《奥德修记》-38

Telemachus put in a word and said, "Stranger, if you have a mind tosettle with this fellow, you need not be afraid of any one here.Whoever strikes you will have to fight more than one. I am host, andthe other chiefs, Antinous and Eurymachus, both of them men ofunderstanding, are of the same mind as I am."Every one assented, and Ulysses girded his old rags about his loins,thus baring his stalwart thighs, his broad chest and shoulders, andhis mighty arms; but Minerva came up to him and made his limbs evenstronger still. The suitors were beyond measure astonished, and onewould turn towards his neighbour saying, "The stranger has broughtsuch a thigh out of his old rags that there will soon be nothingleft of Irus."Irus began to be very uneasy as he heard them, but the servantsgirded him by force, and brought him [into the open part of the court]in such a fright that his limbs were all of a tremble. Antinousscolded him and said, "You swaggering bully, you ought never to havebeen born at all if you are afraid of such an old broken-down creatureas this tramp is. I say, therefore- and it shall surely be- if hebeats you and proves himself the better man, I shall pack you off onboard ship to the mainland and send you to king Echetus, who killsevery one that comes near him. He will cut off your nose and ears, anddraw out your entrails for the dogs to eat."This frightened Irus still more, but they brought him into themiddle of the court, and the two men raised their hands to fight. ThenUlysses considered whether he should let drive so hard at him as tomake an end of him then and there, or whether he should give him alighter blow that should only knock him down; in the end he deemedit best to give the lighter blow for fear the Achaeans should begin tosuspect who he was. Then they began to fight, and Irus hit Ulysseson the right shoulder; but Ulysses gave Irus a blow on the neckunder the ear that broke in the bones of his skull, and the blood camegushing out of his mouth; he fell groaning in the dust, gnashing histeeth and kicking on the ground, but the suitors threw up theirhands and nearly died of laughter, as Ulysses caught hold of him bythe foot and dragged him into the outer court as far as thegate-house. There he propped him up against the wall and put his staffin his hands. "Sit here," said he, "and keep the dogs and pigs off;you are a pitiful creature, and if you try to make yourself king ofthe beggars any more you shall fare still worse."Then he threw his dirty old wallet, all tattered and torn, overhis shoulder with the cord by which it hung, and went back to sit downupon the threshold; but the suitors went within the cloisters,laughing and saluting him, "May Jove, and all the other gods," saidthey, 'grant you whatever you want for having put an end to theimportunity of this insatiable tramp. We will take him over to themainland presently, to king Echetus, who kills every one that comesnear him."Ulysses hailed this as of good omen, and Antinous set a great goat'spaunch before him filled with blood and fat. Amphinomus took twoloaves out of the bread-basket and brought them to him, pledging himas he did so in a golden goblet of wine. "Good luck to you," hesaid, "father stranger, you are very badly off at present, but Ihope you will have better times by and by."To this Ulysses answered, "Amphinomus, you seem to be a man ofgood understanding, as indeed you may well be, seeing whose son youare. I have heard your father well spoken of; he is Nisus ofDulichium, a man both brave and wealthy. They tell me you are his son,and you appear to be a considerable person; listen, therefore, andtake heed to what I am saying. Man is the vainest of all creaturesthat have their being upon earth. As long as heaven vouchsafes himhealth and strength, he thinks that he shall come to no harmhereafter, and even when the blessed gods bring sorrow upon him, hebears it as he needs must, and makes the best of it; for GodAlmighty gives men their daily minds day by day. I know all aboutit, for I was a rich man once, and did much wrong in thestubbornness of my pride, and in the confidence that my father andmy brothers would support me; therefore let a man fear God in allthings always, and take the good that heaven may see fit to send himwithout vainglory. Consider the infamy of what these suitors aredoing; see how they are wasting the estate, and doing dishonour to thewife, of one who is certain to return some day, and that, too, notlong hence. Nay, he will be here soon; may heaven send you homequietly first that you may not meet with him in the day of his coming,for once he is here the suitors and he will not part bloodlessly."With these words he made a drink-offering, and when he had drunkhe put the gold cup again into the hands of Amphinomus, who walkedaway serious and bowing his head, for he foreboded evil. But even sohe did not escape destruction, for Minerva had doomed him fall bythe hand of Telemachus. So he took his seat again at the place fromwhich he had come.Then Minerva put it into the mind of Penelope to show herself to thesuitors, that she might make them still more enamoured of her, and winstill further honour from her son and husband. So she feigned amocking laugh and said, "Eurynome, I have changed my and have afancy to show myself to the suitors although I detest them. I shouldlike also to give my son a hint that he had better not have anythingmore to do with them. They speak fairly enough but they meanmischief.""My dear child," answered Eurynome, "all that you have said is true,go and tell your son about it, but first wash yourself and anoint yourface. Do not go about with your cheeks all covered with tears; it isnot right that you should grieve so incessantly; for Telemachus,whom you always prayed that you might live to see with a beard, isalready grown up.""I know, Eurynome," replied Penelope, "that you mean well, but donot try and persuade me to wash and to anoint myself, for heavenrobbed me of all my beauty on the day my husband sailed; nevertheless,tell Autonoe and Hippodamia that I want them. They must be with mewhen I am in the cloister; I am not going among the men alone; itwould not be proper for me to do so."On this the old woman went out of the room to bid the maids go totheir mistress. In the meantime Minerva bethought her of anothermatter, and sent Penelope off into a sweet slumber; so she lay down onher couch and her limbs became heavy with sleep. Then the goddess shedgrace and beauty over her that all the Achaeans might admire her.She washed her face with the ambrosial loveliness that Venus wearswhen she goes dancing with the Graces; she made her taller and of amore commanding figure, while as for her complexion it was whiter thansawn ivory. When Minerva had done all this she went away, whereonthe maids came in from the women's room and woke Penelope with thesound of their talking."What an exquisitely delicious sleep I have been having," saidshe, as she passed her hands over her face, "in spite of all mymisery. I wish Diana would let me die so sweetly now at this verymoment, that I might no longer waste in despair for the loss of mydear husband, who possessed every kind of good quality and was themost distinguished man among the Achaeans."With these words she came down from her upper room, not alone butattended by two of her maidens, and when she reached the suitors shestood by one of the bearing-posts supporting the roof of the cloister,holding a veil before her face, and with a staid maid servant oneither side of her. As they beheld her the suitors were so overpoweredand became so desperately enamoured of her, that each one prayed hemight win her for his own bed fellow."Telemachus," said she, addressing her son, "I fear you are nolonger so discreet and well conducted as you used to be. When you wereyounger you had a greater sense of propriety; now, however, that youare grown up, though a stranger to look at you would take you forthe son of a well-to-do father as far as size and good looks go,your conduct is by no means what it should be. What is all thisdisturbance that has been going on, and how came you to allow astranger to be so disgracefully ill-treated? What would havehappened if he had suffered serious injury while a suppliant in ourhouse? Surely this would have been very discreditable to you.""I am not surprised, my dear mother, at your displeasure," repliedTelemachus, "I understand all about it and know when things are not asthey should be, which I could not do when I was younger; I cannot,however, behave with perfect propriety at all times. First one andthen another of these wicked people here keeps driving me out of mymind, and I have no one to stand by me. After all, however, this fightbetween Irus and the stranger did not turn out as the suitors meant itto do, for the stranger got the best of it. I wish Father Jove,Minerva, and Apollo would break the neck of every one of thesewooers of yours, some inside the house and some out; and I wish theymight all be as limp as Irus is over yonder in the gate of the outercourt. See how he nods his head like a drunken man; he has had sucha thrashing that he cannot stand on his feet nor get back to his home,wherever that may be, for has no strength left in him."Thus did they converse. Eurymachus then came up and said, "QueenPenelope, daughter of Icarius, if all the Achaeans in Iasian Argoscould see you at this moment, you would have still more suitors inyour house by tomorrow morning, for you are the most admirable womanin the whole world both as regards personal beauty and strength ofunderstanding."To this Penelope replied, "Eurymachus, heaven robbed me of all mybeauty whether of face or figure when the Argives set sail for Troyand my dear husband with them. If he were to return and look aftermy affairs, I should both be more respected and show a better presenceto the world. As it is, I am oppressed with care, and with theafflictions which heaven has seen fit to heap upon me. My husbandforesaw it all, and when he was leaving home he took my right wrist inhis hand- 'Wife, 'he said, 'we shall not all of us come safe homefrom Troy, for the Trojans fight well both with bow and spear. Theyare excellent also at fighting from chariots, and nothing decidesthe issue of a fight sooner than this. I know not, therefore,whether heaven will send me back to you, or whether I may not fallover there at Troy. In the meantime do you look after things here.Take care of my father and mother as at present, and even more soduring my absence, but when you see our son growing a beard, thenmarry whom you will, and leave this your present home. This is what hesaid and now it is all coming true. A night will come when I shallhave to yield myself to a marriage which I detest, for Jove hastaken from me all hope of happiness. This further grief, moreover,cuts me to the very heart. You suitors are not wooing me after thecustom of my country. When men are courting a woman who they thinkwill be a good wife to them and who is of noble birth, and when theyare each trying to win her for himself, they usually bring oxen andsheep to feast the friends of the lady, and they make hermagnificent presents, instead of eating up other people's propertywithout paying for it."This was what she said, and Ulysses was glad when he heard hertrying to get presents out of the suitors, and flattering them withfair words which he knew she did not mean.Then Antinous said, "Queen Penelope, daughter of Icarius, take asmany presents as you please from any one who will give them to you; itis not well to refuse a present; but we will not go about our businessnor stir from where we are, till you have married the best man amongus whoever he may be."The others applauded what Antinous had said, and each one sent hisservant to bring his present. Antinous's man returned with a large andlovely dress most exquisitely embroidered. It had twelve beautifullymade brooch pins of pure gold with which to fasten it. Eurymachusimmediately brought her a magnificent chain of gold and amber beadsthat gleamed like sunlight. Eurydamas's two men returned with some