Verse
Odyssey
Book 11, Line 582 by Samuel Butler (English)
"I saw also the dreadful fate of Tantalus, who stood in a lake that reached his chin; he was dying to quench his thirst, but could never reach the water, for whenever the poor creature stooped to drink, it dried up and vanished, so that there was nothing but dry ground - parched by a daimôn . There were tall trees, moreover, that shed their fruit over his head - pears, pomegranates, apples, sweet figs and juicy olives, but whenever the poor creature stretched out his hand to take some, the wind tossed the branches back again to the clouds.
OdysseyBook 11, Line 582Samuel ButlerEnglishVerse permalinkRead in Book 11
HomerProseID odyssey-odyssey-butler-en-prose-11-582