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ON THE MANUSCRIPTS OF GOD 



where the gods played fast and loose with 

 mortals? With no sea as an undulating 

 stage for his bouts with gods and goddesses, 

 an amphibious hero like Ulysses would be 

 shorn of half his "godlike" charm. So long 

 has one followed that hero, where the "rainy 

 Hyades vext the dim sea," that one finds it 

 impossible to think of him, even in his old 

 age, settling down to end his days quietly 

 with Penelope on dry land. One may be 

 sorry for his intermittent widow, but one 

 must agree with him and the poets that 

 Ithaca was no place for him, but, instead, 

 the murky sea, where Neptune could furnish 

 enough conflict to meet the most exacting 

 dramatic requirements. Yielding to the 

 same sea-spell, which is a part of the aura 

 of Ulysses, Tennyson puts these words in 

 the mouth of the aged hero : 



"Push off, and sitting well in order, smite 

 The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds 

 To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths 

 Of all the western stars, until I die." 



Not only are the classics infinitely en- 

 riched by the waters which overflow the 



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