Verse
Odyssey
Book 18, Line 226 by Samuel Butler (English)
"I am not surprised, my dear mother, at your displeasure," replied Telemakhos, "I understand all about it and know when things are not as they should be, which I could not do when I was younger; I cannot, however, behave with perfect propriety at all times. First one and then another of these wicked people here keeps driving me out of my mind, and I have no one to stand by me. After all, however, this fight between Iros and the stranger did not turn out as the suitors meant it to do, for the stranger got the best of it. I wish Father Zeus, Athena, and Apollo would break the neck of every one of these wooers of yours, some inside the house and some out; and I wish they might all be as limp as Iros is over yonder in the gate of the outer court. See how he nods his head like a drunken man; he has had such a thrashing that he cannot stand on his feet nor get back to his home [ nostos ], wherever that may be, for has no strength left in him."
OdysseyBook 18, Line 226Samuel ButlerEnglishVerse permalinkRead in Book 18
HomerProseID odyssey-odyssey-butler-en-prose-18-226