208 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
208 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
Provided by The Internet Classics Archive.
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See bottom for copyright. Available online at
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http://classics.mit.edu//Homer/odyssey.html
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The Odyssey
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By Homer
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Translated by Samuel Butler
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BOOK I
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<bullet indent="-18"><font name="courier" size="13" color="blue">I</font></bullet><font color="green"><b><i>Tell</i></b></font> me, O muse, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide
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a b c &| & | <b>A</b>' <b>A</b> ' after he had sacked the famous town of <font color="red" size="12"><b>Troy</b></font>. Many cities did he visit,
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and many were the nations with whose manners and customs he was acquainted;
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moreover he suffered much by sea while trying to save his own life
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and bring his men safely home; but do what he might he could not
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save<super><font color="red">1</font></super>
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his men, for they perished through their own sheer folly in eating
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the cattle of the Sun-god Hyperion; so the god prevented them from
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ever reaching home. Tell me, too, about all these things, O daughter
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of Jove, from whatsoever source you may know them.
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So now all who escaped death in battle or by shipwreck had got safely
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home except Ulysses, and he, though he was longing to return to his
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wife and country, was detained by the goddess Calypso, who had got
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him into a large cave and wanted to marry him. But as years went by,
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there came a time when the gods settled that he should go back to
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Ithaca; even then, however, when he was among his own people, his
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troubles were not yet over; nevertheless all the gods had now begun
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to pity him except Neptune, who still persecuted him without ceasing
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and would not let him get home.
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<font color="green">Now Neptune had gone off to the Ethiopians, who are at the world's
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end, and lie in two halves, the one looking West and the other East.
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He had gone there to accept a hecatomb of sheep and oxen, and was
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enjoying himself at his festival; but the other gods met in the house
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of Olympian Jove, and the sire of gods and men spoke first. At that
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moment he was thinking of Aegisthus, who had been killed by Agamemnon's
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son Orestes; so he said to the other gods:</font>
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"See now, how men lay blame upon us gods for what is after all nothing
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but their own folly. Look at Aegisthus; he must needs make love to
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Agamemnon's wife unrighteously and then kill Agamemnon, though he
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knew it would be the death of him; for I sent Mercury to warn him
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not to do either of these things, inasmuch as Orestes would be sure
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to take his revenge when he grew up and wanted to return home. Mercury
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told him this in all good will but he would not listen, and now he
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has paid for everything in full."
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Then Minerva said, "Father, son of Saturn, King of kings, it served
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Aegisthus right, and so it would any one else who does as he did;
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but Aegisthus is neither here nor there; it is for Ulysses that my
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heart bleeds, when I think of his sufferings in that lonely sea-girt
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island, far away, poor man, from all his friends. It is an island
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covered with forest, in the very middle of the sea, and a goddess
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lives there, daughter of the magician Atlas, who looks after the bottom
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of the ocean, and carries the great columns that keep heaven and earth
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asunder. This daughter of Atlas has got hold of poor unhappy Ulysses,
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and keeps trying by every kind of blandishment to make him forget
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his home, so that he is tired of life, and thinks of nothing but how
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he may once more see the smoke of his own chimneys. You, sir, take
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no heed of this, and yet when Ulysses was before Troy did he not propitiate
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you with many a burnt sacrifice? Why then should you keep on being
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so angry with him?"
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And Jove said, "My child, what are you talking about? How can I forget
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Ulysses than whom there is no more capable man on earth, nor more
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liberal in his offerings to the immortal gods that live in heaven?
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Bear in mind, however, that Neptune is still furious with Ulysses
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for having blinded an eye of Polyphemus king of the Cyclopes. Polyphemus
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is son to Neptune by the nymph Thoosa, daughter to the sea-king Phorcys;
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therefore though he will not kill Ulysses outright, he torments him
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by preventing him from getting home. Still, let us lay our heads together
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and see how we can help him to return; Neptune will then be pacified,
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for if we are all of a mind he can hardly stand out against us."
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And Minerva said, "Father, son of Saturn, King of kings, if, then,
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the gods now mean that Ulysses should get home, we should first send
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Mercury to the Ogygian island to tell Calypso that we have made up
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our minds and that he is to return. In the meantime I will go to Ithaca,
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to put heart into Ulysses' son Telemachus; I will embolden him to
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call the Achaeans in assembly, and speak out to the suitors of his
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mother Penelope, who persist in eating up any number of his sheep
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and oxen; I will also conduct him to Sparta and to Pylos, to see if
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he can hear anything about the return of his dear father- for this
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will make people speak well of him."
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"Men of Ithaca, it is all your own fault that things have turned out
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as they have; you would not listen to me, nor yet to Mentor, when
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we bade you check the folly of your sons who were doing much wrong
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in the wantonness of their hearts- wasting the substance and dishonouring
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the wife of a chieftain who they thought would not return. Now, however,
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let it be as I say, and do as I tell you. Do not go out against Ulysses,
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or you may find that you have been drawing down evil on your own heads."
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This was what he said, and more than half raised a loud shout, and
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at once left the assembly. But the rest stayed where they were, for
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the speech of Halitherses displeased them, and they sided with Eupeithes;
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they therefore hurried off for their armour, and when they had armed
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themselves, they met together in front of the city, and Eupeithes
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led them on in their folly. He thought he was going to avenge the
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murder of his son, whereas in truth he was never to return, but was
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himself to perish in his attempt.
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Then Minerva said to Jove, "Father, son of Saturn, king of kings,
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answer me this question- What do you propose to do? Will you set them
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fighting still further, or will you make peace between them?"
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And Jove answered, "My child, why should you ask me? Was it not by
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your own arrangement that Ulysses came home and took his revenge upon
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the suitors? Do whatever you like, but I will tell you what I think
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will be most reasonable arrangement. Now that Ulysses is revenged,
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let them swear to a solemn covenant, in virtue of which he shall continue
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to rule, while we cause the others to forgive and forget the massacre
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of their sons and brothers. Let them then all become friends as heretofore,
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and let peace and plenty reign."
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This was what Minerva was already eager to bring about, so down she
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darted from off the topmost summits of Olympus.
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Now when Laertes and the others had done dinner, Ulysses began by
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saying, "Some of you go out and see if they are not getting close
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up to us." So one of Dolius's sons went as he was bid. Standing on
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the threshold he could see them all quite near, and said to Ulysses,
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"Here they are, let us put on our armour at once."
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They put on their armour as fast as they could- that is to say Ulysses,
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his three men, and the six sons of Dolius. Laertes also and Dolius
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did the same- warriors by necessity in spite of their grey hair. When
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they had all put on their armour, they opened the gate and sallied
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forth, Ulysses leading the way.
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Then Jove's daughter Minerva came up to them, having assumed the form
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and voice of Mentor. Ulysses was glad when he saw her, and said to
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his son Telemachus, "Telemachus, now that are about to fight in an
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engagement, which will show every man's mettle, be sure not to disgrace
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your ancestors, who were eminent for their strength and courage all
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the world over."
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"You say truly, my dear father," answered Telemachus, "and you shall
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see, if you will, that I am in no mind to disgrace your family."
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Laertes was delighted when he heard this. "Good heavens, he exclaimed,
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"what a day I am enjoying: I do indeed rejoice at it. My son and grandson
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are vying with one another in the matter of valour."
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On this Minerva came close up to him and said, "Son of Arceisius-
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best friend I have in the world- pray to the blue-eyed damsel, and
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to Jove her father; then poise your spear and hurl it."
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As she spoke she infused fresh vigour into him, and when he had prayed
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to her he poised his spear and hurled it. He hit Eupeithes' helmet,
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and the spear went right through it, for the helmet stayed it not,
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and his armour rang rattling round him as he fell heavily to the ground.
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Meantime Ulysses and his son fell the front line of the foe and smote
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them with their swords and spears; indeed, they would have killed
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every one of them, and prevented them from ever getting home again,
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only Minerva raised her voice aloud, and made every one pause. "Men
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of Ithaca," she cried, cease this dreadful war, and settle the matter
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at once without further bloodshed."
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On this pale fear seized every one; they were so frightened that their
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arms dropped from their hands and fell upon the ground at the sound
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of the goddess's voice, and they fled back to the city for their lives.
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But Ulysses gave a great cry, and gathering himself together swooped
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down like a soaring eagle. Then the son of Saturn sent a thunderbolt
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of fire that fell just in front of Minerva, so she said to Ulysses,
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"Ulysses, noble son of Laertes, stop this warful strife, or Jove will
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be angry with you."
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Thus spoke Minerva, and Ulysses obeyed her gladly. Then Minerva assumed
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the form and voice of Mentor, and presently made a covenant of peace
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between the two contending parties.
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THE END
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Copyright statement:
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The Internet Classics Archive by Daniel C. Stevenson, Web Atomics.
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World Wide Web presentation is copyright (C) 1994-1998, Daniel
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C. Stevenson, Web Atomics.
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All rights reserved under international and pan-American copyright
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conventions, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part
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in any form. Direct permission requests to classics@classics.mit.edu.
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Translation of "The Deeds of the Divine Augustus" by Augustus is
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copyright (C) Thomas Bushnell, BSG.
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To really test that reportlab can produce pages quickly download the
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complete version of the test from http://classics.mit.edu//Homer/odyssey.html
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and copy it to this directory as odyssey.full.txt.
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A zipped version of the full text is available for download at
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ftp://ftp.reportlab.com/odyssey.full.zip
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