No indeed! and thus it is a joyless land they dwell in.
ODYSSEUS
Are they hospitable and reverent towards strangers?
SILENUS
Strangers, they say, supply the daintiest meat.
ODYSSEUS
What, do they delight in killing men and eating them?
SILENUS
No one has ever arrived here without being butchered.
ODYSSEUS
Where is the Cyclops himself? inside his dwelling?
SILENUS
He is gone hunting wild beasts with hounds on Aetna.
ODYSSEUS
Dost know then what to do, that we may be gone from the land?
SILENUS
Not I, Odysseus; but I would do anything for thee.
ODYSSEUS
Sell us food, of which we are in need.
SILENUS
There is nothing but flesh, as I said.
ODYSSEUS
Well, even that is a pleasant preventive of hunger.
SILENUS
And there is cheese curdled with fig-juice, and the milk of kine.
ODYSSEUS
Bring them out; a man should see his purchases.
SILENUS
But tell me, how much gold wilt thou give me in exchange?
ODYSSEUS
No gold bring I, but Dionysus' drink.
SILENUS (joyfully)
Most welcome words! I have long been wanting that.
ODYSSEUS
Yes, it was Maron, the god's son, who gave me a draught.
SILENUS
What! Maron whom once I dandled in these arms?
ODYSSEUS
The son of the Bacchic god, that thou mayst learn more certainly.
SILENUS
Is it inside the ship, or hast thou it with thee?
ODYSSEUS
This, as thou seest, is the skin that holds it, old sir.
SILENUS
Why, that would not give me so much as a mouthful.
ODYSSEUS
This, and twice as much again as will run from the skin.
SILENUS
Fair the rill thou speakest of, delicious to me.
ODYSSEUS
Shall I let thee taste the wine unmixed, to start with?
SILENUS
A reasonable offer; for of a truth a taste invites the purchase.
ODYSSEUS
Well, I haul about a cup as well as the skin.
SILENUS
Come, let it gurgle in, that I may revive my memory by a pull at it.
ODYSSEUS (pouring)
There then!
SILENUS (smelling it)
Ye gods! what a delicious scent it has!
ODYSSEUS
What! didst thou see it?
SILENUS
No, i' faith, but I smell it.
ODYSSEUS
Taste it then, that thy approval may not stop at words.
SILENUS (taking a drink)
Zounds! Bacchus is inviting me to dance; ha! ha!
ODYSSEUS
Did it not gurgle finely down thy throttle?
SILENUS
Aye that it did, to the ends of my fingers.
ODYSSEUS
Well, we will give thee money besides.
SILENUS
Only undo the skin, and never mind the money.
ODYSSEUS
Bring out the cheeses then and lambs.
SILENUS
I will do so, with small thought of any master. For let me have a single cup of that and I would turn madman, giving in exchange for it the flocks of every Cyclops and then throwing myself into the sea from the Leucadian rock, once I have been well drunk and smoothed out my wrinkled brow. For if a man rejoice not in his drinking, he is mad; for in drinking it's possible for this to stand up straight, and then to fondle breasts, and to caress well tended locks, and there is dancing withal, and oblivion of woe. Shall not I then purchase so rare a drink, bidding the senseless Cyclops and his central eye go hang?
(SILENUS goes into the cave.)
LEADER
Hearken, Odysseus, let us hold some converse with thee.
ODYSSEUS
Well, do so; ours is a meeting of friends.
LEADER
Did you take Troy and capture the famous Helen?
ODYSSEUS
Aye, and we destroyed the whole family of Priam.
LEADER
After capturing your blooming prize, were all of you in turn her lovers? for she likes variety in husbands; the traitress! the sight of a man with embroidered breeches on his legs and a golden chain about his neck so fluttered her, that she left Menelaus, her excellent little husband. Would there had never been a race of women born into the world at all, unles it were for me alone!
SILENUS (reappearing with food)
Lo! I bring you fat food from the flocks, king Odysseus, the young of bleating sheep and cheeses of curdled milk without stint. Carry them away with you and begone from the cave at once, after giving me a drink of merry grape-juice in exchange.
LEADER
Alack! yonder comes the Cyclops; what shall we do?
ODYSSEUS
Then truly are we lost, old sir! whither must we fly?
SILENUS
Inside this rock, for there ye may conceal yourselves.
ODYSSEUS
Dangerous advice of thine, to run into the net!
SILENUS
No danger; there are ways of escape in plenty in the rock.
ODYSSEUS
No, never that; for surely Troy will groan and loudly too, if we flee from a single man, when I have oft withstood with my shield a countless host of Phrygians. Nay, if die we must, we will die a noble death; or, if we live, we will maintain our old renown at least with credit.
(The CYCLOPS enters as SILENUS goes into the cave. The CYCLOPS, not noticing ODYSSEUS and his companions, addresses the CHORUS in anger.)CYCLOPS
A light here! hold it up! what is this? what means this idleness, your Bacchic revelry? Here have we no Dionysus, nor clash of brass, nor roll of drums. Pray, how is it with my newly-born lambs in the caves? are they at the teat, running close to the side of their dams? Is the full amount of milk for cheeses milked out in baskets of rushes? How now? what say you? One of ye will soon be shedding tears from the weight of my club; look up, not down.
LEADER
There! my head is bent back till I see Zeus himself; I behold both the stars and Orion.
CYCLOPS
Is my breakfast quite ready?
LEADER
'Tis laid; be thy throat only ready.
CYCLOPS
Are, the bowls too full of milk?
LEADER
Aye, so that thou canst swill off a whole hogshead, so it please thee.
CYCLOPS
Sheep's milk or cows' milk or a mixture of both?
LEADER
Whichever thou wilt; don't swallow me, that's all.
CYCLOPS
Not I; for you would start kicking in the pit of my stomach and kill me by your antics. (Catching sight Of ODYSSEUS and his followers)Ha! what is this crowd I see near the folds? Some pirates or robbers have put in here. (SILENUS comes out of the cave. He has made himself appear as though he had just suffered a terrible beating.)Yes, I really see the lambs from my caves tied up there with twisted osiers, cheese-presses scattered about, and old Silenus with his bald pate all swollen with blows.
SILENUS
Oh! oh! poor wretch that I am, pounded to a fever.
CYCLOPS
