Page:The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer (IA iliadodysseyofho02home).pdf/317

Book XIII. Bear patiently, and neither man apprize Nor woman that thou hast arrived forlorn And vagabond, but silent undergo What wrongs soever from the hands of men. To whom Ulysses, ever-wise, replied. O Goddess! thou art able to elude, Wherever met, the keenest eye of man, For thou all shapes assum'st; yet this I know Certainly, that I ever found thee kind, Long as Achaia's Heroes fought at Troy; But when (the lofty tow'rs of Priam laid In dust) we're-embark'd, and by the will Of heav'n Achaia's fleet was scatter'd wide, Thenceforth, O daughter wise of Jove, I thee Saw not, nor thy appearance in my ship Once mark'd, to rid me of my num'rous woes, But always bearing in my breast a heart With anguish riv'n, I roam'd, till by the Gods Relieved at length, and till with gracious words Thyself didst in Phæacia's opulent land Confirm my courage, and becam'st my guide. But I adjure thee in thy father's name— O tell me truly, (for I cannot hope That I have reach'd fair Ithaca; I tread Some other soil, and thou affirm'st it mine To mock me merely, and deceive) oh say— Am I in Ithaca? in truth, at home?