Speaker 1: Book sixteen of the Odyssey by Homer, translated by Samuel Butler.
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. The Odyssey
Speaker 1: Book sixteen, Ulysses reveals himself to Telemachus. Meanwhile, Ulysses and
Speaker 1: the swineherd had lit a fire in the hut and
Speaker 1: were getting breakfast ready at daybreak, for they had sent
Speaker 1: the men out with the pigs. When Telemachus came up,
Speaker 1: the dogs did not bark, but fawned upon him. So Ulysses,
Speaker 1: hearing the sound of feet, and noticing that the dogs
Speaker 1: did not bark, said to Eumaeus, Eumaeus, I hear footsteps.
Speaker 1: I suppose one of your men, or some one of
Speaker 1: your acquaintance is coming here, for the dogs are fawning
Speaker 1: upon him and not barking. The words were hardly out
Speaker 1: of his mouth before his son stood at the door.
Speaker 1: Eumaeus sprang to his feet, and the bowls in which
Speaker 1: he was mixing wine fell from his hands. As he
Speaker 1: made towards his master. He kissed his head in both
Speaker 1: his beautiful eyes and wept for joy. A father could
Speaker 1: not be more delighted at the return of an only son,
Speaker 1: the child of his old age. After ten years absence
Speaker 1: in a foreign country, and after having gone through much hardship.
Speaker 1: He embraced him, kissed him all over as though he
Speaker 1: had come back from the dead, and spoke fondly to him, saying,
Speaker 1: so you are come, Telemachus. Light of my eyes, that
Speaker 1: you are. When I heard you had gone to Pylos,
Speaker 1: I meet sure I was never going to see you
Speaker 1: any more. Come in, my dear child, and sit down,
Speaker 1: that I may have a good look at you. Now
Speaker 1: you are home again. It is not very often you
Speaker 1: come into the country to see us, herdsman. You stick
Speaker 1: pretty close to the town generally. I suppose you think
Speaker 1: it better to keep an eye on what the suitors
Speaker 1: are doing. So be it, old friend, said Telemachus. But
Speaker 1: I am come now because I want to see you,
Speaker 1: and to learn whether my mother is still at her
Speaker 1: old home, or whether some one else has married her.
Speaker 1: So that the bed of Ulysses is without bedding and
Speaker 1: covered with cobwebs, she is still at the house, replied Eumaeus,
Speaker 1: grieving and breaking her heart and doing nothing but weep
Speaker 1: both night and day continually. As he spoke, he took
Speaker 1: Telemachus spear whereon he crossed the stone threshold and came inside.
Speaker 1: Ulysses rose from his seat to give him place as
Speaker 1: he entered, but Telemachus checked him. Sit down. Stranger said he,
Speaker 1: I can easily find another seat, and there is one
Speaker 1: here who will lay it for me. Ulysses went back
Speaker 1: to his own place, and Eumaeus strewed some green brushwood
Speaker 1: on the floor and threw a sheepskin on top of
Speaker 1: it for Telemachus to sit upon. Then the swineherd brought
Speaker 1: them platters of cold meat, the remains from what they
Speaker 1: had eaten the day before, and he filled the bread
Speaker 1: baskets with bread as fast as he could. He mixed
Speaker 1: wine also in bowls of ivywood, and took his seat
Speaker 1: facing Ulysses. Then they laid their hands on the good
Speaker 1: things that were before them, And as soon as they
Speaker 1: had had enough to eat and drink, Telemachus said to Eumaeus,
Speaker 1: old friend, where does the stranger come from? How did
Speaker 1: his crew bring him to Ithaca? And who were they? For?
Speaker 1: Assuredly he did not come here by land to this
Speaker 1: you answered, O swine heard Eumaeus, my son, I will
Speaker 1: tell you the real truth. He says he is a Cretan,
Speaker 1: and that he has been a great traveler. At this
Speaker 1: moment he is running away from a thust Parchian ship
Speaker 1: and has taken refuge at my station. So I will
Speaker 1: put him into your hands. Do whatever you like with him,
Speaker 1: only remember that he is your suppliant. I am very
Speaker 1: much distressed, said Telemachus by what you have just told me.
Speaker 1: How can I take this stranger into my house? I
Speaker 1: am as yet young, and am not strong enough to
Speaker 1: hold my own if any man attacks me. My mother
Speaker 1: cannot make up her mind whether to stay where she
Speaker 1: is and look after the house out of respect for
Speaker 1: public opinion and the memory of her husband, or whether
Speaker 1: the time has now come for her to take the
Speaker 1: best man of those who are wooing her, and the
Speaker 1: one who will make her the most advantageous offer. Still,
Speaker 1: as the stranger has come to your station, I will
Speaker 1: find him a cloak and shirt of good wear, with
Speaker 1: a sword and sandals, and will send him wherever he
Speaker 1: wants to go. Or if you like, you can keep
Speaker 1: him here at the station, and I will send him
Speaker 1: clothes and food that he may be no burden on
Speaker 1: you and on your men. But I will not have
Speaker 1: him go near the suitors, for they are very insolent,
Speaker 1: and are sure to ill treat him in a way
Speaker 1: that would greatly grieve me. No matter how valiant a
Speaker 1: man may be, he can do nothing against numbers, for
Speaker 1: they will be too strong for him. Then, Ulysses said, sir,
Speaker 1: it is right that I should say something myself. I
Speaker 1: am much shocked about what you have said about the
Speaker 1: insula way in which the suitors are behaving in spite
Speaker 1: of such a man as you are. Tell me, do
Speaker 1: you submit to such treatment tamely? Or has some God
Speaker 1: set your people against you? May you not complain of
Speaker 1: your brothers, for it is to these that a man
Speaker 1: may look for support, however great his quarrel may be.
Speaker 1: I wish I were as young as you are, and
Speaker 1: in my present mind, if I were son to Ulysses,
Speaker 1: or indeed Ulysses himself, I would rather some one came
Speaker 1: and cut my head off. But I would go to
Speaker 1: the house and be the bane of every one of
Speaker 1: these men if they were too many for me, I
Speaker 1: being single handed, I would rather die fighting in my
Speaker 1: own house than see such disgraceful sights day after day,
Speaker 1: strangers grossly maltreated, and men dragging the women servants about
Speaker 1: the house in an unseemly way, wine drawn recklessly, and
Speaker 1: bread wasted, all to no purpose for an end that
Speaker 1: shall never be accomplished. And Telemachus answered, I will tell
Speaker 1: you truly everything. There is no enmity between me and
Speaker 1: my people, nor can I complain of brothers to whom
Speaker 1: a man may look for support, however great his quarrel
Speaker 1: may be. Jove has made us a race of only sons.
Speaker 1: Laertes was the only son of Arsasius, and Ulysses, only
Speaker 1: son of Laertes. I am myself the only son of Ulysses,
Speaker 1: who left me behind him when he went away, so
Speaker 1: that I have never been of any use to him.
Speaker 1: Hence it comes that my house is in the hands
Speaker 1: of numberless marauders. For the chiefs from all the neighboring
Speaker 1: islands to Lycium, sami Zycanthus, as also all the principal
Speaker 1: men of Ithaca itself are eating up my house under
Speaker 1: the pretext of paying court to my mother, who will
Speaker 1: neither say point blank that she will not marry, nor
Speaker 1: yet bring matters to an end. So they are making
Speaker 1: havoc of my estate, and before long will do so
Speaker 1: with myself into the bargain The issue, however, rests with heaven.
Speaker 1: But do you, old friend Eumaeus, go at once and
Speaker 1: tell Penelope that I am safe and have returned from Pylos.
Speaker 1: Tell it to herself alone, and then come back here
Speaker 1: without letting any one else know, For there are many
Speaker 1: who are plotting mischief against me. I understand and heed, you, replied, Eumaeus,
Speaker 1: you need instruct me no further. Only, as I am
Speaker 1: going that way, say whether I had not better let
Speaker 1: poor Laertes know that you are returned. He used to
Speaker 1: superintend the work on his farm in spite of his
Speaker 1: bitter sorrow about Ulysses, and he would eat and drink
Speaker 1: at will along with his servants. But they tell me
Speaker 1: that from the day on which you set out for Pylos,
Speaker 1: he has neither eaten nor drunk as he ought to.
Speaker 1: Nor does he look after his farm, but sits weeping
Speaker 1: and wasting the flesh from off his bones. More's the pity,
Speaker 1: answered Telemachus. I am sorry for him, but we must
Speaker 1: leave him to himself. Just now. If people could have
Speaker 1: everything their own way, the first thing I should choose
Speaker 1: would be the return of my father. But go and
Speaker 1: give your message, then make haste back again, and do
Speaker 1: not turn out of your way to tell the Aertes.
Speaker 1: Tell my mother to send one of her women secretly
Speaker 1: with the news at once, and let him hear it
Speaker 1: from her. Thus did he urge the swineherd. Eumaeus therefore
Speaker 1: took his sandals, bound them to his feet, and started
Speaker 1: for the town. Minerva watched him well off the station,
Speaker 1: and then came up to it in the form of
Speaker 1: a woman fair, stately and wise. She stood against the
Speaker 1: side of the entry and revealed herself to Ulysses. But
Speaker 1: Telemachus could not see her and knew not that she
Speaker 1: was there, for the gods do not let themselves be
Speaker 1: seen by everybody. Ulysses saw her, and so did the dogs,
Speaker 1: for they did not bark, but went scared and whining
Speaker 1: off to the other side of the yards. She nodded
Speaker 1: her head and motioned to Ulysses with her eyebrows, whereon
Speaker 1: he left the hut and stood before her outside the
Speaker 1: main wall of the yards. Then she said to him, Ulysses,
Speaker 1: noble son of Laertes, it is now time for you
Speaker 1: to tell your son. Do not keep him in the
Speaker 1: dark any longer, but lay your plants for the destruction
Speaker 1: of the suitors, and then make for the town. I
Speaker 1: will not be long in joining you, for I too
Speaker 1: am eager for the fray. As she spoke, she touched
Speaker 1: him with her golden wand first she threw a fair,
Speaker 1: clean shirt and cloak about his shoulders. Then she made
Speaker 1: him younger and of more imposing presents. She gave him
Speaker 1: back his color, filled out his cheeks, and let his
Speaker 1: beard become dark again. Then she went away, and Ulysses
Speaker 1: came back inside the hut. His son was astounded when
Speaker 1: he saw him, and turned his eyes away for fear
Speaker 1: he might be looking upon a god. Stranger, said he,
Speaker 1: how suddenly you have changed from what you were a
Speaker 1: moment or two ago. You are dressed differently, and your
Speaker 1: color is not the same. Are you some one or
Speaker 1: other of the gods that live in heaven? If so,
Speaker 1: be propitious to me till I can make you do
Speaker 1: sacrifice and offerings of wrought gold. Have mercy upon me.
Speaker 1: And Ulysses said, I am no god. Why should you
Speaker 1: take me for one. I am your father, on whose
Speaker 1: account you grieve and suffer so much at the hands
Speaker 1: of lawless men. As he spoke, he kissed his son,
Speaker 1: and a tear fell from his cheek on to the ground,
Speaker 1: for he had restrained all tears till now. But Telemachus
Speaker 1: could not yet believe that it was his father, and said,
Speaker 1: you are not my father, but some god is flattering
Speaker 1: me with vain hopes that I may grieve the more hereafter.
Speaker 1: No mortal man could have himself contrived to do as
Speaker 1: you have been doing and make yourself old and young
Speaker 1: at a moment's notice, unless a god were with him
Speaker 1: a second ago. You are old and all in rags,
Speaker 1: and now you are like some god come down from heaven. Ulysses,
Speaker 1: answered Telemachus. You ought not to be so immeasurably astonished
Speaker 1: at my being really here. There is no other Ulysses
Speaker 1: who will come hereafter such as I am. It is
Speaker 1: I who, after long wandering and much hardship, have got
Speaker 1: home in the twentieth year, to my own country. What
Speaker 1: you wonder at is the work of the redoubtable goddess Minerva,
Speaker 1: who does with me whatever she will, for she can
Speaker 1: do what she pleases. At one moment she makes me
Speaker 1: like a beggar, and the next I am a young
Speaker 1: man with good clothes on my back. It is an
Speaker 1: easy matter for the gods who live in heaven to
Speaker 1: make any man look either rich or poor. As he spoke,
Speaker 1: he sat down at Telemachus through it arms about his father,
Speaker 1: and wept. They were both so much moved that they
Speaker 1: cried aloud, like eagles or vultures with crooked talons that
Speaker 1: had been robbed of their half fledged young by peasants.
Speaker 1: Thus piteously did they weep, and the son would have
Speaker 1: gone down upon their morning if Telemachus had not suddenly said,
Speaker 1: a much ship, my dear father, did your crew bring
Speaker 1: you to Ithaca? Of what nation did they declare themselves
Speaker 1: to be? For you cannot have come by land. I
Speaker 1: will tell you the truth, my son replied, Ulysses. It
Speaker 1: was the Phaeacians who brought me here. They are great
Speaker 1: sailors and are in the habit of giving escorts to
Speaker 1: any one who reaches their coasts. They took me over
Speaker 1: the sea while I was fast asleep, and landed me
Speaker 1: in Ithaca, after giving me many presents in bronze, gold
Speaker 1: and raiment. These things, by Heaven's mercy, are lying concealed
Speaker 1: in a cave, and I am now come here on
Speaker 1: the suggestion of Minerva, that we may consult about killing enemies. First. Therefore,
Speaker 1: give me a list of the suitors with their number,
Speaker 1: that I may learn who and how many they are.
Speaker 1: I can then turn the matter over in my mind
Speaker 1: and see whether we two can fight the whole body
Speaker 1: of them ourselves, or whether we must find others to
Speaker 1: help us to this. Telemachus answered, father, I have always
Speaker 1: heard of your renown, both in the field and in council.
Speaker 1: But the task you talk of is a very great one.
Speaker 1: I am awed at the mere thought of it. Two
Speaker 1: men cannot stand against many and brave ones. They are
Speaker 1: not ten suitors only, nor twice ten, but ten many
Speaker 1: times over. You shall learn their number at once. There
Speaker 1: are fifty two chosen youth from Delcium, and they have
Speaker 1: six servants from Sami. There are twenty four twenty young
Speaker 1: Achaians from Zycanthus, and twelve from Ithaca itself, all of
Speaker 1: them well born. They have with them a servant, me
Speaker 1: a barred and two men who can carve at table.
Speaker 1: If we face such numbers as this, you may have
Speaker 1: bitter cause to rue your coming and your revenge. Say
Speaker 1: whether you cannot think of some one who would be
Speaker 1: willing to come and help us. Listen to me, replied Ulysses,
Speaker 1: and think whether Minerva and her father Jove may seem sufficient,
Speaker 1: or whether I am to try and find some one
Speaker 1: else as well, those whom you have named, answered Telemachus,
Speaker 1: or a couple of good allies. For though they dwell
Speaker 1: high up among the clouds, they have power over both
Speaker 1: gods and men. These two, continued, Ulysses, will not keep
Speaker 1: long out of the fray when the suitors and we
Speaker 1: join fight in my house. Now, therefore, return home early
Speaker 1: tomorrow morning, and go about among the suitors as before.
Speaker 1: Later on the swineherd will bring me to the city
Speaker 1: disguised as a miserable old beggar. If you see them
Speaker 1: ill treating me, steal your heart against my sufferings, even
Speaker 1: though they drag me feet foremost out of the house
Speaker 1: or throw things at me, look on and do nothing
Speaker 1: beyond gently trying to make them behave more reasonably. But
Speaker 1: they will not listen to you, for the day of
Speaker 1: their reckoning is at hand. Furthermore, I say, and lay
Speaker 1: my saying to your heart. When Minervous shall put it
Speaker 1: in my mind, I will nod my head to you,
Speaker 1: and on seeing me do this, you must collect all
Speaker 1: the armor that is in the house and hide it
Speaker 1: in the strong store room. Make some excuse when the
Speaker 1: suitors ask you why you are removing it, Say that
Speaker 1: you have taken it to be out of the way
Speaker 1: of the smoke, inasmuch as it is no longer what
Speaker 1: it was when Ulysses went away, but has become soiled
Speaker 1: and begrimed with soot. Add to this more particularly, that
Speaker 1: you are afraid Jove may set them on to quarrel
Speaker 1: over their wine, and that they may do each other
Speaker 1: some harm, which may disgrace both Banquet and Wooing. For
Speaker 1: this sight of arms sometimes tempts people to use them.
Speaker 1: But leave a sword and a spear apiece for yourself
Speaker 1: and me, and a couple of oxhide shields, so that
Speaker 1: we can snatch them up at any moment. Jove Vaminerva
Speaker 1: will then soon quiet these people. There is also another matter.
Speaker 1: If you are indeed my son and my blood runs
Speaker 1: in your veins, let no one know that Ulysses is
Speaker 1: within the house, neither lairities, nor yet the swineherd, nor
Speaker 1: any of the servants, nor even Penelope herself. Let you
Speaker 1: and me exploit the women alone and let us also
Speaker 1: make trial of some other of the men servants, to
Speaker 1: see who is on our side and whose hand is
Speaker 1: against us. Father replied Telemachus, you will come to know
Speaker 1: me by and by, and when you do, you will
Speaker 1: find that I can keep your counsel. I do not think, however,
Speaker 1: the plan you propose will turn not well for either
Speaker 1: of us. Think it over. It will take us a
Speaker 1: long time to go the round of the farms and
Speaker 1: exploit the men, and all the time the suitors will
Speaker 1: be wasting your estate with impunity and without compunction. Prove
Speaker 1: the women by all means to see who are disloyal
Speaker 1: and who guiltless. But I am not in favor of
Speaker 1: going round and trying the men. We can attend to
Speaker 1: that later on, if you really have some sign from
Speaker 1: Jove that he will support you. Thus did they converse,
Speaker 1: And meanwhile, the ship which had brought Telemachus and his
Speaker 1: crew from Pylos, had reached the town of Ithaca. When
Speaker 1: they had come inside the harbor, they drew the ship
Speaker 1: on to the land. Their servants came and took their
Speaker 1: armor from them, and they left all the presents at
Speaker 1: the house of Clytius. Then they sent a servant to
Speaker 1: tell Penelope that Telemachus had gone into the country, but
Speaker 1: had sent the ship to the town to prevent her
Speaker 1: from being alarmed and made unhappy. This servant and Eumaeus
Speaker 1: happened to meet when they were both on the same
Speaker 1: errand of going to tell Penelope. When they reached the house,
Speaker 1: the servants stood up and said to the queen, in
Speaker 1: the presence of the waiting women, your son, Madam, is
Speaker 1: now returned from Pylos. But Eumaeus went close up to
Speaker 1: Penelope and said privately all that her son had bidden
Speaker 1: him tell her. When he had given his message, he
Speaker 1: left the house with its outbuildings and went back to
Speaker 1: his pigs again. The suitors were surprised and angry at
Speaker 1: what had happened, so they went outside the great wall
Speaker 1: that ran round the outer court and held a council
Speaker 1: near the main entrance. Eurymicus, son of Polybus, was the
Speaker 1: first to speak. My friends, said he, this voyage of
Speaker 1: Temelicus's is a very serious matter. We had made sure
Speaker 1: that it would come to nothing. Now, however, let us
Speaker 1: draw a ship into the water and get a crew
Speaker 1: together to send after the others and tell them to
Speaker 1: come back as fast as they can. He had hardly
Speaker 1: done speaking when Amphinymus turned in his place and saw
Speaker 1: the ship inside the harbor, with the crew lowering her
Speaker 1: sails and putting by her oars. So he laughed and
Speaker 1: said to the others, we need not send them any message,
Speaker 1: for they are here. Some God must have told them
Speaker 1: or else. They saw the ship go by and could
Speaker 1: not overtake her. On this they rose and went to
Speaker 1: the water side. The crew then drew the ship on shore.
Speaker 1: Their servants took their armor from them, and they went
Speaker 1: up in a body to the place of assembly. But
Speaker 1: they would not let anyone old or young sit along
Speaker 1: with them. And Antonus, son of Eupathe, spoke first. Good heavens,
Speaker 1: said he see how the gods have saved this man
Speaker 1: from destruction. We kept a succession of scouts upon the
Speaker 1: headlands all day long, and when the sun was down,
Speaker 1: we never went on shore to sleep, but waited in
Speaker 1: the ship all night till morning, in the hope of
Speaker 1: capturing and killing him. But some God has conveyed him
Speaker 1: home in spite of us. Let us consider how we
Speaker 1: can make an end of him. He must not escape us.
Speaker 1: Our affair is never likely to come off while he
Speaker 1: is alive, for he is very shrewd, and public feeling
Speaker 1: is by no means all on our side. We must
Speaker 1: make haste before he can call the Achaeans assembly. He
Speaker 1: will lose no time in doing so, for he will
Speaker 1: be furious with us, and will tell all the world
Speaker 1: how we plotted to kill him but failed to take him.
Speaker 1: The people will not like this when they come to
Speaker 1: know of it. We must see that they do us
Speaker 1: no hurt, nor drive us from our own country into exile.
Speaker 1: Let us try and lay hold of him, either on
Speaker 1: his farm away from the town, or on the road hither.
Speaker 1: Then we can divide up his property amongst us, and
Speaker 1: let his mother and the man who marries her have
Speaker 1: the house. If this does not please you, and you
Speaker 1: wish Telemachus to live on and hold his father's property,
Speaker 1: then we must not gather here and eat up his
Speaker 1: goods in this way, but must make our efforts to
Speaker 1: Penelope each from his own house, and she can marry
Speaker 1: the man who will give the most for her, and
Speaker 1: whose lot it is to win her. They all held
Speaker 1: their peace until Amphinymus rose to speak. He was the
Speaker 1: son of Nissus, who was son to King Aretius, and
Speaker 1: he was the foremost among all the suitors from the
Speaker 1: growing and well grassed island of Dulycium. His conversation, moreover,
Speaker 1: was more agreeable to Penelope than that of any of
Speaker 1: the other suitors, for he was a man of good
Speaker 1: natural disposition. My friends said, he speaking to them plainly
Speaker 1: and in all honestly. I am not in favor of
Speaker 1: killing Telemachus. It is a heinous thing to kill one
Speaker 1: who is of noble blood. Let us first take counsel
Speaker 1: of the gods, and if the oracles of Jove advise it,
Speaker 1: I will both help to kill him myself, and will
Speaker 1: urge every one else to do so. But if they
Speaker 1: dissuade us, I would have you hold your hands. Thus
Speaker 1: did he speak, and his words please them well. So
Speaker 1: they rose forthwith and went to the house of Ulysses,
Speaker 1: where they took their accustomed seats. Then Penelope resolved that
Speaker 1: she would show herself to the suitors. She knew of
Speaker 1: the plot against Telemachus, for the servant Medan had overheard
Speaker 1: their counsels and had told her. She went down therefore
Speaker 1: to the court, attended by her maidens, and when she
Speaker 1: reached the suitors She stood by one of the bearing
Speaker 1: posts supporting the roof of the cloister, holding a veil
Speaker 1: before her face, and rebuked Antonus, saying, Antonus, insolent and
Speaker 1: wicked schemer. They say you are the best speaker and
Speaker 1: counselor of any man your own age in Ithaca, but
Speaker 1: you are nothing of the kind madman. Why should you
Speaker 1: try to compass the death of Telemachus and take no
Speaker 1: heed of suppliants whose witness is Jove himself. It is
Speaker 1: not right for you to plot thus against one another.
Speaker 1: Do you not remember how your father fled to this
Speaker 1: house in fear of the people, who were enraged against
Speaker 1: him for having gone with some Taffian pirates and plundered
Speaker 1: the Thesperochians, who were at peace with us. They wanted
Speaker 1: to tear him in pieces and eat up everything he had,
Speaker 1: but Ulysses stayed their hands, although they were infuriated. And
Speaker 1: now you devour his property without paying for it, and
Speaker 1: break my heart by wooing his wife and trying to
Speaker 1: kill his son. Leave off doing so, and stop the others.
Speaker 1: Also to this, Eurymicus, son of Polybus, answered, take heart,
Speaker 1: Queen Penelope, daughter of Vicarius, and do not trouble yourself
Speaker 1: about these matters. The man is not yet born, nor
Speaker 1: never will be, who shall lay hands upon your son, Telemachus.
Speaker 1: While I yet live to look upon the face of
Speaker 1: the earth, I say, and it shall surely be that
Speaker 1: my spear shall be reddened with his blood. For many
Speaker 1: a time has Ulysses taken me on his knees, held
Speaker 1: wine up to my lips to drink, and put pieces
Speaker 1: of meat into my hands. Therefore, Telemachus is much the
Speaker 1: dearest friend I have, and has nothing to fear from
Speaker 1: the hands of us suitors. Of course, if death comes
Speaker 1: to him from the gods, he cannot escape it. He
Speaker 1: said this to quieter her, but in reality he was
Speaker 1: plowed against Telemachus. Then Penelope went upstairs again and mourned
Speaker 1: her husband till Minervis shd sleep over her eyes. In
Speaker 1: the evening, Eumaeus got back to Ulysses and his son,
Speaker 1: who had just sacrificed a young pig of a year old,
Speaker 1: and were helping one another to get supper ready. Minerva
Speaker 1: therefore came up to Ulysses, turned him into an old
Speaker 1: man with a stroke of her wand and clad him
Speaker 1: in his old clothes again. For feared that the swineherd
Speaker 1: might recognize him and not keep the secret. But go
Speaker 1: and tell Penelope. Telemachus was the first to speak. So
Speaker 1: you have got back, Eumaeus said he, what is the
Speaker 1: news of the town. Have the suitors returned or are
Speaker 1: they still waiting over yonder to take me on my
Speaker 1: way home. I did not think of asking about that,
Speaker 1: replied Eumaeus. When I was in the town, I thought
Speaker 1: I would give my message and come back as soon
Speaker 1: as I could. I met a man sent by those
Speaker 1: who had gone with you to Pilo, and he was
Speaker 1: the first to tell the news to your mother. But
Speaker 1: I can say what I saw with my own eyes.
Speaker 1: I had just got on to the crest of the
Speaker 1: hill of Mercury, above the town, when I saw a
Speaker 1: ship coming into the harbor with a number of men
Speaker 1: in her. They had many shields and spears, and I
Speaker 1: thought it was the Suitors, but I cannot be sure.
Speaker 1: On hearing this, Telemachus smiled to his father, but so
Speaker 1: that Eumaeus could not see him. Then, when they had
Speaker 1: finished their work and the meal was ready, they ate it,
Speaker 1: and every man had his full share, so that all
Speaker 1: were satisfied. As soon as they had had enough to
Speaker 1: eat and drink, they lay down to rest and enjoyed
Speaker 1: the boon of sleep. End of Book sixteen.