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Book seventeen of the Odyssey by Homer. The Odyssey, Book seventeen, Telemachus

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and his mother meet Ulysses and Eumaeus
come down to the town, and Ulysses

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is insulted by Melanthius. He is
recognized by the dog Argos. He is

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insulted and presently struck by Antonus with
a stool. Penelope desires that he shall

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be sent to her. When the
child of morning, Rosy finger Dawn appeared,

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Telemachus bound on his sandals and took
a strong spear that suited his hands,

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for he wanted to go into the
city. Old friend, said he

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to the swineherd. I will now
go to the town and show myself to

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my mother, for she will never
leave off grieving till she has seen me.

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As for this unfortunate stranger. Take
him to the town and let him

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beg there of any one who will
give him a drink and a piece of

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bread. I have trouble enough of
my own and cannot be burdened with other

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people. If this makes him man
gree so much, the worse for him.

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But I like to say what I
mean. Then, Ulysses said,

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sir, I do not want to
stay here a beggar can always do better

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in town than country, for anyone
who likes can give him something. I

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am too old to care about remaining
here at the beck and call of a

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master. Therefore, let this man
do as you have just told him,

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and take me to the town as
soon as I have had a warm by

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the fire, and the day has
got a little heat in it. Like

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clothes are wretchedly thin, and this
frosty morning I shall be perished with cold.

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For you say the city is some
way off. On this Telemachus strode

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off through the yards, brooding his
revenge upon the suitors. When he reached

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home, he stood his spear against
a bearing post of the cloister, crossed

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the stone floor of the cloister itself, and went inside. Nurse Eraclius saw

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him long before anyone else did.
She was putting the fleeces onto the seats,

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and she burst out crying as she
ran up to him. All the

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other maids came up too, and
covered his head and shoulders with their kisses.

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Penelope came out of a room,
looking like Diana or Venus, and

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wept as she flung her arms about
her son. She kissed his forehead and

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both his beautiful eyes. Light of
my eyes, she cried as she spoke

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fondly to him. So you are
come home again. I made sure I

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was never going to see you any
more, to think of your having gone

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off to Pylos without saying anything about
it or obtaining my consent. But come

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tell me what you saw. Do
not scold me, mother, answered Telemachus,

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Nor vex me, seeing what a
narrow escape I have had. But

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wash your face, change your dress, go upstairs with your maids, and

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promise full and sufficient hecatombs to all
the gods if Jove will only grant us

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our revenge upon the suitors. I
must now go to the place of assembly

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to invite a stranger who has come
back with me from Pylos. I sent

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him on with my crew and told
pireus to take him home and look after

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him till I could come for him
myself. She heeded her son's words,

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washed her face, changed her dress, and vowed full and sufficient hecatombs to

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all the gods if they would only
vouchsafe her revenge upon the suitors. Telemachus

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went through and out of the cloister's
spear in hand, not alone, for

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his two fleet dogs went with him. Minerva endowed him with a presence of

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such divine comeliness that all marveled at
him as he went by, and the

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suitors gathered round him with fair words
in their mouths and malice in their hearts.

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But he avoided them and went to
sit with Mentor Antiphus and helotherses,

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old friends of his father's house,
and they made him tell them all that

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had happened to him. Then Pireus
came up with Theoclymenus, whom he had

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escorted through the town to the place
of assembly, whereon Telemachus had joined them.

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Pireus was first to speak. Telemachus
said, he, I wish you

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would send some of your women to
my house to take away the presents Menelaus

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gave you. We do not know. Pireus answered Telemachus, what may happen

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if the suitors kill me in my
own house and divide my property among them?

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I would rather you had the presence
than that of any of those people

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should get hold of them. If, on the other hand, I managed

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to kill them, I shall be
much obliged if you will kindly bring me

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my presence. With these words,
he took Theoclemenus to his own house.

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When they got there, they laid
their cloaks on the benches and seats,

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went into the baths and washed themselves. When the maids had washed and annointed

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them, and had given them cloaks
and shirts, they took their seats at

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table. A maid servant then brought
them water in a beautiful golden ewer,

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and poured it into a silver basin
for them to wash their hands, and

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she drew a clean table beside them. An upper servant brought them bread and

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offered them many good things of what
there was in the house. Opposite them

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sat Penelope, reclining on a couch
by one of the bearing posts of the

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cloister, and spinning. Then they
laid their hands on the good things that

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were before them, And as soon
as they had had enough to eat and

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drink, Penelope said, Telemachus,
I shall go upstairs and lie down on

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that sad couch, which I have
not ceased to water with my tears from

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the day Ulysses set out for Troy
with the sons of Atreus. You failed,

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however, to make it clear to
me before the suitors came back to

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the house, whether or no you
had been able to hear anything about the

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return of your father. I will
tell you then, truth, replied her

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son. We went to Pylos and
saw Nestor, who took me to his

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house and treated me as hospitably as
though I were a son of his own

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who had just returned after a long
absence. So also did his sons.

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But he said he had not heard
a word from any human being about Ulysses,

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whether he was alive or dead.
He sent me, therefore, with

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a chariot and horses to Menilaus.
There I saw Helen, for whose sake

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so many both our chives and Trojans, were in Heaven's wisdom doomed to suffer.

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Menalaus asked me what it was that
had brought me to Lacedaemon, and

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I told him the whole truth.
Whereon he said, so then these cowards

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would usurp a brave man's bed.
A hind might as well lay her new

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born young in the lair of a
lion, and then go off to feed

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in the forest or in some grassy
dell. The lion, when he comes

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back to his lair, will make
short work with the pair of them,

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and so will Ulysses with these suitors. By father Jove Minerva and Apollo.

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If Ulysses is still the man that
he was when he rustled with Philo,

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Milades and Lesbos and threw him so
heavily that all the Greeks cheered him.

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If he is still such and were
to come near these suitors, they would

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have a short shrift and a sorry
wedding. As regards your question, however,

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I will not prevarigate nor deceive you. But what the old man of

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the sea told me so much,
will I tell you in full. He

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said he could see Ulysses on an
island, sorrowing bitterly in the house of

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the nymph Calypso, who is keeping
him prisoner, And he could not reach

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his home, for he had no
ships nor sailors to take him over the

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sea. This was what Menelaus told
me. And when I had heard his

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story, I came away. The
gods then gave me a fair wind,

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and soon brought me safe home again. With these words he moved the heart

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of Penelope. Then theo Clemenus said
to her, Madam, wife of Ulysses.

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Telemachus does not understand these things.
Listen therefore to me, for I

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can divine them surely, and will
hide nothing from you, may Jove the

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King of Heaven be my witness and
the rights of hospitality with that heart of

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Ulysses, to which I now come. That Ulysses himself is even now in

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Ithaca, and either about the country
or staying in one place, is inquiring

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into all these evil deeds and preparing
a day of reckoning for the suitors.

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I saw an omen when I was
on the ship which meant this, and

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I told telemach Us about it.
May it be even so, answered Penelope,

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if your words come true, you
shall have such gifts and such good

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will will come from me that all
who see you shall congratulate you. Thus

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did they converse. Meanwhile, the
suitors were throwing discs or aiming with spears

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at a mark on the level ground
in front of the house, and behaving

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with all their old insolence. But
when it was now time for dinner,

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and the flock of sheep and goats
had come into the town from all the

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country round with their shepherds as usual, then Meaden, who was their favorite

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servant and who waited upon them at
table, said, now, then,

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my young masters, you have had
enough sport, so come inside that we

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may get dinner ready dinner is not
a bad thing. At dinner time,

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they left their sports as he told
them, and when they were within the

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house, they laid their cloaks on
the benches and seats inside, and then

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sacrifice some sheep, goats, pigs, and a heifer, all of them

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fat and well grown. Thus they
made ready for their meal. In the

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meantime, Ulysses and the swineherd were
about starting for the town, and the

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swineherd said, stranger, I suppose
you still want to go to the town

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today, as my master said you
were to do. For my own part,

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I should have liked you to stay
here as a station hand. But

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I must do as my master tells
me, or he will scold me later

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on, and a scolding from one's
master is a very serious thing. Let

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us then be off, for it
is now broad day. It will be

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night again directly, and then you
will find it colder. I know and

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understand you, replied Ulysses. You
need say no more. Let us be

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going. But if you have a
stick ready cut, let me have it

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to walk with, for you say, the road is a very rough one.

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As he spoke, he threw his
shabby, old tattered wallet over his

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shoulders by the cord from which it
hung, and Eumaeus gave him a stick

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to his liking. The two then
started leaving the station in charge of the

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dogs and hersman, who remained behind. The swineherd led the way, and

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his master followed after, looking like
some broken down old trap as he leaned

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upon his staff, and his clothes
were all in rags. When they had

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got over the rough steep ground and
were nearing the city, they reached the

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fountain from which the citizens drew their
water. This had been made by Ithacus,

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Neritus and Pollictor. There was a
grove of water loving poplars planted in

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a circle all round it, and
the clear, cold water came down to

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it from a rock high up.
While the above fountain there was an altar

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to the nymphs at which all wayfarers
used to sacrifice. Here, Melanthius,

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son of Dolius, overtook them as
he was driving down some goats, the

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best in his flock for the suitor's
dinner, and there were two shepherds with

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him. When he saw Eumaeus and
Ulysses, he reviled them with outrageous and

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unseemly language, which made Ulysses very
angry. There you go, cried he

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and a precious pair. You are
see how heaven brings birds of the same

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feather to one another. Where pray, master, swineherd, are you taking

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this poor, miserable object? It
would make any one sick to see such

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a creature at table. A fellow
like this never want a prize for anything

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in his life, but will go
about rubbing his shoulders against every man's doorpost,

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and begging not for swords and cauldrons
like a man, but only for

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a few scraps not worth begging for. If you would give him to me

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for a hand on my station,
he might do to clean out the folds,

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or bring a bit of sweet feed
to the kids, that he could

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fatten his thighs as much as he
pleased on way, But he has taken

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to bad ways and will not go
about any kind of work. He will

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do nothing but beg victuals all the
town over to feed his insatiable belly.

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I say therefore, and it shall
surely be. If he goes near Ulysses

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house, he will get his head
broken by the stools they fling at him

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till they turn him out. On
this as he passed, he gave Ulysses

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a kick on the hip out of
pure wottonness. But Ulysses stood firm and

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did not budge from the path.
For a moment, he doubted whether or

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not to fly at Melanthius and kill
him with his staff, or fling him

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to the ground and beat his brains
out. He resolved, however, to

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endure it and keep himself in check. But the swineherd looked straight at Melanthius

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and rebuked him, lifting up his
hands and praying to Heaven. As he

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did so, fountain nymphs. He
cried, Children of Jove, if ever

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Ulysses burned youth, thigh bones covered
with fat, whether of lambs or kids,

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grant my prayer that Heaven may send
him home. He would soon put

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an end to the swaggering threats with
which such men as you go about insulting

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people, gadding all over the town, while your flocks are going to ruin

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through bad shepherding. Then Melanthius the
goatherd answered, you, ill conditioned cur

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what are you talking about? Some
day or other I will put you on

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board ship and take you to a
foreign country where I can sell you and

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pocket the money you will fetch I
wish I were as sure that Apalla would

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strike Telemachus dead this very day,
or that the suitors would kill him,

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as I am, that Ulysses will
never come home again. With this,

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he left them to come on at
their leisure, while he went quickly forward

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and soon reached the house of his
master. When he got there, he

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went in and took his seat among
the suitors, opposite Eurymachus, who liked

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him better than any of the others. The servants brought him a portion of

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meat, and an upper woman servant
said bread for him, that he might

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eat. Presently. Ulysses and the
swineherd came up to the house and stood

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by it amid a sound of music, for Femius was just beginning to sing

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to the suitors. Then Ulysses took
hold of the swineherd's hand and said,

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Eumaeus, this house of Ulysses is
a very fine place. No matter how

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far you go, you will find
few like it. One building keeps following

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on after another. The outer court
has a wall with battlements all round it.

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The doors are double folding, and
of good workmanship. It would be

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a hard matter to take it by
force of arms. I perceive too that

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there are many people banqueting within it, for there's a smell of roast meat,

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and I hear a sound of music, which the gods have made to

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go along with feasting. Then you
may have said you have perceived aright,

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as indeed you generally do. But
let us think what will be our best

202
00:14:56,960 --> 00:15:01,159
course. Will you go inside at
first and enjoin the suitors, leaving me

203
00:15:01,279 --> 00:15:05,480
here behind you, or will you
wait here and let me go in first,

204
00:15:05,159 --> 00:15:09,039
but do not wait long, or
someone may see you loitering about outside

205
00:15:09,279 --> 00:15:15,159
and throw something at you. Consider
this matter, I pray you, and

206
00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:20,320
Ulysses answered, I understand and heed. Go in first, and leave me

207
00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:24,480
here where I am. I am
quite used to being beaten and having things

208
00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:28,840
thrown at me. I have been
so much buffeted about in war and by

209
00:15:28,919 --> 00:15:31,879
sea that I am case hardened.
And this tomb may go with the rest.

210
00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:37,799
But a man cannot hide away the
cravings of a hungry belly. This

211
00:15:37,919 --> 00:15:41,120
is an enemy which gives much trouble
to all men. It is because of

212
00:15:41,159 --> 00:15:45,919
this that ships are fitted out to
sail the seas and to make war upon

213
00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:50,960
other people. As they were thus
talking, a dog that had been lying

214
00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:54,960
asleep, raised his head and pricked
up his ears. This was Argos,

215
00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:58,159
whom Ulysses had bred before setting out
for Troy, but he had never had

216
00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:03,000
any work out of it him.
In the old days, he used to

217
00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:06,679
be taken out by the young men
when they went hunting wild goats or deer

218
00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:10,879
or hares. But now that his
master was gone, he was lying neglected

219
00:16:10,879 --> 00:16:14,320
on the heaps of mule and cow
dung that lay in front of the stable

220
00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:17,360
doors, till the men should come
and draw it away to manure the great

221
00:16:17,399 --> 00:16:22,320
clothes. And he was full of
fleas. As soon as he saw Ulyssies

222
00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:26,240
standing there, he dropped his ears
and wagged his tail, but he could

223
00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:30,159
not get close up to his master. When Ulysses saw the dog on the

224
00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:33,159
other side of the yard, he
dashed a tear from his eyes without Eumaeus

225
00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:38,159
seeing it, and said, Eumaeus, what a noble hound that is over

226
00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:44,600
yonder on the manure heap. His
build is splendid. Is he as fine

227
00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:48,320
a fellow as he looks? Or
is he only one of those dogs that

228
00:16:48,399 --> 00:16:52,759
come begging about a table and are
kept merely for show? This hound,

229
00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:57,840
answered Eumaeus, belonged to him who
has died in a far country. If

230
00:16:57,879 --> 00:17:02,480
he were what he was when Ulysses
left for Troy, he would soon show

231
00:17:02,519 --> 00:17:06,279
you what he could do. There
was not a wild beast in the forest

232
00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:08,920
that could get away from him when
he was once on its tracks. But

233
00:17:10,039 --> 00:17:12,960
now he has fallen on evil times, for his master is dead and gone,

234
00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:17,960
and the women take no care of
him. Servants never do their work

235
00:17:18,039 --> 00:17:21,920
when their master's hand is no longer
over them, For Jove takes half the

236
00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:26,119
goodness out of a man when he
makes a slave of him. As he

237
00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:29,799
spoke, he went inside the buildings
to the cloister where the suitors were,

238
00:17:30,079 --> 00:17:36,039
but Argos died as soon as he
had recognized his master. Telemachus saw Eumaeus

239
00:17:36,039 --> 00:17:40,000
long before anyone else did, and
beckoned him to come and sit beside him.

240
00:17:41,039 --> 00:17:44,880
So he looked about and saw a
seat lying near where the carver sat

241
00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:48,240
serving out their portions to the suitors. He picked it up, brought it

242
00:17:48,279 --> 00:17:52,799
to Telemachus's table, and sat down
opposite him. Then the servant brought him

243
00:17:52,839 --> 00:17:59,240
his portion and gave him bread from
the bread basket. Immediately afterwards, Ulysses

244
00:17:59,279 --> 00:18:03,599
came inside, looking like a poor, miserable old beggar, leaning on his

245
00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:07,240
staff and with his clothes all in
rags, he sat down upon the threshold

246
00:18:07,279 --> 00:18:11,880
of ashwood, just inside the doors
leading from the outer to the inner court,

247
00:18:11,319 --> 00:18:15,160
and against a bearing post of cypress
wood, which the carpenter had skillfully

248
00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:21,519
played and had made to join truly
with rule and line. Telemachus took a

249
00:18:21,559 --> 00:18:23,960
whole loaf from the bread basket,
with as much meat as he could hold

250
00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:29,720
in his two hands, and said
to Eumaeus, take this to the stranger,

251
00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:33,839
and tell him to go the round
of the suitors and beg from them.

252
00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:37,319
A beggar must not be shamefaced.
So Eumaeus went up to him and

253
00:18:37,359 --> 00:18:42,119
said, stranger, Telemachus sends you
this and says you are to go the

254
00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:48,759
round of the suitors begging for beggars
must not be shamefaced. Ulysses answered,

255
00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:53,680
may King Jove grant all happiness to
Telemachus and fulfill the desire of his heart.

256
00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:59,839
Then, with both hands he took
what Telemachus had sent him and laid

257
00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:03,599
it on the dirty old wallet at
his feet. He went on eating it

258
00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:07,039
while the bard was singing, and
had just finished his dinner. As he

259
00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:11,839
left off the suitors applauded the bard. Whereon Minerva went up to Ulysses and

260
00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:15,359
prompted him to beg pieces of bread
from each one of the suitors, that

261
00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:18,920
he might see what kind of people
they were and tell the good from the

262
00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:22,759
bad. But come what might,
she was not going to save a single

263
00:19:22,799 --> 00:19:27,319
one of them. Ulysses therefore went
on his round, going from left to

264
00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:30,680
right, and stretched out his hands
to beg as though he were a real

265
00:19:30,759 --> 00:19:36,519
beggar. Some of them pitied him
and were curious about him, asking one

266
00:19:36,519 --> 00:19:41,279
another who he was and where he
came from? Whereon the goatherd Melanthea said,

267
00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:45,720
suitors of my noble mistress, I
can tell you something about him,

268
00:19:45,119 --> 00:19:49,319
for I have seen him before the
swineherd brought him here, But I know

269
00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:55,920
nothing about the man himself, nor
where he comes from. On this Antonus

270
00:19:55,960 --> 00:20:00,079
began to abuse the swineherd, You
precious idiot, right, what have you

271
00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:04,720
brought this man to town? For? Have we not tramps and beggars enough

272
00:20:04,759 --> 00:20:08,759
already to pester us as we sit
at meat? To think it a small

273
00:20:08,839 --> 00:20:14,400
thing that such people gather here to
waste your master's property? And must you

274
00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:18,880
needs bring this man as well?
And you may Us, answered Antonus,

275
00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:23,039
your birth is good, but your
words evil. It was no doing of

276
00:20:23,079 --> 00:20:27,119
mind that he came here. Who
is likely to invite a stranger from a

277
00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:32,279
foreign country unless it be one of
those who can do public service as a

278
00:20:32,319 --> 00:20:36,200
seer, a healer of hurts,
a carpenter, or a bard who can

279
00:20:36,279 --> 00:20:40,400
charm us with his singing. Such
men are welcome all the world over,

280
00:20:40,799 --> 00:20:42,920
But no one is likely to ask
a beggar who will only worry him.

281
00:20:44,839 --> 00:20:48,640
You are always harder on Ulysses servants
than any of the other suitors are,

282
00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:52,240
and above all on me. But
I do not care so long as Telemachus

283
00:20:52,319 --> 00:20:57,920
and Penelope are alive and here.
But Telemachus said, hush, do not

284
00:20:59,039 --> 00:21:03,279
answer him. Antonus has the bitterest
tongue of all the suitors, and he

285
00:21:03,359 --> 00:21:07,680
makes the others worse. Then,
turning to Antonus, he said, Antonus,

286
00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:11,519
you take as much care of my
interests as though I were your son.

287
00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:15,079
Why should you want to see this
stranger turned out of the house.

288
00:21:15,839 --> 00:21:21,640
Heaven forbid take something and give it
him yourself. I do not grudge it.

289
00:21:22,039 --> 00:21:25,839
I bid you take it, never
mind my mother nor any of the

290
00:21:25,839 --> 00:21:29,400
other servants in the house. But
I know you will not do what I

291
00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:33,440
say, for you are more fond
of eating things yourself than of giving them

292
00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:38,759
to other people. What do you
mean, Telemachus replied Antonas by this swaggering

293
00:21:38,799 --> 00:21:42,359
talk, if all the suitors were
to give him as much as I will,

294
00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:48,480
he would not come here again for
another three months. As he spoke,

295
00:21:48,759 --> 00:21:51,880
he drew the stool on which he
rested his dainty feet from under the

296
00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:55,400
table, and made as though he
would throw it at Ulysses. But the

297
00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:59,279
other suitors all gave him something and
filled his wallet with bread and meat.

298
00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:03,400
He was about, therefore, to
go back to the threshold and eat what

299
00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:07,039
the suitors had given him, but
he first went up to Antonus and said,

300
00:22:07,079 --> 00:22:12,039
sir, give me something. You
are not surely the poorest man here.

301
00:22:12,720 --> 00:22:18,759
You seem to be a chief foremost
among them all. Therefore you should

302
00:22:18,759 --> 00:22:22,640
be the better giver, and I
will tell far and wide of your bounty.

303
00:22:22,799 --> 00:22:26,440
I too was a rich man once, and had a fine house of

304
00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:30,839
my own. In those days,
I gave to many a tramp such as

305
00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:34,960
I am now, no matter who
he might be, nor what he wanted.

306
00:22:36,759 --> 00:22:40,519
I had any number of servants,
and all the other things which people

307
00:22:40,599 --> 00:22:45,039
have who live well and are accounted
wealthy. But it pleased Jove to take

308
00:22:45,079 --> 00:22:48,240
all away from me. He sent
me with a band of roving robbers to

309
00:22:48,279 --> 00:22:52,839
Egypt. It was a long voyage, and I was undone by it.

310
00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:56,640
I stationed my ships in the river
Egyptus, and bade my men stay by

311
00:22:56,680 --> 00:23:02,000
them and keep guard over them,
while I sent out scouts to reconnoiter from

312
00:23:02,079 --> 00:23:07,319
every point of vantage. But the
men disobeyed my orders, took to their

313
00:23:07,319 --> 00:23:11,079
own devices and ravaged the land of
the Egyptians, killing the men and taking

314
00:23:11,119 --> 00:23:15,880
their wives and children captives. The
alarm was soon carried to the city,

315
00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:19,839
and when they heard the war cry, the people came out at daybreak,

316
00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:25,119
till the plain was filled with soldiers
horse and foot, and with the gleam

317
00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:29,559
of armor. Then Jove spread panic
among my men, and they would no

318
00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:34,559
longer face the enemy, for they
found themselves surrounded. The Egyptians killed many

319
00:23:34,559 --> 00:23:38,960
of us and took the rest alive
to do forced labor for them. As

320
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:42,759
for myself, they gave me to
a friend who met them to take to

321
00:23:42,839 --> 00:23:48,119
Cyprus to meet her by name son
of Ayesis, who was a great man

322
00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:52,599
in Cyprus, thence I am come
hither in a state of great misery.

323
00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:57,640
Then Antonis said, what God can
have sent such a pestilence to plague us

324
00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:02,599
during our dinner? Get out into
the open part of the court, or

325
00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:06,480
I will give you Egypt and Cyprus
over again for your insolence and importunity.

326
00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:10,079
You have begged of all the others, and they have given you lavishly,

327
00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:12,880
for they have abundance round them,
and it is easy to be free with

328
00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:18,279
other people's property when there is plenty
of it. On this Ulysses began to

329
00:24:18,319 --> 00:24:22,720
move off and said, your looks, my fine sir, are better than

330
00:24:22,759 --> 00:24:26,799
your breeding. If you were in
your own house, you would not spare

331
00:24:26,799 --> 00:24:30,279
a poor man so much as a
pinch of salt. For though you are

332
00:24:30,319 --> 00:24:34,839
in another man's and surrounded with abundance, you cannot find it in you to

333
00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:40,799
give him even a piece of bread. This made Antona's very angry, and

334
00:24:40,839 --> 00:24:44,839
he scowled at him, saying,
you shall pay for this before you get

335
00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:48,039
clear of the court. With these
words, he threw a footstool at him

336
00:24:48,079 --> 00:24:51,960
and hid him on the right shoulder
blade near the top of his back.

337
00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:56,480
Ulysses stood firm as a rock,
and the blow did not even stagger him,

338
00:24:56,960 --> 00:24:59,960
but he shook his head in silence
as he brooded on his revel.

339
00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:04,000
Then he went back to the threshold
and sat down there, laying his well

340
00:25:04,079 --> 00:25:10,000
filled wallet at his feet. Listen
to me, he cried, you,

341
00:25:10,279 --> 00:25:14,440
suitors of Queen Penelope, that I
may speak even as I am minded.

342
00:25:15,559 --> 00:25:18,759
A man knows neither ache nor pain
if he gets hit while fighting for his

343
00:25:18,839 --> 00:25:23,559
money, or for his sheep or
his cattle. And even so Antonus has

344
00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:27,599
hit me while in the service of
my miserable belly, which is always getting

345
00:25:27,599 --> 00:25:33,480
people into trouble. Still, if
the poor have gods and avenging deities at

346
00:25:33,519 --> 00:25:37,640
all, I pray them that Antonus
may come to a bad end before his

347
00:25:37,759 --> 00:25:41,359
marriage. Sit where you are and
eat your victuals in silence, or be

348
00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:45,720
off elsewhere, shouted Antonis. If
you say more, I will have you

349
00:25:45,799 --> 00:25:49,519
dragged handed foot through the courts,
and the servants shall flay you alive.

350
00:25:51,759 --> 00:25:55,319
The other suitors were much displeased at
this, and one of the young men

351
00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:59,839
said, Antonus, you did ill
in striking that poor wretch of a tramp.

352
00:26:00,359 --> 00:26:02,720
It will be worse for you if
you should turn out to be some

353
00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:07,440
god. And we know that gods
go about disguised in all sorts of ways

354
00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:11,319
as people from foreign countries, and
travel about the world to see who do

355
00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:15,880
amiss and who righteously, thus said
the suitors, but Antonus paid them no

356
00:26:17,039 --> 00:26:21,519
heed. Meanwhile, Telemachus was furious
about the blow that had been given to

357
00:26:21,559 --> 00:26:25,400
his father, and though no tear
fell from him, he shook his head

358
00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:30,000
in silence and brooded on his revenge. Now, when Penelope heard that the

359
00:26:30,039 --> 00:26:33,920
beggar had been struck in the banquet
encloister, she said, before her maids

360
00:26:34,759 --> 00:26:40,799
would that Apollo would so strike you
Antonus and her waiting woman, your enemy

361
00:26:40,839 --> 00:26:44,799
answered, if our prayers were answered, not one of the suitors would ever

362
00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:49,319
again see the sun rise. Then
Penelope said, Nurse, I hate every

363
00:26:49,319 --> 00:26:53,279
single one of them, for they
mean nothing but mischief. But I hate

364
00:26:53,279 --> 00:26:59,240
Antonus like the darkness of death itself. A poor, unfortunate tramp has come

365
00:26:59,279 --> 00:27:03,720
begging about the house for sheer want. Everyone else has given him something to

366
00:27:03,759 --> 00:27:07,400
put in his wallet, but Antenus
has hit him on the right shoulder blade

367
00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:11,319
with a footstool. Thus did she
talk with her maids as she sat in

368
00:27:11,359 --> 00:27:15,119
her own room, and in the
meantime, Ulysses was getting his dinner.

369
00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:21,200
Then she called for the swineherd and
said, Eumaeus, go and tell the

370
00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:23,960
stranger to come here. I want
to see him and ask him some questions.

371
00:27:25,599 --> 00:27:29,079
He seems to have traveled much,
and he may have seen or heard

372
00:27:29,119 --> 00:27:33,160
something of my unhappy husband. To
this, you answered, o swineherd,

373
00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:38,000
Eumaeus. If these Achaeans, Madam, would only keep quiet, you would

374
00:27:38,039 --> 00:27:42,319
be charmed with the history of his
adventures. I had him three days and

375
00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:47,079
three nights with me in my hut, which was the first place he reached

376
00:27:47,119 --> 00:27:51,079
after running away from his ship,
and he has not yet completed the story

377
00:27:51,119 --> 00:27:55,319
of his misfortunes. If he had
been the most heaven taught minstrel in the

378
00:27:55,359 --> 00:27:59,839
whole world, on whose lips all
hearers hang entranced, I could not have

379
00:28:00,119 --> 00:28:03,039
been more charmed as I sat in
my hut and listened to him. He

380
00:28:03,079 --> 00:28:07,039
says there is an old friendship between
his house and that of Ulysses, and

381
00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:11,079
that he comes from Crete, where
the descendants of Minos live, after having

382
00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:17,559
been driven hither and thither by every
kind of misfortune. He also declares that

383
00:28:17,599 --> 00:28:22,039
he has heard of Ulysses as being
alive and near at hand among the Thesprosians,

384
00:28:22,039 --> 00:28:26,079
and that he's bringing great wealth home
with him. Call him here,

385
00:28:26,119 --> 00:28:30,319
then, said Penelope, that I
too may hear his story. As for

386
00:28:30,359 --> 00:28:33,039
the suitors, let them take their
pleasure indoors or out as they will,

387
00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:37,920
for they have nothing to fret about. Their corn and wine remain unwated in

388
00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:42,039
their houses, with none but servants
to consume them. While they keep hanging

389
00:28:42,079 --> 00:28:47,960
about our house day after day,
sacrificing our oxen sheep and fat goats for

390
00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:51,799
their banquets, and never giving so
much as a thought to the quantity of

391
00:28:51,839 --> 00:28:56,279
wine they drink. No estate can
stand such recklessness, for we have now

392
00:28:56,359 --> 00:29:00,559
no Ulysses to protect us. If
he were to come again, he and

393
00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:07,279
his son would soon have their revenge. As she spoke, Telemachus sneezed so

394
00:29:07,319 --> 00:29:11,799
loudly that the whole house resounded with
it. Penelope laughed when she heard this,

395
00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:15,160
and said to Eumaeus, go and
call the stranger. Did you not

396
00:29:15,319 --> 00:29:21,079
hear how my son sneezed just as
I was speaking. This can only mean

397
00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:23,640
that all the suitors are going to
be killed, and that not one of

398
00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:29,079
them shall escape. Furthermore, I
say and lay my saying to your heart.

399
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:33,039
If I am satisfied that the stranger
is speaking the truth, I shall

400
00:29:33,079 --> 00:29:37,480
give him a shirt and cloak of
good wear. When you may has heard

401
00:29:37,519 --> 00:29:41,640
this, he went straight to Ulysses
and said, father, stranger, my

402
00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:45,119
mistress Penelope, mother of Telemachus,
has sent for you. She is in

403
00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:48,759
great grief, but she wishes to
hear anything you can tell her about her

404
00:29:48,839 --> 00:29:52,720
husband. And if she is satisfied
that you are speaking the truth, she

405
00:29:52,799 --> 00:29:56,960
will give you a shirt and cloak, which are the very things that you

406
00:29:56,960 --> 00:30:00,880
are most in want of. As
for bread, you can get enough of

407
00:30:00,920 --> 00:30:03,440
that to fill your belly by begging
about the town and letting those give that

408
00:30:03,599 --> 00:30:11,599
will I will tell Penelope, answered
Ulysses, nothing but what is strictly true.

409
00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:15,319
I know all about her husband,
and have been partner with him in

410
00:30:15,359 --> 00:30:19,680
affliction. But I am afraid of
passing through this crowd of cruel suitors,

411
00:30:21,119 --> 00:30:26,200
for their pride and insolence reach heaven. Just now. Moreover, as I

412
00:30:26,319 --> 00:30:29,839
was going about the house without doing
any harm, a man gave me a

413
00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:33,799
blow that hurt me very much,
But neither Telemachus nor anyone else defended me.

414
00:30:34,599 --> 00:30:40,559
Tell Penelope therefore, to be patient
and wait till sundown. Let her

415
00:30:40,559 --> 00:30:44,200
give me a seat close up to
the fire, for my clothes are worn

416
00:30:44,359 --> 00:30:48,720
very thin. You know they are, for you have seen them ever since

417
00:30:48,799 --> 00:30:52,279
I first asked you to help me. She can then ask me about the

418
00:30:52,319 --> 00:30:56,000
return of her husband. The swineherd
went back when he heard this, and

419
00:30:56,079 --> 00:31:00,240
Penelope said, as she saw him
cross the threshold, why do you not

420
00:31:00,319 --> 00:31:03,680
bring him here, Eumaeus? Is
he afraid that some one will ill treat

421
00:31:03,759 --> 00:31:07,640
him? Or is he shy if
coming inside the house at all? Beggar?

422
00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:14,640
Should not be shamefaced to this,
you answered, O swine heard Eumaeus.

423
00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:18,400
The stranger is quite reasonable. He
is avoiding the suitors and is only

424
00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:22,920
doing what any one else would do. He asks you to wait till sundown,

425
00:31:23,279 --> 00:31:26,759
and it will be much better,
madam, that you should have him

426
00:31:26,759 --> 00:31:29,759
all to yourself, when you can
hear him and talk to him as you

427
00:31:29,799 --> 00:31:34,079
will. The man is no fool, answered Penelope. It would very likely

428
00:31:34,119 --> 00:31:37,759
be as he says, for there
are no such abominable people in the whole

429
00:31:37,799 --> 00:31:42,599
world as these men are. When
she had done speaking, Eumaeus went back

430
00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:48,319
to the suitors, for he had
explained everything. Then he went up to

431
00:31:48,319 --> 00:31:52,279
Telemachus and said in his ear,
so that none could overhear him. My

432
00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:56,400
dear sir, I will now go
back to the pigs to see after your

433
00:31:56,440 --> 00:32:00,720
property and my own business. Will
look to what is going on here.

434
00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:05,599
But above all, be careful to
keep out of danger, for there are

435
00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:08,599
many who bear you ill. Will
may Jove bring them to a bad end

436
00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:15,039
before they do us a mischief.
Very well, replied Telemachus. Go home

437
00:32:15,039 --> 00:32:17,000
when you have had your dinner,
and in the morning come here with the

438
00:32:17,079 --> 00:32:22,039
victims we are to sacrifice for the
day. Leave the rest to heaven and

439
00:32:22,160 --> 00:32:27,079
me On this Eumaeus took his seat
again, and when he had finished his

440
00:32:27,119 --> 00:32:30,200
dinner, he left the quarts on
the cloister with the men at table,

441
00:32:30,559 --> 00:32:35,000
and went back to his pigs.
As for the suitors, they presently began

442
00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:38,240
to amuse themselves with singing and dancing, for it was now getting on towards

443
00:32:38,319 --> 00:32:43,440
evening. End of book seventeen,