445 Holy repaft! That inftant from the skies
The Martial Goddefs to Ulyffes flies:

The prince, well pleas'd to difappoint their
Steals on his fire a glance, and fecret fmiles.

470 | And now, a fhort repaft prepar'd, they fed,
Till the keen rage of craving hunger fled,
Then to repofe withdrawn, apart they lay,
And in foft fleep forgot the cares of day.

BOOK XVII.

THE ARGUMENT.

Telemachus returning to the city relates to Penelope the fum of bis travels. Ulyffes is conducted by Eumaus to the palace, where his old dog Argus acknowledges his mafter, after an abfence of twenty years, and dies with joy. Eumaus returns into the country, and Ulysses remains among the fuitors, whose behaviour is defcribed.

To want like mine the peopled town can yield
More hopes of comfort than the lonely field,
Nor fits my age to till the labour'd lands,
Or ftoop to tasks a rural lord demands.

5 Adieu but, fince this ragged garb can bear
So ill th' inclemencies of morning air,
A few hours fpace permit me here to stay;

My Reps Eumaus fhall to town convey, he day.

Thus he nor aught Telemachus reply'd, But left the manfion with a lofty ftride: Schemes of revenge his pondering breast elate, Revolving deep the fuitors fudden fate. Arriving now before th' imperial hall;

15 He props his fpear against the pillar'd wall; Then like a lion o'er the threshold bounds; The marble pavement with his step refounds; His eye first glanc'd where Euryclea spreads With furry fpoils of beafts the splendid beds. 20 She faw, fhe wept, the ran with eager pace,

And reach'd her master with a long embrace.

45

All crowded round the family appears
With wild entrancement, and ecstatic tears.
Swift from above defcends the royal fair
(Her beauteous cheeks the blush of Venus wear,
Chaften'd with coy Diana's penfive air);
Hangs o'er her fon; in his embraces dies;
Rains kiffes on his neck, his faee, his eyes;
Few words the fpoke, though much she had to fay;
And scarce those few, for tears, could force their
way.

Light of my eyes! he comes! unhop'd-for joy!
Has Heaven from Pylos brought my lovely boy?
So fnatch'd from all our cares!-Tell, haft thou
known

Thy father's fate? and tell me all thy own.

The golden ewer a nymph attendant brings,
Replenish'd from the pure translucent springs; 10
With copious ftreams that golden ewer fupplies
A filver laver of capacious fize:

114

They wash the table, in fair order spread,
Is pil'd with viands and the strength of bread.
Full oppofite, before the folding gate,
The penlive mother fits in humble state:
Lowly the fate, and with dejected view
The fleecy threads her ivory fingers drew.
The prince and ftranger fhar'd the genial feaft,
Till now the rage of thirst and hunger ceas'd. 11

When thus the queen. My fon! my only friend
Say, to my mournful couch fhall I afcend?
55 (The cuuch deferted now a length of years:
The couch for ever water'd with my tears!)
Say, wilt thou not (ere yet the fuitor-crew
Return, and riot fhakes our walls anew)
Say, wilt thou not the leaft account afford?
The leaft glad tidings of my abfent lord?

O dearest, most rever'd of woman kind!
Ceafe with those tears to melt a manly mind
(Replied the prince): nor be our fates deplor'd,
From death and treafon to thy arms reflor'd.
Go bathe, and, rob'd in white, afcend the towers.
With all thy handmaids thank the immortal powers;
To every God vow hetacombs to bleed,
And call Jove's vengeance on their guilty deed.
While to th' affembled council I repair;
A ftranger fent by Heaven attends me there;
My new accepted guest I hafte to find,
Now to Piræus' honour'd charge confign'd.

65

The matron heard, nor was his word in vain. She bath'd; and, rob'd in white, with all her train,

To every God vow'd hecatombs to bleed,

70

And call'd Jove's vengeance on the guilty deed.
Arm'd with his lance, the prince then pafo'd the
gate;

Two cogs behind, a faithful guard, await;
Pallas his form with grace divine improves;
The gazing crowd admires him as he moves:
Him, gathering round, the haughty fuitors greet
With femblance fair, but inward deep deceit.
Their falfe addreffes generous he denied,
Pafs'd on, and fate by faithful Mentor's fide;
With Antiphus, and Halitherfes fage
(His father's counsellors, rever'd for age).
Of his own fortunes, and Ulyffes' fame,
Much afk'd the feniors; till Piræus came.
The ftranger-gueft purfued him close behind;
Whom when Telemachus beheld, he join'd,
He (when Piræus afk'd for flaves to bring
The gifts and treafures of the Spartan king)
Thus thoughtful anfwer'd: Those we shall
move,

Dark and unconfcious of the will of Jove;
We know not yet the full event of all:
Stabb'd in his palace if your prince muft fall,
Us, and our houfe, if treafon muit o'erthrow,
Better a friend possess them, than a foe:
If death to these, and vengeance Heaven decree,
Riches are welcome then, not elfe, to me.
Till then retain the gifts.-The hero faid,
And in his hand the willing ftranger led.
Then dif-array'd, the fhining bath they fought.
(With unguents fmooth) of polifh'd

wrought;

75

120

To her the youth: We reach'd the Pylian plains
Where Neftor, fhepherd of his people, reigns. 1
All arts of tenderness to him are known,
Kind to Ulyffes' race as to his own;
No father with a fonder grafp of joy
Strains to his bofom his long-abfent boy.
But all unknown, if yet Ulyffes breathe,
Or glide a spectre in the realms beneath;
For farther fearch, his rapid fteeds tranfport
My lengthen'd journey to the Spartan court.
Their Argive Helen I beheld, whofe charms
(So Heaven decreed, engag'd the great in arms.
My caufe of coming told, he thus rejoin'd;
And ftill his words live perfect in my mind.

Heavens! would a foft, inglorious, daftard train
An absent hero's nuptial joys profane!
So with her young, amid the woodland fhades, 14
A timorous hind the lion's court invades,
Leaves in that fatal lair her tender fawns,
And climbs the cliff, or feeds along the lawns;
Mean time returning, with remorseless fway

80 The monarch favage rends the panting prey: 14
With equal fury, and with equal fame,
Shall great Ulyffes re-affert his claim.

O Jove! Supreme! whom men and Gods revere
And thou whofe luftre gilds the rolling sphere!
85 With power congenial join'd, propitious aid 1
The chief adopted by the Martial-Maid!
Such to our with the warrior foon restore,
not As when, contending on the Lesbian shore,
His prowels Philomelides confefs'd,

95

And loud acclaiming Greeks the victor blefs'd: 1
90 Then foon th' invaders of his bed and throne
Their love prefumptuous fhall by death atone;
Now what you queftion of my ancient friend,
With truth I anfwer; thou the truth attend.
Learn what I heard the fea-born feer relate, I
Whofe cyes can pierce the dark recefs of fate.
Sole in an ifle, imprifon'd by the main,
The fad furvivor of his numerous train,
Ulyffes lies; detain'd by magic charms.
And prefs'd unwilling in Calypfo's arms.
No failors there, no veffels to convey,
100 Nor oars to cut th' immeasurable way-
This told Atrides and he told no more,
Thence fate I voyag’d to my native shore.
* Protcus.

marble

Obedient handmaids with affiflant toil
Supply the limpid wave, and fragrant oil:
Then o'er their limbs refulgent robes they threw,
And fre from bathing to their feats withdrew,

16

210

}

225

235

In fculptur'd ftone immortaliz'd their care,
In marble urns receiv'd it from above,
And shaded with a green furrounding grove;
Where filver alders, in high arches twin'd,
Drink the cold ftream, and tremble to the wind.
Beneath, fequefter'd to the nymphs, is feen
A moffy altar, deep embower'd in green;
Where conftant vows by travellers are paid,
And holy horrors folemnize the fhade,
Here with his goats (not vow'd to facred flame,
But pamper'd luxury) Melanthius came :
Two grooms attend him. With an envious look

Of the proud fon; as that we ftand this hour
In lafting fafety from the father's power!

So fpoke the wretch, but, fhunning farther
fray,
[way.
Turn'd his proud step, and left them on their
Straight to the feaftful palace he repair'd,
Familiar enter'd, and the banquet shar'd;
Beneath Eurymachus, his patron lord,

315

Stole unperceiv'd; he turn'd his head, and dry'd

370

The drop humane: then thus impaffion'd cry'd:
What noble beast in this abandon'd ftate
Lies here all helpless at Ulyffes' gate?
His bulk and beauty speak no vulgar praise;
If as he seems he was in better days,
Some care his age deferves: or was he priz'd
For worthless beauty! therefore now defpis'd?
Such dogs and men there are, mere things of state,
And always cherish'd by their friends, the Great.
Not Argus fo (Eumæus thus rejoin'd)
But ferv'd a master of a nobler kind,
Who never, never fhall behold him more!
Long, long fince perifh'd on a distant shore !
Oh had you feen him, vigorous, bold, and young,
Swift as a flag, and as a lion strong;
Him no fill favage on the plain withstood,
None 'fcap'd him, bofom'd in the gloomy wood;
320 His eye how piercing, and his fcent how true,
To wind the vapour in the tainted dew!
Such, when Ulyffes left his natal coaft;
Nor years unnerve him, and his lord is loft!
The women keep the generous creature bare,
A fleek and idle race is all their care:
The mafter gone, the fervants what restrains? 390
Or dwells humanity where riot reigns?
Jove fix'd it certain, that whatever day
Makes man a flave, takes half his worth away.

He took his place, and pleuty heap'd the board,
Mean time they heard, foft-circling in the sky,
Sweet airs afcend, and heavenly minttrelly
(For Phemius to the lyre attun'd the strain) :
Ulyffes hearken'd, then addrefs'd the fwain:
Well may this palace admiration claim,
Great, and refpondent to the master's fame!
Stage above ftage th' imperial ftructure ftands,
Holds the chief honours, and the town commands:
High walls and battlements the courts enclose,
And the ftrong guests defy an host of foes.
Far other cares its dwellers now employ:
The throng'd affembly, and the feast of joy:
I fee the fmokes of facrifice afpire,
And hear (what graces every feast) the lyre.
Then thus Eumæus: Judge we which were beft;
Amidst yon revellers a fudden gueft
325
Choose you to mingle, while behind I stay?
Or I first entering introduce the way?
Wait for a space without, but wait not long;
This is the houfe of violence and wrong:
Some rude infult thy reverend age may bear;
For like their lawless lords the fervants are.

Juft is. O friend thy caution, and address'd (Replied the chief) to no unheedful breaft;

330

This faid, the honeft herdfinan strøde before;
The musing monarch pauses at the door;
The dog, whom Fate had granted to behold
His lord, when twenty tedious years had roll'd
Takes a laft look, and, having feen him, dies:
335 So clos'd for ever faithful Argus' eyes!

The wrongs and injuries of bafe mankind
Fresh to my fenfe, and always in my mind.
The bravely-patient to no fortune yields:
On rolling oceans, and in fighting fields,
Storms have I pafs'd, and many a ftern debate ;
And now in humbler fcene fubmit to Fate.
What cannot Want? The bleft he will expofe, 340
And I am learn'd in all her train of woes;
She fills with navies, hofts, and loud alarms,
The fea, the land, and fhakes the world with
armis !

345

Thus, near the gates conferring as they drew,
Argus, the dog, his ancient mafter knew;
He, not unconscious of the voice and tread,
Lifts to the found his ear, and rears his head;
Bred by Ulyffes, nourifn'd at his board,
But, ah! not fated long to please his lord!
To him, his fwiftnefs and his ftrength were vain ;
The voice of glory call'd him o'er the main.
Till then in every fylvan chafe renown'd,
With Argus, Argus, rung the woods areund;
With him the youth purfu'd the goat or fawn,
Or trac'd the mazy leveret o'er the lawn.
Now left to man's ingratitude he lay,
Uuhous'd, neglected in the public way;
And where in heaps the rich manure was spread,
Obfcene with reptiles, took his fold bed.

355

385

395

400

405

410

And now Telemachus, the first of all,
Obferv'd Eumæus entering in the hall;
Diftant he faw, across the fhady dome;
Thenave a fign, and beckon'd him to come:
There flood an empty feat, where late was plac'd,
In order due, the fleward of the feaft.
(Who now was bufied carving round the board):
Euma us took, and plac'd it near his lord.
Before him inftant was the banquet fpread,
And the bright basket pil'd with loaves of bread.
Next came Ulyffes, lowly at the door,
A figure defpicable, old, and poor,
In fqualid vefts, with many a gaping rent.
Propp'd on a ftaff, and trembling as he went,
Then, refting on the threshold of the gate,
Againft a cyprefs pillar lean'd his weight
(Smooth'd by the workman to a polish'd plain);
The thoughtful fon beheld, and call'd his fwain:
Thefe viands, and this bread, Eumæus ! bear,
And let yon mendicant our plenty share :
Then let him circle round the fuitor's board, 420
And try the bounty of each gracious lord :
Bold let him act, encourag'd thus by me;
How ill, alas! do want and share agree!

415

His lord's command the faithful fervant bears;
The feeming beggar anfwers with his prayers. 425
Bleft be Telemachus! in every deed
Infpire him, Jove! in every with fucceed!
This faid, the portion from his fon convey'd
With fmiles receiving on his ferip he lay'd.
Long as the minitrel fwept the founding wire, 430
365 He fed, and ceas'd when filence held the lyre.

Beftow, my friend' thou doft not seem the worst
Of all the Greeks, but prince-like and the first;
Then, as in dignity, be first in worth,

435 And I fhall praife thee through the boundless
Once I enjoy'd in luxury of state [earth! 500
Whate'er gives man the envied name of great;
Wealth, fervants, friends, were mine in better days;
And hofpitality was then my praife:

Soon as the fuitors from the banquet rose,
Minerva prompts the man of mighty woes
To tempt their bounties with a mighty art,
And learn the generous from th' ignoble heart
Not but his foul, refentful as humane,
Doms to full vengeance all the offending train);
With fpeaking eyes, and voice of plaintive found,
Humble he moves, imploring all around.
The proud feel pity, and relief bestow,
With fuch an image touch'd of human woe;
Inquiring all, their wonder they confefs,
And eye the man majeftic in diftrefs.

440

505

515

In every forrowing foul I pour'd delight,
And poverty stood fmiling in my fight.
But Jove, all-governing, whofe only will
Determines fate, and mingles good with ill,
Sent me (to punih my pursuit of gain)
With roving pirates o'er th' Egyptian main; 510
By Egypt's filver flood our fhips we moor;
Our fpies commiffion'd straight the coaft explore;
But, impotent of mind, with lawless will
The country ravage, and the natives kill.
The spreading clamour to their city flies.
And horfe and foot in mingled tumult rife:
The reddening dawn reveals the hoftile fields,
Horrid with briftly spears, and gleaming fhields:
Jove thunder'd on their fide: our guilty head
455 We turn'd to flight; the gathering vengeancespread
On all parts round, and heaps on heaps lay dead.
Some few the foes in fervitude detain;
Death ill exchang'd for bondage and for pain!
Unhappy me a Cyprian took a board,
And gave to Demetor, Cyprus' haughty lord: 525
Hither, to 'fape his chains, my courfe I fteer,
Still curs'd by fortune, and infulted here

While thus they gaze and question with their eyes
The bold Melanthius to their thought replies: 445
My lords! this franger of g gantic port
te good Eumæus uther'd to your court.
ull well I mark'd the features of his face,
Though all unknown his clime, or noble race.
And is this prefent, fwineherd! of thy hand? 450
iring't thou these vagrants to infeft the land?
Returns Antinous with retorted eye) 1
bjects uncouth! to check the genial joy.
nough of thefe our court already grace,
i giant ftomach, and of famish'd face.
uch gusts Eumæus to his country brings,
o fhare our feaft, and lead the life of kings.,
To whom the hofpitable fwain rejoin'd:
hy paffion, prince, helies thy knowing mind.
Tho cails, from diftant nations to his own,
he poor, tinguifh'd by their wants alone?
wurde wide world are fought thofe men divine
public structures raife, or who defign;
hole to whofe eyes the gods their ways reveal,
biefs with falutary arts to heal;

ut chief to poets fuch refpect belongs,
ytival nations courted for their fongs;
hefe ftates invite, and mighty kings admire,
fide as the fun difplays his vital fire.

460

465

To whom Antinous thus his rage exprefs'd:'
What god has plagu'd us with this gormand guest?
Unlefs at diftance, wretch! thou keep behind 530)
Another ifle, than Cyprus more unkind;
Another Egypt, fhalt thou quickly find.
From all thou begg'st, a bold audacious flave;
Nor all can give fo much as thou can crave.
Nor wonder I, at fuch profusion shown;
Shameless they give, who give what's not their own.
The chief, retiring: Souls like that in thee
Ill fuit fuch forms of grace and dignity.
Nor will that hand to utmost need afford
475 The fmallest portion of a wasteful board,

470

is not fo with want! how fw that feed
wretch unhappy mercly for his need!
just to me and all that ferve the state,
love Ulyffes is to raise thy hate.
er me, fuffice the approbation won
if my great miftrefs, and her godlike fon.
To him Telemachus: No more incenfe
A man by nature prone to infolence:
jarious minds juft anfwers but provoke --
Gen turning to Antinous, thus he fpoke :
anks to thy care whofe abfolute command
thes drives the ftranger from our court and land.
Heaven blefs its owner with a better mind!
om envy free, to charity inclin'd.
This both Penelope and I afford :

480

Then, prince! be bounteous of Ulyffes' board. 485 give another's is thy hand fo flow?

490

So much more fweet, to fpoil, than to be ftow?
Whence, great Telemachus! this lofty strain?
Antinous cries with infolent difdain)
Portions like mine if every fuitor gave,
Our walls this twelvenooth fhould not fee the flave.
He fpoke, and lifting high above the board
H ponderous footftool, fhook it at his lord.
Treft with equal hand conferr'd the bread;
Hell'd his ferip, and to the threshold (ped; 495
But firft before Antinous ftopp'd and faid:

}

535

540

Whofe luxury whole patrimonies fweeps;
Yet ftarving Want, amidft the riot, weeps.
The haughty fuitor with refentment burns,
Ane, fourly failing, this reply returns:
Take that, ere yet thou quit this princely throng:
And dumb for ever be thy flanderous tongue!

He faid, and high the whirling tripod flung. S

His fhoulder-blade receiv'd th' ungentle fhock;
He ftood, and mov'd not, like a marble rock;
But thook his thoughtful head, nor more con-
Sedate of foul, his character fuftain'd, [plain'd, 550
Ard inly form'd revenge: then back withdrew;
Before his feet the well-fill'd ferip he threw,
And thus with femblance mild addrefs'd the crew:
May what I fpeak your princely minds approve, 555
Ye peers and rivals in this noble love!
Not for the hurt i grieve, but for the caufe.
If, when the fword our country's quarrel draws,
Or if, defending what is juftly dear,

From Mars impartial some broad wound we bear;
The generous motive dignifies the fear,