Page:The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer (IA iliadodysseyofho02home).pdf/258

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HOMER's ODYSSEY.
Book XI.

Endur'd, thou may'st attain thy native isle,
If thy own appetite thou wilt controul
And theirs who follow thee, what time thy bark
Well-built, shall at [1]Thrinacia's shore arrive,
Escaped from perils of the gloomy Deep. 130
There shall ye find grazing the flocks and herds
Of the all-seeing and all-hearing Sun,
Which, if attentive to thy safe return,
Thou leave unharm'd, though after num'rous woes,
Ye may at length arrive in Ithaca. 135
But if thou violate them, I denounce
Destruction on thy ship and all thy band,
And though thyself escape, late shalt thou reach
Thy home and [2]hard-bested, in a strange bark,
All thy companions lost; trouble beside 140
Awaits thee there, for thou shalt find within
Proud suitors of thy noble wife, who waste
Thy substance, and with promis'd spousal gifts
Ceaseless solicit her to wed; yet well
Shalt thou avenge all their injurious deeds. 145
That once perform'd, and ev'ry suitor slain
Either by stratagem, or face to face,
In thy own palace, bearing, as thou go'st,
A shapely oar, journey, till thou hast found
A people who the sea know not, nor eat 150

  1. The shore of Sicily, commonly called Trinacria, but Euphonicè by Homer, Thrinacia.
  2. The expression is used by Milton, and signifies—Beset with many difficulties.

Food