No More Learning

I am aware that what I am to relate must sound improbable; but
I cannot help it. Very long islands they were, but of no great height;
the circumference of each would be about eleven miles; and its complement
of giants was some hundred and twenty. Of these some sat along each side
of the island, rowing with big cypresses, from which the branches and
leaves were not stripped; in the stern, so to speak, was a considerable
hillock, on which stood the helmsman with his hand on a brazen steering-
oar of half a mile in length; and on the deck forward were forty in
armour, the combatants; they resembled men except in their hair, which
was flaming fire, so that they could dispense with helmets. The work of
sails was done by the abundant forest on all the islands, which so caught
and held the wind that it drove them where the steersman wished; there
was a boatswain timing the stroke, and the islands jumped to it like
great galleys.

We had seen only two or three at first; but there appeared afterwards as
many as six hundred, which formed in two lines and commenced an action.
Many crashed into each other stem to stem, many were rammed and sunk,
others grappled, fought an obstinate duel, and could hardly get clear
after it. Great courage was shown by the troops on deck, who boarded and
dealt destruction, giving no quarter. Instead of grappling-irons, they
used huge captive squids, which they swung out on to the hostile island;
these grappled the wood and so held the island fast. Their missiles,
effective enough, were oysters the size of waggons, and sponges which
might cover an acre.

Aeolocentaur and Thalassopot were the names of the rival chiefs; and the
question between them was one of plunder; Thalassopot was supposed to
have driven off several herds of dolphins, the other's property; we could
hear them vociferating the charge and calling out their Kings' names.
Aeolocentaur's fleet finally won, sinking one hundred and fifty of the
enemy's islands and capturing three with their crews; the remainder
backed away, turned and fled. The victors pursued some way, but, as it
was now evening, returned to the disabled ones, secured most of the
enemy's, and recovered their own, of which as many as eighty had been
sunk. As a trophy of victory they slung one of the enemy's islands to a
stake which they planted in our whale's head. They lay moored round him
that night, attaching cables to him or anchoring hard by; they had vast
glass anchors, very strong. Next morning they sacrificed on the whale's
back, buried their dead there, and sailed off rejoicing, with something
corresponding to our paean. So ended the battle of the islands.

BOOK II

I now began to find life in the whale unendurable; I was tired to death
of it, and concentrated my thoughts on plans of escape. Our first idea
was to excavate a passage through the beast's right side, and go out
through it. We actually began boring, but gave it up when we had
penetrated half a mile without getting through. We then determined to set
fire to the forest, our object being the death of the whale, which would
remove all difficulties. We started burning from the tail end; but for a
whole week he made no sign; on the eighth and ninth days it was apparent
that he was unwell; his jaws opened only languidly, and each time closed
again very soon. On the tenth and eleventh days mortification had set in,
evidenced by a horrible stench; on the twelfth, it occurred to us, just
in time, that we must take the next occasion of the mouth's being open to
insert props between the upper and lower molars, and so prevent his
closing it; else we should be imprisoned and perish in the dead body. We
successfully used great beams for the purpose, and then got the ship
ready with all the water and provisions we could manage. Scintharus was
to navigate her. Next day the whale was dead.

We hauled the vessel up, brought her through one of the gaps, slung her
to the teeth, and so let her gently down to the water. We then ascended
the back, where we sacrificed to Posidon by the side of the trophy, and,
as there was no wind, encamped there for three days. On the fourth day we
were able to start. We found and came into contact with many corpses, the
relics of the sea-fight, and our wonder was heightened when we measured
them. For some days we enjoyed a moderate breeze, after which a violent
north wind rose, bringing hard frost; the whole sea was frozen--not
merely crusted over, but solidified to four hundred fathoms' depth; we
got out and walked about. The continuance of the wind making life
intolerable, we adopted the plan, suggested by Scintharus, of hewing an
extensive cavern in the ice, in which we stayed a month, lighting fires
and feeding on fish; we had only to dig these out. In the end, however,
provisions ran short, and we came out; the ship was frozen in, but we got
her free; we then hoisted sail, and were carried along as well as if we
had been afloat, gliding smoothly and easily over the ice. After five
days more the temperature rose, a thaw set in, and all was water again.

A stretch of five and thirty miles brought us to a small desert isle,
where we got water--of which we were now in want--, and shot two wild
bulls before we departed. These animals had their horns not on the top of
the head, but, as Momus recommended, below the eyes. Not long after this,
we entered a sea of milk, in which we observed an island, white in
colour, and full of vines. The island was one great cheese, quite firm,
as we afterwards ascertained by eating it, and three miles round. The
vines were covered with fruit, but the drink we squeezed from it was milk
instead of wine. In the centre of the island was a temple to Galatea the
Nereid, as the inscription informed us. During our stay there, the ground
itself served us for bread and meat, and the vine-milk for drink. We
learned that the queen of these regions was Tyro, daughter of Salmoneus,
on whom Posidon had conferred this dignity at her decease.

After spending five days there we started again with a gentle breeze and
a rippling sea. A few days later, when we had emerged from the milk into
blue salt water, we saw numbers of men walking on the sea; they were like
ourselves in shape and stature, with the one exception of the feet, which
were of cork; whence, no doubt, their name of Corksoles. It struck us as
curious that they did not sink in, but travelled quite comfortably clear
of the water. Some of them came up and hailed us in Greek, saying that
they were making their way to their native land of Cork. They ran
alongside for some distance, and then turned off and went their own way,
wishing us a pleasant voyage. A little further we saw several islands;
close to us on the left was Cork, our friends' destination, consisting of
a city founded on a vast round cork; at a greater distance, and a little
to the right, were five others of considerable size and high out of the
water, with great flames rising from them.

There was also a broad low one, as much as sixty miles in length,
straight in our course. As we drew near it, a marvellous air was wafted
to us, exquisitely fragrant, like the scent which Herodotus describes as
coming from Arabia Felix. Its sweetness seemed compounded of rose,
narcissus, hyacinth, lilies and violets, myrtle and bay and flowering
vine. Ravished with the perfume, and hoping for reward of our long toils,
we drew slowly near. Then were unfolded to us haven after haven, spacious
and sheltered, and crystal rivers flowing placidly to the sea. There were
meadows and groves and sweet birds, some singing on the shore, some on
the branches; the whole bathed in limpid balmy air. Sweet zephyrs just
stirred the woods with their breath, and brought whispering melody,
delicious, incessant, from the swaying branches; it was like Pan-pipes
heard in a desert place. And with it all there mingled a volume of human
sound, a sound not of tumult, but rather of revels where some flute, and
some praise the fluting, and some clap their hands commending flute or
harp.

Drawn by the spell of it we came to land, moored the ship, and left her,
in charge of Scintharus and two others. Taking our way through flowery
meadows we came upon the guardians of the peace, who bound us with rose-
garlands--their strongest fetters--and brought us to the governor. As we
went they told us this was the island called of the Blest, and its
governor the Cretan Rhadamanthus. When we reached the court, we found
there were three cases to be taken before our turn would come.

The first was that of Ajax, son of Telamon, and the question was whether
he was to be admitted to the company of Heroes; it was objected that he
had been mad and taken his own life. After long pleadings Rhadamanthus
gave his decision: he was to be put under the charge of Hippocrates the
physician of Cos for the hellebore treatment, and, when he had recovered
his wits, to be made free of the table.

The second was a matrimonial case, the parties Theseus and Menelaus, and
the issue possession of Helen. Rhadamanthus gave it in favour of
Menelaus, on the ground of the great toils and dangers the match had cost
him--added to the fact that Theseus was provided with other wives in the
Amazon queen and the daughters of Minos.

The third was a dispute for precedence between Alexander son of Philip
and Hannibal the Carthaginian; it was won by the former, who had a seat
assigned him next to Cyrus the elder.

It was now our turn. The judge asked by what right we set foot on this
holy ground while yet alive. In answer we related our story. He then had
us removed while he held a long consultation with his numerous assessors,
among whom was the Athenian Aristides the Just. He finally reached a
conclusion and gave judgement: on the charges of curiosity and travelling
we were remanded till the date of our deaths; for the present we were to
stay in the island, with admission to the Heroic society, for a fixed
term, after which we must depart. The limit he appointed for our stay was
seven months.

Our rose-chains now fell off of their own accord, we were released and
taken into the city, and to the Table of the Blest. The whole of this
city is built of gold, and the enclosing wall of emerald. It has seven
gates, each made of a single cinnamon plank. The foundations of the
houses, and all ground inside the wall, are ivory; temples are built of
beryl, and each contains an altar of one amethyst block, on which they
offer hecatombs. Round the city flows a river of the finest perfume, a
hundred royal cubits in breadth, and fifty deep, so that there is good
swimming. The baths, supplied with warm dew instead of ordinary water,
are in great crystal domes heated with cinnamon wood.

Their raiment is fine cobweb, purple in colour. They have no bodies, but
are intangible and unsubstantial--mere form without matter; but, though
incorporeal, they stand and move, think and speak; in short, each is a
naked soul, but carries about the semblance of body; one who did not
touch them would never know that what he looked at was not substantial;
they are shadows, but upright, and coloured. A man there does not grow
old, but stays at whatever age he brought with him. There is no night,
nor yet bright day; the morning twilight, just before sunrise, gives the
best idea of the light that prevails. They have also but one season,
perpetual spring, and the wind is always in the west.

The country abounds in every kind of flower, in shrubs and garden herbs.
There are twelve vintages in the year, the grapes ripening every month;
and they told us that pomegranates, apples, and other fruits were
gathered thirteen times, the trees producing twice in their month Minous.
Instead of grain, the corn develops loaves, shaped like mushrooms, at the
top of the stalks. Round the city are 365 springs of water, the same of
honey, and 500, less in volume however, of perfume. There are also seven
rivers of milk and eight of wine.

The banqueting-place is arranged outside the city in the Elysian Plain.
It is a fair lawn closed in with thick-grown trees of every kind, in the
shadow of which the guests recline, on cushions of flowers. The waiting
and handing is done by the winds, except only the filling of the wine-
cup. That is a service not required; for all round stand great trees of
pellucid crystal, whose fruit is drinking-cups of every shape and size. A
guest arriving plucks a cup or two and sets them at his place, where they
at once fill with wine. So for their drink; and instead of garlands, the
nightingales and other singing birds pick flowers with their beaks from
the meadows round, and fly over snowing the petals down and singing the
while. Nor is perfume forgotten; thick clouds draw it up from the springs
and river, and hanging overhead are gently squeezed by the winds till
they spray it down in fine dew.

During the meal there is music and song. In the latter kind, Homer's
verse is the favourite; he is himself a member of the festal company,
reclining next above Odysseus. The choirs are of boys and girls,
conducted and led by Eunomus the Locrian, Arion of Lesbos, Anacreon and
Stesichorus; this last had made his peace with Helen, and I saw him
there. When these have finished, a second choir succeeds, of swans and
swallows and nightingales; and when their turn is done, all the trees
begin to pipe, conducted by the winds.

I have still to add the most important element in their good cheer: there
are two springs hard by, called the Fountain of Laughter, and the
Fountain of Delight. They all take a draught of both these before the
banquet begins, after which the time goes merrily and sweetly.

I should now like to name the famous persons I saw. To begin with, all
the demi-gods, and the besiegers of Troy, with the exception of Ajax the
Locrian; he, they said, was undergoing punishment in the place of the
wicked. Of barbarians there were the two Cyruses, Anacharsis the
Scythian, Zamolxis the Thracian, and the Latin Numa; and then Lycurgus
the Spartan, Phocion and Tellus of Athens, and the Wise Men, but without
Periander. And I saw Socrates son of Sophroniscus in converse with Nestor
and Palamedes; clustered round him were Hyacinth the Spartan, Narcissus
of Thespiae, Hylas, and many another comely boy. With Hyacinth I
suspected that he was in love; at least he was for ever poking questions
at him. I heard that Rhadamanthus was dissatisfied with Socrates, and had
several times threatened him with expulsion, if he insisted on talking
nonsense, and would not drop his irony and enjoy himself. Plato was the
only one I missed, but I was told that he was living in his own Utopia,
working the constitution and laws which he had drawn up.

For popularity, Aristippus and Epicurus bore the palm, in virtue of their
kindliness, sociability, and good-fellowship. Aesop the Phrygian was
there, and held the office of jester. Diogenes of Sinope was much
changed; he had married Lais the courtesan, and often in his cups would
oblige the company with a dance, or other mad pranks. The Stoics were not
represented at all; they were supposed to be still climbing the steep
hill of Virtue; and as to Chrysippus himself, we were told that he was
not to set foot on the island till he had taken a fourth course of
hellebore. The Academics contemplated coming, but were taking time for
consideration; they could not yet regard it as a certainty that any such
island existed. There was probably the added difficulty that they were
not comfortable about the judgement of Rhadamanthus, having themselves
disputed the possibility of judgement. It was stated that many of them
had started to follow persons travelling to the island, but, their energy
failing, had abandoned the journey half-way and gone back.

I have mentioned the most noteworthy of the company, and add that the
most highly respected among them are, first Achilles, and second Theseus.

Before many days had passed, I accosted the poet Homer, when we were both
disengaged, and asked him, among other things, where he came from; it was
still a burning question with us, I explained. He said he was aware that
some brought him from Chios, others from Smyrna, and others again from
Colophon; the fact was, he was a Babylonian, generally known not as
Homer, but as Tigranes; but when later in life he was given as a
_homer_ or hostage to the Greeks, that name clung to him. Another of
my questions was about the so-called spurious lines; had he written them,
or not? He said they were all genuine; so I now knew what to think of the
critics Zenodotus and Aristarchus, and all their lucubrations. Having got
a categorical answer on that point, I tried him next on his reason for
starting the Iliad at the wrath of Achilles; he said he had no exquisite
reason; it had just come into his head that way. Another thing I wanted
to know was whether he had composed the Odyssey before the Iliad, as
generally believed. He said this was not so. As to his reported
blindness, I did not need to ask; he had his sight, so there was an end
of that. It became a habit of mine, whenever I saw him at leisure, to go
up and ask him things, and he answered quite readily--especially after
his acquittal; a libel suit had been brought against him by Thersites, on
the ground of the ridicule to which he is subjected in the poem; Homer
had briefed Odysseus, and been acquitted.

It was during our sojourn that Pythagoras arrived; he had undergone seven
transmigrations, lived the lives of that number of animals, and completed
his psychic travels. It was the entire right half of him that was gold.
He was at once given the franchise, but the question was still pending
whether he was to be known as Pythagoras or Euphorbus. Empedocles also
came, scorched all over and baked right through; but not all his
entreaties could gain him admittance.

The progress of time brought round the Games of the Dead. The umpires
were Achilles, holding that office for the fifth, and Theseus for the
seventh time. A full report would take too long; but I will summarize the
events. The wrestling went to Carus the Heraclid, who won the garland
from Odysseus. The boxing resulted in a tie; the pair being the Egyptian
Areus, whose grave is in Corinth, and Epeus. For mixed boxing and
wrestling they have no prize. Who won the flat race, I have forgotten. In
poetry, Homer really did much the best, but the award was for Hesiod. All
prizes were plaited wreaths of peacock feathers.

Just after the Games were over, news came that the Damned had broken
their fetters, overpowered their guard, and were on the point of invading
the island, the ringleaders being Phalaris of Agrigentum, Busiris the
Egyptian, Diomedes the Thracian, Sciron, and Pityocamptes. Rhadamanthus
at once drew up the Heroes on the beach, giving the command to Theseus,
Achilles, and Ajax Telamonius, now in his right senses. The battle was
fought, and won by the Heroes, thanks especially to Achilles. Socrates,
who was in the right wing, distinguished himself still more than in his
lifetime at Delium, standing firm and showing no sign of trepidation as
the enemy came on; he was afterwards given as a reward of valour a large
and beautiful park in the outskirts, to which he invited his friends for
conversation, naming it the Post-mortem Academy.

The defeated party were seized, re-fettered, and sent back for severer
torments. Homer added to his poems a description of this battle, and at
my departure handed me the MS. to bring back to the living world; but it
was unfortunately lost with our other property. It began with the line:

Tell now, my Muse, how fought the mighty Dead.

According to their custom after successful war, they boiled beans, held
the feast of victory, and kept high holiday. From this Pythagoras alone
held aloof, fasting and sitting far off, in sign of his abhorrence of
bean-eating.

We were in the middle of our seventh month, when an incident happened.
Scintharus's son, Cinyras, a fine figure of a man, had fallen in love
with Helen some time before, and it was obvious that she was very much
taken with the young fellow; there used to be nods and becks and takings
of wine between them at table, and they would go off by themselves for
strolls in the wood. At last love and despair inspired Cinyras with the
idea of an elopement. Helen consented, and they were to fly to one of the
neighbouring islands, Cork or Cheese Island. They had taken three of the
boldest of my crew into their confidence; Cinyras said not a word to his
father, knowing that he would put a stop to it. The plan was carried out;
under cover of night, and in my absence--I had fallen asleep at table--,
they got Helen away unobserved and rowed off as hard as they could.

About midnight Menelaus woke up, and finding his wife's place empty
raised an alarm, and got his brother to go with him to King Rhadamanthus.
Just before dawn the look-outs announced that they could make out the
boat, far out at sea. So Rhadamanthus sent fifty of the Heroes on board a
boat hollowed out of an asphodel trunk, with orders to give chase.
Pulling their best, they overtook the fugitives at noon, as they were
entering the milky sea near the Isle of Cheese; so nearly was the escape
effected. The boat was towed back with a chain of roses. Helen shed
tears, and so felt her situation as to draw a veil over her face. As to
Cinyras and his associates, Rhadamanthus interrogated them to find
whether they had more accomplices, and, being assured to the contrary,
had them whipped with mallow twigs, bound, and dismissed to the place of
the wicked.

It was further determined that we should be expelled prematurely from the
island; we were allowed only one day's grace. This drew from me loud
laments and tears for the bliss that I was now to exchange for renewed
wanderings. They consoled me for their sentence, however, by telling me
that it would not be many years before I should return to them, and
assigning me my chair and my place at table--a distinguished one--in
anticipation. I then went to Rhadamanthus, and was urgent with him to
reveal the future to me, and give me directions for our voyage. He told
me that I should come to my native land after many wanderings and perils,
but as to the time of my return he would give me no certainty. He
pointed, however, to the neighbouring islands, of which five were
visible, besides one more distant, and informed me that the wicked
inhabited these, the near ones, that is, 'from which you see the great
flames rising; the sixth yonder is the City of Dreams; and beyond that
again, but not visible at this distance, is Calypso's isle. When you have
passed these, you will come to the great continent which is opposite your
own; there you will have many adventures, traverse divers tribes, sojourn
among inhospitable men, and at last reach your own continent. ' That was
all he would say.

But he pulled up a mallow root and handed it to me, bidding me invoke it
at times of greatest danger. When I arrived in this world, he charged me
to abstain from stirring fire with a knife, from lupines, and from the
society of boys over eighteen; these things if I kept in mind, I might
look for return to the island. That day I made ready for our voyage, and
when the banquet hour came, I shared it. On the morrow I went to the poet
Homer and besought him to write me a couplet for inscription; when he had
done it, I carved it on a beryl pillar which I had set up close to the
harbour; it ran thus:

This island, ere he took his homeward way,
The blissful Gods gave Lucian to survey.

I stayed out that day too, and next morning started, the Heroes attending
to see me off. Odysseus took the opportunity to come unobserved by
Penelope and give me a letter for Calypso in the isle Ogygia.
Rhadamanthus sent on board with me the ferryman Nauplius, who, in case we
were driven on to the islands, might secure us from seizure by
guaranteeing that our destination was different. As soon as our progress
brought us out of the scented air, it was succeeded by a horrible smell
as of bitumen, brimstone, and pitch all burning together; mingled with
this were the disgusting and intolerable fumes of roasting human flesh;
the air was dark and thick, distilling a pitchy dew upon us; we could
also hear the crack of whips and the yelling of many voices.

We only touched at one island, on which we also landed. It was completely
surrounded by precipitous cliffs, arid, stony, rugged, treeless,
unwatered. We contrived to clamber up the rocks, and advanced along a
track beset with thorns and snags--a hideous scene. When we reached the
prison and the place of punishment, what first drew our wonder was the
character of the whole. The very ground stood thick with a crop of knife-
blades and pointed stakes; and it was ringed round with rivers, one of
slime, a second of blood, and the innermost of flame. This last was very
broad and quite impassable; the flame flowed like water, swelled like the
sea, and teemed with fish, some resembling firebrands, and others, the
small ones, live coals; these were called lamplets.

One narrow way led across all three; its gate was kept by Timon of
Athens. Nauplius secured us admission, however, and then we saw the
chastisement of many kings, and many common men; some were known to us;
indeed there hung Cinyras, swinging in eddies of smoke. Our guides
described the life and guilt of each culprit; the severest torments were
reserved for those who in life had been liars and written false history;
the class was numerous, and included Ctesias of Cnidus, and Herodotus.
The fact was an encouragement to me, knowing that I had never told a lie.

I soon found the sight more than I could bear, and returning to the ship
bade farewell to Nauplius and resumed the voyage. Very soon we seemed
quite close to the Isle of Dreams, though there was a certain dimness and
vagueness about its outline; but it had something dreamlike in its very
nature; for as we approached it receded, and seemed to get further and
further off. At last we reached it and sailed into Slumber, the port,
close to the ivory gates where stands the temple of the Cock. It was
evening when we landed, and upon proceeding to the city we saw many
strange dreams. But I intend first to describe the city, as it has not
been done before; Homer indeed mentions it, but gives no detailed
description.

The whole place is embowered in wood, of which the trees are poppy and
mandragora, all thronged with bats; this is the only winged thing that
exists there. A river, called the Somnambule, flows close by, and there
are two springs at the gates, one called Wakenot, and the other
Nightlong. The rampart is lofty and of many colours, in the rainbow
style. The gates are not two, as Homer says, but four, of which two look
on to the plain Stupor; one of them is of iron, the other of pottery, and
we were told that these are used by the grim, the murderous, and the
cruel. The other pair face the sea and port, and are of horn--it was by
this that we had entered--and of ivory. On the right as you enter the
city stands the temple of Night, which deity divides with the Cock their
chief allegiance; the temple of the latter is close to the port. On the
left is the palace of Sleep. He is the governor, with two lieutenants,
Nightmare, son of Whimsy, and Flittergold, son of Fantasy. A well in the
middle of the market-place goes by the name of Heavyhead; beside which
are the temples of Deceit and Truth. In the market also is the shrine in
which oracles are given, the priest and prophet, by special appointment
from Sleep, being Antiphon the dream-interpreter.
The dreams themselves differed widely in character and appearance. Some
were well-grown, smooth-skinned, shapely, handsome fellows, others rough,
short, and ugly; some apparently made of gold, others of common cheap
stuff. Among them some were found with wings, and other strange
variations; others again were like the mummers in a pageant, tricked out
as kings or Gods or what not. Many of them we felt that we had seen in
our world, and sure enough these came up and claimed us as old
acquaintance; they took us under their charge, found us lodgings,
entertained us with lavish kindness, and, not content with the
magnificence of this present reception, promised us royalties and
provinces. Some of them also took us to see our friends, doing the return
trip all in the day.

For thirty days and nights we abode there--a very feast of sleep. Then on
a sudden came a mighty clap of thunder: we woke; jumped up; provisioned;
put off. In three days we were at the Isle of Ogygia, where we landed.
Before delivering the letter, I opened and read it; here are the
contents: _ODYSSEUS TO CALYPSO, GREETING. Know that in the faraway days
when I built my raft and sailed away from you, I suffered shipwreck; I
was hard put to it, but Leucothea brought me safe to the land of the
Phaeacians; they gave me passage home, and there I found a great company
suing for my wife's hand and living riotously upon our goods. All them I
slew, and in after years was slain by Telegonus, the son that Circe bare
me. And now I am in the Island of the Blest, ruing the day when I left
the life I had with you, and the everlasting life you proffered. I watch
for opportunity, and meditate escape and return_. Some words were
added, commending us to her hospitality.

A little way from the sea I found the cave just as it is in Homer, and
herself therein at her spinning. She took and read the letter, wept for a
space, and then offered us entertainment; royally she feasted us, putting
questions the while about Odysseus and Penelope; what were her looks? and
was she as discreet as Odysseus had been used to vaunt her? To which we
made such answers as we thought she would like.

Leaving her, we went on board, and spent the night at anchor just off
shore; in the morning we started with a stiff breeze, which grew to a
gale lasting two days; on the third day we fell in with the Pumpkin-
pirates. These are savages of the neighbouring islands who prey upon
passing ships. They use large boats made of pumpkins ninety feet long.
The pumpkin is dried and hollowed out by removal of the pulp, and the
boat is completed by the addition of cane masts and pumpkin-leaf sails.
Two boatfuls of them engaged us, and we had many casualties from their
pumpkin-seed missiles. The fight was long and well matched; but about
noon we saw a squadron of Nut-tars coming up in rear of the enemy. It
turned out that the two parties were at war; for as soon as our
assailants observed the others, they left us alone and turned to engage
them.

Meanwhile we hoisted sail and made the best of our way off, leaving them
to fight it out. It was clear that the Nut-tars must win, as they had
both superior numbers--there were five sail of them--and stronger
vessels. These were made of nutshells, halved and emptied, measuring
ninety feet from stem to stern. As soon as they were hull down, we
attended to our wounded; and from that time we made a practice of keeping
on our armour, to be in instant readiness for an attack--no vain
precaution either.

Before sunset, for instance, there assailed us from a bare island some
twenty men mounted on large dolphins--pirates again. Their dolphins
carried them quite well, curvetting and neighing. When they got near,
they divided, and subjected us to a cross fire of dry cuttlefish and
crabs' eyes. But our arrows and javelins were too much for them, and
they fled back to the island, few of them unwounded.

At midnight, in calm weather, we found ourselves colliding with an
enormous halcyon's nest; it was full seven miles round. The halcyon was
brooding, not much smaller herself than the nest. She got up, and very
nearly capsized us with the fanning of her wings; however, she went off
with a melancholy cry. When it was getting light, we got on to the nest,
and found on examination that it was composed like a vast raft of large
trees. There were five hundred eggs, larger in girth than a tun of Chian.
We could make out the chicks inside and hear them croaking; we hewed open
one egg with hatchets, and dug out an unfledged chick bulkier than twenty
vultures.

Sailing on, we had left the nest some five and twenty miles behind, when
a miracle happened. The wooden goose of our stern-post suddenly clapped
its wings and started cackling; Scintharus, who was bald, recovered his
hair; most striking of all, the ship's mast came to life, putting forth
branches sideways, and fruit at the top; this fruit was figs, and a bunch
of black grapes, not yet ripe. These sights naturally disturbed us, and
we fell to praying the Gods to avert any disaster they might portend.

We had proceeded something less than fifty miles when we saw a great
forest, thick with pines and cypresses. This we took for the mainland;
but it was in fact deep sea, set with trees; they had no roots, but yet
remained in their places, floating upright, as it were. When we came near
and realized the state of the case, we could not tell what to do; it was
impossible to sail between the trees, which were so close as to touch one
another, and we did not like the thought of turning back. I climbed the
tallest tree to get a good view, and found that the wood was five or six
miles across, and was succeeded by open water. So we determined to hoist
the ship on to the top of the foliage, which was very dense, and get her
across to the other sea, if possible. It proved to be so. We attached a
strong cable, got up on the tree-tops, and hauled her after us with some
difficulty; then we laid her on the branches, hoisted sail, and floating
thus were propelled by the wind. A line of Antimachus came into my head:

And as they voyaged thus the woodland through--

Well, we made our way over and reached the water, into which we let her
down in the same way. We then sailed through clear transparent sea, till
we found ourselves on the edge of a great gorge which divided water from
water, like the land fissures which are often produced by earthquakes. We
got the sails down and brought her to just in time to escape making the
plunge. We could bend over and see an awful mysterious gulf perhaps a
hundred miles deep, the water standing wall against wall. A glance round
showed us not far off to the right a water bridge which spanned the
chasm, and gave a moving surface crossing from one sea to the other. We
got out the sweeps, pulled her to the bridge, and with great exertions
effected that astonishing passage.

There followed a sail through smooth water, and then a small island, easy
of approach, and inhabited; its occupants were the Ox-heads, savage men
with horns, after the fashion of our poets' Minotaur. We landed and went
in search of water and provisions, of which we were now in want. The
water we found easily, but nothing else; we heard, however, not far off,
a numerous lowing; supposing it to indicate a herd of cows, we went a
little way towards it, and came upon these men. They gave chase as soon
as they saw us, and seized three of my comrades, the rest of us getting
off to sea. We then armed--for we would not leave our friends unavenged--
and in full force fell on the Ox-heads as they were dividing our
slaughtered men's flesh. Our combined shout put them to flight, and in
the pursuit we killed about fifty, took two alive, and returned with our
captives. We had found nothing to eat; the general opinion was for
slaughtering the prisoners; but I refused to accede to this, and kept
them in bonds till an embassy came from the Ox-heads to ransom them; so
we understood the motions they made, and their tearful supplicatory
lowings. The ransom consisted of a quantity of cheese, dried fish,
onions, and four deer; these were three-footed, the two forefeet being
joined into one. In exchange for all this we restored the prisoners, and
after one day's further stay departed.

By this time we were beginning to observe fish, birds on the wing, and
other signs of land not far off; and we shortly saw men, practising a
mode of navigation new to us; for they were boat and crew in one. The
method was this: they float on their backs, erect a sail, and then,
holding the sheets with their hands, catch the wind. These were succeeded
by others who sat on corks, to which were harnessed pairs of dolphins,
driven with reins. They neither attacked nor avoided us, but drove along
in all confidence and peace, admiring the shape of our craft and
examining it all round.

That evening we touched at an island of no great size. It was occupied by
what we took for women, talking Greek. They came and greeted us with
kisses, were attired like courtesans, all young and fair, and with long
robes sweeping the ground. Cabbalusa was the name of the island, and
Hydramardia the city's. These women paired off with us and led the way to
their separate homes. I myself tarried a little, under the influence of
some presentiment, and looking more closely observed quantities of human
bones and skulls lying about. I did not care to raise an alarm, gather my
men, and resort to arms; instead, I drew out my mallow, and prayed
earnestly to it for escape from our perilous position. Shortly after, as
my hostess was serving me, I saw that in place of human feet she had
ass's hoofs; whereupon I drew my sword, seized, bound, and closely
questioned her. Reluctantly enough she had to confess; they were sea-
women called Ass-shanks, and their food was travellers. 'When we have
made them drunk,' she said, 'and gone to rest with them, we overpower
them in their sleep. ' After this confession I left her there bound, went
up on to the roof, and shouted for my comrades. When they appeared, I
repeated it all to them, showed them the bones, and brought them in to
see my prisoner; she at once vanished, turning to water; however, I
thrust my sword into this experimentally, upon which the water became
blood.

Then we marched hurriedly down to our ship and sailed away. With the
first glimmering of dawn we made out a mainland, which we took for the
continent that faces our own. We reverently saluted it, made prayer, and
held counsel upon our best course. Some were for merely landing and
turning back at once, others for leaving the ship, and going into the
interior to make trial of the inhabitants. But while we were
deliberating, a great storm arose, which dashed us, a complete wreck, on
the shore. We managed to swim to land, each snatching up his arms and
anything else he could.

Such are the adventures that befell me up to our arrival at that other
continent: our sea-voyage; our cruise among the islands and in the air;
then our experiences in and after the whale; with the Heroes; with the
dreams; and finally with the Ox-heads and the Ass-shanks. Our fortunes on
the continent will be the subject of the following books.




THE TYRANNICIDE

_A man forces his way into the stronghold of a tyrant, with the
intention of killing him. Not finding the tyrant himself, he kills his
son, and leaves the sword sticking in his body. The tyrant, coming, and
finding his son dead, slays himself with the same sword. --The assailant
now claims that the killing of the son entitles him to the reward of
tyrannicide. _


Two tyrants--a father advanced in years, a son in the prime of life,
waiting only to step into his nefarious heritage--have fallen by my hand
on a single day: I come before this court, claiming but one reward for my
twofold service. My case is unique. With one blow I have rid you of two
monsters: with my sword I slew the son; grief for the son slew the
father. The misdeeds of the tyrant are sufficiently punished: he has
lived to see his son perish untimely; and--wondrous sequel! --the tyrant's
own hand has freed us from tyranny. I slew the son, and used his death to
slay another: in his life he shared the iniquities of his father; in his
death, so far as in him lay, he was a parricide. Mine is the hand that
freed you, mine the sword that accomplished all: as to the order and
manner of procedure, there, indeed, I have deviated from the common
practice of tyrannicides: I slew the son, who had strength to resist me,
and left my sword to deal with the aged father. In acting thus, I had
thought to increase your obligation to me; a twofold deliverance--I had
supposed--would entitle me to a twofold reward; for I have freed you not
from tyranny alone, but from the fear of tyranny, and by removing the
heir of iniquity have made your salvation sure. And now it seems that my
services are to go for nothing; I, the preserver of the constitution, am
to forgo the recompense prescribed by its laws. It is surely from no
patriotic motive, as he asserts, that my adversary disputes my claim;
rather it is from grief at the loss of the tyrants, and a desire to
avenge their death.

Bear with me, gentlemen, for a little, while I dwell in some detail upon
those evils of tyranny with which you are only too familiar; I shall thus
enable you to realize the extent of my services, and to enjoy the
contemplation of sufferings from which you have escaped. Ours was not the
common experience: we had not _one_ tyranny, _one_ servitude to
endure, we were not subjected to the caprice of a single master. Other
cities have had their tyrant: it was reserved for us to have two tyrants
at once, to groan beneath a double oppression. That of the old man was
light by comparison, his anger mildness, his resentment long-suffering;
age had blunted his passions, checked their headlong impetus, and curbed
the lust of pleasure. His crimes, so it is said, were involuntary;
resulting from no tyrannical disposition in himself, but from the
instigations of his son. For in him paternal affection had too clearly
become a mania; his son was all in all to him; he did his bidding,
committed every crime at his pleasure, dealt out punishment at his
command, was subservient to him in all things; the minister of a tyrant's
caprice, and that tyrant his son. The young man left him in possession of
the name and semblance of rule; so much he conceded to his years: but in
all essentials _he_ was the real tyrant. By him the power of the
tyrant was upheld; by him and by him alone the fruits of tyranny were
gathered. He it was who maintained the garrison, intimidated the victims
of oppression, and butchered those who meditated resistance; who laid
violent hands on boys and maidens, and trampled on the sanctity of
marriage. Murder, banishment, confiscation, torture, brutality; all
bespeak the wantonness of youth. The father followed his son's lead, and
had no word of blame for the crimes in which he participated. Our
situation became unbearable: for when the promptings of passion draw
support from the authority of rule, then iniquity knows no further
bounds.

We knew moreover (and here was the bitterest thought of all) that our
servitude must endure--ay, endure for ever; that our city was doomed to
pass in unending succession from master to master, to be the heritage of
the oppressor. To others it is no small consolation that they may count
the days, and say in their hearts: 'The end will be soon; he will die,
and we shall be free. ' We had no such hope: there stood the heir of
tyranny before our eyes. There were others--men of spirit--who cherished
like designs with myself; yet all lacked resolution to strike the blow;
freedom was despaired of; to contend against a succession of tyrants
seemed a hopeless task.

Yet I was not deterred. I had reckoned the difficulties of my
undertaking, and shrank not back, but faced the danger. Alone, I issued
forth to cope with tyranny in all its might. Alone, did I say? nay, not
alone; I had my sword for company, my ally and partner in tyrannicide. I
saw what the end was like to be: and, seeing it, resolved to purchase
your freedom with my blood. I grappled with the outer watch, with
difficulty routed the guards, slew all I met, broke down all resistance,
--and so to the fountain-head, the well-spring of tyranny, the source of
all our calamities; within his stronghold I found him, and there slew him
with many wounds, fighting valiantly for his life.

From that moment, my end was gained: tyranny was destroyed; we were free
men. There remained the aged father, alone, unarmed, desolate; his guards
scattered, his strong protector slain; no adversary this for a brave man.
And now I debated within myself: 'My work is done, my aim achieved, all
is as I would have it. And how shall this remnant of tyranny be punished?
He is unworthy of the hand that shed that other blood: the glory of a
noble enterprise shall not be so denied. No, let some other executioner
be found. It were too much happiness for him to die, and never know the
worst; let him see all, for his punishment, and let the sword be ready to
his hand; to that sword I leave the rest. ' In this design I withdrew; and
the sword--as I had foreseen--did its office, slew the tyrant, and put
the finishing touch to my work. And now I come to you, bringing democracy
with me, and call upon all men to take heart, and hear the glad tidings
of liberty. Enjoy the work of my hands! You see the citadel cleared of
the oppressors; you are under no man's orders; the law holds its course;
honours are awarded, judgements given, pleadings heard. And all springs
from one bold stroke, from the slaying of that son whom his father might
not survive. I claim from you the recompense that is my due; and that in
no paltry, grasping spirit; it was not for a wage's sake that I sought to
serve my country; but I would have my deed confirmed by your award; I
would not be disparaged by slanderous tongues, as one who attempted and
failed, and was deemed unworthy of honour.

My adversary tells me that I am unreasonable in asking for reward and
distinction. I did not slay the tyrant; I have not fulfilled the
requirements of the statute; there is a flaw in my claim. --And what more
does he want of me? Say: did I flinch? did I not ascend into the citadel?
did I not slay? are we not free men? have we a master? do we hear a
tyrant's threats? did any of the evil-doers escape me? --No; all is peace;
the laws are in force; freedom is assured; democracy is established; our
wives, our daughters are unmolested, our sons are safe; the city keeps
festival in the general joy. And who is the cause of it all? who has
wrought the change? Has any man a prior claim? Then I withdraw; be his
the honour and the reward. But if not--if mine was the deed, mine the
risk, mine the courage to ascend and smite and punish, dealing vengeance
on the father through the son--then why depreciate my services? why seek
to deprive me of a people's gratitude?

'But you did not kill the _tyrant_; the law assigns the reward to
him who kills the tyrant. ' And pray what is the difference between
killing him and causing his death? I see none. The law-giver had but one
end in view,--freedom, equality, deliverance from oppression. This was
the signal service that he deemed worthy of recompense; and this service
you cannot deny that I have rendered. In slaying one whom the tyrant
could not survive, I myself wrought the tyrant's death. His was the hand:
the deed was mine. Let us not chop logic as to the manner and
circumstances of his death, but rather ask: has he ceased to exist, and
am I the cause? Your scruples might go further, and object to some future
deliverer of his country, that he struck not with the sword, but with a
stick or a stone or the like. Had I blockaded the tyrant, and brought
about his death by starvation, you would still, I suppose, have objected
that it was not the work of my own hand? Again there would have been a
flaw in my claim? The increased bitterness of such a death would have
counted for nothing with you? Confine your attention to this one
question: does any of our oppressors survive? is there any ground for
anxiety, any vestige of our past misery? If not, if all is peace, then
none but an envious detractor would attempt to deprive me of the reward
of my labours by inquiring into the means employed.

Moreover, it is laid down in our laws (unless after all these years of
servitude my memory plays me false) that blood-guiltiness is of two
kinds. A man may slay another with his own hand, or, without slaying him,
he may put death unavoidably in his way; in the latter case the penalty
is the same as in the former; and rightly, it being the intention of the
law that the cause should rank with the act itself; the manner in which
death is brought about is not the question. You would not acquit a man
who in this sense had slain another; you would punish him as a murderer:
how then can you refuse to reward as a benefactor the man who, by parity
of reasoning, has shown himself to be the liberator of his country?

Nor again can it be objected that all I did was to strike the blow, and
that the resulting benefits were accidental, and formed no part of my
design. What had I to fear, when once the stronger of our oppressors was
slain? And why did I leave my sword in the wound, if not because I
foresaw the very thing that would happen? Are you prepared to deny that
the death so occasioned was that of a tyrant both in name and in fact,
or that his death was an event for which the state would gladly pay an
abundant reward? I think not. If then the tyrant is slain, how can you
withhold the reward from him who occasioned his death? What
scrupulousness is this--to concern yourself with the manner of his end,
while you are enjoying the freedom that results from it? Democracy is
restored: what more can you demand from him who restored it? You refer us
to the terms of the law: well, the law looks only at the end; of the
means it says nothing; it has no concern with them. Has not the reward of
tyrannicide been paid before now to him who merely expelled a tyrant? And
rightly so: for he too has made free men of slaves. But I have done more:
banishment may be followed by restitution: but here the family of tyrants
is utterly annihilated and destroyed; the evil thing is exterminated,
root and branch.

I implore you, gentlemen, to review my conduct from beginning to end, and
see whether there has been any such omission on my part as to make my act
appear less than tyrannicide in the eye of the law. The high patriotic
resolve which prompts a man to face danger for the common good, and to
purchase the salvation of his country at the price of his own life; this
is the first requirement. Have I been wanting here? Have I lacked
courage? Have I shrunk back at the prospect of the dangers through which
I must pass? My enemy cannot say it of me. Now at this stage let us
pause. Consider only the intention, the design, apart from its success;
and suppose that I come before you to claim the reward of patriotism
merely on the ground of my resolve. I have failed, and another, following
in my footsteps, has slain the tyrant. Say, is it unreasonable in such a
case to allow my claim? 'Gentlemen,' I might say, 'the will, the
intention, was mine; I made the attempt, I did what I could; my resolve
entitles me of itself to your reward. ' What would my enemy say to that?

But in fact my case stands far otherwise. I mounted into the stronghold,
I faced danger, I had innumerable difficulties to contend with, before I
slew the son. Think not that it was a light or easy matter, to make my
way past the watch, and single-handed to overcome one body of guards
after another and put them to flight: herein is perhaps the greatest
difficulty with which the tyrannicide has to contend. It is no such great
matter to bring the tyrant to bay, and dispatch him.