To do thine office now, and search out well
Where lies a cavern here with double mouth,
Where in the winter twofold sunny side
Is found to sit in, while in summer heat
The breeze sends slumber through the tunnelled vault;
And just below, a little to the left,20
Thou may'st perchance a stream of water see,
If still it flow there. Go, and show in silence
If he is dwelling in this self-same spot,
Or wanders elsewhere, that in all that comes
Thou may'st give heed to me, and I may speak,
And common counsels work for good from both.
Neop. [Clambering on the rocks.] Ο King Odysseus, no
far task thou giv'st;
For such a cave, methinks, I see hard by.
Odys. Above thee or below? for this I see not.
Neop. *Here, just above; yet footstep there is none.
Odys. Look to it lest he chance to sleep within.30
Neop. I see an empty cave untenanted.
Odys. *Are there no household luxuries within?
Neop. Some leaves pressed down as for some dweller's use.
Odys. Is all else empty? nought beneath the roof?
Neop. A simple cup of wood, the common work
Of some poor craftsman, and this tinder stuff.
Odys. His precious store it is thou tell'st me of.
Neop. [Starting back.] Ah! . . . And here, too, these
rags are set to dry,
Full of some foul and sickening noisomeness.
Odys. Clearly the man is dwelling in this spot,40
And is not distant. How could one so worn
With that old evil in his foot go far?
But either he is gone in search of food,
Or knows perchance some herb medicinal;
