Scroll 8
Now when the child of morning,
rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared, Alkinoos and Odysseus both rose, and
Alkinoos led the way to the Phaeacian place of assembly, which was
near the ships. When they got there they sat down side by side on a
seat of polished stone, while Athena took the form of one of
Alkinoos’ servants, and went round the town in order to contrive
nostos for great-hearted Odysseus. She went up to the
citizens, man by man, and said, "Aldermen and town councilors of the
Phaeacians, come to the assembly all of you and listen to the
stranger who has just come off a long voyage to the house of King
Alkinoos; he looks like an immortal god."
With these words she made them all
want to come, and they flocked to the assembly till seats and
standing room were alike crowded. Every one was struck with the
appearance of Odysseus, for Athena had beautified
[kharis] him about the head and shoulders, making him
look taller and stouter than he really was, that he might impress the
Phaeacians favorably as being a very remarkable man, and might come
off well in the many trials [athlos] of skill to which
they would challenge him. Then, when they were got together, Alkinoos
spoke:
"Hear me," said he, "aldermen and
town councilors of the Phaeacians, that I may speak even as I am
minded. This stranger, whoever he may be, has found his way to my
house from somewhere or other either East or West. He wants an escort
and wishes to have the matter settled. Let us then get one ready for
him, as we have done for others before him; indeed, no one who ever
yet came to my house has been able to complain of me for not speeding
on his way soon enough. Let us draw a ship into the sea - one that
has never yet made a voyage - and man her with two and fifty of our
choicest [krînô] young sailors in the
dêmos. Then when you have made fast your oars each by
his own seat, leave the ship and come to my house to prepare a feast.
I will provide you with everything. I am giving these instructions to
the young men who will form the crew, for as regards you aldermen and
town councilors, you will join me in entertaining our guest in the
cloisters. I can take no excuses, and we will have Demodokos to sing
to us; for there is no bard like him whatever he may choose to sing
about."
Alkinoos then led the way, and the
others followed after, while a servant went to fetch Demodokos. The
fifty-two picked [krînô] oarsmen went to
the sea shore as they had been told, and when they got there they
drew the ship into the water, got her mast and sails inside her,
bound the oars to the thole-pins with twisted thongs of leather, all
in due course, and spread the white sails aloft. They moored the
vessel a little way out from land, and then came on shore and went to
the house of King Alkinoos. The outhouses, yards, and all the
precincts were filled with crowds of men in great multitudes both old
and young; and Alkinoos killed them a dozen sheep, eight full grown
pigs, and two oxen. These they skinned and dressed so as to provide a
magnificent banquet.
A servant presently led in the
famous bard Demodokos, whom the muse had dearly loved, but to whom
she had given both good and evil, for though she had endowed him with
a divine gift of song, she had robbed him of his eyesight. Pontonoos
set a seat for him among the guests, leaning it up against a
bearing-post. He hung the lyre for him on a peg over his head, and
showed him where he was to feel for it with his hands. He also set a
fair table with a basket of victuals by his side, and a cup of wine
from which he might drink whenever he was so disposed.
The company then laid their hands
upon the good things that were before them, but as soon as they had
had enough to eat and drink, the muse inspired Demodokos to sing the
feats [kleos] of heroes, and most especially a matter
whose kleos at that time reached wide heaven, to wit, the
quarrel [neikos] between Odysseus and Achilles, and
the fierce words that they heaped on one another as they sat together
at a banquet. But Agamemnon was glad in his noos when he heard
his chieftains quarreling with one another, for Apollo had foretold
him this at
Pytho when he crossed the stone floor to consult the
oracle. Here the beginning of the evil started rolling down, by the
will of Zeus, toward both Danaans and Trojans.
Thus sang the bard, but Odysseus
drew his purple mantle over his head and covered his face, for he was
ashamed to let the Phaeacians see that he was weeping. When the bard
left off singing he wiped the tears from his eyes, uncovered his
face, and, taking his cup, made a drink-offering to the gods; but
when the Phaeacians pressed Demodokos to sing further, for they
delighted in his lays, then Odysseus again drew his mantle over his
head and wept bitterly. No one noticed his distress except Alkinoos,
who was sitting near him, and heard the heavy sighs that he was
heaving. So he at once said, "Aldermen and town councilors of the
Phaeacians, we have had enough now, both of the feast, and of the
minstrelsy that is its due accompaniment; let us proceed therefore to
the athletic sports [athlos], so that our guest on his
return home may be able to tell his friends how much we surpass all
other nations as boxers, wrestlers, jumpers, and runners."
With these words he led the way,
and the others followed after. A servant hung Demodokos’ lyre on
its peg for him, led him out of the room, and set him on the same way
as that along which all the chief men of the Phaeacians were going to
see the sports; a crowd of several thousand people followed them, and
there were many excellent competitors for all the prizes. Akroneos,
Okyalos, Elatreus, Nauteus, Prymneus, Anchialos, Eretmeus, Ponteus,
Proreus, Thoon, Anabesineos, and Amphialos son of Polyneos son of
Tekton. There was also Euryalos son of Naubolos, who was like Ares
himself, and was the best looking man among the Phaeacians except
Laodamas. Three sons of Alkinoos, Laodamas, Halios, and Clytoneus,
competed also.
The foot races came first. The
course was set out for them from the starting post, and they raised a
dust upon the plain as they all flew forward at the same moment.
Clytoneus came in first by a long way; he left every one else behind
him by the length of the furrow that a couple of mules can plough in
a fallow field. They then turned to the painful art of wrestling, and
here Euryalos proved to be the best man. Amphialos excelled all the
others in jumping, while at throwing the disc there was no one who
could approach Elatreus. Alkinoos’ son Laodamas was the best
boxer, and he it was who presently said, when they had all been
diverted with the games [athlos], "Let us ask the
stranger whether he excels in any of these sports
[athlos]; he seems very powerfully built; his thighs,
calves, hands, and neck are of prodigious strength, nor is he at all
old, but he has suffered much lately, and there is nothing like the
sea for making havoc with a man, no matter how strong he
is."
"You are quite right, Laodamas,"
replied Euryalos, "go up to your guest and speak to him about it
yourself."
When Laodamas heard this he made
his way into the middle of the crowd and said to Odysseus, "I hope,
sir, that you will enter yourself in some one or other of our
competitions [athloi] if you are skilled in any of
them - for you seem to know of athloi . There is no greater
kleos for a man all his life long as the showing himself good
with his hands and feet. Have a try therefore at something, and
banish all sorrow from your mind. Your return home will not be long
delayed, for the ship is already drawn into the water, and the crew
is found."
Odysseus answered, "Laodamas, why
do you taunt me in this way? My mind is set rather on cares than
contests athloi; I have been through infinite trouble, and am
come among you now as a suppliant, praying your king and
dêmos to further me on my return home
[nostos]."
Then Euryalos reviled him
outright and said, "I gather, then, that you are unskilled in any of
the many sports athloi that men generally delight in. I
suppose you are one of those grasping traders that go about in ships
as captains or merchants, and who think of nothing but of their
outward freights and homeward cargoes. There does not seem to be much
of the athlete [athlêtês] about
you."
"For shame, sir," answered
Odysseus, fiercely, "you are an insolent man - so true is it that the
gods do not grace all men alike in speech, person, and understanding.
One man may be of weak presence, but heaven has adorned this with
such a good conversation that he charms every one who sees him; his
honeyed moderation [aidôs] carries his hearers
with him so that he is leader in all assemblies of his fellows, and
wherever he goes he is looked up to. Another may be as handsome as a
god, but his good looks are not crowned with verbal grace
[kharis]. This is your case. No god could make a finer
looking man than you are, but you are empty with respect to
noos. Your ill-judged remarks [contrary to
kosmos] have made me exceedingly angry, for I excel in a
great many athletic exercises [athlos]; indeed, so
long as I had youth and strength, I was among the first athletes of
the age. Now, however, I am worn out by labor and sorrow, for I have
gone through much both on the field of battle and by the waves of the
weary sea; still, in spite of all this I will compete
[athlos], for your taunts have stung me to the
quick."
So he hurried up without even
taking his cloak off, and seized a disc, larger, more massive and
much heavier than those used by the Phaeacians when disc-throwing
among themselves. Then, swinging it back, he threw it from his brawny
hand, and it made a humming sound in the air as he did so. The
Phaeacians quailed beneath the rushing of its flight as it sped
gracefully from his hand, and flew beyond any mark
[sêma] that had been made yet. Athena, in the
form of a man, came and marked the place where it had fallen. "A
blind man, sir," said she, "could easily tell your mark
[sêma] by groping for it - it is so far ahead of
any other. You may make your mind easy about this contest
[athlos], for no Phaeacian can come near to such a
throw as yours."
Odysseus was glad when he found
he had a friend among the lookers-on, so he began to speak more
pleasantly. "Young men," said he, "come up to that throw if you can,
and I will throw another disc as heavy or even heavier. If anyone
wants to have a bout with me let him come on, for I am exceedingly
angry; I will box, wrestle, or run, I do not care what it is, with
any man of you all except Laodamas, but not with him because I am his
guest, and one cannot compete with one's own personal friend. At
least I do not think it a prudent or a sensible thing for a guest to
challenge his host's family at any game [athlos],
especially when he is in a foreign dêmos. He will cut
the ground from under his own feet if he does; but I make no
exception as regards any one else, for I want to have the matter out
and know which is the best man. I am a good hand at every kind of
athletic sport [athlos] known among humankind. I am an
excellent archer. In battle I am always the first to bring a man down
with my arrow, no matter how many more are taking aim at him
alongside of me. Philoctetes was the only man who could shoot better
than I could when we Achaeans were before the dêmos of
the Trojans. I far excel every one else in the whole world, of those
who still eat bread upon the face of the earth, but I should not like
to shoot against the mighty dead, such as Herakles, or Eurytos the
Cechalian- men who could shoot against the gods themselves. This in
fact was how Eurytos came prematurely by his end, for Apollo was
angry with him and killed him because he challenged him as an archer.
I can throw a dart farther than any one else can shoot an arrow.
Running is the only point in respect of which I am afraid some of the
Phaeacians might beat me, for I have been brought down very low at
sea; my provisions ran short, and therefore I am still
weak."
They all held their peace except
King Alkinoos, who began, "Sir, we have had much pleasure in hearing
all that you have told us, from which I understand that you are
willing to show your prowess [aretê], as having
been displeased with some insolent remarks that have been made to you
by one of our athletes, and which could never have been uttered by
any one who knows how to talk with propriety. I hope you will
apprehend my meaning, and will explain to any one of your chief men
who may be dining with yourself and your family when you get home,
that we have an hereditary aptitude [aretê] for
accomplishments of all kinds. We are not particularly remarkable for
our boxing, nor yet as wrestlers, but we are singularly fleet of foot
and are excellent sailors. We are extremely fond of good dinners,
music, and dancing [khoros]; we also like frequent
changes of linen, warm baths, and good beds; so now, please, some of
you who are the best dancers set about dancing, that our guest on his
return home may be able to tell his friends how much we surpass all
other nations as sailors, runners, dancers, minstrels. Demodokos has
left his lyre at my house, so run some one or other of you and fetch
it for him."
On this a servant hurried off to
bring the lyre from the king's house, and the nine men who had
been chosen as stewards stood forward. It was their business to
manage everything connected with the sports, so they made the ground
smooth and marked a wide space for the dancers
[khoros]. Presently the servant came back with
Demodokos’ lyre, and he took his place in the midst of them,
whereon the best young dancers [khoros] in the town
began to foot and trip it so nimbly that Odysseus was delighted with
the merry twinkling of their feet.
Meanwhile the bard began to sing
the loves of Ares and Aphrodite, and how they first began their
intrigue in the house of Hephaistos. Ares made Aphrodite many
presents, and defiled lord Hephaistos’ marriage bed, so the sun,
who saw what they were about, told Hephaistos. Hephaistos was very
angry when he heard such dreadful news, so he went to his smithy
brooding mischief, got his great anvil into its place, and began to
forge some chains which none could either unloose or break, so that
they might stay there in that place. When he had finished his snare
he went into his bedroom and festooned the bed-posts all over with
chains like cobwebs; he also let many hang down from the great beam
of the ceiling. Not even a god could see them, so fine and subtle
were they. As soon as he had spread the chains all over the bed, he
made as though he were setting out for the fair state of
Lemnos,
which of all places in the world was the one he was most fond of. But
Ares kept no blind look out, and as soon as he saw him start, hurried
off to his house, burning with love for Aphrodite.
Now Aphrodite was just come in
from a visit to her father Zeus, and was about sitting down when Ares
came inside the house, and said as he took her hand in his own, "Let
us go to the couch of Hephaistos: he is not at home, but is gone off
to
Lemnos among the Sintians, whose speech is barbarous."
She was not unwilling, so they
went to the couch to take their rest, whereon they were caught in the
toils which cunning Hephaistos had spread for them, and could neither
get up nor stir hand or foot, but found too late that they were in a
trap. Then Hephaistos came up to them, for he had turned back before
reaching
Lemnos, when his scout the sun told him what was going on.
He was in a furious passion, and stood in the vestibule making a
dreadful noise as he shouted to all the gods.
"Father Zeus," he cried, "and all
you other blessed gods who live for ever, come here and see the
ridiculous and disgraceful sight that I will show you. Zeus’
daughter Aphrodite is always dishonoring me because I am lame. She is
in love with Ares, who is handsome and clean built, whereas I am a
cripple - but my parents are responsible [aitioi] for
that, not I; they ought never to have begotten me. Come and see the
pair together asleep on my bed. It makes me furious to look at them.
They are very fond of one another, but I do not think they will lie
there longer than they can help, nor do I think that they will sleep
much; there, however, they shall stay till her father has repaid me
the sum I gave him for his baggage of a daughter, who is fair but not
honest."
On this the gods gathered to the
house of Hephaistos. Earth-encircling Poseidon came, and Hermes the
bringer of luck, and lord Apollo, but the goddesses stayed at home
all of them for shame. Then the givers of all good things stood in
the doorway, and the blessed gods roared with inextinguishable
laughter, as they saw how cunning Hephaistos had been, whereon one
would turn towards his neighbor saying:
"Ill deeds do not bring
aretê, and the weak confound the strong. See how limping
Hephaistos, lame as he is, has caught Ares who is the fleetest god in
heaven; and now Ares will be cast in heavy damages."
Thus did they converse, but lord
Apollo said to Hermes, "Messenger Hermes, giver of good things, you
would not care how strong the chains were, would you, if you could
sleep with Aphrodite?"
"King Apollo," answered Hermes,
"I only wish I might get the chance, though there were three times as
many chains - and you might look on, all of you, gods and goddesses,
but I would sleep with her if I could."
The immortal gods burst out
laughing as they heard him, but Poseidon took it all seriously, and
kept on imploring Hephaistos to set Ares free again. "Let him go," he
cried, "and I will undertake, as you require, that he shall pay you
all the damages that are held reasonable among the immortal
gods."
"Do not," replied Hephaistos,
"ask me to do this; a bad man's bond is bad security; what
remedy could I enforce against you if Ares should go away and leave
his debts behind him along with his chains?"
"Hephaistos," said Poseidon, "if
Ares goes away without paying his damages, I will pay you myself." So
Hephaistos answered, "In this case I cannot and must not refuse
you."
Thereon he loosed the bonds that
bound them, and as soon as they were free they scampered off, Ares to
Thrace and laughter-loving Aphrodite to
Cyprus and to
Paphos, where
is her grove and her altar fragrant with burnt offerings. Here the
Graces bathed her, and anointed her with oil of ambrosia such as the
immortal gods make use of, and they clothed her in raiment of the
most enchanting beauty.
Thus sang the bard, and both
Odysseus and the seafaring Phaeacians were charmed as they heard
him.
Then Alkinoos told Laodamas and
Halios to dance alone, for there was no one to compete with them. So
they took a red ball which Polybos had made for them, and one of them
bent himself backwards and threw it up towards the clouds, while the
other jumped from off the ground and caught it with ease before it
came down again. When they had done throwing the ball straight up
into the air they began to dance, and at the same time kept on
throwing it backwards and forwards to one another, while all the
young men in the ring applauded and made a great stamping with their
feet. Then Odysseus said:
"King Alkinoos, you said your
people were the nimblest dancers in the world, and indeed they have
proved themselves to be so. I was astonished as I saw
them."
The king was delighted at this,
and exclaimed to the Phaeacians "Aldermen and town councilors, our
guest seems to be a person of singular judgment; let us give him such
proof of our hospitality as he may reasonably expect. There are
twelve chief men throughout the dêmos, and counting
myself there are thirteen; contribute, each of you, a clean cloak, a
shirt, and a talent of fine gold; let us give him all this in a lump
down at once, so that when he gets his supper he may do so with a
light heart. As for Euryalos, he will have to make a formal apology
and a present too, for he has been rude."
Thus did he speak. The others all
of them applauded his saying, and sent their servants to fetch the
presents. Then Euryalos said, "King Alkinoos, I will give the
stranger all the satisfaction you require. He shall have sword, which
is of bronze, all but the hilt, which is of silver. I will also give
him the scabbard of newly sawn ivory into which it fits. It will be
worth a great deal to him."
As he spoke he placed the sword
in the hands of Odysseus and said, "Good luck to you, father
stranger; if anything has been said amiss may the winds blow it away
with them, and may heaven grant you a safe return, for I understand
you have been long away from home, and have gone through much
hardship."
To which Odysseus answered, "Good
luck to you too my friend, and may the gods grant you every happiness
[olbos]. I hope you will not miss the sword you have
given me along with your apology."
With these words he girded the
sword about his shoulders and towards sundown the presents began to
make their appearance, as the servants of the donors kept bringing
them to the house of King Alkinoos; here his sons received them, and
placed them under their mother's charge. Then Alkinoos led the
way to the house and bade his guests take their seats.
"Wife," said he, turning to Queen
Arete, "Go, fetch the best chest we have, and put a clean cloak and
shirt in it. Also, set a copper on the fire and heat some water; our
guest will take a warm bath; see also to the careful packing of the
presents that the noble Phaeacians have made him; he will thus better
enjoy both his supper and the singing that will follow. I shall
myself give him this golden goblet - which is of exquisite
workmanship - that he may be reminded of me for the rest of his life
whenever he makes a drink-offering to Zeus, or to any of the
gods."
Then Arete told her maids to set
a large tripod upon the fire as fast as they could, whereon they set
a tripod full of bath water on to a clear fire; they threw on sticks
to make it blaze, and the water became hot as the flame played about
the belly of the tripod. Meanwhile Arete brought a magnificent chest
her own room, and inside it she packed all the beautiful presents of
gold and raiment which the Phaeacians had brought. Lastly she added a
cloak and a good shirt from Alkinoos, and said to
Odysseus:
"See to the lid yourself, and
have the whole bound round at once, for fear any one should rob you
by the way when you are asleep in your ship."
When Odysseus heard this he put
the lid on the chest and made it fast with a bond that Circe had
taught him. He had done so before an upper servant told him to come
to the bath and wash himself. He was very glad of a warm bath, for he
had had no one to wait upon him ever since he left the house of
Calypso, who as long as he remained with her had taken as good care
of him as though he had been a god. When the servants had done
washing and anointing him with oil, and had given him a clean cloak
and shirt, he left the bath room and joined the guests who were
sitting over their wine. Lovely Nausicaa stood by one of the
bearing-posts supporting the roof of the room, and admired him as she
saw him pass. "Farewell stranger," said she, "do not forget me when
you are safe at home again, for it is to me first that you owe a
ransom for having saved your life."
And Odysseus said, "Nausicaa,
daughter of great Alkinoos, may Zeus the mighty husband of Hera,
grant that I may reach my home and see my day of nostos; so
shall I bless you as a goddess all my days, for it was you who saved
me."
When he had said this, he seated
himself beside Alkinoos. Supper was then served, and the wine was
mixed for drinking. A servant led in the favorite bard Demodokos, and
set him in the midst of the company, near one of the bearing-posts
supporting the room, that he might lean against it. Then Odysseus cut
off a piece of roast pork with plenty of fat (for there was abundance
left on the joint) and said to a servant, "Take this piece of pork
over to Demodokos and tell him to eat it; for all the pain his lays
may cause me I will salute him none the less; bards get honor and
respect [aidôs] throughout the world, for the
Muse teaches them their songs and loves them."
The servant carried the pork in
his fingers over to Demodokos, who took it and was very much pleased.
They then laid their hands on the good things that were before them,
and as soon as they had had enough to eat and drink, Odysseus said to
Demodokos, "Demodokos, there is no one in the world whom I praise
with admiration more than I do you. You must have studied under the
Muse, Zeus’ daughter, and under Apollo, - with such a sense of
order [kosmos] do you sing the return of the Achaeans
with all their sufferings and adventures. If you were not there
yourself, you must have heard it all from some one who was. Now,
however, change your song and tell us of the construction
[kosmos] of the wooden horse which Epeios made with
the assistance of Athena, and which Odysseus got by stratagem into
the fort of
Troy after freighting it with the men who afterwards
sacked the city. If you will sing this tale aright I will tell all
the world how magnificently heaven has endowed you."
The bard, inspired by a god, lit
up the picture of his story, starting at the point where some of the
Argives set fire to their tents and sailed away while others, hidden
within the horse, were waiting with Odysseus in the Trojan place of
assembly. For the Trojans themselves had drawn the horse into their
fortress, and it stood there while they sat in council round it, and
were in three minds as to what they should do. Some were for breaking
it up then and there; others would have it dragged to the top of the
rock on which the fortress stood, and then thrown down the precipice;
while yet others were for letting it remain as an offering and
propitiation for the gods. And this was how they settled it in the
end, for the city was doomed when it took in that horse, within which
were all the bravest of the Argives waiting to bring death and
destruction on the Trojans. Anon he sang how the sons of the Achaeans
issued from the horse, and sacked the town, breaking out from their
ambuscade. He sang how they overran the city here and there and
ravaged it, and how Odysseus went raging like Ares along with
Menelaos to the house of Deiphobos. It was there that the fight raged
most furiously, nevertheless by Athena's help he was
victorious.
All this he told, but Odysseus
was overcome as he heard him, and his cheeks were wet with tears. He
wept as a woman weeps when she throws herself on the body of her
husband who has fallen before his own city and people, fighting
bravely in defense of his home and children. She screams aloud and
flings her arms about him as he lies gasping for breath and dying,
but her enemies beat her from behind about the back and shoulders,
and carry her off into slavery, to a life of labor
[ponos] and sorrow, and the beauty fades from her
cheeks - even so piteously did Odysseus weep, but none of those
present perceived his tears except Alkinoos, who was sitting near
him, and could hear the sobs and sighs that he was heaving. The king,
therefore, at once rose and said:
"Aldermen and town councilors of
the Phaeacians, let Demodokos cease his song, for there are those
present who do not seem to like it. From the moment that we had done
supper and Demodokos began to sing, our guest has been all the time
groaning and lamenting. He is evidently in great distress
[akhos], so let the bard leave off, that we may all
enjoy ourselves, hosts and guest alike. This will be much more as it
should be, for all these festivities, with the escort and the
presents that we are making with so much good will, are wholly in his
honor, and any one with even a moderate amount of right feeling knows
that he ought to treat a guest and a suppliant as though he were his
own brother.
"Therefore, sir, do you on your
part affect no more concealment nor reserve in the matter about which
I shall ask you; it will be more polite in you to give me a plain
answer; tell me the name by which your father and mother over yonder
used to call you, and by which you were known among your neighbors
and fellow-citizens. There is no one, neither rich nor poor, who is
absolutely without any name whatever, for people's fathers and
mothers give them names as soon as they are born. Tell me also your
country, nation dêmos, and city, that our ships may
shape their purpose accordingly and take you there. For the
Phaeacians have no pilots; their vessels have no rudders as those of
other nations have, but the ships themselves understand what it is
that we are thinking about and want; they know all the cities and
countries in the whole world, and can traverse the sea just as well
even when it is covered with mist and cloud, so that there is no
danger of being wrecked or coming to any harm. Still I do remember
hearing my father say that Poseidon was angry with us for being too
easy-going in the matter of giving people escorts. He said that one
of these days he should wreck a ship of ours as it was returning from
having escorted some one, and envelop our city with a high mountain.
This is what the old man used to say, but whether the god will carry
out his threat or no is a matter which he will decide for
himself.
And now, tell me and tell me
true. Where have you been wandering, and in what countries have you
traveled? Tell us of the peoples themselves, and of their cities -
who were hostile, savage and uncivilized [not
dikaios], and who, on the other hand, hospitable and
endowed with a god-fearing noos. Tell us also why you are made
unhappy on hearing about the return of the Argive Danaans from
Troy.
The gods arranged all this, and sent them their misfortunes in order
that future generations might have something to sing about. Did you
lose some brave kinsman of your wife's when you were before
Troy? A son-in-law or father-in-law - which are the nearest relations
a man has outside his own flesh and blood? Or was it some brave and
kindly-natured comrade - for a good friend is as dear to a man as his
own brother?"