Eurymachus Scoffs

10Eurymachus, the son of Polybus,
Answered the seer: “Go to your house, old man,
And to your boys, and prophesy to them,
Lest evil come upon them. I can act,
In matters such as these, a prophet’s part
Better than you. True, there are many birds
That fly about in sunshine, but not all
Are ominous. Odysseus far away
Has perished; well it would have been if you
Had perished with him; then you would not prate
Idly of things to come, nor would you stir
Telemachus to anger, in the hope
Of bearing to your house some gift from him.
Now let me say, and be assured my words
Will be fulfilled: experienced as you are,
If you by treacherous speeches shall inflame
A younger man than you to violent deeds,
The sharper punishment shall first be his,
But we will lay on you a penalty,
Old man, which you shall find it hard to bear,
And bitterly will you repent. And now
Let me persuade Telemachus to send
His mother to her father. They will make
A marriage for her there, and give with her
A liberal dowry, such as may become
A favorite daughter on her wedding-day,
Else never will the sons of Greece renounce,
I think, the difficult suit. We do not fear
Telemachus himself, though glib of speech,
Nor care we for the empty oracle
Which you, old man, do utter, making you
Only more hated. Still will his estate
Be wasted, nor will order ever return
While she defers her marriage with some prince
Of the Achaians. We shall urge our suit
For that most excellent of womankind
As rivals, nor withdraw to seek the hand
Of others, whom we fitly might espouse.”

11To this discreet Telemachus replied: —
“Eurymachus, and you, the illustrious train
Of suitors, I have nothing more to ask —
No more to say —for now the gods and all
The Achaians know the truth. But let me have
A gallant barque, and twenty men to make
From coast to coast a voyage, visiting
Sparta and sandy Pylos, to inquire
For my long-absent father, and the chance
Of his return, if any of mankind
Can tell me aught, or if some rumor come
From Zeus, since thus are tidings often brought
To human knowledge. Should I learn that yet
He lives and may return, I then would wait
A twelvemonth, though impatient. Should I hear
That he no longer lives, I shall return
Homeward, and pile his monument on high
With funeral honors that become the dead,
And give my mother to a second spouse.”