August 17, 2025 • 31 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Book seventeen. When the child of Morning, rosy fingered Dawn appeared,
Telemachus bound on his sandals and took a strong spear
that suited his hands. For he wanted to go into
the city. Old friend, said he to the swineherd. I
will now go to the town and show myself to
my mother, for she will never leave off grieving till
(00:22):
she has seen me. As for this unfortunate stranger, take
him to the town and let him beg there of
any one who will give him a drink and a
piece of bread. I have trouble enough of my own
and cannot be burdened with other people. If this makes
him angry, so much the worse for him. But I
like to say what I mean, then, Ulysses said sir,
(00:45):
I do not want to stay here. A beggar can
always do better in town than country, for any one
who likes can give him something. I am too old
to care about remaining here at the beckoned call of
a master. Therefore, let this man do as you have
just told him, and take me to the town. As
soon as I have had a warm by the fire,
and the day has got little heat in it. My
(01:06):
clothes are wretchedly thin, and this frosty morning I shall
be perished with cold, for you say the city is
some way off. On this, Telemachus strode off through the yards,
brooding his revenge upon the suitors. When he reached home,
he stood his spear against a bearing post of the cloister,
crossed the stone floor of the cloister itself, and went inside.
(01:29):
Nurse Eurycliu saw him long before any one else did.
She was putting the fleeces on to the seats, and
she burst out crying as she ran up to him.
All the other maids came too, and covered his head
and shoulders with their kisses. Penelope came out of her room,
looking like Diana or Venus, and wept as she flung
her arms about her son. She kissed his forehead and
(01:51):
both his beautiful eyes. Light of my eyes, she cried,
as she spoke fondly to him. Oh, so you are
come home again. I made sure I was never going
to see you any more, to think of your having
gone off to Pylos without saying anything about it or
obtaining my consent. But come tell me what you saw.
(02:12):
Do not scold me, mother, answered Telemachus, nor vex me,
seeing what a narrow escape I have had. But wash
your face, change your dress, go upstairs with your maids,
and promise full and sufficient hecatombs to all the gods,
if Jove will only grant us our revenge upon the suitors.
I must now go to the place of assembly to
invite a stranger who has come back with me from Pylos.
(02:35):
I sent him on with my crew, and told Pereeus
to take him home and look after him till I
could come for him myself. She heeded her son's words,
washed her face, changed her dress, and vowed full and
sufficient hecatomes to all the gods if they would only
vouchsafe her revenge upon the suitors. Telemachus went through and
(02:56):
out of the cloisters, spear in hand, not alone, for
his two fleet dogs went with him. Minerva endowed him
with a presence of such divine comeliness that all marveled
at him as he went by, and the suitors gathered
round him with fair words in their mouths and malice
in their hearts. But he avoided them and went to
sit with Mentor Antiphas and Halitherses, old friends of his
(03:19):
father's house, and they made him tell them all that
had happened to him. Then Peireus came up with Theoclemenus,
whom he had escorted through the town to the place
of assembly, whereon Telemachus at once joined them. Pireus was
the first to speak. Telemachus said, he, I wish you
would send some of your women to my house to
(03:40):
take away the presence Menelaus gave you. We do not know.
Pereus answered Telemachus, what may happen if the suitors kill
me in my own house and divide my property among them.
I would rather you had the presence than that any
of those people should get hold of them. If, on
the other hand, I managed to kill them, I shall
be much obliged if you will kindly bring me my presents.
(04:04):
With these words, he took thia Clemenus to his own house.
When they got there, they laid their cloaks on the
benches and seats, went into the baths and washed themselves.
When the maids had washed and anointed them, and had
given them cloaks and shirts, they took their seats at table.
A maid servant then brought them water in a beautiful
golden ewer and poured it into a silver basin for
(04:26):
them to wash their hands, and she drew a clean
table beside them. An upper servant brought them bread and
offered them many good things of what there was in
the house. Opposite them sat Penelope, reclining on a couch
by one of the bearing posts of the cloister, and spinning.
Then they laid their hands on the good things that
were before them, and as soon as they had had
(04:49):
enough to eat and drink, Penelope said, Telemachus, I shall
go upstairs and lie down on that sad couch, which
I have not ceased to water with my tears from
the day Ulysses set out for Troy with the sons
of Atreus. You failed, however, to make it clear to
me before the suitors came back to the house whether
or no you had been able to hear anything about
(05:09):
the return of your father. I will tell you then, truth,
replied her son. We went to Pylos and saw Nestor,
who took me to his house and treated me as
hospitably as though I were a son of his own
who had just returned after a long absence. So also
did his sons. But he said he had not heard
a word from any human being about Ulysses, whether he
(05:31):
was alive or dead. He sent me therefore with the
chariot and horses to Menelaus. There I saw Helen, for
whose sake so many both Argives and Trojans were in
Heaven's wisdom doomed to suffer. Menelaus asked me what it
was that had brought me to Lacedaemon, and I told
him the whole truth. Whereon he said, so, then these
(05:54):
cowards would usurp a brave man's bed. A hind might
as well lay her new born young in the lair
of a lion, and then go off to feed in
the forest or in some grassy dell. The lion, when
he comes back to his lair, will make short work
with the pair of them, and so will Ulysses with
these suitors. By Father, Jove, Minerva and Apollo. If Ulysses
(06:16):
is still the man that he was when he wrestled
with Philomelides in Lesbos and threw him so heavily that
all the Greeks cheered him. If he is still such
and were to come near these suitors, they would have
a short shrift and a sorry wedding. As regards your question, however,
I will not prevaricate nor deceive you. But what the
(06:36):
old man of the sea told me so much will
I tell you in full. He said he could see
Ulysses on an island, sorrowing bitterly in the house of
the nymph Calypso, who was keeping him prisoner, and he
could not reach his home, for he had no ships
nor sailors to take him over the sea. This was
what Menelaus told me. And when I had heard his story,
(06:57):
I came away. The gods then gave me a fair wind,
and soon brought me safe home again. With these words
he moved the heart of Penelope. Then Theoclemenus said to her, Madam,
wife of Ulysses. Telemachus does not understand these things. Listen
therefore to me, for I can divine them surely, and
(07:18):
will hide nothing from you. May Jove, the King of
Heaven be my witness, and the rights of hospitality with
that hearth of Ulysses to which I now come. That
Ulysses himself is even now in Ithaca, and either going
about the country or staying in one place, is inquiring
into all these evil deeds, and preparing a day of
(07:39):
reckoning for the suitors I saw an omen when I
was on the ship which meant this, and I told
Telemachus about it. May it be even so, answered Penelope,
if your words come true, you shall have such gifts
and such good will from me that all who see
you shall congratulate you. Thus did they. Meanwhile the suitors
(08:02):
were throwing discs or aiming with spears at a mark
on the leveled ground in front of the house, and
behaving with all their old insolence. But when it was
now time for dinner, and the flock of sheep and
goats had come into the town from all the country
round with their shepherds as usual, then Meadon, who was
their favorite servant and who waited upon them at table,
(08:22):
said now, then, my young masters, you have had enough sport,
so come inside that we may get dinner ready. Dinner
is not a bad thing. At dinner time, they left
their sports as he told them, and when they were
within the house, they laid their cloaks on the benches
and seats inside, and then sacrificed some sheep, goats, pigs,
(08:43):
and a heifer, all of them fat and well grown.
Thus they made ready for their meal. In the meantime,
Ulysses and the swineherd were about starting for the town,
and the swineherd said, stranger, I suppose you still want
to go to town to day, as my master said
you were to do. For my own part, I should
have liked you to stay here as a station hand,
(09:06):
But I must do as my master tells me, or
he will scold me later on, and a scolding from
one's masters a very serious thing. Let us then be off,
for it is now broad day. It will be night
again directly, and then you will find it colder. I
know and understand you, replied Ulysses. You need say no more.
Let us be going, But if you have a stick
(09:28):
ready cut, let me have it to walk with, for
you say the road is a very rough one. As
he spoke, he threw his shabby, old tattered wallet over
his shoulders by the cord from which it hung, and
Eumaeus gave him a stick to his liking. The two
then started leaving the station, in charge of the dogs
and herdsmen who remained behind. The swineherd led the way
(09:50):
and his master followed after, looking like some broken down
old tramp as he leaned upon his staff and his
clothes were all in rags. When and they had got
over the rough steep ground and were nearing the city,
they reached the fountain from which the citizens drew their water.
This had been made by Ithacus, Neritus and Polyctor. There
(10:12):
was a grove of water loving poplars planted in a
circle all round it, and the clear, cold water came
down to it from a rock high up, while above
the fountain there was an altar to the nymphs at
which all wayfarers used to sacrifice. Here Melanthius, son of Dlius,
overtook them as he was driving down some goats, the
best in his flock for the suitor's dinner, and there
(10:34):
were two shepherds with him. When he saw Eumaeus and Ulysses,
he reviled them with outrageous and unseemly language, which made
Ulysses very angry. There you go, cried he and a
precious pear. You are see how heaven brings birds of
the same feather to one another. Where pray, master, swineherd,
(10:54):
are you taking this poor, miserable object. It would make
anyone sick to see such a creature at tape. A
fellow like this never won a prize for anything in
his life, but will go about rubbing his shoulders against
every man's doorpost, and begging not for swords and cauldrons
like a man, but only for a few scraps not
worth begging for. If you would give him to me
(11:16):
for a hand on my station, he might do to
clean out the folds, or bring a bit of sweet
feed to the kids, and he could fatten his thighs
as much as he pleased on whey. But he has
taken to bad ways and will not go about any
kind of work. He will do nothing but beg victuals
all the town over to feed his insatiable belly. I
(11:37):
say therefore, and it shall surely be. If he goes
near ulysses house, he will get his head broken by
the stools. They will fling at him till they turn
him out. On this. As he passed, he gave Ulysses
a kick on the hip, out of pure wantonness. But
Ulysses stood firm and did not budge from the path.
For a moment he doubted whether or no to fly
(11:58):
at Melanthius and kill him with his staff, or fling
him to the ground and beat his brains out. He resolved, however,
to endure it and keep himself in check. But the
swineherd looked straight at Melanthius and rebuked him, lifting up
his hands and praying to Heaven. As he did so,
fountain nymphs. He cried, Children of Jove, if ever Ulysses
(12:18):
burned you thigh bones covered with fat, whether of lambs
or kids, grant my prayer that Heaven may send him home.
He would soon put an end to the swaggering threats
with which such men as you go about insulting people,
gadding all over the town, while your flocks are going
to ruin through bad shepherding. Then Melanthius the goatherd answered, you,
(12:40):
ill conditioned cur, what are you talking about? Some day
or other I will put you on board ship and
take you to a foreign country, where I can sell
you and pocket the money you will fetch. I wish
I were as sure that Apollo would strike Telemachus dead
this very day, or that the suitors would kill him,
as I am, that Ulysses never come home again. With this,
(13:03):
he left them to come on at their leisure while
he went quickly forward and soon reached the house of
his master. When he got there, he went in and
took his seat among the suitors, opposite Eurymachus, who liked
him better than any of the others. The servants brought
him a portion of meat, and an upper woman servant
set bread before him that he might eat. Presently, Ulysses
(13:25):
and the swineherd came up to the house and stood
by it amid a sound of music, for Femius was
just beginning to sing to the suitors. Then Ulysses took
hold of the swineherd's hand and said, Eumaeus, this house
of Ulysses is a very fine place. No matter how
far you go, you will find few like it. One
(13:45):
building keeps following on after another. The outer court has
a wall with battlements all round it. The doors are
double folding, and of good workmanship. It would be a
hard matter to take it by force of arms. I
perceived too that there there are many people banqueting within it,
for there is a smell of roast meat, and I
hear a sound of music, which the gods have made
(14:06):
to go along with feasting. Then you may have said
you have perceived aright, as indeed you generally do. But
let us think what will be our best course will
you go inside first and join the suitors, leaving me
here behind you, Or will you wait here and let
me go in first, But do not wait long, or
some one may see you loitering about outside and throw
(14:27):
something at you. Consider this matter, I pray you, And
Ulysses answered, I understand and heed. Go in first, and
leave me here where I am. I am quite used
to being beaten and having things thrown at me. I
have been so much buffeted about in war and by
sea that I am case hardened. And this too may
go with the rest. But a man cannot hide away
(14:49):
the cravings of a hungry belly. This is an enemy
which gives much trouble to all men. It is because
of this that ships are fitted out to sail the
seas and to make war upon other people. As they
were thus talking, a dog that had been lying asleep
raised his head and pricked up his ears. This was Argos,
whom Ulysses had bred before setting out for Troy. But
(15:12):
he had never had any work out of him. In
the old days, he used to be taken out by
the young men when they went hunting wild goats or
deer or hare's. But now that his master was gone.
He was lying neglected on the heaps of mule and
cowdung that lay in front of the stable doors, till
the men should come and draw it away to manure.
The great close, and he was full of fleas. As
(15:34):
soon as he saw Ulysses standing there, he dropped his
ears and wagged his tail, but he could not get
close up to his master. When Ulysses saw the dog
on the other side of the yard, dashed a tear
from his eyes without Eumaeas seeing it, and said, Eumaeus,
what a noble hound that is over yonder on the
manure heap. His build is splendid. Is he as fine
(15:57):
a fellow as he looks? Or is he only one
of those dogs that come begging about a table and
are kept merely for show? This hound, answered, Eumaeus, belonged
to him who has died in a far country. If
he were what he was when Ulysses left for Troy,
he would soon show you what he could do. There
was not a wild beast in the forest that could
(16:18):
get away from him when he was once on its tracks.
But now he has fallen on evil times, for his
master is dead and gone, and the women take no
care of him. Servants never do their work when their
master's hand is no longer over them, For Jove takes
half the goodness out of a man when he makes
a slave of him. As he spoke, he went inside
(16:38):
the buildings to the cloister where the suitors were, But
Argos died as soon as he had recognized his master.
Telemachus saw Eumaeus long before anyone else did, and beckoned
him to come and sit beside him. So he looked
about and saw a seat lying near where the carver
sat serving out their portions to the suitors. He picked
it up, brought it to Telemachus's table, and sat down
(17:01):
opposite him. Then the servant brought him his portion and
gave him bread from the bread basket. Immediately afterwards, Ulysses
came inside, looking like a poor, miserable old beggar, leaning
on his staff and with his clothes all in rags.
He sat down upon the threshold of ashwood, just inside
the doors leading from the outer to the inner court,
(17:23):
and against a bearing post of cypress wood, which the
carpenter had skillfully planed and had made to join truly
with rule and line. Telemachus took a whole loaf from
the bread basket with as much meat as he could
hold in his two hands, and said to Eumaeus, take
this to the stranger, and tell him to go the
round of the suitors and beg from them. A beggar
(17:45):
must not be shame faced. So Eumaeus went up to
him and said, stranger, Telemachus sends you this, and says
you are to go the round of the suitors begging
for beggars must not be shamefaced. Ulysses answered, may King
Jove grant all happiness to Telemachus and fulfill the desire
of his heart. Then, with both hands he took what
(18:08):
Telemachus had sent him and laid it on the dirty
old wallet at his feet. He went on eating it
while the Bard was singing, and had just finished his dinner.
As he left off, the suitors applauded the bard. Whereon
Minerva went up to Ulysses and prompted him to beg
pieces of bread from each one of the suitors, that
he might see what kind of people they were and
(18:28):
tell the good from the bad. But come what might,
she was not going to save a single one of them.
Ulysses therefore went on his round, going from left to right,
and stretched out his hands to beg as though he
were a real beggar. Some of them pitied him and
were curious about him, asking one another who he was
and where he came from? Whereon the goatherd, Melanthius said,
(18:50):
suitors of my noble mistress, I can tell you something
about him, for I have seen him before the swineherd
brought him here, But I know nothing about the man
himself nor where he comes from. On this Antinus began
to abuse the swineherd, You precious idiot, he cried, what
have you brought this man to town? For? Have we
(19:12):
not tramps and beggars enough already to pester us as
we sit up? Meat? Do you think it a small
thing that such people gather here to waste your master's property?
And must you needs bring this man as well? And
you mayus? Answered, Antinous, your birth is good, but your
words evil. It was no doing of mine that he
came here. Who is likely to invite a stranger from
(19:34):
a foreign country unless it be one of those who
can do public service as a seer, a healer of hurts,
a carpenter, or a bard who can charm us with
his songs. Such men are welcome all the world over,
but no one is likely to ask a beggar who
will only worry him. You are always harder on Ulysses
servants than any of the other suitors are, and above
(19:55):
all on me. But I do not care so long
as Telemachus and Penelope are alone and here. But Telemachus said, hush,
do not answer him. Antonus has the bitterest tongue of
all the suitors, and he makes the others worse. Then,
turning to Antonas, he said, Antonus, you take as much
care of my interests as though I were your son.
(20:17):
Why should you want to see this stranger turned out
of the house. Heaven forbid take something and give it
him yourself. I do not grudge it. I bid you
take it, never mind my mother nor any of the
other servants in the house. But I know you will
not do what I say, for you are more fond
of eating things yourself than of giving them to other people.
(20:38):
What do you mean, Telemachus replied Antonus, by the swaggering talk.
If all the suitors were to give him as much
as I will, he would not come here again for
another three months, As he spoke. He drew the stool
on which he rested his dainty feet from under the table,
and made as though he would throw it at Ulysses.
But the other suitors all gave him something and filled
(20:59):
his wallet with bread and meat. He was about, therefore
to go back to the threshold and eat what the
suitors had given him, but he first went up to
Antonus and said, sir, give me something. You are not
surely the poorest man here. You seem to be a
chief foremost among them all. Therefore you should be the
better giver, and I will tell far and wide of
(21:21):
your bounty. I too was a rich man once, and
had a fine house of my own. In those days,
I gave to many a tramp such as I now am,
no matter who he might be, nor what he wanted.
I had any number of servants and all the other
things which people have who live well and are accounted wealthy.
But it pleased Jove to take all away from me.
(21:41):
He sent me with a band of roving robbers to Egypt.
It was a long voyage, and I was undone by it.
I stationed my ships and the river Egyptus, and bade
my men stay by them, and keep guard over them,
while we sent out scouts to reconnoiter from every point
of vantage. But the men disobeyed my orders, took to
their own devices and ravaged the land of the Egyptians,
(22:03):
killing the men and taking their wives and children captives.
The alarm was soon carried to the city, and when
they heard the war cry, the people came out at daybreak,
till the plain was filled with soldiers horse and foot,
and with a gleam of armor. Then Jove spread panic
among my men, and they would no longer face the enemy,
for they found themselves surrounded. The Egyptians killed many of
(22:25):
us and took the rest alive to do forced labor
for them. As for myself, they gave me to a
friend who met them, to take to Cypress Dmitor by name,
son of Yasus, who was a great man in Cyprus.
Thence I am come hither in a state of great misery.
Then Antonus said, what God can have sent such a
(22:47):
pestilence to plague us during our dinner. Get out into
the open part of the court, or I will give
you Egypt and Cypress over again for your insolence and importunity.
You have begged of all the others, and they have
given you lavishly, for they have abundance round them, and
it is easy to be free with other people's property
when there is plenty of it. On this Ulysses began
(23:08):
to move off and said, your looks, my fine sir,
are better than your breeding. If you were in your
own house, you would not spare a poor man so
much as a pinch of salt. For though you are
in another man's and surrounded with abundance, you cannot find
it in you to give him even a piece of bread.
This made Antonus very angry, and he scowled at him, saying,
(23:30):
you shall pay for this before you get clear of
the court. With these words, he threw a footstool at
him and hit him on the right shoulder blade, near
the top of his back. Ulysses stood firm as a rock,
and the blow did not even stagger him, but he
shook his head in silence as he brooded on his revenge.
Then he went back to the threshold and sat down there,
(23:52):
laying his well filled wallet at his feet. Listen to me,
he cried, you, suitors of Queen Penelope, that I may
speak even as I am minded. A man knows neither
ache nor pain if he gets hit while fighting for
his money, or for his sheep or his cattle. And
even so Antonus has hit me while in the service
(24:13):
of my miserable belly, which is always getting people into trouble. Still,
if the poor have gods and avenging deities at all,
I pray them that Antonus may come to a bad
end before his marriage. Sit where you are and eat
your victuals in silence, or be off elsewhere, shouted Antonus.
If you say more, I will have you dragged hand
(24:35):
and foot through the courts, and the servants shall flay
you alive. The other suitors were much displeased at this,
and one of the young men said, Antonus, you did
ill in striking that poor wretch of a tramp. It
will be worse for you if he should turn out
to be some god. And we know the gods go
about disguised in all sorts of ways as people from
(24:55):
foreign countries, and travel about the world to see who
do amiss and righteously. Thus said the suitors, but Antonas
paid them no heed. Meanwhile, Telemachus was furious about the
blow that had been given to his father, and though
no tear fell from him. He shook his head in
silence and brooded on his revenge. Now, when Penelope heard
(25:18):
that the beggar had been struck in the banquet in cloister,
she said, before her maids would that Apollo would so
strike you Antonus, and her waiting woman Eurynymy, answered, if
our prayers were answered, not one of the suitors would
ever again see the sun rise. Then Penelope said, nurse,
I hate every single one of them, for they mean
(25:38):
nothing but mischief. But I hate Antonus like the darkness
of death itself. A poor, unfortunate tramp has come begging
about the house for sheer want. Every one else has
given him something to put in his wallet, but Antonus
has hit him on the right shoulder blade with a footstool.
Thus did she talk with her maids as she sat
(25:59):
in her own room, and in the meantime Ulysses was
getting his dinner. Then she called for the swineherd and said, Eumaeus,
go and tell the stranger to come here. I want
to see him and ask him some questions. He seems
to have traveled much, and he may have seen or
heard something of my unhappy husband. To this, you answered,
(26:19):
o swineherd Eumaeus. If these Achaeans, Madam, would only keep quiet,
you would be charmed with the history of his adventures.
I had him three days and three nights with me
in my hut, which was the first place he reached
after running away from his ship, and he has not
yet completed the story of his misfortunes. If he had
been the most heaven taught minstrel in the whole world,
(26:41):
on whose lips all hearers hang entranced, I could not
have been more charmed as I sat in my hut
and listened to him. He says there is an old
friendship between his house and that of Ulysses, and that
he comes from Crete, where the descendants of Minos live,
after having been driven hither and thither by every kind
of misfortune. He also declares that he has heard of
(27:03):
Ulysses as being alive and near at hand among the
thrust Potians, and that he is bringing great wealth home
with him. Call him here, then, said Penelope, that I
too may hear his story. As for the suitors, let
them take their pleasure indoors or out as they will,
for they have nothing to fret about. Their corn and
wine remain unwated in their houses, with none but servants
(27:26):
to consume them, while they keep hanging about our house
day after day, sacrificing our oxen sheep and fat goats
for their banquets, and never giving so much as a
thought to the quantity of wine they drink. No estate
can stand such recklessness, for we have now no Ulysses
to protect us. If he were to come again, he
and his son would soon have their revenge. As she spoke,
(27:49):
Telemachus sneezed so loudly that the whole house resounded with it.
Penelope laughed when she heard this, and said to Eumaeus,
go and call the stranger. Did you not hear how
my son sneezed just as I was speaking. This can
only mean that all the suitors are going to be killed,
and that not one of them shall escape. Furthermore, I say,
(28:10):
and lay my saying to your heart. If I am
satisfied that the stranger is speaking the truth, I shall
give him a shirt and cloak of good wear. When
you may have heard this, he went straight to Ulysses
and said, father, stranger, my mistress Penelope, mother of Telemachus,
has sent for you. She is in great grief, but
she wishes to hear anything you can tell her about
(28:30):
her husband. And if she is satisfied that you are
speaking the truth, she will give you a shirt and cloak,
which are the very things that you are most in
want of. As for bread, you can get enough of
that to fill your belly by begging about the town
and letting those give that will. I will tell Penelope answered, Ulysses,
nothing but what is strictly true. I know all about
(28:53):
her husband, and have been partner with him in affliction.
But I am afraid of passing through this crowd of
cruel suitors, for their pride and insolence reach heaven. Just now. Moreover,
as I was going about the house without doing any harm,
a man gave me a blow that hurt me very much,
But neither Telemachus nor any one else defended me. Tell
(29:14):
Penelope therefore, to be patient and wait till sundown. Let
her give me a seat close up to the fire.
For my clothes are worn very thin. You know they are,
for you have seen them ever since I first asked
you to help me. She can then ask me about
the return of her husband. The Swineherd went back when
he heard this and Penelope said, as she saw him
(29:35):
cross the threshold, why do you not bring him here? Eumaeus?
Is he afraid that some one will ill treat him?
Or is he shy of coming inside the house at all?
Beggars should not be shamefaced to this, you answered, O swineherd. Eumaeus,
the stranger is quite reasonable. He is avoiding the suitors
and is only doing what any one else would do.
(29:57):
He asks you to wait till sundown, and it will
be much better, madam, that you should have him all
to yourself, when you can hear him and talk to
him as you will. The man is no fool, answered Penelope.
It would very likely be as he says, for there
are no such abominable people in the whole world as
these men are. When she had done speaking, Eumaeus went
(30:18):
back to the suitors, for he had explained everything. Then
he went up to Telemachus and said in his ear
so that none could overhear him. My dear sir, I
will now go back to the pigs to see after
your property and my own business. You will look to
what is going on here, but above all be careful
to keep out of danger, for there are many who
(30:39):
bear you ill, will, may Jove bring them to a
bad end before they do us a mischief. Very well,
replied Telemachus. Go home when you have had your dinner,
and in the morning come here with the victims we
are to sacrifice for the day. Leave the rest to
heaven and me. On this, Eumaeus took his seat again,
(31:00):
and when he had finished his dinner, he left the
courts and the cloister with the men at table, and
went back to his pigs. As for the suitors, they
presently began to amuse themselves with singing and dancing, for
it was now getting on towards evening. End of book seventeen,
Book seventeen. When the child of Morning, rosy fingered Dawn appeared,
Telemachus bound on his sandals and took a strong spear
that suited his hands. For he wanted to go into
the city. Old friend, said he to the swineherd. I
will now go to the town and show myself to
my mother, for she will never leave off grieving till
(00:22):
she has seen me. As for this unfortunate stranger, take
him to the town and let him beg there of
any one who will give him a drink and a
piece of bread. I have trouble enough of my own
and cannot be burdened with other people. If this makes
him angry, so much the worse for him. But I
like to say what I mean, then, Ulysses said sir,
(00:45):
I do not want to stay here. A beggar can
always do better in town than country, for any one
who likes can give him something. I am too old
to care about remaining here at the beckoned call of
a master. Therefore, let this man do as you have
just told him, and take me to the town. As
soon as I have had a warm by the fire,
and the day has got little heat in it. My
(01:06):
clothes are wretchedly thin, and this frosty morning I shall
be perished with cold, for you say the city is
some way off. On this, Telemachus strode off through the yards,
brooding his revenge upon the suitors. When he reached home,
he stood his spear against a bearing post of the cloister,
crossed the stone floor of the cloister itself, and went inside.
(01:29):
Nurse Eurycliu saw him long before any one else did.
She was putting the fleeces on to the seats, and
she burst out crying as she ran up to him.
All the other maids came too, and covered his head
and shoulders with their kisses. Penelope came out of her room,
looking like Diana or Venus, and wept as she flung
her arms about her son. She kissed his forehead and
(01:51):
both his beautiful eyes. Light of my eyes, she cried,
as she spoke fondly to him. Oh, so you are
come home again. I made sure I was never going
to see you any more, to think of your having
gone off to Pylos without saying anything about it or
obtaining my consent. But come tell me what you saw.
(02:12):
Do not scold me, mother, answered Telemachus, nor vex me,
seeing what a narrow escape I have had. But wash
your face, change your dress, go upstairs with your maids,
and promise full and sufficient hecatombs to all the gods,
if Jove will only grant us our revenge upon the suitors.
I must now go to the place of assembly to
invite a stranger who has come back with me from Pylos.
(02:35):
I sent him on with my crew, and told Pereeus
to take him home and look after him till I
could come for him myself. She heeded her son's words,
washed her face, changed her dress, and vowed full and
sufficient hecatomes to all the gods if they would only
vouchsafe her revenge upon the suitors. Telemachus went through and
(02:56):
out of the cloisters, spear in hand, not alone, for
his two fleet dogs went with him. Minerva endowed him
with a presence of such divine comeliness that all marveled
at him as he went by, and the suitors gathered
round him with fair words in their mouths and malice
in their hearts. But he avoided them and went to
sit with Mentor Antiphas and Halitherses, old friends of his
(03:19):
father's house, and they made him tell them all that
had happened to him. Then Peireus came up with Theoclemenus,
whom he had escorted through the town to the place
of assembly, whereon Telemachus at once joined them. Pireus was
the first to speak. Telemachus said, he, I wish you
would send some of your women to my house to
(03:40):
take away the presence Menelaus gave you. We do not know.
Pereus answered Telemachus, what may happen if the suitors kill
me in my own house and divide my property among them.
I would rather you had the presence than that any
of those people should get hold of them. If, on
the other hand, I managed to kill them, I shall
be much obliged if you will kindly bring me my presents.
(04:04):
With these words, he took thia Clemenus to his own house.
When they got there, they laid their cloaks on the
benches and seats, went into the baths and washed themselves.
When the maids had washed and anointed them, and had
given them cloaks and shirts, they took their seats at table.
A maid servant then brought them water in a beautiful
golden ewer and poured it into a silver basin for
(04:26):
them to wash their hands, and she drew a clean
table beside them. An upper servant brought them bread and
offered them many good things of what there was in
the house. Opposite them sat Penelope, reclining on a couch
by one of the bearing posts of the cloister, and spinning.
Then they laid their hands on the good things that
were before them, and as soon as they had had
(04:49):
enough to eat and drink, Penelope said, Telemachus, I shall
go upstairs and lie down on that sad couch, which
I have not ceased to water with my tears from
the day Ulysses set out for Troy with the sons
of Atreus. You failed, however, to make it clear to
me before the suitors came back to the house whether
or no you had been able to hear anything about
(05:09):
the return of your father. I will tell you then, truth,
replied her son. We went to Pylos and saw Nestor,
who took me to his house and treated me as
hospitably as though I were a son of his own
who had just returned after a long absence. So also
did his sons. But he said he had not heard
a word from any human being about Ulysses, whether he
(05:31):
was alive or dead. He sent me therefore with the
chariot and horses to Menelaus. There I saw Helen, for
whose sake so many both Argives and Trojans were in
Heaven's wisdom doomed to suffer. Menelaus asked me what it
was that had brought me to Lacedaemon, and I told
him the whole truth. Whereon he said, so, then these
(05:54):
cowards would usurp a brave man's bed. A hind might
as well lay her new born young in the lair
of a lion, and then go off to feed in
the forest or in some grassy dell. The lion, when
he comes back to his lair, will make short work
with the pair of them, and so will Ulysses with
these suitors. By Father, Jove, Minerva and Apollo. If Ulysses
(06:16):
is still the man that he was when he wrestled
with Philomelides in Lesbos and threw him so heavily that
all the Greeks cheered him. If he is still such
and were to come near these suitors, they would have
a short shrift and a sorry wedding. As regards your question, however,
I will not prevaricate nor deceive you. But what the
(06:36):
old man of the sea told me so much will
I tell you in full. He said he could see
Ulysses on an island, sorrowing bitterly in the house of
the nymph Calypso, who was keeping him prisoner, and he
could not reach his home, for he had no ships
nor sailors to take him over the sea. This was
what Menelaus told me. And when I had heard his story,
(06:57):
I came away. The gods then gave me a fair wind,
and soon brought me safe home again. With these words
he moved the heart of Penelope. Then Theoclemenus said to her, Madam,
wife of Ulysses. Telemachus does not understand these things. Listen
therefore to me, for I can divine them surely, and
(07:18):
will hide nothing from you. May Jove, the King of
Heaven be my witness, and the rights of hospitality with
that hearth of Ulysses to which I now come. That
Ulysses himself is even now in Ithaca, and either going
about the country or staying in one place, is inquiring
into all these evil deeds, and preparing a day of
(07:39):
reckoning for the suitors I saw an omen when I
was on the ship which meant this, and I told
Telemachus about it. May it be even so, answered Penelope,
if your words come true, you shall have such gifts
and such good will from me that all who see
you shall congratulate you. Thus did they. Meanwhile the suitors
(08:02):
were throwing discs or aiming with spears at a mark
on the leveled ground in front of the house, and
behaving with all their old insolence. But when it was
now time for dinner, and the flock of sheep and
goats had come into the town from all the country
round with their shepherds as usual, then Meadon, who was
their favorite servant and who waited upon them at table,
(08:22):
said now, then, my young masters, you have had enough sport,
so come inside that we may get dinner ready. Dinner
is not a bad thing. At dinner time, they left
their sports as he told them, and when they were
within the house, they laid their cloaks on the benches
and seats inside, and then sacrificed some sheep, goats, pigs,
(08:43):
and a heifer, all of them fat and well grown.
Thus they made ready for their meal. In the meantime,
Ulysses and the swineherd were about starting for the town,
and the swineherd said, stranger, I suppose you still want
to go to town to day, as my master said
you were to do. For my own part, I should
have liked you to stay here as a station hand,
(09:06):
But I must do as my master tells me, or
he will scold me later on, and a scolding from
one's masters a very serious thing. Let us then be off,
for it is now broad day. It will be night
again directly, and then you will find it colder. I
know and understand you, replied Ulysses. You need say no more.
Let us be going, But if you have a stick
(09:28):
ready cut, let me have it to walk with, for
you say the road is a very rough one. As
he spoke, he threw his shabby, old tattered wallet over
his shoulders by the cord from which it hung, and
Eumaeus gave him a stick to his liking. The two
then started leaving the station, in charge of the dogs
and herdsmen who remained behind. The swineherd led the way
(09:50):
and his master followed after, looking like some broken down
old tramp as he leaned upon his staff and his
clothes were all in rags. When and they had got
over the rough steep ground and were nearing the city,
they reached the fountain from which the citizens drew their water.
This had been made by Ithacus, Neritus and Polyctor. There
(10:12):
was a grove of water loving poplars planted in a
circle all round it, and the clear, cold water came
down to it from a rock high up, while above
the fountain there was an altar to the nymphs at
which all wayfarers used to sacrifice. Here Melanthius, son of Dlius,
overtook them as he was driving down some goats, the
best in his flock for the suitor's dinner, and there
(10:34):
were two shepherds with him. When he saw Eumaeus and Ulysses,
he reviled them with outrageous and unseemly language, which made
Ulysses very angry. There you go, cried he and a
precious pear. You are see how heaven brings birds of
the same feather to one another. Where pray, master, swineherd,
(10:54):
are you taking this poor, miserable object. It would make
anyone sick to see such a creature at tape. A
fellow like this never won a prize for anything in
his life, but will go about rubbing his shoulders against
every man's doorpost, and begging not for swords and cauldrons
like a man, but only for a few scraps not
worth begging for. If you would give him to me
(11:16):
for a hand on my station, he might do to
clean out the folds, or bring a bit of sweet
feed to the kids, and he could fatten his thighs
as much as he pleased on whey. But he has
taken to bad ways and will not go about any
kind of work. He will do nothing but beg victuals
all the town over to feed his insatiable belly. I
(11:37):
say therefore, and it shall surely be. If he goes
near ulysses house, he will get his head broken by
the stools. They will fling at him till they turn
him out. On this. As he passed, he gave Ulysses
a kick on the hip, out of pure wantonness. But
Ulysses stood firm and did not budge from the path.
For a moment he doubted whether or no to fly
(11:58):
at Melanthius and kill him with his staff, or fling
him to the ground and beat his brains out. He resolved, however,
to endure it and keep himself in check. But the
swineherd looked straight at Melanthius and rebuked him, lifting up
his hands and praying to Heaven. As he did so,
fountain nymphs. He cried, Children of Jove, if ever Ulysses
(12:18):
burned you thigh bones covered with fat, whether of lambs
or kids, grant my prayer that Heaven may send him home.
He would soon put an end to the swaggering threats
with which such men as you go about insulting people,
gadding all over the town, while your flocks are going
to ruin through bad shepherding. Then Melanthius the goatherd answered, you,
(12:40):
ill conditioned cur, what are you talking about? Some day
or other I will put you on board ship and
take you to a foreign country, where I can sell
you and pocket the money you will fetch. I wish
I were as sure that Apollo would strike Telemachus dead
this very day, or that the suitors would kill him,
as I am, that Ulysses never come home again. With this,
(13:03):
he left them to come on at their leisure while
he went quickly forward and soon reached the house of
his master. When he got there, he went in and
took his seat among the suitors, opposite Eurymachus, who liked
him better than any of the others. The servants brought
him a portion of meat, and an upper woman servant
set bread before him that he might eat. Presently, Ulysses
(13:25):
and the swineherd came up to the house and stood
by it amid a sound of music, for Femius was
just beginning to sing to the suitors. Then Ulysses took
hold of the swineherd's hand and said, Eumaeus, this house
of Ulysses is a very fine place. No matter how
far you go, you will find few like it. One
(13:45):
building keeps following on after another. The outer court has
a wall with battlements all round it. The doors are
double folding, and of good workmanship. It would be a
hard matter to take it by force of arms. I
perceived too that there there are many people banqueting within it,
for there is a smell of roast meat, and I
hear a sound of music, which the gods have made
(14:06):
to go along with feasting. Then you may have said
you have perceived aright, as indeed you generally do. But
let us think what will be our best course will
you go inside first and join the suitors, leaving me
here behind you, Or will you wait here and let
me go in first, But do not wait long, or
some one may see you loitering about outside and throw
(14:27):
something at you. Consider this matter, I pray you, And
Ulysses answered, I understand and heed. Go in first, and
leave me here where I am. I am quite used
to being beaten and having things thrown at me. I
have been so much buffeted about in war and by
sea that I am case hardened. And this too may
go with the rest. But a man cannot hide away
(14:49):
the cravings of a hungry belly. This is an enemy
which gives much trouble to all men. It is because
of this that ships are fitted out to sail the
seas and to make war upon other people. As they
were thus talking, a dog that had been lying asleep
raised his head and pricked up his ears. This was Argos,
whom Ulysses had bred before setting out for Troy. But
(15:12):
he had never had any work out of him. In
the old days, he used to be taken out by
the young men when they went hunting wild goats or
deer or hare's. But now that his master was gone.
He was lying neglected on the heaps of mule and
cowdung that lay in front of the stable doors, till
the men should come and draw it away to manure.
The great close, and he was full of fleas. As
(15:34):
soon as he saw Ulysses standing there, he dropped his
ears and wagged his tail, but he could not get
close up to his master. When Ulysses saw the dog
on the other side of the yard, dashed a tear
from his eyes without Eumaeas seeing it, and said, Eumaeus,
what a noble hound that is over yonder on the
manure heap. His build is splendid. Is he as fine
(15:57):
a fellow as he looks? Or is he only one
of those dogs that come begging about a table and
are kept merely for show? This hound, answered, Eumaeus, belonged
to him who has died in a far country. If
he were what he was when Ulysses left for Troy,
he would soon show you what he could do. There
was not a wild beast in the forest that could
(16:18):
get away from him when he was once on its tracks.
But now he has fallen on evil times, for his
master is dead and gone, and the women take no
care of him. Servants never do their work when their
master's hand is no longer over them, For Jove takes
half the goodness out of a man when he makes
a slave of him. As he spoke, he went inside
(16:38):
the buildings to the cloister where the suitors were, But
Argos died as soon as he had recognized his master.
Telemachus saw Eumaeus long before anyone else did, and beckoned
him to come and sit beside him. So he looked
about and saw a seat lying near where the carver
sat serving out their portions to the suitors. He picked
it up, brought it to Telemachus's table, and sat down
(17:01):
opposite him. Then the servant brought him his portion and
gave him bread from the bread basket. Immediately afterwards, Ulysses
came inside, looking like a poor, miserable old beggar, leaning
on his staff and with his clothes all in rags.
He sat down upon the threshold of ashwood, just inside
the doors leading from the outer to the inner court,
(17:23):
and against a bearing post of cypress wood, which the
carpenter had skillfully planed and had made to join truly
with rule and line. Telemachus took a whole loaf from
the bread basket with as much meat as he could
hold in his two hands, and said to Eumaeus, take
this to the stranger, and tell him to go the
round of the suitors and beg from them. A beggar
(17:45):
must not be shame faced. So Eumaeus went up to
him and said, stranger, Telemachus sends you this, and says
you are to go the round of the suitors begging
for beggars must not be shamefaced. Ulysses answered, may King
Jove grant all happiness to Telemachus and fulfill the desire
of his heart. Then, with both hands he took what
(18:08):
Telemachus had sent him and laid it on the dirty
old wallet at his feet. He went on eating it
while the Bard was singing, and had just finished his dinner.
As he left off, the suitors applauded the bard. Whereon
Minerva went up to Ulysses and prompted him to beg
pieces of bread from each one of the suitors, that
he might see what kind of people they were and
(18:28):
tell the good from the bad. But come what might,
she was not going to save a single one of them.
Ulysses therefore went on his round, going from left to right,
and stretched out his hands to beg as though he
were a real beggar. Some of them pitied him and
were curious about him, asking one another who he was
and where he came from? Whereon the goatherd, Melanthius said,
(18:50):
suitors of my noble mistress, I can tell you something
about him, for I have seen him before the swineherd
brought him here, But I know nothing about the man
himself nor where he comes from. On this Antinus began
to abuse the swineherd, You precious idiot, he cried, what
have you brought this man to town? For? Have we
(19:12):
not tramps and beggars enough already to pester us as
we sit up? Meat? Do you think it a small
thing that such people gather here to waste your master's property?
And must you needs bring this man as well? And
you mayus? Answered, Antinous, your birth is good, but your
words evil. It was no doing of mine that he
came here. Who is likely to invite a stranger from
(19:34):
a foreign country unless it be one of those who
can do public service as a seer, a healer of hurts,
a carpenter, or a bard who can charm us with
his songs. Such men are welcome all the world over,
but no one is likely to ask a beggar who
will only worry him. You are always harder on Ulysses
servants than any of the other suitors are, and above
(19:55):
all on me. But I do not care so long
as Telemachus and Penelope are alone and here. But Telemachus said, hush,
do not answer him. Antonus has the bitterest tongue of
all the suitors, and he makes the others worse. Then,
turning to Antonas, he said, Antonus, you take as much
care of my interests as though I were your son.
(20:17):
Why should you want to see this stranger turned out
of the house. Heaven forbid take something and give it
him yourself. I do not grudge it. I bid you
take it, never mind my mother nor any of the
other servants in the house. But I know you will
not do what I say, for you are more fond
of eating things yourself than of giving them to other people.
(20:38):
What do you mean, Telemachus replied Antonus, by the swaggering talk.
If all the suitors were to give him as much
as I will, he would not come here again for
another three months, As he spoke. He drew the stool
on which he rested his dainty feet from under the table,
and made as though he would throw it at Ulysses.
But the other suitors all gave him something and filled
(20:59):
his wallet with bread and meat. He was about, therefore
to go back to the threshold and eat what the
suitors had given him, but he first went up to
Antonus and said, sir, give me something. You are not
surely the poorest man here. You seem to be a
chief foremost among them all. Therefore you should be the
better giver, and I will tell far and wide of
(21:21):
your bounty. I too was a rich man once, and
had a fine house of my own. In those days,
I gave to many a tramp such as I now am,
no matter who he might be, nor what he wanted.
I had any number of servants and all the other
things which people have who live well and are accounted wealthy.
But it pleased Jove to take all away from me.
(21:41):
He sent me with a band of roving robbers to Egypt.
It was a long voyage, and I was undone by it.
I stationed my ships and the river Egyptus, and bade
my men stay by them, and keep guard over them,
while we sent out scouts to reconnoiter from every point
of vantage. But the men disobeyed my orders, took to
their own devices and ravaged the land of the Egyptians,
(22:03):
killing the men and taking their wives and children captives.
The alarm was soon carried to the city, and when
they heard the war cry, the people came out at daybreak,
till the plain was filled with soldiers horse and foot,
and with a gleam of armor. Then Jove spread panic
among my men, and they would no longer face the enemy,
for they found themselves surrounded. The Egyptians killed many of
(22:25):
us and took the rest alive to do forced labor
for them. As for myself, they gave me to a
friend who met them, to take to Cypress Dmitor by name,
son of Yasus, who was a great man in Cyprus.
Thence I am come hither in a state of great misery.
Then Antonus said, what God can have sent such a
(22:47):
pestilence to plague us during our dinner. Get out into
the open part of the court, or I will give
you Egypt and Cypress over again for your insolence and importunity.
You have begged of all the others, and they have
given you lavishly, for they have abundance round them, and
it is easy to be free with other people's property
when there is plenty of it. On this Ulysses began
(23:08):
to move off and said, your looks, my fine sir,
are better than your breeding. If you were in your
own house, you would not spare a poor man so
much as a pinch of salt. For though you are
in another man's and surrounded with abundance, you cannot find
it in you to give him even a piece of bread.
This made Antonus very angry, and he scowled at him, saying,
(23:30):
you shall pay for this before you get clear of
the court. With these words, he threw a footstool at
him and hit him on the right shoulder blade, near
the top of his back. Ulysses stood firm as a rock,
and the blow did not even stagger him, but he
shook his head in silence as he brooded on his revenge.
Then he went back to the threshold and sat down there,
(23:52):
laying his well filled wallet at his feet. Listen to me,
he cried, you, suitors of Queen Penelope, that I may
speak even as I am minded. A man knows neither
ache nor pain if he gets hit while fighting for
his money, or for his sheep or his cattle. And
even so Antonus has hit me while in the service
(24:13):
of my miserable belly, which is always getting people into trouble. Still,
if the poor have gods and avenging deities at all,
I pray them that Antonus may come to a bad
end before his marriage. Sit where you are and eat
your victuals in silence, or be off elsewhere, shouted Antonus.
If you say more, I will have you dragged hand
(24:35):
and foot through the courts, and the servants shall flay
you alive. The other suitors were much displeased at this,
and one of the young men said, Antonus, you did
ill in striking that poor wretch of a tramp. It
will be worse for you if he should turn out
to be some god. And we know the gods go
about disguised in all sorts of ways as people from
(24:55):
foreign countries, and travel about the world to see who
do amiss and righteously. Thus said the suitors, but Antonas
paid them no heed. Meanwhile, Telemachus was furious about the
blow that had been given to his father, and though
no tear fell from him. He shook his head in
silence and brooded on his revenge. Now, when Penelope heard
(25:18):
that the beggar had been struck in the banquet in cloister,
she said, before her maids would that Apollo would so
strike you Antonus, and her waiting woman Eurynymy, answered, if
our prayers were answered, not one of the suitors would
ever again see the sun rise. Then Penelope said, nurse,
I hate every single one of them, for they mean
(25:38):
nothing but mischief. But I hate Antonus like the darkness
of death itself. A poor, unfortunate tramp has come begging
about the house for sheer want. Every one else has
given him something to put in his wallet, but Antonus
has hit him on the right shoulder blade with a footstool.
Thus did she talk with her maids as she sat
(25:59):
in her own room, and in the meantime Ulysses was
getting his dinner. Then she called for the swineherd and said, Eumaeus,
go and tell the stranger to come here. I want
to see him and ask him some questions. He seems
to have traveled much, and he may have seen or
heard something of my unhappy husband. To this, you answered,
(26:19):
o swineherd Eumaeus. If these Achaeans, Madam, would only keep quiet,
you would be charmed with the history of his adventures.
I had him three days and three nights with me
in my hut, which was the first place he reached
after running away from his ship, and he has not
yet completed the story of his misfortunes. If he had
been the most heaven taught minstrel in the whole world,
(26:41):
on whose lips all hearers hang entranced, I could not
have been more charmed as I sat in my hut
and listened to him. He says there is an old
friendship between his house and that of Ulysses, and that
he comes from Crete, where the descendants of Minos live,
after having been driven hither and thither by every kind
of misfortune. He also declares that he has heard of
(27:03):
Ulysses as being alive and near at hand among the
thrust Potians, and that he is bringing great wealth home
with him. Call him here, then, said Penelope, that I
too may hear his story. As for the suitors, let
them take their pleasure indoors or out as they will,
for they have nothing to fret about. Their corn and
wine remain unwated in their houses, with none but servants
(27:26):
to consume them, while they keep hanging about our house
day after day, sacrificing our oxen sheep and fat goats
for their banquets, and never giving so much as a
thought to the quantity of wine they drink. No estate
can stand such recklessness, for we have now no Ulysses
to protect us. If he were to come again, he
and his son would soon have their revenge. As she spoke,
(27:49):
Telemachus sneezed so loudly that the whole house resounded with it.
Penelope laughed when she heard this, and said to Eumaeus,
go and call the stranger. Did you not hear how
my son sneezed just as I was speaking. This can
only mean that all the suitors are going to be killed,
and that not one of them shall escape. Furthermore, I say,
(28:10):
and lay my saying to your heart. If I am
satisfied that the stranger is speaking the truth, I shall
give him a shirt and cloak of good wear. When
you may have heard this, he went straight to Ulysses
and said, father, stranger, my mistress Penelope, mother of Telemachus,
has sent for you. She is in great grief, but
she wishes to hear anything you can tell her about
(28:30):
her husband. And if she is satisfied that you are
speaking the truth, she will give you a shirt and cloak,
which are the very things that you are most in
want of. As for bread, you can get enough of
that to fill your belly by begging about the town
and letting those give that will. I will tell Penelope answered, Ulysses,
nothing but what is strictly true. I know all about
(28:53):
her husband, and have been partner with him in affliction.
But I am afraid of passing through this crowd of
cruel suitors, for their pride and insolence reach heaven. Just now. Moreover,
as I was going about the house without doing any harm,
a man gave me a blow that hurt me very much,
But neither Telemachus nor any one else defended me. Tell
(29:14):
Penelope therefore, to be patient and wait till sundown. Let
her give me a seat close up to the fire.
For my clothes are worn very thin. You know they are,
for you have seen them ever since I first asked
you to help me. She can then ask me about
the return of her husband. The Swineherd went back when
he heard this and Penelope said, as she saw him
(29:35):
cross the threshold, why do you not bring him here? Eumaeus?
Is he afraid that some one will ill treat him?
Or is he shy of coming inside the house at all?
Beggars should not be shamefaced to this, you answered, O swineherd. Eumaeus,
the stranger is quite reasonable. He is avoiding the suitors
and is only doing what any one else would do.
(29:57):
He asks you to wait till sundown, and it will
be much better, madam, that you should have him all
to yourself, when you can hear him and talk to
him as you will. The man is no fool, answered Penelope.
It would very likely be as he says, for there
are no such abominable people in the whole world as
these men are. When she had done speaking, Eumaeus went
(30:18):
back to the suitors, for he had explained everything. Then
he went up to Telemachus and said in his ear
so that none could overhear him. My dear sir, I
will now go back to the pigs to see after
your property and my own business. You will look to
what is going on here, but above all be careful
to keep out of danger, for there are many who
(30:39):
bear you ill, will, may Jove bring them to a
bad end before they do us a mischief. Very well,
replied Telemachus. Go home when you have had your dinner,
and in the morning come here with the victims we
are to sacrifice for the day. Leave the rest to
heaven and me. On this, Eumaeus took his seat again,
(31:00):
and when he had finished his dinner, he left the
courts and the cloister with the men at table, and
went back to his pigs. As for the suitors, they
presently began to amuse themselves with singing and dancing, for
it was now getting on towards evening. End of book seventeen,
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