I well know
how far in wisdom, in feature, in stature, proportion, beauty, in all the
gifts of the mind, thou exceedest my Penelope: she is a mortal, and
subject to decay; thou immortal, ever growing, yet never old; yet in her
sight all my desires terminate, all my wishes--in the sight of her, and of
my country earth. If any god, envious of my return, shall lay his dreadful
hand upon me as I pass the seas, I submit; for the same powers have given
me a mind not to sink under oppression. In wars and waves my sufferings
have not been small."
She heard his pleaded reasons, and of force she must assent; so to her
nymphs she gave in charge from her sacred woods to cut down timber, to
make Ulysses a ship. They obeyed, though in a work unsuitable to their
soft fingers, yet to obedience no sacrifice is hard; and Ulysses busily
bestirred himself, labouring far more hard than they, as was fitting, till
twenty tall trees, driest and fittest for timber, were felled. Then, like
a skilful shipwright, he fell to joining the planks, using the plane, the
axe, and the auger with such expedition that in four days' time a ship was
made, complete with all her decks, hatches, sideboards, yards. Calypso
added linen for the sails, and tackling; and when she was finished, she
was a goodly vessel for a man to sail in, alone or in company, over the
wide seas. By the fifth morning she was launched; and Ulysses, furnished
with store of provisions, rich garments, and gold and silver, given him by
Calypso, took a last leave of her and of her nymphs, and of the isle
Ogygia which had so befriended him.
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