[Footnote 1: Shakespeare, "Hamlet."]
As the ship drew near, the whole choir lifted up their voices and
began to sing a sweet and piercing strain, which thrilled the very
marrow of Odysseus as he listened. The winds hovered near on flagging
wing, the sea lay locked in deep repose, and all nature paused with
attentive ear, to catch the SONG OF THE SIRENS.
"Mighty warrior, sage renowned,
Turn, O turn thy bark this way!
Rest upon this holy ground,
Listen to the Sirens' lay.
Never yet was seaman found
Passing our enchanted bay,
But he paused, and left our bound
Filled with wisdom from his stay.
All we know, whatever befell
On the tented fields of Troy,
All the lore that Time can tell,
All the mystic fount of joy."
It was a strain cunningly calculated to flatter a deep, subtle spirit
like that of Odysseus. To know all! to read all secrets, and unravel
the tangled skein of human destiny! What a bribe was this to this
restless and eager mind! Then the voices of the witch-women were so
liquid, and the music so lovely, that they took the very air with
ravishment, and melted the hearer's soul within him. Odysseus
struggled to break his bonds, and nodded to his men to come and loose
him. But they, who had been warned of this very thing, rose up and
bound him with fresh cords. Then they grasped their oars again, the
water roared under their sturdy strokes, and soon they were out of
hearing of that seductive melody.
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