That struck him through the mid-part of his chine, And made him, braying, to the dust confine His flying forces. Forth his spirit flew; When I stept in, and from the death’s wound drew My shrewdly-bitten lance; there let him lie Till I, of cut-up osiers, did imply A withe a fathom long, with which his feet I made together in a sure league meet, Stoop’d under him, and to my neck I heav’d The mighty burden, of which I receiv’d A good part on my lance, for else I could By no means with one hand alone uphold (Join’d with one shoulder) such a deathful load. And so, to both my shoulders, both hands stood Needful assistants; for it was a deer Goodly-well-grown. When (coming something near Where rode my ships) I cast it down, and rear’d My friends with kind words; whom by name I cheer’d, In note particular, and said: ‘See, friends, We will not yet to Pluto’s house; our ends Shall not be hasten’d, though we be declin’d In cause of comfort, till the day design’d By Fate’s fix’d finger. Come, as long as food Or wine lasts in our ship, let’s spirit our blood, And quit our care and hunger both in one.’ This said, they frolick’d, came, and look’d upon With admiration the huge-bodied beast; And when their first-serv’d eyes had done their feast, They wash’d, and made a to-be-striv’d-for meal[7] In point of honour. On which all did dwell The whole day long. And, to our venison’s store, We added wine till we could wish no more. Sun set, and darkness up, we slept, till light Put darkness down; and then did I excite My friends to counsel, utt’ring this: ‘Now, friends,[8] Afford unpassionate ear; though ill Fate lends So good cause to your passion, no man knows The reason whence and how the darkness grows; The reason how the morn is thus begun; The reason how the man-enlight’ning sun Dives under earth; the reason how again He rears his golden head. Those counsels, then, That pass our comprehension, we must leave To him that knows their causes; and receive Direction from him in our acts, as far As he shall please to make them regular, And stoop them to our reason. In our state What then behoves us? Can we estimate, With all our counsels, where we are? Or know (Without instruction, past our own skills) how, Put off from hence, to steer our course the more? I think we cannot. We must then explore These parts for information; in which way We thus far are: Last morn I might display (From off a high-rais’d cliff) an island lie Girt with th’ unmeasur’d sea, and is so nigh That in the midst I saw the smoke arise Through tufts of trees. This rests then to advise, Who shall explore this?’ This struck dead their hearts, Rememb’ring the most execrable parts That Læstrygonian Antiphas had play’d, And that foul Cyclop that their fellows bray’d Betwixt his jaws; which mov’d them so, they cried. But idle tears had never wants supplied. I in two parts divided all, and gave To either part his captain. I must have The charge of one; and one of God-like look, Eurylochus, the other.