1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:05,879 Book eighteen. Now there came a certain common tramp who used to go begging 2 00:00:05,919 --> 00:00:10,519 all over the city of Ithaca, and was notorious as an incorrigible glutton and 3 00:00:10,599 --> 00:00:14,919 drunkard. This man had no strength nor stay in him, but he was 4 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:18,640 a great hulking fellow. To look at his real name, the one his 5 00:00:18,719 --> 00:00:22,160 mother gave him, was Arnaeus, but the young men of the place called 6 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:26,960 him Iris, because he used to run errands for anyone who would send him. 7 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:30,480 As soon as he came, he began to insult Ulysses and to try 8 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:34,920 and drive him out of his own house. Be awful man, he cried 9 00:00:35,359 --> 00:00:39,359 from the doorway, or you shall be dragged out neck and heels. Do 10 00:00:39,439 --> 00:00:42,439 you not see that they are all giving me the wink and wanting me to 11 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:45,399 turn you out by force? Only I do not like to do. So 12 00:00:46,119 --> 00:00:49,359 get up, then and go of yourself, or we shall come to blows. 13 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:54,679 Ulysses frowned on him and said, my friend, I do you no 14 00:00:54,759 --> 00:00:58,359 manner of harm. People give you a great deal, but I am not 15 00:00:58,479 --> 00:01:02,079 jealous. There is room enough in this doorway for the pair of us, 16 00:01:02,359 --> 00:01:06,799 and you need not grudge me things that are not yours To give you seem 17 00:01:06,799 --> 00:01:10,719 to be just such another tramp as myself. But perhaps the gods will give 18 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:14,879 us better luck by and by. Do not, however, talk too much 19 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:18,519 about fighting, or you will incense me and old though I am, I 20 00:01:18,519 --> 00:01:23,159 shall cover your mouth and chest with blood. I shall have more peace tomorrow 21 00:01:23,159 --> 00:01:26,640 if I do, for you will not come to the house of Ulysses anymore. 22 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:32,400 Iris was very angry and answered, you, filthy glutton. You run 23 00:01:32,439 --> 00:01:36,079 on trippingly like an old fish fag. I have a good mind to lay 24 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:38,680 both hands about you and knock your teeth out of your head like so many 25 00:01:38,719 --> 00:01:44,239 boars tusks. Get ready, therefore, and let these people here stand by 26 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:47,439 and look on. You will never be able to fight one who is so 27 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:52,680 much younger than yourself. Thus roundly did they rate one another on the smooth 28 00:01:52,719 --> 00:01:56,359 pavement in front of the doorway. And when Antonus saw what was going on, 29 00:01:56,519 --> 00:02:00,959 he laughed heartily and said to the others, this is the finest sport 30 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:05,280 that you ever saw. Heaven never yet sent anything like it into this house. 31 00:02:05,879 --> 00:02:08,639 The stranger and heiress have quarreled and are going to fight. Let us 32 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:13,719 set them on to do so at once. The suitors all came up laughing, 33 00:02:14,039 --> 00:02:17,360 and gathered round the two ragged tramps. Listen to me, said Antonus. 34 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:22,080 There are some goat's paunches down at the fire, which we have filled 35 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:25,719 with blood and fat and set aside for supper. He who is victorious and 36 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:30,000 proves himself to be the better man, shall have his pick of the lot. 37 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:32,159 He shall be free of our table, and we will not allow any 38 00:02:32,159 --> 00:02:38,280 other beggar about the house at all. The others all agreed, but ulysses 39 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:42,520 to throw them off the scent, said sirs. An old man like myself, 40 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:45,759 worn out with suffering, cannot hold his own against a young one. 41 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:50,520 But my irrepressible belly urges me on, though I know it can only end 42 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:53,280 in my getting a drubbing. You must swear, however, that none of 43 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:57,719 you will give me a foul blow, to favor iires and secure him the 44 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:01,159 victory. They swore as he told them, And when they had completed their 45 00:03:01,159 --> 00:03:06,159 oath, Telemachus put in a word and said, stranger, if you have 46 00:03:06,199 --> 00:03:08,639 a mind to settle with this fellow, you need not be afraid of any 47 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:14,199 one here. Whoever strikes you will have to fight more than one. I 48 00:03:14,319 --> 00:03:17,520 am host, and the other chiefs Antonus and Eurymachus, both of them men 49 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:23,080 of understanding, are of the same mind as I am. Everyone assented, 50 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:28,400 and Ulysses girded his old rags about his loins, thus bearing his stalwart thighs, 51 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:31,960 his broad chest and shoulders, and his mighty arms. But Minerva came 52 00:03:32,039 --> 00:03:37,000 up to him and made his limbs even stronger. Still, the suitors were 53 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:40,840 beyond measure astonished, and one would turn towards his neighbor, saying, this 54 00:03:40,919 --> 00:03:45,240 stranger has brought such a thigh out of his old rags that there will soon 55 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:50,159 be nothing left of Eiras Iiris began to be very uneasy as he heard them, 56 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:53,159 But the servants girded him by force and brought him into the open part 57 00:03:53,159 --> 00:03:57,719 of the court in such a fright that his limbs were all of a tremble. 58 00:03:58,639 --> 00:04:01,919 Antonus scolded him and said, you swaggering bully, you ought never to 59 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:04,400 have been born at all. If you are afraid of such an old, 60 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:09,840 broken down creature as this tramp is, I say therefore, and it shall 61 00:04:09,919 --> 00:04:14,120 surely be if he beats you and proves himself the better man, I shall 62 00:04:14,159 --> 00:04:16,480 pack you off on board ship to the mainland. And send you to King 63 00:04:16,519 --> 00:04:20,959 Echitas, who kills everyone that comes near him. He will cut off your 64 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:24,879 nose and ears, and draw out your entails for the dogs to eat. 65 00:04:25,879 --> 00:04:29,160 This frightened Eires still more. But they brought him into the middle of the 66 00:04:29,199 --> 00:04:32,959 court, and the two men raised their hands to fight. Then Ulysses considered 67 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,079 whether he should let drive so hard at him as to make an end of 68 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:40,120 him then and there, or whether he should give him a lighter blow that 69 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:43,759 should only knock him down. In the end, he deemed it best to 70 00:04:43,759 --> 00:04:46,680 give the lighter blow, for fear the Achaeans should begin to suspect who he 71 00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:51,240 was. Then they began to fight, and Eiris hit Ulysses on the right 72 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:56,639 shoulder. But Ulysses gave Eiris a blow on the neck under the ear that 73 00:04:56,759 --> 00:05:00,120 broke in the bones of his skull, and the blood came gushing out out 74 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:03,199 of his mouth. He fell groaning in the dust, gnashing his teeth and 75 00:05:03,319 --> 00:05:08,240 kicking on the ground. But the suitors threw up their hands and nearly died 76 00:05:08,279 --> 00:05:13,839 of laughter. Ulysses caught hold of him by the foot and dragged him into 77 00:05:13,839 --> 00:05:16,600 the outer court as far as the gate house. There he propped him up 78 00:05:16,639 --> 00:05:21,680 against the wall and put his staff in his hands. Sit here, said 79 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:26,839 he, and keep the dogs and pigs off. You are a pitiful creature, 80 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:29,759 and if you try to make yourself king of the beggars any more, 81 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:33,879 you shall fare still worse. Then he threw his dirty old wallet, all 82 00:05:33,959 --> 00:05:38,160 tattered and torn, over his shoulder with the cord by which it hung, 83 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:42,720 and went back to sit down upon the threshold. But the suitors went within 84 00:05:42,759 --> 00:05:46,759 the cloisters, laughing and saluting him. May Jove and all the other gods 85 00:05:46,759 --> 00:05:50,079 said, they grant you whatever you want for having put an end to the 86 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:55,360 importunity of this insatiable tramp. We will take him over to the main land 87 00:05:55,360 --> 00:06:00,360 presently to King Echetus, who kills every one that comes near him. Ulysses 88 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:04,639 hailed this as of good omen, and Antonus set a great goat's paunch before 89 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:10,279 him, filled with blood and fat. Amphinomus took two loaves out of the 90 00:06:10,319 --> 00:06:13,480 bread basket and brought them to him, pledging him as he did so, 91 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:16,040 in a golden goblet of wine. Good luck to you, he said, 92 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:19,879 father stranger. You are very badly off at present, but I hope you 93 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:27,279 will have better times by and by to this, Ulysses answered Amphiminus, you 94 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:30,879 seem to be a man of good understanding, as indeed you may well be. 95 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,519 Seeing whose son you are, I have heard your father well spoken of. 96 00:06:33,839 --> 00:06:39,480 He is nicest of Dulichium, a man both brave and wealthy. They 97 00:06:39,519 --> 00:06:43,040 tell me you are his son, and you appear to be a considerable person. 98 00:06:43,879 --> 00:06:46,839 Listen, therefore, and take heed to what I am saying. Man 99 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:51,759 is the vainest of all creatures that have their being upon earth. As long 100 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:57,000 as Heaven vouchsafes him health and strength, he thinks that he shall come to 101 00:06:57,040 --> 00:07:00,319 no harm hereafter. And even when the blessed Gods bring sorrow upon him, 102 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:03,199 he bears it as he needs must, and makes the best of it. 103 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:09,639 For God Almighty gives men their daily minds day by day. I know all 104 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:12,959 about it, for I was a rich man once and did much wrong in 105 00:07:12,959 --> 00:07:15,560 the stubbornness of my pride, and in the confidence that my father and my 106 00:07:15,639 --> 00:07:20,079 brothers would support me. Therefore, let a man fear God in all things 107 00:07:20,199 --> 00:07:24,920 always, and take the good that Heaven may see fit to send him without 108 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:30,040 vainglory. Consider the infamy of what these suitors are doing. See how they 109 00:07:30,079 --> 00:07:33,360 are wasting the estate and doing dishonor to the wife of one who is certain 110 00:07:33,439 --> 00:07:39,000 to return some day, and that too not long. Hence, nay, 111 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:42,759 he will be here soon. May Heaven send you home quietly first, that 112 00:07:42,839 --> 00:07:46,199 you may not meet with him in the day of his coming, For once 113 00:07:46,199 --> 00:07:50,680 he is here the suitors and he will not part bloodlessly. With these words, 114 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:54,160 he made a drink offering, and when he had drunk, he put 115 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:58,360 the gold cup again into the hands of Ampheminus, who walked away, serious 116 00:07:58,439 --> 00:08:03,319 and bowing his head. He foreboded evil, But even so he did not 117 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:07,839 escape destruction, for Minerva had doomed him fall by the hand of Telemachus. 118 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:11,279 So he took his seat again at the place from which he had come. 119 00:08:13,199 --> 00:08:16,959 Then Minerva put it into the mind of Penelope to show herself to the suitors, 120 00:08:16,319 --> 00:08:20,920 that she might make them still more enamored of her and win still further 121 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:24,600 honor from her son and husband. So she feigned a mocking laugh and said, 122 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:28,399 your enemy, I have changed my mind and have a fancy to show 123 00:08:28,439 --> 00:08:33,759 myself to the suitors. Although I detest them, I should like also to 124 00:08:33,759 --> 00:08:35,639 give my son a hint that he had better not have anything more to do 125 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:41,200 with them. They speak fairly enough, but they mean mischief, my dear 126 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:46,440 child, answered Euryinamy. All that you have said is true. Go and 127 00:08:46,519 --> 00:08:48,960 tell your son about it. But first wash yourself and anoint your face. 128 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:54,240 Do not go about with your cheeks all covered with tears. It is not 129 00:08:54,399 --> 00:08:58,639 right that you should grieve so incessantly for Telemachus, whom you have always prayed 130 00:08:58,639 --> 00:09:01,679 that you might live to see with the bee. Eard is already grown up. 131 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:07,200 I know. Euryinemy replied Penelope, that you mean well, but do 132 00:09:07,279 --> 00:09:11,279 not try and persuade me to wash and to anoint myself, for Heaven robbed 133 00:09:11,279 --> 00:09:15,960 me of all my beauty on the day my husband sailed. Nevertheless, tell 134 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:18,960 Ottenoe and Hippodamia that I want them. They must be with me when I 135 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:22,120 am in the cloister. I am not going among the men alone. It 136 00:09:22,159 --> 00:09:26,039 would not be proper for me to do so. On this, the old 137 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:30,240 woman went out of the room to bid the maids go to their mistress. 138 00:09:30,879 --> 00:09:35,440 In the meantime, Minerva bethought her of another matter and sent Penelope off into 139 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:39,080 a sweet slumber. So she lay down on her couch and her limbs became 140 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:43,320 heavy with sleep. Then the goddess shed grace and beauty over her, that 141 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:48,600 all the Achaeans might admire her. She washed her face with the ambrosial loveliness 142 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:52,639 that Venus wears when she goes dancing. With the graces, she made her 143 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:56,559 taller and of a more commanding figure, while as for her complexion, it 144 00:09:56,679 --> 00:10:01,320 was whiter than sown ivory. When Minerva had done all this, she went 145 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:05,120 away, whereon the maids came in from the women's room and woke Penelope with 146 00:10:05,159 --> 00:10:11,240 the sound of their talking. Oh what an exquisitely delicious sleep I have been 147 00:10:11,279 --> 00:10:15,519 having, said she as she passed her hands over her face. In spite 148 00:10:15,519 --> 00:10:18,799 of all my misery, I wish Diana would let me die so sweetly now, 149 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:22,240 at this very moment, that I might no longer waste in despair for 150 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:26,639 the loss of my dear husband, who possessed every kind of good quality and 151 00:10:26,799 --> 00:10:31,960 was the most distinguished man among the Achaeans. With these words, she came 152 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:35,320 down from her upper room, not alone, but attended by two of her 153 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:39,799 maidens, And when she reached the suitors, she stood by one of the 154 00:10:39,799 --> 00:10:43,200 bearing posts supporting the roof of the cloister, holding a veil before her face, 155 00:10:43,639 --> 00:10:48,120 and with a staid maid servant on either side of her. As they 156 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:52,840 beheld her, the suitors were so overpowered and became so desperately enamored of her, 157 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:58,320 that each one prayed he might win her for his own Bedfellow Telemachus, 158 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:03,639 said she, addressing her son, I fear you are no longer so discreet 159 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:07,080 and well conducted as you used to be. When you were younger, you 160 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:09,799 had a greater sense of propriety. Now, however, that you are grown 161 00:11:09,879 --> 00:11:13,519 up, though a stranger to look at you would take you for the son 162 00:11:13,559 --> 00:11:16,600 of a well to do father. As far as size and good looks go, 163 00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:20,919 your conduct is by no means what it should be. What is all 164 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:24,360 this disturbance that has been going on? And how came you to allow a 165 00:11:24,399 --> 00:11:28,519 stranger to be so disgracefully ill treated? What would have happened if he had 166 00:11:28,519 --> 00:11:33,080 suffered serious injury while suppliant in our house? Surely this would have been very 167 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:37,879 discreditable to you. I am not surprised, my dear mother, at your 168 00:11:37,919 --> 00:11:41,519 displeasure, replied Telemachus. I understand all about it, and no one thinks 169 00:11:41,519 --> 00:11:45,159 are not as they should be, which I could not do when I was 170 00:11:45,240 --> 00:11:48,720 younger. I cannot, however, behave with perfect propriety at all times. 171 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:54,159 First one and then another of these wicked people here keeps driving me out of 172 00:11:54,159 --> 00:11:58,679 my mind, and I have no one to stand by me. After all. 173 00:11:58,759 --> 00:12:01,559 However, this between Aires and the stranger did not turn out as the 174 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:05,639 suitors meant it to do, for the stranger got the best of it. 175 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:09,000 I wish Father Jove, Minerva and Apollo would break the neck of every one 176 00:12:09,039 --> 00:12:13,120 of these wooers of yours, some inside the house and some out, And 177 00:12:13,159 --> 00:12:18,080 I wish they might all be as limp as heiresses over yonder in the gait 178 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:20,919 of the outer court. See how he nods his head like a drunken man. 179 00:12:22,519 --> 00:12:26,159 He has had such a thrashing that he cannot stand on his feet nor 180 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:28,440 get back to his home, wherever that may be, for he has no 181 00:12:28,519 --> 00:12:33,919 strength left in him. Thus did they converse. Eurymachus then came up and 182 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:39,360 said, Queen Penelope, daughter of Vicarius, if all the Achaeans in Easian 183 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:43,039 Argos could see you at this moment, you would have still more suitors in 184 00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:48,240 your house by tomorrow morning, for you are the most admirable woman in the 185 00:12:48,279 --> 00:12:52,919 whole world, both as regards personal beauty and strength of understanding. To this, 186 00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:58,960 Penelope replied Eurymachus, Heaven robbed me of all my beauty, whether of 187 00:12:58,039 --> 00:13:01,639 face or figure. When the argives set sail for Troy, and my dear 188 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:05,759 husband with them, if he were to return and look after my affairs, 189 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:09,559 I should both be more respected and show a better presence to the world. 190 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:15,200 As it is, I am oppressed with care and with the afflictions which Heaven 191 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:18,600 has seen fit to heap upon me. My husband foresaw it all, and 192 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:22,480 when he was leaving home, he took my right wrist in his hand. 193 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:26,039 Wife, he said, we shall not all of us come home safe from 194 00:13:26,039 --> 00:13:31,480 Troy. For the Trojans fight well, both with bow and spear. They 195 00:13:31,519 --> 00:13:35,559 are excellent also at fighting from chariots. And nothing decides the issue of a 196 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:39,639 fight sooner than this. I know not, therefore, whether Heaven will send 197 00:13:39,639 --> 00:13:43,919 me back to you, or whether I may not fall over there at Troy. 198 00:13:45,159 --> 00:13:48,679 In the meantime, do you look after things here? Take care of 199 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:52,720 my father and mother as at present, and even more so during my absence. 200 00:13:52,159 --> 00:13:56,399 But when you see our son growing a beard, than marry whom you 201 00:13:56,440 --> 00:14:00,240 will, and leave this your present home. This is what he said, 202 00:14:00,399 --> 00:14:03,159 And now it is all coming true. A knight will come when I shall 203 00:14:03,159 --> 00:14:07,120 have to yield myself to a marriage which I detest, for Jove has taken 204 00:14:07,159 --> 00:14:11,720 from me all hope of happiness. This further grief moreover cuts me to the 205 00:14:11,879 --> 00:14:16,879 very heart. You suitors are not wooing me, after the custom of my 206 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:20,399 country. When men are courting a woman who they think will be a good 207 00:14:20,399 --> 00:14:22,600 wife to them, and who is of noble birth, and when they are 208 00:14:22,679 --> 00:14:26,919 each trying to win her for himself, they usually bring oxen and sheep to 209 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:31,240 feast the friends of the lady, and they make her magnificent presents instead of 210 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:37,200 eating up other people's property without paying for it. This was what she said, 211 00:14:37,559 --> 00:14:39,919 and Ulysses was glad when he heard her trying to get presents out of 212 00:14:39,919 --> 00:14:45,279 the suitors and flattering them with fair words which he knew she did not mean. 213 00:14:46,519 --> 00:14:50,759 Then Antona said, Queen Penelope, daughter of Vicarius, take as many 214 00:14:50,799 --> 00:14:54,399 presents as you please from any one who will give them to you. It 215 00:14:54,519 --> 00:14:58,960 is not well to refuse a present. But we will not go about our 216 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:01,399 business, nor stir from where we are till you have married the best man 217 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:07,240 among us, whoever he may be. The others applauded what Antonus had said, 218 00:15:07,559 --> 00:15:11,240 and each one sent his servant to bring his present. Antonus's man returned 219 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:16,639 with a large and lovely dress, most exquisitely embroidered. It had twelve beautifully 220 00:15:16,679 --> 00:15:22,039 made brooch pins of pure gold with which to fasten it. Eurymachus immediately brought 221 00:15:22,039 --> 00:15:28,279 her a magnificent chain of gold and amber beads that gleamed like sunlight. Eurydamuses 222 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:33,519 two men returned with some earrings fashioned into three brilliant pendants, which glistened most 223 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:39,480 beautifully, while King Pissander, son of Polyctor, gave her a necklace of 224 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:43,200 the rarest workmanship, and everyone else brought her a beautiful present of some kind. 225 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:48,639 Then the queen went back to her room upstairs, and her maids brought 226 00:15:48,639 --> 00:15:52,799 the presents after her. Meanwhile, the suitors took to singing and dancing, 227 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:56,440 and stayed till evening came. They danced and sang till it grew dark. 228 00:15:56,919 --> 00:16:00,399 Then they brought in three braziers to give life, and pile them up with 229 00:16:00,519 --> 00:16:04,399 chopped firewood, very old and dry, and they lit torches from them, 230 00:16:04,559 --> 00:16:08,919 which the maids held up in turn, and turn about. Then, Ulysses, 231 00:16:08,919 --> 00:16:12,960 said, maids, servants of Ulysses, who has so long been absent, 232 00:16:14,559 --> 00:16:17,960 go to the queen inside the house, sit with her and amuse her, 233 00:16:18,039 --> 00:16:21,240 or spin and pick wool. I will hold the light for all these 234 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:23,720 people. They may stay till morning, but shall not beat me, for 235 00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:29,240 I can stand a great deal. The maids looked at one another and laughed, 236 00:16:29,559 --> 00:16:33,399 while pretty Melantho began to gibe at him contemptuously. She was daughter to 237 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:37,919 Dolius, but had been brought up by Penelope, who used to give her 238 00:16:37,919 --> 00:16:41,240 toys to play with and looked after her when she was a child. But 239 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:45,080 in spite of all this, she showed no consideration for the sorrows of her 240 00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:48,120 mistress, and used to misconduct herself with Eurymachus, with whom she was in 241 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:53,039 love. Poor wretch, said she, Are you gone clean out of your 242 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:57,840 mind? Go and sleep in some smithy or place of public gossips instead of 243 00:16:57,919 --> 00:17:03,079 chattering here? Are you not ashamed of opening your mouth before your betters so 244 00:17:03,119 --> 00:17:07,920 many of them too? Has the wine been getting into your head? Or 245 00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:11,880 do you always babble in this way, you seem to have lost your wits 246 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:15,519 because you beat the tramp. Heiress, take care that a better man than 247 00:17:15,599 --> 00:17:18,880 he does not come and cudgel you about the head till he pack you bleeding 248 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:25,680 out of the house. Vixen replied Ulysses, scowling at her, I will 249 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:29,200 go and tell Telemachus what you have been saying, and he will have you 250 00:17:29,319 --> 00:17:33,839 torn limb from limb. With these words, he scared the women, and 251 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:37,519 they went off into the body of the house. They trembled all over, 252 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:41,359 for they thought he would do as he said. But Ulysses took his stand 253 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:45,720 near the burning braziers, holding up torches and looking at the people, brooding 254 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:51,319 the while on things that should surely come to pass. But Minerva would not 255 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:55,599 let the suitors for one moment cease their insolence, for she wanted Ulysses to 256 00:17:55,640 --> 00:18:00,960 become even more bitter against them. She therefore sent Eurymachus, son of Polybus, 257 00:18:00,039 --> 00:18:04,160 on to gibe at him, which made the others laugh. Listen to 258 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:08,200 me, said he you, suitors of Queen Penelope, that I may speak 259 00:18:08,319 --> 00:18:12,119 even as I am minded. It is not for nothing that this man has 260 00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:17,039 come to the house of Ulysses, I believe the light has not been coming 261 00:18:17,079 --> 00:18:19,680 from the torches, but from his own head, for his hair is all 262 00:18:19,759 --> 00:18:25,160 gone, every bit of it. Then, turning to Ulysses, he said, 263 00:18:25,799 --> 00:18:27,599 stranger, will you work as a servant? If I send you to 264 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:32,119 the wolds and see that you are well paid? Can you build a stone 265 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:36,119 fence or plant trees? I will have you fed all the year round, 266 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:40,359 and will find you in shoes and clothing. Will you go then? Not 267 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:44,599 you, for you have got into bad ways and do not want to work. 268 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:49,559 You would rather fill your belly by going round the country begging, Eurymachus 269 00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:55,200 answered Ulysses, if you and I were to work one against the other in 270 00:18:55,319 --> 00:18:57,599 early summer, when the days are at their longest, give me a good 271 00:18:57,640 --> 00:19:03,079 scythe and taken yourself, and let us see which will fast the longer, 272 00:19:03,200 --> 00:19:07,640 or mow the stronger from dawn till dark when the mowing grass is about. 273 00:19:07,759 --> 00:19:11,720 Or if you will plow against me, let us each take a yoke of 274 00:19:11,759 --> 00:19:15,559 tawny oxen, well mated and of great strength and endurance, turn me into 275 00:19:15,599 --> 00:19:19,359 a fore acre field, and see whether you or I can drive the strait 276 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:23,920 of furrow. If again war were to break out this day, give me 277 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:27,480 a shield and a couple of spears, and a helmet fitting well upon my 278 00:19:27,559 --> 00:19:33,000 temples. You would find me foremost in the fray, and would cease your 279 00:19:33,039 --> 00:19:37,279 gibes about my belly. You are insolent and cruel, and think yourself a 280 00:19:37,319 --> 00:19:41,079 great man, because you live in a little world, and that a bad 281 00:19:41,079 --> 00:19:45,240 one. If Ulysses comes to his own again, the doors of his house 282 00:19:45,279 --> 00:19:48,000 are wide, but you will find them narrow when you try to fly through 283 00:19:48,039 --> 00:19:53,240 them. Eurymachus was furious at all this. He scowled at him and cried, 284 00:19:53,759 --> 00:19:57,279 you wretch, I will soon pay you out for daring to say such 285 00:19:57,319 --> 00:20:02,519 things to me and in public. Who has the wine been getting into your 286 00:20:02,519 --> 00:20:06,160 head? Or do you always babble in this way? You seem to have 287 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:10,279 lost your wits, because you beat the tramp heiress With this he caught hold 288 00:20:10,279 --> 00:20:14,759 of a footstool, but Ulysses saw protection at the knees of Amphinomus of Dulichium, 289 00:20:15,039 --> 00:20:18,160 for he was afraid. The stool hit the cupbearer on his right hand 290 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:22,640 and knocked him down. The man fell with a cry, flat on his 291 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:26,920 back, and his wine jug fell ringing to the ground. The suitors in 292 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:30,599 the covered cloister were now in an uproar, and one would turn towards his 293 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:33,839 neighbor, saying, I wish the stranger had gone somewhere else, bad luck 294 00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:37,960 to hide for all the trouble he gives us. We cannot permit such disturbance 295 00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:41,559 about a beggar. If such ill counsels are to prevail, we shall have 296 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:48,079 no more pleasure at our banquet. On this Telemachus came forward and said, 297 00:20:48,559 --> 00:20:52,480 sirs, are you mad? Can you not carry your meat and your liquor 298 00:20:52,559 --> 00:20:56,839 decently? Some evil spirit has possessed you. I do not wish to drive 299 00:20:56,880 --> 00:21:00,160 any of you away, but you have had your suppers and the sun. 300 00:21:00,279 --> 00:21:03,759 You all go home to bed the better. The suitors bit their lips and 301 00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:08,079 marveled at the boldness of his speech. But Amphinomus, the son of Nisus, 302 00:21:08,119 --> 00:21:12,079 who was son to Areteus, said, do not let us take offense. 303 00:21:12,519 --> 00:21:17,279 It is reasonable, So let us make no answer. Neither let us 304 00:21:17,279 --> 00:21:22,279 do violence to the stranger nor to any of ulysses servants. Let the cupbearer 305 00:21:22,319 --> 00:21:25,240 go round with the drink offerings that we may make them, and go home 306 00:21:25,279 --> 00:21:29,839 to our rest. As for the stranger, let us leave Telemachus to deal 307 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:33,920 with him, for it is to his house that he has come. Thus 308 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:37,240 did he speak, and his saying pleased them well. So Muleus of Delichium, 309 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:41,960 servant to Amphinomus, mixed them a bowl of wine and water, and 310 00:21:41,119 --> 00:21:45,839 handed it round to each of them man by man, whereon they made their 311 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:49,200 drink offerings to the blessed gods. Then, when they had made their drink 312 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:53,200 offerings and had drunk each one as he was minded, they took their several 313 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:57,880 ways, each of them to his own abode. End of Book eighteen