Page:Tragedies of Sophocles (Plumptre 1878).djvu/388

290 Odys. Ο voice, of all Divine Ones dear to me,

Athena's, clear, though Thou remain unseen,

I hear thy speech, and catch it in my soul

As though it were some bronze Tyrsenian trump;

And now full clear Thou saw'st me wheeling round

My steps against a man I count my foe,

Aias, the bearer of the mighty shield.

For he it is, and no one else, that I

Long while have tracked; for he this very night

Hath wrought a work mysterious, if indeed

'Tis he hath done it, for as yet we know

Nought clearly, but are wandering in our search.

And I of my free will have yoked myself

To bear this toil; for 'twas but now we found

Our captured flocks destroyed, by man's hand slain,

And with them too the guardians of the herd;

And every one imputes the deed to him;

And then a scout, who saw him there alone,

The fields o'erleaping with a blood-stained sword,

Told me, and showed it all. And I forthwith

Rush on his track; and now in part I guess

By signs and tokens, and in part am struck

With sore amaze, and learn not where he is.

And now Thou comest here most seasonably,

For I, in all things past or yet to come,

Am guided by the wisdom of thine hand.

Athena. I knew it, Ο Odysseus, and I came,

Long since, a ready helper in thy hunt.

Odys. And I, dear Mistress, do I toil aright?