The Odyssey | Page 9

us feast at our pleasure now, and let there be no brawling, for it is a
rare thing to hear a man with such a divine voice as Phemius has; but in
the morning meet me in full assembly that I may give you formal
notice to depart, and feast at one another's houses, turn and turn about,
at your own cost. If on the other hand you choose to persist in spunging

upon one man, heaven help me, but Jove shall reckon with you in full,
and when you fall in my father's house there shall be no man to avenge
you."
The suitors bit their lips as they heard him, and marvelled at the
boldness of his speech. Then, Antinous, son of Eupeithes, said, "The
gods seem to have given you lessons in bluster and tall talking; may
Jove never grant you to be chief in Ithaca as your father was before
you."
Telemachus answered, "Antinous, do not chide with me, but, god
willing, I will be chief too if I can. Is this the worst fate you can think
of for me? It is no bad thing to be a chief, for it brings both riches and
honour. Still, now that Ulysses is dead there are many great men in
Ithaca both old and young, and some other may take the lead among
them; nevertheless I will be chief in my own house, and will rule those
whom Ulysses has won for me."
Then Eurymachus, son of Polybus, answered, "It rests with heaven to
decide who shall be chief among us, but you shall be master in your
own house and over your own possessions; no one while there is a man
in Ithaca shall do you violence nor rob you. And now, my good fellow,
I want to know about this stranger. What country does he come from?
Of what family is he, and where is his estate? Has he brought you news
about the return of your father, or was he on business of his own? He
seemed a well to do man, but he hurried off so suddenly that he was
gone in a moment before we could get to know him."
"My father is dead and gone," answered Telemachus, "and even if some
rumour reaches me I put no more faith in it now. My mother does
indeed sometimes send for a soothsayer and question him, but I give
his prophecyings no heed. As for the stranger, he was Mentes, son of
Anchialus, chief of the Taphians, an old friend of my father's." But in
his heart he knew that it had been the goddess.
The suitors then returned to their singing and dancing until the evening;
but when night fell upon their pleasuring they went home to bed each
in his own abode. {12} Telemachus's room was high up in a tower {13}

that looked on to the outer court; hither, then, he hied, brooding and full
of thought. A good old woman, Euryclea, daughter of Ops, the son of
Pisenor, went before him with a couple of blazing torches. Laertes had
bought her with his own money when she was quite young; he gave the
worth of twenty oxen for her, and shewed as much respect to her in his
household as he did to his own wedded wife, but he did not take her to
his bed for he feared his wife's resentment. {14} She it was who now
lighted Telemachus to his room, and she loved him better than any of
the other women in the house did, for she had nursed him when he was
a baby. He opened the door of his bed room and sat down upon the bed;
as he took off his shirt {15} he gave it to the good old woman, who
folded it tidily up, and hung it for him over a peg by his bed side, after
which she went out, pulled the door to by a silver catch, and drew the
bolt home by means of the strap. {16} But Telemachus as he lay
covered with a woollen fleece kept thinking all night through of his
intended voyage and of the counsel that Minerva had given him.
Book II
ASSEMBLY OF THE PEOPLE OF ITHACA--SPEECHES OF
TELEMACHUS AND OF THE SUITORS--TELEMACHUS MAKES
HIS PREPARATIONS AND STARTS FOR PYLOS WITH
MINERVA DISGUISED AS MENTOR.
Now when the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared
Telemachus rose and dressed himself. He bound his sandals on to his
comely feet, girded his sword about his shoulder, and left his room
looking like an immortal god. He at once sent the criers round to call
the people in assembly, so they called them and the people gathered
thereon; then, when they were got together, he went to