Page 303 - the-odyssey

Irus began to be very uneasy as he heard them, but the
servants girded him by force, and brought him [into the
open part of the court] in such a fright that his limbs were
all of a tremble. Antinous scolded him and said, ‘You swag-
gering bully, you ought never to have been born at all if
you are afraid of such an old broken down creature as this
tramp is. I say, therefore—and it shall surely be—if he beats
you and proves himself the better man, I shall pack you off
on board ship to the mainland and send you to king Eche-
tus, who kills every one that comes near him. He will cut
off your nose and ears, and draw out your entrails for the
dogs to eat.’
This frightened Irus still more, but they brought him
into the middle of the court, and the two men raised their
hands to fight. Then Ulysses considered whether he should
let drive so hard at him as to make an end of him then and
there, or whether he should give him a lighter blow that
should only knock him down; in the end he deemed it best
to give the lighter blow for fear the Achaeans should begin
to suspect who he was. Then they began to fight, and Irus
hit Ulysses on the right shoulder; but Ulysses gave Irus a
blow on the neck under the ear that broke in the bones of
his skull, and the blood came gushing out of his mouth; he
fell groaning in the dust, gnashing his teeth and kicking
on the ground, but the suitors threw up their hands and
nearly died of laughter, as Ulysses caught hold of him by
the foot and dragged him into the outer court as far as the
gate-house. There he propped him up against the wall and
put his staff in his hands. ‘Sit here,’ said he, ‘and keep the

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