Ulysses, fearing that he has made Nausicca the target of his father's anger, tries to blame himself. To which Alcinous responds categorically: “I am not a man for rash and vain anger. / Balance is best in all things” (Homer 7:355-354). What a calm and peace-loving man! If only we could all react the same way to the mistakes of others and to those of ourselves. Yet this fine example of appropriate behavior is barely mentioned in the book. It's simply taken literally and the story moves