"Till then let slumber close thy careful eyes:
The wakeful mariners shall watch the skies,
And seize the moment when the breezes rise.
Then gently waft thee to the pleasing shore,
Where thy soul rests, and labour is no more.
Far as Eubea though thy country lay,
Our ships with ease transport thee in a day.
Thither of old, Earth's* giant son to view,
On wings of winds, with Rhadamanth they flew. This land, from whence their morning course begun,
Saw them returning with the setting sun.
Your eyes shall witness and confirm my tale,
Our youth how dextrous, and how fleet our sail,
When justly tim'd with equal sweep they row,
And Ocean whitens in long tracks below.
Thus he. No word th' experienc'd man replies,
But thus to heaven (and heavenward lifts his eyes)
O Jove! O father! what the king accords,
Do thou make perfect! sacred be his words!
Wide o'er the world Alcinous' glory shine!
Let fame be his, and ah! my country mine!
Meantime Arete, for the hour of rest Ordains the fleecy couch, and covering vest. Bids her fair train the purple quilts prepare, And the thick carpets spread with busy care. With torches blazing in their hands they past, An finish'd all their Queen's commands with haste; Then gave the signal to the willing guest: He rose with pleasure, and retir'd to rest. There, soft extended to th' murmuring sound Of the high porch, Ulysses sleeps profound! Within, releas'd from cares, Alcinous lies, And fast beside, were clos'd Arete's eyes.
Alcinous calls a council, in which it is resolved to transport Ulysses into his country. After which splendid entertainments are made, where the celebrated musician and poet Demodocus plays and sings to the guests. They next proceed to the games, the race, the wrestling, discus, &c. where Ulysses casts a prodigious length, to the admiration of all the spectators. They return again to the banquet, and Demodocus sings the loves of Mars and Venus. Ulysses, after a compliment to the poet, desires him to sing the introduction of the wooden horse into Troy; which subject provoking his tears, Alcinous inquires of his guest his name, parentage, and fortunes.
Now fair Aurora lifts her golden ray,
And all the ruddy orient flames with day:
Alcinous, and the chief, with dawning light,
Rose instant from the slumbers of the night;
Then to the council-seat they bend their way,
And fill the shining thrones along the bay.
Meanwhile Minerva, in her guardian care,
Shoots from the starry vault thro' fields of air;
In form a herald of the king, she flies
From peer to peer, and thus incessant cries:
Nobles and chiefs, who rule Phæacia's states, The king in council your attendance waits: A prince of grace divine your aid implores, O'er unknown seas arriv'd from unknown shores. She spoke, and sudden with tumultuous sounds Of thronging multitudes the shore rebounds; At once the seats they fill: and every eye Gaz'd, as before some brother of the sky. Pallas, with grace divine his form improves, More high he treads, and more enlarg'd he moves: She sheds celestial bloom, regard to draw And gives a dignity of mein, to awe;
With strength, the future prize of fame to play, And gather all the honours of the day.
Then from his glittering throne Alcinous rose; Attend, he cried, while we our will disclose. Your present aid this god-like stranger craves; Tost by rude tempests thro' a war of waves; Perhaps from realms that view the rising day, Or nations subject to the western ray.
Then grant, what here all sons of woe obtain,
(For here affliction never pleads in vain:)
Be chosen youths prepar'd, expert to try
The vast profound, and bid the vessel fly:
Launch the tall bark, and order every oar;
Then in our court indulge the genial hour.
Instant, you sailors, to this task attend;
Swift to the palace, all ye peers, ascend;
Let none to strangers honours due disclaim:
Be there Demodocus, the bard of fame,
Taught by the Gods to please, when high he sings
The vocal lay, responsive to the strings.
Thus spoke the prince: th' attending peers obey,
In state they move: Alcinous leads the way:
Swift to Demodocus the herald flies,
At once the sailors to their charge arise;
They launch the vessel, and unfurl the sails, And stretch the swelling canvas to the gales; Then to the palace move: a gathering throng; Youth, and white age, tumultuous pour along: Now all accesses to the dome are fill'd;
Eight boars, the choicest of the herd, are kill'd: Two beeves, twelve fatlings from the flock they bring
To crown the feast; so wills the bounteous king.
The herald now arrives, and guides along
The sacred master of celestial song:
Dear to the Muse! who gave his days to flow
With mighty blessings, mix'd with mighty woe:
With clouds of darkness quench'd his visual ray,
But gave him skill to raise the lofty lay.
High on a radiant throne sublime in state,
Encircled by huge multitudes, he sat:
With silver shone the throne; his lyre well strung
To rapturous sounds, at hand Pontonous hung:
Before his seat a polish'd table shines,
And a full goblet foams with generous wines:
His food a herald bore: and now they fed;
And now the rage of craving hunger fled.
Then, fir'd by all the Muse, aloud he sings
The mighty deeds of demigods and kings:
From that fierce wrath the noble song arose,
That made Ulysses and Achilles foes:
How o'er the feast they doom the fall of Troy;
The stern debate Atrides hears with joy;
For heaven foretold the contest, when he trod
The marble threshold of the Delphic God,
Curious to learn the counsels of the sky,
Ere yet he loos'd the rage of war on Troy.
Touch'd at the song, Ulysses straight resign'd
To soft affliction all his manly mind:
Before his eyes the purple vest he drew,
Industrious to conceal the falling dew:
But when the music paus'd, he ceas'd to shed
The flowing tear, and rais'd his drooping head:
And lifting to the Gods a goblet crown'd,
He pour'd a pure libation to the ground.
Transported with the song, the list'ning train
Again with loud applause demand the strain:
Again Ulysses veil'd his pensive head,
Again unmann'd, a shower of sorrow shed;
Conceal'd he wept: the king observ'd alone.
The silent tear, and heard the secret groan:
Then to the bard aloud: O cease to sing,
Dumb be thy voice, and mute th' harmonious string;
Enough the feast has pleas'd, enough the power
Of heavenly song has crown'd the genial hour!
Incessant in the games your strength display,
Contest, ye brave, the honours of the day!
That pleas'd th' admiring stranger may proclaim
In distant regions the Phæacian fame:
None wield the gauntlet with so dire a sway,
Or swifter in the race devour the way;
None in the leap spring with so strong a bound,
Or firmer, in the wrestling, press the ground.
Thus spoke the king; th' attending peers obey:
In state they move, Alcinous leads the way;
His golden lyre Demodocus unstrung,
High on a column in the palace hung:
And guided by a herald's guardian cares,
Majestic to the lists of Fame repairs.
Now swarms the populace: a countless throng,
Youth and hoar age; and man drives man along:
The games begin; ambitious of the prize,
Acroneus, Thoön, and Eretmeus rise;
The prize Ocyalus and Prymneus claim,
Anchialus and Ponteus, chiefs of fame:
There Proreus, Nautes, Eratreus appear,
And fam'd Amphialus, Polyneus' heir:
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