nor his father, we that begat him.  Nor did his bride, whom men sought with rich gifts, the constant Penelope, bewail her lord upon the bier, as was meet, nor closed his eyes, as is the due of the departed.  Moreover, tell me this truly, that I may surely know, who art thou and whence of the sons of men?  Where is thy city and where are they that begat thee?  Where now is thy swift ship moored, that brought thee thither with thy godlike company?  Hast thou come as a passenger on another’s ship, while they set thee ashore and went away?

Then Odysseus of many counsels answered him, saying:  ’Yea now, I will tell thee all most plainly.  From out of Alybas I come, where I dwell in a house renowned, and am the son of Apheidas the son of Polypemon, the prince, and my own name is Eperitus.  But some god drave me wandering hither from Sicania against my will, and yonder my ship is moored toward the upland away from the city.  But for Odysseus, this is now the fifth year since he went thence and departed out of my country.  Ill-fated was he, and yet he had birds of good omen when he fared away, birds on the right; wherefore I sped him gladly on his road, and gladly he departed, and the heart of us twain hoped yet to meet in friendship on a day and to give splendid gifts.’

So he spake, and on the old man fell a black cloud of sorrow.  With both his hands he clutched the dust and ashes and showered them on his gray head, with ceaseless groaning.  Then the heart of Odysseus was moved, and up through his nostrils throbbed anon the keen sting of sorrow at the sight of his dear father.  And he sprang towards him and fell on his neck and kissed him, saying: 

’Behold, I here, even I, my father, am the man of whom thou askest; in the twentieth year am I come to mine own country.  But stay thy weeping and tearful lamentation, for I will tell thee all clearly, though great need there is of haste.  I have slain the wooers in our halls and avenged their bitter scorn and evil deeds.’

Then Laertes answered him and spake, saying:  ’If thou art indeed Odysseus, mine own child, that art come hither, show me now a manifest token, that I may be assured.’

Then Odysseus of many counsels answered him saying:  ’Look first on this scar and consider it, that the boar dealt me with his white tusk on Parnassus, whither I had gone, and thou didst send me forth, thou and my lady mother, to Autolycus my mother’s father, to get the gifts which when he came hither he promised and covenanted to give me.  But come, and I will even tell thee the trees through all the terraced garden, which thou gavest me once for mine own, and I was begging of thee this and that, being but a little child, and following thee through the garden.  Through these very trees we were going, and thou didst tell me the names of each of them.  Pear-trees thirteen thou gavest me and ten apple-trees and figs two-score, and, as we went, thou didst name the fifty rows of vines thou wouldest give me, whereof each one ripened at divers times, with all manner of clusters on their boughs, when the seasons of Zeus wrought mightily on them from on high.’