Euryclea now went upstairs laughing to tell her mistress that
her
dear husband had come home. Her aged knees became young again
and
her feet were nimble for joy as she went up to her mistress and
bent
over her head to speak to her. "Wake up Penelope, my dear
child,"
she exclaimed, "and see with your own eyes something that you
have
been wanting this long time past. Ulysses has at last indeed
come
home again, and has killed the suitors who were giving so much
trouble
in his house, eating up his estate and ill-treating his son."
"My good nurse," answered Penelope, "you must be mad. The gods
sometimes
send some very sensible people out of their minds, and make
foolish
people become sensible. This is what they must have been doing
to
you; for you always used to be a reasonable person. Why should
you
thus mock me when I have trouble enough already- talking such
nonsense,
and waking me up out of a sweet sleep that had taken possession
of
my eyes and closed them? I have never slept so soundly from the
day
my poor husband went to that city with the ill-omened name. Go
back
again into the women's room; if it had been any one else, who
had
woke me up to bring me such absurd news I should have sent her
away
with a severe scolding. As it is, your age shall protect you."
"My dear child," answered Euryclea, "I am not mocking you. It is
quite
true as I tell you that Ulysses is come home again. He was the
stranger
whom they all kept on treating so badly in the cloister.
Telemachus
knew all the time that he was come back, but kept his father's
secret
that he might have his revenge on all these wicked people.
Then Penelope sprang up from her couch, threw her arms round
Euryclea,
and wept for joy. "But my dear nurse," said she, "explain this
to
me; if he has really come home as you say, how did he manage to
overcome
the wicked suitors single handed, seeing what a number of them
there
always were?"
"I was not there," answered Euryclea, "and do not know; I only
heard
them groaning while they were being killed. We sat crouching and
huddled
up in a corner of the women's room with the doors closed, till
your
son came to fetch me because his father sent him. Then I found
Ulysses
standing over the corpses that were lying on the ground all
round
him, one on top of the other. You would have enjoyed it if you
could
have seen him standing there all bespattered with blood and
filth,
and looking just like a lion. But the corpses are now all piled
up
in the gatehouse that is in the outer court, and Ulysses has lit
a
great fire to purify the house with sulphur. He has sent me to
call
you, so come with me that you may both be happy together after
all;
for now at last the desire of your heart has been fulfilled;
your
husband is come home to find both wife and son alive and well,
and
to take his revenge in his own house on the suitors who behaved
so
badly to him."
"'My dear nurse," said Penelope, "do not exult too confidently
over
all this. You know how delighted every one would be to see
Ulysses
come home- more particularly myself, and the son who has been
born
to both of us; but what you tell me cannot be really true. It is
some
god who is angry with the suitors for their great wickedness,
and
has made an end of them; for they respected no man in the whole
world,
neither rich nor poor, who came near them, who came near them,
and
they have come to a bad end in consequence of their iniquity.
Ulysses
is dead far away from the Achaean land; he will never return
home
again."
Then nurse Euryclea said, "My child, what are you talking about?
but
you were all hard of belief and have made up your mind that your
husband
is never coming, although he is in the house and by his own fire
side
at this very moment. Besides I can give you another proof; when
I
was washing him I perceived the scar which the wild boar gave
him,
and I wanted to tell you about it, but in his wisdom he would
not
let me, and clapped his hands over my mouth; so come with me and
I
will make this bargain with you- if I am deceiving you, you may
have
me killed by the most cruel death you can think of."
"My dear nurse," said Penelope, "however wise you may be you can
hardly
fathom the counsels of the gods. Nevertheless, we will go in
search
of my son, that I may see the corpses of the suitors, and the
man
who has killed them."
On this she came down from her upper room, and while doing so
she
considered whether she should keep at a distance from her
husband
and question him, or whether she should at once go up to him and
embrace
him. When, however, she had crossed the stone floor of the
cloister,
she sat down opposite Ulysses by the fire, against the wall at
right
angles [to that by which she had entered], while Ulysses sat
near
one of the bearing-posts, looking upon the ground, and waiting
to
see what his wife would say to him when she saw him. For a long
time
she sat silent and as one lost in amazement. At one moment she
looked
him full in the face, but then again directly, she was misled by
his
shabby clothes and failed to recognize him, till Telemachus
began
to reproach her and said:
"Mother- but you are so hard that I cannot call you by such a
name-
why do you keep away from my father in this way? Why do you not
sit
by his side and begin talking to him and asking him questions?
No
other woman could bear to keep away from her husband when he had
come
back to her after twenty years of absence, and after having gone
through
so much; but your heart always was as hard as a stone."
Penelope answered, "My son, I am so lost in astonishment that I
can
find no words in which either to ask questions or to answer
them.
I cannot even look him straight in the face. Still, if he really
is
Ulysses come back to his own home again, we shall get to
understand
one another better by and by, for there are tokens with which we
two
are alone acquainted, and which are hidden from all others."
Ulysses smiled at this, and said to Telemachus, "Let your mother
put
me to any proof she likes; she will make up her mind about it
presently.
She rejects me for the moment and believes me to be somebody
else,
because I am covered with dirt and have such bad clothes on; let
us,
however, consider what we had better do next. When one man has
killed
another, even though he was not one who would leave many friends
to
take up his quarrel, the man who has killed him must still say
good
bye to his friends and fly the country; whereas we have been
killing
the stay of a whole town, and all the picked youth of Ithaca. I
would
have you consider this matter."
"Look to it yourself, father," answered Telemachus, "for they
say
you are the wisest counsellor in the world, and that there is no
other
mortal man who can compare with you. We will follow you with
right
good will, nor shall you find us fail you in so far as our
strength
holds out."
"I will say what I think will be best," answered Ulysses. "First
wash
and put your shirts on; tell the maids also to go to their own
room
and dress; Phemius shall then strike up a dance tune on his
lyre,
so that if people outside hear, or any of the neighbours, or
some
one going along the street happens to notice it, they may think
there
is a wedding in the house, and no rumours about the death of the
suitors
will get about in the town, before we can escape to the woods
upon
my own land. Once there, we will settle which of the courses
heaven
vouchsafes us shall seem wisest."
Thus did he speak, and they did even as he had said. First they
washed
and put their shirts on, while the women got ready. Then Phemius
took
his lyre and set them all longing for sweet song and stately
dance.
The house re-echoed with the sound of men and women dancing, and
the
people outside said, "I suppose the queen has been getting
married
at last. She ought to be ashamed of herself for not continuing
to
protect her husband's property until he comes home."
This was what they said, but they did not know what it was that
had
been happening. The upper servant Eurynome washed and anointed
Ulysses
in his own house and gave him a shirt and cloak, while Minerva
made
him look taller and stronger than before; she also made the hair
grow
thick on the top of his head, and flow down in curls like
hyacinth
blossoms; she glorified him about the head and shoulders just as
a
skilful workman who has studied art of all kinds under Vulcan or
Minerva-
and his work is full of beauty- enriches a piece of silver plate
by
gilding it. He came from the bath looking like one of the
immortals,
and sat down opposite his wife on the seat he had left. "My
dear,"
said he, "heaven has endowed you with a heart more unyielding
than
woman ever yet had. No other woman could bear to keep away from
her
husband when he had come back to her after twenty years of
absence,
and after having gone through so much. But come, nurse, get a
bed
ready for me; I will sleep alone, for this woman has a heart as
hard
as iron."
"My dear," answered Penelope, "I have no wish to set myself up,
nor
to depreciate you; but I am not struck by your appearance, for I
very
well remember what kind of a man you were when you set sail from
Ithaca.
Nevertheless, Euryclea, take his bed outside the bed chamber
that
he himself built. Bring the bed outside this room, and put
bedding
upon it with fleeces, good coverlets, and blankets."
She said this to try him, but Ulysses was very angry and said,
"Wife,
I am much displeased at what you have just been saying. Who has
been
taking my bed from the place in which I left it? He must have
found
it a hard task, no matter how skilled a workman he was, unless
some
god came and helped him to shift it. There is no man living,
however
strong and in his prime, who could move it from its place, for
it
is a marvellous curiosity which I made with my very own hands.
There
was a young olive growing within the precincts of the house, in
full
vigour, and about as thick as a bearing-post. I built my room
round
this with strong walls of stone and a roof to cover them, and I
made
the doors strong and well-fitting. Then I cut off the top boughs
of
the olive tree and left the stump standing. This I dressed
roughly
from the root upwards and then worked with carpenter's tools
well
and skilfully, straightening my work by drawing a line on the
wood,
and making it into a bed-prop. I then bored a hole down the
middle,
and made it the centre-post of my bed, at which I worked till I
had
finished it, inlaying it with gold and silver; after this I
stretched
a hide of crimson leather from one side of it to the other. So
you
see I know all about it, and I desire to learn whether it is
still
there, or whether any one has been removing it by cutting down
the
olive tree at its roots."
When she heard the sure proofs Ulysses now gave her, she fairly
broke
down. She flew weeping to his side, flung her arms about his
neck,
and kissed him. "Do not be angry with me Ulysses," she cried,
"you,
who are the wisest of mankind. We have suffered, both of us.
Heaven
has denied us the happiness of spending our youth, and of
growing
old, together; do not then be aggrieved or take it amiss that I
did
not embrace you thus as soon as I saw you. I have been
shuddering
all the time through fear that someone might come here and
deceive
me with a lying story; for there are many very wicked people
going
about. Jove's daughter Helen would never have yielded herself to
a
man from a foreign country, if she had known that the sons of
Achaeans
would come after her and bring her back. Heaven put it in her
heart
to do wrong, and she gave no thought to that sin, which has been
the
source of all our sorrows. Now, however, that you have convinced
me
by showing that you know all about our bed (which no human being
has
ever seen but you and I and a single maid servant, the daughter
of
Actor, who was given me by my father on my marriage, and who
keeps
the doors of our room) hard of belief though I have been I can
mistrust
no longer."
Then Ulysses in his turn melted, and wept as he clasped his dear
and
faithful wife to his bosom. As the sight of land is welcome to
men
who are swimming towards the shore, when Neptune has wrecked
their
ship with the fury of his winds and waves- a few alone reach the
land,
and these, covered with brine, are thankful when they find
themselves
on firm ground and out of danger- even so was her husband
welcome
to her as she looked upon him, and she could not tear her two
fair
arms from about his neck. Indeed they would have gone on
indulging
their sorrow till rosy-fingered morn appeared, had not Minerva
determined
otherwise, and held night back in the far west, while she would
not
suffer Dawn to leave Oceanus, nor to yoke the two steeds Lampus
and
Phaethon that bear her onward to break the day upon mankind.
At last, however, Ulysses said, "Wife, we have not yet reached
the
end of our troubles. I have an unknown amount of toil still to
undergo.
It is long and difficult, but I must go through with it, for
thus
the shade of Teiresias prophesied concerning me, on the day when
I
went down into Hades to ask about my return and that of my
companions.
But now let us go to bed, that we may lie down and enjoy the
blessed
boon of sleep."
"You shall go to bed as soon as you please," replied Penelope,
"now
that the gods have sent you home to your own good house and to
your
country. But as heaven has put it in your mind to speak of it,
tell
me about the task that lies before you. I shall have to hear
about
it later, so it is better that I should be told at once."
"My dear," answered Ulysses, "why should you press me to tell
you?
Still, I will not conceal it from you, though you will not like
it.
I do not like it myself, for Teiresias bade me travel far and
wide,
carrying an oar, till I came to a country where the people have
never
heard of the sea, and do not even mix salt with their food. They
know
nothing about ships, nor oars that are as the wings of a ship.
He
gave me this certain token which I will not hide from you. He
said
that a wayfarer should meet me and ask me whether it was a
winnowing
shovel that I had on my shoulder. On this, I was to fix my oar
in
the ground and sacrifice a ram, a bull, and a boar to Neptune;
after
which I was to go home and offer hecatombs to all the gods in
heaven,
one after the other. As for myself, he said that death should
come
to me from the sea, and that my life should ebb away very gently
when
I was full of years and peace of mind, and my people should
bless
me. All this, he said, should surely come to pass."
And Penelope said, "If the gods are going to vouchsafe you a
happier
time in your old age, you may hope then to have some respite
from
misfortune."
Thus did they converse. Meanwhile Eurynome and the nurse took
torches
and made the bed ready with soft coverlets; as soon as they had
laid
them, the nurse went back into the house to go to her rest,
leaving
the bed chamber woman Eurynome to show Ulysses and Penelope to
bed
by torch light. When she had conducted them to their room she
went
back, and they then came joyfully to the rites of their own old
bed.
Telemachus, Philoetius, and the swineherd now left off dancing,
and
made the women leave off also. They then laid themselves down to
sleep
in the cloisters.
When Ulysses and Penelope had had their fill of love they fell
talking
with one another. She told him how much she had had to bear in
seeing
the house filled with a crowd of wicked suitors who had killed
so
many sheep and oxen on her account, and had drunk so many casks
of
wine. Ulysses in his turn told her what he had suffered, and how
much
trouble he had himself given to other people. He told her
everything,
and she was so delighted to listen that she never went to sleep
till
he had ended his whole story.
He began with his victory over the Cicons, and how he thence
reached
the fertile land of the Lotus-eaters. He told her all about the
Cyclops
and how he had punished him for having so ruthlessly eaten his
brave
comrades; how he then went on to Aeolus, who received him
hospitably
and furthered him on his way, but even so he was not to reach
home,
for to his great grief a hurricane carried him out to sea again;
how
he went on to the Laestrygonian city Telepylos, where the people
destroyed
all his ships with their crews, save himself and his own ship
only.
Then he told of cunning Circe and her craft, and how he sailed
to
the chill house of Hades, to consult the ghost of the Theban
prophet
Teiresias, and how he saw his old comrades in arms, and his
mother
who bore him and brought him up when he was a child; how he then
heard
the wondrous singing of the Sirens, and went on to the wandering
rocks
and terrible Charybdis and to Scylla, whom no man had ever yet
passed
in safety; how his men then ate the cattle of the sun-god, and
how
Jove therefore struck the ship with his thunderbolts, so that
all
his men perished together, himself alone being left alive; how
at
last he reached the Ogygian island and the nymph Calypso, who
kept
him there in a cave, and fed him, and wanted him to marry her,
in
which case she intended making him immortal so that he should
never
grow old, but she could not persuade him to let her do so; and
how
after much suffering he had found his way to the Phaeacians, who
had
treated him as though he had been a god, and sent him back in a
ship
to his own country after having given him gold, bronze, and
raiment
in great abundance. This was the last thing about which he told
her,
for here a deep sleep took hold upon him and eased the burden of
his
sorrows.
Then Minerva bethought her of another matter. When she deemed
that
Ulysses had had both of his wife and of repose, she bade
gold-enthroned
Dawn rise out of Oceanus that she might shed light upon mankind.
On
this, Ulysses rose from his comfortable bed and said to
Penelope,
"Wife, we have both of us had our full share of troubles, you,
here,
in lamenting my absence, and I in being prevented from getting
home
though I was longing all the time to do so. Now, however, that
we
have at last come together, take care of the property that is in
the
house. As for the sheep and goats which the wicked suitors have
eaten,
I will take many myself by force from other people, and will
compel
the Achaeans to make good the rest till they shall have filled
all
my yards. I am now going to the wooded lands out in the country
to
see my father who has so long been grieved on my account, and to
yourself
I will give these instructions, though you have little need of
them.
At sunrise it will at once get abroad that I have been killing
the
suitors; go upstairs, therefore, and stay there with your women.
See
nobody and ask no questions."
As he spoke he girded on his armour. Then he roused Telemachus,
Philoetius,
and Eumaeus, and told them all to put on their armour also. This
they
did, and armed themselves. When they had done so, they opened
the
gates and sallied forth, Ulysses leading the way. It was now
daylight,
but Minerva nevertheless concealed them in darkness and led them
quickly
out of the town.