lofty trees Flourished in generous growth within—the pear And the pomegranate, and the apple-tree With its fair fruitage, and the luscious fig And olive always green. The fruit they bear Falls not, nor ever fails in winter time Nor summer, but is yielded all the year. The ever-blowing west-wind causes some To swell and some to ripen; pear succeeds To pear; to apple apple, grape to grape, Fig ripens after fig. A fruitful field Of vines was planted near; in part it lay Open and basking in the sun, which dried The soil, and here men gathered in the grapes, And there they trod the winepress. Farther on Were grapes unripened yet, which just had cast The flower, and others still which just began To redden. At the garden’s furthest bound Were beds of many plants that all the year Bore flowers. There gushed two fountains: one of them Ran wandering through the field; the other flowed Beneath the threshold to the palace-court, And all the people filled their vessels there. Such were the blessings which the gracious gods Bestowed on King Alcinoüs and his house.
Ulysses, the great sufferer, standing there, Admired the sight; and