And then the goddess, blue-eyed Pallas, said: “Be of good cheer, and let no anxious thought Disturb thy mind. Let us bestir ourselves To hide away the treasures thou hast brought Within this hallowed grot in some recess Where they may lie in safety; afterward Will we take counsel what should next be done.”
The goddess said these words, and took her way Into the shadowy cavern, spying out Its hiding-places; while Ulysses brought The treasures thither in his arms—the gold, The enduring brass, the raiment nobly wrought— Which the Phaeacians gave him. These they laid Together in due order; Pallas then, The daughter of the Aegis-bearer Jove, Closed up the opening with a massive rock. Then, sitting by the sacred olive-tree, They plotted to destroy the haughty crew Of suitors, and the blue-eyed Pallas said:—
“O nobly born, and versed in many wiles, Son of Laertes! now the hour is come To think how thou shalt lay avenging hands Upon the shameless crew who, in thy house, For three years past have made themselves its lords, And wooed thy noble wife and brought her gifts, While, pining still for thy return, she gave Hopes to each suitor, and by messages Made promises to all, though cherishing A different purpose in her secret heart.”
Ulysses, the sagacious, answered her: “Ah me, I should have perished utterly, By such an evil fate as overtook Atrides Agamemnon, in the halls Of my own palace, but for thee, whose words, O goddess, have revealed what I should know. Now counsel me how I may be avenged. Be ever by my side, and strengthen me With courage, as thou didst when we o’erthrew The towery crest of Ilium. Would thou wert Still my ally, as then! I would engage, O blue-eyed Pallas, with three hundred foes, If thou, dread goddess, wouldst but counsel me.”
And then the blue-eyed Pallas spake again: “I will be present with thee. When we once Begin the work, thou shalt not leave my sight; And many