I could wish That, being as thou art, and of like mind With me, thou wouldst receive to be thy bride My daughter, and be called my son-in-law, And here abide. A palace I would give, And riches, shouldst thou willingly remain. Against thy will let no Phaeacian dare To keep thee here. May Father Jove forbid!
And that thou mayst be sure of my intent, I name tomorrow for thy voyage home. Sleep in thy bed till then; and they shall row O’er the calm sea thy galley, till thou come To thine own land and home, or wheresoe’er Thou wilt, though further off the coast should be Than far Euboea, most remote of lands— So do the people of our isle declare, Who saw it when they over sea conveyed The fair-haired Rhadamanthus, on his way To visit Tityus, son of Earth. They went Thither, accomplishing with little toil Their voyage in the compass of a day, And brought the hero to our isle again. Now shalt thou learn, and in thy heart confess, How much our galleys and our youths excel With bladed oars to stir the whirling brine.”