Odyssey 8.412 · Book 8, lines 412–415
Odysseus accepts the sword
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τὸν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεύς·
Odysseus — καὶ σὺ φίλος μάλα χαῖρε, θεοὶ δέ τοι ὄλβια δοῖεν. μηδέ τι τοι ξίφεός γε ποθὴ μετόπισθε γένοιτο τούτου, ὃ δή μοι δῶκας ἀρεσσάμενος ἐπέεσσιν.
And answering him, Odysseus of many wiles addressed him: You too, my friend, farewell heartily, and may the gods grant you blessings. And may not any longing for the sword arise for you hereafter — this that you indeed gave me in making amends with words.
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Odysseus of many wiles answers Euryalus. He returns the farewell warmly, wishes the young man blessings, and says he hopes never to feel the lack of the sword he has just been given in amends.
A note on this passage
The exchange closes as cleanly as it opened. Odysseus gives back the greeting, wishes Euryalus prosperity, and accepts the sword with a light, generous turn: may he never one day feel the lack of it. The quarrel is over, honor left intact on both sides.
He is named here polymetis, of many wiles — and the wiliness on show is nothing but grace. The same intelligence that will one day gut a hall of suitors is here spent on a young man's wounded pride, defusing it perfectly. In Phaeacia Odysseus practices the softer half of his cunning: knowing exactly what to say so that everyone is left whole.
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