HOMER HIS ODYSSEYS TRANSLATED, ADORNED WITH SCULPTURE, AND ILLUSTRATED WITH ANNOTATIONS,  
BY JOHN OGILBY, Esq Master of His MAJESTY'S Revels in the Kingdom of IRELAND.  
LONDON, Printed by THOMAS ROYCROFT, for the Author, MDCLXV.  
Collegium S.S. et Individuoe Trinitatis in Academia Cantabrigiensi.   

TO THE MOST NOBLE PRINCE JAMES, DUKE, MARKS AND EARL OF ORMOND, EARL OF OSSORY AND BRECKNOCK, VISCOUNT THURLES, LORD BARON OF ARCLO AND LANTHONY, LORD OF THE REGALITIES AND LIBERTIES OF THE COUNTY OF TIPERARY, CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF DUBLIN, LORD LIEUTENANT-GENERAL AND GENERAL GOVERNOR OF HIS MAJESTY'S KINGDOM OF IRELAND, ONE OF THE LORDS OF HIS MAJESTY'S MOST HONOURABLE PRIVY COUNCIL, OF HIS MAJESTY'S KINGDOMS OF ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND, GENTLEMAN OF HIS MAJESTY'S BEDCHAMBER, LORD STEWARD OF HIS MAJESTY'S HOUSEHOLD, LORD LIEUTENANT OF THE COUNTY OF SUMMERSAULT, LORD LIEUTENANT AND LORD HIGH STEWARD OF THE CITY OF BRISTOL, AND KNIGHT OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER:  
THIS The most Ancient and Best Piece of Moral and Political Learning, is humbly Presented and Dedicated,  
By the most Obliged, And most Obedient Of His Servants, JOHN OGILBY.   

 scene from book 1 
Ilustrissimo et Potentiss: March: et Com de Gen li: Hiber ce. Palatii periscelidis Equiti: ' f. Principi. Jacobo, Duci Ormond L. Gubernatori Regii Senescallo Aurece Tabulam han● LMDDDIO Lib. j    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE FIRST BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

A Court of Gods: Telemachus complains  
To Pallas. Suitors riot: Phemius strains.  
Penelope disgust; Pallas inspires  
The Prince with Strength and Prudence, than retires.  
Antinous' girds, Telemachus retorts,  
Eurymachus sides: Night closeth strife and Sports.   

THAT prudent Heroes wand'ring, Muse rehearse,  
Who (Troy being sacked) coasting the Universe,  
Saw many Cities, and their various Modes;  
Much suffering, tossed by Storms on raging Floods,  
His Friends conducting to their native coast;  
But all in vain, for he his Navy lost,  
And they their lives profanely feasting on  
Herds consecrated to the glorious Sun;  
Who much incensed obstructed so their way  
They ne'er returned: Jove's Daughter this display.   

All now by Wars and Billows undestroy'd  
Were safe at home, He only not enjoyed  
His dearest Spouse, nor wished-for Passage gained,  
Whilst in her Cave Calypso him detained,  
And hoped to Wed. But when the Circling Spheres  
Completed had the Fate-appointed years  
That he his home and Native soil should see  
(Not from intestine broils and trouble free)  
The Gods all pitied him; but Neptune's rage,  
Until he landed, Vows could ne'er assuage:  
Who now to 
(a) It is observed by Herodotus, That Neptune was a God brought out of Lybia into Greece, and therefore properly feigned by Homer to delight in the countries' thereabout.  Aethiops distant Regions gone  
(That verge the 
(b) There is great variety of Exposition upon this place amongst the ancientest of the Greek Grammarians, Aristarchus, Crates, etc. all whose conjectures are produced and refuted by Strabo in the first book of his Geography. After which, he thus delivers his own opinion; That as the ancient Grecians called all the more Northern people Scythians, or Nomades; and the Western Celtae, Iberes, or Celt-Iberes, etc. so they called all that lived upon the Southern Ocean from East to West, Aethiopians, not those only which lie South of Egypt. This he confirms with auctorimes out of Aeschylus and Euritides, which are something obscure by reason those Tragedies from whence he borrowed them, are now lost: We shall therefore supply their room with those which are more clear and evident. Aeschylus in his Prometheus, 

— 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

You shall black people found, where rising Sun's  
First gild the Earth, and swelling Aethiops runs.   Ptolemy in his Geography, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. There live under the Zodiac from East to West men black of colour, Aethiopians. And in another place he divides Aethiopia into Eastern and Western These Aethiopians than according to Homer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were divided into Eastern and Western by the Arabian or Egyptian Gulf: which though Homer never makes mention of, as Aristarchus observed, yet it is not probable, saith Strabo, that he should be ignorant of that Gulf which is but 1000 Stades distant fro● the Mediterranean, and be so well acquainted with Thebes of Egypt 4000 Stades farther off.  rising and descending Sun)  
At plenteous Tables highly entertained,  
Sat, where his Altars Hecarombs distained,  
Whilst th' other Gods in Heavens high Palace met,  
There Jove reminding with no small regret,  
Aegisthus' story, whom Atrides Son  
Orestes slew, thus in full Court begun;   

How fond Mortals us accuse, that we  
Both of their crimes and sufferings Authors be,  
When by their folly they themselves destroy;  
So Agamemnon new returned from Troy  
Aegisthus murdered, than Espoused his Wife,  
Though Hermes him on forfeit of his Life  
From us forbade; Kill not the King he said,  
Nor Clytaemnestra that Adultress Wed,  
Jest young Orestes his Revenger come,  
And these usurped Kingdoms reassume:  
Yet obstinate he would not us regard,  
So his fowl crime hath met a due reward.  
Than Pallas; Thou who rul'st these blessed abodes,  
Great King of Kings, and father of the Gods,  
Deservedly he fell, and may they all  
Who murder Princes in like manner fall.  
But much my bowels for Ulysses yern,  
Who pined with grief, remote from his concern,  
A Sea-guirt Isle, the Navel of the Main,  
And fair 
(c) A Nymph the Daughter of Atlas according to Homer, whom others make the Daughter of Oceanus and Thetis. She being in love with Ulysses detained him seven years in the Island Ogygia: though Ovid mentions but six 
An grave sex annis pulchram fovisse Calypso?  
Aequoreaeque fuit concubuisse Deae?  Suffered Ulysses much six years t'enjoy Calypso? with a Nymph to sport and toy?  Calypsos blandishments detain.  
Him Atlas Daughter, who Heavens starry rounds  
Supports, and th' Ocean's deepest channels sounds,  
With charming Beauty, Flattery and Wit,  
Labours that he his Country might forget;  
Who rather would, though there he than should dye,  
Behold his native Smoke ascend the Sky.  
Hast thou for him, O Jove, not more regret,  
Who ne'er thy Altars slighted at the 
(d) 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc.   Fleet,  
That thou offended layst him thus aside?   

Why me thus taxest thou Heaven's King replied?  
How should I him forget who so excels  
Mortals in Prudence and all Virtues else; 
(d) 
Their Vessels at great distance from the fight,  
Did on the briny Ocean's Margins lie,  
The foremost bedded in the sand sat dry.  
Walls ranging with their Sterns, their straightened Prores,  
Lay pinched up upon the narrow shores;  
Like Ladders steps in ranks the Vessels lay,  
The large-Jawes fringing of the trending bay.  Iliads 14. 
The word Walls makes it appear evidently that the Fleet was their Camp out of this, Iliad 7.  
Than Towers and Walls strong Bulwarks they erect,  
Which might their Navy and themselves protect:  
Next hung on Gates with Barrs well fortified,  
Through which the Princes might in Chariots ride,  
Which they enclosed with Trenches steep and large,  
And Pallisadoes to break of the Charge.    
Who often this Court with Hecatombs engaged?  
But Neptune still for 
(e) Whose eye Ulysses put out with a Firebrand. Which story is related at large, Odies. 9  Polypheme enraged,  
The Cyclops Prince, whom he on Thosa got,  
The Nymph compressing in a shady Grot.  
Though he not killed him, yet midst swallowing deeps,  
Cooped in an Isle, far from his Country keeps.  
Well; let us now consult how best we may  
Work his return, and Neptune's wrath alloy:  
Who never sure a War dares undertake  
Single against us all. Than Pallas spoke;   

O thou great King, and Father of the Gods,  
If that Ulysses shall his own abodes  
Again behold, let Hermes straight repair  
To bright Calypso, and your will declare:  
That she must him discharge without delay,  
Whilst I with speed descend to Ithaca.  
There I, his Son, better to act his part,  
Shall prudence give and a courageous Heart;  
So he his House shall of those Suitors rid,  
And their disorders in full Court forbidden;  
Whose riots make such havoc there and spoil.  
Next, him I'll sand to Sparta, than to Pyle,  
To seek his Sire: So he in foreign parts  
Shall purchase Honour by acquired deserts.   

This said, she fits her golden Talaries,  
Which her ore Hills and Dales and swelling Seas  
With fanning Winds through airy Regions bear;  
Than up she takes her strong and ponderous Spear,  
With which, descended from so great a Sire,  
Often Regiments of Heroes feel her ire.  
Next stooping from Olympus' spiry heights,  
Transformid to Mentes 
(f) Taphos was a City on the Island Cephallenia near adjoining to Ithaca, the Country of Ulysses: so called from Taphus the Son of Pierelas.—  Taphians' Prince alights  
Before Ulysses' Gate, than makes a stand,  
A Brazen-pointed Javelin in her hand;  
Where the proud Suitors 
(g) It is not agreed on by the ancient Grammarians what this Game was which Penelope's Suitors are feign'd by Homer to recreate themselves with. Some expound the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dice: but Herodotus doth clearly distinguish between these two, where he says that the Lydians were the inventors of Dices, and the rest of the Sports except the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Appion, an eminent Grammarian in his time, called by Tiberius the Emperor Cymbalum mundi, says that, according as he received it from Cneso a native of Ithaca, where 'tis probable the Sport might remain in use, 'twas this, The number of the Suitors being 108. they equally divided their Balls, that is 54. on each side, directly opposite to each other. Betwixt the two ranks remained a vacant place in the middle of which they placed a mark which they called Penelope, the scope which they all were to aim at. They took their turns by lot, and he that hit the Penelope and removing that farther lay in its place, and afterwards should with another hit the Penelope again without touching any of the other Gamesters men, was acknowledged Victor, and took it as a good Omen of obtaining his Mistress.  gaming she beheld,  
Seated on Hides of Bullocks they had killed.  
Heralds with meaner Officers attend,  
Some in large Vessels Wine and Water blend,  
Others the boards with pory Sponges dried  
And Tables covered, serv'd-up Cates divide.  
Her first Telemachus, 'mongst the deboshed  
Corrivals sitting, saw as she approached,  
Than sadly fancying to himself: Should there  
His valiant Father suddenly appear  
Routing them all, how he would spoil their sport,  
And soon regain his Honour Wealth and Court:  
Troubled a Stranger there so long should stand,  
He rose, and gently took her by the hand,  
And it disburthening of her Javelin spoke;   

Since you are freely Welcome, please to take  
With us, of what supplies our Board's, a share,  
And when your Spirits, Sir, recruited are,  
How I may serve you intimate: This said,  
Up to the Hall the Goddess he conveyed:  
There 'gainst a Column sets her Lance, where stood  
Ulysses' Javelins planted like a wood:  
Than in a Chair, with a rich Cushion graced  
And a carved Footstool, he Minerva placed;  
Than sets himself against her, from the rest,  
That, nor their rude deportmentss should his Guest  
Disturb, nor their impertinencies tyre,  
And better so of's Father to inquire:  
Water to wash their hands a Damsel-sewer  
Pours forth in Silver from a Golden Ewer,  
Than spreads the Board, and on pure Manchet sets;  
The Cook the Table loads with various Cates,  
With richest Wines Attendants crown the Feast,  
When to their places the proud Suitors pressed.  
‛ Soon as they washed, and Bread up Virgins served,  
All charged at once and cut, and each where carved;  
Bowls filled and emptied wander here and there:  
When thirst and hunger satisfied were,  
Of Songs and Dances they begin to think,  
Sports heighten Banquets more than Meat and Drink.  
The Herald, Phemius, brings a Harp well strung,  
Who, though unwilling, played and sweetly Sung:  
When thus Telemachus in Pallas ear;   

With this our rudeness, Sir, be pleased to bear,  
Songs are their business with a well set Air,  
And thus to feast without a Bill of fare;  
Whilst on some Shore his Bones lie bleached with Rain,  
Or tumbled are with Billows through the Main,  
Whom should they see, rather they'd Wings desire  
Than large Possessions, Gold, or rich Attire;  
But of my Father now remains no hope:  
If any born under Heaven's glorious cope  
Should me inform that here he would arrive,  
Since the time's past, I should not him believe.  
But tell me, Sir, your Country, stock and name,  
And how, and why into these parts you came:  
Whether a stranger, or were heretofore  
Known to my Sire, since many on that score  
Visit our Court: He correspondents had  
Through all these Isles. Than thus Minerva said,   

I Mentes am Anchialus Son, and reign  
O'er Taphians, Traders through the boisterous Main:  
Hither I came to Anchor, as we pass  
At 
(h) Temesa was a City of the Brutii in the foot of Italy, now called, as Pontanus conjectures in his History of Naples, Longobuco. That this is the City meant by Homer, not that of Cyprus of the same name, appears, because the Neapolitan Temesa was famous for its veins of Brass, for which Mentes says he traded thither, at appears by Ovid in his Metamorphosis, l. 15. 
Hippotadaeque domos Regis, Temesesque metallae.  
Hippotades Palace, and Temesian Steel.  
And Statius in his Sylvae,  
— se totis Temese dedit hausta metaellis,  
Temese whose Iron mines are drained.  
And Strabo witnesses that the rooms for preparing of Brass remained there in his time, though empty. To which may be added the vicinity of this place to Cephallenia, and the great distance of the other.   Temese to barter Iron for Brass.  
Our Vessel in the Rheithran Harbour rides  
Safe under Neiums' Grove from Wind and Tides.  
I often and thy hospitable Sire  
Treated each other, this thou mayst inquire  
Of old Laertes; who, as they report,  
Absents both from the City and the Court:  
Where his old Maid, when faint with Toil and Sweat  
Pruning his spreading Vines, provides him Meat.  
I hear the Gods thy wand'ring Sire impead  
In his return: For sure he is not dead.  
Him fierce Men in the navel of the Main,  
A Sea-guirt Isle, against his will detain.  
Though I no Prophet am, nor Augury boast,  
Know he ere long shall reach his native Coast:  
Not him from home shall Brazen Fetters keep,  
Nor raging Billows of the boisterous Deep.  
Are you his Son? Him you resemble much,  
Such were his Eyes, his manly Visage such.  
Me for his Friend Ulysses pleased to own,  
Before the Trojan expedition:  
But since the Graecian Princes launched their Fleet,  
We ne'er enjoyed the happiness to meet.   

Than he replied; my Mother tells me so,  
Nor Children more of their own Parents know.  
Would I the Son were of a happy Sire,  
Who aged might in his own Court expire:  
But mine the unfortunat'st ere trod the Earth.   

Than Pallas; Such a Mother brought thee forth,  
At such a time, that no unworthy Fate  
Shall thee attend: Sir, please to intimate  
What means this concourse, why such store of Guests?  
Is this some treatment, or else Nuptial Feasts?  
This seems no Club, where each one pays his share,  
And yet extremely insolent they are:  
A sober person ill would brook to view  
The ruffian pranks of this disordered Crew.   

Than thus the Prince; Whilst here my Father reigned,  
Good orders he and plenteous Board's maintained,  
Whom now cross powers, who always mischief plot,  
Of mortals make the most unfortunate.  
Nor for his Death should I so much complain,  
Had at the Trojan Leaguer he been slain,  
Or scaping Wars and Billows died at home:  
Our Princes than erected had his Tomb,  
Investing me with his Estate and Power;  
But greedy 
(i) The Harpies were the Daughters of Pontus and Terra, from whence they were feigned to have their dominion partly on the Seas, partly on Land. They were Fouls with the faces of Women. Their form is to be seen in Sculpture, in the Church of St. Martin at Venice, frequented as a Masterpiece to draw these Monsters by, both by Carvers and Painters. That they had Wings, we learn from Aeschylus, who mentioning the Furies asleep by Orestes, concludes they were not Harpies, because they were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, without Wings. There is a Coin yet extant of L Valerius, where there is a Harpy represented.  Harpies now his Corpse devour,  
Leaving to me, his most unhappy Heir,  
In stead of Richeses, sorrow and despair.  
Nor wail I his disasters thus alone,  
The Gods have given me sufferings of my own:  
Those Princes who these scattered Isles command,  

(k) Hellanicus one of the ancientest of the Greek Historians took Dulichium here mentioned to have been Cephallenia. But Strabo has manifested that to be a groundless error: first, because Dulichium was under the command of Meges, the Cephallenians under the command of Ulysses. Secondly, because if Dulichium had been the same with Cephallenia, Homer would not have said that there went fifty Suitors from Dulichium, and four and twenty from Same, which was a City of Cephallenia. Strabo reckons Dulichium, and that rightly, one of the Echinades, near the mouth of the river Achelous, in his time called Dolicha.  Dulichium, Samos, and Zacynthus Strand,  
And Ithaca, my Mother to espouse,  
Daily addressing, thus molest my House:  
Whose suit she not rejects nor grants, and now  
Would gladly shake them of, but knows not how.  
Whose riots wast my Stock; on this pretext,  
Me they perhaps will tear in pieces next.  
Much pitying him, than thus Minerva said;   

Thou want'st alas thy valiant Father's aid,  
He soon their ranting humours would abate:  
Can I but see him standing at the Gate  
As in our Court when first I him beheld,  
Armed with two Spears, a Cask and glittering Shield,  
New come from 
(l) Ilus was great Grandchild to Medea, a Lady, famous for her exquisite skill in all manner of Poisons.  Ilus (for the boisterous Main  
He ploughed to 
(m) There are four Cities of this name. Some of the Ancients conceive Homer to mean that of the Thesprotians, others that of the Corinthians, Strabo rather inclines to Ephyra of Elea, because Homer makes Agamede the Daughter of Augias' King of the Epeans to have the knowledge of all sorts of Poisons.  Ephyre) Poison to obtain  
To 'noynt his Barbs, which wary he denied,  
Yet than my loving Father thine supplied.  
Should he now enter in that posture here,  
Bitter would prove their Nuptials, sad their Cheer.  
But 'tis at the appointment of the Gods,  
If ever he review his own abodes,  
Or be revenged; yet now consider well  
How best thou may'st this haughty Crew expel:  
A Court to morrow early summon, there  
Require them all thy Palace to forbear,  
And if thy mother one must needs Espouse,  
Let her return to her rich Father's house,  
There let them Wed, there let her wary Sire  
After her Dowry, or what ere else, inquire.  
Next, if I may advice, make ready straight  
A nimble Vessel of the second Rate;  
Than sail in quest of thy long absent Sire  
To Sandy Pyle, of Nestor there inquire:  
From thence to Spartan Menelaus haste,  
Who of the scattered Fleet arrived last;  
Of him perhaps some tidings thou may'st hear,  
Make this thy business of the following year:  
But hearest thou of his death, return straight home,  
Perform his Obits, and erect his Tomb.  
Than let thy Mother Wed, and last employ,  
Thy wits how thou these Suitors may'st destroy,  
By force or fraud: And since of age thou art,  
Leave childish sports, and bravely act thy part.  
Hast thou not of Orestes heard, whose name  
His gallant acts through all the World proclaim?  
He in Aegystus breast, that Regicide  
Who Agamemnon slew, his Weapon died;  
Thou art as likely so to purchase Fame:  
But I expected at my Vessel am,  
And must aboard with speed: What I advice  
Be sure to do; when thus, the Prince replies;   

You counsel like a friend, a Father such  
Would give a Son, which me concerns so much,  
That I shall it pursue: Here only stay,  
Though posting time and business call away;  
 and repose, till I a Gift prepare,  
Which thou with joy may'st to thy Vessel bear,  
And keep as precious Treasure for my sake,  
Such as loved Guests from those that treat them take.   

Than Pallas; Sir, I should be loathe t' offend;  
What favour you soe'er for me intent,  
Reserve till my return, that than I may,  
Accept your Present, and the like repay.   

This said, she vanished like a Bird, from thence,  
Giving him courage and a tender sense  
Of his dear Sire. A while he wondering stood,  
But when resolved this Stranger was some God,  
He to the Suitors went, who silent at  
Old Phemius Music, and attentive sat;  
He sung the Greeks hard pass, from Ilium hurled,  
By Pallas heavy wrath about the World.  
Penelope hears him from Her upper Rooms,  
And down Stairs with two Maids, attending, cometh,  
Entering the Hall a Veil her Beauty hides,  
And weeping, thus the sweet Musician chides;   

Hast thou no other Lays which deeds relate,  
Of men and Gods which Poets celebrated,  
Such choose whilst they Carouse, these but foment  
Old grief, and work afresh on discontent;  
Forbear this woeful Theme, since I not yet,  
Can one so honoured through all Greece forget.  
Than spoke the Prince; Why Mother him d'ye blame  
Pleasing himself, or tax the Poet's Theme?  
When greatest Jove inspires their sacred Verse,  
Well he the Greeks misfortunes may rehearse.  
What most concerns us, most our ears invite;  
What's new and rare still heighten our delight.  
My Father not alone his Voyage lost,  
But many more ne'er reached their native Coast.  
Look to your house, and your affairs at home,  
See that your Maids Spin, Card, and ply their Loom:  
Leave such Disputs to men who understand,  
And me to Umpire who should here command.  
This said, astonished at her prudent Son,  
She thence returns by two attended on;  
And in her Chamber for her Lord did weep,  
Till Pallas closed her Eyes with gentle sleep.  
When from the Board the proud Corrivals risen,  
And drowsy hasten to desired repose.   

Than spoke the Prince; You that so haunt my house,  
And vex my Mother, hoping to Espouse,  
Cease your rude clamour, this disorder kerb,  
Nor this high pleasure with such noise disturb:  
But harken to his heavenly Voice and Lyre.  
Next I to morrow early you require,  
To meet in Counsel, where I shall such Guests  
Forbidden my Court, elsewhere to make their Feasts:  
Which if thus warned you slight, and not forbear,  
To ruin me, by all the Gods I swear,  
If Jove so please, you unlamented shall,  
Just Vengeance feeling, perish in this Hall.  
This said, all bit their Lips, his Speech admired,  
That he redress so boldly had required.   

Antinous than; What God, my little Prince,  
Inspired thee with such pretty Eloquence?  
Jove not decreed, that thou shouldst rule this Land  
Because thy Father once did us command.   

Than thus the Prince; I should thy wrath contemn  
Would Jove confer on me the Diadem:  
To reign is good, Courts are with plenty stored,  
Princes are served, are honoured, and adored:  
But there be many great ones here who may,  
Since that my Father's dead, this Kingdom sway,  
Yet I a King, shall in this Palace reign,  
And, with Paternal wealth, due State maintain.   

Than spoke Eurymachus, Polybius Son,  
Heaven's pleasure must, Telemachus, be done.  
But who soe'er shall fill our empty Throne,  
Rule thou thy Mansions and enjoy thy own:  
None who this I slay inhabits thee shall wrong;  
But say, what Stranger talked with thee so long?  
Aught knows he of your Sire, or hither comes  
To pay old Debts, and clear contracted Sums?  
He stayed no time, did company decline;  
He hath a noble look, and princely Mien.   

Than thus the Prince: Not news of him I hear,  
I to no Wizard now will give an ear,  
For whom my Mother to this Country sends:  
This Stranger's one of my Sires ancient Friends,  
Mentes, Anchialus Son, who now commands  
The Taphians, Traders into Foreign Lands.  
Thus said the Prince, though he the Goddess knew:  
Than they to Dancing and their songs withdrew;  
When routed day sought refuge in the West,  
They to their several seats repaired to rest.  
When to his Lodgings built with wondrous art,  
Which midst Ulysses' Palace stood apart,  
Thoughtful Telemacus to rest ascends,  
Whom Euryclea with a Light attends:  
(Laertes her had purchased of old,  
At no small rate, for twenty Bullocks sold,  
Her loved he as his Spouse, but ne'er enjoyed,  
His jealous Wife's displeasure to avoid.  
She up the Prince with much affection bred)  
Opening the door, down sits he on his Bed,  
And of with speed his pliant Garments gets,  
Which up she hanging puts in comely pleats  
Close by his Bed: Her business thus dispatched,  
The door, plucked by a Silver Ring, she latched;  
Whilst pliant Blankets o'er himself he laid,  
Minding his Voyage, and what Pallas said.    

 scene from book 2 
Hustrissimae Domince D oe: Elizabethae Ducide Ormond Tabulam hand LMDDDIO Lib: 2.    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE SECOND BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

Telemachus a Counsel summons; all  
The Island Princes meet: a frequent Hall:  
Corrivals charge: sharp Answers and Replies.  
Eagles disturb the Court: the concourse rise.  
The Prince (a Vessel with Provision stored)  
And Pallas, like old Mentor, go aboard.   

NOT sooner had the Daughter of the Dawn,  
With rosy Fingers days Portcullis drawn,  
But from his Bed Laertes Grandchild springs,  
Puts on his Vest, and ' thwart his Shoulders flings  
His well hatched Falchion, on his Sandals ties,  
And forth with a majestic presence hies.  
His Heralds than commanding strait to call,  
The Island Princes to the Counsel-Hall.  
Soon as in Court convened the Heroes were,  
In comes the Prince, armed with a glittering Spear,  

(a) It is observable that Telemachus, Prince of Ithaca, has no Guard or attendance to accompany him to the Council: neither do I found in the Poems of Homer, that ever Prince used any but in time of War: though Eustathius thinks, his attendants had forsaken him, for fear of the Suitors.  Two Dogs attend, whose face Minerva decked  
With Heavenly rays, and a Divine aspect:  
All who beheld, admire his winning grace,  
And, whilst he mounts his Father's Throne, give place.  
Than first arose 
(b) It is not altogether unusual with Homer, to make the appellative name of a Country, the proper name of a Man: as he does here Aegyptius, which signifies a Native of Egypt, to be the proper name of a Prince of Ithaca: for so, in his Iliads, he feigns several proper names, as Meon, Dardanus, Imbrius, Epens, and the like; all which are properly relative to the native Country of any persons so called; which in succeeding ages, grew more common: Achaeus the name of a famous Poet, Scytha of a Philosopher, and Carystius an Historian.  Aegyptius, a grave Sage,  
Bowed with the burden of unwieldy Age:  
Four Sons he had; one, to the Ilian Plain,  
Followed Ulysses' fortune, through the Main:  
Him Polyphemus in his Dungeon killed  
The last, whose Flesh his ravenous Stomach filled.  
Three more survived; one to the Queen made love,  
The other did their Father's ground improve.  
But he, as if he had no other Son,  
Still mourns his loss, and weeping, thus begun;   

Me first to hear, you Princes condescend;  
We never here in Counsel thus convened,  
Since good Ulysses sailed for Ilium.  
For what than are we summoned, or by whom?  
Can any us newly arrived inform  
Of some approaching Foes, impending storm,  
Or aught else that concerns the public good?  
His presence speaks him one of Noble Blood,  
May Jove succeed his fair Designs. This said,  
Not longer sits the Prince; but highly glad  
At what he heard, amidst 
(c) This is spoken, according to the custom of those ancient times. And therefore Agamemnon made an Apology for himself, when he went not into the middle of the assembly, but spoke to them from his own feat.  the Concourse stands;  
And when Pisenor had into his hands  
A Sceptre put, t' Aegyptius, the Prince  
Himself addressing, thus declares his sense;   

The Man's not far, and you shall quickly see,  
Who called this Court, forced by hard Destiny:  
Not lately he arrived, nor can inform  
Of any Foes approach, or gathering Storm,  
Nor aught concerns the public good relate,  
My business all my own, my torn estate  
By two sad chances: First my Sire I lost,  
Who like a loving Father ruled this Coast;  
Than what is worse, the House that He enjoyed,  
Is topsy-turvy turned, his stock destroyed:  
Our Grandees Sons do daily there resort,  
And 'gainst her will my dearest Mother court;  
Waving to visit her rich Father's House,  
Who might the Contract draw, and her Espouse  
To one he likes, with a sufficient Dowry;  
Daily repairing thither, they devour  
Fat Beeus, Sheep, Goats, and highly Sup and Dine,  
Gratis Carousing deep on richest Wine.  
Havoc they make, whilst I a Champion want,  
Such as my Sire, these Ranters to supplant:  
Since I'm too weak to charge such wasting swarms,  
Nurtured in Peace, unseen in feats of Arms;  
But were my strength proportioned to my mind,  
Who act such pranks should soon my vengeance found;  
I'd prop my sinking House. You Patriots, fear  
Your Neighbours ill reports, the Gods revere,  
Jest they should punish you, for your neglect,  
My case condole, and my Estate protect;  
But I by Jove implore and Themis, who  
All Counsel's 
(d) Eustathius on this place notes that the Statue of Themis, according to some Grammarians, was brought into all public assemblies, at their beginning, and carried forth at their dissolution, to which they will have Homer here to allude.  summons, and dissolves, that You  
Refrain my House, suffer me there alone,  
Myself and my misfortunes to bemoan.  
If ere my Father by Hostility,  
Wronged any here, retaliate that on me:  
Better it were that you such havoc made,  
Devoured my ' state, than might I be repaid:  
For in the City I'd upon you call,  
Until you cleared accounts, and gave me all:  
But now my sorrows are on sorrows heaped:  
This said, his Sceptre down he threw, and wept.  
All pitying silent sat, nor Answer made,  
Till thus Antinous rising boldly said;   

You have not well, young Prince, your business scanned  
Thus to asperse us, and our Honour brand:  
Thy Mother rather blame, we faultless are;  
Three years she fed our hopes and held us fair,  
Promised herself to all; her Women sent,  
Us to assure of what she never meant:  
When her inventions were at lowest Ebb,  
Than she, forsooth, pretends a curious Web,  
And thus to all said; Though my Lord be dead,  
Suspend your suit, and urge me not to Wed,  
Till this be wrought, which when his sad Fates call  
Must serve Laertes for his 
(e) It was the custom of the ancients, to have their Funeral garments made while they were yet alive; if either Nature, or any eminent danger, put them in mind of their death. The Mother of Euryalus, lamenting her Son, lost in the War, mentions the Funeral Robe she was before providing for him. 
— pressive oculos, aut vulnera lavi,  
Veste tegens, tibi quam noctes festina diesque  
Vrgebam, & tela curas solabar aniles.  Virgil l. 9 
— nor close thy eyes at rest,  
Or bathe thy Wounds, and cover with the Vest  
Which night and day I did for thee prepare,  
At my Web, curing an old Woman's care.   Funeral Pall;  
So shall no Graecian Lady me asperse,  
That I with naught adorned his Funeral Hearse.  
Thus did the Queen our easy minds persuade,  
By night unraveling, what by day she made,  
And held three Summers thus, and Winters on;  
But when the fourth years gliding spheres begun,  
One of her Women her design revealed,  
And busy, her unweaving we beheld.  
Discovered thus, her work she finished strait;  
So we reply, and the whole truth relate;  
Advice thy Mother at her Father's House  
With his consent to choose a noble Spouse,  
For if this tedious game she longer plays,  
Hope's height'ning now, now starving with delays;  
And thus insists, whom Pallas gave such parts  
Making a Mistress, in her own great Arts,  
That 
(f) Tyro was the Daughter of Salmoneus King of Elis, a beautiful Lady, impregnated by Neptune, in the form of Enipeus. Of whom Ovid, in the Epistle of Hero to Leander, 

Si neque Amymone, neque laudatissima forma  
Criminis est Tyro fabula vana tui.   

Nor fair Amymone nor Tyro prove,  
Vain fables of thy vicious love.    Tyro 
(g) Mycenae the Daughter of I nachus and Melia.  Micen, nor 
(h) The Mother of Hercules, whom she had by Jupiter, in the absence of her Husband.  Alcmene ere  
Can boast like skill, though they so famous were.  
Her ill-layed Project shall not better take,  
But that so long of thine we'll havoc make,  
Till Heaven shall change her mind: True! she may be  
Renowned for this, whilst here we ruin thee,  
Feasting on thine, and of all business leave,  
Till one of us she as her Spouse receive.   

When thus Telemachus; I were accursed  
Should I expel, who me both bore and nursed,  
My Father too may live, nor can I sand  
Her home with all she 
(i) It was an ancient law among the Grecians, that the Wife, upon the Death of her Husband, or Divorce, should receive the Portion she brought with her: for which there was security given to her friends, upon her Marriage. Demosthenes in his Oration against Baeotus, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Afterwards her Husband being dead, leaving his family, and receiving back her Portion, etc. Wherhfore Telemachus makes this his Apology, why he sent not away his Mother to her Father's house, because the Suitors had not left him wherewithal to return her Portion.  brought, nor aught pretend  
In my excuse to my offended Sire,  
Nor to the Gods, when imprecations dire,  
My Mother raging, to sad Furies makes,  
Cursing her Son, as she his House forsakes;  
I'll ne'er propose that motion to her, shall  
Gain me her hatred, and dislike from all:  
This if you relish not, my House refrain,  
Feast elsewhere, or each other entertain;  
Yet if it better with your humour square,  
To ruin me and mine, my Board not spare.  
But I'll implore th' immortal Gods, if ere  
Great Jove retaliate, unrevenged that there  
You all may perish. Thus he said, when Jove,  
Human affairs observing from above,  
Sent from a Hill two Eagles, swift they fly,  
And cut, with Wings expanded, th' easy Sky;  
But when they came into the Counsel Hall,  
They shake their fluttering Pinions, viewing all,  
And sad, from their own necks and bosoms drew  
Blood, with their Talons, than to th' right hand flew,  
And to the Houses and the City bend.  
All saw, admiring what this might portend:  
When Alitherses, expert grown by Age,  
Who well could speak, and best by Birds presage,  
Most sober in advice, in Counsel grave,  
Thus on the Prodigy his judgement gave;   

You Princes, this concerns the Suitors most,  
Whom sudden Danger threats; his Native Coast,  
And friends ere long, Ulysses shall enjoy:  
He comes, will them, and many more destroy.  
You Princes, who this famous Isle possess,  
Consult before how we may acquiesce;  
Advice them strait, all Courtship to forbear,  
His House refrain, that he their lives may spare.  
I am no idle Prophet, wanting skill,  
What ere I have foretold, hath happened still:  
When first to Troy, the Grecians steered their Fleet.  
And Sailes with them Renowned Ulysses set,  
I said, That suffering much, his Friends all lost,  
He in the twentieth year his native Coast  
Unknown should reach; which will prove true. Than said   

Eurymachus; Thy Children so persuade,  

(l) Though prediction by Augury was religiously maintained, by both Greek and Roman States, yet the more discreet of them seldom took further notice of it, than stood with their own advantage: of which Homer himself has given ample testimony in an elegant Speech of Hector's, Iliad 12. 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

Must I mark Birds when they their wings expand,  
Leave sure designs upon the Countermand?  
Let them, for me, to right or left hand fly.  
Where the Sun riseth, or forsakes the Sky;  
Jove's pleasure we should do without delay,  
Whom mortals, and immortal Gods, obey:  
'Tis a good sign, We for our Country fight.   
From which last Verse, Q. Fabius Maximus, a Roman Augur, took that Saying of his; whatsoever, is done to the benefit of the Commonwealth, is done optimis auspiciis: whatsoever is acted to its rain, fit contra auspicia.   Dotard, at home, jest they should suffer, I  
On this account can better prophesy:  
Many Birds fly beneath the glorious Sun,  
But all not fit to make a Judgement on.  
Far of Ulysses died, would thou hadst there  
Perished with him, and never talked so here,  
And with vain Prophecies his youth incense,  
Expecting at thy House a recompense:  
But truth I'll thee foretell, if thou engage  
The Prince with poisoning words, provoking rage,  
It shall prove bad for him, and worse for thee,  
And thy design shall vain and fruitless be.  
Dotard, on thee we'll punishment inflict,  
Nor can we in our Vengeance be too strict;  
But this advice I to the Prince commend,  
Let him his Mother to Icarius sand;  
There let them wed, there let her wary Sire,  
After her Dowry, or what ere else, inquire:  
But we, till than, shall to his House repair,  
And court the Queen, since none alive we fear;  
Not not Telemachus, although so high  
He rants, nor yet thy fustian Prophecy,  
Which thou, fond buzzard, scandalising Fate,  
Pratlest to purchase our united Hate:  
Still we shall haunt his House, there Sup and Dine,  
Till she with one of us in Wedlock join.  
Her Beauty takes us so, and curious Arts,  
None else but she can captivated our Hearts.   

Than said the Prince; Eurymachus I crave,  
That you, and this Assembly, now would wave  
Former dispute, and I the like shall do,  
Since all the Gods, and Greece, our difference know:  
And me a Vessel of the second Rate,  
Well man'd, provide, that I embarking strait,  
May Sail for 
(m) Pyle, the seat of old Nester, as appears by the following Verses. But there were three Cities of that name in Peloponnesus, each of them, in after ages, challenging to themselves the honour of having been the seat of Nestor's Empire: The one in Arcadia, the other in Messene, and the last in Triphylia. Strabo attributes it to the last, and proves it at large, out of Homer himself, in the eighth Book of his Geography.  Pyle, and Sparta, to inquire,  
As duty bids, of my long absent Sire:  
If any there can tell, or Fame, that Post,  
Who brings Intelligence from Coast to Coast;  
Yet if I nothing hear of his return,  
A year his absence patiently I'll mourn.  
But of his Death informed, and that not more  
He shall alive behold his native Shore,  
Due Rites performed, I'll rear his Monument,  
Than match my Mother with her own consent.   

This said he sat, and up old Mentor risen,  
Whom 'mongst his trustiest Friends Ulysses chose  
His Steward, when for Troy he Anchors weighed,  
And Supervisor of his Household made.   

And thus began; You who our Princes are,  
Hear with attention what I shall declare:  
Not more let Kings be pious, mild, nor just;  
Nor act by Law, nor Reason, but their Lust,  
Since none Ulysses minds, who ruled this Land,  
Ruled, like a Father, with a gentle hand:  
I these proud Suitors not at all envy,  
Who, by depraved Counsels, act so high,  
Venturing their Lives his Richeses to consume,  
And thus, as ne'er he would return, presume:  
But I'm concerned, that all sit silent here,  
And none rebuke, nor force them to forbear,  
Since they a few, and we so many are.   

Than spoke Leocritus, Euenor's Heir,  
Well such advice might be, old Mentor, spared,  
To force us to forbear, that task were hard;  
When we with Wine are heightened at a Feast,  
Should than Ulysses, an unwelcome guest,  
Arrive, and think to drive us from his House,  
Small joy would found his long-expecting Spouse,  
O'ermatched, to see him slain at his return,  
You counsel ill: Let strait this Court adjourn,  
Than thou and Halitherses, if you list,  
Who were his Father's friends, may him assist:  
But here he long may sit, ere news arrive  
Of his return, or that he is alive.   

This said, the concourse risen, and each repairs  
To his relations, and their own affairs,  
The Suitors to the Court. The Prince mean while,  
Down to the Sea-washed Margins of the Isle  
Withdraws alone, soon as his hands he had  
With salt Waves 
(n) It was the constant practice of the Grecians, to purifyings and cleanse themselves, by washing, before prayer, and Sacrifice. So Chryses in the first of the Iliads. 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

Up with washed hands they unbruised Barley take,  
When Chryses thus his earnest prayer did make.   
Which is not confirmed only by example of particular persons, but by a general precept, recorded by Hesiod.  

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

To Jove nor any who in heaven commands  
Early libate before thou wash thy hands.    cleansed, he thus to Pallas prayed;   

Hear me, who honour'dst yesterday my roofs,  
And with thy presence gav'st such ample proofs,  
Virgin, of thy affection, with commands,  
That I should seek my Sire in foreign Lands,  
The Court, me in my expectations, fails,  
And the proud Suitors interest prevails.   

Strait Pallas, like old Mentor, as he prayed,  
To him appeared, and comforting, thus said;   

Thy Father's Principles I shall instill  
(Thou shalt not coldly act thy part, nor ill)  
Into thy bosom, and his courage too;  
Nor shalt thou only speak like him, but do:  
Thou in thy intended Voyage shalt go on;  
But if th' art not Icarius Daughter's Son,  
Of what thou undertakest thou may'st despair;  
Although few Children like their Fathers are,  
Some better be, but many worse by far.  
Thou not degenerat'st, but may'st compare  
With thy great Father: So thou needest not doubt,  
Thy enterprise, what ere, to bring about.  
Let the fond Suitors to Vain projects trust,  
Since they are neither Politic nor Just,  
Who little know, their Fate approaching, they  
Are destined all to perish in one day;  
But I will, as a Father and a Friend,  
Provide a Vessel, and on thee attend.  
Now first go home, the Suitors kindly treat,  
Pure Flower, rich Wine, such good provision get,  
Put in Borachios up, and Sacks well sowed,  
Whilst I shall raise thee Volantiers abroad;  
'Mongst many Ships I'll choose one tied and staunch,  
And all our Goods aboard to th' Offine Launch.   

Thus Pallas; Strait Telemachus obeyed,  
And, with a heavy Heart, hast homeward made;  
Where stripping Goats, the Princes he beheld,  
And Porckers dressing in the Portal killed,  
Antinous, smiling, met him in the Hall,  
And his Hand grasping, thus began to Droll;   

My pretty Speaker, wrangle now not more,  
But merry Eat and Drink, as heretofore:  
Because the Greeks will Rigg thy Ship mean while,  
That thou mayst seek thy valiant Sire at Pyle.   

Who thus replied; Should I with Ranters Feast  
Against my will, who privacy love best?  
Is't not enough, you my Estate destroy,  
My Stock consume, as still I were a Boy,  
But now of Age I'll take advice, and learn  
With Courage how to manage my concern.  
I shall attempt, either at Pyle or here,  
To make you pay large Reckon for your Cheer:  
Nor shall I lose my Voyage, though I want  
A Ship, which you were pleased they would not grant,  
Since as a Passenger, I'll leave this Land.   

Thus said, he from Antinous plucks his Hand;  
They went to Feasts prepared, and merry make,  
Cavil and prate; when thus a proud Youth spoke;   

This Boy will kill us all: Bravoes he'll hire  
At Pyle, or Sparta, or from Ephyre, dire  
Poison Transport; and when we take our rouse,  
Wine mixed with deadly Bane shall clear his House.   

Another said; He may a Voyage make,  
Bad as his Father erst did undertake,  
And perish far of, on a Foreign Shore,  
Which rather will encumber us the more,  
How we his Goods shall share; but we this House,  
Shall give his Mother, or whom she'll espouse.  
Thus drolling they their pride and folly vent,  
Whilst he up to his Father's Chamber went;  
Where Gold and Brass congested stood in piles,  
Along the wall, and Jars of several Oils,  
And Vests laid up; a Pipe of richest Wine  
Lay farther in, whose liquor was Divine,  
Kept for Vlysse's glad Return from Sea,  
By Euryclea under Lock and Key.   

To whom the Prince; Draw next that richer piece,  
Which for my hapless Sire provided is,  
Twelve Runlets, Nurse, let them be staunch and sweet,  
And twenty measures sack of purest Wheat.  
Do this alone; which, when my Mother goes  
At night up to her Chamber, I'll dispose;  
I must to Pyle and Sparta, to inquire,  
And listen after my long absent Sire.   

Aloud, this said, she bitterly complained:  
Why wilt thou venture to a Foreign Land,  
Who art Ulysses dear and only Son?  
So perished he, far of in Realms unknown,  
And now for thee some mischief they'll prepare,  
Thou once destroyed, thy Fortunes they will share.  
Ah! stay thou here, thy Enterprise decline,  
Nor furrow Billows through the raging Brine.   

Than he replied; No danger Nurse suspect,  
That power who me advised, will me protect.  
But Swear, you my departure keep unknown  
To my dear Mother, till twelve days are gone,  
Unless that she of this my absence hears,  
And so her Beauty wrong, with briny Tears.   

Than swearing Secrecy to his design,  
Pure Wheat she sacks, and runlets up rich Wine;  
But down the Prince, amongst the Suitors went:  
Whilst Pallas did another Plot invent,  
And him resembling, gives about the word,  
That at Sunsetting all should come aboard,  
Desiring Noemon to lend his Bark,  
He kindly grants, and when the Streets grew dark,  
His Vessel launched, where she might lie afloat,  
And Oars aboard, Yards, Sails, and Tackle brought,  
With speed: thus prompted by the Goddess, they  
Attended at the bottom of the Bay;  
Than thought she of another acquaint device,  
Herself to Court conveying in a trice,  
With gentle Sleep, the Suitors there trapanns,  
And shakes their tottering Goblets from their Hands:  
With drowsiness surprised, straight all arose,  
And to the City went, to their repose;  
Next, like Old Mentor, from Ulysses' Hall,  
Thus gives she Prince Telemachus a call;   

All ready are to go, hoist Sail and weigh,  
Hast, jest we loose our Voyage by delay.   

This said, Minerva from the Threshold leaps,  
He, following close, reprints the Goddess steps;  
Soon as he came, where lay their Vessel moored,  
And found them all prepared to go aboard;   

Sirs, our Provision wants your helping hands  
He said, which ready in the portal stands,  
Neither my Mother nor her Damsels know  
Of this, but only one: This said, all go  
As he commanded, nor their business slipped,  
Till they full Sacks and swollen Borachios Shipped.  
Before the Prince, aboard Minerva goes,  
And placed together on the Stern, unlose  
Their Cables, straight all mount, their Banks assigned,  
And Pallas calls a fair and whispering Wind;  
They raise their Masts, and hoist their Sails a-trip,  
Soft Gales give speedy passage to their Ship;  
Bruised Billows thunder, as her course she stood,  
Cutting rough Furrows through the boisterous Flood,  
Whilst they lose Cordage fasten to her side,  
And a Libation for the Gods provide,  
honouring Jove's Daughter most; than on they Steered  
All Night, until the blushing Dawn appeared.    

 scene from book 3 
Illustrissimo Domino: Do Thome Com: de Ossory Subpraefecto Gen: Totius Regni Hibernice Tamuam hanc LMDDDIO Lib: 3.    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE THIRD BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

Telemachus Lands, Pisistratus invites  
Him, and Minerva, unto Neptune's rites.  
Of lost Ulysses, Nestor nothing knows;  
Day and the Feast concluding, all repose.  
Nestor, Telemachus his Chariot lends,  
And, with the Prince, his Son to Sparta sends.   

WHEN the Sun risen, leaving the ample Floods,  
To light both Mortals, and Immortal Gods,  
Guilding th' Opacous Earth, and Heaven's bright Sphere,  
To Pyle they (Neleus strong built Walls) drew near:  
Whose people on the Ocean's 
(a) Although it might seem probable, that the Temple and Altar of Neptune, here mentioned, were but the fiction of the Poet, as well as the Sacrifice, and the Attendants on it, yet Strabo assures us that there remained in his time, the Temple of Neptune, in the district of old Nestor, by the Seaside, between the Cities of Lepreus and Samicum, about an hundred Stades distant from each, intended here by Homer. 
He makes Bulls a Sacrifice peculiar to Neptune, as in the eleventh of his Iliads, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

Jove's Altars there with sacred rights we filled,  
Two Bulls for Neptune and Alpheus killed,  
A Heifer next Minerva we present.   Signifying by their fury and lowing, the rage and noise of the Sea.   Margin had 
(b) That they were black, which were here sacrificed, relates to the colour of the Sea, by him frequently called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc. which Homer himself intimates in this place, by the Epithet of Neptune 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 black haired. 
The nine Bulls relate to the nine Cities, under the command of Nestor, mentioned by Homer in the Boeotia, 

Who dwelled in Pyle, and those Arene stored,  
And Thryos, where Alpheus you may ford;  
Who did in Aepy's lofty Walls reside  
In Cypariss and Amphygen abide;  
Who Helos, Pteleos, Dorion, where the throng  
Of Muses silenced Thracian Thamyris tongue.   And the number of the Attendants on the Sacrifice, to those that waited on Nestor in the Trojan expedition, 500 to each feat here, as 500 to each Ship there.   Black Beefs, a Hecatomb, to Neptune paid;  
Up to nine Board's, fivehundred Guests at each  
Were served nine Steers, all slaughtered at the Beach,  
Whilst they with furl'd-up Sails for Harbour bore,  
Than mooring fast their Vessel, leaped ashore;  
But Pallas forth Telemachus conducts,  
And on the Peer safe mounted, thus instructs;   

Now simpering Modesty and Blushes spare,  
Since thou hast sailed to make inquiry, where  
Thy Father lies, and how he died; let's go  
And see, if aught of him old Nestor know;  
Request the prudent King, to tell the truth,  
Nor aught extenuate, to soothe thy Youth.   

Than he replied; How shall I make address?  
How him salute? That Language want t' express  
Myself in, at th' Accost, who bashful am,  
And he a Prince, as great in Age as Fame.   

Telemachus, the Goddess than replies,  
Be confident, nor thy own parts despise,  
Some God shall thee inspire, for I suppose,  
Thou hast in Jove's Celestial Court no Foes.   

This said, of from the Beach Minerva leaps,  
He, following close, reprints the Goddess steps,  
And up they came, where all the Pylean State,  
Old Nestor, and his valiant Offspring sat,  
Whilst others dressed their Cates: straight Old and Young  
About such Guests, so unexpected, throng,  
Desiring with glad welcomes to sit down;   

But first Pisistratus, old Nestor's Son,  
Them to the Board lead up, in either hand,  
Placing on Skins, upon a bed of Sand  
Next Nestor and his Brother: Part than brought  
Of Sacred inwards, and with rich Wine fraught  
A Golden Bowl, which he to Pallas bore,  
And thus presents; Sir, Neptune now implore,  
Since thou hast fortuned here, a welcome Guest,  
To celebrated the World-Embracer's Feast;  
And when with Prayer the hast paid Libations due,  
Give him the Cup that he may offer too:  
Whom I suppose thou needest not much persuade,  
T' implore the Gods, all Mortals want their aid.  
But he's thy junior much, resembling me  
In Age, therefore I bring this first to thee:  
Giving the Bowl Minerva as he spoke,  
With his discretion, extremely took,  
Rejoiced that his respects to her he paid  
Before the Prince, and thus to Neptune Prayed;   

O thou! great King, whose circling arms are hurled  
Round the vast body of the mighty World,  
Honour on Nestor, and his Sons bestow,  
And next, these civil People favour show,  
Whose Offerings on thy sacred Altars burn:  
Last grant this Prince and me a safe return,  
His business well effected, for whose sake  
We hither furrowed up the briny Lake,   

Thus Prayed she, and all Ceremonies done,  
The Golden Bowl presents Ulysses' Son:  
Who in like manner paid Libations due,  
Than Cates well roasted, of with speed they drew,  
And Messing up, all plentifully fare.  
When Thirst and Hunger satisfied were,  
To raise Discouse, thus ancient Nestor said.   

Our Stomaches, worthy Guest's, now well allayed,  
Let us with Table talk, the time awhile,  
And customary Questions, beguile;  
Who are you, Sirs, and from what Country come?  
Trade you abroad, or else as 
(c) It may seem strange, that Nestor should entertain his strange Guests with that ignominious, as it is now esteemed, title of Pirates. But it does appear by the ancient Historians, that both the Islanders, and those of the Continent who bordered upon the Sea, chief maintained themselves by the Inroads, they made into strange Countries and Towns unfortified, esteeming it the part of base and inferior Spirits to live upon their own labour; and on the other side a token of Valour, and Eminency to live upon Rapine and the spoils of others. This Thucydides delivers in the Preface to his History, and confirms with this very place of Homer, though but obscurely intimated, where he says, In the ancient Poets when Mariners were interrogated, whether they were Pirates or not, they counted it no dishonour to confess it, nor did they think they had upbraided them, who asked them the question.  Pirates Rome,  
Your Lives extending, through the boisterous Floods,  
To seize as lawful Prize, all Foreign Goods?   

When thus the Prince, emboldened by the Maid,  
To ask about his long lost Father, said;   

O thou! to whom all Greece prime honour pay,  
Hither we come, from Neian Ithaca,  
On private, not a public score; t'inquire,  
If dead or living be my absent Sire,  
Ulysses, who, with thy especial ay'd,  
As Fame reports, proud Troy in Ashes laid.  
Who ere there perished, by th'insulting Foe,  
The place, and manner, of their Death we know;  
But Jove his Pate absconding none can tell,  
Nor certainly inform us, where he fell.  
If slaughtered by the Trojans, in Champaign,  
Or lost'mongst Billows in the boisterous Main;  
On this account I now, thy Suppliant am,  
If thou didst see, or since, by flying Fame,  
Heard'st his sad Fate, that thou wouldst tell the truth,  
And naught extenuate, pitying my Youth;  
But sure a hapless Son his Mother bore:  
I by my valiant Father thee implore,  
If ere his word he good by action made,  
Against the Foe in field, or Ambuscade,  
When worsted Greeks were in their greatest strait  
That to remind, and all the truth relate.   

Than Nestor said; Thou makest my heart to melt,  
Recalling all those miseries we felt  
Under Achilles, Plundering Towns by Sea,  
Or that sad Leaguer, where so long we lay;  
Where our prime Chiefs we lost: There Ajax lies,  
Patroclus and renowned Aeacides,  
Where toils and sorrows fell on us so thick,  
To cast them up would pose Arithmetic;  
There fell Antilochus, my offspring, who  
Well kept his ground, and could as well pursue.  
Five years shouldst thou enquiring, here remain,  
What hardship there, we suffered in Champaign,  
Thou mightst the sixth return unsatisfied,  
Nine years all Plots and Stratagems we tried,  
Which Jove scarce ended than: In that sad War,  
None with thy prudent Father could compare,  
On all occasions acting best his part  
At close designing; if his Son thou art.  
And now I view thee better, I admire,  
Thou look'st so like, and speakest so like, thy Sire.  
Nor need thy blushes thee excuse as young,  
Who hast his Eloquence and silver Tongue;  
We ne'er in public, handling points of State,  
Thwarted each other, nor in close debate;  
But of one Judgement jumped still on the same,  
Playing the best of a hard Graecian Game.  
Ilium once sacked, our Navy Anchors weighed,  
But Jove offended, long our Voyage made.  
We were not Pious all, Prudent, nor Just,  
Hence some for Riot suffered, some for Lust:  
And 
(d) Pallas favoured the Grecians during the whole Trojan War, nor does Homer give any account whence she was so incensed against them. The later Poets say that Ajax deflowered her Priestess Cassandra, a Virgin and Prophetess. 
Which dishonour she revenged not only on Ajax himself, but the whole nation: and these Virgil follows, Aen. 1. 

— Pallasne exurere classem  
Argivam, atque ipsos potuit submergere ponto  
Vnius ab noxam & farias Ajacis Oilei?  
Illa Jovis rapidum jaculata è nubibus ignem  
Disjecitque rates, evertitque aequorae ventis:  
Illum expirantem transfixo pectore flammas  
Turbine corripuit, scopuloque infixit acuto.   

— could Pallas burn  
And sink the Graecian Navy in the Sea  
For one man's lust, Ajax impiety?  
She cast Jove's winged lightning from a cloud,  
Dispersed their Fleet, with wind the Ocean ploughed.  
Him breathing flames, which through his bosom broke,  
Staked with a Whirlwind on a pointed Rock.     Pallas'twixt th' Atrideses strife begun,  
Who called a Counsel late, at setting-Sun.  
Heated with Wine, the Greeks divided strait,  
And, from harsh Language, fell to high debate;  
Than Menelaus order all to weigh,  
And minding home to Blow the Broad-backed Sea.  
But Agamemnon, not so pleased, denies,  
Not one must stir before they Sacrifice,  
That so Minerva's wrath might be appeased;  
Gods once Incensed are not so easily pleased.  
Thus they contesting made a bitter close,  
And in divided Factions clamouring rose.  
That Night our Sleep but little us revived,  
Whilst greater sorrows Jove for us contrived.  
Next morn weLaunch, our Goods and Treasure stowed  
And with our long-veiled Captives leave the road,  
The other half with Agamemnon stay,  
And as their King and General obey;  
Tenedos, ploughing Billows, soon we made,  
And on the Beach our Offerings duly paid  
For a safe Passage, but this Jove denied,  
And did our Fleet a second time divide.  
Ulysses' Squadron on our General's score  
Sailed back, and Anchored where they road before:  
But I, perceiving Jove offended, fled  
With my whole Fleet, and honoured Diomed.  
Us Menelaus found at 
(f) An Island in the Aegaean Sea, not far distant from Troy.  Lesbos, there  
Consulting if we should 'bove 
(g) Another Island in the Aegaean Sea four hundred Stades distant from Lesbos.  Chios Steer  
To 
(h) An Island distant 60. Stades from Chios.  Psyria, or on our Larboard hand,  
For Stormy 
* A Mountain in jonia, abounding with Trees and wild Beasts, directly over against Chios; so called from Mimas a Giant there buried.  Mimas, under Chios stand:  
Than we great Jove besought, who gave a 
(i) The Poet mentions not what sign it was, which has given liberty to the conjectures of the Commentators. But I conceive he meant no more than a favourable gale for their passage to Enboea.  sign,  
Would we be safe, to blow 
(k) A large Island near unto Greece now called Negropont.  Euboean Brine;  
Thence through swollen Billows, with a favouring Gale,  
In one short night we to 
(l) A Port-town in Enboea, but not mentioned by Homer in his Boeotia.  Geraestus sail;  
Where we with Thighs of fatted Bullocks stained  

(m) Strabo mentions the Temple of Neptune at Geraestus, standing in his time.  Neptunian Altars, than forsake the Land;  
The fourth day Diomedes at Argos lands,  
Thence turning strait for Pyle my Navy stands,  
Nor the same Wind that Jove first sent us failed,  
So I, dear Son, in safety hither sailed,  
Nor know who scaped, or were of life deprived;  
But what I learned since I at home arrived  
I shall to thee relate: Pyrrhus, they say,  
His Navy safe to Phthya did convey.  
Safe Philoctetes harboured his tall Fleet,  
None lost Idomineus, but to Crect  
His flying Squadron he in safety Steered.  
How Agamemnon Landed you have heard,  
And how Aegysthus him supplanting slew,  
Where he received retaliation due,  
Slain by Orestes; who his Falchion died  
In Blood of that accursed Regicide.  
Be Valiant thou too, Son, thy Face hath lines,  
Which speak thee Famed to be for bold Designs.   

Than thus the Prince; Thou who the Glory art  
Of all the Greeks, he met his just desert,  
And through the World, Greece shall his Fame divulge;  
Ah! that the Gods would me so much indulge,  
That I might take the like revenge on them  
Who plot my ruin, and my Youth contemn.  
But th' unkind Powers allow my Sire nor me  
No happiness, we still must sufferers be.   

Than Nestor; Truth thou sayest, so all report,  
That several Princes to thy House resort,  
Courting thy Mother, melting thy Estate.  
Is it thy will, or is't thy People's hate,  
Stirred up by 
(n) Eustathius on this place observes, that Princes have often been deposed by their Subjects, incited thereto by some Oracle.  Oracles? who knows but he  
Returning, may on them revenged be  
Alone, or else for him a Party made?  
Should Pallas thee, as erst thy Father, aid  
Against the Trojans, when we suffered so.  
I ne'er saw any God such favour show  
To Mortal in distress, as she to him;  
Hadst thou from her like favour and esteem,  
Soon Nuptial fancies they should lay aside.  
When thus the prudent Youth to him replied;   

Nestor, What thou hast said will never be,  
For I despair that happy day to fee,  
Although revenging Gods with us should side.   

Telemachus, Minerva than replied,  
How scaped such words thy Teeth, their Ivory guard,  
Not Jove from Heaven's high Turrets finds it hard,  
In exegencies Mortals to relieve,  
I rather, suffering many woes, would live,  
And home returning my Estate enjoy,  
Than that some Stranger there should me destroy;  
So hapless Agamemnon lost his life,  
By sly Aegysthus, and his cursed Wife.  
Nor can the Gods those whom they most esteem,  
Rescue from Death, nor from the Grave redeem,  
Who once Arrested, to th' Infernal shade  
Are hurried hence. Telemachus than said;   

Mentor, of this sad Argument not more:  
I fear he ne'er shall see his Native Shore,  
Since he is dead. Of Nestor now I'll learn  
Some other News, waving my own Concern,  
Who by his years hath much experience gained,  
And, like a God, hath now three Ages reigned:   

Great Prince, thou Glory of thy Nation, tell  
How that Renowned Agamemnon fell,  
Where than was Menelaus, by what Plot,  
One in his power, subtle Aegysthus got,  
So much the better Prince, whether he were  
At Argos, or in foreign Lands elsewhere.   

Than Nestor thus; I shall, most noble Youth,  
Resolve thee straight, thou hint'st upon the truth;  
Had Menelaus there arriving found  
Aegysthus living, he not under ground  
Had laid his Body, but upon the shore,  
Exposed for Dogs, and Vultures to devour  
Far from the City, nor fond Graecian Dames  
Had pitying Tears shed at his Funeral flames;  
At Argos he, whilst we beleaguered Troy,  
Indulged his pleasure, Courting to enjoy  
His Spouse, fair Clytaemnestra: the chaste Queen  
Long time stood out, loathing so fowl a sin:  
Besides, the King departing, left in trust  
Her to a learned 
(o) The name of this Bard, or Musician, the Poet not where delivers. Some Writers call him Chariades, others Demodocus, or Glaucus. Demetrius Phalereus; relates the Story thus; Menelaus and Ulysses were sent to consult the Oracle at Delphos. about the Trojan Expedition, at what time were celebrated the Pythian Games, where Demodocus, one of the Scholars of Automedes, was Victor; whom they persuaded to return with them, and whom Agamemnon left overseer of his Queen.  Bard, discreet and just,  
Whose Fate him to his ruin did beguile:  
Subtle Egysthus on a desert Isle,  
Leaves him to Vultures, and wild Beasts a prey:  
Than she consenting, keeps their Wedding day  
In her own Court, and th' Altars of the Gods  
With Hecatombs of fatted Bullocks loads,  
Their Fanes with Arras graced, their Priests with Copes,  
Proud of a Prize so much beyond his hopes.  
Whilst we our constant course from Ilium bend,  
And with me Menelaus, my dear friend,  
Until we near Athenian 
(p) A Promontory belonging to the City of Athens, where was the Temple of Jupiter Suniensis.  Sunium drew,  
Where 
(q) All sudden deaths of Men, the Poet ascribes to Apollo, as of Women to Diana.  Phoebus, Menelaus Pilot slew,  
As at the Helm he stood, Phrontis, who best  
Of Mortals, steered a Ship with weather strest.  
Here, though in haste, his Voyage he deferred,  
Till he his friend with Funeral rites Interred;  
This done, their Squadron through the Ocean glides,  
Until they reach steep 
(r) A Promontory belonging to the Lacedæmonians, where Navigation was counted so dangerous, by reason of the contrariety of winds, that the Asian and Italian Merchants, chose rather to transmit their Goods over Land, at the Corinthian Isthmus, than trust them to that Channel.  Malias Rocky sides;  
There Jove a dangerous Passage them designed,  
And Waves like Mountains, raised with blustering wind,  
Which them dispersed; a part for Creta stood,  
Where the 
(s) A People on the Island Crete, over against Laconia.  Cydonians plant, near Jardan's Flood:  
On Cretan Coasts, a Rock with Sea-worn Cliffs,  
His towry scalp above swollen billows lifts,  
Where Southern gusts roll on rough 
(t) A City of Crete, where Epimenides was born.  Phaestus tides  
On the left hand, which a small rock divides.  
Hither they steer, and hardly death escape,  
Whilst all their Fleet, but five, bulged on the Cape;  
Which sailed for Aegypt's fertile Margins straight,  
Where with rich Goods their crazy Ships they freight.   

Mean while Aegystus his dire Plot pursues,  
Murders the King, the Queen corrupts, subdues  
His Realms, and seven years them in slavery held,  
The eighth Orestes the Usurper killed;  
Whose Obits, and his Mother's Funeral rites,  
Performed, the Greeks he to a Feast invites:  
And Menelaus landing the same day,  
A world of Richeses brought into the Bay.  
Than stay not long, nor travel far, jest those  
Thou left'st behind, thy Goods, to spoil expose,  
And for this fruitless Voyage thee despise.  
But go to Menelaus I advice,  
For he came lately home; whence he again  
Ne'er hoped return, driven by a Hurricane,  
Into a Sea so broad, that Birds might ask,  
A year to cross o'er, and no easy task.  
But Sail thou hence, or if thou go'st by Land,  
My Steeds and Chariot are at thy command,  
And thee my Sons to Sparta shall conduct,  
Atrides there thee farther may instruct.   

This said, Sunsetting Night her Flagg unfurled,  
Spreading black Ensigns o'er the watery World.   

Than Pallas; Thou speakest, Nestor, like a Friend,  
Now part the 
(u) It was an usual Rite among the Grecians, to Consecrated the Tongues of their Sacrifice at the end of their entertainment, mentioned by Athenaeus, and Didymus, by Homer meant only as a Symbol of Silence.  Tongues, and Wine with Water blend,  
To offer Neptune and th' Immortal Gods,  
That all may than repose in their abodes,  
Since late it grows and dark; nor is it fit,  
That long we should at Feasts Celestial sit.   

This said, the Concourse follow her commands.  
Water the Heralds pour upon their hands;  
Young men with sparkling wine their Goblets crowned,  
They drink about, and still the Bowl goes round.  
Tongues broiled on Sacred Flames, all rising up  
Libations pay, and take their parting Cup:  
Than Pallas and Telemachus desire  
They might departed, and to their Ship retire,  
But Nestor staying them, thus gently chid;   

Jove and th' Immortal Deities forbidden,  
That you my House should balk, and lie aboard,  
As if our Court no Lodging could afford,  
Nor aught that Strangers might accommodate;  
I furnished Chambers have, and Rooms for State,  
Adorned with Arras, and rich Tapestry,  
Ulysses' Son shall ne'er a Shipboard lie,  
Whilst I, or mine survive; who e'er resort,  
Shall civilly be Treated in our Court.   

Than Pallas; Nestor thou hast nobly said,  
And may'st Telemachus to stay persuade:  
But I must down, our Company to cheer,  
With my wished presence, who am Oldest, there:  
Young men they are, much of the Prince's Age,  
Who on his friendship's score with him engage.  
But early I to 
(x) Strabo, in the eighth Book of his Geography, proves that the Caucones here mentioned, were a People that lived near Dyme in Elea, not those of Triphylia. She makes this excuse, that she may not accompany Telemachus to Lacedaemon, where the Marriage of Menelaus Daughter was celebrated, she being a Virgin Goddess.  Caucones must repair,  
To state accounts, which of concernment are:  
And when thou kindly him hast entertained,  
Lend him your Steeds and Chariot, than command  
Thy Son to guide the Prince; let him, I crave,  
Since 'tis your Grant, your fleetest Horses have.   

Pallas, this said, thence like an Eagle flew,  
Which all the Concourse, struck with terror, view;  
Than by the Hand the Prince Old Nestor took,  
And thus to him, admiring, kindly spoke:   

There's hope of thee, brave Youth, whom Gods instruct,  
And thus in thy Minority conduct;  
This of all Powers, who plant the Starry Sky,  
Is Pallas, for no other Deity  
Thy Father so befriended; Virgin! be  
Propitious to my family and me,  
And a broad Fronted Heifer, one year old,  
I'll offer thee, and tip his 
(y) It was one of the Rites among the Grecians, to adorn the Horns of their larger Sacrifices with Gold: which from them descended to the Romans; for the Senate of Rome decreed that the Decemviri should Sacrifice to Apollo, Graeco ritu, after the manner of the Grecians, an Ox and two Goats with their Horns gilded. Ovid, 
— blandis indutae cornibus aurum  
Conciderant istae nivea cervice juvencae.  Virgil Aen. 10. 
Et statuam ante aras aurata fronte juvencam  
Candentem, pariterque caput cum matre ferentem.   Horns with Gold.   

Thus Nestor Prayed, and Pallas heard his Prayer,  
Than home with his Relations did repair.  
There in his Palace seated, he in Gold  
Presents them Wine new pierced, eleven years old:  
Pallas Libating, each one cheers his Heart  
With a full Bowl, and thence to rest departed.  
Under the high Arched Portals, Nestor lead  
Telemachus, unto a curious Bed,  
Near him Pisistratus, his Valiant Son,  
Who yet unmarried, Lodgings had alone.  
Than he retires to Chambers further in,  
And a soft Couch prepared by his Queen.   

Not sooner had the Daughter of the Dawn,  
With rosy Fingers, Days Portcullis drawn,  
But Nestor risen, and down before his Gate,  
On Nelius Throne of Polished Marble sat,  
Whose prudence living, matched th' Immortal Gods,  
Now dead descended to th' Infernal Floods.  
There Sceptered Nestor with his Sons about  
Him, places took, Thrasymedes first, and stout  
Perseus, Aretus, Stratius, Echepron,  
And last Pisistratus his youngest Son;  
These to a Seat Telemachus conveyed,  
Next to old Nestor: who thus rising said;   

Pallas let's now Atone, since she our Feast  
In public graced, as an invited Guest.  
Let one of you command our Herdsman strait,  
A Heifer bring to offer at the Gate:  
And let a second to the Vessel go,  
And summon all their Company, but two:  
Larceus a third; our Goldsmith, who adorns  
Our Gifts, to gild the sacred Victims Horns,  
Let all the rest here in their Seats abide,  
But bid the Damsels all things fit provide,  
Seats, Wood, and Water: Their old Father, They,  
As soon as said, him Filial duty pay,  
From field the Heifer comes, those from the Ship;  
Ready the Goldsmith stands the Horns to tip,  
With Anvil, Tongues, and Hammer; Pallas would  
Not absent be, 
(z) For in those time's Gold was a rarity for a Prince's Closet, not a Subjects Purse. Athenaeus says, That when Hero King of Syracuse had resolved to consecrated a Golden Victory and Tripos to Apollo at Delphos, Greece and Sicily could not afford him matter sufficient, till after long search, he met with some at a Merchant's house in Corinth. Nor does it appear that there was any plenty of Gold in Greece, till the Phocians had Sacrilegiously robbed the Temple of Apollo, enriched with several Monuments of Gold, by the Princes of Lydia, Gyges and Croesus.  Nestor giveth out the Gold,  
That such their cost might more the Goddess glad:  
Stratius the Beast and Echepolus led  
Out by the Horns, Aretus Water brought,  
And in is left Hand with Cakes a Charger fraught:  
Ready stood Thrasymedes with an Axe,  
Perseus the Basin holds, Nestor the Cakes,  
And Pallas supplicating, plucks the Hair  
Betwixt her Brows, and burns, closing their Prayer:  
Strait Nestor's Offspring thence the Barley took,  
His Axe exalting Thrasymedes struck:  
The Victim straight, her Nerves dissected fell,  
The Women shriek, raising a hideous yell.  
Pisistratus soon cuts the Heifers Throat,  
Forth, with the Blood, her vital Spirits, float:  
Which flayed, they to the Thighs lop'd of affix  
A double Cawl, and Lean with Fat commix;  
Next thinner Steaks, from parts extremer cut,  
And round the Thighs, about the Altar put,  
Which Nestor burns with Wood, than powers on Wine,  
His Sons brought Spits, which five in one conjoin,  
The Thighs consumed, they on the inwards feast,  
And what remained, in pieces cut and dressed.  
Polycaste, Nestor's youngest Daughter, 'noynts  
And Baths the Prince, and Vestments him appoints;  
Which when put on, he with a Godlike grace,  
By Ancient Nestor, reassumes his place.   

Soon as the Joints well roasted were, they drew,  
And dished them up, the Princes straight fall too:  
Than some arising, power in Golden Bowls  
The richer Wine, that cures despairing Souls.  
When thirst and hunger satisfied were,   

Said Nestor; Sons my Chariot straight prepare;  
Put in my Steeds that he may go: This said,  
The ready Princes their old Sire obeyed,  
And to the Teem-Poll his swift Horses join:  
Forth brings a Damsel Viands, Bread and Wine.  
Up to his place Ulysses' Offspring gets,  
And next Pisistratus, who by him sits.  
Taking the Whip and Rein, they Pyle forsake,  
Plying the Lash, their Steeds free metal shake  
The jolting Teem, which rattles all the way,  
Till night's black Regiments secluded day.  
To 
(aa) A City of La●●nia, betwixt Pyle and Lacedamon.  Pheras, Diocles Palace drove they on,  
His Sire Orchilocus, Alpheus' Son;  
There they all night well treated took repose:  
But when the rosy-fingered Morn arose,  
They join their Steeds, and mounted ply the Whip,  
O'er smooth Champain their Horses nimbly trip,  
Till, the Sunsetting, night her Flag unfurled,  
Hanging her sable Ensign o'er the World.    

 scene from book 4 
Illustrissimoe Dominae Doe Emi●ae Comitissae de Ossory Ta●ulam ●hanc LMDDDIO Lib. 4    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE FOURTH BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

Menelaus' Nuptials keeps; unlooked-for Guests,  
Telemachus and Nestor's Offspring, feasts.  
His long and dangerous Voyages relates.  
Proteus, his Brother's, and Ulysses Fates,  
Than Ajax tells. A Plot the Suitors lay  
To intercept Telemachus at Sea.   

Strait on they drive to Menelaus' Court,  
Who now sat Feasting with a great resort  
Of Friends and Neighbours all invited, where  
Together with great State solemnised were,  
His Sons and Daughters Nuptials: Her he sent,  
(At Troy Contracted first by his consent)  
With Horse, with Chariots, and a stately Train  
To Pyrrhus, where in Phthya he did reign.  
Him, he Alector's beauteous Daughter gave,  
Bold Megapenthes, gotten on his Slave  
When Aged grown, for Heaven so pleased that he  
Only, by Helen, had 
(a) Homer mentions only the Contract made between Pyrrhus and Hermione, by the consent and order of Menelaus; but Sophocles and other Greek Poets speak of a former Contract between her and Orestes, made by their Grandfather Tyndareus, who in revenge of his lost Mistress, slew Pyrrhus at his return. These later Poets, both Virgil and Ovid follow; the first, in his Aeneids, l. 3. 

Nos patriaincensa diversa per aequora ve●tae  
Stirpis Achilleae fastus, juvenemque superbum  
Servitio enixae tulimus: qui deinde, secutus  
Ledaeam Hermionem, Lacedaemoniosque hymenaeos,  
Me famalam famuloque Heleno transmisit habendam.  
Ast illum ereptae magno inflammatus amore  
Conjugis & scelerum furiis agitatus Orestes,  
Excipit incantum, patriasque obtruncat ad arras.   

We from our Country's flames through all Seas born,  
Felt the proud Youths, Achilles' Offsprings, scorn;  
Who after, fair Hermione did Wed,  
And, Fatal still, enjoyed a Spartan Bed,  
And me to Helenus his Servant gave.  
But him Orestes, who did strangely rave  
For his lost Spouse, impatient did pursue,  
Surprised, and at his Father Altars slew.   The other, in his Epistles.  Hermione,  
Fair like bright Venus. 
(b) Atheneus observes that Aristarchus took these five Verses, wherewith the Feast, with its appendages, is described, out of the 15. Book of the Iliads, and placed them here, lest the Poet should seem too slightly to pass over so solemn an entertainment: but with what bad success, he proves afterwards at length. First, because the Nuptial feast was now over, and Menelaus' his Daughter sent away unto Phthia, and himself left alone with Helena: Secondly, because it is a Cre●an dance which is here described, not used at Lacedaemon. Thirdly, because the Language is incongruous, the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 being proper to the Harp, or Voice, not to those that dance after it: so Hesiod uses it— 
— 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  And Archil●chus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  Whilst they treated were  
In his high Palace, thus with sumptuous Fare,  
Two Dancers moving 'mid'st th' admiring throng,  
To a learned Bard, who Played and sweetly Sung:  
Telemachus and Nestor's Son drive up,  
And in the echoing Porch their Chariot stop:  
Them Eteon, Menelaus Steward, spies,  
Who with his Royal Master to advice,  
Hasting to is presence said; Sir, at your Gate  
Two Princes, like Jove's Heavenly Issue, wait.  
Shall we take out their Steeds, and treat them fair,  
Or let them entertainment seek else where?   

Who thus incensed, replies; Art thou a Fool,  
Or shallow Novice, lately come from School?  
To raise such doubts; We had not lived to see  
Jove grant a period to our misery,  
If we abroad had missed like kindness; Go  
Take out their Steeds, and in the Strangers show.   

Back with like speed, thus ordered, Eteon comes,  
Calling to his assistance ready Grooms,  
Who strait unloose their Steeds, to Mangers tie,  
Which they with Oats and Barley mixed supply,  
Their well hung Chariots place against the Wall,  
The Strangers than conducting to the Hall;  
Who wondering view his stately Court, which shone  
Like Titan's beams, and quite eclipsed the Moon;  
With so much Cost and Art his House he built,  
His Columns, Walls, and lofty Ceiling gilt:  
Their Eyes with Objects feasted, they descend  
To a warm Bath, fair Virgins them attend:  
Whom when they had Anointed, Bathed, and Dressed  
In costly Weeds, they Ushered to the Feast,  
Placing them nigh the King, a Damsel Sewer  
To wash their Hands, fills from a Golden Ewer,  
A Silver Bason, near a Table brought,  
And strait with many savoury Dishes fraught,  
And Golden Bowls: Than thus Atrides spoke,   

Giving them kindly his right Hand; Partake  
Of what you see; and when sufficed you are,  
Your Country and your Parentage declare.  
You seem to be of high extraction, sure  
From no mean stock you spring, nor yet obscure;  
Princes you are by your majestic Mein;  
And his own Dish, this said, a roasted Chine,  
Before them placed, on which they highly far.  
When thirst and hunger satisfied were,  
Telemachus in Nestor's Offsprings ear  
Thus softly whispered; What a House is here?  
The splendour of this stately Hall behold,  
How daubed with Silver, Ivory, Brass, and Gold,  
Like Jove's own Court that crowns th' Olympic spire,  
The more I look, the more I still admire.   

The King orehearing said; None must compare  
Mansions with Jove, his seats immortal are,  
But with me any may, who eight years tossed  
Through worlds of miseries from coast to coast,  
'Mongst unknown Seas, of my return small hope,  

(c) An Island in the Mediterranean, whither it seems he was driven from Crect.  Cyprus, Phenicia, Egypt, 
(d) The Commentatours on Homer have been very inquisitive to found out Menelaus' Voyage into Aethiopiae. Crates supposed that he passed out at the Streights, doubled the Southern Cape, and so arrived thither. Eratosthenes conjectures that in the time of Homer the Streights mouth was an Isthmus, and the Egyptian Isthmus overflowed by the Sea, which afforded him a shorter passage. But that is most probable which Strabo delivers, That he than went to the borders of Aethiopiae when he passed up Egypt to the City of Thebes: the borders of Aathiopiae being not far distant from thence in Strabo's time, probably very near it in Homer's.  Aethiop,  
Sidon, 
(e) It is most probable that they were the Arabians, lying on the other side of the Gulf, directly over against Egypt and Aethiopiae.  Erembos found, and Libya, where  
Their Lambs are horned, their Ewes teem thrice a year:  
Whose Lords and Peasant's flesh and cheese have store,  
And all the year the milking Pail runs o'er.  
Whilst I thus Coasting store of Richeses got,  
One, with his Queen conspiring, by a Plot  
My Brother slew; so that small comfort I  
Of this my Palace, Wealth, and Realms enjoy.  
And you perhaps may from your Parents hear  
What my great Losses, what my Sufferings were.  
My ransact Court of Jewels, massy Plate,  
Of Vests, of what or served for use or State,  
A third of which I rather would enjoy  
So those were living yet, who died at Troy:  
For whom so often disconsolate alone  
Here sit I sighing, and their Fates bemoan.  
Now sorrow pleaseth, now sad thoughts I wave;  
Quickly of griping Woes our fill we have.  
But more for one, than for them all, I Weep,  
Whom minding, I neglect repose and Sleep;  
Ulysses, none of all the Graecian Host  
Can parts like him, Prudence, or Valour boast;  
None like thy Sire 'gainst Troy maintained our cause,  
Nor purchased equal Fame, nor like Applause:  
Yet all his Toils turned to no more account,  
But that his future should past woes surmount;  
And I am sceast of Tears a constant rate,  
Since none knows how or where he met his Fate.  
His Father, his dear Wife, and only Heir,  
Whom he an Infant left, like me despair.   

This said, the Prince a briny Deluge sheds,  
And o'er his Face his Purple Vestment spreads.  
Him Menelaus knew, and pondering sat  
If he should suffer him to intimate  
His business, or his Father mention first:   

Whilst thus Atrides to himself discoursed;  
Forth from her presumed Chamber Helen came,  
Like Quivered Cynthia, the Forests Dame.  
Aerasta placed her Chair, Tapestry well wrought  
Alcippe, her rich Cabinet 
(f) Eustathius observes, that Helenae has not the same Attendants here which she had in the Iliads: it being not consentaneous to honesty, that those should now remain of her Retinue who were conscious of the foul fact of her Adultery.  Phylo brought,  
Alcandra's costly Gift, Polybus Spouse,  
Who in Egyptian Thebes a stately House  
Well furnished kept; Cups of a curious mould  
Two, and two Tripods, Talents ten of Gold,  
He gave the King; to Helen than addressed  
A Golden Distaff, and a Silver Chest,  
The edges Gilt, which pleased she did accept,  
And in't her Work, and curious Worsted kept.  
This modest Phylo bore the Distaff full  
With segregated streaks of Purple Wool;  
Well settled on a Footstool in her Throne,  
The Queen to Menelaus thus begun;   

knowst thou not who these are, nor from what coast  
These Strangers come, nor Parentage they boast?  
I would guess right, speak truth, and be no Liar,  
For still the more I look, I more admire:  
Since I ne'er any yet beheld, not one,  
Moore like, than this, to be Ulysses' Son  
Telemachus, whom he than left at home  
An Infant, when you launched for Ilium;  
And on my sad account a numerous Host,  
Brought with destruction to the Phrygian Coast.   

Than he; 'tis true, him he resembles much,  
His Hands and Feet, his Face, Hair, Eyes were such.  
Now I recall, when of Sire I spoke,  
And sorrows he had suffered for my sake,  
Tears down his Cheeks in rivulets dewed his Breast,  
And o'er his Face he threw his Purple Vest.  
When to the King Pisistratus begun;   

YE are not mistaken, This, Sir, is his Son,  
Who modest thought not fit that he before  
Him, whom like Jove we honour and adore,  
A Speech should make: Nestor commanded me  
Him to attend, who longed to gain from thee  
Some grave advice: Many and high affronts  
At home he suffers, whilst his Sire he wants;  
Few are his Friends, desperate his case and sad,  
And none amongst the people him will aid.   

Than spoke the King; See I Ulysses' Son,  
Who for my sake so much hath undergon?  
With him I thought, had he who rules the Sky  
Brought us in safety home, to live and dye,  
And we in Argos had together dwelled:  
His Son and Wealth Transported, I had built  
For him a Court, and fettled in a Town  
His people, though belonging to our Crown:  
There He and I would meeting often discourse,  
And nothing should us two but Death divorce;  
But Jove us so much happiness envied,  
Who him, alas! a safe return denied.  
These words awaked old griefs which long had slept,  
Helen, Telemachus, Atrides, wept;  
Nor could Pisistratus from tears refrain,  
Minding Antilochus by 
(g) The Son of Tithonus, Brother of King Priam, and Aurorae; who came out of the East, to the assistance of the Trojans, and was Slain by Ulysses.  Memnon slain.   

Who thus; Nestor, renowned Atrides said,  
When we, of thee discoursing, mention made,  
That thou of Mortals most accomplished art;  
Therefore spare me, I would no heavy part  
At Supper act; but when the Sun's approach  
Gilds Eastern Portals with his bright Caroche,  
Than I, my Friends and dear Relations dead  
Reminding, shall a briny deluge shed.  
To them, descended to the silent World,  
Tears we as duties pay, and 
(h) It was the custom of the Grecians to cut of a lock of their hair, and lay it upon the Coarse of their deceased friends; recorded by Homer in his Iliads, describing the Tuneral of Patroclus, 

— 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

'Twixt these his Intimates Patroclus bore,  
Covering his Body with their cut-off hair.   
And by So●hocles, in the person of Teucer speaking to Eurysaces,  

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

Draw near my Son, and by thy Father stand,  
And, as a Suppliant, hold thou in thy hand  
My Tress, this Woman's, and thy own bright Hair,  
So pay rich Offerings with an humble prayer.   
So does Orestes at the Tomb of Agamemnon, in Euripedes' Electra.  

— 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

I at my Father's Tomb tears shedding stayed,  
And him the first-fruits of my Tresses paid.    Tresses curled.  
My Brother there Antilochus I lost,  
Not lest significant of all that Host.  
You knew him, Sir, whom never I beheld,  
Whom few for speed and Martial feats excelled.   

Than said the King; Moore like some reverend Sage  
Thou speakest, than one of unexperienced Age:  
Like thy accomplished Sire th' art eloquent,  
We soon found persons out of high Descent,  
On whom great Jove, Wealth in abundance powers,  
And sends his Birth and Nuptials happy hours.  
All which he Nestor gave, and that he should  
Have Sons renowned, and in his Court grow Old.  
But let us dry our Tears, and Sorrow wave,  
Water and fresh supplies of Dishes have;  
I and Telemachus to morrow shall  
Early, more private on his Business fall.   

This said, with speed obeying his commands,  
Asphalio Water powers upon their Hands,  
They Viands taste, which warm, the Table fraught.  
Jove's Daughter Helen, than herself bethought,  
Straight sending for a Cordial to compound,  
Would Rage's and Grief both in Oblivion drowned;  
Whoere drinks this commixed with Wine, though dead  
He saw his Parents, not one Tear would shed  
In a whole day, nor him, his Brother more,  
Or Son would trouble, weltering in their Gore.  
On her this Medicine, to appease all woe,  
Did Polydamna, 
(i) From this King received its name the ancient City Thonis, not far distant from Canobus, as Strabo relates. Aelian says, that Menelaus travelling into the Southern parts of Egypt, left Helena with King Thon, while Queen Polydamna, jealous jest she should be preferred before her, caused her to be sent into the Island Pharos, abounding with Serpents and Venomous Beasts; but withal, pitying her condition, instructed her in all sorts of Medicines, which might serve for her defence.  Thonus' Wife, bestow,  
Rich Egypt's product: many Simples there  
Make wondrous Compounds, some that deadly are;  
The Natives great Physicians prove, and all  
From Peon boast their high Original.   

Infusing this, she said; My dearest Lord,  
And these young Princes, feasting at our Board,  
Since Jove dispenceth, who best may and can,  
What ere makes happy or unhappy Man:  
Therefore let us here Feasting take delight  
In pleasant talk; and somewhat I'll recite,  
(To reckon all, Arithmetic would pose)  
Ulysses acted, when by pressing Foes  
You streighten'd were: He like a 
(k) On what design he thus entered Troy, Homer delivers not: whether to observe the height of the Walls, and the largeness of the Gate; for the better proportioning the Horse, immediately here mentioned: or to steal the Palladeum, as Lycophron writes in his Cassandra: but in which action Virgil allows him Diomedes a companion, here he is alone. 

— impius ex quo  
Tydides', sed enim scelerumque inventor Ulysses,  
Fatale aggressi sacrato avellere templo  
Palladium, caesis summae custodibus arcis  
Corripuere sacram effigiem.   

Till impious Diomedes with Ulysses went  
(The best that ever mischief did invent)  
And boldly from her sacred Fane conveyed  
Fatal Palladium, and dire slaughter made.    Beggar went,  
Through hostile Troy, his Garments patched and rend.  
Who had no equal at the Graecian Fleet,  
Alms of the Trojans craved, from Street to Street.  
I found the King, though thus disguised, who often  
Disarmed my Questions, meeting Craft with Craft:  
Till him I Bathed, Anointed, and did Cloth,  
And to conceal him, took the solemn Oath;  
Than he to me discovered all his Plot,  
And Slaught'ring many, of in safety got,  
Slighting the Trojans and their Guards debauched,  
Loud Trojan Ladies mourned, whilst I rejoiced  
Hoping to see my native Soil, I wept,  
That Venus, who Transported me, had kept  
From my dear Daughter, and my Lord so long,  
And thee a Prince so worthy I should wrong.   

Than said the King; Thy Character is true;  
I far have travelled, many Heroes knew:  
But yet amongst them all, I ne'er beheld,  
One with Ulysses to be Paralleled:  
Who such things acted, and so well could Plot,  
When all our prime Commanders close were shut  
In that stupendeous 
(l) The History of the Trojan Horse is most incomparably delivered by Virgil in the 2. Book of his Aeneids.  Steed, pregnant with fate,  
Big with destruction of the Trojan State.  
Thither some God did thee, my Dearest, sand,  

(m) Her Husband, after the death of Paris, according to some writers.  Deiphobus enforcing to attend,  
T' obstruct the Trojan fame: thrice didst thou walk,  
About the Steed, and like 
(n) This fiction of Homer's is received by none of the succeeding Po●ts: nor can it, for several reasons, be allowed of.  their Wives didst talk;  
Their voices feigning, our prime Leaders didst  
Call by their names; I sitting in the midst:  
Tydides' and Ulysses heard thee speak,  
We two would answer straight, or forth would break;  
But Ithacus, though we so earnest were,  
Dissuaded us and others to forbear;  
Only Anticlus opens, straight his Chaps  
Ithacus starting up with both Hands stops:  
So by his strength and prudence saves us all,  
Till thee from thence Minerva pleased to call.  
Than to the King Telemachus thus said;   

O thou who art most honoured and obeyed;  
Yet cruel Death, his courage, strength, nor skill,  
Can keep of, nor his Breast, though solid Steel.  
Now, Sir, be pleased to grant me my repose,  
That gentle sleep, grown late, our Eyes may close.   

Helen, this said, straight bids them make a Bed,  
And Purple o'er, and Royal Tapestry spread;  
Forth went her Damsels with a lighted Torch,  
The Guests a Herald ushers to the Porch:  
O'er the resounding Gates the Princes lay,  
Whom Morpheus Golden Fetters bound till day.  
Atrides thence to Chambers further in  
Went, where fair Helen lay, her sex's Queen.   

Not sooner had the Daughter of the Dawn,  
With rosy Fingers days Portcullis drawn,  
But from his Bed up Menelaus springs,  
Puts on his Vest, athwart his Shoulders flings  
His well hatched Falchion, on his Sandals ties,  
And forth, with a majestic presence, hies:  
Than sitting by Telemachus thus says;   

On what concern hast thou ploughed swelling Seas,  
To Sparta, public is't, or private score?   

The Prince replies; I from my native Shore,  
Set sail, of thee, Atrides, to inquire,  
If aught thou knowst of my long absent Sire.  
My House stands thwacked with Foes who me o'rpow'r,  
And my fair Flocks and stall-fed Beefs devour;  
Love their pretence, Penelope they woe,  
But their design us fairly to undo.  
On this account here I thy Suppliant am,  
If thou hast seen or heard by flying Fame,  
Ought of his Death, in pity of my Youth,  
Extenuate not, nor yet conceal, the truth.  
If ever he by Prowess or by Plot,  
Upon the Trojans Reputation got,  
When you at Troy were in your greatest strait,  
Remember that, and truly tell his Fate.   

Base wretches than, Atrides sighing said,  
May tumble on an absent Hero's Bed:  
As in a Lion's Den: a Hind her Fauns  
Securing, strays over Hills and fertile Lawns;  
Whilst he returning finds unbidden Guests,  
And their Blood gusling, on their Entrails feasts:  
So they, when strong Ulysses comes, shall far,  
Would Pallas, Jove, and Phoebus, as they were,  
Than be to him propitious and assist,  
As when at Lesbos entering the List,  
He threw 
(o) King of the Island Lesbos, who, according to his custom, challenged the chief of the Grecians to wrestle with him.  Philomelides on his Back,  
Loud Shouts resounding like a Thunder crack.  
To these Corrivals he would prove so kind,  
They soon should sad and bitter Nuptials found.  
But I'll to answer your desires be plain,  
Nor shall I heighten aught, decline, or feign,  
What I from Proteus, the Sea-Prophet had,  
I shall recount indifferent, good or bad.   

Long angry Gods in Egypt me detained,  
Because with slighter Victims I profaned  
Their Altars often; we their commands should keep.  

(p) It is now part of the Continent of Egypt, which in Homer's time was an Isle: the reason whereof is, because the River Nile, by its continual evomition of dirt has constantly gained upon the Sea. Of the same nature is the River Pyramus, which swept along with it so much dirt and sand out of Cataonia, and the fields of Cilicia, that an Oracle declared, that in future Ages it should run into the Island of Cyprus. 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

Swift Pyramus the circulating Sun  
Shall, carrying Sand, see into Cyprus run.   To this place of Homer, Lucan alludes in his tenth Book, thus, 

Tunc clanstrum pelagi cepit Pharon, insula quondam  
In medio stetit illa Mari, sub tempore vatis  
Proteos, at nunc est Pellaeis proxima muris.   

Than he took Pharos, circled with the Main,  
When Prophet Proteus of old did Reign,  
But now to Alexandria conjoined.    Pharus an Isle amidst the swelling Deep,  
'Gainst Egypt lies, from whence a nimble Ship  
May Sail, 'twixt Sun and Sun, with Sails a-trip.  
There twenty Days the Gods my Navy 
(q) It is a strange mistake of the latter Commentators, who say, The Ships stayed in the Port, till the water they had received were pumped out. We have followed the Ancients, amongst those Strabo, in our Translation.  kept,  
Nor the lest Breese up silver Billows swept,  
That might conduct us thence, with Sails unfurled,  
O'er moving Mountains, through the watery World;  
Our Victuals spent, us, in a heavy case,  
The Nymph Idothea pitied, Proteus race;  
Her I implored, she finding me alone,  
My famished people all a Fishing gone,   

Thus drawing near me, said; Art thou a Fool,  
Or to bear Sorrows makest this place thy School,  
And tarriest here, not nearer thy design,  
Whilst all thy Friends with want and Famine pine?   

Who e'er thou art, blessed Goddess, I replied,  
That in this Sea-walled Prison, I abide  
A 'gainst my will: But I some God perhaps,  
Who dwells on steep Olympus Spiry tops,  
Offended have: Say, since thou all things knowst,  
What Power thus keepsme from my native Coast,  
And here so long impedes? She thus replies;  
The best I may, Stranger, I'll thee advice.  
Here 
(r) He was the Son of Oceanus and Tethys, who is therefore feigned to be Pastor of Sea-Calves or Horses, because his Dominions were upon the Maritime Coasts.  Proteus, Neptune's Minister of State,  
The sounder of the Ocean, keeps his seat,  
Th' Egyptian Bard, who me they say begot;  
Him couldst thou seize by some ingenious Plot,  
He would discover, how with Sails unfurled,  
Thou shoul'dstreturn, ploughing the watery World;  
And, if th' art curious, show thee by his skill,  
What chance to thy Domestics, good or ill,  
Hath in thy absence happened. Than said I,   

But how shall we secure a Deity,  
Who will foresee what e'er we shall contrive?  
Hard 'tis for Mortals, with a God to strive.   

I'll show thee, said she, by what means thou shalt.  
When Titan bends from arched Heaven's highest Vault,  
Than the old Prophet riseth from the Floods,  
Clothed with gross Vapours and a Cloak of Clouds,  
And his Cave ent'ring sleeps, 
(s) Virgil feigns him carried in his Chariot by these Sea-Horses, 

Est in Carpathio Neptuni gurgite rates  
Caeruleus Proteus magnum qui piscibus aequor  
Et juncto bipedum curru metitur equorum   

Green Proteus there in the Carpathian Main,  
Th' Egyptian Prophet, through broad Seas he glides;  
And in his Chariot with Sea-Horses rides.   Where observe Virgil calls them bipedes, Homer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  Sea-Monsters snore  
Round him, supinely slumbering on the Shore,  
Breathing fowl Scents, derived from briny Seas;  
Early I'll place thee in his dark recess,  
But choose to help thee three prime Persons more,  
And I'll acquaint thee with his flights before;  
First he will counting, view his Scaly fry,  
Than down amidst his quartered Life-guardly,  
As Shepherds use amidst their Fleecy Sheep;  
As soon as thou shalt spy the God a-sleep,  
Than seize on him, besure he not escapes:  

(t) Nothing is more familiar among the entient Poets, than his Transformation of Preteus. Virgil, from this place of Homer, thus describes it in his Georgics, 

Fi●t enim subito Sus herridus, atraque Tigris,  
Squamosusque draco, & fulva cervice Leaena,  
Aut acrem flammae s●nitum dabit, atque ita vinel●s  
Excid●t, ant in aquas ten d●lapsus abibit.   

A savage Boar he'll be, a Tiger, Snake,  
And a huge Lion with a shaggy neck;  
Or to escape, shall thunder like a flame,  
Or glide from thee in aswift Crystal stream.   The Moral of which fiction, some refer to the Diadems of the Egyptian Kings, which according to their fashion were various, and bore sometimes a Bull, a Lion, a Flame, and the like. See Diodorus Siculus lib. 2. Many other Mythologies are reckoned up by Natalis Comes.  He'll strait Transform himself in several shapes,  
To creeping Monsters, Beasts or wild or tame,  
A swelling River, or devouring Flame:  
Than grapple harder, and him faster keep.  
But when he questions, as when fallen a-sleep,  
His former Shape resuming, than desist,  
Free the old Hero, and ask what you list.  
What angry God thee from thy home detains,  
Permitting not to blow the Azure Plains.  
This said, she dives 'mongst soamy Waves, and I  
Went museing where my Ships lay on the dry;  
Where taking some repast, when Night arose,  
On th' Ocean's sandy Margins we repose:  
Not sooner had the Daughter of the Dawn,  
With rosy Fingers Days Portcullis drawn,  
But I, the Gods imploring, chose out three,  
Valiant and Strong, whilst four Sea-Calves Skins she  
Brought newly stripped, her Father so to catch,  
And us expecting bedded on the Beach.  
Soon as we came, she placing us within,  
Threw over each of us a Fishes Skin;  
But much offensive proved our Ambuscade,  
The slimy Husks a smell so loathsome made:  
T' embrace a rank Sea-Monster who'll endure?  
But she straight thought upon a present cure;  
Ambrosia she, which Aromatic shuts  
Foul odours forth, into our Nostrils puts:  
Till Noon we patiented there expecting lay,  
When shoals of Water-monsters leave the Sea  
To 
(u) That Sea-Calves are sleepy Animals, is observed by the Authors of Natural History. Martial in his Epigrams, Dormitis nimium glires, Vitulique marini. Whence among the Egyptians they were the Hieroglyphics of drowsy persons, says Pierius. Elian also notes that they take the Noonday for their time of rest on the Shore.  sleep ashore; old Proteus last comes up,  
And us Four reckons 'mongst his scaly Troop:  
Than down he lies suspecting no deceit,  
We clamouring charge and seize upon him straight;  
He skilful such Conspirators t' evade,  
Himself at first a shaggy Lion made,  
A Serpent's form, a Pard's, a Sow's receives,  
A crystal Stream a Tree with shady leavs;  
Yet we with patience armed, him faster grasp;  
But when with struggling he begun to gasp,   

Thus me he questioned; Atreus Son declare  
What God thee thus advised me to ensnare,  
Your business speak: Than I replied; Thou knowst,  
Than why thus ask'st, thou? on this fatal coast  
Long I'm detained, no hope of favouring Gales  
To bear me of, my strength and courage fails:  
Say, since thou all things knowst, what angry God  
Obstructs my passage through the briny Flood.   

Thou must, said he, before thou art dismissed,  
Great Jove implore, and the supernal List;  
Nor shalt thou see thy Friends and native Soil,  
Until thou offerest on the Banks of 
(x) It is observable that Homer never calls the famous River of Egypt by the name of Nile, but Egypt: as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 From whence it's conjectured, not improbably, that the Country received its name.  Nile,  
To them a Hecatomb; with Sails unfurld,  
Than homewards may'st thou blow the watery World.  
This wracked my Soul to think that I must back,  
And such a long and dangerous Voyage take.   

Than I replied; We shall perform the task:  
But I must yet another Question ask;  
Are all our Friends arrived in safety Home,  
Which I and Nestor left at Ilium?  
By Sea who perished? who scaped raging Waves,  
At home by Friends attended to their Graves?   

Than he; Not farther ask, I'll not reveal  
Things not for thee to know, or me to tell:  
Should I, thou wouldst not long from tears refrain:  
Many are dead, many alive remain:  
Two Princes only of that numerous Host,  
Who sailed from Troy, in their return were lost:  
One in a Sea-girt Isle his Fates detain,  
But 
(z) Ajax the son of Oileus, for there was another Graecian Prince of that name, the Son of Telamonius.  Ajax he was swallowed in 
(a) Ajax's Shipwreck Silins Italicus thus describes, 

Qualis Oïlides, fulmen jaculante Minerva,  
Surgentes domuit fluctus ardentibus ulnis.   

As Ajax, struck with Pallas thunder, storms  
The rising Billows with his flaming Arms.   Pliny in his Natural History relates, that the Story of Ajax struck with a Thunderbolt, was most tightly Painted by Apollodorus the Athenian; and in his time shown at Pergamus for a Masterpiece of that Art.  the Main,  
Whom Neptune drove on 
(b) Rocks near unto Myconus, one of the Cycladeses, so called from the roundness of them.  Gyra, and had saved  
On jutting Rocks, although Minerva raved;  
But that the Impious said, those raging Floods  
He would escape, in spite of all the Gods.  
Neptune, strait hearing the blasphemous Wretch,  
With his huge Hand did up his Trident snatch,  
And the Gyrean Rock he cloven in twain,  
Half stood, the other half dropped in the Main,  
On which he sitting, under Billows sunk,  
And perished, after he Salt-water drunk.  
Thy Brother than escaped by Juno's aid;  
But when the Malean Mountain he had made,  
Him much lamenting, a rough Tempest tossed  
To th' utmost confines of the Agrian Coast,  
Where once 
(c) Father of Aegisthus.  Thyestes, than Aegisthus dwelled:  
But than the Gods with him more kindly dealt,  
Changing the Wind, strait home his course he stands,  
His Native Soil than kissing as he Lands,  
With a full Flood of joyful Tears bedews:  
When him a Spy, hired by Egysthus, views  
From a high tower, for Talents two of Gold,  
There a whole Year he suffered Heat and Cold,  
With speed the news he carries to the Court;  
Egysthus twenty of the base sort  
Hides in his House, provides a Feast, and bids  
The King, his Chariot sending and his Steeds;  
Than at the treatment, kills him in his Hall,  
A Butcher so th' Ox slaughters in the Stall.  
This sad News pierced my heart; down on the Shore  
Weeping I sat, and wished, that I not more  
Might see the glorious Sun, but there expire.  
When I with vying Tears began to tyre,   

Said Proteus; Sigh not longer, Atreus' Son,  
Nor dew thy Cheeks, since remedy there's none:  
But when thy Native Soil thou shalt obtain,  
Egysthus thou shalt found alive, or slain  
Else by Orestes, than erect his Tomb.  
This said, my sorrow gave fresh comfort room,   

And thus I said; I know the fates of two,  
But thou a third to me didst mention, who  
Penned in an Isle, remains alive or dead;  
Of him I feign would hear. Than Proteus said;   

Ulysses I, the King of Ithaca,  
Extremely weeping in an Island saw,  
By fair Calypso in her Cave detained,  
Not knowing how to reach his Native Land,  
Since he hath neither Men, Sails, Oars, nor Ship,  
That may Transport him through the raging Deep.  
And Menelaus, know, 'tis not thy Fate  
To dye at home, the Gods will thee Translate  
To seats of Bliss, the blessed Elyzian Plains,  
At the World's end, where Rhadamanthus reigns;  
Where comes no Winter, Snow, nor Winds, nor Rain,  
But constant Breezes, rising from the Main,  
With cooling breath still fainting spirits revive,  
Thou Helen haste, and dost from 
(d) For Helena was Daughter of Jupiter, and Leda, whom he begot in the form of a Swan.  Jove derive.   

This said, the God beneath the Waves descends,  
I to our Fleet went musing with my Friends,  
There taking some repast, when Night arose,  
On th' Ocians flowery margins we repose.  
Not sooner had the Daughter of the Dawn  
With rosy Fingers days Portcullis drawn,  
But up our Masts we rear, our Sails unfurled,  
And launch our Vessel to the watery World.  
The Sailors fettle on acquainted Banks,  
And sweep the briny Foam in triple ranks:  
Thence ploughing Waves unto the Banks of Nile,  
There Hecatombs on blazing Altars pile.  
The Gods appeased, next reared my Brother's 
(e) It was customary among the ancient, both Greeks and Romans, to erect honorary Tombs to their deceased friends, when they were absent: where were exhibited the same Solemnities that were usual at the real Funerals. Andromache, lead Captive into Epirus, in Virgil, 

Selennes tum forte dapes & tristia dona  
Ante urbem in luco, falsi Simotutis ad undam,  
Libabat cineri Andromache, manesque vecabat  
Hectoreum ad tumulum, viridi quem cespite inanem,  
Et geminas, causam lacrimis, sacraverat arras.   

By chance sad gifts and annual Rites that day  
Andromache paid his ashes, and implores  
At Hector's Tomb near feigned Simois Shores,  
Before the Town in Consecrated Woods.  
She raised his empty Monument of Sods.   When Drusus died in Italy, in his return to the Forces he led against the Germane, and his body was sent back to Rome, exercitus honorarium ci tumulum excitavit, circa quem deinceps stato die quotannis miles decurreret, Galliarumque civitates publice supplicarent: Sueton, in the life of Claudius Caesar. The like mentions Lampridius in the life of Alexander Severus, Cenotaphium in Gallia, Romae amplissimum Sepul●rum meruit, He obtained a large Sepulchre at Rome, and an Honorary in France.  Tomb  
To keep his Fame, my course thence steering Home;  
Celestials sent fair Winds which never failed  
To court our Canvas, till we Sparta sailed.  
But stay with me till twice six days are spent,  
Than thee a Chariot I'll, and Steeds present,  
A Golden Cup, that thou mayst mindful be,  
(If thou survivest great Sir) of mine and me.   

Than said the Prince; Great Sir, it much may wrong  
Me and my business here to stay so long;  
I could a year your sweet discourse admire,  
My House forgetting, and my absent Sire;  
But if thou stay'st me longer, 'twill afflict  
My Friends in Pyle, who me ere this expect:  
Your Presents, Sir, I thankfully accept,  
But Steeds for 
(f) This place Horace relates to in his Epistles, l. 1. Ep. 6. 

Haud male Telemachus proles patientis Ulyssis,  
Non est aptus equis Ithacae locus; ut neque planus  
Porrectus spatiis, neque multae prodigus herbae.  
Atride magis apta tibi tua dona relinquam.   

Telemachus well replied, that no fit place  
Was Ithaca for Horses, wanting grass:  
Therefore your Presents spare, for me unfit.    Ithaca none ever shipped;  
Let in this large Campaign thy generous breed,  
Wantoning on, on delicacies feed,  
Where Lotus springs and Cyperon unset,  
Store of white Barley, Spelt, and purest Wheat.  
We have no Chariot-course, our Meadow feeds  
Scarce shaggy Goats, not rank enough for Steeds.  
Our Sea-guirt Isles, with barrenness accursed,  
Are bad for Horse, and Ithaca the worst.  
Than smiling, by the hand the Prince he takes,   

And said; These words noble thy extract speaks,  
Thou shalt some other have, I well am stored,  
What ere my House or Treasuries afford,  
What's fairest, richest, or of most esteem:  
A Silver Goblet with a Golden brim  
I'll thee present, by Vulcan rarely wrought,  
Which the 
(g) Sidon was a City in Phoenicia, famous for curiosity in all sorts of workmanship. The name of the Prince, which the Poet mentions not, some Historians deliver to be Sobalus, others Sethlo.  Sidonian King, that Hero, brought  
Me, when he feasted in his Royal Court.   

Whilst thus they held discourse, a great resort  
Came to the Palace, Sheep and Wine they brought,  
And their fair 
(h) The Servants of Penelope, whom they familiarly used as their Wives.  Wives the Board's with Manchet fraught,  
And they provided high and plenteous Fare.   

But at Ulysses' Gates, the Suitors were  
At Coits delighted, or else casting Darts,  
Acting with no mean insolence their parts;  
Antinous, and Eurymachus, the best  
Of all the Suitors, sat there 'mong the rest,  
To whom came Noeman, Old Phronius Son,  
And questioning Antinous, thus begun;   

When, Sirs, Telemachus at home will be,  
Knows any here? A Ship he had from me,  
To Sail for Pyle, the Vessel now I need,  
That I at Elis, where I have a breed  
Of Mares and Mules, may break one for the Blow.  
All were amazed, they never heard till now  
He launched to Sea, but him supposed withdrawn,  
To see his Flocks, or to Sabalius gone.   

Be pleased, Antinous said, to tell me true,  
When went the Prince, and to attend him who.  
Were they choice Young men, of their own accord,  
Or Mercenaries, whom he took aboard?  
That he should venture from his native Shore:  
And not to trouble you one question more;  
Hath he your Ship against your will impressed,  
Or else consigned him on his own request?   

I parted freely with her, he replies;  
Me how would you or any else advice?  
When such a person hath an earnest Suit,  
A shrugg's uncivil, or the lest dispute.  
His company, are Youths of great esteem,  
Mentor their Chief, or else some God like him!  
But I admire, their Captain yesterday  
Early I saw, who long since launched to Sea.   

This said he left them. At the strange report  
The Suitors gather, and forsake their Sport,  
Whilst Grief and Anger swells Antinous Breast,  
His Eyes like fire, thus he his mind expressed;   

This may prove dangerous, no idle toy;  
Can we believe a Child, a saucy Boy,  
Would hence without our joint commission slip,  
And Youths of better rank to man his Ship?  
Let him plot mischief, and let Jove destroy  
His machinations, ere they us annoy.  
Strait Rigg me forth, with twenty Men, a Bark,  
And I'll his motion in returning mark;  
Him in our Bay concealed, 'mongst 
(i) Samos was the name of the Island, afterwards called Cephallenia, and also the name of a City in the same Island: near adjoining to Ithaca.  Samian Creeks  
We'll intercept, whilst he his Father seeks.   

This said, the Plot approving, all consent,  
And rising, strait into the Palace went.  
This Medon to Penelope conveyed,  
Who overheard, when their Design they laid.  
Hast to the Queen her careful Herald makes,  
To whom as soon as entered, thus she speaks;   

Why have they sent thee? must our Maids, aside  
All business lay, and Supper strait provide?  
Ah! would they quit my House, and that this might,  
Their farewell Banquet be, and last good-night:  
Who thus at meetings waste my Son's Estate;  
Did ne'er to you your Sires remunerate  
Ulysses' parts? Mildly with all he dealt,  
Nor any ere his ponderous Sceptre felt:  
In public none he praised, nor loud would rate,  
Like King's accustomed, this to love, that hate;  
But your demeanour clears your Character,  
Who for his kinder use so thankless are.   

Than Medon thus replied; Ah would, best Queen,  
Ingratitude their greatest Crime had been!  
They to the height of Villainy proceed,  
Your Son to murder (which great Jove forbidden!)  
Returning home, who went to Pyle t'inquire,  
And Sparta, after his long absent Sire.   

Trembling, this said, and silent long she stood,  
Her bright Eyes clouded with a briny Flood;   

At last she said; Why from us did he slip,  
What forced my Son t'ascend a nimble Ship,  
That Horse that scowrs through waves from Coast to Coast?  
Would he his Name should be for ever lost?   

Than Medon said; I know not if some God,  
Or his own Genius through the swelling Flood,  
Forced him to Pyle, expecting there to hear,  
If Dead or Living his dear Father were.  
This said he 
(k) Spondan●s supposes that he left Penelope and went to the Palace of Ulysses, and therefore makes two distinct Palaces. But that conjecture is refuted by the Verses immediately following, where Iphthime is sent to Penelope to comfort her 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  The phrase in this place, which he mistook, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, is not to go to, but to descend down the house.  left her; but th' afflicted Queen,  
As if with Grief she had distracted been,  
Not longer in her Chair herself contains,  
But on the Threshold sitting, loud complains:  
Her Women young and old about her ran  
With dismal shrieks: thus weeping she began;   

The Gods on me no common Griefs impose,  
Besides our Birthright born to suffer woes:  
First I a Wise and Valiant Husband lost,  
His Fame divulged through all the Graecian Coast:  
Now they will kill my Son, and wretches you  
Near called me, though you his departure knew,  
But had I known when he his Anchor weighed,  
For all his haste, he should a while have stayed,  
Or dead he should have left me in the Hall:  
But one of you should straight Old Dolius call,  
Whom me my Sire when I came hither gave,  
Who keeps my Orchard, now not more my Slave,  
That he might strait to Old Laertes go,  
And this their dire designment let him know;  
He would the People with their project fill,  
How they conspire, Ulysses' Son to kill.   

Than Euryclea; Cast me of, or kill,  
All this, I dearest Madam, knew, and will  
Not longer hid: I Wine and Manchet both  
Supplied him with, and took a solemn Oath,  
Not in twelve days to make his absence known,  
Unless you asked, or heard the Prince was-gon;  
Lest you with weeping, should your Beauty wrong;  
But  and dress yourself, than take along  
With you your Maids, and when you are withdrawn,  
Implore Minerva to preserve your Son,  
Nor Old Laertes with this news afflict,  
The Gods his Progeny not disrespect,  
But one shall still survive his Realm to bless,  
Who shall this Court and fertile Fields possess;  
These words her grief assuaged, her Tears suppressed,  
And Bathing strait, herself she neatly dressed.  
Than with her Train, hast to her Chamber made,  
And thus to Pallas, Sacrificing, Prayed;   

Jove's Daughter hear, if ere my Lord, the Thighs  
Of Beeus and Sheep to thee did sacrifice,  
Remember him; ah! save his Son and mine,  
Turning on these conspirers their Design.  
Thus begs she weeping, and the Goddess grants.  
Mean while the Suitors deaf the Walls with rants:   

When one thus said; The Queen will now elect  
'Mongst us her Spouse, yet not our Plot detect  
Upon her Son. The said Antinous; Fie,  
Make no such idle brags, jest any nigh  
Ore-hear and tell within; no time protract,  
But rising let's what we agreed on act.  
This said, He twenty men selects, and straight  
Looks out a Vessel of the second Rate,  
And hires one in the Harbour, you're and staunch,  
Her Masts and Sails brought up, from shore they launch,  
Than fit their pliant Oars, their Sails unfurld,  
In readiness to blow the watery World;  
And last the Comp'ny went aboard, where they  
Refresh themselves, and for the Evening stay.   

Mean while Penelope her Chamber keeps,  
And musing takes no sustenance, nor sleeps,  
'Twixt hopes and sears, how that her guiltless Son,  
Th' impious may kill, or he the danger eat:  
A Lion so suspects the Hunter's guile,  
Whom hedging in they drive upon the Toil.  
Such wand'ring Fancies her from slumber kept,  
At last, wearied with burdening cares, she slept.  
The thoughtful Queen than gentle Morpheus bound,  
And fretting cares in mild Oblivion drowned;   

Whilst Pallas fashioned out an empty shade,  
And like her Sister fair Iphthima made:  
At Fear her 
(l) King of Phera a City in Thessaly; the Son of Admetus and Alcestis.  Eumelus did Espouse.  
This strait she sent into Ulysses' House,  
Charging to free the Queen from torturing fears,  
From eating grief, and inundating Tears;  
Entering her Chamber, through the narrow Lock,  
Drawn near her Bed, these words of Comfort spoke;   

Dost thou Penelope afflicted sleep?  
Thou must not longer pensive be, nor weep.  
Thy Son, who little hath displeased the Gods,  
From Foes shall safe return, and swallowing Floods:  
Than sweetly slumbering in sleeps pleasant Port,   

Thus spoke the Queen; Dear Sister, to our Court  
Why comest thou, who before wert never here,  
Dwelling remote? wouldst thou that I should fear  
And grief shake of, which me so much molest,  
Mustering fresh parties in my troubled Breast,  
Who such a Lord and so accomplished lost,  
Through ample Greece admired and honoured most?  
And now my Son adventured to the Seas,  
Not used to Traffic nor hard Voyages,  
For whom far greater cares my Breast invade,  
Than for his Father, jest he be betrayed  
By Land or Sea, of life him to deprive  
Many conspire ere he at home arrive.   

When thus the Shadow said; In me confided,  
Laying all fears and jealousies aside;  
So great a Goddess looks upon thy Son,  
Pallas, who pitying thee sent me alone,  
This to acquaint thee with, and to persuade  
From fruitless Tears. To whom the Queen thus said;   

If thou a Goddess hast a Goddess heard;  
Say if Ulysses live or be interred,  
His Soul descended to th' Infernal shade?  
Than to the Queen the Airy Fantom said;  
Be he alive or dead, I must not yet  
Declare, nor answer questions now unfit.   

This said, it vanished, stealing through the Lock,  
She shakes of drowsy sleep, and comfort took:  
And whilst the Vision fled; with Sails unfurled,  
The plotting Suitors blow the watery World,  
To kill Telemachus. A Rocky Isle,  
'Twixt Ithaca and Samus, which they style  
Small 
(m) A small Island betwixt C●●●●●lenia and Ithaca, it retains no na●●● the Italian Charts, though Apolloa 〈◊〉 says, that in his time there was a P●●● there, and a small City called Alal●●menae.  Aster, lies, for Ambush fitting, they  
Enter this Port, and him expecting lay.    

 scene from book 5 
Domino Doo: Rich Dice Comiti Tussogh Tabulam hanc. Comiti de Arran Baroni de Cloghgreman LMDDDIO Lib: ●    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE FIFTH BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

Hermes, Calypso bids Ulysses free:  
Who makes himself a Bark, than puts to Sea.  
A Storm by Neptune raised his Vessel splits:  
To Land he by a Sea Nymph's favour gets:  
Naked and tired he to a Covert creeps,  
And hid in Leaves all Night securely sleeps.   

AVrora leaving 
(a) The Fable of Tithonus, Brother to Prians, being Married to Aurora, according to the Mythologists, signifies no more than that he took a Wise out of the East: to which that History agrees, which delivers him Founder of the City Susa, not far from the river Choaspes, the Seat afterwards of the Persian Emperor. There is no Fable more familiar among the Poets than this. Virgil, in the 4. of his AEneids, 

Et jam prima novo spargebat lumine terram,  
Tithoni croceum linquens Aurora cibile   

Aurera now had early Dawning spread,  
And weary left Old Tithen's golden Bed.    Tithon's golden Bed,  
o'er Heaven and Earth Days glorious lustre spread,  
When Jove and all the Gods assembled sat  
In Consultation; when much troubled at  
Ulysses' danger in the Nymphs abodes,   

The Court thus Pallas moved; Jove, and you Gods,  
Not more let Kings be pious, mild, or just,  
But let their Will be Law, their Rage and Lust,  
Since his own People not Ulysses mind,  
Who Parentlike was to his Subjects kind:  
He suffering in a Sea-guirt Isleremains,  
Whom fair Calypso in her Cave detains,  
Despairing to review his Native Coast,  
That neither can of Friends, nor Vessel, boast  
Home to Transport him through the foamy Brine;  
And now his Son to murder they design  
In his return, who sailed to Pylet ' inquire,  
And Sparta, after his long absent Sire.   

How scaped these words thy Teeth, their Ivory guard,  
Said Jove? Who here thy business would detard?  
Hast not thou laid the Plot, Ulysses shall  
Returning be revenged upon them all?  
Fetch back his Son with speed (for well you may)  
And him in safety to his home convey;  
So, frivolous the Suitors Voyage make.  
This said, thus Jove to his Son Hermes spoke;   

Go thou that art the God's Ambassador,  
And this our order to Calypso bear.  
Ulysses, say, must reach his own abodes  
‛ thou't man's assistance, or immortal Gods,  
Him a new Vessel must, the twentieth day,  
To 
(b) It is agreed on by most of the Ancients, that the Island Scheria is that which was after called Corcyra, from Cercyra the daughter of Asopus: which lies in the Venetian Gulf, not far distant from Ithaca, now named Corfu. But Apollodorus takes the name of the Isle, as well as the rest of the story, to be a mere figment of the Poets.  Scheria and Pheacian towers convey:  
Where Silver, Brass, and Vests, they'll him present,  
Moore worth than all his Trojan Dividend.  
He must his Wife, and Friends, (thus Fates decree)  
His Palace, and his Native Country, see.   

His Father strait obeying, Hermes goes,  
And buckles on with speed his golden Shoes,  
With which the Air he cuts o'er Sea and Land,  
As born 
(c) This whole relation of Mercury's passage, is Translated by Virgil in the fourth Book of his: AEneids, which we have here transcribed to the end we may observe his translation of one phrase in Homer. 

— Ille patris magni parere parabat Imperio, & primum pedibus talaria nectit  
Aurea, quae sublimem alis, sive aequora suprae,  
Sou terram, rapido pariter cum flamine portant.  
— hinc toto praceps se corpore ad undas  
Misit: avi similis quae circum littora, circum  
Piscosos scopulos humilis volat aequorae juxta.   Here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, he translates rapido parister cum flamine, as if it had been 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, in which sense the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is usualy taken in Homer, as, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 una cum aurora apparent. But in this place I take it in a different sense and meaning: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, perinde ac si ventis veheretur, that is, his winged Shoes carried him as swift as the wind. This interpretation of ours is confirmed not only by the sense of the place, but by the authority too of Eustathius, who expounds it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  on th' Winds; than takes his Charming Wand  
That Mortals lulls asleep, and sleeping wakes.  

(d) A high Mountain in Macedonia, the feat of the Muses, so called from a certain Hero of that name.  Pieria reached, a stoop from Heaven he makes,  
Like a Sea Fowle, whose fanning Pinions sweep  
The furrowed Visage of the frowning Deep.  
The God there lighting, leaves the purple Floods,  
Thence walking, finds her in her own Abodes,  
Burning sweet Incense in a heap'd-up pile,  
Which spread a sweet perfume through all the Isle:  
Whilst she sung rarely, through her curious frame  
Her Golden shuttle nimbly went and came.  
A pleasant Grove her shady Mansion round,  
With Poplar, Alder, and tall Cypress crowned,  
Upon whose Boughs, Birds various built and bred,  
Hawks, Owls, and Choughs, who on Sea margins fed;  
A circling Vine which purpling clusters lad,  
Whose verdant Branches her low Palace shade:  
Four stately Founts in comely order placed,  
With disembogueing Spouts each other faced,  
Environed with delightful Meads, which round  
Soft Violets, and pleasant Smallage crowned:  
Which if a God, wand'ring by chance, had seen,  
He had admired and much delighted been.  
There Hermes wondering stops: when he his eye  
Had surfeited with strange variety,  
Strait to her cool Apartment Hermes goes,  
Calypso him sooner than entered knows:  
Immortal Powers who ne'er converse, although  
They far from either devil, each other know:  
But not the Nymph he with Ulysses found,  
He sitting on the shore deep sighing, drowned  
His Cheeks with Tears, his Breast with sorrow swelled,  
And restless Seas as restless there beheld.  
But when Calypso in her Golden Throne  
Had Hermes placed, the Goddess thus begun;   

Why, my dear Hermes, makest thou this address  
To me, that ne'er didst visit my recess?  
Lay your commands, your pleasure I'll obey  
If in my power, if possible I may;  
But first take some repast. This said, the Board  
She with brisk Nectar and Ambrosia stored.  
When he had tasted her Celestial fare;   

Ask you, he said, why hither I repair?  
Know beauteous Nymph, Jove's pleasure I fulfil,  
He sent me hither much against my will;  
Who one such vast and swelling Floods would fly?  
No City near, nor sacred Temple nigh,  
Where pious Mortals on our Altars lay  
Whole Hecatombs: but Jove we must obey.  
One of those hapless Chiefs, Nine years employed  
Beleag'ring Troy, which they the Tenth destroyed,  
Whom in return offended Pallas' hurled  
With raging Tempests through the watery World  
His Friends destroyed; him with rough Billows drove  
Upon your Coasts, you must dismiss, says Jove:  
'Tis not his Fate to perish in Exile,  
He must his Court review, and Native Soil.   

She troubled said; You envious God's delight,  
In nothing more, than thus to wreak your spite:  
Who not allow a Goddess in her house,  
To treat a Mortal, though she him Espouse.  
So when Aurora with 
(e) The Moral of this Fable of Orion being taken away by Aurora, is only this, That he dying an immature death, before he came to ripeness of age, was buried presently upon break of day, they not thinking it fit that the Sun should behold so grievous an evil. Eustath.  Orion mach'd,  
Their private meetings you still prying watched;  
Until her golden Bow 
(*) 
Homer delivers not the reason why Orion was slain by Diana; but the latter Poets say that he attempted her Chastity, Horace, 

— et integrae  
Tentator Orion Dianae,  
Virginea domitus sagitta.   

Orion chaste Diana strove t' obtain,  
When by the Virgin's Arrow he was slain.   Enphorion gives the same reason of his being slain, but different means; for he says that he was stung on the Ankle by a Scorpion, produced to that purpose by Diana, of which he died.   Diana drew,  
And with her Shafts him in this Island slew:  
And so when Ceres did to passion yield,  
Enjoying 
(f) Jasion was the Son of Jupiter and Electra: he was a Husbandman, and therefore feigned to be beloved of Ceres: of whom he begat Plutus. Hesiod in his Generation of the Gods, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

Ceres' the Goddess with the golden hair,  
Impregnated by Jasion, Plutus bore.   The Thunderbolt with which he is slain, signifies, according to Eustathius, the extremity of heat and drought in the Summer, by which the hopes of Husband men are frustrated. Ovid in his Metamorphosis acknowledgeth not his death, but makes Ceres complain of his old Age; 

— queritur veteres Pallanias annos  
Conjugis esse sui, queritur canescere mitem  
Jasiona Ceres.   

Aurora moans her Husband's age, and fair  
Ceres her jasions silver hair.    Fashion in a thrice Ploughed Field,  
Jove, soon informed, adjudged the fact a fault,  
And slew him with a blazing Thunderbolt.  
So I a Mortal Spousing shall be served.  
On's turnd-up Keel him riding I preserved,  
When Jove with Lightning, 'midst the raging Sound,  
His Vessel sunk, and his Associates, drowned;  
Drove on this Coast, by Wind and Billows rage,  
I loved and cherished; promised him from Age  
And Death to free. In vain ourselves w' afflict,  
Great Jove, or any God, to contradict.  
To quit this Isle, the Ruler of the Sky  
May him command, but I shall ne'er, not I,  
Since we a well-maned Vessel want, which may  
Him safe, through th' Ocean's broad-backed Waves, convey;  
But I'll advice, and best to his avail,  
How he to's Country may in safety Sail.   

Hermes replied; Keep touch, Jove's anger eat,  
Nor farther into his displeasure run.   

This said, the God departs: she not delays,  
But strait Ulysses seeking, Jove obeys;  
Whom finding on the Beech disconsolate,  
With Floods of Tears lamenting his sad Fate,  
No hope of getting thence, seven years expired,  
Now with a Goddesses embraces tired,  
Inforc'd each night within her shady Grot,  
To warm her Side, will he, or will he not;  
Yet all the day placed on the Rocky Shores,  
Viewing the restless Billows, he deplores  
Himself with Sighs, would rend a Heart in twain:   

The Nymph thus said; Fie, Sir, not more complain,  
Save precious time, my interest I'll resign,  
And set thee free; Go, fell some lofty Pine,  
And make thyself a Vessel, tied and staunch,  
In which thou may'st to Sea in safety launch:  
I Bread, Wine, Water will, and Garments found,  
Thee to supply, and sand a prosperous Wind.  
That, if the Gods so please, thou in short time  
Shalt steer in safety to thy Native Clime.   

Some new and acquaint device, than he replied,  
Not my dismiss, or wouldst I should confided  
In a small Bark, where Vessels ablest built,  
Knock at Hell gates, and at Heavens' arches tilt,  
When Tempests rage: against thy will I loath  
Should be to Sail, unless thou take an Oath  
Thou hast no Plot. Than said she, with a Smile;   

For me, thou art too crafty to beguile;  
I Swear by Heaven and Earth, and 
(g) Swearing by Styx, an infernal ●ake, was accounted the most solemn and most revered Oath: as Homer in his I●ads declares Il. 14. 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉—   

Swear by th' inviolable Stygian Lake,  
Taking in one band Earth, in th' other Seas,  
And the fixed Land with floating Water poise.   Which whosoever of the Celestial Gods violated, was interdicted not only the Table but all society and company of the rest, for the space of ten years. Hesiod in his Theogenia, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc.   

What God so ere swears by the Stygian Lakes,  
That dwells on sleep Olympus' crown, and breaks  
His sacred vow, lies breathless one whole year,  
Nor comes to Nectar and Ambrosia near.  
Silent he lies upon an ill-made bed,  
A dozing Lethargy all o'er him spread.  
After twelve months he this hath undergon,  
Follows the heavier affliction:  
In nine years more the Gods not him admit  
With them in Counsel, nor at Feasts, to sit.    Stygian Floods,  
An Oath ne'er violated by the Gods;  
I have no Plot against thee, no design,  
But am as Cordial as thy cause were mine:  
My Heart is soft, not Adamant, nor Steel,  
So I on thy concern compassion feel.  
The Nymph, this said, before him lightly trips,  
He, following close, reprints Calipso's steps,  
Into the Cave a Prince and Goddess goes,  
Who seats him strait whence Hermes lately risen,  
Filling his Board with various Human fare,  
Than over against him fills her golden Chair:   

Renowned Ulysses, Thou, with no small care,  
Dost for thy home and Native Soil prepare;  
But thou wouldst not rejoice, if thou didst know  
What sufferings wait on thee, what woe on woe,  
E'er thou at home arriv'st: Come! devil with me,  
Rule this my Palace, and immortal be.  
Although thou hanker'st still after thy Wife,  
And rather wouldst enjoy her than thy life;  
Her Beauty, Feature, nor her comely Mein,  
Not ours eclipse, and if they did outshine,  
Not with Immortals Mortals must compare.  
Than thus Ulysses did himself declare.   

Ah my dear Goddess! Tax, Ah tax not me!  
My Wife that day must not be named with thee,  
So far beneath in Beauty and desert:  
She is but Mortal, thou Immortal art.  
And if some angry God should rage's at Sea,  
I must with patience bear it as I may.  
I much have suffered, much have undergon  
In Camps and Seas, and this too may be done.   

This said, the Sun descending, Darkness hurled  
His Sable mantle over all the World:  
They to her Caves' recess together went,  
And tedious night in sweet embraces spent.   

Not sooner had the Daughter of the Dawn,  
With rosy Fingers Days Portcullis drawn,  
But up he starting puts his Garments on;  
She her bright Stole, her Veil and golden Zone,  
Than forth the Nymph thus dressed in royal Weeds,  
To hasten her Ulysses business speeds:  
First in his Hand a Steel edged Axe she put,  
The Polished Heft from smooth-rined Olive cut,  
A sharp Wedg next to him she down conveyed,  
Where a tall Forest cast a spreading shade,  
Whose Poplar, Fir, and Alder, scale the Sky,  
Which plough Waves lightly, seasoned well and dry;  
When she had showed him where the largest grew,  
The Goddess to her mansion thence withdrew:  
Whilst he fells Poplar, Fir, and lofty Pine,  
Twenty fair Trees, than squares by Plumb and Line,  
When fair Calypso him a Wimble brought,  
On which he hard to join the But-ends wrought,  
And starting Planchers peggd; a Rudder last,  
The Helm to answer makes with jointings fast;  
What ere materials would a Ship-Write ask,  
To build a Ship, and well perform his task;  
Of such and such a Mould his Catch he made;  
And close his Decks and well clinched Planchers laid;  
Close lay the jutting Ribs, the Planks at length:  
Next shapes a Mast with Yards of fitting strength  
A Helm next smooths, for steerage, which he round  
With Sallow Twiggs 'gainst angry Billows bound;  
Canvas for spreading Sails Calypso brought,  
With great and smaller Cordage strongly wrought.  
So the fourth day his Vessel tied and staunch,  
He from the Stocks by Rulers freed did Launch;  
The fifth, the Nymph him from the Isle dismissed,  
And Bathing kindly, in sweet Garments dressed,  
Next purest Wine, and Water puts aboard,  
And him with Cates and good provision stored,  
And sends to wait on him a gentle Gale:  
Joyful Ulysses strait unfurls his Sail,  
And sitting at the Helm, through swelling Deeps  
A steady course Steers on, and never sleeps,  
But gazing, contemplates heavens ample Sphere,  
The Pleyades, Orion, and the Bear,  
And watching still Orion, Charles his Wain,  
Whose Wheels ne'er dip beneath the swelling Main.  
Calypso strictly him advised to stand,  
Through briny Billows to the Lar-board hand.  
Thus seventeen days and nights he onward steered,  
The eighteenth morn Pheacian Hills appeared,  
Whose haizy crown not far of he beheld,  
From the dark Ocean rising like a Shield:  
When Neptune, him from 
(h) The Geographers finding no such Mountains in Aethiopia, or the Southern parts of the World, suppose them feigned by Homer in similitude and correspondence to the Mountains so called in Pisidia, which were the most conspicuous and eminent Southerly to those that sailed in the Euxine Sea; as these must be supposed to be, in respect of Ulysses now sailing in the Ocean. Strabo in the first Book of his Geography.  Solym's lofty side,  
Returned from Aethiop ploughing Waves espied,  
Shaking his Tresses, thus th' enraged said;   

The Court of Gods have other Orders made,  
I absent, yonder Sails Ulysses free,  
And soon will reach that Land, where Fates decree  
His Woes must end, which strait I'll contradict,  
And him before much more than ere afflict.   

This said, his Trident taking, he alarms,  
And from all quarters musters new raised storms,  
Listing swollen Billows, Seas, high Heaven, and Earth,  
Muffles in Clouds, at once all Winds burst forth;  
Eurus and Notus, Zephyre, Boreas raves,  
Tumbling in thwart-plowed Furrows hideous Waves.  
Trembling and pale, Ulysses than complains;   

What miseries for hapless me remains!  
The Nymph, I fear, spoke true, who said, before  
I should in safety touch my Native Shore,  
I much should suffer; Ah! what Winds enrage  
These swelling Waves, and my sad Death presage!  

(i) Plutarch tells a story of Memmius, the Roman General, that after he had sacked the City of Corinth, and had made Slaves of all that survived the ruin of their Country, he commanded one of the Youth to writ a Verse, who presently writ this Verse of Homer, with which the General was so surprised, that he fell a weeping, and set at liberty the Child with all that had any relation to him.  Thrice happy you, who on the Trojan Plain  
Died bravely, in Atrides quarrel slain:  
Would I had perished there, and breathed my last,  
When showers of Spears at me the Trojans cast,  
As of 
(k) Homer not where relates the Story of Achilles' death, only hints at it here: but Dares Phrygius delilivers it at large thus, 

Hu● Hecuba in facinus andax invitat Achillem,  
Conjugii factura fidem: venitille, sed arma,  
Sed comites nulli, solum sibi Nestore natum  
Jungit, vix gladio cingi memor; omni● linquit,  
Dum miser optatos properat visurus amores.   

Hecuba's fraud Achilles hither led,  
Him promising he should her Daughter wed.  
He came unarmed, scarce takes his Sword, by none  
Accompanied but old Nestor's Son;  
Leaves all behind, no danger fears, nor Life,  
Hasting to see his so desired Wise.   Where before the Altar of Apollo, he was slain by Paris, and an Ambuscade of armed Trojans.  Achilles' Corpse I guarding came;  
Than they had kept my Obits, and my Fame  
Divulged through all the World: But ah, now I  
Must here obscure, and unlamented die!   

Against his Boat, this said, a Billow dashed,  
And him ore-board from Helm and Steerage washed:  
Which seconded with a resounding blast,  
The Yard flies from the Sail, and spends his Mast:  
Nor he his Head could 'bove the Water get,  
Pressed down with surging Waves, and Garments wet.  
Long struggled he, but up he buoy at last,  
And Briny draughts his Stomach easing cast:  
Yet he his Boat reminds, though out of breath,  
And in he gets, avoiding sudden Death;  
Him in the middle placed, vast Billows bear,  
Raised by uncertain Gusts, now here, now there;  
As when th' Autumnal storm through Champaign sweeps  
Light Thistle-down, which yet in clusters keeps,  
So went she tossed about 'mong billows rough,  
Now Boreas her, now Eurus, Zephyre cuff,  
Bandying his crazy Boat from side to side:  

(l) She was the Wife of Athamas King of Thebes, who in his madness slew Learchus, the Son which he had by her. Whereupon she, out of impatience, taking her other Child in her Arms, cast herself into the Sea. But upon the entreaty of Venus was made a Goddess of the Sea by Neptune, as Ovid writes in the 4. of his Metamorphosis, 

At Venus immeritae neptis miserata labores,  
Sic patruo blandita sno est; O numen aquarum,  
Proxima cui coelo cessit, Neptune, potestas.  
Magna quidem posco, sed tu miserere meorum  
Jactari quos cernis in jonio immenso,  
Et Diis adde tuis—   

Than Venus, grieving at her Neece's Fate,  
Her Uncle thus entreats: O thou, whose State  
Is next to Jove's; great Ruler of the Flood;  
My suit is bold, yet pity thou my Blood,  
Now tossed in the deep Ionian Seas:  
And join them to thy watery Deities.   Whence all that were saved from Shipwreck paid their Vows to her with the rest of the Guardians of the Sea, as Lucian in one of his Epigrams testifies, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

To Glaucus, Nereus, Ino and Melicertes,  
Neptune and Samothracian Deities,  
lucilius I, scaped Shipwreck, consecrated  
My hair, all that is left of my estate.    Leucothoe, Cadmus' Daughter, him espied,  
Who had a Mortal been, but now the Gods  
Allotted her the honour of the Floods;  
Pitying Ulysses in so sad a plight,  
She, rising like a Seafowl, strait did light  
Upon his Boat, and said; Unhappy Prince,   

Why Neptune didst thou so, so much incense,  
That thus he prosecutes thee, yet he shall  
Not be thy ruin, should he burst his Gall:  
Take my advice, thou seem'st discreet, thy Coat  
Put of, and to the Winds bequeath thy Boat,  
And thy course, swimming, to Pheacia shape,  
Those Confines Fate decrees for thy escape;  
This Ribbon tied about thy Bosom bear,  
Than Death itself, nor any danger fear;  
But soon as thou shalt longd-for Land obtain,  
Unloose the Charm, and throw into the Main.   

The Goddess him, this said, her Fillet gave,  
Than diving hides beneath a foamy Wave.  
At this Ulysses troubled and dismayed,  
A deep sigh fetching, to himself thus said;   

Alas! what God contrives this subtle Plot  
'Gainst me, persuading to desert my Boat,  
I'll not obey, since Land I yonder see,  
Where the Nymph told me should my refuge be,  
Whilst she together holds, here I'll remain,  
And all the brunt of Winds and Waves sustain;  
But when she splits I'll swim, and Death evade.   

Whilst thus consulting to himself he said,  
From deep Seas Neptune a huge Billow drew,  
And charged his Vessel, which in splinters flew:  
As Chaff dispersed by blust'ring Tempests born,  
So his ripped Pink divides, in pieces torn:  
When on a Plancher getting up he strides;  
Himself than stripping (as on Horseback) rides,  
Than wound about him, ties the Ribbon fast,  
And in himself, his hands extended, cast:  
When Neptune, in this Posture him surveyed,  
His curled Tresses shaking, thus he said;   

So swim for life, by oregrown Billows drove,  
Till thou arriv'st 'mong People dear to Jove:  
Yet all thou hast not scaped. This said, the God  
Drove on to 
(m) A City in Eubaea, not that 〈◊〉 Achaia, as Strabo observes (Whe●●● notwithstanding there was a Te●●●● of Neptune's) which gave the name the Aegean Sea.  Aegae, where his Palace stood;  
But here her Favourite Minerva minds,  
Stopping the passages of Thundering Winds,  
Commanding, in their Caverns, all to sleep,  
Boreas must only smooth the furrowed deep,  
Till to Pheacian Shores Ulysses came.  
Two Days and Nights on bounding Waves he swum,  
Expecting Death: when the third Morn appeared,  
The Winds all hushed, the Sky from Vapours cleared,  
Mounted upon a swelling Billow, he  
The trending Shore, not distant far could see:  
So to kind Children their Sires health appears,  
Who Bedrid lay, Consumptive many years,  
By sad Diseases, and their Daemon charged,  
At last from all by milder Gods enlarged.  
So to Ulysses showed the Grove and Land,  
But Swimming, that he might the Shore ascend  
Upon his Feet, he heard loud Billows roar  
Amongst the Rocks, and thunder 'gainst the Shore,  
A great Surf rising with a briny Spry  
From broken Cliffs, retorted, brushed the Sky.  
For there no Harbour was, no Port, nor Bay,  
But Rocks and Stones, guarding the Confines, lay.  
Much troubled than he sighing, thus complained;   

By Jove's assistance Land I have obtained,  
Through boisterous Waves, yet now no Harbour see shocks,  
Where I may scape from farther danger free.  
Each where Waves storm the Coasts with thundering  
Which hangging Cliffs surround, and slippery Rocks,  
And the deep Ocean near, not any gap  
Where I may footing found, and so escape:  
Me the swollen Surge, Land striving to obtain,  
Will bruise 'gainst Stones, and I shall strive in vain:  
But I will farther Swim, perhaps I may  
Found smother Shores, and some protecting Bay:  
Mean while I fear a sudden gust again,  
May drive me sighing back into the Main:  
Or Neptune, whom I have offended much,  
May sand a huge Sea-Monster; many such  
The Ocean breeds. Whilst thus the Prince discoursed,  
Him on rough Shores a swelling Billow forced,  
There had his Flesh been rend, fractured his Bones,  
'Mongst rolling Pebbles and sharp pointed Stones;  
Had Pallas this not put into his mind:  
Fast a firm Rock with both Hands he entwined,  
And sighing stuck about her Marble waste,  
Till over him the swelling Billow past;  
Which re-advancing charged once again,  
And swept him sinking back into the Main.  
Upon the rough-skined Polypus so thick,  
Drawn from his Lodging, brittle Pebbles stick,  
As in his Palms, when the retiring shock  
Of a huge Wave divorced him from the Rock.  
There had, despite of Fate, Ulysses died,  
Had not Minerva from th' o'erwhelming tide,  
Her Favourite raised, and on a Billow bore,  
Where he could see a Beech, and smother shore.  
At last a pleasant River's mouth he finds,  
Free from rough Cliffs, safe from disturbing Winds,  
Than swimming in, thus to the 
(n) Rivers were counted Sacred among the Ancients, under the protection of some peculiar God: so was Eridanus the God of a River so named, described thus by Claudian, 

— ille caput placidis sublime fluentis  
Extulit & totis lacem spargentia ripis,  
Aurea roranti micuerunt cornua vultu, etc.   

Raising his head above his watery banks  
His golden Horns, reflecting, tipped the banks  
With sprinkled light; drops trickling from his Face,  
He his moist Hair veiled not with Oziers' base,  
And vulgar Reeds: fresh Poplars shade his Brows,  
And Amber from his curled Tresses flows:  
A Robe his Shoulder hides; Phaethon's wrought there,  
His blue vest burning in his Father's Chair.   And Tyberis acknowledged for a God by Virgil, Aeneid. 8. 

Huic Dens ipse loci fluvio Tyberinus amoeno,  
Populeos inter senior se attollere frondes,  
Visus, etc.   

The Genius of the place old Tiber here,  
Amongst the Poplar Branches did appear.    Stream he Prayed;   

Who ere thou art great King, thy suppliant aid,  
And me escaped, from Neptune's rage defend:  
The Gods do still poor Wanderers defend.  
Ah, to thy Votaries petition list!  
And him who much hath suffered now assist.   

This said, the River levels all his Waves,  
And in his quiet Bosom him receives;  
Who scrambling up, on feeble Knees and Hands,  
At last much swollen with soaking Billow, lands,  
Drawing short Breath, much Water from his Nose  
And Mouth distilling down, himself he throws;  
But when his Soul dislodged was repossessed,  
And he recovered with a little rest,  
From's Bosom he the Goddess Ribbon took,  
And threw into the Sea-descending Brook,  
Which a swollen Billow carrying to the Main,  
Strait to the Nymphs fair Hands conveyed again.  
Leaving the Stream, shelter'mongst Reeds he took,  
And kissing th' Earth with a deep sigh thus spoke;   

Ah me what shall I do! what next remains,  
If I lie here till day, night's cold serenes,  
Or from the Stream the chiller morning Dew,  
My weary Body will pinch through and through,  
If up to yonder shady Grove I creep,  
I warm at ease'mongst leavy-shrubs might sleep,  
But if surprised by gentle Somnus may  
Some Serpents be, or Savage Monsters prey;  
On this he pitched. The Grove than enters strait,  
And found a place fitted for his receipt,  
Two twin-born Olives near the River stood,  
In prospect skirting the adjacent Wood;  
Not into this, Sun, Rain, nor piercing Wind,  
The Twigs so closely Wove could passage found;  
Here strait Ulysses entering makes his Bed,  
And store of leaves above and under spread;  
There two or three might warm in Winterly,  
Safe from fowl weather and a raging Sky:  
This Receptacle, the glad Prince receives,  
Who lying down himself heaps over with Leaves,  
As under Ashes One a Brand conceals,  
Who, far from Neighbours, in the Country dwells,  
That Fire on all occasions he may keep;  
So covered lay Ulysses, whom asleep  
Minerva casts, closeing his weary eyes,  
Freeing at once from toil and miseries.    

 scene from book 6 
Illustrissimae Dominae de Arran Tabulam Dae Marice Comitissae hanc LMDDDIO Lib 6    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE SIXTH BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

Nausicaa's Dream; she to the Fountain speeds,  
They wash, and spread on drying Plots their Weeds.  
Losing their Ball at Play they raise a cry,  
Which wakes Ulysses; he appears, they fly:  
Only the Princess stays, his suit receives,  
And him supplied with Food, and Raiment leaves.   

SO slept Ulysses free from Toil and Cares,  
Whilst Pallas to Pheacian towers repairs,  
Who near the Cyclops in 
(a) Some Grammarians take it to be an Island near unto the Country of the Cyclops: but that agrees not with the mind of the Poet: for how could Islanders be endamaged by the Cyclops', who, according to Homer, used no Shipping Others conjecture it to be a City of Sicily, afterwards called Camerina, which is more probable.  Hyperia dwelled,  
And often their rage by Plundering Inroads felt,  
Which Colony Nausithous commands,  
In Scheria, planted far from Peopled-Lands,  
Their 
(b) The Poet has briefly here in two Verses comprehended the whole affair of settling a Colony. The first part, that is, the fortifying the City, and building Houses for the inhabitants, contains their security and commodity, the other speaks their Religion and Justice.  City Fortifies with Bulwarks round,  
Builds Houses, Temples, and divides the ground.  
But he descending to the Stygian shade,  
Renowned Alcinous the Sceptre swayed:  
Her steps Minerva to his Court directs,  
Nor aught to haste Ulysses' home neglects:  
And strait a stately Chamber enters, where  
A Virgin slept, as the Immortals, fair,  
Alcinous Daughter, bright Nausicaa;  
Two Damsels, like the Graces, near her lay;  
The twy-leaved Doors on Jaums opposing shined,  
Through which the Goddess, lighter than the Wind,  
Silently stole up to the Princess Couch,  
Resembling Dymas Daughter, whom she much  
Accompanying, in estimation had,  
Her tardyness thus seeming to upbraid;   

Why bore thy Mother such a sluggard? why  
Thy richest Garments foul neglected ?  
Thy Nuptials near, when thou shouldst all transcend  
In gorgeous dress, and those who thee attend,  
For female arts thy fame spread, far and near,  
Which thy Indulgent Parents joy to hear.  
Let's to the Fountain with the rising Sun,  
I'll help, that we the sooner may have done:  
You'll be no Virgin long, a great resort  
Of Prime Pheacians thee prepare to court.  
Thy Father's Chariot ask, in which we may  
Your Stoles, and Veils, and richest Garments lay:  
Nor stands it with your Dignity nor Port  
To walk on Foot, so far of from the Court.   

This said, Minerva seals 
(c) Olympus is a high Mountain in the borders of Thessaly whose top was anciently believed to be above the Region of the Clouds, and therefore feigned to be the seat of the Gods: which Lucretius thus describes out of this place of Homer, 
Apparet Divum numen, sedesque quietae  
Quas neque concutiunt venti, nec unbla nimbis  
Adspergunt, neque nix acri concreta pruina  
Cana cadens violate, semperque innubilus aether  
Integit, & large diffuso lumine redit.   Olympic towers,  
The blessed seat of Gods, with bitter Showers  
Never infested, where no Tempests blow,  
Near clothed with crusted Frosts nor fleecy Snow;  
A cloudless Sky still crowns those blessed Abodes,  
Of ever young and never Dying Gods:   

The Dawn now blooming with a tender beam,  
The Princess wakes, much wondering at her Dream;  
And thence straight goes t'acquaint the King & Queen  
With her intents, and finds them both within;  
Her with her Maids spinning rich Wool about  
A stately Fire, her Father going out  
To a great Council, where the Princes met,  
When thus she on her Royal Parent set;   

Your Chariot order Sir, that straight I may  
Your Royal Vests down to the stream convey,  
That there they may be washed, 'tis much unfit,  
You in soiled Robes should'mongst our Princes sit.  
Five Sons devil in your Court; for two your care  
Provided hath, three yet unmarried are;  
They should be neat and clean to dance at Balls,  
To look to this under my duty falls.  
Thus said she, not once hinting hopes to wed,  
But her Design he further sounding said;   

Ask what thou wilt, 'tis thine; within, who wait?  
Harness my Mules, bring my best Chariot strait:  
His word's a Law, the Servants all obeyed,  
And what the King commanded ready made.  
The Princess from her Chamber brings a Vest,  
And puts in her Caroche, the Queen a Chest,  
With several Cates and Wine in a Borach,  
And to her mounting did a Viol reach  
Of perfumed Oil to use when she had washed.  
Taking the Rains her Mules Nausicaa lashed,  
They stretch away, not bearing Vests alone,  
But all the Damsels her attended on.  
When to the pleasant Fountain they drew near,  
Where they might wash all seasons of the year;  
Where cleansing streams like purest Crystal spout;  
There they alight, and sweeting Mules take out,  
And on the Margins of the purling Flood,  
Drove to sweet Grass, their Chariot next unload,  
And foul Weeds throw into the Crystal Spring,  
Which in full Troughs they trample in a ring;  
Each the Buck plying with a tab'ring Foot;  
All clear from spots, discolouring stains and smut,  
They their white Regiments in Files and Ranks  
On polished Pebbles spread, on Sea-washed banks,  
Themselves than Bathed, Perfumed, and neatly decked  
To Dinner went, where sitting they expect,  
Until the Sun whiten their Weeds and dry:  
When Feasted well, they lay their Chaplets by  
To play at Ball: amidst her Virgin-train,  
The Princess first warbled a pleasant strain.  
So walks Diana o'er the Mountain tops,  
Through 
(d) A Mountain in Peloponnesus, small in compass, but high and steep; part of which being violently thrown down by an Earthquake almost ruin'd the whole City of Sparta, as Pliny in the 2. Book of his Natural History. From hence was Diana called Taygetea.  Tayget or the 
(e) A Mountain in Arcadia, in which there were divers Groves abounding with wild Beasts, as Ovid writes in the 2. of his Metamorphops, 

Dumque feras sequitur, dum saltus eligit aptos,  
Nexilibusque plagis Sylvas Erymanthidos ambit,  
Incidit in matrem—   

Whilst he hunts Beasts, and shady Groves besets,  
Erymanthian Woods beleaguring with Nets  
He on his Mother lights—   And therefore properly feigned by the Poet the place of Diana's recreation.  Erimanthian Copse,  
'Mongst Goats and Deer delighted to resort,  
The rural Nymphs about the Goddess sport,  
Whilst joy invades Latona's silent Breast,  
She by the shoulders taller than the rest.   

Now ready to return, just when they should  
Their Mules conjoin, and up their Garments fold;  
Minerva than contrived a handsome slight  
Ulysses to awake, that so he might  
The Virgin see must him from thence convey;  
Who the Ball serving, earnest at her play  
Unto another, something missed her aim;  
Which she not catching, fell into the Stream:  
At this they shriek, the cry Ulysses wakes,  
Who to himself, than sitting up, thus speaks;   

Ah me, who here reside? a Race unjust!  
Rustics not ruled by reason, but their Lust,  
Or those who, civilised, Celestials fear?  
That thus a cry of Nymphs invades my ear,  
Dwelling in Mountains, or more blessed abodes,  
Mongst Flowery Meads, watered with Crystal Floods:  
Or are they Men? I'll see. This said, he steals  
From sheltering shrubs, and with a Branch conceals  
His modest parts; than up he runs amain,  
Like a huge Lion beaten with Wind and Rain,  
Who forced by want, his eyes like Beacons, falls  
On Sheep, Beeus, Deer, breaks Houses, storms high Walls;  
So to the Virgins drawing near he shows,  
Horrid with scurffing Brine and parched Owse.  
To shelter all dispersed fly, except  
Alcinous Daughter; she her station kept,  
By Pallas Instigation bolder made.  
Ulysses here a while considering stayed,  
Should he draw near, fall humbly at her Knee,  
Or at some distance move, she pleased would be  
Him to the City to direct, and cloth.  
The last advice, he first approves on, loath  
By drawing near her modesty t' invade.  
Than thus the King implores the royal Maid;   

If thou art Mortal or Celestial Blood,  
Pity great Queen, but if sprung from a God  
Who plants the Sky, Diana th' art, Jove's race,  
Such thy majestic Person, Mien, and Face:  
But if that thee some Earthly Princess bore,  
Ah! than thrice happy thy relations are;  
When thee'mongst meaner Stars they see advance,  
Crowning each Figure in a Courtly Dance:  
But he's most happy who shall thee Espouse,  
And conqueror lead triumphing to his House;  
Since I ne'er Beauty saw like thine before,  
Which I the more I view, admire the more:  
But late at Delos I a 
(f) There is frequent mention of this Palm, near the Altar of Apollo in the Island Delos, so admirable for its height and beauty. Callimachus in his Hymn upon Apollo, speaking of his return upon his anniversary festivals at Delos, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

Phoebus' the door strikes with his beauteous Foot,  
The Delian Palm tree nods, perceive you not?  
Mark how the Swan sings sweetly in the Air.   And Cicero says, that in his time there was there to be seen a fair Palm, which the Natives believed to be that here commended by Ulysses. Aut quod Homericus Ulysses Deli se proceram & teneram Palmam vidisse dicit, hodie monstrant candem. At this Palm Latona brought forth Apollo, as Homer in one of his Hymns delivers it, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

Rejoice Oblessed Latona that didst bear  
King Phoebus, and the beauteous Forester.  
Her in Ortygia, in rough Delos him,  
Leaning 'gainst Cynthus Mountain near the stream  
Of Inopus, under a spreading Palm.   Which is signified too by Ovid in his Metamorphosis, 

Illic inclinans cum Palladis arbore Palmae,  
Edidit invita Geminos Latona noverca    Palm beheld,  
Next Phoebus 
(g) This Altar of Apollo was built of the Horns of Goats which Diana slew in Cynthus a Mountain in the Island of Delos, according to Callimachus, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

Horns of the Cynthian Goats Diana brought  
From hunting, Phoebus th' Altar built and wrought:  
With Horns the basis, and did Horns provide  
Fastening the Altars joints on every side.   Whom Ovid follows in his Epistle of Cydippe's, and admires no lesle the Structure of the Altar, than the Palm adjoining, 

Miror & innumeris structam de cornibus aram,  
Et de qua pariens arbore nixa Dea est.   

The Altar built with Horns my wonder bred,  
And Tree on which she leaned when brought to Bed.    Altar, which like thee, excelled  
With a fair Train 
(h) As he went to Troy: for Lyeophron mentions the arrival of the Graecian Fleet there, in their passage thither, not at their return.  I thither came, and such  
Our dangerous Voyage proved, I suffered much,  
Such and so great a maze curdled my Blood,  
Viewing that Plant, the glory of the Wood;  
As now the strange Astonishment I meet,  
Fearing myself to prostrate at thy Feet;  
Last Night I landed here, twenty Days tossed  
With Winds on Waves, from the Ogygian Coast.  
And now some God enforced me on this Shore,  
Perhaps to make my miseries the more:  
To see of woes a period I despair,  
Though great and many my past sufferings are.  
Pity me, Madam, pity most accursed,  
One that hath felt of Fortune's spite the worst,  
Since first I thee implore: I know not one  
That tills these fields, or dwells within yond Town.  
Show me the way, and if so well ye are stored,  
A Vest, though torn, to cover me afford,  
Which Heaven repay thee in a loving Spouse,  
Obedient Servants, and well ordered House;  
Which will displease thy enemies to hear,  
But Music to thy Friends and Kindred's ear.   

She thus replied; I should be, Stranger, loathe  
To tax thy Folly, Cowardice, or Sloth;  
Jove where he pleaseth good or ill bestows,  
And now perhaps accumulates thy woes,  
Which will with patience thee become to bear:  
But since thou in this plight art landed here,  
A Vest thou shalt not, nor what ere else want,  
That may beseem a woeful Suppliant:  
And I'll conduct thee to our Walls, and tell  
Who plant these Coasts; here the Pheacians devil,  
Alcinous Daughter I, He who now reigns  
Absolute Monarch o'er these fertile Plains.   

This saying, thus she calls her Damsels! Stay,  
Why fly you frighted from a Man away?  
Suppose you him a Foe, no Mortal shall  
In hostile manner on these Confines fall:  
Us far from all commerce the Gods maintain,  
Guarded with thundering Waves, amidst the Main.  
This a poor stranger, him it would behoove  
To comfort; such beloved are of 
(i) Whence Jupiter had the Epithet of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Hospitalis, as being the revenger of all wrongs done to strangers, and the protector of their safety. Virgil Aeneid. 1. 

Jupiter, hospitibus nam te dare jura loquuntur,  
Hunc laetum Tyriisque diem Trojaque profectis  
Esse velis, nostrosque hujus meminisse minores.   

O Jove (for thou protect'st all Guests they say)  
Make to both Nations this a happy day,  
Which always let posterity Record.   Cicero in his Oration for Dejotarus, Si veneno te interemisset, Jovis quidem illius HOSPITALIS numen nunquam celare potuisset, homines for●asse celavisset: Haddit he Poisoned thee, he might perchance have concealed it from men, but he could never have hid it from the deity of Jupiter HOSPITALIS.  Jove.  
Small gifts to them seem great, bring him some Food,  
And  him sheltered in the Crystal Flood.   

Stopped with these summons, they each other call,  
Than placed him warm against a sunney Wall,  
A Shirt, a Vest, and Coat, Ulysses brought,  
And with rich Oil a golden Vyal fraught:  
Next, to the pleasant River him conduct;  
When his attendants thus did he instruct;   

So favour me to walk aside a while,  
Till washed and sweet I am, with perfumed 
(k) Plutarch in his Symposiacal discourses makes this question, why the Poet, who gives peculiar Epithets to all other moist bodies, should particularly give that to Oil which is common to all the rest; to wit, moist or liquid. To which is replied; That as that is most properly called white, which least partakes of any other Colour, so that is most properly called liquid or moist which doth lest partake of any dry parts; which is the property of Oil; as he there proves at large, lib. 6. c. 9  Oil;  
Me to be naked 'mong so many Maids,  
Bathing myself, my modesty dissuades.   

Advised thus, they all withdraw abashed;  
Whilst he his Neck and ample Shoulders washed  
From frothy Brine, which like dry Scurf lay spread:  
Cleansing from clotted Owse, his Hair and Head:  
When he had 'noynted with the rich Unguent,  
Put on those Garments fair Nausicaa sent,  
Minerva renders him more tall and fair,  
Curling in rings like Daffodils his Hair:  
So shows, 'bout Silver a gilt border, wrought  
By one whom Vulcan and Minerva taught:  
With so much beauty did the Goddess grace  
His spreading Shoulders and majestic Face.  
Who walking thence in comely Weeds arrayed,  
The Queen admiring, to her Damsels said;  
This worthy Person sure at our abodes  
Had ne'er arrived, contemned of all the Gods.  
Mean seemed he first when he himself addressed,  
Resembling now one of the ever blessed.  
I well could be content to be his Bride,  
If pleased he in our Palace would reside:  
Some Food for him prepare. This said, they set  
Before Ulysses' Wine and savoury Meat:  
And he who long had Fasted, highly Feasts,  
Whilst they their Garments folding up, and Vests  
Laid in their Chariot, and their 
(l) Amongst the ancient Grecians and Latins there seem to have been a different use of Horses and Mules: the former were used in Chariots of War, as appears through the whole Iliads; and in public Races, as in the Olympic and Nemean games: the latter in Chariots for private use and Journeys. Aeschines in his Oration against Ctesiphon 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he let out to them three Chariots of Mules: and Synesius in his third Epistle, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, ascending the Chariot led by Mules.  Mules put in  
Thus mounting, to Ulysses spoke the Queen;   

Now, Sir, be pleased to rise, nor time neglect,  
And thee I'll to my Father's Court direct;  
Where the Pheacian Princes thou shalt see:  
And since thou prudent art, advised be;  
Fellow the tractings of my Chariot Wheels,  
Till we have passed these cultivated Fields;  
And thou wilt soon unto the City reach,  
With strong towers flankerd, and a double Beach;  
Where narrow entrances on either side  
Within enlarge, where Vessels Land-locked ride:  
The Forum near, and Neptune's Temple, all  
Of Polished Stone, environed with a Wall.  
There hath our Arcenal in several stores,  
Magazind, Cordage, Canvas, Masts and Oars.  
We Bows and Quivers mind not, but stout Ships,  
Trusting in them, we blow the swelling Deeps.  
So eat aspersion and the carping Crowd,  
They commonly uncivil are, and proud,  
Who thus their Verdicts spending us would taunt;   

What Stranger's this, Nausicaa's Gallant?  
Where found she him? Sure from another World  
By Fate this Stranger on our Confines hurled,  
She means to Wed, none us inhabits nigh;  
Or else some God descended from the Sky,  
And will at her request a Mortal Wed,  
None but a Foreiner must enjoy her Bed;  
She to our Primer Youth, and Nobles shy,  
Returns for Love some scornful reperty.  
Thus would they at my reputation strike;  
And I should spend my censure much alike  
On any, Parents not consenting, dare  
Be seen 'mongst Men, before they Wedded are:  
Do thus, and soon my Father shall transport  
Thee to thy long-wished home, and Native Port.  
A Path to Pallas Grove and Fountain leads  
Close by the Road, girt in with Flowery Meads,  
My Father's Ground and Orchards there, so near  
The Town, that thence you may one hollowing hear:  
There stay until thou thinkest we are at home,  
Than with all speed up to the City come;  
And for the Royal Palace than inquire,  
Whose Walls not like Pheacian towers aspire,  
And the jest Child will show thee; than walk in,  
First making thy addresses to the Queen:  
Leaning against a Column, by the Fire  
She sits, and Purple spins, Attendants by her:  
My Father's Throne and hers almost conjoin,  
Who God like feasting, drink delicious Wine:  
There her Petition; if she condescends,  
Thou soon shalt see thy Native Soil and Friends.   

This said, she lashed her Mules, and guides the Reinss,  
They Print with Iron-shood-Hoofs the dusty Plains,  
They soon Ulysses and her Maids outstrip,  
She not till Night indulgent to the Whip:  
When Pallas Fane they reached, Ulysses stayed,  
And thus devoutly to the Goddess Prayed;   

Hear me Jove's Daughter, to my Prayer ah! list,  
Who me so late 'gainst Neptune didst assist,  
And brought alive to the Pheacian Shore.   

The Goddess heard her Supplicant implore,  
But yet for him not publicly appeared,  
Because her Uncle's anger much she feared,  
Who raging would not be appeased, before  
Ulysses landed on his Native shore.    

 scene from book 7 
Honoratissimo Domino Do: Johanni Boteler Tabulam hanc LMDDDIO Lib 7.    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE SEVENTH BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

Alcinous Garden, Palace, where unseen  
Ulysses makes addresses to the Queen:  
The Cloud dispersing, he appeareth; all  
Are struck with admiration through the Hall.  
The pitying King harkens to his request:  
All promise fair; Arete knows his Vest.   

THus to his Patroness Ulysses prayed,  
Whilst to the Palace came the royal Maid.  
Entering, her Brothers round about her pressed,  
Took out her Mules, and carried in the Vest.  
She to her Chamber went, where her old Maid  
A fire, Eurymedusa, kindled had,  
Whom in her prime they from 
(a) Though the Poet makes the Island of the Phaeacians a kind of Utopia, yet from this place Eustathius observes that the true position of it might be guessed at, Apirus here being the proper name of the Country afterwards called Epirus.  Apira sent,  
And did t' Alcinous a choice Gift present,  
Born in a Vessel through the boisterous Main,  
Where, worshipped as a God, the King did Reign:  
She bred his daughter; who her Chamber aired,  
Nor to keep neat and handsome labour spared.   

Whilst on Ulysses going, Pallas shrouds  
Her Minion in a Cloak of Sable Clouds,  
Jest the affronting 
(b) The vulgar sort of People are prove to use opprobrious and contumelious words against strangers, as having no Commerce or society with them: King Danaus tells his daughters, who fled with him out of Egypt into Greece, among the rest of his instructions, Aeschylus Supplic. 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

All men are ready Strangers to abuse:  
And easy we opprebrious language use.   Wherhfore Venus shrouds the Trojans in a Cloud, as Minerva her Ulysses, when they were to pass through Carthage, Virgil. 

At Venus obscuro gradientes aere sepsit,  
Et multo nebulae circum Dea fudit amictu:  
Cernere ne quis eos, new quis contingere posset,  
Motirive moram, aut veniendi poscere causas.   

But Venus with black Mists them walking shrouds,  
And covers with a Cloak of sable Clouds,  
Jest any should or touch them, or discern,  
And by delays their cause of coming learn.    Rout should on him set,  
Roughly examine, and as evilly treat.  
Not sooner he into the City gets,  
But him Minerva like a Virgin meets,  
Bearing a Pitcher; when Ulysses said;   

Direct me to the Palace, pretty Maid,  
Where Reigns Alcinous, who these Realms commands;  
I a poor Stranger come from foreign Lands,  
Know none who in this Town or Country devil.   

Than said Minerva; Sir, that can I well,  
My Father lives close by, but I desire  
For your own good, of none else to inquire;  
Since we to Travellers that come from far,  
Uncivil and Inhospitable are:  
For we boast Ships blow Brine, as Birds the Skies  
On Wings divide, or nimbler Fancy flies.   

This said, away before she nimbly trips,  
He, following close, reprints the Goddess steps,  
And through the City went, unseen of proud  
Pheacians, hid with an obscuring Cloud:  
Where he their Port and stately Ships admires,  
Their Forum, Bulwarks crowned with lofty spires.  
But when they to the Royal Palace came,   

This is the Court said the Celestial Dame,  
And thou shalt found our Princes Feasting there,  
Venture amongst them boldly, and not fear:  
Courage all business aids. When thou art in,  
Thou shalt behold Arete first, our Queen.  
She and the King of one extraction are,  
To Neptune, Peribe Nausithous bore,  
Eurymedon's youngest Child, who Giants swayed;  
But he his People and himself destroyed,  
Rhexenor and Alcinous he begot,  
Rhexenor, only Son, Apollo shot,  
Who left one Daughter in his royal House,  

(c) Out of this Genealogy it appears that Arete, was both the Wife and Niece of Alcinous: Which Spondanus would have observed, he having not where else found mention of Marriages in those Relations. But whosoever shall peruse the Orations of Demosthenes, and the rest of the Greek Orators, shall found such Marriages ●o have been frequently practised by the Grecians.  Arete, whom her Uncle made his Spouse:  
They both Admirers of each other are,  
Near such a loving, ne'er a happier, pair.  
Her Children with her are, and People took,  
And on the Queen, as if some Goddess, look.  
Who when she through the City drives her Coach,  
With joyful acclamations all approach,  
And their affections with loud shouts proclaim,  
Nor are her Virtues glossed by flattering Fame;  
She hears debates, their Causes too disputes,  
Chides the Litigious cuts of tedious suits.  
If her thou please, and once she condescends,  
Thou soon shalt see thy Country and thy Friends.   

This said, the bright-eyed Virgin thence departs,  
And fertile Scheria, crossing Seas, deserts,  
Flying to 
(d) A Town in the district of Athens, celebrated for the famous Victory the Athenians obtained there over the Medes and Persians'.  Marathon's Athenian Port,  
There entering 
(e) The King of Athens.  Erectheus royal Court.  
But on he going, stopped with some Dispute,  
E'er he on Brazen Pavements set his Foot:  
For all the House shone like the radiant Moon,  
Or glorious lustre of the Sun at Noon.  
The inward Court conducting to the Hall,  
Environed with a high and Brazen Wall,  
A Saphire Turret crowned the Golden Doors,  
Which hung on Silver Jaumes o'er Brazen Floors;  
The Silver Threshold had a Golden edge,  
On each side Dogs, which Vulcan from the Wedge  
Had Anviled out of Silver, mixed with Gold,  
Immortal Guards, and never to be Old:  
Seats round the Walls were Canopied in state,  
Where all the Year their Princes Feasting sat.  
Where Golden Boys each held a blazing Torch,  
Lighting them to the Altars through the Porch:  
Fifty fair Damsels baked, or busy at  
Their Looms, with Shuttles nimbly running, sit,  
Like unto Poplar, leaves; the Oil distils,  
And liquored work grows moist on shining quills:  
So much as the Pheacians all outstrip,  
In steering through the watery World a Ship;  
As much their Women at the Web excel,  
And had in Pallas Arts no Parallel.  
Close to the Gates, well hedged on either side,  
A stately Orchard was, four Acres wide:  
There pregnant Trees to Heaven high forehead shoot  
Loaden with Pears, and store of blushing Fruit,  
Olives and Figs, green, budding, ripe appear,  
Cherished with Western Breizes all the Year,  
Peach succeeds Peach, Pears, Apples, bloomed and big,  
Grapes, after Grapes, a green and mellow Fig;  
Whilst here, Vines ripen, there, ripe clusters load  
The yielding Branches, ready to be trod.  
Amongst these were two Silver Fountains; one  
Through all the Alleys of the Orchard run,  
The other through his Palace gliding down,  
First serves his House, and after served the Town:  
Such was Alcinous Court. With gazing tired,  
When he enough these wonders had admired,  
He ventures in, and found them turning up  
To 
(f) Athenaeus in his first Book notes that the ancients at the end of their entertainments, when they went to their rest, used to sacrifice to Mercury, as being the Precedent of Sleep: which custom was after wards altered. Jupiter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 (the God of Marriage) succeeding in his room.  watchful Hermes a Libation Cup,  
Which, when they go to rest, they him present  
Through all the Palace. On Ulysses went  
Veiled in a Cloud, until he came unseen,  
Where sat Alcinous and his beauteous Queen:  
Than kneeling, on her knee his hand he laid,  
When strait dissolved the circumfused Shade,  
All silent, wondered, with amazement struck,  
Beholding him, who thus imploring spoke;   

Thou who renowned Rhexenor's Daughter art,  
I, who have acted long a woeful part,  
To thee and royal Spouse a Suppliant come,  
And all these Princes Feasted in this Room:  
Long may you live and Blessed, and may your Race,  
When dead, enjoy your Honours, Wealth, and Place:  
But me with speed sand to my Native Soil,  
Who, far from Friends, endured much woe and toil.   

This said, down on the Ashes near the Fire  
He sat, whilst the Spectators all admire:  
At last Echenius, an ancient Lord,  
Of all the eldest, sitting at the Board,  
For Eloquence, and much experience, famed,  
The silent Princes thus discreetly blamed;   

Uncomely 'tis, Alcinous, and unfit,  
On th' un-swept 
(g) Because that was in the protection of Vesta, a Goddess highly reverenced and worshipped by the Ancients. Tully lib. 2. De nat. Deorum, Vestae nomen sumptum est a Graecis: ea est enim quaillis ' E●iz dicitur, visque ejus ad arras & focos pertinet. The name Vesta is borrowed from the Greeks, which they call' E●iz, whose protection is over Altars and Fires And that this was the custom of Supplyants', is testified by Apollonius in his Argonanticks, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

About the fire they placed themselves all mute:  
Such postures best with humble supplyants' suit.   ●o when Themistocles, jointly persecuted by the Athenians and Lacedæmonians, was forced to tender himself to the mercy of Admetus' King of the Molossi, whom he had formerly offended, in token of subjection and begging his pardon and protection, he cast himself down before his ●ire, Plutarch.  Hearth, a Stranger thus should sit:  
At your commands, Attendants ready are,  
To place him better, in a studded Chair:  
Bid Herald's power out Wine, that so we may,  
Afresh to Jove our due Libations pay,  
Who such poor Pilgrims often accompanies;  
And let the Board be stored with fresh supplies.  
Alcinous raised him by the Hand, this said,  
And to a Silver-studded Chair conveyed,  
And from his place Laodamus removed,  
His Son, who next him sit, and most beloved.  
Water a Virgin, King Alcinous Sewer,  
Powers in a Basin from a Silver Ewer;  
Next she sets Manchet, having spread the Board,  
Which she with store of various Dishes stored:  
Whilst Wine and Cates hunger and thirst allayed,  
Fill Bowls Pontonous, Alcinous said,  
That we to Jove may glad Libations pay,  
Who often assists poor Pilgrims in their way:   

This said, the Tables he with Wine supplies.  
When all had drank as much as might suffice,   

Alcinous said; You Princes, I'll impart  
The intimating dictates of my Heart;  
Since it grows late, and we well Feasted are,  
Each to repose in his own House repair,  
And we to morrow shall with more resort,  
Treat civilly this Stranger in our Court,  
And to the Gods larger Libations pay:  
Than We'll consult how we this Pilgrim may,  
Driven by cross Fortune on our happy Isle,  
Sand home in safety to his Native Soil:  
Than let the Parcaes do, when we have done,  
What, when his Mother brought him forth, they Spun.  
Most sure the God's design some business here,  
For still before they accustomed to appear,  
When Hecatombs we offered, as a Guest,  
They would with us sit down and freely Feast;  
And if one met them Travelling alone,  
To him they always would themselves make known,  
Because to them we are supposed as near,  
As the proud Cyclops to the Giants were.  
Than to the King Ulysses thus replied;   

Such cares Alcinous, please to lay aside.  
I am no God descended from the Sky,  
But such as you, a woeful Mortal I:  
Only of Sorrows I much more have shared,  
All which the Gods for hapless me prepared  
And at convenient time I shall relate,  
But now, though grieving, suffer me to eat;  
Nature's repair, the Bellies interest will  
Near acquiesce, but calls and clamours still.  
Though now my Soul with sorrows is transpierced,  
Yet I must hunger satisfy, and thirst,  
And former miseries in Oblivion drowned.  
But would you please at leisure to propound,  
A means that the through Billows may transport,  
To my own Country and my Native Court,  
Where my dear friends my Dying Eyes might close,  
You make me blessed after so many Woes.   

His speech by them approved; of they lay  
Farther inquiries till th' ensuing Day:  
When all with Wine well satisfied were,  
Each to repose in his own House repair;  
And leave Ulysses in Alcinous Court,  
By the King sitting, and his dear Consort:  
Whilst the Attendants thence the Board's conveyed,  
And routed Dishes, thus Arete said;  
Knowing the Vest and Garment he had on,  
By her, and her fair Damsels Wove and Spun;   

Be pleased to satisfy me, noble Guest,  
From whence you came, and where you had that Vest;  
You said that you were driven on our Coast.   

Than he replied; Impossible almost,  
Great Queen, it is my sufferings to relate,  
So many were imposed on me by Fate.  
Though my Soul shrink at what my Tongue must say,  
And flies the sad remembrance, I obey.   

T' Ogygia, where no God nor Mortal else  
But Atlas' Daughter, fair Calypso, dwells,  
My Fortune drove me, that scarce ere indulged,  
When Jove my Ship with dreadful Thunder bulged:  
Where my relations perished in the Flood,  
Nine days upon my turn'd-up Keel I rowed,  
And on the Tenth the Gods so kindly dealt,  
They drove me on those Confines where she dwelled,  
Who treated me, and promised that she would  
Make me Immortal, never to grow Old:  
But her Allurements little did persuade,  
Yet seven long Years with her confined I stayed,  
Moyst'ning my Garments with a briny Flood,  
Which the Immortal Nymph on me bestowed:  
But in the eighth she came and me enjoined,  
By Jove commanded, or her changing mind,  
Home to repair; and in a Boat dismissed,  
And did with all things needful me assist,  
And a fair Wind that served me seventeen days,  
Th' eighteenth I did Pheacian Mountains raise,  
Which me o'erjoyed expecting there relief,  
Who had a second part to act of Grief,  
Which Neptune gave me: he the Winds enraged,  
And briny Mountains'gainst my course engaged,  
Nor me lamenting would rough Waves afford  
Place in my Boat, but washed me overboard:  
Piece-meal my Vessel, Winds and Billows tore,  
On Waves I floated, till I reached your Shore:  
There Landing, charged ith'Rear with watery Ranks,  
By Rocks bruised and inhospitable Banks,  
Thence back I Swum, where I a Creek did found,  
Free from rough stones, fenced both 'gainst Waves and Wind,  
Night drawing near, up to a Grove I crept,  
And, covered over with Leaves, there sound slept  
All Night till Noon: But when the Sun began  
His Western stage from the Meridian,  
Your Daughter's Damsels sporting, me did wake,  
And I address to her did humbly make;  
A Princess who for Beauty, Shape, and Mein,  
Might challenge Venus, or the Forest's Queen:  
Nor could I hoped more favour in my Flower,  
When Youth and Feature boast their conquering power;  
She Treated, Bathed me in the Crystal Flood,  
And these rich Garments, which thou seest, bestowed:   

She did not what she aught, replied the King,  
That did not thee up in her Chariot bring.   

Than said Ulysses; Sir, not reprehend  
The guiltless Virgin, fearing to offend,  
Advising me to follow, nor would I,  
Jest so it might created a jealousy  
In thee: full of suspicion Mortals are.  
When thus Alcinous did himself declare;   

I am not scandalised at trifles, who  
Ambitious am, what's handsome still to do.  
Ah that the Gods would such a Son afford  
To me! and my dear Daughter such a Lord.  
And wouldst thou here remain, I with thy Spouse  
Would richeses grant thee, and a stately House:  
But none shall thee detain in our Abodes  
Against thy Will, and pleasure of the Gods,  
But sand thee home: To morrow thou shalt know;  
Taking repose, suspensed from Toil and Woe,  
If so thou please, ploughing the briny Deep,  
Thou shalt thy Native Country reach in Sleep,  
Were it as far as the Euboean Shore,  
The farthest Land, they say, that they explore,  
Who see those Lands where Radamanthus reigns,  
Where Earthborn 
(b) Tityus was the Son of Jupiter and Elara, the Daughter of Orchomenus, whom Jupiter, fearing the jealousy of Juno, hid in the bowels of the Earth, until the time of her delivery, whence he was supposed to be Terrae filius. Apollonius in his Argonauticks, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

There Phoebus shooting Tityus as he streve  
To force his Mother to lascivious love,  
Divine Elara gave the Monster birth,  
But he was nursed by the all-fostering Earth.   Homer writes him here to live in Enboea, but the rest of the Ancients agreed that he lived in the Country of Phocis; for there he had his Temple and was worshipped; there also was a Den called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from his Mother Elara, as Strabo relates. There too was his Sepulchre, according to Pausanias.  Tityus tortured complains,  
They the same day, and without labour, reach  
Those Coasts, and enter with full Sails our Beach.  
Judge than what Ships and Seamen here we boast,  
That swift as Swallows fly from Coast to Coast.   

When thus Ulysses prayed; Jove, grant the King  
His good Design may to perfection bring,  
Alcinous grant immortal Fame, and me  
My dear Relations and my Home to see.   

Arete than commands them make a Bed,  
And Purple ore and Royal Tapestry spread.  
Damsels, with Tapers lighted, strait withdrew,  
And in the outward Porch her Bidding do:  
Returning they than to Ulysses said;   

Sir, You may go to Rest, your Bed is made.  
He much desiring sleep gladly arose,  
And in resounding Portals took repose.  
Alcinous lay in Lodgings farther in,  
On a soft Couch prepared by his Queen.    

 scene from book 8 
Nobilissimo Domino D not Philippo Stanhop Comiti ●e Chesterfeild Baroni Stanhop de Shelford Tahulam han● LMDDDIO Lib. 8.    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE EIGHTH BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

A Counsel called, Alcinous moves the Cour●,  
That they the Stranger should safe home Transport.  
They Feast, than Sport, Ulysses all out fling.  
Their Bard the 'scapes of Mars and Venus Sung:  
The Graecian Steed. Ulysses Weeps: His name  
Than they desire to know, and whence he came.   

NOT sooner had the Daughter of the Dawn,  
With Rosy Fingers, Days Portcullis drawn,  
But up Alcinous and Ulysses risen:  
Preceding all in state, Alcinous goes  
Than to the Guild, which ranged before the Fleet;  
The Concourse there on polished Marble sit.  
Like the King's Herald Pallas walks the Streets,  
And all concerned, thus summons as she meets;   

You Chiefs and Princes who these people sway,  
Haste to the Hall, to hear what he will say,  
Who to Alcinous Court so lately came,  
And like a God through swelling Billows swum.   

Thus expectation heightened, Young and Old  
Filling their seats, with wonder him behold;  
Whilst on his head and shoulders Pallas sheds  
Celestial Rays; his ample Bosom spreads,  
Taller he grows, his Limbs more Brawny seem,  
A reverential awe and high esteem  
So to obtain, and better that he might  
Perform those Sports, to which they'd him invite.  
When all well settled and attentive were,   

Thus said the King; You Chiefs and Princes here  
Assembled, thus on this occasion, list  
To softer dictates of my yielding breast;  
This Stranger here, who now your aid implores,  
If from the East he came, or Western Shores  
I'm not informed, but grant a Vessel may  
Him to his Native Soil with speed convey:  
None, whosoe'er my Court shall entertain,  
Shall long, for Transport waiting, here remain.  
Let strait a well Rigged Galley tied and staunch,  
Fifty two Youths, all primer Seamen, Launch,  
Oars, Sails prepare, strong Tackle and a Mast;  
Than at my Palace let them break their Fast:  
This for the Youth: But you our Princes shall  
Receive this Stranger in our royal Hall,  
Not any must refuse, and bring along  
Demodocus, whom with Celestial Song  
Some God inspired, who gains from all the Bays,  
For well-set Notes, and best composed Lays.   

This said, he rising, forth the Princes leads,  
And for Demodocus the Herald speeds.  
Twice twenty six, as he commanded, went  
To Margins of the barren Element:  
Soon as they were aboard they launch their Ship,  
Erect their Mast, and hoist their Yard a-trip;  
They thong their suppling Oars, their Sails expand,  
Afloat their Vessel leaving, strait they Land,  
And to the Palace with great Concourse throng,  
The Gates and Ways were filled with old and young,  
For whom Alcinous, well-fed Bullocks two,  
Eight brawny Swine, and twelve fat Weathers, slew,  
Which neatly dressed, a royal Treatment made:  
To Court Demodocus the Herald lead,  
On whom a Muse bestowed both good and ill;  
Deprived of 
(a) The ancient Grammarians believe that the Poet doth describe himself here under the name of Demodocus; as Didymus and Eustathius observe. For that himself was blind is generally delivered by Historians, particularly by Herodotus in his life of Homer. The Acts of Heroes which Demodocus sung, they refer to Homer's Iliads.  Sight, but much improved his Skill.  
Him 'midst the Hall he 'gainst a Column placed,  
In a rich Chair with Silver Studds enchased;  
Hung o'er his head, his Golden Harp well strung,  
Upon a Pin, and showed him where it hung:  
Near on a Table placed of antique Mould  
A brimming Bowl, to Drink when ere he would.  
Than all fell on, and plentifully far:  
When Thirst and Hunger satisfied were,  
The Bard inspired, the acts of Heroes Sung,  
At whose resounding Fame heavens Arches rung,  
Ulysses and Achilles' 
(b) Homer doth in this Poem interweave several passages of the Trojan War which he omitted in his Iliads, whereof this is one, neither does he here tell us the subject of this strife between Achilles and Ulysses, which Didymus thus relates; At Table the question was started in what manner the City of Troy was to be taken; Achilles counselled to take it by storm; Ulysses by stratagem: This was the contention. But in Quintus Smyrnaeus this contest is betwixt Ulysses and Neoptolemus, after the death of Achilles: in whom Neoptolemus to the proposition of Ulysses, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc.   

O Chalcas, valiant men fight hand to hand,  
But who the Foe far from the Walls withstand,  
Subdued with fear, we justly may contemn;  
Let us not think of Plot or Stratagens;  
Foremost let us with Javelins try it on't,  
They are the best in Battle are ●ost stout.    strife, when at  
A treatment of the Gods, they Feasting sat;  
But glad was Agamemnon, when he heard,  
How thus the Valiantest of their Princes jared;  
Phoebus to him predicted so before,  
In Pythia venturing on his marble Floor,  
When two such Chiefs should at a Feast contend,  
Their tedious War and Miseries should end.  
This Story the inspired Poet Sung,  
But o'er his Face, concerned Ulysses fling  
His Purple Vest, veiling his honoured Head,  
Jest they should spy those briny Tears he shed.  
When the learned Bard closed with concluding Chords  
Harmonious Notes set to Heroic words,  
His face he shows, drying those trickling Floods,  
And powers a frank Libation to the Gods.  
But when the Chiefs desired, that he once more  
Would Sing, what them delighted so before,  
Again his manly Brow Ulysses veiled,  
And with his Mantle trickling Tears concealed:  
Which strait Alcinous found, and sitting near,  
Thus said, whilst he his deep-fetched Sighs could hear;   

Renowned Pheacians, who with Sails unfurled  
Blow Azure Mountains through the watery World,  
Since we are satisfied with plenteous fare,  
And Music crowning Feasts, let us repair  
Now to the Cirque, where all who boast, their Skill  
And Strength may show, that our brave Guest may tell  
His Friends at home, none dare with us contest  
At Running, Dancing, Wrestling, and the 
(c) The Cest is a piece of Brass tied about the hands of the Combatants with Leather thongs when they went to Cuffs. Several forms of them are to be seen in ancient Statues.  Cest:   

The King, this said, leads through the yielding throng  
The Princes, whilst the Harp Pontonous hung  
Upon a Pin, than guides the learned Bard  
Forth to the Forum, where they all repaired,  
And sitting down, appointed places fill,  
Whence many rose to show their Strength and Skill,  
Acronius, Ocyall, and Elatrus first;  
Nautus, and Prymneus, from the Concourse burst;  
Anchialus, Eretmus, Ponteus join,  
Proteus, bold Thoon, and Anabasine;  
Amphialus, Euryalus, Naubolides the fair,  
Whose Shape did with Laodama's compare:  
Alcinous Sons risen last to purchase Fame,  
Halius, Clytonius, and Laodame.  
These run a Race; they Start, and swift they fly,  
Whilst Clouds of dusty Atoms dim the Sky:  
And strait Clytonius got as far before,  
As Mules will Oxen, ploughing up twelvescore:  
Like winged Lightning he outstripped the Wind,  
And soon left all Competitors behind.  
Others their skill in Wrestling put to test,  
Mongst whom Euryalus obtained the best.  
Amphialus at Leaping none outgoes:  
The ponderous Quoit farthest Elatrus throws.  
Not any could with Laodame compare  
Wielding a Cestus. When they heated were,  
Trying their Strength and Skill, the Prince thus said;   

Let us this noble Stranger, Sirs, persuade  
To show his Art, he hath been Courtly bred:  
His Thighs are brawny, well his Shoulders spread,  
His Person well compact, and strongly Built:  
But he who hath so many Sorrows felt,  
May found impairs: not Sickness, Want, nor Age,  
Impeach us more than Seas and Tempests rage;  
When they Dispute, the stoutest are convinced,   

Than spoke Euryalus, Brother well thou hint'st,  
Try if thou canst him to our Sports persuade.  
Laodamas than to Ulysses said;   

Come, Sir, be pleased to give a Taste of what  
You in these Pastimes are most Skilful at;  
To have such parts a Traveller behoves;  
What more the growth of spreading Fame improves,  
Than Nature's bounties polished with Art;  
Come shake of eating Sorrows from your Heart:  
Not long will be your stay; Launched is your Ship,  
Ready your Men, and your furled Sails a-trip.   

Why ask'st thou me, Ulysses than retorts,  
Who more inur'd to Sorrow am than Sports?  
Much I have suffered, and must more endure,  
But I, an humble Suppliant, would procure,  
To Waft me home, the King and People's aid.  
To whom Euryalus than roughly said;   

Thou hast no Courtly qualities to spare,  
Nor gentle parts, though they so numerous are,  
But look'st like one who used to Travel, hast  
Preferment got, and rul'st before the Mast,  
Makest their accounts, and covetous keepest short  
Their Meat and Pay; sure thou no Horseman art.  
Whom frowning on, Ulysses thus did cool;   

What ere I am, thou bablest like a Fool,  
And dost uncivilly a Stranger use:  
Jove not on all men equal Gifts bestows,  
That not so much we praise for outward parts,  
As for his 
(d) That is, his deformity is recompensed by his Eloquence and Grace in Speaking. So saith Sapph of herself in Ovid, 

Si mihi difficilis formam Natura negavit,  
Ingenio forma damna rependo meae.   

If Nature hath denied me beauty, yet  
That want I shall supply with ready Wit.    Eloquence and nobler Arts;  
Whom for his modest speaking, Rich and Poor,  
Love and admire, and as a God adore:  
The other, though his form Celestial seem,  
Prates like a Dunce, and looseth all esteem:  
So thou may'st Heaven for thy fair outside thank,  
Who art a scribbled Volumn, or a Blank:  
But since my patience th' hast provoked, and spoke  
What ill beseems thee, and I worse take:  
I not so ill-bred am as now thou sayest,  
But stood amongst the primer Heroes placed,  
Whilst in my Flower; but Crazed I'm now grown stiff,  
My Spirits with accumulated grief,  
And toil, much wasted, where I often engaged,  
Whilst bloody Mars or cruel Neptune raged;  
And since thou hast provoked me thus, I will  
Make trial of my long neglected Skill.   

Not casting of his Vest, this said, a Stone  
He snatcheth up, a far more ponderous one,  
Than the Pheacians use: The heavy Flint  
With violence went, as Pluto had been in't,  
And flying over their Heads, They stoop, it goes,  
Than breaks new Ground beyond all former throws:  
When in a Human shape th'illustrious Maid,  
Fixing a mark, thus to the Concourse said;   

A blind Man may discern how much thou hast  
Outgone the rest, none here shall mend this Cast.   

These words buoy up Ulysses' sinking Heart,  
Glad he had found a Friend would take his part:   

And thus he mildly said; My Masters throw,  
This I not question but I can outgo,  
And since I am provoked, I dare the best  
To Wrestle, Run, or poise the ponderous Cest,  
Except Laodamas my dearest friend,  
I challenge all who will with such contend;  
None but a fool, and such they are abuse,  
And thus uncivilly a Stranger use.  
At any of your Exercises I  
Here challenge forth the proudest, and defy;  
With skill and strength I draw an able Bow,  
To reach at random the advancing Foe:  
When we at wary distance held dispute,  
Me only 
(e) Of Philoctetes' skill in Archery, as also of his Army, the Poet makes mention in his Iliads, 

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〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

These Philoctetes, skilful at his Bow,  
Led in seven Ships; each fifty Men did row:  
These were good Archers, cunning, ftout and strong.   When he was deserted by the Grecians in the Isle of Lemnos, by his Bow he found himself provision according to Ovid in his Metamorphosis, lib. 13. 

Et nunc ille, eadem nobis juratus in arma,  
(Heu pars una Ducum) quo successore sagittae  
Herculis utuntur, fractus morboque fameque,  
Venaturque aliturque avibus, volucresque petendo,  
Debita Trojanis exercet spicula fatis,   

Now Philoctetes who in the same War  
Engaged with us (o his unhappy Star!)  
Who used Alcides' Bow, poor hungry soul  
With sickness broken, lives by hunting fowl.  
To kill small Birds those Darts doth now employ,  
Which have been the destruction of Troy.    Philoctetes could out-shoot,  
And Trojans Gall; let none with me compare,  
Who now tread Earth, and breath Etherial Air.  
I'll not with ancient Heroes have to do,  
Such as Alcides, and 
(f) King of Oechalia, in the Island of Euboea, who proffered his beautiful Daughter Jowl to any who could match him in the skill of Archery; wherein being overcome by Hercules, and denying to stand to his proffer was slain by him, the City razed, and his Daughter carried away Captive. This is the History of Eurytus according to the rest of the Greek Writers; but which differs something from this relation of Homer's.  Eurytus; who  
With Deities in shooting would contend:  
Eurytus so met his untimely end,  
And never in his Palace aged grew;  
Him emulating vexed Apollo slew.   

As far as you can shoot I'll cast a Spear;  
At running I may worsted be I fear,  
But still at Sea and always under Sail,  
My limbs grow stiff, my Knees and Ankles fail.   

This said, admiring all, none silence broke,  
When to Ulysses thus Alcinous spoke;   

Moved by that temper guards thy noble Breast  
Well, though provoked, thou hast thyself expressed,  
That hast rude terms with modest glance checked;  
None on thy parts will cast a mean respect,  
Who to good Breeding hath the lest pretence.  
Now, Sir, be pleased to give me Audience,  
That thou to other Heroes may'st report,  
When with thy Wife and Children, at thy Court  
Feasting thou sittest, What mighty Jove imparts,  
On us intailing Wealth and noble Arts.  
We Wrestle well, and strongly wield the Cest,  
At Running are, and Navigation best,  
We always Treat; love dances and the Lyre,  
Soft Beds, warm Baths, and change of rich Attire.  
Our Dancers bid prepare, that he may tell  
His Friends at home, how much we all excel:  
Let one strait for Demodocus repair,  
And bring his Harp, of which pray have a care.   

This said, thence for the Lyre his Herald goes:  
Nine Masters of the Revels than arose,  
Who drove the People back, and more room made.  
The Harp brought in, Demodocus not stayed,  
But went into the midst; prime Youth advance,  
And placed in Figures, round about him Dance.  
Ulysses' much their Move did admire,  
Whilst he sung sweetly to his charming Lyre  
The 'scapes of 
(g) The Greek and Latin Poets do luxuriate in this Theme of the Adultery of Mars and Venus: we shall only take notice of Ovid's description of it in his 2. Book De arte amandi; 
Fabula narratur toto notissima Coele,  
Mulciberi capti Marsque Venusque dolis.  
Mars pater ins●●o Veneris turbatus amore,  
De duce terribili factus amator erat, etc.  
There is a Tale through all Heaven known well yet,  
Vulcan took Mars and Venus in a Net:  
scorched with the Goddess flames, the God of War,  
From a stout Leader, turns a soft Amour:  
Nor she, than whom no Goddess is more kind,  
Proved coy or ill-bred, but affections joined.  
How often the giggling wanton merry made  
At Vulcan's feet, and hands hard with his Trade?  
To Mars walked limping in her Husband's pace,  
Each Beauty mingled with a several Grace.  
At first their sweet Embraces were concealed.  
And bashful modesty their Love-tricks veiled.  
But by the Sun (who can deceive the Sun?)  
His Wife's escapes were to her Husband known:  
When round their amorous Bed sly Vulcan sets,  
Which no Eye could perceive, ingenious Nets;  
To Lemnos than a Journey feigns: they met,  
Both naked lie enfolded in the Net.  
Vulcan the Gods than summons to the sport,  
Venus was weeping ripe, as they report.  
They could not hid their Faces, nor conceal  
Parts with their hand, which Modesty would veil.  
When Hermes smiling said; Stout Mars on me  
Thy Fetters lay, if burdensome to thee.  
He scarce for thy sake, Neptune, them unties:  
When Mars to Crete, Venus to Paphos flies.   Mars and Venus, how he sped,  
When first she brought him to her Husband's Bed:  
How their stolen sports the Sun to him declared,  
And how the news the Jealous chafing heard;  
Who at his Forge strait Anviled out a Chain,  
Whose Links not force nor cunning could constrain:  
Than raging to his Chamber went, and spread  
The artificial Gin about his Bed:  
The Cordage, like the threads that Spiders spin,  
Can not b' Immortals be, nor Mortals, seen.  
Than feigned to 
(h) An Island near unto Thrace, where Vulcan was received when he was thrown down from Heaven, according to our Poet in his Iliads; 

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He once did take me by the foot, when I  
Came to thy aid, and threw me from the Sky;  
All day I was ae falling, and at night  
Did almost out of breath in Lemnos light;  
There the kind Sintians pitying took me up.   Whence ever after it was held Sacred to him: but the Mythologists rather think it, because there were frequent eruptions of Subterraneous Fire in that Island, with many other Symptoms of heat; amongst which is reckoned by the later Writers, that Earth vulgarly called terra sigillata fetched from thence, but which was not known in the time of our Poet.  Lemnos (which he most did love  
Of all his Seats) that straight he would remove.  
Mars takes the hint, wounded by conquering Love,  
And went to Venus, new returned from Jove:  
Than by the fair Hand gently wring, said;   

Dear, let's repose now on your royal Bed,  
Vulcan's from home. She not rescents, this said,  
But Mars unto her Husband's Couch conveyed,  
From whence they could not stir, nor rise again:  
Soon they perceive all struggling proved in vain.  
The Sun told Vulcan they were in the toil,  
Who never went unto the Lemnian Soil:  
He, stepping o'er his Threshold, not contained  
His grief and rage, but thus aloud complained,  
That all the Gods his hideous Cry might hear;   

O Jove, and all you blessed powers, draw near  
That you may see, how much I injured am,  
Because I halt, thus indigent and lame,  
By my lascivious Wife, who in my stead  
With Mars, Ah me! contaminates my Bed,  
Because his Limbs are straight: nor is't my fault,  
But those begot me, that I thus do halt.  
See how they dallyingly, devoid of shame,  
Of which wronged I, a sad spectator am:  
But I believe these Lovers I shall keep,  
Longer than they would willing be a-sleep;  
My Art secures them in a Brazen Chain,  
Till Jove repay me her vast dower again;  
Which I made over, taking to my House  
His beauteous Daughter, my Lascivious Spouse.   

This said, the Gods all to his Palace haste,  
Phoebus and Neptune, Hermes; but the   
Goddesses stirred not: entering they all smiled,  
Beholding them by Vulcan's Art beguiled,  
When one thus said; Deceit not still succeeds,  
For now lame Vulcan nimble Mars out-speeds;  
The swiftest of the Gods, by one that halts,  
Lies liable to be 
(i) According to the law of Athens, to which the Poet seems to allude, the punishment of Adultery was death; as appears out of Pausanias, where he says, that according to the institution of Draco the Athenian Lawgiver, there was impunity granted to those that should any ways revenge themselves upon the deprehended Adulterer. The same was the Law of Solon afterwards, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, If any one seize on the adulterer of his Wife, let him use him as he please. Wherhfore when Eratosthenes begged his life of him whose Wife he had abused, he answered him, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 'Tis not I that kill you, but the Law of your Country: But as it was lawful for the injured person to slay the offender, so was it in his power too, to suffer him to commute, (as we now speak) whence the same Erat●sthenes, in Lysias, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Begged and entreated that he would not kill him, but exact a sum of Money from him. And this was the case of Vulcan: for since Mars, a God, could not be put to death, he requires a pecuniary Mulct, the price of his Adultery:  Mulcted for his faults:  
Thus talked they, when to Hermes Phoebus said;   

Might we not Mercury, thee with ease persuade,  
Although thou wert in all those Fetters tied,  
Thus to repose by Cytherea's side?   

Than he; Should thrice as many me enfold,  
And all the Gods and Goddesses behold,  
I should not be ashamed, nor quit my place,  
Thus resting in fair Venus' sweet embrace.   

The Gods all smiled, but Neptune did persuade  
Mars to enlarge, and thus to Vulcan said;   

For thy demands, unto my promise trust,  
Free him, th' Immortal Gods are always just.   

Than he replied; Words, Neptune, are but Wind,  
Bore promises for Prisoners meanly bind.  
How shall I make thee pay, if him I free?   

Than Neptune said; Thy Action lay on me,  
If he refuse I shall: Vulcan replied;   

In such Security I will confided.   

This said, he loosed them: Mars enraged, bend  
His course to 
(k) Thrace was accounted the feat of Mars, because the People of that Country were a Warlike generation: Eustathius. I know not whence Ovid, when he Translates these Verses, names Crete for Thrace, 

Vix precibus, Neptune, tuis captivae resolvit  
Corpora: Mars Creten occupat, illa Paphon   

He scarce for thy sake, Neptune, them unties:  
When Mars to Crete, Venus to Paphos flies.    Thrace, Venus to 
(l) Paphos was a City in the Island of Cyprus, whence Venus was called Paephia. 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   Whose Temple there remained in the time of Strabo; as he testifies in his Geography.  Paphos went,  
Where she a Grove and perfumed Altars hath,  
Where her the Graces did Anoint and Bath,  
Suppling with Oil, such as the Gods refreshed,  
And with rich Garments curiously dressed.  
Thus Sung he, which Ulysses pleased and all  
The joyful throng. Alcinous than did call  
Forth Halius, and Laodamas to Dance:  
These in this Art most famous, strait advance,  
Soon as they had a purple Ball received,  
Which skilful Polybus had neatly Woven,  
This one throws up, the other, ere it fall,  
Takes capering ere he comes to ground the Ball;  
Than in a figured Dance they neatly moved,  
Whose Garb and Footing highly all approved,  
In murmuring Humms, a loud applause they had;  
When thus Ulysses to Alcinous said;   

Renowned Prince, you have made good your boast,  
That the best Dancers, this your happy Coast  
Breeds, in the World; whom I must needs approve,  
Since me amazement struck to see them move.   

Than to the Princes thus Alcinous said;  
For this our worthy Guest, let me persuade,  
That we an hospitable Gift prepare,  
Twelve Kings here Reign, and we the thirteenth are;  
Let each a Golden Talon him present,  
A Vest and Robe, which all together sent,  
He may receive at once, so to our Feast  
Repair a joyful, and a welcome Guest;  
Euryalus must satisfaction make,  
With Words and Gifts, because he rashly spoke.   

This said, the Princes his Advice commend,  
And strait their Heralds with rich Presents sand.   

Euryalus than; Sir, to your Guest I will  
Confess my fault, and your commands fulfil:  
And I'll this Falchion give him richly Gild,  
And Ivory sheath. This said, the Silver Hilt  
Him he presents: than thus, What words soe'er  
I fond spoke, hence let a Whirlwind bear:  
And may the Gods thee, harassed with much toil,  
To thy dear Wife return and Native Soyl.   

Ulysses than replied; May the same Gods  
Grant thee all blessings in thy own Abodes;  
And that this Sword not more thou shalt desire,  
Which thou bestowest, thus reconciling Ire.   

This said, the Sword he ' thwart his Shoulders flings,  
And growing dark, rich presents from the Kings  
Their Heralds carried to Alcinous House,  
Which strait his Sons set by his beauteous Spouse:  
He leading, all the Chiefs in order sat,  
Than spoke Alcinous to his Royal Mate;   

Rise strait my Dear, and choose a handsome Chest,  
In which first lay a Robe and curious Vest:  
And bid them for this Stranger get a Bath,  
Than let him all those costly Gifts he hath  
Received from us, see carefully put up;  
Than him we'd Feast, and I'll this golden Cup  
Present, that me he may to memory call,  
Jove and the Gods Libating in his Hall.   

This said, Arete strait her Damsels did  
Command, to set a Trevet on with speed;  
On which the largest of her Caldrons fix,  
Than put in Water, and put under Sticks,  
Whilst from her chamber down she brought a Chest,  
In which the Prince's Gifts, the Bowl, and Vest,  
Alcinous gave too, in she folding laid,  
And her own Presents adding, thus than said;   

Now 
(m) He bids him bind the cover of the Chest: for Keys were not in use in the time of our Poet, but were invented afterwards by the Lacedamonians.  Mail your Trunk, Sir, well, jest whilst you sleep  
Secure, transported through the swelling Deep,  
Something be lost. Ulysses' strait obeyed,  
And up the Chest, as Circe taught him, made.  
Than to a Bath chaste Virgins him invite,  
Which he strait entered with no small delight:  
For never since he left the Ogygian Queen,  
Who Bathed him often, had he warm Water seen.  
When he had washed and anointed, him they dressed,  
Put on his under Garments and his Vest:  
Than went he to the Feast. Nausicaa, by  
A Pillar standing, his approach did spy,  
Whom much admiring when she had surveyed,   

Hail noble Stranger, hail dear Sir, she said;  
When thou beholdest thy Friends and dearest Wife,  
Remember me who first preserved thy life.   

Than smoothly he replied; Best Princess, may  
So Jove me to my Native Soil convey,  
Where I shall thee there as a 
(n) So faith Virgil, in the form of a Shepherd, of Augustus: 

— Deus nobis hac otia fecit.  
Namque erit ille mihi semper Deus; illius aram  
Saepe tener nostris ab evilibus imbuet agnus.   

This quiet, Shepherd, from a God we found:  
For he shall be my God: often from the Dam  
I'll bathe his Altars with a tender Lamb.    Goddess serve,  
Whilst Breath I draw, who didst my Life preserve.   

This said, he next Alcinous took his Seat,  
Whilst they rich Wine commixed, and served in Meat,  
The Herald in Demodocus conveyed,  
And 'gainst a Column placed; Ulysses said  
Than to Pontonous (Carving from the Chine,  
A savoury Morsel of a well-fed Swine)   

This to Demodocus be pleased to bear,  
And tell him, though unfortunate we are,  
Yet I a Poet honour, and admire  
Their Raptures, since the Muses them inspire.   

This said, the Herald brought him what he sent,  
Which he received with no small content.  
Than all fell on, and plentifully far:  
When Thirst and Hunger satisfied were,  
Ulysses, to Demodocus, thus says;   

Sir, You I must beyond all Mortals praise,  
Since Pallas you, or Phoebus taught so well  
Those Miseries, which the Greeks at Troy befell,  
To sing as if th'hadst been Spectator there;  
Of Epeus' Horse could I now something hear,  
Which he by Pallas aid so rarely wrought,  
Which within Walls Ulysses' cunning brought,  
Pregnant with Graecian arms, and Trojan Fate:  
If this thou truly couldst to me relate,  
I, through the World, should trumpet thy Deserts,  
Whom some kind power inspires with heavenly Arts.   

This said, He sung, and in an Epic Strain,  
Told how the Greeks launched to the boisterous Main,  
Fir'ing their Camp, and how they lurking hid,  
Througed round Ulysses in the mighty Steed,  
When that the Trojans had with all their power,  
Drawn the stupendious Monster to the Tower,  
There they consulted if the hollow Oak  
Should be ripped up, or tumbled over the Rock,  
Or let him stand: on this they fixed, since Troy  
Fate had decreed the Grecians should destroy:  
And how those Caverns leaving, down they came,  
And plundered Ilium fired with hostile flame:  
Whilst Menelaus and 
(o) Deiphobus had married Helen after the death of his Brother Paris, which exasperated Menelaus so far, that he seems to have designed his slaughter beforehand: but that Ulysses accompanied him in this encounter, is not related by Quintus Smyrnaeus, who delivers it thus, 

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〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

Deiphobus than Menelaus sped,  
Who found him slumbering in fair Helen's Bed,  
Who frighted thence did in the Palace hid,  
But he rejoiced to see his Falchion died.    Ulysses went  
Where lay Deiphobus, with dire intent.  
A dreadful conflict in his Court they had,  
But soon were Conquerors by Pallas aid.   

Thus sung the Poet, whilst Ulysses steeps  
His Cheeks with tears, and as a Woman weeps,  
Her dearest Lord embracing on the Plain,  
For's Country fight, and his Children slain,  
Or seeing him in Death's Convulsions lie,  
Falls on him groaning with a doleful Cry;  
But they strike on, and drag the Prisoner, where  
If he survive, must feel more Toil and Care:  
So sad Ulysses briny tears distils,  
Perceived by Alcinous, and none else,  
Who sitting nearest heard him Sigh and Groan:  
Than to the Princes thus their King begun;  
You Peers and Princes now assembled here,  
Give order that Demodocus forbear:  
Perhaps his Notes not pleasing are to all  
The joyful Feasters in our royal Hall.  
Our Guest in sighs strikes Diapazons, such  
Are his regrets, he answers every touch,  
Lavishing Tears since he begun his Song;  
The Laws of Hospitality not wrong;  
And since this Banquet we for him prepared,  
Our Suppliant as a Brother let's regard.   

Now, Sir, be pleased you would yourself declare,  
Where you were born, and what your Parents are,  
And your Abodes, that so we may instruct  
Our Ship, you to your Country to conduct?  
We use nor Helm, nor Helm's-men; our tall Ships  
Have Souls, and blow with reason up the Deeps;  
All Cities, Countries, know, and where they list,  
Through Billows glide, veiled in obscuring Mist:  
Nor fear they Rocks, nor danger in the way;  
But once I heard my Sire Nausithous say,  
Neptune enraged, because we did transport  
So many People safe, from Port to Port,  
Returning he one Vessel sunk, which still  
Shadows our City like a mighty Hill.  
The Gods their pleasure do: But let me know,  
From whence thou cam'st, and whither you would go;  
If amongst Rustics, Impious and Poor,  
Or civil Nation who the Gods adore:  
You wept hearing Demodocus relate,  
In well-set Notes, the Greeks and Trojan Fate;  
These are the God's designs, and all must die,  
And make bold Tales for their Posterity:  
But tell me, have you in the Graecian Host  
At Troy, a Kinsman, Friend, or Brother lost?  
Though often a dear Companion's loss we more,  
Than our own Blood or near Allies, deplore.    

 scene from book 9 
Nobilissimae Dominae D:ae Elizabethae Comitissae de Chesterfeild Tabulam hanc LMDDDIO Lib: 9    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE NINTH BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

His tedious wandering, and his various Fates,  
Ulysses to th● Assembled Peers relates;  
Ciconians, Lotophagie, and how tossed  
By Storms, he fell on the Cyclopian Coast.  
Huge Polyphemus eats six Men, he burns  
His Eye out, 'scapes, and thence revenged returns.   

THAN said Ulysses; Most renowned King,  
To hear a Poet his own raptures Sing,  
With such a ravishing and Heavenly Voice,  
As would both Mortals and the Gods rejoice,  
Heightens your Entertainment, and our Souls  
Cheers, more than laden Board's, or flowing Bowls.  
But since you'd rather hear my woeful Tale,  
And me afresh past Miseries bewail,  
Ah, how shall I begin! what first relate!  
How tossed and harras'd by relentless Fate:  
Laertes Offspring I, Ulysses am,  
My Person you preserved, the Stars my Fame;  
My Kingdom Ithaca, Neritos' Hill,  
Chequered with Groves, I Pasture on and Till.  
Many rich Isles lie scattered there 'mong Floods,  

(a) One of the Echinades, afterwards called Dolicha, as we have already proved out of Strabo.  Dulychium, 
(b) A City in Cephallenia, under whose name the Poet here denotes the whole Island.  Samos, 
(c) A fruitful Island, now called Zant.  Xanthus, crowned with Woods,  
Which Barren, yet breeds hardy Youth and bold,  
Than which, no Land I rather would behold;  
Though fair Calypso I, and Circe's Bed  
Enjoyed, both Amorous, courting me to Wed:  
Whose Wealth, nor Charms, nor flatteries wrought on me;  
I longed my Native Country more to see,  
My Parents and relations to behold,  
Than Richeses to enjoy, and Roofs though Gold.  
But I shall now discourse what little joy  
The Gods prepared for us, launched of from Trov.   

First we Ciconia reached with prosperous Gales,  
Where Ismarus took, 
(d) A City of Thrace, inhabited by the Ciconians, who came to the assistance of the Trojans, as appears in the second of the Iliads, where among the rest of the Trojan Auxiliaries, 

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〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

Euphemus led the valiant Cicons on.  
Grandchild to glorious Cease, Troizens Son.    we put to Sword the Males,  
Our Prize their Richeses, Wives, and Daughter made:  
Than I bid haste aboard, they not obeyed,  
But Sheep and  slaughtering on the Shore,  
Heightened with Wine their high distemper more.  
Mean while the fleet Ciconians gave th' Alarm,  
And suddenly the neighbouring Confines Arm,  
Far more and better Soldiers; who put to't,  
Would quit well managed Steeds and fight on Foot:  
Early on us they fall; nor could the Spring,  
mustering her Leaves and Flowers, such numbers bring.  
Than Jove deolarded, what he designed before;  
Who much had suffered, now must suffer more.  
They March to us in Bodies deep and lange,  
And with sharp Spears, on th' Ocean's Margins change,  
Whilst Morning grew, and sacred Day arose,  
So long we matched our overpowering Foes:  
But when the Sun declined into the West,  
The desperate Enemy had much the best;  
And six from every Vessel there were slain,  
The rest got of, and ploughed the boisterous Main.  
But ere we plied our Oars, or Canvas spread,  
We thrice 
(e) It was the opinion of the ancient Grecians, that the Souls of those who were unburied, were not admitted into the common Receptacle, until the Funeral Rites were performed. We have an example of this, Il. 23. in Patroclus. 
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〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
Me ah! inter, who am from Stygian Coasts,  
And longed-for paessage driven by happier Ghosts.  Virgil also AEneid. 6. 

Hac omnis quam cernis inops inhumatasepulti; que turba est sepulti;  
Portitor ille Charon, high quos vehit unda  
Nec ripas datur horrendas, nec rauca quieruns fluenta,  
Transportare prius quam sedibus ossa  
Centum errant annos, volitantque haec littora circum.   

Those woeful Souls thou seest, are not pulcherd Interred;  
That's Charon; those he waits are see  
None are transported o'er these horrid Graves; Waves,  
Until their bones found quiet in their  
A hundred years they on these Coasts remain,  
At last a long expected passage gain.   
Wherhfore, when any were slain in a foreign Country, when their Friends had not opportunity of performing the Funeral Solemnities, they called over the names of the Dead, inviting them, as it were, to return with them, where they had an honorary Monument, and all Rights performed as if the bodies of the Dead were there present. Pindaer. Pyth. Od. 4. 
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Thou mayst appease the wrath of severe Gods,  
For Phrixus he commands to the abonds  
Of King AEetas to bring home his Soul.  Where the Scholiast notes, that It was the Custom of the Grecians, though they procured not the bodies of the dead, yet by certain Ceremonies to recall their Souls, who died in a strange place, and to transport them into their own Country along with them. Eustathius also observes upon this place, that the Athenians, whenever they lost any men at Sea, went presently to the shore, called thrice the names of the slain, and raised a Cenotaphium, where they made their Parenta●ia.   invoked the Manes of the Dead,  
When Jove a Tempest raised, and in a trice,  
Muffled with Clouds both Earth, the Sea, and Skies,  
And we dispersed, of from our Course were born,  
Our Masts were shattered, Sails and Tackle torn,  
Our fripery up we hurled, and fearing Death,  
Draw near the Shore, there toiling out of Breath  
Two Nights and Days we lay; th' ensuing Dawn  
Again we raised our Masts, clapped Canvas on,  
And than the prosperous Winds our Fleet had boar,  
Perhaps in safety to my native Shore,  
But doubling 
(f) A Promontory in the Morea, where Navigation was so dangerous, that it become a Proverb, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  
When you sail by Malea, forget your home   Maleas point a Tempest bore  
Us from 
(g) The nearest Island to Malea, in which there was a secure Port, and a City of the same name with the Isle.  Cythera back: nine days we were  
Tossed with cold Winds upon the raging Main,  
The tenth, the 
(h) The Ancients agreed not in the seat of these Latophagi. Artemidorus says that they inhabited the Deserts of Africa, South of Mauritania, from the Atlantic Ocean even to Cyrene. Others say, that it is the Island Menyng, which lies before the lesser Syrtis, which is here denoted: because there is abundance of those Lotus trees in that Island, which bear a very pleasant fruit; and an Altar of Vlysses' still remaining.  Lotophagian Coasts we gain,  
Who feed on Flowers; we dined, and watered there:  
When Thirst and Hunger satisfied were,  
Too than, to make Discovery, I sent,  
Of our prime Men, with them a Herald went;  
Who found the Lotophagi planted there,  
They pleasant Lotus did for them prepare,  
Not meaning harm; for they who Lo●us eat  
Near mind returning to their native Seat:  
These, whilst they shriek, acting distracted Pranks,  
I forced aboard, and fastened to their Banks;  
Than shipped I all the rest, jest they should eat  
Sweet Lotus, and their Native Soil forget.  
Who settled, brushed the briny deep with Oars:  
At last, we sad reach the 
(i) The Cyclops inhabited the Mountain of AEtna, and the Country of the Leontini in Sicily. So Euripides understood it; in whose Cyclops (speaking of the approach of Ulysses, and his Followers, to the Den of Polyphemus) Silenus thus complains. 

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Tiros 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
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Unhappy Strangers th' are who ever came,  
Net knowing what a Master's Polypheme,  
Arriving at th' inhospitable Cave,  
Whose raging gorge must be the wretches Grave.  
But quiet be, that they may give account  
From whence they came to the Sicilian Mount.   They were so called, because they had a round eye in the middle of their foreheads, according to Hesiod, 

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The name of Cyclops was on them bestowed,  
From one round eye, which in their forehead stood.    Cyclopian Shores,  
Who the Gods trusting neither Plant nor Sow,  
Where all things without human Labour grow,  
Wheat, Barley, Vines, whose Clusters fill the Press,  
And timely Showers from Jove give large increase.  
These by no supreme Power, or Laws, are tied,  
But in vast Caves on Mountain tops reside:  
And their own Courts, and Wives, and Children sway,  
Not minding Kings, nor Parlements obey.   

An Isle, this lay distant amidst the Floods,  
Stored with fat Goats, and Clothed with shady Woods  
By Swains untrackted, and fierce Huntsmen, who  
Through Forests, Hills, and Dales, their Game pursue.  
This Ground no fleecy Flocks, nor  feeds,  
Nor Blow breaks up, but fattens wanton Kids;  
They build no Ships, who plough with sails unfurled  
The briny Ocean round about the World:  
Their own they keep, nor seek to people more,  
Nor want they have, verging with Meads the Shore;  
So light the unforced Soil, so fat the Ground,  
It would with Vines, and purest Wheat, abound:  
Land lock the Bay, where Ships might safely Ride,  
Without an Anchor, or a Cable tied:   

Just in the Harbour's mouth a Fountain flows,  
Shaded with Aldar: ere the Moon arose,  
Hither We came, some God did us assist,  
Obscured with Night, and covered with a Mist,  
E'er well ware by a swollen Billow hurled  
Upon the Shore, strait we our Sails unfurled,  
Than landing, on the Ocean's margins lay,  
In sweet Repose, expecting blessed Day.  
Not sooner had the Daughter of the Dawn,  
With rosy Fingers days Portcullis drawn,  
But we admiring walk along the Shore,  
Whilst kinder Nymphs put mountain Goats up store  
Us to refresh; for Bows, and Spears we sent,  
And in three Companies divided went:  
Venison we slew; Twelve Ships our Fleet, they Nine  
On each bestowed, and Ten fat Goats on mine.  
Till Night we feasting sat, and rich Wine dranck;  
And though our full Borachios were grown lank,  
Some yet remained which we at Ismar had:  
We drawing nigh the Cyclops Isle survaid,  
Hearing their Goats, and Sheep, grown Night we lay  
Upon the Shore expecting blessed Day.   

Not sooner had the Daughter of the Dawn  
With rosy fingers Days Portcullis drawn,  
When to the rest I said; Stay on this Shore  
Till with my Vessel, I yond Isle explore,  
If Rustics devil there, Cruel, and Unjust,  
Or Civil People who in Gods do trust.  
Aboard we go, and weigh, in ordered Ranks  
Brushing the briny Spry upon their Banks.  
Drawn near the Shore, a Cavern we survaid,  
Which Laurel covered with a pleasant Shade,  
Where Sheep, and fat Goats lay: cut from the Rocks  
Appeared a Court built high with Pines, and Oaks.  
Here a Huge Giant dwelled, who kept alone  
His Flocks, a Monster that conversed with None:  
Who a prodigious size showed when he stood,  
Like a tall Mountain crowned with stately Wood  
Than twelve stout Men along with me I took,  
The rest commanding to the Vessel look,  
And a Borachio full of mighty Wine,  
Which 
(k) It seems that the City of Maronea in Thrace, near adjoining to Ismarus, received its name from this Maro.  Maron gave me who kept Phoebus' Shrine;  
Who dwelled near Ismarus; because his life  
We had preserved his Children and his Wife:  
Fearing the God he in a shady Wood  
Residing, many Gifts on me bestowed;  
Seven golden Talents, and a Silver Cup,  
And twelve large Vessels filled with rich Wine up.  
None of his Servants, Man, nor Woman, knew  
This but Himself, his Wife, and She that drew.  
When this they drank, they Twenty 
(l) Pliny in his Natural History observes (from Matianus a Roman Consul, who had been at the place) that there was the same vigour, and strength, than in Maronean Wine, which is here mentioned by the Poet. He says, that it is black and odoriserous, and pinguifies with age.  times as much  
Water commixed, than none ere tasted such,  
Or smelled the like; whose odorous Perfume  
So Charmed, none could abstain from't in the Room.  
This and a Knapsack I with Viands took,  
And for the horrid Monster went to look.  
The Cave we found, but found not Him within,  
He fed his fleecy Flocks upon the Green.  
There we admired his Cheeses on the Shelves,  
His Lambs and Kids, each shut up by themselves;  
Here the new weaned, and there the new yeaned lay,  
The Pans, and Dishes, full of Milks, and Whey.  
Here they advised me strait from thence to slip  
With Kids, and Lambs, and Cheeses, to our Ship,  
Which I would not (but better it had been)  
Till Him I saw, whom would we ne'er had seen,  
Whose horrid Look, so much us all aghast:  
We make a Fire, and bold his Cheeses taste;  
And there we sat expecting his Return,  
Who brought a Log that must at Supper burn,  
Which thundered as he threw it on the Ground:  
Amazed, we fly, and dark Recesses found,  
There his full udderd Ewes he milks, his Pails  
Frothing run over, but first shuts out the Males,  
Than with a mighty Stone all Entrance bars;  
Which two and twenty though all four-wheeled Cars  
Can not remove: when all were milked, the Lambs  
And wanton Kids He lets forth to their Dambs.  
Half of his milk makes Cheese, the other half  
He puts in Vessels for his Supper safe.  
All this with speed performed, a Fire he made:  
And spying us where we stood trembling, said;   

Strangers, who are you? from whence came you, say?  
Merchants are you, or have you lost your Way?  
Or Piccaroons, who wander through the Floods  
To make a Prey of Honest People's Goods?  
At his huge Voice, and horrid Looks, dismayed,  
Trembling we stood: when thus to him I said;   

We Grecians are, returned from Ilium,  
With cross Winds tossed on Billows, sailing Home  
To several Shores (as Jove thought fit) we boast  
Ourselves to be of Agamemnon's Host,  
Whose Fame surmounts the Sky, who overthrew  
Proud Troy, and mighty Nations did subdue:  
And We thy Hospitality request,  
As is the Custom to a woeful Guest:  
Revere the Gods, and thy Assistance lend,  
For favouring Jove poor Strangers doth befriend.   

Than roughly He replied; a Fool thou art,  
Or Stranger, I not value Gods a—  
We Cyclops, not 
(m) Jupiter's Mother (that she might conceal him from Saturn, who devoured all his Children as soon as they were born) exposed him privately at Olenus, a City in Boeotia, where he was nursed by a Goat. So says Aratus; 

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The sacred Goat, that festered Jove, they all.  
Th' Olenian Goat of Jupiter now call.   Whom Ovid follows lib. 2. Fastorum, 

Oleniae surget sidus pluviale Capellae,  
Quae fuit in cunis officiosa Jovis.   

Than the moist Sign the Goat shall rise, who love  
Showed in his Cradle to Almighty Jove.   Which Goat, after its death, was translated into a Sign of the Heavens, and Jupiter made his Shield of the Skin of it. But Moera the Poetess, says; that he was nursed by Pigeous, for which they were made that Sign in the Heavens from them called Phiades. 

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Jove bred up was in Crete, which no God knew:  
But he in comely Shape, and Stature grew:  
Him Pigeons fed, and to the blessed Great  
Divine Ambrasia from the Ocean brought.    Goat-fostered Jove regard,  
We are for him, and all Heaven's Court, too hard:  
Not thee, nor thine, on Jove's account, I'll spare,  
Unless I will, nor for his Anger care:  
Where thou hast left thy Ship, inform me well,  
Is she aboard the Shore, or nearer, tell.  
Scenting his Drift, I to evade, thus spoke;   

Stern Neptune bulged my Vessel 'gainst a Rock  
That guards your Coast: Us winds and Billows bore  
From imminent Danger, to this pitying Shore.   

He raging, not replied, but at us flew,  
And in his mighty Paw strait snatched up two  
Of us like Whelps, and dashed against the floor,  
Sprinkling the ground with reeking Brains, and Gore;  
And like a Lion, them in piece-meal tears,  
And eating, nor their Bones, nor Bowels spares;  
Whilst weeping, we the woeful Sight beheld:  
Soon as the Monster had his Belly filled  
With human flesh, and stuffed with Milk, and Whey,  
Amidst his Flocks, stretched on the floor he lay:  
I drawing near, resolved to act my part,  
Whip out my Sword to run him through the Heart:  
When I bethought, should we the Monster kill,  
We not the Stone, with all the strength, and skill,  
Which barred the Gate could stir; Sighing, we stay,  
Th'event expecting of the blessed Day.  
Not sooner had the Daughter of the Dawn,  
With rosy fingers days Portcullis drawn,  
But strait he makes a fire, and milks the Dams,  
Next, turning lose to them their Kids, and Lambs;  
His work being finished, up he takes two 
n There were six of Vlysses' Companions devoured by Polyphemus, according to our Poet, yet Euripides, and Virgil, who have transcribed the Story out of him, mention but two; the one in his satire called Cyclops, 

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When all things ready were for Pluto's Cook,  
Two of my men for slaughter up he took.   The other in the third of his Aeneids; 

Vidi egomet duo de numero quum corpora nostro  
Prensa manu magnâ medio resupinus in antro  
Frangeret ad saxum, sanieque aspersa natarent  
Limina: vidiatro quum membra fluentia tabo  
Manderet, & tepidi tremerent sub dentibus artus.   

I saw, when he two of our stoutest men  
Seized in his mighty hand, and midst his Den  
Laid on his back, against a Pillar brained,  
And with foul gore, the sprinkled Pavement stained.  
He would devour men's bloody quarters raw,  
I in his teeth the warm flesh trembling saw.    more  
Of us, and eats them, as he did before:  
Thus having Breakfast, out he drives his Flock,  
With ease removing from the pass, the Rock,  
Which close again with as small pain he puts,  
As one the cover of his Quiver shuts:  
And whistling, to the Mountain goes, and me  
Leaving unpinioned: studying how to be  
Revenged, imploring Pallas to assist  
'Mongst many Plots I laid, this seemed the best;  
Close by his Stall, a Pole a drying laid,  
Which for the length, and size, when we surveyed,  
We to the mainmast of a stately Ship  
Compared, that ploughed with twenty Oars the Deep;  
From this I cut an Ell, which strait I gave  
My Friends to polish down, and neatly shave,  
Whose Point I hardened in the Fire, than thrust,  
Of which his Cave had store, amidst the dust,  
Than we drew Lo●s, who should with me draw nigh,  
And when he slept, with this to pierce his Eye;  
It fell to four, and I the fifth Man made;  
At Night, his Flocks he to his Cave conveyed,  
And put up all his Bleaters in the Coat,  
Either suspecting, or some heavenly Plot,  
Than shuts his Gates, and milks his Kids, and Lambs,  
Next, turns them lose to their unburthened Dams.  
His business done, resolved on them to sup,  
Two more of us he snatched; when with a Cup  
Of mighty Wine, towards him I drawing, said;   

When you have fed, taste this; let me persuade,  
That you what drink we had aboard may know.  
This I present, that you may pity show,  
And us dismiss: if thus you cruel prove,  
Who will address to you, or offer Love?  
This said, the Bowl he takes, up all he Quaffed,   

And pleased, thus spoke; Give me another Draught,  
Than let me know thy Name, that strait I may  
Thee with some Hospitable Gift repay.  
Cherished with showers, we have rich wine, and pure;  
But this is Nectar, and Ambrosia sure.  
Three times this said, I swelled his empty Cup,  
As often he turns th'exhausted Bottom up.  
When I perceived the Wine begin to take;  
And He grew mellow, thus I mildly spoke;   

Thou ask'dst my Name, which I shall let thee know,  
Keep Promise, and some Gift on me bestow:  
My Name is Nemo, so my Parents all,  
My Kindred, me, and best Relations call.   

Than He replied; Thee I shall kindly treat,  
Thou shalt good Nemo, be the last I'll eat.  
Of all thy Friends; my Promise I will keep.  
This said, surprised with all-conquering Sleep,  
Bending his Neck, he lay upright, and cast  
Gobbets of Flesh and Wine; than I made haste,  
And in the Fire the Stake sharp-poynted put;  
My Friends than cheering, took it out Read hot,  
We drawing near, inspired by some God,  
With wondrous Courage round about him stood,  
They thrust it in his Eye, which deep I gored,  
And screwing in, as with an Augre bored;  
Like one that works upon a Naval Keel,  
And with a Thong, and Wimble, shows his Skill;  
So in his Eye the blazing Bar we turned,  
Blood gushing out his singed Eyebrows burned,  
The Crystalline, that guards his Eyeballs, hist,  
Dark Smoke arose, and an unsavoury Mist;  
And as a Blacksmith in the Water slacks,  
Than takes out hissing his edge hardened Axe;  
So sung the Olive-stake fixed in his Eye:  
He roars, the Cave resounds, we frighted fly;  
He plucks it bloody out, and 'gainst the Walls  
Tormented throws, and Neighbouring Cyclops calls;  
Who near in Caves, on Mountain tops did devil,  
They gather strait, Alaramed at the Yell;  
And round about his Gates inquire what made  
Him roar so loud, who thus than troubled, said;   

Why shriek'st thou Polyphemus, thus, in deep  
Of silent Night, and hind'rest us from Sleep?  
Hath any forced from thee thy Flocks, or laid  
To take thy Life some Plot, or Ambuscade?   

Than He replied; Ah! Nemo me hath Slain.   

Than they; if Nemo hurts thee ne'er complain.  
If Jove on Thee some heavy Sickness lay,  
The Burden bear, and to great 
0 His Father whom he begot on the Nymph Theosa, as we have already seen in the first of the Odysseys. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   Neptune pray.  
Thus they departing said; and pleased smiled  
That the dull Cyclops thus my Name beguiled,  
But he with trembling Hands, and many a Groan  
From the Caves' entrance moved the ponderous Stone:  
Than sat with palms extended 'midst the Gap,  
Jest any of us 'mongst his Sheep should scape.  
He thought me shallow sure, whilst I contrived  
From Danger how my Friends might be reprieved  
Life at the Stake, our Danger great, and near.  
At last this acquaint Designment seemed most clear.  
He stately Rams had, large, well fed, and full,  
Kings of the Flock, and clad in purple Wool:  
These silently I bound with Osiers stripped  
(On which well twisted the dire Monster slept,)  
Three in a breast, he in the midst bore one,  
The other two on each side guard their Man,  
The greatest of these Breeders forth I cull,  
And at his Belly hanging grasp the Wool,  
In this sad Posture we much sighing stay,  
And holding fast, expect the blessed Day.  
Not sooner had the Daughter of the Dawn,  
With rosy Fingers Days Portcullis drawn,  
But to their Pastures forth he drove the Males,  
Easing the Ewes swollen Teats in frothy Pails,  
He all their Backs, though pained extremely, felt,  
But that we kept their Bellies warm, ne'er felt;  
When the last Ram, loaden with Me, and Wool,  
Marched forth, stroking his Back; why art so Dull,  
Now to be last, he said? still used to lead,  
With pace majestic, to the flowery Mead,  
And far before selected tender Buds,  
The Van conducting to the Crystal Floods;  
And always first repairing home at Night:  
Now thou art Lag, wouldst thou I had my Sight,  
Which Nemo, and his Complices put out  
When he with Wine surprised me, who no doubt  
Shall ne'er escape; would thou couldst speak, and tell  
Where the Wretch skulks, and Him to me reveal:  
His Brains my Floor should sprinkle  we part,  
Which would remove some Sorrow from my Heart:   

This said; He let him pass; and I with speed  
Losing myself, next my Associates freed;  
And to the Ship our fleecy Prey we drive,  
Our Friends rejoiced that we returned alive,  
Yet wept for those were lost: than I bid staunch  
Their tears, and with our Prize to th' Ocean launch:  
All go aboard, and sitting on their Banks,  
Sweep up the briny waves in ordered Ranks.  
When we were of so far as one might hear,  
A loud Voice call, thus I begin to jeer;  
Cyclops, not well thou didst a Stranger treat,  
Who kindly made address, his Friends to eat,  
Thou that devourd'st thy Guests, this falls on thee,  
On whom the Gods, and Jove, revenged be.  
Raging at this, He a torn Mountains top  
Threw at our Ship, and aimed it at the Poop,  
The mighty Stone close by the Rudder fell,  
And Waves percust in briny Billows swell,  
Which back to landlord our Vessel almost bore;  
With a long Pole I forced her of from Shore,  
Commanding them to Shove; no Toil they spare,  
When to the Offine we were twice as far,  
I would have spoke, but me m'Associates did  
Persuade with winning Language, and forbidden,  
Vex him not more; if the great Stone had hit,  
Which forced us on the Shore, we had been split:  
If thou shouldst speak again we ruin'd are,  
Such is his Strength, and he can throw so far,  
Yet all their Rhetoric could not me dissuade,  
But to him raging, thus I boldly said;   

If how thou lost thy Eye th' art questioned, faith  
Ulysses did it, King of Ithaca.   

Than thus he braid; 
(p) Telemus the son of Eurymus, according to Ovid, who mentions this Prophecy of our Poet. lib. 13. Metamorph. 

Telemus interea Siculum delatus in aquor,  
Telemus Eurymides, quem nulla fefellerat ales  
Terribilem Polyphemon adit, lumenque qued unum  
Front geris media rapiet tibi, dixit, Ulysses.   

Telemus sailing the Sicilian Sea,  
Eurymus Son, well skilled in Augury,  
Told Polyphemus, oneVlysses should  
Put out that eye which 'midst his forehead stood.   
The same Prophecy is mentioned too by Euripides, but he conceals the Author of it.  

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Ah th' ancient Prophecy, which said that you  
Coming from Troy should put my Eye out's true.    Telemus me foretold,  
Who 'mongst the Cyclops prophesied of Old,  
By one Ulysseses I should loose my Sight;  
Him some Gygantick Prince of matchless Might  
Than I supposed to be; but now I found,  
An Elf, a Coward, Dwarf, hath made me Blind.  
But land again Ulysses, that I may  
To thee an hospitable Gift repay;  
And I my Father Neptune will implore  
To sand thee safe unto thy Native Shore,  
And heal my wounded Eye, which none else can  
Of Heavenly Extract, or the seed of Man.   

Than I replied; Would I Commission had  
To sand thy Soul to the Infernal Shade:  
Than Neptune should not thy lost Eye restore.   

This said, His Father thus did he implore;  
Great Neptune hear thy Offsprings earnest Prayer,  
Let not Ulysses ever Home repair:  
But if the Fates resolve his Country He,  
His Court, and Friends, shall view, Late let it be:  
Drowned his Companions first, than let him come  
In a strange Vessel, to more Mischief Home.  
Thus Cyclops prayed, and Neptune heard his Prayer:  
Than up he takes a Stone, greater by far  
Than first he threw, and whirling round, let's slip  
With mighty Force, and aimed it at the Ship,  
Which like a Rock close by the Rudder fell,  
And Waves percust in briny Mountains swell,  
Which from those Confines Us to th' Ocean beaten:  
But when we reached the Isle, where lay our Fleet,  
Where sat our Friends expecting on the Strand,  
We run our Vessel in, and joyful Land,  
And Polyphemus Flock by Dividend  
The people shared; the Ram they me present,  
Which I to Jove, who rules both Earth, and Skies,  
Offered, but he contemned our Sacrifice;  
Who than contrived how to destroy our Fleet,  
And all my Friends: There sat we till Sunset  
Feasting, and drinking Wine; but when the Day  
Night's Curtains closed, down on the Shore we lay  
In sweet Repose: Not sooner had the Dawn  
With rosy Fingers Lights Portcullis drawn,  
Than I commanded them without Delay,  
To go aboard, they went, and Anchors weigh:  
Than placed in order on their Banks, they sweep  
The briny Surface of the foamy Deep,  
And with sad Hearts for our Companions lost  
We take the Offine, and forsake the Coast.    

 scene from book 10 
Honoratissimo Domino D no Gulielmo Cavendish Baroni Cavenérsh de Hardrwick Tabulam hanc LMDDDIO lib: jo: Fo: 13●:    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE TENTH BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

A Faction; They unrip Ulysses Sack;  
Imprisoned Winds burst forth, and drive them back.  
Laestrygon Giants; The Circaean Shores  
Ulysses spies, th' Inchantress turns to Boars.  
He threats to kill her, Love the Quarrel ends,  
Twelve days She Feasts him, than t' Elysium sends.   

AND came to th' 
(a) The Poet mentions one only of the Aeolian Isles, the Seat of Aeolus' Empire, which were seven; Strongyle, Euonumus, Didyme, Phoenicodes, Ericodes, Hiera, and Liparae, as they are enumerated by Diodorus Siculus in his fifth Book, and Pliny in his third; neither doth he deliver the proper name of it (for they are mistaken, which from this place call it Aeolia.) Strabo says it was Strongyle. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Strongyle is so called from the roundness of its figure. This, they say, was the Seat of Aeolus. Him Pliny follows, lib. 3. Tertia Strongyle á Lipara M. Pass. ad exortum Solis vergens, in qua regnavit Aeolus, Strongyle lies a mile East of Lipara, where Aeolus reigned. It lies between S●●ily, and Italy, in the Italian Carts call●● corruptly Strombolo.  Aeolian Isle, where Aeolus dwelled,  
A floating Isle girt in a brazen Belt,  
With Walls environed of Sea-polished Stones:  
Twelve his fair Race; 
(b) Diodorus Siculus mentions not any Daughters of Aeolus, but has recorded the names of his Sons, here omitted, viz. Astyochus, Xuthus, Androcles, Pheraemen, Jocastes, and Agathyrnus.  six Daughters, and six Sons,  
He at his Court in Nuptial Rites conjoined,  
Who with their royal Parents supped, and dined,  
With various Dishes feasted to the height:  
Their perfumed Roofs all Day resound, at Night  
Sleeping on Tap'stry-Quilts, in Beds of Gold,  
Their Wives in sweet embraces they enfold.  
We to the City, and the Court repair,  
A Month with him we entertained were,  
Whilst he inquires of Troy, and our Retreat,  
Our tedious Siege, and Voyage, Irelate:  
But when I begged his Licence to departed,  
He granting gave me, sowed with wondrous Art,  
A stuffed up 
(c) It was the saying of Eratesthenes, that we should than know where Aeolus reigned, when we found out the Cobbler's name that stitched up this Bottle, in which the Winds were contained. It was his opinion, that the whole relation concerning the Cyclops, Laestrygones, Phaeacians, etc. and this of Aeclus, was merely a figment of the Poets: but they that have examined it more accuratly, do found a real History, though obscurely, intimated in the Romance. Diodorus Siculus says that Aeolus married Cyane the Daughter of Liparus, whom he succeeded in his Dominion; a Pions, Just, and Hospitable Prince; he by observing the driving of the Smoke which ascended out of the fiery Caverns, with which the Island Lipara abounds, could foretell the motion of the Winds, according to Strabo and Pliny; from whence he is feigned by the Poet to have the dominion of them. Him Virgil follows, Aeneid. I. 

— hic vesto Rex Aeolus antro  
Luctantes ventos, tempestatesque sonoras  
Imperio premit, & vinclis ac carcere fraenat.   

— here King Aeolus reigns,  
And the rebellious Winds in Prison chains.   And Dionysius in his Perieges●s, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

Great was the Grant to Aeolus assigned,  
To rule the gentle, and the boisterous Wind.    Bag, a nine years Ox's Hide,  
In which were Storms, and struggling Tempests tied.  
Empowered by Jove, the Wind's King Aeolus sways,  
Provokes their Fury, or their Wrath alleys.  
This on our Deck he bound with silver Wire,  
So that no Breath could issue, nor respire;  
And sent fair Gales to give our Vessel speed,  
But by our Folly we ourselves undid:  
Our Voyage lost, nine Days, and Nights, we steered,  
When on the Tenth, our Native Coasts appeared;  
And we, drawn near, beheld the smoke arise:  
There lulling sleep closed up my weary Eyes,  
For still I steered, nor would the Helm forsake,  
That we the sooner might our Voyage make.   

When thus one murmuring spoke; Silver, and Gold,  
This Bull-skin-Cloak-bag fartheled up must hold:  
Not meaner Present Aeolus ever made.  
'Gainst me another frowning, than inveighed;   

Ah how our Chief They prise; of what Renown  
Where  he comes, in Country, Court, or Town;  
What Pillage fell at Ilium to his share,  
When we return as poor as  we were?  
This Aeolus gave in Friendship to conjoin:  
Come let us search this Gold and Silver Mine.   

Th' unhappy Counsel takes, and they accursed  
Unlose the Bag, and forth loud Tempests burst;  
A cross-wind ploughs the Main, and with strange force  
Them weeping drove from their intended Course;  
When I awaked, alaramed from my Dream,  
Considering whether I in this extreme  
Should drown myself, or silent yet survive,  
Till Waves had swallowed me with them alive:  
But patiented I endured, and covered lay,  
Till we were driven to th' Aeolian Bay.  
Whilst their loud Sighs out-voyced the mouthing wind:  
There landing, we a Crystal Fountain found,  
And strait repast they for themselves prepare:  
When Thirst and Hunger satisfied were,  
I with a Herald and one more addressed  
Myself to Aeolus, sitting at a Feast,  
Than with his Sons, and Daughters, and fair Queen:  
All were amazed beholding us come in,  
And stopping at the Door admiring, spoke;   

What evil Spirit drove Ulysses back?  
Whence comest thou? We dismissed thee with great Care,  
That thou mightst to thy dearest Home repair.   

Than sadly I replied; Back through the Deep,  
Wronged by my Friends, and overpowr'd by Sleep,  
I am enforced once more to beg your Aid:  
I in such melting Language did persuade.  
All silent were, when th' angry King thus spoke;   

Be gone thou worst of Men, this Isle forsake,  
I must not aid, nor harbour, one whom Fate,  
And all the Court of Just Celestials hate:  
In an ill Hour thou hither cam'st, Departed.  
Thus he Dismissed me with a broken Heart;  
And we from thence in sad Condition sail,  
No hopes of our Return, our Spirits fail.  
Six Days, and Nights, through briny Waves we steer,  
The seventh, to us King 
(d) King of Formiae, a City of Campania, from whom the Aeliis, a Senatorian Family in Rome were descended, and received the Surname of Lamia, as Horace testifies Carm. lib. 1. Od. 17. 

Aeli vetusto n●bilis ab Lamo,  
Quando & priores hinc Lamia's ferunt  
Denominatos, et nepotum  
Per memores genus om●e fastos.  
Autore ab illo ducis originem  
Qui Formiarum moenia dicitur  
Princeps, et innantem Mari●ae  
L●ttoribus tenuisse Lyrim;  
Laté tyrannus.   

Brave Elius from Lamus King a Stem  
Our Annals say, thy house descends from him,  
From him deriv'st thou thy Originals,  
Who first built Formiae, with such lofty Walls,  
And Lyris ruled, that washed Myrica Strands  
With Silver Waves; who there had large Commands.    Lamus Walls appear,  
And Laestrygonian Ports, where Shepherds keep  
Their Flocks by turns, and he that doth not sleep,  
Watching by Night, they double his reward;  
This looks to Sheep, Another feeds the Herd.  
The Port we enter, guarded on each side  
With jetting Rocks, within the Harbour wide  
Th' opposing Shores extend, the Passage straight,  
Winds ne'er roll here, Waves to unruly height:  
There in close order the whole Navy lay,  
And filled the Bosom of the winding Bay;  
I only road without, where fast I made  
My Vessel to a Clift, than round survaid  
Upon a Summit, but no Works I could  
Of Men, nor Beasts, or Pasturage behold,  
But rising Smoke: strait I a Herald sent,  
And two with him, along the Path they went.  
Where from the Mountains they Materials drawn:  
Antiphates Daughter at the spring they view,  
King of the 
(f) The Poet has omitted the names of the persons murdered, but Ovid has preserved one of them, Achamentdes; for thus he makes him speak; 

Missus ad hune ego sum numero comitante duorum,  
Vixque fugâ quasita salus comitique mihique:  
Tertius è ●●bis Laestrygonis impia tinxit  
Ora cruore suo—   

I, and two more to him were sent, but two,  
I and my Maté, escaped with much ado,  
The third, the Laestrygoni●ns gullet died  
With h●s own gore.   He was afterwards left on land in the Country of the Cyolops, and saved by Aentas who landed there, as Virgil writes at large in the third of his Aeneids.  Laestrygonians; to this Stream,  
Artacia styled, the Town for Water came.  
They drawing nigh inquire, who ruled that Land,  
What King, or Potentate, there bore Command,  
She with them to her Father's Palace hies;  
Where entering, they, of a prodigious size  
A Woman saw, Huge, like a Hill, they all  
Amazed stood, whilst she forsakes the Hall  
To fetch the King her Husband, whom She brought,  

(e) Descended from Lamus, and King at this time of the Laestrygones. Ovid Metamor. lib. 14. 

Ind Lami veterem Laestrygonis, inquit, in urbem  
Venimus: Antiphates terra regnabat in illa.   

From thence the ancient City we attained  
Of Lamus, where Antiphates than reigned.    Death threatening, and with dire Destruction fraught.  
Strait one he snatched, and for his Supper dressed,  
Whilst to the Fleet, affrighted, fly the rest:  
But He the Town alarms; the People heard,  
And Laestrygonians numberless appeared:  
They, not resembling Men, but Giants vast,  
Upon our Ships torn Rocks, and Mountains cast:  
Strait a sad Noise flies over the Harbours Banks  
Of dying Men of shattered Decks, and Planks,  
Which they as Fishes slew to serve their board,  
Whilst I, my Falchion drawing, cut the Cord:  
Their Oars I bid them ply their Lives to save,  
Death at their Heels: They brush the briny Wave,  
And soon our Ship the open Sea enjoyed,  
But all the rest the Laestrygons destroyed.  
Hence with sad Hearts we sail, so many lost,  
Till we at last reached the 
(g) An Island in the Hetrurian Sea, so called from Aea a Town by the Phasis, 15 miles from the Euxine Sea, from whence Circe fled thither. Apollonius in his Argonauticks, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

Stoutly from thence through breaking Waves they bore,  
And passing viewed th' Ausonian Tuscan Shore;  
Than came unto the famous Aeaean Bay,  
Where near the Shore they Anchors cast; here they  
Found Circe washing in the sea her head.   
This Island was called from her Circeius. But Pliny observes, that that which in Homer's time was an Island far remote from Italy, and in Theophrastus' age a mile distant, is now part of the Continent. Strabo says that in his time there remained the Temple of Circe, and a Goblet of Vlysses', some dark remains of this relation.   Aeaean Coast.  
There the bright Goddess dwelled, Circe the fair,  
Brother and Sister 
(h) Hesiod follows the genealogy of our Poet in his Theogonia, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

To the Sun Perseus, th' Ocean's Daughter bore  
Etes, and Circe with the golden hair.   But Diodorus Siculus lib. 5. makes Circe the daughter of Aeetas.  Aeetas and Circe were;  
Sprung from the Sun, Persa their Mother styled,  
Daughter t' Oceanus: some Stars more mild  
There put us in; there lay we to repose  
Two Days, and Nights, harras'd with Toils, and Woes:  
But the third day, I with the breaking Dawn  
Took up my Spear, my good Sword guirded on;  
Than from a Summits top survaid each where,  
If Men had been, or if some now were there;  
Thus gazed I, and about me round did look,  
At last methought I saw a rising Smoke,  
Which was from Circe's Palace in a Wood  
There long consulting with myself I stood,  
Considering what to do, what Course to take:  
My varying thoughts this Resolution make;  
My Ship first to revisit on the Shore,  
Refresh my Friends, than sand some out t' explore;  
On my Design thus walking to the Road,  
Pitying our sad Condition, some kind God  
Put from the Grove a Stag, whom Phoebus' Beams  
Enforced to water at refreshing Streams;  
At him, thus stalking on, my Spear I threw,  
Quite through his Chine the well aimed Javelin flew:  
The struck Dear falling, grovels on the Ground,  
Whilst I my Lance draw from the deadly Wound;  
The Quarry left, I Branches plucked, and hard  
With winding stretched to a sufficient Cord,  
Which on my Neck tied by the Feet I bore,  
Leaning upon my Spear, down to the shore;  
Well on my shoulder him I could not get  
With th' other hand, the Monster was so great:  
Before the Ship my heavy load I laid,  
And my Associates comforting, thus said;   

To Pluto's Court, dear Friends, we shall not yet  
Be summoned, nor to Nature pay our Debt,  
Let's now be merry, now let's eat, and drink,  
Not more of Want, nor our Misfortune think:  
There needs small invitation to a Feast,  
They all appear, nor wanted I a Guest:  
Th' admire the Stag, so fat, and fair a prize.  
When they enough had banqueted their Eyes,  
They wash their Hands, and Dinner ready get,  
Than sat we feasting, till bright Phoebus set,  
With richest Wine, with well-fed Venison store;  
And growing dark, we quartered on the Shore.  
But when the rosy-fingered Morn arose,  
I to my Friends refreshed, did thus propose;   

My fellow-sufferers, you who undergo  
With me, and bravely too, Woe heaped on Woe;  
Since we no certain 
(i) The vulgar interpretation of this place, amongst the ancient Grammarians, supposed two parts of the heavens only to be here signified, the East, and West; But Strabo has confused that opinion out of several places of our Poet, whom we have chose here to follow, Iliad 12. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or darkness is taken 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

If they to th' Sun the right hand take their flight,  
Or to the left, the seat of lasting Night.    North, nor South have found,  
Nor where th' enlightening Sun posts under Ground,  
Nor where his Rise; yet our own Interest  
Let us with Care pursue, and Cast the best.  
I saw, when I on yonder Prospect stood,  
A little Isle environed with a Wood,  
And through a shady Grove, ascending Smoke.  
This said; they tremble with fresh Terror struck,  
And to their minds the Laestrygons recall,  
And Polyphemus that huge Cannibal,  
Whilst down their Cheeks tears in a Deluge glide:  
Yet I in two my Company divide;  
Eurylochus had half, the rest I take;  
And Lots we cast, the brazen Helmet shake:  
Eurylochus the Country must explore  
With Twenty two, they weeping leave the Shore,  
And Circe's Palace found, where Lions stormed,  
And Wolves about the gates, from 
(k) In this story of Circe the Poet delivers the opinion of the ancients concerning Witches, and Enchantments, viz. that they had power to transform the bodies of men into other Animals. Herodotus writes thus of the Neuri, or Leiflanders, These may be supposed to be Wizards: for the Scythians, and those Greclans that live in Scythia, report that once a year, for some few days, they are all transformed into Wolves, and afterwards return to their own shape: They persuade not me to believe what they say; nevertheless they do both affirm it and swear to it. So Virgil in his Pharmaceutria, 

Has herbas atque haec Ponte mihi lecta venena  
Ipse dedit Moeris: nascuntur psurima Ponto.  
His ego sape lupum fieri, & se condere sylvis  
Moerin—   

For me these Herbs in Po●tus Moeris chose,  
There every powerful Drug in plenty grows  
Transformed t' a Wolf I often Moeris saw,  
Than into shady Woods himself withdraw.   Several modern examples of this nature are to be found in Bodinus, Petrus Mamorius, and Henricus Coloniensis. But Pliny, not unjustly, imputes it to the credulity of the Greeks, amongst whom there could no Lie be so impudent as to want a Witness.  Men transformed:  
These Monsters set not on them though, but Tame,  
Wagging their Tails, on fawning gently came:  
Like vaunting Hounds, who leap about their King,  
Who from a Feast doth them sweet Morsels bring:  
About them so huge Wolves, and Lions leaped:  
They frighted at the horrid Monsters, stepped  
Into the beauteous Goddess Portal, where,  
Her at her Web they sweetlysinging hear  
Notes so delicious, to a Thread so fine,  
That we may call both Song, and Web, divine.  
Polites 
(*) Hemer mentions but one of them who were transformed, Polites, but Ovid has preserved the names of two more, in whose Metamorphosis Achaemenides thus speaks; 

Sorte sumsis lecti; for'rs me fidumque ●olyten  
Eurylochumque simul, nimiique Elpenora vini.  
Bisque nevem socios Circaea ad moenia misit.   

To me Polites and Eurylochus join,  
By Lot chose, and Elpenor given to Wine,  
With eighteen more to Circe's Palace sent.    than, one whom I dear loved,  
And most esteemed, thus his Associates moved;   

Some Goddess, Sirs, within, or Woman sings,  
Plying her Loom, how the arched Pavement rings!  
Let's make Address: this said, aloud they call,  
The Gates she opening, leads into the Hall;  
They rashly following, on th' Inchantress wait,  
Eurylochus stayed, expecting some Deceit,  
Whilst she the Strangers sets in stately Chairs,  
And Cheese, Flower, Honey mixed with Wine prepares:  
Before them Bread steeped with dire Drugs she set,  
That they their Native Country might forget:  
When well th' had fed, often ebbed the sparkling Cup,  
Whisking her Wand, in Stys she pens them up,  
Transformed to grunting Swine in brisly Hair,  
Their Minds the same, so lay they weeping there,  
Whilst she brings Mast, and Acorns for their Food,  
Such as they feast on, grovelling in the Mud.  
Eurylochus fled to the Ship to tell  
What woeful Accident the rest befell,  
But could not speak one word, though feign he would,  
Grief pierced his Heart, with Tears his Eyes oreflowed:  
With these sad Symptoms, ready to expire,  
We throng about him, and the Cause inquire.  
When this account he of his Fellows makes;   

We went, renowned Ulysses, through the Brakes,  
As Thou commandedst us, until we found  
A Court of polished marble Moted round,  
There plying of her Web, as we drew near,  
A Goddess, or a Woman's Voice we hear,  
They call aloud, herself, the beauteous Queen  
Opens the Gates, and kind invites them in:  
They rashly entering, all upon her wait,  
Whilst I stood still, suspecting some Deceit,  
But strait they vanished, and appeared not more,  
Though long I stayed expecting at the Door.   

This said; I girt my Sword, and took my Bow,  
And strait commanded him the Way to show:  
But he holding my Knees strove to dissuade,  
And much lamenting, to this purpose said;   

O take not me along, but leave me here,  
Your Curiosity will cost you dear;  
For I am sure, I ne'er shall see again  
You, noble Sir, nor any of your Train:  
But let us launch with speed, fly while we may,  
Whilst we have power to scape the Evil Day.  
Thus he requested, when I thus replied;   

Stay than Eurylochus, and here abide,  
Rest and refresh thyself; but I must go,  
Invincible necessity says so.  
This said, I from my Vessel did descend,  
But as through sacred Vales my Course I bend  
Towards Circe's Court, when I was almost there,  
In's own shape Hermes did to me appear,  
A brisk young gallant with a golden Wand,  
And speaking, took me kindly by the Hand;   

Unhappy! is this place to Thee unknown,  
That thus Thou wanderest through these wilds alone?  
Thy Friends transformed to Swine, here couped in Sties  
Lie under Circe's dire Arrest; advice  
First with Thyself, comest thou their Bail to be?  
She'll stay thee sooner than thou set them free:  
But I will thee preserve, take Thou this Dose,  
And keeping safe, venture into her House:  
This all her preparations quite disarms.  
I'll tell thee where she puts her poisoning Charms,  
She'll set before Thee Bread, and Wine, in which  
Dire Compositions are that strait bewitch:  
But this will stop the working, strait it shall  
Kill the strong mixture: Come, I'll tell Thee all;  
When with her wand she offers Thee to strike,  
Thy Falchion draw, and do to her the like,  
Threatening to kill; Than daunted she'll invite  
Thee to Love sports, and pleasures of the Night:  
The Goddess not refuse, that so thou may'st  
By her gained Favour get thy Friends released:  
Than make her swear she by no other Charm,  
Shall of thy strength, and courage thee disarm.  
This said, an Herb plucked from the tender mould  
He gave me, and its Virtues did unfold:  
Sable the Root, bloomed with a silver Flower,  
Which Gods call 
(l) There were several antidotes to Enchantments known to the Ancients. Tzetzes, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Moly, Laurel, and the sea-star, have an antipathy to all manner of Magic. Dionysius reckons the Jasper amongst them, in his Periegesis, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

It brings forth Crystal, and the Jasper bright,  
Which Ghosts, and Spectrums, puts to flight.   Pliny says that no Enchantments can hurt that house to whose Posts, or Nails is affixed Stella marina dipped in the blood of a Fox. Amatus Lusitanus affirms that the herb Moly grows in the fields of Naples. Melchior Guillandinus kept one of them among the rest of his Rarities, which was brought out of Egypt, who says, that it is drawn out of the Earth by a Dog, tied to it for that purpose, who is immediately suffocated; which comes something near to what our Poet writes here. Apion the Grammarian declared publicly, that by the virtue of the herb Cynocephalia, by the Egyptians called Osyrites, he had charmed up the Ghost of Homer, to inquire of him who were his Parents, and what his Country, but that he durst not declare his answer. Pliny Nat. Hist. lib. 30.  Moly, scarce by Mortal power  
To be plucked up, but Gods can all things do:  
Thence to Olympic Turrets Hermes flew,  
I through the Grove to Circe's Palace went,  
Much troubled, doubtful what might be th' Event.  
Drawn near the House I call, the ready Queen  
Opens the Gates, and kind invites me in,  
I sadly follow, where a Chair she placed,  
And Footstool for me curiously enchased:  
A golden Goblet than with dire intent,  
Full of bewitching liquor did present:  
I ebbed the Bowl, but no effect it had,  
When with her Wand she striking me thus said;   

Go 'mongst thy Mates, and fill you nasty Sty;  
At this I draw my Sword, and at her fly,  
As her I would have slain, a loud she skreeks,  
And running in, tears trickling down her Cheeks,  
My Knees embracing thus a Suppliant spoke;  
Who art, whence comest thou, of what wondrous Stock?  
I am amazed thou art not yet transformed,  
Who e'er tastes this is to some purpose charmed:  
Thou art the first escaped that e'er did sip,  
Or let one dram o'th' Bottle pass his Lip:  
What wondrous Antidote thus steeled thy Heart?  
Sure thou'rt Ulysses' that so subtle art,  
Whom Hermes often told me I should enjoy  
Returning from the Sack of wealth Troy:  
Put up that Weapon, must we have a bout?  
In Bed, with other Arms, let's fight it out;  
There charge me home, I dare your worst of spite,  
All Duels their Love seconds, and Delight.  
To her enticing, I this answer give;   

How thy alluring words may I believe,  
And Thee embracing my Revenge decline,  
Who keep'st my friends couped up, transformed to swine?  
Thou hast some farther reach with powerful Charms  
To conquer me left naked in thy Arms:  
To venture to thy Bed I shall be loathe,  
Unless thou please to take the Stygian Oath,  
That thou hast no Design on any Score  
To injure me. This said, the Goddess swore;  
Bound with her Vow we enter the Alcove,  
There conquering Fears, and Jealousies 
(m) Hesiod in his Genealogy of the God's names two sons which Ciree bore to Ulysses, though our Poet mentions but one years stay with her, 

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〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

Circe the Sun's race to Ulysses bore Agrius, and Latinus.  
Hyginus in his Fables calls them Nausithous, and Telegonus.    with Love.   

Mean while four Maids, whose office was to keep  
The Palace clean, the Rooms to dress and sweep,  
Fall to their work, Nymph's all, who haunt the Woods,  
Fountains, and Rivers posting to the Floods.  
This o'er the Benches royal Tapestry cast,  
And bordering under with fine linen graced;  
That near the Seats covers a Silver board,  
Than jades with golden Dishes, whilst the Third  
Mixed in a guilded Vessel purest Wine,  
And makes with golden Bowls the Cupboard shine.  
The Fourth brings water, on, a Trevet sets,  
Kindling a lusty fire, the Liquor heats.  
Than near the steaming Cauldron me she placed,  
And on my Head and Shoulders water cast,  
My Body bathed, refreshed thus after Toil,  
She supples over with odoriferous Oil;  
Than on she puts my Coat, and Vestments, neat,  
Sets me a Footstool, and a silver Seat,  
Bids me fall too; but I distrust the Cates,  
Fearing they were not Food, but rather Baits.  
When Circe saw me thus demurely sit,  
Nor would of various Plenty touch one bit;   

Ulysses, said she, Why sittest thou so mute,  
Like one Forlorn, nor wilt thy Spirits recruit  
With wholesome Wine, and this our Fare though plain  
Suspectest thou still? Thou Jealous art in Vain,  
Thou knowst that I have sworn the mighty Oath.   

Than I replied; What Man would not be loathe,  
Madam, that Common sense hath, or a Soul,  
To touch these Meats, or lift that golden Bowl,  
Before he see his dear Relations freed,  
Set them at Liberty, than bid me feed:  
When They appear on than I'll boldly fall.   

This said, She takes her Wand, and leaves the Hall,  
Opens their Sties, where strait we might behold  
Huge Boars, who seemed at lest full nine years old,  
With counter Charms th' Inchantress 'noints them all;  
Strait their rough Hair, and horrid Bristles fall,  
And they their Shapes resume, more young, and fair,  
Plumper their Cheeks, their Limbs more Brawny were;  
They knowing me, by each hand grasping clung,  
Whilst with loud Joy the arched Ceiling rung.  
Than moved b'indulging pity Circe spoke;   

Now of thy Ship some care Ulysses take,  
First, draw her up, and freed from boisterous Storms,  
In neighbouring Caves thy Tackle stow, and Arms,  
Than strait return, and bring those left behind:  
All doubts, and fears, thus banished from my mind,  
Strait went I to my Vessel, where I found  
My woeful Friends in Tears and Sorrow drowned;  
As well-fed Heifers play at Prison-Base,  
About their Mother's coming home from Grass,  
Lowing they friskings, their Stalls the Wantoness eat;  
Weeping with Joy, so they about me run;  
As glad as if their Voyage they had made,  
And landed were at Home, when thus they said;   

So much we joy to see Thee now return,  
As if arrived we were, where we were born;  
But where, and how our dear Associates died,  
Ah tell us, Sir: I cheerfully replied;  
First draw our Vessel up from Winds and Waves,  
Our Arms and Tackle stow, in neighbouring Caves,  
Than follow me where you in Circe's Court,  
Shall to your Friends, and plenteous Board's resort.  
Strait all prepare, Eurylochus dismayed,  
Refused to go, and thus to stop them said;   

Ah hapless Friends have you not Woes enough,  
But you'll adventure under Circe's Roof!  
She will transform you all to savage Boars,  
Fierce Wolves, or Lions, so to guard her Doors:  
As Cyclops when Ulysses in a Brave  
With Twelve of us adventured in his Cave,  
Half perished there by his wild Plot forsooth.   

My Reason than almost orepowred my Wrath:  
Though my dear 
(n) According to Eustathius he had married Ctimene the Sister of Ulysses.  Kinsman, I without remorse  
Had left him there adecollated Coarse:  
But they with mild persuasions pressed me hard  
To leave him there, let him the Vessel guard,  
And lead us on to sacred Circe's Court.  
This said, we leave the Vessel, and the Port,  
Neither Eurylochus behind us stayed,  
But fearing my Displeasure, he obeyed.  
Those whom I left in Circe's Court, mean while  
She bathed and 'noynted with delicious Oil,  
Clothing in comely Habits, whom we found  
Set at a Feast; the arched Roofs resound.  
With joyful Tears, when they their Friends survaid  
In such a Posture, Thus than Circe said,   

Not more Renowned Ulysses now complain,  
I know your sufferings on the boisterous Main,  
And what by Men more rough, you felt a-Shore:  
Now eat, and drink, and wasted Spirits restore;  
Be as you were, when first your native Soil,  
Rough Ithaca, you left; nor your Exile  
To memory more, nor tedious Travels call,  
What e'er, be merry, and forget them all.   

Encouraged thus the Goddess I obeyed,  
And a whole year there banqueting we stayed,  
At various Dishes, and delicious Wines;  
But when the Sun had posted through twelve Signs,  
His annual Progress through the Zodiac,  
Thus than my Friends, their minds imparting, spoke;   

Your Country, Sir, 'tis now ah more than time  
To call to mind, if e'er your native Clime  
And lofty Palace you to see intent:  
This said, I to the Motion condescend.  
Than all the Day we Feasted; but when Night  
With dusky Troops had put days beams to flight,  
They to their Chambers went, and I repair  
To Circe's Lodgings: Her than finding there,  
I kneeling as an humble Suppliant, said;   

Goddess, make good the Promise thou hast made,  
Me to dismiss when willing to departed;  
And now my Friends, when e'er thou absent art,  
Importune me with Tears thy Court to leave.  
She kindly to my Suit this Answer gave;   

Renowned Ulysses, dear as if my Spouse,  
Thou shalt not longer tarry in my House  
Than thy own pleasure thee inclines, but know,  
That first thou must another Voyage go,  
Where Proserpina, and Pluto, keep their Court,  
And there to blind Tiresias Ghost resort:  
Hell's Empress gave his Shade a 
(o) The Fable of Tiresias is diversely reported by the Grecians. Callimachus says, that as he was hunting on the Mountain Helicon, he unfortunately saw Minerva the Virgin Goddess, washing herself in the Fountain Hippocrene, for which he was struck blind; But to whom she gave the gift of Prophecy while he lived, and obtained the same for him Proserpina after his death. 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

Tiresias, than a Youth, came with his Hounds  
Up steep Parnassus Heliconian grounds,  
Who thirsty went to drink, unhappy he  
Saw there, what was not fit for him to see  
When Pallas vexed, Who sent thee hither, said,  
And strait eternal night his Eyes did shade,  
Yet Thee I'll make a Prophet, far beyond  
Any before, when on the Stygian Strand  
Alone thou shall have prudence, thy pale Ghost  
Shall also honoured be of Pluto most.   The relation is different in Ovid, Hyginn●, and Didymus.  solid Mind,  
Whilst others fleet like Waves, or empty Wind.  
I felt my Heartstrings crack at what she said,  
Up sat I weeping, and so much dismayed,  
That I not longer wished to live, nor see  
Days cheering Beams, no Comfort now to me.  
But when a briny Deluge I had shed,  
And wearied grovelling postures on her Bed,  
I faintly thus; But who shall show the Way?  
Does any to the Devil go by Sea?   

Than she replied; Dear be ned so much aghast,  
Take thou no Care, only erect thy Mast,  
Unfurle thy Sails, and Boreas shall transport  
Thee, with fair Winds, to the Infernal Port.  
But when some time th' haste ploughed the foamy Brine,  
And seest a Grove sacred to Proserpina,  
Of Poplars, and of Sallowes, there abide,  
And on that Gulphy Ocean's Bosom ride,  
And walk thyself to Pluto's dismal Court,  
Where Acheron and Phlegeton consort,  
Where black Cocytus and the Stygian Wave,  
Beating the Rocks, with mingled Billows rave:   

Here when thou com'sta 
(p) Pliny takes notice, that there is not the lest footstep of Magic in the whole Iliads of Homer, but that his Odysseys consists almost of nothing else. He seems to have learned it in Egypt; for there it had its origination, from thence carried into Cha●daea, and afterwards into Persia: where it flourished, 6000 years before the Death of Plato, according to Eudoxus, and Aristotle, no credulous Authors; before the Trojan War, 5000 according to Hermippus. Ostanes the Magician, accompanying Xerxes in his Expedition against Greece, sowed the seeds of this portentous art; And it is certain. saith Pliny, that ●e not only kindled a desire of this Art in the Grecians, but made them mad after it. Aeschylus, who lived at that time, raises the Ghost of Darius in his Tragedy called, The Persians': there he delivers the preceding Sacrifice very agreeable to this of our Poet's, I suppose taken from thence, thus, 

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〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

Milk of a Virgin Heifer bring with thee,  
And Honey clear dropped from the Bee,  
A maiden Fountains Crystal tears, and next  
With drink of an old Vine unmixed,  
And of the golden Olive-tree the fruit,  
Whose branches still with Summer suit,  
And folded Flowers, the beaxteous birth  
Of the all-producing Earth.   
There follows also the Hymn with which the Ghost is evocated, but too large to be here transcribed.   Hole dig deep and wide,  
Than a Libation, for the Dead provide,  
With Honey, and Wine, cast water in, and mix  
Pure flour, imploring wafted Souls o'er Styx:  
But when thou shalt to Ithaca return,  
With richer Presents, a  Heifer burn;  
Yet with a Ram Tiresias Ghost invoke,  
A black Ram, King, and Father of the Flock:  
But after thou hast prayed to the Renowned  
Nations of Pale Shades wand'ring under Ground,  
A Ram, and black Ewe, sacrifice to them,  
And backwards go to the Infernal Stream;  
There wander many Souls of those are dead:  
Than call on those attend thee, and with speed  
Command them flay those slaughtered Sheep lie there,  
And their Skins burning make a zealous prayer  
To Pluto, and fair Proserpina: but sit  
Thou with thy Falchion drawn there, not permit  
The pressing shadows of pale Ghosts draw near  
To taste sweet blood  thou Tiresia hear,  
Who strait appearing than will thee instruct,  
How Home thy Ship in safety to conduct.   

Now risen Aurora in her golden Throne,  
When Circe put my Vest, and Habit, on;  
She a White Gown girds round her slender Waste  
With a bright Zone, her Brows a Fillet graced.  
Than went I forth, thus calling One by One;   

Not more now sleep indulge, Let us be gone,  
Circe consents. All muster in a Thought,  
And them I of in Health, and Safety brought,  
Except Elpenor, who the youngest there  
Had little Courage, and as little Care;  
Who lying by himself, after a Cup,  
In sweet Repose, suddenly starting Up,  
Hearing the Noise of those who ready were,  
Hardly awake dropped backwards o'er the Stair,  
And broke his Neck: when to the rest I spoke;   

We must dear Friends another Voyage make  
 we unto our Native Country sail;  
Circe commands me, and I must not fail:  
To Pluto, and dire Proserpina, we must,  
There to consult Theban Tiresias Dust.   

This broke their Hearts hearing me thus declare,  
And weeping down they sat, and tore their Hair.  
But Grief ne'er Voyage helped, no time let slip,  
Down we lamenting go unto our Ship.  
Mean while fair Circe to our Vessel came,  
Leaving a Black-Ewe bound up with a Ram,  
Unseen of any: What Celestial would,  
That their Addresses Mortals should behold?    

 scene from book 11 
Honoratis●imce Dominoe D oe Marice Gandish Tabulam hanc LMDDDIO Lib jj Foyes j55    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE ELEVENTH BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

Ulysses sails to the Infernal Coast.  
A Stygian Sacrifice, Tiresias Ghost  
First warm blood drinks, and thence directs him Home.  
Male, Female shades about him thronging come,  
Their Stories tell; Souls tortured; Gorgon's Head  
Fearing to see, he hasts to Sea, and fled.   

SOON as we reached the strand, we launch our Ship,  
Erect our Mast, and hoist our Sails a-trip,  
Aboard the  putting, we deplore  
Our sad Misfortune, and forsake the Shore:  
When Circe sent us strait our promised Gale,  
A Constant Friend impregnating the Sail.  
Whilst we our stations keep, and banks designed,  
Trusting the Steersman, and so fair a Wind,  
All Day we went till Night her Flag unfurled  
Spreading her sable Ensign o'er the World,  
And Waves, we to the Ocean's Confines ploughed.  

(a) The Cimmerians were a miserable people, inhabiting the Schythian Bosporus, living incaved in the rocks, the air ever dull and obscure by reason of the distant Sun, and high hanging Mountains, whence sprung the Proverb of Cimmerian darkness. These our Poet has transported into the furthermost Northern parts bordering on the Ocean, and fitly out of relation to their obscure mansions made them the inhabitants of those parts where the descent is into the dark regions of Hell: perhaps out of a Poetical revenge; for Strabo observes that those Barbarians had made an inroad into Aeolit, and jonia, the Country of Homer, about that time. From hence Ovid feigns the Mansion of Sleep among the Cimmerians; 

Est prope Cimmerios longo spelunca recessu  
Mons cavus, ignavi domus & penetralia Somni,  
Quo nunquam radiis oriens, mediusve, caden●ve  
Phoebus adire potest; nebula caligine mixtae  
Exhalantur humo dubiae crepuscula lucis   

Near the Cimmerians lurks a Cave, in steep  
And hollow Hills, the Mansion of dull Sleep:  
Nor seen by Phoebus when he mounts the Skies,  
At height, nor stooping; gloomy mists arise  
From humid earth, which still a twilight make.    Cimmerians here, absconded with a Cloud,  
And gloomy Mists reside, which not the Sun  
With piercing Rays could dissipate at Noon;  
Nor rising, nor when He arched Heaven forsakes,  
But still hung round, in everlasting Blacks.  
Arriving here, our Vessel we put in,  
Our  eased, than launched to Sea again,  
And to that Coast Circe directed boar;  
Eurylochus there, and Perimed, a shore  
The Offerings brought, I drawing from my side  
My Falchion, digged a Pit four Cubits wide:  
Than round about I emptied brimming Bowls,  
Libations to all departed Souls.  
First Wine, and Honey, next pure Wine I pour,  
And Water after, mixed with finest Flour;  
Than all the Nations haunt the Stygian shore,  
With franck-Libations humbly I implore,  
Assuring Them, at my returning Home,  
A Virgin Heifer, and a Hecatomb.  
But with a Ram Tiresias I invoke,  
A Black one, King, and Father of the Flock.  
Than o'er the Pit the Sacrifice I slew;  
Warm 
(b) That this Magical art of evocating the infernal Ghosts, was in use anciently among the Grecians, and in repute, we have already shown: we shall only now take notice of the means they used to raise them: among which, there was constantly effusion of blood. Ovid. in his Metamorphosis, l. 7. 

Haud procul egestâ scrobibus tellure duabus  
Sacra facit, cultro●que in vellera gutturis atri  
Conjicit, & patulas perfundit sanguine fossas, etc.  
Out of the Earth Aeetia two Pits  
Than forthwith digs; and sacrificing slits  
The throats of Black-fleeced Rams: with reeking Blood  
The Ditches filled, and pours thereon a Flood  
Of Honey and new Milk, from turn'd-up Bowls.   

Papinius Statius in the fourth Book of his Thebais,  
Principio largos novies tellure cavata  
Inclinat Bacchi latices, et munera verni  
Lactic, et Act●os imbres, suadumque cruorem;  
Manibus aggeritur quantum capit arida tellus,  
First in the Trench she pours in Wine, and next  
With flowing Bowls, Milk, blood, and Hony mixed.  
So much she pours into the dig'd-up holes,  
As they contained, an Offering to all-Souls.   
But what Credit the more judicious gave to this Black-art, may be seen in these words of Pli● in his Natural History Amid these manifold vices whereunto the Emperor Nero had betaken, and sold himself, a principal desire he had to have the Gods (forsooth) and familiar Spirits at his Command: thinking that if he could once have obtained to that, he had than climbed up to the highest point of Magnanimity. Never was there man that studied harder, and followed any art more earnestly, than he did Magic. Richeses he had enough under his hands, and power he wanted not to execute what he would; yet he gave it over in the end without effect: an undoubted, and peremptory Argument to cenvince the vanity of this Art, when such an one as Nero forsook it.   blood gushed forth, and round pale shadows drew:  
There Boys, and Girls, and Old Folks I discerned,  
And Infants still with Trifling Griefs concerned;  
And Valiant Heroes, slain in Battle, viewed,  
Their Arms Transpieced, with recent Blood embrued.  
About the Pit They throng, when doleful Cries  
Elsewhere I heard, pale Fear did me surprise.  
Than Those attended on me strait I bade  
To flay the  which They slaughtered had,  
And throw in flames, to prospero my Design,  
Imploring Pluto, and fair Proserpina:  
But I with drawn Sword sat, nor would permit  
Shades for Blood thirsting, once to touch the Pit,  
Until Tiresias I consulted had:  
When first drew near Elpenor's woeful shade,  
Whom uninterred we left in Circe's Court,  
His Rites neglecting, hastening to the Port.  
I weeping, thus to poor Elpenor said;   

Cam'st thou a Foot unto this dismal shade  
Sooner than I could here at Anchor ride?  
To me his state deploring, he replied;   

Renowned Ulysses, this unhappy Soul,  
My sad Fate hither sent, and th' other Bowl  
In Circe's Court; I starting from my Bed,  
Going down the Ladder with a giddy Head  
Dropped backward over, my Neck broke as I fell,  
There lay my Corpse, my shadow flew to Hell.  
By those far distant are I Thee require,  
By thy dear Wife, thy Son, and aged Sire,  
Since well I know Thou with a leading Gale  
Must back to the Aeaean Confines sail,  
There I conjure Thee me to mind recall,  
Nor leave me there without a 
(c) For it was the opinion of the Grecians that the Soul was not received into the place of its repose, before the body obtained its funeral Solemnities, as hath been already observed.  Funeral,  
Jest Thou incense some of the powers Divine:  
With me my arms burn, and what e'er was mine,  
My Tomb upon the Ocean's margins rear,  
That aftertimes of my sad Fate may hear;  
And fix upon it my 
(d) It was an ancient Custom to leave some memory of the life of the deceased upon the Tomb: Archimedes, an eminent Mathematician, had a Sphere and Cylinder inscribed upon his Sepulchral Stone, of which he had written such excellent Speculations in his life time. Virgil, of Misenus. 

At prius Aeneas ingenti mole sepulchrum  
Imponit, suaque arma viro, remumque tubamque,  
Monte sub acrio, qui nunc Misenus ab illo.   

But Prince Aeneas a huge Tomb did raise  
On which his Arms, his Oar, and Trumpet lays  
Under a mighty Hill, which now they call  
From him Misenus, and for ever shall.    Sepulcharal Oar,  
With which so often I tugged from Shore to Shore:   

These his Requests I answered thus; Thy Will,  
Ah hapless Wretch! I'll punctually fulfil:  
Thus sitting we each others Fate deplored,  
Whilst o'er the Blood I flourished my Sword.  
On th' other side Elpenor muttering stayed;  
When strait appeared my Mother's woeful shade,  
Autolychus Daughter, Autoclea, whom  
I left alive, sailing for Ilium.  
Her I beholding wept, and pitied much,  
But would not suffer sacred Blood to touch  
Before Tiresias came, whose honoured Shade,  
Appearing with a golden Sceptre, said;   

Why comest thou hither, and forsakest the Day,  
Pale Ghosts, and dismal Regions, to survey?  
Lay by thy Weapon, and the Pit forsake,  
That I warm Blood may drink, than Truth I'll speak.  
I sheathed my Sword, and drawing of, obeyed;  
Who when warm Draughts his Thirst had quenched said;   

How to sail home in safety thou'dst inquire,  
Which Jove may easy make, but Neptune's Ire,  
His 
(e) Polypheme, whose Eye Ulysses struck out with a Firebrand.  Son by thee struck blind, may much obstruct;  
Patience thy Ship, and Men, shall home conduct:  
You and your Friends must your desires contain,  
Soon as you land, (and leave the gloomy Main)  
On the 
(f) Sicily, so called from its trigonal figure, whose Ensign in the ancient Coins was three Legs triangle ways, as may be seen in Goltrius' Medagles of Sicily.  Trinacrian Isle, you'll see there run  
Herds 
(g) Of which he speaks more at large in the following Book.  consecrated to th' allseeing Sun:  
If them you spare, and thy Return regard,  
Safe shall your Voyage be, though long, and hard:  
Which if you kill, you all shall be destroyed,  
But if thou Death by Miracle dost avoid,  
In a strange Ship, all lost, Thou late may'st come,  
Where greater miseries thee attend at Home:  
There proud Corrivals revelling in thy House,  
Wasting thy Wealth, to marry with thy Spouse,  
Presenting gifts, Her courting Day, and Night,  
But thou shalt be revenged to the height;  
And after that, by subtlety or steel,  
The hast made the Suitors thy just Vengeance feel,  
Than thou must sail where thou a Nation shalt  
Found, who not knows the use of seasoning Salt,  
Nor 
(h) Tiresia very obscurely describes the Country whither Ulysses was to traveil after his return: but I found that the ancients generally interpreted it of Epirus, not far distant from Ithaca. Pausanias' in his description of Attica, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: etc. Pyrrhus being highly conceited of his strength, encountered the Carthaginians (the most experienced of all the Barbarians in the Sea, being descended from the Phoenicians) in a Naval fight, his Armada consisting only of Epirots, who, when Troy was taken, knew not the Sea, nor use of Salt, as Homer testifies. These that knew not the Sea, were ignorant of the use of Salt, according to our Poet; whence it may be conjectured that Homer knew of no other Salt, but what was made out of Sea water. The other token of their ignorance of the Sea was, that they should not know an Oar, but call it by the name of an instrument with which they winnowed Corn.  Seas e'er saw, nor Ships with painted Prores,  
Nor sails expanded, nor well polished Oars:  
And this will be the sign; when on the Way  
Thou one Incount'erst travelling that shall say,  
A Winnower he upon his shoulder hath,  
There fix thy broken Oar, and Neptune's wrath  
With a fat Ram appease, a Bull, and Boar,  
Than home returning all the Gods implore.  
Than fear not, till from Sea 
(i) According to this Prophecy is the story of Vlysses' death related by Didymus, Telegonus, the Son of Ulysses by Circe, had a Spear made by Vulcan, which was the bone of a Sea-fish called in Latin Pastinaca Marina, with which he slew his Father unknown to him. Not unlike was the Prophecy concerning the Emperor Titus; that his Death should come from the Sea, who was poisoned by a Sea Hare.  Death thee arrest,  
When thou grown old haste made thy people blest:  
These Fortunes Thee will certainly betid.  
Thus said Tiresias; and I thus replied;   

These, Heaven decrees, and ever fixed Fate,  
But say blest Prophet, and the Truth relate;  
I see my Mother's Shade, who not her Son  
Will speak to, nor so much as look upon:  
Silent she sits by sacred Blood; ah, how  
May she poor shadow her dear Offspring know!   

Than He replied; take this from me, who e'er  
Of Shades thou sufferest to the Blood draw near,  
They will to what so e'er thou asks, reply,  
Or far from thee, if thou withstand'st them, fly.   

This said, Tiresia vanished from my Sight  
To Pluto's Court, and Seats of lasting Night:  
But I that Posture kept in which I stood,  
Until my Mother tasted sacred Blood;  
Who strait her Offspring knew, and weeping, said;   

How alive cam'st Thou to this dismal Shade?  
To see Dark Kingdoms is for mortals hard,  
With mighty Rivers, and the Ocean barred;  
Which none on Foot will suffer; sure Thou hast  
Hither by Sea, through raging Billows, past.  
Wand'ring from Troy, why didst thou hither come,  
So much time spent, and hast not been at Home,  
Nor seen thy Wife, who lives as if Divorced.   

Invincible Necessity enforced  
Me, dearest Mother, to these parts, I said;  
And to consult Theban Tiresias shade.  
I ne'er reached Greece, nor touched my native Coast,  
But always wandered with Afflictions crossed,  
Since I to Troy with Agamemnon went,  
And there our time in restlest Leaguer spent:  
But dearest Mother say, and truth relate,  
How cam'st thou hither? by what cruel Fate?  
By sickness, or the Quiver bearing Maid  
Sent with her Shafts Thee to this Dismal shade?  
Next t●ll me of my Son, and Father's Fate:  
Keep they in their Possession my Estate,  
Or swallowed up by some encroaching Lord,  
Who think, I'm drowned, or perished by the Sword?  
How stands th' Affection of my dearest Spouse?  
Remains she with my Boy, and keeps my House,  
Or else become some other Prince's Bride?  
I strictly thus enquiring, she replied;   

Thy Wife keeps home, afflicting still her mind,  
And hath perpetual Grief herself designed,  
Consuming Night and Day in Tears for thee:  
Thy Goods, and House as yet in safety be:  
Telemachus in quiet governs all,  
And often makes Princely treatments in thy Hall:  
Thy Father in the Country still remains,  
And Royal Weeds, and Furniture disdains;  
In sordid Rags when Winter chills the Skies,  
He on the Hearth, as Slaves, 'mongst ashes lies:  
But when grown warm, he in his Vineyard strews  
Leaves for his Couch, there taking sad Repose,  
Mourning thy Fate till aged grown: but I  
By neither of these Casualties did die:  
Skilful Diana with her gentle Dart,  
Not, in her Progress, struck me to the Heart;  
Nor Sickness brought me to that low Estate,  
My Soul, and Body thus to separate;  
But the great Care, and Love of thee, and thine,  
Cost me my life, for I away did 
(k) The later Poets say, that out of excessive grief she strangled herself, when she heard that Ulysses was destroyed by Nauplius. Eustath.  pine.   

Stirred by Affection when she thus had said,  
I stepped in to embrace my Mother's shade:  
Thrice I attempted, and as often fail,  
She fled me like a Dream, or nimble Gale.  
Orepowred with Grief whilst thus I strove, in vain,  
Of her Unkindness thus did I complain;   

Why meetest thou not, dear Mother, my embrace,  
That here we may in this most dismal place  
A Comfort found, and in the midst of Grief  
Conjoining hands, though small, get some Relief?  
This all the Favour Proserpina bestows,  
To show thee only to augment my Woes?   

Than thus to give me ease, she seemed to strive;  
O thou th' unhappiest of all men alive!  
Hell's Queen not Thee deludes, but 'tis the sad  
Condition of all Mortals, once being dead,  
Bodies not more t' assume, when on the Pyre  
Their Corpse are Ashes turned in funeral Fire;  
When breath not more refrigerates our Hearts,  
Like a swift Dream our fleeting Soul departs:  
But haste thou to the Living, and the Light,  
And these bold stories to thy Wife recite.   

Thus we discoursed whilst Heroines drew near,  
That Wives, and Daughters of great Princes were,  
About the blood they gather, driven on  
By Proserpina, whom I than one by one  
Resolved to question, than before the Pit  
With my drawn sword, them singly I admit;  
Who after they had drank, it was their task,  
To tell me what so e'er I pleased to ask.  
First I to Tyro spoke, who answered, thus;  
I'th' eldest Daughter of 
(l) A River in the Morca descending from a ●ountain called Salmon●, which seems to have borrowed its name from Salmoneus King of that place.  Salmonius,  
Cretheus Spouse; once with 
(m) This is he who was thunderstruck by Jupiter according to Virgil in the sixth of his Aentids; because out of a desire to assume to himself divine honour, he had with Machine's, and fireworks endeavoured to imitate I hunger and Lightning. 
I saw Salmoneus as he tortured sat,  
Who Lightning could, and Thunder imitate,  
B●andishing flames he in a Chariot road,  
Through Greece in triumph honoured like a God,  
And did imitable Fire and Rain  
With Brass, and speed of horn'd-hooft Horses feign;  
But through the Clouds at him great Jove did aim  
A●● hunder-bolt pointed with piercing flame,  
Not with slight Squibs or Crackers on him fell,  
But with a Whi●l wind tumbled him to Hell.   Enipeus took,  
To whom all Rivers seem a shallow Brook:  
Sporting on margins of his pleasant Stream.  
Neptune his shape assuming, turned to him,  
Compressed her midst the Edies of the Sound,  
Like a Hill, curtained with a Billow round,  
Who there concealed lay, by a God embraced,  
Whose Virgin Zone dissolved in sleep he cast,  
When he well-pleased had all his Love-tricks played,  
He by the Hand her taking, kindly said;   

Rejoice in my Affection,  a year  
Fills up his Periods, Thou two Sons shalt bear;  
These breed up well, and now go Home, my Name  
To none disclose, Know thou I Neptune am.   

This said, He dives, and breaking Billows roar;  
To whom she Pelias, and Neleus bore,  
Jove's Champions both, Pelias himself did style  

(n) A City in Thessa●y.  jolcus Prince, the other governed 
(o) Being driven by his Brother from Jolcus; he planted a Colony here.  Pyle.  
But she to Cretheus other Children bore,  
Aeson, and Pheres, Amathon the fair.  
Next her I saw Antiopa, Asops' Race,  
Jove himself prided in her sweet embrace.  
He Zethus, and 
(p) They first lived in'a small Town ●a●l●d Eutrens, afterwards removed to Th●b●s, which they were forced to bulwark ●ound for fear of the Phlegya potent enemy's nee: hand. The Poets generally say that Amphion played so sweetly on his Harp, that the very Stones and Trees spontaneously followed it to the building of the Walls of Thebes. Horace in his Art of Poetry. 

Dictus & Amphion Thebanae conditor Vrbis  
Saxa movere sons testudinis, & prece blanda  
Ducere quo v●llet—   

Amphion, who built Thebes made stones advance,  
As they report, and to his Music dance  
And lead them where he pleased with moving Strains.   By which they signified that he by the sweetness of his discourse, and carriage had mollified the more fierce and barbarous people, and persuaded them to a Politic Society.  Amphion had by Her,  
Who with seven Gates the Walls of Thebes did rear,  
And fortified with Bulwarks round about,  
Although the people were both strong, and stout.  
I saw Amphitryo's Spouse, Alcmene, there,  
Whom Jove impregnating, Alcides' bore;  
And Creon's daughter, I Megara spied,  
Who had been stout Amphitryo's Of-spring's Bride.  
I Oedipus Mother Epicasta saw,  
She spoused her Son, 'gainst Nature, and all Law:  
He kills his 
(r) Laius, being informed by the Oracle of Apollo that he should be slain by his own Son, caused Oedipus, as soon as he was born, to be exposed to be destroyed, either by wild Beasts, or Famine: but the Shepherds taking pity on him, caused him to be educated: who being arrived to maturity of age went to Thebes to inquire after his Father, whom he met by the way; and in a quarrel, being ignorant who it was, slew him: and afterwards married his Mother Epicasta (so called by Homer, by the later Poets Jocasta.) This story was the subject of two Tragedies of Sophocles.  Father, and his Mother Weds,  
Fame of th' incestuous Marriage each where spreads:  
He in sad Posture o'er the Thebans reigned,  
His Conscience touched, his Reputation stained:  
She with a Cord, and lofty Beam, her Fates  
And Grief concluding, entered Pluto's Gates:  
But Him she left 'midst sorrows uncontrol'd,  
And all the Woes a Mother's Furies could.  
Next, I fair Chloris saw, whom Neleus Wed,  
Paying dearly for th' enjoyments of her Bed,  
Amphion's daughter, who Orchomen swayed,  
Whom Minyos, and sandy Pile obeyed,  
To him she Nestor, Chromius, Pericles bore,  
And beauteous Pero, one so wondrous fair:  
Whom all the neighbouring Princes came to Woe;  
But He not her on any would bestow,  
Can not to him 
(s) This story of Neleus, and Pero, is very obscurely delivered by our Poet, which was this: Iphiclus had seized upon the goods of Tyro, the Mother of Neleus, among which were many beautiful Oxen, which Neleus afterwards demanded of him, but could not obtain them. His daughter Pero, being a Lady of great beauty, was courted by all the neighbouring Princes, but he refused to espouse her to any one, unless he could recover those Oxen detained by Iphiclus. Bias persuades his brother Melampus, a Prophet, to undertake the business for him, who in the enterprise was taken; and imprisoned; but after some durance there, having discovered to Iphiclus how he might have children by his Wife, who had till than been barren, received the Oxen for his reward.  Iphiclus  drive;  
Which once a Prophet promised to contrive;  
But him a woeful Fate, a cruel Chain,  
And Rustics more unmerciful detain:  
But when the ever circumvolving Sphere,  
Months, Days, and Hours had wound up in one Year,  
Than Iphiclus freed him (Jove would have it so)  
After he did, what he desired, know.  
Next, saw I Leda, Tyndarus Spouse, she bore  
Castor, and Pollux, who such Champions were:  
These by Jove's will 
(t) When Castor was slain by Lyncens, his brother Pollux petitioned Jupiter to grant him immortality: which when he could not obtain, he imparted to him an equal share of his own. Virgil Aeneid. l. 6. 

Si fratrem Pollux alterna morte red●mit,  
Itque reditque viam toties—   

If Pollux could by an alternate death  
His Brother ease, and tread so often one path.    alternate live, and die,  
This lies inhumed, whilst that ascends the Sky,  
At once they rise and set, this under ground  
Whilst that in heaven remains, with glory crowned.  
Next saw I Iphimedia, who confessed,  
Though Aloes Wife, that Neptune her compressed:  
Two Sons she bore him; Otus, and the fair  
Ephialtes, with whom none could compare  
Except Orion; both were Giants vast,  
In nine years grown, nine Cubits in the Waste,  
And nine els tall, these fell with Heaven at Odds,  
And a Rebellion raised against the Gods:  
Ossa they on Olympus strove to lay,  
Pelion on 
(u) The attempt the rebellious Giants made upon Heaven, has been the subject of whole Poems: but these are distinct from them, as appears by Virgil in the 6 of his Aeneids, though some late writers do confounded them. 

Hic genus antiquum Terrae, Titania pubes.  
Fulmine dejecti fundo volvuntur in imo.  
Hic & Aloidas geminos, imneaenia vidi  
Corpora qui manibus maguum rescindere coelum  
Aggressi, superisque Jovem detruders regnis.   

Here Young Titanians be, Earth's ancient race,  
With thunder struck down to the lowest place:  
Here I the two Aloides beheld,  
Whose mighty size all Fictions far excelied;  
These, though but Mortals, stormed high Heaven, and strove  
To drive from his Celestial Kingdoms Jove.    Ossa, so to make their Way,  
Which had they been of age, and fuller growth,  
Heaven they had took, but Phoebus slew them both,  
Before the callow Down upon their Chin,  
Or marks of Manhood on their Cheeks were seen.  
Phedra, and Procris; Ariadne there,  
I Minos' Daughter spied, whom Theseus bore  
From her own Crete towards Athens fertile Soil,  
But could not her obtain in 
(x) An Island near unto Crete: but the Expositors generally take it to be the Isle Naxus, anciently called Dia, as Pliny testifies. Here Phadra died suddenly (for that the Poet means by her being slain by Diana) in her passage to Athens.  Dia's Isle:  
Diana her with Virgin Darts did kill,  
Since Bacchus charged her with th' attainting Bill.  
I Mera, Clymen saw, Eriphyla,  
Who her dear Husband did for gold betray.  
Their names, nor Character I can't recite  
Of all those Ladies in a Winter's Night.  
But since for my Return you take such Care,  
Grown late let me down to your Ship repair.   

This said, all silent sat, extremely took  
With this Discourse, when thus Arete spoke;   

His Person and his Mind you may compare,  
And though our Guest, yet you the Honour share  
In his Acquaintance; therefore if you please,  
Sand him not home with trifles, such as these,  
Dispatched in haste, since you in your Abodes  
Have richeses store by favour of the Gods.  
This said, the eldest of the Princes there,  
Echenius, his Judgement did declare;   

Not fond, nor with Fancy indigest,  
The Prudent Queen hath now herself expressed;  
Fellow her Counsel, and the King obey,  
Do as he doth, and say as he shall say.   

Than thus Alcinous answered; Let it be,  
And what you have propounded I'll Decree.  
If I'm your King, and you my People sway,  
Our Guest with us shall till to morrow stay,  
Though he'd be gone, till we a Present make,  
Fit for Us to bestow, and Him to take.  
Than Home dispatch him with all special Care,  
Of which, your King the greatest part shall share.   

When thus Ulysses did his Mind impart;  
Thou who the glory of thy People art,  
Shouldst thou command me here a Year remain,  
Rich gifts receiving, sure I'll not complain;  
I rather would, and better much for me,  
With Coffers full my Native Country see,  
Than they would all me love, and honour more,  
Subjects contemn their Princes when grown Poor.   

When thus renowned Alcinous replies;  
We not on Thee, as one that carries Lies,  
Ulysses, look, though there be many such,  
Who wand'ring tell what scarce endures the Touch,  
And are believed, but you your Story cloth  
In Language that speaks Truth, and Music both;  
For with that Emphasis Thou dost relate  
The Grecians Fortune, and Thy own sad Fate.  
But pray go on, saw you not any there,  
Who in the Trojan Leaguer slaughtered were:  
'Tis early yet, and tedious is the Night,  
Moore of the wondrous Passages recite;  
I could with Patience hear Thee till the Dawn,  
Than with Thy own sad story pray go on.   

Ulysses than replied; Thou, who as far  
Outshines thy People, as the Sun a Star,  
Times for Discourses are, time to forbear;  
But if that you desire the rest to hear,  
I should be much unwilling to deny;  
Therefore our miserable Misfortunes I  
Shall reckon up, and who escaped the Main,  
And Trojan Wars, were by th' 
(y) Clytaemnestra, the Wife of Agamemnon; but others understand it either of Helena, or Cassandra.  Adultress slain.  
Soon as the Female shades dispersed were,  
The Ghost of Agamemnon did appear,  
And others thronged about me of his Train,  
That by Aegisthus in his Court were slain:  
Soon as He blood had tasted, me he knows,  
When from his Eyes a briny River flows,  
And forth he kindly stretched to me his Hands,  
Which Neruless failed, nor answered such commands;  
I, as I saw him, wept, and much dismayed,  
Pitying our Valiant General, thus said;   

Renowned Agamemnon, ah! what Fate  
Brought thee to this Condition, this sad State?  
Was it by Neptune, He who curbs the Main,  
And checks like gentle Gales a Heurican?  
Or by Profane at th' Altars lost your Lives?  
Or fight for your Country, and your Wives?  
Thus questioned I, and thus the shade replies;   

Renowned Ulysses, Laertiades,  
Neptune not me subdued, who curbs the Main,  
And checks at pleasure a fierce Heurican,  
Nor fight for my Country lost my Life,  
But sly Aegysthus, and my cruel Wife,  
Inviting to a Banquet, on they fall,  
And slew me like a Bullock at the Stall.  
And my Attendants, full of Cates, and Wine,  
Together slaughtered, fell like fatted Swine,  
For some great Person that keeps solemn Feasts,  
Or else at Nuptials highly treats his Guests.  
Thou often hasts great Execution seen,  
In many Fights and bloody Battles been;  
This hadst thou seen thou wouldst have fetched a gron;  
Cups, Goblets lay, and Tables overthrown,  
The marble Pavement all with gore besmeared;  
I Priamus Daughter, poor Cassandra heard,  
Whom near me cruel Clytaemnestra slew,  
Dying my hands upon my Sword I threw,  
Whilst my stern Wife from me, disdaining flies,  
Nor would in Death's Convulsions close my Eyes.  
What can more odious be, what more abhorred,  
Than she that plots the Murder of her Lord?  
I thought glad welcome to have found at Home,  
T' have seen my Children, Friends, and Servants, come  
Thronging about me, but this Crime will blast,  
And an Aspersion on all Women cast.  
To Atreus' Offspring, I replying, said;   

Great Mischiefs Jove by treacherous Wives has laid:  
Many for Helen were in Battle slain,  
But thou by Clytaemnestra's subtle Train.  
This said, He gave me this short Reparty;  
Ah, never, never too Uxorious be,  
Nor to thy Wife thy Secrets  reveal,  
Feed her with Tales, but thy Concern conceal:  
But yet Thy Spouse, Ulysses, I except,  
She hath a Breast, where Counsels may be kept.  
We left her newly married, going to War,  
She her dear Offspring at her Bosom bore;  
Who now grown Man, 'mongst Princes takes his place,  
Whom Thou shalt see, and be in thy embrace:  
But my fine Wife, my Son not let me see,  
 she presented my own Tragedy.  
Yet one thing I'll advice thee, which thou must  
Lock in thy Bosom up; No Woman trust:  
Surprise her Unexpected, that you may  
e'er looked for land in your own Ithaca.  
But now be pleased, me some Account to give;  
Hearest Thou if still my dear Orestes live  
With Menelaus in the Spartan Soil?  
Or else at 
(a) A City in Boeotia, which according to Eustathius was an Asylum, and therefore a proper place of refuge for Orestes. It was also a place of great strength, where the neighbouring Cities deposited their Treasures for security. Strabo.  Orchomen, or sandy 
(b) The seat of Nestor 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the great lover of Agamemnon, who he thought might entertain his Son in his Exile.  Pyle?  
For yet he musters not among the Dead.  
Thus He enquired, and I, replying, said;   

Why ask'st thou me, I no account can make,  
What happened him, nor will on hear-say speak.  
Thus in sad Language, sadly we discoursed,  
And mutual Sorrows, 
(c) Though it might not unjustly be supposed that there is nothing further meant here than the reasonable suspicion of Achilles, yet it appears that the true story of Pelens is here delivered: for he was deposed from his Crown by Acastus, but afterwards restored to it again by his Grandchild Neoptolemus, (or Pyrrhus) according to D●ctys Cretensis lib. 6.  Tears on Tears enforced,  
When up to me Achilles' shadow drew,  
Antylochus, and pale Patroclus too,  
And Ajax, who in person all excelled,  
Unless Pelides, the unparallelled;  
Who knew me strait, and thus lamenting, said;   

Why comes Ulysses to th' infernal shade?  
Ah, what misfortune brought thee to these Coasts,  
'Mongst fleeting shades, and miserable Ghosts?   

Than I replied; O thou, greatest in Fame  
Of all the Greeks, I to Tirefia came  
Consulting him to know, how best I may,  
A Passage gain to my own Ithaca:  
I ne'er found Greece, nor reached my Native Soil,  
But always wand'ring through a World of Toil;  
But no Age did or shall produce one more  
Happy than you, whom we did all adore,  
Like the Gods living; nor needest thou complain,  
Who after Death in dismal shades dost reign.  
When thus the Prince me interrupting, spoke;   

Thou of the Dead a weak Discourse dost make;  
I rather would a Rustic be, and serve  
A Swain for Hire, ready almost to starve,  
And living, be 'mongst all misfortunes hurled,  
Than Dead, an Emperor in this shady World.  
But of my Son I feign would something know,  
Came he to th' Ilian Liegure? yea, or no.  
Of my dear Father's Fortunes something say,  
If yet the Myrmidons his power obey,  
Or have they shook his Sceptre of, and hold  
Unfit to govern, now grown Weak and Old.  
I am not now as when I fought at Troy,  
And Regiments could in my Rage destroy.  
Ah! would I were at Home a while, his Crown  
I should restore, and beaten proud Rebels down.  
Than what I knew, I thus to him declared;   

I of thy Father Peleus have not heard,  
But I of Pyrrhus shall such truths recount,  
That Miracles, and Fiction far surmount.  
Him I attended from the 
(d) An Island not far distant from the Coasts of Thessaly, where Pyrrhus was born, and educated with Lycomedes, a Kinsman of Achilles'. So Sophocles and Strabo. They err who take Scyros for an inland Town of the Dolopes in Thessaly.  Scyrian Coast,  
In a stout Vessel to the Graecian Host,  
And him unto our Counsel did admit,  
Where well he spoke, and showed his forward Wit.  
Nestor and I could seldom Him confute:  
And when drawn forth, we were in hot Dispute,  
He lagged not 'midst the Ranks, but forth alone  
Still charged the Trojans, giving place to none.  
He many Heroes slew in bloody Fight;  
I cannot them, nor all their Names recite,  
Which did his Sword with reeking blood imbrue:  
But first renowned Eurypylus he slew,  
Round whom fell many 
(e) Strabo says, that in these Verses the poet has left a Riddle behind him, not a History: for I found no mention of any people called Cetians, or any account of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Indeed this place has been Crux Grammaticorum. We shall only say thus much of it; that though the name of the people were lost, yet there remained some footsteps of it in those parts from whence Eurypylus came, the brook Cetium, which probably took its name from them. As for the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Dictys Cre●ensis s●ies that Priam had promised Eurypylus, as a reward of his assistance, his Daughter Cassandra in marriage, with the golden Vine Jupiter had pre●ented to the Kings of Troy when he took away the beautiful Ganymed.  Cetians in that Strife,  
And all forsooth, about a promised Wife.  
Memnon in shape did only him exceed;  
But when we entered that stupendious Steed  
Epeus built, where I Commission had  
To govern in that dismal Ambuscade,  
There our Greek Princes wept, and trembling sat;  
But Pyrrhus ne'er grew pale, nor moved one jot,  
Nor dropped one Tear, but much he me implored  
To let him forth, still brandishing his Sword,  
He with his Spear alone would Troy attaque.  
But when we Priam's wealth Town did sack,  
He went to Sea, and did great Booty share,  
Safe, without harm, as happens often in War,  
Although engaged amidst their stoutest Foes.   

Achilles' Ghost, this said, thence marching goes  
Proudly with joy through flowery Meadows, on,  
Informed by me he had so brave a Son.   

Than other shades drew near me, and relate  
Their various stories, and unhappy Fate.  
But Ajax woeful Ghost far of, alone  
Still raging stood, vexed I had him o'erthrown,  
When for Achilles' Arms we pleaded so,  
Which were judged mine by 
(f) When all the funeral Solemnities were over, Thetis offers the arms of Achilles to be disposed of to him that best merited them. So Quintus Smyrnaus, following the steps of our Poet, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
HE 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc.   

In her Sky-coloured ' Veil than Thetis speaks,  
I amenting for Achilles to the Greeks;  
N●w since the gifts are thus disposed all,  
Ordered by me for my Son's Funeral.  
Let him appear brought of the Corpse, and he,  
As valiantest, shall take these Arms from me.    Pallas and the 
(g) But according to Ovid this controversy was decided by the Commanders of the Crecian Army. 

A see Tantalides onus invidiamque removit.  
Argolicae que duces mediis consistere casi vis  
Jussit, & arbitrium litis trajecit in ●mnes.   

Atrides, to avoid the hate of these,  
The Princes bids to sit before his Tent,  
And puts the strife on their Arbitrement.    Fo.  
Ah! would I had been conquered in that Strife,  
Rather than such a Hero loose his Life,  
Who next to great Achilles wert the Flower  
Of all the Greeks, their Champion, and their Tower.  
To whom I mildly said; Ajax, 'tis fit  
That after Death old Quarrels we forget,  
Arms so destructive, forged by angry Fate,  
To ruin Thee, and raise such dire Debate.  
For thee the Camp did put on Mourning all,  
And wept, as at Achilles' Funeral.  
The blame must lie on Jove, who us did hate,  
And so imposed on Thee this heavy Fate.  
Draw near great Prince, and swelling wrath alloy,  
And hear what I in my Defence can say.   

He not replied, but mixed 'mongst other Souls,  
Seeming to blow up yet revenging Coals▪  
But I more earnest grew, inquisitive,  
With others to discourse were not alive.  
When I saw Minos, Jove's illustrious Son,  
With golden Sceptre, sitting on a Throne  
Where he heard Causes, and pale Spirits pled  
Their Privilege, and Customs of the Dead:  
And next Orion hunting o'er the Plain,  
Beasts which in desert Mountains he had slain,  
Armed with a Club massy with steel, and strong.  

(h) Pausanias, in his travails through Phocis, says that at Panopeus a C●ty of that Country, he saw the Sepulchre of Tityus, which contained two furlongs of ground, and something more, which was, as he conjectures, the origination of this Fable.  Tityus I saw lie there nine ackers long:  
Stern Vultures on his mangled Bosom perch,  
And tired on's Liver his torn Bowels search;  
Nor could he drive the Torturors from their Prey,  
Because Jove's Wife Latona on her way  
To 
(i) 'Tis to be observed from hence, that Latona was Precedent of the Oracle at Pytho, (or Delphos) as well as her Son Phoebus, f●om whom he seems to have received it: although Aeschylus says that the Mother o● Latona, Phoebe, delivered it him, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

The third there Phoebe sat, brought forth  
To Titan by the ●●eming Earth,  
Who gave to Phoebus, at they fame,  
At birth a present, and her Name.   For otherwise I understand not her journey thither. She seems to have come from Delos into Boeotia; (for so is Phoebus' journey thither described) from whence in the way to Phocis lay the City Panopeus, in a Straight mentioned here by Homer, whom the King of the place, Tityus, attempted to ravish in her Passage.  Pytho, near sweet Panopeas' side  
He would have forced. Next Tantalus I spied  
Suffering a horrid torment, standing in  
A pleasant River close up to his Chin,  
Who thirsty, often as he desired to drink,  
Dry Sands appear, and swelling Billows shrink  
Beneath his Feet, forced by some angry God,  
About his Head, Trees which rich fruit did load,  
Pears, Apples, Figs, and Olives, in a throng,  
Their various kinds in dangling clusters hung.  
Often as th' Old Man strove, one of them to catch,  
A Wind concealed, or blew out of his reach.  
There Sisyphus I cast my Eye upon,  
In cruel torture lugging a huge Stone,  
Struggling with all his strength, his Hands, and Feet,  
Up a steep Hill endeavouring to get;  
But soon as he attains the Mountain's Crown,  
It, with a Vengeance hurried, tumbles down:  
Than from the Plain his task he doth repeat,  
Smoke hides his Head, all over in a Sweat.  
Next him I saw the great Herculean Shade,  
But he himself in Heaven Jove's Daughter had,  
Bright Hebe, and now feasts 'mongst Deities:  
About him Ghosts now clamoured, like the Cries  
Of frighted Fowl; He like the Night marched on,  
His Bow bend, to the Head his Arrow drawn,  
Frowning, as if his Shafts he would have dealt,  
Athwart his Shoulders hung his golden Belt;  
Which Lions, Bears, Battles, and slaughter fill,  
The like was never wrought, nor ever william.  
He knew me strait, and having well survaid  
The gentle shadow, pitying me, thus said;   

Poor Prince Ulysses, Thou like me wert born  
The mocking stock of Fate, and Fortune's scorn.  
I, though Jove's Son, much Misery endured,  
By one much meaner than myself procured:  
'Mongst many toils which my strong Nervs did stretch  
He sent me hither, Cerberus to fetch:  
This was the greatest task he put me too,  
Yet from th' infernal Gates the Dog I drew,  
By Hermes, and the bright Minerva's Aid:  
Thus saying, he retired to the Shade.  
I firmly kept my Station to behold,  
Some ancient Heroes who had died of Old,  
Theseus, Pirithous, Sons of Gods I saw,  
Who near with Concourse, and huge Clamour draw:  
I sat surprised than with trembling fear,  
Suspecting that the 
(l) At whose sight the Spectators were struck dead. Aeschylus. 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

Near these three winged Sisters sat,  
Whose snaky tresses Mortals hate▪  
Which who ere sees concludes their Fat.    Gorgon's Head was there,  
Thence strait my Friends I called, ourselves bestirred,  
We lose our Cables, and strait got aboard:  
Placed on our Banks, we down the River glide,  
Fair Winds attending, and a nimble Tide.    

 scene from book 12 
Honorat Dom: Do● Rogoro Barony de Broghist Tabulam hanc Comiti de Orrory Regi a Sacris Consilies LMDDDIO Lib: 12    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE TWELFTH BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

Sirens: Ulysses stops his People's Ears;  
Tied to the Mast their charming Song he hears.  
Escaped Charybdis, He on Scylla fell,  
Who sweeps over six. The Sun's fat Beefs they kill,  
Than put to Sea: a Storm his Men all drowned;  
Astride his Keel Calypso's Isle he found.   

SOON as our Vessel the Lands end had cleared,  
For Circe's Isle, we to the Offine steered,  
And ploughing Waves through the broad Ocean run  
To Mansions of the Day and rising Sun:  
Our Voyage finished, strait on softer Sand  
We bed our Ship, and nimbly leap to Land;  
Where on the plushy Margins we repose.  
Soon as the rosy-fingered Morn arose,  
A Party I to Circe's Palace sand,  
That down might poor Elpenor's Corpse attend:  
Wood strait being cut, his Funeral Pyle we rear,  
At the sad Office shedding many a Tear:  
Soon as his Corpse and Arms consumed were,  
On a raised Hillock we a Column rear,  
And over that fixed his Sepulchral Oar,  
Finished his Rites. But Circe knew before  
We had our Voyage made, down in a thought  
She, with her Virgin Train attended, brought  
Store of fresh Viands, Wine, and purest Bread,  
And cheerfully amidst them standing, said;   

You living entered the dark Court of Dis,  
All else but once, you Dead will enter twice;  
Now eat and drink rich Wine, feast this whole Day,  
And with the early Dawn you shall away,  
And I will so direct you, so instruct,  
That shall through Sea and Land you safe conduct,  
Unless your evil Counsels you dissuade:  
We take the gentle Offer that she made,  
And there sat feasting, and carousing Wine.  
But when the Sun did towards the West decline,  
They on the Decks, grown sleepy, took Repose,  
She leading me by th' hand, in private goes;  
Of all my Observations than inquires;  
I satisfaction gave to Her Desires.   

Than she replied; You have performed your Part,  
But what thou now hearest, Cabin in thy Heart.   

First thou the Sirens shalt discover, which  
All Comers with enticing Notes bewitch:  
Who their sweet Voices hear, remind no more  
Their Wives, their Children, nor their Native Shore:  
In Meadows chanting, they 'mongst dead men's Bones  
Crown rotten Skins, and heap up Skeletons.  
But when thou sailest by them, look that There  
Thy Followers Ears Thou stop, that none may hear,  
With yielding Wax: but if Thou hast a mind  
To hear enchanting Ditties, let them bind  
Thee Hand and Foot, and with strong Cordage fast  
About Thy middle tie unto the Mast:  
So thou mayst hear the 
(a) The Sirens were Queens of those Islands, which be in the bay of Pestano, not far distant from Capri, who held many places on the neighbouring Continent, especially the Promontory of Minerva; so called, because during their Reign an Academy was there erected for the propagation of Learning, which became so famous for Eloquence and all liberal Sciences, that it gave an invention to this Fable of the sweetness of Voice, and attracting Songs of the Sirens. But Archippus tells of a certain Bay contracted within winding Streights, and broken Cliffs, which by the singing of the Winds, and beating of the Billows, report a delightful harmony, alluring those who sail by to approach, when forthwith, thrown against the Rocks by the Waves, they are swallowed in the violent Eddies.  Sirens melting strains:  
But if Thou shouldst command them loose Thy Chains,  
And set Thee free, than bid them harder tie.  
But when these dire Enchanters are sailed by,  
Than thee I shall not punctually instruct  
In th' other Course Thou may'st thyself conduct,  
By little Hints, how Thou may'st found the way.   

Two lofty Rocks stand jetting to the Sea,  
Beaten with Billows groaning in their fall,  
Which Rovers the immortal Deities call;  
o'er which no Birde're flew, nor swiftest Dove  
That bears 
(b) There was a long controversy among the ancients about the sense of this place, till they agreed in the Exposition of Moero of Byzantium; who by the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 will not have Pigeons here signified, but the Pleyades. And that the Pleyades were so called by the ancientest of the Greek Poets, appears out of some Fragments preserved by Atheneus: Simonides. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  
And Aeschylus the Tragedian,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  Which because by their rising and setting they foretold to men their Harvest and Seedtime, they were feigned by the Poet to carry Provision also to the Gods.  Ambrosia to immortal Jove.  
But when a Pigeon falls upon that Rock,  
He sends another to supply the Flock.  
None ever scaped this place; who e'er drew near,  
Both Ship and Men by storms strest swallowed were.  
Only the Argo which to Aeta sailed,  
'Gainst mouthing Winds, and roaring waves, prevailed,  
And she had proved to those dire Rocks a Scoff,  
But Juno kind to Jason brought Her of.  
Here two steep Cliffs; one scales the Sky, and shrouds  
His spiry Forehead in a Shash of Clouds;  
Where, nor in Spring, nor Autumn, e'er is seen  
A gentle Season, nor the jest Serene.  
This place no Mortal e'er ascended yet,  
Nor shall, though they had twenty Hands and Feet.  
This Rock more smooth than Touch, or polished Stone,  
Hath a deep Cave that views the setting Sun,  
To which no nearer sail than one may shoot  
At Random height, and reach her Sea-washed Foot.  
Here Scylla lurks, and direly yawning yelps,  
Like a whole Litter of stern Lion's Whelps.  
This horrid Monster (not inviting sight)  
Would Mortals, nay the Gods themselves, affright.  
She Twelve misshapen feet wide splaying spreads,  
Six Necks extending, armed with horrid Heads:  
Three set of grinding Teeth her gullets guard,  
On each of them sits purple Death prepared.  
She lying in her Cave prodigious Snouts  
Shoots forth, and round the Rock for Fishes scouts,  
Dolphins, and Dogfish, she on any falls,  
And often light Breakfasts makes on mighty Whales.  
None e'er sailed by her that so well could watch,  
But from the Stern she one at lest would catch.  
Near this a lower Rock Thou shalt behold,  
Which Figtrees with their spreading Leaves enfold.  
There dire Charybdis briny Billows sups,  
Thrice disembogues, as often redrinks her Cups.  
Than come not near, for in that long-breathed Quaff,  
Neptune not with his Trident gets Thee of.  
But Thou more safety may'st near Scylla found,  
Thy Bark with full Sails, and a Favouring Wind,  
With loss of six at most, gain Passage shall,  
But this sad Monster swallows ship and all.  
Thus she advising, gently I replied;   

Best Goddess tell me how may I avoid  
This dangerous Hag, and be revenged, if she  
Should injure any that relates to me.   

Than she replied; Thou talk'st as if thou wert  
In Battles, or else storming of some Fort:  
None could revenge, e'er of immortals brag,  
She Deathless is, an everliving Hag,  
Invulnerable: you Fool yourself to try  
Your strength 'gainst hers, 'tis the best course to fly.  
Her if you'll charge she'll muster all her Power,  
And Thee, and Thy in guzzling Throats devour.  
Sail thou from thence, and Crateis implore,  
Who that accursed Monster Scylla bore;  
And she will her in all her Fury stop.  
But when at Sicily you Anchors drop,  
The Sun's seven Flocks, seven Herds, a goodly breed,  
(Fifty in each thére in fresh Pastures feed)  
These never pregnant are, nor ever die.  
Two Nymphs Phaetusa, and bright Lampety,  
Whom to the Sun divine Neaera bore  
In Sicily, and educated there,  
And Shepherdesses, ordered them to keep  
Their Father's Herds, and silver-fleeced Sheep;  
If them you spare, and your return regard,  
Your Voyage shall be safe, though long and hard;  
But if thou any of these  kill,  
Thy Ship, Thy Friends, Thy Ruin I foretell:  
And if thou scapest thyself, Thy Native Coast  
Late thou shalt reach, All thy Associates lost.   

Whilst thus she said, Aurora made Approach,  
Eastern-Hills guilding with her golden Coach:  
Thence to her Palace than the Goddess bends,  
I to my Ship; There I exhort my Friends  
To go Aboard, and Cables loose; They strait  
Entering, upon their Banks in order sat,  
Brushing the briny Spry, a prosperous Gale  
The Goddess sent, a Friend that did not fail,  
Whilst we our Stations keep, and Banks designed,  
Trusting the Helms-man, and so fair a Wind.  
When thus I told them with a heavy Heart;   

Sirs, not to one, or two, must I impart  
But unto all, what Circe doth advice;  
Which if you follow, grown by knowledge Wise,  
We shall-escape, or else are all undone.   

First, you the Sirens flowery Meads must eat,  
She us commands; Next, You must shut your Ear,  
Jest their bewitching Voices you should hear:  
But me in Cordage you must fetter fast,  
And firmly fixing, bind unto the Mast,  
Than if I beg to loose me, harder bind:  
Thus I declared to them the Goddess Mind.  
Mean while, we to the Siren's 
(e) Two small Isles between Italy and Sicily, from them called Sirenusae.  Confines sail,  
Ploughing up Billows with a handsome Gale,  
When a flat Calm smoothed o'er the glassy Deep,  
The Winds all hushed, the Ocean fell a sleep:  
They rising furl their Sails, next them safe stow  
Betwixt dry Hatches, than sit down and row.  
A mighty Ball I cut of yielding Wax  
In Pellets, which I kneading found relax  
In my warm Hands, and ready now to run,  
Helped with the radiance of the warmer Sun;  
With which their Ears I luted up; me fast  
They fettered up, and tied unto the Mast.  
Than rowed they on as far as you might hear  
One shout aloud, they hearing us, draw near:  
Impulsive Oars beating the silent Main.  
Thus they inviting me, did entertain;   

Ulysses, glory of the Greeks, draw near,  
Thy Vessel stay, and our sweet Voices hear;  
None ever past this way, and went from hence,  
 they had feasted their Auricular Sense:  
Than they departed pleased, and wiser too,  
We know what Trojans suffered, and what you,  
Which Fate in ten years' Siege on each side hurled,  
And all Transactions of the busy World.  
This Song so much transported me, that I  
Commanded strait they should my Cords untie:  
Eurylochus and Perimedes rise,  
And bind me faster; on our Vessel flies  
Till their Notes losing, I my Senses found;  
Than they their ears unstopped, and me unbound.  
This Isle thus left, I saw a hazy Smoke,  
And a swollen Sea, and heard rough Waves that broke:  
They frighted, leave their Oars, the Vessel stopped,  
Wanting th' impulse, as if w' had Anchor dropped:  
Than I bestirred myself, and did persuade,  
And kindly to encourage them thus said;   

Good skill in Danger, Friends, you well may own.  
This is not greater than when with a Stone  
Up Cyclops penned you in his dismal Cave:  
Take my Advice, this Danger too we'll wave,  
And make of it for aftertimes a Tale,  
Now mark my words; and all at once, not fail,  
Sat on your Banks with pliant Oars to sweep,  
As if one man, the surface of the Deep:  
Than if Jove please we soon shall safety found:  
But Helms-man, ho! this charge bear in thy mind,  
Because thy care the Vessel must protect;  
Without yond Smoke, and Waves, thy course direct,  
Nor too near to that Rock, jest there we hit,  
And on her skirts, hid under Water, split.  
Thus up I cheered them, and they strait obeyed,  
But I no mention of dire Scylla made,  
Jest by additional fears surprised, they  
Should slack their Oars, and hinder the ships way.  
Circe's commands, I in this Puzzle had  
Forgotten too, who me to arm forbade:  
I girt on steel, in each hand took a spear,  
And leaped up to the Prow, supposing there  
The Craggy Scylla to behold (which cost  
Me after dear, when my best Men I lost)  
But none I saw, though round my Eyes I cast;  
So onwards to the narrow Strait we passed.   

Scylla on this side briny Seas doth quaff,  
On that Charybdis drinks the Ocean of;  
Which when she Vomits up, she murmurs more  
Than Liquor, in a Cauldron boiling over,  
Laving the lofty Rocks with frothy Suds:  
But when she guzzles up the swelling Floods,  
All shakes within, Rocks thunder, and drawn near,  
The Earth beneath, and glittering Sands appear.  
This dreadful sight did much my Friends amate;  
For there they saw, expected there their Fate.  
Mean while dire Scylla six of them, unmatched  
For gallant Parts, quite o'er the Hatches snatched.  
I from the Prow beheld them, where I stood,  
Turned to psie-turvy, tumbling in the Flood,  
With Feet above, now hands; They called to me,  
Which I ready to burst with Grief did see.  
As when a Fisher standing on a Rock,  
The scaly Fry takes with his baited Hook;  
In goes the Horn, up comes the struggling Fish,  
Which panting he casts by to be his Dish;  
So up she whips them whilst they loud implore,  
With reared up Hands, and eats them at her Door.  
At Sea, and Land, 'mongst Woes unparallelled,  
This was the saddest sight I e'er beheld.  
From Scylla and Charybdis swift We fly,  
And strait unto that famous Isle drew nigh,  
Where Phoebus' fleecy Sheep, and  were,  
Whose Bleats and Bellowing out at Sea, we hear.  
Tiresia and Circe I remind,  
Who with so many Cautions me enjoined  
To wave that Coast belonging to the Sun:  
Than with sad Heart, thus I to them begun;   

Now hear me, Sirs, You who have suffered much,  
On Phoebus' Isle we must not dare to touch;  
Hence Us Tiresias bad, and Circe, fly;  
For here attends our greatest Misery,  
And utter Ruin; Steer from hence I said:  
They at these words extremely seemed dismayed,  
When roughly thus Eurylochus breaks out;   

Ulysses, You that are so strong, and stout,  
Who indefatigable will't ne'er tire,  
Thy Body Adamant, thy Sinews Wire,  
Yet suffer us, consumed with Care, and Toil,  
To sup, and sleep in this delightful Isle,  
And not all Night to lie at Sea, advice,  
When darkening Clouds, and bitter storms arise.  
What if the Winds conspire against us, must  
Thus we ourselves t' unruly Elements trust?  
Let's here refresh, and Night's good Laws obey,  
And when the Dawn appears our Anchors weigh:  
His words Th' approve, and strait cry One and All;  
Than I perceived some God contrived their Fall:  
And thus I to the Company begun;   

You may compelme, since I am but One,  
Therefore I'll swear you, sacred Vows should bind,  
If any of their Herds, or Flocks, you found,  
Not one to kill, but quietly that Meat,  
With which fair Circe-victualed us, to eat.  
This said, as I commanded them, they swore,  
Than to the bottom of the Harbour bore,  
And near a pleasant Fountain leaped to Land,  
Their Supper strait preparing on the Strand.  
When Thirst and Hunger satisfied were,  
They played a sad Game, vieing many a Tear  
For their dear Friends alive snatched from their Ship  
By Scylla, till orepowred by conquering sleep.  
But when the third part of the Night was spent,  
The Stars descending, Jove a Tempest sent,  
Which Earth and Sea with mustered Vapours shrouds,  
Hanging Heavens Arches round with sable Clouds.  
But when the rosy-fingered Morning risen,  
Our ship drawn up, we in a Cave dispose,  
In which the Nymphs their fair Recesses had,  
When thus to my Associates I said;   

Our Ship dear Friends hath yet Provision store,  
Forbear these Beefs, jest we too great a Score  
Pay to exacting Gods, they'll cost us dear;  
They are the Suns, who all doth see and hear.  
Thus I advised them, and persuaded too,  
When a whole month South and Southeast winds blue.  
So long as any Bread or Wine remained,  
So long from Sheep and Bullocks they abstained:  
And when they had all their Provision spent,  
They both a Hunting, and a Fishing, went,  
A Birding too; No means they did neglect:  
Dire Hunger much the Belly did afflict.  
Than I apart implored the Gods, that they  
Would Passage grant, nor more prolong our stay:  
Whilst thus I prayed, well sheltered from all Winds,  
Me gentle sleep in silken Fetters binds.  
Eurylochus, who still to Mischief led,  
Dear Fellow-sufferers, hear me, than said;   

All Deaths to Mortals bitter are, like Gall,  
But starving, that's the bitterest of all.  
The fattest of these Bullocks let us fell,  
And offer to the Gods in high Heaven devil;  
And when our Native Country we obtain,  
Let's promise' to the Sun a stately Fane,  
And to adorn it richly be engaged:  
But if he, for their slaughter much enraged,  
Will grant no pardon, but our Vessel bulge,  
Nor any other Gods will us indulge:  
How e'er 'mongst Waves better at once be lost,  
Than longer languish on a desert Coast.   

The Counsel takes, They all applaud th' advice,  
The primest of the  in a trice  
They fell upon, than grazing near their Ship;  
They stand about, and sacrificing, strip  
Soft oaken leaves, for they no Barley had,  
Than kill, and flea; and after they had prayed,  
They to the brawny Thighs lop'd of affix  
a double Cawl, and Lean with Fat commix;  
And Water, since they had no Wine, they threw  
On burning Altars, as Libations due.  
The Houghs consumed, They th' inwards eat, than cut  
The rest in pieces, which on Spits they put.  
When Sleep to freedom did my Sense restore,  
I hastened to my Vessel near the shore:  
But when that I drew near, the Wind from thence  
A steam brought pleasant to th' famelick sense:  
Than to the Gods I thus complained; Oh! Jove,  
And all you happy Powers that devil above,  
My People whilst I slept have done a Deed,  
A Villainy that doth all Crimes exceed.  
Lampete brought this Tidings to the S V N,  
And told him the strange mischief they had done:  
Who much incensed thus implored the Gods;   

O Jove, and all who devil in blessed Abodes,  
Revenge me on Ulysses' cursed Train,  
Who impious, have my primest  slain;  
Whose sight more pleased me in my Progress hurled,  
Than all the Pomp, and Glory of the World:  
Right me with speed, 
(f) We have already taken notice that Homer has industriously mentioned all the more abstruse Arts, and Sciences which were believed in his time, as Necromancy, Witchery, Natural Portents, and the like: so in this place he gives an instance of predictive Prodigies; in which the ancients were superstitiously credulous. When Pyrrhus King of Macedonia waged War with the Romans, in the Beast which he sacrificed, the Heart, the principle of Life, was wanting; by which the Priest foretold the ill success of that undertaking, and P●rrhus accordingly was expelled out of Italy. With the like relations the Greek and Roman History abound, collected together by Conr. I y●●sth●nes in his Book of Prodigies: we shall only take notice of those which foretold the death of C●sar, as recorded by Virgil, who enumerates two and twenty in the first of his Georgics, 

— ille (Sol) etiam coecos instare tumultus  
Saepe mon●t, fraudemque & aperta tum●s●ere bella.  
Ille etiam extincto miseratus Caesare Romam  
Cu● caput ●bscura nitidum ferrugine texit,  
Implaque ●ternam timuerunt saecul● noctem.   

Clandestine tumults he doth often foreshow,  
And open War from secret Plots to grow.  
He, pitying Rome and Caesar's funeral, spread  
A mourning Veil o'er his Illustrious Head,  
That th' impious age eternal darkness feared.  
At Sea and Land what wonders than appeared?  
Both howling Dogs and fatal Fowl presaged.  
How often we smoking Aetna saw enraged,  
Who from dire breaches the Cyclopian grounds  
With Fireballs, and a Pumice-Deluge, drown  
Germany heard from Heaven a sound of Arms,  
And the Alpss trembled at unused Alarms.  
A mighty voice in silent Groves was heard,  
And ghastly Spirits wondrous pale appeared,  
Before dark night obscuring shades did make,  
And Oxen than (who will believe it?) spoke.  
Earth gaped, swift Rivers stood, Brass Statues sweat,  
And weeping Ivory made the Temples wet.  
Eridanus, the Monarch of the Floods,  
Tears down, and drowns in violent Edies, Woods.  
Than Beasts inspected entrails threats foreshowed,  
And purple blood from Silver Fountains flowed,  
And than the populous Cities did resound  
With howling Wolves which walked their nightly round.  
From serene Sk●es it never lightened more,  
Nor such dire Comets e'er were seen before.  
Again, Philippi Roman Squadrons saw,  
With equal Arms, for dreadful Battle draw.   
The Prodigy which comes nearest to this of our Poet is that mentioned by Herodotus, the leaping and capering of dried Saltfish, as if they had been Fish newly taken; by which they on the place did conjecture, that Protes●laus, though dead, should notwithstanding revenge himself on those that murdered him.   or else these glorious Beams  
Shall gilled Hell's Mansions and the Stygian Streams.   

Than Jove replied; Thou still must Mortals light,  
And still beaten up all quarters of the Night:  
They shall with red-hot Thunderbolts be slain,  
Their Ship I'll burn i'th' middle of the Main.  
This bright Calypso did to me unfold,  
Which she assured me Hermes Her had told.  
When I drew near, I blamed them One by One,  
But found no Cure t' undo what hath been done.  
The Beasts were slaughtered by their joint-consent,  
When strait the Gods held forth a dire Ostent:  
Their Skins did (g) creep, their Flesh on Spits did low,  
And roasting, bellowed like an Ox or Cow:  
Yet six whole days my Men there feasting sat,  
Those  slaught'ring, tenderest were, and fat;  
But the seventh Morning, Jove the Wind assuaged,  
Calming cross Tempests that so long had raged:  
When strait we went aboard, we launch our Ship,  
Erect our Masts, and hoist our Sail a-trip,  
Leaving that hapless Isle: Not land now nigh,  
Nothing in Ken but the broad Sea, and Sky:  
With Tempest big, Jove musters sable Clouds,  
And with strange Darkness, Air, and Water, shrouds;  
Nor long the Clouds, imprisoned Winds contain,  
But strait breaks forth a dreadful Hurrican.  
The Whirling-gust our shrouds and tackle rends,  
Sweeps down our arms, and oars, our Mainmast spends;  
Which on the Helms-man lighting, hit so full  
Him on the Head, it shattered all his Skull,  
Down from his Seat he like a Diver sunk,  
And his Soul flying, leaves a senseless Trunk.  
Than on our Ship Jove dreadful Lightning threw,  
Which twirled her round, and up our Hatches blue,  
All places filled with Sulphur, out they leap  
Swimming, transformed to Mews about the Ship:  
A God stopped their return, but I did sit,  
Until her Keel the dreadful Tempest split,  
And from the bottom tore the broken Mast,  
Which, belted with lusty Thong, hung fast,  
Which binding on the turn'd-up Keel, I rod,  
Born with rough Winds upon the boisterous Flood.  
When Western-Winds their Fury had assuaged,  
Arose a Southern-Tempest, more enraged,  
Which back again me overpowr'd with Woes,  
On swelling Waves to dire Charybdis blows.  
All Night I floated, with the rising Sun  
I did to Scylla, and Charybdis run,  
Who briny Billows in Potations sup;  
But a tall Figtree reaching, I got up,  
And Bat-like clung by Branches which did bend,  
Nor could firm footing gain, nor yet ascend:  
The Roots were deep, and spreading Branches made  
A Curtain which did dire Charybdis shade:  
Here did I hung until my Keel, and Mast,  
She, to my wish, up disemboguing, cast.  
But when to Supper joyful home doth trudge,  
After long Causes heard, the weary Judge;  
Than gladly I, the Mast, and Keel, espied,  
And slipping down the middle, got astride;  
Than rowed of with my hands, when Jove took care  
That I should scape, nor Scylla spy me there.  
Nine days I floated, on the Tenth at Night,  
On the Nymphs Isle, Ogygia I did light,  
Who kindly entertained me in her Cave,  
Of which last Night a large Account I gave;  
Which to your Queen, and You, would tedious be,  
Once more to hear, and small Content to me.    

 scene from book 13 
Honoratiss ae: Dominae de Orrory Tabulam D Margaritae Comitissae han● LMDDDIO Lib: 13.    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE THIRTEENTH BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

Pheacians land Ulysseses in his sleep  
With all his Gifts. Neptune transforms their Ship.  
He his own Home not knows. Pallas appears,  
And Him with Counsel, and kind Language cheers.  
Conceals his Wealth, and carrying on their Plot,  
Gives him a Hoary-Beard, and threadbare Coat.   

THIS said, they silent on each other look,  
Extremely with his wondrous Story took.  
Than spoke the King; Ulysses, since the Fates  
Brought Thee a Stranger thus within our Gates,  
Through sad Adventures both by Sea, and Land,  
We'll not return thee like a Vagabond.  
You, who so ere that's here, I All enjoin,  
That feast with me, and drink delicious Wine,  
And hear our Poet sing, what more ye intent  
This Stranger to present, in Coffers sand.  
Refined Gold he hath, and presents store  
By us presented unto him before,  
Each in a Tripod, now and Charger lay;  
Which 'sessed upon the People, let them Pay:  
Easie are Burdens when on many laid.  
All condescend to what Alcinous said,  
Than to their Houses went to their Repose.  
Soon as the rosy-fingered Dawn arose,  
Loaden with treasure to the Ship they hast;  
Which strait Alcinous saw in order placed  
Beneath the Banks; with such Convenience stowed,  
It could not hinder any whilst they rowed.  
Thence to Alcinous Treatment all withdrew,  
Who to great Jove a well-fed Bullock slew;  
And highly feasted there both Old and Young,  
Whilst their sweet Poet heavenly Raptures sung.  
But to Ulysses, earnest to be gone,  
The Sun seemed tedious, and the Day too long.  
His Supper so expects the hungry Swain,  
Who Furroughs ploughs, to propagate sown Grain;  
And for the World's bright Torch descending waits,  
Than weary, gladly falls on coursest Cates:  
Ulysses so at the Sunsetting glad,  
Thus to the King, hemmed in with Princes, said;   

Thou, who the Glory of thy People art,  
Since 'tis your will such kindness to impart,  
Dismiss me with those Gifts you're pleased bestow,  
Which to your Bounty, and the Gods, I own,  
A fair return for, since you'll Me transport  
In safety to my Wife, and Native Port.  
Ah! may you here in Plenty spend your Lives,  
Your Sons, and Daughters, and your dearest Wives;  
Whilst Heaven on them all Virtues showers at Home,  
And no misfortune on the Public come.  
This Speech th' approve, and strait an Order made  
Him to dismiss who could so well persuade.  
Than thus Alcinous to the Herald spoke;   

Pontonous, a Goblet ready make,  
Filled with rich Wine, that we may Jove implore,  
Our Guest to Convoy to his Native shore.  
This said, full Bowls he dealt about the Hall,  
Who on the Gods, they thus libating, call.   

Than from his Seat Ulysses started up,  
Presents Arete with a flowing Cup;  
And complementing highly, thus gins;   

May'st thou bealwaies Happy, best of Queens,  
Till Age and Death comes, incident to all:  
But I returning, at your Footstool fall,  
Kissing your Hands; O, may you to your King,  
Children, and People, daily Comfort bring.   

This said, Ulysses to the Vessel went,  
His Herald him t' attend, Alcinous sent,  
Arete Damsels; This a curious Vest,  
And Waistcoat carries, That a Carved Chest,  
The third brings Wine, and Manchet, to the Ship;  
The joyful Company no time let slip,  
But set the good Provision up, than spread  
Clean sheets and Blanckets o'er a well-made Bed:  
Not sooner entered but he takes Repose,  
They settle to their Banks, and Cables loose.  
But he, whilst Oars the briny Billows swept,  
Like one in Death's eternal 
(a) The whole Allegory of this Poem of our Poet is this; Ulysses in quest of true felicity, the Ithaca and Penelope here signified, labours under many and grievous calamities. He has several Companions, who through Lust, Luxury, and other Vices, miscarry in the Enterprise; himself alone escapes, and by the assistance of the Pheacians is transported by Sea in his sleep to his longed-for Country. The Pheacians, which signifies black, ●a●●●, are the Mourners which attend at his Funeral; the Ship his Grave, which is afterwards converted into a Rock, his Funeral Stone; his Sleep deciphers Death, through which alone Man arrives at his eternal Repose.  Slumber slept.  
Not swifter Charioteers their Chariot's work,  
Lashing their lose-reined Horses through the Cirque;  
Who with long stretches soon devour the Plain,  
Than they were carried ploughing up the Main.  
Steady and swift as long-winged Falcons fly,  
That seize all Birds that cut the yielding Sky,  
Bearing a Hero through the foamy Floods,  
Able to sit in Counsel 'mongst the Gods;  
Who had so many hard Adventures past,  
In bloody Battles, or by Tempests tossed,  
Now sound slept, forgetting former Woes:  
But when the glorious Morningstar arose,  
The glittering Harbinger, which tells th' Approach  
Of bright Aurora in her golden Coach,  
Than drew they near Ulysses' Native Soil,  
And Port, they 
(b) Phorcus was the Son of Pontus and Terra, according to Hesiod in his Genealogy of the Gods, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

He was one of the Rulers of the Seas,  
and had his Temple in this Haven;  
from whence it received its appellation    Phorcus from the Sea-God style,  
This two broad sides extends, and opening doth,  
Though rough the Margins, make the Water smooth:  
There without Cable, tall Ships land-locked lie,  
And highest Springs, and loudest Winds defy.  
But in the bottom of the Bay, they had  
An Olive, casting o'er a Cave, a shade,  
In which the Nymphs, styled Naiads, reside:  
Within stood Bowls, and Goblets petrified,  
And there whilst humming Bees filled all the Rooms,  
They marble Shuttles plied in rocky Looms,  
Where, wondrous to behold, they purple wove:  
Fountains within two Portals were above,  
That towards the North still Mortals entered at:  
Egress and Regress through the Southern-Gate  
Gods always had, and ne'er by Men profaned.  
Here up they run their Vessel on the Strand,  
And leave with pliant Oars half-drie, their Ship,  
Than to the shore from well laid Hatches leap.  
They first Ulysses from his Cabin bore  
In Quilts, and purest linen covered over,  
And fast a sleep on Sea-washed Margins laid,  
And all those Gifts which the Pheacians had  
Presented him on Pallas score, they put  
Out of the Way, under an 
(c) The Olive-tree was sacred to Minerva, the Patroness of Ulysses, and therefore aptly feigned by our Poet to keep his deposited Treasure.  Olive Root,  
Jest any should before Ulysses wake,  
Stumbling on them by Fortune, Notice take.  
This done, their Sails they for Pheacia set:  
But Neptune old picques not forgotten yet,   

Thus to the thunderer said; Oh! Jove, not more  
Amongst the Gods will Mortals me adore,  
When the 
(d) For Phaeax, King of the Island, from whom they were called Pheacians, was Son of Neptune, and Corcyra the Daughter of Asopus.  Pheacians mind me not at all,  
Who from my Stock had their Original.  
I thought Ulysses plagued with Woe, and Want,  
Should hardly  return, such was your grant:  
They him in sleep on's Native shore have left  
With Gold, rich Vests, and many a costly gift  
By them presented, which he doth enjoy,  
Moore than his wealth share of plundered Troy.  
When the Clouds Muster-master thus replied;   

On this account, me Neptune dost thou chide?  
Not God shall thee despise, 'tis more than hard  
To throw Aspersions on so great a Lord:  
But if that any Mortal thee shall slight,  
I will revenge thy Cause, and do thee Right.  
Thee these I leave to pardon, or chastise.  
When thus the shaker of the Earth replies;   

Than by your Leave, a tempest raise I will;  
But Brother, under your Correction still;  
And their fair Ship returning Home with Joy,  
Entering their Land-locked Harbour I'll destroy:  
That they not more shall Mortals thence transport,  
She like a Mountain shall choke up their Port.   

Than Jove replied; Do Neptune what you list,  
I shall be more than Neuter, and assist:  
I'll bring forth all the Town, as lookers on,  
To see a Ship transformed into a Stone.  
They shall admire how such a mighty Fort,  
Raised like a Mountain, should besiege the Port.  
Thus ordered Neptune, thence with high Content,  
To Scheria, and 
(e) The Island inhabited by the Pheacians, afterwards called Corcyra, now Corfu in the Venetian Gulf.  Pheacian Bulwarks went,  
And there remained until the well-trimed Ship  
Drew near the Harbour, with all Sails a-trip:  
Than in a trice transformed her into 
(f) Eustathius notes that the ancients report there lay a Rock near unto the Isle, representing the form of a Ship; which occasioned the figment of our Poet: but certainly by this trans●●●tation he has delivered his opinion concerning that secret of Nature, the transforming of one species into another; Wood into Stone, by Water, signified here by Neptune. For this kind of transmutation is not lately discovered, but was known unto the ancients. Ovid in his Metamorphosis says that among the Cic●●es, a people of Thrace, there was a River that congealed the bowels of those who drank thereof, and converted whatsoever it received, into Stone. 

Flumen habent Cicones quod potum saxea reddit  
Viscera, quod tactis inducit marmora rebus.   

Ciconian streams congeal his Guts to Stone  
That thereof drinks, and what therein is thrown.   It seems to have had a slime of that nature which unites, and indurates. So the dust of Puzzolo, being touched by water, is presently petrified.  stone,  
And fixing there, went of when he had done.  
When the Pheacians this strange Sight survay'd,  
They sadly viewing one another, said;   

Ah! who hath fixed this Vessel in the Main,  
The cause not knowing, Thus they all complain;   

Than said Alcinous; This Chance of Old  
My inspired Father often to me foretold,  
That Neptune angry, that we did transport  
A foreign Prince unto his Native Court,  
Would change the Ship returned, into a Hill.  
These his Predictions, thus the Fates fulfil.  
This Prodigy must us instruct, not more  
Strangers to waft to any other Shore:  
And twelve fat Bullocks to great Neptune kill,  
That pitying, he remove this mighty Hill,  
As he advised, to him they Offerings made,  
And all the Princes, and the People, prayed.   

But when Ulysses waked, long absent he,  
Not his own Country knew, nor well could see:  
With grosser mists Pallas so dimmed the Air,  
That things refracted, seemed not what they were,  
Jest that his Wife, or Friends, should found him,   
He made the Suitors reckon for their Cheer.  
The Pile and Prospect of the place seem changed;  
The Harbour, Ways, the Rocks, and Trees estranged.  
Whilst He his Native Country thus beheld,  
His Thighs He beating, briny Tears distilled,  
Lifting his Hands to Heaven, aloud complained;   

Where am I now? what place is this? what Land?  
Fallen once more am I 'mongst a Race unjust,  
Stern, and injurious, only ruled by Lust?  
Or pious Souls that Hospitable are?  
Where shall I hid these Richeses? whither bear?  
Where go myself? would I had still remained  
'Mongst the Pheacians, or been entertained  
By some kind Prince, who pitying, me from Toil  
Had sent attended to my Native Soil:  
I know not what to do, nor this great deal  
Of Wealth, from greedy persons to conceal.  
I will not more, You Gods, my Judgement trust,  
These sly Pheacians false are, and unjust,  
Who leave me on an unknown Coast, whom they  
To his own Country promised to convey.   

Revenge me Jove on them, Thou, who dost all  
Such cheating Sycophants to strict Audits call.  
But I will see what Goods I lack, well may  
Such Sharks themselves, for me transporting, pay.  
His Tripods, and his Chargers, over he told,  
Vests, and rich Mantles, Silver, Brass, and Gold:  
All found he there, than creeping near the Shore,  
Whilst his misfortunes thus he did deplore,  
Pallas drew nigh him, like a Youthful Swain,  
Such Sons of Kings keep Flocks upon the Plain:  
His Vest well lined, his Sandals neatly tied,  
Armed with a Spear; whom when Ulysses spied,   

He joyfully thus said; Your Servant, Sir;  
You being the first that I encountered here,  
Not Look, no Posture of an Enemy, have;   

Preserve this Treasure, and me also save;  
Since as a God, or Genius of the place,  
I supplicate Thee, and thy Knees embrace:  
And I beseech you, Sir, inform me well,  
What Land, what People in this Country devil;  
Whether this be Peninsula or Isle,  
Or, near the Sea, the Main-lands gleby soil.   

Than she replied; Th' art in Experience Young,  
Or else some Stranger, hast not here been long,  
That ask'st what Country's this; 'tis not so poor,  
But 'tis well known to every Neighbouring Shore,  
Nay, where so  the Sun, in progress hurled,  
Gilds with Day-beams the North, and Southern World.  
Our Grounds are Rocky, we have little Plain,  
But that well clothed with Vines, and golden Grain:  
This Country dews, and frequent showers not wants,  
Feeds Goats, and  well; all sorts of Plants  
Cast pleasant shades; where they to watering come:  
Ithaca's name hath, Friend, reached Ilium,  
Which they report far distant from this Isle.  
Glad he had landed on his Native Soil,  
His Joy dissembling though, he thus replied;  
And spoke at random things both over, and wide,  
Still acting subtle parts; Beyond the Sea,   

Sir, I in Crete much heard of Ithaca,  
And now brought hither with my whole Estate,  
My Children left, since I unfortunate  

(g) It is observed by Eustathius that this relation is not consonant to the ancient Histories, but on purpose invented to make him more acceptable to the Suitors, having slain the Son of Vlysses' Friend: but something of History is contained in it: for Idomeneus, King of Crete, was Commander of some Forces in the Trojan Expedition, as appears in the second book of the Iliads, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

Idomeneus ruled the Cretan Bands,  
From Gortyns' Bulwarks, and the Gnossian Strands.   and, though the ancients have not retorded it, yet from hence I conjecture that Orsilochus was slain according to this relation, though not by Ulysses.  Orsilochus slew, Idomeneus his Son,  
Who all their swiftest Youth could far outrun;  
Who would have forced from me my Trojan share;  
Purchased in War with so much Toil, and Care,  
And miseries upon the boisterous Main,  
Because his Father on the Trojan Plain  
I did not serve, others commanding there.  
I in the Field with a sharp-poynted Spear,  
Way laying him, with one Companion, slew,  
When Night o'er Heaven her sable Mantle threw.  
My sudden Flight, and his sad Fortune hid,  
None of my going knew, nor his being Dead:  
I got aboard in a Pheacian Ship,  
With this you see, of which they had a snip;  
Who promised to transport me through the Main  
To Pyle, or Elis, where th' 
(h) Strabo observes that Hecataens Milesius makes the Epeans distinct from the inhabitants of Elis, and says that they assisted Hercules in the destruction of that place; but adds also that it is not at all incredible that two different people should unite into one body, and one name too, in process of time. Our Poet calls them by the same name too in his Iliads; at the end of the 2 book, where he reckons the Graecian Fleet. 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

Who in Buphrasium, and fair Elis devil  
Who Hermin, and the Myrsin Plains did till,  
Th' Olenian Rock from Alisium sent,  
In forty Sail, with these the Epeians went.    Epeians reign;  
Up to a Harbour which they not designed  
They run their Vessel, forced by adverse Wind  
Against their Wills, intending no Deceit;  
At Night there landing, neither drink, nor meat;  
Once thought upon, though we had fasted long,  
But weary on the shore themselves they fling,  
Where me they left, surprised in charming Sleep,  
With all my Goods, and launched into the Deep,  
And strait for the Sidonian Confines bore,  
A woeful Wretch upon this unknown shore.  
Wring my Hand, than with a smile the Maid,  
Her own Celestial Form assuming, said;   

Thou'lt prove too hard for who e'er plays with Thee  
And Cheat for Cheat stake, though a God he be;  
Nor want'st Thou now here, in thy Native Soil,  
Feigned stories, by Thy Stars taught to beguile.  
But of this Theme to say more I am loath,  
Since at Contrivements we are Skilful both;  
For dextrous Slights 'mongst Mortals, Thine's the prize,  
My ready Wit's well known in th' arched Skies ':  
Yet Thou not Pallas knowst, whose Care, and Love,  
Laboured Thy harder Fortunes to improve.  
I gave Thee Favour in Alcinous Eyes,  
And once more hither come, Thee to advice  
How Thou these costly Presents may'st conceal:  
But I'll a greater Consequence reveal.  
In Thy own Palace, which The art now so near,  
Many affronts Thou must with Patience bear,  
Walk there disguised, wouldst Thou be secure,  
And silent, what Thou seest, and hearest, endure:  
With that same Temper thou so often hast tried  
Meet their Affronts. When thus the King replied;   

Thou may'st, O Goddess, well Man's Knowledge scape,  
That canst transform Thyself to any shape:  
I know how much to Thee I stood obliged,  
When our great Army Trojan Walls besieged;  
But after we did Priam's City get,  
From thence than sailing Jove dispersed our Fleet,  
And I, best Lady, Thee no more did see,  
Or dreamt Thou hadst the least Concern for me;  
But wandered as my wavering Fancy led,  
Until the Gods me from all Sorrows freed;  
And 'mongst Pheacians me Thou didst instruct,  
And me encouraging, didst to th' Court conduct:  
Thee, by thy Father, Virgin, I implore,  
To tell me if this be my Native Shore:  
For I suppose it is some other Soil,  
And Thou wouldst my Credulity beguile.  
Am I at Home? Me Hopes, and Fears divide.  
When thus to him th' illustrious Maid replied;   

Thou always dost new Doubts, and Scruples start,  
Yet my Ulysseses I shall ne'er desert,  
Who Prudence, and Complacency may boast:  
Another coming to his Native Coast,  
Would long his Children, House, and Wife, to see;  
Thou ne'er inquirest, nor carest where  they be:  
Thou wouldst have ventured for Her heretofore,  
Who with salt Tears bedews her Chamber-floor,  
And Night, and Day, doth in thy Absence mourn,  
I knew, though hard to Sense, Thou shouldst return;  
But not against my Uncle durst engage,  
Whose Bosom burns with unextinguished Rage;  
Nor could thy lost Associates quench the Fire.  
But Thou shalt see what so thou dost desire:  
This is the Port of Phorcus, th' old Sea-God,  
Crowned with a spreading Olive, like a Wood:  
Near this a 
(i) Cronius observes that the Cave here described agrees not with History; there being no mention of it in any, of those who writ the Topographies of that Isle. Wherhfore the Grammarians have laboured to found out the Allegory, or Intention of the ●oet veiled under this obscure Description. A Cave was the Symbol of the World among the ancient Theologists, as Porphyrius on this place proves out of Plato, in the seventh of his Polity, and Empedocles in his Physics, where speaking of the World, he says, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The two doors are the two Tropics; the North, through which the Souls descended when they were to be united to a Body; the South, through which they ascended when they were separated: The Nymphs weaving their purple Webs upon Rocks of stones, signified the Souls framing its garment of Blood, and Flesh, upon the solid foundation of the Bones: Hony was accounted purgative; and therefore in some initiations the Hands were washed with it instead of Water, and the Tongue was cleansed from all its offences. By the Olive, sacred to Minerva, the Goddess of Wisdom, which grew near to the Cave, was signified, that this World was not form by chance, but by some intellectual Being, separated indeed from it, but whose seat was near, upon the head of it. This Olive being 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 constantly flourishing, did aptly denote the perpetual descension, and ascension of Souls, for which this Cave was consecrated.  Cave, sacred the shady Grot  
To Naiads, rooff'd with a grassy Plate,  
Where often to them Thou Hecatombs hast paid:  
There's Mount Nerytus with a Forest clad.  
Pallas, this said, dispersed the gloomy Mist,  
The Coast appearing, glad Ulysses kissed  
His Native Soil, and kneeling on the shore,  
Thus did the Nymphs with reared up Hands, implore;   

You Naiads, I thought without dispute,  
Ne'er you to see, whom I with Joy salute,  
And shall, as heretofore, your Altars lad,  
If by Permission of the Heavenly Maid,  
My Son yet lives. The Goddess than replied;   

Scruple no more I say, in me confided.  
But let us strait into this Cave convey  
Thy Wealth, and careful, up in safety lay,  
There we'll consult what's best to do. This said,  
Into the Vault walks the Celestial Maid,  
Whilst in Ulysses all his Richeses gets;  
Gold, Silver, Vests which He in order sets;  
Gifts which to Him the kind Pheacians gave:  
Than rolled a stone in th' entry of the Cave.  
Pallas, and He than on an Olive-Root  
Complotting sat, both in a High Dispute;  
The Haughty Suitors ruin to prepare.   

Than Pallas said, Thou must take special Care,  
How them to master, who now court thy Spouse,  
And three years now kept Revels in thy House,  
Contriving Jointures, whilst she pressed with Cares,  
Now for Thy coming Home hopes, now despairs,  
Yet Treats them fair, promising each Address,  
Sends them kind words, but thinks of nothing lesle.  
Ulysses than with a deep Sigh replied;   

I here shall Perish, as 
(i) Spondanus was unhappily mistaken in the meaning of this place, who thought that Ulysses had here delivered how by the assistance of Minerva he escaped some imminent danger, in the Palace of Agamemnon; who never came thither, as appears by the whole series of this book: but it is clear that Ulysses says only this, That he had been murdered, like Agamemnon, in his own Palace, had it not been for the advice of Minerva. Now the manner of the death of Agamemnon he had learned from Agamemno's ghost in his descent into Hell, as it is at large delivered, Odyss. 11.  Atrides died,  
In my own House, if Thou not me conduct:  
But me to be revenged on them, instruct:  
Ah help me now, and stand in my Defence,  
As when we took Troy's lofty Battlements:  
Than of three hundred I'll not be afeard,  
But backed by Thee, the proudest Rival beard.  
Th' illustrious Goddess than to him replied;   

I shall be present, and with Thee will side,  
And make no doubt, we shall with Brains, and Gore,  
Of those devour thee, slain thy Palace floor.  
But Thou must not be known where Thou art seen,  
Therefore I'll riule up thy smother Skin,  
And soil thy brighter Tresses, and so cloth,  
That whosoever beholds thee, Thee shall loathe,  
When to thy Son, and Wife, Thou dost appear,  
And proud Corrivals, Thy bright Eyes I'll blear;  
But to Subulcus first, who tends thy Swine  
Make thy Address, He sure to Thee will join;  
He thy Relations loves, Him Thou shalt found  
Feeding with Mast his brisly Herd, behind  

(l) Corax was an inhabitant of Ithaca, who in pursuit of a Hare fell down a Rock, and broke his Neck, from whom it had this appellation. Arethusa his Mother, hearing the sad news of her Son's death, hanged herself near a Fountain, from her called Arethusa. Eustathius.  Corax's Rock, where Arethusa springs,  
And he to watering, his fat  brings:  
There stay with Him, till He shall Thee instruct,  
And I'll thy Son, from Sparta Home conduct;  
Who went to Menelaus' Court, where He,  
Late his Addresses made, in Quest of Thee,   

Ulysses than; Why tell'st Thou not me all,  
Since well you know what e'er may Him befall?  
Whether at Sea he met his sullen Fate,  
Or Harpies have devoured his Estate?   

The Goddess him thus answered, be content  
Him I abroad to purchase Fame have sent,  
He in Atrides Palace takes his ease,  
In safety, there commanding what he please,  
But the Corrivals a dire Plot contrive  
To murder him,  he at Home arrive,  
But some of them before shall meet their Fate,  
Who in a Rant now ruin thy Estate:   

Thus saying, the Goddess touched him with her Wand,  
Strait his clear skin all riuled up, and Tan n'd,  
His golden Hair a sudden Frost did hoar,  
And his plump Cheeks Old Age strait crusted over,  
His sparkling Eyes she bleared, than strait she dressed  
Him in a tottered Coat, and sordid Vest,  
Peec'd, patched, and stained, with sooty Smoke, and Dirt,  
And with a Deer's peeled skin his Belly girt.  
Gave him a Staff, and worn in holes a Scrip,  
Hanging it in a twisted leather slip,  
Accoutred thus the Goddess left him there,  
And to his Son in Sparta did repair.    

 scene from book 14 
Honoratissimo Domino D:ae Johanni King Baroni De kingston Jabulam hanc LMDDDIO Lib: 14.    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE FOURTEENTH BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

Eumaeus first in Rags, Ulysses spies;  
Rates of the Dogs, barking at his Disguise:  
Him as a Beggar kindly entertains,  
And of the Suitors Revel-rout complains.  
This, tells the coming of his absent Lord;  
That, of his Stories not believes a Word.   

BUT from the Port a rough way through the Copse,  
Mongst Cliffs he went, and wood-cloathed Mountain tops:  
Where Pallas told him that Subulcus dwelled,  
Who with his Lord more faithfully had dealt,  
Than any Swain, to husband's his Estate;  
And strait he found him sitting at his Gate,  
Which in fair Prospect, on a rising Ground  
He built with Stone, and hedged with Quicksets round,  
At his own cost; because the King, and Queen,  
And old Laertes, long had absent been,  
Which he surrounded with a standing Guard  
Of Oaken Pails, the staves both strong, and hard:  
Twelve ample Sties within convenient reach  
He there had built, Fifty fat Swine in each:  
The pregnant Females in their Chambers kept,  
Their brisly Husbands in the Portals slept.  
Many of these had rioting Suitors spent,  
To whom the fattest still Subulcus sent:  
Three hundred yet and sixty there remained.  
Four Dogs as fierce as Lions he maintained,  
Who always slept attending on the Hogs,  
Himself than sat ordering a pair of Brogues,  
From a pied Bullocks Skin, three others there  
About their Sties, and several business were.  
The fourth he with a Swine to th' Palace sent,  
That might the Suitors Feast with high Content.  
Soon as the Dogs had spied him coming on,  
With open mouths they at Ulysses run:  
But cunning, he sits down, and drops 
(a) Didymus on this place says that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, it is a natural Defence for the aversion of Dogs, to sit down, and lay a●●de the Weapon out of oneshand, as not intending to set upon them. Pliny has the like observation in the eighth Book of his Natural History; Impetus canum & saevitia mitigatur ab homine considente humi, The fierceness, and rage of Dogs is mitigated by a man's sitting on the ground.  his staff:  
Nor was he than from those stern Warders, safe,  
Had not Subulcus leaped up to his Aid,  
And thrown aside the Shoes were almost made,  
Palting with stones the bawling Party back:  
Who when he had secured the King, thus spoke;   

The Dogs, O Father, gave a fierce assault,  
And if th' had hurt Thee, t' had not been my Fault,  
The Gods for me have sadder business found.  
Here I with Groans, and Sighs, lie on the Ground,  
Lament my King; whilst others in his House,  
Devour his , and his Wine Carouse;  
Whilst he in want by various Fortunes hurled,  
Wanders about the many-peopled World,  
If yet he live, and see the rising Sun.  
But to my Cottage go with me, old Man;  
And when Thou art refreshed with wholesome Fare,  
Say whence Thou cam'st, and what thy Sufferings are.  
This said, Eumaeus in Ulysses led,  
And strait a wild Goat's skin, and Branches spread,  
Him placing on that Couch: Ulysses glad  
At this his first so kind Reception, said;   

O Jove, and all you Gods, grant his Request  
whate'er; who now so kindly treats his Guest.   

Eumaeus than; It is not fit that we  
Should Strangers, though they poorer are than Thee,  
Drive from our Gates; Jove to all those in want,  
In Forma Pauperis gives a special Grant:  
But small our Treatments are, and mean our Board's,  
Still fearing Young, and Domineering Lords.  
Ah! his Return the Gods obstructed have,  
Who loved me well, and this Possession gave:  
He to his Servantskind was, he a House,  
And Fortune gave me, with a Virtuous Spouse,  
Since, his Estate Jove here has much increased,  
And my small Labours not a little blest,  
Much more the King improved had my Estate,  
Here had he stayed; but he hath met his Fate.  
Ah! would that Helen's Race had perished quite,  
For whom so many Heroes fell in Fight:  
And he went with Atrides to destroy  
Proud Ilium, and the Walls of lofty Troy.  
This said, he girds his Coat, and forth he hies;  
Than choosing two fat Porkers from their Sties,  
Slaughters them both, and next a quick Fire gets,  
And to Ulysses, roasted on the Spits,  
Strait carries hot, sprinkled with finest 
(b) Eustathius notes, that the Custom here mentioned of sprinkling flower on the meat when brought to Table was long since laid aside.  Flour,  
And in a Mazer lusty Wine did pour.  
Than placed against him, said; Sir, taste such Fare  
As only fit for us poor Servants are:  
The fattest for the Suitors we select,  
Who want Consideration, and Respect.  
The blessed Gods all cursed Designs abhor,  
But still for Just, and Pious actions, are:  
Yet some there be that others Realms in vade,  
And, Jove conniving, Home their Vessels lad.  
Yet often their Bosoms are with Conscience stormed,  
Sure they have heard, or by some God informed  
Of his sad Death; Else would they not resort  
To his fair Queen, and Riot in his Court,  
But take their Leaves, who know not how to spare;  
So many Feasts as Days and Nights there are.  
Not one, or two fat Victims serve their turn,  
Who ne'er from eating, but to drink adjourn.  
He had a fair Estate, his Richeses such,  
That none about him could boast half so much,  
Not not to th' twentieth part would theirs amount,  
Which, now I'm in, I shall to Thee recount:  
Twelve Herds of  the main Land doth keep,  
As many Goats, and Swine, and fleecy Sheep.  
Goats eleven Herds in th' other Field are bred  
By lusty Swains, and Jolly Shepherds, fed.  
They from each Herd one every day afford,  
And still the fattest, to supply the Board:  
And from my Charge, to amplify their Feast,  
I sand the fattest Porkers, and the best.  
This said, on fell He, eat, and drank rich Wine,  
His Brains still working on his main Design.  
His Spirits recruited well, well cheered his Soul,  
Subulcus gives him an oreflowing Bowl:  
And joyful he so fair a Progress made,  
Who is this wealth Person, Friend, he said;  
So bold, and hath so ample an Estate,  
Who at the Trojan War received his Fate,  
As thou believest; Tell me, there's no such odds,  
(Since Jove knows all, and the immortal Gods)  
But I have seen him in my Travels, hurled  
By various Fortunes, through the peopled World.   

None, Father, hither comes, Eumaeus said,  
But so the Queen, and his dear Son, persuade;  
And to supply their Present wants, device  
Stories to please them, and a thousand Lies.  
Who e'er lands here, they to the Court repair,  
And with a handsome Tale still ready are:  
She entertains them, and inquiry makes,  
Her sparkling Eyes brimful with briny Lakes,  
As Women use, wanting their dearest Lord:  
Couldst thou put in one comfortable word,  
She would new sheathe thee, thou shouldst soon be dressed  
In a Court Mantle, and a comely Vest.  
But, ah! on him Dogs have, and Vultures, fed,  
And piece-meal rend; Ah! 'tis too true, he's dead,  
Or hungry Fish devoured him far from Land,  
And now his Bones lie sepulchred in Sand,  
There he remains, whilst his Relations grieve,  
But I'm so much concerned, I loathe to live,  
I, such a Royal Master ne'er shall get,  
Should I return unto my Native Seat,  
Where dwelled my Parents, I, my breeding had,  
Their Loss I should not so much mourn, though sad  
For such Misfortune I enough should be,  
As for my Prince, whom, I despair to see,  
Whom, I with Reverence nominate, and Him,  
Put in the highest place of my esteem.   

Than said the King; Who ne'er will Credit give,  
Are worse than those too easily believe.  
I dare affirm, and positively swear,  
That soon renowned Ulysses will be here.  
But Him that brings the joyful News, reward,  
When you behold Him in His Palace Yard:  
To Him a Coat, a Vest, and Mantle grant,  
Till than, He'll not demand it, though He want:  
Who in necessity a Lie will tell,  
I hate him worse than the Gates of Hell.  
Witness, Oh! Jove, the greatest of the Gods,  
Ulysses' Table, Hearth, and high Abodes,  
That what I say shall come to pass, and here,  
Thou shalt thy Master see, within a Year,  
Nay, in a Month, arriving at his House,  
To punish those, thus wrong his Son, and Spouse.   

Than said Eumaeus; For this Tidings, thee,  
I never shall reward, nor Him  see:  
But talk of something else, and mind thy Drink,  
Still am I sad, when of my King I think:  
Yet I'll believe thee, and Ulysses may  
Return, for which, I, and Penelope, pray,  
Laertes, and his Son, that hopeful Plant,  
Telemachus, whose Fortune I lament:  
Whose Courage, Wit, and Person, to be such,  
As his brave Ant-cestors, I dare avouch:  
Whom now some God, or Mortal did beguile,  
Sending to seek his Father, far as Pyle:  
Whom now the Suitors watch for, to deface  
The Name, and memory, of th' Arcisian Race:  
But we'll be patiented, He may fall, or fly,  
And be protected by Divinity.  
But, Father, now thy own sad Fortune tell,  
Recount at large, what may inform me well,  
Who th' art, thy Parents, and thy Native Land,  
What Ship thou came'st in, by what People manned.  
Since none on Foot come hither, neither Ride.  
When smartly thus Laertiades replied;   

Should I thus at thy Table sitting here,  
Eating and Drinking, tarry a whole Year,  
Whilst others ply thy work, 'twould be too short,  
To make of my sad Tales a mere report,  
Which by heavens will I long have undergon.   

I born in Crete, though poor, a rich man's Son,  
Who bred me with his own Legitimate race,  
Although his 
(c) This was the custom of the Athenians: for although in the infancy of their polity, Women were all in common, yet Cecrops their King, long before the time of Homer, had abolished it, and ordained that one man should be the Husband of one Wife, says Athenaeus, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: but withal, though he allowed them but one Wife, yet he denied them not a plurality of Concubines: and the difference was according to Demesthenes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. The Concubines were kept for pleasure, to revel abroad with their Lords; the Wife for legitimate procreation, and a prudent governess of the Family.  Concubine my Mother was,  
Castor, my Father, on the Cretan Shore,  
Of old the people did as God adore:  
His Fortune's great, his Sons of fair report.  
But when his Fates sent him to Pluto's Court,  
His Children share his Wealth, and Lots they draw;  

(d) Our Poet seems in this relation to follow the Laws and customs of the Athenians: for it was Solon's Law; that the Father should not have the right of making his Will, who had any male-childrens legitimate living: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: but that the estate should be equally divided amongst them, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that all the legitimate Son; should have equal shares of their Father's estate: by which the illegitimate were totally excluded. This appears plainly in Aristophanes, in Avibus, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

I'll tell you Solon's Law; Bastards are not,  
When they have Children are legitimate,  
Accounted of the Blood; if none there are,  
The nearest of his Kindred shall be Heir.   And presently after he tells Hercules, who was a byblow of Jupiter, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

None of your Father's goods belong to you,  
For you're a Bastard, none by Law ar● due;  
'Tis Neptune will obtain your Sires estate,  
Since he's Brother and legitimate.    A Pittance give to me, not due by Law.  
Than looked on as deserving, I a Spouse,  
And beauteous, Married, of a noble House.  
I did not than contemptible appear,  
As now in my distress you see me here:  
Of which some marks you yet may see, though hurled  
In Want and Misery, about the World.  
For me both Mars and Pallas Valiant made:  
And when I chose bold Men for Ambuscade,  
Lay'ng Traps to catch the Foe, this Bosom ne'er  
Thought of pale Death, nor Symptoms knew of fear;  
But with the foremost always took my chance,  
And in the Front still interchanged my Lance:  
So loved I War, but valued Blow and Cart,  
Which makes our Children Wealth, not a—  
But I loved Ships, and Wars, the Shaft and Spear,  
And whatsoever to others dreadful were:  
Me to these dire delights the Stars inclined,  
But other Men are of an other mind.   

Before the Grecians had Beleaguered Troy,  
Nine times as Captain they did me employ  
In several Ships, against all Privateers,  
And Foreign force; success crowned my desires;  
By which I purchased no mean Estate,  
Was loved, admired, and honoured through all Crete.  
Than Jove engaged us in a Fatal strife.  
Where many a valiant Hero lost his life.  
Idomeneus than and me th' employ,  
Both Adm'rals, to conduct their Fleet to Troy.  
And there was no disputing, no Reply,  
Fame of the Expedition flew so high:  
Nine Years there lay we, a hard Siege endured,  
The tenth we took their Town, so well immured;  
And Plundered Troy by a religious Cheat:  
Thence Sailing home, great Jove dispersed our Fleet,  
And for my pains, poor me, more wretched made.  
A Month at home I with my Children stayed,  
My dear Relations, and my dearer Wife,  
And at full Tables lead a merry life:  
Than I, forsooth, must see th' Egyptian Land,  
Nine Ships I Rigged, well Victualled, and well Man'd;  
Six Days my Friends I treated to the height,  
And paid the Gods each their peculiar Rite;  
The seventh from Crete we with a Northern Gale,  
As down the Channel of a River sail.  
We nothing wanting, stiff and Tied our Ship,  
Clap all our Canvas on, our Sails a-trip;  
The fifth Day 
(e) It is a great error in Giphanius and Spondanus, who take 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here for the name of the Country of Egypt; when both Strab● and divers others of the Ancients have abundantly proved the contrary, partly out of this very place. These Pliny follows in his Natural History; N●e ante Nilus quam se totum aquis concordibus rursus junxit. Sic quoque etiamunm Siris, nominatus per aliquot millia, & in totum Homero Egyptus, aliisque Triton. Which River never takes the name of Nile before his waters meet again and accord all whole together. And even so was he aforetime named Siris for many miles space; and of Homer altogether Egyptus, and of others Triton, whom Ammianus Marcellinus follows in his History. Whence it may very probably be conjectured, that the name Nile for the River of Egypt is later than our Poet, it being not mentioned in all his Works; yet in use presently after him, it being found in the works of Hesiod, as Eratosthenes affirms.  Nile we reached; I ordered there  
My lusty Lads strait up the River Steer:  
Our Anchors dropped, a party I command  
To search the Creeks, the Caves, and winding Strand:  
But they to Nature's rougher dictates yield,  
And fall to Plunder the Egyptian Field;  
Their Women took, their tender Infants slew,  
Moore than a rumour to the City flew;  
They hear the cry, and with the early Dawn  
In complete ●rms, out Horse and Foot were drawn:  
There Jove my Party worsted, they gave ground,  
And were by Foes couped up, as in a Pound:  
Where many slaughtered were, the rest were lead  
Thence Captives: Than Jove put it in my head,  
(Would I had rather died, paid Nature's debt,  
Who still thus suffer, with despair beset)  
To give myself a Prisoner up and yield:  
Down I my Javelin laid, my Helm and Shield,  
And running to the King, his knees embraced:  
He pitying, me in his own Chariot placed,  
And drove of Weeping from the Vulgar rage,  
Whom nothing but my Death could than assuage.  
For Hospitable Jove he well did know,  
Loved mercy to a quarter-begging Foe.  
Seven Years I there remained, whist richeses flowed,  
Rich Gifts th' whole City upon me bestowed:  
But in th' eighth came a Phenician, who,  
An old Trapanner, cheating tricks well knew:  
He with persuasions lead me by ●●e Ear,  
To go with him into Phenicia, where  
I at his House should well be entertained;  
I went, and there with him a Year remained:  
But when that Months and Days had filled the Sphere,  
And Time set forth the circumvolving Year,  
To Libya me in a stout Ship he sent,  
Freighted with Goods, but to no good intent;  
He Spirited me over, on account  
To cell me, for a Sum that did amount.  
I ventured with him, though my Heart did fail,  
And had as far as Crete a favouring Gale:  
But angry Jove shipwreck contrived, and death.  
Thence sailing, yet fair Winds not out of Breath,  
Until we nothing saw but Seas, and Skies:  
When suddenly a sable Cloud did rise,  
Dark grew the Flood, it thunders, ligthens, rains,  
The dismal notes filled up loud Heuricanes:  
Than with a flaming Bolt Jove struck our Ship,  
And they like Sea-Mews floated on the Deep:  
There up and down on bounding Billows born,  
Since Jove decreed they never should return.  
But me with this Disaster much aghast,  
Trembling, my arms he fling about the Mast,  
Which boisterous Winds, and Billows, nine Days bore,  
Locked up in my embrace, I know not where;  
The tenth, an oregrown Wave, the Night being dark,  
The poor remains driven of my bulged Bark  
On 
(f) The Thespretians were a people of Epirus, bordering upon the Seacoasts, over against Corcyca, not far distant from Ithaca.  Thesprots shore, King Phidons' dearest Son,  
To fetch me of, both cold, and tired, did run,  
And to the Palace lead me by the hand,  
Than strait to  me gave a strict command.  
And there I first of your Ulysseses heard:  
He me acquainted with how much regard  
By him he had been treated in his way,  
Resolving suddenly for Ithaca,  
And what huge Wealth he had acquired told,  
Iron and bright Brass, with Ingots of pure Gold,  
With which ten Generations well might shifted,  
Which he had in the King's Exchequer left;  
But he was gone, he said, to 
(g) At Dodona in Epirus was the most ancient and famous Oracle of Jupiter. The story of it is thus related by Herodotus, the ancientest of the Greck Historians, who seems to have been inquisitive after the original of it. The Priests of Jupiter, at Thebes a City of Egypt, told me that the Phoenicians had ●oln away formerly two of their Priestesses, and sold one of them into Libya, the other into Greece, which Women first constituted, as they understood, Oracles in those places. But the Priestesses at Dodona say, that there flew two black Pigeons from Thebes of Egypt; the one into Libya, the other to them; which lighting on an Oak, said with a human voice, that there aught to be an Oracle of Jupiter there. They, supposing it to be a divine command, caused one to be built there. The rest of the Dodineans agreed with them in the relation. My opinion of them, saies Heredotus, is this; If it be true that the Phoenicians carried away these two holy Women, and sold one of them into Libya, the other into helas; it seems to me that this Woman was sold to the Thesprotians in the Country now called helas, before Pelasgia, where during her slavery she consecrated the place near a neighbouring Oak: it being probable that she who had been consecrated to Jupiter in Egypt, would retain the memory of him here. Now these Women Were called by the Dodoneans 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Pigeons, because using an unknown language they seemed to speak like Birds: but that this after a while spoke with a human voice, because she by conversation had learned the Greek tongue. When they say the Pigeon was black, they signify that the Woman was an Egyptian. The Oracle at Thebes in Egypt, and that in Dodcua, are very like one another.  Dodon's Grove,  
There to consult the sacred Oak of Jove,  
Now absent long from home, to be advised,  
Should he return in public or disguised;  
He swore to me his Ship and Men were clear,  
That him should to his Native Country bear,  
But he before, a Vessel touching there,  
For 
(h) A small Island near Ithaca, one of the Echinades, right over against the mouth of the River Achelous.  Dolicha bound, put me in, and with care  
Entreated them, in safety to convey  
To King Acastus through the briny Sea.  
There these pure Villains a contrivement laid  
To make me wretched, and their Prisoner made.  
Not sooner had they lost the sight of Land,  
They by the sequel made me understand;  
First stripping me of my fair Coat and Vest,  
Than clothed in Rags, which thou so tottered seest;  
Reaching your Coast at night, they left me fast  
Bound in the Ship, and Landing took repast:  
But me the favouring Gods from Fetters freed,  
I on my head wrapping my tottered Weed,  
To Shore descending by the Rudder, Swum,  
And far from them to sheltering Copses came:  
There close I skulked whilst privy search they make,  
And sighing, pried in every Bush and Brake,  
Until they thought more labour were in vain;  
Than they neturning Launched into the Main,  
The Gods for me than played their second part,  
And sent to thee, thou who so worthy art,  
That now I hope to live for better days.  
When thus Eumaeus to Ulysses says;   

Your story and particulars are such,  
That I confess, poor man, they move me much:  
But how shall I a wanderer believe,  
Or any credit to such hear-saies give?  
Since one in thy condition flattering tales  
To tell, and smooth Romances, most avails.  
What hopes have I of his return, what odds?  
When in close Juncto a whole Court of God's  
Complot against him, nor would they at Troy,  
Nor him amongst his Friends at home destroy:  
For than the Greeks had him interred in state,  
Which had been much Renown, and glory great  
Unto his Son; now Harpies on him dine  
Wanting due rites; and I, forsooth, keep Swine,  
Nor go to Court unless the Queen commands,  
Or else when Strangers come from foreign Lands,  
They busy than about him in a Ring,  
At once ask Questions and lament their King,  
Whilst others Feast upon Ulysses' score;  
So I shall be inquisitive not more.  
Late an 
(i) There is a certain allusion in the Greek word which could not be expressed in English. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifying a beggar, the condition of the person here spoken of, as well as a native of the Country of Etolia. The like we found in Aristophanes, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  Aetolian Homicide that fled  
His 
(k) He alludes to the custom of the A hinians, who punished all Homicide, though unwittingly committed, with Exile for one year. This appears by these Verses of Euripides in his Hippolytus; 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  Where the Scholiast observes, It is the custom that those who committed Homicide should be banished for the space of a year. When Hercules in his distraction had slain two Sons of Iphicles and one of his own, as soon as his passion was over, he was desired by Iphicles and Licymnius to absent himself for one year, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 (saith Nicolaus Damascenns) as the custom is, and than to return to Thebes again. pag: 334.  Country, thus my credulous fancy fed,  
He wand'ring up and down, I entertained,  
And for my real kindness, me with feigned  
And idle Stories, like returns thus made,  
Who at Idomeneus Palace said,  
HE had seen our King new sheathing his crazed Fleet,  
By tempests tossed, and that next Spring from Crete,  
Or Summer at the farthest he would come  
With all his Friends, laden with Richeses home.  
So thou like him wouldst tickle me in th'ear,  
With Tales not working on me, though I hear:  
But thee I pitying, kindly though shall treat,  
Nor laws of Hospitality forget.  
When thus Ulysses to Eumaeus said;   

Will neither Oaths nor Evidence persuade  
Thy unbelief; a bargain let's contract,  
And the Gods witness this our Deed and Act:  
When under these thy Roofs the King shall rest,  
Than I demand a Coat and comely Vest;  
That to Dulichium I well clad may Sail  
To my concernments of no small avail:  
But if he come not as I said before,  
Order thy Servants than to throw me o'er  
A Precipice, that others may beware  
To tell such stories that delusions are.   

Subulcus than replied, Sir, all my aim,  
Now and hereafter, is an honest Fame:  
Therefore I'll save whom ever I invite,  
Nor take his life, in justice though I might;  
Else Jove will much offended be with me,  
Breaking his Laws of Hospitality:  
But now to Supper come my weary Mates,  
And we have ready course, yet wholesome, Cates.  
Whilst thus they bandied smartly repartees,  
The Swineherds came, first shutting in their Sties  
The bristled breed to fatten with repose;  
A cry amongst the sunly Porkers risen,  
Of which he bids them choose one of the best,  
Better to entertain their wandering Guest.  
And we with him ourselves will recreate,  
Long suffrers now, under too hard a Fate:  
Who title want, unpunished here make spoil,  
And we have only Labour for our Toil.  
This said, he cuts some Wood, and they lay hold  
Of a fat Swine, at lest was five Years old,  
And strait the Brawn near to the Hearth he brought,  
Who always of religious duties thought;  
By good thoughts prompted, casts the brisly Hair  
Into the 
(l) This cutting of a lock of Wool was, saith Eustathius, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to preserve the memory of antique clothing, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, of Hair and Pelts. The like Ceremony or Rite was used in Sacrifices at the striking of a League, as appears in the 3. of the Iliads, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc.   

Straight Agamemnon and Ulysses rise,  
The Heralds in rich habits, as the guise,  
The Rites prepared, and Wine commixed with Wine,  
Pour on the Prince's hands, which they conjoin.  
His Knife Atrides drawing, which well strung.  
Always behind his Swords broad Scabbard hung,  
From both the Lambs curled foreheads cuts the hair,  
Which strait the Greek and Trojan Prince's share.   
The meaning of which Rite is delivered by Sophocles,  

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

That let the false unburied be,  
Bath he and his posterity  
Cut of, as is this lock by me,    Fire, making a Zealous Prayer  
To all celestial Deities, that Home  
His King Ulysses may in safety come:  
Than with a knotty Stake he fetched his swinge,  
Fells the fat Swine, whose Throat they cut and Sing,  
And strait divide the Joints Eumaeus placed,  
Which well with Fat and Lean he interlaced:  
Part in the Fire, commixed with Flower he threw,  
They the cut Collops spit, and Roasted, drew,  
And in a Charger dished, Eumaeus Carved,  
Who always points of equity observed;  
Dividing all into seven equal shares,  
To th' 
(m) To the Nymphs, saith Eustathius, because they, as Precedents of the Fountains, Rivers, and Groves, provide food for ; to Mercury, because he is patron of Shepherds. Both these has Simonides also joined together, perhaps taken from hence, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

To the Nymphs sacrifice and Maia's race,  
For Shepherds live by their especial grace.    Nymphs and Hermes he with zealous Prayers  
Sets by one part, distributing the rest  
In order due, but honouring most his Guest;  
Which he received as kindly, the whole Chine  
He placed before him of the white-toothed Swine.   

Ulysses' said; Eumaeus, would thou wert  
In as much favour as with me thou art,  
With mighty Jove, that thus hast me supplied.  
To whom Subulcus cheerfully replied;   

Sir, please yourself with what's here, pray fall too,  
God gave us this, God who in all things do.  
This said, first Fruits he pays the powers Divine,  
His King presenting with a Bowl of Wine.  
Next his own share, than bluntly takes his Seat,  
To th'rest Mesaulius distributes the Meat,  
In his Lord's absence him he kept alone,  
Both to Laertes and the Queen unknown;  
Him of the 
(n) The Taphians inhabited some of the Islands called Ethinades, near unto Ithaca.  Taphians, bartering Goods he bought.  
To Meat prepared all fallen too as they aught.  
When Thirst and Hunger satisfied were,  
Mesaulius takes away their broken Fare:  
On Couches than themselves they entertained;  
Dark grew the Night, it Blew, and sadly Reigned,  
When thus Ulysses said, trying his Friend;   

If any of you me a Coat would lend,  
Or persuade others, sure it would do well;  
On which occasion I'll a Story tell:  
Both Fools and Wisemen, warmed with sprightly Wine,  
Act Buffoons, Sing, in Antic Dances join,  
And often speak words had better not been said;  
But now I'm in, I'll on, nor be dismayed.  
Ah! would I were as Young, that Vigour had,  
As when your King, and Menelaus laid  
Near T●roy an Ambush, they in chief, I, third:  
But when we came to lofty Walls immured  
Mongst shrubs, and Weeds, down in the plashie Fields  
We lay, under our Arms, and ample Shields:  
Dark grew the Night, and Boreas cold did blow,  
Ushering a shower of Sleet, of Hail, and snow.  
Our Targets all in Crystal cases, shined,  
Than they had on their Coats, and Mantles lined.  
Under their Shields they quiet lay at rest,  
I, like a Fool, had left behind my Vest.  
I only had a Jump on, thin, and slight,  
Nor dreamt how cold might be th' ensuing Night:  
Of which three quarters spent, when towards the West,  
Declining, Stars descended to their rest,  
Your King I pinched by th' Elbow, lying near,  
And whispered thus to him, who strait did hear;  
Out, long I cannot dear Ulysses, hold,  
But here shall perish, killed with bitter cold,  
Wanting a Coat, deceived by some God,  
In a thin Cassock I shall be destroyed.  
After he had my words considered well,  
Who both in Field, and Counsel did excel,  
With a low Voice thus whispered in my Ear;  
Not more, jest any of the rest should hear;  
His head than leaning on his Elbow, spoke;   

A Vision told me we recruits should lack,  
Adventuring so far now from the Fleet,  
Let's with all speed some one or other get,  
That to the Camp may to our General run.  
Up Troas started strait, Andraemon's Son,  
And left behind his well-lined purple Vest,  
In which I lay till guilded was the East.  
Had I that strength, and youth, as than I had,  
Amongst you soon I should be better clad,  
Either for Love, or Fear; There's small respect  
For one in tattered Weeds, thus poorly decked.   

Thou well and wisely hast thyself expressed,  
Eumaeus said; Thou shalt not want a Vest,  
Nor aught for one in thy Condition meet,  
Well as we may to morrow Thee we'll fit,  
We know no change of Suits, nor to be brave,  
So many Backs, so many Coats we have,  
The Prince will than what e'er he please bestow,  
And you your Passport give where e'er you'll go.   

This said, He near the Chimney made his Bed,  
And o'er a shaggy Goats and Sheep Skin spread:  
There lay Ulysses, over whom he threw  
His upper Weed, soft, and well quilted too;  
With which himself 'gainst any Change he arms  
Of cloudy Skies, or Winter's bleaker storms.  
So slept Ulysses amongst youthful Swains:  
But sleep not long Eumaeus there detains,  
Out strait he goes, which made his Master glad,  
That he in absence such a Servant had.  
First o'er his shoulder his good Falchion hung,  
And over that a well-lined Garment fling,  
A Goat's Skin next athwart, than takes his Spear,  
With which he neither Thiefs, nor Dogs, did fear.  
Under a Rock where He his Porkers kept,  
Than took Repose, whilst they, well sheltered, slept.    

 scene from book 15 
Honoratissimce Domince Tabulam hanc Do katherince kingston LMDDDIO Lib 15 Folly 2JJ.    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE FIFTEENTH BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

Minerva to Telemachus appears,  
Gives him good Counsel, and abates his Fears.  
The Princes leave of Menelaus take.  
Ulysses and Eumaeus long awake,  
Their Stories tell. Telemachus sets Sail,  
And escapes the Suitors with a favouring Gale.   

BUT strait to Sparta went th' Illustrious Maid,  
And to Telemachus herself conveyed,  
T'advise him home, and how all Plots to eat,  
In Bed she found him, with old Nestor's Son,  
In Menelaus' Court; Nestorides  
Slept sound, but sweet Sleep not him did seize:  
Such care in solitary night he took  
About his Father, t'whom thus Pallas spoke;   

Telemachus, thou must not longer stay,  
Leaving thy House and Fortunes thus a prey  
To haughty Rivals, jest they share thy State,  
And all consuming, thou returnest too late.  
Leave to departed of Menelaus get,  
At home thou shalt thy Mother found as yet,  
Whose 
(a) Semus and Anletes, according to Enstathius.  Father and her 
(b) This is not a Fiction of Minerva's, but a true relation of what passed; as appears by Penelope's Speech in the nineteenth Book. The like is delivered by Ovid in Penelope's. Epistle to Ulysses;; 

Me paeter Icatius viduo discedere lecto  
Cogit, & immensas increpat usque moras  
Increpet usque licet, tua sim, tua dicar oportet:  
Penelope conjux semper Ulyssis ero.   

Icarius my Father would compel  
Meleave my Widow's bed, much blaming still  
My long delays: and let him still me blame,  
Still I'll be thine, Ulysses' Wise I am.    Brothers urge to Wed  
Eurymachus, as worthiest of her Bed,  
Who best can settle her a plenteous Dower:  
So thy imbezzled state they will devour.  
Women are fickle, and their second Spouse  
Shall with her former Childrens goods, his House  
Replenish, nor regard their Husband's Dust.  
What ere thou hast of Value, that intrust  
Unto some careful Damsel, till the Gods  
Give thee a Wife, and fix in thy abodes.  
But this be sure to Cabinet in mind;  
To Murder thee the Suitors have designed,  
Lying to intercept thee in the way,  
'Twixt dusty 
(c) Either a City on the island of Cephallenia. or else the name of the Isle itself, between which and Ithaca the passage was very narrow, fit for the Suitors designs: Artemidorus Ephesius, in a fragment of his Geography extant in Porphyry, measures it thus; From the Port of Cephallenia Eastward lies Ithaca distant 12. stades; which Island is 85. stades in circuit, etc.  Samos and steep Ithaca;  
But first the Earth shall some of them entomb,  
Who seek thy ruin, and thy state consume.  
Of from those Isles by Night steer thou at large,  
And what ere tutelar Power hath thee in charge,  
Shall a fair Wind to wait on thee command.  
But soon as thou shalt reach thy native Land,  
Thy Ship and Men run up into the Town,  
And to Subulcus Cottage first go down:  
He loves thee well, he who thy Swine doth keep,  
There in the Farm all night in private sleep;  
Him to thy Mother sand, who long hath mourned,  
T' acquaint her thou in safaty art returned.   

This spoke, to Heaven herself she thence conveyed,  
But he Pisistratus a-waking, said;   

Rise dear Nestorides, arise I pray,  
Let us put in our Steeds, and drive away.  
To whom thus than his dear Companion spoke;   

Though we have haste, such haste what need we make,  
To ride by Night ere Dawn; Stay till the King  
Puts up the Gifts, which he intends to bring,  
Safe in our Chariot, and he us dismiss  
With gentle Language, such a Friend he is,  
And us with such civility doth treat,  
That whilst we live we never must forget.  
Thus as they held dispute, the blushing Dawn  
Purpled the East, in her guilt Chariot drawn;  
And from his Bed strait Menelaus risen,  
Leaving fair Helen to her own repose:  
Of which, soon as Ulysses' offspring knew,  
He slipped on's Coat, and o'er his Shoulders threw  
His upper Weed, and out in hast he made,  
To whom he thus, meeting in th' Entrance, said:   

O thou who here the sole Commander art,  
Your Licence grant, that home I may departed:  
My Genius prompts me, here not to abide.  
To whom thus Menelaus than replied;   

Be sure Telemachus, I shall not long  
Detain thee here, desiring to be gone:  
In Hospitality I not think it right,  
Fond of our Guest to be, or too much slight:  
I for the Golden Mean am; 'tis all one  
To thrust one out, would rather not be gone,  
Or keep him sits on Thorns; sure better 'tis  
To treat Guests well, and when they please dismiss.  
Stay but until thou in thy Chariot may'st  
Behold those Gifts that I present Thee, placed:  
Our Maids within strait something shall prepare  
To breakfast, good, though short hour Bill of fare,  
And long your Journey; I, to mend your Dish,  
Shall to both Honour, Wealth, and Fortune wish,  
And would you farther Greece, and Argos view,  
I'll in my Chariot ride along with you,  
I'll show you many Towns, and not in vain,  
Who'll us presenting, kindly entertain.  
Give each a Tripod, Cauldron, or at lest,  
A pair of Mules, or golden Bowl enchased.   

Than said Telemachus; Renowned Sir,  
Who to thy People Rudder art, and Star,  
Feign would I Home, to my own House repair,  
Because I left no faithful Steward there,  
Whilst they my Goods imbezzle, and abuse,  
Seeking my Father, I myself may loose.   

When Menelaus this did understand,  
He to his Queen, and Servants gave Command,  
Cates to prepare, of which were store within.  
Eteoneus' started from his Bed, comes in,  
Whom Menelaus earnest did desire,  
He lodging next him, strait to make a Fire.  
Spits are laid down, the business he attends,  
And to his perfumed Parlour than descends  
With Helen, and his 
(d) Megapenthes the Son of Menelaus, not by Helen, but by a Slave, as appears in the beginning of the fourth book, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc.   Son; but when drawn near,  
Where lay their Goods of greatest worth, they were,  
A Cup, and Silver Charger, than from thence  
Atrides takes, and gives unto the Prince  
To carry as a Present to his Guest,  
Whilst the fair Queen opens another Chest  
Full of rich Vests, which she herself had wrought,  
And culling mongst the bright'st, one forth she brought  
Whose splendour so outshined all others far,  
It in the bottom glister'd, like a Star.  
Thence went they forth, strait to Ulysses' Son:   

Than said Atrides; Now you may be gone,  
If Jove so please, great Juno's thundering Spouse.  
The best of what is precious in my House,  
Here I present this Goblet of pure Mould,  
The Body Silver, the bright Margins Gold,  
By Vulcan wrought, which the Sidonian King  
Did at his Court me as a Present bring,  
When thither I returned, the same as free,  
I, dear Telemachus, bestow on Thee.   

This said, his hand he with the Goblet fraught,  
Whilst Megapenthes him the Charger brought,  
To him the Veil Helen presenting, spoke;   

This Token of my dear affection take,  
Which at thy Marriage give thy beauteous Spouse,  
Till than, let thy dear Mother in her House  
Keep safe for Thee: Now may a prosperous Gale,  
Impregnat to thy native Port thy Sail:  
Which He with Joy accepting, in the Box  
Pisistratus, the work admiring, locks.  
Than to the Hall Atrides them convaid.  
Soon as their Seats they filled, a comely Maid,  
That they might wash, poured streams like Crystal pure,  
In a bright Basin, from a silver Ew'r:  
Than spreads the Table, sets on Bread, and placed  
Dishes well cooked, and pleasing to the Taste.  
Eteoneus' their just Proportions karved,  
And Megapenthes at the Cupboard served.  
Strait they fall too, and plentifully far.  
When Thirst and Hunger satisfied were,  
Telemachus and Nestor's Offspring got  
Their Horses in, and mount their Chariot;  
And through the founding Portico they drove.   

That they might their Libation pay to Jove,  
And Favour beg from all the Powers Divine,  
The King presents them with a Bowl of Wine,  
And standing thus before their Horses, spoke;   

Farewell my youthful Princes, merry make,  
My Commendations to King Nestor bore,  
Who as a Father had of me a Care,  
In that long business of the Trojan Siege.   

Telemachus than; How much you me oblige  
I shall acquaint him, Ah! could I as well  
Returned to Ithaca my Father tell  
Of all your kindness, and rich Presents show,  
Which you on me are pleased to bestow.  
Thus whilst they take their Leaves, at parting just  
A stately Goose up a stern Eagle trust  
At the Barn door, and carried through the Skies,  
Women and Men pursuing with loud Cries,  
And on the 
(*) It is evident from this place, and several others, that in Augury the right side was accounted successful, as on the contrary, the jest, ominous, and unfortunate. Iliad. 12. 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

And now to speak my mind I shall not spare,  
This day th' entrenched Enemy forbear:  
Bade I suspect that this event will be  
Since we this towering Ingle here did see,  
Grasping a speckled Serpent, by us glide,  
Through yielding air, on our sinister side.   
But when any observation was made from Heaven, the left side was esteemed fortunate. Virgil AEneid. 9  
Audiit, & culi genitor de parte serena  
Intonuit la vum—  
Because saith Servins on the place, When we look up, what is our left, is the right side of Heaven.   right side of the Chariot flew:  
With joy the Omen glad Spectators view.  
When to the King Pisistratus thus spoke;   

Of this strange Sign a judgement please to make,  
If our Concern or yours it signify.  
Whilst Menelaus studied a Reply;  
Helen preventing him, thus said; Hear me,  
The Gods are pleased I should the Augurer be;  
As from the Hill this Eagle stooping, did  
Snatch up a Prey her Airy to feed:  
Ulysses so shall Home return e'er long,  
And call t'account all those that do him wrong.  
Than thus Telemachus to Her replied;   

Be this from Jove that warms fair Juno's side,  
Than as a Goddess I will honour Thee.  
This said, he whips his Steeds, the Horses free,  
Swift through the City with a loser Rein,  
In a trice hurries them into Campaign:  
The jolted Teem-pole rattles all the way,  
Till Night's black Regiments obscured the Day.  
To Diocles' Court at Pherae on they trot,  
Whose Sire Orsilochus, Alpheus got,  
Where they all Night well treated took Repose.  
But when the purple-fingered morn arose,  
They joined their Steeds, and mounted, ply the whip,  
The Ports resounding, they the Wind outstrip.  
When near to Pyle their Journey almost done,  
Telemachus thus spoke to Nestor's Son;   

Dear Friend, may I with thee prevail at all,  
Ourselves we Fellow-travellers may call;  
By our Sires friendship, and our equal age,  
And Love begot, thus posting Stage from Stage,  
At my Ship landlord me, lest your Father stay  
Me 'gainst my will, whom business calls away.   

This said, Pisistratus a while did muse  
How thus to serve him, and himself excuse:  
And thus at last concludes; he turns his Steeds,  
And to the Ship on sea-washed margins speeds;  
Than by the Stern he thrusts into the Hold  
Atrides costly Presents, Vests, and Gold,   

Than said; Now get aboard, but order some  
That wait on you, to march before me home,  
And tell th' old man, well I his humour know,  
His bounteous soul would never let thee go,  
Till entertaining he presented thee;  
To balk his House thus, sure he'll angry be.   

This said, he drives on his free metalled Steeds,  
And through the City to the Court proceeds:  
When to his Friends Telemachus thus spoke;   

Get strait aboard and all things ready make,  
That we may in our Voyage speed. This said,  
His Orders, as one man, they all obeyed,  
The Ship they entered, on their Banks they sat,  
All at their work, whilst he did invocate  
His Goddess Pallas on the lofty Stern,  
When he One drawing near him could discern,  
Flying for refuge, who a man had slain,  
A Prophet, one of grave 
(f) Melampus was eminent among the Grecians for predictions, which continued in his Family, as the art of Physic in Esculapius', as appears by this Relation, compared with another in Pausanias, where he says, that Eperastus the Prophet was descended from Melampus. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  After his Death; at AEgisthaena he had a Temple consecrated to his Memory, where on his yearly Festival the people sacrifieed to him. Concerning his Imprisonment, and enlargement we have already spoken Iliad eleventh. Hesiod writ the History of his life in his book called from his name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  Melampus strain,  
Who once in Pyle a fair Estate enjoyed,  
And fled from thence great Neleus wrath t'avoid,  
Who in one year by Rapine and a Cheat,  
Had purchased to himself a vast Estate;  
Whilst in a Dungeon he in Chains lay bound,  
For Neleus Daughter, in deep sorrows drowned,  
Almost distracted, never could take rest,  
Such Snakes Erynnis shot into his Breast:  
But he scaped Death, and did from Phylax get  
The bellowing heard, so paid the unjust debt  
On Neleus, than to his Brother's House,  
From thence he brought his long desired Spouse;  
To Argos than he went, where better Fate  
Increased his Power, augmented his Estate;  
There 
(g) Pratus King of Argos, his daughters being suddenly possessed with a raging fury, offered one of them with part of his Kingdom for a portion to him that should cure them, which was effected by Melampus by the virtue of Ellebore (from him called Melampodium saith Pliny) for which he received the propounded reward, and succeeded Proetus in the Kingdom of Argos.  married he, and built a stately House,  
Had Antiphat, and Mantius, by his Spouse.  
Antiphates got Oicles the great,  
And Oicles Amphiaraus got:  
Both Jove and Phoebus his admirers were;  
But he ne'er lived to Age, and silver Hair,  
He died at Thebes upon a Female Plot.  
Alcmaeon and Amphilochus he got  
Mantius, Polyphides and Clitus had  
But in Aurora's golden Chariot rod,  
Clitus snatched up, and took, for Beauty, place  
In Heaven 'mongst Gods, and the Celestial Race.  
But Phoebus Polyphides raised high,  
Above all men inspired with Prophecy,  
Amphiaraus dead: He did retire  
To 
(h) Hyperesia was a Cityof Achaia, so called from Hyperes the Son of Lycaon. Eustathius.  Hypersie, t' avoid Paternal Ire.  
His Son, Theoclymenus was his name,  
Now to Telemachus for Refuge came,  
And found him as he sacrificing prayed,  
On the high Stern, and thus imploring, said;   

Thee since I found thus offering on this shore,  
I by thy Sacrifice, and God, implore,  
Thyself, and Friends, to let me know your Name,  
Your Country, Parents, and whence now you came.  
Than said Telemachus, the Truth I'll say,   

Stranger, I boast my Birth in Ithaca,  
My Sire Ulysses, if he yet survive,  
And fill the Musters up of those alive,  
For whom long absent I have been in quest,  
And him to seek this ship and men impressed.  
To whom Theoclymenus thus replied;   

So I from Home about a Homicide,  
Fly to thy Refuge; His Relations such,  
That me to apprehended, they promise' much.  
Since I must wander, my sad Fates Decree,  
And am as banished, take me home with Thee,  
Jest I be slain, for me they close pursue,  
My Blood, their vengeful Weapons, to imbrue.  
When thus Telemachus kindly to him spoke;   

If Thou art willing, I'll not drive Thee back,  
Come Thou aboard, and Thee from hence I'll bear,  
And whatsoever we have be pleased to share,  
The Prince from him his Javelin takes, this said,  
And down 'mongst Poles, and other Tackle laid,  
And from the Decks up to the Stern conveyed;  
Than placing next himself, They anchor weighed,  
Telemachus bids them to their Tackle stand,  
They readier are to do, than he command.  
They raise their Mast, and hoist their Sails a-trip,  
Whilst with fair Winds Minerva wings their Ship.  
On each side broken Billows thunder loud,  
Whilst foamy brine the Ship in furrows ploughed.  
Now the Sun setting, Darkness all over spread,  
They Phera past, and where th' Epeians swayed,  
To Elis came, and 
(k) Thoae are Islands which lie East ward of Ithaca, as Cephallenia, where the Suitors lay privily to intercept Telemachus, Westward: They are part of the Ethinades, according to Strabo, and the inhabitants served under the same Prince in the Trojan expedition. But Stephanus in his book de Vrbibus, says, that the Isle Dulichium was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which Homer plurally called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. the signification of those two words being the same, viz. sharp pointed.  Thoae Isles forsaken,  
Fearing his Death, or to be Prisoner took.   

Mean while Ulysses and the other Swains,  
Once more with Cates Eumaeus entertains.  
When Thirst and Hunger satisfied were,  
Ulysses tried Eumaeus if he were,  
Still in one Humour, or if colder grown,  
T' advice him from his Cottage to the Town:   

And thus he said; Eumaeus, and the rest,  
Because I would not be a tedious Guest,  
I to the City earnestly entreat  
To go to morrow, there an Alms to get;  
Advice me well, and let some one instruct  
Me on the way, and through the Town conduct,  
Jest I should wander, whilst from street to street,  
Alms I from charitable people get,  
And to the Court I'll, if I can thrust in,  
Venture, and something tell the Virtuous Queen.  
I'll mongst the haughty Suitors, who perhaps,  
From heaped up Dishes, me may throw some scraps,  
Amongst themselves They bountiful may be,  
But what I'll tell thee think on't as from me;  
Hermes confers on us our better parts,  
Fortune, and Honour, and all Liberal Arts:  
Few dare their strength with me at grasping, try,  
Dry Wood I cleave, and cut, make Fires Nose high,  
Well roast I Meat, and skinck rich Wine, and kerve,  
As We the meaner sort, the better serve.  
Eumaeus started at the motion, said;   

What fond Conceit thy Judgement hath betrayed.  
Hast thou a mind, poor Stranger, there to die?  
The Suitors insolence invades the Sky,  
Their high Affronts, and Injuries such they be,  
They have no Waiters, Gentlemen like Thee,  
But fresh Young Men, accoutred Al-a-mode,  
Their hair kemed out, in their plump cheeks fresh blood,  
Such them attend, not better taught than fed,  
Who load the boards with Dishes, Wine, and Bread:  
But stay; not I, nor any here desires  
Your absence, Us your Company not tires,  
And when Telemachus returns to Court,  
thou he will , and, where thou wilt, transport.  
To whom than thus Ulysses made reply;   

Ah would great Jove loved thee as well as I,  
That me wand'ring and poor hast entertained,  
What's worse than to be a Vagabond?  
An empty belly business ill designs,  
When in the Juncto Grief and Error joins,  
But since my leisure well admits my stay,  
Now something of Ulysses' Parents say,  
Whom aged grown He left, if yet they breathe,  
Or else descended to the House of Death.   

Eumaeus than Prince of the Rustic Youth,  
Said, I'll inform Thee of the certain truth,  
Laertes lives, but still imploring Jove,  
From that Condition him he would remove,  
Much grieving for his absent Son, and Wife,  
Who pining for Ulysses lost her Life.  
Whom he espoused a Maid, so broke her Heart,  
And He now almost ready to departed.  
May none that loves me die a Death so sad,  
And she for me great kindness always had.  
Long as she lived it was her daily use,  
To sand for me, enquiring after News:  
For with her youngest Child Ctimena, she  
Had fostered, nor much lesle esteemed, me:  
But after both were grown to marriage state,  
At Samos she provided her a Mate,  
And on her settled a great Jointure there:  
Me, she with Shifts, and Vests, and Sandals fair,  
And all things fitting sent into the Field,  
And still for me the same affection held;  
Which now I want: But yet the Powers Divine,  
I hope, will better Days for me design;  
Yet here I eat and drink, a Stranger treat,  
Though nothing of our Queen I can relate  
That's fit to hear, of which I may complain:  
A pack of Roisters in her Palace reign.  
Yet of my Servants often she questions asks,  
And one by one, inquirs their several Tasks;  
Than makes them eat and drink, and something bear,  
To them at home that may their Spirits cheer.  
When thus Ulysses to Eumaeus spoke;  
Didst Thou thy Native Country  forsake,  
And Parents? I am earnest now to know,  
Or was your City sacked by any Foe?  
Where your Relations dwelled, or keeping Sheep?  
By enemy's wert Spirited through the Deep,  
And here disposed of, at no little price.  
Eumaeus than, the Rustics Prince, replies;   

Since you'll my story know, I would enjoin  
Your silence, sitting o'er a Bowl of Wine,  
The Nights are long, there is a time to rest,  
Or to hear pretty Tales, or pleasant Jest;  
Repose before the hour did never good,  
Much sleep the Brain distempers, and the Blood,  
But whosoever would rather go to Bed,  
Let him his Charge forth in the morning lead,  
Breaking his Fast, whilst here we drink, and eat,  
And stories sad alternately repeat.  
Those who have suffered much, and travelled far,  
Recounting former Griefs delighted are.  
So now my Tale I'll tell; There is an Isle  
Beyond 
(l) One of the ancienter names of the Island Delos, because, according to the Fabulists, Asteria, to avoid the embraces of Jupiter, transformed herself into a Quail, in Greek called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and leaping into the Sea was changed into an Island, whence Delos is obscurly described under the title of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the winged Quail, by Lycophron in his Cassandra, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

Tremo the Monument near the winged Quail,  
Waves of the Egean Sea shall ne'er assail.   Or rather, according to Phanodemus, in Athenaeus, from the great number of Quails found in that Island.  Ortygia, which they 
(m) An Island near to Ortygia, memorable for nothing but that it brought forth Ph●recydes the Philosopher, Master to Pythagoras; though commended by our. Poet both for Health and Plenty: but in this he seems to describe the Saturnine age, of which there is no other mention in him. Certes Hesiod expresses it in sense not much differing from this of Homer's. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
They lived like Gods, without or toil or care,  
Nor felt they drooping age when old they were,  
But strong and active, they delighted still  
To dance, and died as if asleep they fell.   Syria stile,  
Not great, but fruitful, Vin'yards' store they plant,  
Much Corn, and Pasture have, and know no want,  
Nor sad Diseases, which poor Mortals have;  
But when grown old, full ripened for the Grave,  
By Phoebus and Diana they are slain,  
Insensible of Sicknesses, or Pain.  
Two Cities there divided all the Land,  
Which Ctesius my Father did command.  
Voyages hither the Phoenicians made,  
And with Toys freighted, drove a subtle trade.  
My Father there kept a Sidonian Dame,  
Well bred, and fair, at these do Merchants aim,  
And her from washing did aboard entice,  
There won to wanton Dalliance in a trice:  
When condescending, she had quenched Love's Flame,  
He asked her who she was, and whence she came.   

She said that Arybas her Father dwelled  
In Sidon, where no Poverty they felt:  
But me the Taphians from thence convaid,  
And to the King her selling, well were paid.  
Than her Gallant to his new Mistress, spoke;   

Sail with us to thy Native Country, back,  
That thou thy Parent's stately House may'st see,  
Who yet are both alive, and wealth be.   

Than she replied; If solemnly you'll swear,  
That me in safety you'll to Sidon bear:  
At this all there, not one of them were loathe,  
But took the Solemn Covenanting Oath.   

Than thus she said; If any of you meet  
At yonder Fountain me, or in the street,  
Or at the Palace, in the Old Man's Hall,  
Not the lest notice take of me at all;  
Jest angry, He should me in Chains secure,  
And you by Folly your own Deaths procure:  
But when you victualled, and well freighted are,  
Strait me inform, I, Gold, and what so e'er  
Lies in my Trust, shall strait from thence convey,  
And my young Master, at the Gates at play,  
Fostered by me, who when you come abroad,  
May of more value prove, than all your Load.   

This said; She left them, there a Year they stayed,  
Acquiring Richeses by a mighty Trade.  
But when their Vessel They had freighted well,  
They to the Palace sent one, Her to tell,  
A cunning Snap, that no man could suspect,  
Bringing a golden Crown with Amber decked:  
On this my Mother, and her Women look,  
Much with the Beauty, and Invention took;  
Beating the Price; He winks, no time let slip,  
She takes the Sign, and steals down to the Ship:  
But in the Portal me she snatches up,  
A curious Table, and a Golden Cup,  
With which my Father often his Friends did Treat,  
Before they marched unto the Judgement Seat,  
And three Cups more she in her Bosom hid,  
And I a 
(n) Not her Son, as Spondanus on the place conceived, but the prince whom she nursed, or governed. The name indeed of his Mother is not delivered by our poet, but Euphorion calls her Panthea, others Penia, or Danae.  Child went with her as she bid.  
Just when the setting Sun obscured the Way,  
We came where the 
(o) Herodotus notes that the Phoenicians were the first that carried away Captives in this Manner, and enslaved Men, and Women, which was the occ●sion of the Wars afterwards between Asia and Europe; and therefore are aptly here made the subject of this figment.  Phenician Vessel lay.  
Them all aboard, They steer their Course designed,  
Ploughing vast Billows, with a favouring Wind:  
Six Days and Nights the foamy Brine we plough,  
But when the seaventh morn showed her shining Brow,  
Diana killed the Strumpet, down she fell,  
And like a Sea-mew dropped into the Well:  
o'er board they threw her to be Fishes food,  
Whilst I sat weeping to this Port they stood,  
Where dearly me they to Laertes sold,  
And so this Country first did I behold.   

Than said Ulysses; Me, Eumaeus, much  
Thy Fortunes sadly thus related, touch:  
But Jove hath mixed thy Lot, that thou so good  
A Master hast, who Raiment grants, and Food:  
Though mean, Thou hast enough, when I am hurled,  
In Want, and Woe, despised, about the World.  
Thus various Discourses they recite,  
Spending with little sleep the tedious Night.   

But when the Dawn appeared, all Danger past,  
Telemachus furled his Sails, and struck his Mast,  
And rowing in their Vessel straight-they Moor,  
And safely harboured, they all went a shore;  
There eat and drink, and plentifully far,  
When Thirst and Hunger satisfied were,  
Telemachus thus to his Mates begun;   

Now to the City up your Vessel run,  
I'll to the Fields, and to my Rustics walk,  
And there with them on Country business talk.  
I, in the Morning down to you will come,  
And give you Breakfasting, your Welcome Home.  
When Theoclymenus to the Prince thus spoke;   

But where shall I, Sir, my Addresses make?  
Shall I some noble Person here attend,  
Or to the Queen, and thy own Palace bend?  
Than gravely thus Telemachus replies;   

Not to my Mother, I would thee advice,  
Though nothing thou couldst want, but yet I fear,  
It would be worse in my Absence there.  
Besides, my Mother is but seldom seen,  
By those make Court, she plys her Web within:  
But I'll direct thee unto Polybus Son,  
Eurymachus, by all now looked upon  
As the most fit Penelope to wed,  
And have the Honour of Ulysses' Bed:  
But Jove knows best, whether those Nuptials may  
Not be prevented by a Fatal Day.   

This said, a 
(p) The Falcon was peculiarly, as other Birds to the rest of the Gods, sacred to Apollo, whence Aristophanes in one of his Comedies, 

— 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,   

Jove who new reigns as King, bears on his Crest,  
An Eagle, Pallas with an Owl impressed, I hoebus a Falcon.   Which the Grecians seem to have borrowed from the Egyptians: of whom thus writes Aelian; There were certain Priests of Apollo which were called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Feeders of Hawks: For they are peculiarly consecrated to Apollo, either by the swiftness of their flight, signifying the motion of the Sun (that is, Apollo,) or else, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, because Hawks alone of all Birds, can without pain look directly against the beams of the Sun. Herodotus says, that they were had in so great honour in Egypt, that whosoever killed one of them, though unwittingly, was certainly put to death. lib. 2. c. 65.  Falcon, Phoebus' Messenger,  
Flying, a Dove did in her Pounces bear,  
Pluming her Quarry, Feathers dropped, and 
(q) The ancient Augurs prognoslicated from Birds several ways: either from their manner of Flight, or Wing, which Birds were called Praep●t●●, or else by their Note or Cry, which were called Oscines; or else from their fight with, or devouring, one another, which were called by the Latines Volsgr●: which last sort of Augury is here mentioned, where the Eagle, the Ensign of a King, betokened Ulysses' King of Ithaca; the Pigeon the suitors, those whom Ulysses was to erg●ge with.  blood,  
Amidst the ship, and where Telemachus stood.  
Then him aside Theoclymenus takes,  
And gently wring by the Hand, thus speaks;   

From some kind Power this happy Omen came,  
For I, dear Prince, in Augury skilful am:  
Not other Stock here Regal power shall gain,  
But you and yours for ever here shall reign.   

Than thus Telemachus replied; Ah, would;  
Dear Sir, thou couldst what thou hast said, make good,  
I should so bountifully play my part,  
That who e'er hears should say, Thou happy art.  
To Pyreus than his Confident, he said;   

My Orders Thou hast punctually obeyed,  
Conduct this worthy Stranger to thy Home,  
And love, and honour him, until I come.   

Than he replied; Though long thou shalt remain;  
He shall have no occasion to complain.  
This said, they went aboard, and Cables loose,  
And on their several Banks themselves dispose;  
Whilst on Telemachus his Sandals knits,  
From whence it hung, down his strong Javelin gets.  
Their Anchors weighed, their Vessel loose, they sail,  
Up to the City with a leading Gale:  
As them the Prince enjoined; But he on Foot,  
Went merrily on until he reached the Coat,  
Where lay the Porkers which Subulcus kept,  
And He, a Friend tothth' Princes, sound slept.    

 scene from book 16 
Honoratissimo Domino Do Gulielmo Caulfeild Baroni de Charliemont Tabulam hanc LMDDDIO Lib: 16    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE SIXTEENTH BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

Telemachus up to Eumaeus goes,  
Who treats Ulysses kindly, and not knows.  
Suitors return, their Enterprise in vain.  
Pallas Ulysses turns t' Himself again.  
He to his Offspring doth Himself reveal.  
Penelope rings Antinous a Peal.   

EUMAEUS and Ulysses, by ,  
Kindle a Fire, and 
(a) The ancient Grammarians observe that there were three usual times of eating in the times of the Heroes; the former meal is called by Homer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in this place, and but once more, that is Iliad 24. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. yet we must not think that this meal was unusual because that word is but twice found in Homer, for he calls it by another name common to other meals, Dinner and Supper, as may appear from these places 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, for, saith Athenaeus, they fought at break of day. So on Odyss. 1. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉—  Eustathius, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, it is manifest that in this place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies the morning Repast.  Breakfast ready make,  
And sent the rest forth with their grunting Crew:  
When near Telemachus, the Cottage, drew,  
The Dogs about him fawn, the King this saw,  
And heard one nearer yet, and nearer draw.  
Thus than Ulysses to his Swain begun;   

Some Friend is near, some Person sure, well known,  
The Dogs at him not bark, though very near:  
Now you the trampling of his Foot may hear.  
Scarce spoke, when o'er the threshold steps his Son,  
To whom, surprised Eumaeus forth did run,  
And lets his Mazer brimmed with rich Wine fall,  
T'embrace his Master entering now the Hall,  
Kissing his Hands, his Cheeks, and sparkling Eyes,  
Whilst down fell Tears in briny Deluges.   

A Father so receives his dearest Son,  
Come from far Countries, had been ten years gone,  
His only Darling, gotten in his Age,  
For whom his Sorrows he could ne'er assuage:  
Eumaeus so his Prince did entertain,  
And him saluted over and over again,  
And often, as if escaped from Death, embraced:  
Than thus with glad Condolements at the last;   

Comest thou alive? I thought, my dearest Prince,  
Ne'er to have seen after you sailed from hence:  
Be pleased to enter, that I may delight  
In thy glad Presence, and thy joyful Sight,  
Who amongst us too seldom, ah! we view,  
Took up with Suitors, and that ranting Crew.   

Than said Telemachus; At that I aim,  
And now on such a business hither came.  
Remains my Mother still within her House,  
Or changed Condition with another Spouse?  
And now by this my Father's empty Bed,  
Well 
(b) This is an hyperbolical speech used by the Grecians when they signified neglected, and deserted, not further used: From whom the Latins borrowed it: So Plautus in Aulularia. 

— an nè quis aedes auferat?  
Nam hic apud nos nihil est al●ud qu●sti furibus  
Ita inaniis sunt oppl●tae atque araneis.   

Will not this house be stolen? For nothing's left  
Worth stealing; 'tis of all things else bereavest  
But Spider's Webs.   and Catullus of his empty Purse, 
— nam tui Catulli  
Plenus sacculus ●st arantarum.   Spiders may with Nets and Cobwebs spread.  
To whom the Rustics Monarch thus replied;   

She patiented in thy House doth still abide,  
And Day and Night her sorrows never cease,  
Paying in Tribute briny Deluges.  
Thus whilst he spoke, he took from him his Lance,  
And He into the Parlour did advance,  
And for his Son, Ulysses strait gave place,  
Which thus Telemachus refusing, says;   

Pray Sir, sit still, be pleased to keep your Seat,  
Eumaeus shall for me another get.  
Ulysses' reassums his Chair, this said,  
And he with Boughs, and Skins, a new one made.  
The Prince thus settled, he supplies the Board,  
With cold Meats, and with Bread, and Wine well stored,  
And sitting down, they plentifully far.  
When Thirst and Hunger satisfied were,  
Telemachus thus to Eumaeus said;   

Whence came this Stranger hither, how convaid?  
Of what great Family himself he Boasts?  
Since he on Foot could never reach our Coasts.  
Than to the Prince the Rustics Monarch spoke;   

Well as I can a true account I'll make:  
From Crect, he saith, him cruel Fates have hurled,  
Through divers Fortunes round about the World;  
And now some God his Course did hither shape,  
Here from a Thesprot-Ship he made escape,  
And found me out: Do with him what you please,  
For he's your humble Suppliant, he says.  
Than thus Telemachus himself declared;   

You put me on a business something hard.  
How can I give at home this Guest respect?  
Since I am Young, Power wanting to protect  
His Person from their Insolence, and Scorn.  
My Mother's mind by various thoughts is born,  
Whether she still will keep my Father's Court,  
Preserve his Bed, and her own fair Report,  
Or let her noblest Suitor her espouse,  
And carry with rich Presents to his House.  
But since he is thy Guest, I'll him afford  
A Coat, a Vest, new Sandals, and a Sword,  
And sign his Passport wheresoe'er he goes;  
Mean while amongst you let him here repose.  
I'll sand him , and Diet too, jest he,  
To thee and thine too burdensome should be.  
I, 'mongst the Suitors would not any trust,  
Such are their high affronts, and so unjust  
Which I must suffer in, though ne'er so strong,  
For many may a single Person wrong,   

Than said Ulysses; Sir, since now I may,  
Be pleased to hear on this, what I can say;  
I much am troubled, Sirs, at this Report  
Of rioting Suitors in Ulysses' Court,  
Who in perpetual Rants devour, and swill.  
Sir, act they thus with, or against your Will,  
Or have you else incurred your People's hate,  
By Revelation from the Book of Fate?  
Thereunto moved by Brothers, and Allies,  
In whom we trust when Differences arise?  
Ah! would that I as Young, and Lusty, were,  
As now You seem, that art Ulysses' Heir!  
Or if himself in here should wand'ring Chop,  
Which I despair not of, but rather hope,.  
This Head I'll wager, should I on them fall,  
If suddenly, I did not rout them all:  
But should they me o'er power, I rather would  
Die in my House, than such dire acts behold;  
Strangers ill treated, Virgins wronged, our Wine,  
And Meat devoured, and all, on no Design:   

Than spoke the Prince; Sir, I'll the Truth relate;  
I never yet incurred the People's Hate;  
My Brother I not blame, nor dear Allies,  
In whom we trust when Differences arise.  
Jove pleased our Stock should still produce but 
(c) The Genealogy of Telemachus, is here imperfect, but preserved entire by Eustathius, I know not out of what Author, thus; Telemachus the Son of Ulysses, and Penelope; Ulysses the Son of Laertes, and Anticlea; Laertes of Arcisius, and Chalcomedusa; Arcisius of Jupiter, and Eurucdia.  One:  
Laertes was Arcisius only Son,  
None had Laertes but Ulysses, he  
Left in his Court a tender 
(*) Although Homer mentions but one son of Ulysses, yet the Author of the Telegonia, an ancient Writer, mentions another, Arcesilans: and Sophocles one called Euryalus, slain by Telemachus.  Infant, me,  
Who now am haunted with this spiteful Train,  
The primer sort who in these Islands reign;  
Who 
(d) Three Islands lying round Ithaca: for by Samos is here meant Cephallenia, as we have already observed out of Strabo.  Samos, or shady Zacynthus sway,  
Dulichium, or our rocky Ithaca,  
My Mother court, consuming her Estate;  
She not refuses, nor will choose a Mate:  
But what we have these Roisters now enjoy,  
Abuse our Palace, and would me destroy.  
Heaven's Will be done: But go thou strait, and tell  
The Queen, I'm come from Pyle, am safe, and well,  
And I till thy return shall tarry here:  
Be sure when thou inform'st her, none are near  
To catch the News, the Suitors many be,  
And always brewing mischief against me.  
Eumaeus to Telemachus than said;   

Sir, your Commands with care shall be obeyed:  
But as I go along be pleased to say,  
Shall I acquaint Laertes in my way?  
Who would, though much he for Ulysses mourned,  
Look on the Labourers, and often not scorned  
To taste their homely Cates; But all this while  
That thou wert absent, and hast sailed to Pyle,  
He will nor eat, nor drink, but sighs, and groans,  
And pining sits, consumed to Skin and Bones.   

Than said the Prince, We his tormenting Grief,  
Not yet can ease, with cordial relief,  
Till better we informed may make't appear,  
That my dear Father will be shortly here.  
But to the Court do thou directly bend,  
And tell the Queen she may a Servant sand,  
May him the News in private bear. This said,  
On he his Sandals knits, and ready made,  
And hasting forth, Minerva not beheld,  
Who in a Woman's shape herself concealed:  
But strait she forth before Ulysses starts,  
A Beauty skilful in all Female Arts:  
Neither did her Telemachus espy,  
Gods to appear to every one are .  
But her Ulysses, and the Dogs, beheld,  
And mute, they fled, where they themselves concealed:  
She beckons to Ulysses, he obeyed,  
And drawing near to her, thus Pallas said;   

Disclose thyself, Ulysses, to thy Son,  
And carry Fate, and dire Destruction,  
To the proud Rivals; I myself shall be  
Ready, both to assist, and counsel Thee.  
Than with her golden Wand she touched his Vest,  
Which newly washed, became his manly Breast,  
Which larger grew, his Cheeks waxed plump and fair,  
His Beard turns brown, and black his hoary Hair.  
Thus to himself transformed, in he goes,  
And to his Son amazed, himself than shows;  
Who looking round, much wondering, and afraid,  
Jest he some God should be, thus trembling, said;   

You are so altered, Sir, from what you were,  
Neither the same your , nor Person, are;  
You are some God, descended from the Skies:  
If so, be pleased that we may sacrifice,  
And to thy Deity golden Gifts prepare,  
That Thou our woeful Family wouldst spare.  
Than thus the King did to his Son reply;   

Why call'st thou me a God, no God am I,  
But I thy Father am, whose Bowels yern,  
About these Suitors, and thy sad Concern.  
Kissing his Son, this said, Tears, which before  
Broke not their Sluices, now bedewed the Floor.  
But yet the Prince could not himself persuade,  
He saw his Father, but thus doubting, said;  
The art not Ulysses, but some Drolling God,  
That me would yet with more afflictions load:  
Thou art some Deity, no Mortal could  
Cast aged limbs thus in a 
(e) That is, so suddenly. For the Ancients did conceive it to be in the power of man by virtue of Herbs, and Minerals, to retrieve decayed nature, and to restore it to its former strength, and vigour: as appears by the story of Medea, who by a Medicine boiled in a Cauldron composed of sundry Herbs, and Roots, and precious stones of like nature, with the dew of the Night, and spume of the Moon, and the flesh, and wings of Screech-owls, and other ingredients, restored Old Aeson to his Youth again; thus at large described by Ovid in his Metamorphosis; 

— stricto Medea recludit  
Ense senis jugulum, veteremque exire cruorem  
Passa replet succis; quos postquam combibit Aeson,  
Antony's ore exceptos aut vulnere, barba, comaeque  
Canicie posita nigrum rapuere c●lorem:  
Pulsa fugit macies, etc.   

Medea cuts the old man's throat, out scrused  
His scarce-warm blood, and her Receipt infused,  
His mouth, or wound, sucked in. His Beard, and Head  
Black hair forthwith adorns, the hoary shed.  
Pale colour, morphue, meager-looks remove,  
And under-rising flesh his wrinkles smooth.  
His ●imbs wax strong and lusty. Aeson much  
Admires his Change: himself remembers such,  
Twice twenty Summers past. With all, endued  
A youthful mind, and both at once renewed.    Youthful mould.  
Now you were Grey, your Garments rend, and bore,  
Now one of the Celestial List appear.  
When thus the King to his dear Offspring said;   

Be not surprised with Wonder, nor dismayed,  
Thou ne'er shalt see another Father here,  
Whose absence now hath finished twenty year,  
Tost and turmoiled, through Seas, and Countries, hurled,  
Returning to his Home, through all the World.  
But this Minerva did, she shapes can feign,  
And me thus change unto myself again;  
Now a Young man, in comely Habit decked,  
The Gods can us ennoble, or deject.   

This said, not longer the Young Prince forbears,  
But hugging of his Father, shed salt tears,  
And he his Son in strict embraces kept,  
And both alike over one another wept.  
As Eagles cry, with bitter sorrow, stung,  
When Rustics bear away their callow Young;  
So from their Eyes did briny Rivers run  
In joyful Spouts until the setting Sun,  
Had not the Prince thus to Ulysses said;   

How were you hither, Royal Sir, convaid?  
From whence? what Master did your ship command?  
For hither sure you could not come by Land.  
Than to his Offspring thus the King begun;   

I'll tell Thee, tell Thee all, my dearest Son,  
Me the Pheacians through the Ocean bore,  
And sleeping left upon my Native Shore,  
With Gold, and Silver store, with Robes, and Vests,  
Put up in Fardels, or kept safe in Chests:  
Which in a Cave the Goddess did conceal,  
And bid me now I should myself reveal,  
That we may plot against the Enemy.  
But stay, how many of these Roisters be,  
That I may know, and gravely than advice,  
If them ourselves w' are able to chastise;  
Or whether we should draw to us more aid.  
Than thus Telemachus to his Father said;   

Sir, I have heard what Fame you always gave,  
Valiant to be in Field, in Counsel grave:  
Well you advice, but 'tis beyond my Hope,  
That two with many Valiant men should cope;  
Not two, nor ten to one, but many more,  
Which I, well as I can, will reckon over:  
Twice twenty six from the Dulichian State,  
With six Attendants, on her Answer wait;  
From Same, Valiant Striplings twenty four,  
And from 
(†) An Island in the Ionian Sea, not many Leagues distant from Ithaca, now called Zant.  Zacynthus, we count twenty more,  
Ithacans twelve, are early there and late,  
On whom the Herald and the 
(f) Phemius the Son of Terpius, Odyss. 22. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   Poet wait:  
Two more there are that Dishes marshal up,  
And at their Elbows when they Dine, and Sup.  
If we should charge all these, ourselves than might  
Fall unrevenged, in the unequal Fight;  
But if ye are able, some more Forces list,  
And who most willing are us to assist.   

Than said Ulysses; Thee a truth I'll tell,  
Of which, when th' art informed, consider well;  
If Jove and Pallas pleased, would us assist,  
What need we muster others in the List?   

Than said the Prince; If They be on our side,  
With a sufficient Party w' are supplied.  
They sitting on Olympus, have the Odds,  
Both of poor Mortals, and Immortal Gods.   

Than said Ulysses; Now the time draws near,  
When who shall have the better, will appear  
In cruel fight 'twixt us, and that proud Crew,  
Whose blood our Walls, and Weapons shall imbrue.  
But with the Dawn return Thou to the Court,  
And there with Drols, and Buffoons, talk, and sport,  
Whilst me Eumaeus to the City leads,  
Clad like a poor Old man, in tattered Weeds:  
But if Thou see that there they me abuse,  
Keep down thy swelling Breast, and Patience use:  
Though through the Hall they by the Feet me drag,  
And o'er me punching with their Javelins, brag,  
Retain Thyself, and them with Language fair,  
Advice they would such foolish tricks forbear:  
But they will still go on, nor Thee obey,  
Because draws near to them the fatal Day.  
But one thing more now closet in thy mind,  
Which Pallas, who devices well, designed;  
When I shall nod, what ever arms do lie  
About the House neglected, lay Thou by  
In thy own Chamber; If the Suitors ask,  
With gentle Language, our dire Purpose mask.  
Tell them they are removed, being spoiled with smoke,  
And smutted, nothing like those Weapons look  
Ulysses left, when he to Ilium sailed,  
With sooty smoke their glittering lustre foiled,  
Next, I, what Jove commands, do Thee enjoin;  
If we should quarrel, warmed with lusty Wine,  
And splendid Banquets turn to bloody Fights,  
Arms are enticing, and dire Steel invites,  
For us two Swords, two Shields, two Javelins leave,  
To Charge, whom Pallas will, and Jove deceive:  
Next, if from us Thou dost Thy stock derive,  
And art my Son, tell this to none alive.  
This from Laertes, and Eumaeus, we  
Must keep, and all, nay from Penelope:  
Next, Thou, and I, must first the Women found,  
And than how our Domestics are inclined;  
Which of them us still honour, and still fear,  
And which for me and my Concerns do care.  
When thus to him the Gallant Youth replies;   

Sir, knew you me, you would not Cowardice  
Lay to my charge: This hard to us will prove,  
W' have many great impediments to remove,  
And long, and hard, you know would be the Task,  
To take them One by One, and questions ask,  
Since they all settled, and contented are,  
To eat Thee up, and what Thou hast, not spare.  
But first, to move the Women I advice,  
Who Thee, stirred by Femality, despise,  
The Men pass over, Them to try forbear,  
Till Jove discovers what a Pack they are.  
Thus they amongst themselves discoursed. Mean while  
The Ship that brought Telemachus from Pyle,  
And all his kind Associates, up They bore  
Into the Harbour, laying close ashore  
Their Arms, and Tackle, and rich Presents bore  
To Clytius House, and left in safety there,  
And strait sent to Ulysses' Palace, One,  
T' inform the Queen Telemachus was gone  
Up to the Field, lest that the Queen salt Tears  
Should pay, no Custom due, to Tyrant Fears:  
The Herald, and Eumaeus, met full Butt,  
Each ready with their Message, piping hot:  
Entering the Court, the Herald could not hold,  
But the glad tidings to each Giglet told;  
Whilst up Eumaeus to the Queen did run,  
And told her what commanded had her Son:  
His Errand told, Eumaeus than at large,  
Porsakes the Court, and goes unto his Charge.  
But this bad News the Suitors much amates,  
And out they went, and sat before the Gates,  
And in close juncto there their business weighed,  
When thus Polybus Son Eurymachus said;   

Telemachus hath a great business done,  
Of which, we twenty would have laid to one:  
Let our Consult be brief, no time let slip,  
But with all speed sand forth a will-rigged Ship,  
Them to inform, and hasten to come back.  
Amphinomus saw their Vessel as they spoke,  
Bore to the Port within embracing shores,  
Furling their Sails, and lifting up their Oars.   

Than smiling, said; Yonder our Friends appear,  
We need not sand advice, for they are here.  
Some God informed them, or his ship in view,  
Infatuated, they could not pursue.   

This said; The Princes rising, went a shore,  
And lusty Sailors their stout Vessel moor.  
Than to a frequent Council they all throng,  
Not suffering one to speak, nor Old, nor Young.   

When thus Antinous said; Heaven mocks our Hopes,  
All Day some sat on windy Mountain tops,  
And at Sunsetting, him to intercept,  
We tacked about at Sea, and never slept,  
That we at once might take him, and dispatch,  
Whom sure a Guardian Deity doth watch,  
And thus conveyed unto his Native Shore.  
But now our business do, loose time not more,  
If we would finish what we have designed;  
The Young Man's parts are great, and high his mind:  
To us the People's favour now grows small,  
Let's do his Work  he a Council call,  
There us he'll charge, and the whole Court incense,  
How they conspired the Murder of a Prince,  
Which they'll so take, that us they will exile  
To live unhappy in a foreign Soil:  
Let's intercept him  he reach the Town,  
And share his Wealth, and Fortunes, as our own;  
To's Mother all the movables afford,  
And whomsoe'r she chooseth for her Lord:  
But if this Counsel you not well receive,  
Let him enjoy his Father's state, and live;  
Than we not more must banquet in his House,  
But each at Home seek out some wealth Spouse.  
This said, all silent were, when Nisus Son  
Amphinomus, Dulichium's Prince, begun,  
Whose Courtship best Penelope did please,  
Who still Dissensions laboured to appease.   

Kill not Telemachus, the Royal Heir,  
But to the Gods for 
(g) That is, Let us consult some Oracle: for the Grammarians, in stead of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, prothecies, Oracles. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was the name of the Mountain in Epirus, on which the Temple of Jupiter was built in Dodona, so much celebrated for Responses, whence the word afterwards signified a Prophet, as in Lycophron, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Now Eustathius elsewhere observes, that the Grecians had often deposed their Princes upon the mere command of an Oracle.  Counsel first repair.  
If Jove his Death's Commission please to sign,  
Boldly go on; If not, the Fact decline.  
Pleased with th' advice, up they their Council broke,  
And in Ulysses' Hall their places took.  
Mean while the Queen, to ease her troubled Breast,  
To the Conspirators herself addressed;  
Medon had told her all; Chafed, she descends,  
Her comely Damsels on each hand attends:  
Veiling her Cheeks, she at the threshold stayed,  
And thus aloud taxing Antinous, said;   

Accursed Antinous, thou who'art so much  
Famed for good parts, and yet hast nothing such;  
To kill my Son, why hast thou Plots prepared,  
Nor haste to Jove, and Piety, regard?  
And evil thus for good repay'st, nor knowst,  
When first thy Father 
(h) Eupithes, saith Eustathius.  sheltered on our Coast,  
Fearing the people, who against him raged,  
When with the 
(i) The Taphians inhabited some small Islands near to Ithaca, one of which was Taphos, afterwards called Taphiusa. They were formerly called Teleboae, noted for Piracy.  Taphian Pirates he engaged  
Against our Thesprot Friends, him th' had destroyed,  
Plundered his House, and his Estate enjoyed,  
Which than Ulysses hindering, saved his Life,  
And now you eat him out, would wed his Wife,  
Murder his Son, and me with Sorrow kill:  
You, and the rest forbear, his blood not spill.  
Eurymachus than, Polybus Son, replied;   

Best Queen, on my Integrity confided,  
Lay by your fears, none here, whilst I draw breath,  
Shall hint the smallest motion for his Death;  
Who e'er attempts, by all the Gods I swear,  
Shall purple, with his reeking Blood, my Spear.  
Often on his Lap Ulysses' me hath set,  
Given me sweet Wine, and many a savoury bit:  
Therefore thy Son I love, and most admire,  
What e'er the Princes shall 'gainst him conspire,  
I bid him not to fear, nor mind their Odds,  
When I have on my side offended Gods.  
Thus he persuades, and yet his Death conspires.  
Thence to her Chamber the chaste Queen retires,  
Where for her Lord, her Cheeks salt Rivers steep,  
Till Pallas cast Her in a golden Sleep.   

Eumaeus,  the Day his Course had run,  
Came back unto Ulysses, and his Son;  
And in the Cottage Supper they prepare,  
Slaught'ring a Yearling Porker, fat, and fair.  
But Pallas did behind Ulysses' stand,  
And Old again made, touching with her Wand,  
And clad in Rags, jest he his King should know,  
And back to th' Queen with the glad Tidings go.   

Telemachus than to Eumaeus said;  
What News in Town, are from their Ambuscade  
The Suitors risen, or in the Field now lie   

Passing to seize me? Than Eumaeus; I  
Not myself troubled questions more to ask,  
But strait returned, having performed my Task.  
Where from thy Vessel I did one behold,  
Who the glad News first to thy Mother told.  
And near the City on a 
(k) Called Hermaeum from the Statue of Hermes, (' that is, Mercury) standing on it. Eustathius.  Hillock's side,  
Up to the Port, I saw a stout Ship glide,  
With Men, and Arms, fit to receive a Foe,  
These I suppose are they, more I not know.  
Telemachus on's Father smiled, this said,  
And from Eumaeus turned aside his Head.   

Their Labour done, their Supper strait they dressed,  
Nor wanted Will to make a sumptuous Feast.  
When Thirst and Hunger satisfied were,  
They to their several Dormitors repair.    

 scene from book 17 
Edoardo bish de Surey Equiti Aurato Smalfeild in Comitatu Tabulam hanc IMDDDDO Lib. 17.    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE SEVENTEENTH BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

Telemachus leavs the Farm, and walks to Town,  
Ulysses follows in a Beggar's Gown.  
Argus' his Dog, his Lord disguised knows.  
To crave an Alms he'mongst the Suitors goes:  
They fill his Scrip, but Him Antinous strikes.  
His Son's Resentments, and his Queen's dislikes.   

SOON as in th' East appeared the blushing Dawn,  
The Prince his curious Sandals did clap on,  
Takes up his Spear well-fitted to his Hands,  
And going forth, Eumaeus thus commands;   

I go, that first my Mother me may see,  
Who, nor from Tears, nor Sorrow, will be free  
Till I a Visit make; But You I bid,  
This hapless Stranger to the City lead:  
There up, and down, He craving Alms, may go,  
Plying those few, are willing to bestow:  
I am not able, thus over poured with Grief,  
To give to every one in want, Relief.  
This if he like not, he may worse far,  
They are good Friends, that no Dissemblers are.  
Than thus Ulysses to his Son replied;   

I here desire not longer to abide,  
In Towns, our Scrips, and Bottles, often are filled,  
Alms drop but thin, and coldly, in the Field,  
Not longer here I linger shall stay,  
But what my Master orders, shall obey.   

Be pleased Eumaeus, show me to the Town,  
Since thin my Vest, and threadbare is my Gown:  
I at a little Fire myself would warm,  
Jest me thus clad, the morning Dew may harm;  
They say the City is far of from hence.   

Forth went, this said, with speed the active Prince,  
And going 'gainst the Suitors, Plots contrived:  
As soon as at the Palace He arrived,  
Against a Column he his Javelin placed,  
And o'er the Marble threshold stepped in haste,  
Whom Euryclea ', dressing up the Hall,  
Ordering the Chairs, and Seats, spied first of all,  
And weeping, to him ran, Damsels, a throng  
Embracing gather, and about him hung.  
Penelope from her Apartment came,  
Like bright Diana, or the Cyprian Dame,  
And with glad Tears to his embraces flies,  
Kissing his rosy Cheeks, and sparkling Eyes,  
And like a tender Mother, questioned thus;   

Art come my Dear, come my Telemachus;  
I never thought alas to see Thee more,  
When Thou for Pyle forsook'st thy Native Shore:  
But tell me what hath happened since you went  
To seek your Father without my 
(a) 'Tis apparent, that according to Homer, Telemachus travailed without the knowledge of Penelope; wherefore I take that to be the meaning of Ovid in Penelope's Epistle, 
Ille per insidias pene est mihi nuper ademptus,  
Dum parat, invitis emnibus, ire Pylon.   Consent.  
Than said the Prince; Mother, let Sorrows rest.  
Nor Passions stir fermented in the Breast,  
It is enough that Death not seized me hath,  
Go up with your Attendants to your Bath.  
Than vested in your 
(b) Homer usually expressed that purity of mind required of those that made their supplications to God, by the washing of the Hands, as Odyss. 12. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  But here he adds another rite of the same nature, the putting on of clean garments, not to be observed in any other part of his Works.  cleanest Garments come,  
And offer to the Gods a Hecatomb,  
Imploring Jove, what he begun, to end;  
But I must to the Change to call a Friend,  
That came with me; Gone with Pyreus Home,  
Ordered to treat him well, until I come.   

This said, Penelope took her Son's advice,  
Bathed, and fresh Garments put on, in a trice,  
And with a Sacrifice the Altars loads,  
Jove's aid imploring, and all favouring Gods.  
The Prince walks forth, armed with a glittering Spear,  
His Dogs, his faithful Guard, attendants were?  
Pallas with heavenly rays his Temples decked,  
That all admired his Mein, and brave aspect;  
Whilst round about the Suitors fawning, throng,  
Gall in their Bosoms, Honey in their Tongue.  
He their Crowd waving, to old Mentor bends  
Alitherse, and Antiphas, his Father's friends.  
Whilst they together there discoursing, sat,  
Pyreus up to them the Stranger brought:  
Telemachus not his respects delayed,  
But up he stands, when thus Pyreus said;   

Your Gifts let Damsels to the Palace bear,  
Which by the Spartan King presented were.  
Pyreus than Telemachus replied;   

How may they there secured, as mine abide!  
Me the proud Suitors plot to murder there,  
That they may my Paternal Fortune's share,  
I'd rather thou, than they shouldst them enjoy,  
But if those would destroy me, I destroy,  
Sand them with joy than to my House: This said,   

He by the Hand the Stranger Home convaid.  
As soon as they within the Palace drew,  
Their Vests aside on Beds, and Seats, they threw,  
Than to sweet Baths they went, where cleansed from soil,  
Damsels their skins suppled with perfumed Oil;  
Than on them richer Vests, and Mantles cast,  
And leading out, in Chairs prepared, placed.  
Water to wash their Hands a Virgin Sewer  
Pours in bright Silver, from a golden Ewer:  
Next, spreads the Table, sets on Bread, than placed  
Dishes in order, grateful to the taste:  
Plying her Loom, his Mother there did cull.  
The softer Fleece, and carded purple Wool,  
Whilst fall too, and plentifully far.  
When Thirst and Hunger satisfied were,   

My dear Telemachus, the Queen than said,  
I'll now retire, where I'm no sooner laid  
On my sad Couch, but trickling Tears distil,  
Which wash my Pillow, and my Bosom fill,  
Since my Ulysses sailed to Ilium,  
But you'll not tell me  the Suitors come,  
What you abroad have of your Father heard.  
Than thus Telemachus himself declared;   

Mother, I will the truth to you relate;  
We went to Pyle, where Nestor us did treat,  
And used me as a Father would his Son,  
Returned from travel, had been absent long:  
Such was my joyful Welcome, such our Cheer;  
But of my Father he did nothing hear,  
If dead, or yet alive: But me he sent  
To Menelaus, Horse, and Chariot, lent:  
There I fair Helen saw, upon whose score,  
Trojan and Grecians with commixed Gore  
Died Phrygian Plains; The King of me inquires  
Wherhfore I came, I told him my desires;  
When thus to me the Royal Spartan said;   

A feeble Wretch so fills a Hero's Bed,  
A Hind so in a Lion's Den, her Fauns  
Secures, than wanders fertile Vales, and Launs,  
When he returning strait devours them all;  
So would Ulysses on these Suitors fall.  
Would Phoebus, Jove, and Pallas, Him assist,  
As when at Lesbos, entering the List:  
He threw Philomelides on his Back,  
When joyful shouts rung like a Thunder-crack.  
To these Corrivals he would prove as kind,  
They soon should sad, and bitter Nuptials found.  
But to the Point, in pity of thy Youth,  
I'll not extenuate, nor wave the Truth;  
What 
(d) Proteus; whose account of Ulysses, delivered Odyss. 4. is here verbatim repeated.  Proteus told me, shall not be concealed,  
Who said, That Him he in an Isle beheld,  
Whom, 'gainst his will, Calypso did detain,  
No means to see his Native Soil again:  
There he laments, wants Shipping, Men, and Oars,  
That should transport him from enchanted shores.  
Such was th' account he gave, from thence the Gods  
With fair Winds sent me to my own Abodes.  
This, new Commotions in her Bosom made,  
To whom Theoclymenus thus than said;   

Best Queen, Your Son knows little, but I'll tell,  
That am Prophetic, and shall Truth reveal,  
Jove I attest, the greatest of the Gods,  
Thy Hospitality, and these Abodes,  
Arrived, Ulysses now abscondeth near,  
And all their Plots, and Villainy doth hear,  
Whose sure Destruction now he hath contrived,  
I saw the 
(e) A pigeon devoured by a Falcon, mentioned in the latter end of the fifteenth book.  Omen just as we arrived,  
And to thy Son my Observation made.  
Ah! couldst Thou make this out, the Queen than said,  
I such returns, and kindness should impart,  
That all should say, a Happy man thou art.  
Whilst thus they talked within, just at the Gates  
The Rival's Javelins threw, and played at Coits,  
Where they before their Consultation held.  
But when near Supper, Sheep come from the Field,  
Medon whom they loved best, and did attend,   

Still at their Feasts, said; When your Game you end,  
That we your Supper may prepare, walk up,  
'Tis not accounted wholesome late to sup.   

This said, they all went in, their Vests and Coats  
In their Seats laying; Sheep, and well-fed Goats,  
And fatted Swine, with a huge Ox they dressed,  
Than having sacrificed, prepared to Feast.  
Mean while Ulysses, and Eumaeus, made  
Hast to the Town, when thus the Swinherd said;   

You to the Town desire to walk to Day,  
As our Lord bids, and Lords we must obey:  
But I had rather you would here abide,  
But than my Master would be sure to chide.  
Come, let us now make haste, the Day grows Old,  
And closes of the Evenings often prove Cold.  
Kindly himself Ulysses thus expressed;   

Your Orders, Friend, I closet in my Breast,  
So let us march, lead you, and I'll attend.  
And since we must make haste, your staff me lend:  
You say the way is rough, and I may slip.   

This said, He o'er his shoulder threw his Scrip,  
Which worn in Holes, hung on a twisted Thong,  
His staff He lends him, and they walk along,  
And leave the Farm, by Dogs, and Rustics watched,  
Than like an Old man leaning, poor and patched,  
In Beggar's habit, on he leads the King,  
Through rough ways, near the Town, unto the Spring,  
From whence the City all their Water had,  
Which 
(f) These were three so●s of P●elerans: From the one the Island, and City received its name, Ithaca; from the other, the Mountain Neritum; and from the last, a place called Polyctorium.  Ithacus, Nerit, and Polyctor made,  
Planting a Grove of pleasant Trees about,  
Cold crystal falling from a marble Spout:  
And to the 
(g) These Nymphs were of three several kinds among the ancients, as Homer in one of his Hymns distinguisheth them, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  Those here meant, are the Naiads, or Ephydriades, whom antiquity called the daughters of the Ocean, because all Fountains have their origination from thence.  Nymphs above an Altar placed,  
Where weary Travellers offered as they passed,  
There he Melanthus, Dolius Son oretook,  
Leading the Goats, the primest of the Flock,  
Must Suitors feast, which two Swains after drove:  
Whom thus he taunts; which much the King did move:   

One Villain leads another, 'tis Jove's Will,  
That like to like must go together still.  
Where, Swinherd, lead'st thou this thy hungry Mate,  
Who begging scraps, hath crouching at the Gate,  
His shoulders broke; how he a Feast would rout?  
Chargers, and Swords fit no such heavy Lout:  
But lend him me, and he shall sweep my Coats,  
Look to my Flocks, and feed my tender Goats,  
And Whey shall swill until his belly sag,  
But since he will not work, but rather beg  
To feed his hungry Paunch, let him beware  
He go not to Ulysses' House, jest there,  
About his Head, their Foot-stoles fly as thick  
As Hail, whilst him about the Hall they kick.   

This said, he strikes Ulysses on the Hip.  
But he stood firm, him up he could not trip:  
Who ready with his staff to knock him down,  
And teach more manners to a Buffle-head Clown,  
Patient, forbears: which as Eumaeus spies,  
Rateing him first, his Hands raised to the Skies,  
He thus gins an Execrating Prayer;   

You Fountain Nymphs, Jove's beauteous race, if e'er  
Ulysses offered you the brawny Thighs  
Of well-fed Lambs, and Kids, in Sacrifice,  
Ah! grant me my Request, that He may come,  
Conducted by his better Angel, Home:  
He'll spoil your Pride, which wandering up and down  
You boast, both in the Country, and the Town,  
Whilst wicked Swains destroy the numerous Flock.  
When thus Melanthius the Goatherd spoke;   

For what Thou sayest, Dog, I shall thee convey,  
In a good Ship e'er long from Ithaca,  
For whom, I bart'ring, should my Garner fill.  
Would Phoebus, this Telemachus would kill,  
Or let the Suitors Him to day dispatch,  
They long may look, that for Ulysses' watch.  
This said, muttering Replies, He left them there,  
And to the Court, with speed, made his Repair,  
There 'mongst the Suitors for a place He pressed  
Against Eurymachus, who loved him best:  
Who from their several Messes, him afford  
Choice Cates: Waiters with Bread supply the Board.  
Eumaeus and Ulysses than drawn near,  
A well-strung Harp, and Phemius singing, hear:  
The King by th' Hand taking Eumaeus, said;   

This Court of old was for Ulysses made,  
You easily may know it at first sight,  
The Hall adorned, the Wall and Trench not slight,  
The double Gates are fortified so well,  
They mock all Force or Power of Human skill,  
But many sure invited Guests are met,  
And merry, now at plenteous Tables set.  
I a good Treatment smell, the Harp I hear,  
Which heaven ordained 
(h) The Grecians were so far addicted to the study of Music, from the very foundation of their Commonwealths, that their common discourse became afterwards Musical: but they especially used it in their Temples, and at their Banquets, and Entertainments: whence is that of Horace, concerning the Harp, Divitum mensis & amica Templis Nor does Homer ever describe a Banquet without it. Which Custom Virgil translated out of him, into the Banquet of Dido; 

— cithara crin●tus jopas  
Personat aurata, docuit quae maximus Atlas.  
Hic canit erraentem Lunam, Solisque labores,  
Vnde hominum genus, & pecudes, unde imber & ignis,  
Arcturum, etc.   

— whilst curled jopas plays  
Upon his golden Harp, great Atlas lays.  
He changing Moons, and the Sun's labours sung,  
Whence Men, and Beasts, whence  
Showers and Lightning sprung,  
The Bears, Triones, Kids foretelling Rain;  
Why Winter's Suns run headlong to the Main.   The Instrument chief at that time used was the Harp, called by our Poet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Quintilian lib. 1. Institut. Orat. Vnde etium ille mos, ut in conviviis post coenam circumferretur lyra. Whence rise the Custom that at Banquets after Supper a Harp was carried about. Pind. Olymp. 1. speaking of Hiero King of Syracuse, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

He loves sweet Music best,  
Such as is usual at a Feast:  
But take me down the Doric Lyre  
From the nail.    Companion to good Cheer.  
Than thus Eumaeus to Ulysses said;   

You know, who have so long experience had,  
But now let us consult what's best to do;  
Either do Thou first in the Palace go,  
And walk up to the Hall, and here I'll stay,  
Or tarry here, and I will show the Way:  
But be not long, jest whoever Thee first spies,  
Shall strike, or drive away, thus I advice.   

Than said the King; Discreetly dost thou say,  
Go Thou in first, and here a while I'll stay:  
I'm used to stripes, my sides are hard with Blows,  
My Heart grown steel, enduring Woes on Woes,  
Turmoiled in Battles, tossed on swelling Seas,  
Banging, and Kicks, are flea-bite to these.  
The hungry Belly in each Corner hunts,  
For which we suffer many sad Affronts:  
To feed the Paunch, stout Ships we man, and rig,  
With mischief, and our enemies ruin big.   

Whilst such Discourse amongst themselves they had,  
His Dog pricks up his Ears, and raised his Head,  
Argus, whom often before he went to Troy,  
Ulysses fed, for others to enjoy.  
With him in's absence the young men were want,  
Wild Goats, and swifter Hares, and Deer, to hunt:  
But now he lay in a dejected state,  
Upon a Dunghill just before the Gate,  
That Mules, and Steeds congested with their Dung;  
Which Swains on the improving pasturage fling.  
There lay poor Argus, full of Ticks, and knew  
His Royal Master, as towards him he drew,  
Wagging his Tail, and couching close his Ear,  
But could not stir; at which he stole a Tear,  
Which hiding from Eumaeus, thus he said;   

I wonder here this Dog his Bed hath made,  
He hath been large and fair, of swiftest Breed,  
And such as Princes at their Tables feed.   

Than he replied; This once fair, fat, and young,  
Did to Ulysses (Dead I fear) belong,  
When he to Troy with Agamemnon went,  
You would admire his swiftness, strength, and scent:  
Through Groves and Thickets, He the Game, in view,  
Or hunting on the Foot, would swift pursue:  
But now grown Old, absent, or dead his Lord,  
The Women negligent, not him regard:  
Servants when that their Masters absent are,  
To execute their Duties, little care.  
Half of their industry Jove takes away,  
Slaves care not what comes on't, where's none t' obey.   

This said, He ventured through the arched Gate,  
And went directly where the Suitors sat:  
But Argus Eyes the sullen Prcaae sealed,  
When he his Lord 
(i) Pliny in his Natural History, Vivunt Laconici (canes) annis denis, foeminae duodenis; caetera genera quindecim annos, aliquando viginti. The Laconian Dogs live ten years, the Females twelve: other sorts live fifteen, sometimes twenty: in which he follows Aristotle. But Aelian in his History of Animals, produceth the life of a Dog to fourteen years only.  twenty years passed beheld.  
When first Telemachus Eumaeus saw  
Coming, He beckoned, nearer him to draw:  
But He looking about strait took his Seat,  
Near where the Cook distributed the Meat  
About the Hall unto the Feasting Crew,  
And near Telemachus his Table drew,  
When seated by himself, the Herald brought  
His Dishes, and the Board with Manchet fraught,  
Strait after him Ulysses, hung in Rags,  
Enters the Hall, his Bottles, and his Bags:  
Like an old Beggar down within the Gate,  
Before the Ashen Portico, he sat:  
His back against the Cypress Entrance stayed,  
With rich Crotesk engraven, and boscade.  
Telemachus than to Eumaeus spoke,  
And a whole Manchet from the Charger took,  
With as much meat as both his Hands could hold;   

Bear to yond Stranger this, bid him be bold,  
And round of all the Suitors Alms implore,  
Bashfulness suits not Persons that are poor.   

Thus ordered, strait Eumaeus him obeyed.  
And drawing near, thus to Ulysses said:   

The Prince, this Plate, and Manchet, sends to thee,  
Advising, that you would their Charity  
From all the Suitors, round the Hall, implore,  
Modesty suits not Persons that are poor.   

The Prince, Ulysses said, Jove happy make,  
And prospero all things He shall undertake.  
And with both Hands, this said, puts up the Meat  
In a foul Wallet, lying at his Feet.  
Mean while the Poet heavenly raptures sung,  
And Supper ended, up his Harp he hung.  
Than various prattle, echoing Voices made,  
When Pallas drawing near Ulysses, said;   

Now craving Alms among the Suitors go,  
That Thou their several Characters may'st know,  
But how so e'er He spared none of them all.  
Than craving Alms, He speaks about the Hall,  
At each one's back, He like a Beggar stands,  
Importuning them with extended Hands.  
The Princes all Him pity, and admire,  
Ask whence He came, who He might be inquire.  
When thus Melanthius the Goatherd spoke;   

Hear me you worthy Heroes, that here make  
Addresses, hoping to espouse our Queen;  
This sturdy Beggar I before have seen,  
Eumaeus brought Him here, but I not know,  
Whether He may be called a Friend, or Foe.  
When thus Antinous, Subulcus chid;   

Why didst Thou to the Town this Vagrant lead?  
Have we not yet enough of such fine Guests,  
A pack of wandering Rogues at all our Feasts?  
Thinkest Thou it fit to bring one here to sup,  
Would us devour, and eat thy Master up?  
When thus Eumaeus on Antinous fell;   

Sir, this your speech is not digested well,  
whoever invites a Stranger, treats him fair,  
Those who be Tradesmen, or Mechanics are;  
A Poet, or Physician, or whose Voice  
At Banquets, makes both Poor, and Rich, rejoice:  
Such famous Men are entertained by all,  
That none: are pinched by Poverty, they call  
Of all that's here; You worst to please still be,  
Still finding faults, but piquing most at me:  
But I regard not you, nor all your spleen,  
Whilst here the Prince dwells, and our gracious Queen,  
When thus Telemachus to Eumaeus spoke;   

Be silent Sirrah, and no answer make,  
Antinous loves to meddle thus, and brawl,  
Himself to trouble, and disturb the Hall.  
Than turning towards Antinous he went on;   

You use me as a Father would his Son,  
That from my House driving poor Strangers, still  
Officious art, but sure 'tis not Jove's Will:  
Give him an Alms, I beg it, neither fear,  
My Mother, Sir, nor any Waiter here,  
But this not your Design, you'll rather stay,  
Devoured yourself, than any give away.  
Than thus Antinous boldly did retort;   

Sweet Prince, your speech methinks is something smart,  
If each should give as much as I bestowed,  
At Home, three months, Cates would his Table load.  
Here threatening, he a Footstool up did whip,  
Whilst all the rest with Doles filled up his Scrip.  
Ulysses than  his retreat he made,  
Stopping before Antinous thus said;   

Dear Sir, your Charity to me impart,  
Sure thou art Rich, so like a Prince Thou art,  
Therefore on me you better may bestow,  
And I shall praise thee wheresoever I go.  
I once was wealth, had a fair Abode,  
And often on Strangers what I had bestowed:  
I many Servants kept, had all things which  
Make People Happy, and accounted Rich:  
But Jove destroyed it, who doth what he list,  
And me with Crusing Privateers dismissed:  
For Egypt we a tedious Voyage had,  
At last, we in the pleasant River road,  
Than to the Company I gave Command  
To moor their Ships, and by no means to land,  
And sent forth Spies, that should the Country view;  
But they o'er daring, the poor Natives slew,  
And fell to plunder the Egyptian Field,  
The Women ravished, tender Infants killed:  
The Country to the City gives th' Alarms,  
Who with the Dawn drew forth in glittering Arms,  
Both Horse, and Foot shining in steel complete,  
And so Jove pleased, that strait they us defeat,  
Not any stood, but all the Field forsook,  
Many they kill, and many Prisoners took.  
To do their Drudgeries, me to 
(k) Although Cinyras be King of Cyprus in the Iliads; yet he being dead, this Dmetor the son of Jasus seems to have reigned in his room. Eustathius.  Metor gave,  
Who reigned in Cyprus, there to be his Slave:  
From thence I hither, as you see, forlorn,  
Ventured through Worlds of woes, still Fortune's scorn.  
When thus Antinous himself expressed;   

What God this wand'ring Rogue sent to our Feast?  
Stand farther of, jest Thou at once do see,  
Egypt, and Cyprus acted over by me,  
Thou impudent and lying Rascal, go,  
Thou beg'st of each, and All on thee bestow:  
There is no spare, no pity, none forbidden  
To cut large slivers from another's Bread,  
Since there's no Want. When thus Ulysses spoke;   

Sir, in your Judgement sure you are mistake:  
In your own House, you scarce would 
(l) He exprobrates to Antinous by this expression, his Inhospitality, of which Salt was the Symbol among the ancients, which was therefore first brought to Table, and last carried away.  Salt afford,  
That art thus pinching at another's Board;  
That from such Plenty wilt not me Carress  
With one small bit of Bread, in my Distress.  
At this Reply Antinous, almost mad,  
Frowning on Him, in much Distemper, said;   

Thou never shalt unpunished leave this Court,  
That darest so saucily to us retort.  
Than with his stool him on the shoulder struck,  
But he the fall took, standing like a Rock:  
Nor more was moved at Antinous blow.  
Than silent, thinking on Revenge, did go  
Back to the Door, there sitting down, he laid  
His full Scrip by, than to the Suitors said;   

Hear you that court the Queen, and here now Feast,  
The sudden Dictates of my troubled Breast;  
Men are not grieved when they receive a stroke,  
Fight to save their , or their Flock;  
But from Antinous I my payment have,  
By ill-advising Hunger forced to crave:  
But if the Gods the Poor revenge, than He  
May Death espouse, before he married be.   

Than he replied; Sat quietly, and eat,  
Or else be gone, jest Thee the Waiters treat  
In a worse manner, who darest thus retort,  
Kick, cuff, and drag Thee round about the Court.  
They all disliked, he so much on him took,  
Than one of them to him thus boldly spoke;   

I must confess, Antinous, a dislike,  
Objects of Charity any one should strike.  
What if some God 
(m) It was the opinion of the ancients, that the Gods often assumed a human shape, in which, they viewed the world, and the actions of mankind. So Ovid lib. 1. Metamorth. of Jupiter, 

Contigerat nostras infamia temporis aures,  
Quam cupiens falsam, summo delabor Olympo.  
Et Deus humana lustro sub imagine terras, etc.   

The Times accused (but as I hoped, belied)  
To try, I down from steep Olympus slide.  
A God transformed, like one of human birth,  
I wandered through the many-peopled Earth.  
'Twere long to tell what Crimes of every sort  
Swarmed in all parts; the truth exceeds report.   These all received this opinion of theirs from Homer, and he from the Egyptians, who believed the world to be full of Gods, or Angels.  from Heaven descended be,  
Who often as despicable seem as He?  
And the World wand'ring, make a harder shift,  
That they the just from the unjust may sift.   

These words Antinous did but little touch,  
But poor Telemachus was troubled much,  
To see his Father beaten, nor forbears  
To wet the marble Pavement with salt Tears;  
Yet he sat silent, working out his Plot.  
But when Penelope this News had got,  
That one was struck, she to her Damsels said,  
Would Phoebus at his foot Him dead had laid.  
Eurynome replied; Let me too pray,  
May none of them  live to see the Day.   

Than said the Queen; They all are of one Pack,  
And no invention to our ruin lack.  
But this Antinous plays the Devil and all,  
A Poor Man craves their Charity in my Hall,  
Ready to starve, they fill his Wallet full,  
He takes him o'er the shoulder with a stool.  
This sense the Women of the Business had,  
Set in their Chamber, whilst Ulysses fed.  
The Queen than thus did to Eumaeus call;   

Go for that Stranger, sitting in the Hall,  
And bring him strait up hither, I desire,  
That I may bid him Welcome, and inquire,  
If e'er our Lord he heard of, or did see,  
Who, like him, a poor Wanderer may be.  
Than he replied; Ah! would this prattling Throng,  
Madam, were silent, or without a Tongue.  
Such his Discourse, that me he much delights,  
I kept him in my Cotte three Days, and Nights.  
He first escaped from Sea, to me repaired,  
All his sad stories yet I have not heard.  
As when some rare Musician sweetly sings,  
Touching from Heaven inspired, concording strings,  
Ravishing all with his Celestial Voice;  
So did his sweet discourses me rejoice.  
In fruitful Crete, where Minos' Offspring sways,  
He with Ulysses met, who now, he says,  
Among the Thesprots, living, and in health,  
Prepares to come, and fill his House with Wealth.   

Penelope than; Go fetch him hither strait,  
They now are in the Hall, or at the Gate,  
Or where they list, following their various sports,  
Their own Estates preserved, in empty Courts,  
Their Servants stinted with Crab Wine, and Bread,  
Whilst here they on Varieties are fed:  
Our Beeus, and Goats, our fatter Sheep they kill,  
And all the day our richest Wine they swill,  
Havoc they make, and none dares be so bold,  
'Mongst their lose Riots, once to bid them hold.  
None like Ulysses, who this Pestilence  
Would quickly, with a Vengeance, drive from hence.  
He, and his Son, if e'er He live to see  
His Native Soil, would soon revenged be.  
This said, Telemachus sneezed aloud, whilst round  
The ample Hall re-ecchoings resound.   

But the Queen smiling said; Eumaeus, call  
Strait the poor stranger hither, in the Hall:  
See'st Thou not how my Son scarce draws his Breath,  

(n) That sneezing was counted ominous by the Greeks and Romans, we found by many of their Histories When Themistocles was ready to offer sacrifice to the Gods, there were brought before him three Captives of noble descent, and richly habited; whom when the Prophet Euphrantides had viewed, seeing the flame of the Sacrifice large and elucid, and hearing a sneezing on his right side; taking Themistocles by the hand wished him to make a Victim of those three Youths unto Bacchus Omestes, by which he should obtain security and victory. So X●nophon relates how the whole Army promised themselves success upon a sudden sneezing. Mention of which is more frequent in the Poets. Catullus, 

Hoc ut dixit amor, sinistra ut ante  
Dextram sternuit aporobationem.  
Nunc ab auspicio bono profecti  
Mutuis animis amant, amantur.   

When Cupid this had spoken, He  
Than sneezed, good must the Omen be;  
So going from a happy sign,  
The Lovers in affection join.    Sneezing so often; the Omen carries Death,  
The Suitors are involved in one sad Fate:  
But what I promise', do not Thou forget.  
If Probabilities to me He tell,  
I with a Suit and Coat shall  him well.  
Eumaeus strait Penelope obeyed,  
And drawing near him, hapless Pilgrim said;   

The Queen calls for Thee, who though full of Woe  
Something about her absent Lord would know,  
And She, if her what's probable Thou tell,  
With a new Suit, and Coat, will  thee well:  
Thou shalt not more about a begging go,  
What e'er Thou want'st, she freely will bestow.   

Than thus Ulysses said; Eumaeus, I,  
Icarius Daughter well shall satisfy  
Concerning him, Her I can well acquaint,  
For we alike felt Miseries, and Want.  
But much these Ranters me with fear surprise,  
Whose Pride, and Folly, scales the starry Skies;  
One struck me without Cause, nor did the Prince,  
Nor any here, rebuke his Insolence.  
But let the Queen be patiented, till 'tis Night,  
And I at large shall, what I know, recite  
Near a good Fire; My  are of the worst,  
Which well you know, who entertained me first.  
Eumaeus with this Answer coming in  
Without the Stranger, smartly said the Queen;   

Why hast Thou not this Guest, Eumaeus, brought,  
Is he mistrustful, fears some Female Plot?  
Or is he Modest, in another's Court?  
Blushes not well with wand'ring Pilgrims sort.   

Eumaeus than; Madam, th' excuse he made,  
Seems what, in Prudence, any might have said,  
That he this boisterous Crew might better eat,  
You would be patiented till the setting Sun:  
For you t' will be convenienter, best Queen,  
To talk with him in private, nor be seen.  
Than thus Penelope herself expressed;   

Sure this is no Buffoon, nor simple Guest,  
For never such a Crew together got  
Of Mischiefs, that do naught but mischief Plot.  
The Queen thus having showed her Discontent,  
Eumaeus thence amongst the Suitors went,  
And to Telemachus than drawing near,  
He softly whispered thus, that none might hear;   

Now Sir, I must unto my Charge repair,  
But to your safety look, take special Care:  
Many they be, in mischief All conjoin,  
First Jove destroy them by their own design.   

Than said the Prince, I'll do what you advice,  
Just, Father, are your Fears, and Jealousies:  
But early bring fat Offerings for our Feast,  
And leavet ' Immortal Gods, and Me, the rest.   

This said, The Prince again resumes his Seat,  
Subulcus than fell too, and drank, and eat,  
Than walks he to his Charge, and leaves the House,  
Full of proud Feasters, who rich Wine carouse,  
Dancing, and Singing, Merry to the height,  
Till bright-day fled from sable-ensigned Night.    

 scene from book 18 
Domino D: nc Gulielmo Hanvard de Tandridge Equiti in Comitatu de Suny Tabulam hanc LMDDDIO Lib. 18.    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE EIGHTEENTH BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

Irus, a sturdy Beggar of the Town,  
Quarrels his King; They fight, He knocks him down.  
Public the Queen in Gorgeous Dress appears,  
Where She her Suitors both trappans, and jeers.  
A Stool Eurymachus at Ulysses throws:  
The loud Disturbance Flowing Cups compose.   

BUT than a Beggar came, who long in Town,  
And through all Ithaca begged up and down:  
Deep could he Gussle, and much Gourmandise,  
Yet wanted strength, though of the largest size.  
His Mother Him 
(a) Eustathius observes that it was the Custom amongst the Grecians, that the Mother should give the name to her Child: which I found confirmed by Euripides in a Fragment preserved by the Scholiast of Aristophanes; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉;  
What name the Child, the Mother the tenth day.  On the tenth day after the birth of their Children they made a Feast, and than give a name to their Children, according to Euripides in his Tragedy called A●geus,  Arnaeus named, whom all,  
For carrying speedy Errands, Irus call;  
Who thought to drive the King from his own Gates,  
Whom in a baffling humour, thus He rates;   

Dotard, be gone, hearest not the Feasters sense,  
That I should drag Thee by the heels from hence?  
Warned, I say rise, else we'll the Cause decide  
With dint of fist. He frowning, than replied;   

I hurt not you, I hinder none to give,  
Nor any one their Charity to receive:  
Here's room for more; is't fit, Thou snarling Dog,  
Rogues should with one another play the Rogue?  
Heaven make us thankful, here's enough for both:  
Not more, jest I begin, though I am loathe,  
You'll found too soon, an Old Man's ponderous Fist  
Shall make your mouth die with fresh bloodyour breast:  
Than I'll alone here till to Morrow stay,  
And you'll scarce take this House more in your way.   

Than he replied; Rascal, Thou well canst brag,  
But look'st no better than a withered Hag.  
I'll on your mouldy Chaps your Passport sign,  
And drive your Teeth out, as from Corn, the Swine.  
Prepare thyself, that all may here behold  
The Younger Beggar triumph o'er the Old.  
Thus sitting, They out in rough Language broke,  
Of which Alcinous first notice took,  
Than smiling, thus to his Companions said;   

Yonder's such sport, the like we never had,  
The Beggars ready are to play a Prize,  
Let's set them on. At this they all arise,  
And in their Seats their upper-Garments fling,  
And thronging round the Champions make a Ring.  
Than said Antinous; Hear me I desire,  
Goats Puddings are now lying on the Fire,  
Well stuffed with blood, and suet, ready dressed,  
And he who in this Duel gets the best,  
Shall first make choice, and always with us eat,  
And keep all Beggars else without the Gate.  
Antinous' motion all the Concourse took,  
When sly Ulysses cautiously thus spoke;   

'Tis hard for me, consumed with Grief, and Age,  
With such a sturdy Youngster to engage;  
But since the Belly, which ne'er counsels well,  
Says, I must fight, and Hunger doth compel;  
All that are present take the Solemn Oath,  
That none help Irus here, but let us both  
Try our own proper strength, two against one,  
Though ne'er so Valiant, may be o'erthrown,  
This said Ulysses, and they swore; when thus  
Unto his Father spoke Telemachus;   

Stranger, If Thou by a brave Confidence  
Art moved, not doubting but to drive him hence,  
Fear none that stand behind thee, or before,  
Whoever strikes Thee, shall fight with many more.  
I, and Eurymachus, and Antinous, shall  
Be on thy side: This motion pleased them all.  
Whilst up to's twist his Shirt Ulysses' ties,  
And round his Waste, showing his brawny Thighs,  
His Breast, and Arms, and spreading shoulders bore,  
Which Pallas made more rossid, plump, and fair.  
The Suitors wondering at his Manly make,  
Thus looking than on one another spoke;   

Irus, I doubt, will by this Bargain loose,  
What Thighs, his Rags now of, the Old man shows!  
Thus said they, whilst the Waiters Irus dressed,  
And lead him forth, with extreme Fear possessed,  
A trembling Ague his whole body shook,  
When thus Antinous to Irus spoke;   

Tremblest Thou boaster (hope for no relief)  
To fight an Old Man, spent with Age, and Grief?  
But this I threaten, and it shall prove true,  
If He the better have, and Thee subdue,  
I shall transport thee to Epirus than,  
Where King 
(b) He was King of Epirus, son of Euchenor and Phlogea, who put out the eyes of his daughter Metope, or Amphissa, corrupted by Aechmodicus, and set her to grinned Corn, made for that purpose of Iron, saying she shouldthen recover her sight, when she hadground that to flower. Inviting afterwards Aechmodicus to a banquet, caused all the Members of his body to be cut of: At last falling into extremity of Madness, died by devouring his own flesh. Others say that Echetus lived in the time of Homer, by whom being ill treated, he poetically revenged himself by this relation, as he did on Thersites in his Iliads.  Echetus reigns, the worst of men;  
Who shall cut of thy Ears, thy Nostrils slit,  
And thy raw Dowsets give the Dogs to eat.  
These threaten more increased his aguish Fear,  
But in they drew, and high their Hands they rear.  
Ulysses than considered, I or not,  
If he should kill the Rascal at one blow,  
Or lay him on the Pavement with a Cuff;  
The last seems best, and such Rebuke enough:  
Jest the Spectators so his strength should found.  
Than to't they went, His business thus designed.  
First Irus Him on the right shoulder struck;  
But Him Ulysses such a whirret took  
Under the Ear, a Bone broke with the blow;  
Strait from his mouth a purple stream did flow,  
He on his Back lay, in a deadly Swoon,  
Gnashing his Teeth, and kicking of the Ground.  
Clapping their Hands aloud, the Suitors laugh,  
Whilst by the Heels Ulysses drags him of,  
And setting by the Wall in th'outward Court,  
Gave him a staff, still giddy, to support.   

Here Sirrah, Dogs and Swine drive from the Door,  
YE have no Commission to keep out the Poor;  
The worst Thou shalt receive from me, Thou hast.  
This said, His Scrip he o'er his shoulder cast,  
Which hung down at a Thong, than on the Floor,  
Resumes his place, just where He sat before:  
The Suitors than all thronging in, and glad,  
Thus to Ulysses, much delighted, said;   

May Thee great Jove, and the Immortal Gods,  
Who hath thus driven from us, and these Abodes,  
This sturdy Rogue, this gormandizing Beast,  
Grant whatsoever Thou shalt of them request.  
But we'll to Epire, shipped, the Rascal sand,  
To Echetus, who governs like a Fiend.   

This said, Ulysses at their Vote rejoiced,  
Antinous the Paunch before him placed,  
Stuffed well with blood and fat; Amphinomus brought  
Him in a Basket two Loaves, piping hot,  
And with a Golden Bowl presenting, spoke;   

Bold Stranger, may the Gods thee happy make,  
And give such Richeses as thou hadst before;  
For, Father, now thou art exceeding poor.   

When thus Ulysses said; Sir, I believe,  
That Character which all your Fathers give,  
May be called yours, Dulichian Nisus aim,  
Though rich, was always to preserve his Fame,  
Since thou his Offspring, like him, prudent art,  
This for a special Maxim I'll impart;  
What ever breaths, and on the Earth doth crawl,  
Man is th' unworthiest Creature of them all,  
Who a defiance to bad Fortune gives,  
And says, he ne'er shall suffer whilst he lives:  
But when changed Fates Usher the evil Day,  
Than he must bear't with Patience, as he may.  
Such vain Opinions mongst weak Mortals be,  
So Poverty, unlooked for, fell on me.  
I once was rich, so much in Wealth did trust,  
I, on mere humour, loved to be unjust:  
Such Confidence in my Relations had,  
None without Power are impiously bad:  
But here at plenteous Board's, some ne'er give thanks,  
And such you Suitors seem, who play mad pranks,  
Courting his Wife, making of all a Spoil,  
Who may e'er long, his Friends, and Native Soil,  
With joy revisit: Stay not till he come;  
Ah! may some God before conduct thee Home!  
When ever he returns, your long love-sutes  
He'll cancel strait with blood in smart Disputes.   

This said, libating first, he Gold turns up,  
Returning than with thanks the well-ebbed Cup.  
But he went in, and troubled shook his Head,  
Struck with his own presages, almost dead.  
Not so he scaped, but trapped in Pallas snare,  
His blood distained Telemachus his Spear.  
Minerva than Penelope possessed,  
To show herself, in gorgeous habit dressed,  
T' inflame the Suitors, and be honoured more,  
Both of her Son and Husband, than before.  
Than smiling on Eurynome she said;   

A sudden motion doth my mind persuade,  
That to these proud Corrivals, whom I hate,  
I should appear, and show myself in state;  
And to inform my Son, that he should not  
Converse with them who his Destruction plot.   

Than she replied; Madam, I like it well  
That your Intelligence your Son you tell;  
Go than, and him with their Designs acquaint,  
But bath first, and your Cheeks a little paint,  
Appear not blemished, those small Trenches fill,  
Worn by perpetual tears, and weeping still;  
For such a Son thou shouldst the Gods implore,  
To see him grow in Virtue more and more.  
When thus to her the Queen strait made Reply;   

Persuade me not to bathe, my Cheeks to die,  
The Gods that wounding Beauty quite destroyed,  
Since he to Ilium went, I than enjoyed.  
Antinoe and Hippodamia strait  
Call hither, only they on us shall wait,  
To go alone will Modesty invade.  
Forth goes th' old Matron, and her Queen obeyed.  
Than Pallas drove a better Plot, and fast  
A sleep Penelope too wilful cast,  
Than brought her Heavenly Gifts, Love to acquirë,  
That all the Greeks her Beauty should admire,  
That Fucus used to cleanse her Face from specks,  
With which Love's Queen removed impeaching frecks,  
When with the Graces she intends to dance;  
Than fatter made, Her stature did advance.  
To these advantages Her skin did show,  
Whiter than polished Ivory, or Snow.  
The Queen thus heightened, the Celestial Dame  
From thence departs, and in Her servants came,  
And with their noise the slumbering Queen did wake,  
Than Her Cheeks drying with her hands, thus spoke;   

I drowsy, in a pleasant slumber fell,  
Would me Diana could so sweetly kill,  
That I my Lord not longer might lament,  
Wasting myself with Grief, and Discontent.  
Because his Peer he hath not 'mongst them all.  
This said, she strait descends into the Hall,  
Two Damsels her attending: when she drew  
Near to the Portal, strait the amorous Crew,  
Her Beauty spying through a slender 
(c) It was the Custom of Greece, as now in Spain, that both Wives and Virgins should have their faces covered. Whence Libanius. mentioning the destruction of Troy, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. The head of the Woman was without a Veil, for the destruction of her Country had taken away the consideration of Modesty. And this appears out of a Comedy of Xenarchus'. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  So on the contrary, it was the fashion for Courtesans to walk open faced, as may be seen in Callimachus' hymn on Venus; and in the Comedy . Whence the Athenians, who punished adultery with death; made this caveat; that whosoever was taken with any Woman, Wife, or Virgin, who walked unveiled, should not be counted an adulterer.  Veil,  
Trembling, surprised with conquering Love, grew pale,  
Wishing th'enjoyments of her happy Bed.  
Than to her Son Telemachus she said;   

Thy judgement fails thee, and thou want'st that heart;  
For which, when Thou a Child, so praised wert:  
Now Thou art passed a Boy, a Man full grown,  
That whoever sees will say, a Hero's Son  
Thou needest must be, when they Thy Features scan.  
When Thou of Him hast but the outward Man,  
And nothing of his Virtues knowst at all,  
Who such Affronts endur'st in Thy own Hall;  
That a poor Stranger, who in Charity  
W' are bound to comfort, should thus injured be.  
Who ever we receive under our Roof,  
From wrongs it should protection be enough;  
Thine's the Disgrace, and the example bad.  
When thus her Son unto his Mother said;   

I'm not offended at your high Discourse,  
But yet I understand better from worse,  
As well as when a Child, but cannot here,  
With greatest Prudence aught distinguish clear:  
Me they would ruin, Plots on Plots are laid  
For my Destruction, and I have no aid.  
By joint Consent young Irus, and our Guest,  
This Combat had, the Stranger got the best.  
Ah! that great Jove, Pallas, and Phoebus, would  
We in like case your Suitors might behold,  
Some in the Court, and some within the Hall,  
With palsied Heads in Death's Convulsions, fall,  
As Irus now in th' outward Porch doth sit,  
Shaking his Head, as in a drunken fit:  
He cannot stand, nor able to come back,  
Who locomotive Faculties doth lack.  
They such Discourse standing together had,  
When to the Queen Eurymachus thus said;   

Icarius Daughter, fair Penelope,  
If all our youthful Princes You should see  
In this your 
(d) The word in this place, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, is a general word for Greece, as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the Grecians, which with several Epithets signifies several partciular places, as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thissaly, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. So in this place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies Peloponnesus, or the Morea, according to Strabo; from Jasus, son of Jo, King of the place.  splendour, many Suitors more,  
Would early wait to morrow at your Door;  
Since Nature you her Masterpiece designed,  
In so much beauty casing such a mind.   

Than said the Queen; those parts that I enjoyed,  
Features, and Virtues, deathless Gods destroyed,  
With which I so much took my dearest Lord,  
When he with Agamemnón went aboard.  
Would he returning rule this Life of mine,  
My Honour, and my Beauty more would shine,  
Now Fortune's bitterer blasts hath all bereft.  
When he, me, and his native Country left,  
Me by the right hand taking, said; My Dear,  
We shall not all return from Troy I fear,  
They say the Trojans Valiant be in War,  
Throw javelins well, and able Archers are,  
On foot, or mounted, to no Nation yield,  
Who in a trice will clear a bloody Field,  
Nor know I if my Fate will drop me there,  
Than all that's mine I leave unto thy Care:  
But my dear Father, and my Mother mind,  
Be in my absence, Love, to them more kind:  
And when our Son shall come to Age, espouse  
Than whom thou wilt, and leave to him thy House.  
Now all hath happened what my Husband said.  
The Night draws near, that I the Nuptial Bed  
Must venture in, although so much abhorred;  
Since Jove hath took away my dearest Lord.  
But something grieves, that now I will unfold,  
The Custom here of Suitors, was of Old,  
Who some great Dame, or rich man's Child, wouldwed,  
Courting t' enjoy the honour of her Bed,  
Fat Beeus, and Sheep, and richer Presents sent,  
To feast her Friends, but not her Fortune spent.  
This overhearing, made Ulysses glad,  
That thus dissembling she did them persuade  
To sand their Gifts, and costly Presents in.  
When thus Antinous did first begin;   

Icarius daughter, fair Penelope,  
What ever presents we do sand to thee  
From us be pleased with kindness to receive,  
Returns ingratful be of what we give.  
But we'll not other business undertake,  
Till one of us you choose, and Husband make.  
All to his motion gladly condescend,  
Their Heralds with rich gifts the Queen attend,  
Antinous sent a Vest, joined to each fold,  
A Button, which a dozen were all Gold.  
Eurymachus a golden Chain, so bright  
With Amber, like the Sun it cast a Light.  
Eurydamas two servants, Pendants brought,  
Set forth with Orient Pearl, and rarely wrought.  
A Carcanet Pisander's Herald bore:  
Each sent her something, beauteous, rich, and rare.  
The Queen thence to her Chamber went, and they  
Who waited, up with Her the Gifts convey.  
In Dancing, Singing spent, and all Delight,  
Till golden Day sunk, vanquished by Night,  
But They went on, still varying several sports,  
Three Lamps were placed to light the gloomy Courts,  
Nourished with dry materials round about,  
That they might clearly shine, and not go out,  
Which Damsels snuffed, and with fresh fuel fed:  
To whom the King offering his service, sed;   

You servants of your absent Lord, go in,  
And there attend the Pleasure of your Queen,  
In Her Apartment silver fleeces cull,  
And carded, her present the purest Wool:  
And I'll supply, and feed these Lamps, should they  
Be merry here until the Break of Day:  
All pains I conquer, make a sport of Toil.  
This said, the Damsels on each other smile,  
But first to him Melantho giggling said,  
Dolius proud daughter, whom the Queen had bred  
As her own Child, but she a Wanton proved,  
At all not at her Lady's sorrows moved.  
She with Eurymachus had done the Feat,  
And in uncivil Terms thus on him set;   

Sure thou art mad, nor sleep will't any more  
On a Smith's Forge, or Stall, or at some Door;  
But prat'st amongst Young Princes boldly here,  
Nor Symptom hast of Modesty, nor Fear,  
But full of Wine, Thou them dost entertain  
With trifling Talk, or stories false and vain,  
Or prid'st Thou that Thou Irus didst over throw,  
Another comes that will not take it so,  
Shall with a Vengeance beaten Thee from the Door,  
And with thy own blood paint thy Bosom over.   

Than frowning he replied; The Prince shall know,  
Bitch, what thou sayest, and Thee shall punish too:  
At these his threats they much affrighted, all  
From thence ran, trembling, and forsook the Hall,  
Saying, they feared the Stranger true had spoke.  
Than to preserve the Lamps he undertook,  
Looking about, contriving in his mind,  
How he might finish what he had designed,  
Nor longer temper them did Pallas grant,  
But that they should him suddenly affront,  
That so his Choler they might more provoke.  
When first to him Eurymachus thus spoke,  
And smiling on his Fellows, did begin;   

Hear me all you that court a Royal Queen,  
And to the dictates of my Soul attend,  
Some God this Man t' Ulysses' House must sand,  
His Looks majestic, his Deportment fair,  
His Ey-brows thick, not clothed with scattering Hair,  
Than turning from them to Ulysses spoke;   

If thou wilt serve, Thee to my Farm I'll take,  
Good shall thy Wages be, nor shalt thou want,  
To keep my Hedges pruned, my Trees to plant;  
Sandals I shall bestow, and neatly ;  
But those who idly live all works do loathe:  
Thou rather wouldst a begging go, and put  
Moore Victuals still in thy ungodly Gut.  
Than to Eurymachus Ulysses said;   

'Twixt us I would there were a Wager laid,  
Or in the Spring, or in the longest Day,  
Which of us with a Sith should mow most Hay;  
We'll begin fasting, nor to labour yield,  
But when Night calls to supper, keep the Field:  
Or let us for the Plough our  Yoke,  
When we have both well fed our big-boned stock,  
Than Thou shalt see me up long Furrows tear:  
Or if Jove Peace should turn to cruel War,  
Than to the Battle boldly I'll advance,  
With Cask, and Shield, in either hand a Lance;  
Not as you say to fill my greedy Gut:  
But such Affronts on me you always put.  
You think, forsooth, that no man is your match,  
Who hath conversed with none but thy own Batch.  
But should Ulysses come, sooner than spied,  
These Gates would seem too narrow, although wide,  
To make escape, rather than be engaged.  
At this Retort Eurymachus enraged,   

Thus frowning, made Reply; Rascal, I shall  
Thee to accounted for saucy Answers call,  
Who with such Impudence, and at no rate,  
Mongst Princes thus unmannerly darest prate,  
And full of drink, thyself dost entertain  
With wondrous Raptures, and Discourses vain;  
Or prid'st Thou that poor Irus down you struck?  
Thus talking loud, up he a Footstool took,  
Ulysses to Amphinomus Knee did duck,  
Fearing Eurymachus: the thrown Tripos struck  
A Skincker on the Hand, down on the Ground  
The Goblet drops, the bruised Brims resound:  
He on his back lay roaring, with the Fall,  
Which made a great disturbance in the Hall.  
When one of them thus to another said;   

Ah, would this wand'ring Rogue had perished,  
 he came here, quiet we were before,  
This Devil's Brat puts all in an uproar:  
Fooling with him the pleasure of our Feast  
We lose, nor well our savoury Dishes taste.  
When thus Telemachus did his mind declare;   

Your full Bowls work, or you distracted are,  
Or else the Devil in you this stir doth keep,  
Since ye are well treated, pray go home and sleep:  
Not man I'll force, but so much I desire.  
This said, biting their Lips they all admire  
Telemachus, that he so boldly spoke:  
Whom thus Amphinomus did undertake,  
Not any should be moved, or take dislike  
At saucy words, nor should a stranger strike,  
Nor any Servant of Ulysses' Train,  
That are appointed us to entertain.  
Now let the Skincker with a full Bowl come,  
And when we have libated, all walk Home,  
And to the Prince his care this Stranger leave.  
This said, the Suitors the advice receive.  
Mulius the Goblet carries through the Hall,  
Amphinomus Herald, and strait served them all,  
Paying 
(c) Athenaeus observes that in Homer, libations to the Gods were usual as well after Meals as before, whom Plato follows in his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, for he says, that after they had supped, they made their libations to the Gods, and honoured them with their usual Hymns. The like doth Xenophon: only in Epicur●●'s Banquet no mention of offerings, or libations. Thus far Athenaeu●.  Libations to the Powers Divine,  
They troul the goblet full with richest Wine,  
Thus after flowing Bowls, and plenteous fare,  
To rest, they to their several Homes repair.    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE NINETEENTH BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

Ulysses and his Son convey forth all  
The Arms and Spears that were about the Hall.  
The Queen descends, Her Husband entertains,  
Not knows him: He a woeful Story feigns.  
Euryclea baths his Feet: His Ancient Maid,  
Knows her Old Master by a Scar He had.   

BUT still within the Hall Ulysses sat,  
Plotting with Pallas the proud Suitors Fate:  
Who thus spoke to his Son; It will behoove,  
That all these Arms we from the Hall remove,  
And carry in; And if why so they ask,  
That we the better may our business mask,  
Tell Them th' are taken down, because the Dust,  
And Smoke, their brightness with a sulein rust  
Hath much impeached, not like the same they were  
Ulysses had, sailing for Troy, left there:  
Or say a Revelation from the Gods  
You had, if they by chance should fall at Odds,  
With Wine distempered, and turn Nuptial Rites  
To bloody Banquets, 
(a) He counsels to have the Arms removed, lest the very sight of them should tempt the Suitors to a quarrel, as the sight of a Woman a Man unto Lust. In omnire (saith Vlpius) & ad om●em rem multum valent oculi. In, and to all things the Eyes are of great prevalency.  itch of steel invites.  
Telemachus these his Commands obeyed,  
For Euryclea calling next, thus said;   

In their Apartments, Nurse, the Women shut,  
Till the King's arms I in my Closet put:  
Soiled th' are with smoke, which I a careless Boy,  
Left hanging here, e'er since he went to Troy.  
When Euryclea thus to him begun;   

Ah! would thou hadst that prudence of a Son,  
Who in his Father's absence being th' Heir,  
Should of all Houshould-businesses take care.  
But when I'm gone, who, lights you out and in,  
When not a Female-waiter must be seen?   

Telemachus than said; This Stranger shall,  
I'll have no idle Persons haunt my Hall:  
Whoever eats here shall work, be what he may.  
His Orders she did punctually obey,  
And first, to shut the Gates she had a care,  
Whilst in, Ulysses and his Offspring bore  
Helmets, and Shields, and Lances, whom before  
Pallas in gold a blazing Taper bore.  
Telemachus than to his Father said;   

Prodigious beams, o, Sir! my Eyes invade:  
The Walls, the Seats, the Beams, and Pillars shine,  
As if they were a fire, some Power Divine  
Hath left those Seats, where they in Heaven reside.  
When to his Son Ulysses thus replied;   

Be not inquisitive, nor more inquire,  
This often do they who plant Olympus spire.  
Go thou and sleep, but here I shall remain,  
That I thy Mother, and her Female Train,  
May questions ask; she grieus and nothing knows.  
This said, Telemachus went to his Repose,  
Where he in Morpheus golden Fetters lay,  
And sound slept until the blessed Day:   

But in the Hall the King with Pallas stayed,  
To finish up the Plot which they had laid.  
When the fair Queen down from her Chamber came,  
Like bright (b) Diana or the 
(b) He compares her to Venus for the beauty of her Face, to Diana for the proportions and comeliness of her Body: for in that was her excellence: Odyss. 6. 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 (Dianae) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

Whom Virgil follows Aeneid the first.  
Qualis in Eurotae ripis, an't per juga Cynthi,  
Exercet Diana choros, quam mille secuta  
Hinc atque hinc glomerantur Oreades, illa pharetram  
Fert humero, gradiensque D●as supereminet omnes.   

As on Eurotas banks, or Cynthus top,  
Diana Dances leads; a beauteous Troop  
Of Mountain-Nymphs attend on every side,  
Her golden Quiver at her shoulder tied,  
Walking, she all the Goddesses exceeds.    Cyprian Dame,  
Against the Fire her Chair of state they placed,  
Which Ismarus with Gold, and Ivory graced,  
And strait a Footstool for her they brought in,  
Which soon they covered with a dapled Skin;  
There sat the fair Penelope in state,  
And all her Damsels round about her wait.  
A Table spreading they with Manchet store,  
And Cups, in which proud Suitors drank before:  
This a Fire kindles, That lays on more Wood,  
Which in a Pilemight light, and warm the blood:  
When thus Melantho at Ulysses flew;   

Stayest Thou still here to see what Women do,  
And us thus in our Privacies molest?  
Sirrah, be gone, and quickly too, ye are best,  
Or we with Firebrands shall your Passport seal:  
Than thus Ulysses frowning, on her fallen;  
Why dost Thou me so spitefully thus taunt,  
Minx, is't because I better Garments want?  
I poor, crave Alms of those that best can spare,  
And many such poor Wanderers there are:  
I once had Richeses, and a fair Abode,  
A part of which, often I on those bestowed  
That wanted; Many Servants I employed,  
What styles men Rich, and Happy, I enjoyed:  
But Jove was pleased my state to ruin quite,  
Therefore take heed to exercise such spite,  
And make of others Poverty a sport,  
Who brave now 'mongst the Maids of Honour art.  
You may be out that now in Favour are,  
The King may come, of whom we not despair,  
But should he not, and if no hope we had,  
He hath a Son, who, by Apollo's aid,  
Will suffer no such Giglots in his Court,  
To make of woeful Pilgrims thus a sport.  
Penelope observing what they said,  
Thus in rough Language rattled up her Maid;   

Audacious Drab, how in my Presence darest,  
Thou speak such words; nor a poor stranger sparest?  
On your own head the Plot may fall, you lay,  
knowst Thou not well, didst Thou not hear me say,  
From him I hoped Intelligence to have  
Of my dear Lord, would sorrow give me leave?  
Than to Eurynome thus spoke the Queen;   

Bring a Chair hither covered with a Skin,  
That I what he can better tell, may hear;  
For Him I'll sift, and question very near.  
She strait obeys the Orders of the Queen,  
Brought a high Chair, and covered with a Skin.  
Ulysses there sat down, his Reverence made,  
To whom Penelope thus mildly said;   

Sir, first be pleased to tell me who you are,  
Your Nation, Town, and Parentage declare.   

Than he replied; Not any You can blame,  
The World your Honour knows, the Stars your Fame;  
Like a Just King, who fearing Jove's Commands,  
Maintains in happy Union many Lands;  
Where several Grains they in deep Furrows throw,  
Whose Fruit on Trees beyond Abundance grow,  
Pregnant his breed, Fish's the Sea afford,  
His people both with Wealth, and Virtues stored.  
Therefore, best Madam, ask not who I am,  
Nor who my Parentage, nor whence I came,  
Jest my own sorrows me too deeply touch,  
Recounting to you, I have suffered much:  
In a strange House it fits not to be sad,  
And to weep always, and lament, as bad:  
Some of your Maids may take offence, or you,  
Saying the Maudlin, Wine with Tears can brew.  
Than thus Penelope to him replied;   

The Gods my Parts and Beauty than destroyed,  
When first the Greeks 'gainst Troy an Army sent,  
And with them my dear Lord Ulysses went.  
Should He return to rule this Life of mine,  
My Fame would grow, and more my beauty shine:  
But now in Tears, time, and myself I spend,  
And my Misfortunes follow without end;  
Whoever Dulichium, or 
(c) The name of the Island Cephallenia, (in the Italian Charts now called Zapolania) from the chief City thereof.  Same sway,  
Woody Zacynthus, or rough Ithaca,  
Court me and vex my House, that no regard  
I Strangers give, nor who attend, reward,  
Nor means Petitioners to answer found,  
Still troubled for Ulysses in my mind.  
Them, hasting Nuptials, still I did deceive;  
And by some Godinspired, obtained leave,  
 any of the Suitors I espouse,  
A curious Web to finish in my House.  
My Princely Suitors, thus to them I said;  
Since you suppose my dearest Lord is dead,  
Delay our Marriage till that we have done  
Laertes Hearse-cloth which I late begun,  
Jest I incur some Graecian Ladies Hate,  
Without, t' inter one of so great Estate.  
Thus I the haughty Suitors did persuade,  
By Night unrav'ling what by Day I made.  
Three years I mocked their Hopes, and held them on;  
But when the fourth with finished months begun,  
My careless Women let them in, they chide,  
So I must finish what I could not hid.  
Now no means left dire Nuptials to avoid,  
No Counsel, neither Friend to be employed.  
My Parents, they, forsooth, still put me on,  
And wasted state of my displeased Son  
Now grown a Man, fitting to rule his House,  
Whose Cause I hope Jove will himself espouse.   

But pray Sir, tell me who you are, and Stock?  
YE are not descended from an Oak, or Rock.  
Than thus Ulysses civilly replies,   

O Thou the Spouse of Laertiades,  
Not more me of my Stock, and Parents ask,  
Though you on me impose so hard a Task,  
To reckon up those sorrows fell so thick,  
They like my Tears would pose Arithmetic:  
I shall declare who have so long been hurled,  
Bandied in sufferings round about the World,   

Crete a fair Isle, girt with the Ocean round,  
Well planted, and with 
(d) What here is ninety, in his Iliads is a hundred, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc.   

Phaestians and Rhytians, and who in Crete,  
Did in a hundred famous Cities devil.  
Idomeneus, who did much ex●●l  
In feats of War, and bold Me●iones,  
In forty Vessels brought through briny Seas   Which dissonancy the ancient Writers have several ways attempted to reconcile. Some say the number of the Cities were a hundred in the time of the Trojan War, but that Leucas King of the Island demolished ten, for terror to the remainder. But Ephorus, an ancient Historian, says that ten Cities were built by the Dorians, whom Althamenes planted there after the Trojan War; to whom Strabo assenteth. Others think that the number hundred is used indefinitely for a great many, as in the Lemma of Rome, in an ancient Coin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  Ninety Cities crowned,  
Greeks, 
(e) That is Natives of Crete, such as came not from other Countries to settle there.  Eteocrets, and Cydones there commixed  
The 
(f) There is great diversity of opinion among the ancients in the explication of this Epithet. Andron, one of the ancientest of the Greek Historians, says that Doris, from whence this Colony came, consisted of three Cities, and therefore the Dorians are called by Homer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: which certainly is the meaning of the Poet, though Strabo admitteth it not: because, saith he, Doris consisted not of three but four Cities: but both Thycydides and Diodorus Siculus agreed with Andron the later in his eleventh book, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. After a few days the Phocians waged War against the Dorians; descended from the Lacedæmonians, who inhabit three Cities, Cytinium, Boeum and Erineum, lying under the Mountain Parnassus. After the same manner does the latter enumerate them in his first book.  triple Dorians, and Pelasgians fixed,  
Gnossos the greatest City of that Land,  
Where Minos nine years Jove's great Favourite reigned,  
He bold Deucalion, and Deucalion me,  
And King Idomeneus got, but He  
In the Armado that the Grecians sent  
Against the Trojans, with Atrides went,  
Idomeneus Younger Brother am,  
I, whom you see thus poor, Aethon my Name:  
There I Ulysses saw, and Him did treat,  
He forced by adverse Winds, put in for Crete,  
Sailing for Troy, bruised by rough 
(g) A Promontory of Pelopounesus lying Southeast, not far distant from Crete, where Navigation was so dangerous that it became a Proverb, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Strabo also notes, that the Italian and Asian Merchants chose rather to carry their goods by land over the Isthmot at Corinth, than trust them to those Seas.  Malean Waves,  
He in 
(h) A station for Ships belonging to Minos' King of Crete, according to Strabo: others say, it is a River of that Island. Eustathius.  Amnissus near Lucina's Caves  
Anchored, and hardly scaped with Tempests tired,  
And for Idomeneus strait enquired;  
He said he knew him well, did much esteem.  
Ten days on this account I treated him  
With whatsoever my Palace could afford:  
Th' eleventh, He with his Followers went Aboard,  
Whom I with Corn, and Wine, and Beef supplied.  
There in the Bay twelve days Wind-bound they ride,  
So loud rough Boreas blew, they could not stand,  
Neither to Sea, nor yet recover Land,  
Kept by displeasure of some angry God,  
The thirteenth day, calm, they forsake the Road.   

Thus like the Truth, he feigns a handsome Tale,  
At which she faints, and weeps, grows wan and pale,  
Melting like Snow upon the lofty Hills,  
Which milder Wind sends down in petty Rills,  
Whose mustered Waves, Rivers to Oceans swell;  
So from her Cheeks a briny Deluge fell,  
For her Lord weeping; fitting by her side,  
And pitying her he equal sorrow vied;  
But kept his bright Eyes dry, like horn, or Steel,  
Though he within did like Compassion feel.  
When she had wept enough, and dried her Eyes,  
Blubbered with briny tears, she thus replies;   

Pray Sir, be pleased I may some questions ask,  
Which called to mind, will be an easy Task.  
You in your House, you say, my Lord did Feast:  
What Habit had he on, what fashioned Vest?  
Such things I long to know: what kind of Man,  
And who those were that him attended on?   

Than he replied; Madam, 'tis hard to tell  
These Niceties, and to remember well,  
Now twenty years being past, since Crete he left;  
But I, well as I can, shall make a shift.  
Ulysses than had on a purple Vest,  
With Loops and golden Buttons neatly dressed;  
Before he had within a 
(i) It appears from hence that the art of working all sorts of Animals to the life in Vests, Hang, and the like, was very ancient among the Grecians; which surely they must have learned either from the Sidonians, or Egyptians, as they from the Persians' or Indians: for that sort of work was most usual in those Countries. Aristophanes in Ranis, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

Mine not like yours prodigious Monsters be,  
Such as are wrought in Median Tapestry.   The like we found in Sidonius, 

Peregrina det supellex  
Cteliphontis ac Niphatis  
Jugan texta belluasque  
Rapidas vacante panno,  
Acuit quibus furorem  
Bene ficta plaga cocco, etc.   

From Ctesiphon strait get enough,  
And Niphates fair houshold-fluff,  
Wrought with Hills, and Wild-beasts, which  
The empty prospect may enrich;  
Who, by well feigned wounds enraged,  
Seem more desperately engaged:  
From Javelin fixed in their sides,  
Blood in bloodless Rivers glides;  
Where the Parthian with such arc  
o'er his shoulder throws his Dart;  
His Horse now charging, than retreats,  
And flying, so his Foe defeats.    Landscape drawn,  
A Hound, who greedy, seized a trembling Faun.  
The curious work Spectators all admire,  
The Dog and Hind both wrought in golden wire:  
He seemed to hold fast by the Throat his Prey,  
The other panting, strove to get away.  
What he wore under showed so fine and thin,  
As a dry Onions perspicable Skin,  
So soft, it like the Sun shot golden Beams,  
Admired much by our most skilful Dames.  
But, Madam, pray this Caution take before,  
I cannot say that here such  he wore,  
Or that some Friend, or Stranger, did present  
The wondrous Habit, when to Sea he went:  
For many did Ulysses much esteem,  
Since few of all the Greeks resembled him.  
I Him presented with a curious Sword,  
And purple Vest, and sent them both aboard.  
The Herald that Ulysses Ushered,  
Was somewhat older, more his shoulders spread,  
Moore swarthy his Complexion, curled his Hair.  
More of Ulysses honoured than all there  
That followed him, his Parts kept up his Fame,  
And as I take't Eurybates his Name.  
When this exact Description she had heard,  
Afresh she weeping, thus Herself declared;   

You in sad plight were, when you did attend  
For Alms here, but be now my honoured Friend.  
That Vest I him presented, which thou sayest,  
He than had on, with golden Buttons graced.  
But him alas I shall behold not more,  
Nor he e'er see his House, and Native Shore;  
Who went to Troy, enforced by cruel Fate,  
That cursed Town, whose very Name I hate.  
To her, Ulysses comforting, replies;   

Thou the fair Spouse of Laertiades,  
Preserve thy Beauty, nor thy bright Eyes blind  
With blubbering Tears, I am not of your mind,  
But any would her former Lord deplore,  
Whom young she married, t'whom she Children bore:  
But you much more, for your dear Husband, may  
Lament, for he was like a God, they say.  
But cease from Grief a while, and list to me,  
I am plain Telltruth, and shall be as free,  
Me an assured Information gives,  
Ulysses now hard by the Thesprots lives,  
'Mongst wealth People, ready Home to sail  
With store of Wealth, and Goods of great avail;  
But all his Friends, and his stout ship were lost,  
Swallowed in Waves, near the 
(k) That is, the Coasts of Sicily ', so called from its three Promontories, Pelorus, Pachinum, and Lilybeum.  Trinacrian Coast.  
For angry Jove and Sol them in the sound,  
For slaughtering of his sacred , drowned,  
He on his Keel reached the Pheacian Shore,  
Where him they all did like a God adore:  
Rich Gifts they gave him, would have sent him home  
In safety, who before this might have come;  
But what seems profitable t'him, seems fit,  
By Travelling a great Estate to get:  
None knows more than Ulysses, now alive,  
Nor will with him in useful Science strive.  
This Phidon, Thesprots King, to me declared;  
He swore his Ship was rigged, his men prepared,  
That soon would set him on his Native shore:  
But me he sent in a stout ship before,  
Bound for Dulichium: and there your Lord  
Showed me a mass of Richeses, such a Hoard,  
Which would ten ages his whole charge defray,  
Which safe than in that King's Exchequer lay.  
He to the sacred Oak in Dodons' Grove  
Went to consult the Oracles of Jove,  
Whether he should to his desired Home,  
Private, or like himself, in Public come.  
So he's in safety, and will soon be here,  
Which, if you make a question of, I'll swear  
By Jove, the best, and greatest of the Gods,  
 long he shall behold his own Abodes,  
Where I a stranger found your Charity:  
What I aver, effected strait shall be.  
Ulysses here shall landlord within a Year,  
Nay, in a Month, or little more, be here.  
Than strait Penelope this Answer made;   

Ah! would thou couldst make good what thou hast, said,  
With friendship I, and bounty would my part  
So act, that all should say thou happy art:  
But as my mind misgives, even so I fear,  
I never shall behold Ulysses here,  
Nor thou get Home; these Rulers fit not thee,  
Not like my Lord, if any such there be,  
That would each Stranger courteously receive,  
And hardly to departed would grant him leave:  
When he had bathed, he'd show him to his Bed,  
'Cause Rugs, and softer Blankets o'er him spread,  
That warm, He might repose till the approach  
Of bright Aurora in her golden Coach;  
And in the Morning washed, and would anoint,  
And him to sit with his own Son appoint.  
Him whosoever did use with Disrespect,  
Be what he would, He sure was to be checked.  
How could you know I other Dames excel  
In ordering House-affairs, in ruling well,  
If meanly clothed with them thou shouldst sit?  
Man's life is short, and if not, should be sweet.  
But those who cruel after Rapine thirst,  
They live to hear themselves by all men cursed,  
And after Death have Maledictions store:  
But those who charitable help the poor,  
Strangers shall through the World their Fame resound,  
And be for Liberality renowned.  
Than thus Ulysses to his Queen replies;   

O thou the spouse of Laertiades,  
I warmer Rugs, and Blankets thought unfit,  
Since I set sail from snow-crowned Hills of Crete,  
Brushing with pliant Oars the briny wave,  
I like such Lodgings as I used to have:  
Many long Nights in Cottages I lay,  
Expecting Comforts of the blessed Day;  
I cleansing, nor refreshing Baths think fit,  
Nor any of your Maids should touch my Feet,  
Unless one Old, who woes like mine hath felt,  
And Fortune with her as unkindly dealt:  
That she should wash my Feet; I could abide.  
Than to Ulysses thus the Queen replied;   

You have, dear Sir, so well yourself expressed,  
That I ne'er entertained a worthier Guest,  
That better spoke, or more discretion had;  
I have a Prudent, and an Ancient Maid,  
Which at his Birth my poor Ulysses first  
From's Mother took, and diligently nursed.   

Go, Euryclea, and the Pilgrim bath,  
Who Feet, and Hands, so like my Husband hath,  
And may with him contemporary be,  
They soon look Old who suffer misery.  
This said, th' Old Nurse, whilst Tears in rivulets ran,  
Which she concealed, this woeful speech began;   

O my dear Son! o cruel Jove that dost  
Declare thyself 'gainst pious men and just;  
For none so often as he the brawny Thighs  
Of Beeus, and Goats, to thee did sacrifice,  
Imploring that his 
(l) This was the only end of all the Devotions, Victims, and Offerings to the Gods among the ancients, the happiness of this present life; the particulars whereof are set down by Juvenal in his tenth satire, and Persius in his second. 

Da spatium vitae, multos da, Jupiter, annos,  
Conjugium petimus, partumque uxoris-  
Prima fere vota, & cunctis notissima templis  
Divitiae ut crescant, ut opes, ut maxima toto  
Nostra sit aroa foro—   

Me many years, O Jove, and long-life grant,  
Marriage we pray, nor Children let us want:  
Our first request, and in most Temples known,  
We may grow wealth, and full Coffers own.   

So Persius,  
— O si  
Ebullit patrui praeclarum funus, & O si  
Sub rastro crepet argenti mihi seria detro  
Hercule, pupillumve utinam quem proximus haeres  
Impello, expungam: namque est scabiosus & acri  
Bile tumet, Nerio jam tertiae ducitur uxor.   

O that I could my Uncle's Funeral see,  
Or silver-pot found, Hercules, by thee;  
Or that Brat bury t' whom I Heir am next,  
That scabby Elf, with itchy Choler vexed.  
Netrius hath his third Wife now interred.    Glass might longer run,  
That he grown Old, might breed his hopeful Son,  
But now there's little hope of his Return:  
So such proud Giglots made of him a scorn,  
When to their House he did for Alms resort,  
As now these Minxes make of thee a sport.  
Who to avoid these scoffs, and grosser Wit,  
Not suffered them, but me, to wash your Feet,  
Which me the Queen commanding, I obey,  
For your own sake, as for Penelope,  
Since something I 'mongst troubled motions call  
To mind, I know not what, but out it shall:  
Here many woeful Travellers have been,  
But none so like Ulysses have I seen:  
Such a shaped Body, Voice, and Feet he had.  
When thus Ulysses to th' Old Woman said;   

Madam, they say, who ever saw us two;  
W' are strangely like, so fancy just as you.  
This said, th' Old Woman strait did Water heat,  
He near the Hearth, turned from the light his Feet;  
For suddenly it came into his mind,  
That she the scar above his Knee might found.  
His doubts proved true, she spied it, long before  
Made on Parnassus by a savage Boar,  
When he t' Autolychus, his Grandsire, came,  
Who bore for Cheats, and slight of Hand the Name,  
Hermes his Patron gave Him special Gifts,  
That he outdid the World at cunning Shifts.  
Because so often he the brawny Thighs  
Of Lambs and Goats to him did sacrifice.  
Coming to Ithaca, his Daughter there  
He found delivered of a hopeful Heir.  
Euryclea set the Babe upon her Knee,  
Noble Autolycus, 
(m) The seventh or tenth day after the birth of a Child was the Feast of Lustration or Expiation, when, all the Kindred being invited to a Banquet, the Name was imposed. The Ceremonies used at this solemnity are partly expressed by Persius, in his second satire, 

Ecce avia, aut metuens Divum matertera, cunis  
Exemit puerum, frontemque atque uda labella  
Infami digito & lustralibus ante salivis  
Expiate, urentes oculos inhibere perim.  
Tunc manibus quatis, & spem macram supplice voto  
Nunc Licini in Campos, etc.   

The Grandmother, or Aunt, the Child up takes,  
On's Lips and Brow an Expiation makes  
With Spittle on her middle finger, which  
Averts the bane of ill eyes which bewitch:  
Than dandling in her Arms prays for its health,  
Begs him Licinius Lands, and Crassus' Wealth.  
May Kings and Queens wish him th' adopted Son:  
May him all Virgin's love that look upon.  
And whatsoever he treads on be a Rose.   but their chief Superstition was in the choice of a Name, which they looked upon as an omen of their future Felicity.  name the Child, said she,  
Hinting that he's of thy renowned Race:  
When thus Autolycus to the Parents says;   

Dear Son and Daughter, I shall give the Name:  
Who hither, hated by so many, came,  
Ulysses call him, and when fit to come,  
Sand Him to me, and my Relations, Home.  
Where I shall many Gifts the Youth present,  
Than sand him back to you with all Content.  
He went, expecting Gifts of great esteem,  
Autolycus and his Son's receiving Him  
With greatest Kindness that can be expressed,  
But more his Grandmother than all the rest,  
Old Amphithea him in strict embrace,  
His fair Eyes kissed, his Head, his Brows, and Face.  
Autolycus his Sons than whispering, bid  
A Feast prepare, which with all speed they did:  
And first an Ox of five years old they got,  
Whom strait they flay, and than in quarters cut:  
Than the divided joints on Spits they fixed.  
And roasted well, they drew, and served up next.  
Thus sat they feasting till the Sun did set,  
Naught wanting that could make a noble Treat:  
Grown late, each went unto his own Repose.  
But when the rosy-fingered Morn arose,  
Autolycus Sons strait forth a Hunting go,  
Their Dogs with them, and Young Ulysses too.  
And soon wood-cloathed Parnassus' crown they scale,  
There found a Flat, cooled with a briezing gale,  
When the Sun, rising from the gentle Main,  
Tinseled the Meads, and tipped the blushing Grain,  
They in the bottom were, before them went  
Their well-nosed Dogs, who followed close the scent.  
Autolycus sons with young Ulysses were,  
In their strong Hand each brandishing a Spear.  
Here in a thicket lay a huge Boar, where  
No winds could penetrate, nor piercing air,  
Nor could the Sun shoot through one radiant Beam,  
Nor Showers that fall in Deluges extreme.  
So built it was and roofed all ore with Leavs:  
The noise of Dogs, and Hunters he receives,  
As they drew night, and scorning to retire,  
Draws forth all brissled, and his Eyes like fire.  
Ulysses' first against him did advance,  
And stoutly charged the Monster with his Lance:  
But the Boar gaunched Him with a cruel Gash  
Above the Knee, and tore away the Flesh,  
But missed the Bone, whilst him Ulysses paid,  
And his sharp point ran through his Shoulder blade:  
Down falls the Beast extended on the Ground.  
Autolycus Sons strait dressed Ulysses' Wound,  
And binding with a 
(n) Pliny in his Natural History spends a whole Chapter in enquiry whether Charms are available in Physic or no: whose words, as far as they shall tend to our purpose, we think fit to transcribe. Dixit Homerus profluvium sanguinis vulnerato femine Vlixem inhibuisse Carmine; Theophrastus ischiadicos sanari, etc. Homer hath written that Ulysses being wounded in the thigh staunched the blood with a Charm: and Theophrastus testifies that there be proper spells to cure the Sciatica. Cato hath left in writing, that there is a special Charm for dislocations, whereby any bone put out of joint may be set again. Attalus avoucheth for a certainty, that if a man chance to espy a Scorpion, and do no more but say this one word DVO (that is, two) the Serpent will be still and quiet, and never sho●t forth his Sting.  Charm, the bleeding stayed,  
Thence to their Father's Palace hast they made.  
Autolycus and his Sons there curing Him,  
Dismissed with many Gifts of great esteem:  
And he to Ithaca well pleased did come,  
His Parents glad to see Him safe at Home,  
Him many questions asked, and how he had  
Received that Scar, them this account he made;  
How on 
(o) A Mountain in Achaia, called by the later Greeks corruptly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  Parnassus him a Boar had gaunched,  
And how the blood his Cousin-germans staunched,  
Wiping his legs. This th' Old Woman found,  
And letting fall, the Chargers sides resound,  
Down drops she backward, and the liquor sheds,  
Sorrow and Joy at once her Breast invades,  
Her Eyes brimful of Tears, she could not speak,  
At last, from troubled thoughts thus forth did break;   

Thou art Ulysses' sure, that Prince I Nursed,  
And though I bathe my King, knew not at first.  
This said, she turned to th' Queen, and did prepare  
To tell her that her dearest Lord was there:  
But her the Queen not in this posture spies,  
Pallas on other Objects cast her Eyes:  
Whilst on her Throat her hand Ulysses laid,  
And thus, her drawing nearer to him, said;   

Dear Nurse, why will you ruin me, who bred  
Me with such care, and at your Nipple fed?  
Who through a World of Miseries and Toil,  
The twentieth year, have reached my Native soil:  
But what Thou knowst, what God puts in thy Heart,  
There lock up, nor to any one impart:  
For this I'll promise', and it shall be done,  
If the proud Suitors are by me o'erthrown,  
Although my Nurse, thy Life I shall not spare,  
But thou shalt like these flouting Giglots far.  
Than Euryclea thus herself declared;   

How scaped these words thy Teeth, that Ivory guard?  
You know my Constancy and Courage well,  
My Bosom firm as Rock, my Heart as Steel,  
But I'll inform what's fit for you to know,  
If Jove so please the Suitors you o'erthrow:  
I'll point out all those Harlots in your Court,  
That you dishonour, making Crimes their sport.   

Than he replied; Nurse, who they are ne'er tell,  
That pains I'll spare thee, them I know too well,  
And all their Characters; Pray silent be,  
And the whole business leave to Fate and Me.  
This said, a Laver to the Hall she bore,  
For all the Liquor she had spilt before.  
When with pure Oil she suppled had his Feet,  
Ulysses to the Fire than drew his Seat,  
And o'er the Cicatrice his Garment spread:  
When thus Penelope to her Husband said;   

I here in talk, Sir, longer you would keep,  
But now the time draws nigh indulging sleep,  
Which should to wasting Sorrow give relief,  
But my sad Fortune aggravates fresh Grief.  
All day my flowing Tears scarce found an ebb,  
Viewing my Servants how they ply their Web.  
But when Night comes, and all the House at rest,  
A thousand Sorrows sting my troubled Breast.  
As when 
(p) Tereus' King of Thrace, infected with the vice of his Country, burns with love of Philomela (daughter of Pandarus, according to Homer, by others called Pandion) his Wife's Sister, and in the heat of his Lust ravished her. Which his Wife understanding, studies a strange revenge, murders her own son Itylus, or Itys, and feasts her Husband with his flesh: Which being made known to him, he pursues the two Sisters, who are feigned to have! been changed into Birds, for their speedy flight unto Athens, by which they escaped the revenge of Tereus; Philomela into a Nightingale, and Progne into a Swallow: in that no Nightingales are seen in Thrace, as hating the Country of Tereus; nor Swallow ever builds there, as is observed by Pausanias. The Nightingale chanting in the solitary Woods, is feigned to bemoan the death of her son Itylus, by which the Poets generally express extreme grief, and lamentation. The wholestory is elegantly described by Ovid in his Metamorphosis, but 'tis too large to be here transcribed.  Pandareus Daughter in the Spring,  
Perched 'mongst thick branches, doleful notes doth sing,  
Her Son lamenting Itylus in vain,  

(q) This story is otherwise related here than amongst the late Greek and Roman Writers, thus; Pandarus had three daughters, Merope, Cleothera, and Aëdon; Aëdon was married to Zethus, by whom she had Itylus; whom she slew out of a mistake, intending to have murdered Amaleus, son of Amphion, her Husband's Brother.  Zethus fair Offspring, in her fury flain.  
So I with wandering thoughts perplexed am,  
Should I my Husband's Bed, and my own Fame,  
My Son's Estate, Servants, and House, preserve;  
Or wed some Prince, who best might me deserve,  
And with a wealth Jointure me endow.  
My Son whilst under age would not allow  
That I should wed, and leave him here alone;  
But now a man, he prays me to be gone:  
And much incensed, rather desires my Room,  
Because my Suitors his Estate consume.  
Sir, you have skill in Dreams, I'll mine repeat,  
I twenty Geese picking up Corns of Wheat,  
With pleasure looked upon, when from the Hill  
A mighty Eagle with a dreadful bill  
Upon them falling, the whole Flock there slew,  
Breaking their Necks, but he thence mounting, flew.  
I in my sleep much grieved, did weeping lie,  
And many Women more as well as I,  
Because the Eagle had so many slain:  
But he sat perching on the House again,  
And with a human Voice to me thus said;   

Icarius daughter, be not so dismayed,  
This not a Dream, no fleeting Fancy this,  
But certain Truth: The Suitors are the Geese,  
And I that than appeared to thee a Bird,  
Am now arrived, Ulysses thy dear Lord,  
On all thy Suitors just Revenge to take.  
This said, the wondrous Dream did me forsake;  
But looking out my Cacklers I did see,  
Feeding on Corn, where they were want to be.   

Than he replied; Madam, there is no need  
To clear your Dream, himself Ulysses did;  
Who said, your Suitors by his hand should fall,  
Nor one escape a woeful Funeral.   

Than she replied; Dreams hard are to explain,  
All prove not true, but idle some, and vain:  

(r) This aenigma of the two Gates of Dreams is several ways resolved by the Interpreters. Porphyry says that the Soul being free from the employments of the Body in time of sleep, is busied about other Objects, which yet it views not perfectly and clearly, but as it were through a Veil drawn before it by that dark Nature to which it is united: which when it admits the sight of the Soul into the truth of the Objects, it is said to be of Horn, whose substance is of that nature that being attenuated it is pervious to the sight; but when it hinders and repels it, it is said to be of Ivory, which is of so solid and compact a body, that after most accurate attenuation it remains impenetrable to the Eye. Others by the horny Gate understand the Eyes, whose first tunicle is said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 like Horn; by the Ivory Gate, the Teeth; signifying that what we speak may be false; but what we see, is infallibly true. This expression of our Poets, Virgil follows in the sixth of his Aeneids, 

Sunt geminae somni portae; quarum altera fertur  
Cornea; qua veris facilis datur exitus Vmbris;  
Altera candenti perfecta nitens elephanto,  
Sed falsa ad coelum mittunt insomnia Manes.   

There are two Gates of sleep; One made of Horn,  
Through which, true Visions to the Skies are born;  
The other Ivory, polished purely bright,  
Whence false Dreams sally to aethereal light.   And Ausonius in his Ephemeris, 

Divinum per hibent vatem sub frondibus Vlmi  
Vana ignavorum simulacra locasse soporum,  
Et geminas numero portas: quae fornice eburno  
Semper fallaces glomerat super aera formas,  
Altera quae veros emittit cornea visus.   

The Poet placed dull Dreams (as fame receives)  
And fancies slight, under an Elms thick leaves,  
Two Gates close by; the one of Ivory, where  
Deceitful forms pass to aethereal air;  
The other Horn; from whence true Dreams go forth.    Two Gates there are of Sleep, One made of Horn;  
The other polished Ivory doth adorn,  
From whence vain words their flattering hopes pursue,  
But Visions issuing through the Horn prove true;  
So this sad Dream I hope may prosperous be,  
And joyful prove both to my Son, and me.  
But with one secret more Thee I'll entrust;  
When that unhappy Day shall come, which must  
Me separate from my Ulysses' Court,  
I'll for myself provide a little sport;  
In order I'll set Axes in my Hall,  
Each of them hath their Annulets, twelve in all,  
With which at distance he a shaft could shoot;  
Now to this Trial I'll the Suitors put:  
And he that best my Husband's Bow can bend,  
And through a dozen Rings his arrow sand,  
Him I will marry, and forsake this House  
Furnished so well, although my former Spouse  
In Dreams will haunt me. Than the King replies;   

Thou the dear Spouse of Laertiades,  
Put of this Trial, since the time draws near,  
Madam, that your Ulysseses will appear;  
Jest practising, they by experience know,  
As well as he, to draw your Husbands Bow.   

Than spoke the Queen; Here I could stay all Night,  
And lesle in sleep, than thy discourse, delight;  
Though woeful Mortals that on Earth reside,  
Must Rest and Toil alternately divide.  
But I'll to my Apartment now retreat,  
Where I with nightly Tears my Pillow wet,  
 since Ulysses went to th' Trojan War,  
Whose very Name, to mention, I abhor,  
There I'll repose: For you we'll Carpets spread,  
Here on the Floor, or help you to a Bed.  
This said, to her Chamber strait she did ascend,  
Her Maids in order the fair Queen attend:  
There weeping for her Lord she lay, till fast  
In deep and pleasant Sleep her Pallas cast.    

 scene from book 20 
Thomce Stanley de Hartford Arm Tabulam Cumberlon in Comitatu hanc LMDDDIO Lib. 20.    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE TWENTIETH BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

Revengeful Cares awake Ulysses keep:  
He hears his Queen in her own Chamber weep.  
Pallas appears, advising Him to rest.  
Ominous Thunder prologues a sad Feast.  
Theoclymenus foretells the Suitors Fates,  
For which, they Vote to turn Him out o' th' Gates.   

BUT in the Porch the King to take Repose,  
First o'er himself a Bullock's raw-hide throws,  
Next Sheepskins that were newly slaughtered, got:  
Eurynome over all casts a warm Coat,  
He Plots contriving, long awake did lie,  
Until the Suitors Mistresses came by,  
Laughing, and talking of their Young Amours  
He much concerned at these so impudent—  
Bethought himself should he do well or ill,  
Such Harlots in their high debauch to kill,  
Or let them yet be prostituted Drabs.  
His Heart did seem to bark, it fetched such Throbs,  
Like a fierce Spannel suckling of her Whelps,  
A Stranger spying, rages, snarls, and yelps,  
Ready to seize; such thoughts his troubled Breast  
With tumult filled, when thus himselfh ' expressed;   

Be patiented, Thou hast worse things endured,  
By Polyphemus, in his Cave secured,  
When six of thy Associates he devoured;  
Yet his huge strength by Prudence I ore-pow'red,  
And those expecting the like death, did save,  
And with myself freed from the Monster's Cave.  
The swelling passions of his Mind, this said,  
He strove to settle, they his Will obeyed:  
But he still waking lies, and tossed, and rowls,  
As one a Pudding broils upon the Coals,  
Well stuffed with fat, and blood, left it should burn,  
Ne'er lets it rest: So did he restless turn,  
Contriving how the Suitors to destroy.  
Pallas descending than from seats of Joy,  
Like a fair Lady, drawing near him, spoke;   

Why troubled thus keep'st thou thyself awake?  
This is thy House; thy Wife, and Son, are here;  
A Son, that should by thee be prized dear.   

Ulysses than replied; Celestial Maid,  
Thou to the purpose hast divinely said:  
But how alone I should (that makes me watch)  
So many proud Corrivals over-match,  
Who always are, as in a body, joined.  
Besides, this, more than that, distracts my mind,  
How to come of myself, if Jove decree,  
That singly I of all revenged be.   

Than Pallas said; Should any mortal give  
Thee Counsel, Him Thou rather wouldst believe,  
Though His advice were impotent and lame,  
Than me, although I thy Protectress am.  
But what I tell thee now, I shall make good;  
If fifty drawn up Squadrons round thee stood,  
Thou shouldst disperse them with thy sword and shield,  
And drive their Sheep and  from the Field.  
Wave troubled thoughts, and take some small Repose,  
Often from much wanting high distempers grows.  
This said, she closed his eyes, which done, retires  
To seats of bliss, that Crown Olympic Spires.  
Mean while his Queen vexed with like Cares, and Fears  
Sitting, her soft bed drowns with briny Tears.  
When she had wept till she could weep not more,  
Thus she the  
(a) Penelope doth properly invocate Diana here, because she was reputed to be the author of sudden death to Women, as Apollo to men; as we have already observed. The imprecation of the Danaides, rather than to marry with the sons of Pelasgus their Cousin-germen, is not unlike to this, in Aeschylus. 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc.   

Ah let me die noosed in a fatal Chord,  
E'er a loathed Husband I receive as Lord.  
First let the Devil rule, let him me bear  
Into the middle region of the Air;  
Or else a sullen Rock all over hid,  
Before against my Will I am a Bride.  
Or may I food for Dogs and Praetors be,  
From such dire mischiefs death will set me free.  
Come Death, come cruel Death, conclude my Fate,  
Rather than Nuptials with the Man I hate.    Diana did implore;   

Virgin; Jove's Daughter, grant me this Request,  
To shoot thy deadly arrow through my Breast,  
Or snatch me hence with a swift Heurican,  
Far as the confines of the flowing Main:  
There let me be 'mongst dismal mansions hurled,  
And Seats of Darkness in the lower World,  
Such be the Storm as that the Gods employed,  
When the Pandarian Parents they destroyed,  
And left their tender Orphans almost dead,  
Fair Venus' them with Cheese, Wine, Honey, fed:  
But Juno gave them 'bove all Women, place,  
Adding to beauty a majestic Grace,  
To them Diana granted other parts,  
And Pallas skilful made in her own Arts,  
Whilst Heaven bright Venus scaled, of Jove to know,  
The great dispenser of our Weal and Woe,  
With whom these beauteous Virgins should be matched  
Them Harpies in a winged Tempest snatched,  
And to th' infernal Hags presented strait,  
That they on them, and their dire works might wait:  
So may the Gods snatch me to shades of Woe,  
Or chaste Diana kill me with her Bow,  
That I my dear Ulysses may behold.  
Ah, let the earth's dark Bosom me enfold,  
Before that I a meaner Person wed.  
What's worse than Day and Night thus Tears to shed,  
And when all else drowned in forgetful sleep,  
Their Daily cares, I thus sit up and weep,  
Methought this Night One to my Bed did come,  
Like him that sailed from hence to Ilium:  
I overjoyed, believed all to be true.  
This said, from Eastern-Hills the Morning grew:  
But her Ulysseses heard, whilst Tears she shed,  
And dreamt like her, with him she was in Bed.  
Strait rising, in the Chairs the Skins he placed,  
And the Oxhide into the Portal cast,  
And thus to Jove, with hands up lifted, prayed;   

O Jove, who me over Sea and Land conveyed,  
Some human Voice within, ah, let me hear;  
Without, another sign let strike my Ear.  
Thus prayed Ulysses, and Jove heard his Prayer;  
Answering in 
(b) That Thunder was a testimony of prayer being heard and answered, we found a pertinent example in Virgil, where when Old Anchises, seeing the lambent flame upon his Grandchild Iulus' head, lifted up his hands to Heaven, and prayed to Jove for help and direction, he was thus answered, 

Vix ea fatus erat Senior, subitoque fragore  
Intonuit lavum, etc.   

Scarce had the grave Sire spoke, when suddenly  
It thundered prosperous, etc.   So does Claudian make Thunder a token of the Divine approvement of the election of Probus and Olybrius to their Consulships, 

 sceptrum gessere manu, membrisque rigentes  
Aptavere togas, Signum dat summus hiulca  
Nube Pater, gratamque facem per. ina●e rotantes  
Prospera vibrati sonuerunt omina nimbi.   

As soon as robbed and sceptered, Jove aloud  
His signal favour thunders from a Cloud:  
Successful Lightning through heaven's arches shines;  
Both at th' Inauguration happy signs.    Thunder from a serene Air.  
The happy Omen made the King rejoice,  
When at the Mill he heard a Woman's Voice.  
Alternatly there twice six Damsels still,  
Six taking their Repose, six plied the Mill;  
Growned Wheat and Barley, and all kinds of Grain,  
Man's marrow, which doth human life sustain:  
But this the weakest, her Task yet had not done,  
Who wondering at the Thunder, thus begun;   

O Jove, thou King and Father of the Gods,  
Thou thunderest strangely, when there are no Clouds.  
This signifies, make good thy happy sign,  
And I a wretch will in my wishes join;  
Let this day be to all the Day of Doom,  
That feasting here Ulysses' state consume;  
Who me have tired with Toil, and sitting up,  
To grinned, and sift; Ah may they never sup.  
Jove's Thunder and her Vote the King o'erjoyed,  
His hopes confirming, all should be destroyed.  
The Damsels than began themselves to show:  
Some bring in Wood, some make the Fire and blow.  
Telemachus than from his Bed arose,  
Puts on his Vest, and o'er his Falchion throwns,  
Buckles his Sandals, up his Javelin takes,  
And going forth, to Euryclea speaks;   

Hadst thou for this our Guest so small esteem,  
That thou not with a Bed wouldst furnish him?  
My Mother better Lodgings would provide  
For meaner Persons. Than th' Old Nurse replied;   

Blame not thy Mother; here the Pilgrim sat  
Drinking rich Wine, eating whilst he could eat,  
And when grown late, she to her Damsels said;  
Go make the Pilgrim's Bed; which he forbade:  
But he, as one Unfortunate and Poor,  
Refused well-furnished Lodgings for the Floor.  
He in the Porch on an Oxhide did rest,  
Covered with Skins, and I threw over a Vest.  
The Prince went forth, this said, armed with a Spear,  
Two Dogs his Guard, and bold Attendants were,  
Unto the Counsel; when the ancient Maid  
Grave Euryclea, to the Damsels said;   

Dress up the Hall with speed, and 
(d) That is, presumed Oil to be sprinkled about the room: which Eustathius upon the place, notes to be an ancient custom from these Verses (whose Author he names not) 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

Open the Lodgings, make the Chambers sweet,  
Than make the Beds well, and a good Fire get,  
And than a bowl of pleasant Wine me fill.   And Athenaeus says of Demetrius Phalereus, Governor of Athens, that he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 caused perfumed oil to be sprinkled upon the ground.  perfumes get,  
And purple Cushions put in every feat:  
Let some the Board's with Sponges neatly cleanse,  
Others the Cups, and golden Goblets wrense,  
And fetch pure Water for the Rival Guests,  
The Prince this day highly intends to feast.  
Thus gave she order; They, the ancient Maid  
Their Governess, saluting first, obeyed.  
Twice ten went to the Fountain, others dressed  
The stately Hall, whilst in the Suitors pressed,  
Who Billets cleave; others came from the Spring.  
Eumoeus in did three fat Porkers bring,  
Which had at freedom plentifully fed;  
Who smiling, thus than to Ulysses said;   

Art thou in Favour with the Suitors more,  
Or use thee scornfully as heretofore?  
The King than to Eumoeus thus replied;   

Would Heaven take Vengeance on them for their pride,  
That with such insolence thus riot here,  
Against all Conscience, Modesty, or Fear.  
Melanthius came, whilst thus Ulysses spoke,  
And brought fat Goats, the primest of the Flock:  
Them to the Portal fast two Herders made,  
Who drolling than thus to Ulysses said;   

What Goodman Troublesome, art thou here yet,  
knowst thou not how out of these Doors to get?  
Thou who so saucy art 'mongst Lords and Peers,  
Stayest thou until th' art plucked out by the Ears?  
Will naught but blows serve such a greedy Guest?  
Are there no other Houses where they feast?  
Ulysses thus affronted nothing said,  
But kept down struggling rage, and shook his Head.  
Philetius third, amongst the Swains a King,  
A 
(e) For the Oxen, and other of the , were fed in Epirus, the Continent over against Ithaca, as appears from these Verses in the 14 book, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   The Island itself being an unfruitful and barren Country: betwixt which and the Continent there was but a narrow passage.  Barren Heifer, and fat Kids did bring,  
(The Vessel brought them over that goes betwixt,  
Carrying all Persons over who came next)  
And them did near the echoing Portal tie,  
Thus spoke, than to Eumoeus standing by;  
What Stranger's this hither so lately came,  
What Country, who his Parents, what his Name?  
Though poor he seems, his Looks majestic are,  
They often suffer Want who wander far;  
And Gods do Kings often sad Examples make.  
Him by the Hand than taking, thus he spoke;   

Welcome grave Father, may'st thou Wealth be,  
Who now art pinched with Want and Misery.  
O Jove, of all the Gods thou tak'st lest Care,  
For woeful Mortals though thy Race they are,  
And giv'st them as their Birthright Toil and Grief:  
When I remind, how wanting all Relief,  
Ulysses may thus wander up and down,  
Without a Vest, my Cheeks salt Rivers drown;  
If yet he live, but he, alas, is dead  
Long since descended to th' infernal shade:  
Thinking of him I almost am distrought,  
A Boy he me from Cephalenia brought  
His Herds to wait on, now a numerous Breed;  
And these forsooth must proud Corrivals feed,  
Who scorn his Son, and Providence deride,  
And will our absent King's Estate divide.  
My Bosom prompts me something should be done,  
Jest cureless Mischief light upon his Son,  
To drive his  amongst Strangers, where  
Moore dangerous it can not be than here,  
And from these proud Corrivals, though long since,  
(Intolerable is their Pride and Insolence)  
To have escaped: But still I hoped the King  
Might Home return, and their Destruction bring.   

Than thus Ulysses; Swain, thou prudent art,  
Discovering both a Bold and Loyal Heart:  
This I shall say, and what I say I'll swear,  
By Jove, and by this House, in which we are,  
And all the boards of Hospitality,  
E'er long thou here shalt King Ulysses see,  
If so thou wilt Audits with them to clear,  
In bloody reckon paying for their Cheer.   

Than he replied; Oh! Jove but make this true,  
Than shouldst thou see what I for him would do:  
And so Eumaeus prayed to all the Gods,  
To see Ulysses in his own Abodes.  
Whilst these amongst themselves discoursed thus,  
They plotted how to kill Telemachus;  
But as the place and manner they discussed,  
An Eagle, bade the sign, a Pigeon trust.  
Startled at this, Amphinomus than said;   

Let your what e'er Contrivance of be laid,  
And for a plenteous Feast your Humours fit.  
This said; they to his Counsel all submit,  
And the whole Gang strait to the Hall repairs,  
Laying their Mantles down on Stools, and Chairs.  
Sheep, Goats, and Swine, the Heifer there they slew;  
And th' inwards roasted, dealt to each his due.  
Their Wine well mixed, their Bowls Eumaeus fraught,  
Philetius Bread in curious Baskets brought,  
Melanthius diligent Skinks about to all,  
Their Meat served up, they to the Dishes fall.   

The Prince dire Plots contriving, than thought sit  
Ulysses at a little Board should sit,  
His Meat before him, in a golden Cup  
Wine pouring, thus he cheers the Pilgrim up;  
Drink now with Princes here, I'll thee maintain,  
'Gainst whosoever thy Poverty shall disdain:  
Nor shall this Palace prostituted be,  
My Father built it for himself and me.  
To spare your Tongues and Hands I all advice,  
Jest Quarrels from Disturbances arise.  
All by't their Lips, and him no answer make,  
The Prince admiring, who so boldly spoke.   

Than said Antinous; Princes, keep your Seats,  
And though he threaten, not regard his threats;  
Since 'tis Jove's Pleasure him a while to save,  
Let us till than Revenge and Answer wave.  
Telemachus cared not what Antinous said,   

The Heralds 
(f) This was the first day of the month, or New-moon (for the ancient Greek months were Lunar) which was a public feast-day among the Grecians, and therefore fitly contrived for this action of Vlysses', that while the whole City was abroad at their public Entertainments, the Suitors might found no assistance from thence. Didymus T 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc. They conoeive that the New-moon is sacred to all the Gods, for our An-cestors dedicated it to the God●, because it was the first of the Month, attributing justly all beginnings to them; whence they offered their First-fruits to all the Gods. Now it was proper that that day should be consecrated to Apollo (that is, the Sun) he being the cause of light.  through the City than convaid  
A Hecatomb; People in Throngs attend,  
And towards Apollo's Grove th' whole Concourse bend.  
When all the Meat was roasted, dished and messed,  
Down sat the Princes to a plenteous Feast,  
Of which Ulysses had an equal share,  
The Waiters by the Prince so ordered were.  
But Pallas the proud Rivals urged once more,  
With Scoffs and Taunts, such as they used before,  
To move the King, and his Revenge inflame.   

A cross-grained Suitor, Ctesipus his Name,  
Whose Father had in Same a fair House,  
Trusting Paternal Wealth, he to espouse  
Absent Ulysses' Wife, 'mongst others, made  
Common Address, thus to the Suitors said;   

Hear me you Princes, what I shall declare;  
This Stranger hath with us an equal share,  
Nor is it fit to question whosoever  
Telemachus treats, or hither makes repair:  
But we may add; I'll something more bestow,  
That he may give a servant  he go,  
Of's Liberality to be a proof.  
This said, at him he threw a Bullocks Hoof,  
Snatched from the Basket; he his Head declined,  
Avoids the Blow, much troubled in his mind:  
The cloven-foot rebounds against the Wall.  
On whom Telemachus thus did roundly fall;  
Your Actions, and your Breeding, seem alike,  
Or else you would not a poor Stranger strike,  
'Tis well he scaped, else Thou thy due desert  
Shouldst have, and this my Spear should pierce thy Heart;  
Than for thy Nuptial Rites thy Father should  
Have made thy Tomb, or any who so bold  
Durst in my House commit a Crime so vild,  
Know now I am of Age, and passed a Child,  
And can distinguish Good from Bad: but yet,  
You may behold me here with patience fit,  
Whilst you devour these Cates, my Wine drink up,  
'Tis hard for one with many men to cope:  
Therefore I wish you would more civil be,  
For Death itself seems better far to me.  
Should you all thrust your Swords in me at once,  
That would be easier than these high Affronts;  
To strike our Guests, our Women to abuse,  
As if this Palace were a Common Stews.   

This through the Hall a general silence made,  
When thus at last Young Agelaus said;   

When words are spoke, so well with Reason sure,  
Sharp Repartees avoid, and rough Dispute;  
For shame, t' affronted a Stranger, Sirs, for bear,  
Or any Servant that Attendants are:  
But to Telemachus and the Queen I'll make  
A motion, which may both parties take;  
As long as we believed Ulysses might  
Return, and here enjoy his Native right,  
So long she might refuse: that he should landlord,  
We cannot now expect, or understand,  
Therefore move thou thy Mother to espouse,  
Whom best she likes, than shall we leave thy House,  
And thy Paternal State, thyself to guide.  
Than thus Telemachus to him replied;  
By Jove and my dear Father's wants and Woes,  
Who dead, or wand'ring lives, I'll not oppose  
My Mother's Nuptials, but use all my Power  
Her to persuade, and to secure her Dowry:  
But 'gainst her Will I would not her remove,  
Such acts not acceptable are to Jove.  
Here Pallas stirred loud laughter in the Hall,  
All merry were, but knew no cause at all.  
Their Meat strait bloody grew, and briny lakes  
Stood in their Eyes. Theoclymenus than speaks;   

Ah, Sirs, you are involved in mists, sad Shrieks  
Invade my Ears, salt Tears run down your Cheeks,  
The Walls with Blood besprinkled, read the Posts,  
Thicker than Atoms walk infernal Ghosts  
About the Porch, the entry, and the Hall,  
The Sun's eclipsed, and Darkness covers all.  
At these expressions they extremely laughed,  
When thus Eurymachus the Stranger scoffed;   

This Fellow's mad; Go lead him to the Gate,  
That he may Home, because he thinks it late.  
Than Theoclymenus thus to him replies;   

Sand none to lead me out, for I have Eyes,  
And Ears, and Feet, I thank you, and each Sense,  
I without leading shall departed from hence:  
Because I see that your Destruction's near,  
Not one shall scape just Vengeance that are here,  
Not one of you who in Ulysses' Court,  
Make of uncivil Actions thus a sport.  
This said, he went, without once taking leave,  
Whom strait 
(g) This is he to whom Telemachus recommended Theoclymenus when he left his Ship, and went into the Country to his servant Eumaeus; Odyss. 15.  Pireus kindly did receive.  
The proud Corrivals laugh, and look about,  
And both Telemachus, and Strangers flout.  
When to the Prince a haughty Youth thus spoke;   

None worse choice in choosing Guests could make,  
A Wanderer, One that loiters in thy Hall,  
That eats and drinks, but never works at all,  
An Idle person, a vain load of Earth;  
Th' other a Prophet, and forsooth holds forth:  
But I'll advice, which may advantage be,  
Let them be shipped with speed for Sicily;  
There for no little sum they may go of.  
Thus said he, but the Prince not minds his Scoff,  
But looked on's Father when with stretched out Arm,  
The Suitors charging, he would give th' Alarm.  
But fair Penelope in her Chair of State,  
In private, at convenient distance sat;  
Where her Gallants she could distinctly hear,  
Mixing their Bits and Cups with many a Jeer,  
They had abundance, and so merry made,  
But never sharper sauce their Dishes had:  
A Goddess, and a Valiant Prince decreed,  
They for accumulated Crimes should bleed.    

 scene from book 21 
Edwardo Sherborne Armigero Tabulam hanc LMDDDIO Lib. 2j.    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE TWENTY FIRST BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

Ulysses Bow all Love-sutes must decide:  
The Queen will be the ablest Archers Bride,  
But none the Bow could bend: for Lard they call:  
But strive in vain, the tough Yew baffles all.  
Ulysses takes the Bow, Jove from the Skies  
Thunders, He shoots, and bears from all the Prize.   

BUT Pallas here carrying on Plots designed,  
Than puts it in Icarius Daughters mind  
To fetch the Suitors down Ulysses' Bow,  
To try their strength, and prove their overthrow.  
And up she hastens drawing forth a Key,  
The Handle wrought with brass and Ivory;  
Her Maids attending her in order, they  
Ascended where Ulysses' Treasure lay,  
Gold, Brass, and polished Steel, a glorious show,  
Thence takes she forth his Quiver, and his Bow,  
And deadly Shafts, when he to Sparta went,  
Him Iphitus meeting did to him present,  
At Ortilochus Court, where they in Messen met.  
Ulysses came to claim a public Debt,  
Three hundred Sheep, and Shepherds too, which they  
Had to 
(a) Pausanias' observes that Messene here is not the name of a City, but of a Country. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc. Before the battle at Leuctra between the Thebans and Lacedæmonians, I think there was no City called Messene I do partly conjecture so from the Verses of Homer, who in the Catalogue of those that went against Troy, reckoning Pyle, Arene, and others, makes no mention of Messene, The Verses are these, 

‛ O 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
K 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,   

Who dwelled in Pyle, and those Arene stored,  
And Thryos, where Alpheus you may for'd  
Who did in Aepy's lofty Walls reside,  
In Cypariss, and Amphigen abide.   But it is wore apparent (says he) in his Odysseys, where speaking of the Bow of Iphitus. 
T 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉—  At Ortilochus Court they in Messene met. For Ortilochus' house was not in the City Messene, but at Pherae, which himself declares in Pisistratus 's journey to Menelaus. 
‛ E 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉—  This Country received its name from Messens daughter of Triopas, Wife of P●lycaon.  Messena shipped from Ithaca.  
Him Young, his Father, and the Peers o'th' Land  
Sent thither, satisfaction to demand:  
But Iphitus came upon his own affairs,  
Seeking twelve sturdy Mules, and twice six Mares,  
Which after that his sad Destruction proved,  
(He came to visit Hercules, who moved  
On some pretence, him at a Treatment killed,  
And hospitable Board's with blood defiled,  
Than the same Mules and Mares, his prize he made,  
And in's own Stables as good Booty stayed)  
Which than he sought when he Ulysses met.  
He this Bow gave him, which before the great  
Eurytus drew, who when of life bereft,  
To his dear Son in his own Palace left.  
Ulysses' him a Lance gave, and a Skein;  
But neither either  did entertain:  
For at the Table great Alcides slew  
Renowned Iphitus, at an interview.  
Of this Ulysses had so much esteem,  
He would not bear it to the War with him:  
But kept in the remembrance of his Friend,  
And never did but in's own Country bend.  
But when she came up to his Room apart,  
Well-floored with Oak, and planished with much art,  
Whose Portals and fair Thresholds had no match, 
(b) Hercules took them not from Iphitus, but had bought them of Autolycus, who had stolen them from him.   
There she puts in the Key, and draws the Latch:  
The Bolt shot back resounds, whilst she unlocks,  
As in the Meadows lows a well-fed Ox.  
The Queen than enters, where in Cedar Chests  
Her Wardrobe lay, store of perfumed Vests:  
There strait, Ulysses' Bow and Quiver she  
Takes down, and sitting, lays upon her Knee,  
Weeping a main: but when sh'had eased her Woe  
With briny Tears, down went she with the Bow,  
Quiver, and Shafts, of which some deadly were.  
Two Damsels down the ponderous Coffer bear,  
Where the King's Annulets, Brass and Silver lay.  
The Queen when near the Suitors, makes a stay,  
Just at the Entrance of the stately Hall,  
There casting o'er her Cheeks a slender Veil;  
On either hand attended by a Maid,  
She boldly thus to the Corrivals said;   

Proud Suitors, hear me, You in this my House  
Daily feast high, and richest Wine carouse,  
In my Lord's absence, I'll not more delay,  
Nor by pretences 'cause your longer stay:  
But you that me would marry, and now Court,  
Let's end our serious Difference in Sport;  
And here Ulysses' Bow shall be your Law,  
Which, who can handle best, and ablest draw,  
And through these twice six Annulets shall shoot,  
He shall my Husband be without dispute:  
I'll Home with him, this House not longer keep,  
Which still I shall remember in my sleep.  
This said, She bids Eumaeus carry in  
The Bow and Annulets where they might be seen,  
Which he placed, weeping when the Bow he spied,  
Whose Tears thus proud Antinous did deride;   

Pox on thee Coxcomb-Rustick, why dost cry,  
Wherhfore, forsooth, put finger in thy Eye?  
To move the Queen, who, now her Husband's dead,  
Shall found fresh comfort in another's Bed:  
Eat thou thy meat in quiet, or else go  
And whine without, and leave with us the Bow.  
The Prize propounded will be hard to bear,  
As 'tis to bend Ulysses' Bow I fear:  
Not one of us but seems a mere Jack-straw,  
To what Ulysses was when him I saw,  
Whom I remember well, when but a Boy.  
Thus said he, hoping though the Prize t' enjoy,  
Who was the first Ulysses Arrow felt,  
And with him most dishonourably dealt,  
And more than others did the rest provoke.  
To whom Telemachus thus boldly spoke;   

Sure Jove hath made me mad, my Mother says,  
And her but seldom idle passion sways,  
That she will marry, and this House forsake,  
Yet I'm not troubled, but still merry make.  
Well Sirs, begin, she's ready, such a piece  
You shall not match though you should search all Greece  
In 
(c) If Argos in this place signifies Peloponnesus, as some interpreters do conjecture, than by a Poetical figure he enumerates some of the parts together with the mention of the whole: for Pylus and Mycenae are Cities in Peloponnesus: which figure is very frequent in Homer. So Iliad. 2. 
‛ O 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  
These from Dulichium, and the Echinades.  for Dulichium is one of the Islands of the Echinades. So Odyss. 11. 
— 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
Through Greece and Phthia.  The like we found in the Poets who next followed him. Hipponax, 
K 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  
And Al●man in his Lyrics,  For both Amathus and Paphus were Cities of Cyprus. But it may here he taken for that part of Greece peculiarly so called, or for the City Argos itself.  Argos, nor Mycenae, nor in Pyle,  
Ithaca itself, Epire, or any Isle.  
Which you all know, I need not speak her praise.  
Now lay by all Excuses and Delays,  
Nor hancker long that you your Dooms may know,  
But first I'll try if I can bend this Bow,  
The Prize endanger by my Strength and Art,  
Nor when my Mother shall from me departed,  
I shall not grieve, nor of her loss complain,  
But take the Prizes which I shall obtain.  
This said, his purple Mantle of he threw,  
And standing up lays by his Falchion too,  
First he the Rings sets in so just a Line,  
That their Circumferences, and Centres join,  
Than fixed in Earth, all wonder he excelled,  
In ordering what he never yet beheld.  
Than standing forth he twangs the string, than hales;  
Three times he tries his strength, as often fails,  
Still high his hopes, the Prize he should obtain.  
His fourth attempt than had not proved in vain,  
But that Ulysses winked, and took him of;  
When thus Telemachus at himself did scoff;   

I shall but prove a dull and heavy Beast,  
Or else too young am, not fit to contest  
In martial sports, whom any one may worst:  
But who hear stronger are than I, draw first.  
Against the Wall he set the Bow, this said,  
And on the floor close by the Arrow laid,  
Than reassumed the place he had forsaken.  
When thus Antinous to the Concourse spoke;   

Let us in Order move, and all conjoin,  
That he shall first begin sits next the Wine.  
Antinous thus advising, none oppose.  
Liodes' first, Oenops' Offspring, rose,  
Who was their Priest, and next the Goblet sat,  
Who much did them and their abuses hate.  
He first received the Bow and Shaft by Law,  
Than standing forth attempted it to draw,  
But failed; his Hand the stiff string weary made;  
Not used to shoot: than thus to them he said;   

Some other take this Bow; it will not bend,  
This to the Shades will many Suitors sand:  
And better die than live; thus with a Scoff,  
After a long suit to be shaken of:  
And here perhaps are some that hope to win,  
Than bear in triumph hence the beauteous Queen;  
But this Bow tried will finish all Dispute,  
Remove your Leaguer, t' other Dames make suit,  
And let her marry whom she please. This said,  
He on the Board the Bow and Arrow laid,  
When thus Antinous his mind declared;   

How scaped these words thy teeth, their Ivory guard?  
Must to the shades this many Suitors sand,  
Because thou want'st the strength the Yew to bend?  
Thy Mother no such person bore, that can  
Handle an able Bow, and play the Man:  
But here are several brisker Youths that shall.  
This said, he to Melanthius thus did call;   

A little Fire go in and quickly get,  
And close before a Chair and Cushion set;  
Than bring the roll of Lard that lies within,  
That warm they may the suppling stuff work in:  
Than we may bend the Bow, and get the Prize.  
This said, a Fire he kindles in a trice,  
A 
(d) The Chair was for the Archer to sit in, when he shot, the scope or mark being too low for them to shoot standing. And this appears afterwards when Ulysses takes the Bow, 
The Lard served to moisten and mollify the dry Bow, that thereby it might the easier yield and bend; not to anoint the Arms of the Archers, that their Nervs being thereby corroborated they might draw it with the greater strength; a great mistake in Zuinger and Spondanus.   Chair and Cushion set, and brought the Lard,  
They fall to work, no pains the Suitors spared  
To make it yield, with chase in grown warm:  
But all in vain, none had so good an Arm.  
Antinous and Eurymachus, who were  
The Suitors Princes, and the strongest there  
Attempted; not as if concerned at all,  
Eumaeus and his Swain stole out o'th' Hall:  
After these two some haste Ulysses made,  
And to them, passed the Gates, and Entrance, said;   

Eumaeus and Bubulcus, Friends you be,  
Shall I now hold my Tongue, or else be free.  
What if your King should suddenly appear,  
By some strange Miracle transported here.  
Would you the Suitors, or Ulysses' aid?  
Say what your Inclinations would persuade.   

Bubulcus than replied; O Jove wouldst thou  
Bring this to pass, that's thus in question now,  
And that some God would hither him transport,  
Than thou shouldst see that I would make some sport.  
Eumaeus so implored than all the Gods,  
To see Ulysses in his own Abodes.  
After he found he faithful Servants had,  
Thus he to them himself discovering, said;   

I that so much have suffered now am here,  
In my own Country after twenty year,  
I know that none of all my Servants do  
Wish that I should return, but only you:  
For which, what I'll confer I'll not declare;  
If by Jove's means these Roisters conquered are,  
I'll give you Wives and Wealth, your Houses build,  
And you shall both be Friends, and Brothers styled  
To my dear Son: but you not to deceive,  
Behold the mark which me the wild Boar gave,  
When with Autolycus his Sons I went  
A hunting o'er 
(e) A high Mountain in Achaia.  Parnassus' steep ascent.  
Here he to them the Cicatrice did show,  
Which after they beheld, and well did know,  
They weeping hung about him in embrace,  
Kissing his Shoulders, and his Head and Face:  
Such Compliments they had not finished yet,  
Shedding glad Tears, at jest till Sun had set,  
Had not he thus forbidden, jest any should  
Come forth, and in this posture us behold,  
And tell't within; not longer kindness show:  
And now let's in, but not together go,  
First I, than you, and this shall be the sign.  
For the proud Suitors, as one man conjoin,  
I shall nor Bow nor Quiver touch at all:  
Bear them to me Eumaeus, through the Hall,  
And put them in my Hands; The Women tell,  
That they must shut their Doors, and bar them well:  
But if that any of them hear within  
Sad Groans and Cries, with a confused Din,  
Let them not stir, not what's the matter ask,  
But there in quiet go on with their Task.  
Philetius, of the Palace Gates take Care,  
Locking them up, well bolt and strongly bar.  
Back to the Hall, this said, Ulysses goes,  
And reassumes his seat from whence he risen.  
Next in Eumaeus and Philetius go:  
When bold Eurymachus takes up the Bow,  
And at the Fire well-suppling, warmed, but had  
The same success; at which extremely mad,  
With a deep sigh his Passion thus expressed;   

I for myself not moved am, nor the rest,  
Nor to be baffled thus, not much it galls,  
By which we loose expected Nuptials:  
Address ourselves to several Dames we may  
In other places beside Ithaca,  
But that none here can draw Ulysses' Bow,  
This to our shame Posterity will know.  
Than thus to him Antinous replied;  
Not so grieve, Sir, we better shall provide,  
Now is Apollo's Festival you know,  
Who farthest shoots, and draws the silver Bow:  
Let us compose ourselves, these trinkets all  
Stand, as we leave them, in Ulysses' Hall;  
None I suppose will meddle with them there:  
But let the Skinker Wine in bowls prepare,  
That we Libating may take up the bow,  
And let Melanthius the Goatherd go  
Early for Goats, the best of all the Flock,  
With which we'll offer Phoebus, and invoke;  
Than we shall venture once more for the Prize.  
They all approve Antinous advice.  
For their Hands water strait the Heralds brought,  
Others got Wine, and empty Goblets fraught,  
When they had drank, and their Libations paid,  
Ready for Action, sly Ulysses said;   

You bold Corrivals, hear what I'll impart,  
Although the sudden Dictates of my Heart;  
Eurymachus and Antinous, I request,  
Because the last said well, and counselled best,  
Early let Phoebus' Victory bestow  
Where he shall please, but let me touch the bow;  
That I may by Experience found, if still  
I have the same dexterity and skill  
I once enjoyed, or whether they are lost  
In misery, wand'ring thus from Coast to Coast.  
This word did all their angers much incend,  
Mistrusting he the able bow might bend:  
To whom in ranting Terms Antinous said;   

Unlucky Stranger, art Thou still stark mad,  
Is't not enough with Princes here to feast;  
All privileges having of a Guest,  
And hearest our Table-talk, which none before  
Enjoyed, like thee, a Vagabond and Poor?  
Wine put into thy Head this fond design,  
Distempers rage that rise from too much Wine.  
So Wine 
(f) Pirithous was King of the Lapithites, a people of Thessaly dwelling about Pindus and Othni, who invited the Centauris, not far distant from him, to his Nuptials; one of whom, Eurytion here (by others called Eurytus) inflamed with Wine, and suprized with the incomparable beauty of the Bride; offered to make a rape upon her, which bred a sudden Quarrel betwixt the Centauris and the Lapithae, described at large by Ovid in the 12 of his Metamorphosis, 
Now Eurytus, more heady than the rest,  
Foul rapine harbours in his savage breast,  
Incensed by beauty and the heat of Wine.  
Lust and Ebriety in outrage join.  
Strait turned up Board's the Feast profane, the fair  
And tender Spouse now haled by the Hair.  
Fierce Eurytus Hippodame: all took  
Their choice, or whom they could; sacked Cities look  
With such a face. The Women shriek, we rise,  
When Theseus first; O Eurytus unwise!  
Darest thou offend Pirithous as long  
As Theseus lives? in one, two suffer wrong.  
The great-souled Hero, not to boast in vain,  
Breaks through the throng, and from his fierce disdain  
The rape reprised. He no Reply affords,  
Such facts could not be justified by words, etc.  The Centaurs from the navel downwards carried the shapes of Horses, begotten by Ixion on a Cloud, form like and mistaken for Juno: representing the vain pursuit of imaginary glory, attempted by unlawful mean●, and the prodigious Conceptions of Ambition.  Eurytion in Pirithous House  
Distracted, taking a too deep Carouse;  
When on the Lapithae he mad did fall,  
Raising so high Disturbance in the Hall:  
But they inflamed with the like raging fit,  
Cropped both his Ears, and up his Nostrils slit,  
And by the Heels they dragged him out a Door,  
After mixed slaughter had embrued the Floor,  
But for his insolence he first did pay.  
I in proviso this shall only say;   

If thou but offerest once this Bow to touch,  
Not longer Thou shalt cram and swil so much  
Amongst us here; but shipping, thee we'll sand  
To King Echetus to mankind no Friend;  
Which if you would avoid and quiet are,  
With us sit still, but not with us compare.  
Antinous, than Penelope replied;   

It is not fit thus strangers to deride,  
If once th' are Guests, and we them Favour show.  
Thinkest Thou if he should draw Ulysses' bow,  
That therefore him I should my Husband make?  
He cannot hoped, feed no such gross mistake.  
When to the Queen Eurymachus thus said;   

We not believe, Madam, that him you'll wed:  
But we fear scandal, when the base sort  
Our actions shall thus to our Shame report.  
Such Princes who would value at a straw,  
Who court his Wife, whose Bow they cannot draw?  
Others will say, a Beggar thither got,  
And through the Annulets his Arrow shot:  
Which shall infix a high disgrace on us.   

The said the Queen; Not so Eurymachus,  
None ever found the people's favour yet,  
And thus deboshing, up their betters eat.  
How can they you disparage than at all?  
He hath a goodly Person, strong, and tall,  
And him to be of fair extract we know:  
Let him than try his Strength, and take the Bow.  
If Phoebus please that he obtain the best,  
I shall present him with a Coat, and Vest,  
A Sword, a pair of Sandals, and a spear,  
That he nor Dogs nor Men shall need to fear,  
And I'll his Passport sign for him beside.  
Than to his Mother thus her Son replied;   

Madam, none here more powerful are than I,  
Whom I think fit, my Father's Bow shall try:  
Not any of the Chiefs of Ithaca,  
Nor those that in more fertile Elis sway,  
Shall drive me from my resolution, so  
If me it please, him I'll present the Bow.  
But Mother, now be pleased to walk in,  
Look to your Webs, see how your Damsels spin,  
Leave men's affairs to me; Sure in this Hall  
'Tis my concern to rule and order all.  
The Queen, her Son's direction much admires,  
And strait to her Apartment thence retires,  
There for Ulysses weeps, till her at last,  
Into a pleasant Sleep Minerva cast.  
But strait Eumaeus lifted up the bow,  
At which, the proud Corrivals angry grow:  
When some of them thus to Subulcus said;   

Since Thou to bear the Bow down art so mad,  
Thee thy own Dogs shall eat, those which thou breed'st,  
And with such care amongst thy Porkers feedest,  
If Phoebus and th' immortal Gods to us  
Be at to morrows Feast propitious.  
In the same place the Bow again he sets  
Thus ranted out, amazed at their Threats.  
The Prince than from another side o'th' Hall,  
Thus rated him; Obedient unto all  
None well can be, take up the Bow, be gone,  
Else thee, although I'm Younger, hence I'll stone  
To thy own Farm: Ah! could I but as well  
With these that riot here as with thee deal,  
I with a mischief soon would sand them hence,  
Who act with so much pride and insolence.  
When here the jolly Suitors not retort,  
But smile, converting anger into sport.  
And to the King the Bow the Swain convaid:  
Than from the Prince to Euryclea said;   

Shut fast your Doors, and if you hear within  
Sad Groans and Cries with a confused Din,  
Let them not stir, nor what's the matter ask,  
But there in quiet go on with their Task.  
The Prince thus ordering, she with speed obeyed,  
And all the Doors fast in an instant made.  
As soon Philetius steps out of the Hall,  
Locks up the Gates, and outward Portals all.  
There he the Cable of a Vessel found,  
With which he faster all the former bound:  
Than entering, sits down where before he sat,  
The King observing; who the bow had got,  
Turning and tossing jest the 
(g) Eustathius on this place, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. The Bow they say, as it appears, was made of Horn, not like the ancient Scythian Bows, of wood: But I see no necessity for this interpretation, because the Horn may be understood of the two tips of the Bow, which usually were made of that material.  Horn were bored,  
With eating worms, in th' absence of its Lord.  
When one amongst them him observing, spoke;   

Sure by this bow he would another make,  
He turns it up and down so in his Hands;  
Skilful in mischief are most Vagabonds.  
He'll take a Pattern, he looks on't so often.  
Whom thus another proud Corrival scoffed;   

May Fortune him a special Favour sand,  
And not before, until this bow he bend.  
Thus jeered the Suitors whilst Ulysses bore  
The able bow perusing it all over.  
A Skilful Harper so, before he sings,  
Winds up and down with ease concording strings,  
Pitching the Sheeps-gut either high or low:  
As did Ulysses ordering his strong bow.  
Than taking up, he twangs the well-stretched string,  
Which like a Swallows shriller Voice did ring:  
At which, the Suitors pale as ashes look,  
And, thundering, Jove them with more Terror struck:  
But the dire Omen glad Ulysses made,  
Because the God thus promised him his aid.  
And up he takes a Shaft lay on the Board,  
His Quiver after many did afford,  
Which mongst the Suitors must as Favours go,  
Than with strong Arms he drew the yielding Bow:  
The well-aimed Shaft through the first Annulet sent,  
Through all the rest just in the Centre went,  
And so a free and easy passage made.  
When to Telemachus Ulysses said;  
Not any here, Sir, now your Choice should scoff,  
've done the business, and am well come of:  
My former strength, nor old experience wants,  
I am above the scornful Suitors Taunts.  
But now 'tis late, and suppertime invites  
To singing, music, and what else delights;  
Which more than Cates concerns a liberal board:  
Than winks on's Son, who strait puts on his Sword,  
His Javelin takes, than draws in Arms complete,  
Down to his Father standing near his Seat.    

 scene from book 22 
Gulielmo Ford Armigero Joannce filice Henrici Tabulam hanc et Uxori Ipsius Dent de Biker Arm: LMDDDIO Lib 22.    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE TWENTY SECOND BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

The King Antinous shoots; All think it Chance.  
Eurymachus Quarter asks. The Prince's Lance  
Amphinomus kills; He to his Father gets,  
Who with a few on all the Suitors sets.  
Pallas appears: Corrivals slaughtered all.  
Women dress up, and cleanse from Blood, the Hall.   

BUT now the King himself from tatters strips,  
And with his Bow and well-filled Quiver leaps  
On the broad-threshold; out his Shafts than shakes  
Before his Foot, than to the Gang thus speaks;   

This Game is won, though difficult to win,  
But now a harder match we must begin;  
Which will, if Phoebus' help, make up two Games.  
This said, a Shaft he at Antinous aims,  
Who by both handles held a 
(a) Dionysius the Thracian notes that from this place of Homer, where Antinous is slain whilst he is lifting the Cup to his mouth, grew the Proverb among the Grecians, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  
Many things hap betwixt the Cup and Lip.   golden Cup,  
In jocund posture, ready to turn up,  
And take a deep Carouse, than little thought  
At's Elbow Death should spoil so sweet a Draught.  
The Prince of Suitors, 'mongst his merry Mates,  
Of slaughter little dreamt, and sullen Fates.  
Ulysses' Shaft found in his Throat no check,  
Till the sharp point transpierced his tender Neck.  
He staggering backward, down the Goblet throws,  
A purple Fountain conduits from his Nose.  
Down comes the Table, spurned over with his Feet,  
Making a muss of Drink, and Bread, and Meat.  
Up start the Suitors as they saw him fall,  
And sudden murmur flies about the Hall:  
About the Walls they look, and search each where,  
If they could found a Shield or single Spear.  
When thus enraged they Ulysses blame;   

Thou dost not well, Villain, at Men to aim;  
No more shalt thou 'mongst us for Prizes shoot:  
The hast killed a Person, who without dispute  
Was Prince of all the Youth in Ithaca:  
Therefore on Thee shall Dogs and Vultures prey.  
The Suitors blabbered thus, supposing still,  
That he had slain Antinous 'gainst his Will:  
Nor did it in Consideration fall,  
Now one Calamity would swallow all.  
When frowning, thus Ulysses made Reply;   

Not more, you Dogs, shall you believe that I  
Will ne'er return to my own House, from Troy:  
Who wast my Goods, and would my Wife enjoy,  
Her Women prostituting when you please,  
Jove slighting, and th' whole Court of Deities,  
Nor injured men regard, nor future Fame:  
Death without mercy I to all proclaim.   

This said, pale fear puts on his trembling shape,  
Each look about how Death they may escape,  
Only Eurymachus made this saint Reply;   

If Thou our Ithacan Ulysseses be,  
Thy threats are just, these Trespasses we own,  
Both in thy Court, the Country, and the Town;  
But here Antinous lies, the only Cause,  
Who made us break all Hospitable Laws,  
He neither wanted Nuptials, nor desired,  
But Supreme Power his hot ambition fired,  
Which Jove would not, he reached at absolute Sway,  
To be first Monarch of all Ithaca,  
Laying a Plot to kill thy only Son,  
By Death prevented now; Take pity on  
Our sad Condition, once thy People styled,  
That we united, may be reconciled:  
For what we here have in such Riot spent,  
Each of us twenty Bullocks shall present,  
And Gold, and Silver sand in Loads to thee;  
Till than, 'tis fit Thou thus incensed shouldst be.  
Than frowning on him thus Ulysses spoke;   

If over to me your Heir-ships you would make,  
And what's your own, what else you may enjoy,  
I would not hold my Hands, but all destroy:  
Under my just Revenge you here must lie,  
All I can grant you now, is, Fight, or Fly;  
Hopes to get of let idle Fancies shape,  
But I believe not one of you shall scape.  
This said, their Knees relaxed, cold Agues shook,  
When thus Eurymachus to them trembling, spoke;   

Sirs, He'll not spare you; Such a cruel Foe,  
With a full Quiver, and a deadly Bow,  
Will pick us out, and One by One us kill,  
Recall your Valours, Sirs, and draw your Steel;  
Against his shafts, for Targets Tables take,  
Embodied sure we something on't shall make.  
If many can from one once clear the Hall,  
The Town alarmed we'll to assistance call,  
And He shall soon this undertaking rue.  
This said, Eurymachus his Falchion drew,  
And raging like a tempest on Him set:  
Ulysses shoots Him underneath the Teat,  
Which in his Liver fixed, he drops his Sword,  
Water and Wine down tumbles with the Board;  
His Forehead, struck against the Earth, rebounds,  
His Seat, with clattering of his Heels, resounds;  
Whilst an eternal Darkness closed his Eyes.  
Amphinomus next at stern Ulysses flies,  
Drawing his Sword, so his Escape to make:  
But Him Telemachus ran through the Back,  
As he against his Father did advance:  
Out at his Bosom came the Handseled Lance,  
Whilst with his Forehead He salutes the Floor,  
The Spear Telemachus draws blushing with Gore,  
With all the speed he might, fearing lest they  
Should get that Lance, or wound Him in his way.  
Than to his Father swift as Lightning made,  
And drawn up to Him, thus rejoicing, said;   

Sir, I shall strait for you a Target get,  
And with two Javelins, and a Helmet fit:  
And that these Swains may better stand the storm,  
I shall as soon them both completely arm.   

Than said the King; Dear Son, no time neglect,  
Fetch them whilst these my Arrows me protect;  
Jest, when alone, they force me from the Gate.  
This said, the Prince went to his Chamber strait,  
Where Hung the Arms; From thence He loaden bears  
Four shields, four Helmets, and eight glittering Spears:  
First he himself, and than his Servants arms,  
To guard their King, dispensing feathered storms.  
But He, so long as any Shafts he had,  
So well he aimed, that each shot left one dead;  
And thick they lay, weltering in purple gore.  
But when the shooting-King had Shafts not more,  
Against the Wall his useless Bow he sets,  
And o'er his shoulder his bright Target gets,  
And with a glittering Cask his Brows impails,  
Graced with a waving Grove of Horses Tails:  
And strait each Hand arms with a glittering Spear.  
Above the Threshold two fair Windows were,  
Under, a Path; which through the Palace lay,  
To the next Town a near and private way:  
Good, this Ulysses bids Eumaeus make,  
When Agelaus to the rest thus spoke;   

O Sirs, let one up to the Window get,  
And call aloud for Help; some hope there's yet,  
That he who killed so many, we may kill.  
Than out Melanthius cried; you counsel ill,  
For near that passage stands you sturdy Lout,  
Who will not let you once your Head thrust out.  
But I will arms down from the Chamber bear,  
For sure the Son and Father left them there.  
This said. Melanthius hastens up the Stairs,  
And thence twelve Shields, and plumed Helmets bears,  
And twice six Lances: strait the Suitors arm.  
Ulysses' trembled at this fresh alarm:  
Seeing them shine in steel, and Javelins shake.  
He a hard task had now to undertake,  
Than to Telemachus he said; Ah! Son,  
Some of the Women hath this Mischief done,  
Or else Melanthius. Who made this Reply;   

Sir, 'tis my fault, no others, only I  
To blame am, that the Chamber Door's not locked,  
Nor to so great a Charge not better looked;  
But dear Eumaeus, go, and strait them shut,  
And mark, if any Women were i'th' Plot,  
Or if this feat were by Melanthius played.  
Whilst 'mong themselves they such Conjectures made,  
Melanthius went again more Arms to bring.  
Eumaeus spying him, drew near the King,   

And to him said; Melanthius, that vile wretch,  
Whom woe suspected now, went more to fetch:  
What shall I do: if I the stronger be,  
Shall I dispatch, or bring him down to thee?  
That to a strict account Thou him may'st call,  
Till in just punishments he pays for all.  
To whom Ulysses, troubled, answered thus;   

The Suitors I must, and Telemachus,  
Keep here within, who would be gone; Him take,  
And tie his Hands and Feet up to his Back:  
Than up a Pillar draw him with a Chain,  
To linger there in worse than 
(b) Ulysses, it seems, thought not Death a sufficient punishment for those grand misdemeanours, of his Servant, unless accompanied with torture: whose example is generally followed by more severe Princes. Suetonius doth writ thus of Tiberius the Roman Emperor, Sed & Tiberius mori volentibus vim adhibuisse vivendi dicitur; Nam mortem adeo leve supplicium putabat, ut cum audisset unum ex eyes, Carnulium nomine, anticipasse eam, exclamaverit, Carnulius me evasit: It is reported that Tiberius used to force those to live that desired to die: for he thought Death so slight a punishment, that when he understood that Carnulius had died in prison, he exclaimed, Carnulius has escaped me. So when a prisoner desired of him that he would hasten his death, he answered, that he was not yet friends with him. Which Seneca in one of his Tragedies has well expressed, 

Qui morte cunctos luere supplicium jubet,  
Nescit tyrannus esse: diversa irroga.  
Miscrum veta perire, felicem jube.   

He that all punisheth with death, not knows  
To act the Tyrant, different ways impose,  
To th' happy Death, life to him full of woes.   Whence Minerva complains Odyss 1. that Neptune studying to revenge the excoecation of his Son upon Ulysses, would not put him to death, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

Neptune not kills Ulysses on this score,  
But forced him wander from his native shore.    dying pain.  
What they commanded were, they strait obey,  
And at the Chamber Door in ambush lay,  
Whilst he about did search, more Arms to get,  
They on each side the Entrance close beset:  
When to the Door he came, his Arms well-filled,  
Bearing a stately Crest, and antique Shield,  
Which had of old youthful Laertes been,  
But now the braces ripped were from the Tin.  
They took and dragged him in, than on the ground,  
Him backwards by the Hands and Feet strait bound,  
And as Ulysses them commanded had,  
Than with a Chain fast to a Column made,  
Him hoisting up unto a Beam they tie.   

Whom thus Eumaeus scoffs; There may'st thou lie,  
As on a Bed all Night, till the approach  
Of bright Aurora in her golden Coach:  
Than 'twill be time in thy fat Goats to drive,  
To feast the Suitors, if thou art alive.  
This said, They left him hanging in the Chain,  
Than armed, and the Door locking, went again  
Down to Ulysses: Thus encouraged more,  
They now so many faced that were but four.  
To their assistance the illustrious Dame  
Minerva, than transformed to Mentor, came.  
Ulysses' seeing her, rejoicing, said;   

Let, Mentor, now old friendship thee persuade,  
And former Kindness here with me t' engage  
Against this Crew; we are of equal Age:  
But he supposed it was Minerva yet.  
On th' other side, as much the Suitors threat:  
T' whom first thus rattling Agelaus said;   

Mentor, let not Ulysses thee persuade  
Him to assist, and against us to fight,  
Since we resolve on thee to wreek our spite.  
When we the Father and the Son have slain,  
Than thou shalt die, that darest his Cause maintain:  
Thy Head lopped of, thine and Ulysses' states,  
We'll share, and drive thy Sons out of thy Gates:  
Nor shall thy Daughters, nor thy Wife here stay,  
They shall be banished out of Ithaca.  
Pallas at these expressions more enraged,  
Ulysses thus with harsher Terms engaged;   

Thou not so strong, nor so courageous art,  
As when nine years so well thou play'dst thy part  
At Troy, the beauteous Helen to regain,  
And hast so many Valiant Heroes slain,  
And by thy Stratagems took'st strong bulwarked Troy:  
Thou coming now thy Kingdom to enjoy,  
Darest not engage with these; Come stand by me,  
And what these Braggars are thou soon shalt see;  
And how I'll former Benefits repay.  
Thus said she, though not gave them yet the Day,  
But let Ulysses and his Offspring try  
Their Strength and Valour 'gainst the Enemy.  
Up to a golden Beam she takes her flight,  
And like a 
(c) The reason why he likeneth her to a Swallow, is, jest the Suitors should suspect the appearance of some God for the assistance of Ulysses, which they could not now reasonably do; it being agreeable to the nature of those Birds to be conversant among the Beams of Houses.  swallow perched to see the Fight,  
When Agelaus Old Damastors' Son,  
Eurynomus, and Young Amphimedon,  
Demoptolemus Polyctorides  
And Polybus, amongst the Suitors, these  
For Strength and Courage did the rest transcend,  
And living yet, did well themselves defend,  
The rest slain with Ulysses' Arrows were,  
Thus to renew the Fight did others cheer.   

Mentor is fled, who talked and seemed so stout,  
And they are left alone to fight it out.  
We six, each at Ulysses cast his Lance,  
Him let us wound, and than defy all Chance.  
At once all threw, as he did them enjoin,  
But strait Minerva frustrates their Design.  
This on the threshold lights, another stuck  
Fast in the Gate, the fourth the Wainscot struck.  
When they had scaped this threatening storm of Spears,  
Ulysses thus those were about him cheers;  
At Random throw amongst that impious Throng,  
Who us would kill, whom they before did wrong.  
This said, They all at once their Javelins threw,  
Ulysses, Demoptolemus first slew,  
The Prince Euryades, Eumaeus, Elate,  
Pisander from Philaetius meets his Fate,  
These on the floor in Death's Convulsions lie,  
The rest with-drawn into a Corner fly:  
They follow plucking Javelins from the slain,  
Whilst the Corrivals throw their Spears in vain.  
What e'er th' attempt, Pallas made fruitless all;  
This hits the Floor, the Gate this, that the Wall,  
Telemachus Hand Amphimedons' Javelin razed,  
The point the Skin scarce piercing, overpast.  
Eumaeus shoulder; Ctesipus his Lance,  
Flying o'er his Target, did a little glance,  
And scarce blood fetching, lighted on the Ground,  
Groves of fallen Spears hedge in Ulysses round,  
Which the whole Gang of Suitors at him threw;  
Amongst them than Eurydamas he slew,  
The Prince Amphimedon, Eumaeus Polybus,  
Philaetius on the Breast hit Ctesipus,  
And with these words pursued his well-aimed Spear;  
Thou lov'st high Language and delight'st to jeer,  
Leave boasting speeches, fit for the Gods,  
Who can perform, and have of thee the Odds;  
Take this return for th' hospitable Hoof  
Thou sentest Ulysses under his own Roof,  
Craving thy Alms: But than Ulysses slew  
Agelaus running with his Javelin through,  
Telemachus Leocritus struck there,  
Quite through the Navel with a driven Spear,  
Reeking the point, in's Back a passage sound,  
Who falling, with his forehead beats the Ground.  
Than Pallas on a step her Target raised,  
At which, all were confounded, and amazed;  
Who like a Herd of  take their flight,  
When in the Spring the 
(d) By this similitude of an Ox molested with the Fly called Oestrum, or Asilus, is represented the extremity of terror and affrightment. So Virgil in the 3. of his Georgics, 

Et lucos Silari circa, ilicibusque virentem  
Pluribus Alburnum volitans, cui nomen Asilo  
Romanum est, Oestrum Graii vertere vocantes,  
Asper, acerba sonans, quo tota exterrita silvis  
Diffugiunt armenta.   

A Fly about the Groves of Silarus haunts,  
And high Alburnus, green with stately plants,  
Asilus called by Romans, but the same  
The Greeks style Oestron by an ancient name,  
Extremely fierce and loud, whose spite to eat,  
To sheltering Woods affrighted  run,  
And with their bellowing strike Heavens arched round.  
Which Groves and shallow Tanagrus resound.  
With this dire Monster, Juno long ago  
Her spite did on th' Inachian Heifer show,    Fly doth them affright:  
But th' other Party on like Vultures rush,  
When the affrighted Quarry leaves the Bush,  
And them t' escape from Heaven so hard beset,  
Takes the Champaign, and falls into the Net:  
Not Quarter there, no hope in Strength of Flight,  
They kill them strait who in such sport delight:  
So they promiscuously upon them all,  
Breathless and panting, without Mercy fall,  
Dashing their Heads together, the whole Floor  
With Bodies filled, and stained with purple Gore.  
Liodes than Ulysses' knees embraced,  
And thus himself on the King's Mercy cast;   

Me I beseech you hear, and pity show,  
I with your Women never had to do,  
I sat amongst my Patrons, and still bid  
Them to abstain from those foul acts they did;  
And now they suffer for their Pride and Lust,  
At acts, I always scrupled, were unjust,  
With them let not their guiltless Chaplain lie,  
Not such Example make Posterity.  
Than frowning on Him, thus Ulysses said;   

Art thou their Chaplain? Than Thou often hast prayed  
In my own Court, far of the Happy Day  
Might be, of my Return to Ithaca,  
That thou mightst wed, and pregnant make my Wife;  
Expect not therefore I will save thy Life.  
Than from the Ground He up a Falchion catched,  
Which Agelaus dropped, by Him dispatched:  
With this He took him on the Neck so just,  
His Head lop'd of lay muttering in the Dust:  
But Phemius, who the Suitors 'gainst his Will,  
Forced both to sing and play, He did not kill;  
Holding his Harp he stood by th' upper Gates,  
And of two ways, which best was, cogitates;  
Should he for Refuge to 
(e) Jupiter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, so called from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifying the enclosure or outwall encompassing the Court-yard: for, as Athenaeus observes, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is constantly to be taken in Homer for the Court-yard; which afterwards among the later Comedians signified a Palace: as in Diphilus, 

HE 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

Favour in Palaces to seek to have,  
Is for a Beggar, Exile, or a Slave.   In this place was the Altar of Jupiter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉; for when Ulysses had commanded Medon and Phemius to leave the Hall, and go 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 

— 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

They strait obeyed, and the dire Hall forsake,  
And to the Altar of great Jove they make.   So is the Altar whither Hocuba and Priam fled, described by Virgil to be sub Dio in the open Air, 

Aed●bus in mediis, nudoque sub atheris axe  
Ingens Ara fuit, juxtaque veterrima laurus  
Incumbens Arae atque umbra complexa penates:  
Hic Hecuba & natae nequidquam altaria circum  
Praecipites atra ceu tempestate columbae  
Condensae & Divum amplexae simulacra tenebant.   

Amidst the Palace, in the open air,  
An Altar stood, an ancient Laurel near  
Embraced the Gods with a declining shade:  
Here Hecuba and all her Daughters fled,  
As Flocks of Pigeons from a Tempest hast,  
And round the Statues of though Gods embraced.   Now that this Altar was that of Jupiter Herceus appears from Tryphiodorus 
At th' Altar of Herceus sick of breath,  
Bold Pyrrhus put the aged King to death.  And Ovid in his Ibis, speaking of Priam, Cui nibil Hercaei profuit ara Jovis. Whom th' Altar of Hercean Jove not saved.  Jove's Altar run,  
Where old Laertes and his only Son  
So often had sacrifieed; or whether He  
Should cast himself down at Ulysses' Knee:  
The last of these advices seemed most sound.  
'Mongst Cups and tumbled Chairs upon the Ground  
His Harp he leaves, since dangerous are Delays,  

(f) This is a most exact description of the Graecian 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that I wonder there should be that difference among the ancient Grammarians, in he explaining of it.  And thus his Knees embracing, Quarter prays;   

Save me Ulysses, and my Blood not spill,  
You'll soon Repent if Phemius you kill,  
Who sings to Men and Gods; Jove doth inspire  
My Muse, and adds a spirit to my Lyre:  
I'll chant like Phoebus, a celestial air  
Shall ravish Thee; ah! Sir, my life than spare.  
Telemachus thy Son will tell thee all,  
How I against my Will played in thy Hall,  
Enforced, I sung at their disordered Feasts,  
Ore-poured by many, and uncivil Guests.  
Telemachus heard how he for Quarter prayed,  
And hasting near, thus to his Father said;   

Hold Sir, ah! hold; Him Innocent, ah! spare;  
And Medon too, who still of me took Care,  
If by Philaetius, or Eumaeus, He  
Not yet be slain, nor in the Charge by Thee:  
Him Medon heard, who skulking lay unseen,  
Under a Chair, wrapped in a Bullock's Skin:  
Strait up he starts; and throws of his disguise,  
And at his Prince's Knees, thus Quarter cries;   

Ah! I am here, thy Father, ah! engage,  
Jest me he kill, pursuing in his Rage,  
On the proud Suitors score, who his Court spoiled,  
And thee contemned, as if thou wert a Child.   

Than smiling, said Ulysses; Take my Word,  
And since my Son hath saved thee from the Sword,  
Learn this that thou and others may beware,  
Good Deeds successful more than Wicked are:  
But go thou forth, and Phemius take along,  
And sit without, free from this slaughtered Throng:  
Than I'll an end here of this business make.  
Both strait obeyed, and the dire Hall forsake,  
And by the Altar of great Jove they sat,  
Looking about, expecting still their Fate.  
Ulysses than strict search made every where,  
If any had escaped, and living were.  
Many he found weltering in Dust and Gore,  
Like new-drawn Fishes lying on the Shore,  
Wishing their watery Coverlet in vain,  
Whilst the hot Sun concludes both Hope and Pain:  
Just so in heaps the slaughtered Suitors lay.  
When thus Ulysses to his Son did say;   

Call Euryclea, my Telemachus,  
That she may take some orders strait from us.  
The Prince his Father with all speed obeyed,  
And the Door opening to his Nurse thus said;   

Dear Euryclea, who here governest all,  
My Father calls, make haste into the Hall.  
His Voice she hearing, opens strait the Door,  
Following Telemachus who went before;  
Where 'mongst the Dead the King she found, all ore  
Besmeared with blood, sprinkled with Dust and Gore;  
Like a huge Lion, who a Bull had slain.  
His shaggy Breast and Cheeks warm blood did slain,  
Who with a terrible aspect appeared,  
Ulysses' Hands and Feet were so besmeared:  
Soon as the dismal business she did spy,  
She strait began to raise a joyful Cry  
At the dire work, Ulysses strait forbade,  
And Her with kind words comforting, thus said;   

Conceal your Joy, and dearest Nurse refrain,  
From triumphing over these that here lie slain:  
Fate, for foul Crimes, presents them this reward,  
Whose Pride not any Person living spared:  
Be they or Good or Bad, be what they may,  
For their offences now in Death they pay.  
Strait number up those Women, who my House,  
And me dishonoured, and my virtuous Spouse.   

Than Euryclea said; Dear Son, I shall,  
I'll give you in a strict Account of all:  
Twice twenty five young Damsels are within,  
All taught to work, to carded, to wove and spin.  
Amongst these only twice fix faulty be,  
Who scorn thy chaste Penelope and me:  
Telemachus, but now of age, not yet,  
His Mother thought to govern Women fit.  
But I will up and tell the Queen, who fast  
Asleep some gentle Deity hath cast.   

Than he replied; Wake her not yet, but all  
Those your kindhearted Women hither call,  
Who in my absence here have been so bold.  
This said, She went and the King's Order told.  
Eumaeus, and Philaetius, and his Son  
He calling to him, thus to them begun;   

Bear hence these Bodies, bid the Women come,  
And cleanse the Seats, the Tables, and the Room,  
And with wet Sponges every Chink make clean:  
And when the House is put in order, than  
Led forth those Strumpets, twixt the Hedge and Gate,  
And there with Steel cool their intemperate Heat,  
Until their lustful Blood the Pavement warms,  
Who hugged the Suitors in lascivious Arms.   

By this the faulty Female-Troop appears,  
A loud complaining, drowned in trickling Tears.  
But first they bore the Bodies from the Hall,  
And laid in private by the Palace-Wall.  
Ulysses bids the Women, when th' had renced  
The Chairs, and Tables, and with Sponges cleansed,  
That they the Lumber, Spears, and Targets all,  
Promiscuous fallen should bear out of the Hall.  
The Prince and his two Swains swept clean the Floor,  
The Dust the Damsels carried out o'th' Door;  
The House well-decked, the guilty Females they  
Betwixt the Quickset, and the Gate convey.  
There drove them up, from whence they could not fly.   

Than said Telemachus; They shall not die  
Here by the Sword, that is a Death too brave,  
Who both on me, and my Dear Mother, have  
Cast such Reproach, our Palace common made,  
Where lewd Pranks they with lustful Gallants played.  
This said, a Rope on a cross Beam he bond,  
High, jest their dangling Feet should touch the ground,  
So their expanded Wings, a Dove, or Thrush,  
Shakes in the Net, concealed within a Bush,  
Entering the Hedge catched in unhappy Beds,  
So noosed, in woeful order hung their Heads,  
Shaking their Feet, till suffocated Breath  
Fate finished in dishonourable Death.  
Next to the place they forth Melanthius get,  
There cropped they of his Ears, his Nostrils slit,  
His Members they cut of, his Hands and Feet,  
And raging threw for hungry Dogs to eat.  
After that they had washed and finished all,  
They to Ulysses went, yet in the Hall;  
Who thus to ancient Euryclea said;   

Bring 
(g) It is generally delivered by Historians that Epimenides first brought into Greece the Rites and Ceremonies of cleansing or expiating Houses and Fields polluted with human blood. So Diogenes Laortius writes in his life: but we found here some footsteps of that superstition long before the time of Epimenides. Of personal Lustration the most accurate description, now extant, is this of Claudians in his Panegyric to Honorius the Emperor, 

Lustralem sic triste facem, cui lumen odorum  
Sulphur coerulco nigroque bitumine-fumat,  
Circum membra rotat doctus ●urganda sacerdos,  
Roar pio spargens, & dira fugantibus herbis,  
Numina terrificumque Jovem Triviam que precatus  
Trans caput aversus manibus jaculatur in Austrum  
Secum rapturas cantata piacula taedas.   

The Lustral fire brand so, whose blazing smoke  
With Pitch and Sulphur black and azure look,  
The Priest, well-skilled in Expiations, bore  
About his Limbs, and sprinkled him all over  
With holy Dew, and Herbs expelling bane,  
The Gods imploring, Jove and bright Diane,  
Than o'er his Head into the South he throws,  
With which all Spells and dire enchantment goes.   When any Country or City was to be cleansed, the Sacrifice was first led round the same, as appears out of Polybius, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, They appointed a purgation, and led the Victims round about the City and Country adjacent: whence those sacra were called by the Romans, Ambarvalia. But that Sulphur was peculiarly used we have the testimony too of Pliny in his Natural History, Sulphur habet & in religionibus locum ad expiandas suffitu domos, Sulphur is employed ceremoniously in hallowing of Houses: for many are of opinion that the fume and burning thereof will drive forth all Enchantments: and of Juvenal, satire 2. 
Tet bellorum animae, quoties hinc talis ad illos  
Vmbra venit, cuperent lustrari si qua darentur  
Sulphura cum taedis, & si foret humida laurus.   Sulphur strait, and let a Fire be made,  
To air the Room; And than entreat the Queen,  
With all her chaster Damsels to come in;  
Not one of all her Train must stay behind.   

She thus replied; This is not well-designed;  
But I'll a Robe first, and a Mantle bring;  
Such Weeds not fit the Person of a King,  
You must not so appear. Than he replied;   

However Fire and Perfume strait provide.  
Old Nurse, this said, dispatched, and in a thought,  
Fire in a Censer, and sweet Sulphur brought.  
Whilst he the Hall and Chamber did perfume,  
She went and told them all, the King was come;  
They came with Tapers, clustering in a Throng;  
About his Neck, his Hands and Shoulders clung,  
Kissed and embraced, glad Tears their Cheeks bedew.  
He takes all well, who their Affections knew.    

 scene from book 23 
Seorgio Wharton Armigero Tabulam hanc LMDDDIO Lib. 23.    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE TWENTY THIRD BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

Old Nurse o'erjoyed up to the Queen doth go,  
And waking, tells, Ulysses stayed below.  
Penelope, with female Fancies fed,  
Long scruples, till the King describes their Bed.  
Transported than she leaps into his Arms:  
Pallas Night almost spent prolongs by Charms.   

BUT Old Nurse hasts up to the drawing-Room,  
To tell Penelope the King was come.  
Nimbly she tripped, not feeling strength decayed,  
Than standing near her Pillow, thus she said;   

Rise dearest Daughter, rise Penelope,  
That thou may'st him behold thou longest to see,  
Ulysses, who, though late, at last is come:  
Those Roisters all are killed, who here at Home  
Devoured his state, and did his Son deride.  
The Queen, her not believing, thus replied;   

Dear Nurse, the Gods thus make thee rave, who can  
Make Wisemen Fools, and wise the Foolish man,  
They Hand in Hand conjoin Follie and Wit,  
They thus distracted thee, who wert once Discreet.  
Why didst Thou wake me grieving, from so deep  
And pleasant, such a golden-fettered sleep?  
I never had the like, since 
(*) Ulysses.  all my Joy  
Went to that hateful Siege of cursed Troy.  
Leave me: If any else had been so bold  
To break my Rest, and me such Tidings told,  
I should have sent her back with worse News:  
But, Euryclea, Age shall Thee excuse.   

Than thus Old Nurse replied; I wrong not you,  
My dearest Daughter, all I say is true:  
The King is come, and now within thy Court,  
That Stranger whom the Suitors made their sport.  
Telemachus knew all before, but hide  
The whole Concern, as Him his Father bid;  
That the proud Crew examples might be made.  
At this o'erjoyed, she leaped out of her Bed,  
And the Old Woman shedding Tears embraced,   

Dear Nurse, than said, Is this all true thou sayest?  
How came He hither? How could He alone  
The Rivals worst, so many against One,  
Who always ready, stood upon their Guard?   

Than she replied; I neither saw nor heard,  
Moore than their dying Groans, we trembling, all  
Our Chambers kept, till me your Son did call  
Down to his Father, where the King I found  
Hemmed in with heaps of slaughtered bodies round.  
You had admired to see, how there he stood,  
Like a stern Lion smeared all ore with Blood.  
In th' outward Court they lie heaped in a Pyre,  
The Room's perfumed: He standing by a Fire,  
Entreats your Presence, and sent me to call;  
Make haste, that there we may be joyful all:  
Now make glad periods to all Sorrows past,  
Since what so much you longed for's come at last.  
He is in Health returned to his own House,  
Finds well his hopeful Son, his Virtuous Spouse,  
And all the Havoc which the Suitors made,  
For't with their Lives they have full dearly paid.  
Than thus, Dear Nurse, Penelope replied;   

Boast not, nor my Credulity deride.  
Thou knowst that nothing can more welcome be,  
Than his Return, both to our Son and Me:  
But 'tis not as thou sayest. This cursed Crew  
Some God incensed, for their Offences, flew;  
Since they all Strangers used alike, nor had  
Regard to any either Good or Bad:  
They justly suffered, but Ulysses lost  
Will ne'er, I fear, review his Native Coast.   

How scaped such words thy teeth, their Ivory guard?  
Euryclea said, You're of Belief too hard.  
He in the Hall stands by the Fire, nay, more,  
I saw his scar got by a Savage Boar,  
When Him I bathed; which I to you had told,  
But on my Throat, he starting up, laid hold.  
Come, follow me, and if I tell a Lie,  
Let me with new-invented Tortures die.   

Than she replied; No Mortal e'er could sound  
The God's Decrees, nor plumb those Deeps profound.  
But let us go that I may see my Son,  
The Suitors killed, and Him by whom 'twas done.  
This said, the Queen descends, much troubled, should  
She question Him, and at some distance hold,  
Or leap into her dearest Lord's embrace.  
But through the Hall she passing, took her place  
Against th' opposed Wall, a little higher,  
Where by a Column stood, before the Fire,  
The King, expecting when the Queen would speak:  
But long she sat, nor once would silence break,  
Gazing on him, whom, in mean Garments clad,  
She knew not, when Telemachus thus said;   

My Mother, not, ah! thou too cruel art,  
Why sittest thou from my Father thus apart,  
And wilt not speak, nor the lest Question ask:  
For any other Lady 'twere a Task,  
Too hard, from her dear Husband to abstain,  
Now after twenty years returned again,  
Through Worlds of toil, of misery, and want;  
You have a Heart harder than Adamant.   

Than thus replied the Queen; Dear Son, I found  
Such strange Confusion in my troubled mind,  
I cannot speak, nor question what I would,  
Nor dare look up his Face once to behold.  
If this Ulysses be, which yet I doubt,  
Rather in private I would found Him out:  
He hath some marks, which if we were alone,  
Would better be to me, than others, known.  
Ulysses' at the Queries that she made,  
Smiling, thus to Telemachus than said;   

Son, her advice with me apart to go,  
Than we may one another better know:  
Shabby my Looks, so mean my Garments be,  
Now for her Lord she'll not acknowledge me.   

But now let us consult what's to be done,  
If any 'mongst these People kill but 
(a) He alludes to the Laws of the Athenians, who punished all Homicide, though unwittingly committed on the meanest of the people, with Exile for one year. This appears from these Verses of Euripides in his Hippolytus, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  When Hercules in his distraction had slain two sons of Iphiclus' and one of his own, as soon as his passion was over, he was desired by Iphiclus and Licymnius to absent himself for one year 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 (saith Nicolans Damascinus) as the Custom is, and than to return to Thebes again. pag● 202  One,  
Seldom but few in his behalf will stand,  
He flying, strait forsakes his Native Land:  
But we have many slain, the greatest too,  
In Ithaca, resolve what's best to do.  
When to his Father thus his Son replies;   

You, Sir, best know, you're ablest to advice,  
No Mortal whosoever, as goes the Fame,  
Better than you, Sir, plays an aftergame:  
Lay you your Plot, and we'll do what we can,  
Nor Valour want we, if it be in Man.  
When thus the subtle King himself expressed;   

I'll speak my Judgement, what to me seems best:  
First let us bathe, than put rich Garments on,  
The like must be by all the Women done:  
Let Phemius march before us in great state,  
As if we Dances were to celebrated;  
That some may say without they Nuptials hear,  
As they pass by, or those inhabit near,  
 flying Fame the City give th' Alarm  
Of this their Deaths, or we walk to the Farm,  
And there consider in the shady Grove  
What's best to do, and what seems best to Jove.  
Their King they, as the Oracle, obeyed;  
All bath, and in rich Habits ready made:  
The Women dressed themselves in gay Attire,  
And Phemius, as at Nuptials, ●ouch'd his Lyre:  
Sweetly he sung, their light Feet beaten the Ground,  
And Dancing, make the arched Hall resound:  
Than some did say that heard without the Gate,  
The Queen had chosen now a Princely Mate,  
And would not longer keep so great a House,  
Nor more expect her so long-look'd-for Spouse:  
So some did say, but nothing knew. Mean while  
Eurynome baths, and 'noints with purest Oil  
Ulysses, and in Royal Habit clads,  
And to his Face and Person, Pallas adds  
Beauty and Size, and on his Tresses sets  
Lustre that shone like purple Violets:  
As Gold and Silver by some Artist wrought,  
Whom 
(b) As the Poets feigned all Artists in general to receive their skill from Minerva; so in particular those that dealt in Metals, from Mulciber, that is, Vulcan: and therefore they are both nominated in this place. What the Ancients meant by Vulcan, we found in these Verses of Orpheus, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

Nymph's water, Vulcan Fire, Ceres Grain,  
But Neptune and Enosichthon are the Main.   Whence because all Metals are by the medium of Fire subjected to the Artists, they were esteemed to be under the protection of Vulcan.  Mulciber or bright Minerva taught,  
On's Head and Shoulders she such splendour strowed,  
That from the Bath he marched out like a God,  
And where he sat, that place resumes again:  
Than thus he spoke unto his self-willed Queen;   

Beyond all Women thou unhappy art,  
Since Heaven hath so obdurated thy Heart.  
What other Woman would be kept of so,  
From her dear Lord, who, through a world of Woe,  
The twentieth year himself to her addressed?  
Nurse, go and make my Bed, that I may rest:  
Thy soul is steel, or else thy Heart would ache.  
When to the King Penelope thus spoke;   

I never, Sir, affected was with Pride,  
Nor Rich admire, nor thee, though Poor, deride:  
But I remember well what than thou wert,  
When me thou left'st, if such a one thou art.   

But Euryclea, go and make that Bed  
In the great Chamber which Ulysses made  
Himself, with so much Art, soft Blankets let  
Be put on strait, and a rich Coverlet.  
Thus said the Queen, her dearest Lord to try.  
But He offended, made this rough Reply;   

Strangely you talk, your Orders something odd,  
Who can remove that Bed, unless some God?  
Celestials may by their Supernal Power,  
But never Mortal shall, though in his Flower:  
This as a signal framed I with much Art,  
And greatness, none but I performed that part.  
A stately Olive in my Court did sprout,  
With spreading branches, like a Beam about.  
This, when I had our Wedding-Chamber built,  
With well-layed stone, well plastered, seil'd, and guilt,  
Made able Doors, close by the Root I lopped,  
And of luxurious Boughs, and Foliage cropped;  
Than with an Augre bored, and by a line  
I cut and joined whatever I should conjoin:  
So of this Olive I my Bedstead made,  
With Ivory, Silver, and with Gold in-laid,  
And strongly corded than with 
(c) It seems in the time of our Poet, before the use of Cordage, they bond their Beds with Thongs of Leather; beautified with colours answerable to the quality of the Person.  purple Thongs,  
This the great signal which to me belongs;  
Nor know I, Madam, if you used it yet,  
Or else removed it in some sullen fit.  
Thus doubts removed, weeping, she quits her place,  
And throws herself into her Lord's embrace:  
There she with Kisses smothering Him, his Neck   

Embracing, said; Thy rage, Ulysses, check,  
Since thou so prudent art, and knowst that we  
Shared equal Woes, divorced by Fates Decree,  
From joys of Marriage in a spiteful hour,  
I, in my prime, Thou in thy sparkling Flower:  
Be not offended that I thus delayed  
Thy dear embrace, that always am afraid,  
Jest some (for many such Contrivements lay)  
Me with dissembling Language should betray.  

(d) This similitude, consisting of seven verses in the original, is generally accounted spurious by the Grammarians, as not answering to what preceded: some there be, who by another sort of interpunction make another sense corresponding with the argument, thus; Holen had never consented to the enticements of a Stranger, had she considered what I have said, but because she was cheated (Venus representing Paris in the form of Menelaus her Husband) the Grecians undertook the expedition for her recovery: pardon me therefore if I be solicitous to know your person before I acknowledge you for my Husband.  Helen had ne'er offended as she did,  
And changed her Husband's for a foreign Bed,  
Had she but dreamt the Greeks should e'er transport,  
From Ilium, her to Menelaus' Court:  
But Jove into that error let her fall,  
Because she not considered at all  
The mischiefs that might hap, which hath wrought  
So strongly, and on us these sorrows brought.  
Your Bed, which you described, I not deny,  
Me hath convinced, which none but you, and I,  
And Actoris, (my dearest Fathers Gift,  
When I his Roofs for this your Palace left)  
 yet beheld; She keeps locked up and barred.  
Now I believe all what before seemed hard.  
This said, a gentle Grief his Wrath disarms,  
He weeps, his Queen embracing in his Arms:  
As when the Sky after a Tempest clears,  
And Coast to storm-strest Mariners appears,  
A few escaping swim unto the Land,  
And their bulged Vessel bedded, leave in Sand,  
Their bodies wrapped in Weeds, the shore they reach,  
Their weary Limbs reposing on the Beach;  
So glad was she her Husband to behold,  
Nor could her Arms from his embrace unfold:  
And in this Posture they had been till Day,  
But that Minerva stopped Aurora's way,  
Not suffering her from th' Ocean to approach,  
Nor her swift steeds join in her golden 
(e) The Poets attribute a Chariot to the Sun in regard of the swiftness of his motion, and to express what is beyond the object of sense by that which is subject unto it. His Horses, as their names express, are no other than Light and Heat, whereof the Sun is the fountain. Homer here allows him but two, but the rest do generally attribute four to him: Ovid in his Metamorphosis, 

Interea volucres Pyrois, Eous, & Aethon,  
Solis equi, quartusque Phlegon hinnitibus auras  
Flammiferis implent, etc.   

Mean while the Sun's swift Horses; hot Pyrous,  
Light Aethon, fiery Phlegon, bright Eous  
Neighing aloud, inflame the air with heat,  
And with their thundering Hoofs the barrier beaten.    Coach,  
Lampus and Phaeton, who quick Light convey  
To Mortals, called the Horses of the Day.  
When thus Ulysses to his Queen begun;   

My Dear, our business yet we have not done,  
A world of several Labours we must through,  
All which necessity compels unto:  
For so Tiresias me foretelling, said,  
When I descended to th' infernal shade,  
How we in safety might return t'enquire:  
My Dear, in private let us now retire,  
Where we may please ourselves in gentle rest.  
When thus the Joyful Queen herself expressed;   

Your Bed shall ready be, Sir, when you please,  
But since the Gods you convoyed through the Seas,  
To your own Palace, and your Native Land,  
Since well your future state you understand:  
Now tell me what I must hereafter hear,  
Better to know, than not know, what to fear.   

Than he replied; Why my ensuing Fate  
Wouldst thou, dear Wife, that I should now relate?  
But I shall tell thee and the Truth recite,  
Which neither me nor you will much delight.  
I many populous Cities must explore,  
Still carrying in my Hands a handsome Oar,  
Until I found a People saw not yet  
The swelling Main, nor 
(f) I found that the Ancients generally interpreted this place of Epirus, not far distant from Ithaca. So Pa●sanias in his description of Africa, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. etc. Pyrthus being highly conceited of his strength, encountered the Carthaginians (the most experienced of all the Barbarians, being descended from the Phoenicians) in a Naval Fight, his Armada consisting only of Epirots, who when Troy was taken knew not the Se●, nor use of Salt, as Homer testifies. These that knew not the Sea, were ignorant of the use of Salt, according to our Poet: whence it may be conjectured that he knew of no other Salt but what was made of Sea water. The other token of their ignorance of the Sea was, that they should not know an Oar, but call it by the Name of an instrument wherewith they winnowed Corn.  Salt use with their Meat,  
That know not how to steer with sails a-trip,  
Nor handle Oars, that Wings are to a ship,  
My sign shall be when first I meet a Man,  
Mistakes the Oar I carry for a Van:  
Than in the Country I should fix my Oar,  
And there great Neptune, th' Ocean's King, implore,  
Offering a Lamb, a Bull, and pregnant Sow;  
From thence than Home, to my own Palace go,  
And there whole Hecatombs must sacrifice,  
To all the Gods who plant the ample Skies.  
Than Death, from Sea, shall me, grown Old, arrest,  
When I am happy, and my People blest.  
I this response had from Tiresias shade.  
Than to the King Penelope thus said;   

If Thee thy Age the Gods more tranquil Doom,  
Than we preceding Sorrows may o'ercome.  
Betwixt themselves they such Discourses had,  
Mean while, their Bed, Nurse and Eurynome made,  
And lighted Lamps; when they had finished all,  
Back Euryclea goes into the Hall,  
Eurynome, bearing a Taper, led  
Them to their Chamber, and their Marriagebed,  
Than left them to themselves, where th' ancient Feat,  
Love's sweetest Lesson, they with joy repeat.   

When the Young Prince, and his bold Swains forbidden  
Them longer Dance, as ordered, so they did.  
Thence, weary, than to their Repose retired,  
But when they had enjoyed what both desired,  
They fell into Discourse; his well-pleased Spouse,  
Tells him how much she suffered in his House;  
What Revel-rout the Suitors there did keep,  
Devouring his best Beeus, and fattest Sheep,  
Drinking whole Tuns of Wine: but he relates,  
A Series of his Sufferings, and sad Fates,  
Pleased with his Tale, in sleep she could not fall,  
Nor close her Eyes, till he had told her all.  
Who first recounts, how the 
(g) The Ciconians were a people that inhabited Ismarus, a City of Thrace, as we have already seen in the 9 of the Odysseys. They were assistant to the Trojans, reckoned up among Auxiliaries, 

Yew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  
IT 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

Euphemus led the valiant Cicons on,  
Grandchild to glorious Cease, Troizen's Son.    Ciconians he  
O'ercome; next, what the 
(h) The Lotophagi were inhabitants of the Island Menynx, which lies before the lesser Syrtis, so called, because they fed on the fruit of the Lotus tree, of which there is great abundance in that Isle.  Lotophagie be;  
How Cyclops used him, how he Him did treat,  
Who without mercy his Companions eat.  
How Aeolus Home, him kindly feasting, sent,  
But Fate did his arrival than prevent;  
Back from his Native shore a Heurican  
Bore him, lamenting, through the boisterous Main:  
Of 
(i) Of these Giants, see Odyss. 10. where the story is delivered at large.  Laestrygonian Giants he tells than,  
How they destroyed his Ships, and all his men:  
How with one Vessel he escaped to Sea:  
Next, tells her Circe's Charms and Subtlety:  
Than how he went to Pluto's Dismal Gates,  
What of Tiresias he enquired, relates:  
There all his Friends and Mother he beheld,  
Who bore and fostered him a little Child:  
Next, Siren's heard, Charybdis rocky Cape,  
And Scylla passed, whence seldom any escape:  
Than how his men the Sun's fair  slew;  
How Jove his Vessel up with Lightning blue,  
All his Associates swallowed in the Sound;  
How he escaped, the Isle Ogygia found,  
Where fair Calypso Him to be her Lord,  
Long courted, treating both at Bed and Board:  
That Him she would immortal make she said,  
Ne'er to be Old, but all would not persuade.  
Next how He came to the Pheacian shore,  
Whom there they all did as a God adore:  
Of Gold and Garments a rich Present made,  
And than by Sea to Ithaca conveyed.  
As thus he talked: sleep seized him unawares  
In golden Chains, which cures Heart-eating Cares.  
But Pallas than another Plot contrived,  
When sleep enough his Spirits had revived,  
And his dear Wife's embraces; Dauns approach,  
From Sea she hastens in her golden Coach,  
Conveying Light to Mortals: from his Bed  
Ulysses rising, to his Queen thus said;   

We both have surfeited with Grief, my Dear,  
Thou in my absence many troubles here;  
But me the God's wearied with Woe and Toil,  
Crossing my Passage to my Native Soil:  
Now in one Bed we former Comforts found,  
Next to Domestic cares let's turn our mind.  
What sheep the wasting Suitors did consume,  
I'll take so many as shall fill their Room:  
The Greeks that number shall for me provide,  
Till all my Coats and Stalls are re-supplyed:  
But I must go now to the Field, to give  
My Father Comfort, who for me doth grieve.  
But, Dearest Wife, Thee I command, although  
Thou art Discreet (for strait the Fame will go  
Of these proud Suitors slaughter to the Town)  
To keep within thy Chamber, nor come down,  
Nor see, nor speak with any there. This done,  
He arms himself, the like commands his Son,  
Eumaeus, and Philaetius, and all there,  
That strait in glittering Armour they appear,  
All clad in Steel were, strait their King th' obeyed,  
Opened the Gates, whom forth Ulysses led:  
Now the Sun risen, whom Pallas though conveyed  
Forth from the City covered with a shade.    

 scene from book 24 
Johanni Markham Armigero Tabulam hanc LMDDDO Lib. 24.    

HOMER'S ODYSSES.  
THE TWENTY FOURTH BOOK.  
THE ARGUMENT.  

Hermes conducts to Shades the Suitors Ghosts,  
Greek Heroes meet them on th' Infernal Coasts.  
Amphimedon and Agamemnon talk.  
Laertes found in his own Garden walk.  
A War gins. Eupitheus' sad Decease.  
Pallas like Mentor makes a lasting Peace.   

CYLLENIAN 
(a) He has this Epithet attributed to him from the Mountain Cyllene in Arcadia, where he was especially worshipped.  Hermes leads to th' infernal Strand,  
The Suitors 
(b) Mercury was feigned to pass between Jupiter and Pluto, fetching Ghosts from the under-shadows, and carrying them thither, because he taught that no man came into the World, or went out of it, without the Divine appointment. Which office we found generally attributed to him by the Poets. Virgil, Aeneid. 4. 

— bac animas ille evocat Orco  
Pallentes, alias sub tristia Tartara mittit:  
Dat somnos adimitque, & lumina morte resignat.   

With this pale Souls from Erebus he calls  
And others in sad Tartarus inthrals.  
Procures, and Sleep repels; shuts dying Eyes.    Ghosts, armed with his golden Wand,  
With which He seels up Mortal's Eyes from Cares,  
And opes again to follow their Affairs.  
He drives them on, they after murmuring flock  
Like Bats, who in the belly of a Rock,  
When any one drops from their Order, out,  
All fluttering, rise; and Humming, fly about:  
So Hermes lead them muttering through broad ways:  
They reach th' effluxes of the swelling Seas,  
Than Leucas rock, thence on their Course they keep  
To the Sun's Portals, and the Town of sleep,  
And strait they enter in a flowery Mead,  
Where, after Death, departed souls reside:  
And first the shades they of Achilles found,  
Patroclus and Antilochus so renowned,  
And Ajax for his Valour honoured most,  
Except Pelides of the Graecian Host.  
About Him nearer the pale Suitors drew,  
And Agamemnon with his slaughtered Crew,  
Lamenting, who were by Aegisthus slain,  
To whom Achilles shade did thus complain;   

Atrides, we supposed that thundering Jove  
Most Thee, of all the Graecian Chiefs, did love:  
Because so many thou didst lead, and such,  
Who Troy subdued, where they endured so much,  
And wert Thou, ah! so barbarously destroyed?  
But none that's born can sullen Fate avoid.  
Would Thou hadst died with Honour in Command,  
And met thy destiny on the Phrygian Strand,  
Than had the Grecians bravely Thee interred,  
And Thou great Glory on thy Son conferred:  
But now on Thee a sadder Death did seize.   

Than He replied; Renowned Aeacides,  
Thou far from Greece fellest on the Trojan Plain,  
Many on both sides in thy Rescue slain,  
Whilst in a dusty Whirlwind Thou didst lie,  
Thy Valour lost, forgot thy Chivalry:  
All day we fought, and had not than given back,  
Had not Jove scared us with a Thunder-crack:  
Than of we bore Thee laying on a Bed,  
Bathed and anointed, on thy Corpse we shed  
Rivers of Tears, and offered Thee our Hair:  
Thetis with all her Nymphs than did repair,  
For they our Sorrows to the Sea could hear,  
Such Vollying Groans arose from Grief, and Fear;  
And we had thence with our whole Navy fled,  
But that Old Nestor, grave in Counsel, did  
Our rashness stop, and thus to us did say;   

Fly not for shame, once valiant Grecians, stay;  
His Mother, with her Sea- Nymphs in a Train,  
Comes to lament her Offspring, from the Main.  
These words strait dissipate their Panyck fears,  
Th'old 
(c) Nereus, from whom the Sea- Nymphs were called Nereiades.  Sea-gods daughters thronging round thy Hearse  
Their Griefs with Cries and floods of Tears expressed,  
Covering thy Corpse with an immortal Vest.  
There the nine Muses sung alternatly  
Thy Funeral-song, thy woeful Elegy.  
Thou couldst not see an Ey of all were there,  
So sweet, so sad their Notes, without a Tear.  
There seventeen Days, and Nights, we never slept,  
Whilst the immortal Gods, and Mortals wept;  
On th' eighteenth we kindled thy lofty Pyre,  
Casting fat sheep and  on the Fire,  
And thee embalmed with Honey and pure Oil,  
And the Gods Vests consumed upon the Pyle;  
Both Horse and Foot, completely armed, surround  
The crackling Flames, whilst doleful Cries resound.  
The Fire once out, thy 
(d) It was an ancient and long continued custom, among both Greeks and Romans, to burn the bodies of the dead, to put their ashes into Urns either of Stone or Metal, and to enclose them in their Sepulchers. Iliad 23. 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

Ah! in that golden Urn our Relics save,  
Which thee thy Goddess-Mother Thetis gave.  
Soon as the Ashes fell, with tears and groans,  
They in a golden Urn enclose his bones,  
Which Wrapped in Linen at Achilles' Tent  
They leaving, next design the Monument.   The same we found in use among the Romans, mentioned by Tibullus. 
— Non hic mihi Mater  
Quae legat in moestos ossa perufta sinus.  compared with these of Ovid in his Metamorphosis, Quodque rogis superest una requiescit in Vrna. And what the fire had left lay in one Urn.  Bones we gather up,  
And early luting in her golden Cup,  
With Wine and Oil thy Mother we present,  
By Vulcan wrought, which her 
(e) This Cup was given Thetis by Bacchus for her kind treatment and reception of him, when being pursued by Lycurgus, he took sanctuary in the Sea. Which Vulcan bestowed on Bacchus for his entertainment given him in the Island Naxus.  Lyaeus sent;  
In this promiscuously thy Bones they laid,  
With thy Patroclus relics, but they had  
From Antilochus distance, whom thou honour'd'st most  
After thou hadst thy dear Companion lost.  
Over your Urns we did a Mountain rear,  
And consecrated than your 
(f) Strabo says that the Tomb of Achilles was extant in his time, at the Promontory Sigeum, with a Temple also dedicated to him; the Tombs also of Patroclus and Antil●chus; to all of whom the inhabitants of new Ilium sacrificed.  Sepulchre  
Near the broad Hellespont, that all may see  
That now sail by, or shall hereafter be.  
Thy Mother graced with Games thy Funeral-Rites,  
And to rich Prizes our prime Chiefs invites.  
I have seen many Heroe's Obsequies,  
And Princes emulous to win the Prize,  
But none like Thy, Thou wouldst admire t'have seen,  
What Thetis there the silver-footed Queen  
Placed for Rewards, so thy immortal Name  
Stands in the Records of eternal Fame.  
But what gained I by War, that lost my Life,  
At my Return by Aegisthus and my Wife.  
Thus they discoursed, when the pale Suitors Ghosts  
Hermes had brought to the infernal Coasts:  
All wondered at them much when near they drew.  
Amphimedon, Atrides shadow knew:  
For Him in Ithaca He treated had,  
To whom thus first pale Agamemnon said;   

Melanthius Son, what to the shades hath sent  
These of one Age, all Persons eminent?  
None that their handsome- Mein, and Habits see,  
Can judge them lesle than Prince's Sons to be.  
Whether did Neptune them with storms engage,  
And swallowed 'mongst rough Billows in his Rage?  
Or by Profane at th' Altars lost their Lives,  
Or fight for their Country, and their Wives?  
Pray tell me, for I boast myself your Guest,  
Since to your Palace I myself addressed,  
Moving Ulysses there with us to Join,  
And Menelaus, on our 
(*) Trojan War.  grand Design.  
A month at Sea, and lingering there we stayed,  
 we the City-sacker could persuade.  
When thus Amphimedon's shadow made reply;  
What thou rememberst now I not deny,  
But I to thee our Tragedy shall relate,  
And how we suffered under cruel Fate.  
We long did court absent Ulysses' Spouse;  
Marriage, though loathsome, she would not refuse,  
Nor yet comply, but fostering secret Hate,  
Our Death's she plotted, by untimely Fate:  
But thus her Suitors first she did deceive;  
She had forsooth a curious Web to wove,   

And thus to all said; Though my Lord be dead,  
Suspend your suit, and urge me not to wed  
Till this be wrought, that when his sad Fates call,  
Must serve Laertes for his Funeral Pall:  
So shall no Graecian Lady me asperse,  
That I with naught adorned his Funeral Hearse.  
Thus did the Queen our easy minds persuade,  
By Night unraveling what by Day she made,  
Holding three Summers thus, and Winters on:  
But when the fourth year's gliding Spheres begun,  
One of her Women her design revealed,  
And busy her, unweaving we beheld.  
Discovered thus she ends what she begun,  
And showed it us more glorious than the Sun.  
Fortune at last Ulysses' Home convaid;  
Some time he at his Swineherds Cottage stayed,  
There came his Son Telemachus, mean while,  
In a stout ship, returned from sandy Pyle.  
Where they, as soon as he had thus arrived,  
Th' unhappy Suitors woeful Deaths contrived.  
They to the City came, Ulysses' last,  
But first Telemachus to Court made haste;  
By Eumaeus led, the King came strangely dressed,  
Like an old Beggar in a tattered Vest,  
Leaning upon a Staff, not any there  
Knew him disguised, though they our Elders were:  
In his own House him did we strike and scoff,  
Yet he bore all, and patiently came of,  
And well our Buffoonries and Drolling took.  
But when incensed Jove did him provoke,  
That He his Son bid all his Arms convey,  
And keep in Private under Lock and Key,  
Moves his dear Wife to fetch his Bow and Steel,  
To shoot for her, which after we did feel,  
Which our Destruction proved and Overthrow:  
For none of us could draw Ulysses' Bow,  
Nor bend, had not of it the jest Command.  
But when the tough Yew came into his Hand,  
Than we all ranted not to let him ha'it,  
Though he should ne'er so much for it entreat,  
Only Telemachus bids Him try his skill:  
He bends the Bow, and shoots through all the steel:  
Than standing up, he forth his Arrows got,  
And frowning direly, first Antinous shot,  
Than deadly shafts dispensing through the Hall,  
Many he kills, thick they together fall.  
Aloud they groan, and falling smear all ore  
With reeking Blood, and Brains, the marble Floor.  
Thus finished we our woeful Destiny,  
Our Bodies in his House neglectedly,  
Nor none of all our Friends know where they are,  
That they might of our Funerals take care.  
Than thus Atrides Ghost to Him replies;   

O Thou renowned Laertiades,  
Thou by thy Prowess hast thy Wife regained,  
And she hath well her Chastity maintained,  
For which, Penelope shall bear the Name,  
For ever in the Registers of Fame.  
Songs of Icarius Daughter they shall writ,  
Shall Mortals, and Immortal God's delight,  
But 
(g) Clytaemnestra, daughter of Tyndareus and Leda, who slew her Husband at his return from Troy, as is already delivered. Odyss. 11. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉—  But Aegisthus and my wicked Wife slew me.  Tyndarus Daughter, my accursed Spouse,  
Her own dear Lord murdered in his own House.  
Scribblers of thee shall hateful Ballads frame,  
Th' whole Sex aspersing with eternal shame.  
Amongst themselves such sad Discourse they found,  
In Pluto's dismal Kingdoms under ground.   

But they went through the City to the Field  
Laertes had with so much labour tilled;  
There stood his House with Cottages beset,  
Where all his Servants sleep, and drink, and eat;  
There was an aged Sicilian Woman there,  
Who of the Old Man took especial Care:  
Than to his Son and Swains Ulysses spoke;   

Go to yond House, and a fat Porker take,  
One of the best, and there for supper dress;  
But to my Father I'll myself address,  
To try if He, when I myself shall show,  
After long absence, me at first will know.  
He to his servants gave his Arms, this said,  
Than to the Palace with all speed they made.   

Mean while Ulysses marched the Garden round,  
Yet in those spacious Walks not Dolius found,  
Nor any of his sons, nor servants there,  
At Hedging they and trimming Quicksets were:  
But found his Father 
(h) Cicero in Catone majore m●ntions this place thus; At H●merus ●●ertem colentem agrum & cum ster●● rantem facit: He seems to have r●●d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, otherwise it is a slip of his Memory.  pruning of a Plant,  
A sordid Mantle on, both thin and scant,  
About his Ankles course Gamàsshoes tied,  
Which He 'gainst scratching Brambles did provide,  
On his Hands Mittens, jest they might grow read,  
A Goatskin Bonnet on his woeful Head.  
Ulysses knew Him strait with sorrow pined,  
And Age, that loads the Body and the mind,  
Weeping he near a stately Pear-tree stood,  
Contriving with himself whether he should  
Kiss and embrace his Father, and mean while,  
Tell how He came unto his Native Soil;  
Or else inquire of him, and Questions ask:  
The last seems best, and the more easy Task,  
His Humour first with rugged terms to try:  
To whom Ulysses, this resolved, drew nigh,  
Who digging round a Plant, hung down his Head,  
When to his Father thus Ulysses said;   

Old Man, thou play'st most skilfully thy part,  
That show'st such Care, such Industry, and Art:  
Not Plant, no Figtree, Olive, Vine, nor Pear,  
But both in rank and file well-ordered are;  
Yet let me tell Thee, nor be angry though,  
Small Cultrature dost on thyself bestow:  
Thee Age and Melancholy hath decayed,  
Thou show'st in tatters thus as thou wert mad,  
Or doth thy Master in such weeds thee cloth,  
As due rewards of Negligence and Sloth?  
There's Majesty on thy Brows, thy Limbs are large,  
A Kingly Office fit to discharge,  
If thou wouldst bathe, and eat, and drink; for Rest,  
And soft Repose are for the Aged best.   

But Old Man, tell me, and the Truth impart.  
Whose Garden keep'st thou, and whose Servant th' art?  
And one word more, that I informed may be,  
If I'm in Ithaca, as one told me,  
A simple Rustic, whom i'th' way I met,  
And could not more out of the Fellow get.  
About a Friend, alive, if still he breath,  
Or Dead, descended to the House of Death.  
Pray listen, Sir, and well me understand,  
I fairly treated him in my own Land,  
Not any Guest did e'er to me resort,  
Found kinder Entertainment in my Court:  
He told me he was born in Ithaca,  
Laertes was his Father he did say.  
When to my House himself he first addressed,  
I lead him in, though I had many Guests;  
And hospitable Gifts, such as I could,  
Presented him, ten talents of pure gold,  
A silver Goblet graven, and refined,  
Twelve Tapestry pieces, twelve fair Vests, unlined,  
As many Robes and Mantles for his wear,  
And four young Damsels, all well-bred and fair,  
Which he himself selected from the rest.  
His Father weeping, thus himself expressed;   

Thou art a Stranger sure to this our Coast,  
That ask'st such questions; all thy Gifts are lost,  
Since here unjust and wicked People reign,  
And whatsoever he had, thou gav'st in vain;  
But hadst thou found Him living here, he would  
Have made a fair Return of what he could:  
For He is just, and scorns ungrateful shifts,  
Had loaden thee with hospitable Gifts.  
But, good Sir, say, and do not me deceive;  
How long since is't your Friend you did receive,  
He was my Son, though most Unfortunate,  
Whom far from Friends, his Country, and Estate,  
Or Fishes have devoured in the Sea,  
Or Beasts, and Birds, ashore, have made their Prey:  
Nor could his Parents weep upon his Hearse,  
Nor his dear Wife, whom Fame could ne'er asperse,  
Deplore him dying, nor close up his Eyes,  
Which honourable makes his Obsequies.  
So much be pleased I may you engage,  
To tell me where you devil, and Parentage,  
Where lies your Vessel, that you hither brought,  
Or did some Stranger's ship you hither freight?  
Than hoisting sail you on this Coast did leave.  
Than said the King, a brief account receive.   

King Aphid's son from 
(i) Alybas, or Alyba, a City in Italy, afterwards called Metapontium. Eustathius observes that the proper names in this place are on purpose feigned by the Poet. Alybas from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, to denote his Wander abroad, Aphidas, to signify his munificence, which appears in his present to Ulysses, and Polypemon to denote the multitude of his sufferings in these his Travails.  Alybas I came,  
As Sicily I passed, Eperitus my Name,  
Missing my Course, against my Will I stood  
For Ithaca, my ship lies in the road.  
Five years 'tis since from me Ulysses went,  
Glad Omens to his Voyage gave consent:  
We of each other joyfully took leave,  
Hoping to give rich Presents, and receive  
When next we met. This said, a dismal Cloud  
Of darkening sorrow did his Temples shrowded;  
With both his Hands 
(k) Casting of Dust upon their heads seems to have been a symptom of extremity of grief and sorrow among the ancients. So is Achilles described lamenting the death of his dear Patroclus, Iliad 18. 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉—   

A cloud, this said, upon his Brows he hung.  
Dust on his manly Face and Forehead fling.  
Than falling down, his golden Tresses tore.  
And with his Royal habit swept the floor.   Whom Virgil follows Aeneid 12. 

Demittunt mentes, it scissa veste Latinus  
Conjugis attonitus fatis, urbisque ruina.  
Caniciem immundo perfusam pulvere turpans.   

Their Courage fails, the King his garments rend,  
At his Wife's fate, and ruin'd Town struck dead,  
Throwing foul Dust upon his silver-head.    Dust on his Head he threw,  
Poud'ring his silver Hair, deep sighing too.  
At this Ulysses moved, short breath did draw,  
When Him he in so sad a posture saw,   

He kissing, and embracing, said; I'm here,  
Whom, Sir, you have not seen in twenty year:  
Now weep not more, not longer thus complain,  
The insolent Corrivals are all slain,  
And dearly paid for all their mischiefs done.   

Than said Laertes; If thou art my Son,  
How cam'st thou hither? I'll some token see,  
That I may be persuaded thou art Herald  
Than to his Father thus the Son replies;   

Sir, on this Cicatrice first cast your eyes,  
Got by a Boar, when I a hunting went,  
Where you, Sir, and my dearest Mother sent  
Me to her Father, promised Gifts to have,  
Which his word keeping there he kindly gave.  
All Plants within thy Orchard well I know,  
What Trees I begged, and which thou didst bestow:  
When I a boy, with thee went up and down,  
Their several names thou told'st me One by One,  
Pear-trees thrice ten, twelve apple, forty Fig,  
Vines fifty, gave me with full clusters big:  
Of every sort, you some on me bestowed,  
Which seasonable showers with Fruit did load.  
This said, He trembling did the Scar behold,  
Than did his Child in strict embrace enfold,  
Who fainting, than supported by his Son,  
Recovering Spirits thus o'erjoyed begun;   

I know, O Jove, now Gods in Heaven reside,  
Since these proud Suitors punished are for Pride,  
We stand must on our Guard, for much, I doubt,  
Against us the whole City will draw out,  
And sand to th' 
(l) For the Cephallenians were Masters of several Isles; Cephallenia, Ithaca, Zacynthus, etc. as appears from the enumeration of them Iliad 2. 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,   

Ulysses the stout Cephallenians led,  
Whom Ithaca, and steep Neritus bred,  
Who in the Crocyl and Egylipe devil,  
And those that Samos and Zacynthos till.    Cephallenians for aid.   

Fear not, Ulysses to his Father said;  
Nor such things Value I more than a Pin,  
But to yond House we'll go upon the Green,  
My Son, Eumoeus, and Philoetius there  
I sent, that they our Supper should prepare.  
This said, they walked together, as designed,  
Where with Telemachus the rest they found;  
Than dressing Meat, and mixing Wine; mean while  
Laertes Maid him baths, and 'noints with Oil,  
Clothed in a Royal Vest, whom Pallas strait  
Made Plump, and Fatter, adding to his Height.  
Come from the Bath, his Son admiring stood,  
To see his Father look so like a God:   

To whom he said, Some Power with wondrous Art  
Hath made Thee Fat and Fair, as e'er thou wert.   

Than He; Would Jove, Phoebus, and Pallas, make  
Me such as when I 
(m) Nericus is the ancient name of the Island Leucas, which Strabo calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which at first was a peninsula under the command of the Acarnanians, but afterwards made an Island by the industry of the Corinthians, called Leucas from Leucadius the brother of Penelope.  Nericus did take,  
When I the Cephallenians did sway,  
And had well-armed with thee been Yesterday:  
Those Suitors I myself had all destroyed,  
And thou thy Palace hadst with joy enjoyed.  
Thus they discoursed amongst themselves: mean while  
The Rustics come from their agrestick Toil.  
Supper prepared, they down in order sat  
On several Seats, and fall unto their Meat:  
When Dolius and his Sons enter the Hall,  
Weary, the old Sicilian them did call,  
And special care of Him and His she took,  
And much to Dolius, ancient grown, did look.  
When they Ulysses saw, and knew, they all  
Stood wonder-struck, like statues in the Hall:  
To whom Ulysses in kind Language said;   

Father, sit down, and be not so dismayed,  
Fall to your Supper now, no time neglect,  
We tarried for you, and did long expect.  
Dolius, this said, not longer wondering stands,  
But to Ulysses running, kissed his Hands,  
And thus o'erjoyed, unto his Master spoke;   

Sir, since y'are come, for whom we long did look,  
Some God hath brought you to your Native Soil,  
Let him convert to joy all former Toil.   

Knows, Sir, Penelope that you are here?  
If not, let me the joyful message bear.   

When thus Ulysses said; Old Man, she knows,  
Fall to thy Victuals, and no time now lose.  
This said, down sat he in his polished seat;  
Whilst Dolius Sons about Ulysses get,  
And his Hands kissing, thence they strait retire,  
And sat in order near their aged Sire.  
Thus they at Supper sat, whilst flying Fame  
Did through the Town the Suitors Deaths proclaim.  
Soon as they heard, together all resort,  
And sighing went up to Ulysses' Court:  
Than they the bodies carrying, strait inter.  
To other Cities some transported were  
In Fishermen, who home their Bodies sent:  
Which done, they all to Consultation went.  
When they convened a frequent Court had made,  
Eupithes risen, and to the Concourse said;  
He for his Son ready with Grief to burst,  
Antinous, whom Ulysses' slaughtered first,  
When thus he spoke, Tears trickling down his Cheeks;   

Great works this Prince hath finished for the Greeks:  
He launched a Royal Navy from our Coast,  
Manned with brave men, and them and all hath lost,  
And now hath many Cephallenians slain,  
But ere he Elis, where th' Epeians reign,  
Or Pyle shall reach, let's his Escape prevent,  
Or else for ever we may all repent:  
This our Posterity will brand, if you  
Not punish those your Sons and Brothers slew.  
I shall in Life not longer pleasure have,  
But with Grief loaden sink into my Grave:  
Let us his Transportation strait prevent.  
This said, they all the Business much resent:  
When to the Council Medon made resort,  
And Phemius early from Ulysses' Court:  
Than standing in the midst, all were dismayed,  
When Medon thus to the great Council said;   

You Ithacans assembled now, hear me,  
Ulysses not against the Gods Decree  
This work hath done, I saw a Deathless God,  
Who like Old Mentor at his Elbow stood;  
And when he coursed the Suitors through the Hall,  
That Power assisting, they in Heaps did fall.  
These words the General Concourse much dismayed,  
When thus the Hero Alitherses said;  
For only he foresaw this rising Storm,  
And gravely thus their Judgements did inform;   

You Ithacans, now hear what I'll relate,  
You are the Cause of their untimely Fate:  
Mentor and Me you scorned, when you me chid,  
Nor would the madness of your Sons forbidden,  
Who such high Mischiefs acted in his House,  
Wasting his State, wronging his Virtuous Spouse:  
They thought Him sure, that ne'er He would return,  
Let me advice you strait, this Court adjourn,  
Nor Him oppose, jest worse you betid.  
This said, they clamouring in Factions side,  
But there the discontented Party stayed,  
This Speech not pleased, but what Eupithes said,  
And strait they arming, their Design pursue,  
And forth in glittering Regiments all drew:  
Eupithes the distracted Squadrons led,  
Revenged He for his Son would be, He said:  
But there He died, and ne'er returned again,  
When thus to Jove Minerva did complain;   

O Thou who governest all, so favour me,  
That I may know thy undisclosed Decree:  
A lingering War rain'st Thou in that Isle,  
Or wilt Thou else both Parties reconcile?  
Than He who often Heaven with black Clouds doth mask   

Said; Daughter, why such Questions dost thou ask?  
What ere thou hast designed, ne'er proved in Vain,  
Hath not Ulysses all the Suitors slain?  
Do as thou wilt, and let all Quarrels cease,  
And let them join in everlasting Peace:  
They now being punished, let Him always reign,  
They shall forget their Dear Relations slain,  
And as before in blessed Union join,  
Where Peace and Richeses shall with Justice shine.  
This said, He sends willing Minerva down,  
She shoots like Lightning from Olympus' Crown.  
When they with Meat and Drink were well-sufficed,  
Ulysses thus the Company advised;   

Go forth, and see if any draw this way.  
Strait Dolius Son, as bidden, did obey:  
And He a Party on the Threshold saw,  
Than shouts; Ulysses, arm, they near us draw.  
This said, themselves they for the Fight prepare,  
Ulysses four, six Sons had Dolius there,  
With these Laertes and old Dolius arm,  
Age not exempts when suddains the Alarm.  
When all in complete Steel the King beheld,  
Through open Gates he draws into the Field:  
To them, like Mentor, the Celestial Maid  
conjoins herself, at which Ulysses said;   

Thus to his Son; Thou'lt see in this Contest,  
Who boldest are, themselves behaving best;  
But do not Thou thy Ancestors disgrace,  
Who ne'er in Valour gave to any place.   

Than he replied; Dear Father, you shall see,  
I neither shall dishonour Them, nor Thee.  
At this, Laertes much rejoicing, said;   

You Gods, I hear now that which makes me glad,  
That I have such a Grandchild, such a Son.  
Than to Laertes Pallas thus begun;   

O Arcesiades, when thou hast prayed  
To Jove's fair Daughter, the Celestial Maid,  
Than throw thy Lance: this said, he makes his Prayer,  
She gives him Strength, and first he throws his Spear,  
Which pierced Eupithes Cask, and Skull, to ground  
Th' Old Hero falls, his rattling Arms resound:  
In rush Ulysses and his Valiant Son,  
And at them with their Swords, and Javelins run,  
And with huge slaughter they their way had made,  
When Pallas loud to stop their Fury said;   

Hold, hold, you Ithacans, from War abstain,  
Part without bloodshed, let not more be slain.  
Thus Pallas said, and Fear surprised them all,  
And from their trembling Hands their Javelins fall  
Upon the Ground, the Goddess threats aloud,  
They fly, and to the Town for safety crowd;  
Ulysses follows close the routed Crew,  
And after them like a swift Eagle flew;  
Than Jove at them his dreadful Thunder shot,  
Which lighted just before Minerva's Foot,  
When to Ulysses thus the Goddess says;   

Jove's Offspring, stand, stand Laertiades,  
Not farther in this War thou must engage,  
Jest thus displeasing, Jove thou shouldst enrage.  
The King at Pallas threaten makes a stand,  
And joyfully obeys the Maids command.  
Pallas, like Mentor, as she had designed,  
Thus them again in happy Peace conjoined.   
FINIS.