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Ulysses lies; detain'd by magic charms,
And press'd unwilling in Calypso's arms.
No sailors there, no vessel to convey,
Nor oars to cut th' immeasurable way—
This told Atrides and he told no more,
Thence safe I voyag'd to my native shore."

He ceas'd; nor made the pensive queen reply,
But droop'd her head, and drew a secret sigh.
When Theoclymenus the seer began :

[tell;

"O suffering consort of the suffering man!
What human knowledge could, those kings might
But I the secrets of high Heaven reveal.
Before the first of gods be this declar'd,
Before the board whose blessing we have shar'd;
Witness the genial rites, and witness all
This house holds sacred in her ample wall!
Ev'n now this instant, great Ulysses lay'd
At rest, or wandering in his country's shade,
Their guilty deeds, in hearing, and in view,
Secret revolves; and plans the vengeance due.
Of this sure auguries the gods bestow'd,
When first our vessel anchor'd in your road.”
"Succeed those omens, Heaven!" (the queen
rejoin'd)

"So shall our bounties speak a grateful mind;
And every envied happiness attend
The man, who calls Penelope his friend."

Thus commun'd they while in the marble
(Scene of their insolence) the lords resort; [court
Athwart the spacious square each tries his art,
To whirl the disk, or aim the missile dart,

Now did the hour of sweet repast arrive,
And from the field the victim flocks they drive :
Medon, the herald, (one who pleas'd them best,
And honour'd with a portion of their feast)
To bid the banquet, interrupts their play.
Swift to the hall they haste; aside they lay
Their garments, and succinct, the victims slay.
Then sheep and goats, and bristly porkers bled,
And the proud steer was o'er the marble spread.
While thus the copious banquet they provide ;
Along the road conversing side by side,
Proceed Ulysses and the faithful swain:
When thus Eumæus, generous and humane:

To town, observant of our lord's behest,
Now let us speed; my friend, no more my
guest!

Yet like myself I wish'd thee here preferr'd,
Guard of the flock, or keeper of the herd.
But much to raise my master's wrath I fear;
The wrath of princes ever is severe.
Then heed his will, and be our journey made
While the broad beams of Phoebus are display'd,
Or ere brown evening spreads her chilly shade.

* Just thy advice," (the prudent chief rejoin'd)
And such as suits the dictate of my mind.
Lead on but help me to some staff, to stay
My feeble step, since rugged is the way."

Across his shoulders then the scrip he flung,
Wide-patch'd, and fasten'd by a twisted thong.
A staff Eumæus gave. Along the way
Cheerly they fare: behind, the keepers stay;
These with their watchful dogs (a constant guard)
Supply his absence, and attend the herd.
And now his city strikes the monarch's eyes,
Atas how chang'd! a man of miseries;
Propp'd on a staff, a beggar old and bare,
In rags dishonest fluttering with the air!
Now pass'd the rugged road, they journey down
The cavern'd way descending to the town,

Where, from the rock, with liquid lapse distils
A limpid fount; that, spreads in parting rills,
Its current thence to serve the city brings:
An useful work adorn'd by ancient kings.
Neritus, Ithacus, Polyctor, there,
In sculptur'd stone immortaliz'd their care,
In marble urns receiv'd it from above,
And shaded with a green surrounding grove;
Where silver alders, in high arches twin'd,
Drink the cold stream, and tremble to the wind.
Beneath, sequester'd to the nymphs, is seen
A mossy altar, deep embower'd in green;
Where constant vows by travellers are paid,
And holy horrours solemnize the shade.
Here with his goats (not vow'd to sacred flame,
But pamper'd luxury) Melanthius cane:
With an envious look
Two grooms attend him.
He eyed the stranger, and imperious spoke :
"The good old proverb how this pair fulfil!
One rogue is usher to another still.
Heaven with a secret principle endued
[guest?
Mankind, to seek their own similitude.
Where goes the swine herd with that ill-look'd
That giant-glutton, dreadful at a feast!
Full many a post have those broad shoulders worn,
From every great man's gate repuls'd with scorn;
To no brave prize aspir'd the worthless swain,
'Twas but for scraps he ask'd, and ask'd in vain.
To beg, than work, he better understands;
Or we perhaps might take him off thy hands.
For any office could the slave be good,
To cleanse the fold, or help the kids to food,
If any labour those big joints could learn ;
Some whey, to wash his bowels, he might earn.
To cringe, to whine, his idle hands to spread,
Is all, by which that graceless maw is fed.
Yet hear me if thy impudence but dare
Approach yon walls, I prophesy thy fare :
Dearly, full dearly, shalt thou buy thy bread
With many a footstool thundering at thy head."
He thus nor insolent of word alone,
Spurn'd with his rustic heel his king unknown;
Spurn'd, but not mov'd: he like a pillar stood,
Nor stirr'd an inch, contemptuous, from the road:
Doubtful, or with his staff to strike him dead,
Or greet the pavement with his worthless head.
Short was that doubt; to quell his rage inur'd,
The hero stood self-conquer'd, and endur'd.
But, hateful of the wretch, Eumeus heav'd
His hands obtesting, and this prayer conceiv'd:
"Daughters of Jove! who from th' ethereal bowers
Descend to swell the springs, and feed the flowers!
Nymphs of this fountain! to whose sacred names
Our rural victims mount in blazing flames!
To whom Ulysses' piety preferr'd
The yearly firstlings of his flock and herd;
Succeed my wish; your votary restore :
Oh, be some god his convoy to our shore!
Duc pains shall punish then this slave's offence,
And humble all his airs of insolence,
Who, proudly stalking, leaves the herds at large,
Commences courtier, and neglects his charge."

"What mutters he?" (Melanthius sharp rejoins)
"This crafty miscreant big with dark designs?
The day shall come; nay, 'tis already near,
When, slave! to sell thee at a price too dear,
Must be my care; and hence transport thee o'er,
(A load and scandal to this happy shore).
Oh! that as surely great Apollo's dart,
Or some brave suitor's sword, might pierce the

[heart.

1

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So spoke the wretch, but, shunning farther fray,
Turn'd his proud step, and left them on their way.
Straight to the feastful palace he repair'd,
Familiar enter'd, and the banquet shar'd;
Beneath Eurymachus, his patron lord,
He took his place, and plenty heap'd the board.
Meantime they heard, soft-circling in the sky,
Sweet airs ascend, and heavenly minstrelsy
(For Phemius to the lyre attun'd the strain):
Ulysses hearken'd, then address'd the swain:
"Well may this palace admiration claim,
Great and respondent to the master's fame!
Stage above stage th' imperial structure stands,
Holds the chief honours, and the town commands:
High walls and battlements the courts enclose,
And the strong gates defy an host of foes.
Far other cares its dwellers now employ :
The throng'd assembly, and the feast of joy :
I see the smokes of sacrifice aspire,

And here (what graces every feast) the lyre."
Then thus Eumæus: "Judge we which were
Amidst yon revellers a sudden guest [best;
Chuse you to mingle, while behind I stay?
Or I first entering introduce the way?
Wait for a space without, but wait not long;
This is the house of violence and wrong:
Some rude insult thy reverend age may bear;
For like their lawless lords the servants are.
“Just is, O friend! thy caution, and address'd"
(Replied the chief) " to no unheedful breast;
"The wrongs and injuries of base mankind
Fresh to my sense, and always in my mind.
The bravely patient to no fortune yields:
On rolling oceans, and in fighting fields,
Storms have I pass'd, and many a stern debate;
And now in humbler scene submit to fate.
What cannot want? The blest she will expose,
And I am learn'd in all her train of woes;
She fills with navies, hosts, and loud alarms,
The sea, the land, and shakes the world with arms!"
"Thus, near the gates conferring as they drew,
Argus, the dog, his ancient master knew;
He, not unconscious of the voice and tread,
Lifts to the sound his ear, and rears his head;
Bred by Ulysses, nourish'd at his board,
But, ah! not fated long to please his lord!
To him, his swiftness and his strength were vain ;
The voice of glory call'd him o'er the main.
Till then in every sylvan chase renown'd,
With Argus, Argus, rung the woods around;
With him the youth pursued the goat or fawn,
Or trac'd the mazy leveret o'er the lawn.
Now left to man's ingratitude he lay,
Unhous'd, neglected in the public way;
And where on heaps the rich manure was spread,
Obscene with reptiles, took his sordid bed.

He knew his lord; he knew, and strove to meet;
In vain he strove to crawl, and kiss his feet;
Yet (all he could) his tail, his ears, his eyes,
Salute his master, and confess his joys.
Soft pity touch'd the mighty master's soul;
Adown his cheek a tear unbidden stole,
Stole unperceiv'd; he turn'd his head, and dry'd
The drop humane: then thus impassion'd cry'd ;
"What noble beast in this abandon'd state
Lies here all helpless at Ulysses' gate?
His bulk and beauty speak no vulgar praise;
If as he seems he was in better days,

Some care his age deserves: or was he priz'd
For worthless beauty! therefore now despis'd?
Such dogs and men there are, mere things of state,
And always cherish'd by their friends, the great."
"Not Argus so" (Eumæus thus rejoin'd)
"But serv'd a master of a nobler kind,
Who never, never shall behold him more!
Long, long since perish'd on a distant shore!
Oh! had you seen him, vigorous, bold, and young,
Swift as a stag, and as a lion strong;
Him no fell savage on the plain withstood,
None 'scap'd him, bosom'd in the gloomy wood,
His eye how piercing, and his scent how true,
To wind the vapour in the tainted dew!
Such, when Ulysses left his natal coast;
Now years unnerve him, and his lord is lost!
The women keep the generous creature bare,
A sleek and idle race is all their care:
The master gone, the servants what restrains?
Or dwells humanity where riot reigns?
Jove fix'd it certain, that whatever day
Makes man a slave, takes half bis worth away."
This said, the honest herdsman strode before;
The musing monarch pauses at the door :
The dog, whom fate had granted to behold
His lord, when twenty tedious years had roll'd,
Takes a last look, and having seen him, dies;
So clos'd for ever faithful Argus' eyes!

And now Telemachus, the first of all,
Observ'd Eumæus entering in the hall;
| Distant he saw, across the shady dome;
Then gave a sign, and beckon'd him to come:
There stood an empty seat, where late was plac'd,
In order due, the steward of the feast
(Who now was busied carving round the board);
Eumæus took, and plac'd it near his lord.
Before him instant was the banquet spread,
And the bright basket pil'd with loaves of bread.
Next came Ulysses lowly at the door,
A figure despicable, old, and poor,
In squalid vests, with many a gaping rent,
Propp'd on a staff, and trembling as he went,
Then, resting on the threshold of the gate,
Against a cypress pillar lean'd his weight
(Smooth'd by the workman to a polish'd plain);
The thoughtful son beheld, and call'd his swain:
"These viands, and this bread, Eumæus! bear,
And let yon mendicant our plenty share:
Then let him circle round the suitors' board,
And try the bounty of each gracious lord:
Bold let him act, encourag'd thus by me;
How ill, alas! do want and shame agree!"

His lord's command the faithful servant bears;
The seeming beggar answers with his prayers.
"Blest be Telemachus! in every deed
Inspire him, Jove! in every wish succeed!
This said, the portion from his son convey'd
With smiles receiving on his scrip he lay'd.
Long as the minstrel swept the sounding wire,
He fed, and ceas'd when silence held the lyre.
Soon as the suitors from the banquet rose,
Minerva prompts the man of mighty woes
To tempt their bounties with a suppliant's art,
And learn the generous from th' ignoble heart
(Not but his soul, resentful as humane,
Dooms to full vengeance all the offending train);
With speaking eyes, and voice of plaintive sound,
Humble he moves, imploring all around.
The proud feel pity, and relief bestow,
With such an image touch'd of human woe;

Inquiring all, their wonder they confess,
And eye the man, majestic in distress.

While thus they gaze and question with their eyes,
The bold Melanthius to their thought replies:
"My lords! this stranger of gigantic port
The good Eumæus usher'd to your court.
Full well I mark'd the features of his face,
Though all unknown his clime, or noble race."
"And is this present, swineherd! of thy hand?
Bring'st thou these vagrants to infest the land?"
(Returns Antinous with retorted eye)

Objects uncouth! to check the genial joy.
Enough of these our court already grace,
Of giant stomach, and of famish'd face.
Such guests Eumæus to his country brings,
To share our feast, and lead the life of kings."
To whom the hospitable swain rejoin'd :
Thy passion, prince, belies thy knowing mind,
Who calls, from distant nations to his own,
The poor, distinguish'd by their wants alone?
Round the wide world are sought those men
divine

Who public structures raise, or who design;
Those to whose eyes the gods their ways reveal,
Or bless with salutary arts to heal;
But chief to poets such respect belongs,
By rival nations courted for their songs;
These states invite, and mighty kings admire,
Wide as the Sun displays his vital fire.
It is not so with want! how few that feed
A wretch unhappy, merely for his need!
Unjust to me and all that serve the state,
To love Ulysses is to raise thy hate.
For me, suffice the approbation won
Of my great mistress, and her godlike son."
To him Telemachus: "No more incense
The man by nature prone to insolence :
Injurious minds just answers but provoke-"
Then turning to Antinous, thus he spoke :
"Thanks to thy care! whose absolute command
Thus drives the stranger from our court and land.
Heaven bless its owner with a better mind!
From envy free, to charity inclin'd.
This both Penelope and I afford :

Then, prince! be bounteous of Ulysses' board.
To give another's is thy hand so slow?
So much more sweet, to spoil, than to bestow?"
"Whence, great Telemachus! this lofty strain?"
(Antinous cries with insolent disdain)
"Portions like mine if every suitor gave,
Our walls this twelvemonth should not see the slave."
He spoke, and lifting high above the board
His ponderous footstool, shook it at his lord.
The rest with equal hand conferr'd the bread;
He fill'd his scrip, and to the threshold sped ;
But first before Antinous stopp'd and said:
"Bestow, my friend! thon dost not seem the worst
Of all the Greeks, but princelike and the first;
Then, as in dignity, be first in worth,

And I shall praise thee through the boundless earth.
Once I enjoy'd in luxury of state

Whate'er gives man the envied name of great;
Wealth, servants, friends, were mine in better days;
And hospitality was then my praise;
In every sorrowing soul I pour'd delight,
And poverty stood smiling in my sight.
But Jove, all-governing, whose only will
Determines fate, and mingles good with ill,
Sent me (to punish my pursuit of gain)
With roving pirates o'er th' Ægyptian main;

By Egypt's silver flood our ships we moor;
Our spies commission'd straight the coast explore;
But, impotent of mind, with lawless will
The country ravage, and the natives kill.
The spreading clamour to their city flies,
And horse and foot in mingled tumult rise:
The reddening dawn reveals the hostile fields,
Horrid with bristly spears, and gleaming shields;
Jove thunder'd on their side: our guilty head
We turn'd to flight; the gathering vengeance
spread

On all parts round, and heaps on heaps lay dead.
Some few the foes in servitude detain;
Death ill-exchang'd for bondage and for pain!
Unhappy me a Cyprian took aboard,

And gave to Demetor, Cyprus' haughty lord:
Hither, to 'scape his chains, my course I steer,
Still curs'd by fortune, and insulted here!".

To whom Antinous thus his rage express'd:
"What god has plagu'd us with this gormand
guest?

"

Unless at distance, wretch! thou keep behind,
Another isle, than Cyprus more unkind;
Another Egypt, shalt thou quickly find.
From all thou begg'st, a bold audacious slave ;
Nor all can give so much as thou can crave.
Nor wonder I, at such profusion shown;
Shameless they give, who give what's not their own.".
The chief, retiring: "Souls like that in thee
Ill suit such forms of grace and dignity,
Nor will that hand to utmost need afford
The smallest portion of a wasteful board,
Whose luxury whole patrimonies sweeps;
Yet starving want, amidst the riot, weeps.
The haughty suitor with resentment burns,
And, sourly smiling, this reply returns:
"Take that, ere yet thou quit this princely throng:
And dumb for ever be thy slanderous tongue!"
He said, and high the whirling triped flung.
His shoulder-blade receiv'd th' ungentle shock;
He stood, and mov'd not, like a marble rock;
But shook his thoughtful head, nor more complain'd,
Sedate of soul, his character sustain'd,
And inly form'd revenge: then back withdrew;
Before his feet the well-fill'd scrip he threw,
And thus with semblance mild address'd the crew:
"May what I speak your princely minds approve,
Ye peers and rivals in this noble love!
Not for the hurt I grieve, but for the cause.
If, when the sword our country's quarrel draws,
Or if, defending what is justly dear,
From Mars impartial some broad wound we bear;
The generous motive dignifies the scar.
But for mere want, how hard to suffer wrong!
Want brings enough of other ills along!
Yet, if injustice never be secure,

If fiends revenge, and gods assert the poor,
Death shall lay low the proud aggressor's head,
And make the dust Antinous' bridal bed."

"Peace, wretch and eat thy bread without
offence,"

(The suitor cry'd) "or force shall drag thee hence.
Scourge through the public street, and cast thee
A mangled carcase for the hounds to tear." [there,

His furious deed the general anger mov'd,
All, ev'n the worst, condemn'd: and some reprov'd.
"Was ever chief for wars like these renown'd?
Ill fits the stranger and the poor to wound.
Unblest thy hand; if in this low disguise
Wander, perhaps, some inmate of the skies;

They (curious oft of mortal actions) deign
In forms like these, to round the earth and main,
Just and unjust recording in their mind,
And with sure eyes inspecting all mankind.”

Telemachus, absorpt in thought severe,
Nourish'd deep anguish, though he shed no tear;
But the dark brow of silent sorrow shook :
While thus his mother to her virgins spoke :
"On him and his may the bright god of day
That base, inhospitable blow repay!"
The nurse replies: "If Jove receives my prayer,
Not one survives to breathe to morrow's air."

"All, all are foes, and mischief is their end; Antinous most to gloomy death a friend," (Replies the queen) "the stranger begg'd their And melting pity soften'd every face; [grace, From every other hand redress he found, But fell Antinous answer'd with a wound." Amidst her maids thus spoke the prudent queen, Then bade Eumæus call the pilgrim in.. "Much of th' experienc'd man I long to hear, If or his certain eye, or listening ear, Have learn'd the fortunes of my wandering lord?" Thus she, and good Eumæus took the word.

"A private audience if thy grace impart, The stranger's words may ease thy royal heart. His sacred eloquence in balm distils, And the sooth'd heart with secret pleasure fills. Three days have spent their beams, three nights have Their silent journey, since his tale begun, Unfinish'd yet! and yet I thirst to hear!

[run

As when some heaven-taught poet charms the ear,
(Suspending sorrow with celestial strain
Breath'd from the gods to soften human pain)
Time steals away with unregarded wing,
And the soul hears him, though he cease to sing.
"Ulysses late he saw, on Cretan ground,
(His father's guest) for Minos' birth renown'd.
He now but waits the wind, to waft him o'er,
With boundless treasure, from Thesprotia's shore."
To this the queen: "The wanderer let me hear,
While yon luxurious race indulge their cheer,
Devour the grazing ox and browsing goat,
And turn my generous vintage down their throat.
For where's an arm, like thine, Ulysses! strong,
To curb wild riot, and to punish wrong?"

She spoke. Telemachus then sneez'd aloud;
Constrain'd, his nostril echo'd through the crowd.
The smiling queen the happy omen bless'd :
"So may these impions fall, by fate oppress'd!"
Then to Eumæus: "Bring the stranger, fly!
And if my questions meet a true reply,
Grac'd with a decent robe he shall retire,
A gift in season which his wants require."
Thus spoke Penelope. Eumæus flies
In duteous haste, and to Ulysses cries:

The queen invites thee, venerable guest!
A secret instinct moves her troubled breast,
Of her long absent lord from thee to gain
Some light, and sooth her soul's eternal pain.
If true, if faithful thou; her grateful mind
Of decent robes a present has design'd:
So finding favour in the royal eye,
Thy other wants her subjects shall supply."

Fair truth alone" (the patient man reply'd)
"My words shall dictate, and my lips shall guide.
To him, to me, one common lot was given,
In equal woes, alas! involv'd by Heaven.
Much of his fates I know; but check'd by fear.
I stand: the hand of violence is here:

Her boundless wrongs the starry skies invade,
And injur'd suppliants seek in vain for aid.
Let for a space the pensive queen attend,
Nor claim my story till the Sun descend;
Then in such robes as suppliants may require,
Compos'd and cheerful by the genial fire,
When loud uproar and lawless riot cease,
Shall her pleas'd ear receive my words in peace."
Swift to the queen returns the gentle swain:
"And say," (she cries) "does fear, or shame, detain
The cautious stranger? With the begging kind
Shame suits but ill." Eumæus thus rejoin'd:

"He only asks a more propitious hour, And shuns (who would not?) wicked men in power; At evening mild (meet season to confer) By turns to question, and by turns to hear." "Whoe'er this guest" (the prudent queen replies) "His every step and every thought is wise: For men like these on Earth he shall not find In all the miscreant race of hunan kind."

Thus she; Eumæus all her words attends, And, parting, to the suitor powers descends; There seeks Telemachus, and thus apart In whispers breathes the fondness of his heart: "The time, my lord, invites me to repair Hence to the lodge; my charge demands my care. These sons of murder thirst thy life to take; Oh guard it; guard it for thy servant's sake!”

"Thanks to my friend," he cries; "but now the Of night draws on, go seek the rural bower: [hour But first refresh: and at the dawn of day Hither a victim to the gods convey.

Our life to Heaven's immortal powers we trust,
Safe in their care, for Heaven protects the just."
Observant of his voice, Eumæus sate

And fed recumbent on a chair of state.
Then instant rose, and as he mov'd along
'Twas riot all amid the suitor throng,
They feast, they dance, and raise the mirthful songs
Till now, declining toward the close of day,
The Sun obliquely shot his dewy ray.

THE ODYSSEY.

BOOK XVIII.

ARGUMENT.

THE FIGHT OF ULYSSES AND IRUS.

THE beggar Irus insults Ulysses; the suitors promote the quarrel, in which Irus is worsted, and miserably handled. Penelope descends, and receives the presents of the suitors. The dialogue of Ulysses with Eurymachus.

WHILE fix'd in thought the pensive hero sate,
A mendicant approach'd the royal gate;
A surly vagrant of the giant kind,
The stain of manhood, of a coward mind:
From feast to feast, insatiate to devour
He flew, attendant on the genial hour.
Him on his mother's knees when babe he lay,
She nam'd Arnæus on his natal day;

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But Irus his associates call'd the boy,
Practis'd the common messenger to fly :
Irus, a name expressive of th' employ.

From his own roof, with meditated blows,
He strove to drive the man of mighty woes.
"Hence, dotard, hence! and timely speed thy way,
Lest dragg'd in vengeance thou repent thy stay;
See how with nods assent yon princely train!
But, honouring age, in mercy I refrain !
In peace away! lest, if persuasions fail,
This arm with blows more eloquent prevail."
To whom, with stern regard: "Oh insolence,
Indecently to rail without offence;

What bounty gives, without a rival share;

I ask, what harms not thee, to breathe this air :
Alike on alms we both precarious live:
And canst thou envy when the great relieve?
Know, from the bounteous Heavens all riches flow,
And what man gives, the gods by man bestow;
Proud as thou art, henceforth no more be proud,
Lest I imprint my vengeance in thy blood;
Old as I am, should once my fury burn,
How would'st thou fly, nor ev'n in thought return?"
"Mere woman-glutton!" (thus the churl re-
ply'd)

"A tongue so flippant, with a throat so wide!
Why cease I, gods! to dash those teeth away,
Like some wild boar's, that, greedy of his prey,
Uproots the bearded corn? Rise, try the fight,
Gird well thy loins, approach and feel my might:
Sure of defeat, before the peers engage;
Unequal fight, when youth contends with age!"
Thus in a wordy war their tongues display
More fierce intents, preluding to the fray;
Antinous hears, and, in a jovial vein,
Thus with loud laughter to the suitor-train:
"This happy day in mirth, my friends, employ,
And, lo! the gods conspire to crown our joy.
See ready for the fight, and hand to hand,
Yon surly mendicants contentious stand;
Why urge we not to blows?" Well pleas'd they spring
Swift from their seats, and thickening form a ring.
To whom Antinous: "Lo! enrich'd with blood,
A kid's well-fatted entrails (tasteful food)
On glowing embers lie; on him bestow
The choicest portion who subdues his foe;
Grant him unrivall'd in these walls to stay,
The sole attendant on the genial day "

The lords applaud: Ulysses then with art,
And fears well-feign'd, disguis'd his dauntless heart:
"Worn as I am with age, decay'd with woe,
Say, is it baseness to decline the foe?
Hard conflict! when calamity and age

With vigorous youth, unknown to cares, engage!
Yet, fearful of disgrace, to try the day
Imperious hunger bids, and I obey;
But swear, impartial arbiters of right,
Swear to stand neuter, while we cope in fight."
The peers assent: when straight his sacred head
Telemachus uprais'd, and sternly said:
"Stranger, if prompted to chastise the wrong
Of this bold insolent; confide, be strong!
Th' injurious Greek, that dares attempt a blow,
That instant makes Telemachus his foe;
And these my friends' shall guard the sacred ties
Of hospitality, for they are wise."

Then, girding his strong loins, the king prepares To close in combat, and his body bares;

1 Antinous and Eurymachus.

Broad spread his shoulders, and his nervous thighs By just degrees, like well-turn'd columns, rise: Ample his chest, his arms are round and long, And each strong joint Minerva kuits more strong (Attendant on her chief): the suitor-crowd With wonder gaze, and gazing speak aloud; "Irus! alas! shall Irus be no more?

Black fate impends, and this th' avenging hour!
Gods! how his nerves a matchless strength proclaim,
Swell o'er his well-strung limbs, and brace his frame?"
Then, pale with fears, and sickening at the
sight,

They dragg'd th' unwilling Irus to the fight;
From his black visage fled the coward blood,
And his flesh trembled as aghast he stood. [light!
"Oh, that such baseness should disgrace the
O hide it, death, in everlasting night!"
(Exclaims Antinous) "Can a vigorous foe
Meanly decline to combat age and woe?
But hear me, wretch! if recreant in the fray,
That huge bulk yield this ill-contested day:
Instant thou sail'st, to Echetus resign'd;
A tyrant, fiercest of the tyrant kind,
Who casts thy mangled ears and nose a prey
To hungry dogs, and lops the man away."

While with indignant scorn he sternly spoke
In every joint the trembling Irus shook;
Now front to front each frowning champion stands,
And poises high in air his adverse hands.
The chief yet doubts, or to the shades below
To fell the giant at one vengeful blow,
Or save his life; and soon his life to save
The king resolves, for mercy sways the brave.
That instant Irus his huge arm extends,
Full on the shoulder the rude weight descends;
The sage Ulysses, fearful to disclose
The hero latent in the man of woes,
Check'd half his might; yet rising to the stroke,
His jaw-bone dash'd, the crashing jaw-bone broke;
Down dropp'd he stupid from the stunning wound;
His feet, extended, quivering beat the ground;
His mouth and nostrils spout a purple flood:
His teeth, all shatter'd, rush immix'd with blood.
The peers transported, as outstretch'd he lies,
With bursts of laughter rend the vaulted skies!
Then dragg'd along, all bleeding from the wound,
His length of carcase trailing prints the ground;
Rais'd on his feet, again he reels, he falls,
Till propp'd, reclining on the palace walls :
Then to his hand a staff the victor gave,
And thus with just reproach address'd the slave:
"There, terrible, affright the dogs, and reign
A dreaded tyrant o'er the beastial train!
But mercy to the poor and stranger show,
Lest Heaven in vengeance send some mightier woe."
Scornful he spoke, and o'er his shoulder flung
The broad-patch'd scrip; the scrip in tatters hung
Ill-join'd, and knotted to a twisted throng.
Then, turning short, disdain'd a further stay;
But to the palace measur'd back the way.
here as he rested, gathering in a ring
The peers with smiles address'd their unknown king:
"Stranger, may Jove and all th' aërial powers,
With every blessing crown thy happy hours!
Our freedom to thy prowess'd arm we owe
From bold intrusion of thy coward foe:
Instant the flying sail the slave shall wing
To Echetus, the monster of a king."

While pleas'd he hears, Antinous bears the food, A kid's well-fatted entrails, rich with blood:

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