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BUT he the rough way took from forth the port,

Through woods and hill tops, seeking the resort

Where Pallas said divine Eumæus lived;

Who of the fortunes, that were first achieved

By God-like Ithacus in household rights,

Had more true care than all his prosylites.

He found him sitting in his cottage door,

Where he had raised to every airy blore

A front of great height, and in such a place

That round ye might behold, of circular grace

A walk so wound about it; which the swain

(In absence of his far-gone sovereign)

Had built himself, without his queen's supply,

Or old Laertes, to see safely lie

His housed herd. The inner part he wrought

Of stones, that thither his own labours brought,

Which with an hedge of thorn he fenced about,

And compass'd all the hedge with pales cleft out

Of sable oak, that here and there he fix'd

Frequent and thick. Within his yard he mix'd

Twelve styes to lodge his herd; and every stye

Had room and use for fifty swine to lie;

But those were females all. The male swine slept

Without doors ever; nor was their herd kept

Fair like the females, since they suffer'd still

Great diminution, he being forced to kill

And send the fattest to the dainty feasts

Affected by th' ungodly wooing guests.

Their number therefore but three hundred were

And sixty. By them mastiffs, as austere

As savage beasts, lay ever, their fierce strain

Bred by the herdsman, a mere prince of men,

Their number four. Himself was then applied

In cutting forth a fair-hued ox's hide,

To fit his feet with shoes. His servants held

Guard of his swine; three, here and there, at field,

The fourth he sent to city with a sow,

Which must of force be offer'd to the vow

The Wooers made to all satiety,

²³

To serve which still they did those offerings ply.

The fate-born-dogs-to-bark took sudden view

Of Odysseus, and upon him flew

With open mouth. He, cunning to appall

A fierce dog's fury, from his hand let fall

His staff to earth, and sat him careless down.

And yet to him had one foul wrong been shown

Where most his right lay, had not instantly

The herdsman let his hide fall, and his cry

(With frequent stones flung at the dogs) repell'd,

This way and that, their eager course they held;

When through the entry past, he thus did mourn:

"O father! How soon had you near been torn

By these rude dogs, whose hurt had branded me

With much neglect of you! But Deity

Hath given so many other sighs and cares

To my attendant state, that well unwares

You might be hurt for me, for here I lie

Grieving and mourning for the Majesty

That, God-like, wonted to be ruling here,

Since now I fat his swine for others' cheer,

Where he, perhaps, errs hungry up and down,

In countries, nations, cities, all unknown;

If any where he lives yet, and doth see

The sun's sweet beams. But, father, follow me,

That, cheer'd with wine and food, you may disclose

From whence you truly are, and all the woes

Your age is subject to."

Odyssey. Homer. ed. George Chapman. London. 1857.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Current edition Experimental

English (George Chapman, 1667, ed. Hooper 1857) (OCR draft) (English) (English (George Chapman, 1667, ed. Hooper 1857))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (1)

Ὀδύσσεια Perseus (Homer. The Odyssey, Volume 1-2. Murray, A. T. (Augustus Taber), editor. London: William Heinmann; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1919.) — 14.1 focus

αὐτὰρ ὁ ἐκ λιμένος προσέβη τρηχεῖαν ἀταρπὸν

χῶρον ἀνʼ ὑλήεντα διʼ ἄκριας, ᾗ οἱ Ἀθήνη

πέφραδε δῖον ὑφορβόν, ὅ οἱ βιότοιο μάλιστα

κήδετο οἰκήων, οὓς κτήσατο δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς.

τὸν δʼ ἄρʼ ἐνὶ προδόμῳ εὗρʼ ἥμενον, ἔνθα οἱ αὐλὴ

ὑψηλὴ δέδμητο, περισκέπτῳ ἐνὶ χώρῳ,

καλή τε μεγάλη τε, περίδρομος· ἥν ῥα συβώτης

αὐτὸς δείμαθʼ ὕεσσιν ἀποιχομένοιο ἄνακτος,

νόσφιν δεσποίνης καὶ Λαέρταο γέροντος,

ῥυτοῖσιν λάεσσι καὶ ἐθρίγκωσεν ἀχέρδῳ·

σταυροὺς δʼ ἐκτὸς ἔλασσε διαμπερὲς ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα,

πυκνοὺς καὶ θαμέας, τὸ μέλαν δρυὸς ἀμφικεάσσας·

ἔντοσθεν δʼ αὐλῆς συφεοὺς δυοκαίδεκα ποίει

πλησίον ἀλλήλων, εὐνὰς συσίν· ἐν δὲ ἑκάστῳ

πεντήκοντα σύες χαμαιευνάδες ἐρχατόωντο,

θήλειαι τοκάδες· τοὶ δʼ ἄρσενες ἐκτὸς ἴαυον,

πολλὸν παυρότεροι· τοὺς γὰρ μινύθεσκον ἔδοντες

ἀντίθεοι μνηστῆρες, ἐπεὶ προΐαλλε συβώτης

αἰεὶ ζατρεφέων σιάλων τὸν ἄριστον ἁπάντων·

οἱ δὲ τριηκόσιοί τε καὶ ἑξήκοντα πέλοντο.

πὰρ δὲ κύνες, θήρεσσιν ἐοικότες αἰὲν ἴαυον

τέσσαρες, οὓς ἔθρεψε συβώτης, ὄρχαμος ἀνδρῶν.

αὐτὸς δʼ ἀμφὶ πόδεσσιν ἑοῖς ἀράρισκε πέδιλα,

τάμνων δέρμα βόειον ἐϋχροές· οἱ δὲ δὴ ἄλλοι

ᾤχοντʼ ἄλλυδις ἄλλος ἅμʼ ἀγρομένοισι σύεσσιν,

οἱ τρεῖς· τὸν δὲ τέταρτον ἀποπροέηκε πόλινδε

σῦν ἀγέμεν μνηστῆρσιν ὑπερφιάλοισιν ἀνάγκῃ,

ὄφρʼ ἱερεύσαντες κρειῶν κορεσαίατο θυμόν.

ἐξαπίνης δʼ Ὀδυσῆα ἴδον κύνες ὑλακόμωροι.

οἱ μὲν κεκλήγοντες ἐπέδραμον· αὐτὰρ Ὀδυσσεὺς

ἕζετο κερδοσύνῃ, σκῆπτρον δέ οἱ ἔκπεσε χειρός.

ἔνθα κεν ᾧ πὰρ σταθμῷ ἀεικέλιον πάθεν ἄλγος·

ἀλλὰ συβώτης ὦκα ποσὶ κραιπνοῖσι μετασπὼν

ἔσσυτʼ ἀνὰ πρόθυρον, σκῦτος δέ οἱ ἔκπεσε χειρός.

τοὺς μὲν ὁμοκλήσας σεῦεν κύνας ἄλλυδις ἄλλον

πυκνῇσιν λιθάδεσσιν· ὁ δὲ προσέειπεν ἄνακτα·

ὦ γέρον, ἦ ὀλίγου σε κύνες διεδηλήσαντο

ἐξαπίνης, καί κέν μοι ἐλεγχείην κατέχευας.

καὶ δέ μοι ἄλλα θεοὶ δόσαν ἄλγεά τε στοναχάς τε·

ἀντιθέου γὰρ ἄνακτος ὀδυρόμενος καὶ ἀχεύων

ἧμαι, ἄλλοισιν δὲ σύας σιάλους ἀτιτάλλω

ἔδμεναι· αὐτὰρ κεῖνος ἐελδόμενός που ἐδωδῆς

πλάζετʼ ἐπʼ ἀλλοθρόων ἀνδρῶν δῆμόν τε πόλιν τε,

εἴ που ἔτι ζώει καὶ ὁρᾷ φάος ἠελίοιο.

ἀλλʼ ἕπεο, κλισίηνδʼ ἴομεν, γέρον, ὄφρα καὶ αὐτός,

σίτου καὶ οἴνοιο κορεσσάμενος κατὰ θυμόν,

εἴπῃς ὁππόθεν ἐσσὶ καὶ ὁππόσα κήδεʼ ἀνέτλης.

Translations (8)

Odyssey Perseus (Homer. The Odyssey, Volume 1-2. Murray, A. T. (Augustus Taber), translator. London: William Heinmann; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1919.) — 14.1 focus

1 But Odysseus went forth from the harbor by the rough path up over the woodland and through the heights to the place where Athena had shewed him that he should find the goodly swineherd, who cared for his substance above all the slaves that goodly Odysseus had gotten. 5 He found him sitting in the fore-hall of his house, where his court was built high in a place of wide outlook, a great and goodly court with an open space around it. This the swineherd had himself built for the swine of his master, that was gone, without the knowledge of his mistress and the old man Laertes. 10 With huge stones had he built it, and set on it a coping of thorn. Without he had driven stakes the whole length, this way and that, huge stakes, set close together, which he had made by splitting an oak to the black core;¹ and within the court he had made twelve sties close by one another, as beds for the swine, and in each one 15 were penned fifty wallowing swine, females for breeding; but the boars slept without. These were far fewer in numbers, for on them the godlike wooers feasted, and lessened them, for the swineherd ever sent in the best of all the fatted hogs, 20 which numbered three hundred and sixty. By these ever slept four dogs, savage as wild beasts, which the swineherd had reared, a leader of men. But he himself was fitting boots about his feet, cutting an ox-hide of good color, while the others 25 had gone, three of them, one here one there, with the droves of swine; and the fourth he had sent to the city to drive perforce a boar to the insolent wooers, that they might slay it and satisfy their souls with meat. Suddenly then the baying hounds caught sight of Odysseus, 30 and rushed upon him with loud barking, but Odysseus sat down in his cunning, and the staff fell from his hand. Then even in his own farmstead would he have suffered cruel hurt, but the swineherd with swift steps followed after them, and hastened through the gateway, and the hide fell from his hand. 35 He called aloud to the dogs, and drove them this way and that with a shower of stones, and spoke to his master, and said: “Old man, verily the dogs were like to have torn thee to pieces all of a sudden, and on me thou wouldest have shed reproach. Aye, and the gods have given me other griefs and sorrow. 40 It is for a godlike master that I mourn and grieve, as I abide here, and rear fat swine for other men to eat, while he haply in want of food wanders over the land and city of men of strange speech, if indeed he still lives and sees the light of the sun. 45 But come with me, let us go to the hut, old man, that when thou hast satisfied thy heart with food and wine, thou too mayest tell whence thou art, and all the woes thou hast endured.”

Odyssey Perseus (Homer. The Odyssey: rendered into English prose for the use of those who cannot read the original. Butler, Samuel, 1835-1902, translator. Revised by Timothy Power and Gregory Nagy. London: A.C. Fifield, 1900.) — 14.1 focus

1 Odysseus now left the haven, and took the rough track up through the wooded country and over the crest of the mountain till he reached the place where Athena had said that he would find the swineherd, who was the most thrifty servant he had. He found him sitting in front of his hut, which was by the yards that he had built on a site which could be seen from far. He had made them spacious and fair to see, with a free ran for the pigs all round them; he had built them during his master's absence, of stones which he had gathered out of the ground, without saying anything to Penelope or Laertes , and he had fenced them on top with thorn bushes. Outside the yard he had run a strong fence of oaken posts, split, and set pretty close together, while inside lie had built twelve sties near one another for the sows to lie in. There were fifty pigs wallowing in each sty, all of them breeding sows; but the boars slept outside and were much fewer in number, for the suitors kept on eating them, and the swineherd had to send them the best he had continually. There were three hundred and sixty boar pigs, and the herdsman's four hounds, which were as fierce as wolves, slept always with them. The swineherd was at that moment cutting out a pair of sandals from a good stout ox hide. Three of his men were out herding the pigs in one place or another, and he had sent the fourth to town with a boar that he had been forced to send the suitors that they might sacrifice it and have their fill of meat.

29 When the hounds saw Odysseus they set up a furious barking and flew at him, but Odysseus was cunning enough to sit down and loose his hold of the stick that he had in his hand: still, he would have been torn by them in his own homestead had not the swineherd dropped his ox hide, rushed full speed through the gate of the yard and driven the dogs off by shouting and throwing stones at them. Then he said to Odysseus, "Old man, the dogs were likely to have made short work of you, and then you would have got me into trouble. The gods have given me quite enough worries without that, for I have lost the best of masters, and am in continual grief on his account. I have to attend swine for other people to eat, while he, if he yet lives to see the light of day, is starving in some distant dêmos. But come inside, and when you have had your fill of bread and wine, tell me where you come from, and all about your misfortunes."

48 On this the swineherd led the way into the hut and bade him sit down. He strewed a good thick bed of rushes upon the floor, and on the top of this he threw the shaggy chamois skin - a great thick one - on which he used to sleep by night. Odysseus was pleased at being made thus welcome, and said "May Zeus, sir, and the rest of the gods grant you your heart's desire in return for the kind way in which you have received me."

55 To this you answered, O swineherd Eumaios, "Stranger, though a still poorer man should come here, it would not be right for me to insult him, for all strangers and beggars are from Zeus. You must take what you can get and be thankful, for servants live in fear when they have young lords for their masters; and this is my misfortune now, for heaven has hindered the return [ nostos] of him who would have been always good to me and given me something of my own - a house, a piece of land, a good looking wife, and all else that a liberal master allows a servant who has worked hard for him, and whose labor the gods have prospered as they have mine in the situation which I hold. If my master had grown old here he would have done great things by me, but he is gone, and I wish that Helen's whole race were utterly destroyed, for she has been the death of many a good man. It was this matter that took my master to Ilion , the land of noble steeds, to fight the Trojans in the cause of king Agamemnon."

English (Butler, rev. Nagy et al., 2020) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Butler, rev. Nagy et al., 2020)) — 14.1 focus

Odysseus now left the haven, and took the rough track up through the wooded country and over the crest of the mountain till he reached the place where Athena had said that he would find the swineherd, who was the most thrifty servant he had. [5] He found him sitting in front of his hut, which was by the yards that he had built on a site which could be seen from far. He had made them spacious and fair to see, with a free run for the pigs all round them; he had built them during his master’s absence, [10] of stones which he had gathered out of the ground, without saying anything to Penelope or old Laertes, and he had fenced them on top with thorn bushes. Outside the yard he had run a strong fence of oaken posts, split, and set pretty close together, while inside he had built twelve sties near one another for the sows to lie in. [15] There were fifty pigs wallowing in each sty, all of them breeding sows; but the boars slept outside and were much fewer in number, for the suitors kept on eating them, and the swineherd had to send them the best he had [20] continually. There were three hundred and sixty boar pigs, and the herdsman’s four hounds, which were as fierce as wolves, slept always with them. The swineherd was at that moment cutting out a pair of sandals from a good stout ox-hide. [25] Three of his men were out herding the pigs in one place or another, and he had sent the fourth to town with a boar that he had been forced to send the suitors that they might sacrifice it and have their fill of meat.

When the hounds saw Odysseus [30] they set up a furious barking and flew at him, but Odysseus was cunning enough to sit down and loose his hold of the stick that he had in his hand: still, he would have been torn by them in his own homestead had not the swineherd dropped his ox-hide, rushed full speed through the gate of the yard [35] and driven the dogs off by shouting and throwing stones at them. Then he said to Odysseus, “Old man, the dogs were likely to have made short work of you, and then you would have got me into trouble. The gods have given me quite enough worries without that, [40] for I have lost the best of masters, and am in continual grief on his account. I have to attend swine for other people to eat, while he, if he yet lives to see the light of day, is starving in some distant locale [ dēmos]. [45] But come inside, and when you have had your fill of bread and wine, tell me where you come from, and all about your misfortunes.”

Then the swineherd led the way into the hut and bade him sit down. He strewed a good thick bed of rushes [50] upon the floor, and on the top of this he threw the shaggy chamois skin—a great thick one—on which he used to sleep by night. Odysseus was pleased at being made thus welcome, and said “May Zeus, sir, and the rest of the gods grant you your heart’s desire in return for the kind way in which you have received me.”

[55] To this you answered, O swineherd Eumaios, “Stranger, though a still poorer man should come here, it would not be right for me to insult him, for all strangers and beggars are from Zeus. You must take what you can get and be thankful, for servants [60] live in fear when they have young lords for their masters; and this is my misfortune now, for the gods have hindered the return [ nostos] of him who would have been always good to me and given me something of my own—a house, a piece of land, a good looking wife, [65] and all else that a liberal master allows a servant who has worked hard for him, and whose labor the gods have prospered as they have mine in the situation which I hold. If my master had grown old here he would have done great things by me, but he is gone, and I wish that Helen’s whole lineage were utterly destroyed, for she has been the death of many [70] a good man. It was this matter that took my master to Ilion, the land of noble steeds, to fight the Trojans in the cause of King Agamemnon.”

English (William Cullen Bryant, 1873) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (William Cullen Bryant, 1873)) — 14.1 focus

THEN from the haven up the rugged path

Ulysses went among the woody heights.

He sought the spot where Pallas bade him meet

The noble swineherd, who of all that served

The great Ulysses chiefly had in charge

To bring the day's supplies. He found him there

Seated beneath the portico, before

His airy lodge, that might be seen from far,

Well built and spacious, standing by itself.

Eumæus, while his lord was far away,

Had built it, though not bidden by the queen

Nor old Laertes, with the stones he drew

From quarries thither. Round it he had set

A hedge of thorns, encircling these with stakes

Close set and many, cloven from the heart

Of oak. Within that circuit he had made

Twelve sties, beside each other, for the swine

To lie in. Fifty wallowed in each sty,

All females; there they littered. But the males

Were fewer, and were kept without; and these

The suitor train made fewer every day,

Feeding upon them, for Eumæus sent

Always the best of all his fatling herd.

These numbered twice nine score. Beside them slept

Four mastiffs, which the master swineherd fed,

Savage as wolves. Eumæus to his feet

Was fitting sandals, which he carved and shaped

From a stained ox-hide, while the other hinds

Were gone on different errands, three to drive

The herds of swine, - a fourth was sent to take

A fatling to the city, that the crew

Of arrogant suitors, having offered him

In sacrifice, might feast upon his flesh.

The loud-mouthed dogs that saw Ulysses come

Ran toward him, fiercely baying. He sat down

At once, through caution, letting fall his staff

Upon the ground, and would have suffered there

Unseemly harm, within his own domain,

But then the swineherd, following with quick steps,

Rushed through the vestibule, and dropped the hide.

He chid the dogs and, pelting them with stones,

Drave them asunder, and addressed the king: -

"O aged man, the mastiffs of the lodge

Had almost torn thee, and thou wouldst have cast

Bitter reproach upon me. Other griefs

And miseries the gods have made my lot.

Here sorrowfully sitting I lament

A godlike master, and for others tend

His fatling swine; while, haply hungering

For bread, he wanders among alien men

In other kingdoms, if indeed he lives

And looks upon the sun. But follow me,

And come into the house, that there, refreshed

With food and wine, old man, thou mayst declare

Whence thou dost come and what thou hast endured."

English (Alexander Pope, 1726, ed. Watson, 1858) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Alexander Pope, 1726, ed. Watson, 1858)) — 14.1 focus

BUT he, deep-musing, o'er the mountains stray'd

Through mazy thickets of the woodland shade,

And cavern'd ways, the shaggy coast along,

With cliffs and nodding forests overhung.

Eumaeus at his sylvan lodge he sought,

A faithful servant, and without a fault.

Ulysses found him busied, as he sate

Before the threshold of his rustic gate;

Around, the mansion in a circle shone,

A rural portico of rugged stone;

(In absence of his lord, with honest toil

His own industrious hands had rais'd the pile,)

The wall was stone from neighbouring quarries borne,

Encircled with a fence of native thorn,

And strong with pales, by many a weary stroke

Of stubborn labour hewn from heart of oak;

Frequent and thick. Within the space were rear'd

Twelve ample cells, the lodgments of his herd.

Full fifty pregnant females each contain'd:

The males without (a smaller race) remain'd;

Doom'd to supply the suitors' wasteful feast,

A stock by daily luxury decreas'd;

Now scarce four hundred left. These to defend,

Four savage dogs, a watchful guard, attend.

Here sat Eumaeus, and his cares applied

To form strong buskins of well-season'd hide.

Of four assistants who his labour share,

Three now were absent on the rural care:

The fourth drove victims to the suitor train:

But he, of ancient faith, a simple swain,

Sigh'd, while he furnish'd the luxurious board,

And wearied Heaven with wishes for his lord.

Soon as Ulysses near th' inclosure drew,

With open mouths the furious mastiffs flew:

Down sate the sage, and, cautious to withstand,

Let fall th' offensive truncheon from his hand.¹

Sudden, the master runs: aloud he calls;

And from his hasty hand the leather² falls;

With showers of stones he drives them far away;

The scattering dogs around at distance bay.

Eumaeus

'Unhappy stranger!' (thus the faithful swain

Began with accent gracious and humane,)

'What sorrow had been mine, if at my gate

'Thy reverend age had met a shameful fate!

'Enough of woes already have I known:
45

'Enough my master's sorrows and my own.

'While here (ungrateful task!) his herds I feed,

'Ordain'd for lawless rioters to bleed!

'Perhaps, supported at another's board,

'Far from his country roams my hapless lord!
50

'Or sigh'd in exile forth his latest breath,

'Now cover'd with th' eternal shade of death!

'But enter this my homely roof, and see

'Our woods not void of hospitality.

'Then tell me whence thou art, and what the share
55

'Of woes and wanderings thou wert born to bear.'

English (Thomas Hobbes, 1667, ed. Molesworth 1843) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Hobbes, 1667, ed. Molesworth 1843)) — 14.1 focus

BUT he in rugged way, o'er mountains steep,

Through woods obscure unto Eumaeus went,

Whose office was the herds of swine to keep,

And of his servants was most diligent;

And found him in the porch before the door.

The house was handsome, and high-built, and great,

Nor to it was adjoined any more;

Well fenc'd from wind it was, and a warm seat,

Built by himself, on purpose for the swine

Of his good lord, Ulysses, that was gone,

With stone that hewn was from the rocky mine,

Besides those of Laertes and his son;

And with a quickset-hedge enclosed round,

And pales of heart of oak; the hedge without

Set close together, and stuck deep i' th' ground.

And thus the house was fenced round about;

Within the court twelve lodgings were for swine,

And ev'ry one of them held five times ten ;

And there the female and the teeming lyen.

The males lay out, but much diminisht then;

For the proud suitors eaten had the rest,

Eumseus having sent in every day

One of the fattest of the herd and best,

And yet three hundred and threescore were they.

Near to the swine, four dogs were ever lying,

Like to wild beasts, and by Eumaeus fed.

Himself was leather to his foot applying,

Made of a good cow-hide well coloured;

Three dogs attending were the herd; the fourth

Convoying was a swine unto the woo'rs;

The other three ran fiercely bawling forth,

When they Ulysses saw come near the doors;

Ulysses wisely then his staff lets fall,

And presently sits down upon the ground;

But had Eumaeus not come in withal,

An unbeseeming fortune he had found;

Who letting fall the leather for his shoe,

Running and rating came in to his aid:

And snatch'd-up stones abundance at them threw,

And then he to Ulysses spake, and said,

Old man, yourself almost to death you brought,

By those accursed dogs, and me to shame;

As if my sorrow great enough were not,

But that there must be added to it blame.

While sitting here, I for my master weep,

And feed his swine for other men to eat;

He somewhere swallow'd up is in the deep,

Or wanders up and down for want of meat.

But come, old man, into the lodge let's go,

That when of meat and wine you have your fill,

You may then tell me whence you are, and who,

And how much you have suffered of ill.

English (William Cowper, 1791, ed. Southey) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (William Cowper, 1791, ed. Southey)) — 14.1 focus

LEAVING the haven-side, he turn'd his steps

Into a rugged path, which over hills

Mantled with trees led him to the abode

By Pallas mention'd of his noble friend

The swine-herd, who of all Ulysses' train

Watch'd with most diligence his rural stores.

Him sitting in the vestibule he found

Of his own airy lodge commodious, built

Amidst a level lawn. That structure neat

Eumæus, in the absence of his Lord,

Had raised, himself, with stones from quarries hewn,

Unaided by Laertes or the Queen.

With tangled thorns he fenced it safe around,

And with contiguous stakes riven from the trunks

Of solid oak black-grain'd hemm'd it without.

Twelve penns he made within, all side by side,

Lairs for his swine, and fast-immured in each

Lay fifty pregnant females on the floor.

The males all slept without, less numerous far,

Thinn'd by the princely wooers at their feasts

Continual, for to them he ever sent

The fattest of his saginated charge.

Three hundred, still, and sixty brawns remained.

Four mastiffs in adjoining kennels lay,

Resembling wild-beasts, nourish'd at the board

Of the illustrious steward of the styes.

Himself sat fitting sandals to his feet,

Carved from a stain'd ox-hide. Four hinds he kept,

Now busied here and there; three in the penns

Were occupied; meantime, the fourth had sought

The city, whither, for the suitors use,

With no good will, but by constraint, he drove

A boar, that sacrificing to the Gods,

The imperious guests might on his flesh regale.

Soon as those clamorous watch-dogs the approach

Saw of Ulysses, baying loud, they ran

Toward him; he, as ever, well-advised,

Squatted, and let his staff fall from his hand.

Yet foul indignity he had endured

Even there, at his own farm, but that the swain,

Following his dogs in haste, sprang through the porch

To his assistance, letting fall the hide.

With chiding voice and vollied stones he soon

Drove them apart, and thus his Lord bespake.

Old man! one moment more, and these my dogs

Had, past doubt, worried thee, who should'st have proved,

So slain, a source of obloquy to me.

But other pangs the Gods, and other woes

To me have given, who here lamenting sit

My godlike master, and his fatted swine

Nourish for others' use, while he, perchance,

A wanderer in some foreign city seeks

Fit sustenance, and none obtains, if still

Indeed he live, and view the light of day.

But, old friend! follow me into the house,

That thou, at least, with plenteous food refresh'd,

And cheer'd with wine sufficient, may'st disclose

Both who thou art, and all that thou hast borne.

English (H. B. Cotterill, 1911) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (H. B. Cotterill, 1911)) — 14 focus

ODYSSEY BOOK XIV

NOW by a footpath rough he ascended that led from the harbour

Winding aloft to the heights through woodland slopes; for Athene

Here had enjoined him to seek for the good old swineherd, who tended

Godlike Odysseus' estate far more than the rest of his servants.

Under the porch of a hut he discovered him sitting. His farmyard,

Loftily builded, was here in a site with a beautiful prospect.

Goodly and great was the yard, and a run was around it. The swineherd

Built it himself for the swine in the years when his master was absent,

Saying thereof no word to his lady and agéd Laertes.

Stones he had dragged from afar for the kraal and with thorns he had fenced it.

Round it he ran a stockaded enclosure on this and on that side—

Stakes right sturdy and close, that he cleft from the core of the oak-tree.

Then in the midst of the yard he erected a dozen of pig-sties,

One by the side of the other, as beds for the swine; and in each one

Penned was a herd of the wallowing beasts, full fifty together,

Females for breeding—the males had an outer enclosure to sleep in;

Also the number was smaller by far, for the arrogant suitors

Ate and diminished them ever, commanding the swineherd to send them

Alway the beast that of all of the fat-fed hogs was the finest.

Thus was the number of males of the swine three hundred and sixty.

Savage as ravening beasts, were always watching beside them

Four fierce dogs that the swineherd had trained with the hand of a master.

Now was the man to his feet adjusting a couple of sandals,

Cutting them out of the hide of an ox bright-coloured. His fellows

Each with a drove of the swine were hither and thither departed,

Three of them—while that another, the fourth, he had sent to the city

Driving a boar;—since so had the insolent suitors commanded,

Wishing to slaughter the beast and to feast to their souls' satisfaction.

Now of a sudden the dogs, incessantly watching and barking,

Saw him and rushed at him, raising a yelp—but the wily Odysseus

Warily crouched on the ground, down-dropping the staff that he carried.

Then at the farm of the which he was lord foul hurt had he suffered,

Had not the swineherd, on feet right active hurrying after,

Run to the courtyard gate, down-dropping the hide that he carried,

Shouted abuse on the dogs and chased them to this and to that side

Showering stones; then turning he spake to Odysseus, his master :

"Ay, in a moment more, old man, they had torn thee to pieces,

Right on the spot—and a great disgrace were fallen upon me !

Troubles enough already the gods have sent me, and sorrows.

Mourning for ever and wailing the loss of a godlike master

Here do I sit, and I batten his swine—yet only in order

Others may eat while craving for food he is wandering somewhere,

Begging his bread in a distant land or a city of strangers,

Haps it indeed that he still is alive and beholdeth the sunlight.

Follow me now, old man! Let us enter the cottage, that thou too,

After partaking of bread and of wine to thy heart's satisfaction,

Mayest relate both whence thou art come and the woes thou hast suffered."

These words said, to the cottage returning the good old swineherd

Led him within, and he strewed for a couch soft branches of brushwood,

Spreading above them the fell of a long-haired goat of the mountains,

Shaggy and large, that he used for a bed; and Odysseus was joyful

So to be welcomed, and spake to the swineherd, and thus he addressed him :

"Zeus vouchsafe, O stranger, and other immortals, to grant thee

All that is dear to thy soul in return for thy kindly reception."

Him then in answer addressed these words Eumaeus the swineherd:

"Stranger, it were not right, if a guest still poorer than thou beest

Came to my door, to disdain him. 'Tis Zeus our Father that sendeth

Beggars and guests; though small be my gift it is willingly given.

So it is ever with those who, as we, are servants of others,

Always living in dread when as masters rule in the household

Nothing but youths. But the one whom the gods have stayed from returning,

He was a master had loved me indeed and allowed me possessions,

Even a house and a glebe and a consort comely in person,

Such as a lord kind-hearted is wont to bestow on a servant,

One that has toiled for him much, whose labour the heaven hath prospered,

E'en as it prospers this labour of mine that I alway attend to.

Many had been my rewards had he reached old age in his homestead.

Ah but he perished.. as would that the kindred of Helen had perished

Utterly—since she hath loosened the knees of so many a fighter.

He too went, for the sake of avenging the king Agamemnon,

Unto the horse-rich Ilian city to fight with the Trojans."

Thus did he speak, and in haste with his belt upgirding his tunic

Went to the yard, where litters of swine were penned in the pig-sties.

Here two sucklings he chose, and he carried them forth and despatched them,

Singed them and cut them in pieces and spitted the flesh on the skewers.

Then, so soon he had roasted it well, to Odysseus he brought it

PATTEN WILSON.
IN THE COTTAGE OF THE SWINEHERD

Hot on the skewers, with barley-meal all whitely besprinkled.

Wine then sweet as the honey he mixed in a mazer of ivy,

Sat him adown in the front of his guest and addressed him, and urged him :

"Eat now, stranger—'Tis fare that a thrall is permitted to offer—

Suckling. The fat-fed hogs are eaten alone by the suitors,

Men that regard not the wrath of the gods nor the call of compassion.

Yea and the blesséd immortals approve not iniquitous actions;

Honour they pay to the justice of men and to all that is righteous.

Even unprincipled men who as ravagers land in a country,

Home of a foreign folk—should Zeus vouchsafe them a booty

So that they fill their vessels and sail straight back to the homeland—

Even on these there falls great dread of the anger of heaven,

While these others it's something they know—some whisper of Rumour

Touching his mournful fate that hath rendered them alway unwilling

Fairly to woo or return to their homes. In disdainful composure

Recklessly all the estate they despoil, and the waste is unending.

Every morning and night which Zeus our Father vouchsafes us

Slaughter of victims is made—not of one, nor of two, but of many;

Yea and the store of the wine they diminish by recklessly drawing.

Truly his wealth was unspeakably great. Such riches had no one,

None of the princes that dwell on the dark expanse of the mainland,

Nor on the Ithacan isle. The possessions of twenty together

Equalled it never. But come, I will reckon and fully recount it:

Cattle—a dozen of droves, and a dozen of flocks, on the mainland;

100

Pigs—twelve droves; and as many the wandering goats that he owneth.

These by his own and by alien herds are driven to pasture.

Here too pasture his goats and the number of flocks is eleven—

Ranging the uttermost ends of the island with goatherds to guard them.

Daily doth each of the men bring one of his flock to the suitors,

105

Choosing the beast that of all of the fat-fed goats is the finest—

Ay and myself, whose task is to guard and attend to the pigs here,

Ever I carefully choose them the hog that is fattest and send it.”

Thus did he speak; but Odysseus partook of the flesh and the wine-bowl

Eagerly, sitting in silence and plotting the doom of the suitors.

110

Then, when at last he had dined and his heart was contented with eating,

Filling a vessel—the cup that he used for his drinking—the swineherd

Offered it brimming with wine; and he took it, and gladdened in spirit

Opened his lips in response, and with swift-winged words he addressed him:

"Who was it now, good friend, whose riches bought thee as servant?

115

Who was the master so wealthy and mighty, of whom thou relatest—

He that hath perished, thou say'st, in avenging the king Agamemnon?

Tell me his name! for perhaps I have seen such man as thou sayest.

Known is it only to Zeus and the other immortals in heaven

Whether I met him and tidings can give for afar I have wandered."

120

Forthwith answering spake Eumaeus master of swineherds :

"Oft doth it hap, old man, that a wanderer comes who reporteth

Tidings—but never persuadeth my lady or dear young master.

Many a vagrant is wont, when he hopes for a kindly reception,

Lies to invent, and he cares not at all for the truth of his story.

125

Every wandering wight that arrives at the Ithacan island

Findeth his way to the queen and brings some tissue of falsehoods;

All she receiveth with kindness and plieth them closely with questions,

Grieving at every word, while tears fall fast from her eyelids,

E'en as a woman is wont when afar hath perished her husband.

130

Thou too, gaffer, methinks wouldst forge some fabulous fiction

Quickly enough, were one to present thee a mantle and tunic.

Ah but I doubt that the dogs and the swift-winged fowls will be tearing

Long since all of the skin from his bones, and the spirit hath left them;

Else in the deep he was eaten of fishes, and now on the sea-shore

135

Lieth his skeleton bleaching and swathed in the coils of a sand-drift.

Yea he is perished afar, and hath left us in sorrow who loved him,

All of us—mostly howbeit myself, since never another

Master as kind shall I meet, how far soever I wander,

Not if again to the house I returned of my father and mother,

140

Even the home in the which I was born and was reared by my parents.

Nor is it longer for them that I mourn—though often I sorrowed,

Yearning to see them again and to find me again in my homeland—

No—but a longing doth hold me for him that is gone for Odysseus.

Merely to mention his name, O stranger, as one that is absent,

145

Paineth my heart—for he loved me indeed and he cared for me truly—

Rather, although he is far, I will call him my lord and my brother.”

Him then in answer addressed long-suffering godlike Odysseus :

"Friend, as thou wholly deniest my words and declarest thy master

Never again will return, and incredulous still is thy spirit,

150

So I will state it not only in words; with an oath I assure thee

Home is returning Odysseus. A gift for the news thou shalt give me

First on the day when he hither arriveth and reacheth his homestead;

Then shalt thou clothe me in beautiful raiment—in mantle and tunic;

Ere he arrives will I nothing accept, though sorely I need it.

155

Hateful to me as the portal of death and of Hades a fellow

Maketh himself who induced by his poverty uttereth falsehoods.

First then witness it Zeus, and this table whereat I am welcomed,

Yea and the hearth to the which I am come of the noble Odysseus,

Verily all these things that I tell thee shall find a fulfilment :

160

While this year on its path still circles return shall Odysseus,

Even as this moon dies and the new-born moon is appearing,

Yea he shall come to his home and shall smite with a terrible vengeance

Those who dishonour his wife and insult his illustrious offspring."

Him then in answer addressed these words Eumaeus the swineherd:

165

"Never, I fear, old man, shall I give thee a gift for thy tidings;

Never again to his home will Odysseus return—But, I pray thee,

Drink and be still, or of something besides let us think! and recall not

This to my mind; for it maketh the heart in the bosom within me

Grievously suffer whenever my dear true master is mentioned.

170

Touching thy oath—we will leave it to heav'n; and I pray that Odysseus

Yet may return; 'tis the hope of myself and of Penelopeia,

Yea and of agéd Laertes and Telemachus the heroic.

Ah but for him I am terribly troubled this son of Odysseus,

Telemachus. By the grace of the gods as a sapling he flourished,

175

Till I had almost believed that as man he was destined to equal

Even his own dear father—so goodly his form and his favour.

Then, of a sudden his reason was thrown from its balance (I know not

Whether by man or immortal) and, tidings to seek of his father,

Now he is journeyed to Pylos the fair, and the arrogant suitors

180

Lurking in ambush await his return, that from Ithaca's island

All of the race of the hero Arceisius wholly shall perish.

Well, we will leave it to heaven to let him be taken or let him

Safely escape should Zeus hold o'er him a hand to protect him.

Come now, speak of thyself, old man, and recount me thy troubles.

185

One thing firstly relate me exactly, for fain will I know it :

Who art thou? Whence art thou come? Tell too of thy city and parents.

Whose was the vessel whereon thou hast come? How haps it that sailors

Brought thee to Ithacan land? What folk do they boast to belong to?

Seeing, methinks, it was never on foot that thou hither arrivedst."

190

Him then in answer addressed long-suffering godlike Odysseus :

"Well now, all of the truth will I tell thee and clearly explain it.

Would that we two had abundance of sweet strong wine and of viands

Such as to last so long as we willed to remain in thy cottage

Quietly feasting and letting the others betake them to labour.

195

Easily even the whole of a year were filled by my story

Ere I had finished the tale of the sorrows my spirit hath suffered,

All of the travail I wrought by the will of the blesséd immortals.

First I avow that I come from the widespread island of Creta,

Child of a man not lacking in wealth—nor in sons was he lacking.

200

Many another was born and was bred in the halls of his palace,

Lawfully born of a wife that was wed; but a slave was my mother,

Bought as a leman—yet like to a rightful son he esteemed me,

Castor Hylacides, whose blood I can boast to belong to.

He by the people of Creta was honoured like an immortal

205

Both for his glorious sons and his goodly estate and his riches.

Now did the dread Death-Fates to him come, and departing they bare him

Down to the mansion of Hades. At once the estate they divided,

These high-spirited youths, and by casting of lots they assigned it.

Me they apportioned a share right scanty, but gave me a dwelling,

210

Whither I took me a wife, whose kindred had many possessions,

Men who respected my valour—for then I was neither a weakling

Nor in the battle a coward but now it is gone! it is over!

Yet e'en so, from the stubble methinks thou'lt make a conjecture

What was the grain—for indeed past telling is all that I suffered.

215

Courage was ever vouchsafed me by Ares and Pallas Athene,

Courage that bursteth the ranks of the battle. Whene'er for an ambush

All of the bravest I chose, designing a raid on the foemen,

Ne'er in my valiant heart was a boding of death or of danger;

Far to the front of the others I sprang with my spear, and I slaughtered

220

Every foe that by swiftness of foot was unable to flee me.

Such was I ever in war; but I loved not the labour of tillage,

Neither the care of a home nor to rear me a glorious offspring.

Ships were ever the joy of my heart, and the oarage of vessels,

War and the weapons of war, bright-polished lances and arrows,

225

Things right painful to view and arousing abhorrence in others.

Well—I delighted in things God gave to my heart to delight in.

This occupation is pleasing to one and that to another.

Ere on the Trojan shores were landed the sons of Achaea

Nine times led I a body of fighters in fleet-winged vessels

230

Unto a distant land, and immense was the spoil that we captured.

Ever I chose what delighted my heart of the booty, and later

Much I acquired by lot; and my house grew rapidly richer,

Till ere long I became respected and feared by the Cretans.

Now when the war was ordained by the Father who speaketh in thunder

235

(Hateful emprise, that hath loosened the knees of so many a fighter!)

Me did the people command, with Idomeneus the heroic,

Unto the Ilian city to lead with the vessels; nor any

Means to refuse we possessed, for the voice of the people was urgent.

Nine years long did we battle around it, we sons of Achaea,

240

Till in the tenth, when at last we had plundered the city of Priam,

Homeward we sailed—and a god broke widely apart the Achaeans.

Then was my ruin devised, ah me, by the all-wise Father.

Only a month in my home I remained, and I joyed in my children,

Joyed in the wife of my youth and my riches; but shortly thereafter

245

Unto the river of Egypt my spirit impelled me to voyage

Taking on ships well-fitted a band of heroic companions.

Nine I equipped, and the men right speedily gathered together.

Then for the next six days made merry my faithful companions,

Constantly feasting on many a victim, wherewith I supplied them

250

Both for oblation and also to furnish themselves with a banquet,

Till, on the seventh, embarking, the widespread island of Creta

Soon we had left, and impelled by a fair fresh breeze of the North Wind

Easily sped, as it were down-current, not one of the vessels

Suffering any mishap; and in safety we sat and in comfort

255

Watching them held to their course by the favouring wind and the steersman.

Five days later we came to the fair broad stream of Aegyptus.

Here, in the river of Egypt, I stationed my twy-beaked galleys.

Then did I issue an order to all of my trusty companions

Quietly there to remain at the side of the vessels and guard them

260

While that I sent forth scouts to explore from the neighbouring outlooks.

Yielding however to wanton desires and arrogant boldness

Soon they invaded the beautiful fields of the people of Egypt,

Wasting the country and taking away both women and children,

Slaughtering also the men; and the cry reached quickly the city.

265

These then, hearing the shout, as the new-born day was appearing

Came, and the whole of the plain seemed full of the footmen and horses,

Full of the flashing of bronze; and the god who delighteth in thunder

Cast on my comrades a panic so fearful that none had the courage

Firmly to stand and to face them for danger was pressing on all sides.

270

Now of my friends with the edge of the sword full many they slaughtered,

Many they captured and led them away to the labours of bondsmen,

While for myself—it was Zeus that again suggested the counsel—

(Would I had died with the rest and encountered my destiny there too,

Even in Egypt—for nothing but woe hath awaited me alway !)

275

Straight from my head I unfastened my well-wrought helmet and dropt it,

Also the shield from my shoulders I dropt, and the spear that I carried.

Then in the way of the king and his chariot-horses I threw me,

Grasped at his knees and embraced them and kissed them. He pitied and saved me,

Made me to mount on his car and brought me in tears to his palace.

280

Truly with ashen spears came many attacking me fiercely,

Longing to stab me to death, since sorely enraged was the people;

Yet did he ward them aside, for he dreaded the anger of heaven,

Even of Zeus, who is god of the guest and avenges transgression.

Years full seven I lived in the land, and amidst the Egyptians

285

Many possessions I gathered, for all of them gave to me freely.

Now did it happen at last, as the eighth year made a beginning,

Came a Phoenician man who was versed in deceitful devices,

Fraudulent huckster—a knave who had wrought much mischief already.

Me with his wiles he cajoled, and I followed him back to his homeland,

290

E'en the Phoenician land, where lay his estate and his houses.

Here I remained with the man till a year had completed its circuit;

Then, when the circle of days and of seasons was fully accomplished,

While that the year was returning and springtide followed the winter,

On to an ocean trader for Libya bound he embarked me,

295

Forging the falsehood he needed my aid in conveying the cargo,

While he intended to sell me and win him a profit enormous.

Him by compulsion I followed aboard, though full of foreboding.

Soon she was running before fresh breezes and fair of the North Wind

Midst of the sea, past Creta—but Zeus their doom was devising;

300

Yea, for as soon as the island was dropping behind us, nor any

Other land was in sight, but the heaven alone and the ocean,

Then was a black-blue cloud commanded to halt by Cronion

Over the hollow ship, and beneath it the deep sea darkened.

Zeus at that instant thundered and lightning hurled at the vessel.

305

Struck by the bolt of the Father she shook all over and staggered,

Filled with a sulphurous flame. From the ship fell all of my shipmates;

Then on the waves like gulls at the side of the black-hulled vessel

Floated and tossed; and the god thus ended their hope of the homeland,

While for myself it was Zeus that again in my desperate peril

310

Brought to the grip of my hands such means to escape from destruction,

Even the monstrous wreck of the mast of the blue-prowed vessel,

Clinging to which I was drifted along by the ruinous storm-winds.

Nine days long was I borne; on the tenth in the blackness of midnight

Nigh to Thesprotian land I was brought by the roll of the ocean.

315

Here did a prince heroic, the king of Thesprotia, Pheidon,

Freely receive me as guest; for the well-loved son of the monarch

Found me, as faint from the cold sea air and outworn I was lying,

Gave me a hand and supported my steps till we came to the palace;

Ay and he clothed me about with a garment—with mantle and tunic.

320

There did I hear of Odysseus : the monarch himself (he assured me)

Here had received and entreated him well on his way to his homeland.

Also he showed me the wealth that Odysseus had gotten together,

Treasures of bronze and of gold and of well-wrought iron that lay there—

Treasures sufficient to feed one's heirs to the tenth generation—

325

Such was the wealth that Odysseus had stored in the halls of the monarch.

Now he had gone, I was told, to Dodona, to list to the counsel

Zeus from the thick-leaved height of his oak might utter, to guide him

So as to win once more to the fruit-rich Ithacan island,

Whence so long he is missed, whether open his coming or secret.

330

Yea he assured me on oath, as he poured in his hall a libation,

Dragged to the sea was the ship and the band of the rowers was ready,

Waiting to carry him home to the well-loved land of his fathers.

Me ere this he despatched—for it chanced that a vessel was sailing,

Manned with Thesprotian folk, to the island of bountiful harvests

335

Dulichium, and he bade them convey me to chieftain Acastus,

Carefully. Ah but a plot right cowardly won their approval

Touching myself that I yet might sink to the depths of disaster.

Far from the land was already the ship as she voyaged the waters :

Then they began to devise to enslave me and sell me as bondsman.

340

Firstly they stript from my body my garment—the mantle and tunic;

Round me, in stead of my raiment, they cast vile rags and a doublet

Tattered and torn—in the which thou beholdest me sitting before thee.

Now in the even, arriving at far-seen Ithaca's corn-lands,

Me in the well-decked vessel they left, where straitly they bound me,

345

Using a twisted rope, but themselves, from the ship disembarking,

Hastily made them a meal by the surf-beat strand of the ocean.

Then did the gods themselves unloosen the knots of the cordage,

Easily bending it back; and, my head in the wrapper enveloped,

Down by the polished rudder descending, I laid on the water

350

Softly my breast, and with both of my hands kept rowing and shore-ward

Swam—and I quickly was out of the water and far from pursuers.

Then I ascended the shore to a thick-leaved copse of the woodland;

Cowering here in the bushes I lay ; and with much lamentation

Hither and thither they wandered and sought me—till, deeming it useless

355

Further afield to explore, they departed again, and returning

Mounted the hollow ship; and the gods everlasting concealed me

Easily; ay and they guided me well, till I came to thy farmstead,

Home of a good wise man—where life once more is vouchsafed me."

Him then in answer addressed these words Eumaeus the swineherd:

360

"Ah, poor friend, right deeply thou touchest the heart in my bosom

Telling of all thou hast seen and all thou hast suffered in far lands.

Still not aright do I think thou hast spoken—nor canst thou convince me—

Touching Odysseus And yet what avails it for any as thou beest

Profitless lies to invent?—Ah well, one thing I am sure of

365

Touching my master's return: he was hated of all the immortals

Utterly, since they permitted him neither to perish in Troyland

Nor in the arms of his friends, when wound to an end was the warfare,

Else had the whole of Achaea erected a tomb to his honour,

Yea and for Telemachus he had left great glory behind him.

370

Ah but the Spirits of storm to a death inglorious swept him.

Well—for myself all lonely I live with my swine, and the city

Never I visit, except when the wise-souled Penelopeia

Summons me thither, if haply a rumour arriveth from somewhere.

Then will they all sit round such comer and question him closely,

375

All who for aye are mourning the master that never returneth,

Ay and the ones that delight them unpunished in eating his substance,

All but myself—for I care not at all to examine and question

Since an Aetolian once with a fabulous story befooled me,

One who had slain some man and had wandered in many a country

380

Ere he arrived at my farm ; and a loving reception I gave him.

This was his story: in Creta with Idomeneus he had seen him;

Here he was mending his chips, that the storms of the ocean had shattered,

Yea and he surely was bound to arrive by the summer or autumn

Bringing abundance of treasure and all his heroic companions.

385

Thus, old man, though many thy woes—since now to my homestead

Heaven hath brought thee—attempt not with fables to please or console me.

Never for reason of this will I give thee respect and affection,

Nay but for fear of the god of the stranger—and also for pity."

Him then in answer addressed these words deep-plotting Odysseus:

390

"Verily dwells in thy bosom a right incredulous spirit,

Since not e'en with an oath am I able to move and convince thee.

Well, let us make an agreement, and bind us to keep it hereafter,

Both of us calling to witness the gods who inhabit Olympus:

Should he return, this master of thine, and arrive at thy farmstead

395

Then shalt thou clothe me in garments—in mantle and tunic and send me

Safely to Dulichium, to the which I was longing to journey.

Should he however, thy master, arrive not just as I told thee,

Order thy drudges to seize me and over a precipice hurl me,

So that another that cometh to beg shall beware of deceiving."

400

Him then addressing in turn gave answer the good old swineherd:

"Yea and forsooth, O stranger, my good reputation and prowess

Thus were bruited abroad midst mortals, now and hereafter,

Were I to bring thee as guest to my cottage and kindly entreat thee,

Then to a murderer turn and of life's dear treasure bereave thee!

405

Light were ever my heart when I prayed to the Father Cronion!

Now it is time for the supper, and soon, as I hope, will my fellows

Enter, and then we can make us a right good meal in the cottage."

Thus these twain, as they sat, held converse one with the other.

Meanwhile near to the farm were coming the swine and the swineherds.

410

Then, as the droves of the sows were penned in the places for sleeping

Indescribable grunting and squealing arose in the farmyard.

Forthwith loudly he called to his fellows, the good old swineherd :

"Bring ye the best of the hogs! I will slaughter the beast for a stranger

Come from afar; and ourselves will enjoy it as well, for the labour,

415

Toiling and moiling in charge of the white-tusked pigs, is unending—

Ay and we toil while others consume our labours unpunished."

These words uttered he clave him the wood with the pitiless hatchet,

While that a five-year hog, well-fatted, was brought by the fellows.

Close by the side of the hearth it was placed; nor now did the swineherd

420

Fail to remember the gods, since good was the heart in his bosom.

First in the flame as an earnest he cast an oblation of bristles

Cut from the head of the hog, and to every deity offered

Vows that Odysseus the wise might come once more to his homeland,

Then uplifting a billet of oak that was left from his cleaving

425

Smote—and the hog fell dead; and they opened its gullet, and singed it,

Speedily jointed it too; and from every member the swineherd

Cut for oblation a slice and in unctuous fat he enwrapped it.

This when he cast in the fire, with fine brown barley besprinkled,

Chopping the rest of it small on the skewers they spitted the pieces,

430

Carefully roasted the whole, and withdrawing it all from the skewers

Laid it together in heaps on the trenchers; and then did the swineherd

Rise to dispense it, for well was he practised in dealing it fairly.

Seven the messes he made in apportioning all and dividing;

One for the nymphs and for Maia's son, Hermeias the herald,

435

Setting aside with a prayer, and the rest to the others allotting,

Unto Odysseus he gave as an honour the long, undivided

Chine of the white-tusked hog, and delighted the heart of his master,

So that with swift-winged words addressed him the wileful Odysseus:

"Would, Eumaeus, that Zeus our Father may love thee as I do,

440

Seeing that, poor as I be, thou dost honour and treat me with goodness."

Him then in answer addressed these words Eumaeus the swineherd:

"Eat, unfortunate friend! come eat and enjoy what is present,

Such as we have! For the rest, it is God that shall give or withhold it

Howsoever he willeth—to God are possible all things."

445

These words spoken, the earnest he burnt to the gods everlasting,

Poured a libation, and unto Odysseus the sacker of cities

Handed the glowing wine; and he sat him adown to his portion.

Bread was dispensed to them all by Mesaulius. Him had the swineherd

Bought at his sole expense in the years when his master was absent,

450

Saying thereof no word to his mistress and agéd Laertes,

Purchased by means of his own possessions from Taphian people.

Now did they stretch forth hands to the food that was lying before them,

Till, when at last they had lost all pleasure in meat and the wine-cup,

Then was the rest of the bread by Mesaulius cleared, and they straightway,

455

Sated with bread and with flesh, felt moved by a longing for slumber.

Now came night unlit by the moon and tempestuous; Zeus rained

Ceaseless, and strongly was blowing the West, that is ever the rain-wind.

Then did Odysseus, addressing them all, make proof of the swineherd,

Whether his cloak he was willing to doff and to lend, or to order

460

One of his fellows to strip—so great was his care for the stranger.

"List to my words, Eumaeus, and all of you others, his fellows!

After a prayer I will tell you a tale. 'Tis the wine that incites me—

Maddening stuff, that induceth the sagest to break into singing,

Ay and to laugh right sweetly, and even to dance will arouse him;

465

Yea more—maketh him speak what oft were better unspoken.

Still—as the silence is broken already—my tale shall be ended.

Would that I still were young, in the prime of my strength, as aforetime,

E'en at the time when beneath Troy's ramparts we posted an ambush.

Leader thereof was Odysseus and prince Menelaus Atrides;

470

Also myself was a third in command, since thus they had wished it.

Now when at last we had come to the city's precipitous ramparts,

There all round of the citadel walls in the covert of thickets,

Crouching beneath our shields in the middle of reeds and of marshes,

Lay we in ambush. Foul was the night; though fallen the North Wind,

475

Keenly it froze, and the snow kept falling and glinted as hoar-frost

Bitterly cold, while icicles formed on the rims of the bucklers.

Well now, each of the rest of the men in his mantle and doublet

Quietly slept, with his shield as a covering over his shoulders,

While for myself I had left, when I started, my cloak with a comrade

480

Carelessly, never suspecting the cold might make me to suffer;

So with my buckler alone and shining jerkin I followed.

Now at the tierce of the night, when the stars were passed to their setting,

Thus did I speak, addressing Odysseus, who happ'd to be near me,

Nudging his side with my arm ; and he instantly listened attentive :

485

'Zeus-born son of Laertes, thou wise and wileful Odysseus,

Verily soon I shall cease from the living. By cold I am conquered,

Frozen to death; for a cloak I possess not; a deity fooled me

Making me come with a jerkin alone; too late I repent it.'

Thus did i speak, and at once in his mind this plan he invented, —

490

Such was the hero not only in fighting but also at counsel;

Dropping the tones of his voice to a whisper he turned to me saying:

'Keep thee quiet—that none of the other Achaeans shall hear thee!'

Then on his elbow upraising himself he addressed his companions:

'Listen, my friends! As I slumbered a deity sent me a vision.

495

Lo, right far from the ships we are come. 'Twere better if some one

Carried a message to King Agamemnon, the prince of the people,

Begging him urge more men from the vessels to come and support us.'

Thus did he speak, and at once bold Thoas, the son of Andraemon,

Hastily rising and doffing his cloak of Phoenician purple

500

Started to run to the ships of the Greeks—while wrapped in his raiment

Softly I lay, till the Morning appeared, enthroned in her glory.

Would that I now were young, in the prime of my strength, as aforetime!

Then might one of the herds at a pig-farm give me a mantle

Both as a kindness and eke for respect of a brave old soldier—

505

Now they despise me, beholding me vested in wretched apparel."

Him then in answer addressed these words Eumaeus the swineherd:

"Gaffer, in praise of my lord thou hast told us a capital story;

Neither as yet hast thou uttered a profitless word or a foolish,

So thou shalt lack not a garment; and nothing besides will I grudge thee,

510

Nought that 'tis right to bestow on unfortunate beggars that meet one,

Just for to-night—In the morn thou'lt wrap thee again in thy tatters,

Seeing that here no mantles in plenty nor changes of tunics

Have we to deck us withal; each man one garment possesses.

Shouldst thou await the return of the well-loved son of Odysseus,

515

He will be ready to clothe thee in raiment, in mantle and tunic,

Ay and will send thee wherever thy heart and thy spirit shall call thee."

These words spoken he rose to his feet and adjusted a bedstead

Nigh to the hearth, and upon it he cast soft fleeces and goatskins.

Here did Odysseus recline; and he covered him o'er with a mantle

520

Heavy and large, that was ever at hand as a change of apparel

Ready for donning whenever arose some terrible tempest.

Thus in the cottage was sleeping Odysseus, and lying around him

Slumbered the boys of the farm; but the master of swineherds it pleased not

There to remain in a bed and afar from the swine to be sleeping.

525

So he accoutred himself, and he went; and Odysseus exulted

Seeing the man thus care for the wealth of his lord in his absence.

After his sharp-edged sword he had slung to his stalwart shoulders,

Over his body a mantle he cast right heavy and wind-proof;

Then, upsnatching the fell of a fine fat goat for his mattress,

530

Also a lance sharp-pointed, from dogs and from men to protect him,

Forth to the white-tusked boars he betook him, to slumber beside them

Under a hollow rock in a place well screened from the North Wind.

Notes on the current edition

Odyssey

1. Πρόσυλος, materiæ adhærens : item, qui rebus mundanis deditus est.—CHAPMAN. I print prosylite in the text, and Chapman's note, but I am not aware of any authority for the Greek or English word.

2. Strain. See Bk. i. 344, and infrà, 286.

3. Mere. See Bk. vIii. 115.

New Alexandria Commentaries

Gregory Nagy

Now that he has finally returned to his homeland of Ithaca, Odysseus must accomplish another kind of return: he must be restored to kingship. Such a restoration, however, must start from the bottom up. The goddess Athena, his ultimate benefactor but occasional antagonist, has made Odysseus seem to be ‘base’ on the outside, hiding his inner moral nobility. Only those who are likewise morally ‘noble’ will be able to read, as it were, the hero’s true nature. Meanwhile, the coded tales told by Odysseus point toward the truth of his kingship—without revealing it outright. A telling example here in Rhapsody 14 is the second Cretan tale told by Odysseus: it is about a Cretan princeling, not unlike the dapper figure we see in the romanticized restoration of a Minoan fresco as featured in the cover-illustration for Rhapsody 14.

draft js image error Minoan—probably Neopalatial—fresco commonly known as the “Lily Prince.” Whatever the exact type of this personage (perhaps a crowned acrobat, according to the interpretation of Maria Shaw), the Lily Prince is certainly a Minoan of elite standing. Public domain image based on a famous watercolor by Émile Gilliéron of a reconstruction by Arthur Evans. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

source

Here is the first time in the Odyssey that Eumaios is mentioned by name. On the meaning of Eúmaios, see the note on O.17.292.

source

See the anchor comment at O.07.256. Here at O.14.063, the idea of ritual and moral correctness in host-guest relationships is conveyed by the idea of not interrupting the proper sequence of procedures and protocols.

source

Leonard Muellner

analysis of the interconnections of mēnis, exchange rules, and timē for xenoi

source

association of endukeōs with philein, in the context of the analysis of the language affirming the rules of reciprocal exchange in Achilles’ ransoming Hektor/receiving Priam (Zeus’ words), with particular comment on endukeōs

source

Homer Odyssey 14.1

ed. George Chapman

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Current edition Experimental

ODYSSEY BOOK XIV

PATTEN WILSON.
IN THE COTTAGE OF THE SWINEHERD

Notes on the current edition

New Alexandria Commentaries

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Current edition Experimental

ODYSSEY BOOK XIV

PATTEN WILSON. IN THE COTTAGE OF THE SWINEHERD

Notes on the current edition

New Alexandria Commentaries

Stable identifiers

PATTEN WILSON.
IN THE COTTAGE OF THE SWINEHERD