Bibliotheca Polyglotta

Homer. The Odyssey with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PH.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919. Accessed from Perseus.

ODISSEAS VITA HOMERI

HOMER’S ODYSSES. translated out of greek by THOMAS HOBBES, OF MALMESBURY.
LIB. I. In a council of the Gods (Neptune absent) Pallas procureth an order for the restitution of Ulysses, and appearing to his son Telemachus in human shape, adviseth him to complain of the suitors before the council of the Lords, and then to go to Pylus and Sparta to enquire about his father.

(Samuel Butler, Based on public domain edition, revised by Timothy Power and Gregory Nagy, form Perseus, 1900)

Editor of Andronici translation: E.H. Warmington, Remains of Old Latin, Vol II (London: Loeb, 1926)

ἄνδρα μοι ἔννεπε, μοῦσα, πολύτροπον, ὃς μάλα πολλὰ
πλάγχθη, ἐπεὶ Τροίης ἱερὸν πτολίεθρον ἔπερσεν:
πολλῶν δ᾽ ἀνθρώπων ἴδεν ἄστεα καὶ νόον ἔγνω,
πολλὰ δ᾽ ὅ γ᾽ ἐν πόντῳ πάθεν ἄλγεα ὃν κατὰ θυμόν,
5 ἀρνύμενος ἥν τε ψυχὴν καὶ νόστον ἑταίρων.

Virum mihi pande musa multimodum qui valde multum
Erravit ex quo troiae sacram ciuitatem depredatus fuit.
Multorum hominum vidit urbes et intellectum nouit.
Multas autem iam in ponto passus fuit angustas proprio in animo
Redimens propriam animam et reditum sociorum.

Tell me, O Muse, th’ adventures of the man
That having sack’d the sacred town of Troy,
Wander’d so long at sea; what course he ran
By winds and tempests driven from his way:
5  That saw the cities, and the fashions knew
Of many men, but suffer’d grievous pain
To save his own life, and bring home his crew;

[1] Tell me, O Muse, of the man of many devices,
who wandered full many ways after he had sacked the sacred citadel of Troy.
Many were the men whose cities he saw and whose mind he learned,
aye, and many the woes he suffered in his heart upon the sea,
[5] seeking to win his own life and the return of his comrades.

Virum mihi, Camena, insece versutum

ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ὣς ἑτάρους ἐρρύσατο, ἱέμενός περ:
αὐτῶν γὰρ σφετέρῃσιν ἀτασθαλίῃσιν ὄλοντο,
νήπιοι, οἳ κατὰ βοῦς Ὑπερίονος Ἠελίοιο
ἤσθιον: αὐτὰρ ὁ τοῖσιν ἀφείλετο νόστιμον ἦμαρ.
10 τῶν ἁμόθεν γε, θεά, θύγατερ Διός, εἰπὲ καὶ ἡμῖν.

Sed non sic sotios saluauit desiderans desideras licet
Ipsorum enim propriis stulteriis perierunt.
Stolidi qui per boues hyperionis solis
Commederunt enim hic istis abstulit reditum diem.
Hoc undecunque dea filia Jouis dic et nobis.

They lost themselves by their own insolence,
10  Feeding, like fools, on the Sun’s sacred kine;
Which did the splendid deity incense
To their dire fate. Begin, O Muse divine.

Yet even so he saved not his comrades, though he desired it sore,
for through their own blind folly they perished —
fools, who devoured the kine of Helios Hyperion;
but he took from them the day of their returning.
[10] Of these things, goddess, daughter of Zeus, beginning where thou wilt, tell thou even unto us.

ἔνθ᾽ ἄλλοι μὲν πάντες, ὅσοι φύγον αἰπὺν ὄλεθρον,
οἴκοι ἔσαν, πόλεμόν τε πεφευγότες ἠδὲ θάλασσαν:
τὸν δ᾽ οἶον νόστου κεχρημένον ἠδὲ γυναικὸς
νύμφη πότνι᾽ ἔρυκε Καλυψὼ δῖα θεάων
15 ἐν σπέσσι γλαφυροῖσι, λιλαιομένη πόσιν εἶναι.

Iam alii certe omnes quot fugerunt grauem perniciem
Domi erant bellum quam fugerant atque mare.
Hunc autem solu reditus egentem atqui uxoris
Nympha uenerabiis impediebat calipso diua deorum
In speluncis cauis cupiens maritum esse.

The Greeks from Troy were all returned home,
All that the war and winds had spar’d, except
15  The discontent Ulysses only; whom
In hollow caves the nymph Calypso kept.

Now all the rest, as many as had escaped sheer destruction,
were at home, safe from both war and sea,
but Odysseus alone, filled with longing for his return and for his wife,
did the queenly nymph Calypso, that bright goddess,
[15] keep back in her hollow caves, yearning that he should be her husband.

ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε δὴ ἔτος ἦλθε περιπλομένων ἐνιαυτῶν,
τῷ οἱ ἐπεκλώσαντο θεοὶ οἶκόνδε νέεσθαι
εἰς Ἰθάκην, οὐδ᾽ ἔνθα πεφυγμένος ἦεν ἀέθλων
καὶ μετὰ οἷσι φίλοισι. θεοὶ δ᾽ ἐλέαιρον ἅπαντες
20 νόσφι Ποσειδάωνος: ὁ δ᾽ ἀσπερχὲς μενέαινεν
ἀντιθέῳ Ὀδυσῆι πάρος ἣν γαῖαν ἱκέσθαι.

Sed quando iam tempus uenit circum expleris annis
In quo ipsi nouerunt dei domum redire
Ad ithacem · nec ibi fugisse fuit agones
Et cum propriis amicis · dei autem miserabantur omnes
Praeter neptunnum · hic autem sollicite irascabatur
Diuo ulyxi antequam ad propriam terram uenisse

But when the years and days were come about,
Wherein was woven his return by fate
To Ithaca (but neither there without
20  Great pain), the Gods then pitied his estate,
All saving Neptune; who did never cease
To hinder him from reaching his own shore,
And persecute him still upon the seas
Till he got home, then troubled him no more.

But when, as the seasons revolved, the year came
in which the gods had ordained that he should return home
to Ithaca, not even there was he free from toils,
even among his own folk. And all the gods pitied him
[20] save Poseidon; but he continued to rage unceasingly
against godlike Odysseus until at length he reached his own land.

ἀλλ᾽ ὁ μὲν Αἰθίοπας μετεκίαθε τηλόθ᾽ ἐόντας,
Αἰθίοπας τοὶ διχθὰ δεδαίαται, ἔσχατοι ἀνδρῶν,
οἱ μὲν δυσομένου Ὑπερίονος οἱ δ᾽ ἀνιόντος,
25 ἀντιόων ταύρων τε καὶ ἀρνειῶν ἑκατόμβης.

Sed hic ad ethyopas uenit procul existentes
Ethyopas qui in duas partes diuisi sunt et ultra virorum
Hi quicumque occidente yperione hi autem saliente [yperione]
Uescens thaurorum et agnorum hecatombe.

25 Neptune was now far off in Black-moor land;
The Black-moors are the utmost of mankind,
As far as east and west asunder stand,
So far the Black-moors’ borders are disjoin’d.
Invited there to feast on ram and bull,

Howbeit Poseidon had gone among the far-off Ethiopians —
the Ethiopians who dwell sundered in twain, the farthermost of men,
some where Hyperion sets and some where he rises,
[25] there to receive a hecatomb of bulls and rams,

ἔνθ᾽ ὅ γ᾽ ἐτέρπετο δαιτὶ παρήμενος: οἱ δὲ δὴ ἄλλοι
Ζηνὸς ἐνὶ μεγάροισιν Ὀλυμπίου ἁθρόοι ἦσαν.
τοῖσι δὲ μύθων ἦρχε πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε:
μνήσατο γὰρ κατὰ θυμὸν ἀμύμονος Αἰγίσθοιο,
30 τόν ῥ᾽ Ἀγαμεμνονίδης τηλεκλυτὸς ἔκταν᾽ Ὀρέστης:
τοῦ ὅ γ᾽ ἐπιμνησθεὶς ἔπε᾽ ἀθανάτοισι μετηύδα:

Ibi autem hic delectabatur cibo praesens sed iam alii
Iouis in atriis olympiis congregati erant
Istis autem sermones incepit pater virorumque deorumque
Recordatus enim in animo immaculati egisti
Quem iam agamemnides ualde gloriosus interfecit orestes
Huius hic recordatus uerba immortalibus loquebatur

30 There sat he merry. Th’ other Gods were then
Met on Olympus in a synod full,
In th’ house of Jove, father of Gods and men.
And first spake Jove, whose thoughts were now upon
Ægistus’ death, which he but then first knew,
35 By th’ hand of Agamemnon’s valiant son,
Who to revenge his father’s blood him slew.

and there he was taking his joy, sitting at the feast; but the other gods
were gathered together in the halls of Olympian Zeus.
Among them the father of gods and men was first to speak,
for in his heart he thought of noble Aegisthus,
[30] whom far-famed Orestes, Agamemnon's son, had slain.
Thinking on him he spoke among the immortals, and said:

‘ὢ πόποι, οἷον δή νυ θεοὺς βροτοὶ αἰτιόωνται:
ἐξ ἡμέων γάρ φασι κάκ᾽ ἔμμεναι, οἱ δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ
σφῇσιν ἀτασθαλίῃσιν ὑπὲρ μόρον ἄλγε᾽ ἔχουσιν,
35 ὡς καὶ νῦν Αἴγισθος ὑπὲρ μόρον Ἀτρεΐδαο
γῆμ᾽ ἄλοχον μνηστήν, τὸν δ᾽ ἔκτανε νοστήσαντα,

Heu amici qualiter iam deos immortalis inculpant.
A nobis effantur mala esse · sed et ipsi
Ipsorum stultitiis praeter fatum angustas habent
Sicuti et nunc egistos praeter fatum atridao ·
Nupsit uxor procax° (=procacem) hunc autem interfecit reuersum

Ha! how dare mortals tax the Gods, and say,
Their harms do all proceed from our decree,
And by our setting; when by their crimes they
[306] 40  Against our wills make their own destiny?
As now Ægistus did Atrides kill
Newly come home, and married his wife;

“Look you now, how ready mortals are to blame the gods.
It is from us, they say, that evils come, but they even of themselves,
through their own blind folly, have sorrows beyond that which is ordained.
[35] Even as now Aegisthus, beyond that which was ordained,
took to himself the wedded wife of the son of Atreus, and slew him on his return,

εἰδὼς αἰπὺν ὄλεθρον, ἐπεὶ πρό οἱ εἴπομεν ἡμεῖς,
Ἑρμείαν πέμψαντες, ἐύσκοπον ἀργεϊφόντην,
μήτ᾽ αὐτὸν κτείνειν μήτε μνάασθαι ἄκοιτιν:
40 ἐκ γὰρ Ὀρέσταο τίσις ἔσσεται Ἀτρεΐδαο,
ὁππότ᾽ ἂν ἡβήσῃ τε καὶ ἧς ἱμείρεται αἴης.

Sciens grauem perniciem ex quo ante sibi diximus nos ·
Mercurium mittentes exploratorem argifontem
Nec ipsum interficere nec procari uxori
2 Ab quidem oreste uindicta erit atridao ·
Quando adoleverit et propriam desideravit terram ·

Although he knew it was against my will,
And that it would cost him one day his life.
45  Sent we not Hermes to him to forbid
The murder, and the marriage of the wife;
And tell him if the contrary he did
Orestes should revenge it on his life?

though well he knew of sheer destruction, seeing that we spake to him before,
sending Hermes, the keen-sighted Argeiphontes,
that he should neither slay the man nor woo his wife;
[40] for from Orestes shall come vengeance for the son of Atreus
when once he has come to manhood and longs for his own land.

ὣς ἔφαθ᾽ Ἑρμείας, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ φρένας Αἰγίσθοιο
πεῖθ᾽ ἀγαθὰ φρονέων: νῦν δ᾽ ἁθρόα πάντ᾽ ἀπέτισεν.’

Sic factus est mercurius · sed non sensus egisti ·
Flexit bona sentiens · nunc autem simul omnia reddedit ·

All this said Hermes, as we bade him. But
50  Ægistus, for all this, was not afraid
His lust in execution to put.
And therefore now has dearly for it paid.

So Hermes spoke, but for all his good intent he prevailed not upon the heart of Aegisthus;
and now he has paid the full price of all.”

τὸν δ᾽ ἠμείβετ᾽ ἔπειτα θεά, γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη:
45 ‘ὦ πάτερ ἡμέτερε Κρονίδη, ὕπατε κρειόντων,
καὶ λίην κεῖνός γε ἐοικότι κεῖται ὀλέθρῳ:
ὡς ἀπόλοιτο καὶ ἄλλος, ὅτις τοιαῦτά γε ῥέζοι:

Huic autem retribuit dea glaucopis athena ·
O pater noster saturnie exellentissime regum
Et valde ille decenti iacet interitu
Sic pereat et alius quicunque talia faciet ·

Then Pallas moved on Ulysses’ part,
And said, O Father Jove, the king of kings,
55  Ægistus’ fate was fit for his desert,
So let them perish all that do such things.

Then the goddess, flashing-eyed Athena, answered him:
[45] “Father of us all, thou son of Cronos, high above all lords,
aye, verily that man lies low in a destruction that is his due;
so, too, may any other also be destroyed who does such deeds.

Pater noster, Saturni filie,

ἀλλά μοι ἀμφ᾽ Ὀδυσῆι δαΐφρονι δαίεται ἦτορ,
δυσμόρῳ, ὃς δὴ δηθὰ φίλων ἄπο πήματα πάσχει
50 νήσῳ ἐν ἀμφιρύτῃ, ὅθι τ᾽ ὀμφαλός ἐστι θαλάσσης.

Sed mihi pro ulyxe bellicoso inciditur anima
Infortunato qui iam diu procul nocumenta patitur
Insula mari circundata ubi umbilicus est maris

’Tis for Ulysses that I live in pain,
Poor man, long absent from his friends, forlorn,
In a small isle, the centre of the main;
60  Kept from his home, doth nought but grieve and mourn.

But my heart is torn for wise Odysseus,
hapless man, who far from his friends has long been suffering woes
[50] in a sea-girt isle, where is the navel of the sea.

νῆσος δενδρήεσσα, θεὰ δ᾽ ἐν δώματα ναίει,
Ἄτλαντος θυγάτηρ ὀλοόφρονος, ὅς τε θαλάσσης
πάσης βένθεα οἶδεν, ἔχει δέ τε κίονας αὐτὸς
μακράς, αἳ γαῖάν τε καὶ οὐρανὸν ἀμφὶς ἔχουσιν.

Insula autem arborata · dea autem in domibus habitat
Atlantis filia omnia sententis qui maris
Totius profunditates scit : tenet autem columnas ipse
Longas quae caelum et terram circum tenent

The isle is beautified with goodly trees,
And in it dwells a nymph. Her father’s name
Atlas, that all the depths of the ocean sees,
And beareth up the pillars of the same,
65  And heaven and earth to boot.+

‘Tis a wooded isle, and therein dwells a goddess,
daughter of Atlas of baneful mind,
who knows the depths of every sea, and himself holds the tall pillars
which keep earth and heaven apart.

55 τοῦ θυγάτηρ δύστηνον ὀδυρόμενον κατερύκει,
αἰεὶ δὲ μαλακοῖσι καὶ αἱμυλίοισι λόγοισιν
θέλγει, ὅπως Ἰθάκης ἐπιλήσεται: αὐτὰρ Ὀδυσσεύς,
ἱέμενος καὶ καπνὸν ἀποθρῴσκοντα νοῆσαι
ἧς γαίης, θανέειν ἱμείρεται. οὐδέ νυ σοί περ
60 ἐντρέπεται φίλον ἦτορ, Ὀλύμπιε. οὔ νύ τ᾽ Ὀδυσσεὺς
Ἀργείων παρὰ νηυσὶ χαρίζετο ἱερὰ ῥέζων
Τροίῃ ἐν εὐρείῃ; τί νύ οἱ τόσον ὠδύσαο, Ζεῦ;’

Huius filia miserum plorantem impedit
Semper in mollibus et sapientibus sermonibus
Blanditur ut ithacie obliviscatur · nam ulyxes
Cupiens et fumum salientem adspicere ·
proprie terre mori desiderat · non autem tibi
Remouetur amica anima olympie · non ulyxes
Argiuorum in nauibus gratis dabat sacra sacrificans
Troia in ampla cur iam illi tantum iratus es Iuppiter ·

His daughter ’tis
That with fair words and gentle courtesy
Detains Ulysses. And her meaning is
For ever there to have his company.
Whilst he, alas! e’en dies for very grief.
70  To see the smoke of Ithaca he wishes,
And would take that for some, though small relief.
And yet you are not mov’d. Were not Ulysses
His sacrifices on the Trojan shore
Both free and bountiful? They were, you know:
75  In th’ Argive camp, I dare say, no man’s more.
Why, therefore, Father, should you hate him so?

[55] His daughter it is that keeps back that wretched, sorrowing man;
and ever with soft and wheedling words
she beguiles him that he may forget Ithaca. But Odysseus,
in his longing to see were it but the smoke leaping up
from his own land, yearns to die.
Yet thy [60] heart doth not regard it, Olympian. Did not Odysseus
beside the ships of the Argives offer thee sacrifice without stint
in the broad land of Troy? Wherefore then didst thou conceive such wrath against him, O Zeus?”

τὴν δ᾽ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη νεφεληγερέτα Ζεύς:
‘τέκνον ἐμόν, ποῖόν σε ἔπος φύγεν ἕρκος ὀδόντων.

Hinc autem tribuens affatus est nubium congregator iuppiter
Filia mea quale te verbum fugit sepem dentium

To her the mighty Jove made this reply.
Child, what a word is this that you let fall?

Then Zeus, the cloud-gatherer, answered her and said:
“My child, what a word has escaped the barrier of thy teeth?

Mea puer, quid verbi ex tuo ore supra fugit?

65 πῶς ἂν ἔπειτ᾽ Ὀδυσῆος ἐγὼ θείοιο λαθοίμην,
ὃς περὶ μὲν νόον ἐστὶ βροτῶν, περὶ δ᾽ ἱρὰ θεοῖσιν
ἀθανάτοισιν ἔδωκε, τοὶ οὐρανὸν εὐρὺν ἔχουσιν;

Quomodo iam certe ulyxis ego mirabilis obliviscar
Qui ultra sensum est mortalium ultraque sacra deis
Immortalibus dedit · qui caelum amplum habent

Do I neglect Ulysses, or do I
80  Ulysses hate, that amongst mortals all
For wisdom and for piety excels?

[65] How should I, then, forget godlike Odysseus,
who is beyond all mortals in wisdom, and beyond all
has paid sacrifice to the immortal gods, who hold broad heaven?

Neque enim te oblitus sum Laertie noster,

ἀλλὰ Ποσειδάων γαιήοχος ἀσκελὲς αἰεὶ
Κύκλωπος κεχόλωται, ὃν ὀφθαλμοῦ ἀλάωσεν,
70 ἀντίθεον Πολύφημον, ὅου κράτος ἐστὶ μέγιστον
πᾶσιν Κυκλώπεσσι: Θόωσα δέ μιν τέκε νύμφη,
Φόρκυνος θυγάτηρ ἁλὸς ἀτρυγέτοιο μέδοντος,
ἐν σπέσσι γλαφυροῖσι Ποσειδάωνι μιγεῖσα.

Sed neptunnus terram equitas dure semper
Cyclopes iratus quem oculo occaecantem
Antitheon (i.l. ...) poliphemum cuius vis est magna
Omnibus in cyclopibus · theos autem ipsum genuit nympha
Phorcinos filia mari sine fine predominantis
In speluncis cauis neptunno immixta ·

Neptune, that backs and shakes the earth, ’tis he
Whose breast with anger and revenge still swells
Against him, for his son’s calamity,
85  The godlike Polypheme, Cyclops the great,
Whom on Thoosa, Phorcys’ daughter brave,
Neptune the king of waters did beget,
Embracing her within a hollow cave;
And him Ulysses has depriv’d of sight.

Nay, it is Poseidon, the earth-enfolder, who is ever
filled with stubborn wrath because of the Cyclops, whom Odysseus blinded of his eye —
[70] even the godlike Polyphemus, whose might is greatest
among all the Cyclopes; and the nymph Thoosa bore him,
daughter of Phorcys who rules over the unresting sea;
for in the hollow caves she lay with Poseidon.

ἐκ τοῦ δὴ Ὀδυσῆα Ποσειδάων ἐνοσίχθων
75 οὔ τι κατακτείνει, πλάζει δ᾽ ἀπὸ πατρίδος αἴης.

Ex hoc iam ulyxem neptunnus terram movens
Non interficit errare facit procul paterna terra ·

[307] 90  For which, though Neptune do not him destroy,
He crosses him with dangers day and night,
And drives him up and down out of his way.

From that time forth Poseidon, the earth-shaker,
[75] does not indeed slay Odysseus, but makes him a wanderer from his native land.

ἀλλ᾽ ἄγεθ᾽, ἡμεῖς οἵδε περιφραζώμεθα πάντες
νόστον, ὅπως ἔλθῃσι: Ποσειδάων δὲ μεθήσει
ὃν χόλον: οὐ μὲν γὰρ τι δυνήσεται ἀντία πάντων
ἀθανάτων ἀέκητι θεῶν ἐριδαινέμεν οἶος.’

Sed eya nos isti consulamus omnes ·
Reditum ut veniat : neptunnus definet (sic)
Propriam iram : non certe autem? poterit contra omnes
Immortales nollet deos litigare solus ·

But well, let us that are assembled now
Bethink us how to bring him home. ’Tis odds
95  ’Twill cool his rage. He has not strength enough
T’ oppose the power of all the other Gods.

But come, let us who are here all take thought
of his return, that he may come home; and Poseidon will let go
his anger, for he will in no wise be able, against all
the immortal gods and in their despite, to contend alone.”

80 τὸν δ᾽ ἠμείβετ᾽ ἔπειτα θεά, γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη:
‘ὦ πάτερ ἡμέτερε Κρονίδη, ὕπατε κρειόντων,
εἰ μὲν δὴ νῦν τοῦτο φίλον μακάρεσσι θεοῖσιν,
νοστῆσαι Ὀδυσῆα πολύφρονα ὅνδε δόμονδε,
Ἑρμείαν μὲν ἔπειτα διάκτορον ἀργεϊφόντην
85 νῆσον ἐς Ὠγυγίην ὀτρύνομεν, ὄφρα τάχιστα
νύμφῃ ἐυπλοκάμῳ εἴπῃ νημερτέα βουλήν,
νόστον Ὀδυσσῆος ταλασίφρονος, ὥς κε νέηται:

Huic autem retribuit (i.l. respondet) postea dea glaucopis (i.l. ... oculos) athena ·
O pater noster cornide (read: cronide; i.l. saturnide) exellentissime imperatorum
Si certe iam nunc hoc amicum deis
Reverti ulyxem pl[uri....?] propriam domum · intra ....?entem
Ermiam certe diactorem (i.l. ...) argifontem (i.l. ... argi)
3 Insulam ad ogigiam commoueamur : ut ciro
Nympha bonicome dicat uerum consilium
Reditum ulyxis multa tolerans ut veniat

Then Pallas said, O Jove, of kings the king,
Since the blest Gods have thought good, and decreed
Ulysses to his native soil to bring,
100  Let’s Hermes send unto the nymph with speed,
In th’ isle Ogygia, to let her know
Our sentence, that she may the same obey.

[80] Then the goddess, flashing-eyed Athena, answered him:
“Father of us all, thou son of Cronos, high above all lords,
if indeed this is now well pleasing to the blessed gods,
that the wise Odysseus should return to his own home,
let us send forth Hermes, the messenger, Argeiphontes,
[85] to the isle Ogygia, that with all speed
he may declare to the fair-tressed nymph our fixed resolve,
even the return of Odysseus of the steadfast heart, that he may come home.

αὐτὰρ ἐγὼν Ἰθάκηνδ᾽ ἐσελεύσομαι, ὄφρα οἱ υἱὸν
μᾶλλον ἐποτρύνω καί οἱ μένος ἐν φρεσὶ θείω,
90 εἰς ἀγορὴν καλέσαντα κάρη κομόωντας Ἀχαιοὺς
πᾶσι μνηστήρεσσιν ἀπειπέμεν, οἵ τέ οἱ αἰεὶ
μῆλ᾽ ἁδινὰ σφάζουσι καὶ εἰλίποδας ἕλικας βοῦς.

Nam ego Ithachiam veniam ut eius filium
Magni ... et sibi uim in sensibus ponam
Ad contionem quam vocavint comoeos achiuos
Omnibus pro eis sententiamque diceret quevis? semper
Oues pecuas? interficiunt et .... (i.l.)pedos flexicornes boues

And I to Ithaca meanwhile will go,
And cause his son to call without delay
105  The common council; and to make him bold,
To warn his mother’s suitors to be gone,
And feast no longer on his herd and fold,
As they before had insolently done.

But, as for me, I will go to Ithaca, that I may the more
arouse his son, and set courage in his heart
[90] to call to an assembly the long-haired Achaeans,
and speak out his word to all the wooers, who are ever
slaying his thronging sheep and his sleek kine of shambling gait.

πέμψω δ᾽ ἐς Σπάρτην τε καὶ ἐς Πύλον ἠμαθόεντα
νόστον πευσόμενον πατρὸς φίλου, ἤν που ἀκούσῃ,
ἠδ᾽ ἵνα μιν κλέος ἐσθλὸν ἐν ἀνθρώποισιν ἔχῃσιν.’

Mittam autem ad spartam et ad pylam amatuntha
Reditum auditus erit patris amicabilis sicubi audiret
Atque ubi gloriam bonam in hominibus habeat

To Sparta too I’ll send him, and to Pyle
110  T’ inquire about his father’s navigation,
That in the world, by travel for a while,
He may acquire a greater reputation.

And I will guide him to Sparta and to sandy Pylos,
to seek tidings of the return of his dear father, if haply he may hear of it,
[95] that good report may be his among men.”

95 ὣς εἰποῦσ᾽ ὑπὸ ποσσὶν ἐδήσατο καλὰ πέδιλα,
ἀμβρόσια χρύσεια, τά μιν φέρον ἠμὲν ἐφ᾽ ὑγρὴν
ἠδ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἀπείρονα γαῖαν ἅμα πνοιῇς ἀνέμοιο:
εἵλετο δ᾽ ἄλκιμον ἔγχος, ἀκαχμένον ὀξέι χαλκῷ,
100 βριθὺ μέγα στιβαρόν, τῷ δάμνησι στίχας ἀνδρῶν
ἡρώων, τοῖσίν τε κοτέσσεται ὀβριμοπάτρη.

Sic fatur sub pedibus ligavit bonos futilares
Ambrosios aureos qui ipsam tulerunt ac per mollem
Ac per infinitam terram similiter flatui venti
Accepit fortem lanceam acutam acuto ferro
Robustam magnam posselerosam? qua domat termas? virorum
Heroum quibus irata fuerit umbrifero patre ·

This said, upon her feet her shoes she binds,
Ambrosian golden shoes, that do her bear
115  On land and water swiftly as the winds,
And takes in hand her brazen-headed spear;
A heavy, massy, and strong spear, the same
Wherewith, when angry, she the armed bands
Of mighty men of war does eas’ly tame.
120  That was the spear she carried in her hands.

So she spoke, and bound beneath her feet her beautiful sandals,
immortal, golden, which were wont to bear her both over the waters of the sea
and over the boundless land swift as the blasts of the wind.
And she took her mighty spear, tipped with sharp bronze,
[100] heavy and huge and strong, wherewith she vanquishes the ranks of men —
of warriors, with whom she is wroth, she, the daughter of the mighty sire.

βῆ δὲ κατ᾽ Οὐλύμποιο καρήνων ἀίξασα,
στῆ δ᾽ Ἰθάκης ἐνὶ δήμῳ ἐπὶ προθύροις Ὀδυσῆος,
οὐδοῦ ἐπ᾽ αὐλείου: παλάμῃ δ᾽ ἔχε χάλκεον ἔγχος,
105 εἰδομένη ξείνῳ, Ταφίων ἡγήτορι Μέντῃ.

Habuit autem per olympi cacumina commota
Stetitque Ithachie in loco in vestibulis ulixis
In limine auleo : palma autem tenebat ferream lanceam
Assimulata : amico thaphiorum pastori menti

Then from the high Olympus leapt she down
T’ Ulysses’ house, and stood in the hall-door
I’ th’ shape of Mentes, that possess’d the crown
O’ th’ Taphian people, whom he reigned o’er.

Then she went darting down from the heights of Olympus,
and took her stand in the land of Ithaca at the outer gate of Odysseus,
on the threshold of the court. In her hand she held the spear of bronze,
[105] and she was in the likeness of a stranger, Mentes, the leader of the Taphians.

εὗρε δ᾽ ἄρα μνηστῆρας ἀγήνορας. οἱ μὲν ἔπειτα
πεσσοῖσι προπάροιθε θυράων θυμὸν ἔτερπον
ἥμενοι ἐν ῥινοῖσι βοῶν, οὓς ἔκτανον αὐτοί:

Inuenit uero procacores inprelos : hi certe iam
Aleis au[la?] ianuas animam delectabant
Sedentes coriis boum quos interficerunt ipsi

125  And thence beheld the suitors in the court,
Sitting upon the hides of beeves, which they
Themselves had kill’d, and, wanting other sport,
Playing at chess they pass’d their time away.

There she found the proud wooers. They were
taking their pleasure at draughts in front of the doors,
sitting on the hides of oxen which they themselves had slain;

κήρυκες δ᾽ αὐτοῖσι καὶ ὀτρηροὶ θεράποντες
110 οἱ μὲν οἶνον ἔμισγον ἐνὶ κρητῆρσι καὶ ὕδωρ,
οἱ δ᾽ αὖτε σπόγγοισι πολυτρήτοισι τραπέζας
νίζον καὶ πρότιθεν, τοὶ δὲ κρέα πολλὰ δατεῦντο.

Praecones autem ipsis et citi famuli
Hi quidem vinum miscebant in cratheris et aquam
Hi autem spongiis multum perforatis mensas
Tergebant et anteponebant atque carnes multas diuidebant

Meanwhile their officers and serving-men
130  Were busy mingling water with the wine,
Others the meat divide, others make clean,
Set up and rub the tables till they shine.

and of the heralds and busy squires,
[110] some were mixing wine and water for them in bowls,
others again were washing the tables with porous sponges
and setting them forth, while still others were portioning out meats in abundance.

τὴν δὲ πολὺ πρῶτος ἴδε Τηλέμαχος θεοειδής,
ἧστο γὰρ ἐν μνηστῆρσι φίλον τετιημένος ἦτορ,
115 ὀσσόμενος πατέρ᾽ ἐσθλὸν ἐνὶ φρεσίν, εἴ ποθεν ἐλθὼν
μνηστήρων τῶν μὲν σκέδασιν κατὰ δώματα θείη,
τιμὴν δ᾽ αὐτὸς ἔχοι καὶ δώμασιν οἷσιν ἀνάσσοι.

Hanc autem multam primus vidit thelemacus deo similis ·
Sedebat enim in procis amicam cruciatus animam
Respiciens patrem bonum in sensibus si aliquam cum venerit
Procis his autem dispersionem per domos imponat ·
Honorem aut? ipsam habent et possessionibus propriis doment

Telemachus now with the suitors sat,
Fancying, in case his father should appear,
135  Brought home by the Gods or by some lucky fate,
How then these knaves would slink away for fear;
And he again recover his estate,
And in his own land rule without a peer.

Her the godlike Telemachus was far the first to see,
for he was sitting among the wooers, sad at heart,
[115] seeing in thought his noble father, should he perchance come
from somewhere and make a scattering of the wooers in the palace,
and himself win honor and rule over his own house.

τὰ φρονέων, μνηστῆρσι μεθήμενος, εἴσιδ᾽ Ἀθήνην.
βῆ δ᾽ ἰθὺς προθύροιο, νεμεσσήθη δ᾽ ἐνὶ θυμῷ
120 ξεῖνον δηθὰ θύρῃσιν ἐφεστάμεν: ἐγγύθι δὲ στὰς
χεῖρ᾽ ἕλε δεξιτερὴν καὶ ἐδέξατο χάλκεον ἔγχος,
καί μιν φωνήσας ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα:

Haec sentiens procis simul sedens aspectam? athenam
Iuvit autem versus vestibulum redarguit se animo ·
Externum diu ianuis stare · iuxta autem stans
Manum coepit dexteram et recepit ferream lanceam
Et vocat verbis pennosis alloquebatur ·

He was the first that spied the Goddess, and
[308] 140  Then presently he hast’ned to the door;
Receives her spear and takes her by the hand,
And both go in, she after, he before.

As he thought of these things, sitting among the wooers, he beheld Athena,
and he went straight to the outer door; for in his heart
he counted it shame [120] that a stranger should stand long at the gates. So, drawing near,
he clasped her right hand, and took from her the spear of bronze;
and he spoke, and addressed her with winged words:

‘χαῖρε, ξεῖνε, παρ᾽ ἄμμι φιλήσεαι: αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα
δείπνου πασσάμενος μυθήσεαι ὅττεό σε χρή.’

Aut amice nobiscum amicaberis nam postea ·
Coenam quam edieris? sermononaberis cuius tibi necessitas

You shall, said he, stranger be welcome here:
But first let’s sup, and afterwards we’ll find
145  Sufficient time both for me to inquire,
And you to tell your business and your mind.

“Hail, stranger; in our house thou shalt find entertainment and then,
when thou hast tasted food, thou shalt tell of what thou hast need.”

125 ὣς εἰπὼν ἡγεῖθ᾽, ἡ δ᾽ ἕσπετο Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη.
οἱ δ᾽ ὅτε δή ῥ᾽ ἔντοσθεν ἔσαν δόμου ὑψηλοῖο,
ἔγχος μέν ῥ᾽ ἔστησε φέρων πρὸς κίονα μακρὴν
δουροδόκης ἔντοσθεν ἐυξόου, ἔνθα περ ἄλλα
ἔγχε᾽ Ὀδυσσῆος ταλασίφρονος ἵστατο πολλά,

Sic dicens praetererit : haec autem sequebatur pallas athena
Isti autem quidem interea fuerunt domum altam ·
Lanceam certe portuit ferens in columna longa
Vagins lancearum inter benicicia ubi aliae
Lancea ulyxis ??intis stabant multae

When they were come into the stately hall,
Her spear within a case he sets upright,
T’ a pillar, in which case the spears were all
150  His father left behind going to fight.

[125] So saying, he led the way, and Pallas Athena followed.
And when they were within the lofty house,
he bore the spear and set it against a tall pillar
in a polished spear-rack, where were set many spears besides,
even those of Odysseus of the steadfast heart.

130 αὐτὴν δ᾽ ἐς θρόνον εἷσεν ἄγων, ὑπὸ λῖτα πετάσσας,
καλὸν δαιδάλεον: ὑπὸ δὲ θρῆνυς ποσὶν ἦεν.
πὰρ δ᾽ αὐτὸς κλισμὸν θέτο ποικίλον, ἔκτοθεν ἄλλων
μνηστήρων, μὴ ξεῖνος ἀνιηθεὶς ὀρυμαγδῷ
δείπνῳ ἁδήσειεν, ὑπερφιάλοισι μετελθών,
135 ἠδ᾽ ἵνα μιν περὶ πατρὸς ἀποιχομένοιο ἔροιτο.

Ipsam autem in trono (gloss i.l. sede) sedere fecit ducens sub pannum extendes!
Bonum varium : sub autem fabellum pedibus fuit
Penes autem ipsam curam deposuit pictumextra alios
Procos ne forensis contistaret rumore coitus
Coena sine delectatione se haberet suburbus cum adueneat?
Aut ut ipsum de patre absente interrogaret

Then led her to a chair which stood upon
A dainty carpet curiously wrought,
And put t’ her feet a stool to rest upon,
And for himself a handsome stool he brought:

[130] Athena herself he led and seated on a chair, spreading a linen cloth beneath
— a beautiful chair, richly-wrought, and below was a footstool for the feet.
Beside it he placed for himself an inlaid seat, apart from the others,
the wooers, lest the stranger, vexed by their din,
should loathe the meal, seeing that he was in the company of overweening men;
[135] and also that he might ask him about his father that was gone.

χέρνιβα δ᾽ ἀμφίπολος προχόῳ ἐπέχευε φέρουσα
καλῇ χρυσείῃ, ὑπὲρ ἀργυρέοιο λέβητος,
νίψασθαι: παρὰ δὲ ξεστὴν ἐτάνυσσε τράπεζαν.

peluinem pedissequa fudibili fudit ferens
Bono aureo supra argentum lebetem ·
Ut lauarentur : ante autem bene factam extendit mensam

155  Then did a maid, in a fine golden ewer,
Bring water for their hands, and pours it on
Over a bason large of silver pure,
And set a table to them, for both one:
From others’ seats remoter than to fear
160  Their rudeness might offend her, or that they
Might peradventure listening overhear
What he and she did of Ulysses say.

Then a handmaid brought water for the hands
in a fair pitcher of gold, and poured it over a silver basin for them to wash,
and beside them drew up a polished table.

argenteo polybro, aureo eglutro

σῖτον δ᾽ αἰδοίη ταμίη παρέθηκε φέρουσα,
140 εἴδατα πόλλ᾽ ἐπιθεῖσα, χαριζομένη παρεόντων:
δαιτρὸς δὲ κρειῶν πίνακας παρέθηκεν ἀείρας
παντοίων, παρὰ δέ σφι τίθει χρύσεια κύπελλα:
κῆρυξ δ᾽ αὐτοῖσιν θάμ᾽ ἐπῴχετο οἰνοχοεύων.

Cererem autem venerabislis tamii (i.l.?) anteposuit ferens
epulas multas supponens : libenter dans astantibus
cibi carnium in cisoria(!=cibiforia?) anteposuit ferens
omnimodi · ante autem ipsos posuit aureos calices
Preco autem ipsis cito ambulabat pincernas

Another sets on bread and other things
To eat, such as in her charge were at home.
165  But flesh of many sorts the carver brings,
And the cup-bearers often go and come.

And the grave housewife brought and set before them bread,
[140] and therewith dainties in abundance, giving freely of her store.
And a carver lifted up and placed before them platters of all manner of meats,
and set by them golden goblets,
while a herald ever walked to and fro pouring them wine.

ἐς δ᾽ ἦλθον μνηστῆρες ἀγήνορες. οἱ μὲν ἔπειτα
145 ἑξείης ἕζοντο κατὰ κλισμούς τε θρόνους τε,
τοῖσι δὲ κήρυκες μὲν ὕδωρ ἐπὶ χεῖρας ἔχευαν,
σῖτον δὲ δμῳαὶ παρενήνεον ἐν κανέοισιν,
κοῦροι δὲ κρητῆρας ἐπεστέψαντο ποτοῖο.
οἱ δ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ὀνείαθ᾽ ἑτοῖμα προκείμενα χεῖρας ἴαλλον.

Intus autem venerunt precatores superbi : ubi certe postea
Per ordinem sederunt in sedibusque tronisque
Istis autem famui quidem in manibus fuderunt
Iuvenes autem cratheras coronaverunt potu
cererem autem famulae congregabant in calamis
Isti autem ad utilia parate anteposita manus extendebant

Then came the suitors in, and took their places
All in a row. To each a table stands,
And golden bowl, one way look all their faces,
170  The waiters bring in water for their hands.
The maids in baskets bring both bread and meat,
On which they lay their hands with great good will,
And heartily and hastily they eat,
And to the brim their cups the servants fill.

Then in came the proud wooers, and thereafter
[145] sat them down in rows on chairs and high seats.
Heralds poured water over their hands,
and maid-servants heaped by them bread in baskets,
and youths filled the bowls brim full of drink;
and they put forth their hands to the good cheer lying ready before them.

150 αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ πόσιος καὶ ἐδητύος ἐξ ἔρον ἕντο
μνηστῆρες, τοῖσιν μὲν ἐνὶ φρεσὶν ἄλλα μεμήλει,
μολπή τ᾽ ὀρχηστύς τε: τὰ γὰρ τ᾽ ἀναθήματα δαιτός:
κῆρυξ δ᾽ ἐν χερσὶν κίθαριν περικαλλέα θῆκεν
Φημίῳ, ὅς ῥ᾽ ἤειδε παρὰ μνηστῆρσιν ἀνάγκῃ.
155 ἦ τοι ὁ φορμίζων ἀνεβάλλετο καλὸν ἀείδειν.

Nam postquam potus et cibi desiderium extraxerunt ·
Proci quibus certe in sensibus alia in cura erant
Cantilena corea : haec enim ornamenta epularum
Preco autem in manibus citharam pulcram posuit
Fimio qui iam canebat in procis necessitate
Certe hic citharisans concordabat bene cantionem

175  When they of hunger had pluck’d out the sting,
The lusty suitors’ thoughts converted were
To dancing, and to hear the minstrel sing,
Sports these are consecrated to good cheer.
To Phemius, the minstrel, that was by,
180  Unwillingly, forc’d by th’ unruly throng,
They brought a cittern, and he presently
Began to play, and then to sing a song.

[150] Now after the wooers had put from them the desire of food and drink,
their hearts turned to other things,
to song and to dance; for these things are the crown of a feast.
And a herald put the beautiful lyre in the hands
of Phemius, who sang perforce among the wooers;
[155] and he struck the chords in prelude to his sweet lay.

αὐτὰρ Τηλέμαχος προσέφη γλαυκῶπιν Ἀθήνην,
ἄγχι σχὼν κεφαλήν, ἵνα μὴ πευθοίαθ᾽ οἱ ἄλλοι:
‘ξεῖνε φίλ᾽, ἦ καὶ μοι νεμεσήσεαι ὅττι κεν εἴπω;
τούτοισιν μὲν ταῦτα μέλει, κίθαρις καὶ ἀοιδή,
160 ῥεῖ᾽, ἐπεὶ ἀλλότριον βίοτον νήποινον ἔδουσιν,
ἀνέρος, οὗ δή που λεύκ᾽ ὀστέα πύθεται ὄμβρῳ
κείμεν᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἠπείρου, ἢ εἰν ἁλὶ κῦμα κυλίνδει.

Nam Thelemacus affatus est : glaucopem athenam
Iuxta tenens caput : ut non audirent alii
forensis amice licet et me arguas quicquid dicam
Istis certe hae curae sunt cithara et cantilena
Leuiter quia alienas opes multas commedunt
–– rei cuius iam alicubi alba ossa marcerescunt pluuia
Iacentia in terra vel in mari unda deuoluit

But to the Goddess Pallas, in her ear
Telemachus began to speak his mind,
185  Not being willing any else should hear.
Excuse me, friend, that I say what I find.
You see the care of these men what it is,
Singing and dancing. And no wonder, since
That which they spend is not their own, but his
[309] 190  Whose bones lie somewhere naked far from hence,
Unburied, it may be, on the ground,
There rotting as he lies i’ th’ dew and rain;
Or else at sea, perhaps, if he be drown’d,
The waves his body roll upon the main.

But Telemachus spoke to flashing-eyed Athena,
holding his head close, that the others might not hear:
“Dear stranger, wilt thou be wroth with me for the word that I shall say?
These men care for things like these, the lyre and song,
[160] full easily, seeing that without atonement they devour the livelihood of another,
of a man whose white bones, it may be,
rot in the rain as they lie upon the mainland, or the wave rolls them in the sea.

εἰ κεῖνόν γ᾽ Ἰθάκηνδε ἰδοίατο νοστήσαντα,
πάντες κ᾽ ἀρησαίατ᾽ ἐλαφρότεροι πόδας εἶναι
165 ἢ ἀφνειότεροι χρυσοῖό τε ἐσθῆτός τε.

Si illum ithachia videbit iam reuersim
omnes orabunt leuiores pedibus esse
quam duitiores auroque vesteque

195  If him at home the best of them should meet
Safely arriv’d in Ithaca, he would
Much rather wish, I think, for nimble feet,
Than to be rich in garment or in gold.

Were they to see him returned to Ithaca,
they would all pray to be swifter of foot,
[165] rather than richer in gold and in raiment.

νῦν δ᾽ ὁ μὲν ὣς ἀπόλωλε κακὸν μόρον, οὐδέ τις ἡμῖν
θαλπωρή, εἴ πέρ τις ἐπιχθονίων ἀνθρώπων
φῇσιν ἐλεύσεσθαι: τοῦ δ᾽ ὤλετο νόστιμον ἦμαρ.

Nunc hic sic periit mala morte nec argua nobis
consolation licet aliquis terrestrium hominum
Dicat neutrum : illius autem periit reditus dies

But, oh! he’s dead, and of some cruel death;
200  And though some tell us he is coming home,
’Tis comfortless, for he’s bereav’d of breath.
To Ithaca I ne’er shall see him come.

But now he has thus perished by an evil doom, nor for us
is there any comfort, no, not though any one of men upon the earth
should say that he will come; gone is the day of his returning.

ἀλλ᾽ ἄγε μοι τόδε εἰπὲ καὶ ἀτρεκέως κατάλεξον:
170 τίς πόθεν εἰς ἀνδρῶν; πόθι τοι πόλις ἠδὲ τοκῆες;
ὁπποίης τ᾽ ἐπὶ νηὸς ἀφίκεο: πῶς δέ σε ναῦται
ἤγαγον εἰς Ἰθάκην; τίνες ἔμμεναι εὐχετόωντο;

Sed eia mihi hanc dic : et vere narra
Quis unde es uirorum : ubi tibi ciuitas atque parentes
In qua autem naui venisti : quomodo autem nautae
Duxerunt ad ithacia · qui esse geriatur?

But let this pass, and tell me truly now
Your own, your father’s, and your country’s name.
205  And further, I desire you’ll let me know,
Whence are the mariners that with you came
Unto this town? and tell me this likewise,
Where rideth the good ship that brought you to’t;

But come, tell me this, and declare it truly.
[170] Who art thou among men, and from whence? Where is thy city and where thy parents?
On what manner of ship didst thou come, and how did sailors bring thee to Ithaca?
Who did they declare themselves to be?

tuque mihi narrato omnia disertim;

οὐ μὲν γὰρ τί σε πεζὸν ὀίομαι ἐνθάδ᾽ ἱκέσθαι.
καί μοι τοῦτ᾽ ἀγόρευσον ἐτήτυμον, ὄφρ᾽ ἐὺ εἰδῶ,
175 ἠὲ νέον μεθέπεις ἦ καὶ πατρώιός ἐσσι
ξεῖνος, ἐπεὶ πολλοὶ ἴσαν ἀνέρες ἡμέτερον δῶ
ἄλλοι, ἐπεὶ καὶ κεῖνος ἐπίστροφος ἦν ἀνθρώπων.’

Non enim te peditem puto huc venire
Et mihi hoc narra verum ut bene sciam ·
4 Et nuper uenis venis (del. scriba) vel patrius es ·
Amicus qui multi fuerunt uiri nostra in domo
Alii quia ille conuersabilis fuit hominum ·

For verily I can no way devise
210  How you should come on horseback or on foot?
And tell me, were you never here before,
Nor saw my father whilst he here abode?
For strangers came to visit him good store,
As having much convers’d with men abroad.

For nowise, methinks, didst thou come hither on foot.
And tell me this also truly, that I may know full well,
[175] whether this is thy first coming hither, or whether thou art indeed a friend of my father's house.
For many were the men who came to our house as strangers
since he, too, had gone to and fro among men.”

τὸν δ᾽ αὖτε προσέειπε θεά, γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη:
‘τοιγὰρ ἐγώ τοι ταῦτα μάλ᾽ ἀτρεκέως ἀγορεύσω.
180 Μέντης Ἀγχιάλοιο δαΐφρονος εὔχομαι εἶναι
υἱός, ἀτὰρ Ταφίοισι φιληρέτμοισιν ἀνάσσω.

Huic autem redixit firma? oculos athena ·
Tibi ergo ego haec valde vere narrabo
Mentes marinae bellice si gloriosior esse ·
filius · nam thafisi nauibus gan?...ibus (i.l. ducem underlined = delted?) impero ·

215  I’ll clearly speak, said Pallas, t’ every thing.
My father was Anchialus, and I
Mentes, my city Taphos, and I king;
My people to the oar themselves apply.

Then the goddess, flashing-eyed Athena, answered him:
“Therefore of a truth will I frankly tell thee all.
[180] I declare that I am Mentes, the son of wise Anchialus,
and I am lord over the oar-loving Taphians.

νῦν δ᾽ ὧδε ξὺν νηὶ κατήλυθον ἠδ᾽ ἑτάροισιν
πλέων ἐπὶ οἴνοπα πόντον ἐπ᾽ ἀλλοθρόους ἀνθρώπους,
ἐς Τεμέσην μετὰ χαλκόν, ἄγω δ᾽ αἴθωνα σίδηρον.

Hunc autem huc cum naui ueni atque fotiis
Nauigans per nigrum pontum per aliam uocem homines hostes?
Ad temesin proinde fero nitidum ferum ·

At present bound I am to Temisa
220  For brass; and iron I carry with me thither.

And now have I put in here, as thou seest, with ship and crew,
while sailing over the wine-dark sea to men of strange speech,
on my way to Temese for copper; and I bear with me shining iron.

185 νηῦς δέ μοι ἥδ᾽ ἕστηκεν ἐπ᾽ ἀγροῦ νόσφι πόληος,
ἐν λιμένι Ῥείθρῳ ὑπὸ Νηίῳ ὑλήεντι.

Nauis autem mihi haec stat in agro procul ciuitate
In portu ritro sub niio arbustrali

Under Mount Neion, not near Ithaca,
My ship at Reithrus rideth safe from weather.

[185] My ship lies yonder beside the fields away from the city,
in the harbor of Rheithron, under woody Neion.

ξεῖνοι δ᾽ ἀλλήλων πατρώιοι εὐχόμεθ᾽ εἶναι
ἐξ ἀρχῆς, εἴ πέρ τε γέροντ᾽ εἴρηαι ἐπελθὼν
Λαέρτην ἥρωα, τὸν οὐκέτι φασὶ πόλινδε
190 ἔρχεσθ᾽, ἀλλ᾽ ἀπάνευθεν ἐπ᾽ ἀγροῦ πήματα πάσχειν
γρηὶ σὺν ἀμφιπόλῳ, ἥ οἱ βρῶσίν τε πόσιν τε
παρτιθεῖ, εὖτ᾽ ἄν μιν κάματος κατὰ γυῖα λάβῃσιν
ἑρπύζοντ᾽ ἀνὰ γουνὸν ἀλωῆς οἰνοπέδοιο.

Amici autem altecurrum pateni gloriam esse
A principio · siquid senem interrogabis quom venerit
Laertem heroem · quem non fantur ad ciuitatem
Venire sed procul in agro nocumenta pati
Vetula cum pedissequa qua sibi cibumque et potumque
Anteponit quem iam ipsum labor imbris coepit
Serpentem per locum fertilem culture uinicose

As for your father, we were mutual guests
(Ask the old lord Laertes) from our youth.
225  With one old maid alone his meat to dress,
He lives at’s country house, he’ll tell you truth.
There creeps he in his vineyard up and down.

Friends of one another do we declare ourselves to be,
even as our fathers were, friends from of old.
Nay, if thou wilt, go and ask the old warrior Laertes, who, they say,
[190] comes no more to the city, but afar in the fields suffers woes
attended by an aged woman as his handmaid, who sets before him food and drink,
after weariness has laid hold of his limbs,
as he creeps along the slope of his vineyard plot.

νῦν δ᾽ ἦλθον: δὴ γάρ μιν ἔφαντ᾽ ἐπιδήμιον εἶναι,
195 σὸν πατέρ᾽: ἀλλά νυ τόν γε θεοὶ βλάπτουσι κελεύθου.

Nunc autem ueri veni (MS veri?) · iam certe ipsum facti sunt neuter esse
Tuum patrem · sed iam hunc dei (o deleted by scribe) laedunt in uia

And I came hither now, ’cause I was told
By some, his son Ulysses was in town.

And now am I come, for of a truth men said that he,
[195] thy father, was among his people; but lo, the gods are thwarting him of his return.

οὐ γάρ πω τέθνηκεν ἐπὶ χθονὶ δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς,
ἀλλ᾽ ἔτι που ζωὸς κατερύκεται εὐρέι πόντῳ
νήσῳ ἐν ἀμφιρύτῃ, χαλεποὶ δέ μιν ἄνδρες ἔχουσιν
ἄγριοι, οἵ που κεῖνον ἐρυκανόωσ᾽ ἀέκοντα.

Non certe adhuc mortuus in terra diuus vlixes
Sed adhuc aliqua uiuus impeditur amplo in ponto
insula in circumflua · pessimi autem ipsum uiri impediunt
Agrestes qui illum retinere nolentem

230  But ’tis not so. The Gods do him withhold
From his dear wife, and native country still
Within an island, where the savage men
By force detain him much against his will:
But all in vain, he shall return again.

For not yet has goodly Odysseus perished on the earth,
but still, I ween, he lives and is held back on the broad sea
in a sea-girt isle, and cruel men keep him, a savage folk,
that constrain him, haply sore against his will.

200 αὐτὰρ νῦν τοι ἐγὼ μαντεύσομαι, ὡς ἐνὶ θυμῷ
ἀθάνατοι βάλλουσι καὶ ὡς τελέεσθαι ὀίω,
οὔτε τι μάντις ἐὼν οὔτ᾽ οἰωνῶν σάφα εἰδώς.

Nam nunc tibi ego uaticinabor · sicuti in animo
Immortales possunt : et sicuti perfuiendum puto
Nec vaticinator existens neque de auibus palam sciens

235  For I presage, and come it shall to pass,
That am no prophet, nor birds understand;

[200] Nay, I will now prophesy to thee, as the immortals put it in my heart,
and as I think it shall be brought to pass,
though I am in no wise a soothsayer, nor one versed in the signs of birds.

οὔ τοι ἔτι δηρόν γε φίλης ἀπὸ πατρίδος αἴης
ἔσσεται, οὐδ᾽ εἴ πέρ τε σιδήρεα δέσματ᾽ ἔχῃσιν:
205 φράσσεται ὥς κε νέηται, ἐπεὶ πολυμήχανός ἐστιν.

Non adhuc longe amica procul paterna terra ·
erit · non si ferrola ligamenta tenent
Cogitabit ut returniat : quia multae astutiae est

Though he were tied there with chains of brass,
He shall get loose and see his native land.

Not much longer shall he be absent from his dear native land,
no, not though bonds of iron hold him.
[205] He will contrive a way to return, for he is a man of many devices.

ἀλλ᾽ ἄγε μοι τόδε εἰπὲ καὶ ἀτρεκέως κατάλεξον,
εἰ δὴ ἐξ αὐτοῖο τόσος πάϊς εἰς Ὀδυσῆος.

Sed eya mihi hoc dic et vere narra ·
Siciam ab ipso tantus filius es ulyxis

But say, are you indeed, that are so grown,
[310] 240  His son?+

But come, tell me this and declare it truly,
whether indeed, tall as thou art, thou art the son of Odysseus himself.

αἰνῶς μὲν κεφαλήν τε καὶ ὄμματα καλὰ ἔοικας
κείνῳ, ἐπεὶ θαμὰ τοῖον ἐμισγόμεθ᾽ ἀλλήλοισιν,
210 πρίν γε τὸν ἐς Τροίην ἀναβήμεναι, ἔνθα περ ἄλλοι
Ἀργείων οἱ ἄριστοι ἔβαν κοίλῃς ἐνὶ νηυσίν:
ἐκ τοῦ δ᾽ οὔτ᾽ Ὀδυσῆα ἐγὼν ἴδον οὔτ᾽ ἔμ᾽ ἐκεῖνος.’

Valde certe capite et oculis hominis assimularis
Illi · quia saepe taliter miscebamur alterutrum
Antequam illum ad troiam ascendisse quo alii
Arginorum optimi inerunt canis in nauibus
ex tunc vlyxem ego uidi : neque me ille ·

Your heads and eyes are like, I mark,
For we were well to one another known;
But ’twas before he did for Troy embark
With other princes of the Argive youth;
But never saw him since.+

Wondrously like his are thy head and beautiful eyes;
for full often did we consort with one another
[210] before he embarked for the land of Troy, whither others, too,
the bravest of the Argives, went in their hollow ships.
But since that day neither have I seen Odysseus, nor he me.”

τὴν δ᾽ αὖ Τηλέμαχος πεπνυμένος ἀντίον ηὔδα:
‘τοιγὰρ ἐγώ τοι, ξεῖνε, μάλ᾽ ἀτρεκέως ἀγορεύσω.
215 μήτηρ μέν τέ μέ φησι τοῦ ἔμμεναι, αὐτὰρ ἐγώ γε
οὐκ οἶδ᾽: οὐ γάρ πώ τις ἑὸν γόνον αὐτὸς ἀνέγνω.

Hanc thelemachus scientificus contra allocutus
Tibi enim ego amice (valde, del. scriba) vere narrabo ·
Mater certe me fatur illius esse · nam ego
Nescio : non certe aliquis proprium parentem ipse cognovit

That I’m his son,
245  Said he, my mother says. But who in truth
Knoweth who ’twas that got him? I think none.

Then wise Telemachus answered her:
“Therefore of a truth, stranger, will I frankly tell thee all.
[215] My mother says that I am his child; but I know not,
for never yet did any man of himself know his own parentage.

ὡς δὴ ἐγώ γ᾽ ὄφελον μάκαρός νύ τευ ἔμμεναι υἱὸς
ἀνέρος, ὃν κτεάτεσσιν ἑοῖς ἔπι γῆρας ἔτετμε.
νῦν δ᾽ ὃς ἀποτμότατος γένετο θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων,
220 τοῦ μ᾽ ἔκ φασι γενέσθαι, ἐπεὶ σύ με τοῦτ᾽ ἐρεείνεις.’

Sic iam ego debui beati aicuius esse filius
Viri quem in possessionibus propriis senectus attingit
Nunc autem qui miserimus natus est mortalium hominis
6 Ex illo me fantur esse ortum · postquam tu me de hoc interrogas

If I might choose my father, I would be
His son that groweth old on’s own estate.
But whom they tell me is my father, he
250  Of all men is the most unfortunate.

Ah, would that I had been the son of some blest man,
whom old age overtook among his own possessions.
But now of him who was the most ill-fated of mortal men
[220] they say that I am sprung, since thou askest me of this.”

τὸν δ᾽ αὖτε προσέειπε θεά, γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη:
‘οὐ μέν τοι γενεήν γε θεοὶ νώνυμνον ὀπίσσω
θῆκαν, ἐπεὶ σέ γε τοῖον ἐγείνατο Πηνελόπεια.
ἀλλ᾽ ἄγε μοι τόδε εἰπὲ καὶ ἀτρεκέως κατάλεξον:

Huic autem dixit dea glaucopis athena ·
Non certe tibi generationem dei in gloriosam retro
fecerunt postquam te talem genuit penelopia
Sed eya mihi hoc dic et vere narra

Then said the Goddess, Howsoe’er that be,
The Gods will never nameless leave your kind,
That are the son of fair Penelope,
And so well fram’d in body and in mind.

Then the goddess, flashing-eyed Athena, answered him:
“Surely, then, no nameless lineage have the gods appointed for thee in time to come
seeing that Penelope bore thee such as thou art.
But come, tell me this and declare it truly.

225 τίς δαίς, τίς δὲ ὅμιλος ὅδ᾽ ἔπλετο; τίπτε δέ σε χρεώ;
εἰλαπίνη ἠὲ γάμος; ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἔρανος τάδε γ᾽ ἐστίν:
ὥς τέ μοι ὑβρίζοντες ὑπερφιάλως δοκέουσι
δαίνυσθαι κατὰ δῶμα. νεμεσσήσαιτό κεν ἀνὴρ
αἴσχεα πόλλ᾽ ὁρόων, ὅς τις πινυτός γε μετέλθοι.’

Que epulae quique coetus hic est : quae tibi necessitas
convivis vel nuptiarum postquam non conueniens caena haec est
quem mihi iniuriantes superbe uidentur
commedere per domum oderit vir
vituperia multa respiciens quisquis sapiens adueniet

255  But say, What feast is this, and who these be?
You have no cause to feast. Their conversation
Pleases me not. ’Tis rude, unmannerly.
What! is’t a wedding, or is’t a collation?

[225] What feast, what throng is this? What need hast thou of it?
Is it a drinking bout, or a wedding feast? For this plainly is no meal to which each brings his portion,
with such outrage and overweening do they seem to me
to be feasting in thy halls. Angered would a man be
at seeing all these shameful acts, any man of sense who should come among them.”

Quae haec daps est? Qui festus dies?

230 τὴν δ᾽ αὖ Τηλέμαχος πεπνυμένος ἀντίον ηὔδα:
‘ξεῖν᾽, ἐπεὶ ἂρ δὴ ταῦτά μ᾽ ἀνείρεαι ἠδὲ μεταλλᾷς,
μέλλεν μέν ποτε οἶκος ὅδ᾽ ἀφνειὸς καὶ ἀμύμων
ἔμμεναι, ὄφρ᾽ ἔτι κεῖνος ἀνὴρ ἐπιδήμιος ἦεν:

Huic autem thelemacus scientificus contra allocutus
Amice postquam iam de his me interrogas atque scitaris
videbatur quondam domus illa diues et irrprehensibiles
Esse donec adhuc ille vir praesens erat

Friend, since you ask, said he, take the whole story.
260  This house was rich, my father being here,

[230] Then wise Telemachus answered her:
“Stranger, since indeed thou dost ask and question me of this,
our house once bade fair to be rich and honorable,
so long as that man was still among his people.

νῦν δ᾽ ἑτέρως ἐβόλοντο θεοὶ κακὰ μητιόωντες,
235 οἳ κεῖνον μὲν ἄιστον ἐποίησαν περὶ πάντων
ἀνθρώπων, ἐπεὶ οὔ κε θανόντι περ ὧδ᾽ ἀκαχοίμην,
εἰ μετὰ οἷς ἑτάροισι δάμη Τρώων ἐνὶ δήμῳ,
ἠὲ φίλων ἐν χερσίν, ἐπεὶ πόλεμον τολύπευσεν.

Nunc autem alter voluerunt dei mala consulentes
Qui illum certe inapparabilem fererent ultra omnes
Homines qua non mortuo sic contrastarer
Sed cum propriis sotiis (=sociis) interfectus fuisset troianorum in loco
Vel amicorum in manibus postquam belum perfecit

But th’ unkind Gods have taken hence that glory:
For where he is, a word we cannot hear.
Less had I griev’d, if he his life had lost
With other Argive lords under Troy wall,
265  Or, the war done, ’mongst those that love him most.

But now the gods have willed otherwise in their evil devising,
[235] seeing that they have caused him to pass from sight as they have no other man.
For I should not so grieve for his death,
if he had been slain among his comrades in the land of the Trojans,
or had died in the arms of his friends, when he had wound up the skein of war.

τῷ κέν οἱ τύμβον μὲν ἐποίησαν Παναχαιοί,
240 ἠδέ κε καὶ ᾧ παιδὶ μέγα κλέος ἤρατ᾽ ὀπίσσω.
νῦν δέ μιν ἀκλειῶς ἅρπυιαι ἀνηρείψαντο:
οἴχετ᾽ ἄιστος ἄπυστος, ἐμοὶ δ᾽ ὀδύνας τε γόους τε
κάλλιπεν. οὐδέ τι κεῖνον ὀδυρόμενος στεναχίζω
οἶον, ἐπεί νύ μοι ἄλλα θεοὶ κακὰ κήδε᾽ ἔτευξαν.

Ex hoc sibi sepulturam certe fecisset iam omnes achiai
Atque et proprio filio magnam gloriam tulisset post
Nunc autem ipsum in gloriose (=ingloriose) arpie usurpaverunt
corruptum inapparabilis inexauditus · me autem dolores fletusque
Reliqtur · non autem illum flens suspire
Solum quia me alia dei mala flagella apparaverunt

Then had he had a noble funeral,
At which th’ Achæan princes would have been,
And the honour had redounded to his son.
But now, alas! devour’d by harpies keen,
270  Unheard-of and unask’d-for he is gone,
Leaving me here behind to sigh and groan.
Besides, the Gods have giv’n me other care,

Then would the whole host of the Achaeans have made him a tomb,
[240] and for his son, too, he would have won great glory in days to come.
But as it is, the spirits of the storm have swept him away and left no tidings:
he is gone out of sight, out of hearing, and for me he has left anguish and weeping;
nor do I in any wise mourn and wail for him alone,
seeing that the gods have brought upon me other sore troubles.

245 ὅσσοι γὰρ νήσοισιν ἐπικρατέουσιν ἄριστοι,
Δουλιχίῳ τε Σάμῃ τε καὶ ὑλήεντι Ζακύνθῳ,
ἠδ᾽ ὅσσοι κραναὴν Ἰθάκην κάτα κοιρανέουσιν,
τόσσοι μητέρ᾽ ἐμὴν μνῶνται, τρύχουσι δὲ οἶκον.

Quot enim insulis dominantur optimi
dulichioque samoque arbustrali Zachinto
Atque quot aspere itachie predominantur
Tot matri meae procantur consumantque domum

Bitter enough. ’Tis not for him alone
My heart is rent. There other mischiefs are.
275  How many lords within these isles do sway!
Samé, Dulichium, Ithaca, and Zant;
So many suitors duly every day
For marriage with my mother the house haunt.

[245] For all the princes who hold sway over the islands
— Dulichium and Same and wooded Zacynthus
— and those who lord it over rocky Ithaca,
all these woo my mother and lay waste my house.

... matrem procitum plurimi venerunt,

ἡ δ᾽ οὔτ᾽ ἀρνεῖται στυγερὸν γάμον οὔτε τελευτὴν
250 ποιῆσαι δύναται: τοὶ δὲ φθινύθουσιν ἔδοντες
οἶκον ἐμόν: τάχα δή με διαρραίσουσι καὶ αὐτόν.’

Hec autem non abnuit odiosas nuptias non finem
facere potest · isti autem corrumpunt edentes
Domum meam cito iam me destruent et impsum

Whilst she can none put off, and will none marry,
280  They spend my corn and wine, and cattle kill,
And eating here and drinking still they tarry,
And me perhaps at last they murder will.

And she neither refuses the hateful marriage,
[250] nor is she able to make an end; but they with feasting consume my substance:
ere long they will bring me, too, to ruin.”

τὸν δ᾽ ἐπαλαστήσασα προσηύδα Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη:
‘ὢ πόποι, ἦ δὴ πολλὸν ἀποιχομένου Ὀδυσῆος
δεύῃ, ὅ κε μνηστῆρσιν ἀναιδέσι χεῖρας ἐφείη.
255 εἰ γὰρ νῦν ἐλθὼν δόμου ἐν πρώτῃσι θύρῃσι
σταίη, ἔχων πήληκα καὶ ἀσπίδα καὶ δύο δοῦρε,
τοῖος ἐὼν οἷόν μιν ἐγὼ τὰ πρῶτ᾽ ἐνόησα
οἴκῳ ἐν ἡμετέρῳ πίνοντά τε τερπόμενόν τε,
260 ἐξ Ἐφύρης ἀνιόντα παρ᾽ Ἴλου Μερμερίδαο—

Hunc autem anxia facta allocuta est pallas athena
Heu animo · vere iam multum absente ulyxe
Deficiet qui procis vituperosis manus imponet
Vt certe nunc quom venerit domum in primis ianuis
stet tenens galeam et scutum et duas lanceas
Talis existens qualem ipsum ego primum vidi
domo in mea potestatemque delectantemque
Ab ephiri reuersum ab illo mihi meridao (=mermeridao)

Then Pallas said, Is’t so? ’Tis time indeed
Your father hither were come back again,
285  Having so long been absent hence, with speed
To lay his hands upon these shameless men.
Oh! that just now within the gates he stood
Of th’ outer court, I would desire no more,
Arm’d with two spears, buckler, and helmet good,
[311] 290  Such now, as I have seen him heretofore.
From Ephyré he took our house in’s way,
Where first I saw him merry drinking wine.

Then, stirred to anger, Pallas Athena spoke to him:
“Out on it! Thou hast of a truth sore need of Odysseus that is gone,
that he might put forth his hands upon the shameless wooers.
[255] Would that he might come now and take his stand at the outer gate of the house,
with helmet and shield and two spears,
such a man as he was when I first saw him
in our house drinking and making merry,
on his way back from Ephyre, from the house of Ilus, son of Mermerus.

ᾤχετο γὰρ καὶ κεῖσε θοῆς ἐπὶ νηὸς Ὀδυσσεὺς
φάρμακον ἀνδροφόνον διζήμενος, ὄφρα οἱ εἴη
ἰοὺς χρίεσθαι χαλκήρεας: ἀλλ᾽ ὁ μὲν οὔ οἱ
δῶκεν, ἐπεί ῥα θεοὺς νεμεσίζετο αἰὲν ἐόντας,
265 ἀλλὰ πατήρ οἱ δῶκεν ἐμός: φιλέεσκε γὰρ αἰνῶς—

Iuit enim illuc cita in naui ulyxes ·
Phamacon (=Pharmacon) uiros interficiens querens ut sibi esset
Sagiptas ungeret ferreas · sed ille non sibi
dedit · deas venerabatur semper existentes
Sed pater sibi dedit meus diligebat enim valde

For he had been with Ilus, him to pray
To give him for his shafts a medicine,
295  Wherewith to make them all they wound to kill.
But he refus’d, fearing the powers above.
And ’twas my father gave’t him for good will:
For why, he did him very dearly love.

[260] For thither, too, went Odysseus in his swift ship
in search of a deadly drug, that he might have
wherewith to smear his bronze-tipped arrows; yet Ilus gave it not to him,
for he stood in awe of the gods that are forever;
but my father gave it, for he held him strangely dear.

τοῖος ἐὼν μνηστῆρσιν ὁμιλήσειεν Ὀδυσσεύς:
πάντες κ᾽ ὠκύμοροί τε γενοίατο πικρόγαμοί τε.
ἀλλ᾽ ἦ τοι μὲν ταῦτα θεῶν ἐν γούνασι κεῖται,
ἤ κεν νοστήσας ἀποτίσεται, ἦε καὶ οὐκί,
οἷσιν ἐνὶ μεγάροισι: σὲ δὲ φράζεσθαι ἄνωγα,
270 ὅππως κε μνηστῆρας ἀπώσεαι ἐκ μεγάροιο.

7 Talis existens cum procis conversaretur ulyxes
Omnes cito morituri fierent amararum nuptiarumque
sed certe hanc deorum in genibus iacet
Vel reuersus ultionem sumat uel et non
Propriis in atriis tibi autem cogitaret praecipio
Quomodo procos expellas ab atrio

If, such as then, Ulysses should appear
300  Amongst the suitors now, short liv’d I trow
They’d be, and have but bitter wedding cheer.
But when he shall come home, Gods only know,
Or whether you shall see him any more.
Meanwhile consider by what means you may
305  Get the unruly suitors out of door,
That so oppress you, and your house annoy.

[265] Would, I say, that in such strength Odysseus might come amongst the wooers;
then should they all find swift destruction and bitterness in their wooing.
Yet these things verily lie on the knees of the gods,
whether he shall return and wreak vengeance
in his halls, or whether he shall not; but for thyself, I bid thee take thought
[270] how thou mayest thrust forth the wooers from the hall.

εἰ δ᾽ ἄγε νῦν ξυνίει καὶ ἐμῶν ἐμπάζεο μύθων:
αὔριον εἰς ἀγορὴν καλέσας ἥρωας Ἀχαιοὺς
μῦθον πέφραδε πᾶσι, θεοὶ δ᾽ ἐπὶ μάρτυροι ἔστων.

Sed eya nunc audi et meos cura sermones
Cras ad contionem quom uocaveris heroas achiuos
Sermonem dic omnibus : dei autem testes sint

And first observe what I shall you advise.
Convoke the people to the market-place;
Protest the Gods against their injuries,
310  And let the whole assembly know your case.

Come now, give ear, and hearken to my words.
On the morrow call to an assembly the Achaean lords,
and speak out thy word to all, and let the gods be thy witnesses.

μνηστῆρας μὲν ἐπὶ σφέτερα σκίδνασθαι ἄνωχθι,
275 μητέρα δ᾽, εἴ οἱ θυμὸς ἐφορμᾶται γαμέεσθαι,
ἂψ ἴτω ἐς μέγαρον πατρὸς μέγα δυναμένοιο:
οἱ δὲ γάμον τεύξουσι καὶ ἀρτυνέουσιν ἔεδνα
πολλὰ μάλ᾽, ὅσσα ἔοικε φίλης ἐπὶ παιδὸς ἕπεσθαι.

Precatores certe ad propria diuidi praecipe
Mater autem si sibi animus uult nubem
Retro vadat ad atrium patris valde potentis ·
Isti autem nuptias praeparabunt et ordinatunt corea?
Multa valde quot ?quorum? amicam filiam sequi

Say, if they needs will wed her, let her go
Back to her father, who the match should make,
And offer for her what is fit; and so
Which of them she likes best, him let her take.

As for the wooers, bid them scatter, each to his own;
[275] and for thy mother, if her heart bids her marry,
let her go back to the hall of her mighty father,
and there they will prepare a wedding feast, and make ready the gifts full many—aye,
all that should follow after a well-loved daughter.

σοὶ δ᾽ αὐτῷ πυκινῶς ὑποθήσομαι, αἴ κε πίθηαι:
280 νῆ᾽ ἄρσας ἐρέτῃσιν ἐείκοσιν, ἥ τις ἀρίστη,
ἔρχεο πευσόμενος πατρὸς δὴν οἰχομένοιο,
ἤν τίς τοι εἴπῃσι βροτῶν, ἢ ὄσσαν ἀκούσῃς
ἐκ Διός, ἥ τε μάλιστα φέρει κλέος ἀνθρώποισι.

Tibi autem ipsi sapientes(MS sic °ter?) consulam sique obedias
nauem quom aptueris remigibus XX · quae optima
Auditurus de patre diu absente ·
Si quid dicet mortalium vel vaticinium audias
A Ioue quidem maxime fert famam hominibus

315  And for yourself, I think it your best way,
In a good bark of twenty oars abroad
T’ inquire what men can of your father say,
Or what some lucky sign from Jove may bode.

And to thyself will I give wise counsel, if thou wilt hearken.
[280] Man with twenty rowers the best ship thou hast,
and go to seek tidings of thy father, that has long been gone,
if haply any mortal may tell thee, or thou mayest hear a voice
from Zeus, which oftenest brings tidings to men.

πρῶτα μὲν ἐς Πύλον ἐλθὲ καὶ εἴρεο Νέστορα δῖον,
285 κεῖθεν δὲ Σπάρτηνδε παρὰ ξανθὸν Μενέλαον:
ὃς γὰρ δεύτατος ἦλθεν Ἀχαιῶν χαλκοχιτώνων.

Primo certe ad pylon venias et interroga nestorem
Illinc ad spartem ad flauum Menelaum diuum
Ille certe vltimus venit achiuerum aenea habitum indumenta

Go first to Pyle, inquire of Nestor; then
320  To Sparta. Ask of Menelaus, whom
Of all which had at Troy commanded men
The Gods t’ Achaia brought the latest home.

First go to Pylos and question goodly Nestor,
[285] and from thence to Sparta to fair-haired Menelaus;
for he was the last to reach home of the brazen-coated Achaeans.

εἰ μέν κεν πατρὸς βίοτον καὶ νόστον ἀκούσῃς,
ἦ τ᾽ ἂν τρυχόμενός περ ἔτι τλαίης ἐνιαυτόν:

Si certe patris uitam et reditum audieris
Vere iam consumes ?hic et? adhuc subsistebisque annum

If of his safety and return you hear,
How much soever they waste your estate,
325  Endure their riot yet another year.

If so be thou shalt hear that thy father is alive and coming home,
then verily, though thou art sore afflicted, thou couldst endure for yet a year.

εἰ δέ κε τεθνηῶτος ἀκούσῃς μηδ᾽ ἔτ᾽ ἐόντος,
290 νοστήσας δὴ ἔπειτα φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν
σῆμά τέ οἱ χεῦαι καὶ ἐπὶ κτέρεα κτερεΐξαι
πολλὰ μάλ᾽, ὅσσα ἔοικε, καὶ ἀνέρι μητέρα δοῦναι.

Si autem mortuum audies non autem existentem
reversus autem postea amicam ad paternam terram
Sepulcuram sibi effodias et cum sepulchralibus sepelias
Multis autem quot conuenit et uirum matri da

If dead, come back, and fairly celebrate
His rites, and give your mother whom she will
For husband.+

But if thou shalt hear that he is dead and gone,
[290] then return to thy dear native land
and heap up a mound for him, and over it pay funeral rites,
full many as is due, and give thy mother to a husband.

αὐτὰρ ἐπὴν δὴ ταῦτα τελευτήσῃς τε καὶ ἔρξῃς,
φράζεσθαι δὴ ἔπειτα κατὰ φρένα καὶ κατὰ θυμὸν
295 ὅππως κε μνηστῆρας ἐνὶ μεγάροισι τεοῖσι
κτείνῃς ἠὲ δόλῳ ἢ ἀμφαδόν: οὐδέ τί σε χρὴ
νηπιάας ὀχέειν, ἐπεὶ οὐκέτι τηλίκος ἐσσι.

Nam postque ia haec feceveris et impleveris
Cogita postea persensum et per animum
Quomodo procos in atriis tuis
interficias vel dolo uel palam · non autem te oportet
Puerizantem duci · qua non talis es

Then bethink you, how you may
By open force, or howsoever kill
330  These shameless suitors that your means destroy.
Be fool’d no more. You’re now at man’s estate.

Then when thou hast done all this and brought it to an end,
thereafter take thought in mind and heart
[295] how thou mayest slay the wooers in thy halls
whether by guile or openly; for it beseems thee
not to practise childish ways, since thou art no longer of such an age.

ἢ οὐκ ἀίεις οἷον κλέος ἔλλαβε δῖος Ὀρέστης
πάντας ἐπ᾽ ἀνθρώπους, ἐπεὶ ἔκτανε πατροφονῆα,
300 Αἴγισθον δολόμητιν, ὅ οἱ πατέρα κλυτὸν ἔκτα;

Vel non audis qualem gloriam accepit gloriosus orestes
Omnibus in hominibus postquam interfecit patricidam
Egistam dolosa consideratum qui sibi patrem gloriosum interfecit

Ægistus slew Orestes’ father. He
Ægistus slew. Who does not this relate
With honour to Orestes’ memory?

Or hast thou not heard what fame the goodly Orestes won
among all mankind when he slew his father's murderer,
[300] the guileful Aegisthus, for that he slew his glorious father?

καὶ σύ, φίλος, μάλα γάρ σ᾽ ὁρόω καλόν τε μέγαν τε,
ἄλκιμος ἔσσ᾽, ἵνα τίς σε καὶ ὀψιγόνων ἐὺ εἴπῃ.

Et tu amice ualde certe te uideo bonumque magnum
Fortis fias ut aliquis te posterorum hominum benedicat

335  And you, my friend, you are a goodly man.
Take heart. Gain honour.+

Thou too, my friend, for I see that thou art comely and tall,
be thou valiant, that many an one of men yet to be born may praise thee.

αὐτὰρ ἐγὼν ἐπὶ νῆα θοὴν κατελεύσομαι ἤδη
ἠδ᾽ ἑτάρους, οἵ πού με μάλ᾽ ἀσχαλόωσι μένοντες:
305 σοὶ δ᾽ αὐτῷ μελέτω, καὶ ἐμῶν ἐμπάζεο μύθων.’

Nam ego ad nauem citam veniam nunc
Atque ad sotios · qui iam me valde grauiter (t del. scriba) anxiuntur expectantes ·
Tibi autem ipsi vure sit : et meos cura sermones

I must now be gone;
My crew with patience no longer can
Stay for me, therefore think what’s to be done.

But now I will go down to my swift ship
and my comrades, who, methinks, are chafing much at waiting for me.
[305] For thyself, give heed and have regard to my words.”

τὴν δ᾽ αὖ Τηλέμαχος πεπνυμένος ἀντίον ηὔδα:
‘ξεῖν᾽, ἦ τοι μὲν ταῦτα φίλα φρονέων ἀγορεύεις,
ὥς τε πατὴρ ᾧ παιδί, καὶ οὔ ποτε λήσομαι αὐτῶν.

Huic autem thelemacus sciens contra locutus
Amice vere quidem haec amicabilia sentiens concionaris
Sicuti pater proprio filio : et numquam obliuiscafr ipsorum

Your counsel, said Telemachus, is such
[312] 340  As might become a father to his son.

Then wise Telemachus answered her:
“Stranger, in truth thou speakest these things with kindly thought,
as a father to his son, and never will I forget them.

ἀλλ᾽ ἄγε νῦν ἐπίμεινον, ἐπειγόμενός περ ὁδοῖο,
310 ὄφρα λοεσσάμενός τε τεταρπόμενός τε φίλον κῆρ,
δῶρον ἔχων ἐπὶ νῆα κίῃς, χαίρων ἐνὶ θυμῷ,
τιμῆεν, μάλα καλόν, ὅ τοι κειμήλιον ἔσται
ἐξ ἐμεῦ, οἷα φίλοι ξεῖνοι ξείνοισι διδοῦσι.’

Sed eia nunc expecta festinans licet ad uiam
8 Vt lotusque delectarusque in amica anima
Donum habens ad nauem uenias gaudens animo
honorabile valde bonum quid tibi iocale erit
A me sicuti amicabiles amici amicis dant

I’ll not forget it. Though your haste be much,
Stay yet awhile; be not so quickly gone.
Wash and take food, and then go merrily;
And with you a fair present from me take,
345  Whereby to keep me in your memory;
Such as kind friends to one another make.

But come now, tarry, eager though thou art to be gone,
[310] in order that when thou hast bathed and satisfied thy heart to the full,
thou mayest go to thy ship glad in spirit,
and bearing a gift costly and very beautiful, which shall be to thee an heirloom
from me, even such a gift as dear friends give to friends.”

τὸν δ᾽ ἠμείβετ᾽ ἔπειτα θεά, γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη:
315 ‘μή μ᾽ ἔτι νῦν κατέρυκε, λιλαιόμενόν περ ὁδοῖο.
δῶρον δ᾽ ὅττι κέ μοι δοῦναι φίλον ἦτορ ἀνώγῃ,
αὖτις ἀνερχομένῳ δόμεναι οἶκόνδε φέρεσθαι,
καὶ μάλα καλὸν ἑλών: σοὶ δ᾽ ἄξιον ἔσται ἀμοιβῆς.’

Huic autem retribuens affata est glaucopis athena
Non amplius nunc impedias desiderantem uiam
Donum (MS: Domum) autem quidcunque mihi dare amica anima uult
Retro venienti dabis domumque ut feram ·
Et ualde (MS: uade) bonum acceperis tibi autem dignum erit retributione

Then said the Goddess, Now I cannot stay.
As for your present I will not deny it,
But take it at my coming back this way,
350  How much soe’er you mean t’ oblige me by it.

Then the goddess, flashing-eyed Athena, answered him:
[315] “Stay me now no longer, when I am eager to be gone,
and whatsoever gift thy heart bids thee give me,
give it when I come back, to bear to my home,
choosing a right beautiful one; it shall bring thee its worth in return.”

ἡ μὲν ἄρ᾽ ὣς εἰποῦσ᾽ ἀπέβη γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη,
320 ὄρνις δ᾽ ὣς ἀνόπαια διέπτατο: τῷ δ᾽ ἐνὶ θυμῷ
θῆκε μένος καὶ θάρσος, ὑπέμνησέν τέ ἑ πατρὸς
μᾶλλον ἔτ᾽ ἢ τὸ πάροιθεν. ὁ δὲ φρεσὶν ᾗσι νοήσας
θάμβησεν κατὰ θυμόν: ὀίσατο γὰρ θεὸν εἶναι.
αὐτίκα δὲ μνηστῆρας ἐπῴχετο ἰσόθεος φώς.

Haec certe iam sic facta · abiit glaucopis athena ·
Auis autem sicuti ala petens uolauit : isti autem animo
Posuit uim et audaciam : recordarique fecit ipsum patris
Magis ad hoc quam antea · hic autem sensibus propriis intelligens
obstupuit animo · agnouit enim deum esse
Statim autem ad procos iuit similis deo uir

This said, she mounted from him to the sky
In likeness of an eagle, to his wonder,
Who thought it was some God, and grew thereby
Bolder, and on his father more did ponder.
355  And straightway to the suitors went, who were
Now come again into the house, and seated,

So spoke the goddess, flashing-eyed Athena, and departed,
[320] flying upward as a bird; and in his heart
she put strength and courage, and made him think of his father
even more than aforetime. And in his mind he marked her
and marvelled, for he deemed that she was a god;¨
and straightway he went among the wooers, a godlike man.

325 τοῖσι δ᾽ ἀοιδὸς ἄειδε περικλυτός, οἱ δὲ σιωπῇ
ἥατ᾽ ἀκούοντες: ὁ δ᾽ Ἀχαιῶν νόστον ἄειδε
λυγρόν, ὃν ἐκ Τροίης ἐπετείλατο Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη.

Istis autem cytharista canebat gloriosus · isti autem tacite
Sedebant audientes · hic autem achiuorum reditum canebat
Anxium quam a troia dedit pallas athena

A song which Phemius then sung to hear,
Containing how the Grecians retreated
Unfortunately from the Trojan shore
360  By Pallas’ doings, whom they had offended.

[325] For them the famous minstrel was singing, and they sat in silence
listening; and he sang of the return of the Achaeans
— the woeful return from Troy which Pallas Athena laid upon them.

τοῦ δ᾽ ὑπερωιόθεν φρεσὶ σύνθετο θέσπιν ἀοιδὴν
κούρη Ἰκαρίοιο, περίφρων Πηνελόπεια:
330 κλίμακα δ᾽ ὑψηλὴν κατεβήσετο οἷο δόμοιο,
οὐκ οἴη, ἅμα τῇ γε καὶ ἀμφίπολοι δύ᾽ ἕποντο.

Huius autem a palatio sensibus inellexit admirabilem cantilenam
Puella icari sapiens penelope
Per schalam autem altam descendit prope domum
Non sola simul ipsam pedissequae secutae

Penelope that heard it, and was more
Concerned than they all, straightway descended.
She ent’red not, but in the door did stand,
Veil’d with a scarf which on her head she wore,
365  Having a waiting-woman on each hand;

And from her upper chamber
the daughter of Icarius, wise Penelope, heard his wondrous song,
[330] and she went down the high stairway from her chamber,
not alone, for two handmaids attended her.

ἡ δ᾽ ὅτε δὴ μνηστῆρας ἀφίκετο δῖα γυναικῶν,
στῆ ῥα παρὰ σταθμὸν τέγεος πύκα ποιητοῖο,
ἄντα παρειάων σχομένη λιπαρὰ κρήδεμνα:
335 ἀμφίπολος δ᾽ ἄρα οἱ κεδνὴ ἑκάτερθε παρέστη.

Haec (MS: haec) autem quando ad procos venit diua forminarum
Stetit ostrum? inferioris domus studiose factae
Contra genas tenens mollia vela ·
Pedissequae autem vere sibi honesta ex utrique praeter adscitur ·

Now when the fair lady had come to the wooers,
she stood by the door-post of the well-built hall,
holding before her face her shining veil;
[335] and a faithful handmaid stood on either side of her.

δακρύσασα δ᾽ ἔπειτα προσηύδα θεῖον ἀοιδόν:
‘Φήμιε, πολλὰ γὰρ ἄλλα βροτῶν θελκτήρια οἶδας,
ἔργ᾽ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε, τά τε κλείουσιν ἀοιδοί:

Lachrymans autem posta alloquebatur diuum cytharistam
Femie · multaenim alia mortalium delectabilia scis
Opera uirorumque deorumque quae glorificant cytharistae

And to the singer thus said, weeping sore:
Phemius, y’ have better songs, why sing you then
This sad one?+

Then she burst into tears, and spoke to the divine minstrel:
“Phemius, many other things thou knowest to charm mortals,
deeds of men and gods which minstrels make famous.

τῶν ἕν γέ σφιν ἄειδε παρήμενος, οἱ δὲ σιωπῇ
340 οἶνον πινόντων: ταύτης δ᾽ ἀποπαύε᾽ ἀοιδῆς
λυγρῆς, ἥ τέ μοι αἰεὶ ἐνὶ στήθεσσι φίλον κῆρ
τείρει, ἐπεί με μάλιστα καθίκετο πένθος ἄλαστον.

Ex illis unum ipsis cane sedens · isti autem proci
Vinum bibant · hanc autem finias cantilenam
Angustiosam quam mihi sempere in pectoribus amicam animamque
Premit postque me maxime tetigit tristiam sine fine

Fitter ’twere the deeds to tell
Of mighty Gods, and mighty deeds of men,
370  Which sure would please the company as well.
Sing one of those, and let them hear and drink;
Give over this. You touch my interest,

Sing them one of these, as thou sittest here,
[340] and let them drink their wine in silence. But cease from this woeful song
which ever harrows the heart in my breast,
for upon me above all women has come a sorrow not to be forgotten.

τοίην γὰρ κεφαλὴν ποθέω μεμνημένη αἰεί,
ἀνδρός, τοῦ κλέος εὐρὺ καθ᾽ Ἑλλάδα καὶ μέσον Ἄργος.’

Tale certe caput cupio recordata semper
Viri autem gloriam amplam per hellada (MS: hellidam) medium argon

And wound my heart in forcing me to think
Upon my husband, of all Greeks the best.

So dear a head do I ever remember with longing,
even my husband, whose fame is wide through Hellas and mid-Argos.”

345 τὴν δ᾽ αὖ Τηλέμαχος πεπνυμένος ἀντίον ηὔδα:
‘μῆτερ ἐμή, τί τ᾽ ἄρα φθονέεις ἐρίηρον ἀοιδὸν
τέρπειν ὅππῃ οἱ νόος ὄρνυται; οὔ νύ τ᾽ ἀοιδοὶ
αἴτιοι, ἀλλά ποθι Ζεὺς αἴτιος, ὅς τε δίδωσιν
ἀνδράσιν ἀλφηστῇσιν, ὅπως ἐθέλῃσιν, ἑκάστῳ.

Hanc autem thelemacus sciens contra allocutus
Mater mea cur uos inuides delectabili cantori
Delectare nisi sibi intellectus commouetur non autem cantores
culpabiles? · sed iam iam iupiter culpabilis? qui dat ·
Viris inuentoribus quomodo cunque uult quiusque

375  Then said Telemachus, Good mother, why
Should not the singer choose what song to sing,
Whose part it is to please the company?
It is not he that does the evil bring.
’Tis none of Phemius’ fault, but th’ act of Jove,
380  Who deals to all men all things as he please.

[345] Then wise Telemachus answered her:
“My mother, why dost thou begrudge the good minstrel
to give pleasure in whatever way his heart is moved? It is not minstrels
that are to blame, but Zeus, I ween, is to blame, who gives
to men that live by toil, to each one as he will.

350 τούτῳ δ᾽ οὐ νέμεσις Δαναῶν κακὸν οἶτον ἀείδειν:
τὴν γὰρ ἀοιδὴν μᾶλλον ἐπικλείουσ᾽ ἄνθρωποι,
ἥ τις ἀκουόντεσσι νεωτάτη ἀμφιπέληται.

Isti autem non reprehensio danaorum malam mortem cantare
illam enim cantilena maxime glorificant homines
Quae audientibus noueella est ·

Should he not sing the songs that men most love,
The new’st? The Greeks’ sad passage o’er the seas?

[350] With this man no one can be wroth if he sings of the evil doom of the Danaans;
for men praise that song the most
which comes the newest to their ears.

σοί δ᾽ ἐπιτολμάτω κραδίη καὶ θυμὸς ἀκούειν:
οὐ γὰρ Ὀδυσσεὺς οἶος ἀπώλεσε νόστιμον ἦμαρ
355 ἐν Τροίῃ, πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ ἄλλοι φῶτες ὄλοντο.

Tibi substineat cor et animus audire
Non certe vlyxes solus amisit reditus diem
9 In troia multi autem et alii viri perierunt

Be patient, many more besides Ulysses,
Come short from Troy by one fate or another,
385  Nor are you the only wife her husband misses.

For thyself, let thy heart and soul endure to listen;
for not Odysseus alone lost
[355] in Troy the day of his return, but many others likewise perished.

ἀλλ᾽ εἰς οἶκον ἰοῦσα τὰ σ᾽ αὐτῆς ἔργα κόμιζε,
ἱστόν τ᾽ ἠλακάτην τε, καὶ ἀμφιπόλοισι κέλευε
ἔργον ἐποίχεσθαι: μῦθος δ᾽ ἄνδρεσσι μελήσει
πᾶσι, μάλιστα δ᾽ ἐμοί: τοῦ γὰρ κράτος ἔστ᾽ ἐνὶ οἴκῳ.’

Sed ad domum veniens · quae tui operis cura ·
Telam caelumque et pedissequis praecipe
Opus laborare · fame autem uiris cure erit
Omnibus maxime autem me cuius certe dominium est in domo

Many men else are lost. Therefore, good mother,
Go to your work again above, and see
Your maids do theirs, leave censuring of songs
Unto us men, and specially to me,
[313] 390  To whom the greatest power here belongs.

Nay, go to thy chamber, and busy thyself with thine own tasks,
the loom and the distaff, and bid thy handmaids
ply their tasks; but speech shall be for men,
for all, but most of all for me; since mine is the authority in the house.”

360 ἡ μὲν θαμβήσασα πάλιν οἶκόνδε βεβήκει:
παιδὸς γὰρ μῦθον πεπνυμένον ἔνθετο θυμῷ.

Haec certe stupefacta iterum domum intrauit
Filii certe sermonem scientificum posuit (MS: poscit? cross i.l. sup. voc. correctione) animo

Then to her chamber up she went again,
With her two maids, and there began to weep,

[360] She then, seized with wonder, went back to her chamber,
for she laid to heart the wise saying of her son.

ἐς δ᾽ ὑπερῷ᾽ ἀναβᾶσα σὺν ἀμφιπόλοισι γυναιξὶ
κλαῖεν ἔπειτ᾽ Ὀδυσῆα φίλον πόσιν, ὄφρα οἱ ὕπνον
ἡδὺν ἐπὶ βλεφάροισι βάλε γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη.

Atque palarium ascendens cum peissequas ferens (lege probaliter feminas, scriba erravit?)
Plorabat postea vlyxem amicabilem maritum · donec sibi somnum
Dulcem in superciliis posuit glaucopis athena

Being for her dear husband in great pain,
And wept till Pallas clos’d her eyes with sleep.

Up to her upper chamber she went with her handmaids,
and then bewailed Odysseus, her dear husband
until flashing-eyed Athena cast sweet sleep upon her eyelids.

365 μνηστῆρες δ᾽ ὁμάδησαν ἀνὰ μέγαρα σκιόεντα,
πάντες δ᾽ ἠρήσαντο παραὶ λεχέεσσι κλιθῆναι.

Proci autem turbati sunt · per atria umbrosa
Omnes animo elegerunt in lectis congregari

395  Meanwhile the suitors into clusters ran,
And one t’ another his thoughts uttered
With noise enough. But there was not a man
That did not wish to have her in his bed.

[365] But the wooers broke into uproar throughout the shadowy halls,
and all prayed, each that he might lie by her side.

τοῖσι δὲ Τηλέμαχος πεπνυμένος ἤρχετο μύθων:
‘μητρὸς ἐμῆς μνηστῆρες ὑπέρβιον ὕβριν ἔχοντες,
νῦν μὲν δαινύμενοι τερπώμεθα, μηδὲ βοητὺς
370 ἔστω, ἐπεὶ τόδε καλὸν ἀκουέμεν ἐστὶν ἀοιδοῦ
τοιοῦδ᾽ οἷος ὅδ᾽ ἐστί, θεοῖς ἐναλίγκιος αὐδήν.

Istis autem thelemacus scientificus incoepit sermonem
Matris meae proci · superbam iniuriam habentes
Hunc edentes delectamus · non autem rumor
Sit · qua hoc bonum audire est · cantorem
Talem qualem hi est deis similis uoce

Then to them spake Telemachus: D’ye hear,
400  Proud suitors of my mother, let’s, I pray,
Give ear unto the singer, and forbear
Clamour.+

And among them wise Telemachus was the first to speak:
“Wooers of my mother, overweening in your insolence,
for the present let us make merry with feasting, [370] but let there be no brawling;
for this is a goodly thing, to listen to a minstrel
such as this man is, like to the gods in voice.

ἠῶθεν δ᾽ ἀγορήνδε καθεζώμεσθα κιόντες
πάντες, ἵν᾽ ὕμιν μῦθον ἀπηλεγέως ἀποείπω,
ἐξιέναι μεγάρων: ἄλλας δ᾽ ἀλεγύνετε δαῖτας,
375 ὑμὰ κτήματ᾽ ἔδοντες, ἀμειβόμενοι κατὰ οἴκους.

Mane autem ad contionem sedebimus venientes
Omnes ut uobis sermonem audacter cum consciam dicam
Exire ab atriis · alias autem circe habeatis epulas
Vestras possessiones edentes · alterutrum retribuentum per domos

To-morrow is the council day,
There I shall warn you publicly, no more
To haunt my house, but each man home to go,
405  And there to feast by turns on your own store;

But in the morning let us go to the assembly and take our seats,
one and all, that I may declare my word to you outright
that you depart from these halls. Prepare you other feasts,
[375] eating your own substance and changing from house to house.

εἰ δ᾽ ὕμιν δοκέει τόδε λωίτερον καὶ ἄμεινον
ἔμμεναι, ἀνδρὸς ἑνὸς βίοτον νήποινον ὀλέσθαι,
κείρετ᾽: ἐγὼ δὲ θεοὺς ἐπιβώσομαι αἰὲν ἐόντας,
αἴ κέ ποθι Ζεὺς δῷσι παλίντιτα ἔργα γενέσθαι:
380 νήποινοί κεν ἔπειτα δόμων ἔντοσθεν ὄλοισθε.’

Si autem uire uobis hoc melius et utilius
Esse uiri unius uiram inulcte destruire
Destruaris · ego autem deos implorabo semper existentes
Sique aliquando iupiter det postulata (MS: postulta) opera fieri
Sine vlctione postea intra domos pereatis

And if you be not willing to do so,
But your own means to spare, shall think it best
To feast yourselves on one man’s substance all,
And ruin his estate, go on and feast,
410  While I upon the Gods for vengeance call.
O that the mighty Jove would so ordain,
That all men’s actions might be repaid
As they deserve! Then should you all be slain
Within my doors.+

But if this seems in your eyes to be a better and more profitable thing,
that one man's livelihood should be ruined without atonement,
waste ye it. But I will call upon the gods that are forever,
if haply Zeus may grant that deeds of requital may be wrought.
[380] Without atonement, then, should ye perish within my halls.”

ὣς ἔφαθ᾽, οἱ δ᾽ ἄρα πάντες ὀδὰξ ἐν χείλεσι φύντες
Τηλέμαχον θαύμαζον, ὃ θαρσαλέως ἀγόρευεν.

Sic fatus · isti autem eure omnes dentes in labiis inserentes
De thelemaco mirabantur quomodo audacter concionabatur

After he this had said,
415  The suitors bit their lips, and silent mused
At the strange boldness of Telemachus,
And at the language which the young man used,

So he spoke, and they all bit their lips
and marvelled at Telemachus, for that he spoke boldly.

τὸν δ᾽ αὖτ᾽ Ἀντίνοος προσέφη, Εὐπείθεος υἱός:
‘Τηλέμαχ᾽, ἦ μάλα δή σε διδάσκουσιν θεοὶ αὐτοὶ
385 ὑψαγόρην τ᾽ ἔμεναι καὶ θαρσαλέως ἀγορεύειν:
μὴ σέ γ᾽ ἐν ἀμφιάλῳ Ἰθάκῃ βασιλῆα Κρονίων
ποιήσειεν, ὅ τοι γενεῇ πατρώιόν ἐστιν.’

Hunc autem Antinous affatus eest Eupithei filius
Thelemache uwere valde · iam te docent dei ipsi
Altum concionatorem esse et audacter concionari
Ne te in circumflua itachia imperatorem saturnius (MS: satrunus?)
Faciet qua? generatione paternale est ·

To which none answer’d but Antinous.
The Gods, quoth he, have taught you a high strain
420  Of language, and undaunted oratory;
But if their meaning were that you should reign
Here, o’er us all, I should be very sorry.

Then Antinous, son of Eupeithes, answered him:
“Telemachus, verily the gods themselves are teaching thee
[385] to be a man of vaunting tongue, and to speak with boldness.
May the son of Cronos never make thee king in sea-girt Ithaca,
which thing is by birth thy heritage.”

τὸν δ᾽ αὖ Τηλέμαχος πεπνυμένος ἀντίον ηὔδα:
‘Ἀντίνο᾽, ἦ καί μοι νεμεσήσεαι ὅττι κεν εἴπω;
390 καὶ κεν τοῦτ᾽ ἐθέλοιμι Διός γε διδόντος ἀρέσθαι.

Huic autem thelemacus sciens contra allocutus
Antinoe · licet me et admiraberis quicquid dicam
Et iam haec uelim Ioue dante summere

Telemachus replied, Think what you will;
If Jove consent, why should not I be king?

Then wise Telemachus answered him:
“Antinous, wilt thou be wroth with me for the word that I shall say?
[390] Even this should I be glad to accept from the hand of Zeus.

ἦ φῂς τοῦτο κάκιστον ἐν ἀνθρώποισι τετύχθαι;
οὐ μὲν γάρ τι κακὸν βασιλευέμεν: αἶψά τέ οἱ δῶ
ἀφνειὸν πέλεται καὶ τιμηέστερος αὐτός.

Vel duces hoc malum in hominibus factum esse
Non certe malum regnare in domo mea · cito autem te dabo
Diuitias quae sunt et praetifores ipse

425  What harm is it with wealth my house to fill,
Besides the honour it will with it bring?

Thinkest thou indeed that this is the worst fate among men?
Nay, it is no bad thing to be a king. Straightway one's house
grows rich and oneself is held in greater honor.

ἀλλ᾽ ἦ τοι βασιλῆες Ἀχαιῶν εἰσὶ καὶ ἄλλοι
395 πολλοὶ ἐν ἀμφιάλῳ Ἰθάκῃ, νέοι ἠδὲ παλαιοί,
τῶν κέν τις τόδ᾽ ἔχῃσιν, ἐπεὶ θάνε δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς:
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼν οἴκοιο ἄναξ ἔσομ᾽ ἡμετέροιο
καὶ δμώων, οὕς μοι ληίσσατο δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς.’

Sed certe imperatores achiuorum fuit et alii
Multi in circumflu7a itachia iuuenes atque antiqui
Quorum aliquis hoc habeat · postequem mortuus diuus ulyxes
Et famulorum quos mihi panda? peperit diuis ulyxes

In Ithaca there many princes be,
You’ll say, would be as glad to rule as I.
No matter, whosoe’er be king, not he,
430  But I am king in my own family.

However, there are other kings of the Achaeans
[395] full many in seagirt Ithaca, both young and old.
One of these haply may have this place, since goodly Odysseus is dead.
But I will be lord of our own house
and of the slaves that goodly Odysseus won for me.”

τὸν δ᾽ αὖτ᾽ Εὐρύμαχος Πολύβου πάϊς ἀντίον ηὔδα:
400 ‘Τηλέμαχ᾽, ἦ τοι ταῦτα θεῶν ἐν γούνασι κεῖται,
ὅς τις ἐν ἀμφιάλῳ Ἰθάκῃ βασιλεύσει Ἀχαιῶν:
κτήματα δ᾽ αὐτὸς ἔχοις καὶ δώμασιν οἷσιν ἀνάσσοις.

Hunc autem Eurimachus Polyui filius contra allocutus
Thelemace certe hoc deorum ingenibus iacet
10 Quisquis in circumflua itachia regnabit achiuorum
Possessiones autem ipse habes et domibus propriis dominaris

Who, said Eurymachus, shall have the hap
To reign in Ithaca is hard to guess,
It lies yet folded up within Jove’s lap.

Then Eurymachus, son of Polybus, answered him:
[400] “Telemachus, this matter verily lies on the knees of the gods,
who of the Achaeans shall be king in sea-girt Ithaca;
but as for thy possessions, thou mayest keep them thyself, and be lord in thine own house.

μὴ γὰρ ὅ γ᾽ ἔλθοι ἀνὴρ ὅς τίς σ᾽ ἀέκοντα βίηφιν
κτήματ᾽ ἀπορραίσει, Ἰθάκης ἔτι ναιετοώσης.

Non certe aliquis ueniet uir qui tenderunt uiribus
Possessiones destruar · itachia adhuc habitata

None shall, Telemachus, you dispossess
435  Of house, or land, or goods, by violence,
As long as there in Ithaca be men.

Never may that man come who by violence and against thy will
shall wrest thy possessions from thee, while men yet live in Ithaca.

405 ἀλλ᾽ ἐθέλω σε, φέριστε, περὶ ξείνοιο ἐρέσθαι,
ὁππόθεν οὗτος ἀνήρ, ποίης δ᾽ ἐξ εὔχεται εἶναι
γαίης, ποῦ δέ νύ οἱ γενεὴ καὶ πατρὶς ἄρουρα.

Sed uolo te optime de forense interrogare
unde iste uir a quale autem gloriatur esse
Terra · vbi autem se generatio et patria cultura

But tell me who that was, that now went hence;
Where he was born, and where he dwells, and then
His errand, whether business of his own,

[405] But I am fain, good sir, to ask thee of the stranger,
whence this man comes. Of what land does he declare himself to be?
Where are his kinsmen and his native fields?

ἠέ τιν᾽ ἀγγελίην πατρὸς φέρει ἐρχομένοιο,
ἦ ἑὸν αὐτοῦ χρεῖος ἐελδόμενος τόδ᾽ ἱκάνει;
410 οἷον ἀναΐξας ἄφαρ οἴχεται, οὐδ᾽ ὑπέμεινε
γνώμεναι: οὐ μὲν γάρ τι κακῷ εἰς ὦπα ἐῴκει.’

Vel aliquam adnunciationem patris fert uenturi
Vel proprium eius opus cupiens huc venit
Quare commotus statim vadet : neque expectauit
Vt sciret : non certe alicui malo in uultu assimilatur

[314] 440  Or some news from Ulysses, brought perchance,
And went so soon away, t’ avoid being known?
He was no mean man by his countenance.

Does he bring some tidings of thy father's coming,
or came he hither in furtherance of some matter of his own?
[410] How he started up, and was straightway gone!
Nor did he wait to be known; and yet he seemed no base man to look upon.”

τὸν δ᾽ αὖ Τηλέμαχος πεπνυμένος ἀντίον ηὔδα:
‘Εὐρύμαχ᾽, ἦ τοι νόστος ἀπώλετο πατρὸς ἐμοῖο:
οὔτ᾽ οὖν ἀγγελίῃ ἔτι πείθομαι, εἴ ποθεν ἔλθοι,
415 οὔτε θεοπροπίης ἐμπάζομαι, ἥν τινα μήτηρ
ἐς μέγαρον καλέσασα θεοπρόπον ἐξερέηται.

Hunc autem thelemacus sciens contra allocutus
Eurimace certe reditus amissus patris mei
Non uere annuntiationi ad haec obedio si aliquando veniet
Neque de vaticinio curo de quocunque matri
Ad atrium uocans uaticiniatorem interrogauir

Then said Telemachus, My father’s dead,
We never shall again see one another;
445  With messengers I trouble not my head,
Nor soothsayers, that do but soothe my mother.

Then wise Telemachus answered him:
“Eurymachus, surely my father's home-coming is lost and gone.
No longer do I put trust in tidings, whencesoever they may come,
[415] nor reck I of any prophecy which my mother haply may learn of a seer,
when she has called him to the hall.

ξεῖνος δ᾽ οὗτος ἐμὸς πατρώιος ἐκ Τάφου ἐστίν,
Μέντης δ᾽ Ἀγχιάλοιο δαΐφρονος εὔχεται εἶναι
υἱός, ἀτὰρ Ταφίοισι φιληρέτμοισιν ἀνάσσει.’

Forensis autem ille meus patrius a tapho est
Mentes Achiali bellicosi gloriatur esse
Filius nam taphiis remum diligentibus dominatur ·

The man my father’s old acquaintance was,
Mentes Anchialides, and his town
Taphos, and he thereof the ruling has;
450  His people for their trade by sea well known.

But this stranger is a friend of my father's house from Taphos.
He declares that he is Mentes, son of wise Anchialus,
and he is lord over the oar-loving Taphians.”

420 ὣς φάτο Τηλέμαχος, φρεσὶ δ᾽ ἀθανάτην θεὸν ἔγνω.
οἱ δ᾽ εἰς ὀρχηστύν τε καὶ ἱμερόεσσαν ἀοιδὴν
τρεψάμενοι τέρποντο, μένον δ᾽ ἐπὶ ἕσπερον ἐλθεῖν.
τοῖσι δὲ τερπομένοισι μέλας ἐπὶ ἕσπερος ἦλθε:
δὴ τότε κακκείοντες ἔβαν οἶκόνδε ἕκαστος.

Sic fatus thelemacus · sensibus autem immortalem, domum agnouit
Hi autem ad choream et desiderationam cantilenam ·
Mutari delectabantur · expectabant autem hesperum ut veniret
Istis autem cantilenae delectantibus niger hesperus venit
Iam tunc dormituri uiceret domum quilibet

Thus said he, though he doubted not at all
But ’twas some God. Meanwhile the suitors staying
For th’ evening’s coming on, to dancing fall,
Or listen to the minstrel’s song and playing.
455  The evening came, the suitors went away;

[420] So spoke Telemachus, but in his heart he knew the immortal goddess.
Now the wooers turned to the dance and to gladsome song,
and made them merry, and waited till evening should come;
and as they made merry dark evening came upon them.
Then they went, each man to his house, to take their rest.

425 Τηλέμαχος δ᾽, ὅθι οἱ θάλαμος περικαλλέος αὐλῆς
ὑψηλὸς δέδμητο περισκέπτῳ ἐνὶ χώρῳ,
ἔνθ᾽ ἔβη εἰς εὐνὴν πολλὰ φρεσὶ μερμηρίζων.

Thelemacus atem ubi sibi thalamus pulcherrimae aulae
Altus ordinatus erat uisili in loco
Illuc venit ad cubile · multa sensibus cogitans

Telemachus went also to his bed,
In a warm stately chamber, where he lay
Ranging the many cares he had in’s head;

[425] But Telemachus, where his chamber was built in the beautiful court,
high, in a place of wide outlook,
thither went to his bed, pondering many things in mind;

τῷ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἅμ᾽ αἰθομένας δαΐδας φέρε κεδνὰ ἰδυῖα
Εὐρύκλει᾽, Ὦπος θυγάτηρ Πεισηνορίδαο,
430 τήν ποτε Λαέρτης πρίατο κτεάτεσσιν ἑοῖσιν
πρωθήβην ἔτ᾽ ἐοῦσαν, ἐεικοσάβοια δ᾽ ἔδωκεν,
ἶσα δέ μιν κεδνῇ ἀλόχῳ τίεν ἐν μεγάροισιν,
εὐνῇ δ᾽ οὔ ποτ᾽ ἔμικτο, χόλον δ᾽ ἀλέεινε γυναικός:

Isti autem simul accensas lampadas tulit scientifica sciens
Euriclia opos filia pisenoridao
Quam quondam laertes emeverat possessionibus propriis
Adolescentem adhuc existentem XX boum autem dedit pretium ·s·
Similiter autem ipsam venerabile uxori honorabat in atriis
cubile autem nusquam miscuit iram (MS: aram) autem euitauit uxoris

Euryclea a torch before him bore,
460  Daughter of Ops, now old, but at the time
Laertes did her purchase, herotofore,
For twenty oxen, she was in her prime.
He honour’d her as if she’d been his wife,
But from her bed perpetually forbore,
465  T’ avoid suspicion, and domestic strife.

and with him, bearing blazing torches, went true-hearted
Eurycleia, daughter of Ops, son of Peisenor.
[430] Her long ago Laertes had bought with his wealth,
when she was in her first youth, and gave for her the price of twenty oxen;
and he honored her even as he honored his faithful wife in his halls,
but he never lay with her in love, for he shunned the wrath of his wife.

ἥ οἱ ἅμ᾽ αἰθομένας δαΐδας φέρε, καί ἑ μάλιστα
435 δμῳάων φιλέεσκε, καὶ ἔτρεφε τυτθὸν ἐόντα.

Hae sibi stanti accensas lampades tulit · et ipsa (MS: ipsas) maxime
In famulabus diligebat : et nutriebat paruum existentem

She’d nurs’d Telemachus, and lov’d him more
Than did the other maids, and now she stands
To light him.+

She it was who bore for Telemachus the blazing torches;
[435] for she of all the handmaids loved him most, and had nursed him when he was a child.

ὤιξεν δὲ θύρας θαλάμου πύκα ποιητοῖο,
ἕζετο δ᾽ ἐν λέκτρῳ, μαλακὸν δ᾽ ἔκδυνε χιτῶνα:
καὶ τὸν μὲν γραίης πυκιμηδέος ἔμβαλε χερσίν.

Aperuit autem ianuas thalami studiose facti
Sedit autem in tecto : mollemque exuit vestem ·
Et hanc certe vetule studiosa consilia scientis posuit in manibus

He unlocks the door, goes in,
Takes off his coat, puts it into her hands,

He opened the doors of the well-built chamber,
sat down on the bed, and took off his soft tunic
and laid it in the wise old woman's hands.

ἡ μὲν τὸν πτύξασα καὶ ἀσκήσασα χιτῶνα,
440 πασσάλῳ ἀγκρεμάσασα παρὰ τρητοῖσι λέχεσσι
βῆ ῥ᾽ ἴμεν ἐκ θαλάμοιο, θύρην δ᾽ ἐπέρυσσε κορώνῃ
ἀργυρέῃ, ἐπὶ δὲ κληῖδ᾽ ἐτάνυσσεν ἱμάντι.

Haec certe hanc studiose duplicans · et cum cura aptans uestem
In portica appendens penes perforatos lectos ·
Commmota ire athalamo : persalum?? subdit
argenteum atque sera extendit in clausuam corio fio?m?

470  She foldeth, brusheth, hangs it on a pin.
Then forth she went, and by a silver ring
Pulls to the door.+

And she folded and smoothed the tunic
[440] and hung it on a peg beside the corded bedstead,
and then went forth from the chamber, drawing the door to by its silver handle,
and driving the bolt home with the thong.

ἔνθ᾽ ὅ γε παννύχιος, κεκαλυμμένος οἰὸς ἀώτῳ,
βούλευε φρεσὶν ᾗσιν ὁδὸν τὴν πέφραδ᾽ Ἀθήνη.

Vbi hic nocturnus velatus cuis flore
consulebat sensibus propriis de uia quam dixit athena

And there all night he lay
Rememb’ring Pallas’ words, and pondering
Upon the business of the following day.

So there, the night through, wrapped in a fleece of wool,
he pondered in his mind upon the journey which Athena had shewn him.

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