Lesson XXV
ἀλλά τε Σειρῆνες λιγυρῇ θέλγουσιν ἀοιδῇ,
ἥμεναι ἐν λειμῶνι· πολὺς δ’ ἀμφ’ ὀστεόφιν θὶς 45
ἀνδρῶν πυθομένων, περὶ δὲ ῥινοὶ μινύθουσιν.
ἀλλὰ παρὲξ ἐλάαν, ἐπὶ δ’ οὔατ’ ἀλεῖψαι ἑταίρων
κηρὸν δεψήσας μελιηδέα, μή τις ἀκούσῃ
τῶν ἄλλων· ἀτὰρ αὐτὸς ἀκουέμεν αἴ κ’ ἐθέλῃσθα,
δησάντων σ’ ἐν νηῒ θοῇ χεῖράς τε πόδας τε 50
ὀρθὸν ἐν ἱστοπέδῃ, ἐκ δ’ αὐτοῦ πείρατ’ ἀνήφθω,
ὄφρα κε τερπόμενος ὄπ’ ἀκούσῃς Σειρήνοιϊν.
εἰ δέ κε λίσσηαι ἑτάρους λῦσαί τε κελεύῃς,
οἱ δέ σ’ ἔτι πλεόνεσσι τότ’ ἐν δεσμοῖσι διδέντων.ἀϊδρείη, -ης [f.] lack of experience, ignorance
ἀν-άπτω I tie, I make fast (a rope)
γάνυμαι I take delight in [+ dat.]
δέψω, — , δέψησα I knead (to soften)
δίδημι I bind
ἐξ-ερεείνω I inquire about
ἱστοπέδη, -ης [f.] mast-stay
κατα-δύω, κατα-δῡ ́σομαι, κατά- δῡν I go
down; I set
κηρός, -οῦ [m.] waxκνέφας, -αος [n.] the evening dusk
μινύθω I diminish [trans.]; I waste away [intr.]
πειραίνω I bring to an end, I accomplish
πρόπᾱν, -ᾱσα, -αν all (the)
προσ-λέγομαι I recline beside
πρυμνήσια, -ων [n. pl.] stern cables [for
mooring a ship’s stern to shore]
πῡ ́θω I make rotten; [pass.] I rot
ῥῑνος skin, hide- NOTES
29 πρόπαν ἦμαρ : acc. of extent of time (§18 in Book 1).
30 ἥμεθα : See §15, above.
31 ἐπὶ : adverbial.
33 χειρὸς : gen. of a part grasped, after ἑλοῦσα (“by the hand”).
34 εἷσέ : augmented aor. of ἕζομαι, with trans. meaning. Its understood object is με.
προσέλεκτο: 3 sg. aor. of προσ-λέγομαι.
35 τῇ = Κίρκῃ.
37 πεπείρανται : 3 sg. pf. pass. of πειραίνω.
39 ἀφίξεαι : from ἀφικνέομαι.
45 ὀστεόφιν : The special case-ending –φιν (§422 in Book I) has been added to ὀστεόν. It is
probably best translated as a locative (“on [their] bones”). θίς (usually “beach” in Homer)
here should be understood as something like “dune” or “sand-bank.” Supply ἐστι as verb.
ἀμφί is adverbial.
46 ἀνδρῶν πυθομένων is partitive gen. with θίς (“sand-bank of rotting men”). περί is
adverbial. δὲ : The epsilon is long because ῥινοί was originally ϝρινοί.
47 ἐλάαν and ἀλεῖψαι : inf. for impt. ἐλάαν is inf. of ἐλαύνω.
49 ἐθέλῃσθα = ἐθέλῃς, subjunctive in the protasis of a Future More Vivid construction (§247a
in Book 1).
50 δησάντων : 3 pl. aor. impt. act. of δέω. The understood subject is the companions; the
object is σε. χεῖράς τε πόδας τε : acc. of specification (§644 in Book I).