And all his comrades lost, the twentieth year Would bring him back, a stranger to us all— And all that then I spake of comes to pass.”
Eurymachus, the son of Polybus, Answered the seer: “Go to thy house, old man, And to thy boys, and prophesy to them, Lest evil come upon them. I can act, In matters such as these, a prophet’s part Better than thou. True, there are many birds That fly about in sunshine, but not all Are ominous. Ulysses far away Has perished; well it would have been if thou Hadst perished with him; then thou wouldst not prate Idly of things to come, nor wouldst thou stir Telemachus to anger, in the hope Of bearing to thy house some gift from him.
Now let me say, and be assured my words Will be fulfilled: experienced as thou art, If thou by treacherous speeches shalt inflame A younger man than thou to violent deeds, The sharper punishment shall first be his, But we will lay on thee a penalty, Old man, which thou shalt find it hard to bear, And bitterly wilt thou repent.