As he spoke he bound his belt
round him and went to the sties where the young sucking pigs were
penned. He picked out two which he brought back with him and
sacrificed. He singed them, cut them up, and spitted on them; when
the meat was cooked he brought it all in and set it before Odysseus,
hot and still on the spit, whereon Odysseus sprinkled it over with
white barley meal. The swineherd then mixed wine in a bowl of
ivy-wood, and taking a seat opposite Odysseus told him to
begin.
"Fall to, stranger," said he, "on
a dish of servant's pork. The fat pigs have to go to the
suitors, who eat them up without shame or scruple; but the blessed
gods love not such shameful doings, and respect those who do what is
lawful and right [dikê]. Even the fierce
free-booters who go raiding on other people's land, and Zeus
gives them their spoil - even they, when they have filled their ships
and got home again live conscience-stricken, and look fearfully for
judgment; but some god seems to have told these people that Odysseus
is dead and gone; they will not, therefore, go back to their own
homes and make their offers of marriage in the proper way
[dikaios], but waste his estate by force, without fear
or stint. Not a day or night comes out of heaven, but they sacrifice
not one victim nor two only, and they take the run of his wine, for
he was exceedingly rich. No other great man either in Ithaca or on
the mainland is as rich as he was; he had as much as twenty men put
together. I will tell you what he had. There are twelve herds of
cattle upon the mainland, and as many flocks of sheep, there are also
twelve droves of pigs, while his own men and hired strangers feed him
twelve widely spreading herds of goats. Here in Ithaca he runs even
large flocks of goats on the far end of the island, and they are in
the charge of excellent goatherds. Each one of these sends the
suitors the best goat in the flock every day. As for myself, I am in
charge of the pigs that you see here, and I have to keep picking
[krinô] out the best I have and sending it to
them."
This was his story, but Odysseus
went on eating and drinking ravenously without a word, brooding his
revenge. When he had eaten enough and was satisfied, the swineherd
took the bowl from which he usually drank, filled it with wine, and
gave it to Odysseus, who was pleased, and said as he took it in his
hands, "My friend, who was this master of yours that bought you and
paid for you, so rich and so powerful as you tell me? You say he
perished in the cause of King Agamemnon; tell me who he was, in case
I may have met with such a person. Zeus and the other gods know, but
I may be able to give you news of him, for I have traveled
much."
Eumaios answered, "Old man, no
traveler who comes here with news will get Odysseus’ wife and
son to believe his story. Nevertheless, tramps in want of a lodging
keep coming with their mouths full of lies, and not a word of truth
[alêthês]; every one who finds his way to
the Ithacan dêmos goes to my mistress and tells her
falsehoods, whereon she takes them in, makes much of them, and asks
them all manner of questions, crying all the time as women will when
they have lost their husbands. And you too, old man, for a shirt and
a cloak would doubtless make up a very pretty story. But the wolves
and birds of prey have long since torn Odysseus to pieces, and his
psukhê left him behind; or the fishes of the sea have
eaten him, and his bones are lying buried deep in sand upon some
foreign shore; he is dead and gone, and a bad business it is for all
his friends - for me especially; go where I may I shall never find so
good a master, not even if I were to go home to my mother and father
where I was bred and born. I do not so much care, however, about my
parents now, though I should dearly like to see them again in my own
country; it is the loss of Odysseus that grieves me most; I cannot
speak of him without reverence though he is here no longer, for he
was very fond of me, and took such care of me that wherever he may be
I shall always honor his memory."
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