HOMER. THE ODYSSEY; OR, THE TEN YEARS^ WANDERING OF ODUSSEUS, AFTER THE TEN YEARS' SIEGE OF TROY. REPRODUCED IN DRAMATIC BLANK VERSE. T. S. NOEGATE. WILLIAMS AND NORGATE, 14, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON: AND 20, SOUTH FREDERICK STREET, EDINBURGH. 1863. PRINTED BY STEPHEN AUSTIN, HEKTPOKD, WtcryS PREFACE. An English Translation of Homer's Poems, such as shall at once be unexceptionable as a translation, and at the same time pleasantly readable for the English reader, has not as yet made its appearance : nor do I flatter myself with the idea that this one can be said to attain that desirable union of closeness and freedom, which I have from first to last endeavoured to produce. Much interest has been excited on this subject during the last few years : and a great variety of opinion exists as to how Homer should be translated. For my part, when in February, 1858, I began my task of translating the Odyssey, I soon came to the conclusion that I would sacrifice rhyme to reason: that is, would leave myself unfettered by rhyme in order to hover the more closely to the wit and sense of Homer, as they appeared to me : beside which, I think that Rhyme, however pleasant in short compositions, such as ballads, sonnets, or ingenious advertisements for puffing the sale of wares, (as for instance at the end of this book) etc., becomes intolerably wearisome in a long poem. As to metre, I have for the greater freedom adopted the dramatic blank verse, which consists of ten syllables, or of VI PREFACE. eleven, having the eleventh unaccented : for the same object of freedom, I am unsparing in the use of elisions for the reader : nor have T any scruples on this point, considering how freely Homer himself elides and clips his words. And further, for the same object of freedom, I have allowed the sentences to occup}^ more, or fewer, lines as occasion seemed to require, rather than crib and cabin the sentence into an unvarying number of sylla- bles ; and have endeavoured myself to be diffuse where Homer is diffuse, and to be concise where he is concise. T. S. N. Sparham, December^ 1862. NOTICE TO THE READER. Dear courteous Reader, for the sake Of thy less hindrance, pri'thee take Thy pen, wherewith, as shewn hereunder, Set right and mend each luckless blunder ; Whereby the winged words from me to thee Shall both in outlet and for inlet be Of easier passage, and in flight more free. Page 23 line 85 for " ? " read " ! " „ 27 „ 173 at the end of line, strike out the comma „ 35 „ 367 for " ? " read " ! " „ 46 „ 163 for "wily minded" read "wily-minded" „ 49 „ 252 /o/* "a roaming" rmc? "a-roaming" „ 57 „. 423 /or "herdsmen" r^a(? "herdsman" „ 65 at the end of top line should he a full stop „ 80 in last line /or "hetacombs" read "hecatombs" „ 99 line 37 after "gold" strike out "and" „ 105 „ 1 93 /or "rapid race" r^a(? "rapid pace" „ 126 „ 180 at the end of line should be a comma „ 150 „ 49 at end should be a full stop „ 153 „ 113 /or "Tectonides" r^