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Book sixteen of the Odyssey by Homer. The Odyssey, Book sixteen, Ulysses

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reveals himself to Telemachus. Meanwhile,
Ulysses and the swineherd had lit a fire

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in the hut and were getting breakfast
ready at daybreak, for they had sent

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the men out with the pigs.
When Telemachus came up, the dogs did

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not bark, but fawned upon him. So Ulysses, hearing the sound of

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feet, and noticing that the dogs
did not bark, said to Eumaeus,

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Eumaeus, I hear footsteps. I
suppose one of your men, or some

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one of your acquaintance, is coming
here, For the dogs are fawning upon

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him and not barking. The words
were hardly out of his mouth before his

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son stood at the door. You
may have sprang to his feet, and

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the bowls in which he was mixing
wine fell from his hands. As he

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made towards his master, he kissed
his head and both his beautiful eyes,

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and wept for joy. A father
could not be more delighted at the return

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of an only son, the child
of his old age, after ten years

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absence in a foreign country, and
after having gone through much hardship, he

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embraced him, kissed him all over
as though he had come back from the

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dead, and spoke fondly to him, saying, so you are come,

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Telemachus, light of my eyes that
you are. When I heard you had

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gone to Pylos, I meet sure
I was never going to see you anymore.

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Come in, my dear child,
and sit down, that I may

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have a good look at you.
Now you're home again. It is not

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very often you come into the country
to see us, herdsman. You stick

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pretty close to the town generally.
I suppose you think it better to keep

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an eye on what the suitors are
doing. So be it, old friend,

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said Telemachus. But I am come
now because I want to see you,

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and to learn whether my mother is
still at her old home or whether

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someone else has married her. So
that the bed of Ulysses is without bedding

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and covered with cobwebs, she is
still at the house, replied Eumaeus,

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grieving and breaking her heart and doing
nothing but weep both night and day continually.

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As he spoke, he took telemachus
spear, whereon he crossed the stone

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threshold and came inside. Ulysses rose
from his seat to give him place as

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he entered, but Telemachus checked him. Sit down. Stranger said he,

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I can easily find another seat,
and there is one here who will lay

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it for me. Ulysses went back
to his own place, and Eumaeus strewed

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some green brushwood on the floor and
threw a sheepskin on top of it for

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Telemachus to sit upon. Then the
swineherd brought them platters of cold meat,

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the remains from what they had eaten
the day before, and he filled the

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bread baskets with bread as fast as
he could. He mixed wine also in

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bowls of ivy wood, and took
his seat facing Ulysses. Then they laid

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their hands on the good things that
were before them, And as soon as

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they had had enough to eat and
drink, Telemachus said to Humaeus, old

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friend, where does the stranger come
from? How did his crew bring him

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to Ithaca? And who were they? For? Assuredly he did not come

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here by land to this you,
answered, o swineherd, Eumaeus, my

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son, I will tell you the
real truth. He says he is a

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Cretan and that he has been a
great traveler. At this moment he is

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running away from a Thesprochian ship,
and has taken refuge at my station.

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So I will put him into your
hands. Do whatever you like with him,

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only remember that he is your suppliant. I am very much distressed,

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said Telemachus by what you have just
told me. How can I take this

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stranger into my house? I am
as yet young, and am not strong

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enough to hold my own if any
man attacks me. My mother cannot make

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up her mind whether to stay where
she is and look after the house out

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of respect for public opinion and the
memory of her husband, or whether the

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time has now come for her to
take the best man of those who are

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wooing her, and the one who
will make her the most advantageous offer.

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Still, as the stranger has come
to your station, I will find him

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a cloak and shirt of good wear, with a sword and sandals, and

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will send him wherever he wants to
go. Or if you like, you

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can keep him here at the station, and I will send him clothes and

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food that he may be no burden
on you and on your men. But

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I will not have him go near
the suitors, for they are very insolent

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and are sure to ill treat him
in a way that would greatly grieve me.

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No matter how valiant a man may
be, he can do nothing against

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numbers, for they will be too
strong for him. Then, Ulysses said,

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sir, it is right that I
should say something myself. I am

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much shocked about what you have said
about the insolent way in which the suitors

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are behaving in spite of such a
man as you are. Tell do you

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submit to such treatment tamely? Or
has some God set your people against you?

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May you not complain of your brothers, For it is to these that

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a man may look for support,
however great his quarrel may be. I

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wish I were as young as you
are, And in my present mind,

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if I were son to Ulysses,
or indeed Ulysses himself, I would rather

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some one came and cut my head
off. But I would go to the

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house and be the bane of every
one of these men if they were too

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many for me, I being single
handed, I would rather die fighting in

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my own house than see such disgraceful
sights day after day, strangers grossly maltreated,

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and men dragging the women's servants about
the house in an unseemly way,

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wine drawn recklessly, and bread wasted
all to no purpose, for an end

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that shall never be accomplished. And
Telemachus answered, I will tell you truly

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everything. There is no enmity between
me and my people, nor can I

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complain of brothers to whom a man
may look for support, however great his

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quarrel may be. Jove has made
us a race of only sons. Laertes

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was the only son of Arsasius,
and Ulysses only son of Laertes. I

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am myself the only son of Ulysses, who left me behind him when he

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went away, so that I have
never been of any use to him.

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Hence it comes that my house is
in the hands of numberless marauders. For

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the chiefs from all the neighboring islands
Dulichium, sami Zycanthus, as also all

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the principal men of Ithaca itself are
eating up my house under the pretext of

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paying court to my mother, who
will neither say point blank that she will

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not marry, nor yet bring matters
to an end. So they are making

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havoc of my estate, and before
long will do so with myself into the

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bargain. The issue, however,
rests with Heaven. But do you,

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old friend, Eumaeus, go at
once and tell Penelope that I am safe

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and have returned from Pylos. Tell
it to herself alone, and then come

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back here without letting any one else
know, for there are many who are

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plotting mischief against me. I understand
and heed, you, replied, Eumaeus,

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You need instruct me no further.
Only, as I am going that

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way, say whether I had not
better let poor Laertes know that you are

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returned. He used to superintend the
work on his farm in spite of his

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bitter sorrow about Ulysses, and he
would eat and drink at will along with

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his servants. But they tell me
that from the day on which you set

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out for Pylos, he has neither
eaten nor drunk as he ought to,

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Nor does he look after his farm, but sits weeping and wasting the flesh

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from off his bones. More's the
pity, answered Telemachus. I am sorry

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for him, but we must leave
him to himself just now. If people

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could have everything their own way,
the first thing I should choose would be

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the return of my father. But
go and give your message. Then make

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haste back again, and do not
turn out of your way to tell Liertes,

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tell my mother to send one of
her women secretly with the news at

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once, and let him hear it
from her. Thus did he urge the

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swineherd. Eumaeus therefore took his sandals, bound them to his feet, and

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started for the town. Minerva watched
him well off the station, and then

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came up to it in the form
of a woman fair stately and wise.

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She stood against the side of the
entry, and revealed herself to Ulysses.

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But Telemachus could not see her and
knew not that she was there, for

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the gods do not let themselves be
seen by everybody. Ulysses saw her,

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and so did the dogs, for
they did not bark, but went scared

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and whining off to the other side
of the yards. She nodded her head

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and motioned to Ulysses with her eyebrows, whereon he left the hut and stood

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before her outside the main wall of
the yards. Then she said to him,

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Ulysses, noble son of Laertes,
it is now time for you to

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tell your son. Do not keep
him in the dark any longer, but

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lay your plans for the destruction of
the suitors, and then make for the

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town. I will not be long
in joining you, for I too am

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eager for the fray. As she
spoke, she touched him with her golden

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wand first she threw a fair,
clean shirt and cloak about his shoulders.

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Then she made him younger and of
more imposing presents. She gave him back

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his color, filled out his cheeks, and let his beard become dark again.

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Then she went away, and Ulysses
came back inside the hut. His

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son was astounded when he saw him, and turned his eyes away for fear

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he might be looking upon a god
stranger, said he, how suddenly you

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have changed from what you were a
moment or two ago. You are dressed

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differently, and your color is not
the same. Are you someone or other

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of the gods that live in heaven? If so, be propitious to me

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till I can make you do sacrifice
and offerings of wrought gold. Have mercy

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upon me, And Ulysses said,
I am no god, Why should you

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take me for one. I am
your father, on whose account you grieve

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and suffer so much at the hands
of lawless men. As he spoke,

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he kissed his son, and a
tear fell from his cheek on to the

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ground. For he had restrained all
tears till now. But Telemachus could not

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yet believe that it was his father, and said, you are not my

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father, but some God is flattering
me with vain hopes that I may grieve

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the more hereafter. No mortal man
could of himself contrive to do as you

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have been doing and make yourself old
and young at a moment's notice, unless

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a god were with him. A
second ago you were old and all in

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rags, and now you are like
some god come down from heaven. Ulysses,

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answered Telemachus. You ought not to
be so immeasurably astonished at my being

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really here. There is no other
Ulysses who will come hereafter such as I

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am. It is I who,
after long wandering and much hardship, have

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got home in the twentieth year,
to my own country. What you wonder

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at is the work of the redoubtable
goddess Minerva, who does with me whatever

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she will, for she can do
what she pleases. At one moment she

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makes me like a beggar, and
the next I am a young man with

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good clothes on my back. It
is an easy matter for the gods who

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live in heaven to make any man
look either rich or poor. As he

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spoke, he sat down, and
Telemachus threw his arms about his father and

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wept. They were both so much
moved that they cried aloud, like eagle

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or vultures with crooked talons that have
been robbed of their half fledged young by

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peasants. Thus piteously did they weep, and the son would have gone down

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upon their morning if Telemachus had not
suddenly said, in which ship, my

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dear father, did your crew bring
you to Ithaca? Of what nation did

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they declare themselves to be? For
you cannot have come by land. I

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will tell you the truth, my
son replied, Ulysses. It was the

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Pheatians who brought me here. They
are great sailors and are in the habit

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of giving escorts to anyone who reaches
their coasts. They took me over the

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sea while I was fast asleep,
and landed me in Ithaca, after giving

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me many presents in bronze, gold
and raiment. These things, by Heaven's

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mercy, are lying concealed in a
cave. And I am now come here

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on the suggestion of Minerva, that
we may consult about killing our enemies first.

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Therefore give me a list of the
suitors with their number, I may

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learn who and how many they are. I can then turn the matter over

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in my mind and see whether we
two can fight the whole body of them

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ourselves, or whether we must find
others to help us to this. Telemachus

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answered, father, I have always
heard of your renown, both in the

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field and in council. But the
task you talk of is a very great

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one. I am awed at the
mere thought of it. Two men cannot

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stand against many and brave ones.
They are not ten suitors only, nor

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twice ten, but ten many times
over. You shall learn their number at

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once. There are fifty two chosen
youth from Dulichium, and they have six

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servants from Sammy. There are twenty
four twenty young Achaeans from Zacanthus, and

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twelve from Ithaca itself, all of
them well born. They have with them

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a servant, meeten, a bard, and two men who can carve at

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table. If we face such numbers
as this, you may have bitter cause

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to rue your coming and your revenge. Say whether you cannot think of someone

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who would be willing to come and
help us. Listen to me, replied

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Ulysses, and think whether Minerva and
her father Jove may seem sufficient, or

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whether I am to try and find
someone else as well, those whom you

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have named answered Telemachus, or a
couple of good allies. For though they

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dwell high up among the clouds,
they have power over both gods and men.

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These two continued ulysses will not keep
long out of the fray when the

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suitors and we join fight in my
house. Now, therefore, return home

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early tomorrow morning, and go about
among the suitors as before. Later on

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the swineherd will bring me to the
city disguised as a miserable old beggar.

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If you see them ill treating me, steal your heart against my sufferings,

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even though they drag me feet foremost
out of the house or throw things at

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me, look on nothing beyond gently
trying to make them behave more reasonably.

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But they will not listen to you, for the day of their reckoning is

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at hand. Furthermore, I say, and lay my saying to your heart.

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When Minerva shall put it in my
mind, I will nod my head

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to you. And on seeing me
do this, you must collect all the

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armor that is in the house and
hide it in the strong storeroom. Make

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some excuse. When the suitors ask
you why you are removing it, Say

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that you have taken it to be
out of the way of the smoke,

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inasmuch as it is no longer what
it was when Ulysses went away, but

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has become soiled and begrimed with soot. Add to this more particularly, that

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you are afraid Jove may set them
on to quarrel over their wine, and

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that they may do each other some
harm, which may disgrace both Banquet and

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Wooing for the sight of arms sometimes
tempts people to use them. But leave

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a sword and a spear apiece for
yourself and me, and a couple of

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ox eyed shields, so that we
could snatch them up at any moment.

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Jove Nerva will then soon quiet these
people. There is also another matter.

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If you are indeed my son,
and my blood runs in your veins,

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let no one know that Ulysses is
within the house, neither Laertes, nor

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yet the swineherd, nor any of
the servants, nor even Penelope herself.

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00:16:18,399 --> 00:16:23,039
Let you and me exploit the women
alone, and let us also make trial

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of some other of the men servants, to see who is on our side,

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and whose hand is against us,
father replied Telemachus. You will come

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00:16:33,519 --> 00:16:37,240
to know me by and by,
and when you do you will find that

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00:16:37,399 --> 00:16:41,679
I can keep your counsel. I
do not think, however, the plan

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you propose will turn out well for
either of us. Think it over.

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00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:48,080
It will take us a long time
to go the round of the farms and

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00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:52,600
exploit the men, and all the
time the suitors will be wasting your estate

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with impunity and without compunction. Prove
the women by all means to see who

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are disloyal and who guiltless. But
I am not in favor of going round

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and trying the men. We can
attend to that later on, if you

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really have some sign from Jove that
he will support you. Thus did they

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converse. And meanwhile, the ship
which had brought Telemachus and his crew from

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Pylos had reached the town of Ithaca. When they had come inside the harbor,

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they drew the ship on to the
land. Their servants came and took

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their armor from them, and they
left all the presence at the house of

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Clytius. Then they sent a servant
to tell Penelope that Telemachus had gone into

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the country, but had sent this
ship to the town to prevent her from

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being alarmed and made unhappy. This
servant and Eumaeus happened to meet when they

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were both on the same errand of
going to tell Penelope. When they reached

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the house, the servant stood up
and said to the queen, in the

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presence of the waiting women, your
son, Madam, is now returned from

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Pylos. But Eumaeus went close up
to Penelope and said privately all that her

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son had bidden him tell her.
When he had given his message, he

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left the house with its outbuildings and
went back to his pigs again. The

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00:18:07,319 --> 00:18:11,440
suitors were surprised and angry at what
had happened, so they went outside the

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great wall that ran round the outer
court and held a council near the main

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entrance. Eurymachus, son of Polybus, was the first to speak. My

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friends, said he, this voyage
of Timelicus's is a very serious matter.

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We had made sure that it would
come to nothing. Now, however,

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00:18:30,359 --> 00:18:33,920
let us draw a ship into the
water and get a crew together to send

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after the others, and tell them
to come back as fast as they can.

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He had hardly done speaking when Amphinomus
turned in his place, and saw

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the ship inside the harbor, with
the crew lowering her sails and putting by

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her oars. So he laughed and
said to the others, we need not

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send them any message, for they
are here. Some God must have told

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them or else. They saw the
ship go by and could not overtake her.

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On this they rose and went to
the waterside. The crew then drew

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the ship on shore. Their servants
took their armor from them, and they

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went up in a body to the
place of assembly. But they would not

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let anyone old or young, sit
along with them. And Antonus, son

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of Eupathe, spoke first good heavens, said he see how the gods have

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saved this man from destruction. We
kept a succession of scouts upon the headlands

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all day long, and when the
sun was down, we never went on

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shore to sleep, but waited in
the ship all night till morning, in

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the hope of capturing and killing him. But some God has conveyed him home

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in spite of us. Let us
consider how we can make an end of

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him. He must not escape us. Our affair is never likely to come

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off while he is alive, for
he is very shrewd and public feeling is

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by no means all on our side. We must make haste before he can

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call the Achaeans an assembly. He
will lose no time in doing so,

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for he will be furious with us
and will tell all the world how we

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plotted to kill him but fail to
take him. The people will not like

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this when they come to know of
it. We must see that they do

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us no hurt, nor drive us
from our own country into exile. Let

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us try and lay hold of him, either on his farm away from the

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00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:19,519
town, or on the road hither. Then we can divide up his property

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amongst us, and let his mother
and the man who marries her have the

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house. If this does not please
you, and you wish Telemachus to live

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on and hold his father's property,
then we must not gather here and eat

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up his goods in this way,
but must make our efforts to Penelope each

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from his own house, and she
can marry the man who will give the

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most for her, and whose lot
it is to win her. They all

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00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:48,319
held their peace until Amphinomus rose to
speak. He was the son of Nissus,

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who was son to King Eretius,
and he was the foremost among all

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the suitors from the wheat growing and
well grassed island of Dulichium. His conversation,

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00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:02,680
moreover, was more agreeable to Penelope
than that of any of the other

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suitors, for he was a man
of good natural disposition. My friends said,

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00:21:07,519 --> 00:21:12,200
he speaking to them plainly and in
all honestly. I am not in

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00:21:12,279 --> 00:21:17,720
favor of killing Telemachus. It is
a heinous thing to kill one who is

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00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:22,319
of noble blood. Let us first
take counsel of the gods, and if

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00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:26,279
the oracles of Jove advise it,
I will both help to kill him myself,

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00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:30,759
and will urge everyone else to do
so. But if they dissuade us,

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00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:36,039
I would have you hold your hands. Thus did he speak, and

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00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:40,359
his words please them well. So
they rose forthwith and went to the house

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00:21:40,359 --> 00:21:45,880
of Ulysses, where they took their
accustomed seats. Then Penelope resolved that she

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00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:49,039
would show herself to the suitors.
She knew of the plot against Telemachus,

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00:21:49,279 --> 00:21:55,480
for the servant Meiden had overheard their
counsels and had told her. She went

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00:21:55,559 --> 00:21:59,799
down therefore to the court, attended
by her maidens, and when she reached

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00:21:59,799 --> 00:22:03,799
the suitors, she stood by one
of the bearing posts supporting the roof of

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00:22:03,839 --> 00:22:07,079
the cloister, holding a veil before
her face, and rebuked Antonus, saying,

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00:22:08,279 --> 00:22:14,559
Antonus insolent and wicked schemer. They
say you are the best speaker and

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00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:18,599
counselor of any man your own age
in Ithaca, But you are nothing of

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00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:22,880
the kind madman. Why should you
try to compass the death of Telemachus and

300
00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:29,480
take no heed of suppliants whose witness
is Jove himself. It is not right

301
00:22:29,559 --> 00:22:33,200
for you to plot thus against one
another. Do you not remember how your

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00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:37,279
father fled to this house in fear
of the people, who were enraged against

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00:22:37,359 --> 00:22:41,720
him for having gone with some Taffian
pirates and plundered the Thesprotians, who are

304
00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:45,680
at peace with us. They wanted
to tear him in pieces and eat up

305
00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:51,480
everything he had, but Ulysses stayed
their hands, although they were infuriated.

306
00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:56,240
And now you devour his property without
paying for it, and break my heart

307
00:22:56,359 --> 00:23:00,920
by wooing his wife and trying to
kill his son. Eave off doing so,

308
00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:06,119
and stop the others. Also to
this, Eurymachus, son of Polybus,

309
00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:11,160
answered, take heart, Queen Penelope, daughter of Vicarius, and do

310
00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:15,240
not trouble yourself about these matters.
The man is not yet born, nor

311
00:23:15,319 --> 00:23:19,319
never will be, who shall lay
hands upon your son, Telemachus. While

312
00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:22,920
I yet live to look upon the
face of the earth, I say,

313
00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:27,519
and it shall surely be that my
spear shall be reddened with his blood.

314
00:23:29,079 --> 00:23:33,319
For many a time has Ulysses taken
me on his knees, held wind up

315
00:23:33,319 --> 00:23:36,599
to my lips to drink, and
put pieces of meat into my hands.

316
00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:41,000
Therefore, Telemachus is much the dearest
friend I have, and has nothing to

317
00:23:41,079 --> 00:23:47,079
fear from the hands of us suitors. Of course, if death comes to

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00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:52,000
him from the gods, he cannot
escape it. He said this to quiet

319
00:23:52,039 --> 00:23:57,480
her, but in reality he was
plotting against Telemachus. Then Penelope went upstairs

320
00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:03,920
again and mourned her husband till Minerva
shed sleep over her eyes. In the

321
00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:07,480
evening, Eumaeus got back to Ulysses
and his son, who had just sacrificed

322
00:24:07,519 --> 00:24:11,519
a young pig of a year old, and were helping one another to get

323
00:24:11,559 --> 00:24:15,559
supper ready. Minerva therefore came up
to Ulysses, turned him into an old

324
00:24:15,599 --> 00:24:19,640
man with a stroke of her wand
and clad him in his old clothes again,

325
00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:25,160
for fear that the swineherd might recognize
him and not keep the secret,

326
00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:30,640
But go and tell Penelope. Telemachus
was the first to speak. So you

327
00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:33,480
have got back, Eumaeus said he, what is the news of the town.

328
00:24:34,039 --> 00:24:38,240
Have the suitors returned or are they
still waiting over yonder to take me

329
00:24:38,319 --> 00:24:44,519
on my way home. I did
not think of asking about that, replied

330
00:24:44,519 --> 00:24:48,200
Eumaeus. When I was in the
town, I thought I would give my

331
00:24:48,279 --> 00:24:52,480
message and come back as soon as
I could. I met a man sent

332
00:24:52,559 --> 00:24:55,759
by those who had gone with you
to Pylos, and he was the first

333
00:24:55,759 --> 00:24:59,079
to tell the news to your mother. But I can say what I saw

334
00:24:59,119 --> 00:25:02,279
with my own eyes. I had
just got on to the crest of the

335
00:25:02,359 --> 00:25:04,759
hill of Mercury, above the town, when I saw a ship coming into

336
00:25:04,759 --> 00:25:08,359
the harbor with a number of men
in her. They had many shields and

337
00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:12,240
spears, and I thought it was
the Suitors, But I cannot be sure.

338
00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:18,519
On hearing this, Telemachus smiled to
his father, but so that Eumaeus

339
00:25:18,559 --> 00:25:22,319
could not see him. Then,
when they had finished their work and the

340
00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:25,759
meal was ready, they ate it, and every man had his full share,

341
00:25:25,839 --> 00:25:29,240
so that all were satisfied. As
soon as they had had enough to

342
00:25:29,279 --> 00:25:32,880
eat and drink, they laid down
to rest and enjoyed the boon of sleep.

343
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End of Book sixteen,