of morning, fingered Dawn, appeared, I called a council and said,'My friends, we are in very great difficulties; listen therefore tome. We have no idea where the sun either sets or rises, so that wedo not even know East from West. I see no way out of it; nevertheless,we must try and find one. We are certainly on an island, for I went ashigh as I could this morning, and saw the sea reaching all round it tothe horizon; it lies low, but towards the middle I saw smoke risingfrom out of a thick forest of trees.'"Their hearts sank as they heard me, for they remembered how theyhad been treated by the Laestrygonian Antiphates, and by the savageogre Polyphemus. They wept bitterly in their dismay, but there wasnothing to be got by crying, so I divided them into two companiesand set a captain over each; I gave one company to Eurylochus, while Itook command of the other myself. Then we cast lots in a helmet, andthe lot fell upon Eurylochus; so he set out with his twenty-two men,and they wept, as also did we who were left behind."When they reached Circe's house they found it built of cutstones, on a site that could be seen from far, in the middle of theforest. There were wild mountain wolves and lions prowling all roundit- poor bewitched creatures whom she had tamed by her enchantmentsand drugged into subjection. They did not attack my men, but waggedtheir great tails, fawned upon them, and rubbed their noses lovinglyagainst them. As hounds crowd round their master when they see himcoming from dinner- for they know he will bring them something- evenso did these wolves and lions with their great claws fawn upon my men,but the men were terribly frightened at seeing such strange creatures.Presently they reached the gates of the goddess's house, and as theystood there they could hear Circe within, singing most beautifullyas she worked at her loom, making a web so fine, so soft, and ofsuch dazzling colours as no one but a goddess could weave. On thisPolites, whom I valued and trusted more than any other of my men,said, 'There is some one inside working at a loom and singing mostbeautifully; the whole place resounds with it, let us call her and seewhether she is woman or goddess.'"They called her and she came down, unfastened the door, and badethem enter. They, thinking no evil, followed her, all exceptEurylochus, who suspected mischief and stayed outside. When she hadgot them into her house, she set them upon benches and seats and mixedthem a mess with cheese, honey, meal, and Pramnian but she druggedit with wicked poisons to make them forget their homes, and whenthey had drunk she turned them into pigs by a stroke of her wand,and shut them up in her pigsties. They were like pigs-head, hair,and all, and they grunted just as pigs do; but their senses were thesame as before, and they remembered everything."Thus then were they shut up squealing, and Circe threw them someacorns and beech masts such as pigs eat, but Eurylochus hurried backto tell me about the sad fate of our comrades. He was so overcome withdismay that though he tried to speak he could find no words to doso; his eyes filled with tears and he could only sob and sigh, till atlast we forced his story out of him, and he told us what hadhappened to the others."'We went,' said he, as you told us, through the forest, and inthe middle of it there was a fine house built with cut stones in aplace that could be seen from far. There we found a woman, or else shewas a goddess, working at her loom and singing sweetly; so the menshouted to her and called her, whereon she at once came down, openedthe door, and invited us in. The others did not suspect any mischiefso they followed her into the house, but I stayed where I was, for Ithought there might be some treachery. From that moment I saw themno more, for not one of them ever came out, though I sat a long timewatching for them.'"Then I took my sword of bronze and slung it over my shoulders; Ialso took my bow, and told Eurylochus to come back with me and show methe way. But he laid hold of me with both his hands and spokepiteously, saying, 'Sir, do not force me to go with you, but let mestay here, for I know you will not bring one of them back with you,nor even return alive yourself; let us rather see if we cannotescape at any rate with the few that are left us, for we may stillsave our lives.'"'Stay where you are, then, 'answered I, 'eating and drinking at theship, but I must go, for I am most urgently bound to do so.'"With this I left the ship and went up inland. When I got throughthe charmed grove, and was near the great house of the enchantressCirce, I met Mercury with his golden wand, disguised as a young man inthe hey-day of his youth and beauty with the down just coming upon hisface. He came up to me and took my hand within his own, saying, 'Mypoor unhappy man, whither are you going over this mountain top,alone and without knowing the way? Your men are shut up in Circe'spigsties, like so many wild boars in their lairs. You surely do notfancy that you can set them free? I can tell you that you will neverget back and will have to stay there with the rest of them. Butnever mind, I will protect you and get you out of your difficulty.Take this herb, which is one of great virtue, and keep it about youwhen you go to Circe's house, it will be a talisman to you againstevery kind of mischief."'And I will tell you of all the wicked witchcraft that Circe willtry to practise upon you. She will mix a mess for you to drink, andshe will drug the meal with which she makes it, but she will not beable to charm you, for the virtue of the herb that I shall give youwill prevent her spells from working. I will tell you all about it.When Circe strikes you with her wand, draw your sword and springupon her as though you were goings to kill her. She will then befrightened and will desire you to go to bed with her; on this you mustnot point blank refuse her, for you want her to set your companionsfree, and to take good care also of yourself, but you make her swearsolemnly by all the blessed that she will plot no further mischiefagainst you, or else when she has got you naked she will unman you andmake you fit for nothing.'"As he spoke he pulled the herb out of the ground an showed mewhat it was like. The root was black, while the flower was as white asmilk; the gods call it Moly, and mortal men cannot uproot it, butthe gods can do whatever they like."Then Mercury went back to high Olympus passing over the woodedisland; but I fared onward to the house of Circe, and my heart wasclouded with care as I walked along. When I got to the gates I stoodthere and called the goddess, and as soon as she heard me she camedown, opened the door, and asked me to come in; so I followed her-much troubled in my mind. She set me on a richly decorated seat inlaidwith silver, there was a footstool also under my feet, and she mixed amess in a golden goblet for me to drink; but she drugged it, for shemeant me mischief. When she had given it me, and I had drunk itwithout its charming me, she struck she, struck me with her wand.'There now,' she cried, 'be off to the pigsty, and make your lair withthe rest of them.'"But I rushed at her with my sword drawn as though I would kill her,whereon she fell with a loud scream, clasped my knees, and spokepiteously, saying, 'Who and whence are you? from what place and peoplehave you come? How can it be that my drugs have no power to charm you?Never yet was any man able to stand so much as a taste of the herb Igave you; you must be spell-proof; surely you can be none other thanthe bold hero Ulysses, who Mercury always said would come here someday with his ship while on his way home form Troy; so be it then;sheathe your sword and let us go to bed, that we may make friendsand learn to trust each other.'"And I answered, 'Circe, how can you expect me to be friendly withyou when you have just been turning all my men into pigs? And now thatyou have got me here myself, you mean me mischief when you ask me togo to bed with you, and will unman me and make me fit for nothing. Ishall certainly not consent to go to bed with you unless you willfirst take your solemn oath to plot no further harm against me.'"So she swore at once as I had told her, and when she hadcompleted her oath then I went to bed with her."Meanwhile her four servants, who are her housemaids, set abouttheir work. They are the children of the groves and fountains, andof the holy waters that run down into the sea. One of them spread afair purple cloth over a seat, and laid a carpet underneath it.Another brought tables of silver up to the seats, and set them withbaskets of gold. A third mixed some sweet wine with water in asilver bowl and put golden cups upon the tables, while the fourthshe brought in water and set it to boil in a large cauldron over agood fire which she had lighted. When the water in the cauldron wasboiling, she poured cold into it till it was just as I liked it, andthen she set me in a bath and began washing me from the cauldron aboutthe head and shoulders, to take the tire and stiffness out of mylimbs. As soon as she had done washing me and anointing me with oil,she arrayed me in a good cloak and shirt and led me to a richlydecorated seat inlaid with silver; there was a footstool also under myfeet. A maid servant then brought me water in a beautiful goldenewer and poured it into a silver basin for me to wash my hands, andshe drew a clean table beside me; an upper servant brought me breadand offered me many things of what there was in the house, and thenCirce bade me eat, but I would not, and sat without heeding what wasbefore me, still moody and suspicious."When Circe saw me sitting there without eating, and in great grief,she came to me and said, 'Ulysses, why do you sit like that asthough you were dumb, gnawing at your own heart, and refusing bothmeat and drink? Is it that you are still suspicious? You ought notto be, for I have already sworn solemnly that I will not hurt you.'"And I said, 'Circe, no man with any sense of what is right canthink of either eating or drinking in your house until you have sethis friends free and let him see them. If you want me to eat anddrink, you must free my men and bring them to me that I may see themwith my own eyes.'"When I had said this she went straight through the court with herwand in her hand and opened the pigsty doors. My men came out likeso many prime hogs and stood looking at her, but she went aboutamong them and anointed each with a second drug, whereon thebristles that the bad drug had given them fell off, and they becamemen again, younger than they were before, and much taller and betterlooking. They knew me at once, seized me each of them by the hand, andwept for joy till the whole house was filled with the sound of theirhullabalooing, and Circe herself was so sorry for them that she cameup to me and said, 'Ulysses, noble son of Laertes, go back at onceto the sea where you have left your ship, and first draw it on tothe land. Then, hide all your ship's gear and property in some cave,and come back here with your men.'"I agreed to this, so I went back to the sea shore, and found themen at the ship weeping and wailing most piteously. When they saw methe silly blubbering fellows began frisking round me as calves breakout and gambol round their mothers, when they see them coming hometo be milked after they have been feeding all day, and the homesteadresounds with their lowing. They seemed as glad to see me as thoughthey had got back to their own rugged Ithaca, where they had been bornand bred. 'Sir,' said the affectionate creatures, 'we are as glad tosee you back as though we had got safe home to Ithaca; but tell us allabout the fate of our comrades.'"I spoke comfortingly to them and said, 'We must draw our ship on tothe land, and hide the ship's gear with all our property in some cave;then come with me all of you as fast as you can to Circe's house,where you will find your comrades eating and drinking in the midstof great abundance.'