Page 236 - the-odyssey

no more about him, and leave him to be taken, or else to
escape if the son of Saturn holds his hand over him to pro-
tect him. And now, old man, tell me your own story; tell me
also, for I want to know, who you are and where you come
from. Tell me of your town and parents, what manner of
ship you came in, how crew brought you to Ithaca, and from
what country they professed to come—for you cannot have
come by land.’
And Ulysses answered, ‘I will tell you all about it. If there
were meat and wine enough, and we could stay here in the
hut with nothing to do but to eat and drink while the oth-
ers go to their work, I could easily talk on for a whole twelve
months without ever finishing the story of the sorrows with
which it has pleased heaven to visit me.
‘I am by birth a Cretan; my father was a well to do man,
who had many sons born in marriage, whereas I was the
son of a slave whom he had purchased for a concubine; nev-
ertheless, my father Castor son of Hylax (whose lineage I
claim, and who was held in the highest honour among the
Cretans for his wealth, prosperity, and the valour of his
sons) put me on the same level with my brothers who had
been born in wedlock. When, however, death took him to
the house of Hades, his sons divided his estate and cast lots
for their shares, but to me they gave a holding and little else;
nevertheless, my valour enabled me to marry into a rich
family, for I was not given to bragging, or shirking on the
field of battle. It is all over now; still, if you look at the straw
you can see what the ear was, for I have had trouble enough
and to spare. Mars and Minerva made me doughty in war;