Page:The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer (IA iliadodysseyofho02home).pdf/164

156 Ye all have feasted—To your homes and sleep. We will assemble at the dawn of day More senior Chiefs, that we may entertain The stranger here, and to the Gods perform Due sacrifice; the convoy that he asks Shall next engage our thoughts, that free from pain And from vexation, by our friendly aid He may revisit, joyful and with speed, His native shore, however far remote. No inconvenience let him feel or harm, Ere his arrival; but, arrived, thenceforth He must endure whatever lot the Fates Spun for him in the moment of his birth. But should he prove some Deity from heav'n Descended, then the Immortals have in view Designs not yet apparent; for the Gods Have ever from of old reveal'd themselves At our solemnities, have on our seats Sat with us evident, and shared the feast; And even if a single traveller Of the Phæacians meet them, all reserve They lay aside; for with the Gods we boast As near affinity as do themselves The Cyclops, or the Giant race profane.