Page:The Odyssey of Homer, with the Hymns, Epigrams, and Battle of the Frogs and Mice (Buckley 1853).djvu/420

384 whatever thou desirest. And I will give this to thee, O glorious son of Jove. But we in turn, O Far-Darter, will attend to the pasturage of the field-dwelling cows both through the mountain and the horse-pasturing plain. Hence will our cows, mingling with the bulls, bring forth enough, both females and males promiscuously, nor need thou, although fond of gain, be very wrathfully angered."

Thus speaking, he stretched forth [the lyre], and Phœbus Apollo received it, and to Mercury he intrusted his shining goad, and committed [to him] the care of the herds. But the son of Maia received it joyfully. Then the glorious son of Maia, far-darting Apollo, taking the lyre in his left hand, tried it with the quill note by note, and it gave a clear sound beneath his hand, and to it the god sang beautifully. Here they twain indeed turned the cows towards the divine meadow, but the beauteous descendants of Jove themselves went back towards snowy Olympus, delighted with the lyre, and counselling Jove rejoiced, and brought both of them together into friendship. And Mercury indeed loved the son of Latona thoroughly, as [he] now also [loves him], as a pledge then [Mercury] gave the pleasant lyre to the Far-Darter, but he, having learnt it, played on it under his arm. And he himself in turn contrived a trick of another kind of skill: he made the far-sounding voice of the syrinx. And then the son of Latona addressed Mercury in words:

"I fear, O son of Mercury, cunning-plotting messenger, lest thou rob me of my lyre and bent bow. For thou hast the prerogative from Jove, to arrange all craft among men throughout the bounteous earth. But if thou wilt endure to swear me the mighty oath of the gods, either nodding with thy head or [swearing] by the dreadful water of the Styx, that thou wilt do all that is joyful and pleasant to my mind—"