g that they are by no means conclusive against the
genuineness of the whole passage. The general idea of it belongs here;
the dead Suitors represent the grand end of the Trojan movement, and
its reception into the Hades of famous deeds done and past, and very
significantly Agamemnon voices the praise of Ulysses and Penelope, the
great winners in the long struggle. Still the repetitions of previous
portions of the Odyssey are to our mind unnecessary and prolix, though
the literary skill manifested just herein has been highly lauded by
Saint Beuve and Lang.

II. Coming back to the Upperworld we find a series of incidents
following one another both slowly and hurriedly. These we shall throw
in groups for the sake of a rapid survey.

1. Ulysses with his three companions comes to the country seat of his
father Laertes. With him, too, he plays the same disguise as heretofore
with Penelope, Eumaeus and others, though its necessity is not now so
plain. "I shall test my father, to see if he will know me;" how fond
Ulysses is of this! So we have more fictions, masquerading, and final
recognition by the scar and other proofs. Also an old servant here,
Dolius, is recognized.

2. Now the scene passes to the city. The friends of the Suitors have
called an assembly; a strong party rises in opposition to Ulysses,
though two men, Medon and Halitherses, speak on his side. The result
is, a band under Eupeithes, father of Antinous, marches forth to wreak
vengeance upon Ulysses.

3. Hereupon a divine interference. Zeus decrees that there must be no
blood-feud between the relatives of the slain and the House of Ulysses,
but a league of friendship. Revenge must no longer beget revenge.

4. Still a fight occurs in which Laertes and Dolius with his six sons,
take part. Old Laertes is now to have his warlike meed, be kills old
Eupeithes, so that the male members of the House of Ulysses for three
generations--son, grandson, grandfather--have each killed his man.

5. Pallas hereupon stops the conflict, and the last lines of the poem
announce the peace which she makes under the form and voice of Mentor.
Surely the work of wisdom (Pallas) as well as of supreme law (Zeus)--to
stop the self-repeating blood-feud. Thus is the deep rent in the State
healed by aid of Zeus and Pallas. It should be observed that Pallas at
the end of the _Eumenides_ of the poet AEschylus released Orestes, who
is pursued by the Furies, from the guilt of his mother's blo