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22 - The Odyssey - Homer · Classic Adventure Books Library

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Book twenty two. Then Ulysses tore off his rags and sprang on to the
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broad pavement with his bow and his quiver full of arrows. He shed the
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arrows on to the ground at his feet, and said, the mighty contest
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is at an end. I will now see whether Apollo will vouchsafe it to
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me to hit another mark which no man has yet hit. On this he
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aimed a deadly arrow at Antinous, who was about to take up a two
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handed gold cup to drink his wine, and already had it in his hands.
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He had no thought of death. Who amongst all the revelers would think
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that one man, however brave, would stand alone among so many and kill
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him. The arrow struck Antinuus in a throat, and the point went clean
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through his neck, so that he fell over, and a cup dropped from
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his hand, while a thick stream of blood gushed from his nostrils. He
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kicked the table from him and upset the things on it, so that the
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bread and roasted meats were all soiled. As they fell over on to the
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ground. The suitors were in an uproar when they saw that a man had
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been hit. They sprang in dismay one and all of them from their seats
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and looked everywhere towards the walls. But there was neither shield nor spear,
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and they rebuked Ulysses very angrily. Stranger said they, you shall pay for
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shooting people in this way. You shall see no other contest. You are
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a doomed man. He whom you have slain was the foremost youth in Ithaca,
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and the vultures shall devour you for having killed him. Thus they spoke,
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for they thought that he had killed Antinous by mistake, and did not
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perceive that death was hanging over the head of every one of them. But
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Ulysses cleared at them and said, dogs, did you think that I should
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not come back from Troy. You have wasted my substance, have forced my
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women servants to lie with you, and have wooed my wife while I was
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still living. You have feared neither God nor man, and now you shall
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die. They turned pale with fear as he spoke, and every man looked
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round to see whither he might fly for safety. But Eurymachus alone spoke.
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If you are Ulysses, said he, then what you have said is just.
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We have done much wrong. On your lands and in your house.
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But continuous who was the head and front of the offending lies low Already it
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was all his doing. It was not that he wanted to marry Penelope.
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He did not so much care about that. What he wanted was something quite
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different, and Jove has not vouchsafed it to him. He wanted to kill
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your son and to be chief man in Ithaca. Now therefore, that he
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has met the death which was his due, spare the lives of your people.
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We will make everything good among ourselves and pay you in full for all
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that we have eaten and drunk. Each one of us shall pay you a
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fine worth twenty oxen, and we will keep on giving you gold and bronze
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till your heart is softened. Until we have done this, no one can
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complain of your being enraged against us. Ulysses again glared at him and said,
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though you should give me all that you have in the world, both
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now and all that you ever shall have, I will not stay my hands
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till I have paid all of you in full. You must fight or fly
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for your lives, and fly not a man of you shall. Their hearts
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sank as they heard him, but Eurymachus again spoke, saying, my friends,
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this man will give us no quarter. He will stand where he is
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and shoot us down till he has killed every man among us. Let us
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then show fight, draw your swords, and hold up the tables to shield
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you from his arrows. Let us have at him with a rush to drive
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him from the pavement and doorway. We can then get through into the town
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and raise such an alarm as shall soon stay his shooting. As he spoke,
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he drew his keen blade of bronze, sharpened on both sides, and
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with a loud cry, sprang towards Ulysses. But Ulysses instantly shut an arrow
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into his breast that caught him by the nipple and fixed itself in his liver.
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He dropped his sword and fell doubled over his table. The cup and
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all the meads went over on to the ground as he smote the earth with
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his forehead in the agonies of death, and he kicked the stool with his
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feet until his eyes were closed in darkness. Then Amphinomus drew his sword and
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made straight at Ulysses to try to get him away from the door, but
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Telemachus was too quick for him and struck him from behind. The spear caught
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him between the shoulders and went right through his chest, so that he fell
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heavily to the ground and struck the earth with his forehead. Then Telemachus sprang
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away from him, leaving his spear still in the body, for he feared
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that if he stayed to draw it out, some of the Achaeans might come
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up and hag at him with the sword or knock him down. So he
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set off at a run and immediately was at his father's side. Then he
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said, father, let me bring you a shield, two spears, and
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a brass helmet for your temples. I will arm myself as well, and
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bring other armor for the swineherd and the stockman, for we had better be
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armed. Run and fetch them, answered, Ulysses, while my arrows hold
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out, or when I am alone, they may get me away from the
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door. Telemachus did as his father said, and went off to the storeroom
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where the armor was kept. He chose four shields, eight spears, and
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four brass helmets with horse hair plumes. He brought them with all speed to
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his father and armed himself first, while a stockman and the swineherd also put
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on their armor and took their places near Ulysses. Meanwhile, Ulysses, as
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long as his arrows lasted, had been shooting the suitors one by one,
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and they fell thick on one another. When his arrows gave out, he
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set the bow to stand against the end wall of the house by the door
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post, and hung a shield four hides thick about his shoulders on his comely
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head. He said at his helmet, well wrought with a crest of horsehair
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that nodded menacingly above it, and he grasped two redoubtable bronze shod spears.
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Now there was a trap door on the wall, while at one end of
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the pavement there was an exit leading to a narrow passage, and this exit
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was closed by a well made door. Ulysses told Philoteus to stand by this
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door and guard it, for only one person could attack it at a time.
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But Agilos shouted out, cannot some one go up to the trap door
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and tell the people what is going on? Help would come at once,
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and we should soon make an end of this man and his shooting. This
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may not be Egdilos, answered Melanthius. The mouth of the narrow passage is
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dangerously near the entrance to the outer court. One brave man could prevent any
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number from getting in. But I know what I will do. I will
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bring your arms from the storeroom, for I am sure it is there that
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Ulysses and his son have put them on. This the goatered Melanthius went by
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back passages to the storeroom of ulysses house. There he chose twelve shields with
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as many helmets and spears, and brought them back as fast as he could
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give them to the suitors. Ulysses heart began to fail him when he saw
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the suitors putting on their armor and brandishing their spears. He saw the greatness
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of the danger and said to Telemachus, some one of the women inside is
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helping the suitors against us, or it may be Melanthius. Telemachus answered,
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the fault father is mine and mine only. I left the storeroom door open,
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and they have kept a sharp look out than I have. Go Eumanus
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to put the door to and see whether it is one of the women who
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is doing this, or whether, as I suspect, it is Melanthius,
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the son of Dolius. Thus did they converse. Meanwhile, Melanthius was again
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going to the storeroom to fetch more armor, but the swineherd saw him and
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said to Ulysses, who was beside him, Ulysses, noble son of Loyertes,
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it is that scoundrel Melanthius, just as we suspected, who is going
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to the storeroom. Say shall I kill him if I can get the better
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of him, or shall I bring him here that you may take your own
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revenge for all the many wrongs that he has done in your house? Ulysses
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answered Telemachus, and I will hold these suitors in check no matter what they
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do. Go back, both of you and bind Melanthius hands and feet behind
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him, throw him into the storeroom, and make the door fast behind you.
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Then fasten on news about his body, and string him close up to
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the rafters from a high bearing post, that he may linger on in an
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agony. Thus did he speak, and they did even as he had said.
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They went to the storeroom, which they entered before Melanthius saw them,
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for he was busy searching for arms in the innermost part of the room.
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So the two took their stand on either side of the door, and waited
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by and by Melanthius came out with a helmet in one hand and an old,
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dry rotted shield in the other, which had been borne by Laathes when
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he was young, but which had been long since thrown aside, and the
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straps had become ansoon. On this the two seized him, dragged him back
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by the hair, and threw him struggling to the ground. They bent his
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hands and feet well behind his back, and bound them tied together with a
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painful bunt, as Ulysses had told them. Then they fastened a noose about
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his body and strung him up from a high pillar, till he was close
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up to the rafters and over him. Did you then want o swineherd,
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Eumeneus saying, Melanthius, you will pass the night on a soft bed as
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you deserve. You will know very well when morning comes from the streams of
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Oceanus, and it is time for you to be driving in your goats for
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the suitors to feast on there. Then they left him in a very cruel
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bondage, and having put on their armor, they closed the door behind them
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and went back to take their places by the side of Ulysses, whereon the
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four men stood in the cloister fierce and full of fury. Nevertheless, those
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who were in the body of the court were still both brave and many.
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Then Jove's daughter, Minerva came up to them, having assumed the voice and
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form of Mentor. Ulysses was glad when he saw her and said, Mentor,
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lend me your help, and forget not your old comrade nor the many
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good turns he has done you. Besides, you are my age mate.
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But all the time he felt sure it was Minerva, and the suitors from
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the other side raised an uproar when they saw her. Aguilos was the first
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to reproach her Mentor. He cried, do not let Ulysses beguile you into
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siding with him and fighting the suitors. This is what we will do.
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When we have killed these people, father and son, we will kill you
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too. You shall pay for it with your head. And when we have
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killed you, we will take all you have indoors or out, and bring
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it into hotchpot with Ulysses property. We will not let your sons live in
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your house, nor your daughter's, nor shall your widow continued to live in
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the city of Itaca. This made Minerva still more furious, so she scolded
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Ulysses very angrily, Ulysses said she, Your strength and prowess are no longer
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what they were when you fought for nine long years among the Trojans about the
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noble lady Helen. You killed many a man in those days, and it
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was through your stratagem that Prime's city was taken. How comes it that you
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are so lamentably less valiant now that you are on your own ground, face
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to face with the suitors in your own house. Come on, my good
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fellow, stand by my side and see how Mentor, son of Alcinous,
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shall fight your foes and requite your kindnesses conferred upon him. But she would
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not give him full victory as yet, for she wished still further to prove
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his own prowess and that of his brave son. So she flew up to
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one of the rafters in the roof of the cloister and sat upon it in
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the form of a swallow. Meanwhile, Agilos, son of Damaster, Eurynomus
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Amphimedon, Demoptolemus Pysander, and Polybus, son of Polyctor, bore the brunt
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of the fight upon the suitor's side. Of all those who were still fighting
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for their lives. They were by far the most valiant, for the others
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had already fallen under the arrows of Ulysses. Agilos shouted to them and said,
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my friends, he will soon have to leave off, for Mentor has
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gone away after having done nothing for him but brag. They are standing at
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the doors unsupported. Do not aim at him all at once, but six
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of you throw your spears first, and see if you cannot cover yourself with
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glory by killing him. When he has fallen. We need not be uneasy
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about the others. They threw their spears as he bade them, but Minerva
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made them all of no effect. One hit the door post, another went
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against the door, the pointed shaft of another struck the wall. And as
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soon as they had avoided all the spears of the suitors, Ulysses said to
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his own men, my friends, I should say, we two had better
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let drive into the middle of them, or they will crown all the harm
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they have done us by killing us outright. They therefore aimed straight in front
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of them and threw their spears. Ulysses killed Demoptolemus, Telemachus, Euryadus,
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Eumeneus, Elatus, while the stockman killed Passander. These all bit the dust,
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and as the others drew back into a corner, Ulysses and his men
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rushed forward and regained their spears by drawing them from the bodies of the dead.
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The suitors now aimed a second time, but again Minerva made their weapons
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for the most part without effect. One hit a bearing post of the cloister,
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another went against the door, while the pointed shaft of another struck the
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wall. Still, Amphimedon just took a piece of the top skin from off
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Telemachus's wrist, and Steesippus managed to graze Eumanus's shoulder above his shield, but
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the spear went on and fell to the ground. Then Ulysses and his men
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let drive into the crowd of suitors. Ulysses hit Eurydemus, Telemachus, Amphimidon,
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and Eumanus Polybus. After this, the stockman hit Stecippus in the breast
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and taunted him, saying, foul mouthed son of poly Theories, do not
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be so foolish as to talk wickedly another time, But let Heaven direct your
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speech, for the gods are far stronger than men. I make you a
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present of this advice to repay you for the foot which you gave Ulysses when
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he was begging about in his own house. Thus spoke the stockman, and
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Ulysses struck the son of Damaster with a spear in close fight, while Telemachus
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hit Leocritus, son of Evanor, in the belly, and the dart went
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clean through him, so that he fell forward, full on his face upon
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the ground. Then Minerva, from her seat on the rafter, held up
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her deadly aegis, and the hearts of the suitors quailed. They fled to
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the other end of the court like a herd of cattle, maddened by the
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gadfly. In early summer, when the days are at their longest, as
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eagle beaked, crooked talon vultures from the mountons swoop down on the smaller birds
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that cower in flocks upon the ground and kill them, for they cannot either
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fight or fly, and lookers on enjoy the sport. Even so did Ulysses
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and his men fall upon the suitors and smite them on every side. They
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made a horrible groaning as their brains were being battered in, and the ground
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seethed with their blood. Laodes then caught the knees of Ulysses and said,
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Ulysses, I beseech you have mercy upon me and spare me. I never
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wronged any of the women in your house, either in word or deed,
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and I tried to stop the others I saw them, but they would not
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listen. And now they are paying for their folly. I was their sacrificing
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priest. If you kill me, I shall die without having done anything to
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deserve it, and shall have got no thanks for all the good that I
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did. Ulysses looked sternly at him and answered, if you were their sacrificing
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priest, you must have prayed many a time that it did be long before
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I got home again, and that you might marry my wife and have children
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by her. Therefore you shall die. With these words, he picked up
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the sword that Aggilaus had dropped when he was being killed, and which was
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lying upon the ground. Then he struck Laotes on the back of his neck,
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so that his head fell rolling in the dust. While he was yet
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speaking. The minstrel Femeius, son of Turpes, He who had been forced
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by the suitors to sing by them, now tried to save his life.
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He was standing near towards the trap door, and held his lyre in his
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hand. He did not know whether to fly out of the cloister and sit
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down by the altar of Jove that was in the outer court, and on
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which both Loyarties and Ulysses had offered up the thigh bones of many an Ox,
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or whether to go straight up to Ulysses and embrace his knees. But
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in the end he deemed it best to embrace ulysses knees. So he laid
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his lyre on the ground between a mixing bowl and a silver studded seat.
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Then, going up to Ulysses, he caught hold of his knees and said,
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Ulysses, I beseech you have mercy on me and spare me. You
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will be sorry for it afterwards if you kill a bard who can sing both
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for gods and men, as I can, I make all my lace myself,
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and Heaven visits me with every kind of inspiration. I would sing to
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you as though you were a god. Do not therefore, be in such
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a hurry to cut my head off Your own son, Telemachus will tell you
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that I did not want to frequent your house and sing to the suitors after
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their meals, but they were too many and too strong for me, so
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they made me. Telemachus heard him, and at once went up to his
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father. Hold He cried, the man is guiltless. Do him no hurt,
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and we will spare Medan too, who was always good to me when
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I was a boy, Unless Philoctets or Eumaneus has already killed him, or
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he has fallen in your way. When you were raging about the court,
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Medon caught these words of Telemachus, for he was crouching under a seat beneath
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which he had hidden by covering himself up with a freshly flayed heifer's hide.
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So he threw off the hide, went up to Telemachus and laid hold of
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his knees. Here I am, my dear sir, said he stay your
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hand. Therefore and tell your father, or he will kill me in his
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rage against the suitors, for he wasted his substance and been so foolishly disrespectful
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to yourself. Ulysses smiled at him and answered, fear not, Telemachus has
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saved your life, that you may know in the future and tell other people
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how greatly better good deeds prosper than evil ones. Go therefore outside the cloisters
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into the outer court, and be out of the way of the slaughterer.
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You and a bard while I finished my work here inside. The peer went
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into the outer court as fast as they could, and sat down by Jove's
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great altar, looking fearfully round and still expecting that they would be killed.
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Then Ulysses searched the whole court carefully over to see if any one had managed
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to hide himself and was still living. But he found them all lying in
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the dust and weltering in their blood. They were like fishes which fishermen have
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netted out of the sea and thrown upon the beach, to lie gasping for
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water, till the heat of the sun makes an end of them. Even
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so were the suitors lying, all huddled up, one against the other.
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Then Ulysses said to Telemachus, cool nurse Eurycleia, I have something to say
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to her. Telemachus went and knocked at the door of the women's room.
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Make haste, said he, you, old woman, who have been set
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over all the other women in the house, Come outside. My father wishes
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to speak to you. When Eurycleia heard this, she unfastened the door of
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the women's room and came out following Telemachus. She found Ulysses among the corpses,
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be spattered with blood and filth, like a lion that has just been
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devouring an ox. And his breast and both his cheeks are all bloody,
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so that he is a fearful sight. Even so was Ulysses besmirched from head
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to foot with gore. When she saw all the corpses and such a quantity
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of blood, she was beginning to cry out for joy, for she saw
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that a great deed had been done. But Ulysses checked her. Old woman
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said he rejoice in silence. Restrain yourself, and do not make any noise
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about it. It is an unholy thing to want over dead men. Heaven's
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doom and their own evil deeds have brought these men to destruction, for they
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respected no man in the whole world, neither rich nor poor, who came
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near them, and they have come to a bad end as a punishment for
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their wickedness and folly. Now, however, tell me which of the women
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in the house have misconducted themselves, and who are innocent. I will tell
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you the truth, my son answered, Eurycleia, there are fifty women in
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the house whom we teach to do things such as carding, wool, and
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all kinds of household work. Of these, twelve in all have misbehaved and
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have been wanting in respect to me and also to Penelope. They showed no
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disrespect to Telemachus, for he has only lately grown, and his mother never
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permitted him to give orders to the female servants. But let me go up
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stairs and tell your wife all that has happened. For some God has been
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sending her to sleep. Do not wake her yet, answered Ulysses, but
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tell the women who have misconducted themselves to come to me. Euryclea left the
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cloister to tell the women and make them come to Ulysses. In the meanwhile,
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he called Telemachus, the stockman and the swineherd, begin said he to
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remove the dead and make the women help. You. Then get sponges and
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clean water to swill down the tables and seat. When you have thoroughly cleansed
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the whole, cloisters, take the women into the space between the domed room
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and the wall of the outer court, and run them through with your swords
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till they are quite dead, and have forgotten all about the love and the
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way in which they used to lie in secret with the suitors. On this
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the women came down in a body, weeping and wailing bitterly. First they
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carried the dead bodies out and propped them up against one another in a gatehouse.
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Ulysses ordered them about and made them do their work quickly, so they
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had to carry the bodies out. When they had done this, they cleaned
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all the tables and seats with sponges and water, while Telemachus and the two
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others shoaled up the blood and dirt from the ground, and the women carried
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it all away and put it out of doors. Then, when they had
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made the whole place quite clean and orderly, they took the women and hammed
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them in the narrow space between the wall of the domed room and that of
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the yard, so that they could not get away. And Telemachus said to
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the other two, I shall not let these women die a clean death,
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for they were insolent to me and my mother, and used to sleep with
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the suitors. So saying, he made a ship's cable fast to one of
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the bearing posts that supported the roof of the domed room, and secured it
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all around the building at a good height lest any of the women's feet should
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touch the ground. And as thrushes or doves beat against a net that had
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been set for them in a thicket, just as they were getting to their
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nest, and a terrible fate awaits them. Even so did the women have
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to put their heads in nooses, one after the other, and die most
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miserably. Their feet moved convulsively for a while, but not for very long.
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As for Melanthius, they took him through the cloister into the inner court.
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There they cut off his nose and his ears. They drew out his
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vitals and gave them to the dogs roar, And then, in their fury,
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they cut off his hands and his feet. When they had done this,
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they washed their hands and feet and went back into the house. For
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all was now over, and Ulysses said to the dear old nurse Eurycleia,
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bring me sulfur which cleanses all pollution, and fetch fire, also that I
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may burn it and purify the cloisters. Go moreover, and tell Penelope to
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come here with her attendants, and also all the maid servants that are in
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a house. All that you have said is true, answered Euryclea. But
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let me bring you some clean clothes, a shirt and cloak. Do not
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keep these rags on your back any longer. It is not right. First
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light me a fire, replied Ulysses. She brought the fire and sulfur as
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he had bidden her, and Ulysses thoroughly purified the cloisters and both the inner
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and outer courts. Then she went inside to call the women and tell them
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what had happened. Whereon they came from their apartment with torches in their hands,
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and pressed round Ulysses to embrace him, kissing his head and shoulders and
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taking hold of his hands. It made him feel as if he should like
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to weep, for he remembered every one of them. End of Book twenty two