Then, that the suitors might admire her more, The glorious G.o.ddess cloath'd her, as she lay, With beauty of the skies; her lovely face She with ambrosia purified, with such As Cytherea chaplet-crown'd employs Herself, when in the eye-ensnaring dance She joins the Graces; to a statelier height Beneath her touch, and ampler size she grew, 240 And fairer than the elephantine bone Fresh from the carver's hand. These gifts conferr'd Divine, the awful Deity retired.

And now, loud-prattling as they came, arrived Her handmaids; sleep forsook her at the sound, She wiped away a tear, and thus she said.

Me gentle sleep, sad mourner as I am, Hath here involved. O would that by a death As gentle chaste Diana would herself This moment set me free, that I might waste 250 My life no longer in heart-felt regret Of a lamented husband's various worth And virtue, for in Greece no Peer had he!

She said, and through her chambers' stately door Issuing, descended; neither went she sole, But with those two fair menials of her train.

Arriving, most majestic of her s.e.x, In presence of the num'rous guests, beneath The portal of the stately dome she stood Between her maidens, with her lucid veil 260 Mantling her lovely cheeks. Then, ev'ry knee Trembled, and ev'ry heart with am'rous heat Dissolv'd, her charms all coveting alike, While to Telemachus her son she spake.

Telemachus! thou art no longer wise As once thou wast, and even when a child.

For thriven as thou art, and at full size Arrived of man, so fair proportion'd, too, That ev'n a stranger, looking on thy growth And beauty, would p.r.o.nounce thee n.o.bly born, 270 Yet is thy intellect still immature.

For what is this? why suffer'st thou a guest To be abused in thy own palace? how?

Know'st not that if the stranger seated here Endure vexation, the disgrace is thine?

Her answer'd, then, Telemachus discrete.

I blame thee not, my mother, that thou feel'st Thine anger moved; yet want I not a mind Able to mark and to discern between Evil and good, child as I lately was, 280 Although I find not prompt.i.tude of thought Sufficient always, overaw'd and check'd By such a mult.i.tude, all bent alike On mischief, of whom none takes part with me.

But Irus and the stranger have not fought, Urged by the suitors, and the stranger prov'd Victorious; yes--heav'n knows how much I wish That, (in the palace some, some in the court) The suitors all sat vanquish'd, with their heads Depending low, and with enfeebled limbs, 290 Even as that same Irus, while I speak, With chin on bosom propp'd at the hall-gate Sits drunkard-like, incapable to stand Erect, or to regain his proper home.

So they; and now addressing to the Queen His speech, Eurymachus thus interposed.

O daughter of Icarius! could all eyes Throughout Iasian Argos[81] view thy charms, Discrete Penelope! more suitors still a.s.sembling in thy courts would banquet here 300 From morn to eve; for thou surpa.s.sest far In beauty, stature, worth, all womankind.

To whom replied Penelope discrete.

The G.o.ds, Eurymachus! reduced to nought My virtue, beauty, stature, when the Greeks, Whom my Ulysses follow'd, sail'd to Troy.

Could he, returning, my domestic charge Himself intend, far better would my fame Be so secured, and wider far diffused.

But I am wretched now, such storms the G.o.ds 310 Of woe have sent me. When he left his home, Clasping my wrist with his right hand, he said.

My love! for I imagine not that all The warrior Greeks shall safe from Troy return, Since fame reports the Trojans brave in fight, Skill'd in the spear, mighty to draw the bow, And nimble vaulters to the backs of steeds High-mettled, which to speediest issue bring The dreadful struggle of all-wasting war-- I know not, therefore, whether heav'n intend 320 My safe return, or I must perish there.

But manage thou at home. Cherish, as now, While I am absent, or more dearly still My parents, and what time our son thou seest Mature, then wed; wed even whom thou wilt, And hence to a new home.--Such were his words, All which shall full accomplishment ere long Receive. The day is near, when hapless I, Lost to all comfort by the will of Jove, Must meet the nuptials that my soul abhors. 330 But this thought now afflicts me, and my mind Continual haunts. Such was not heretofore The suitors' custom'd practice; all who chose To engage in compet.i.tion for a wife Well-qualitied and well-endow'd, produced From their own herds and fatted flocks a feast For the bride's friends, and splendid presents made, But never ate as ye, at others' cost.

She ceased; then brave Ulysses toil-inured Rejoiced that, soothing them, she sought to draw 340 From each some gift, although on other views, And more important far, himself intent.

Then thus Antinous, Eupithes' son.

Icarius' daughter wise! only accept Such gifts as we shall bring, for gifts demand That grace, nor can be decently refused; But to our rural labours, or elsewhere Depart not we, till first thy choice be made Of the Achaian, chief in thy esteem.

Antinous spake, whose answer all approved. 350 Then each dispatch'd his herald who should bring His master's gift. Antinous' herald, first A mantle of surpa.s.sing beauty brought, Wide, various, with no fewer clasps adorn'd Than twelve, all golden, and to ev'ry clasp Was fitted opposite its eye exact.

Next, to Eurymachus his herald bore A necklace of wrought gold, with amber rich Bestudded, ev'ry bead bright as a sun.

Two servants for Eurydamas produced 360 Ear-pendants fashion'd with laborious art, Broad, triple-gemm'd, of brilliant light profuse.

The herald of Polyctor's son, the prince Pisander, brought a collar to his Lord, A sumptuous ornament. Each Greecian gave, And each a gift dissimilar from all.

Then, loveliest of her s.e.x, turning away, She sought her chamber, whom her maidens fair Attended, charged with those ill.u.s.trious gifts.

Then turn'd, they all to dance and pleasant song 370 Joyous, expecting the approach of ev'n.

Ere long the dusky evening came, and them Found sporting still. Then, placing in the hall Three hearths that should illumine wide the house, They compa.s.s'd them around with fuel-wood Long-season'd and new-split, mingling the sticks With torches. The attendant women watch'd And fed those fires by turns, to whom, himself, Their unknown Sov'reign thus his speech address'd.

Ye maidens of the long-regretted Chief 380 Ulysses! to the inner-courts retire, And to your virtuous Queen, that following there Your sev'ral tasks, spinning and combing wool, Ye may amuse her; I, meantime, for these Will furnish light, and should they chuse to stay Till golden morn appear, they shall not tire My patience aught, for I can much endure.

He said; they, t.i.tt'ring, on each other gazed.

But one, Melantho with the blooming cheeks, Rebuked him rudely. Dolius was her sire, 390 But by Penelope she had been reared With care maternal, and in infant years Supplied with many a toy; yet even she Felt not her mistress' sorrows in her heart, But, of Eurymachus enamour'd, oft His lewd embraces met; she, with sharp speech Reproachful, to Ulysses thus replied.

Why--what a brainsick vagabond art thou!

Who neither wilt to the smith's forge retire For sleep, nor to the public portico, 400 But here remaining, with audacious prate Disturb'st this num'rous company, restrain'd By no respect or fear; either thou art With wine intoxicated, or, perchance, Art always fool, and therefore babblest now.

Say, art thou drunk with joy that thou hast foiled The beggar Irus? Tremble, lest a man Stronger than Irus suddenly arise, Who on thy temples pelting thee with blows Far heavier than his, shall drive thee hence 410 With many a bruise, and foul with thy own blood.

To whom Ulysses, frowning stern, replied.

Snarler! Telemachus shall be inform'd This moment of thy eloquent harangue, That he may hew thee for it, limb from limb.

So saying, he scared the women; back they flew Into the house, but each with falt'ring knees Through dread, for they believ'd his threats sincere.

He, then illumin'd by the triple blaze, Watch'd close the lights, busy from hearth to hearth, 420 But in his soul, meantime, far other thoughts Revolved, tremendous, not conceived in vain.

Nor Pallas (that they might exasp'rate more Laertes' son) permitted to abstain From heart-corroding bitterness of speech Those suitors proud, of whom Eurymachus, Offspring of Polybus, while thus he jeer'd Ulysses, set the others in a roar.

Hear me, ye suitors of the ill.u.s.trious Queen!

I shall promulge my thought. This man, methinks, 430 Not unconducted by the G.o.ds, hath reach'd Ulysses' mansion, for to me the light Of yonder torches altogether seems His own, an emanation from his head, Which not the smallest growth of hair obscures.

He ended; and the city-waster Chief Himself accosted next. Art thou disposed To serve me, friend! would I afford thee hire, A labourer at my farm? thou shalt not want Sufficient wages; thou may'st there collect 440 Stones for my fences, and may'st plant my oaks, For which I would supply thee all the year With food, and cloaths, and sandals for thy feet.

But thou hast learn'd less creditable arts, Nor hast a will to work, preferring much By beggary from others to extort Wherewith to feed thy never-sated maw.

Then answer, thus, Ulysses wise return'd.

Forbear, Eurymachus; for were we match'd In work against each other, thou and I, 450 Mowing in spring-time, when the days are long, I with my well-bent sickle in my hand, Thou arm'd with one as keen, for trial sake Of our ability to toil unfed Till night, gra.s.s still sufficing for the proof.-- Or if, again, it were our task to drive Yoked oxen of the n.o.blest breed, sleek-hair'd, Big-limb'd, both batten'd to the full with gra.s.s, Their age and apt.i.tude for work the same Not soon to be fatigued, and were the field 460 In size four acres, with a glebe through which The share might smoothly slide, then should'st thou see How strait my furrow should be cut and true.-- Or should Saturnian Jove this day excite Here, battle, or elsewhere, and were I arm'd With two bright spears and with a shield, and bore A brazen casque well-fitted to my brows, Me, then, thou should'st perceive mingling in fight Amid the foremost Chiefs, nor with the crime Of idle beggary should'st upbraid me more. 470 But thou art much a railer, one whose heart Pity moves not, and seem'st a mighty man And valiant to thyself, only because Thou herd'st with few, and those of little worth.

But should Ulysses come, at his own isle Again arrived, wide as these portals are, To thee, at once, too narrow they should seem To shoot thee forth with speed enough abroad.

He ceased--then tenfold indignation fired Eurymachus; he furrow'd deep his brow 480 With frowns, and in wing'd accents thus replied.

Wretch, I shall roughly handle thee anon, Who thus with fluent prate presumptuous dar'st Disturb this num'rous company, restrain'd By no respect or fear. Either thou art With wine intoxicated, or, perchance, Art always fool, and therefore babblest now; Or thou art frantic haply with delight That thou hast foil'd yon vagabond obscure.

So saying, he seized a stool; but to the knees 490 Ulysses flew of the Dulichian Prince Amphinomus, and sat, fearing incensed Eurymachus; he on his better hand Smote full the cup-bearer; on the hall-floor Loud rang the fallen beaker, and himself Lay on his back clamouring in the dust.

Strait through the dusky hall tumult ensued Among the suitors, of whom thus, a youth, With eyes directed to the next, exclaim'd.

Would that this rambling stranger had elsewhere 500 Perish'd, or ever he had here arrived, Then no such uproar had he caused as this!

This doth the beggar; he it is for whom We wrangle thus, and may despair of peace Or pleasure more; now look for strife alone.

Then in the midst Telemachus upstood Majestic, and the suitors thus bespake.

Sirs! ye are mad, and can no longer eat Or drink in peace; some daemon troubles you.

But since ye all have feasted, to your homes 510 Go now, and, at your pleasure, to your beds; Soonest were best, but I thrust no man hence.

He ceased; they gnawing stood their lips, aghast With wonder that Telemachus in his speech Such boldness used. Then rose Amphinomus, Brave son of Nisus offspring of the King Aretus, and the a.s.sembly thus address'd.

My friends! let none with contradiction thwart And rude reply words rational and just; a.s.sault no more the stranger, nor of all 520 The servants of renown'd Ulysses here Harm any. Come. Let the cup-bearer fill To all, that due libation made, to rest We may repair at home, leaving the Prince To accommodate beneath his father's roof The stranger, for he is the Prince's guest.

He ended, whose advice none disapproved.

The Hero Mulius then, Dulichian-born, And herald of Amphinomus, the cup Filling, dispensed it, as he stood, to all; 530 They, pouring forth to the Immortals, quaff'd The luscious bev'rage, and when each had made Libation, and such measure as he would Of wine had drunk, then all to rest retired.

FOOTNOTES:

[79] Tradition says that Echetus, for a love-affair, condemned his daughter to lose her eyes, and to grind iron barley-grains, while her lover was doomed to suffer what Antinous threatens to Irus. F.

[80] This seems the sort of laughter intended by the word ???e???.

[81] From Iasus, once King of Peloponnesus.

BOOK XIX

ARGUMENT

Ulysses and Telemachus remove the arms from the hall to an upper-chamber.

The Hero then confers with Penelope, to whom he gives a fict.i.tious narrative of his adventures. Euryclea, while bathing Ulysses, discovers him by a scar on his knee, but he prevents her communication of that discovery to Penelope.

They went, but left the n.o.ble Chief behind In his own house, contriving by the aid Of Pallas, the destruction of them all, And thus, in accents wing'd, again he said.

My son! we must remove and safe dispose All these my well-forged implements of war; And should the suitors, missing them, enquire Where are they? thou shalt answer smoothly thus-- I have convey'd them from the reach of smoke, For they appear no more the same which erst 10 Ulysses, going hence to Ilium, left, So smirch'd and sullied by the breath of fire.

This weightier reason (thou shalt also say) Some G.o.d suggested to me,--lest, inflamed With wine, ye wound each other in your brawls, Shaming both feast and courtship; for the view Itself of arms incites to their abuse.

He ceased, and, in obedience to his will, Calling the ancient Euryclea forth, His nurse, Telemachus enjoin'd her thus. 20 Go--shut the women in; make fast the doors Of their apartment, while I safe dispose Elsewhere, my father's implements of war, Which, during his long absence, here have stood Till smoke hath sullied them. For I have been An infant hitherto, but, wiser grown, Would now remove them from the breath of fire.

Then thus the gentle matron in return.

Yes truly--and I wish that now, at length, Thou would'st a.s.sert the privilege of thy years, 30 My son, thyself a.s.suming charge of all, Both house and stores; but who shall bear the light?

Since they, it seems, who would, are all forbidden.

To whom Telemachus discrete replied.

This guest; for no man, from my table fed, Come whence he may; shall be an idler here.

He ended, nor his words flew wing'd away, But Euryclea bolted every door.

Then, starting to the task, Ulysses caught, And his ill.u.s.trious son, the weapons thence, 40 Helmet, and bossy shield, and pointed spear, While Pallas from a golden lamp illumed The dusky way before them. At that sight Alarm'd, the Prince his father thus address'd.

Whence--whence is this, my father? I behold A prodigy! the walls of the whole house, The arches, fir-tree beams, and pillars tall Shine in my view, as with the blaze of fire!

Some Pow'r celestial, doubtless, is within.

To whom Ulysses, ever-wise, replied. 50 Soft! ask no questions. Give no vent to thought, Such is the custom of the Pow'rs divine.

Hence, thou, to bed. I stay, that I may yet Both in thy mother and her maidens move More curiosity; yes--she with tears Shall question me of all that I have seen.

He ended, and the Prince, at his command, Guided by flaming torches, sought the couch Where he was wont to sleep, and there he slept On that night also, waiting the approach 60 Of sacred dawn. Thus was Ulysses left Alone, and planning sat in solitude, By Pallas' aid, the slaughter of his foes.

At length, Diana-like, or like herself, All golden Venus, (her apartment left) Enter'd Penelope. Beside the hearth Her women planted her accustom'd seat With silver wreathed and ivory. That throne Icmalius made, artist renown'd, and join'd A footstool to its splendid frame beneath, 70 Which ever with an ample fleece they spread.

There sat discrete Penelope; then came Her beautiful attendants from within, Who cleared the litter'd bread, the board, and cups From which the insolent companions drank.