23:07
Speaker 1: purple cloth over a seat, and laid a carpet underneath it.
23:12
Speaker 1: Another brought tables of silver up to the seats and
23:15
Speaker 1: set them with baskets of gold. A third mixed some
23:20
Speaker 1: sweet wine with water in a silver bowl, and put
23:23
Speaker 1: golden cups upon the tables, while the fourth brought in
23:27
Speaker 1: water and set it to boil, and a large coldron
23:30
Speaker 1: over a good fire, which she had lighted. When the
23:34
Speaker 1: water in the coldron was boiling, she poured cold into
23:37
Speaker 1: it till it was just as I liked it. And
23:40
Speaker 1: then she set me in a bath and began washing
23:43
Speaker 1: me from the caldron about the head and shoulders, to
23:46
Speaker 1: take the tire and stiffness out of my limbs. As
23:50
Speaker 1: soon as she had done washing me and anointing me
23:52
Speaker 1: with oil, she had raised me in a good cloak
23:55
Speaker 1: and shirt, and led me to a richly decorated seat
23:58
Speaker 1: inlaid with silver. There was a footstool also underneath my feet.
24:04
Speaker 1: A maid servant then brought me water in a beautiful
24:07
Speaker 1: golden ewer and poured it into a silver basin for
24:10
Speaker 1: me to wash my hands, and she drew a clean
24:13
Speaker 1: table beside me. An upper servant brought me bread and
24:17
Speaker 1: offered me many things of what there was in the house.
24:22
Speaker 1: And then Circe bade me eat, but I would not
24:26
Speaker 1: and sat without heating what was before me, still moody
24:29
Speaker 1: and suspicious. When Circe saw me sitting there without eating
24:35
Speaker 1: and in great grief, she came to me and said, Ulysses,
24:40
Speaker 1: why do you sit like that, as though you were dumb,
24:43
Speaker 1: gnawing at your own heart, and refusing both meat and drink.
24:48
Speaker 1: Is it that you are still suspicious? You ought not
24:51
Speaker 1: to be, for I have already sworn solemnly that I
24:54
Speaker 1: will not hurt you. And I said, surse, no man
25:01
Speaker 1: with any sense of what his rights can think of
25:03
Speaker 1: either eating or drinking in your house until you have
25:06
Speaker 1: set his friends free and let him see them. If
25:10
Speaker 1: you want me to eat and drink, you must free
25:12
Speaker 1: my men and bring them to me that I may
25:15
Speaker 1: see them with my own eyes. When I had said this,
25:19
Speaker 1: she went straight through the court with her wand in
25:22
Speaker 1: her hand and opened the pigstye doors. My men came
25:27
Speaker 1: out like so many prime hogs, and stood looking at her.
25:31
Speaker 1: But she went among them and anointed each with a
25:34
Speaker 1: second drug, whereupon the bristles that the bad drug had
25:38
Speaker 1: given them fell off, and they became men again, younger
25:42
Speaker 1: than they were before, and much taller and better looking.
25:46
Speaker 1: They knew me at once, seized me each of them
25:49
Speaker 1: by the hand, and wept for joy, till the whole
25:51
Speaker 1: house itself was filled with the sound of their hallower bellowing.
25:56
Speaker 1: And Circe herself was so sorry for them that she
25:59
Speaker 1: came up to me and said, Ulysses, noble, son of Laertes,
26:05
Speaker 1: go back at once to the sea where you have
26:06
Speaker 1: left your ship, and first draw it onto the land.
26:10
Speaker 1: Then hide all your ship's gear and property in some cave,
26:14
Speaker 1: and come back here with your men. I agreed to this,
26:19
Speaker 1: So I went back to the seashore and found the
26:22
Speaker 1: men at the ship, weeping and whaling most piteously. When
26:26
Speaker 1: they saw me, the silly, blubbering fellows began frisking around
26:29
Speaker 1: me as carves break out and gambol round their mothers
26:32
Speaker 1: when they see them coming home to be milked after
26:35
Speaker 1: have been feeding all day, and the homestead resounds with
26:39
Speaker 1: their lowing. They seemed as glad to see me, as
26:43
Speaker 1: though they had got back to their own rugged Ithaca,
26:46
Speaker 1: where they had been born and bred. Sir, said the
26:49
Speaker 1: affectionate creatures, we are as glad to see you back,
26:52
Speaker 1: as they had got safe home to Ithaca. But tell
26:55
Speaker 1: us all about the fate of our comrades. I spoke
27:00
Speaker 1: comforting to them to them and said, we must draw
27:04
Speaker 1: our ship onto the land and hide the ship's gear
27:07
Speaker 1: with all our property in some cave. Then come with me,
27:11
Speaker 1: all of you, as fast as you can, to Curse's house,
27:14
Speaker 1: where you will find your comrades eating and drinking in
27:17
Speaker 1: the midst of great abundance. On this the men would
27:21
Speaker 1: have come with me at once, but Eurylochus tried to
27:24
Speaker 1: hold them back and said, alas, poor wretches that we are,
27:29
Speaker 1: what will become of us, rush not on your ruin
27:32
Speaker 1: by going to the house of Circe, who will turn
27:35
Speaker 1: us all into pigs or wolves or lions, and we
27:38
Speaker 1: shall have to keep guard over her house. Remember how
27:42
Speaker 1: the Cyclops treated us when our comrades went inside his
27:45
Speaker 1: cave and Ulysses with them. It was all through his
27:49
Speaker 1: sheer folly that those men lost their lives. When I
27:54
Speaker 1: heard him, I was in two minds whether or no
27:56
Speaker 1: to draw the keen blade that hung by my sturdy
27:59
Speaker 1: thigh and cut his head off, in spite of his
28:02
Speaker 1: being a near relation of my own. But the men
28:05
Speaker 1: interceded for him and said, Sir, if it may so be,
28:10
Speaker 1: let this fellow stay here and mind the ship, but
28:13
Speaker 1: take the rest of us with you to Circe's house.
28:17
Speaker 1: On this we all went in land, and Eurylochus was
28:21
Speaker 1: not left behind after all, but came on too, for
28:24
Speaker 1: he was frightened by the severe reprimand that I had
28:27
Speaker 1: given him. Meanwhile, Circe had been seeing that the men
28:31
Speaker 1: who had been left behind were washed and anointed with
28:34
Speaker 1: olive oil. She had also given them woolen cloaks and shirts,
28:40
Speaker 1: and when we came we found them all comfortably at
28:42
Speaker 1: dinner in her house. As soon as the men saw
28:45
Speaker 1: each other face to face and knew one another, they
28:49
Speaker 1: wept for joy and cried aloud till the whole palace
28:52
Speaker 1: rang again. Thereon, Curse came up to me and said, Ulysses,
28:58
Speaker 1: noble son of Laertes, tell your men to leave off crying.
29:02
Speaker 1: I know how much you have all of you suffered
29:05
Speaker 1: at sea, and how ill you have fared among cruel
29:08
Speaker 1: savages on the mainland. But that is over now. So
29:12
Speaker 1: stay here and eat and drink till you are once
29:15
Speaker 1: more as strong and hearty as you were when you
29:18
Speaker 1: left Ithaca. For at present you are weakened both in
29:21
Speaker 1: body and mind. You keep all the time thinking of
29:25
Speaker 1: the harships you have suffered during your travels, so that
29:28
Speaker 1: you have no more cheerfulness left in you. Thus did
29:33
Speaker 1: she speak, and we are sented. We stayed with Circe
29:37
Speaker 1: for a whole twelve month, feasting upon an untold quantity
29:41
Speaker 1: both of meat and wine. But when the year had
29:44
Speaker 1: passed in the waning of moons and the long days
29:47
Speaker 1: had come round, my men called me apart and said, sir,
29:53
Speaker 1: it is time you began to think about going home.
29:56
Speaker 1: If so be, you are to be spared to see
29:58
Speaker 1: your house and native country. All Thus did they speak,
30:03
Speaker 1: and I assented. Thereon, through the livelong day to the
30:08
Speaker 1: going down of the sun, we feasted our fill on
30:10
Speaker 1: meat and wine. But when the sun went down and
30:14
Speaker 1: it came on dark, the men laid themselves down to
30:17
Speaker 1: sleep in the covered cloisters. I, however, Arthur, had got
30:23
Speaker 1: into bed with Curse, beshort her by her knees, and
30:27
Speaker 1: the goddess listened to what I had got to say.
30:30
Speaker 1: Curse said, I please to keep the promise you made
30:34
Speaker 1: me about furthering me on my homeward voyage. I want
30:38
Speaker 1: to get back, and so do my men. They are
30:41
Speaker 1: always pestering me with their complaints. As soon as ever
30:43
Speaker 1: your back is turned, and the Goddess answered, Ulysses, noble
30:50
Speaker 1: son of Laertes, you shall none of you stay here
30:53
Speaker 1: any longer if you do not want to. But there
30:56
Speaker 1: is another journey which you have got to take. Before
30:59
Speaker 1: you can sail homewards. You must go to the house
31:02
Speaker 1: of Hades and of dead Proserpine to consult the ghost
31:07
Speaker 1: of the blind theban prophet Teresias, whose reason is still
31:12
Speaker 1: unshaken to him alone. Has Proserpine left his understanding even
31:18
Speaker 1: in death for the other ghosts flit about aimlessly. I
31:24
Speaker 1: was dismayed when I heard this. I sat up in
31:27
Speaker 1: bed and wept, and would gladly have lived no longer
31:30
Speaker 1: to see the light of the sun. But presently. When
31:33
Speaker 1: I was tired of weeping and tossing myself about, I said,
31:37
Speaker 1: who shall guide me upon this voyage? For the house
31:40
Speaker 1: of Hades is a port that no ship can reach.
31:45
Speaker 1: You will want no guide, she answered, Raise your mast,
31:49
Speaker 1: set your white sails, sits quite still, and the north
31:53
Speaker 1: wind will blow you there of itself. When your ship
31:57
Speaker 1: has traversed the waters of Oceanus, you will reach the
32:00
Speaker 1: fertile shore of Proserpines country, with its groves of tall
32:05
Speaker 1: poplars and willows that shed their fruit untimely. Here beat
32:10
Speaker 1: your ship upon the shore of Oceanus, and go straight
32:13
Speaker 1: on to the darker bode of Hades. You will find
32:16
Speaker 1: it near the place where the river's Pyriphlegethon and Cocytus,
32:20
Speaker 1: which is a branch of the river Styx, flow into Acharon.
32:25
Speaker 1: And you will see a rock near it, just where
32:27
Speaker 1: the two roaring rivers run into one another. When you
32:32
Speaker 1: have reached this spot, as I now tell you, dig
32:35
Speaker 1: a trench a cubit or so in length, breadth and depth,
32:39
Speaker 1: and pour into it as a drink offering to all
32:42
Speaker 1: the dead, first honey mixed with milk, then wine, and
32:48
Speaker 1: in the third place water, sprinkling white barleymeal over the hole. Moreover,
32:55
Speaker 1: you must offer many prayers to the poor feeble ghosts.
33:00
Speaker 1: Promise them that when you get back to Ithaca, you
33:02
Speaker 1: will sacrifice a baron heifer to them, the best you have,
33:07
Speaker 1: and will load the pyre with good things. More particularly,
33:12
Speaker 1: you must promise that Tyresius shall have a black sheep
33:15
Speaker 1: all to himself, and the finest in all your flocks.
33:21
Speaker 1: When you shall have thus besought the ghosts, with your prayers,
33:25
Speaker 1: offer them a ram and the black ew, bending their
33:28
Speaker 1: heads towards Erebus, but yourself turn away from them as
33:33
Speaker 1: though you would make towards the river. On this many
33:38
Speaker 1: dead men's ghosts will come to you, and you must
33:41
Speaker 1: tell your men to skin the two sheep that you
33:43
Speaker 1: have just killed and offer them as a burnt sacrifice,
33:47
Speaker 1: with prayers to Hades and to Proserpine. Then draw your
33:51
Speaker 1: sword and sit there so as to prevent any other
33:54
Speaker 1: poor ghost from coming near the spilt blood. Before Tyresius
33:58
Speaker 1: shall have answered your quest uestions, the seer will presently
34:03
Speaker 1: come to you and will tell you about your voyage,
34:06
Speaker 1: what stages you are to make, and how you are
34:09
Speaker 1: to sail the sea. So as to reach your home.
34:13
Speaker 1: It was daybreak by the time she had done speaking,
34:16
Speaker 1: so she dressed me in my shirt and cloak. As
34:19
Speaker 1: for herself, she threw a beautiful light gossamer fabric over
34:23
Speaker 1: her shoulders, fastening it with a golden girdle around her waist,
34:28
Speaker 1: and she covered her head with a mantle. Then I
34:31
Speaker 1: went about among the men everywhere all over the house,
34:35
Speaker 1: and spoke kindly to each of them. Man by man,
34:39
Speaker 1: you must not lie sleeping here any longer, said I
34:42
Speaker 1: to them. We must be going, for Circe has told
34:46
Speaker 1: me all about it, And on this they did as
34:49
Speaker 1: I bade them. Even so, however, I did not get
34:54
Speaker 1: them away without misadventure. We had with us a certain
34:59
Speaker 1: youth name elpinor not very remarkable for sense or courage,
35:04
Speaker 1: who had got drunk and was lying on the housetop
35:08
Speaker 1: away from the rest of the men, to sleep off
35:10
Speaker 1: his liquor in the cool When he heard the noise
35:14
Speaker 1: of the men bustling about, he jumped up on a
35:17
Speaker 1: sudden and forgot all about coming down by the main staircase.
35:22
Speaker 1: So he tumbled right off the roof and broke his neck,
35:25
Speaker 1: and his soul went down to the House of Hades.
35:30
Speaker 1: When I had got the men together, I said to them,
35:33
Speaker 1: you think you are about to start home again. But
35:37
Speaker 1: Circe has explained to me that instead of this, we
35:40
Speaker 1: have got to go to the house of Hades and
35:42
Speaker 1: Proserpine to consult the ghost of the Teban prophet Tyresius.
35:48
Speaker 1: The men were broken hearted as they heard me, and
35:51
Speaker 1: threw themselves on the ground, groaning and tearing their hair.
35:56
Speaker 1: But they did not men matters by crying. When we
35:59
Speaker 1: reached the sea, weeping and lamenting our fate, Circe bought
36:03
Speaker 1: the ram and the ewe, and we made them fast
36:06
Speaker 1: hard by the ship. She passed through the midst of
36:10
Speaker 1: us without our knowing it. For who can see the
36:13
Speaker 1: comings and goings of a god if the god does
36:16
Speaker 1: not wish to be seen. End of Book ten.