Rebuke of Telemachus

32“Telemachus, your judgment is not firm,
Nor do you think aright. While yet a boy
Your thought was wiser. Now that you are grown,
And on the verge of manhood, so that one
Who comes from far and sees your noble part
And stature well may say you are the son
Of a most fortunate father, yet to think
And judge discreetly you are not as then,
For what a deed is this which has been done
Even here! You have allowed a stranger guest
To be assaulted rudely. How is this?
If one who sits a guest beneath our roof
Be outraged thus, be sure it brings to you
Great shame and rank dishonor among men.”

33To this discreet Telemachus replied:
“Mother, I cannot take it ill that you
Should be offended. But of many things
I have a clear discernment, and can weigh
The good and bad. I was till now a child,
Yet even now I cannot always see
The wiser course. These men bewilder me,
As, sitting side by side, they lay their plots
Against me, and I have no helper here.
When Irus and the stranger fought, the strife
Had no such issue as the suitors wished.
The stranger conquered. Would to Father Zeus,
To Athena and Apollo, that the crew
Of suitors here might sit with nodding heads
Struck down upon the spot, within these halls
Or in the courts, and all with powerless limbs,
As Irus sits beside the gate and nods,
Like one overcome with wine, nor can he stand
Upon his feet, nor go to where he dwells,
If home he has, so feeble are his limbs.”