Page:The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer (IA iliadodysseyofho02home).pdf/222

214 Ah, rash Ulysses! why with taunts provoke The savage more, who hath this moment hurl'd A weapon, such as heav'd the ship again To land, where death seem'd certain to us all? For had he heard a cry, or but the voice Of one man speaking, he had all our heads With some sharp rock, and all our timbers crush'd Together, such vast force is in his arm. So they, but my courageous heart remain'd Unmoved, and thus again, incensed, I spake. Cyclops! should any mortal man inquire To whom thy shameful loss of sight thou ow'st, Say, to Ulysses, city-waster Chief, Laertes' son, native of Ithaca. I ceas'd, and with a groan thus he replied. Ah me! an antient oracle I feel Accomplish'd. Here abode a prophet erst, A man of noblest form, and in his art Unrivall'd, Telemus Eurymedes. He, prophesying to the Cyclops-race, Grew old among us, and presaged my loss Of sight, in future, by Ulysses' hand. I therefore watch'd for the arrival here, Always, of some great Chief, for stature, bulk And beauty prais'd, and cloath'd with wond'rous might. But now—a dwarf, a thing impalpable, A shadow, overcame me first by wine,