Page:Ancient Ideals.djvu/215

HOMER. 195 as a right-minded man cherishes. His intelligence consists of knowledge of what is wise and right to do, readiness of mind, fertility of device. He is ever the ready man, good at word and deed; he is ever the perfectly courageous man who keeps his presence of mind. And he is steadfast, will neither be turned aside nor discouraged.

A man of large experience, versed in all the knowledge of the world was he,—"Tell me. Muse, of the man, the ready one, who wandered afar after he had destroyed the mighty citadel of Troy, and saw the habitations of diverse men and learned to know their minds; much did he suffer on the deep, striving to win his life and the return of his comrades." This man had known the perils of war, the perils of the deep, perils among savage men, more than other men had he suffered: "Alkinous," says he, "have no such thought; for neither in form nor feature am I like the immortals who possess the wide heaven, but to mortal men who die. Whomsoever ye know who has suffered most grievously, to him do I liken myself in sorrows." He had experienced what of good or ill the world had to offer; he had learned what it had to teach; would tell it all too, this most companionable hero.

Odysseus' character is complex, but consistent throughout, and the Odysseus of the Iliad is the Odysseus of the Odyssey. In the Iliad it is to the ready man that Athene comes seeking some one to check the rush of the Achæans to their ships; it is he who chastises Thersites and with apt words turns the people's minds to the war. His speeches are the most skilful and persuasive in the Iliad, though in fiery directness below those of Achilles or Diomede. He is also a man of wiles. Diomede selects him for a companion on the perilous night espial, and cunning is his conduct to the Trojan spy. He is also a