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