the line just quoted (296 of the original) the Alexandrian
grammarians, Aristarchus and Aristophanes, concluded the Odyssey, and
declared the rest to be a post-Homeric addition. Still, this part of
the poem must have been in existence and accepted as Homer's long
before their time. Both Aristotle and Plato cite portions of it without
any declared suspicion of its genuineness. What reason the old
grammarians had for this huge excision is not definitely known; we can
see, however, that they wished to end the poem with complete
restoration, outer and inner, of the domestic bond between husband and
wife. Certainly a very noble thought in the poem, but by no means a
sufficient end; beside the domestic, the political bond also must be
restored, and the ethical harmony be made complete both in Family and
in State. Ulysses, moreover, has spoken of the duty laid upon him by
Tiresias in Hades: he must carry an oar till he comes to a land whose
people take it for a winnowing fan; there he is to plant it upright and
make an offering to Neptune. So there is a good deal yet to be done,
which the poem has already called for.

But just now she tells him her story, quite briefly; then he tells her
his story, more at length. This has the nature of a confession, with
its Circe and epecially Calypso, which she has to hear and he to make.
Through it all runs his yearning to reach home and wife.

But with the sun risen, new duties press upon him. First he will seek
some compensation for his property taken by the Suitors; secondly, he
will have to meet the vengeance of their relatives and friends. So the
army of four, himself, Telemachus, swineherd and cowherd, march forth
in arms from the palace gate, through the city to the country.

_Book Twenty-fourth._ This is another Book over which there has been
much critical discussion. Its thought, whatever may be said about its
execution, is absolutely necessary to bring the Odyssey to an organic
conclusion, and make the poem a well-rounded totality. There is the
political trouble generally, and specially the blood feud caused by the
slaying of the Suitors, which has to be harmonized. Repeatedly hitherto
we have had hints of this coming difficulty; Ulysses thought of it, and
made his plan concerning it before the slaughter took place. (XX. 41.)

In fact the complete restoration of Ulysses is both to Family and
State, the two great institutions which form the substructure of the
Odyssey. His coun