Page:The Odyssey of Homer, with the Hymns, Epigrams, and Battle of the Frogs and Mice (Buckley 1853).djvu/405

28—48. But the beneficial son of Jove, beholding it, laughed, and straightway spoke thus:

"A very useful god-send [art thou] for me now, I will not disdain thee. Hail! thou pleasant by nature, choir-resounding, companion of the feast, who hast luckily made thy appearance. Whence is this beautiful plaything? thou art the varied shell, the tortoise that dwells on the mountains. But I will take and bear thee to my dwelling; thou wilt be of some use to me, nor will I despise thee, but thou first shalt benefit me. It is better to be at home, since out-of-doors is hurtful. For living, thou wilt certainly be a defence against the baleful attack, but if thou diest, thou wilt then sing very beautifully."

Thus then he spoke, and having taken [it] up in both hands, he straightway went back to his dwelling, bearing the pleasant plaything. Here having deceitfully scooped it out with a scalpel of hoary steel, he extinguished the life of the mountain tortoise. And as when the swift thought passes through the breast of a man, whom frequent cares occupy, or when flashes are rolled from the eyes, so at once, word and deed, did glorious Mercury devise. And cutting them in due measure, he fixed cut joints of reed, having pierced through