"Wise Penelope, daughter of Icarius, do we really
expect the man to wed you? Unthinkable, I know.
But we do recoil at the talk of men and women.
One of the island’s meaner sort will mutter,
‘Look at the riffraff courting a king’s wife.
Weaklings, look, they can’t even string his bow.
But along came this beggar, drifting out of the blue
strung his bow with ease and shot through all the axes!’
Gossip will fly. We’ll hang our heads in shame."
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 21, lines 360-368. Eurymachus protests at Penelope’s call to allow Odysseus-the-beggar use Odysseus’ bow in the suitors’ contest to win Penelope’s hand. There is unintended irony here when Eurymachus says that if the beggar succeeds when they cannot even string the bow it will provoke gossip and bring shame to the suitors. For they are already the object of gossip and shame by invading Odysseus’ house and devouring his food and wine.