Page:The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer (IA iliadodysseyofho02home).pdf/429

XVIII. Two loaves, selected from the rest; he fill'd A goblet also, drank to him, and said, My father, hail! O stranger, be thy lot Hereafter blest, though adverse now and hard! To whom Ulysses, ever-wise, replied. To me, Amphinomus, endued thou seem'st With much discretion, who art also son Of such a sire, whose fair report I know, Dulichian Nysus, opulent and good. Fame speaks thee his, and thou appear'st a man Judicious; hear me, therefore; mark me well. Earth nourishes, of all that breathe or creep, No creature weak as man; for while the Gods Grant him prosperity and health, no fear Hath he, or thought, that he shall ever mourn; But when the Gods with evils unforeseen Smite him, he bears them with a grudging mind; For such as the complexion of his lot By the appointment of the Sire of all, Such is the colour of the mind of man. I, too, have been familiar in my day With wealth and ease, but I was then self-will'd, And many wrong'd, embolden'd by the thought Of my own father's and my brethren's pow'r. Let no man, therefore, be unjust, but each Use modestly what gift soe'er of heav'n. So do not these. These ever bent I see On deeds injurious, the possessions large