Calypso smiled at his suspicions, and patted him on the shoulder as
she answered: "Thou art a sad rogue, and very deep of wit, as anyone
may see by these words of thine. Now hear me swear: Witness, thou
earth, and the wide heaven above us, and the dark waterfall of Styx,
the greatest and most awful thing by which a god may swear, that I
intend no ill, but only good, to this man."

Having sworn that oath Calypso rose, and bidding Odysseus follow led
the way to her cave. There she set meat before him, such as mortal men
eat, and wine to drink; but she herself was served by her handmaids
with immortal food, and nectar, the wine of the gods. When they had
supped, Calypso looked at Odysseus and said: "And wilt thou indeed
leave me, thou strange man? Am I not tall and fair, and worthy to be
called a daughter of heaven? And is thy Penelope so rare a dame, that
thou preferrest her to me! Ah! if thou knewest all the toils which
await thee before thou reachest thy home, and all the perils prepared
for thee there, thou wouldst renounce thy purpose, and dwell for ever
with me. Nevertheless go, if go thou must, and my blessing go with
thee."

Her words were kind, but some anger lurked in her tone, which Odysseus
hastened to appease. "Fair goddess," he answered, "be not wroth with
me. I know that thou art more lovely far than my wife Penelope; for
thou art divine, and she is but a mortal woman. Nevertheless I long
day and night to see her face, and to sit beneath the shadow of my own
rooftree. And if I be stricken again by the hand of Heaven on the
purple sea, I will bear it, for I have a very patient heart. Long have
I toiled, and much have I suffered, amid waves and wars. If more
remains, I will endure that also."