Latest / Adventure Books Library / 17 - The Odyssey - Homer
Transcript
- 0:00Book seventeen. When the child of Morning, rosy fingered Dawn appeared, Telemachus
- 0:07bound on his sandals and took a strong spear that suited his hands. For
- 0:11he wanted to go into the city. Old friend, said he to the
- 0:16swineherd. I will now go to the town and show myself to my mother,
- 0:20for she will never leave off grieving till she has seen me. As
- 0:25for this unfortunate stranger, take him to the town and let him beg there
- 0:29of any one who will give him a drink and a piece of bread.
- 0:32I have trouble enough of my own and cannot be burdened with other people.
- 0:37If this makes him angry, so much the worse for him. But I
- 0:40like to say what I mean, then, Ulysses said sir, I do
- 0:45not want to stay here. A beggar can always do better in town than
- 0:49country, for any one who likes can give him something. I am too
- 0:53old to care about remaining here at the beckoned call of a master. Therefore,
- 0:58let this man do as you have just told him, and take me
- 1:00to the town. As soon as I have had a warm by the fire,
- 1:03and the day has got little heat in it. My clothes are wretchedly
- 1:07thin, and this frosty morning I shall be perished with cold, for you
- 1:11say the city is some way off. On this, Telemachus strode off through
- 1:15the yards, brooding his revenge upon the suitors. When he reached home,
- 1:21he stood his spear against a bearing post of the cloister, crossed the stone
- 1:25floor of the cloister itself, and went inside. Nurse Eurycliu saw him long
- 1:30before any one else did. She was putting the fleeces on to the seats,
- 1:34and she burst out crying as she ran up to him. All the
- 1:38other maids came too, and covered his head and shoulders with their kisses.
- 1:42Penelope came out of her room, looking like Diana or Venus, and wept
- 1:47as she flung her arms about her son. She kissed his forehead and both
- 1:51his beautiful eyes. Light of my eyes, she cried, as she spoke
- 1:55fondly to him. Oh, so you are come home again. I made
- 2:00sure I was never going to see you any more, to think of your
- 2:02having gone off to Pylos without saying anything about it or obtaining my consent.
- 2:07But come tell me what you saw. Do not scold me, mother,
- 2:13answered Telemachus, nor vex me, seeing what a narrow escape I have had.
- 2:16But wash your face, change your dress, go upstairs with your maids,
- 2:22and promise full and sufficient hecatombs to all the gods, if Jove will
- 2:27only grant us our revenge upon the suitors. I must now go to the
- 2:30place of assembly to invite a stranger who has come back with me from Pylos.
- 2:35I sent him on with my crew, and told Pereeus to take him
- 2:38home and look after him till I could come for him myself. She heeded
- 2:43her son's words, washed her face, changed her dress, and vowed full
- 2:46and sufficient hecatomes to all the gods if they would only vouchsafe her revenge upon
- 2:52the suitors. Telemachus went through and out of the cloisters, spear in hand,
- 2:58not alone, for his two fleet dogs went with him. Minerva endowed
- 3:02him with a presence of such divine comeliness that all marveled at him as he
- 3:07went by, and the suitors gathered round him with fair words in their mouths
- 3:10and malice in their hearts. But he avoided them and went to sit with
- 3:15Mentor Antiphas and Halitherses, old friends of his father's house, and they made
- 3:21him tell them all that had happened to him. Then Peireus came up with
- 3:25Theoclemenus, whom he had escorted through the town to the place of assembly,
- 3:30whereon Telemachus at once joined them. Pireus was the first to speak. Telemachus
- 3:36said, he, I wish you would send some of your women to my
- 3:38house to take away the presence Menelaus gave you. We do not know.
- 3:44Pereus answered Telemachus, what may happen if the suitors kill me in my own
- 3:49house and divide my property among them. I would rather you had the presence
- 3:53than that any of those people should get hold of them. If, on
- 3:57the other hand, I managed to kill them, I shall be much obliged
- 4:00if you will kindly bring me my presents. With these words, he took
- 4:04thia Clemenus to his own house. When they got there, they laid their
- 4:09cloaks on the benches and seats, went into the baths and washed themselves.
- 4:14When the maids had washed and anointed them, and had given them cloaks and
- 4:16shirts, they took their seats at table. A maid servant then brought them
- 4:21water in a beautiful golden ewer and poured it into a silver basin for them
- 4:27to wash their hands, and she drew a clean table beside them. An
- 4:30upper servant brought them bread and offered them many good things of what there was
- 4:34in the house. Opposite them sat Penelope, reclining on a couch by one
- 4:40of the bearing posts of the cloister, and spinning. Then they laid their
- 4:45hands on the good things that were before them, and as soon as they
- 4:47had had enough to eat and drink, Penelope said, Telemachus, I shall
- 4:51go upstairs and lie down on that sad couch, which I have not ceased
- 4:57to water with my tears from the day Ulysses set out for Troy with the
- 5:00sons of Atreus. You failed, however, to make it clear to me
- 5:03before the suitors came back to the house whether or no you had been able
- 5:08to hear anything about the return of your father. I will tell you then,
- 5:13truth, replied her son. We went to Pylos and saw Nestor,
- 5:16who took me to his house and treated me as hospitably as though I were
- 5:20a son of his own who had just returned after a long absence. So
- 5:25also did his sons. But he said he had not heard a word from
- 5:29any human being about Ulysses, whether he was alive or dead. He sent
- 5:33me therefore with the chariot and horses to Menelaus. There I saw Helen,
- 5:39for whose sake so many both Argives and Trojans were in Heaven's wisdom doomed to
- 5:44suffer. Menelaus asked me what it was that had brought me to Lacedaemon,
- 5:48and I told him the whole truth. Whereon he said, so, then
- 5:53these cowards would usurp a brave man's bed. A hind might as well lay
- 5:58her new born young in the lair of a lion, and then go off
- 6:00to feed in the forest or in some grassy dell. The lion, when
- 6:04he comes back to his lair, will make short work with the pair of
- 6:09them, and so will Ulysses with these suitors. By Father, Jove,
- 6:13Minerva and Apollo. If Ulysses is still the man that he was when he
- 6:17wrestled with Philomelides in Lesbos and threw him so heavily that all the Greeks cheered
- 6:23him. If he is still such and were to come near these suitors,
- 6:27they would have a short shrift and a sorry wedding. As regards your question,
- 6:31however, I will not prevaricate nor deceive you. But what the old
- 6:35man of the sea told me so much will I tell you in full.
- 6:40He said he could see Ulysses on an island, sorrowing bitterly in the house
- 6:44of the nymph Calypso, who was keeping him prisoner, and he could not
- 6:47reach his home, for he had no ships nor sailors to take him over
- 6:51the sea. This was what Menelaus told me. And when I had heard
- 6:56his story, I came away. The gods then gave me a fair wind,
- 7:00and soon brought me safe home again. With these words he moved the
- 7:04heart of Penelope. Then Theoclemenus said to her, Madam, wife of Ulysses.
- 7:12Telemachus does not understand these things. Listen therefore to me, for I
- 7:16can divine them surely, and will hide nothing from you. May Jove,
- 7:20the King of Heaven be my witness, and the rights of hospitality with that
- 7:26hearth of Ulysses to which I now come. That Ulysses himself is even now
- 7:30in Ithaca, and either going about the country or staying in one place,
- 7:34is inquiring into all these evil deeds, and preparing a day of reckoning for
- 7:39the suitors I saw an omen when I was on the ship which meant this,
- 7:44and I told Telemachus about it. May it be even so, answered
- 7:48Penelope, if your words come true, you shall have such gifts and such
- 7:54good will from me that all who see you shall congratulate you. Thus did
- 7:59they. Meanwhile the suitors were throwing discs or aiming with spears at a mark
- 8:05on the leveled ground in front of the house, and behaving with all their
- 8:09old insolence. But when it was now time for dinner, and the flock
- 8:11of sheep and goats had come into the town from all the country round with
- 8:16their shepherds as usual, then Meadon, who was their favorite servant and who
- 8:20waited upon them at table, said now, then, my young masters,
- 8:26you have had enough sport, so come inside that we may get dinner ready.
- 8:30Dinner is not a bad thing. At dinner time, they left their
- 8:33sports as he told them, and when they were within the house, they
- 8:37laid their cloaks on the benches and seats inside, and then sacrificed some sheep,
- 8:41goats, pigs, and a heifer, all of them fat and well
- 8:46grown. Thus they made ready for their meal. In the meantime, Ulysses
- 8:52and the swineherd were about starting for the town, and the swineherd said,
- 8:56stranger, I suppose you still want to go to town to day, as
- 9:00my master said you were to do. For my own part, I should
- 9:03have liked you to stay here as a station hand, But I must do
- 9:05as my master tells me, or he will scold me later on, and
- 9:09a scolding from one's masters a very serious thing. Let us then be off,
- 9:15for it is now broad day. It will be night again directly,
- 9:18and then you will find it colder. I know and understand you, replied
- 9:22Ulysses. You need say no more. Let us be going, But if
- 9:26you have a stick ready cut, let me have it to walk with,
- 9:30for you say the road is a very rough one. As he spoke,
- 9:33he threw his shabby, old tattered wallet over his shoulders by the cord from
- 9:39which it hung, and Eumaeus gave him a stick to his liking. The
- 9:43two then started leaving the station, in charge of the dogs and herdsmen who
- 9:46remained behind. The swineherd led the way and his master followed after, looking
- 9:52like some broken down old tramp as he leaned upon his staff and his clothes
- 9:56were all in rags. When and they had got over the rough steep ground
- 10:01and were nearing the city, they reached the fountain from which the citizens drew
- 10:05their water. This had been made by Ithacus, Neritus and Polyctor. There
- 10:11was a grove of water loving poplars planted in a circle all round it,
- 10:16and the clear, cold water came down to it from a rock high up,
- 10:20while above the fountain there was an altar to the nymphs at which all
- 10:22wayfarers used to sacrifice. Here Melanthius, son of Dlius, overtook them as
- 10:28he was driving down some goats, the best in his flock for the suitor's
- 10:33dinner, and there were two shepherds with him. When he saw Eumaeus and
- 10:37Ulysses, he reviled them with outrageous and unseemly language, which made Ulysses very
- 10:43angry. There you go, cried he and a precious pear. You are
- 10:48see how heaven brings birds of the same feather to one another. Where pray,
- 10:52master, swineherd, are you taking this poor, miserable object. It
- 10:56would make anyone sick to see such a creature at tape. A fellow like
- 11:01this never won a prize for anything in his life, but will go about
- 11:03rubbing his shoulders against every man's doorpost, and begging not for swords and cauldrons
- 11:09like a man, but only for a few scraps not worth begging for.
- 11:15If you would give him to me for a hand on my station, he
- 11:18might do to clean out the folds, or bring a bit of sweet feed
- 11:20to the kids, and he could fatten his thighs as much as he pleased
- 11:24on whey. But he has taken to bad ways and will not go about
- 11:28any kind of work. He will do nothing but beg victuals all the town
- 11:33over to feed his insatiable belly. I say therefore, and it shall surely
- 11:37be. If he goes near ulysses house, he will get his head broken
- 11:41by the stools. They will fling at him till they turn him out.
- 11:46On this. As he passed, he gave Ulysses a kick on the hip,
- 11:50out of pure wantonness. But Ulysses stood firm and did not budge from
- 11:54the path. For a moment he doubted whether or no to fly at Melanthius
- 11:58and kill him with his staff, or fling him to the ground and beat
- 12:01his brains out. He resolved, however, to endure it and keep himself
- 12:05in check. But the swineherd looked straight at Melanthius and rebuked him, lifting
- 12:11up his hands and praying to Heaven. As he did so, fountain nymphs.
- 12:15He cried, Children of Jove, if ever Ulysses burned you thigh bones
- 12:20covered with fat, whether of lambs or kids, grant my prayer that Heaven
- 12:24may send him home. He would soon put an end to the swaggering threats
- 12:28with which such men as you go about insulting people, gadding all over the
- 12:33town, while your flocks are going to ruin through bad shepherding. Then Melanthius
- 12:39the goatherd answered, you, ill conditioned cur, what are you talking about?
- 12:43Some day or other I will put you on board ship and take you
- 12:46to a foreign country, where I can sell you and pocket the money you
- 12:50will fetch. I wish I were as sure that Apollo would strike Telemachus dead
- 12:54this very day, or that the suitors would kill him, as I am,
- 12:58that Ulysses never come home again. With this, he left them to
- 13:03come on at their leisure while he went quickly forward and soon reached the house
- 13:07of his master. When he got there, he went in and took his
- 13:11seat among the suitors, opposite Eurymachus, who liked him better than any of
- 13:16the others. The servants brought him a portion of meat, and an upper
- 13:20woman servant set bread before him that he might eat. Presently, Ulysses and
- 13:24the swineherd came up to the house and stood by it amid a sound of
- 13:28music, for Femius was just beginning to sing to the suitors. Then Ulysses
- 13:33took hold of the swineherd's hand and said, Eumaeus, this house of Ulysses
- 13:39is a very fine place. No matter how far you go, you will
- 13:43find few like it. One building keeps following on after another. The outer
- 13:48court has a wall with battlements all round it. The doors are double folding,
- 13:52and of good workmanship. It would be a hard matter to take it
- 13:56by force of arms. I perceived too that there there are many people banqueting
- 14:01within it, for there is a smell of roast meat, and I hear
- 14:03a sound of music, which the gods have made to go along with feasting.
- 14:07Then you may have said you have perceived aright, as indeed you generally
- 14:13do. But let us think what will be our best course will you go
- 14:16inside first and join the suitors, leaving me here behind you, Or will
- 14:20you wait here and let me go in first, But do not wait long,
- 14:24or some one may see you loitering about outside and throw something at you.
- 14:28Consider this matter, I pray you, And Ulysses answered, I understand
- 14:33and heed. Go in first, and leave me here where I am.
- 14:37I am quite used to being beaten and having things thrown at me. I
- 14:41have been so much buffeted about in war and by sea that I am case
- 14:43hardened. And this too may go with the rest. But a man cannot
- 14:48hide away the cravings of a hungry belly. This is an enemy which gives
- 14:52much trouble to all men. It is because of this that ships are fitted
- 14:56out to sail the seas and to make war upon other people. As they
- 15:01were thus talking, a dog that had been lying asleep raised his head and
- 15:05pricked up his ears. This was Argos, whom Ulysses had bred before setting
- 15:11out for Troy. But he had never had any work out of him.
- 15:13In the old days, he used to be taken out by the young men
- 15:16when they went hunting wild goats or deer or hare's. But now that his
- 15:20master was gone. He was lying neglected on the heaps of mule and cowdung
- 15:24that lay in front of the stable doors, till the men should come and
- 15:28draw it away to manure. The great close, and he was full of
- 15:33fleas. As soon as he saw Ulysses standing there, he dropped his ears
- 15:37and wagged his tail, but he could not get close up to his master.
- 15:41When Ulysses saw the dog on the other side of the yard, dashed
- 15:46a tear from his eyes without Eumaeas seeing it, and said, Eumaeus,
- 15:50what a noble hound that is over yonder on the manure heap. His build
- 15:54is splendid. Is he as fine a fellow as he looks? Or is
- 15:58he only one of those dogs that come begging about a table and are kept
- 16:02merely for show? This hound, answered, Eumaeus, belonged to him who
- 16:07has died in a far country. If he were what he was when Ulysses
- 16:11left for Troy, he would soon show you what he could do. There
- 16:15was not a wild beast in the forest that could get away from him when
- 16:18he was once on its tracks. But now he has fallen on evil times,
- 16:22for his master is dead and gone, and the women take no care
- 16:26of him. Servants never do their work when their master's hand is no longer
- 16:30over them, For Jove takes half the goodness out of a man when he
- 16:33makes a slave of him. As he spoke, he went inside the buildings
- 16:38to the cloister where the suitors were, But Argos died as soon as he
- 16:41had recognized his master. Telemachus saw Eumaeus long before anyone else did, and
- 16:48beckoned him to come and sit beside him. So he looked about and saw
- 16:52a seat lying near where the carver sat serving out their portions to the suitors.
- 16:56He picked it up, brought it to Telemachus's table, and sat down
- 17:00opposite him. Then the servant brought him his portion and gave him bread from
- 17:04the bread basket. Immediately afterwards, Ulysses came inside, looking like a poor,
- 17:11miserable old beggar, leaning on his staff and with his clothes all in
- 17:15rags. He sat down upon the threshold of ashwood, just inside the doors
- 17:21leading from the outer to the inner court, and against a bearing post of
- 17:25cypress wood, which the carpenter had skillfully planed and had made to join truly
- 17:30with rule and line. Telemachus took a whole loaf from the bread basket with
- 17:34as much meat as he could hold in his two hands, and said to
- 17:37Eumaeus, take this to the stranger, and tell him to go the round
- 17:42of the suitors and beg from them. A beggar must not be shame faced.
- 17:48So Eumaeus went up to him and said, stranger, Telemachus sends you
- 17:52this, and says you are to go the round of the suitors begging for
- 17:56beggars must not be shamefaced. Ulysses answered, may King Jove grant all happiness
- 18:02to Telemachus and fulfill the desire of his heart. Then, with both hands
- 18:07he took what Telemachus had sent him and laid it on the dirty old wallet
- 18:11at his feet. He went on eating it while the Bard was singing,
- 18:15and had just finished his dinner. As he left off, the suitors applauded
- 18:18the bard. Whereon Minerva went up to Ulysses and prompted him to beg pieces
- 18:23of bread from each one of the suitors, that he might see what kind
- 18:26of people they were and tell the good from the bad. But come what
- 18:30might, she was not going to save a single one of them. Ulysses
- 18:33therefore went on his round, going from left to right, and stretched out
- 18:38his hands to beg as though he were a real beggar. Some of them
- 18:41pitied him and were curious about him, asking one another who he was and
- 18:45where he came from? Whereon the goatherd, Melanthius said, suitors of my
- 18:51noble mistress, I can tell you something about him, for I have seen
- 18:55him before the swineherd brought him here, But I know nothing about the man
- 18:59himself nor where he comes from. On this Antinus began to abuse the swineherd,
- 19:07You precious idiot, he cried, what have you brought this man to
- 19:10town? For? Have we not tramps and beggars enough already to pester us
- 19:15as we sit up? Meat? Do you think it a small thing that
- 19:18such people gather here to waste your master's property? And must you needs bring
- 19:22this man as well? And you mayus? Answered, Antinous, your birth
- 19:26is good, but your words evil. It was no doing of mine that
- 19:30he came here. Who is likely to invite a stranger from a foreign country
- 19:34unless it be one of those who can do public service as a seer,
- 19:37a healer of hurts, a carpenter, or a bard who can charm us
- 19:41with his songs. Such men are welcome all the world over, but no
- 19:47one is likely to ask a beggar who will only worry him. You are
- 19:51always harder on Ulysses servants than any of the other suitors are, and above
- 19:55all on me. But I do not care so long as Telemachus and Penelope
- 19:59are alone and here. But Telemachus said, hush, do not answer him.
- 20:04Antonus has the bitterest tongue of all the suitors, and he makes the
- 20:07others worse. Then, turning to Antonas, he said, Antonus, you
- 20:14take as much care of my interests as though I were your son. Why
- 20:17should you want to see this stranger turned out of the house. Heaven forbid
- 20:22take something and give it him yourself. I do not grudge it. I
- 20:25bid you take it, never mind my mother nor any of the other servants
- 20:29in the house. But I know you will not do what I say,
- 20:33for you are more fond of eating things yourself than of giving them to other
- 20:36people. What do you mean, Telemachus replied Antonus, by the swaggering talk.
- 20:42If all the suitors were to give him as much as I will,
- 20:45he would not come here again for another three months, As he spoke.
- 20:49He drew the stool on which he rested his dainty feet from under the table,
- 20:53and made as though he would throw it at Ulysses. But the other
- 20:56suitors all gave him something and filled his wallet with bread and meat. He
- 21:00was about, therefore to go back to the threshold and eat what the suitors
- 21:04had given him, but he first went up to Antonus and said, sir,
- 21:08give me something. You are not surely the poorest man here. You
- 21:14seem to be a chief foremost among them all. Therefore you should be the
- 21:18better giver, and I will tell far and wide of your bounty. I
- 21:22too was a rich man once, and had a fine house of my own.
- 21:26In those days, I gave to many a tramp such as I now
- 21:29am, no matter who he might be, nor what he wanted. I
- 21:32had any number of servants and all the other things which people have who live
- 21:36well and are accounted wealthy. But it pleased Jove to take all away from
- 21:41me. He sent me with a band of roving robbers to Egypt. It
- 21:45was a long voyage, and I was undone by it. I stationed my
- 21:48ships and the river Egyptus, and bade my men stay by them, and
- 21:52keep guard over them, while we sent out scouts to reconnoiter from every point
- 21:56of vantage. But the men disobeyed my orders, took to their own devices
- 22:00and ravaged the land of the Egyptians, killing the men and taking their wives
- 22:04and children captives. The alarm was soon carried to the city, and when
- 22:08they heard the war cry, the people came out at daybreak, till the
- 22:11plain was filled with soldiers horse and foot, and with a gleam of armor.
- 22:18Then Jove spread panic among my men, and they would no longer face
- 22:21the enemy, for they found themselves surrounded. The Egyptians killed many of us
- 22:26and took the rest alive to do forced labor for them. As for myself,
- 22:30they gave me to a friend who met them, to take to Cypress
- 22:33Dmitor by name, son of Yasus, who was a great man in Cyprus.
- 22:38Thence I am come hither in a state of great misery. Then Antonus
- 22:44said, what God can have sent such a pestilence to plague us during our
- 22:48dinner. Get out into the open part of the court, or I will
- 22:52give you Egypt and Cypress over again for your insolence and importunity. You have
- 22:56begged of all the others, and they have given you lavishly, for they
- 23:00have abundance round them, and it is easy to be free with other people's
- 23:03property when there is plenty of it. On this Ulysses began to move off
- 23:08and said, your looks, my fine sir, are better than your breeding.
- 23:14If you were in your own house, you would not spare a poor
- 23:15man so much as a pinch of salt. For though you are in another
- 23:19man's and surrounded with abundance, you cannot find it in you to give him
- 23:22even a piece of bread. This made Antonus very angry, and he scowled
- 23:29at him, saying, you shall pay for this before you get clear of
- 23:32the court. With these words, he threw a footstool at him and hit
- 23:36him on the right shoulder blade, near the top of his back. Ulysses
- 23:40stood firm as a rock, and the blow did not even stagger him,
- 23:44but he shook his head in silence as he brooded on his revenge. Then
- 23:48he went back to the threshold and sat down there, laying his well filled
- 23:52wallet at his feet. Listen to me, he cried, you, suitors
- 23:59of Queen Penelope, that I may speak even as I am minded. A
- 24:03man knows neither ache nor pain if he gets hit while fighting for his money,
- 24:07or for his sheep or his cattle. And even so Antonus has hit
- 24:11me while in the service of my miserable belly, which is always getting people
- 24:15into trouble. Still, if the poor have gods and avenging deities at all,
- 24:22I pray them that Antonus may come to a bad end before his marriage.
- 24:26Sit where you are and eat your victuals in silence, or be off
- 24:30elsewhere, shouted Antonus. If you say more, I will have you dragged
- 24:34hand and foot through the courts, and the servants shall flay you alive.
- 24:40The other suitors were much displeased at this, and one of the young men
- 24:44said, Antonus, you did ill in striking that poor wretch of a tramp.
- 24:48It will be worse for you if he should turn out to be some
- 24:51god. And we know the gods go about disguised in all sorts of ways
- 24:55as people from foreign countries, and travel about the world to see who do
- 24:59amiss and righteously. Thus said the suitors, but Antonas paid them no heed.
- 25:04Meanwhile, Telemachus was furious about the blow that had been given to his
- 25:08father, and though no tear fell from him. He shook his head in
- 25:12silence and brooded on his revenge. Now, when Penelope heard that the beggar
- 25:18had been struck in the banquet in cloister, she said, before her maids
- 25:22would that Apollo would so strike you Antonus, and her waiting woman Eurynymy,
- 25:26answered, if our prayers were answered, not one of the suitors would ever
- 25:30again see the sun rise. Then Penelope said, nurse, I hate every
- 25:36single one of them, for they mean nothing but mischief. But I hate
- 25:40Antonus like the darkness of death itself. A poor, unfortunate tramp has come
- 25:45begging about the house for sheer want. Every one else has given him something
- 25:49to put in his wallet, but Antonus has hit him on the right shoulder
- 25:53blade with a footstool. Thus did she talk with her maids as she sat
- 25:59in her own room, and in the meantime Ulysses was getting his dinner.
- 26:03Then she called for the swineherd and said, Eumaeus, go and tell the
- 26:07stranger to come here. I want to see him and ask him some questions.
- 26:11He seems to have traveled much, and he may have seen or heard
- 26:15something of my unhappy husband. To this, you answered, o swineherd Eumaeus.
- 26:21If these Achaeans, Madam, would only keep quiet, you would be
- 26:25charmed with the history of his adventures. I had him three days and three
- 26:29nights with me in my hut, which was the first place he reached after
- 26:33running away from his ship, and he has not yet completed the story of
- 26:36his misfortunes. If he had been the most heaven taught minstrel in the whole
- 26:41world, on whose lips all hearers hang entranced, I could not have been
- 26:45more charmed as I sat in my hut and listened to him. He says
- 26:48there is an old friendship between his house and that of Ulysses, and that
- 26:52he comes from Crete, where the descendants of Minos live, after having been
- 26:56driven hither and thither by every kind of misfortune. He also declares that he
- 27:02has heard of Ulysses as being alive and near at hand among the thrust Potians,
- 27:07and that he is bringing great wealth home with him. Call him here,
- 27:11then, said Penelope, that I too may hear his story. As
- 27:15for the suitors, let them take their pleasure indoors or out as they will,
- 27:19for they have nothing to fret about. Their corn and wine remain unwated
- 27:23in their houses, with none but servants to consume them, while they keep
- 27:27hanging about our house day after day, sacrificing our oxen sheep and fat goats
- 27:33for their banquets, and never giving so much as a thought to the quantity
- 27:36of wine they drink. No estate can stand such recklessness, for we have
- 27:41now no Ulysses to protect us. If he were to come again, he
- 27:45and his son would soon have their revenge. As she spoke, Telemachus sneezed
- 27:49so loudly that the whole house resounded with it. Penelope laughed when she heard
- 27:55this, and said to Eumaeus, go and call the stranger. Did you
- 28:00not hear how my son sneezed just as I was speaking. This can only
- 28:03mean that all the suitors are going to be killed, and that not one
- 28:07of them shall escape. Furthermore, I say, and lay my saying to
- 28:11your heart. If I am satisfied that the stranger is speaking the truth,
- 28:15I shall give him a shirt and cloak of good wear. When you may
- 28:18have heard this, he went straight to Ulysses and said, father, stranger,
- 28:22my mistress Penelope, mother of Telemachus, has sent for you. She
- 28:26is in great grief, but she wishes to hear anything you can tell her
- 28:30about her husband. And if she is satisfied that you are speaking the truth,
- 28:33she will give you a shirt and cloak, which are the very things
- 28:37that you are most in want of. As for bread, you can get
- 28:41enough of that to fill your belly by begging about the town and letting those
- 28:44give that will. I will tell Penelope answered, Ulysses, nothing but what
- 28:51is strictly true. I know all about her husband, and have been partner
- 28:55with him in affliction. But I am afraid of passing through this crowd of
- 28:59cruel suitors, for their pride and insolence reach heaven. Just now. Moreover,
- 29:04as I was going about the house without doing any harm, a man
- 29:07gave me a blow that hurt me very much, But neither Telemachus nor any
- 29:11one else defended me. Tell Penelope therefore, to be patient and wait till
- 29:17sundown. Let her give me a seat close up to the fire. For
- 29:21my clothes are worn very thin. You know they are, for you have
- 29:23seen them ever since I first asked you to help me. She can then
- 29:27ask me about the return of her husband. The Swineherd went back when he
- 29:33heard this and Penelope said, as she saw him cross the threshold, why
- 29:37do you not bring him here? Eumaeus? Is he afraid that some one
- 29:41will ill treat him? Or is he shy of coming inside the house at
- 29:44all? Beggars should not be shamefaced to this, you answered, O swineherd.
- 29:48Eumaeus, the stranger is quite reasonable. He is avoiding the suitors and
- 29:53is only doing what any one else would do. He asks you to wait
- 29:57till sundown, and it will be much better, madam, that you should
- 30:00have him all to yourself, when you can hear him and talk to him
- 30:03as you will. The man is no fool, answered Penelope. It would
- 30:08very likely be as he says, for there are no such abominable people in
- 30:12the whole world as these men are. When she had done speaking, Eumaeus
- 30:18went back to the suitors, for he had explained everything. Then he went
- 30:22up to Telemachus and said in his ear so that none could overhear him.
- 30:26My dear sir, I will now go back to the pigs to see after
- 30:30your property and my own business. You will look to what is going on
- 30:34here, but above all be careful to keep out of danger, for there
- 30:38are many who bear you ill, will, may Jove bring them to a
- 30:42bad end before they do us a mischief. Very well, replied Telemachus.
- 30:48Go home when you have had your dinner, and in the morning come here
- 30:52with the victims we are to sacrifice for the day. Leave the rest to
- 30:55heaven and me. On this, Eumaeus took his seat again, and when
- 31:00he had finished his dinner, he left the courts and the cloister with the
- 31:03men at table, and went back to his pigs. As for the suitors,
- 31:07they presently began to amuse themselves with singing and dancing, for it was
- 31:11now getting on towards evening. End of book seventeen,