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The Odysseys of Homer done into English prose
The Odysseys of Homer done into English prose Author:Homer Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: BOOK III. Nestor entertains Telcmachus at Pylos and tells him how the Greeks departed from Troy; and sends him for further information to Sparta. Now the s... more »un arose and left the lovely mere, speeding to the brazen heaven, to give light to the immortals and to mortal men on the earth, the graingiver, and they reached Pylos, the stablished castle of Neleus. There the people were doing sacrifice on the sea shore, slaying black bulls without spot to the dark-haired god, the shaker of the earth. Nine companies there were, and five hundred men sat in each, and in every company they held nine bulls ready to hand. Just as they had tasted the inner parts, and were burning the slices of the thighs on the altar to the god, the others were bearing straight to land, and brailed up the sails of the gallant ship, and moored her, and themselves came forth. And Telemachus too slept forth from the ship, and Athene led the way. And the goddess, grey-eyed Athene, spake first to him, saying : ' Telemachus, thou needest not now be abashed, no, not one whit. For to this very end didst thou sail over the deep, that thou mightest hear tidings of thy father, even where the earth closed over him, and what manner of death he met. But come now, go straight to Nestor, tamer of horses: let us learn what counsel he hath in the secret of his heart. And beseech him thyself that he may give unerring answer; and he will not lie to thee, for he is very wise.' The wise Telemachus answered, saying : ' Mentor, and how shall I go, how shall I greet him, I, who am untried inwords of wisdom ? Moreover a young man may well be abashed to question an elder.' Then the goddess, grey-eyed Athene, spake to him again ' Telemachus, thou shall bethink thee of somewhat in thine own breast, and somewhat the god will giv...« less