For now I know that thou art he of whom Quicksilver forewarned me , the most prudent of mortals , against whom no enchantments can prevail . Thou only couldst have conquered Circe . Spare me , wisest of men . I will show thee true hospitality , and even give myself to be thy slave , and this magnificent palace to be henceforth thy home . '' The four nymphs , meanwhile , were making a most piteous ado ; and especially the ocean nymph , with the sea-green hair , wept a great deal of salt water , and the fountain nymph , besides scattering dewdrops from her fingers ' ends , nearly melted away into tears . But Ulysses would not be pacified until Circe had taken a solemn oath to change back his companions , and as many others as he should direct , from their present forms of beast or bird into their former shapes of men . `` On these conditions , '' said he , `` I consent to spare your life . Otherwise you must die upon the spot . '' With a drawn sword hanging over her , the enchantress would readily have consented to do as much good as she had hitherto done mischief , however little she might like such employment . She therefore led Ulysses out of the back entrance of the palace , and showed him the swine in their sty . There were about fifty of these unclean beasts in the whole herd ; and though the greater part were hogs by birth and education , there was wonderfully little difference to be seen betwixt them and their new brethren , who had so recently worn the human shape . To speak critically , indeed , the latter rather carried the thing to excess , and seemed to make it a point to wallow in the miriest part of the sty , and otherwise to outdo the original swine in their own natural vocation . When men once turn to brutes , the trifle of man 's wit that remains in them adds tenfold to their brutality . The comrades of Ulysses , however , had not quite lost the remembrance of having formerly stood erect . When he approached the sty , two and twenty enormous swine separated themselves from the herd , and scampered towards him , with such a chorus of horrible squealing as made him clap both hands to his ears . And yet they did not seem to know what they wanted , nor whether they were merely hungry , or miserable from some other cause . It was curious , in the midst of their distress , to observe them thrusting their noses into the mire , in quest of something to eat . The nymph with the bodice of oaken bark -LRB- she was the hamadryad of an oak -RRB- threw a handful of acorns among them ; and the two and twenty hogs scrambled and fought for the prize , as if they had tasted not so much as a noggin of sour milk for a twelvemonth . `` These must certainly be my comrades , '' said Ulysses . `` I recognize their dispositions .
They are hardly worth the trouble of changing them XXXXX the human form again .
With about from in into over though to upon whether