ULY. Can ye direct me, strangers, where to find
Fresh springs to slake our thirst; or who will sell
Food to the hungry sailor? But what means
That group of satyrs, whom before yon cave
I see assembled? we at Bacchus’ city
Seem to have landed. Thee, the elder-born,
Thee first I hail.
SIL. Hail! foreigner; acquaint us
Both who you are, and from what realm you came.
ULY. Ulysses, king of Ithaca, and th’ isle
Of Cephalenè.
SIL. That loquacious man,
The crafty brood of Sisyphus, full well
I know.
ULY. Reproach me not, for I am he.
SIL. Whence sailed you to Sicilia?
ULY. From the shores
Of blazing Ilion, from the war of Troy.
SIL. What, knew you not the way to your own country?
ULY. The tempests violently drove me hither.
SIL. By Heaven, your fortunes are the same with mine.
ULY. What cam’st thou hither too against thy will?
SIL. Yes, in pursuit of those accursed pirates
Who seized on Bromius.
ULY. But what land is this,
And by what men inhabitated?
SIL. This mountain,
Called Ætna, overlooks Sicilia’s plains.
ULY. Where are the fortresses and lofty towers
Which guard its peopled cities?
SIL. They exist not.
No men, O stranger, on these summits dwell.
ULY. But who possess the land, a savage race
Of beasts?
SIL. The Cyclops occupy these caves,
They have no houses.
ULY. Governed by what chief?
Is this a mere democracy?
SIL. They lead
The life of shepherds, and in no respect
Yield to each other.
ULY. Do they sow the grain
Of Ceres, or on what do they subsist?
SIL. On milk, on cheese, and on their sheep, they feed.
ULY. Affords the vine, nectareous juice, the drink
Bacchus invented?
SIL. No such thing: they dwell
In an ungrateful soil.
ULY. But do they practise
The rites of hospitality, and hold
The stranger sacred?
SIL. They aver the flesh
Of strangers is a most delicious food.
ULY. What saidst thou, banquet they on human flesh?
SIL. Here no man lands who is not doomed to bleed.
ULY. Where is this Cyclops, in the cave?
SIL. He went
To Ætna’s summit, with his hounds to trace
The savage beasts.
ULY. But know’st thou by what means
We from this region may escape?
SIL. I know not.
But, O Ulysses, I’ll do everything
To serve you.
ULY. Sell us bread, supply our want.
SIL. I told you we have nothing here but flesh.
ULY. By this, sharp hunger, which makes all things sweet,
May be assuaged.
SIL. Cheese from the press, and milk
Of heifers too.
ULY. Produce them: while the day
Yet lasts, should we conclude our merchandise.
SIL. With how much gold will you repay me? Speak.
ULY. No gold I bring, but Bacchus’ cheering juice.
SIL. My dearest friend, you mention what we long
Have stood in need of.
ULY. This enchanting liquor
Did Maron, offspring of the courteous god,
On us bestow.
SIL. Whom erst, while yet a boy
I in these arms sustained.
ULY. The son of Bacchus,
T’ inform thee more minutely who he is.
SIL. Aboard the ship, or have you hither brought it?
ULY. Here is the cask, old man, which thou perceiv’st
Contains the wine.
SIL. It hardly is a sup.
ULY. But we have twice as much as this will yield.
SIL. A most delicious spring is that you named.
ULY. Shall I first treat thee with some wine unmixed,
That thou may’st taste?
SIL. Well judged: this specimen
Soon will induce me to conclude the purchase.
ULY. A cup too I have brought as well as cask.
SIL. Pour forth, that I may drink, and recollect
The grateful taste of wine.
ULY. Look there!
SIL. Ye gods!
How beauteous is its odour!
ULY. Hast thou seen it?
SIL. By Jove I have not, but I smell its charms.
ULY. Taste, nor to words alone confine thy praise.
SIL. Ha! ha! now Bacchus to the choral dance
Invites me.
ULY. Hath it moistened well thy palate?
SIL. So well as e’en to reach my fingers’ ends.
ULY. Beside all this, shall money too be thine.
SIL. Empty the vessel, and reserve your gold.
ULY. Bring forth the cheese and lambs.
SIL. That will I do,
Regardless of my lord, because I wish
To drain one goblet of this wine, and give
The flocks of all the Cyclops in its stead.
I’d from Leucadè, when completely drunk,
Into the ocean take a lover’s leap,
Shutting my eyes. For he who, when he quaffs
The mantling bowl, exults not, is a madman.
Through wine new joys our wanton bosoms fire,
With eager arms we clasp the yielding fair,
And in the giddy dance forget each ill
That heretofore assailed us. So I kiss
The rich potation; let the stupid Cyclops
Weep with that central eye which in his front
Glares horribly.
[_Exit_ SILENUS.
CHOR. Attend: for we must hold
A long confabulation, O Ulysses.
ULY. We meet each other like old friends.
CHOR. Was Troy
By you subdued? was Helen taken captive?
ULY. And the whole house of Priam we laid waste.
CHOR. When ye had seized on that transcendent fair,
Did ye then all enjoy her in your turn,
Because she loves variety of husbands?
False to her vows, when she the painted greaves
Around the legs of Paris, on his neck
The golden chain, beheld, with love deep smitten
From Menelaus, best of men, she fled.
Ah! would to Heaven no women had been born
But such as were reserved for my embraces.
SILENUS _returning_, ULYSSES, CHORUS.
SIL. Here, King Ulysses, is the shepherd’s food:
Banquet on bleating lambs, and bear away
As many curdled cheeses as you can;
But from these caverns with your utmost speed
Depart, when ye have given me in return
The clustering vine’s rich juice which Bacchus loves.
ULY. The Cyclops comes. What shall we do? Old man,
We are undone. Ah, whither can we fly?
SIL. Ye may conceal yourselves beneath that rock.
ULY. Most dangerous is the scheme thou hast proposed,
To rush into the toils.
SIL. No danger truly;
For in this rock is many a hiding-place.
ULY. Not thus: indignant Troy might groan indeed
If from a single arm we basely fled.
Oft with my shield against a countless band
Of Phrygians have I fought. If we must die,
Let us die nobly: or with life maintain
The fame we erst in dubious fields acquired.