Him answer'd, then, Ulysses, ever-wise. 235
I will with truth resolve thee; and if here
Within thy cottage sitting, we had wine
And food for many a day, and business none
But to regale at ease while others toiled,
I could exhaust the year complete, my woes 240
Rehearsing, nor, at last, rehearse entire
My sorrows by the will of heav'n sustained.
I boast me sprung from ancestry renown'd
In spacious Crete; son of a wealthy sire,
Who other sons train'd num'rous in his house, 245
Born of his wedded wife; but he begat
Me on his purchased concubine, whom yet
Dear as his other sons in wedlock born
Castor Hylacides esteem'd and lov'd,
For him I boast my father. Him in Crete, 250
While yet he liv'd, all reverenc'd as a God,
So rich, so prosp'rous, and so blest was he
With sons of highest praise. But death, the doom
Of all, him bore to Pluto's drear abode,
And his illustrious sons among themselves 255
Portion'd his goods by lot; to me, indeed,
They gave a dwelling, and but little more,
Yet, for my virtuous qualities, I won
A wealthy bride, for I was neither vain
Nor base, forlorn as thou perceiv'st me now. 260
But thou canst guess, I judge, viewing the straw
What once was in the ear. Ah! I have borne
Much
