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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Gavin Richardson, post: 2681085, member: 83956&quot;]<b>Ah, poor Argus. No I&#039;m not crying. YOU&#039;RE CRYING!</b></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]599368[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>And so these two men&nbsp; [290]</p><p>talked to each other about these things. Then a dog</p><p>lying there raised its head and pricked up its ears.</p><p>It was Argus, brave Odysseus’ hunting dog,</p><p>whom he himself had brought up many years ago.</p><p>But before he could enjoy being with his dog,</p><p>he left for sacred Troy. In earlier days, young men</p><p>would take the dog to hunt wild goats, deer, and rabbits,&nbsp; 380</p><p>but now, with his master gone, he lay neglected</p><p>in the piles of dung left there by mules and cattle,</p><p>heaped up before the doors until Odysseus’ servants</p><p>took it as manure for some large field. Argus lay there,&nbsp; [300]</p><p>covered in fleas. Then, when he saw Odysseus,</p><p>who was coming closer, Argus wagged his tail</p><p>and dropped his ears. But he no longer had the strength</p><p>to approach his master. Odysseus looked away</p><p>and brushed aside a tear—he did so casually</p><p>to hide it from Eumaeus. Then he questioned him:&nbsp; 390</p><p>“Eumaeus, it’s strange this dog is lying here,</p><p>in the dung. He has a handsome body.</p><p>I’m not sure if his speed once matched his looks</p><p>or if he’s like those table dogs men have,</p><p>ones their masters raise and keep for show.”&nbsp; [310]</p><p>Then, swineherd Eumaeus, you answered him and said:</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>“Yes, this dog belongs to a man who died</p><p>somewhere far away. If he had the form</p><p>and acted as he did when Odysseus</p><p>left him and went to Troy, you’d quickly see&nbsp; 400</p><p>his speed and strength, and then you’d be amazed.</p><p>No wild animal he chased escaped him</p><p>in deep thick woods,&nbsp; for he could track a scent.</p><p>He’s in a bad way now. His master’s dead</p><p>in some foreign land, and careless women</p><p>don’t look after him. For when their masters&nbsp; [320]</p><p>no longer exercise their power, slaves</p><p>have no desire to do their proper work.</p><p>Far-seeing Zeus steals half the value of a man</p><p>the day he’s taken and becomes a slave.”&nbsp; 410</p><p>This said, Eumaeus went inside the stately palace,</p><p>straight into the hall to join the noble suitors.</p><p>But once he’d seen Odysseus after nineteen years,</p><p>the dark finality of death at once seized Argus. <i>Odyssey </i>17[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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