《奥德修记》-35

to the court attended by her maidens, and when she reached the suitorsshe stood by one of the bearing-posts supporting the roof of thecloister holding a veil before her face, and rebuked Antinous saying:"Antinous, insolent and wicked schemer, they say you are the bestspeaker and counsellor of any man your own age in Ithaca, but youare nothing of the kind. Madman, why should you try to compass thedeath of Telemachus, and take no heed of suppliants, whose witnessis Jove himself? It is not right for you to plot thus against oneanother. Do you not remember how your father fled to this house infear of the people, who were enraged against him for having gonewith some Taphian pirates and plundered the Thesprotians who were atpeace with us? They wanted to tear him in pieces and eat up everythinghe had, but Ulysses stayed their hands although they wereinfuriated, and now you devour his property without paying for it, andbreak my heart by his wooing his wife and trying to kill his son.Leave off doing so, and stop the others also."To this Eurymachus son of Polybus answered, "Take heart, QueenPenelope daughter of Icarius, and do not trouble yourself aboutthese matters. The man is not yet born, nor never will be, who shalllay hands upon your son Telemachus, while I yet live to look uponthe face of the earth. I say- and it shall surely be- that my spearshall be reddened with his blood; for many a time has Ulysses taken meon his knees, held wine up to my lips to drink, and put pieces of meatinto my hands. Therefore Telemachus is much the dearest friend I have,and has nothing to fear from the hands of us suitors. Of course, ifdeath comes to him from the gods, he cannot escape it." He said thisto quiet her, but in reality he was plotting against Telemachus.Then Penelope went upstairs again and mourned her husband tillMinerva shed sleep over her eyes. In the evening Eumaeus got back toUlysses and his son, who had just sacrificed a young pig of a year oldand were ready; helping one another to get supper ready; Minervatherefore came up to Ulysses, turned him into an old man with a strokeof her wand, and clad him in his old clothes again, for fear thatthe swineherd might recognize him and not keep the secret, but goand tell Penelope.Telemachus was the first to speak. "So you have got back,Eumaeus," said he. "What is the news of the town? Have the suitorsreturned, or are they still waiting over yonder, to take me on myway home?""I did not think of asking about that," replied Eumaeus, "when I wasin the town. I thought I would give my message and come back as soonas I could. I met a man sent by those who had gone with you toPylos, and he was the first to tell the new your mother, but I can saywhat I saw with my own eyes; I had just got on to the crest of thehill of Mercury above the town when I saw a ship coming into harbourwith a number of men in her. They had many shields and spears, and Ithought it was the suitors, but I cannot be sure."On hearing this Telemachus smiled to his father, but so that Eumaeuscould not see him.Then, when they had finished their work and the meal was ready, theyate it, and every man had his full share so that all were satisfied.As soon as they had had enough to eat and drink, they laid down torest and enjoyed the boon of sleep.BOOK XVII.WHEN the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared,Telemachus bound on his sandals and took a strong spear that suitedhis hands, for he wanted to go into the city. "Old friend," said he tothe swineherd, "I will now go to the town and show myself to mymother, for she will never leave off grieving till she has seen me. Asfor this unfortunate stranger, take him to the town and let him begthere of any one who will give him a drink and a piece of bread. Ihave trouble enough of my own, and cannot be burdened with otherpeople. If this makes him angry so much the worse for him, but Ilike to say what I mean."Then Ulysses said, "Sir, I do not want to stay here; a beggar canalways do better in town than country, for any one who likes cangive him something. I am too old to care about remaining here at thebeck and call of a master. Therefore let this man do as you havejust told him, and take me to the town as soon as I have had a warm bythe fire, and the day has got a little heat in it. My clothes arewretchedly thin, and this frosty morning I shall be perished withcold, for you say the city is some way off."On this Telemachus strode off through the yards, brooding hisrevenge upon the When he reached home he stood his spear against abearing-post of the cloister, crossed the stone floor of thecloister itself, and went inside.Nurse Euryclea saw him long before any one else did. She was puttingthe fleeces on to the seats, and she burst out crying as she ran up tohim; all the other maids came up too, and covered his head andshoulders with their kisses. Penelope came out of her room lookinglike Diana or Venus, and wept as she flung her arms about her son. Shekissed his forehead and both his beautiful eyes, "Light of my eyes,"she cried as she spoke fondly to him, "so you are come home again; Imade sure I was never going to see you any more. To think of yourhaving gone off to Pylos without saying anything about it or obtainingmy consent. But come, tell me what you saw.""Do not scold me, mother,' answered Telemachus, "nor vex me,seeing what a narrow escape I have had, but wash your face, changeyour dress, go upstairs with your maids, and promise full andsufficient hecatombs to all the gods if Jove will only grant us ourrevenge upon the suitors. I must now go to the place of assembly toinvite a stranger who has come back with me from Pylos. I sent himon with my crew, and told Piraeus to take him home and look afterhim till I could come for him myself."She heeded her son's words, washed her face, changed her dress,and vowed full and sufficient hecatombs to all the gods if theywould only vouchsafe her revenge upon the suitors.Telemachus went through, and out of, the cloisters spear in hand-not alone, for his two fleet dogs went with him. Minerva endowed himwith a presence of such divine comeliness that all marvelled at him ashe went by, and the suitors gathered round him with fair words intheir mouths and malice in their hearts; but he avoided them, and wentto sit with Mentor, Antiphus, and Halitherses, old friends of hisfather's house, and they made him tell them all that had happened tohim. Then Piraeus came up with Theoclymenus, whom he had escortedthrough the town to the place of assembly, whereon Telemachus atonce joined them. Piraeus was first to speak: "Telemachus," said he,"I wish you would send some of your women to my house to take awathe presents Menelaus gave you.""We do not know, Piraeus," answered Telemachus, "what may happen. Ifthe suitors kill me in my own house and divide my property among them,I would rather you had the presents than that any of those peopleshould get hold of them. If on the other hand I manage to kill them, Ishall be much obliged if you will kindly bring me my presents."With these words he took Theoclymenus to his own house. When theygot there they laid their cloaks on the benches and seats, went intothe baths, and washed themselves. When the maids had washed andanointed them, and had given them cloaks and shirts, they took theirseats at table. A maid servant then brought them water in abeautiful golden ewer, and poured it into a silver basin for them towash their hands; and she drew a clean table beside them. An upperservant brought them bread and offered them many good things of whatthere was in the house. Opposite them sat Penelope, reclining on acouch by one of the bearing-posts of the cloister, and spinning.Then they laid their hands on the good things that were before them,and as soon as they had had enough to eat and drink Penelope said:"Telemachus, I shall go upstairs and lie down on that sad couch,which I have not ceased to water with my tears, from the day Ulyssesset out for Troy with the sons of Atreus. You failed, however, to makeit clear to me before the suitors came back to the house, whether orno you had been able to hear anything about the return of yourfather.""I will tell you then truth," replied her son. "We went to Pylos andsaw Nestor, who took me to his house and treated me as hospitably asthough I were a son of his own who had just returned after a longabsence; so also did his sons; but he said he had not heard a wordfrom any human being about Ulysses, whether he was alive or dead. Hesent me, therefore, with a chariot and horses to Menelaus. There I sawHelen, for whose sake so many, both Argives and Trojans, were inheaven's wisdom doomed to suffer. Menelaus asked me what it was thathad brought me to Lacedaemon, and I told him the whole truth,whereon he said, 'So, then, these cowards would usurp a brave man'sbed? A hind might as well lay her new-born young in the lair of alion, and then go off to feed in the forest or in some grassy dell.The lion, when he comes back to his lair, will make short work withthe pair of them, and so will Ulysses with these suitors. By fatherJove, Minerva, and Apollo, if Ulysses is still the man that he waswhen he wrestled with Philomeleides in Lesbos, and threw him soheavily that all the Greeks cheered him- if he is still such, and wereto come near these suitors, they would have a short shrift and a sorrywedding. As regards your question, however, I will not prevaricate nordeceive you, but what the old man of the sea told me, so much will Itell you in full. He said he could see Ulysses on an islandsorrowing bitterly in the house of the nymph Calypso, who waskeeping him prisoner, and he could not reach his home, for he had noships nor sailors to take him over the sea.' This was what Menelaustold me, and when I had heard his story I came away; the gods thengave me a fair wind and soon brought me safe home again."With these words he moved the heart of Penelope. Then Theoclymenussaid to her:"Madam, wife of Ulysses, Telemachus does not understand thesethings; listen therefore to me, for I can divine them surely, and willhide nothing from you. May Jove the king of heaven be my witness,and the rites of hospitality, with that hearth of Ulysses to which Inow come, that Ulysses himself is even now in Ithaca, and, eithergoing about the country or staying in one place, is enquiring into allthese evil deeds and preparing a day of reckoning for the suitors. Isaw an omen when I was on the ship which meant this, and I toldTelemachus about it.""May it be even so," answered Penelope; "if your words come true,you shall have such gifts and such good will from me that all whosee you shall congratulate you."Thus did they converse. Meanwhile the suitors were throwing discs,or aiming with spears at a mark on the levelled ground in front of thehouse, and behaving with all their old insolence. But when it wasnow time for dinner, and the flock of sheep and goats had come intothe town from all the country round, with their shepherds as usual,then Medon, who was their favourite servant, and who waited uponthem at table, said, "Now then, my young masters, you have hadenough sport, so come inside that we may get dinner ready. Dinner isnot a bad thing, at dinner time."They left their sports as he told them, and when they were withinthe house, they laid their cloaks on the benches and seats inside, andthen sacrificed some sheep, goats, pigs, and a heifer, all of them fatand well grown. Thus they made ready for their meal. In the meantimeUlysses and the swineherd were about starting for the town, and theswineherd said, "Stranger, I suppose you still want to go to townto-day, as my master said you were to do; for my own part I shouldhave liked you to stay here as a station hand, but I must do as mymaster tells me, or he will scold me later on, and a scolding fromone's master is a very serious thing. Let us then be off, for it is