The Odyssey: Book 09 Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABBCDEFGHEIJKLAMMAAI NOPDOQRSTUAENMVENBMW XAJYWZA2B2C2D2RMPE2F 2NBG2AH2I2AEBABNBEJ2 K2AVOAL2M2B2VN2O2ABP 2BMQ2OO2R2O2BRR2AVBB O2D2S2MO2BBBNO2O2O2I T2E2XU2V2BOW2X2O2Q2O KR2J2Y2Z2A3XB3XC3B3N O2D3ABO2IBE3F3O2AB2G 3KBN2V2LXH3XN2I3O2J3 AMZ2NI2K3L3O2O2AO2M3 VMJ2N3Y2AZN2O2O2BO3B O2VO2OMOXP3O2O2Q3NO2 D3OMD2KR3BO2O2O2BD3N O2NLBBNS3D3R2BIBD3AT 3BZU3O2BLO3V3W3IO2AM 2MZZN2MAX3Y3CAOO2AO2 IO2XO2AJ2VIANAZ3OOKX 3A4BO2L3O2B4O2NKLC4N D3ALB2O2AD3MZO2IO2O2 D3O2AD3AH2OO2P2D4O2E 4AN2BAV2CMAO2O2V2O2I 3OLLMMAMW3O2O2D3RY2D 3BF4AXO2O2G4O2O2ABQ2 BLMH4Q2M3MMAA3VAA3VB Q3G4Q3OXBMI4O2M3AD3J 2O2B2NO2AOM3N3ZBO2BU 3V2J4D3K4LAIAVBBZK2L 4M4AI2AAD3BA3KD3N4KL AO2BOO4V2NBRD3OBD3OP 4MLLD3AN2AQ4Q2OBVQ2C NILBBLO2OXOJ2I3L B| And Ulysses answered King Alcinous it is a good thing to hear a | A |
| bard with such a divine voice as this man has There is nothing better | B |
| or more delightful than when a whole people make merry together | B |
| with the guests sitting orderly to listen while the table is loaded | C |
| with bread and meats and the cup bearer draws wine and fills his | D |
| cup for every man This is indeed as fair a sight as a man can see | E |
| Now however since you are inclined to ask the story of my sorrows | F |
| and rekindle my own sad memories in respect of them I do not know how | G |
| to begin nor yet how to continue and conclude my tale for the hand | H |
| of heaven has been laid heavily upon me | E |
| Firstly then I will tell you my name that you too may know it | I |
| and one day if I outlive this time of sorrow may become my there | J |
| guests though I live so far away from all of you I am Ulysses son | K |
| of Laertes reknowned among mankind for all manner of subtlety so | L |
| that my fame ascends to heaven I live in Ithaca where there is a | A |
| high mountain called Neritum covered with forests and not far from | M |
| it there is a group of islands very near to one another Dulichium | M |
| Same and the wooded island of Zacynthus It lies squat on the | A |
| horizon all highest up in the sea towards the sunset while the | A |
| others lie away from it towards dawn It is a rugged island but it | I |
| breeds brave men and my eyes know none that they better love to | N |
| look upon The goddess Calypso kept me with her in her cave and | O |
| wanted me to marry her as did also the cunning Aeaean goddess | P |
| Circe but they could neither of them persuade me for there is | D |
| nothing dearer to a man than his own country and his parents and | O |
| however splendid a home he may have in a foreign country if it be far | Q |
| from father or mother he does not care about it Now however I will | R |
| tell you of the many hazardous adventures which by Jove's will I met | S |
| with on my return from Troy | T |
| When I had set sail thence the wind took me first to Ismarus which | U |
| is the city of the Cicons There I sacked the town and put the | A |
| people to the sword We took their wives and also much booty which we | E |
| divided equitably amongst us so that none might have reason to | N |
| complain I then said that we had better make off at once but my | M |
| men very foolishly would not obey me so they stayed there drinking | V |
| much wine and killing great numbers of sheep and oxen on the sea | E |
| shore Meanwhile the Cicons cried out for help to other Cicons who | N |
| lived inland These were more in number and stronger and they were | B |
| more skilled in the art of war for they could fight either from | M |
| chariots or on foot as the occasion served in the morning therefore | W |
| they came as thick as leaves and bloom in summer and the hand of | X |
| heaven was against us so that we were hard pressed They set the | A |
| battle in array near the ships and the hosts aimed their | J |
| bronze shod spears at one another So long as the day waxed and it was | Y |
| still morning we held our own against them though they were more | W |
| in number than we but as the sun went down towards the time when men | Z |
| loose their oxen the Cicons got the better of us and we lost half | A2 |
| a dozen men from every ship we had so we got away with those that | B2 |
| were left | C2 |
| Thence we sailed onward with sorrow in our hearts but glad to have | D2 |
| escaped death though we had lost our comrades nor did we leave till | R |
| we had thrice invoked each one of the poor fellows who had perished by | M |
| the hands of the Cicons Then Jove raised the North wind against us | P |
| till it blew a hurricane so that land and sky were hidden in thick | E2 |
| clouds and night sprang forth out of the heavens We let the ships | F2 |
| run before the gale but the force of the wind tore our sails to | N |
| tatters so we took them down for fear of shipwreck and rowed our | B |
| hardest towards the land There we lay two days and two nights | G2 |
| suffering much alike from toil and distress of mind but on the | A |
| morning of the third day we again raised our masts set sail and took | H2 |
| our places letting the wind and steersmen direct our ship I should | I2 |
| have got home at that time unharmed had not the North wind and the | A |
| currents been against me as I was doubling Cape Malea and set me | E |
| off my course hard by the island of Cythera | B |
| I was driven thence by foul winds for a space of nine days upon the | A |
| sea but on the tenth day we reached the land of the Lotus eater | B |
| who live on a food that comes from a kind of flower Here we landed to | N |
| take in fresh water and our crews got their mid day meal on the shore | B |
| near the ships When they had eaten and drunk I sent two of my company | E |
| to see what manner of men the people of the place might be and they | J2 |
| had a third man under them They started at once and went about among | K2 |
| the Lotus eaters who did them no hurt but gave them to eat of the | A |
| lotus which was so delicious that those who ate of it left off caring | V |
| about home and did not even want to go back and say what had happened | O |
| to them but were for staying and munching lotus with the | A |
| Lotus eater without thinking further of their return nevertheless | L2 |
| though they wept bitterly I forced them back to the ships and made | M2 |
| them fast under the benches Then I told the rest to go on board at | B2 |
| once lest any of them should taste of the lotus and leave off wanting | V |
| to get home so they took their places and smote the grey sea with | N2 |
| their oars | O2 |
| We sailed hence always in much distress till we came to the | A |
| land of the lawless and inhuman Cyclopes Now the Cyclopes neither | B |
| plant nor plough but trust in providence and live on such wheat | P2 |
| barley and grapes as grow wild without any kind of tillage and their | B |
| wild grapes yield them wine as the sun and the rain may grow them | M |
| They have no laws nor assemblies of the people but live in caves on | Q2 |
| the tops of high mountains each is lord and master in his family and | O |
| they take no account of their neighbours | O2 |
| Now off their harbour there lies a wooded and fertile island not | R2 |
| quite close to the land of the Cyclopes but still not far It is | O2 |
| overrun with wild goats that breed there in great numbers and are | B |
| never disturbed by foot of man for sportsmen who as a rule will | R |
| suffer so much hardship in forest or among mountain precipices do not | R2 |
| go there nor yet again is it ever ploughed or fed down but it lies a | A |
| wilderness untilled and unsown from year to year and has no living | V |
| thing upon it but only goats For the Cyclopes have no ships nor | B |
| yet shipwrights who could make ships for them they cannot therefore | B |
| go from city to city or sail over the sea to one another's country as | O2 |
| people who have ships can do if they had had these they would have | D2 |
| colonized the island for it is a very good one and would yield | S2 |
| everything in due season There are meadows that in some places come | M |
| right down to the sea shore well watered and full of luscious | O2 |
| grass grapes would do there excellently there is level land for | B |
| ploughing and it would always yield heavily at harvest time for | B |
| the soil is deep There is a good harbour where no cables are | B |
| wanted nor yet anchors nor need a ship be moored but all one has to | N |
| do is to beach one's vessel and stay there till the wind becomes | O2 |
| fair for putting out to sea again At the head of the harbour there is | O2 |
| a spring of clear water coming out of a cave and there are poplars | O2 |
| growing all round it | I |
| Here we entered but so dark was the night that some god must | T2 |
| have brought us in for there was nothing whatever to be seen A thick | E2 |
| mist hung all round our ships the moon was hidden behind a mass of | X |
| clouds so that no one could have seen the island if he had looked | U2 |
| for it nor were there any breakers to tell us we were close in | V2 |
| shore before we found ourselves upon the land itself when however | B |
| we had beached the ships we took down the sails went ashore and | O |
| camped upon the beach till daybreak | W2 |
| When the child of morning rosy fingered Dawn appeared we admired | X2 |
| the island and wandered all over it while the nymphs Jove's daughters | O2 |
| roused the wild goats that we might get some meat for our dinner On | Q2 |
| this we fetched our spears and bows and arrows from the ships and | O |
| dividing ourselves into three bands began to shoot the goats Heaven | K |
| sent us excellent sport I had twelve ships with me and each ship got | R2 |
| nine goats while my own ship had ten thus through the livelong day | J2 |
| to the going down of the sun we ate and drank our fill and we had | Y2 |
| plenty of wine left for each one of us had taken many jars full | Z2 |
| when we sacked the city of the Cicons and this had not yet run out | A3 |
| While we were feasting we kept turning our eyes towards the land of | X |
| the Cyclopes which was hard by and saw the smoke of their stubble | B3 |
| fires We could almost fancy we heard their voices and the bleating of | X |
| their sheep and goats but when the sun went down and it came on dark | C3 |
| we camped down upon the beach and next morning I called a council | B3 |
| 'Stay here my brave fellows ' said I 'all the rest of you | N |
| while I go with my ship and exploit these people myself I want to see | O2 |
| if they are uncivilized savages or a hospitable and humane race ' | D3 |
| I went on board bidding my men to do so also and loose the | A |
| hawsers so they took their places and smote the grey sea with their | B |
| oars When we got to the land which was not far there on the face | O2 |
| of a cliff near the sea we saw a great cave overhung with laurels It | I |
| was a station for a great many sheep and goats and outside there | B |
| was a large yard with a high wall round it made of stones built | E3 |
| into the ground and of trees both pine and oak This was the abode | F3 |
| of a huge monster who was then away from home shepherding his | O2 |
| flocks He would have nothing to do with other people but led the | A |
| life of an outlaw He was a horrid creature not like a human being at | B2 |
| all but resembling rather some crag that stands out boldly against | G3 |
| the sky on the top of a high mountain | K |
| I told my men to draw the ship ashore and stay where they were | B |
| all but the twelve best among them who were to go along with | N2 |
| myself I also took a goatskin of sweet black wine which had been | V2 |
| given me by Maron Apollo son of Euanthes who was priest of Apollo | L |
| the patron god of Ismarus and lived within the wooded precincts of | X |
| the temple When we were sacking the city we respected him and spared | H3 |
| his life as also his wife and child so he made me some presents of | X |
| great value seven talents of fine gold and a bowl of silver with | N2 |
| twelve jars of sweet wine unblended and of the most exquisite | I3 |
| flavour Not a man nor maid in the house knew about it but only | O2 |
| himself his wife and one housekeeper when he drank it he mixed | J3 |
| twenty parts of water to one of wine and yet the fragrance from the | A |
| mixing bowl was so exquisite that it was impossible to refrain from | M |
| drinking I filled a large skin with this wine and took a wallet full | Z2 |
| of provisions with me for my mind misgave me that I might have to | N |
| deal with some savage who would be of great strength and would | I2 |
| respect neither right nor law | K3 |
| We soon reached his cave but he was out shepherding so we went | L3 |
| inside and took stock of all that we could see His cheese racks | O2 |
| were loaded with cheeses and he had more lambs and kids than his pens | O2 |
| could hold They were kept in separate flocks first there were the | A |
| hoggets then the oldest of the younger lambs and lastly the very | O2 |
| young ones all kept apart from one another as for his dairy all | M3 |
| the vessels bowls and milk pails into which he milked were swimming | V |
| with whey When they saw all this my men begged me to let them | M |
| first steal some cheeses and make off with them to the ship they | J2 |
| would then return drive down the lambs and kids put them on board | N3 |
| and sail away with them It would have been indeed better if we had | Y2 |
| done so but I would not listen to them for I wanted to see the | A |
| owner himself in the hope that he might give me a present When | Z |
| however we saw him my poor men found him ill to deal with | N2 |
| We lit a fire offered some of the cheeses in sacrifice ate others | O2 |
| of them and then sat waiting till the Cyclops should come in with his | O2 |
| sheep When he came he brought in with him a huge load of dry | B |
| firewood to light the fire for his supper and this he flung with such | O3 |
| a noise on to the floor of his cave that we hid ourselves for fear | B |
| at the far end of the cavern Meanwhile he drove all the ewes | O2 |
| inside as well as the she goats that he was going to milk leaving | V |
| the males both rams and he goats outside in the yards Then he | O2 |
| rolled a huge stone to the mouth of the cave so huge that two and | O |
| twenty strong four wheeled waggons would not be enough to draw it from | M |
| its place against the doorway When he had so done he sat down and | O |
| milked his ewes and goats all in due course and then let each of | X |
| them have her own young He curdled half the milk and set it aside | P3 |
| in wicker strainers but the other half he poured into bowls that he | O2 |
| might drink it for his supper When he had got through with all his | O2 |
| work he lit the fire and then caught sight of us whereon he said | Q3 |
| 'Strangers who are you Where do sail from Are you traders or do | N |
| you sail the as rovers with your hands against every man and every | O2 |
| man's hand against you ' | D3 |
| We were frightened out of our senses by his loud voice and | O |
| monstrous form but I managed to say 'We are Achaeans on our way home | M |
| from Troy but by the will of Jove and stress of weather we have | D2 |
| been driven far out of our course We are the people of Agamemnon son | K |
| of Atreus who has won infinite renown throughout the whole world | R3 |
| by sacking so great a city and killing so many people We therefore | B |
| humbly pray you to show us some hospitality and otherwise make us | O2 |
| such presents as visitors may reasonably expect May your excellency | O2 |
| fear the wrath of heaven for we are your suppliants and Jove takes | O2 |
| all respectable travellers under his protection for he is the avenger | B |
| of all suppliants and foreigners in distress ' | D3 |
| To this he gave me but a pitiless answer 'Stranger ' said he 'you | N |
| are a fool or else you know nothing of this country Talk to me | O2 |
| indeed about fearing the gods or shunning their anger We Cyclopes do | N |
| not care about Jove or any of your blessed gods for we are ever so | L |
| much stronger than they I shall not spare either yourself or your | B |
| companions out of any regard for Jove unless I am in the humour for | B |
| doing so And now tell me where you made your ship fast when you | N |
| came on shore Was it round the point or is she lying straight off | S3 |
| the land ' | D3 |
| He said this to draw me out but I was too cunning to be caught | R2 |
| in that way so I answered with a lie 'Neptune ' said I 'sent my | B |
| ship on to the rocks at the far end of your country and wrecked it | I |
| We were driven on to them from the open sea but I and those who are | B |
| with me escaped the jaws of death ' | D3 |
| The cruel wretch vouchsafed me not one word of answer but with a | A |
| sudden clutch he gripped up two of my men at once and dashed them down | T3 |
| upon the ground as though they had been puppies Their brains were | B |
| shed upon the ground and the earth was wet with their blood Then | Z |
| he tore them limb from limb and supped upon them He gobbled them up | U3 |
| like a lion in the wilderness flesh bones marrow and entrails | O2 |
| without leaving anything uneaten As for us we wept and lifted up our | B |
| hands to heaven on seeing such a horrid sight for we did not know | L |
| what else to do but when the Cyclops had filled his huge paunch | O3 |
| and had washed down his meal of human flesh with a drink of neat milk | V3 |
| he stretched himself full length upon the ground among his sheep | W3 |
| and went to sleep I was at first inclined to seize my sword draw it | I |
| and drive it into his vitals but I reflected that if I did we | O2 |
| should all certainly be lost for we should never be able to shift the | A |
| stone which the monster had put in front of the door So we stayed | M2 |
| sobbing and sighing where we were till morning came | M |
| When the child of morning rosy fingered Dawn appeared he again | Z |
| lit his fire milked his goats and ewes all quite rightly and then | Z |
| let each have her own young one as soon as he had got through with | N2 |
| all his work he clutched up two more of my men and began eating them | M |
| for his morning's meal Presently with the utmost ease he rolled the | A |
| stone away from the door and drove out his sheep but he at once put | X3 |
| it back again as easily as though he were merely clapping the lid | Y3 |
| on to a quiver full of arrows As soon as he had done so he shouted | C |
| and cried 'Shoo shoo ' after his sheep to drive them on to the | A |
| mountain so I was left to scheme some way of taking my revenge and | O |
| covering myself with glory | O2 |
| In the end I deemed it would be the best plan to do as follows The | A |
| Cyclops had a great club which was lying near one of the sheep pens | O2 |
| it was of green olive wood and he had cut it intending to use it | I |
| for a staff as soon as it should be dry It was so huge that we | O2 |
| could only compare it to the mast of a twenty oared merchant vessel of | X |
| large burden and able to venture out into open sea I went up to this | O2 |
| club and cut off about six feet of it I then gave this piece to the | A |
| men and told them to fine it evenly off at one end which they | J2 |
| proceeded to do and lastly I brought it to a point myself charring | V |
| the end in the fire to make it harder When I had done this I hid it | I |
| under dung which was lying about all over the cave and told the | A |
| men to cast lots which of them should venture along with myself to | N |
| lift it and bore it into the monster's eye while he was asleep The | A |
| lot fell upon the very four whom I should have chosen and I myself | Z3 |
| made five In the evening the wretch came back from shepherding and | O |
| drove his flocks into the cave this time driving them all inside and | O |
| not leaving any in the yards I suppose some fancy must have taken | K |
| him or a god must have prompted him to do so As soon as he had put | X3 |
| the stone back to its place against the door he sat down milked | A4 |
| his ewes and his goats all quite rightly and then let each have her | B |
| own young one when he had got through with all this work he | O2 |
| gripped up two more of my men and made his supper off them So I went | L3 |
| up to him with an ivy wood bowl of black wine in my hands | O2 |
| 'Look here Cyclops ' said I you have been eating a great deal | B4 |
| of man's flesh so take this and drink some wine that you may see | O2 |
| what kind of liquor we had on board my ship I was bringing it to | N |
| you as a drink offering in the hope that you would take compassion | K |
| upon me and further me on my way home whereas all you do is to go | L |
| on ramping and raving most intolerably You ought to be ashamed | C4 |
| yourself how can you expect people to come see you any more if you | N |
| treat them in this way ' | D3 |
| He then took the cup and drank He was so delighted with the | A |
| taste of the wine that he begged me for another bowl full 'Be so | L |
| kind ' he said 'as to give me some more and tell me your name at | B2 |
| once I want to make you a present that you will be glad to have We | O2 |
| have wine even in this country for our soil grows grapes and the | A |
| sun ripens them but this drinks like nectar and ambrosia all in one ' | D3 |
| I then gave him some more three times did I fill the bowl for him | M |
| and three times did he drain it without thought or heed then when | Z |
| I saw that the wine had got into his head I said to him as | O2 |
| plausibly as I could 'Cyclops you ask my name and I will tell it | I |
| you give me therefore the present you promised me my name is | O2 |
| Noman this is what my father and mother and my friends have always | O2 |
| called me ' | D3 |
| But the cruel wretch said 'Then I will eat all Noman's comrades | O2 |
| before Noman himself and will keep Noman for the last This is the | A |
| present that I will make him ' | D3 |
| As he spoke he reeled and fell sprawling face upwards on the | A |
| ground His great neck hung heavily backwards and a deep sleep took | H2 |
| hold upon him Presently he turned sick and threw up both wine and | O |
| the gobbets of human flesh on which he had been gorging for he was | O2 |
| very drunk Then I thrust the beam of wood far into the embers to heat | P2 |
| it and encouraged my men lest any of them should turn | D4 |
| faint hearted When the wood green though it was was about to blaze | O2 |
| I drew it out of the fire glowing with heat and my men gathered round | E4 |
| me for heaven had filled their hearts with courage We drove the | A |
| sharp end of the beam into the monster's eye and bearing upon it with | N2 |
| all my weight I kept turning it round and round as though I were | B |
| boring a hole in a ship's plank with an auger which two men with a | A |
| wheel and strap can keep on turning as long as they choose Even | V2 |
| thus did we bore the red hot beam into his eye till the boiling blood | C |
| bubbled all over it as we worked it round and round so that the steam | M |
| from the burning eyeball scalded his eyelids and eyebrows and the | A |
| roots of the eye sputtered in the fire As a blacksmith plunges an axe | O2 |
| or hatchet into cold water to temper it for it is this that gives | O2 |
| strength to the iron and it makes a great hiss as he does so even | V2 |
| thus did the Cyclops' eye hiss round the beam of olive wood and his | O2 |
| hideous yells made the cave ring again We ran away in a fright but | I3 |
| he plucked the beam all besmirched with gore from his eye and | O |
| hurled it from him in a frenzy of rage and pain shouting as he did so | L |
| to the other Cyclopes who lived on the bleak headlands near him so | L |
| they gathered from all quarters round his cave when they heard him | M |
| crying and asked what was the matter with him | M |
| 'What ails you Polyphemus ' said they 'that you make such a | A |
| noise breaking the stillness of the night and preventing us from | M |
| being able to sleep Surely no man is carrying off your sheep | W3 |
| Surely no man is trying to kill you either by fraud or by force | O2 |
| But Polyphemus shouted to them from inside the cave 'Noman is | O2 |
| killing me by fraud Noman is killing me by force ' | D3 |
| 'Then ' said they 'if no man is attacking you you must be ill | R |
| when Jove makes people ill there is no help for it and you had | Y2 |
| better pray to your father Neptune ' | D3 |
| Then they went away and I laughed inwardly at the success of my | B |
| clever stratagem but the Cyclops groaning and in an agony of pain | F4 |
| felt about with his hands till he found the stone and took it from the | A |
| door then he sat in the doorway and stretched his hands in front of | X |
| it to catch anyone going out with the sheep for he thought I might be | O2 |
| foolish enough to attempt this | O2 |
| As for myself I kept on puzzling to think how I could best save | G4 |
| my own life and those of my companions I schemed and schemed as | O2 |
| one who knows that his life depends upon it for the danger was very | O2 |
| great In the end I deemed that this plan would be the best The | A |
| male sheep were well grown and carried a heavy black fleece so I | B |
| bound them noiselessly in threes together with some of the withies on | Q2 |
| which the wicked monster used to sleep There was to be a man under | B |
| the middle sheep and the two on either side were to cover him so | L |
| that there were three sheep to each man As for myself there was a ram | M |
| finer than any of the others so I caught hold of him by the back | H4 |
| esconced myself in the thick wool under his belly and flung on | Q2 |
| patiently to his fleece face upwards keeping a firm hold on it all | M3 |
| the time | M |
| Thus then did we wait in great fear of mind till morning came | M |
| but when the child of morning rosy fingered Dawn appeared the | A |
| male sheep hurried out to feed while the ewes remained bleating about | A3 |
| the pens waiting to be milked for their udders were full to bursting | V |
| but their master in spite of all his pain felt the backs of all the | A |
| sheep as they stood upright without being sharp enough to find out | A3 |
| that the men were underneath their bellies As the ram was going | V |
| out last of all heavy with its fleece and with the weight of my | B |
| crafty self Polyphemus laid hold of it and said | Q3 |
| 'My good ram what is it that makes you the last to leave my cave | G4 |
| this morning You are not wont to let the ewes go before you but lead | Q3 |
| the mob with a run whether to flowery mead or bubbling fountain and | O |
| are the first to come home again at night but now you lag last of | X |
| all Is it because you know your master has lost his eye and are | B |
| sorry because that wicked Noman and his horrid crew have got him | M |
| down in his drink and blinded him But I will have his life yet If | I4 |
| you could understand and talk you would tell me where the wretch is | O2 |
| hiding and I would dash his brains upon the ground till they flew all | M3 |
| over the cave I should thus have some satisfaction for the harm a | A |
| this no good Noman has done me ' | D3 |
| As spoke he drove the ram outside but when we were a little way | J2 |
| out from the cave and yards I first got from under the ram's belly | O2 |
| and then freed my comrades as for the sheep which were very fat | B2 |
| by constantly heading them in the right direction we managed to | N |
| drive them down to the ship The crew rejoiced greatly at seeing those | O2 |
| of us who had escaped death but wept for the others whom the | A |
| Cyclops had killed However I made signs to them by nodding and | O |
| frowning that they were to hush their crying and told them to get all | M3 |
| the sheep on board at once and put out to sea so they went aboard | N3 |
| took their places and smote the grey sea with their oars Then | Z |
| when I had got as far out as my voice would reach I began to jeer | B |
| at the Cyclops | O2 |
| 'Cyclops ' said I 'you should have taken better measure of your | B |
| man before eating up his comrades in your cave You wretch eat up | U3 |
| your visitors in your own house You might have known that your sin | V2 |
| would find you out and now Jove and the other gods have punished | J4 |
| you ' | D3 |
| He got more and more furious as he heard me so he tore the top | K4 |
| from off a high mountain and flung it just in front of my ship so | L |
| that it was within a little of hitting the end of the rudder The | A |
| sea quaked as the rock fell into it and the wash of the wave it | I |
| raised carried us back towards the mainland and forced us towards the | A |
| shore But I snatched up a long pole and kept the ship off making | V |
| signs to my men by nodding my head that they must row for their | B |
| lives whereon they laid out with a will When we had got twice as far | B |
| as we were before I was for jeering at the Cyclops again but the men | Z |
| begged and prayed of me to hold my tongue | K2 |
| 'Do not ' they exclaimed 'be mad enough to provoke this savage | L4 |
| creature further he has thrown one rock at us already which drove | M4 |
| us back again to the mainland and we made sure it had been the | A |
| death of us if he had then heard any further sound of voices he would | I2 |
| have pounded our heads and our ship's timbers into a jelly with the | A |
| rugged rocks he would have heaved at us for he can throw them a | A |
| long way ' | D3 |
| But I would not listen to them and shouted out to him in my | B |
| rage 'Cyclops if any one asks you who it was that put your eye out | A3 |
| and spoiled your beauty say it was the valiant warrior Ulysses son | K |
| of Laertes who lives in Ithaca ' | D3 |
| On this he groaned and cried out 'Alas alas then the old | N4 |
| prophecy about me is coming true There was a prophet here at one | K |
| time a man both brave and of great stature Telemus son of Eurymus | L |
| who was an excellent seer and did all the prophesying for the | A |
| Cyclopes till he grew old he told me that all this would happen to me | O2 |
| some day and said I should lose my sight by the hand of Ulysses I | B |
| have been all along expecting some one of imposing presence and | O |
| superhuman strength whereas he turns out to be a little insignificant | O4 |
| weakling who has managed to blind my eye by taking advantage of me in | V2 |
| my drink come here then Ulysses that I may make you presents to | N |
| show my hospitality and urge Neptune to help you forward on your | B |
| journey for Neptune and I are father and son He if he so will | R |
| shall heal me which no one else neither god nor man can do ' | D3 |
| Then I said 'I wish I could be as sure of killing you outright and | O |
| sending you down to the house of Hades as I am that it will take more | B |
| than Neptune to cure that eye of yours ' | D3 |
| On this he lifted up his hands to the firmament of heaven and | O |
| prayed saying 'Hear me great Neptune if I am indeed your own | P4 |
| true begotten son grant that Ulysses may never reach his home | M |
| alive or if he must get back to his friends at last let him do so | L |
| late and in sore plight after losing all his men let him reach his | L |
| home in another man's ship and find trouble in his house ' | D3 |
| Thus did he pray and Neptune heard his prayer Then he picked up a | A |
| rock much larger than the first swung it aloft and hurled it with | N2 |
| prodigious force It fell just short of the ship but was within a | A |
| little of hitting the end of the rudder The sea quaked as the rock | Q4 |
| fell into it and the wash of the wave it raised drove us onwards on | Q2 |
| our way towards the shore of the island | O |
| When at last we got to the island where we had left the rest of our | B |
| ships we found our comrades lamenting us and anxiously awaiting | V |
| our return We ran our vessel upon the sands and got out of her on | Q2 |
| to the sea shore we also landed the Cyclops' sheep and divided | C |
| them equitably amongst us so that none might have reason to | N |
| complain As for the ram my companions agreed that I should have it | I |
| as an extra share so I sacrificed it on the sea shore and burned its | L |
| thigh bones to Jove who is the lord of all But he heeded not my | B |
| sacrifice and only thought how he might destroy my ships and my | B |
| comrades | L |
| Thus through the livelong day to the going down of the sun we | O2 |
| feasted our fill on meat and drink but when the sun went down and | O |
| it came on dark we camped upon the beach When the child of | X |
| morning rosy fingered Dawn appeared I bade my men on board and | O |
| loose the hawsers Then they took their places and smote the grey | J2 |
| sea with their oars so we sailed on with sorrow in our hearts but | I3 |
| glad to have escaped death though we had lost our comrades | L |
| - | |
| - | |
| Translated by Samuel Butler | B |
Homer
(1)
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