现在，当清晨的孩子，粉红手指的黎明出现时，忒勒马科斯站起来穿好衣服。他把凉鞋系在漂亮的脚上，把剑系在肩上，离开了房间，看上去就像一位不朽的神。他立刻派人去召集人们，于是他们召集了他们，人们聚集在那里;于是，当他们聚集在一起的时候，他就带着枪去了集会的地方——不是一个人，因为他的两只猎犬和他一起去了。密涅瓦赋予他一种神圣的美丽，当他走过时，所有的人都对他感到惊奇，当他坐在他父亲的座位上时，甚至最年长的议员也给他让路。他的儿子安提弗斯和尤利西斯一起去了高贵的战马之国伊留斯，但当他们都被关在山洞里时，野蛮的独眼巨人把他杀死了，并为他做了最后一顿晚餐。他还有三个儿子，其中两个仍然在父亲的土地上工作，而第三个儿子欧律诺摩斯则是他的追求者之一。然而，他们的父亲无法从失去安提福斯的悲痛中恢复过来，开始演讲时还在为他哭泣。“伊萨卡岛的人们，”他说，“听我说。从尤利西斯离开我们的那天起，直到现在，我们的议员们还没有开过会;那么，究竟是谁，无论是老人还是年轻人，觉得有必要召集我们呢? Has he got wind of some host approaching, and does he wish to warn us, or would he speak upon some other matter of public moment? I am sure he is an excellent person, and I hope Jove will grant him his heart's desire." Telemachus took this speech as of good omen and rose at once, for he was bursting with what he had to say. He stood in the middle of the assembly and the good herald Pisenor brought him his staff. Then, turning to Aegyptius, "Sir," said he, "it is I, as you will shortly learn, who have convened you, for it is I who am the most aggrieved. I have not got wind of any host approaching about which I would warn you, nor is there any matter of public moment on which I would speak. My grieveance is purely personal, and turns on two great misfortunes which have fallen upon my house. The first of these is the loss of my excellent father, who was chief among all you here present, and was like a father to every one of you; the second is much more serious, and ere long will be the utter ruin of my estate. The sons of all the chief men among you are pestering my mother to marry them against her will. They are afraid to go to her father Icarius, asking him to choose the one he likes best, and to provide marriage gifts for his daughter, but day by day they keep hanging about my father's house, sacrificing our oxen, sheep, and fat goats for their banquets, and never giving so much as a thought to the quantity of wine they drink. No estate can stand such recklessness; we have now no Ulysses to ward off harm from our doors, and I cannot hold my own against them. I shall never all my days be as good a man as he was, still I would indeed defend myself if I had power to do so, for I cannot stand such treatment any longer; my house is being disgraced and ruined. Have respect, therefore, to your own consciences and to public opinion. Fear, too, the wrath of heaven, lest the gods should be displeased and turn upon you. I pray you by Jove and Themis, who is the beginning and the end of councils, [do not] hold back, my friends, and leave me singlehanded- unless it be that my brave father Ulysses did some wrong to the Achaeans which you would now avenge on me, by aiding and abetting these suitors. Moreover, if I am to be eaten out of house and home at all, I had rather you did the eating yourselves, for I could then take action against you to some purpose, and serve you with notices from house to house till I got paid in full, whereas now I have no remedy." With this Telemachus dashed his staff to the ground and burst into tears. Every one was very sorry for him, but they all sat still and no one ventured to make him an angry answer, save only Antinous, who spoke thus: "Telemachus, insolent braggart that you are, how dare you try to throw the blame upon us suitors? It is your mother's fault not ours, for she is a very artful woman. This three years past, and close on four, she has been driving us out of our minds, by encouraging each one of us, and sending him messages without meaning one word of what she says. And then there was that other trick she played us. She set up a great tambour frame in her room, and began to work on an enormous piece of fine needlework. 'Sweet hearts,' said she, 'Ulysses is indeed dead, still do not press me to marry again immediately, wait- for I would not have skill in needlework perish unrecord