Page:The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer (IA iliadodysseyofho02home).pdf/378

370 And I will send him raiment, with supplies Of all sorts, lest he burthen thee and thine. But where the suitors come, there shall not he With my consent, nor stand exposed to pride And petulance like theirs, lest by some sneer They wound him, and through him, wound also me; For little is it that the boldest can Against so many; numbers will prevail. Him answer'd then Ulysses toil-inured. Oh amiable and good! since even I Am free to answer thee, I will avow My heart within me torn by what I hear Of those injurious suitors, who the house Infest of one noble as thou appear'st. But say—submittest thou to their controul Willingly, or because the people, sway'd By some response oracular, incline Against thee? Thou hast brothers, it may chance, Slow to assist thee—for a brother's aid Is of importance in whatever cause. For oh that I had youth as I have will, Or that renown'd Ulysses were my sire, Or that himself might wander home again. Whereof hope yet remains! then might I lose My head, that moment, by an alien's hand, If I would fail, ent'ring Ulysses' gate, To be the bane and mischief of them all. But if alone to multitudes opposed