Page 176 - the-odyssey

lost their lives.’
‘When I heard him I was in two minds whether or no to
draw the keen blade that hung by my sturdy thigh and cut
his head off in spite of his being a near relation of my own;
but the men interceded for him and said, ‘Sir, if it may so be,
let this fellow stay here and mind the ship, but take the rest
of us with you to Circe’s house.’
‘On this we all went inland, and Eurylochus was not left
behind after all, but came on too, for he was frightened by
the severe reprimand that I had given him.
‘Meanwhile Circe had been seeing that the men who
had been left behind were washed and anointed with olive
oil; she had also given them woollen cloaks and shirts, and
when we came we found them all comfortably at dinner in
her house. As soon as the men saw each other face to face
and knew one another, they wept for joy and cried aloud
till the whole palace rang again. Thereon Circe came up to
me and said, ‘Ulysses, noble son of Laertes, tell your men to
leave off crying; I know how much you have all of you suf-
fered at sea, and how ill you have fared among cruel savages
on the mainland, but that is over now, so stay here, and eat
and drink till you are once more as strong and hearty as you
were when you left Ithaca; for at present you are weakened
both in body and mind; you keep all the time thinking of
the hardships you have suffered during your travels, so that
you have no more cheerfulness left in you.’
‘Thus did she speak and we assented. We stayed with
Circe for a whole twelvemonth feasting upon an untold
quantity both of meat and wine. But when the year had

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