《奥德赛》--第17章--虎落平阳被犬欺

Now, as they talked on, a dog that lay there lifted up his muzzle, pricked his ears . . . It was Argos, long-enduring Odysseus’ dog he trained as a puppy once, but little joy he got since all too soon he shipped to sacred Troy. In the old days young hunters loved to set him coursing after the wild goats and deer and hares. But now with his master gone he lay there, castaway, on piles of dung from mules and cattle, heaps collecting out before the gates till Odysseus’ serving-men could cart it off to manure the king’s estates. Infested with ticks, half-dead from neglect, here lay the hound, old Argos.

…

Ah, but he’s run out of luck now, poor fellow . . .his master’s dead and gone, so far from home, and the heartless women tend him not at all. Slaves, with their lords no longer there to crack the whip, lose all zest to perform their duties well. Zeus, the Old Thunderer, robs a man of half his virtue the day the yoke clamps down around his neck.”

With that he entered the well-constructed palace, strode through the halls and joined the proud suitors. But the dark shadow of death closed down on Argos’ eyes the instant he saw Odysseus, twenty years away.

奥德修斯掌权时，如此威风堂堂的猎犬Argos，现在却耳朵耷拉，虱蝇满身，奄奄一息地趴在粪堆污泥上。进了自家门，才刚刚假装着向Eumaeus赞叹自己家就是与众不同时，却看到自己的爱犬如今成了这般模样，心善的奥德修斯也会于心不忍吧。

主人掌权（crack the whip），则百般讨好；失意落魄，则放任自流。虎落平阳被犬欺也就罢了，但在自家成了这样，和善的奥德修斯会不会感到一丝心寒和怒火呢?

但就算有，经历了百转千折的英雄也绝不流露半分。

With that he flung his beggar’s sack across his shoulders— torn and tattered, slung from a fraying rope. Eumaeus gave him a staff that met his needs. Then the two moved out, leaving behind them dogs and herdsmen to stay and guard the farm. And so the servant led his master toward the city, looking for all the world like an old and broken beggar hunched on a stick, his body wrapped in shameful rags …

在外人看来自己衣衫褴褛，软弱无能，就连自己以前熟悉的王宫大臣的儿子也要来戏谑他一番，但就算有人伸出脚想让他出糗，自己内心依然坚定，浩然正气，屹立不倒！

Here Dolius’ son, Melanthius, crossed their path…As soon as he saw them there he broke into a flood of brutal, foul abuse that made Odysseus’ blood boil.“Look!”—he sneered—”one scum nosing another scum along, dirt finds dirt by the will of god—it never fails! Wild, reckless taunts—and just as he passed Odysseus the idiot lurched out with a heel and kicked his hip, but he couldn’t knock the beggar off the path, he stood his ground so staunchly. Odysseus was torn …

既然自己已经踏进了自家门，绝不半途而废，再大的侮辱曲折都受过，不管再经历什么，自己的家由自己来整顿！