Odyssey

They all held their peace till at last Agelaos son of Damastor said, "No one should take offense at what has just been said, nor gainsay it, for it is quite reasonable [ dikaios ]. Leave off, therefore, ill-treating the stranger, or any one else of the servants who are about the house; I would say, however, a friendly word to Telemakhos and his mother, which I trust may commend itself to both. ‘As long,’ I would say, ‘as you had ground for hoping that Odysseus would one day come home, there will be no nemesis as a result of your waiting and suffering the suitors to be in your house. It would have been better that he should have returned, but it is now sufficiently clear that he will never do so; therefore talk all this quietly over with your mother, and tell her to marry the best man, and the one who makes her the most advantageous offer. Thus you will yourself be able to manage your own inheritance, and to eat and drink in peace, while your mother will look after some other man's house, not yours."’

OdysseyBook 20, Line 320Samuel ButlerEnglishVerse permalinkRead in Book 20

HomerProseID odyssey-odyssey-butler-en-prose-20-320