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When from the palace to the wondering throng
Sage Medon came, and Phemius came along
(
Restless and early sleep's soft bands they broke);
And Medon first the assembled chiefs bespoke;
"
Hear me, ye peers and elders of the land,
Who deem this act the work of mortal hand;
As o'er the heaps of death Ulysses strode,
These eyes, these eyes beheld a present god,
Who now before him, now beside him stood,
Fought as he fought, and mark'd his way with blood:
In vain old Mentor's form the god belied;
'Twas Heaven that struck, and Heaven was on his side."
A sudden horror all the assembly shook,
When slowly rising, Halitherses spoke
(
Reverend and wise, whose comprehensive view
At once the present and the future knew):
Me too, ye fathers, hear! from you proceed
"
The ills ye mourn; your own the guilty deed.
Ye gave your sons, your lawless sons, the rein
(Oft warn'd by Mentor and myself in vain);
An absent hero's bed they sought to soil,
An absent hero's wealth they made their spoil;
Immoderate riot, and intemperate lust!
The offence was great, the punishment was just.
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