Circe的爱

she hurried toward us, decked in rich regalia,

handmaids following close with trays of bread

and meats galore and glinting ruddy wine.

女巫Circe得知Odysseus来到之后就要匆忙离去，她就急匆匆来到Odysseus前，给她送来了bread, meats, wine，对待这一行人是如此的慷慨和无私，并且为Odysseus规划返航的路线，使他们能够安全回家。

But I will set you a course and chart each seamark,

so neither on sea nor land will some new trap

ensnare you in trouble, make you suffer more.’

待众人睡下后，女巫Circe向Odysseus说明在接下去的旅程中将遇到的困难，包括歌女the Sirens,海怪Scylla和Charybdis以及太阳神的神牛这些所带来的麻烦。

Soften some beeswax

and stop your shipmates’ ears so none can hear,

none of the crew, but if you are bent on hearing,

have the mtie you hand and foot in the swift ship,

erect at the mast-block, lashed by ropes to the mast

so you can hear the Sirens’ song to your heart’s content.

But if you plead, commanding your men to set you free,

then they must lash you faster, rope on rope. (Circe)

女巫Circe在同Odysseus介绍歌女the Sirens时，向其诉说避险的方式，显然这是有助于他们顺利航行。但是当女巫Circe说出“but if you are bent on hearing…”，而且这样的行为显然Odysseus最终也是付诸实践的。起初，我想为何Circe要说出这样的话，让Odysseus去冒这样的险，而不是让他安然度过呢，老老实实地塞住耳朵，这样就避免了歌女the Sirens的诱惑了。显然，这是因为Circe太过于了解Odysseus的性格特点——对着未知充满着好奇心，所以才会有此举，而最后Odysseus一行人在度过此区域时，正如Circe同他所说的一样。这就更加印证了Circe对Odysseus的了解，他们的关系更是不一般。

I alone was to hear their voices, so she said,

but you must bind me with tight chafing ropes

so I cannot move a muscle, bound to the spot,

erect at the mast-block, lashed by ropes to the mast.

And if I plead, commanding you to set me free,

then lash me faster, rope on pressing rope.(Odysseus)

Odysseus的两难

关于如何度过海怪Scylla和Charybdis镇守的地方，的确，这是一个两难的问题，Circe并不能为Odysseus拿主意，所以让Odysseus自己决定。而从Odysseus的提问看出他似乎并不满意Circe的提议，他既不想失去自己的战友，更不想最后只能船毁人亡，所以想要一个更完美的方式。

Deadly Charybdis—can’t I possibly cut and run from her

and still fight Scylla off when Scylla strikes my men? (Odysseus)

然而这被Circe反驳了，Odysseus是如此的固执“So stubborn”。这也许就是Odysseus的“执着”吧，不甘安于神的安排，他也想希望能够顾全战友的生命，所以他在“挣扎”。然而在命运面前，我们的英雄不得不低下了头。唯有“逃离”才是最佳方案，而不是拿起武器反抗。

Hell-bent yet again on battle and feats of arms?

Can’t you bow to the deathless gods themselves? (Circe)

在这一段旅程中，Odysseus没有像第一段冒险前那样说出Circe的话，而是在这即将到来的另一段历险前鼓舞战士，用自己的智慧、勇气为战友们护航。

But even from there my courage,

my presence of mind and tactics saved us all,

and we will live to remember this someday,

I have no doubt.(Odysseus)

在我看来，Odysseus不提及这两个海怪有他的考量，他不想自己的战友因为这不可名状的可怖而让大家陷入恐慌，不想让大家人心涣散。

No mention of Scylla—how to fight that nightmare?—

for fear the men would panic, desert their oars

and huddle down and stow themselves away.(Odysseus)

Odysseus显然还是想搏斗一番，毕竟他是一个英雄，他是众人之首，怎能轻言放弃呢？暂时不管Circe的要求，穿上盔甲，拿起长矛，准备出击。

But now I cleared my mind of Circe’s orders—

cramping my style, urging me not to arm at all.

I donned my heroic armor, seized long spears

in both my hands and marched out on the half-deck,

forward,hoping from there to catch the first glimpse

of Scylla,ghoul of the cliffs, swooping to kill my men.(Odysseus)

但是，天不遂人愿。在神安排的命运前，Odysseus也只有屈从，终究是无法违背，这就是英雄的无奈吧，眼睁睁的看着自己的战友牺牲了。这对英雄又是多大的打击呢？

小结

有默默付出爱的Circe，期望着Odysseus能够安全返航，这份爱又是这般无私而又包容，将所爱之人Odysseus送走。

有着英雄气概的Odysseus，即使面对危险，也仍想为自己的战友和自己放手一搏，奈何命运的无情，唯留英雄的无奈。