sted with the secret of his master's
return till the last moment, he would have to dissemble, to violate his
own nature, and then perhaps he would not have succeeded in his
attempt. So Ulysses with a true regard for his man withholds the great
secret, and has to play under cover in order to get the needful
information.

Accordingly the present Book has a decided tinge of comedy. There is,
on the one hand, the disguise, external and internal--in garments and
in identity; on the other hand, there is the error which takes one
person for another, and produces the comic situation. Thus the Book is
prophetic of a great branch of Literature, and may be considered as a
starting-point of Greek Comedy, yes, as one of the origins of
Shakespeare. To be sure, it is not mere fun or amusement; it is the
Comedy of Providence, who often is in disguise bringing his blessing.
Eumaeus in his piety has just that which he thinks he has not; his
loyalty has brought to him just that which he most desired; his mistake
is in reality no mistake, but a mere appearance which will vanish in
the end.

It is true that this sport of comic disguise began in the previous Book
with Pallas. But can the mortal hide himself from the deity, specially
from the deity of wisdom? Hence the Goddess tears away the mask with a
smile, and there follows the recognition. But at present it is the
mortal who is the victim of disguise, by virtue of his limitations.
Still the mortal, when he cannot see, can believe, and so transcend
these same limitations. Thus it is with Eumaeus, his mistake is a comic
nullity.

In the hut of the swineherd, there is no domestic life, the woman is
absent. This condition is specially ascribed to the present state of
things in Ithaca. Eumaeus, though he be a slave, could have a household,
"a dwelling and ground and wife," if his old master were at home. Even
now he has his own servant, bought with his own wealth. Slavery was not
a hard condition in the house of Ulysses; it was domestic in the best
sense probably. Indeed the slaves were often of as high birth as their
masters, who in turn might be slaves in the next fluctuation of war.
Eumaeus himself was of kingly blood, and he retains his regal character
in his servitude.

Ulysses has now reached the fortress which is to be the rallying-point
of his army of three heroes, and from which he is to issue to the work
of the time. But that is hereafter. In the present Book, we have his
play