Speaker 1: Book eighteen of the Odyssey by Homer, translated by Samuel Butler.
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. The Odyssey
Speaker 1: Book eighteen, The Fight with Iris. Ulysses warns ampheminus Penelope
Speaker 1: gets presents from the suitors the braziers. Ulysses rebukes Eurymicus.
Speaker 1: Now there came a certain common tramp who used to
Speaker 1: go begging all over the city of Ithaca, and was
Speaker 1: notorious as an incorrigible glutton and drunkard. This man had
Speaker 1: no strength nor stay in him, but he was a
Speaker 1: great hulking fellow. To look at his real name, the
Speaker 1: one his mother gave him was Arnaeus. By the young
Speaker 1: men of the place called him Iris, because he used
Speaker 1: to run errands for any one who would send him.
Speaker 1: As soon as he came, he began to insult Ulysses
Speaker 1: and to try and drive him out of his own house.
Speaker 1: Be awf old man, he cried from the doorway, or
Speaker 1: you shall be dragged out neck and heels. Do you
Speaker 1: not see that they are all giving me the wink
Speaker 1: and wanting me to turn you out by force? Only
Speaker 1: I do not like to do. So get up then
Speaker 1: and go of yourself, or we shall come to blows.
Speaker 1: Ulysses frowned on him and said, my friend, I do
Speaker 1: you no manner of harm. People give you a great deal,
Speaker 1: but I am not jealous. There is room enough in
Speaker 1: this doorway for the pair of us, and you need
Speaker 1: not grudge me things that are not yours to give
Speaker 1: you seed me just such another tramp as myself. But
Speaker 1: perhaps the gods will give us better luck by and by.
Speaker 1: Do not, however, talk too much about fighting, or you
Speaker 1: will incense me and old though I am, I shall
Speaker 1: cover your mouth and chest with blood. I shall have
Speaker 1: more peace tomorrow if I do, for you will not
Speaker 1: come to the house of Ulysses any more. Iris was
Speaker 1: very angry and answered, you, filthy glutton. You run on
Speaker 1: trippingly like an old fish. Fag. I have a good
Speaker 1: mind to lay both hands about you and knock your
Speaker 1: teeth out of your head like so many bores tusks.
Speaker 1: Get ready, therefore, and let these people here stand by
Speaker 1: and look on. You will never be able to fight
Speaker 1: one who is much younger than yourself. Thus roundly did
Speaker 1: they raid one another on the smooth pavement in front
Speaker 1: of the doorway, And when Antonas saw what was going on.
Speaker 1: He laughed heartily and said to the others, this is
Speaker 1: the finest sport that you ever saw. Heaven never yet
Speaker 1: sent anything like it into this house. The stranger and
Speaker 1: Iris have quarreled and are going to fight. Let us
Speaker 1: set them on to do so at once. The suitors
Speaker 1: all came up, laughing, and gathered round the two ragged tramps.
Speaker 1: Listen to me, said antonas there are some goat's paunches
Speaker 1: down at the fire, which we have filled with blood
Speaker 1: and fat and set aside for supper. He who is
Speaker 1: victorious and proves himself to be the better man, shall
Speaker 1: have his pick of the lot. He shall be free
Speaker 1: of our table, and we will not allow any other
Speaker 1: beggar about the house at all. The others all agreed,
Speaker 1: but ulysses to throw them off the scent, said Sirs.
Speaker 1: An old man like myself, worn out with suffering, cannot
Speaker 1: hold his own against a young one. But my irrepressible
Speaker 1: belly urges me on, though I know it can only
Speaker 1: end in my getting a drubbing. You must swear, however,
Speaker 1: that none of you will give me a foul blow,
Speaker 1: to favor Iris and secure him the victory. They swore,
Speaker 1: as he told them, and when they had completed their oath,
Speaker 1: Telemachus put in a word and said, stranger, if you
Speaker 1: have a mind to settle with this fellow, you need
Speaker 1: not be afraid of anyone here. Whoever strikes you will
Speaker 1: have to fight more than one. I am host, and
Speaker 1: the other chiefs Antonus and Eurymicus, both of them men
Speaker 1: of understanding or of the same mind as I am.
Speaker 1: Every one ascended, and Ulysses girded his old rags about
Speaker 1: his loins, thus bearing his stalwart thighs, his broad chest
Speaker 1: and shoulders, and his mighty arms. But Minerva came up
Speaker 1: to him and made his limbs even stronger. Still, the
Speaker 1: suitors were beyond measure astonished, and one would turn towards
Speaker 1: his neighbor, saying, the stranger has brought such a thigh
Speaker 1: out of his old rags that there will soon be
Speaker 1: nothing left of Iris. Iris began to be very uneasy
Speaker 1: as he heard them. But the servants girded him by
Speaker 1: force and brought him into the open part of the
Speaker 1: court in such a fright that his limbs were all
Speaker 1: of a tremble. Antonus scolded him and said, you swaggering bully,
Speaker 1: you ought never to have been born at all. If
Speaker 1: you are afraid of such an old, broken down creature
Speaker 1: as this tramp is, I say therefore, and it shall
Speaker 1: surely be. If he beats you and proves himself the
Speaker 1: better man, I shall pack you off on board ship
Speaker 1: to the mainland and send you to King Eicitus, who
Speaker 1: kills every one that comes near him. He will cut
Speaker 1: off your nose and ears, and draw entrails for the
Speaker 1: dogs to eat. This frightened Iris still more. But they
Speaker 1: brought him into the middle of the court, and the
Speaker 1: two men raised their hands to fight. Then Ulysses considered
Speaker 1: whether he should let drive so hard at him as
Speaker 1: to make an end of him then and there, or
Speaker 1: whether he should give him a lighter blow that should
Speaker 1: only knock him down. In the end, he deemed it
Speaker 1: best to give the lighter blow, for fear the Achaean
Speaker 1: should begin to suspect who he was. Then they began
Speaker 1: to fight, and Iris hit Ulysses on the right shoulder.
Speaker 1: But Ulysses gave Iris a blow on the neck under
Speaker 1: the ear that broke in the bones of his skull,
Speaker 1: and the blood came gushing out of his mouth. He
Speaker 1: fell groaning in the dust gnashing his teeth and kicking
Speaker 1: on the ground. But the suitors threw up their hands
Speaker 1: and nearly died of laughter as Ulysses caught hold of
Speaker 1: him by the foot and dragged him into the arrow
Speaker 1: court as far as the gatehouse. There he propped him
Speaker 1: up against the wall and put his staff in his hands.
Speaker 1: Sit here, said he, and keep the dogs and pigs off.
Speaker 1: You are a pitiful creature, and if you try to
Speaker 1: make yourself king of the beggars any more, you shall
Speaker 1: fare still worse. Then he threw his dirty old wallet,
Speaker 1: all tattered and torn, over his shoulder with the cord
Speaker 1: by which it hung, and went back to sit down
Speaker 1: upon the threshold. But the suitors went within the cloisters,
Speaker 1: laughing and saluting him. May Jove and all the other
Speaker 1: gods said, they grant you whatever you want for having
Speaker 1: put an end to the importunity of this insatiable tramp.
Speaker 1: We will take him over to the mainland, presently to
Speaker 1: King Ecatus, who kills every one that comes near him.
Speaker 1: Ulysses hailed this as of good omen and Antonus set
Speaker 1: a great goat's paunch before him, filled with blood and fat.
Speaker 1: Amphinymus took two loaves out of the bread basket and
Speaker 1: brought them to him, pledging him as he did so,
Speaker 1: in a golden goblet of wine. Good luck to you,
Speaker 1: he said, father stranger, you are very badly off at present,
Speaker 1: but I hope you have better times by and by
Speaker 1: to this, Ulysses answered Amphinymus, you seem to be a
Speaker 1: man of good understanding, as indeed you may well be.
Speaker 1: Seeing whose son you are, I have heard your father
Speaker 1: well spoken of. He is Nissus of Delicium, a man
Speaker 1: both brave and wealthy. They tell me you are his son,
Speaker 1: and you appear to be a considerable person. Listen, therefore,
Speaker 1: and take heed to what I am saying. Man is
Speaker 1: the vainest of all creatures that have their being upon earth.
Speaker 1: As long as Heaven vouchsafes him health and strength, he
Speaker 1: thinks that he shall come to no harm thereafter. And
Speaker 1: even when the blessed Gods bring sour upon him, he
Speaker 1: bears it as if he needs must, and makes the
Speaker 1: best of it. For God Almighty gives men their daily
Speaker 1: minds day by day. I know all about it, for
Speaker 1: I was a rich man once and did much wrong
Speaker 1: in the stubbornness of my pride, and in the confidence
Speaker 1: that my father and my brothers would support me. Therefore,
Speaker 1: let a man fear God in all things always, and
Speaker 1: take the good that Heaven may see fit to send
Speaker 1: him without vain glory. Consider the infamy of what these
Speaker 1: suitors are doing. See how they are wasting the estate
Speaker 1: and doing dishonor to the wife of one who is
Speaker 1: certain to return some day, and that too not long. Hence, nay,
Speaker 1: he will be here soon. May Heaven send you home
Speaker 1: quietly first, that you may not meet him in the
Speaker 1: day of his coming. For once he is here, the
Speaker 1: suitors and he will not part bloodlessly. With these words,
Speaker 1: he made a drink offering, and when he had drunk,
Speaker 1: he put the gold cup into the hands of Ampheminus,
Speaker 1: who walked away, serious and bowing his head, for he
Speaker 1: foreboded evil. But even so he did not escape destruction,
Speaker 1: for Minerva had doomed him to fall by the hand
Speaker 1: of Telemachus. So he took his seat again at the
Speaker 1: place from which he had come. Then Minerva put into
Speaker 1: the mind of Penelope to show herself to the suitors,
Speaker 1: that she might make them still more enamored of her
Speaker 1: and win still further honor from her son. And husband.
Speaker 1: So she fainted a mocking laugh, and said, Eurynymy, I
Speaker 1: have changed my mind and have a fancy to show
Speaker 1: myself to the suitors. Although I detest them, I should
Speaker 1: like also to give my son a hint that he
Speaker 1: had better not have anything more to do with them.
Speaker 1: They speak fairly enough, but they mean mischief. My dear child, answered, Eurynymy,
Speaker 1: all that you have said is true. Go and tell
Speaker 1: your son about it. But first wash yourself and anoint
Speaker 1: your face. Do not go about with your cheeks all
Speaker 1: covered with tears. It is not right that you should
Speaker 1: grieve so incessantly, for Telemachus, whom you always prayed that
Speaker 1: you might live to see with a beard, is already
Speaker 1: grown up. I know, Eurynymy, replied Penelope, that you mean well,
Speaker 1: but do not try. I persuade me to wash and
Speaker 1: to anoint myself, for Heaven robbed me of all my
Speaker 1: beauty on the day my husband sailed. Nevertheless, tell Atonoi
Speaker 1: and Hippodamia that I want them. They must be with
Speaker 1: me when I am in the cloister. I am not
Speaker 1: going among the men alone. It would not be proper
Speaker 1: for me to do so. On this the old woman
Speaker 1: went out of the room to bid the maids go
Speaker 1: to their mistress. In the meantime, Minerva bethought her of
Speaker 1: another matter and set Penelope off into a sweet slumber.
Speaker 1: So she laid down on her couch, and her limbs
Speaker 1: became heavy with sleep. Then the goddess shed grace and
Speaker 1: beauty over her, that all the Achaeans might admire her.
Speaker 1: She washed her face with the ambrosial loveliness that Venus
Speaker 1: wears when she goes dancing. With the graces, she made
Speaker 1: her taller and of a more commanding figure, while as
Speaker 1: for her complexion, it was whiter than sawn ivory. When
Speaker 1: Minerva had done all this, she went away, whereon the
Speaker 1: maids came in from the women's room and woke Penelope
Speaker 1: with the sound of their talking. What an exquisitely delicious
Speaker 1: sleep I have been having, said she as she passed
Speaker 1: her hands over her face. In spite of all my misery,
Speaker 1: I wish Diana would let me die so sweetly now
Speaker 1: at this very moment, that I might no longer waste
Speaker 1: in despair for the loss of my dear husband, who
Speaker 1: possessed every kind of good quality and was the most
Speaker 1: distinguished man among the Achaeans. With these words, she came
Speaker 1: down from her upper room, not alone, but attended by
Speaker 1: two of her maidens, And when she reached the suitors,
Speaker 1: she stood by one of the bearing posts supporting the
Speaker 1: roof of the cloister, holding a veil before her face,
Speaker 1: and with a staid made servant on either side of her.
Speaker 1: As they beheld her, the suitors were so overpowered and
Speaker 1: became so desperately enamored of her, that each one prayed
Speaker 1: he might win her for his own Bedfellow Telemachus, said she,
Speaker 1: addressing her son, I fear you are no longer so
Speaker 1: discreet and welcome inducted as he used to be. When
Speaker 1: you were younger, you had a greater sense of propriety. Now, however,
Speaker 1: that you are grown up, though a stranger to look
Speaker 1: at you would take you for the son of a
Speaker 1: well to do father. As far as size and good
Speaker 1: looks go, your conduct is by no means what it
Speaker 1: should be. What is all this disturbance that has been
Speaker 1: going on? And how came you to allow a stranger
Speaker 1: to be so disgracefully ill treated? What would have happened
Speaker 1: if he had suffered serious injury while a suppliant in
Speaker 1: our house. Surely this would have been very discreditable to you.
Speaker 1: I am not surprised, my dear mother, at your displeasure,
Speaker 1: replied Telemachus. I understand all about it, and know when
Speaker 1: things are not as they should be, which I could
Speaker 1: not do when I was younger. I cannot, however, behave
Speaker 1: with perfect propriety at all times. First one and then
Speaker 1: another of these wicked people here keeps driving me out
Speaker 1: of my mind, and I have no one to stand
Speaker 1: by me. After all. However, this fight between Iris and
Speaker 1: the Stranger did not turn out as the suitors meant
Speaker 1: to do, for the stranger got the best of it.
Speaker 1: I wish Father Jove, Minerva and Apollo would break the
Speaker 1: neck of every one of these wooers of yours, some
Speaker 1: inside the house and some out. And I wish they
Speaker 1: might all be as limp as Iris over yonder in
Speaker 1: the gate of the outer court. See how he nods
Speaker 1: his head like a drunken man. He has had such
Speaker 1: a thrashing that he cannot stand on his feet nor
Speaker 1: get back to his home, wherever that may be, for
Speaker 1: he has no strength left in him. Thus did they
Speaker 1: converse Eurymicus then came up and said, Queen Penelope, daughter
Speaker 1: of Vicarius, if all the Achaeans in the Asian Argus
Speaker 1: could see you at this moment, they would have still
Speaker 1: more suitors in your house by tomorrow morning, for you
Speaker 1: were the most admirable woman in the whole world, both
Speaker 1: as regards personal beauty and strength of understanding. To this,
Speaker 1: Penelope replied Eurymicus. Heaven robbed me of all my beauty,
Speaker 1: whether a face or figure, when the Argive set sail
Speaker 1: for Troy, and my dear husband with them. If he
Speaker 1: were to return and look after my affairs, I should
Speaker 1: both be more respected and show a better presence to
Speaker 1: the world. As it is, I am oppressed with care
Speaker 1: and with afflictions which Heaven has seen fit to heap
Speaker 1: upon me. My husband foresaw it all, and when he
Speaker 1: was leaving home, he took my right wrist in his hand. Wife,
Speaker 1: he said, we shall not all of us come safe
Speaker 1: home from Troy, for the Trojans fight well, both with
Speaker 1: beaux and spear. They are excellent also at fighting from chariots,
Speaker 1: and nothing decides the issue of a fight sooner than this.
Speaker 1: I know not, therefore, whether Heaven will send me back
Speaker 1: to you, or whether I shall not fall over there
Speaker 1: at Troy. In the meantime, do you look after things here?
Speaker 1: Take care of my father and mother as at present,
Speaker 1: and even more so during my absence. But when you
Speaker 1: see oursel ungrowing a beard, then marry whom you will,
Speaker 1: and leave this your present home. This is what he said,
Speaker 1: and now it is all coming true. A night will
Speaker 1: come when I shall have to yield myself to a
Speaker 1: marriage which I detest, for Jove has taken from me
Speaker 1: all hope of happiness. This further grief moreover cuts me
Speaker 1: to the very heart. You suitors are not wooing me,
Speaker 1: after the custom of my country, when men are courting
Speaker 1: a woman who they think will be a good wife
Speaker 1: to them, and who is of noble birth, and when
Speaker 1: they are each trying to win her for himself, they
Speaker 1: usually bring oxen and sheep to feast the friends of
Speaker 1: the lady, and they make their magnificent presents instead of
Speaker 1: eating up other people's property without paying for it. This
Speaker 1: was what she said, and Ulysses was glad when he
Speaker 1: heard her trying to get presents out of the suitors
Speaker 1: and flattering them with fair words which he knew she
Speaker 1: did not mean. Then Antona said, Queen Penelope, daughter of Vicarius,
Speaker 1: take as many presents as you please from anyone who
Speaker 1: will give them to you. It is not well to
Speaker 1: refuse a present, But we will not go about our business,
Speaker 1: nor stir from where we are till you have married
Speaker 1: the best man among us, whoever he may be. The
Speaker 1: others applauded what Antinus had said, and each one sent
Speaker 1: his servant to bring his present. Antinus's man returned with
Speaker 1: a large and lovely dress, most exquisitely embroidered. It had
Speaker 1: twelve beautifully made brooch pins of pure gold with which
Speaker 1: to fasten it. Eurymicus immediately brought her a magnificent chain
Speaker 1: of gold and amber beads that gleamed like sunlight. Eurynymus's
Speaker 1: two men returned with some ear rings fashioned into three
Speaker 1: brilliant pendants, which glistened most beautifully, while King Pissander, son
Speaker 1: of Pollictor, gave her a necklace of the rarest workmanship,
Speaker 1: and everyone else brought her a beautiful present of some kind.
Speaker 1: Then the queen went back to her room upstairs, and
Speaker 1: her maids brought the presents after her. Meanwhile, the suitors
Speaker 1: took to singing and dancing, and stayed till evening came.
Speaker 1: They danced and sang till it grew dark. They then
Speaker 1: brought in three braziers to give light, and pile them
Speaker 1: up with chopped firewood, very old and dry, and they
Speaker 1: lit torches from them, which the mates held up. Turn
Speaker 1: and turn about, then, Ulysses, said, maids, servants of Ulysses,
Speaker 1: who has so long been absent, go to the queen
Speaker 1: inside the house, sit with her and amuse her, or
Speaker 1: spin and pick wool. I will hold the light for
Speaker 1: all these people. They may stay till morning, but shall
Speaker 1: not beat me, for I can stand a great deal.
Speaker 1: The maids looked at one another and laughed, while pretty
Speaker 1: Melantho began to gibe at him contemptuously. She was daughter Todolius,
Speaker 1: but had been brought up by Penelope, who used to
Speaker 1: give her toys to play with and looked after her
Speaker 1: when she was a child. But in spite of all this,
Speaker 1: she showed no consideration for the sorrows of her mistress,
Speaker 1: and used to misconduct herself with Eurymicus, with whom she
Speaker 1: was in love. Poor wretch, said she, are you gone
Speaker 1: clean out of your mind? Go and sleep in some
Speaker 1: smithy or place of public gossips instead of chattering here,
Speaker 1: Are you not ashamed of opening your mouth before your
Speaker 1: betters so many of them too? Has the wine been
Speaker 1: getting into your head? Or do you always babble in
Speaker 1: this way? You seem to have lost your wits because
Speaker 1: you beat the tramp iris. Take care that a better
Speaker 1: man than he does not come and cudgel you about
Speaker 1: the head till he packed you bleeding out of the house.
Speaker 1: Vixen replied Ulysses, scowling at her, I will go and
Speaker 1: tell Telemachus what you have been saying, and he will
Speaker 1: have you torn limb from limb. With these words, he
Speaker 1: scared the women, and they went off into the body
Speaker 1: of the house. They trembled all over, for they thought
Speaker 1: thought he would do as he said. But Ulysses took
Speaker 1: his stand near the burning braziers, holding up torches and
Speaker 1: looking at the people, brooding the while on things that
Speaker 1: should surely come to pass. But Minerva would not let
Speaker 1: the suitors for one moment cease their insolence, for she
Speaker 1: wanted Ulysses to become even more bitter against them. She
Speaker 1: therefore set Eurymicus, son of Polybus, on to gibe at him,
Speaker 1: which made the others laugh. Listen to me, said he you,
Speaker 1: suitors of Queen Penelope, that I may speak even as
Speaker 1: I am minded. It is not for nothing that this
Speaker 1: man has come to the house of Ulysses. I believe
Speaker 1: the light has not been coming from the torches, but
Speaker 1: from his own head, for his hair is all gone,
Speaker 1: every bit of it. Then, turning to Ulysses, he said, stranger,
Speaker 1: will you work as a servant? If I send you
Speaker 1: to the wolds and see that you are well paid?
Speaker 1: Can you build a stone fence or plant trees? I
Speaker 1: will have you fed all the year round, and will
Speaker 1: find you in shoes and clothing. Will you go then?
Speaker 1: Not you, for you have got into bad ways and
Speaker 1: do not want to work. You had rather fill your
Speaker 1: belly by going around the country begging. Eurymicus answered Ulysses,
Speaker 1: if you and I were to work one against the
Speaker 1: other in early summer, when the days are at their longest,
Speaker 1: give me a good scythe and take another yourself, and
Speaker 1: let us see which will last the longer, Or mow
Speaker 1: the stronger from dawn till dark when the mowing grass
Speaker 1: is about, or if you will plow against me. Let
Speaker 1: us each take a yoke of tawny oxen, well mated
Speaker 1: and of great strength and endurance. Turn me into a
Speaker 1: four acre field, and see whether you or I can
Speaker 1: drive the straight or furrow. If again war were to
Speaker 1: break out this day, give me a shield, a couple
Speaker 1: of spears, and a helmet fitting well upon my temples.
Speaker 1: You will find me foremost in the fray, and would
Speaker 1: seize your jibes about my belly. You are insolent and cruel,
Speaker 1: and think yourself a great man, because you live in
Speaker 1: a little world, and that a bad one. If Ulysses
Speaker 1: comes to his own again, the doors of his house
Speaker 1: are wide, but you will find them narrow when you
Speaker 1: try to fly through them. Eurymicus was furious at all this.
Speaker 1: He scowled at him and cried, you wretch, I will
Speaker 1: soon pay you out for daring to say such things
Speaker 1: to me, and in public too. Has the wine been
Speaker 1: getting into your head? Or do you always babble in
Speaker 1: this way? You seem to have lost your wits because
Speaker 1: you beat the tramp Iris with this he caught hold
Speaker 1: of a footstool, but Ulysses sought protection at the knees
Speaker 1: of Ampheminus of Delecium, for he was afraid. The stool
Speaker 1: hit the cup air on his right hand and knocked
Speaker 1: him down. The man fell with a cry, flat on
Speaker 1: his back, and his wine jug fell ringing to the ground.
Speaker 1: The suitors in the covered cloistered were now in an uproar,
Speaker 1: and one would turn towards his neighbors, saying, I wish
Speaker 1: the stranger had gone somewhere else. Bad luck to him,
Speaker 1: for all the trouble he gives us. We cannot permit
Speaker 1: such disturbance about a beggar. If such ill counsels are
Speaker 1: to prevail, we shall have no more pleasure at our banquet.
Speaker 1: On this Telemachus came forward and said, sirs, are you mad?
Speaker 1: Can you not carry your meat and your liquor decently?
Speaker 1: Some evil spirit has possessed you. I do not wish
Speaker 1: to drive any of you away, but you have had
Speaker 1: your suppers, and the sooner you all go home to bed,
Speaker 1: the better. The suitors bit their lips and marveled at
Speaker 1: the boldness of his speech. But Amfeminus, son of Nysus,
Speaker 1: who was son to Aresius, said, do not let us
Speaker 1: take offense. It is reasonable, so let us make no answer.
Speaker 1: Neither let us do violence to the stranger, nor to
Speaker 1: any of ulysses servants. Let the cupbearer go round with
Speaker 1: the drink offerings, that we may make them, and go
Speaker 1: home to our rest. As for the stranger, let us
Speaker 1: lead Telemachus to deal with him, for it is to
Speaker 1: his house that he has come. Thus did he speak,
Speaker 1: and his saying please them well. So Milius of Delicium,
Speaker 1: servant to Amphinymus, makes them a bowl of wine and water,
Speaker 1: and hand it round to each of them man by man,
Speaker 1: whereon they made their drink offerings to the blessed gods. Then,
Speaker 1: when they had made their drink offerings and had drunk
Speaker 1: each one as he was minded, they took their several ways,
Speaker 1: each of them to his own abode. End of Book eighteen,