Euripides (Way 1929) v2/Cyclops
For other English-language translations of this work, see Cyclops (Euripides).
CYCLOPS
INTRODUCTION
The Satyric Drama, of which the Cyclops is the solitary example extant, is especially interesting as being a survival in literature. The Greek drama originally, as being designed for representation at the great annual festival of Dionysus or Bacchus, had for its subject some incident in the adventures of that god or his followers. When, early in the fifth century B.C., it became the rule that each dramatic poet should present a trilogy of tragedies at the Greater Dionysia, it was required that to these should be added a fourth play, founded on the ancient theme, as a concession to the popular feeling connected with the Wine-god’s festival, and as a recognition of his presence. As the chorus in such plays was invariably composed of Satyrs, the peculiar attendants of Bacchus, such plays were called Satyric Dramas. In these, incidents in the legends of gods and heroes were treated with an approach to burlesque, the high style of tragedy was abandoned at pleasure, the vocabulary contained many words which were beneath the dignity of the serious drama, the dances were wild, and not always decent, the versification was more irregular, broad and wanton jests were not only admitted, but perhaps even prescribed: in short, the unrestrained licence of the original Dionysia found here its literary expression.
The subject of the Cyclops is taken from that adventure of Odysseus which is related with Epic dignity by Homer in the Odyssey, Bk. IX. The divergences, rendered inevitable by the special character of the Satyric Drama, are so great that it cannot be affirmed with certainty that this play was really based on Homer.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Silenus, an old attendant of Bacchus.
Odysseus, king of Ithaca.
Cyclops, a one-eyed giant.
Chorus, consisting of Satyrs.
Men of Odysseus’ crew.
Scene: At the entrance to a great cave at the foot of Mount Etna.
CYCLOPS
Enter from the cave Silenus, dragging after him a rusty iron rake.
Silenus
O Bacchus!—oh the back-aches that I got
In your cause, when my youthful blood was hot:
First, when, with addled brains through Hera’s curses,
You bolted from the Mountain-maids, your nurses;
Next time, when, in the Battle o’ Phlegra Field,
I was your right-hand man, and through the shield
Of Giant Whatshisname I neatly put
A yard of spear—what, dreamed all this? Tut, tut!
Did Bacchus dream I showed the monster’s spoils
To him? Ah, that was play beside these toils!
For, O my Bacchus, Hera set on you 10
A gang of thieves, a Tuscan pirate-crew,
To take you on a very distant trip.
I heard of it, and promptly manned a ship
With my wild boys, and sailed upon the quest.
I took the helm, and—well, I did my best;
And the boys rowed—at least, made shift to fling
Some foam about; and so we sought our king.
But, just as on our quarter Malea lay,
An east wind blew, and cast our ship away
Upon this rocky shore by Etna’s roots, 20
Home of the Cyclops (Neptune’s amours’ fruits),
One-eyed, cave-kennelled, man-devouring brutes.
One of them caught us, so that we became
Slaves in his den; and this slave-driver’s name
Is Polyphemus. No more Bacchanal song
And dance for us! We’ve got to herd a throng
Of this ungodly villain’s goats and sheep:
Yes, my poor boys on far-off hill-sides steep—
My tender ones—are tending flocks for him!
And I’m a prisoner here, must fill to the brim
His sheep-troughs: I must sweep this stinking den
For godless Goggle-eye, must turn cook then, 30
And serve his cursèd dinners up—fried men!
Now with this clumsiest of iron rakes (kicks it.)
I must needs clear up all the mess he makes,
To welcome home my lord, old Saucer-eye,
And his sheep with him, into a clean—sty.
Ah, here my boys come, driving home the bleating
Flocks; yes, I see them—what, is that the beating
Of dancing feet? It’s like old times, when round
Althaea’s house, with Bacchus, to the sound
Of song and harp, your. toes scarce touched the ground. 40
Enter Chrous, driving goats and sheep.
A Satyr (to a he-goat)
O come along, Sir Billy! If your father was a king,
And your mother queen of Nannies, still you needn’t go and spring
Over cliff and crag up yonder: it’s good enough for you
Down here, where winds are sleeping, and where green as ever grew
Is the grass that waits the cropping;
And the rippling water, slopping
Out of all the troughs full-brimming by the cave, is full in view;
And your little kids are pleading
“Come you down!”—and never heeding 50
From the steep you still are hanging, all bedraggled with the dew.
Here goes a stone to stir you! Shoo, you wilful rascal! Shoo!
Come you down, and come this minute, you nasty hornèd thing!
Don’t you hear your keeper calling, farmer Giant’s underling?
Another Satyr (to a she-goat)
Come, my pretty, to the milking; then away you skip, to meet
Your little babies, hungry to nose the heavy teat;
For you left them at the dawning, on the rushes where they lay,
And they sorely need refreshment, after sleeping all the day.
Don’t you see your little sweeting?
Can’t you hear his hungry bleating?
O leave the grassy pasture, to the folding come away! 60
Enter here, your cave is ready
Under Etna, clean and shady:—
O dear! no sign of Bacchus nor his Bacchanal array!
There’s no clashing of the cymbals, no dances reel and sway,
Nothing trickling from a wine-jar in droppings honey-sweet,
Nor beside the gushing fountains trip the Mountain-maidens’ feet.
Chorus of all the Satyrs
O Aphrodite! and O the mighty
Spell of the chant that thrilled the air, 70
When to its cadence I chased the maidens,
The Bacchanal girls, and the feet snow-fair!
O Bacchus, only-beloved, all lonely
Now, you are wandering where, ah where,
Of me unbeholden, tossing the golden
Nectar-breathing cloud of your hair?
And I, your vassal, a slave in the castle-
Dungeon of one-eyed Giant Despair,
A slave sheep-drover, with naught to cover
My limbs but a foul goat’s skin worn bare, 80
I wander, breaking my heart with aching
For my lost love far from the voice of my prayer.
Silenus
Hush, boys! Quick, tell the lads to get the flock
In haste beneath the cavern’s roof of rock.
Chorus
Look sharpthere! Where’s the hurry, father, now?
Silenus
Down on the beach I spy a Greek ship’s prow;
I see the kings o’ the oar—their captain’s there—
Come tramping towards this cave. Aha, they bear
Slung round their necks some baskets. Come to beg
For food, of course—and water; there’s the keg.
O you poor wretches! Who on earth are these?
Little they dream what hospitalities 90
Are by the master of this house bestowed,
Who tread this strangely hospitable road
Up to the doors of—Goggle-eyes’s jaw,
For right warm welcome to his cannibal maw!
Now we shall learn—if you will just keep still—
Whence come these to Sicilian Etna’s hill.
Enter Odysseus and crew.
Odysseus
Friends, can you tell us whereabouts to find
Some running water? If you’d be so kind,
Moreover, as to sell us hungry tars
Something to eat—but what, what? O my stars!
Is this the City of Bacchus that we’ve found?
Here’s quite a crowd of Satyrs standing round 100
A cave! A fatherly old party, too,
A patriarch quite—good morning, Sir, to you!
Silenus
Good morning. What’s your name and whence d’you come?
Odysseus
Odysseus—Isle-king—Ithaca’s my home.
Silenus
Ah, Sisyphus’ son! Sharp rogue, a sight too clever!
Odysseus
That’s me. You needn’t call hard names, however.
Silenus
And whence do you come to Sicily, may I ask?
Odysseus
From taking Troy—tough job, a ten years’ task.
Silenus
What, didn’t you know the way back to your door?
Odysseus
A hurricane caught us, cast us on this shore 110
Silenus
Heavens! You and I are in one boat together!
Odysseus
What? you too driven here by stress of weather?
Silenus
Pirates had kidnapped Bacchus: we gave chase.
Odysseus
H’m—what’s the land called? Who live in this place?
Silenus
That’s Etna—highest point of Sicily.
Odysseus
But—where’s the city? Never a tower I see.
Silenus
There’s none, nor any men—waste hills and lonely.
Odysseus
What, no inhabitants?—the wild beasts only?
Silenus
Cyclops—no houses—burrow in caves, like rats.
Odysseus
Who is their king?—or are they democrats?
Silenus
Shepherds—and not for nobody they don’t care. 120
Odysseus
Do they sow corn?—or what’s their daily fare?
Silenus
Milk, cheese—and the eternal mutton-chop.
Odysseus
Do they grow vines, make wine? (sees Silenus’ expression.) What, never a drop?
Silenus (with bitter emphasis)
Not—one—least—drop! No songs or dances here!
Odysseus
Hospitable? Do strangers get good cheer?
Silenus
Their special dainty is—the flesh of strangers!
Odysseus
What, what?—they’re cannibals, these desert-rangers?
Silenus
So far, they’ve butchered every man who’s come.
Odysseus
And where’s this Cyclops?—don’t say he’s at home!
Silenus
No, gone to Etna with his hounds to-day. 130
Odysseus
Do something for us: then we’ll get away.
Silenus
What is it? (unctuously) I’d do anything for you.
Odysseus
Sell us some food. They’re famished, are my crew.
Silenus
There’s nothing, as I said, save only meat.
Odysseus
Tough mutton?—h’m: well, starving men must eat.
Silenus
Cream-cheeses too, and milk—a very sea.
Odysseus
Let’s see ’em first—no pig-in-a-poke for me!
Silenus
You show your money—pay before you dine!
Odysseus
Better than money: what I’ve got here—wine!
Silenus
Wine? Blessed word—last tasted long agone! 140
Odysseus
’Twas Maron gave it me, Your Wine-god’s son.
Silenus
Dear boy!—these arms have nursed you, and here I find you!
Odysseus
Yes, Bacchus’ best brew, from his own son, mind you.
Silenus
Got the wine with you?—not in yon ship’s hold?
Odysseus
Old man, it’s in this very skin—behold!
[Shows corner of skin.
Silenus
That!—why there’s not a toothful in’t, I swear!
Odysseus
There’s twice as much as you can hold in there.
[Shows whole skin.
Silenus
Oh—h! what a fountain of delight! O sweet!
Odysseus
Have a small taste? No water in it—neat.
Silenus
Right! “Wet a bargain with a glass,” you know. 150
Odysseus
Here then:—his skinship’s got his boat in tow.
[Shows cup hanging from wine-skin.
Silenus
Quick! Trot him out: revive my memory.
I’ve clean forgot the taste of it.
Odysseus (pouring)
There—see?
Silenus
Oh—oh! I say! What a bouquet!—divine!
Odysseus
Bouquet?—d’ye see one?
Silenus
No; this nose of mine,
By Jove, can answer for it right enough.
Odysseus
Try if it’s worth your praise—just taste the stuff.
Silenus (drinks)
Oh! oh! I must dance! Bacchus sounds the note!
Odysseus
Did it slip very sweetly down your throat?
Silenus
Throat, man?—to my very toes! I feel ’em tingling.
Odysseus
I’ll pay cash too: I’ve got it ready-jingling. 160
Silenus
Wine! wine!—for money I don’t care a button.
Odysseus
All right. Fetch out your cheeses and your mutton.
Silenus
I will! For master I don’t care one fig!
So mad I am for just another swig,
That I’d sell for it all the giants’ flocks—
Ay, chuck them in the sea from yonder rocks,
If once I get well drunk, and smooth my brow
Clear of the wrinkles drawn by trouble’s plough.
The man that isn’t jolly after drinking
Is just a drivelling idiot, to my thinking.
Jolly’s no word for it!—I see a vision
Of snowy bosoms, of delights Elysian; 170
Of fingers fondling silken hair, of dancing,
Oblivion of all care!—O dream entrancing!
And shall my lips not kiss the cup whence come
Such raptures? And shall I not snap my thumb
At Goggle-eye, the blockhead, and the horrid
One eye stuck in the middle of his forehead?
[Goes off to collect the goods.
A Satyr
Look here, Odysseus; let me ask some questions.
Odysseus
Of course: from friends I welcome all suggestions.
Satyr
Did you take Troy, and capture Helen too?
Odysseus
O yes: all Priam’s house we overthrew.
Satyr
Well, when you’d caught the naughty little jade,
Didn’t each man whip out his vorpal blade, 180
And thrust her through, one after another, then,
And let her have for once her fill of men!
The baggage!—fell in love, all in a twinkle,
With Paris’s gaudy bags,[1] without a wrinkle
Fitted to his fine legs, and lost her heart
To his gold necklace! And she must depart,
And leave the best of little chaps all lonely,
Menelaus! ’Tell you what it is—if only
No woman lived, a good thing would it be—
Not one on earth—except a few for me.
Enter Silenus with satyrs bringing bowls and lambs.
Silenus
Here, king Odysseus, here they come, the lambs,
Warranted tender babes of bleating dams;
Here are the curds, and cheeses too galore. 190
Catch hold, and hurry ’em down from cave to shore.
Now for the grape’s pure soul, for Bacchus’ brew!—
O lor!—the Cyclops! Oh, what shall we do?
Odysseus
Done for, old man! Where can we run to?—where?
Silenus
Into the cave—good hiding-places there.
Odysseus
Not likely!—to walk straight into the snare!
Silenus
Quite likely. Plenty of rat-holes there, my boy.
Odysseus
Never! ’twould stain my laurels won at Troy
To run from one man. I stood under shield
Against a host of Trojans in the field. 200
If I must die, I’ll die in a blaze of glory,
Or live, and be yet more renowned in story.
O Bacchus!—oh the back-aches that I got
In your cause, when my youthful blood was hot:
First, when, with addled brains through Hera’s curses,
You bolted from the Mountain-maids, your nurses;
Next time, when, in the Battle o’ Phlegra Field,
I was your right-hand man, and through the shield
Of Giant Whatshisname I neatly put
A yard of spear—what, dreamed all this? Tut, tut!
Did Bacchus dream I showed the monster’s spoils
To him? Ah, that was play beside these toils!
For, O my Bacchus, Hera set on you 10
A gang of thieves, a Tuscan pirate-crew,
To take you on a very distant trip.
I heard of it, and promptly manned a ship
With my wild boys, and sailed upon the quest.
I took the helm, and—well, I did my best;
And the boys rowed—at least, made shift to fling
Some foam about; and so we sought our king.
But, just as on our quarter Malea lay,
An east wind blew, and cast our ship away
Upon this rocky shore by Etna’s roots, 20
Home of the Cyclops (Neptune’s amours’ fruits),
One-eyed, cave-kennelled, man-devouring brutes.
One of them caught us, so that we became
Slaves in his den; and this slave-driver’s name
Is Polyphemus. No more Bacchanal song
And dance for us! We’ve got to herd a throng
Of this ungodly villain’s goats and sheep:
Yes, my poor boys on far-off hill-sides steep—
My tender ones—are tending flocks for him!
And I’m a prisoner here, must fill to the brim
His sheep-troughs: I must sweep this stinking den
For godless Goggle-eye, must turn cook then, 30
And serve his cursèd dinners up—fried men!
Now with this clumsiest of iron rakes (kicks it.)
I must needs clear up all the mess he makes,
To welcome home my lord, old Saucer-eye,
And his sheep with him, into a clean—sty.
Ah, here my boys come, driving home the bleating
Flocks; yes, I see them—what, is that the beating
Of dancing feet? It’s like old times, when round
Althaea’s house, with Bacchus, to the sound
Of song and harp, your. toes scarce touched the ground. 40
Enter Chrous, driving goats and sheep.
A Satyr (to a he-goat)
O come along, Sir Billy! If your father was a king,
And your mother queen of Nannies, still you needn’t go and spring
Over cliff and crag up yonder: it’s good enough for you
Down here, where winds are sleeping, and where green as ever grew
Is the grass that waits the cropping;
And the rippling water, slopping
Out of all the troughs full-brimming by the cave, is full in view;
And your little kids are pleading
“Come you down!”—and never heeding 50
From the steep you still are hanging, all bedraggled with the dew.
Here goes a stone to stir you! Shoo, you wilful rascal! Shoo!
Come you down, and come this minute, you nasty hornèd thing!
Don’t you hear your keeper calling, farmer Giant’s underling?
Another Satyr (to a she-goat)
Come, my pretty, to the milking; then away you skip, to meet
Your little babies, hungry to nose the heavy teat;
For you left them at the dawning, on the rushes where they lay,
And they sorely need refreshment, after sleeping all the day.
Don’t you see your little sweeting?
Can’t you hear his hungry bleating?
O leave the grassy pasture, to the folding come away! 60
Enter here, your cave is ready
Under Etna, clean and shady:—
O dear! no sign of Bacchus nor his Bacchanal array!
There’s no clashing of the cymbals, no dances reel and sway,
Nothing trickling from a wine-jar in droppings honey-sweet,
Nor beside the gushing fountains trip the Mountain-maidens’ feet.
Chorus of all the Satyrs
O Aphrodite! and O the mighty
Spell of the chant that thrilled the air, 70
When to its cadence I chased the maidens,
The Bacchanal girls, and the feet snow-fair!
O Bacchus, only-beloved, all lonely
Now, you are wandering where, ah where,
Of me unbeholden, tossing the golden
Nectar-breathing cloud of your hair?
And I, your vassal, a slave in the castle-
Dungeon of one-eyed Giant Despair,
A slave sheep-drover, with naught to cover
My limbs but a foul goat’s skin worn bare, 80
I wander, breaking my heart with aching
For my lost love far from the voice of my prayer.
Silenus
Hush, boys! Quick, tell the lads to get the flock
In haste beneath the cavern’s roof of rock.
Chorus
Look sharpthere! Where’s the hurry, father, now?
Silenus
Down on the beach I spy a Greek ship’s prow;
I see the kings o’ the oar—their captain’s there—
Come tramping towards this cave. Aha, they bear
Slung round their necks some baskets. Come to beg
For food, of course—and water; there’s the keg.
O you poor wretches! Who on earth are these?
Little they dream what hospitalities 90
Are by the master of this house bestowed,
Who tread this strangely hospitable road
Up to the doors of—Goggle-eyes’s jaw,
For right warm welcome to his cannibal maw!
Now we shall learn—if you will just keep still—
Whence come these to Sicilian Etna’s hill.
Enter Odysseus and crew.
Odysseus
Friends, can you tell us whereabouts to find
Some running water? If you’d be so kind,
Moreover, as to sell us hungry tars
Something to eat—but what, what? O my stars!
Is this the City of Bacchus that we’ve found?
Here’s quite a crowd of Satyrs standing round 100
A cave! A fatherly old party, too,
A patriarch quite—good morning, Sir, to you!
Silenus
Good morning. What’s your name and whence d’you come?
Odysseus
Odysseus—Isle-king—Ithaca’s my home.
Silenus
Ah, Sisyphus’ son! Sharp rogue, a sight too clever!
Odysseus
That’s me. You needn’t call hard names, however.
Silenus
And whence do you come to Sicily, may I ask?
Odysseus
From taking Troy—tough job, a ten years’ task.
Silenus
What, didn’t you know the way back to your door?
Odysseus
A hurricane caught us, cast us on this shore 110
Silenus
Heavens! You and I are in one boat together!
Odysseus
What? you too driven here by stress of weather?
Silenus
Pirates had kidnapped Bacchus: we gave chase.
Odysseus
H’m—what’s the land called? Who live in this place?
Silenus
That’s Etna—highest point of Sicily.
Odysseus
But—where’s the city? Never a tower I see.
Silenus
There’s none, nor any men—waste hills and lonely.
Odysseus
What, no inhabitants?—the wild beasts only?
Silenus
Cyclops—no houses—burrow in caves, like rats.
Odysseus
Who is their king?—or are they democrats?
Silenus
Shepherds—and not for nobody they don’t care. 120
Odysseus
Do they sow corn?—or what’s their daily fare?
Silenus
Milk, cheese—and the eternal mutton-chop.
Odysseus
Do they grow vines, make wine? (sees Silenus’ expression.) What, never a drop?
Silenus (with bitter emphasis)
Not—one—least—drop! No songs or dances here!
Odysseus
Hospitable? Do strangers get good cheer?
Silenus
Their special dainty is—the flesh of strangers!
Odysseus
What, what?—they’re cannibals, these desert-rangers?
Silenus
So far, they’ve butchered every man who’s come.
Odysseus
And where’s this Cyclops?—don’t say he’s at home!
Silenus
No, gone to Etna with his hounds to-day. 130
Odysseus
Do something for us: then we’ll get away.
Silenus
What is it? (unctuously) I’d do anything for you.
Odysseus
Sell us some food. They’re famished, are my crew.
Silenus
There’s nothing, as I said, save only meat.
Odysseus
Tough mutton?—h’m: well, starving men must eat.
Silenus
Cream-cheeses too, and milk—a very sea.
Odysseus
Let’s see ’em first—no pig-in-a-poke for me!
Silenus
You show your money—pay before you dine!
Odysseus
Better than money: what I’ve got here—wine!
Silenus
Wine? Blessed word—last tasted long agone! 140
Odysseus
’Twas Maron gave it me, Your Wine-god’s son.
Silenus
Dear boy!—these arms have nursed you, and here I find you!
Odysseus
Yes, Bacchus’ best brew, from his own son, mind you.
Silenus
Got the wine with you?—not in yon ship’s hold?
Odysseus
Old man, it’s in this very skin—behold!
[Shows corner of skin.
Silenus
That!—why there’s not a toothful in’t, I swear!
Odysseus
There’s twice as much as you can hold in there.
[Shows whole skin.
Silenus
Oh—h! what a fountain of delight! O sweet!
Odysseus
Have a small taste? No water in it—neat.
Silenus
Right! “Wet a bargain with a glass,” you know. 150
Odysseus
Here then:—his skinship’s got his boat in tow.
[Shows cup hanging from wine-skin.
Silenus
Quick! Trot him out: revive my memory.
I’ve clean forgot the taste of it.
Odysseus (pouring)
There—see?
Silenus
Oh—oh! I say! What a bouquet!—divine!
Odysseus
Bouquet?—d’ye see one?
Silenus
No; this nose of mine,
By Jove, can answer for it right enough.
Odysseus
Try if it’s worth your praise—just taste the stuff.
Silenus (drinks)
Oh! oh! I must dance! Bacchus sounds the note!
Odysseus
Did it slip very sweetly down your throat?
Silenus
Throat, man?—to my very toes! I feel ’em tingling.
Odysseus
I’ll pay cash too: I’ve got it ready-jingling. 160
Silenus
Wine! wine!—for money I don’t care a button.
Odysseus
All right. Fetch out your cheeses and your mutton.
Silenus
I will! For master I don’t care one fig!
So mad I am for just another swig,
That I’d sell for it all the giants’ flocks—
Ay, chuck them in the sea from yonder rocks,
If once I get well drunk, and smooth my brow
Clear of the wrinkles drawn by trouble’s plough.
The man that isn’t jolly after drinking
Is just a drivelling idiot, to my thinking.
Jolly’s no word for it!—I see a vision
Of snowy bosoms, of delights Elysian; 170
Of fingers fondling silken hair, of dancing,
Oblivion of all care!—O dream entrancing!
And shall my lips not kiss the cup whence come
Such raptures? And shall I not snap my thumb
At Goggle-eye, the blockhead, and the horrid
One eye stuck in the middle of his forehead?
[Goes off to collect the goods.
A Satyr
Look here, Odysseus; let me ask some questions.
Odysseus
Of course: from friends I welcome all suggestions.
Satyr
Did you take Troy, and capture Helen too?
Odysseus
O yes: all Priam’s house we overthrew.
Satyr
Well, when you’d caught the naughty little jade,
Didn’t each man whip out his vorpal blade, 180
And thrust her through, one after another, then,
And let her have for once her fill of men!
The baggage!—fell in love, all in a twinkle,
With Paris’s gaudy bags,[1] without a wrinkle
Fitted to his fine legs, and lost her heart
To his gold necklace! And she must depart,
And leave the best of little chaps all lonely,
Menelaus! ’Tell you what it is—if only
No woman lived, a good thing would it be—
Not one on earth—except a few for me.
Enter Silenus with satyrs bringing bowls and lambs.
Silenus
Here, king Odysseus, here they come, the lambs,
Warranted tender babes of bleating dams;
Here are the curds, and cheeses too galore. 190
Catch hold, and hurry ’em down from cave to shore.
Now for the grape’s pure soul, for Bacchus’ brew!—
O lor!—the Cyclops! Oh, what shall we do?
Odysseus
Done for, old man! Where can we run to?—where?
Silenus
Into the cave—good hiding-places there.
Odysseus
Not likely!—to walk straight into the snare!
Silenus
Quite likely. Plenty of rat-holes there, my boy.
Odysseus
Never! ’twould stain my laurels won at Troy
To run from one man. I stood under shield
Against a host of Trojans in the field. 200
If I must die, I’ll die in a blaze of glory,
Or live, and be yet more renowned in story.
Enter Cyclops. Odysseus and his men shrink away to one side. Silenus slips into cave.
Cyclops
Now then! Come, come! What’s this? What, standing round
All idle, revelling! Don’t think you have found
Your Bacchus here! No brazen clashing comes
Of cymbals here, nor thump of silly drums.
Here, how about those kids of mine, those lambs?
Are they all sucking, nuzzling at their dams?
What have you done with all the milk you drew
For cheese? Are those rush-crates brim-full?—speak, you!
Why don’t you answer? Where’s that stick?—I’ll drown 210
Your eyes with tears! Look up, and don’t look down!
Chorus (pointing their noses al the sky)
Oh, please! I’m looking at great Zeus this minute:
I see Orion’s belt, and seven stars in it.
Cyclops
And where’s my breakfast? What, not ready yet?
Chorus
Quite ready. Hope your gullet’s quite sharp-set.
Cyclops
Are the bowls ready yet for me to swig?
Chorus
Drink, if you like, a hogshead—(aside) like a pig!
Cyclops (looks at bowls)
Ewes’ milk, or cows’, or half-and-half, are these?
Chorus
Whichever you like—but don’t swig me up, please?
Cyclops
Not I! Fine rumpus would my belly feel— 220
You capering there, and going toe-and-heel! (sees Odysseus and his men.)
Hullo! what’s this here rabble at my door?
Have thieves or pirates run their ship ashore?
And what?—these lambs—they’re my lambs, taken out
From my caves, and with plaited withs about
Their bodies coiled!—what, bowls with cheeses packed?
And here’s my old man with his bald pate cracked!
Now then! Come, come! What’s this? What, standing round
All idle, revelling! Don’t think you have found
Your Bacchus here! No brazen clashing comes
Of cymbals here, nor thump of silly drums.
Here, how about those kids of mine, those lambs?
Are they all sucking, nuzzling at their dams?
What have you done with all the milk you drew
For cheese? Are those rush-crates brim-full?—speak, you!
Why don’t you answer? Where’s that stick?—I’ll drown 210
Your eyes with tears! Look up, and don’t look down!
Chorus (pointing their noses al the sky)
Oh, please! I’m looking at great Zeus this minute:
I see Orion’s belt, and seven stars in it.
Cyclops
And where’s my breakfast? What, not ready yet?
Chorus
Quite ready. Hope your gullet’s quite sharp-set.
Cyclops
Are the bowls ready yet for me to swig?
Chorus
Drink, if you like, a hogshead—(aside) like a pig!
Cyclops (looks at bowls)
Ewes’ milk, or cows’, or half-and-half, are these?
Chorus
Whichever you like—but don’t swig me up, please?
Cyclops
Not I! Fine rumpus would my belly feel— 220
You capering there, and going toe-and-heel! (sees Odysseus and his men.)
Hullo! what’s this here rabble at my door?
Have thieves or pirates run their ship ashore?
And what?—these lambs—they’re my lambs, taken out
From my caves, and with plaited withs about
Their bodies coiled!—what, bowls with cheeses packed?
And here’s my old man with his bald pate cracked!
Silenus comes out of cave, artistically made up as victim of assault and battery.
Silenus
Oh! oh! They’ve pummelled me into a fever!
Cyclops
Who? Who has punched your head, you old deceiver?
Silenus
These rogues. I tried to stop their robbing you. 230
Cyclops
What? I’m a God, a God’s son! Sure, they knew?
Silenus
Yes, I kept telling them; but still they hauled
The goods out; and they gobbled—though I bawled
“You mustn’t!”—gobbled up your cheese, and stole
All these dear little lambs; and, on my soul,
They swore they’d tie a long rope round your waist,
And rip your noble guts out, give you a taste
Of whip-lash, flay your royal back, my lord,
Of all the skin, then bind you, drag you aboard
Their ship, and tumble you into the hold,
And take you overseas, Sir, to be sold
There to some quarryman, to heave big stones,
Or grind in some corn-mill with weary bones. 240
Cyclops
Oh, did they? Just you look sharp, then, and set
A fine edge on my carving-knives, and get
A good big faggot on the hearth, and start
The fire; and these shall promptly do their part
Of filling up my crop. Hot from the embers
I’ll eat them. I’m the carver who dismembers
My game, and I’m the cook who does the boiling
And stewing here! My appetite’s been spoiling
For something of a change from one long run
Of mountain-game: my stomach’s overdone
With lion-steaks and venison. Now for a taste
Of man !—I don’t know when I ate one last.
Silenus
Yes, Master; the same dishes every day 250
Do pall, and change is pleasant, as you say;
Yes, and it’s quite an age since guests like these
Have sought your cave’s fine hospitalities.
Odysseus
Cyclops, do let the strangers make reply.
We wanted food, and so we came to buy
Some at your cave: we came from yonder ship.
And this fat rogue was ready, for a sip
Of wine, to sell these lambs: he got one drink
As earnest money, and straightway, in a wink,
He offered us the lot, of his own accord.
We never laid a finger on him, my lord.
All that he’s said to you was one big lie
To excuse his selling your goods on the sly. 260
Silenus
I?—devil take you!
Odysseus
If I’m lying now.
Silenus
By the Sea-god your father, Sir, I vow,
By mighty Triton, Nereus, Lord of Waters,
Calypso, and all Nereus’ pretty daughters,
By every holy wave that swings and swishes—
In short, by all the gods and little fishes
I swear—my beautiful! my Cyclops sweet!
My lordykin! I never sold one bleat
Of all your flocks! Else—may they go to hell,
These bad boys, whom their father loves so well!
Chorus
Go there yourself! I saw you with these eyes 270
Trading with them. And if I’m telling lies,
May father burn for ever and a day!
Sir, don’t you do the strangers wrong, I pray!
Cyclops
You’re liars! As for me, I’d sooner credit
What he says, than if Rhadamanthus said it;
I call him the more righteous of the two.
But now I’ll question this same stranger-crew:—
Where did you sail from, strangers? What’s your nation?
In what town did you get your education?
Odysseus
We’re Ithacans born and bred: from Ilium—
After destroying the city—we have come
To this your land, being driven tempest-tossed
Out of our course, Sir Cyclops, to your coast.
Cyclops
Oho! then you’re the men who went in search 280
Of Helen, who left her husband in the lurch,
And ran away to Ilium by Scamander?
Odysseus
Yes: slippery fish—hard work to hook and land her.
Cyclops (with air of virtuous indignation)
Yes—and a most disgraceful exhibition
You made of your own selves!—an expedition
To Phrygia, for one petticoat!—disgusting!
Odysseus
Don’t blame us men: it was the Gods’ on-thrusting:
But, noble son of the great Lord of Sea,
We beg you, we beseech you earnestly,—
Don’t be so cruel as to kill and feast,
With cannibal jawbones, like a godless beast,
On guests, whose claims you surely will not spurn!
Lord king, we’ve done your father a good turn: 290
We’ve saved his temples for him in every corner
Of all Greece: after this, no pirate scorner
Of holy things will smash his temple-doors
On the Taenarian haven’s peaceful shores;
And upon Malea’s height his holy fane
Is safe now, and the rocks of silver vein
On Sunium—Athena’s property,—
And on Geraestus his great sanctuary.
In fact, we put our foot down—wouldn’t stand
The intolerable reproach on Hellas-land
Brought by those Phrygian thieves. And in the fruits
Of this you share; for here by Etna’s roots,
Below his rocky lava-welling dome,
Just on the skirts of Greece you have your home.
And ’tis the law of nations (Cyclops yawns)—if I may
Ask your attention to the words I say—
To welcome suppliant castaways—indeed, 300
To give them gifts, and fresh rig-outs at need,
Not stick their limbs on great ox-roasting spits
To cram your jaws and belly with tit-bits.
Enough has Priam’s land bereaved our Hellas
By drinking blood of thousands slain, as well as
By widowing wives, and robbing grey-haired mothers
And fathers of their sons. Now, if the others,
The few survivors, are to be by you
Roasted for horrible feastings, whereunto
Shall one for justice look? Hear reason and right,
Cyclops; restrain your savage appetite: 310
Choose fear of God for godlessness! A host
Of men, in making sinful gains, have lost.
Silenus
Now just take my advice:—of this chap’s meat
Don’t leave one scrap. And if you also eat
His nice long tongue, you’ll grow as smart as he
In making speeches, and in repartee.
Cyclops
Wealth, master Shrimp, is to the truly wise
The one true god; the rest are mockeries
Of tall talk, naught but mere word-pageantries.
As for my father’s fanes by various seas,
That for them!—why d’ye talk to me of these?
And as for Zeus’s thunder—I’ve no fear 320
Of that, sir stranger! it’s by no means clear
To me that he’s a mightier god than I;
So I don’t care for him; I’ll tell you why:—
When he pours down his rain from yonder sky,
I have snug lodgings in this cave of mine.
On roasted veal or some wild game I dine,
Then drench my belly, sprawling on my back,
With a whole butt of milk. His thunder-crack—
I answer it, when he splits the clouds asunder,
With boomings of my cavern-shaking thunder.
And when the north-east wind pours down the snow,
I wrap my body round with furs, and so 330
I light my fire, and naught for snow I care.
And, willy-nilly, earth has got to bear
The grass that makes my sheep and cattle fat.
I sacrifice to my great Self, sir Sprat,
And to no god beside—except, that is,
My belly, greatest of all deities.
Eat plenty and drink plenty every day,
And never worry—that is, so I say,
The Zeus that suits a level-headed man;
But as for those who framed an artful plan
Of laws, to puzzle plain men’s lives with these—
I snap my thumb at them. I’ll never cease 340
Seeking my own soul’s good—by eating you.
And, as for guest-gifts, you shall have your due—
Oh no, I won’t be niggard!—a hot fire,
And yonder caldron, which my Sea-god sire
Will fill up with his special private brew
To make your chop-steaks into a savoury stew.
Now, toddle in, and all stand ready near
The Paunch-god’s altar, and make your host good cheer.
[Begins to drive the crew in.
Odysseus
Alas! through Trojan conflicts have I won
And perils of the sea, only to run
Aground on a godless villain’s evil will,
And on his iron-bound heart my life to spill!
O Pallas, Child of Zeus, O Heavenly Queen, 350
Help, help me now, for never have I been,
Mid all Troy’s travail, in such strait as this!
Oh, this is peril’s bottomless abyss!
O Dweller in the starry Halls of Light,
Zeus, thou Guest-champion, look upon my plight!
If thou regard not, vainly we confess
Thy godhead, Zeus, who art mere nothingness!
[Follows his men into the cave, followed by Cyclops.
Chorus
Gape wide your jaws, you one-eyed beast,
Your tiger-fangs, an’ a’ that;
Hot from the coals to make your feast
Here’s roast, an’ boiled, an’ a’ that.
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
His guid fur-rug, an’ a’ that,
He’s tearin’, champin’ flesh o’ guests!
So nane for me, for a’ that. 360
Oh! oh! They’ve pummelled me into a fever!
Cyclops
Who? Who has punched your head, you old deceiver?
Silenus
These rogues. I tried to stop their robbing you. 230
Cyclops
What? I’m a God, a God’s son! Sure, they knew?
Silenus
Yes, I kept telling them; but still they hauled
The goods out; and they gobbled—though I bawled
“You mustn’t!”—gobbled up your cheese, and stole
All these dear little lambs; and, on my soul,
They swore they’d tie a long rope round your waist,
And rip your noble guts out, give you a taste
Of whip-lash, flay your royal back, my lord,
Of all the skin, then bind you, drag you aboard
Their ship, and tumble you into the hold,
And take you overseas, Sir, to be sold
There to some quarryman, to heave big stones,
Or grind in some corn-mill with weary bones. 240
Cyclops
Oh, did they? Just you look sharp, then, and set
A fine edge on my carving-knives, and get
A good big faggot on the hearth, and start
The fire; and these shall promptly do their part
Of filling up my crop. Hot from the embers
I’ll eat them. I’m the carver who dismembers
My game, and I’m the cook who does the boiling
And stewing here! My appetite’s been spoiling
For something of a change from one long run
Of mountain-game: my stomach’s overdone
With lion-steaks and venison. Now for a taste
Of man !—I don’t know when I ate one last.
Silenus
Yes, Master; the same dishes every day 250
Do pall, and change is pleasant, as you say;
Yes, and it’s quite an age since guests like these
Have sought your cave’s fine hospitalities.
Odysseus
Cyclops, do let the strangers make reply.
We wanted food, and so we came to buy
Some at your cave: we came from yonder ship.
And this fat rogue was ready, for a sip
Of wine, to sell these lambs: he got one drink
As earnest money, and straightway, in a wink,
He offered us the lot, of his own accord.
We never laid a finger on him, my lord.
All that he’s said to you was one big lie
To excuse his selling your goods on the sly. 260
Silenus
I?—devil take you!
Odysseus
If I’m lying now.
Silenus
By the Sea-god your father, Sir, I vow,
By mighty Triton, Nereus, Lord of Waters,
Calypso, and all Nereus’ pretty daughters,
By every holy wave that swings and swishes—
In short, by all the gods and little fishes
I swear—my beautiful! my Cyclops sweet!
My lordykin! I never sold one bleat
Of all your flocks! Else—may they go to hell,
These bad boys, whom their father loves so well!
Chorus
Go there yourself! I saw you with these eyes 270
Trading with them. And if I’m telling lies,
May father burn for ever and a day!
Sir, don’t you do the strangers wrong, I pray!
Cyclops
You’re liars! As for me, I’d sooner credit
What he says, than if Rhadamanthus said it;
I call him the more righteous of the two.
But now I’ll question this same stranger-crew:—
Where did you sail from, strangers? What’s your nation?
In what town did you get your education?
Odysseus
We’re Ithacans born and bred: from Ilium—
After destroying the city—we have come
To this your land, being driven tempest-tossed
Out of our course, Sir Cyclops, to your coast.
Cyclops
Oho! then you’re the men who went in search 280
Of Helen, who left her husband in the lurch,
And ran away to Ilium by Scamander?
Odysseus
Yes: slippery fish—hard work to hook and land her.
Cyclops (with air of virtuous indignation)
Yes—and a most disgraceful exhibition
You made of your own selves!—an expedition
To Phrygia, for one petticoat!—disgusting!
Odysseus
Don’t blame us men: it was the Gods’ on-thrusting:
But, noble son of the great Lord of Sea,
We beg you, we beseech you earnestly,—
Don’t be so cruel as to kill and feast,
With cannibal jawbones, like a godless beast,
On guests, whose claims you surely will not spurn!
Lord king, we’ve done your father a good turn: 290
We’ve saved his temples for him in every corner
Of all Greece: after this, no pirate scorner
Of holy things will smash his temple-doors
On the Taenarian haven’s peaceful shores;
And upon Malea’s height his holy fane
Is safe now, and the rocks of silver vein
On Sunium—Athena’s property,—
And on Geraestus his great sanctuary.
In fact, we put our foot down—wouldn’t stand
The intolerable reproach on Hellas-land
Brought by those Phrygian thieves. And in the fruits
Of this you share; for here by Etna’s roots,
Below his rocky lava-welling dome,
Just on the skirts of Greece you have your home.
And ’tis the law of nations (Cyclops yawns)—if I may
Ask your attention to the words I say—
To welcome suppliant castaways—indeed, 300
To give them gifts, and fresh rig-outs at need,
Not stick their limbs on great ox-roasting spits
To cram your jaws and belly with tit-bits.
Enough has Priam’s land bereaved our Hellas
By drinking blood of thousands slain, as well as
By widowing wives, and robbing grey-haired mothers
And fathers of their sons. Now, if the others,
The few survivors, are to be by you
Roasted for horrible feastings, whereunto
Shall one for justice look? Hear reason and right,
Cyclops; restrain your savage appetite: 310
Choose fear of God for godlessness! A host
Of men, in making sinful gains, have lost.
Silenus
Now just take my advice:—of this chap’s meat
Don’t leave one scrap. And if you also eat
His nice long tongue, you’ll grow as smart as he
In making speeches, and in repartee.
Cyclops
Wealth, master Shrimp, is to the truly wise
The one true god; the rest are mockeries
Of tall talk, naught but mere word-pageantries.
As for my father’s fanes by various seas,
That for them!—why d’ye talk to me of these?
And as for Zeus’s thunder—I’ve no fear 320
Of that, sir stranger! it’s by no means clear
To me that he’s a mightier god than I;
So I don’t care for him; I’ll tell you why:—
When he pours down his rain from yonder sky,
I have snug lodgings in this cave of mine.
On roasted veal or some wild game I dine,
Then drench my belly, sprawling on my back,
With a whole butt of milk. His thunder-crack—
I answer it, when he splits the clouds asunder,
With boomings of my cavern-shaking thunder.
And when the north-east wind pours down the snow,
I wrap my body round with furs, and so 330
I light my fire, and naught for snow I care.
And, willy-nilly, earth has got to bear
The grass that makes my sheep and cattle fat.
I sacrifice to my great Self, sir Sprat,
And to no god beside—except, that is,
My belly, greatest of all deities.
Eat plenty and drink plenty every day,
And never worry—that is, so I say,
The Zeus that suits a level-headed man;
But as for those who framed an artful plan
Of laws, to puzzle plain men’s lives with these—
I snap my thumb at them. I’ll never cease 340
Seeking my own soul’s good—by eating you.
And, as for guest-gifts, you shall have your due—
Oh no, I won’t be niggard!—a hot fire,
And yonder caldron, which my Sea-god sire
Will fill up with his special private brew
To make your chop-steaks into a savoury stew.
Now, toddle in, and all stand ready near
The Paunch-god’s altar, and make your host good cheer.
[Begins to drive the crew in.
Odysseus
Alas! through Trojan conflicts have I won
And perils of the sea, only to run
Aground on a godless villain’s evil will,
And on his iron-bound heart my life to spill!
O Pallas, Child of Zeus, O Heavenly Queen, 350
Help, help me now, for never have I been,
Mid all Troy’s travail, in such strait as this!
Oh, this is peril’s bottomless abyss!
O Dweller in the starry Halls of Light,
Zeus, thou Guest-champion, look upon my plight!
If thou regard not, vainly we confess
Thy godhead, Zeus, who art mere nothingness!
[Follows his men into the cave, followed by Cyclops.
Chorus
Gape wide your jaws, you one-eyed beast,
Your tiger-fangs, an’ a’ that;
Hot from the coals to make your feast
Here’s roast, an’ boiled, an’ a’ that.
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
His guid fur-rug, an’ a’ that,
He’s tearin’, champin’ flesh o’ guests!
So nane for me, for a’ that. 360
Ay, paddle your ain canoe, One-eye,
Wi’ bluidy oars, an’ a’ that;
Your impious hall, I pass it by !
I cry “avaunt!” for a’ that.
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
Your “Etna Halls,” an’ a’ that,
You joy in gorgin’ strangers’ flesh!
Awa’ wi’ ye, for a’ that!
Wi’ bluidy oars, an’ a’ that;
Your impious hall, I pass it by !
I cry “avaunt!” for a’ that.
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
Your “Etna Halls,” an’ a’ that,
You joy in gorgin’ strangers’ flesh!
Awa’ wi’ ye, for a’ that!
A heartless wretch is he, whoe’er,
When shipwrecked men, an’ a’ that,
Draw nigh his hearth wi’ suppliant prayer, 370
Slays, eats them up, an’ a’ that.
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
His stews an’ steaks, an’ a’ that,
His teeth are foul wi’ flesh o’ man!
He’s damned to hell, for a’ that!
Enter Odysseus from cave.
Odysseus
Oh God, that cave!—that mine eyes should behold
Horrors incredible, things that might be told
In nightmare demon-legends, never found
In acts of men!
Chorus
What is it? Has that hound
Of hell yet feasted on your friends, poor man?
Odysseus
Yes, two. He glared on all; then he began
To weigh them in his hands, to find out who
Were fattest and best-nourished of my crew! 380
Chorus
Poor soul! How did your sufferings befall?
Odysseus
When in yon dungeon he had herded all,
He kindled first a fire, and then hurled down
On that broad hearth a tall oak’s branching crown,
A mass of wood three waggons scarce could bear;
Then he spread out, hard by the red flame’s glare,
A deep broad bed of fallen leaves of pine.
Next, with the milk he drew from all his kine
He filled a ninety-gallon cask: beside
This tank he set a bowl some five feet wide, 390
And, by the looks, ’twas more than two yards deep;
Then round his brazen caldron made flames leap,
Next, got his spits out, limbs of blackthorn roughly
Trimmed with a bill, the points fire-hardened toughly;
Then, bowls to hold the blood made forth to well
By cleavers of this fiend of Etna’s hell.
When all was ready for this devil-cook
God-hated, with a sudden snatch he took
Two of my comrades, and, as one might beat
A hideous music out, so did he treat
These in the killing: one man’s head he swung
Against the caldron’s brass that hollow rung;
By the heel-sinew he gripped the other, dashed 400
The wretch against a sharp rock-spur, and splashed
His brains all round: then with swift savage knife
Sliced off the flesh yet quivering with life:
He set some o’er the fire on spits to broil,
And into his caldron flung whole limbs to boil,
Then I—oh misery!—shedding tear on tear
To wait upon this Cyclop fiend drew near;
While all the rest in crannies of the rock
With bloodless faces cowered, like a flock
Of scared birds. When he had gorged himself at last
With my friends’ flesh, he flung him down; a blast
Of foul breath from his throat burst loathsomely. 410
When shipwrecked men, an’ a’ that,
Draw nigh his hearth wi’ suppliant prayer, 370
Slays, eats them up, an’ a’ that.
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
His stews an’ steaks, an’ a’ that,
His teeth are foul wi’ flesh o’ man!
He’s damned to hell, for a’ that!
Enter Odysseus from cave.
Odysseus
Oh God, that cave!—that mine eyes should behold
Horrors incredible, things that might be told
In nightmare demon-legends, never found
In acts of men!
Chorus
What is it? Has that hound
Of hell yet feasted on your friends, poor man?
Odysseus
Yes, two. He glared on all; then he began
To weigh them in his hands, to find out who
Were fattest and best-nourished of my crew! 380
Chorus
Poor soul! How did your sufferings befall?
Odysseus
When in yon dungeon he had herded all,
He kindled first a fire, and then hurled down
On that broad hearth a tall oak’s branching crown,
A mass of wood three waggons scarce could bear;
Then he spread out, hard by the red flame’s glare,
A deep broad bed of fallen leaves of pine.
Next, with the milk he drew from all his kine
He filled a ninety-gallon cask: beside
This tank he set a bowl some five feet wide, 390
And, by the looks, ’twas more than two yards deep;
Then round his brazen caldron made flames leap,
Next, got his spits out, limbs of blackthorn roughly
Trimmed with a bill, the points fire-hardened toughly;
Then, bowls to hold the blood made forth to well
By cleavers of this fiend of Etna’s hell.
When all was ready for this devil-cook
God-hated, with a sudden snatch he took
Two of my comrades, and, as one might beat
A hideous music out, so did he treat
These in the killing: one man’s head he swung
Against the caldron’s brass that hollow rung;
By the heel-sinew he gripped the other, dashed 400
The wretch against a sharp rock-spur, and splashed
His brains all round: then with swift savage knife
Sliced off the flesh yet quivering with life:
He set some o’er the fire on spits to broil,
And into his caldron flung whole limbs to boil,
Then I—oh misery!—shedding tear on tear
To wait upon this Cyclop fiend drew near;
While all the rest in crannies of the rock
With bloodless faces cowered, like a flock
Of scared birds. When he had gorged himself at last
With my friends’ flesh, he flung him down; a blast
Of foul breath from his throat burst loathsomely. 410
Then a great inspiration came to me:
With Maron’s mighty wine I filled a cup,
And offered it, saying, as I held it up,
“Son of the Sea-king, Cyclops, taste and know
What heavenly draughts from vines of Hellas flow.
This is the glory of our Vineyard-lord.”
And he, gorged with that banqueting abhorred,
Took it, and swilled it all down at one draught.
Up went his praising hands: “Dear, guest,” he laughed,
“With glorious drink you crown a glorious feast!”
So, when I saw how much it pleased the beast, 420
I filled his cup again, for well I knew
The wine would trip him up, and full soon too
Would give me my revenge. And now he roared
Forth into singing: still I poured and poured
Cup after cup, till glowed his villain bowels
With that good liquor. Dissonant rang his howls
By my men’s moans and sobs, and all about
The cavern echoed. I have stolen out,
And mean, if you are willing, to rescue you
And myself too. Say, what d’you mean to do?
Do you, or do you not, consent to flee
From this inhospitable brute, and be
Dwellers henceforth in Bacchus’ halls afar—
Where also the sweet Fountain-maidens are? 430
Your father in there—well, he did approve;
But he’s too weak to help: he’s fallen in love,
Moreover, with the wine, can think of naught
But trying to get his share. His wings are caught,
As if with birdlime, by the cup: his wit
Is all abroad. But you are young and fit:
Escape with me, and meet your dear old lord
Dionysus—how unlike yon brute abhorred!
Chorus
O dearest friend, that I might flee away
From godless Goggle-eye, and see that day!
The pipe of pleasure has for long been pining,
For on no dainty things have I been dining. 440
Odysseus
Hear then, the vengeance that it’s in my mind
To wreak upon that scoundrel beast, and find
Therein your own escape from slavery.
Chorus
O speak! Not more delightfully to me
The music of an Indian harp would sound
Than tidings of his death—the Cyclop hound!
Odysseus
He wants to go forth, full of wine and glee,
To his brother Cyclops for wild revelry.
Chorus
I see—you ambush him in some lone copse,
Or,—one sly push, and over the cliff he drops.
Odysseus
No, no; my trick is artfuller by far.
Chorus
What? Long ago I heard how ’cute you are, 450
Odysseus
I’ll put him off this revel-game; I’ll say
He shouldn’t give such wine as this away
To his fellow-beasts, but keep it, only thinking
Of having a high old time of private drinking.
And, when he’s sleeping, Bacchus’ captive, then—
A stake of olive lies in yonder den:
My sword shall shape to a point yon bit of tree;
Ill thrust it in the fire; and when I see
That it is well ablaze, I’ll whip the thing
Out, and all glowing-red I’ll slip the thing
Into the middle of Master Cyclops’ eye,
And melt his vision out with fire thereby.
And, just as shipwrights fitting beams together 460
Will twirl the big drill with long straps of leather,
So in this fellow’s eye I’ll twirl about
My firebrand till I scorch his eyeball out.
Chorus
Callooh! Callay!
I’m glad—I’m mad with joy at your invention!
Odysseus
Then in my black ship it is my intention
To put your father, you, and my friends freed:
Then with oars double-manned away we speed.
Chorus
And in the handling of this burning brand
That scoops his eye out, can’t I bear a hand,
Just as in sacrifices all have part? 470
I’ll take my little share with all my heart.
Odysseus
O yes, you must: the brand is monstrous great,
And all must help at it.
Chorus
I’d lift a weight
Enough for a hundred carts, if so I might,
As one burns out a wasps’ nest, quench the light
Of One-eye—damn him down to lowest hell!
Odysseus
Now, mum’s the word! You know the trick right well;
So, when I call on you, do you obey
The master-mind—that’s me. No running away
For me, to save myself, and leave my crew
Inside! I might escape: I got clear through 480
A tunnel in the rock with small ado,
But—give my friends the slip, with whom I came
Here, and escape alone!—’twould be a shame!
[Exit into cave.
Chorus
O who, and O who will come and take his stand,
And grip the shaft and plunge beneath his brow the glowing brand?
And it’s O, but a Cyclop with eye on fire is grand!
[Sound of singing in cave]
O hush, and O hush! for he howls a drunken song,
A hideous discord bellowed by an unmelodious tongue.
And it’s O, but his music shall turn to wails ere long! 490
He comes, O he comes; he has left his cave behind.
Some revel-song adapted to his thick head let us find.
And it’s O, but for certain he’ll very soon be blind.
With Maron’s mighty wine I filled a cup,
And offered it, saying, as I held it up,
“Son of the Sea-king, Cyclops, taste and know
What heavenly draughts from vines of Hellas flow.
This is the glory of our Vineyard-lord.”
And he, gorged with that banqueting abhorred,
Took it, and swilled it all down at one draught.
Up went his praising hands: “Dear, guest,” he laughed,
“With glorious drink you crown a glorious feast!”
So, when I saw how much it pleased the beast, 420
I filled his cup again, for well I knew
The wine would trip him up, and full soon too
Would give me my revenge. And now he roared
Forth into singing: still I poured and poured
Cup after cup, till glowed his villain bowels
With that good liquor. Dissonant rang his howls
By my men’s moans and sobs, and all about
The cavern echoed. I have stolen out,
And mean, if you are willing, to rescue you
And myself too. Say, what d’you mean to do?
Do you, or do you not, consent to flee
From this inhospitable brute, and be
Dwellers henceforth in Bacchus’ halls afar—
Where also the sweet Fountain-maidens are? 430
Your father in there—well, he did approve;
But he’s too weak to help: he’s fallen in love,
Moreover, with the wine, can think of naught
But trying to get his share. His wings are caught,
As if with birdlime, by the cup: his wit
Is all abroad. But you are young and fit:
Escape with me, and meet your dear old lord
Dionysus—how unlike yon brute abhorred!
Chorus
O dearest friend, that I might flee away
From godless Goggle-eye, and see that day!
The pipe of pleasure has for long been pining,
For on no dainty things have I been dining. 440
Odysseus
Hear then, the vengeance that it’s in my mind
To wreak upon that scoundrel beast, and find
Therein your own escape from slavery.
Chorus
O speak! Not more delightfully to me
The music of an Indian harp would sound
Than tidings of his death—the Cyclop hound!
Odysseus
He wants to go forth, full of wine and glee,
To his brother Cyclops for wild revelry.
Chorus
I see—you ambush him in some lone copse,
Or,—one sly push, and over the cliff he drops.
Odysseus
No, no; my trick is artfuller by far.
Chorus
What? Long ago I heard how ’cute you are, 450
Odysseus
I’ll put him off this revel-game; I’ll say
He shouldn’t give such wine as this away
To his fellow-beasts, but keep it, only thinking
Of having a high old time of private drinking.
And, when he’s sleeping, Bacchus’ captive, then—
A stake of olive lies in yonder den:
My sword shall shape to a point yon bit of tree;
Ill thrust it in the fire; and when I see
That it is well ablaze, I’ll whip the thing
Out, and all glowing-red I’ll slip the thing
Into the middle of Master Cyclops’ eye,
And melt his vision out with fire thereby.
And, just as shipwrights fitting beams together 460
Will twirl the big drill with long straps of leather,
So in this fellow’s eye I’ll twirl about
My firebrand till I scorch his eyeball out.
Chorus
Callooh! Callay!
I’m glad—I’m mad with joy at your invention!
Odysseus
Then in my black ship it is my intention
To put your father, you, and my friends freed:
Then with oars double-manned away we speed.
Chorus
And in the handling of this burning brand
That scoops his eye out, can’t I bear a hand,
Just as in sacrifices all have part? 470
I’ll take my little share with all my heart.
Odysseus
O yes, you must: the brand is monstrous great,
And all must help at it.
Chorus
I’d lift a weight
Enough for a hundred carts, if so I might,
As one burns out a wasps’ nest, quench the light
Of One-eye—damn him down to lowest hell!
Odysseus
Now, mum’s the word! You know the trick right well;
So, when I call on you, do you obey
The master-mind—that’s me. No running away
For me, to save myself, and leave my crew
Inside! I might escape: I got clear through 480
A tunnel in the rock with small ado,
But—give my friends the slip, with whom I came
Here, and escape alone!—’twould be a shame!
[Exit into cave.
Chorus
O who, and O who will come and take his stand,
And grip the shaft and plunge beneath his brow the glowing brand?
And it’s O, but a Cyclop with eye on fire is grand!
[Sound of singing in cave]
O hush, and O hush! for he howls a drunken song,
A hideous discord bellowed by an unmelodious tongue.
And it’s O, but his music shall turn to wails ere long! 490
He comes, O he comes; he has left his cave behind.
Some revel-song adapted to his thick head let us find.
And it’s O, but for certain he’ll very soon be blind.
Enter Cyclops with Odysseus and Silenus.
O bliss to be chanting the Song of the Wine,
When the cluster’s fountain is flowing,
When your soul floats forth on the revel divine,
And your love in your arms is glowing,
When you play with the odorous golden hair
Of a fairy-like sweet wee love, 500
And you murmur through shining curls the prayer—
“Unlock love’s door unto me, love!”’
When the cluster’s fountain is flowing,
When your soul floats forth on the revel divine,
And your love in your arms is glowing,
When you play with the odorous golden hair
Of a fairy-like sweet wee love, 500
And you murmur through shining curls the prayer—
“Unlock love’s door unto me, love!”’
Cyclops
Oho! Oho! I am full of good drink,
Full of glee from a good feast’s revel!
I’m a ship that is laden till ready to sink
Right up to my crop’s deck-level!
The jolly spring season is tempting me out
To dance on the meadow-clover
With my Cyclop brothers in revel-rout!—
Here, hand the wine-skin over: 510
Oho! Oho! I am full of good drink,
Full of glee from a good feast’s revel!
I’m a ship that is laden till ready to sink
Right up to my crop’s deck-level!
The jolly spring season is tempting me out
To dance on the meadow-clover
With my Cyclop brothers in revel-rout!—
Here, hand the wine-skin over: 510
Chorus[2]
With eyes lit up with the love-light’s spell
From his halls is the bridegroom pacing,—
“O, somebody loves me, but I won’t tell!”—
And the bridal-torch is blazing.
O the warm warm clasp of a glowing bride
In the cave, and the fervid bosom!
O the garland of roses and paeonies pied
That around thy brows shall blossom!
[Cyclops staggers into cave, with Silenus under his arm.]
With eyes lit up with the love-light’s spell
From his halls is the bridegroom pacing,—
“O, somebody loves me, but I won’t tell!”—
And the bridal-torch is blazing.
O the warm warm clasp of a glowing bride
In the cave, and the fervid bosom!
O the garland of roses and paeonies pied
That around thy brows shall blossom!
Odysseus
Cyclops, heed me, for I know all about
This Wine-god in the cup that you've drained out. 520
Cyclops
Who is this Bacchus?—not a real god, is he?
Odysseus
In giving men good times there’s none so busy.
Cyclops
I belch him out, and find that very pleasant.
Odysseus
That’s him—hurts nobody—it shows he’s present.
Cyclops
How does this god like lodging in a skin?
Odysseus
He’s all serene, wherever you stick him in.
Cyclops
Gods shouldn’t wear hide-jackets: that’s my view.
Odysseus
Pho! if you like him, what’s his coat to you?
Cyclops
Can’t say I like the skin: the drink is prime.
Odysseus
Now just stop here, and have a high old time. 530
Cyclops
What?—give my brethren none of this rich hoard?
Odysseus
Keep it for your own drinking, like a lord.
Cyclops
But it’s more neighbourly to share with friends.
Odysseus
Well, revelling in blows and brawling ends.
Cyclops
I’m drunk; but none dare touch me! I’m all right.
Odysseus
My dear Sir, home’s the place when one is tight.
Cyclops
Not revel after a booze?—that’s silly, very!
Odysseus
Wise men stay indoors when wine makes them merry.
Cyclops
Shall I stay in, Silenus? What d’ye think?
Silenus
Stay. Why have other noses in your drink? 540
Cyclops
Well, to be sure, this long thick grass is fine.
Silenus
Yes, and it’s nice to drink in warm sunshine.
Down with you then, in lordly ease to lie.
[Slides wine-bowl behind Cyclops’ back.
Cyclops
Now then, you've put that bowl behind me!—why?
Silenus
Lest some one passing by us might upset it.
Cyclops
Ha, I know better! You are trying to get it
For stolen drinks. Just set it in full view.
Now, stranger, what’s to be my name for you?
Odysseus
Nobody. Haven't you a gift for me
To bless you for?
Cyclops
Of all your company
I’ll feast on you the last.
Silenus
O Cyclops, best 550
Of hosts, a noble gift you give your guest!
(stealthily drinks.)
Cyclops
Ah! what are you up to?—drinking on the sly!
Silenus
No, no: the wine kissed me, so fair am I.
Cyclops
I’ll teach you, if you make love to the wine
Which loves you not!
Silenus
It does: these charms of mine,
It says, have won its heart.
Cyclops
Here, fill the cup.
Pour in—up to the brim. Now, hand it up.
Silenus
Is it the proper mixture?—let me see.
(stoops his face lo bowl.)
Cyclops
You’ll be the death of me! Quick, hand it me
Just as it is!
Silenus
(puts wreath on Cyclops’ head, so as to cover his eye.)
By Jove, no! I must first
Crown with this wreath your brow, and—quench my thirst. (drinks.)
Cyclops
You thieving cupbearer!
Silenus
Good heavens! not so. 560
You should say, “You delicious wine!” you know.
Now let me wipe your nose, that you may sip
Your wine genteelly.
Cyclops
Go along! my lip
And my moustache are clean enough for me.
Silenus
Now sink down on your elbow gracefully;
(Cyclops rolls on his back.)
Then drain the cup, just as you see me do—
I mean, just as you don’t. (takes a big drink.)
Cyclops (sitting up)
Hi! stop there, you!
What are you up to?
Silenus
A bumper! Joys untold!
Cyclops
Here, stranger, be my cupbearer. Catch hold!
Odysseus
The wine knows me: my hand brings out its savour.
Cyclops
Fill up.
Odysseus
All right. Don’t talk—you’ll miss the flavour,
Cyclops
Can’t help but talk, with a pailful in one’s crop.
Odysseus
Here, tip it off. Mind, don’t you leave one drop. 570
The rule is, don’t give in until the wine
Gives out.
Cyclops (drinks.)
Oh my! a clever tree that vine
Must be!
Odysseus
And if you pour full bumpers down
On top of a full meal, and fairly drown
The thirst out of your paunch, ’twill veil your eye
With sweet sleep. If the cup be not drained dry,
Bacchus will parch your throat most damnably.
Cyclops (buries his face in bowl.)
Oho! oho! I’ve dived deep into this,
And just come up again! Unmingled bliss!
I see heaven floating down, blended in one
With earth below! I see Zeus on his throne,
And all the Gods, the holy heavenly faces! 580
No, I won't kiss you!—that’s the naughty Graces
Tempting me. Ganymede will do for me! (seizes Sil.)
I’ve got him here; and, by the Graces Three,
I’ll have a lovely time with him: I care
Never a straw for all the female fair.
Silenus
What? what? Are you Zeus, and I Ganymede?
Cyclops (catching him up)
Yes!—up from Troy I snatch you—yes indeed!
Silenus
Boys! murder! help! I’m in an awful plight!
Chorus
What?—scorn your lover?—snub him’ cause he’s tight?
Silenus
This wine is bitter beer!—O cursèd spite!
Cyclops, heed me, for I know all about
This Wine-god in the cup that you've drained out. 520
Cyclops
Who is this Bacchus?—not a real god, is he?
Odysseus
In giving men good times there’s none so busy.
Cyclops
I belch him out, and find that very pleasant.
Odysseus
That’s him—hurts nobody—it shows he’s present.
Cyclops
How does this god like lodging in a skin?
Odysseus
He’s all serene, wherever you stick him in.
Cyclops
Gods shouldn’t wear hide-jackets: that’s my view.
Odysseus
Pho! if you like him, what’s his coat to you?
Cyclops
Can’t say I like the skin: the drink is prime.
Odysseus
Now just stop here, and have a high old time. 530
Cyclops
What?—give my brethren none of this rich hoard?
Odysseus
Keep it for your own drinking, like a lord.
Cyclops
But it’s more neighbourly to share with friends.
Odysseus
Well, revelling in blows and brawling ends.
Cyclops
I’m drunk; but none dare touch me! I’m all right.
Odysseus
My dear Sir, home’s the place when one is tight.
Cyclops
Not revel after a booze?—that’s silly, very!
Odysseus
Wise men stay indoors when wine makes them merry.
Cyclops
Shall I stay in, Silenus? What d’ye think?
Silenus
Stay. Why have other noses in your drink? 540
Cyclops
Well, to be sure, this long thick grass is fine.
Silenus
Yes, and it’s nice to drink in warm sunshine.
Down with you then, in lordly ease to lie.
[Slides wine-bowl behind Cyclops’ back.
Cyclops
Now then, you've put that bowl behind me!—why?
Silenus
Lest some one passing by us might upset it.
Cyclops
Ha, I know better! You are trying to get it
For stolen drinks. Just set it in full view.
Now, stranger, what’s to be my name for you?
Odysseus
Nobody. Haven't you a gift for me
To bless you for?
Cyclops
Of all your company
I’ll feast on you the last.
Silenus
O Cyclops, best 550
Of hosts, a noble gift you give your guest!
(stealthily drinks.)
Cyclops
Ah! what are you up to?—drinking on the sly!
Silenus
No, no: the wine kissed me, so fair am I.
Cyclops
I’ll teach you, if you make love to the wine
Which loves you not!
Silenus
It does: these charms of mine,
It says, have won its heart.
Cyclops
Here, fill the cup.
Pour in—up to the brim. Now, hand it up.
Silenus
Is it the proper mixture?—let me see.
(stoops his face lo bowl.)
Cyclops
You’ll be the death of me! Quick, hand it me
Just as it is!
Silenus
(puts wreath on Cyclops’ head, so as to cover his eye.)
By Jove, no! I must first
Crown with this wreath your brow, and—quench my thirst. (drinks.)
Cyclops
You thieving cupbearer!
Silenus
Good heavens! not so. 560
You should say, “You delicious wine!” you know.
Now let me wipe your nose, that you may sip
Your wine genteelly.
Cyclops
Go along! my lip
And my moustache are clean enough for me.
Silenus
Now sink down on your elbow gracefully;
(Cyclops rolls on his back.)
Then drain the cup, just as you see me do—
I mean, just as you don’t. (takes a big drink.)
Cyclops (sitting up)
Hi! stop there, you!
What are you up to?
Silenus
A bumper! Joys untold!
Cyclops
Here, stranger, be my cupbearer. Catch hold!
Odysseus
The wine knows me: my hand brings out its savour.
Cyclops
Fill up.
Odysseus
All right. Don’t talk—you’ll miss the flavour,
Cyclops
Can’t help but talk, with a pailful in one’s crop.
Odysseus
Here, tip it off. Mind, don’t you leave one drop. 570
The rule is, don’t give in until the wine
Gives out.
Cyclops (drinks.)
Oh my! a clever tree that vine
Must be!
Odysseus
And if you pour full bumpers down
On top of a full meal, and fairly drown
The thirst out of your paunch, ’twill veil your eye
With sweet sleep. If the cup be not drained dry,
Bacchus will parch your throat most damnably.
Cyclops (buries his face in bowl.)
Oho! oho! I’ve dived deep into this,
And just come up again! Unmingled bliss!
I see heaven floating down, blended in one
With earth below! I see Zeus on his throne,
And all the Gods, the holy heavenly faces! 580
No, I won't kiss you!—that’s the naughty Graces
Tempting me. Ganymede will do for me! (seizes Sil.)
I’ve got him here; and, by the Graces Three,
I’ll have a lovely time with him: I care
Never a straw for all the female fair.
Silenus
What? what? Are you Zeus, and I Ganymede?
Cyclops (catching him up)
Yes!—up from Troy I snatch you—yes indeed!
Silenus
Boys! murder! help! I’m in an awful plight!
Chorus
What?—scorn your lover?—snub him’ cause he’s tight?
Silenus
This wine is bitter beer!—O cursèd spite!
Odysseus
Come, Bacchus’ children, brave lads, up, be doing! 590
Our foe’s in there! Right soon will he be spewing
Gobbets of flesh from a shameless gullet deep,
Sprawling upon his back in drunken sleep.
The stake in there jets forth a fiery fume.
All’s ready for the last act, to consume
The Cyclops’ eye with fire. Be men!
Chorus
We pant
To show a soul of rock, of adamant!
In then, before our father come to grief.
We’re ready all to follow you, our chief.
Odysseus
O Fire-god, king of Etna, burn away
The eye of thy vile neighbour, and for aye 600
Rid thee of him! O child of black Night, Sleep,
On this god-hated brute in full power leap!
Bring not Odysseus and his crew to naught,
After those glorious toils in Ilium wrought,
Through one who gives to God nor man a thought!
Else must we think that Chance bears rule in heaven,
That lordship over Gods to her is given.
[Exit into cave.
Chorus
As I cam’ through a cave’s gate,
A slaves’ gate, a knave’s gate,
A “Shipwrecked Sailors’ Grave’s” gate, 610
I heard a caldron sing—
“O weel may the fire glow, the reek blow, the stake go!
O weel may his throat crow for the eye that flames are in!”
And it’s O for my Lord’s shout ringing,
For the singing, the swinging
Dance, for the ivy clinging!
And good-bye to the desolate shore! 620
So weel may the wine flow, and lay low our brute foe,
To wake up in mad throe, in darkness evermore!
Come, Bacchus’ children, brave lads, up, be doing! 590
Our foe’s in there! Right soon will he be spewing
Gobbets of flesh from a shameless gullet deep,
Sprawling upon his back in drunken sleep.
The stake in there jets forth a fiery fume.
All’s ready for the last act, to consume
The Cyclops’ eye with fire. Be men!
Chorus
We pant
To show a soul of rock, of adamant!
In then, before our father come to grief.
We’re ready all to follow you, our chief.
Odysseus
O Fire-god, king of Etna, burn away
The eye of thy vile neighbour, and for aye 600
Rid thee of him! O child of black Night, Sleep,
On this god-hated brute in full power leap!
Bring not Odysseus and his crew to naught,
After those glorious toils in Ilium wrought,
Through one who gives to God nor man a thought!
Else must we think that Chance bears rule in heaven,
That lordship over Gods to her is given.
[Exit into cave.
Chorus
As I cam’ through a cave’s gate,
A slaves’ gate, a knave’s gate,
A “Shipwrecked Sailors’ Grave’s” gate, 610
I heard a caldron sing—
“O weel may the fire glow, the reek blow, the stake go!
O weel may his throat crow for the eye that flames are in!”
And it’s O for my Lord’s shout ringing,
For the singing, the swinging
Dance, for the ivy clinging!
And good-bye to the desolate shore! 620
So weel may the wine flow, and lay low our brute foe,
To wake up in mad throe, in darkness evermore!
Re-enter Odysseus from cave.
Odysseus
Hush, you wild things, for Heaven’s sake!—still as death!
Shut your lips tight together!—not a breath!
Don’t wink, don’t cough, for fear the beast should wake
Ere we twist out his eye with that red stake.
Chorus
We are mum: we clench our teeth tight on the air.
Odysseus
Now then, in with you! Grasp the brand in there 630
With brave hands: glowing red-hot is the tip.
Chorus (edging away)
You, please, appoint who must be first to grip
The burning stake, and scorch out Cyclops’ eye,
That all may share the grand chance equally.
A Satyr
Oh, we—too far outside the door we are!—
Can’t reach his eye—can’t poke the fire so far.
Another Satyr
And we—O dear, we’ve fallen lame just now!
Another Satyr
And so have we: we’ve sprained—I can’t tell how—
Our ankles, standing here. Oh my poor foot!
Odysseus
Sprained standing still?
Another Satyr
Oh dear! a lot of soot, 640
Or dust, into our eyes the wind has brought!
Odysseus
The cowards! At a pinch they’re good for naught!
Chorus
Because I have compassion on my back,
And don’t want all my teeth by one big smack
Knocked down my throat, d’ye call that cowardice?
Look here—I know a song of Orpheus’s,
A lovely incantation! ’twill constrain
The stake to plunge itself into his brain,
And burn the giant’s eye out—a grand song!
Odysseus
Poor chicken-hearts! I knew you all along.
I’ll do what’s better; use my trusty crew— 650
Indeed I’ve no choice. There’s no fight in you:
Still, cheer us on with some good rousing chanty,
And screw to the sticking-point our courage, can’t ye?
[Enters cave.
Chorus
Instead of the tongs, sir, dear pussy’s paw, sir, will get my chestnuts out very well;
But, as far as a song, sir, can go, old Saucer-eye shall frizzle in flames of hell.
So yeo-heave-ho! and in she’ll go!
Give way, my hearties! Put your backs to it! Stick to the work!—
A brave tar’s part is to stick like wax to it—never a shirk!
Burn out his eye, sir, the gormandizer,
Who goes and fries, sir, the trustful stranger!
With a red-hot poker make him a smoker
Like Etna—the soaker, the sheepwalk-ranger! 660
Odysseus and his men bring the burning stake, and plunge it into the Cyclops’ eye.
In you go quick with it!—twirl it about!
You’ve done the trick with it!—now whip it out
Ere he catch you a lick with it, a terrible clout;
For he feels pretty sick with it—of that there’s no doubt.
Cyclops (starting up)
Ah-h! my eye’s turned to a red-hot coal! Oh my!
Chorus
Well sung! Encore! Encore, old Saucer-eye!
Cyclops
Oh! blackguard villains! Oh! They’ve done for me!
Don’t think to escape, you paltry rascalry,
Out of this cave, and laugh at me! I’ll stand
Here, barring the only door with either hand.
Chorus
Why bawl so, Goggle-eye?
Cyclops
I’m kilt intirely!
Chorus
You do look bad.
Cyclops
What’s more, I feel so—direly! 670
Chorus
You fell face down in the fire when you were tight?
Cyclops
No!—Nobody’s killed me!
Chorus
No?—then you’re all right.
Cyclops
Nobody’s blinded me!
Chorus
Then you can’t be blind.
Cyclops
I wish you were!
Chorus
Please make it to my mind
Quite clear, how nobody could poke your eye out,
Cyclops
You're chaffing me! Where’s Nobody?
Chorus
Don’t cry out,
Because he’s nowhere, Blunderbore—don’t you see?
Cyclops
I tell you again, that stranger’s murdered me,
The dirty spalpeen, who drenched me with drink!
Chorus
Ah, wine’s the chap to trip your legs, I think.
Cyclops
For Heaven's sake tell me—are they still inside?
Or have they got away?
Chorus
They're trying to hide 680
Under that rock-ledge: they stand silent there.
Cyclops
On which side of me?
Chorus
On your right.
Cyclops
Oh where?
Chorus
Close up against the rock. Ha!—got the lot?
Hush, you wild things, for Heaven’s sake!—still as death!
Shut your lips tight together!—not a breath!
Don’t wink, don’t cough, for fear the beast should wake
Ere we twist out his eye with that red stake.
Chorus
We are mum: we clench our teeth tight on the air.
Odysseus
Now then, in with you! Grasp the brand in there 630
With brave hands: glowing red-hot is the tip.
Chorus (edging away)
You, please, appoint who must be first to grip
The burning stake, and scorch out Cyclops’ eye,
That all may share the grand chance equally.
A Satyr
Oh, we—too far outside the door we are!—
Can’t reach his eye—can’t poke the fire so far.
Another Satyr
And we—O dear, we’ve fallen lame just now!
Another Satyr
And so have we: we’ve sprained—I can’t tell how—
Our ankles, standing here. Oh my poor foot!
Odysseus
Sprained standing still?
Another Satyr
Oh dear! a lot of soot, 640
Or dust, into our eyes the wind has brought!
Odysseus
The cowards! At a pinch they’re good for naught!
Chorus
Because I have compassion on my back,
And don’t want all my teeth by one big smack
Knocked down my throat, d’ye call that cowardice?
Look here—I know a song of Orpheus’s,
A lovely incantation! ’twill constrain
The stake to plunge itself into his brain,
And burn the giant’s eye out—a grand song!
Odysseus
Poor chicken-hearts! I knew you all along.
I’ll do what’s better; use my trusty crew— 650
Indeed I’ve no choice. There’s no fight in you:
Still, cheer us on with some good rousing chanty,
And screw to the sticking-point our courage, can’t ye?
[Enters cave.
Chorus
Instead of the tongs, sir, dear pussy’s paw, sir, will get my chestnuts out very well;
But, as far as a song, sir, can go, old Saucer-eye shall frizzle in flames of hell.
So yeo-heave-ho! and in she’ll go!
Give way, my hearties! Put your backs to it! Stick to the work!—
A brave tar’s part is to stick like wax to it—never a shirk!
Burn out his eye, sir, the gormandizer,
Who goes and fries, sir, the trustful stranger!
With a red-hot poker make him a smoker
Like Etna—the soaker, the sheepwalk-ranger! 660
Odysseus and his men bring the burning stake, and plunge it into the Cyclops’ eye.
In you go quick with it!—twirl it about!
You’ve done the trick with it!—now whip it out
Ere he catch you a lick with it, a terrible clout;
For he feels pretty sick with it—of that there’s no doubt.
Cyclops (starting up)
Ah-h! my eye’s turned to a red-hot coal! Oh my!
Chorus
Well sung! Encore! Encore, old Saucer-eye!
Cyclops
Oh! blackguard villains! Oh! They’ve done for me!
Don’t think to escape, you paltry rascalry,
Out of this cave, and laugh at me! I’ll stand
Here, barring the only door with either hand.
Chorus
Why bawl so, Goggle-eye?
Cyclops
I’m kilt intirely!
Chorus
You do look bad.
Cyclops
What’s more, I feel so—direly! 670
Chorus
You fell face down in the fire when you were tight?
Cyclops
No!—Nobody’s killed me!
Chorus
No?—then you’re all right.
Cyclops
Nobody’s blinded me!
Chorus
Then you can’t be blind.
Cyclops
I wish you were!
Chorus
Please make it to my mind
Quite clear, how nobody could poke your eye out,
Cyclops
You're chaffing me! Where’s Nobody?
Chorus
Don’t cry out,
Because he’s nowhere, Blunderbore—don’t you see?
Cyclops
I tell you again, that stranger’s murdered me,
The dirty spalpeen, who drenched me with drink!
Chorus
Ah, wine’s the chap to trip your legs, I think.
Cyclops
For Heaven's sake tell me—are they still inside?
Or have they got away?
Chorus
They're trying to hide 680
Under that rock-ledge: they stand silent there.
Cyclops
On which side of me?
Chorus
On your right.
Cyclops
Oh where?
Chorus
Close up against the rock. Ha!—got the lot?
Cyclops makes a mild plunge, and dashes his head against the rock. Some of the crew slip out.
Cyclops
Oh misery on misery! I’ve caught
My head a bang that’s split it!
Chorus
What?—slipped clear
Between your fingers?
Cyclops (groping with his hands)
I can’t find them here!
You said they were here?
Chorus
No, this side, I told you.
Cyclops
Where? where?
Chorus
Whisk round!—to your left! Aha! they’ve sold you!
[The last of the crew slip by.
Cyclops
You’re laughing at me!—jeering at my woes!
Chorus
No, no! Look! Nobody’s right before your nose!
Cyclops (making plunge at nothing)
Villain! where are you?
Odysseus
Out of reach, I assure ye,
I ward Odysseus’ body from your fury. 690
Cyclops
What?—a new name?—that doesn’t sound the same!
Odysseus
My father called me Odysseus: that’s my name.
And so you thought that you’ld get off scot-free
For your unhallowed feast! A shame ’twould be
If, after burning Troy, I took on you
No vengeance for the murder of my crew!
Cyclops
Woe’s me! the ancient prophecy comes true
Which said that you would blind me on your way
Homeward from Troy. Ha! this too did it say,
That you’ld be punished for this wrong to me,
Tossed through long years about the homeless sea. 700
Odysseus
I laugh to scorn your bodings. I have done
All that your prophet said. Now will I run
My good ship’s keel adown the sloping strand;
Then, ho for Sicily’s sea and fatherland!
Cyclops
Not you! I’ll tear this rock up, hurl, and smash
You and your men all to a bloody mash!
I’ll climb a crag, and do it. Though I’m blind,
My way out through this rifted rock I’ll find.
Chorus
We will sail with Odysseus from this shore,
And serve Lord Bacchus henceforth evermore.
Oh misery on misery! I’ve caught
My head a bang that’s split it!
Chorus
What?—slipped clear
Between your fingers?
Cyclops (groping with his hands)
I can’t find them here!
You said they were here?
Chorus
No, this side, I told you.
Cyclops
Where? where?
Chorus
Whisk round!—to your left! Aha! they’ve sold you!
[The last of the crew slip by.
Cyclops
You’re laughing at me!—jeering at my woes!
Chorus
No, no! Look! Nobody’s right before your nose!
Cyclops (making plunge at nothing)
Villain! where are you?
Odysseus
Out of reach, I assure ye,
I ward Odysseus’ body from your fury. 690
Cyclops
What?—a new name?—that doesn’t sound the same!
Odysseus
My father called me Odysseus: that’s my name.
And so you thought that you’ld get off scot-free
For your unhallowed feast! A shame ’twould be
If, after burning Troy, I took on you
No vengeance for the murder of my crew!
Cyclops
Woe’s me! the ancient prophecy comes true
Which said that you would blind me on your way
Homeward from Troy. Ha! this too did it say,
That you’ld be punished for this wrong to me,
Tossed through long years about the homeless sea. 700
Odysseus
I laugh to scorn your bodings. I have done
All that your prophet said. Now will I run
My good ship’s keel adown the sloping strand;
Then, ho for Sicily’s sea and fatherland!
Cyclops
Not you! I’ll tear this rock up, hurl, and smash
You and your men all to a bloody mash!
I’ll climb a crag, and do it. Though I’m blind,
My way out through this rifted rock I’ll find.
Chorus
We will sail with Odysseus from this shore,
And serve Lord Bacchus henceforth evermore.
Exeunt omnes, leaving Cyclops groping and stumbling amongst the rocks.