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14 - The Odyssey - Homer · Classic Adventure Books Library

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Book fourteen. Ulysses in the hut with Eumaeus. Eulysses now left the haven
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and took the rough track up through the wooded country and over the crest of
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the mountain till he reached the place where Minerva had said that he would find
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the swineherd, who was the most thrifty servant he had. He found him
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sitting in front of his hut, which was by the yards that he had
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built on a site which could be seen from afar. He had made them
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spacious and fair to see, with a free run for the pigs all round
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them. He had built them during his master's absence of stones which he had
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gathered out of the ground without saying anything to Penelope or Laertes, and he'd
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fenced them on top with thorn bushes. Outside the yard he'd run a strong
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fence of oaken posts, split and set pretty close together, while inside he'd
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built twelves styes near one another for the sows to lie in. There were
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fifty pigs wallowing in each stye, all of them breeding sows, but the
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boars slept outside and were much fewer in number, for the suitors kept on
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eating them, and the swineherd had to send them the best he had Continually.
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There were three hundred and sixty bore pigs, and the herdsman's four hounds,
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which were as fierce as wolves, slept always with them. The swineherd
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was at that moment cutting out a pair of sandals from a good stout ox
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hide. Three of his men were out herding the pigs in one place or
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another, and he had sent the fourth to town with a boar that he
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had been forced to send the suitors, that they might sacrifice it and have
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their fill of meat. When the hounds saw Ulysses, they set up a
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furious barking and flew at him. But Ulysses was cunning enough to sit down
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and loose his hole the stick that he had in his hand. Still,
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he would have been torn by them in his own homestead had not the swineherd
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dropped his ox hide, rushed full speed through the gate of the yard,
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and driven the dogs off by shouting and throwing stones at them. Then he
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said to Ulysses, old man, the dogs were likely to have made short
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work of you, and then you would have got me into trouble. The
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gods have given me quite enough worries without that, for I have lost the
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best of masters, and I am in continual grief on his account. I
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have to attend swine for other people to eat, while he, if he
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yet lives to see the light of day, is starving in some distant land.
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But come inside, and when you've had your fill of bread and wine,
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tell me where you come from and all about your misfortunes. On this
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the swineherd led the way into the hut and bade him sit down. He
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strewed a good thick bed of rushes upon the floor, and on the top
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of this he threw the shaggy shamois skin, a great thick one on which
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he used to sleep by night. Ulysses was pleased at being made thus welcome,
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and said, may Jove, sir and the rest of the gods grant
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you your heart's desire in return for the kind way in which you have received
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me. To this you answered, O swine heard Eumaeus stranger. Though a
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still poorer man should come here, it would not be right for me to
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insult him, For all strangers and beggars are from Jove. You must take
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what you can get and be thankful for servants live in fear when they have
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young lords for their masters. And this is my misfortune now, for Heaven
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has hindered the return of him who would have been always good to me and
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given me something of my own, a house, a piece of land,
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a good looking wife, and all else that all liberal master allows a servant
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who has worked hard for him, and whose labor the gods have prospered,
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as they have mine in the situation which I hold, if my master had
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grown old here, he would have done great things by me. But he
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is gone, and I wish that Helen's whole race were utterly destroyed, for
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she has been the death of many a good man. It was this matter
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that took my master to Ilias, the land of noble steeds, to fight
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the Trojans in the cause of King Agamemnon. As he spoke, he bound
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his girdle round him and went to the styes where the young socking pigs were
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penned. He picked out two, which he brought back with him and sacrificed.
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He singed them, cut them up, and spitted them. When the
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meat was cooked, he brought it all in and set it before Ulysses.
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Hot and still on the spit, whereon Ulysses sprinkled it over with white barley
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meal. The swineherd then mixed wine in a bowl of ivy wood, and
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taking a seat opposite Ulysses, told him to begin fall too. Stranger,
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said he on a dish of servants pork. The fat pigs have to go
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to the suitors, who eat them up without shame or scruple. But the
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blessed gods love not such shameful doings, and respect those who do what is
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lawful and right. Even the fierce free booters who go raiding on other people's
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land, and Jove gives them their spoil. Even they, when they have
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filled their ships and got home again, live conscience stricken and look fearfully for
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judgment. But some god seems to have told these people that Ulysses is dead
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and gone. They will not therefore go back to their own homes and make
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their offers of marriage in the usual way, but waste his estate by force
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without fear or stint. Not a day or night comes out of heaven.
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But they sacrifice not one victim, nor two only, and they take the
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run of his wine. For he was exceedingly rich. No other great man
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either in Ithaca or on the mainland, is as rich as he was.
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He had as much as twenty men put together. I will tell you what
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he had. There are twelve herds of cattle upon the mainland, and as
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many flocks of sheep. There are also twelve droves of pigs, while his
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own men and hired strangers feed him twelve wildly spreading herds of goat. Here
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in Ithaca. He runs even large flocks of goats on the far end of
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the island, and they are in the charge of excellent goat herds. Each
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one of these sends the suit as the best goat in the flock every day.
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As for myself, I'm in charge of the pigs that you see here,
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and I have to keep picking out the best I have and sending it
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to them. This was his story. But Ulysses went on eating and drinking
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ravenously without a word, brooding his revenge. When he had eaten enough and
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was satisfied, the swineherd took the bowl from which he usually drank, filled
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it with wine, and gave it to Ulysses, who was pleased, and
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said, as he took it in his hands, my friend, who was
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this master of yours that bought you and paid for you, so rich and
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so powerful as you tell me, you say he perished in the course of
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King Agamemnon. Tell me who he was. In case I may have met
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with such a person, Jove and the other gods know, But I may
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be able to give you news of him, for I have traveled much,
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Eumaeus answered, old man. No traveler who comes here with news will get
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Ulysses wife and son to believe his story. Nevertheless, tramps in want of
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a lodging keep coming with their mouths full of lies and not a word of
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truth. Every One who finds his way to Ithaca goes to my mistress and
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tells her falsehoods. Whereon she takes them in, makes much of them,
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and asks them all manner of questions, crying all the time, as women
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will when they have lost their husbands. And you, too, old man,
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for a shirt and a cloak would doubtless make up a very pretty story.
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But the wolves and birds of prey have long since torn Ulysses to pieces,
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or the fishes of the sea have eaten him, and his bones are
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lying buried deep in sand upon some foreign shore. He is dead and gone
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and a bad business. It is for all his friends. For me especially
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go where I may, I shall never find so good a master, not
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even if I were to go home to my mother and father, where I
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was bred and born. I do not so much care, however, about
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my parents now, though I should dearly like to see them again in my
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own country. It is the loss of Ulysses that grieve me most. I
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cannot speak of him without reverence, though he is no longer here, for
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he was very fond of me and took much care of me. That wherever
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he may be, I shall always honor his memory. My friend replied,
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Ulysses, you are very positive and very hard of belief about your master's coming
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home again. Nevertheless, I will not merely say, but will swear that
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he is coming. Do not give me anything for my news till he has
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actually come. You may then give me a shirt and cloak of good wear,
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if you will. I am in great want. But I will not
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take anything at all till then, for I hate a man even as I
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hate hell Fire, who lets his poverty tempt him into lying. I swear
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by King Jove, by the rights of hospitality, and by that hearth of
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Ulysses, to which I have now come, that all will surely happen as
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I have said it will. Ulysses will return in this self same year,
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with the end of this moon and the beginning of the next, he will
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be here to do vengeance on all those who are ill treating his wife and
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son. To this, you answered, o swine, heard Eumaeus, old
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man, you will neither get paid for bringing good news, nor will Ulysses
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ever come home. Drink your wine in peace, and let us talk about
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something else. Do not keep on reminding me of all this. It always
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pains me when anyone speaks about my honored master. As for your oath,
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we will let it alone. But I only wish he may come, as
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do Penelope, his old father Laertes, and his son Telemachus. I am
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terribly unhappy too about this same boy of his. He was running up fast
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into manhood and bade fair to be no worse a man face and figure than
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his father. But someone, either God or man, has been unsettling his
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mind. So he's gone off to Pylos to try and get news of his
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father, and the suitors are lying in wait for him as he's coming home
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in the hope of leaving the house of Arcasius without a name in Ithaca.
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But let us say no more about him and leave him to be taken or
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else to escape. If the son of Saturn holds his hand over him to
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protect him. And now, old man, tell me your own story.
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Tell me also, for I want to know who you are and where you
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come from. Tell me of your town and parents, what manner of ship
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you came in, how crew brought you to Ithaca, and from what country
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they profess to come, for you cannot have come by land, And Ulysses
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answered, I will tell you all about it. If there were meat and
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wine enough, and we could stay here in the hut with nothing to do
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but to eat and drink while the others go to their work, I could
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easily talk on for a whole twelve months without ever finishing the story of the
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sorrows with which it has pleased Heaven to visit me. I am by birth
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a Cretan. My father was a well to do man who had many sons
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born in marriage, whereas I was the son of a slave whom he'd purchased
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for a concubine. Nevertheless, my father, castor son of Hylax, whose
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lineage I claim, and who was held in the highest honor among the Cretans,
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for his wealth, prosperity, and the valor of his sons put me
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on the same level with my brothers, who had been born in wedlock.
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When, however, death took him to the House of Hades, his sons
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divided his estate and cast lots for their shares. But to me they gave
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holding and little else. The less. My valor enabled me to marry into
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a rich family, for I was not given to bragging or shirking on the
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field of battle. It is all over now still if you look at the
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straw, you can see what the ear was. For I have had trouble
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enough, and to spare Mars and Minerva made me doughty in war. When
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I had picked my men to surprise the enemy with an ambuscade, I never
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gave death so much as a thought, but was the first to leap forward
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and spear all whom I could overtake. Such was I in battle. But
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I did not care about farm work, nor the frugal home life of those
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who would bring up children. My delight was in ships, fighting, javelins
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and arrows, things that most men shudder to think of. But one man
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likes one thing and another another, and this is what I was most naturally
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inclined to. Before the Achaeans went to Troy. Nine times was I in
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command of men and ships on foreign service, and I amassed much wealth.
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I had my pick of the spoil in the first instance, and much more
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was allotted to me. Later on. My house grew apace, and I
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became a great man among the Cretans. But when Jove counseled that terrible expedition
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in which so many perished, the people required me and I Dominius to lead
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their ships to Troy, and there was no way out of it, for
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they insisted on our doing so. There we fought for nine whole years,
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but in the tenth we sacked the city of Priam and sailed home again,
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as Heaven dispersed us. Then it was that Jove devised evil against me.
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I spent but one month happily with my children, wife and property, and
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then I conceived the idea of making a descent on it Egypt. So I
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fitted out a fine fleet and manned it. I had nine ships, and
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the people flocked to fill them. For six days. I and my men
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made feast, and I found them many victims, both for sacrifice to the
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gods and for themselves. But on the seventh day we went on board and
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set sail from Crete, with a fair north wind behind us. Though we
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were going down a river. Nothing went ill with any of our ships,
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and we had no sickness on board, but sat where we were and let
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the ships go as the wind and steersmen took them. On the fifth day
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we reached the river Egyptus. There I stationed my ships in the river,
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bidding my men stay by them and keep guard over them, while I sent
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out scouts to reconnoiter from every point of advantage. But the men disobeyed my
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orders took to their own devices and ravage the land of the Egyptians, killing
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the men and taking their wives and children captive. The alarm was soon carried
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to the city, and when they heard the war cry, the people came
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out at daybreak, till the plain was filled with horsemen and foot soldiers and
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with the gleam of armor. Then Jove spread panic among my men, and
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they would no longer face the enemy, for they found themselves surrounded. The
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Egyptians killed many of us, and took the rest alive to do force labor
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for them. Jove, however, put it in my mind to do thus,
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and I wish I had died then and there in Egypt instead, for
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there was much sorrow in store for me. I took off my helmet and
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shield, and dropped my spear from my hand. Then I went straight up
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to the king's chariot, clasped his knees, and kissed them, whereon he
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spared my life, bade me get into his chariot, and took me weeping
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to his own home. Many made at me with their ashen spears and tried
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to kill me in their fury, but the king protected me, for he
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feared the wrath of Jove, the protector of strangers, who punishes those who
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do evil. I stayed there for seven years and got together much money among
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the Egyptians, for they all gave me something. But when it was now
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going on for eight years, there came a certain Phoenician, a cunning rascal,
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who had already committed all sorts of villany. And this man taught me
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over into going with him to Phoenicia, where his house and his possessions lay.
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I stayed there for a whole twelve months. But at the end of
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that time, when months and days had gone by till the same season had
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come round again, he set me on board a ship bound for Libya,
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on a pretense that I was to take a cargo along with him to that
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place, but really that he might sell me as a slave and take the
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money I fetched. I suspected his intention, but went on board with him,
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for I could not help it. The ship ran before a fresh north
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wind till we had reached the sea that lies between Crete and Libya. There,
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however, Jove counseled the destruction, for as soon as we were well
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out from Crete and could see nothing but sea and sky, he raised a
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black cloud over our ship, and the sea grew dark beneath it. Then
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Jove let fly with his thunderbolts, and the ship went round and round,
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and was filled with fire and brimstone. As the lightning struck it, the
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men fell all into the sea. They were carried about in the water round
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the ship, looking like so many sea gulls, But the God presently deprived
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them of all chance of getting home again. I was all dismayed. Jove,
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however, sent the ship's mast within my reach, which saved my life,
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for I clung to it and drifted before the fury of the gale.
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Nine days did I drift, But in the darkness of the tenth night,
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a great wave bore me on to the Thesperotian coast. There fied On,
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King of the Thesperotians, entertained me hospitably, without charging me anything at all.
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For his son found me when I was nearly dead with cold and fatigue,
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whereupon he raised me by the hand, took me to his father's house,
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and gave me clothes to wear. There it was that I heard news
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of Ulysses, for the king told me he had entertained him and shown him
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much hospitality while he was on his homeward journey. He showed me also the
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treasure of gold and wrought iron that Ulysses had got together. There was enough
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to keep his family for ten jennies vs. So much had he left in
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the house of King Phidon. But the king said Ulysses had gone to Dodona
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that he might learn Jove's mind from the god's high oak tree and know whether,
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after so long an absence he should return to Ithaca openly or in secret.
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Moreover, the king swore in my presence, making drink offerings in his
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own house. As he did so, that the ship was by the water
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side, and the crew found that should take him to his own country.
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He sent me off. However, before Ulysses returned, for there happened to
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be a Thesprotian ship sailing for the wheat growing island of Dolichium, and he
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told those in charge of her to be sure and take me safely to King
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Acastus. These men hatched a plot against me that would have reduced me to
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the very extreme of misery, for when the ship had got some way out
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from land, they resolved on selling me as a slave. They stripped me
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of the shirt and cloak that I was wearing, and gave me instead the
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tattered old clouts in which you now see me. Then, towards nightfall they
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reached the tilled lands of Ithaca, and there they bound me with a strong
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rope fast in the ship while they went on shore to get supper by the
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sea side. But the gods soon undid my bonds for me, and having
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drawn my rags over my head, I slid down the rudder into the sea,
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where I struck out and swam till I was well clear of them,
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and came ashore near a thick wood in which I lay concealed. They were
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very angry at my having escaped, and went searching about for me, till
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at last they thought it was no further use and went back to their ship.
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The gods, having hidden me thus easily, then took me to a
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good man's door. For it seems that I am not to die yet.
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Awhile to this, you answered, O swine heard Eumaeus, poor unhappy stranger.
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I have found the story of your misfortunes extremely interesting. But that part
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about Ulysses is not right, and you will never get me to believe it.
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Why should a man like you go about telling lies in this way?
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I know all about the return of my master. The gods one and all
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of them detest him, or they would have taken him before Troy, or
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let him die with friends around him when the days of his fighting were done.
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For then the Achaeans would have built a mound over his ashes, and
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his son would have been heir to his renown. But now the storm winds
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have spirited him away. We know not whither. As for me, I
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live out of the way here with the pigs, and never go to the
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town, unless when Penelope sends for me on the arrival of some news about
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Ulysses. Then they all sit round and ask questions, both those who grieve
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over the king's absence and those who rejoice at it because they can eat up
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his property without paying for it. For my own part, I have never
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cared about asking any one else since the time when I was taken in by
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an Aetolian who had killed a man, and come a long way till at
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last he reached my station, and I was very kind to him. He
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said he had seen Ulysses with I Dominius among the Cretans, refitting his ships,
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which had been damaged in a gale. He said Ulysses would return in
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the following summer or autumn with his men, and that he would bring back
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much wealth. And now you, you unfortunate old man, since fate has
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brought you to my door, do not try to flatter me in this way
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with vain hopes. It is not for any such reason that I shall treat
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you kindly, but only out of respect for Jove, the god of hospitality,
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as fearing him and pitying you, Ulysses answered, I see that you
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are of an unbelieving mind. I have given you my oath, and yet
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you will not credit me. Let Us then make a bargain and call all
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the gods in heaven to witness it. If your master comes home, give
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me a cloak and shirt of good wear, and send me to Dullchium,
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where I want to go. But if he does not come as I say,
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he will set your men on to me and tell them to throw me
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from yonder precipice as a warning to tramps not to go about the country telling
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lies and a pretty figure. I should cut, then, said Eumaeus,
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both now and hereafter. If I were to kill you, after receiving you
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into my hut and showing you hospitality, I should have to say my prayers
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in good earnest if I did. But it is just supper time, and
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I hope my men will come in directly that we may cook some thing savory
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for supper. Thus did they converse, and presently the swine herds came up
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with the pigs, which were then shut up for the night in their thighs,
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and a tremendous squealing they made as they were being driven into them.
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But Eumaeus called to his men and said, bring in the best pig you
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have, that I may sacrifice him for this stranger, and we will take
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toll of him ourselves. We have had trouble enough this long time feeding pigs,
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while others reap the fruit of our labour. On this he began chopping
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firewood, while the others brought in a fine, fat, five year old
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boar pig and set it at the altar. Eumaeus did not forget the gods,
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for he was a man of good principles. So the first thing he
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did was to cut bristles from the pig's face and throw them into the fire,
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praying to all the gods as he did, so that Ulysses might return
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home again. Then he clubbed the pig with a billet of oak which he
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had kept back when he was chopping the firewood, and stunned it while the
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others slaughtered and singed it. Then they cut it up, and Eumaeus began
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by putting raw pieces from each joint on to some of the fat. These
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he sprinkled with barley meal and laid upon the embers. They cut the rest
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of the meat up small put the pieces upon the spits and roasted them till
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they were done. When they had taken them off the spits, they threw
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them onto the dresser in a heap. The swineherd, who was a most
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equitable man, then stood up to give every one his share. He made
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seven portions. One of these he set apart for Mercury, the son of
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Maya, and the nymphs, praying to them as he did so. The
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others he dealt out to the men man by man. He gave Ulysses some
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slices cut lengthways down the loin as a mark of a special and Ulysses was
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much pleased. I hope Eumaeus. He said that Jove will be as well
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disposed towards you as I am, for the respect you are showing to an
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outcast like myself. To this, you answered, O Swineherd, Eumaeus,
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eat my good fellow, and enjoy your supper, such as it is.
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God grants this and withholds that just as he thinks right, for he can
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do whatever he chooses. As he spoke, he cut off the first piece
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and offered it as a burnt sacrifice to the immortal gods. Then he made
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them a drink offering, put the cup in the hands of Ulysses, and
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sat down to his own portion. Mesaulius brought them their bread. The swineherd
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had brought this man on his own account from among the Tathians during his master's
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absence, and had paid for him with his own money, without saying anything
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either to his mistress or Laertes. They then laid their hands upon the good
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things that were before them, and when they had had enough to eat and
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drink, Messauleas took away what was left of the bread, and they all
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went to bed after having made a hearty supper. Now the night came on,
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stormy and very dark, for there was no moon. It poured without
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ceasing, and the wind blew strong from the west, which is a wet
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quarter. So Ulysses thought he would see whether Eumaeus, in the excellent care
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he took of him, would take off his own cloak and give it to
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him, or make one of his men give him one. Listen to me,
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he said, Eumaeus and the rest of you, when I have said
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a prayer, I will tell you something. It is the wine that makes
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me talk. In this way, wine will make even a wise man fall
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to singing. It will make him chockle and dance and say many a word
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that he had better leave on spa spoken still. As I have begun,
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I will go on. Would that I was still young and strong as when
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we had got up an ambuscade before Troy Menelaeus and Ulysses were the leaders,
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but I was in command also for the other two would have it. So,
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when we had come up to the wall of the city, we crouched
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down beneath our armor and lay there under cover of the reeds and thick brushwood
29:26
that grew about the swamp. It came on to freeze with a north wind
29:30
blowing. The snow fell small and fine like hoar frost, and our shields
29:36
were coated thick with rime. The others had all got cloaks and shirts and
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slept comfortably enough with their shields about their shoulders. But I had carelessly left
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my cloak behind me, not thinking that I should be too cold, and
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had gone off in nothing but my shirt and shield. When the night was
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two thirds through and the stars had shifted their place, I nudged Ulysses,
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who was close to me, with my elbow, and he at once gave
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me his ear, Ulysses said, I this cold will be the death of
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me, for I have no cloak. Some god fooled me into setting off
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with nothing on but my shirt, and I do not know what to do.
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Ulysses, who was as crafty as he was valiant, hit upon the
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following plan. Keep still, said he in a low voice, or the
30:27
others will hear you. Then he raised his head on his elbow. My
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friends said he, I've had a dream from heaven in my sleep. We
30:37
are a long way from the ships. I wish some one would go down
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and tell Agamemnon to send us up more men at once. On this thoas
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son of Andreamon, threw off his cloak and set out running for the ships.
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Whereon I took the cloak and lay in it comfortably enough till morning.
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Would that I was still young and strong as I was in those days,
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For then some one of you swineherds would give me a cloak, both out
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of good will and for the respect due to a brave soldier. But now
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people look down on me because my clothes are shabby. And Eumaeus answered,
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old man, you have told us an excellent story and have said nothing so
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far, but what is quite satisfactory for the present. Therefore you shall want
31:26
neither clothing nor anything else that a stranger in distress me reasonably expect. But
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tomorrow morning you have to shake your own old rags about your body again,
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for we have not many spare cloaks nor shirts up here, but every man
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has only one. When Ulysses son comes home again, he will give you
31:48
both cloak and shirt, and send you wherever you may want to go.
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With this, he got up and made a bed for Ulysses by throwing some
31:57
goat skins and sheepskins on the ground in front of the fire. Here Ulysses
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lay down, and Eumaeus covered him over with a great heavy cloak that he
32:08
kept for a change in case of extraordinarily bad weather. Thus did Ulysses sleep,
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and the young men slept beside him. But the swineherd did not like
32:21
sleeping away from his pigs. So he got ready to go outside, and
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Ulysses was glad to see that he looked after his property during his master's absence.
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First, he slung his sword over his brawny shoulders and put on a
32:36
thick cloak to keep out the wind. He also took the skin of a
32:39
large and well fed goat and a javelin in case of attack from men or
32:45
dogs. Thus equipped, he went to his rest, where the pigs were
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camping under an overhanging rock that gave them shelter from the north wind. End
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of book Fourtyan