The Odyssey of Homer (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: The word to wield the tackle; they obeyed, And raised the fir-tree mast, and, fitting it Into its socket, bound it fast with cords, And drew and spread with firmly twisted ropes 535 The shining sails on high. The steady wind Swelled out the canvas in the midst; the ship Moved on, the dark sea roaring round her keel, As swiftly through the waves she cleft her way. And when the rigging of that swift black ship sv Was firmly in its place, they filled their cups With wine, and to the ever-living gods Poured out libations, most of all to one, Jove's blue-eyed daughter. Thus through all that night And all the ensuing morn they held their way. 55 BOOK III. NOW from the fair broad bosom of the sea Into the brazen vault of heaven the sun Rose shining for the immortals and for men Upon the foodful earth. The voyagers Arrived at Pylos, nobly built, the town 3 Of Neleus. There, upon the ocean-side, They found the people offering coal-black steers To dark-haired Neptune. On nine seats they sat, Five hundred on each seat; nine steers were slain For each five hundred there. While they performed The rite, and, tasting first the entrails, burned The thighs to ocean's god, the Ithacans Touched land, and, lifting up the good ship's sail, Furled it and moored the keel, and then stepped out Upon the shore. Forth from the galley came .3 Telemachus, the goddess guiding him, And thus to him the blue-eyed Pallas said: ? " Telemachus, there now is no excuse, Not even the least, for shamefaced backwardness. Thou hast come hither o'er the deep to ask For tidings of thy father, ? what far land Conceals him, what the fate that he has met. Go then at once to Nestor, the renowned In horsemanship, and we shall see what plan He hath in mind for thee. Entr...