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diff --git a/15081-0.txt b/15081-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..caaf16e --- /dev/null +++ b/15081-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17834 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 15081 *** + + + + +THE +TRAGEDIES +OF +EURIPIDES. + +LITERALLY TRANSLATED OR REVISED, +WITH CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES, + +BY +THEODORE ALOIS BUCKLEY, +OF CHRIST CHURCH. + +VOL. I. + +HECUBA, ORESTES, PHŒNISSÆ, MEDEA, HIPPOLYTUS, ALCESTIS, +BACCHÆ, HERACLIDÆ, IPHIGENIA IN AULIDE, +AND IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. + +NEW YORK: +HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, +FRANKLIN SQUARE. + +1892. + + * * * * * * + +PREFACE. + +The translations of the first six plays in the present volume were +published at Oxford some years since, and have been frequently reprinted. +They are now carefully revised according to Dindorf's text, and are +accompanied by a few additional notes adapted to the requirements of the +student. + +The translations of the Bacchæ, Heraclidæ, and the two Iphigenias, are +based upon the same text, with certain exceptions, which are pointed out at +the foot of the page. The annotations on the Iphigenias are almost +exclusively critical, as it is presumed that a student who proceeds to the +reading of these somewhat difficult plays[1], will be sufficiently advanced +in his acquaintance with the Greek drama to dispense with more elementary +information. + + T.A. BUCKLEY, + CHRIST CHURCH, OXFORD. + +[1] The reader will obtain some notion of the difficulties alluded to, and +the best mode of grappling with them, by consulting the recent Cambridge +edition, published with English notes (Iph. in Aulide, 1840, in Tauris, +1846), performances of great critical acumen, attributed to the present +Bishop of Gloucester. + + * * * * * * + +INTRODUCTION. + + * * * * + +Euripides, son of Mnesarchus, was born in the island of Salamis, on the day +of the celebrated victory (B.C. 480). His mother, Clito, had been sent +thither in company with the other Athenian women, when Attica was given up, +and the ships became at once the refuge of the male population, and the +national defense. Mr. Donaldson[1] well remarks, that the patronymic form +of his name, derived from the Euripus, which was the scene of the first +successful resistance offered to the Persian navy, shows that the attention +of his parents was fully excited by the stirring events of the time. + +Notwithstanding the fact that his mother had been an herb-seller, it is +probable that his father was a man of some family. That he was at least +possessed of ample means, is evident from the care and expense bestowed +upon our poet's education. Under the tutorship of Anaxagoras, Prodicus, and +Protagoras, he had studied both natural philosophy and rhetoric in its +sophistical form. In gymnastic exercises he exhibited a successful prowess, +being twice victorious in the Eleusinian and Thesean games. Of his skill in +painting, some specimens were preserved at Megara. + +His appearance as a dramatist was at an earlier age than that of his +predecessors, as he was only five and twenty years old when he produced the +"Peliades," his first tragedy. On this occasion, he gained the third prize +in the tragic contests, but the first, fourteen years after, and +subsequently, with the "Hippolytus," in 428 B.C. The peculiar tendency of +some of the ideas expressed in his plays, was the probable cause of the +retirement of Euripides to Macedonia, where he obtained the friendship of +King Archelaus. Perhaps, however, the unhappiness of his connubial state, +arising from the infidelity of his two wives, might have rendered Athens a +disagreeable place of abode for the woman-hating poet, especially when his +"domestic bliss" was continually seasoned by the sarcastic jokes and +allusions of his political enemy, Aristophanes. Moreover, his acquaintance +with the talking philosopher, Socrates, must have been unfavorable to the +continuance of his popularity. + +The fate of Pentheus in our author's noble play, the "Bacchæ," appears to +have given origin to the tradition that he himself was torn to pieces by +dogs. If we reflect that this play was probably the last of his works, the +mistake seems a plausible one. The death of Euripides, which probably +happened in the ordinary course of nature, has, like that of Æschylus, been +associated with the marvelous. + +The Athenians vainly craved the honor of giving a resting-place to the +ashes of their philosopher-poet. He was buried at Pella, but a cenotaph at +Athens showed that his countrymen had not forgotten Euripides. His death +took place B.C. 406. + +The inferiority of our author to the greater tragedians, prevents our +feeling much desire to enter upon the respective merits and demerits of his +several plays, especially as we are completely anticipated by Schlegel, +with whose masterly analysis every reader ought to be acquainted. +Nevertheless, a few general remarks may, perhaps, be not wholly +unprofitable. + +It has been truly remarked, that tragedy, in no small degree, owed its +downfall to Euripides. Poetry was gradually superseded by rhetoric, +sublimity by earnestness, pathos by reasoning. Thus, Iphigenia and Macaria +give so many good reasons for dying, that the sacrifice appears very small, +and a modern wag in the upper regions of the theatre would, at the end of +the speech of the latter heroine, almost have exclaimed, "Then why don't +you die?" + +It has been said, that our poet drew the characters of life as he found +them, but bad as his characters are, they exhibit only a vulgar wickedness. +Unable to portray a Clytæmnestra, he revels in the continual paltriness of +a Menelaus or Ulysses. As if he took a delight in the black side of +humanity, he loves to show the strength of false reasoning, of sophistry +antagonistic to truth, and of cold expediency in opposition to the natural +feelings of humanity. From a similar reason, his occasional attempts at +comedy degenerate into mere farce. We question whether the scene between +Death and Apollo in the "Alcestis," could be surpassed in vulgarity, even +by the modern school of English dramatists, while his exaggerations in the +minor characters are scarcely to be surpassed by the lowest writer of any +period. + +Under Euripides, the stage began gradually to approximate more closely to +the ordinary and, at that time, debased character of Athenian society. A +contempt for the Lacedæmonians, a passionate taste for the babbling and +trickery of the forum, and an attempt to depreciate the social position and +influence of the weaker sex, form the most unamiable features of this +change. Yet we must allow, that if Euripides has reveled in the +amiabilities of a Melanippe or a Phædra, in the gentle revenge of a Medea +or Hecuba, he has at the same time given us an Alcestis, the only real +example of genuine conjugal affection on the Greek stage. + +Nor must we forget that Euripides is a greater admirer of nature, a more +complete delineator of her workings, than the two greater tragedians. He +has more of illustrative philosophy, more of regard to the objects of the +animated creation, the system of the universe, than his greater rivals +exhibit. He is, as Vitruvius has justly styled him, a "stage-philosopher." +Did we possess a larger acquaintance with the works of Parmenides, +Empedocles, and other early cosmogonists, we should perhaps think less of +his merits on this head: as it is, the possession of some such fragments of +our poet makes us deeply regret the loss of the plays themselves. + +But his very love for the contemplation of nature has in no small degree +contributed to the mischievous skepticism promulgated by our poet. In early +times, when a rural theogony was the standard of belief, when each star had +its deity, each deity its undisputed, unquestioned prerogative and worship, +there was little inclination, less opportunity, for skepticism. Throughout +the poetry of Hesiod, we find this feeling ever predominant, a feeling +which Virgil and Tibullus well knew how to appreciate. Even Euripides +himself, perhaps taught by some dangerous lessons at home, has expressed +his belief that it is best "not to be too clever in matters regarding the +Gods."[2] A calm retreat in the wild, picturesque tracts of Macedonia, +might have had some share in reforming this spoiled pupil of the sophists. +But as we find that the too careful contemplation of nature degenerates +into superstition or rationalism in their various forms, so Euripides had +imbibed the taste for saying startling things,[3] rather than wise; for +reducing the principles of creation to materialism, the doctrines of right +and wrong to expediency, and immutable truths to a popular system of +question and answer. Like the generality of sophists, he took away a +received truth, and left nothing to supply its place; he reasoned falsehood +into probability, truth into nonentity. + +At a period when the Prodico-Socratic style of disputing was in high +fashion, the popularity of Euripides must have been excessive. His familiar +appeals to the trifling matters of ordinary life, his characters all +philosophizing, from the prince to the dry-nurse, his excellent reasons for +doing right or wrong, as the case might be, must have been inestimably +delightful to the accommodating morals of the Athenians. The Court of +Charles the Second could hardly have derived more pleasure from the +writings of a Behn or a Hamilton, than these unworthy descendants of Codrus +must have experienced in hearing a bad cause so cleverly defended. Whether +the orators and dikasts followed the example of the stage in those days, +can scarcely be ascertained, but it is more than certain that they +practically illustrated its principles. At least, the Sicilians were so +fond of our author, that a few of the unfortunate survivors of the +Syracusan disaster, were enabled to pick up a living by quoting such +passages of our author as they had learned by heart. A compliment paid to +few living dramatists in our days! + +In dramatic conduct, Euripides is at an even greater disadvantage with +Æschylus and Sophocles. The best characters of the piece are often the +least employed, as in the instance of Macaria in the "Heraclidæ," while the +play is dwindled away with dull, heavy dirges, and the complaints of senile +childishness. The chorus, as Aristotle[4] has remarked, is most +unfortunately independent of the plot, although the finest poetry is +generally to be found in the lyric portions of our author's plays. In fact, +Euripides rather wanted management in employing his resources, than the +resources themselves. An ear well attuned to the harmony of verse, a +delicate perception of the graceful points of language, and a finished +subtilty in touching the more minute feelings and impulses of the mind, +were all thrown away either upon bad subjects or worse principles. There is +no true tragedy in Euripides, He is a melodramatist, but not according to +the modern acceptation. His plays might end either happily or the reverse. +A deity conveniently brought in, the arrival of a messenger, however +unexpectedly, together with a liberal allowance for a cowardly revenge upon +the vanquished--these are the Euripidean elements for giving a tragic end +to a play. Nay, so great is the prodigality of slaughter throughout his +dramas, that we can but imagine morbid cruelty to have formed a +considerable ingredient in the disposition of Euripides. Even his pathos is +somewhat tinctured with this taste for painful images. As we have beheld in +our own times a barbarian alternately glut his sight with executions, and +then shed floods of tears, and sink into idiot despondency; so the poetry +of Euripides in turn disgusts us with outrageous cruelty, and depresses us +with the most painful demands upon our compassion. + +In the lyric portions of his dramas, our poet has been far more successful. +The description of the capture of Troy by night,[5] is a splendid specimen +of animation blended with true pathos. But taken as a whole. Euripides is a +most unequal author. We may commence a play with pleasure (but O for the +prologues!), we may proceed with satisfaction, but the feeling rarely lasts +to the end. If I may venture an opinion upon so uncertain a subject, I +should name the Hippolytus, Ion, Troades, Bacchæ, and Iphigenia in Aulis as +his best plays, placing the Phœnissæ, Alcestis, Medea, Hecuba, and Orestes +in a lower rank. The Helena is an amusing heap of absurdities, and reads +much better in the burlesque of Aristophanes; the Electra is utterly +beneath criticism; the Cyclops a weak, but humorous imitation of Homer. The +other plays appear to be neither bad nor good. + +The style of Euripides is, generally speaking, easy; and I can mention no +author from whom a taste for elegant Greek and a facility in composition +can more easily be derived. Some of his plays have suffered severely from +the ravages of time, the ignorance of copyists, and the more dangerous +officiousness of grammarians. Some passages of the Bacchæ, Rhesus, Troades, +and the two Iphigenias, despite the ingenuity and erudition of such +scholars as Porson, Elmsley, Monk, Burges, and a host of others, must still +remain mere matter for guessing. Hermann's Euripides is, as a whole, sadly +unworthy the abilities of the Humboldt of Greek literature. + +The present volume contains the most popular of our author's works, +according to present usage. But the spirit which is gradually infusing +itself into the minds of those who are most actively engaged in the +educational system of England, fully warrants a hope that Porson's "four +plays" will shortly cease to be the boundaries of the student's +acquaintance with Euripides. + +I need scarcely observe, that the study of Aristophanes is indissolubly +connected with that of our author. If the reader discover the painful fact +that the burlesque writer is greater than the tragedian, he will perhaps +also recollect that such a literary relation is, unfortunately, by no means +confined to the days of Aristophanes. + + * * * * + +Notes on the Introduction + +[1] See Theatre of the Greeks, p. 92. sqq. + +[2] Bacch. 200. This play was written during his sojourn with Archelaus. + +[3] τοιουτονι τι παρακεκινδευμενον. Aristoph. Ran. 99. + +[4] Poet. § xviii. + +[5] Hec. 905 sqq. + + * * * * * * + +HECUBA. + + * * * * + +PERSONS REPRESENTED. + + GHOST OF POLYDORE. + HECUBA. + CHORUS OF FEMALE CAPTIVES. + POLYXENA. + ULYSSES. + TALTHYBIUS. + FEMALE ATTENDANT. + AGAMEMNON. + POLYMESTOR AND HIS CHILDREN. + +_The Scene lies before the Grecian tents, on the coast of the Thracian +Chersonese._ + + * * * * * + +THE ARGUMENT. + + * * * * + +After the capture of Troy, the Greeks put into the Chersonese over against +Troas, But Achilles, having appeared by night, demanded one of the +daughters of Priam to be slain. The Greeks therefore, in honor to their +hero, tore Polyxena from Hecuba, and offered her up in sacrifice. +Polymestor moreover, the king of the Thracians, murdered Polydore, a son of +Priam's. Now Polymestor had received him from the hands of Priam as a +charge to take care of, together with some money. But when the city was +taken, wishing to seize upon his wealth, he determined to dispatch him, and +disregarded the ill-fated friendship that subsisted between them; but his +body being cast out into the sea, the wave threw him up on the shore before +the tents of the captive women. Hecuba, on seeing the corse, recognized it; +and having imparted her design to Agamemnon, sent for Polymestor to come to +her with his sons, concealing what had happened, under pretense that she +might discover to him some treasures hidden in Ilium. But on his arrival +she slew his sons, and put out his eyes; but pleading her cause before the +Greeks, she gained it over her accuser (Polymestor). For it was decided +that she did not begin the cruelty, but only avenged herself on him who did +begin it. + + * * * * * + +HECUBA. + + * * * * + +GHOST OF POLYDORE. + +I am present, having left the secret dwellings of the dead and the gates of +darkness, where Pluto has his abode apart from the other Gods, Polydore the +son of Hecuba the daughter of Cisseus,[1] and Priam my sire, who when the +danger of falling by the spear of Greece was threatening the city of the +Phrygians, in fear, privately sent me from the Trojan land to the house of +Polymestor, his Thracian friend, who cultivates the most fruitful soil of +the Chersonese, ruling a warlike people with his spear.[2] But my father +sends privately with me a large quantity of gold, in order that, if at any +time the walls of Troy should fall, there might not be a lack of sustenance +for his surviving children. But I was the youngest of the sons of Priam; on +which account also he sent me privately from the land, for I was able +neither to bear arms nor the spear with my youthful arm. As long then +indeed as the landmarks of the country remained erect, and the towers of +Troy were unshaken, and Hector my brother prevailed with his spear, I +miserable increased vigorously as some young branch, by the nurture I +received at the hands of the Thracian, my father's friend. But after that +both Troy and the life of Hector were put an end to, and my father's +mansions razed to the ground, and himself falls at the altar built by the +God, slain by the blood-polluted son of Achilles, the friend of my father +slays me, wretched man, for the sake of my gold, and having slain me threw +me into the surf of the sea, that he might possess the gold himself in his +palace. But I am exposed on the shore, at another time on the ocean's +surge, borne about by many ebbings and flowings of the waves, unwept, +unburied; but at present I am hastening on my dear mother's account, having +left my body, borne aloft this day already the third,[3] for so long has my +wretched mother been present in this territory of the Chersonese from Troy. +But all the Grecians, holding their ships at anchor, are sitting quiet on +the shores of this land of Thrace. For Achilles the son of Peleus, +appearing above his tomb, stayed all the army of the Grecians as they were +directing homeward their sea dipped oars; and asks to receive my sister +Polyxena as a dear victim, and a tribute of honor to his tomb. And this he +will obtain, nor will he be without this gift from his friends; and fate +this day leads forth my sister to death. But my mother will see the two +corses of her two children, both mine and the unhappy virgin's; for I shall +appear on a breaker before the feet of a female slave, that I wretched may +obtain sepulture; for I have successfully entreated those who have power +beneath to find a tomb, and to fall into my mother's hands. As much then as +I wish to have shall be mine; but I will withdraw myself out of the way of +the aged Hecuba, for she is advancing her step beyond the tent of +Agamemnon, dreading my phantom. Alas! O my mother, who, from kingly +palaces, hast beheld the day of slavery, how unfortunate art thou now, in +the degree that thou wert once fortunate! but some one of the Gods +counterpoising your state, destroys you on account of your ancient +prosperity. + +HECUBA. CHORUS. + +HEC. Lead onward, ye Trojan dames, the old woman before the tent; lead +onward, raising up one now your fellow-slave, but once your queen; take me, +bear me, conduct me, support my body, holding my aged hand; and I, leaning +on the bending staff of my hand,[4] will hasten to put forward the slow +motion of my joints. O lightning of Jove! O thou gloomy night! why, I pray, +am I thus disquieted in the night with terrors, with phantoms? O thou +venerable Earth, the mother of black-winged dreams, I renounce the nightly +vision, which regarding my son who is preserved in Thrace, and regarding +Polyxena my dear daughter, in my dreams have I beheld, a fearful sight, I +have learned, I have understood. Gods of this land, preserve my son, who, +my only son, and, [as it were,] the anchor of my house, inhabits the snowy +Thrace under the protection of his father's friend. Some strange event will +take place, some strain will come mournful to the mournful. Never did my +mind so incessantly shudder and tremble. Where, I pray, ye Trojan dames, +can I behold the divine spirit of Helenus, or Cassandra, that they may +interpret my dreams? For I beheld a dappled hind torn by the blood-stained +fang of the wolf, forcibly dragged from my bosom, a miserable sight. And +dreadful this vision also; the spectre of Achilles came above the summit of +his tomb, and demanded as a tribute of honor one of the wretched Trojan +women. From my daughter then, from my daughter avert this fate, ye Gods, I +implore you. + +CHOR. Hecuba, with haste to thee I flew, leaving the tents of our lords, +where I was allotted and ordained a slave, driven from the city of Troy, +led captive of the Greeks by the point of the spear, not to alleviate aught +of your sufferings, but bringing a heavy weight of tidings, and to thee, O +lady, a herald of woe. For it is said that it has been decreed in the full +council of the Greeks to make thy daughter a sacrifice to Achilles: for you +know how that having ascended o'er his tomb, he appeared in his golden arms +and restrained the fleet ships, as they were setting their sails with their +halliards, exclaiming in these words; "Where speed ye, Grecians, leaving my +tomb unhonored!" Then the waves of great contention clashed together, and a +divided opinion went forth through the army of the Greeks; to some it +appeared advisable to give a victim to his tomb, and to others it appeared +not. But Agamemnon was studious to advance your good, cherishing the love +of the infuriated prophetess. But the two sons of Theseus, scions of +Athens, were the proposers of different arguments, but in this one opinion +they coincided, to crown the tomb of Achilles with fresh blood; and +declared they would never prefer the bed of Cassandra before the spear of +Achilles. And the strength of the arguments urged on either side was in a +manner equal, till that subtle adviser, that babbling knave,[5] honeyed in +speech, pleasing to the populace, that son of Laertes, persuades the army, +not to reject the suit of the noblest of all the Greeks on account of a +captive victim, and not to put it in the power of any of the dead standing +near Proserpine to say that the Grecians departed from the plains of Troy +ungrateful to the heroes who died for the state of Greece. And Ulysses will +come only not now, to tear your child from your bosom, and to take her from +your aged arms. But go to the temples, speed to the altars, sit a suppliant +at the knees of Agamemnon, invoke the Gods, both those of heaven, and those +under the earth; for either thy prayers will prevent thy being deprived of +thy wretched daughter, or thou must behold the virgin falling before the +tomb, dyed in blood gushing forth in a dark stream from her neck adorned +with gold.[6] + +HEC. Alas! wretched me! what shall I exclaim? what shriek shall I utter? +what lamentation? miserable through miserable age, and slavery not to be +endured, insupportable. Alas! who is there to defend me? what offspring, +what city! The old man is gone. My children are gone. Whither shall I turn +me? and whither shall I go? Where is any god or deity to succor me? O +Trojan dames, bearers of evil tidings, bearers of woe, you have destroyed +me utterly, you have destroyed me. Life in the light is no more desirable! +O wretched foot, lead, lead an aged woman to this tent! O child, daughter +of the most afflicted mother, come forth, come forth from the tent, hear +thy mother's voice, that thou mayest know what a report I hear that +concerns thy life. + +HECUBA, POLYXENA, CHORUS. + +POLYX. O mother, why dost thou call! proclaiming what new affliction hast +thou frighted me from the tent, as some bird from its nest, with this +alarm? + +HEC. Alas! my child! + +POLYX. Why address me in words of ill omen? This is an evil prelude. + +HEC. Alas! for thy life. + +POLYX. Speak, conceal it no longer from me. I fear, I fear, my mother; why +I pray dost thou groan? + +HEC. O child, child of an unhappy mother! + +POLYX. Why sayest thou this? + +HEC. My child, the common decree of the Greeks unites to slay thee at the +tomb of the son of Peleus. + +POLYX. Alas, my mother! how are you relating unenviable ills? Tell me, tell +me, my mother. + +HEC. I declare, my child, the ill-omened report, they bring word that a +decree has passed by the vote of the Greeks regarding thy life. + +POLYX. O thou that hast borne affliction! O thou wretched on every side! O +mother unhappy in your life, what most hated and most unutterable calamity +has some destiny again sent against thee! This child is no longer thine; no +longer indeed shall I miserable share slavery with miserable age. For as a +mountain whelp or heifer shalt thou wretched behold me wretched torn from +thine arms, and sent down beneath the darkness of the earth a victim to +Pluto, where I shall lie bound in misery with the dead. But it is for thee +indeed, my afflicted mother, that I lament in these mournful strains, but +for my life, my wrongs, my fate, I mourn not; but death, a better lot, has +befallen me. + +CHOR. But see Ulysses advances with hasty step, to declare to thee, Hecuba, +some new determination. + +ULYSSES, HECUBA, POLYXENA, CHORUS. + +ULYSS. Lady, I imagine that you are acquainted with the decree of the army, +and the vote which has prevailed; nevertheless, I will declare it. It has +been decreed by the Greeks to offer on the lofty mound of Achilles's tomb +thy daughter Polyxena. But they order me to conduct and convey the damsel; +but the son of Achilles is appointed to be the priest, and to preside over +the rites. Do you know then what to do? Be not dragged away by violence, +nor enter into a contest of strength with me, but acknowledge superior +force and the presence of thy ills; it is wise to have proper sentiments +even in adversity. + +HEC. Alas! alas! the great trial is at hand, as it seems, of lamentations +full, nor without tears; for I have not died in the state in which I ought +to have died, nor hath Jove destroyed me, but preserves me, that I wretched +may behold other misfortunes greater than [past] misfortunes. But if it be +allowed slaves to put questions to the free, not offensive nor grating to +the feelings, it will be your part to be questioned, and ours who are +asking to attend. + +ULYSS. You have permission, ask freely, I grudge not the time. + +HEC. Dost thou remember when thou camest a spy on Troy, disfigured by a +vile dress, and from thine eyes drops caused by the fear of death bedewed +thy beard? + +ULYSS. I remember well; for it made no slight impression on my heart. + +HEC. But Helen knew thee, and told me alone. + +ULYSS. I remember the great danger I encountered. + +HEC. And didst thou embrace my knees in thy humility? + +ULYSS. So that my hand was numbered[7] through fear on thy garments. + +HEC. What then didst thou say, being then my slave? + +ULYSS. Many arguments that I invented to save me from death. + +HEC. Did I preserve thee then, and conduct thee safe from the land? + +ULYSS. Yes, so that I now behold the light of the sun. + +HEC. Art thou not then convicted of baseness by this conduct, who hast +received benefits from me such as thou acknowledgest thou hast, and doest +us no good in return, but evil, as far as in thee lies? Thankless is your +race, as many of you as court honor from oratory before the populace; be ye +not known to me, who care not to injure your friends, provided you say what +is gratifying to the people. But plotting what dark design have they +determined upon a decree of death against my child? Did fate impel them to +offer human sacrifices at the tomb, where it were rather right to sacrifice +cattle? Or does Achilles, desirous of devoting in his turn to death those +that wrought his death, with a color of justice meditate her destruction? +But she has done him no ill: he should demand Helen as a sacrifice on his +tomb; for she destroyed him, and brought him to Troy. But if some captive +selected from the rest, and excelling in beauty, ought to die, this is not +ours. For the daughter of Tyndarus is most preeminent in beauty, and has +been found to be no less injurious than us. On the score of justice then I +urge this argument; but with respect to what you ought to repay at my +demand, hear: thou hast touched my hand, as thou ownest, and this aged +cheek also, falling at my knees. Thy hand and knees I in return grasp, and +re-demand the favor I granted you then, and beseech you, do not tear my +child from my arms, nor kill her; enough have died already. In her I +rejoice, and forget my misfortunes; she serves as my consolation in the +stead of many things, she is my city, my nurse, my staff, the guide of my +way. It becomes not those who have power to exercise their power in things +wherein they ought not, nor should the fortunate imagine their fortune will +last forever. For I too have had my time of prosperity, but now have I +ceased to be: one day wrenched from me all my happiness. But by thy beard +which I supplicate, reverence me, pity me; go to the Grecian army, and +remind them that it is a shameful thing to slay women whom ye have once +spared, and that too dragging them from the altar. But show mercy. But the +laws of blood among you are laid down alike for the free and the slave. But +your worth will carry with it persuasion, although your arguments be bad; +for the same words from those of little character, have not the same force +as when they proceed from those of high reputation. + +CHOR. There is no nature of man so obdurate, which on hearing thy groans, +and thy long plaints of misery, would not let fall the tear. + +ULYSS. Hecuba, be advised, nor through passion deem him thine enemy who +gives thee good advice. I indeed am ready to preserve thy person through +the means of which I was fortunate; and I say no other. But what I declared +before all I will not deny, that, Troy being captured, we should give thy +daughter as a victim to the noblest man of the army, who demands her; for +in this many cities fail, when any man who is brave and zealous receives no +more honor than those who are less valiant. But Achilles, O lady, is worthy +of honor from us, a man who died most gloriously in behalf of the Grecian +country. Were not then this disgraceful, if when living we treat him as a +friend, but after he is gone we no longer treat him so? Well! what then +will any one say, if there again should be an assembling of the army, and a +contest with the enemy: "Shall we fight or preserve our lives, seeing that +he who falls lies unhonored?" But for me at least, living from day to day, +although I have but little, that little is sufficient; but I would wish +that my monument should be beheld crowned with honor, for the gratification +is for a long time. But if thou sayest thou sufferest affliction, hear this +in return from me. There are with us aged matrons, and hoary sires, not +less wretched than thou art, and brides bereft of the noblest husbands, +whose ashes this land of Troy conceals. Endure this. But we, if we +injudiciously determine to honor the brave man, shall incur the charge of +folly. But you barbarians neither consider your friends as friends, nor do +you hold up to admiration those who have died honorably; thus shall Greece +be prosperous, but you shall experience fortune corresponding to your +counsels. + +CHOR. Alas! alas! how wretched is the state of slavery, and to endure +indignities compelled by superior force! (Note [B].) + +HEC. O daughter, my words respecting thy death are vanished in the air, set +forth in vain; but thou, if thou hast greater powers [of persuasion] than +thy mother, use all thy influence, uttering every note as the throat of the +nightingale, that thou mayest not be deprived of life. But fall before the +knees of Ulysses in all the eloquence of grief, and persuade him; thou hast +a pretext, for he also hath children; so that he may be inclined to pity +thy fortune. + +POLYX. I see, Ulysses, that thou art hiding thy hand beneath thy robe, and +turnest thy face away, that I may not touch thy beard. Be not afraid; thou +hast avoided my suppliant Jove; for I will follow thee both on account of +fate, and even wishing to die; but if I were not willing, I should appear +base, and too fond of life. For wherefore should I live, whose father was +monarch of all the Trojans; this my dawn of life. Then was I nurtured under +fair hope, a bride for princes, having no small competition for my hand, to +whose palace and hearth I should come. But I, wretched now, was mistress +among the Trojan women, and conspicuous in the train of virgins, equal to +goddesses, death only excepted. But now I am a slave; first of all the very +name, not being familiar, persuades me to love death. Then perhaps I might +meet with masters cruel in disposition, who will buy me for silver, the +sister both of Hector and many other [heroes.] And imposing the task of +making bread in his palace, will compel me, passing the day in misery, both +to sweep the house, and stand at the loom. And some slave somewhere +purchased will defile my bed, before wooed by princes. This never shall be. +I will quit this light from mine eyes free, offering my body to Pluto. Lead +on then, Ulysses, conduct me to death; for I see neither confidence of +hope, nor of expectation, present to me that I can ever enjoy good fortune. +But do thou, my mother, in no wise hinder me by your words or by your +actions; but assent to my death before I meet with indignities unsuited to +my rank. For one who has not been accustomed to taste misfortunes bears +indeed, but grieves, to put his neck under the yoke. But he would be far +more blessed in death than in life; for to live otherwise than honorably is +a great burden. + +CHOR. It is a great and distinguishing feature among men to be born of +generous parents, and the name of nobility of birth among the illustrious, +proceeds from great to greater still. + +HEC. You have spoken honorably, my daughter, but in that honorable dwells +grief. But if the son of Peleus must be gratified, and you must escape +blame, Ulysses, kill not her; but leading me to the pyre of Achilles, +strike me, spare me not; I brought forth Paris, who destroyed the son of +Thetis, having pierced him with his arrows. + +ULYSS. The phantom of Achilles did not demand that thou, O aged lady, but +that thy daughter here should die. + +HEC. Do thou then at least slay me with my daughter, and there will be +twice the libation of blood for the earth, and the dead who makes this +request. + +ULYSS. Thy daughter's death suffices; one must not be heaped on another; +would that we required not even this one. + +HEC. There is a strong necessity for me to die with my daughter. + +ULYSS. How so? for I am not aware of any master that I have. + +HEC. As the ivy the oak, so will I clasp her. + +ULYSS. Not so; if you will take the advice of your superiors in knowledge. + +HEC. Never will I willingly quit my child here. + +ULYSS. Nor will I leave this place without the virgin. + +POLYX. Mother, be persuaded; and thou, son of Laertes, be gentle to a +parent with reason moved to anger. But thou, O wretched mother, contend not +with conquerors. Dost thou wish to fall on the earth and to wound thy aged +flesh dragged by violence, and to suffer the indignity of being torn by a +youthful arm? which things you will suffer. Do not, I pray thee, for it is +not seemly. But, my dear mother, give me thy beloved hand, and grant me to +join cheek to cheek; since never hereafter, but now for the last time shall +I behold the rays of the sun and his bright orb. Receive my last address, O +mother! O thou that bearedst me, I am going below. + +HEC. And I, O daughter, shall be a slave in the light of day. + +POLYX. Without the bridegroom, without the bridal song, which I ought to +have obtained. + +HEC. Mournful thou, my child; but I am a wretched woman. + +POLYX. There shall I lie in darkness far from thee. + +HEC. Alas me, what shall I do? where end my life? + +POLYX. I shall die a slave, born of a free father. + +HEC. But I bereft indeed of fifty children. + +POLYX. What message shall I bear to Hector, and to thy aged husband? + +HEC. Tell them that I am most miserable of all women. + +POLYX. O ye breasts that tenderly nursed me. + +HEC. O daughter of an untimely and unhappy fate. + +POLYX. Farewell, O mother, farewell Cassandra too. + +HEC. Others farewell, but this is not for thy mother. + +POLYX. Farewell, my brother Polydore, among the warlike Thracians. + +HEC. If he lives at least: but I doubt, so unfortunate am I in every thing. + +POLTX. He lives, and shall close thy dying eye. + +HEC. I am dead, before my death, beneath my ills. + +POLYX. Lead me, Ulysses, having covered my face with a veil, since, before +I am sacrificed indeed, I am melted in heart at my mother's plaints, her +also I melt by my lamentations. O light, for yet it is allowed me to +express thy name, but I have no share in thee, except during the time that +I am going between the sword and the pyre of Achilles. + +HEC. Ah me! I faint; and my limbs fail me.--O daughter, touch thy mother, +stretch forth thy hand--give it me--leave me not childless--I am lost, my +friends. Would that I might see the Spartan Helen, the sister of the twin +sons of Jove, thus, for through her bright eyes that most vile woman +destroyed the happy Troy. + +CHOR. Gale, gale of the sea,[8] which waftest the swift barks bounding +through the waves through the surge of the ocean, whither wilt thou bear me +hapless? To whose mansion shall I come, a purchased slave? Or to the port +of the Doric or Phthian shore, where they report that Apidanus, the most +beautiful father of floods, enriches the plains? or wilt thou bear me +hapless urged by the maritime oar, passing a life of misery in my +prison-house, to that island[9] where both the first-born palm tree and the +laurel shot forth their hallowed branches to their beloved Latona, emblem +of the divine parturition? And with the Delian nymphs shall I celebrate in +song the golden chaplet and bow of Diana? Or, in the Athenian city, shall I +upon the saffron robe harness the steeds to the car of Minerva splendid in +her chariot, representing them in embroidery upon the splendid looms of +brilliant threads, or the race of Titans, which Jove the son of Saturn +sends to eternal rest with his flaming lightning? Alas, my children! Alas, +my ancestors, and my paternal land, which is overthrown, buried in smoke, +captured by the Argive sword! but I indeed am[10] a slave in a foreign +country, having left Asia the slave of Europe, having changed my bridal +chamber for the grave. + +TALTHYBIUS, HECUBA, CHORUS. + +TAL. Tell me, ye Trojan dames, where can I find Hecuba, late the queen of +Troy? + +CHOR. Not far from thee, O Talthybius, she is lying stretched on the +ground, muffled in her robes. + +TAL. O Jupiter, what shall I say? Shall I say that thou beholdest mortals? +or that they have to no end or purpose entertained false notions, who +suppose the existence of a race of Deities, and that fortune has the +sovereign control over men? Was not this the queen of the opulent +Phrygians? was not this the wife of the all-blest Priam? And now all her +city is overthrown by the spear, but she a captive, aged, childless, lies +on the ground defiling her ill-fated head with the dust. Alas! alas! I too +am old, but rather may death be my portion before I am involved in any such +debasing fortune; stand up, oh unhappy, raise thy side, and lift up thy +hoary head. + +HEC. Let me alone: who art thou that sufferest not my body to rest? why +dost thou, whoever thou art, disturb me from my sadness? + +TAL. I am here, Talthybius, the herald of the Greeks, Agamemnon having sent +me for thee, O lady. + +HEC. Hast thou come then, thou dearest of men, it having been decreed by +the Greeks to slay me too upon the tomb? Thou wouldest bring dear news +indeed. Then haste we, let us speed with all our might: lead on, old man. + +TAL. I am here and come to thee, O lady, that thou mayest entomb thy dead +daughter. Both the two sons of Atreus and the Grecian host send me. + +HEC. Alas! what wilt thou say? Art thou not come for me as doomed to death, +but to bring this cruel message? Thou art dead, my child, torn from thy +mother; and I am childless as far as regards thee; oh! wretch that I am. +But how did ye slay her? was it with becoming reverence? Or did ye proceed +in your butchery as with an enemy, O old man? Tell me, though you will +relate no pleasing tale. + +TAL. Twice, O lady, thou desirest me to indulge in tears through pity for +thy daughter; for both now while relating the mournful circumstance shall I +bedew this eye, as did I then at the tomb when she perished. The whole host +of the Grecian army was present before the tomb, at the sacrifice of thy +daughter. But the son of Achilles taking Polyxena by the hand, placed her +on the summit of the mound; but I stood near him: and there followed a +chosen band of illustrious youths in readiness to restrain with their hands +thy daughter's struggles; then the son of Achilles took a full-crowned +goblet of entire gold, and poured forth libations to his deceased father; +and makes signal to me to proclaim silence through all the Grecian host. +And I standing forth in the midst, thus spoke: "Be silent, O ye Greeks, let +all the people remain silent; silence, be still:" and I made the people +perfectly still. But he said, "O son of Peleus, O my father, accept these +libations which have the power of soothing, and which speed the dead on +their way; and come, that thou mayest drink the pure purple blood of this +virgin, which both the army and myself offer unto thee; but be propitious +to us, and grant us to weigh anchor, and to loose the cables of our ships, +and to return each to his country, having met with a prosperous return from +Troy." Thus much he said, and all the army joined in the prayer. Then +taking by the hilt his sword decked with gold, he drew it from its +scabbard, and made signs to the chosen youths of the Greeks to hold the +virgin. But she, when she perceived it,[11] uttered this speech: "O +Argives, ye that destroyed my city, I die willingly; let none touch my +body; for I will offer my neck to the sword with a good heart. But, by the +Gods, let me go free while ye kill me, that I may die free, for to be +classed as a slave among the dead, when a queen, is what I am ashamed of." +But the people murmured assent, and king Agamemnon ordered the young men to +quit the virgin; [but they, soon as they heard the last words of him who +had the seat of chief authority among them, let go their hold,] and she, on +hearing this speech of her lords, took her robe, and rent it, beginning +from the top of her shoulder down to her waist: and showed her breasts and +bosom beauteous, as a statue's, and bending her knee on the ground, spoke +words the most piteous ever heard, "Lo! strike, if this bosom thou +desirest, O youth; or wouldest thou rather under the neck, here is this +throat prepared." But he at once resolved and unresolved through pity of +the virgin, cuts with the sword the passage of her breath; and fountains of +blood burst forth. But she, e'en in death, showed much care to fall +decently, and to veil from the eyes of men what ought to be concealed. But +after that she breathed forth her spirit under the fatal blow, not one of +the Greeks exercised the same offices; but some scattered leaves from their +hands on the dead; some heap the funeral pile, bringing whole trunks of +pines: but he that would not bring, heard rebukes of this sort from him +that was thus employed: "Standest thou idle, thou man of most mean spirit? +Hast in thy hand no robe, no ornament for the maiden? Hast thou naught to +give to her so exceeding brave in heart and most noble in soul?" These +things I tell thee of the death of thy daughter, but I behold thee at once +the most happy, at once the most unhappy of all women in thine offspring. + +CHOR. Dreadful calamities have risen fierce against the house of Priam; +such the hard fate of the Gods. + +HEC. O daughter! which of my ills I shall first attend to, amidst such a +multitude, I know not: for if I touch on any, another does not suffer me; +and thence again some fresh grief draws me aside, succeeding miseries upon +miseries. And now I can not obliterate from my mind thy sufferings, so as +not to bewail them: but excess of grief hast thou taken away, having been +reported to me as noble. Is it then no paradox, if land indeed naturally +bad, when blest with a favorable season from heaven, bears well the ear; +but good land, robbed of the advantages it ought to have, brings forth bad +fruit: but ever among men, the bad by nature is nothing else but bad; the +good always good, nor under misfortune does he degenerate from his nature, +but is the same good man? Is it, that the parents cause this difference, or +the education? The being brought up nobly hath indeed in it the knowledge +and principles of goodness; but if one is acquainted well with this, he +knows what is vicious, having already learned it by the rule of virtue. And +this indeed has my mind been ejaculating in vain. But do thou go, and +signify these things to the Greeks, that no one be suffered to touch my +daughter, but bid them keep off the multitude. In so vast an army the +rabble are riotous, and the sailors' uncontrolled insolence is fiercer than +fire; and he is evil, who does not evil. But do thou, my old attendant, +taking an urn, fill it with sea water, and bring it hither, that I may wash +my girl in her last bath, the bride no bride now, and the virgin no longer +a virgin, wash her, and lay her out; according to her merits--whence can I? +This I can not; but as I can, I will, for what can I do! And collecting +ornaments from among the captured women, who dwell beside me in these +tents, if any one, unobserved by our new lords, has by her any stolen +memorial of her home. O state of my house, O mansions once happy! O Priam, +of vast wealth possessed, and supremely blest in thine offspring, and I +too, this aged woman, the mother of such children! How have we come to +nothing, bereft of our former grandeur! And yet still forsooth we are +elated, one of us in his gorgeous palaces; another, when honored among his +citizens. These are nothing. In vain the counsels of the mind, and the +tongue's boast. He is most blest, to whom from day to day no evil happens. + +CHORUS. + +Against me was it fated that calamity, against me was it fated that woe +should spring, when Paris first hewed the pine in Ida's forest, preparing +to cut his way over the ocean surge to the bed of Helen, the fairest that +the sun's golden beams shine upon. For toils, and fate more stern than +toils, close us round: and from the folly of one came a public calamity +fatal to the land of Simois, and woes springing from other woes: and when +the dispute was decided, which the shepherd decided between the three +daughters of the blessed Gods on Ida's top, for war, and slaughter, and the +desolation of my palaces. And many a Spartan virgin at her home on the +banks of the fair-flowing Eurotas sighs while bathed in tears: and many an +aged matron strikes her hand against her hoary head, for her children who +have perished, and tears her cheek making her nails all blood-stained with +her wounds. + +FEMALE ATTENDANT, CHORUS, HECUBA. + +ATT. O attendants, where, I pray, is the all-wretched Hecuba, who surpasses +the whole race of man and woman kind in calamities? no one shall wrest from +her the crown. + +CHOR. But what dost thou want, O wretch, in thy words of ill omen? for thy +messages of woe never rest. + +ATT. I bring this grief to Hecuba; but in calamity 'tis no easy thing for +men to speak words of good import. + +CHOR. And see, she is coming out of the house, and appears in the right +time for thy words. + +ATT. O all-wretched mistress, and yet still more wretched than I can +express in words, thou art undone, and no longer beholdest the light, +childless, husbandless, cityless, entirely destroyed. + +HEC. Thou has said nothing new, but hast reproached me who already know it: +but why dost thou bring this corse of my Polyxena, whose sepulture was +reported to me as in a state of active progress through the labors of all +the Grecians? + +ATT. She nothing knows, but, woe's me! laments Polyxena, nor does she +apprehend her new misfortunes. + +HEC. O wretched me! dost bring hither the body of the frantic and inspired +Cassandra? + +ATT. She whom thou mentionedst, lives; but thou dost not weep for him who +is dead; but behold this corse cast naked [on the shore,] and look if it +will appear to thee a wonder, and what thou little expectest. + +HEC. Alas me! I do indeed see my son Polydore a corse, whom (_I fondly +hoped_) the man of Thrace was preserving in his palace. Now am I lost +indeed, I no longer exist. Oh my child, my child! Alas! I begin the Bacchic +strain, having lately learned my woes from my evil genius. + +ATT. Thou knowest then the calamity of thy son, O most unfortunate. + +HEC. I see incredible evils, still fresh, still fresh: and my immeasurable +woes follow one upon the other. No longer will a day without a tear, +without a groan, have part with me. + +CHOR. Dreadful, oh! dreadful are the miseries that we endure! + +HEC. O child, child of a wretched mother, by what fate art thou dead, by +what hap liest thou here? by the hand of what man? + +ATT. I know not: on the wave-washed shore I found him. + +HEC. Cast up from the sea, or fallen by the blood-stained spear? (Note +[C].) + +ATT. The ocean's billow cast him up from the deep on the smooth sand. + +HEC. Woe is me! Now understand I the dream, the vision of mine eyes; the +black-winged phantom has not flitted by me in vain, which I saw concerning +thee, my child, as being no longer in the light of day. + +CHOR. But who slew him? canst thou, O skilled in dreams, declare him? + +HEC. My friend, my friend, who curbs the steed in Thrace, where his aged +father placed him for concealment. + +CHOR. Ah me! what wilt thou say? Was it to possess his gold that he slew +him! + +HEC. Unutterable deeds, unworthy of a name, surpassing miracles, +unhallowed, insufferable! Where are the laws of hospitality? O most accurst +of men, how didst thou mar that skin, how sever with the cruel sword the +poor limbs of this boy, nor didst feel pity? + +CHOR. O hapless woman, how has the deity made thee by far the most wretched +of mortals, whoever he be that presses heavy on thee! But, my friends, let +us henceforward be silent, for I see our lord Agamemnon advancing. + +AGAMEMNON, CHORUS, HECUBA. + +AGA. Why, Hecuba, delayest thou to come, and bury thy girl in her tomb, +agreeably to what Talthybius told me, that no one of the Argives should be +suffered to touch thy daughter. For our part we leave her alone, and touch +her not; but thou art slow, whereat I am astonished. I am come therefore to +fetch thee, for every thing there has been well and duly performed, if +aught of well there be in this. Ah! what corse is this I see before the +tent? some Trojan's too? for that it is no Grecian's, the robes that vest +his limbs inform me. + +HEC. (_aside_) Thou ill-starr'd wretch! myself I mean, when I say "thou." O +Hecuba, what shall I do? Shall I fall at the knees of Agamemnon here, or +bear my ills in silence? + +AGA. Why dost lament turning thy back upon me, and sayest not what has +happened? Who is this? + +HEC. (_aside_) But should he, thinking me a slave, an enemy, spurn me from +his knees, I should be adding to my present sufferings. + +AGA. No prophet I, so as to trace, unless by hearing, the path of thy +counsels. + +HEC. (_aside_) Am I not rather then putting an evil construction on this +man's thoughts, whereas he has no evil intention toward me? + +AGA. If thou art willing that I should nothing of this affair, thou art of +a mind with me, for neither do I wish to hear. + +HEC. (_aside_) I can not without him take vengeance for my children. Why do +I thus hesitate? I must be bold, whether I succeed, or fail. Agamemnon, by +these knees, and by thy beard I implore thee, and by thy blessed hand-- + +AGA. What thy request? Is it to pass thy life in freedom? for this is easy +for thee to obtain. + +HEC. Not this indeed; but so that I avenge myself on the bad, I am willing +to pass my whole life in slavery. + +AGA. And for what assistance dost thou call on me? + +HEC. In none of those things which thou imaginest, O king. Seest thou this +corse, o'er which I drop the tear? + +AGA. I see it; thy meaning however I can not learn from this. + +HEC. Him did I once bring forth, him bore I in my bosom. + +AGA. Is this indeed one of thy children, O unhappy woman? + +HEC. It is, but not of the sons of Priam who fell under the walls of Troy. + +AGA. Didst thou then bear any other besides those, O lady? + +HEC. In vain, as it appears, this whom you see. + +AGA. But where did he chance to be, when the city fell? + +HEC. His father sent him out of the country, dreading his death. + +AGA. Whither, having removed him alone of his children then alive? + +HEC. To this country, where he was found a corse. + +AGA. To him who is king over this state, to Polymestor? + +HEC. Hither was he sent, the guardian of gold, which proved most +destructive to him. + +AGA. By whose hand then he is dead, and having met with what fate? + +HEC. By whom else should he? The Thracian host slew him. + +AGA. O wretch! was he so inflamed with the desire of obtaining the gold? + +HEC. Even so, after he had heard of Troy's disasters. + +AGA. And where didst thou find him, or who brought the body? + +HEC. She, meeting with it on the sea-shore. + +AGA. In quest of it, or occupied in some other employment? + +HEC. She was going to bring from the sea wherewith to bathe Polyxena. + +AGA. This friend then, as it seems, murdered him, and after that cast him +out. + +HEC. To toss upon the waves thus gashing his body. + +AGA. O thou unhappy from thy unmeasured ills! + +HEC. I perish, no woe is left, O Agamemnon. + +AGA. Alas! alas! What woman was ever so unfortunate? + +HEC. There is none, except you reckon Misfortune herself. But for what +cause I fall at thy knees, now hear: if I appear to you to suffer these +ills justly, I would be reconciled to them; but if otherwise, be thou my +avenger on this man, this most impious of false friends; who revering +neither the Gods beneath[12] the earth, nor the Gods above, hath done this +most unholy deed, having often partaken of the same table with me, [and in +the list of hospitality the first of my friends; and having met with +whatever was due,[13] and having received a full consideration for his +services,[14]] slew him, and deigned not to give him a tomb, _which he +might have given_, although he purposed to slay him, but cast him forth at +the mercy of the waves. We indeed are slaves, and perhaps weak; but the +Gods are strong, and strong the law, which governs them; for by the law we +judge that there are Gods, and we live having justice and injustice +strictly defined; which if when referred to thee it be disregarded, and +they shall suffer no punishment who slay their guests, or dare to pollute +the hallowed statutes of the Gods, there is nothing equitable in the +dealings of men. Beholding these things then in a base and proper light, +reverence me; pity me, and, as the artist stands aside _to view a picture_, +do thou view my living portrait, and see what woes I am enduring. Once was +I a queen, but now I am thy slave; once was I blest in my children, but now +aged, and at the same time childless, cityless, destitute, the most +miserable of mortals. Alas me wretched! whither withdrawest from me thy +foot? It seems[15] I shall make no impression, wretch that I am. Why then +do we mortals toil after all other sciences, as a matter of duty, and dive +into them, but least of all strive to learn thoroughly Persuasion, the sole +mistress o'er the minds of men, giving a price for her knowledge, that at +some time we may have it in our power at once to persuade and obtain what +we wish?--How then can any one hereafter hope that he shall be fortunate? +So many children that I had, and now not one is left to me. But I am +perishing a captive in base servitude, and yet see the smoke there leaping +aloft from the city. And however this part of my argument may perchance be +vain, the bringing forward love; still nevertheless it shall be urged. My +daughter is wont to sleep by thy side, that prophetess, whom the Trojans +call Cassandra. Where wilt thou show that thy nights were nights of love, O +king, or will my daughter receive any recompense for her most fond +embraces, and I through her? [For from the secret shade, and from night's +joys, the greatest delight is wont to spring to mortals.] Now then attend. +Thou seest this corse? Him assisting, thou wilt assist one joined to thee +in affinity. One thing my speech wants yet. I would fain I had a voice in +my arms, and hands, and in my hair, and in my footsteps, or by the skill of +Dædalus, or some God, that each at once might hold thy knees, weeping, and +imploring in all the strains of eloquence. O my lord. O greatest light of +the Greeks, be persuaded; lend thy hand to avenge this aged woman, although +she is of no consequence, yet avenge her. For it belongs to a good man to +minister justice, and always and in every case to punish the bad. + +CHOR. It is strange, how every thing happens to mortals, and laws determine +even the fates, making the greatest enemies friends, and enemies of those +who before were on good terms. + +AGA. I, O Hecuba, have pity both on thee and thy son, thy misfortunes, and +thy suppliant touch, and I am willing in regard both to the Gods and to +justice, that this impious host should give thee full revenge, provided a +way could be found, that both you might be gratified, and I might in the +eyes of the army not seem to meditate this destruction against the king of +Thrace for Cassandra's sake. For there is a point in which apprehension +hath reached me. This man the army deems a friend, the dead an enemy; but +if he is dear to thee, this is a private feeling and does not affect the +army. Wherefore consider, that thou hast me willing to labor with thee, and +ready to assist thee, but backward, should I be murmured against among the +Greeks. + +HEC. Alas! no mortal is there who is free. For either he is the slave of +money or of fortune; or the populace of the city or the dictates of the law +constrain him to adopt manners not accordant with his natural inclinations. +But since thou fearest, and payest too much regard to the multitude, I will +liberate thee from this fear. For consent with me, if I meditate vengeance +against the murderer of this youth, but do not act with me. But should any +tumult or offer of assistance arise from out of the Greeks, when the +Thracian feels the punishment he shall feel, suppress it, not appearing to +do it for my sake: but of the rest be confident: I will dispose all things +well. + +AGA. How then? What wilt thou do? Wilt thou grasp the sword in thine aged +hand, and strike the barbarian? or with poison wilt thou work, or with what +assistance? What hand will conspire with thee? whence wilt thou procure +friends? + +HEC. These tents inclose a host of Trojan dames. + +AGA. Meanest thou the captives, the booty of the Greeks? + +HEC. With these will I avenge me of my murderer. + +AGA. And how shall the victory over men be to women? + +HEC. Numbers are powerful, with stratagem invincible. + +AGA. Powerful, I grant; I mistrust however the race of women. + +HEC. And why? Did not women slay the sons of Ægyptus,[16] and utterly +extirpated the race of men from Lemnos?[17] But thus let it be. Give up +this discussion. But grant this woman to pass in safety through the army. +And do thou go to the Thracian host and tell him, "Hecuba, once queen of +Troy, sends for you on business of no less importance to yourself than to +her, and your sons likewise, since it is of consequence that your children +also should hear her words."--And do thou, O Agamemnon, as yet forbear to +raise the tomb over the newly-sacrificed Polyxena, that these two, the +brother and the sister, the divided care of their mother, may, when reduced +to ashes by one and the same flame, be interred side by side. + +AGA. Thus shall it be. And yet, if the army could sail, I should not have +it in my power to grant thy request: but now, for the deity breathes not +prosperous gales, we must wait, watching for a calm voyage. But may things +turn out well some way or other: for this is a general principle among all, +both individuals in private and states, That the wicked man should feel +vengeance, but the good man enjoy prosperity. + +CHORUS. + +O thou, my country of Troy, no longer shall thou be called the city of the +invincible, such a cloud of Grecians envelops thee, with the spear, with +the spear having destroyed thee. And thou hast been shorn of thy crown of +turrets, and thou hast been discolored by the dismal blackness of smoke; +hapless city, no longer shall I tread my steps in thee. + +In the midnight hour I perished, when after the feast sweet sleep is +scattered over the eyes. And my husband, from the song and cheerful +sacrifice retired, was sleeping peacefully in my bed, his spear on its peg, +no more dreaming to behold the naval host of the Greeks treading the +streets of Troy. But I was binding my braided hair with fillets fastened on +the top of mine head, looking into the round polished surface of the golden +mirror, that I might get into my bed prepared for me. On a sudden a +tumultuous cry penetrated the city; and this shout of exhortation was heard +in the streets of Troy, "When indeed, ye sons of Grecians, when, _if not +now_, will ye return to your homes having overthrown the proud citadel of +Ilium!" And having left my dear bed, in a single robe, like a Spartan +virgin, flying for aid to the venerable shrine of Diana, I hapless fled in +vain. And I am dragged, after having seen my husband slain, to the ocean +waves; and casting a distant look back upon my city, after the vessel had +begun her way in her return to Greece, and divided me from the land of +Troy, I wretched fainted through anguish. And consigning to curses Helen, +the sister of the Twin Brothers, and the Idean shepherd, the ruthless +Paris, since his marriage, no marriage, but some Fury's hate hath utterly +destroyed me far from my native land, and hath driven me from my home. Whom +may the ocean refuse ever to bear back again; and may she never reach again +her paternal home. + +POLYMESTOR, HECUBA, CHORUS. + +POLY. O Priam, thou dearest of men, and thou most dear Hecuba, at thy sight +I weep for thee, and thy city, and thy daughter who has lately died. Alas! +there is nothing secure, neither glory, nor when one is faring well is +there a certainty that he will not fare ill. But the Gods mingle these +things promiscuously to and fro, making all confusion, so that we through +ignorance may worship them. But wherefore should I utter these plaints, +which in no way tend to free thee from thy former calamities. But thou, if +thou hast aught to blame for my absence, forbear; for I chanced to be afar +off in the middle of my Thracian territories, when thou camest hither; but +soon as I returned, as I was already setting out from my house, this maid +of thine met me for the self-same purpose, and delivered thy message, which +when I had heard, I came. + +HEC. O Polymestor, I am ashamed to look thee in the face, sunk as I am in +such miseries; for before one who has seen me in prosperity, shame +overwhelms me, being in the state in which I now am, nor can I look upon +thee with unmoved eyes. But impute not this to any enmity I bear thee; but +there are other causes, and in some degree this law; "that women ought not +to gaze at men." + +POLY. And 'tis indeed no wonder; but what need hast thou of me? for what +purpose didst thou send for me to come from home? + +HEC. I am desirous of communicating a private affair of my own to thee and +thy children; but order thy attendants to retire from these tents. + +POLY. Depart, for here to be alone is safe. Friendly thou art, this Grecian +army too is friendly toward me, but it is for thee to signify, in what +manner I, who am in good circumstances, ought to succor my friends in +distress; since, on my part, I am ready. + +HEC. First then tell me of my son Polydore, whom thou retainest, receiving +him from mine, and from his father's hand, if he live; but the rest I shall +inquire of thee afterward. + +POLY. He lives, and in good health; as far as regards him indeed thou art +happy. + +HEC. O my best friend, how well thou speakest, and how worthily of thyself! + +POLY. What dost thou wish then to inquire of me in the next place? + +HEC. Whether he remembers at all me, his mother? + +POLY. Yes: and he even sought to come to thee by stealth. + +HEC. And is the gold safe, which he brought with him from Troy? + +POLY. It is safe, at least it is guarded in my house. + +HEC. Preserve it therefore, nor covet the goods of others. + +POLY. Certainly not. May I enjoy what is mine own, O lady. + +HEC. Knowest thou then, what I wish to say to thee and thy children? + +POLY. I do not: this shalt thou signify by thy speech. + +HEC. Be my son loved by thee, as thou art now loved of me. + +POLY. What is it, that I and my sons must know? + +HEC. The ancient buried treasures of the family of Priam. + +POLY. Is it this thou wishest me to inform thy son of? + +HEC. Yes, certainly; through thee at least, for thou art a pious man. + +POLY. What necessity then is there for the presence of these children? + +HEC. 'Tis better in case of thy death, that these should know. + +POLY. Well hast thou thus said, and 'tis the wiser plan. + +HEC. Thou knowest then where the temple of Minerva in Troy is-- + +POLY. Is the gold there! but what is the mark? + +HEC. A black rock rising above the earth. + +POLY. Hast any thing further to tell me of what is there? + +HEC. No, but I wish thee to take care of some treasures, with which I came +out of the city. + +POLY. Where are they then? Hast thou them hidden beneath thy robes? + +HEC. Amidst a heap of spoils they are preserved in this tent. + +POLY. But where? These are the naval encampments of the Grecians. + +HEC. The habitations of the captive women are private. + +POLY. And is all secure within, and untenanted by men? + +HEC. Not one of the Greeks is within, but we women only. But come into the +tent, for the Greeks are desirous of loosing the sheets of their vessels +homeward from Troy; so that, having done every thing that thou oughtest, +thou mayest go with thy children to that place where thou hast given my son +to dwell. + +CHOR. Not yet hast thou suffered, but peradventure thou wilt suffer +vengeance; as a man falling headlong into the gulf where no harbor is, +shalt thou be hurled from thy dear heart, having lost thy life;[18] for +where the rites of hospitality coincide[19] with justice, and with the +Gods, _on the villain who dares to violate these_ destructive, destructive +indeed impends the evil. But thy hopes will deceive thee, which thou +entertainedst from this journey, which has brought thee, thou wretched man, +to the deadly mansions of Pluto; but thou shalt quit thy life by no +warrior's hand. + +POLYMESTOR, HECUBA, SEMICHORUS. + +POLY. Oh me! I wretch am deprived of the sight of mine eyes. + +SEMI. Heard ye the shriek of the man of Thrace, my friends? + +POLY. Oh me; there again--Oh my children, thy miserable butchery! + +SEMI. My friends, some strange ills have been perpetrated within the tents. + +POLY. But for all your nimble feet, ye never can escape me, for by my blows +will I burst open the recesses of these tents. + +SEMI. Behold, he uses violently the weapon of his heavy hand. Will ye that +we fall on; since the instant calls on us to be present with assistance to +Hecuba and the Trojan dames? + +HEC. Dash on, spare nothing, break down the gates, for thou never shalt +replace the clear sight in those pupils, nor shalt thou behold alive those +children which I have slain. + +SEMI. What! hast thou vanquished the Thracian? and hast thou got the +mastery over this host, my mistress? and hast thou done such deeds, as thou +sayest? + +HEC. Thou wilt see him quickly before the house, blind, with blind +wandering steps approaching, and the bodies of his two children, whom I +have slain with these most valiant Trojan women; but he has felt my +vengeance; but he is coming as thou seest from the tent. But I will retire +out of his way, and make good my retreat from the boiling rage of this most +desperate Thracian. + +POLY. Alas me! whither can I go? where stand? whither shall I direct my +way, advancing my steps like the four-footed mountain beast on my hands and +on my feet in pursuit? What new path shall I take in this direction or in +that, desirous of seizing these murderous Trojan dames, who have utterly +destroyed me; O ye impious, impious Phrygian daughters! Ah the accursed, in +what corner do they shrink from me in flight? Would that thou, O sun, +could'st heal, could'st heal these bleeding lids of my eyes, and remove +this gloomy-darkness. Ah, hush, hush! I hear the carefully-concealed step +of these women. Whither shall I direct my course in order that I may glut +myself on the flesh and bones of these, making the wild beasts' banquet, +inflicting vengeance on them, in return for the injuries done me. Wretch +that I am! Whither, whither am I borne, having left my children deserted, +for these fiends of hell to tear piecemeal, a mangled, bleeding, savage +prey to dogs, and a thing to cast out on the mountains? Where shall I +stand? Whither turn? Whither go, as a ship setting her yellow canvas sails +with her sea-washed palsers, rushing to this lair of death, the protector +of my children? + +CHOR. O miserable man, what intolerable evils have been perpetrated by +thee! but on thee having done base deeds the God hath sent dreadful +punishment, whoever he be that presses heavy on thee. + +POLY. Alas! alas! O Thracian nation, brandishing the spear, warlike, +bestriding the steed, nation ruled by Mars; O ye Greeks, sons of Atreus; I +raise the cry, the cry, the cry; Come, come, hasten, I entreat you by the +Gods. Does any hear, or will no one assist me? Why do ye delay? The women +have destroyed me, the captive women. Horrible, horrible treatment have I +suffered. Alas me for my ruin! Whither can I turn? Whither can I go? Shall +I soar through the ethereal skies to the lofty mansions where Orion or +Sirius dart from their eyes the flaming rays of fire: or shall I hapless +rush to the gloomy shore of Pluto? + +CHOR. It is pardonable, when any one suffers greater misfortunes than he +can bear, for him to be desirous to quit a miserable life. + +AGAMEMNON, POLYMESTOR, HECUBA, CHORUS. + +AGA. I came having heard the clamor: for Echo, the mountain's daughter, did +not sound in gentle strains through the army, causing a disturbance. But +did we not know that the Phrygian towers are fallen beneath the Grecian +spear, this tumult might have caused no little terror. + +POLY. O my dearest friend (for I know thee, Agamemnon, having heard thy +voice), seest thou what I am suffering? + +AGA. Ah! wretched Polymestor, who hath destroyed thee? who made thine eyes +sightless, having drowned their orbs in blood? And who hath slain these thy +children? Sure, whoe'er it was, felt the greatest rage against thee and thy +sons. + +POLY. Hecuba with the female captives hath destroyed me--nay, not destroyed +me, but more than destroyed me. + +AGA. What sayest thou? Hast thou done this deed, as he affirms? Hast thou, +Hecuba, dared this inconceivable act of boldness? + +POLY. Ah me! what wilt thou say? Is she any where near me? Show me, tell me +where she is, that I may seize her in my hands, and tear piecemeal and +mangle her body. + +AGA. What ho! what are you doing? + +POLY. By the Gods I entreat thee, suffer me to lay my raging hand upon her. + +AGA. Forbear. And having banished this barbarous deed from thy thoughts, +speak; that having heard both thee and her in your respective turns, I may +decide justly, in return for what thou art suffering these ills. + +POLY. I will speak then. There was a certain youth, the youngest of Priam's +children, by name Polydore, the son of Hecuba; him his father Priam sent to +me from Troy to bring up in my palace, already presaging[20] the capture of +Troy. Him I put to death. But for what cause I put him to death, with what +policy and prudent forethought, now hear. I feared, lest the boy being left +an enemy to thee, should collect the scattered remnants of Troy, and again +people the city. And lest the Greeks, having discovered that one of the +sons of Priam was alive, should again direct an expedition against the +Phrygian land, and after that should harass and lay waste the plains of +Thrace; and it might fare ill with the neighbors of the Trojans, under +which misfortune, O king, we are now laboring. But Hecuba, when she had +discovered her son's death, by such treachery as this lured me hither, as +about to tell me of treasure belonging to Priam's family concealed in Troy, +and introduces me alone with my sons into the tent, that no one else might +know it. And I sat, having reclined on the centre of the couch; but many +Trojan damsels, some from the left hand, and others from the right, sat +round me, as by an intimate friend, holding in their hands the Edonian +looms, and praised these robes, looking at them in the light; but others, +beholding with admiration my Thracian spear, deprived me of my double +ornament. But as many as were mothers caressed my children in their arms in +seeming admiration, that they might be farther removed from their father, +successively handing them from one to another: and then, amidst their kind +blandishments, what think you? in an instant, snatching from somewhere +beneath their garments their daggers, they stab my children. But they +having seized me in an hostile manner held my hands and feet; and if, +wishing to succor my children, I raised my head, they held me by the hair: +but if I attempted to move my hands, I wretched could effect nothing +through the host of women. But at last, cruelty and worse than cruelty, +they perpetrated dreadful things; for having taken their clasps they pierce +and gore the wretched pupils of my eyes, then vanish in flight through the +tent. But I, having leaped out, like some exasperated beast, pursue the +blood-stained wretches, searching every wall, as the hunter, casting down, +rending. This have I suffered, while studious to advance thy interest, +Agamemnon, and having killed thine enemy. But that I may not extend my +speech to a greater length, if any one of those of ancient times hath +reviled women, or if any one doth now, or shall hereafter revile them, I +will comprise the whole when I say, that such a race neither doth the sea +nor the earth produce, but he who is always with them knows it best. + +CHOR. Be not at all insolent, nor, in thy calamities, thus comprehending +the female sex, abuse them all. For of us there are many, some indeed are +envied _for their virtues_, but some are by nature in the catalogue of bad +things. + +HEC. Agamemnon, it never were fitting among men that the tongue should have +greater force than actions. But if a man has acted well, well should he +speak; if on the other hand basely, his words likewise should be unsound, +and never ought he to be capable of speaking unjust things well. Perhaps +indeed they who have brought these things to a pitch of accuracy are +accounted wise, but they can not endure wise unto the end, but perish +vilely, nor has any one yet escaped this. And this in my prelude is what I +have to say to thee. Now am I going to direct my discourse to this man, and +I will answer his arguments. Thou, that assertest, that in order to rid the +Greeks of their redoubled toil, and for Agamemnon's sake that thou didst +slay my son? But, in the first place, monstrous villain, never can the race +of barbarians be friendly to the Grecians, never can this take place. But +what favor wert thou so eagerly currying? wert thou about to contract an +alliance, or was it that thou wert of kindred birth, or what pretext hadst +thou? or were they about to ravage the crops of thy country, having sailed +thither again? Whom, thinkest thou, wilt thou persuade of these things? The +gold, if thou wert willing to speak truth, the gold destroyed my son, and +thy base gains. For come, tell me this; how when Troy was prosperous, and a +tower yet girt around the city, and Priam lived, and the spear of Hector +was in its glory, why didst thou not then, if thou wert willing to lay him +under this obligation, bringing up my child, and retaining him in thy +palace, why didst thou not then slay him, or go and take him alive to the +Greeks? But when we were no longer in the light of prosperity, and the city +by its smoke showed that it was in the power of the enemy, thou slewest thy +guest who had come to thy hearth. Now hear besides how thou wilt appear +vile: thou oughtest, if thou wert the friend of the Greeks, to have given +the gold, which thou confessedst thou hast, not thine, but his, +distributing to those who were in need, and had long been strangers to +their native land. But thou, even now, hast not courage to part with it +from thy hand, but having it, thou still art keeping it close in thine +house. And yet, in bringing up my child, as it was thy duty to bring him +up, and in preserving him, thou hadst had fair honor. For in adversity +friends are most clearly proved good. But good circumstances have in every +case their friends. But if thou wert in want of money, and he in a +flourishing condition, my son had been to thee a vast treasure; but now, +thou neither hast him for thy friend, and the benefit from the gold is +gone, and thy sons are gone, and thou art--as thou art. But to thee, +Agamemnon, I say; if thou aidest this man, thou wilt appear to be doing +wrong. For thou wilt be conferring a benefit on a host, who is neither +pious, nor faithful to those to whom he ought, not holy, not just. But we +shall say that thou delightest in the bad, if thus thou actest: but I speak +no offense to my lords. + +CHOR. Ah! Ah! How do good deeds ever supply to men the source of good +words! + +AGA. Thankless my office to decide on others' grievances; but still I must, +for it brings disgrace on a man, having taken a thing in hand, to give it +up. But to me, be assured, thou neither appearest for my sake, nor for the +sake of the Grecians, to have killed this man thy guest, but that thou +mightest possess the gold in thy palace. But thou talkest of thy advantage, +when thou art in calamities.[21] Perhaps with you it is a slight thing to +kill your guests; but with us Grecians this thing is abhorred. How then, in +giving my decision that thou hast not injured, can I escape blame? I can +not; but as thou hast dared to do things dishonorable, endure now things +unpleasant. + +POLY. Alas me! worsted, as it seems, by a woman who is a slave, I shall +submit to the vengeance of my inferiors. + +AGA. Will it not then be justly, seeing thou hast acted wrong? + +POLY. Alas me! wretched on account of these children and on account of my +eyes. + +HEC. Thou sufferest? but what do I? Thinkest thou I suffer not for my +child? + +POLY. Thou rejoicest in insulting me, O thou malicious woman. + +HEC. For ought not I to rejoice on having avenged myself on thee? + +POLY. But thou wilt not soon, when the liquid wave-- + +HEC. Shall bear me, _dost thou mean_, to the confines of the Grecian land? + +POLY. --shall cover thee, having fallen from the shrouds. + +HEC. From whom meeting with this violent leap? + +POLY. Thyself shalt climb with thy feet up the ship's mast. + +HEC. Having wings on my back, or in what way? + +POLY. Thou shalt become a dog with a fiery aspect. + +HEC. But how dost thou know of this my metamorphose? + +POLY. Dionysius the Thracian prophet told it me. + +HEC. But did he not declare to thee any of the evils which thou sufferest? + +POLY. No: for, _if he had_, thou never wouldst thus treacherously have +taken me. + +HEC. [22]Thence shall I conclude my life in death, or still live on? + +POLY. Thou shalt die. But the name of thy tomb shall be-- + +HEC. Dost thou speak of it as in any way correspondent to my shape? + +POLY. [23]The tomb of the wretched dog, a mark to mariners. + +HEC. I heed it not, since thou at least hast felt my vengeance. + +POLY. And it is fated too for thy daughter Cassandra to die. + +HEC. I renounce these prophecies; I give them for thyself to bear. + +POLY. Him shall his wife slay, a cruel guardian of his house. + +HEC. Never yet may the daughter of Tyndarus have arrived at such madness. + +POLY. Even this man himself, having lifted up the axe. + +AGA. What ho! thou art mad, and art desirous of obtaining greater ills. + +POLY. Kill me, for the murderous bath at Argos awaits thee. + +AGA. Will ye not, slaves, forcibly drag him from my presence? + +POLY. Thou art galled at what thou hearest. + +AGA. Will ye not stop his mouth? + +POLY. Stop it: for the word is spoken. + +AGA. Will ye not as quick as possible cast him out on some desert island, +since he is thus, and past endurance insolent? But do thou, wretched +Hecuba, go and bury thy two dead: and you, O Trojan dames, must approach +your masters' tents, for I perceive that the gales are favorable for +wafting us to our homes. And may we sail in safety to our native country, +and behold our household and families in prosperity, having found rest from +these toils. + +CHOR. Come, my friends, to the harbor, and the tents, to undergo the tasks +imposed by our masters. For necessity is relentless. + + * * * * * + +NOTES ON HECUBA + + * * * * + +[1] Homer makes Dymas, not Cisseus, the father of Hecuba. Virgil however +follows Euripides, the rest of the Latin poets Virgil. + +[2] In the martial time of antiquity the spear was reverenced as something +divine, and signified the chief command in arms, it was also the insigne of +the highest civil authority: in this sense Euripides in other places uses +the word δορυ. See Hippol. 988. + +[3] τριταιος properly signifies _triduanus_; here it is used for τριτος, +the cardinal number for the ordinal. So also Hippol. 275. + + Πως δ' ου, τριταιαν γ' ουσ' ασιτος ‛ημεραν: + +[4] Most interpreters render this, _leaning on the crooked staff with my +hand_. Nor has Beck altered it in his Latin version, though he transcribed +Musgrave's note. "σκολιω, σκιμπωνι (_for which Porson directs_ σκιπωνι,) +Scipiones in universum recti sunt, non curvi. Loquitur igitur non de vero +scipione, sed metaphorice de brachio, quod ancillis innitens, scipionis +usum præstabat; quodque, ob cubiti flexuram, σκολιον σκιμπωμα vocat." + +[5] _that babbling knave_.] Tzetzes on Lycophron, line 763. κοπις, ‛ο +‛ρητωρ, και εμπειρος, ‛ο ‛υπο πολλων πραγματων κεκομμενος. In the Index to +Lycophron κοπις is translated _scurra_. + +[6] Among the ancients it was the custom for virgins to have a great +quantity of golden ornaments about them, to which Homer alludes, Il. Β. +872. + + ‛Ος και χρυσον εχων πολεμον δ' ιεν ηϋτε κουρη. PORSON. + +[7] This is the only sense that can be made of ενθανειν, and this sense +seems strained: Brunck proposes εντακηναι for ενθανειν γε. See Note [A]. + +[8] λιμνη is used for the _sea_ in Troades 444; as also in Iliad Ν. 21, and +Odyssey Γ. 1. and in many other passages of Homer. + +[9] The construction is η πορευσεις με ενθα νασων; for εις εκεινην των +νασων, ενθα. + +[10] κεκλημαι for ειμι, not an unusual signification. Hippol. 2, θεα +κεκλημαι Κυπρις. + +[11] _When she perceived it,_ εφρασθη, συνηκεν, εγνω, ενοησεν. _Hesych_. + +[12] The Gods beneath he despised, by casting him out without a tomb; the +Gods above, as the guardians of the rites of hospitality. + +[13] _Whatever was due_, either on the score of friendship, or as an +equivalent for his care and protection. + +[14] Musgrave proposes to read προμισθιαν for προμηθιαν: the version above +is in accordance with the scholiast and the paraphrast. + +[15] See note on Medea 338. + +[16] The story of the daughters of Danaus is well known. + +[17] Of this there are two accounts given in the Scholia. The one is, that +the women of Lemnos being punished by Venus with an ill savor, and +therefore neglected by their husbands, conspired against them and slew +them. The other is found in Herodotus, Erato, chap. 138. see also Æsch. +Choephoræ, line 627, ed. Schutz. + +[18] Polymestor was guilty of two crimes, αδικιας and ασεβειας, for he had +both violated the laws of men, and profaned the deity of Jupiter +Hospitalis. Whence Agamemnon, v. 840, hints that he is to suffer on both +accounts. + + και βουλομαι θεων θ' ‛ουνεκ ανοσιον ξενον, + και του δικαιον, τηνδε σοι δουναι δικην. + +The Chorus therefore says, _Ubi contingit eundem et Justitiæ et Diis esse +addictum, exitiale semper malum esse_; or, as the learned Hemsterheuyse has +more fully and more elegantly expressed, it, _Ubi_, id est, _in quo_, vel +_in quem cadit et concurrit, ut ob crimen commissum simul et humanæ +justitiæ et Deorum vindictæ sit obnoxius, ac velut oppignoratus; illi +certissimum exitium imminet_. This sense the words give, if for ου, we read +‛ου, i.e. in the sense of ‛οπου. MUSGRAVE. Correct Dindorf's text to ‛ου. + +[19] συμπεσεειν _in unum coire, coincidere_. In this sense it is used also, +Herod. Euterpe, chap. 49. + +[20] The verbal adjective in τος is almost universally used in a passive +sense; ‛υποπτος, however, in this place is an exception to the rule, as are +also, καλυπτης, Soph. Antig. 1011, μεμπτος, Trachin. 446. + +[21] Perhaps the preferable way is to make κακοισιν agree with ανθρωποις +understood; that the sense may be, _You are a bad man to talk of your +advantage as a plea for having acted thus_. + +[22] Θανουσα δ' η ζωσ' ενθαδ' εκπλησω βιον; a similar expression occurs in +the Anthologia. + + σιγων παρερχου τον ταλαιπωρον βιον, + αυτος σιωπηι τον χρονον μιμουμενος, + λαθων δε και βιωσον. ει δε μη, θανων. + +[23] The place of her burial was called Cynosema, a promontory of the +Thracian Chersonese. It was here that the Athenians gained a naval victory +over the Peloponnesians and Syracusans, in the twenty-first year of the +Peloponnesian war. Thucydides, book viii. + + * * * * + +ADDITIONAL NOTES. + + * * * * + +[A] Vs. 246, ενθανειν γε. "Pravam esse scripturam dici Brunckius et Corayus +viderunt; quorum ille legere voluit ‛ωστ' εντακηναι, hic vero ‛ωστ' +εμβαλειν. Sed neuter rem acu tetigit. Euripides scripsit: ‛ωστ' εν γε +φυναι, uti patet ex Hom. Il. Ζ. 253, εν τ' αρα ‛οι φυ χειρι, Od. Π. 21, +παντα κυσεν περιφυς, Theocrit. Id. xiii. 47, ται δ' εν χερι πασαι εφυσαν, +et, quod rem conficit, ex Euripidis ipsius Ion. 891, λευκοις δ' εμφυσας +καρποις χειρων." G. BURGES, apud _Revue de Philologie_, vol. i. No. 5. p. +457. + +[B] We must, I think, read τολμαιν. + +[C] Dindorf disposes these lines differently, but I prefer Porson's +arrangement, as follows: + + ΕΚ. εκβλητον, η πες. φ. δορος; + ΘΕΡ. εν ψαμαθωι λευραι + ποντου νιν, κ.τ.λ. + + * * * * * * + +ORESTES. + + * * * * + +PERSONS REPRESENTED. + + ELECTRA. + HELEN. + HERMIONE. + CHORUS. + ORESTES. + MENELAUS. + TYNDARUS. + PYLADES. + A PHRYGIAN. + APOLLO. + + * * * * * + +THE ARGUMENT. + + * * * * + +Orestes, in revenge for the murder of his father, took off Ægisthus and +Clyætmnestra; but having dared to slay his mother, he was instantly +punished for it by being afflicted with madness. But on Tyndarus, the +father of her who was slain, laying an accusation against him, the Argives +were about to give a public decision on this question, "What ought he, who +has dared this impious deed, to suffer?" By chance Menelaus, having +returned from his wanderings, sent in Helen indeed by night, but himself +came by day, and being entreated by Orestes to aid him, he rather feared +Tyndarus the accuser: but when the speeches came to be spoken among the +populace, the multitude were stirred up to kill Orestes. * * * * But +Pylades, his friend, accompanying him, counseled him first to take revenge +on Menelaus by killing Helen. As they were going on this project, they were +disappointed of their hope by the Gods snatching away Helen from them. But +Electra delivered up Hermione, when she made her appearance, into their +hands, and they were about to kill her. When Menelaus came, and saw himself +bereft by them at once of his wife and child, he endeavored to storm the +palace; but they, anticipating his purpose, threatened to set it on fire. +Apollo, however, having appeared, said that he had conducted Helen to the +Gods, and commanded Orestes to take Hermione to wife, and Electra to dwell +with Pylades, and, after that he was purified of the murder, to reign over +Argos. + +The scene of the piece is laid at Argos; But the chorus consists of Argive +women, intimate associates of Electra, who also come on inquiring about the +calamity of Orestes. The play has a catastrophe rather suited to comedy. +The opening scene of the play is thus arranged. Orestes is discovered +before the palace of Agamemnon, fatigued, and, on account of his madness, +lying on a couch on which Electra is sitting by him at his feet. A +difficulty has been started, why does not she sit at his head? for thus +would she seem to watch more tenderly over her brother, if she sat nearer +him. The poet, it is answered, seems to have made this arrangement on +account of the Chorus; for Orestes, who had but just then and with +difficulty gotten to sleep, would have been awakened, if the women that +constituted the Chorus had stood nearer to him. But this we may infer from +what Electra says to the Chorus, "Σιγα, σιγα, λεπτον ιχνος αρβυληις." It is +probable then that the above is the reason of this arrangement. + +The play is among the most celebrated on the stage, but infamous in its +morals; for, with the exception of Pylades, all the characters are bad +persons. + + * * * * * + +ORESTES. + + * * * * + +ELECTRA. + +There is no word so dreadful to relate, nor suffering, nor heaven-inflicted +calamity, the burden of which human nature may not be compelled to bear. +For Tantalus, the blest, (and I am not reproaching his fortune, _when I say +this_,) the son of Jupiter, as they report, trembling at the rock which +impends over his head, hangs in the air, and suffers this punishment, as +they say indeed, because, although being a man, yet having the honor of a +table in common with the Gods upon equal terms, he possessed an +ungovernable tongue, a most disgraceful malady. He begat Pelops, and from +him sprung Atreus, for whom the Goddess having carded the wool[1] spun the +thread of contention, _and doomed him_ to make war on Thyestes his +relation; (why must I commemorate things unspeakable?) But Atreus then[2] +killed his children--and feasted him. But from Atreus, for I pass over in +silence the misfortunes which intervened, sprung Agamemnon, the +illustrious, (if he was indeed illustrious,) and Menelaus; their mother +Aërope of Crete. But Menelaus indeed marries Helen, the hated of the Gods, +but King Agamemnon _obtained_ Clytæmnestra's bed, memorable throughout the +Grecians: from whom we virgins were born, three from one mother; +Chrysothemis, and Iphigenia, and myself Electra; and Orestes the male part +of the family, from a most unholy mother, who slew her husband, having +covered him around with an inextricable robe; the reason however it is not +decorous in a virgin to tell; I leave this undeclared for men to consider +as they will. But why indeed must I accuse the injustice of Phœbus? Yet +persuaded he Orestes to kill that mother that brought him forth, a deed +which gained not a good report from all men. But nevertheless he did slay +her, as he would not be disobedient to the God. I also took a share in the +murder, but such as a woman ought to take. As did Pylades also who +perpetrated this deed with us. From that time wasting away, the wretched +Orestes is afflicted with a grievous malady, but falling on his couch there +lies, but his mother's blood whirls him to frenzy (for I dread to mention +those Goddesses, the Eumenides, who persecute him with terror). Moreover +this is the sixth day since his slaughtered mother was purified by fire as +to her body. During which he has neither taken any food down his throat, he +has not bathed his limbs, but covered beneath his cloak, when indeed his +body is lightened of its disease, on coming to his right mind he weeps, but +at another time starts suddenly from his couch, as a colt from his yoke. +But it has been decreed by this city of Argos, that no one shall receive us +who have slain a mother under their roof, nor at their fire, and that none +shall speak to us; but this is the appointed day, in the which the city of +the Argives will pronounce their vote, whether it is fitting that we should +die being stoned with stones, or having whet the sword, should plunge it +into our necks. But I yet have some hope that we may not die, for Menelaus +has arrived at this country from Troy, and filling the Nauplian harbor with +his oars is mooring his fleet off the shore, having been lost in wanderings +from Troy a long time: but the much-afflicted Helen has he sent before to +our palace, having taken advantage of the night, lest any of those, whose +children died under Ilium, when they saw her coming, by day, might go so +far as to stone her; but she is within bewailing her sister, and the +calamity of her family. She has however some consolation in her woes, for +the virgin Hermione, whom Menelaus bringing from Sparta, left at our +palace, when he sailed to Troy, and gave as a charge to my mother to bring +up, in her she rejoices, and forgets her miseries. But I am looking at each +avenue when I shall see Menelaus present, since, for the rest, we ride on +slender power,[3] if we receive not some succor from him; the house of the +unfortunate is an embarrassed state of affairs. + +ELECTRA. HELEN. + +HEL. O daughter of Clytæmnestra and Agamemnon, O Electra, thou that hast +remained a virgin a long time. How are ye, O wretched woman, both you, and +your brother, the wretched Orestes (he was the murderer of his mother)? For +by thy converse I am not polluted, transferring, as I do, the blame to +Phœbus. And yet I groan the death of Clytæmnestra, whom, after that I +sailed to Troy, (how did I sail, urged by the maddening fate of the Gods!) +I saw not, but of her bereft I lament my fortune. + +ELEC. Helen, why should I inform thee of things thou seest thyself here +present, the race of Agamemnon in calamities. I indeed sleepless sit +companion to the wretched corse, (for he is a corse, in that he breathes so +little,) but at his fortune I murmur not. But thou a happy woman, and thy +husband a happy man, have come to us, who fare most wretchedly. + +HEL. But what length of time has he been lying on his couch? + +ELEC. Ever since he shed his parent's blood. + +HEL. Oh wretched, and his mother too, that thus she perished! + +ELEC. These things are thus, so that he is unable to speak for misery. + +HEL. By the Gods wilt thou oblige me in a thing, O virgin? + +ELEC. As far as I am permitted by the little leisure I have from watching +by my brother. + +HEL. Wilt thou go to the tomb of my sister? + +ELEC. My mother's tomb dost thou desire? wherefore? + +HEL. Bearing the first offerings of my hair, and my libations. + +ELEC. But is it not lawful for thee to go to the tomb of thy friends? + +HEL. No, for I am ashamed to show myself among the Argives. + +ELEC. Late art thou discreet, then formerly leaving thine home +disgracefully. + +HEL. True hast thou spoken, but thou speakest not pleasantly to me. + +ELEC. But what shame possesses thee among the Myceneans? + +HEL. I fear the fathers of those who are dead under Ilium. + +ELEC. For this is a dreadful thing; and at Argos thou art declaimed against +by every one's mouth. + +HEL. Do thou then grant me this favor, and free me from this fear. + +ELEC. I can not look upon the tomb of my mother. + +HEL. And yet it is disgraceful for servants to bear these. + +ELEC. But why not send thy daughter Hermione? + +HEL. It is not well for virgins to go among the crowd. + +ELEC. And yet she might repay the dead the care of her education. + +HEL. Right hast thou spoken, and I obey thee, O virgin, and I will send my +daughter, for thou sayest well. Come forth, my child Hermione, before the +house, and take these libations in thine hand, and my hair, and, going to +the tomb of Clytæmnestra, leave there this mixture of milk and honey, and +the froth of wine, and standing on the summit of the mound, say thus: +"Helen, thy sister, presents thee with these libations, in fear herself to +approach thy tomb, and afraid of the populace of Argos:" and bid her hold +kind intentions toward me, and thyself, and my husband, and toward these +two miserable persons whom the God has destroyed. But promise all the +offerings to the manes, whatever it is fitting that I should perform for a +sister. Go, my child, hasten, and when thou hast offered the libations at +the tomb, remember to return back as speedily as possible. + +ELEC. [_alone_] O Nature, what a great evil art thou among men, and the +safeguard of those who possess thee, with virtue! For see, how she has +shorn off the extremities of her hair, in order to preserve her beauty; but +she is the same woman she always was. May the Gods detest thee, for that +thou hast destroyed me, and this man, and the whole state of Greece: oh +wretch that I am! But my dear friends that accompany me in my lamentations +are again present; perhaps they will disturb the sleeper from his slumber, +and will melt my eyes in tears when I behold my brother raving. + +ELECTRA, CHORUS. + +ELEC. O most dear woman, proceed with a gentle foot, make no noise, let +there be heard no sound. For your friendliness is very kind, but to awake +him will be a calamity to me. Hush, hush--gently advance the tread of thy +sandal, make no noise, let there be heard no sound. Move onward from that +place--onward from before the couch. + +CHOR. Behold, I obey. + +ELEC. St! st! Speak to me, my friend, as the breathing of the soft reed +pipe. + +CHOR. See, I utter a voice low as an under note. + +ELEC. Ay, thus come hither, come hither, approach quietly--go quietly: tell +me, for what purpose, I pray, are ye come? For he has fallen on his couch, +and been sleeping some time. + +CHOR. How is he? Give us an account of him, my friend. + +ELEC. What fortune can I say of him? and what his calamities? still indeed +he breathes, but sighs at short intervals. + +CHOR. What sayest thou? Oh, the unhappy man! + +ELEC. You will kill him if you move his eyelids, now that he is taking the +sweetest enjoyment of sleep. + +CHOR. Unfortunate on account of these most angry deeds from heaven! oh! +wretched on account of thy sufferings! + +ELEC. Alas! alas! Apollo himself unjust, then spoke unjust things, when at +the tripod of Themis he commanded the unhallowed, inauspicious murder of my +mother. + +CHOR. Dost thou see? he moves his body in the robes that cover him. + +ELEC. You by your cries, O wretch, have disturbed him from his sleep. + +CHOR. I indeed think he is sleeping yet. + +ELEC. Will you not depart from us? will you not bend your footsteps back +from the house, ceasing this noise? + +CHOR. He sleeps. + +ELEC. Thou sayest well. + +CHOR. Venerable, venerable Night, thou that dispensest sleep to languid +mortals, come from Erebus; come, come, borne on thy wings to the house of +Agamemnon; for by our griefs and by our sufferings we are quite undone, +undone. + +ELEC. Ye were making a noise. + +CHOR. No. (Note [A].) + +ELEC. Silently, silently repressing the high notes of your voice, apart +from his couch, you will enable him to have the tranquil enjoyment of +sleep. + +CHOR. Tell us; what end to his miseries awaits him? + +ELEC. Death, death; what else can? for he has no appetite for food. + +CHOR. Death then is manifestly before him. + +ELEC. Phœbus offered us as victims, when he commanded[4] the dreadful, +abhorred murder of our mother, that slew our father. + +CHOR. With justice indeed, but not well. + +ELEC. Thou hast died, thou hast died, O mother, O thou that didst bring me +forth, but hast killed the father, and the children of thy blood. We +perish, we perish, even as two corses. For thou art among the dead, and the +greatest part of my life is passed in groans, and wailings, and nightly +tears; marriageless, childless, behold, how like a miserable wretch do I +drag out my existence forever! + +CHOR. O virgin Electra, approach near, and look that thy brother has not +died unobserved by thee; for by this excessive quiet he doth not please me. + +ORESTES, ELECTRA, CHORUS. + +ORES. O precious balm of sleep, thou that relievest my malady, how pleasant +didst thou come to me in the time of need! O divine oblivion of my +sufferings, how wise thou art, and the goddess to be supplicated by all in +distress!--whence, in heaven's name, came I hither? and how brought? for I +remember not things past, bereaved, as I am, of my senses. + +ELEC. My dearest brother, how didst thou delight me when thou didst fall +asleep! wilt thou I touch thee, and raise thy body up? + +ORES. Raise me then, raise me, and wipe the clotted foam from off my +wretched mouth, and from my eyes. + +ELEC. Behold, the task is sweet, and I refuse not to administer to a +brother's limbs with a sister's hand. + +ORES. Lay thy side by my side, and remove the squalid hair from my face, +for I see but imperfectly with my eyes. + +ELEC. O wretched head, sordid with ringlets, how art thou disordered from +long want of the bath! + +ORES. Lay me on the couch again; when my fit of madness gives me a respite, +I am feeble and weak in my limbs. + +ELEC. Behold, the couch is pleasant to the sick man, an irksome thing to +keep, but still a necessary one. + +ORES. Again raise me upright--turn my body. + +CHOR. Sick persons are hard to be pleased from their feebleness. + +ELEC. Wilt thou set thy feet on the ground, putting forward thy +long-discontinued[5] step? In all things change is sweet. + +ORES. Yes, by all means; for this has a semblance of health, but the +semblance is good, though it be distant from the truth. + +ELEC. Hear now therefore, O my brother, while yet the Furies suffer thee to +have thy right faculties. + +ORES. Wilt thou tell any news? and if good indeed, thou art conferring +pleasure; but if it pertain at all to mischief--I have enough distress. + +ELEC. Menelaus has arrived, the brother of thy father, but his ships are +moored in the Nauplian bay. + +ORES. How sayest? Is he come, a light in mine and thy sufferings, a man of +kindred blood, and that hath received benefits from our father? + +ELEC. He is come; take this a sure proof of my words, bringing with him +Helen from the walls of Troy. + +ORES. Had he been saved alone, he had been more blest. But if he brings his +wife, he has arrived with a mighty evil. + +ELEC. Tyndarus begat an offspring of daughters, a conspicuous mark for +blame, and infamous throughout Greece. + +ORES. Do thou then be unlike the bad, for it is in thy power. And not only +say, but also hold these sentiments. + +ELEC. Alas! my brother, thine eye rolls wildly; quick art thou changed to +madness, so late in thy senses. + +ORES. O mother, I implore thee, urge not on me those Furies gazing blood, +horrid with snakes, for these, these are leaping around me. + +ELEC. Remain, O wretched man, calmly on thy couch, for thou seest none of +those things, which thou fanciest thou seest plainly. + +ORES. O Phœbus, these dire Goddesses in the shape of dogs will kill me, +these gorgon-visaged ministers of hell. + +ELEC. I will not let thee go, but, putting my arm around thee, will stop +thy starting into those unfortunate convulsions. + +ORES. Loose me. Thou art one of my Furies, and seizest me by the middle, +that thou mayest hurl me into Tartarus. + +ELEC. Oh! wretched me! what assistance can I obtain, since we have on us +the vengeful wrath of heaven! + +ORES. Give me my bow of horn, the gift of Phœbus, with which Apollo said I +should repel the Fiends, if they appalled me by their maddened raging. + +ELEC. Shall any God be wounded by mortal hand? (Note [B].) + +ORES. _Yes. She shall,_ if she will not depart from my sight... Hear ye +not--see ye not the winged shafts impelled from the distant-wounding bow? +Ha! ha! Why tarry ye yet? Skim the high air with your wings, and impeach +the oracles of Phœbus.--Ah! why am I thus disquieted, heaving my panting +breath from my lungs? Whither, whither have I wandered from my couch? For +from the waves again I see a calm.--Sister, why weepest, hiding thine eyes +beneath thy vests, I am ashamed to have thee a partner in my sufferings, +and to give a virgin trouble through my malady. Pine not away on account of +my miseries: for thou indeed didst assent to this, but the shedding of my +mother's blood was accomplished by me: but I blame Apollo, who, after +having instigated me to a most unholy act, with words indeed consoled me, +but not with deeds. But I think that my father, had I, beholding him, asked +him if it were right for me to slay my mother, would have put forth many +supplications, beseeching me by this beard not to impel my sword to the +slaughter of her who bore me, if neither he thereby could be restored to +life, and I thus wretched must go through such miseries. And now then +unveil thyself, my sister, and cease from tears, even though we be very +miserable: but when thou seest me desponding, do thou restrain my +distraction, and that which preys upon my mind, and console me; but when +thou groanest, it becomes my duty to come to thee, and suggest words of +comfort. For these are the good offices friends ought to render each other. +But go thou into the house, O unfortunate sister, and, stretched at full +length, compose thy sleepless eyelids to sleep, and take refreshment, and +pour the bath upon thy fair skin. For if thou forsakest me, or gettest any +illness by continually sitting by me, we perish; for thee I have my only +succor, by the rest, as thou seest, abandoned. + +ELEC. This can not be: with thee will I choose to die, with thee to live; +for it is the same: for if then shouldst die, what can I do, a woman? how +shall I be preserved, alone and destitute? without a brother, without a +father, without a friend: but if it seemeth good to thee, these things it +is my duty to do: but recline thy body on the bed, and do not to such a +degree conceive to be real whatever frightens and startles thee from the +couch, but keep quiet on the bed strewn for thee. For though thou be not +ill, but only seem to be ill, still this even is an evil and a distress to +mortals. (Note [C].) + +CHORUS. Alas! alas! O swift-winged, raving[6] Goddesses, who keep up the +dance, not that of Bacchus, with tears and groans. You, dark Eumenides, +you, that fly through the wide extended air, executing vengeance, executing +slaughter, you do I supplicate, I supplicate: suffer the offspring of +Agamemnon to forget his furious madness; alas! for his sufferings. What +were they that eagerly grasping at, thou unhappy perishest, having received +from the tripod the oracle which Phœbus spake, on that pavement, where are +said to be the recesses in the midst of the globe! O Jupiter, what pity is +there? what is this contention of slaughter that comes persecuting thee +wretched, to whom some evil genius casts tear upon tear, transporting to +thy house the blood of thy mother which drives thee frenzied! Thus I +bewail, I bewail. Great prosperity is not lasting among mortals; but, as +the sail of the swift bark, some deity having shaken him, hath sunk him in +the voracious and destructive waves of tremendous evils, as in the waves of +the ocean. For what other[6a] family ought I to reverence yet before that +sprung from divine nuptials, sprung from Tantalus?--But lo! the king! the +prince Menelaus, is coming! but he is very easily discernible from the +elegance of his person, as king of the house of the Tantalidæ. + +O thou that didst direct the army of a thousand vessels to Asia's land, +hail! but thou comest hither with good fortune, having obtained the object +of thy wishes from the Gods. + +MENELAUS, ORESTES, CHORUS. + +MEN. O palace, in some respect indeed I behold thee with pleasure, coming +from Troy, but in other respect I groan when I see thee. For never yet saw +I any other house more completely encircled round with lamentable woes. For +I was made acquainted with the misfortune that befell Agamemnon, [and his +death, by what death he perished at the hands of his wife,][6b] when I was +landing my ships at Malea; but from the waves the prophet of the mariners +declared unto me, the foreboding Glaucus the son of Nereus, an unerring +God, who told me thus in evident form standing by me. "Menelaus, thy +brother lieth dead, having fallen in his last bath, which his wife +prepared." But he filled both me and my sailors with many tears; but when I +come to the Nauplian shore, my wife having already landed there, expecting +to clasp in my friendly embraces Orestes the son of Agamemnon, and his +mother, as being in prosperity, I heard from some fisherman[7] the +unhallowed murder of the daughter of Tyndarus. And now tell me, maidens, +where is the son of Agamemnon, who dared these terrible deeds of evil? for +he was an infant in Clytæmnestra's arms at that time when I left the palace +on my way to Troy, so that I should not know him, were I to see him. + +ORES. I, Menelaus, am Orestes, whom thou seekest, I of my own accord will +declare my evils. But first I touch thy knees in supplication, putting up +prayers from my mouth, not using the sacred branch:[8] save me. But thou +art come in the very season of my sufferings. + +MEN. O ye Gods, what do I behold! whom of the dead do I see! + +ORES. Ay! well thou sayest the dead; for in my state of suffering I live +not; but see the light. + +MEN. Thou wretched man, how disordered thou art in thy squalid hair! + +ORES. Not the appearance, but the deeds torment me. + +MEN. But thou glarest dreadfully with thy shriveled eyeballs. + +ORES. My body is vanished, but my name has not left me. + +MEN. Alas, thy uncomeliness of form which has appeared to me beyond +conception! + +ORES. I am he, the murderer of my wretched mother. + +MEN. I have heard; but spare a little the recital of thy woes. + +ORES. I spare it; but in woes the deity is rich to me. + +MEN. What dost thou suffer? What malady destroys thee? + +ORES. The conviction that I am conscious of having perpetrated dreadful +deeds. + +MEN. How sayest thou? Plainness, and not obscurity, is wisdom. + +ORES. Sorrow is chiefly what destroys me,-- + +MEN. She is a dreadful goddess, but sorrow admits of cure. + +ORES. And fits of madness in revenge for my mother's blood. + +MEN. But when didst first have the raging? what day was it then? + +ORES. That day in which I heaped the tomb on my mother. + +MEN. What? in the house, or sitting at the pyre? + +ORES. As I was guarding by night lest any one should bear off her bones.[9] + +MEN. Was any one else present, who supported thy body? + +ORES. Pylades, who perpetrated with me the vengeance and death of my +mother. + +MEN. But by what visions art thou thus afflicted? + +ORES. I appear to behold three virgins like the night. + +MEN. I know whom thou meanest, but am unwilling to name them. + +ORES. Yes: for they are awful; but forbear from speaking such high polished +words.[10] + +MEN. Do these drive thee to distraction on account of this kindred murder? + +ORES. Alas me for the persecutions, with which wretched I am driven! + +MEN. It is not strange that those who do strange deeds should suffer them. + +ORES. But we have whereto we may transfer the criminality[11] of the +mischance. + +MEN. Say not the death _of thy father;_ for this is not wise. + +ORES. Phœbus who commanded us to perpetrate the slaying of our mother. + +MEN. Being more ignorant than to know equity, and justice. + +ORES. We are servants of the Gods, whatever those Gods be. + +MEN. And then does not Apollo assist thee in thy miseries? + +ORES. He is always about to do it, but such are the Gods by nature. + +MEN. But how long a time has thy mother's breath gone from her? + +ORES. This is the sixth day since; the funeral pyre is yet warm. + +MEN. How quickly have the Goddesses come to demand of thee thy mother's +blood! + +ORES. I am not wise, but a true friend to my friends. + +MEN. But what then doth the revenge of thy father profit thee? + +ORES. Nothing yet; but I consider what is in prospect in the same light as +a thing not done. + +MEN. But regarding the city how standest thou, having done these things? + +ORES. We are hated to that degree, that no one speaks to us. + +MEN. Nor hast thou washed thy blood from thy hands according to the laws? + +ORES. _How can I?_ for I am shut out from the houses, whithersoever I go. + +MEN. Who of the citizens thus contend to drive thee from the land? + +ORES. Œax,[12] imputing to my father the hatred which arose on account of +Troy. + +MEN. I understand. The death of Palamede takes its vengeance on thee. + +ORES. In which at least I had no share--but I perish by the three. + +MEN. But who else? Is it perchance one of the friends of Ægisthus? + +ORES. They persecute me, whom now the city obeys. + +MEN. But does the city suffer thee to wield Agamemnon's sceptre? + +ORES. How should they? who no longer suffer us to live. + +MEN. Doing what, which thou canst tell me as a clear fact? + +ORES. This very day sentence will be passed upon us. + +MEN. To be exiled from this city? or to die? or not to die? + +ORES. To die, by being stoned with stones by the citizens. + +MEN. And dost thou not fly then, escaping beyond the boundaries of the +country? + +ORES. _How can we?_ for we are surrounded on every side by brazen arms. + +MEN. By private enemies, or by the hand of Argos? + +ORES. By all the citizens, that I may die--the word is brief. + +MEN. O unhappy man! thou art come to the extreme of misfortune. + +ORES. On thee my hope builds her escape from evils, but, thyself happy, +coming among the distressed, impart thy good fortune to thy friends, and be +not the only man to retain a benefit thou hast received, but undertake also +services in thy turn, paying their father's kindness to those to whom thou +oughtest. For those friends have the name, not the reality, who are not +friends in adversity. + +CHOR. And see the Spartan Tyndarus is toiling hither with his aged foot, in +a black vest, and shorn, his locks cut off in mourning for his daughter. + +ORES. I am undone, O Menelaus! Lo! Tyndarus is coming toward us, to come +before whose presence, most of all men's, shame covereth me, on account of +what has been done. For he used to nurture me when I was little, and +satiated me with many kisses, dandling in his arms Agamemnon's boy, and +Leda with him, honoring me no less than the twin-born of Jove. For which, O +my wretched heart and soul, I have given no good return: what dark veil can +I take for my countenance? what cloud can I place before me, that I may +avoid the glances of the old man's eyes? + +TYNDARUS, MENELAUS, ORESTES, CHORUS. + +TYND. Where, where can I see my daughter's husband Menelaus? For as I was +pouring my libations on the tomb of Clytæmnestra, I heard that he was come +to Nauplia with his wife, safe through a length of years. Conduct me, for I +long to stand by his hand and salute him, seeing my friend after a long +lapse of time. + +MEN. O hail! old man, who sharest thy bed with Jove. + +TYND. O hail! thou also, Menelaus my dear relation,--ah! what an evil is it +not to know the future! This dragon here, the murderer of his mother, +glares before the house his pestilential gleams--the object of my +detestation--Menelaus, dost thou speak to this unholy wretch? + +MEN. Why not? he is the son of a father who was dear to me. + +TYND. What! was he sprung from him, being such as he is? + +MEN. He was; but, though he be unfortunate, he should be respected. + +TYND. Having been a long time with barbarians, thou art thyself turned +barbarian. + +MEN. Nay! it is the Grecian fashion always to honor one of kindred blood. + +TYND. _Yes_, and also not to wish to be above the laws. + +MEN. Every thing proceeding from necessity is considered as subservient to +her[13] among the wise. + +TYND. Do thou then keep to this, but I'll have none of it. + +MEN. _No_, for anger joined with thine age, is not wisdom. + +TYND. With this man what controversy can there be regarding wisdom? If what +things are virtuous, and what are not virtuous, are plain to all, what man +was ever more unwise that this man? who did not indeed consider justice, +nor applied to the common existing law of the Grecians. For after that +Agamemnon breathed forth his last, struck by my daughter on the head, a +most foul deed (for never will I approve of this), it behooved him indeed +to lay against her a sacred charge of bloodshed, following up the +accusation, and to cast his mother from out of the house; and he would have +taken the wise side in the calamity, and would have kept to law, and would +have been pious. But now has he come to the same fate with his mother. For +with justice thinking her wicked, himself has become more wicked in slaying +his mother. + +But thus much, Menelaus, will I ask thee; If the wife that shared his bed +were to kill him, and his son again kills his mother in return, and he that +is born of him shall expiate the murder with murder, whither then will the +extremes of these evils proceed? Well did our fathers of old lay down these +things; they suffered not him to come into the sight of their eyes, not to +their converse, who was under an attainder[14] of blood; but they made him +atone by banishment; they suffered however none to kill him in return. For +always were one about to be attainted of murder, taking the pollution last +into his hands. But I hate indeed impious women, but first among them my +daughter, who slew her husband. But never will I approve of Helen thy wife, +nor would I speak to her, neither do I commend[15] thee for going to the +plain of Troy on account of a perfidious woman. But I will defend the law, +as far at least as I am able, putting a stop to this brutish and murderous +practice, which is ever destructive both of the country and the state.--For +what feelings of humanity hadst thou, thou wretched man, when she bared her +breast in supplication, thy mother? I indeed, though I witnessed not that +scene of misery, melt in my aged eyes with tears through wretchedness. One +thing however goes to the scale of my arguments; thou art both hated by the +Gods, and sufferest vengeance of thy mother, wandering about with madness +and terrors; why must I hear by the testimony of others, what it is in my +power to see? That thou mayest know then _once for all_, Menelaus, do not +things contrary to the Gods, through thy wishes to assist this man. But +suffer him to be slain by the citizens with stones, or set not thy foot on +Spartan ground. But my daughter in dying met with justice, but it was not +fitting that she should die by him.[16] In other respects indeed have I +been a happy man, except in my daughters, but in this I am not happy. + +CHOR. He is enviable, who is fortunate in his children, and has not on him +some notorious calamities. + +ORES. O old man, I tremble to speak to thee, wherein I am about to grieve +thee and thy mind. But I am unholy in that I slew my mother; but holy at +least in another point of view, having avenged my father. Let then thine +age, which hinders me through fear from speaking, be removed out of the way +of my words, and I will go on in a direct path; but now do I fear thy gray +hairs. What could I do? for oppose the facts, two against two. My father +indeed begat me, but thy daughter brought me forth, a field receiving the +seed from another; but without a father there never could be a child. I +reasoned therefore with myself, that I should assist the prime author of my +birth rather than the aliment which under him produced me. But thy daughter +(I am ashamed to call her mother), in secret and unchaste nuptials, had +approached the bed of another man; of myself, if I speak ill of her, shall +I be speaking, but yet will I tell it. Ægisthus was her secret husband in +her palace. Him I slew, and after him I sacrificed my mother, doing indeed +unholy things, but avenging my father. But as touching those things for +which thou threatenest that I must be stoned, hear, how I shall assist all +Greece. For if the women shall arrive at such a pitch of boldness as to +murder the men, making good their escape with regard to their children, +seeking to captivate their pity by their breasts, it would be as nothing +with them to slay their husbands, having any pretext that might chance; but +I having done dreadful things (as thou sayest), have put a stop to this +law, but hating my mother deservedly I slew her, who betrayed her husband +absent from home in arms, the generalissimo of the whole land of Greece, +and kept not her bed undefiled. But when she perceived that she had done +amiss, she inflicted not vengeance on herself, but, that she might not +suffer vengeance from her husband, punished and slew my father. By the +Gods, (in no good cause have I named the Gods, pleading against a charge of +murder,) had I by my silence praised my mother's actions, what then would +the deceased have done to me? To my mother indeed the Furies are present as +allies, but would they not be present to him, who has received the greater +injury? Would he not, detesting me, have haunted me with the Furies? Thou +then, O old man, by begetting a bad daughter, hast destroyed me; for +through her boldness deprived of my father, I became a matricide. Dost see? +Telemachus slew not the wife of Ulysses, for she married not a husband on a +husband, but her marriage-bed remains unpolluted in the palace. Dost see? +Apollo, who, dwelling in his habitation in the midst of the earth, gives +the most clear oracles to mortals, by whom we are entirely guided, whatever +he may say, on him relying slew I my mother. 'Twas he who erred, not I: +what could I do? Is not the God sufficient for me, who transfer _the deed_ +to him, to do away with the pollution? Whither then can any fly for succor, +unless he that commanded me shall deliver me from death? But say not these +things have been done "not well;" but _say_ "not fortunately" for us who +did them. But to whatsoever men their marriages are well established, there +is a happy life, but to those to whom they fall not out well, with regard +to their affairs both at home and abroad they are unfortunate. + +CHOR. Women were born always to be in the way of what may happen to men, to +the making of things unfortunate. + +TYND. Since thou art bold, and yieldest not to my speech, but thus +answerest me so as to grieve my mind, thou wilt rather inflame me to urge +thy death. But this I shall consider a handsome addition to those labors +for which I came, _namely_, to deck my daughter's tomb. For going to the +multitude of the Argives assembled, I will rouse the state willing and not +unwilling, to pass the sentence[16a] of being stoned on thee and on thy +sister; but she is worthy of death rather than thee, who irritated thee +against her mother, always pealing in thine ear words to increase thy +hatred, relating dreams she had of Agamemnon, and this also, that the +infernal Gods detested the bed of Ægisthus; for even here _on earth_ it +were hard _to be endured_; until she set the house in flames with fire more +strong than Vulcan's.--Menelaus, but to thee I speak this, and will +moreover perform it. If thou regard my hate, and my alliance, ward not off +death from this man in opposition to the Gods; but suffer him to be slain +by the citizens with stones, or set not thy foot on Spartan ground. Thus +much having heard, depart, nor choose the impious for thy friends, passing +over the pious.--But O attendants, conduct us from this house. + +ORES. Depart, that the remainder of my speech may reach this man +uninterrupted by the clamors of thy age: Menelaus, whither dost thou roam +in thought, entering on a double path of double care? + +MEN. Suffer me; having some thoughts with myself, I am perplexed to which +side of fortune to turn me. + +ORES. Do not make up thy opinion, but having first heard my words, then +deliberate. + +MEN. Say on; for thou hast spoken rightly; but there are seasons where +silence may be better than talking, and there are seasons where talking may +be better than silence. + +ORES. I will speak then forthwith: Long speeches have the preference before +short ones, and are more plain to hear. Give thou to me nothing of what +thou hast, O Menelaus, but what thou hast received from my father, return; +I mean not riches--yet riches, which are the most dear of what I possess, +if thou wilt preserve my life. Say I am unjust, I ought to receive from +thee, instead of this evil, something contrary to what justice demands; for +Agamemnon my father having collected Greece in arms, in a way justice did +not demand, went to Troy, not having erred himself, but in order to set +right the error, and injustice of thy wife. This one thing indeed thou +oughtest to give me for one thing, but he, as friends should for friends, +of a truth exposed his person for thee toiling at the shield, that thou +mightest receive back thy wife. Repay me then this kindness for that which +thou receivedst there, toiling for one day in standing as my succor, not +completing ten years. But the sacrifice of my sister, which Aulis received, +this I suffer thee to have; do not kill Hermione, _I ask it not_. For, I +being in the state in which I now am, thou must of necessity have the +advantage, and I must suffer it to be so. But grant my life to my wretched +father, and my sister's, who has been a virgin a long time. For dying I +shall leave my father's house destitute. Thou wilt say "impossible:" this +is the very thing _I have been urging_, it behooves friends to help their +friends in misfortunes. But when the God gives prosperity, what need is +there of friends? For the God himself sufficeth, being willing to assist. +Thou appearest to all the Greeks to be fond of thy wife; (and this I say, +not stealing under thee imperceptibly with flattery;) by her I implore +thee; O wretched me for my woes, to what have I come? but why must I suffer +thus? For in behalf of the whole house I make this supplication. O divine +brother of my father, conceive that the dead man beneath the earth hears +these things, and that his spirit is hovering over thee, and speaks what I +speak. These things have I said, with tears, and groans, and miseries,[17] +and have prayed earnestly, looking for preservation, which all, and not I +only, seek. + +CHOR. I too implore thee, although a woman, yet still I implore thee to +succor those in need, but thou art able. + +MEN. Orestes, I indeed reverence thy person, and I am willing to labor with +thee in thy misfortunes. For thus it is right to endure together the +misfortunes of one's relations, if the God gives the ability, even so far +as to die, and to kill the adversary; but this ability again I want from +the Gods. For I am come having my single spear unaided by allies, having +wandered with infinite labors with small assistance of friends left me. In +battle therefore we can not come off superior to Pelasgian Argos; but if we +can by soft speeches, to that hope are we equal. For how can any one +achieve great actions with small means? For when the rabble is in full +force falling into a rage, it is equally difficult to extinguish as a +fierce fire. But if one quietly yields to it as it is spreading, and gives +in to it, watching well his opportunity, perhaps it may spend its rage, but +when it has remitted from its blast, you may without difficulty have it +your own way, as much as you please. For there is inherent in them pity, +but there is inherent also vehement passion, to one who carefully watches +his opportunity a most excellent advantage. But I will go and endeavor to +persuade Tyndarus, and the city, to use their great power in a becoming +manner. For a ship, the main sheet stretched out to a violent degree, is +wont to pitch, but stands upright again, if you slacken the main sheet. For +the God hates too great vehemence, and the citizens hate it; but I must (I +speak as I mean) save thee by wisdom, not by opposing my superiors. But I +can not by force, as perchance thou thinkest, preserve thee; for it is no +easy matter to erect from one single spear trophies from the evils, which +are about thee. For never have we approached the land of Argos by way of +supplication; but now there is necessity for the wise to become the slaves +of fortune. + +ORESTES, CHORUS. + +ORES. O thou, a mere cipher in other things except in warring for the sake +of a woman; O thou most base in avenging thy friends, dost thou fly, +turning away from me? But all Agamemnon's services are gone: thou wert then +without friends, O my father, in thy affliction. Alas me! I am betrayed, +and there no longer are any hopes, whither turning I may escape death from +the Argives. For he was the refuge of my safety. But I see this most dear +of men, Pylades, coming with hasty step from the Phocians, a pleasing +sight, a man faithful in adversity, more grateful to behold than the calm +to the mariners. + +PYLADES, ORESTES, CHORUS. + +PYL. I came through the city with a quicker step than I ought, having heard +of the council of state assembled, and seeing it plainly myself, against +thee and thy sister, as about to kill you instantly.--What is this? how art +thou? in what state, O most dear to me of my companions and kindred? for +all these things art thou to me. + +ORES. We are gone--briefly to show thee my calamities. + +PYL. Thou wilt have ruined me too; for the things of friends are common. + +ORES. Menelaus has behaved most basely toward me and my sister. + +PYL. It is to be expected that the husband of a bad wife be bad. + +ORES. He is come, and has done just as much for me as if he had not come. + +PYL. What! is he in truth come to this land? + +ORES. After a long season; but nevertheless he was very soon discovered to +be too base to his friends. + +PYL. And has he brought in his ship with him his most infamous wife? + +ORES. Not he her, but she brought him hither. + +PYL. Where is she, who, beyond any woman,[18] destroyed most of the +Grecians? + +ORES. In my palace, if I may indeed be allowed to call this mine. + +PYL. But what words didst thou say to thy father's brother? + +ORES. _I requested him_ not to suffer me and my sister to be slain by the +citizens. + +PYL. By the Gods, what said he to this request; this I wish to know. + +ORES. He declined, from motives of prudence, as bad friends act toward +their friends. + +PYL. Going on what ground of excuse? This having learned, I am in +possession of every thing. + +ORES. The father himself came, he that begat such excellent daughters. + +PYL. Tyndarus you mean; perhaps enraged with thee on account of his +daughter. + +ORES. You are right: be paid more attention to his ties with him, than to +his ties with my father. + +PYL. And dared he not, being present, to take arms against thy troubles? + +ORES. _No_: for he was not born a warrior, but brave among women. + +PYL. Thou art then in the greatest miseries, and it is necessary for thee +to die. + +ORES. The citizens must pass their vote on us for the murder _we have +committed_.[19] + +PYL. Which vote what will it decide? tell me, for I am in fear. + +ORES. Either to die or live; not many words on matters of great import. + +PYL. Come fly, and quit the palace with thy sister. + +ORES. Seest thou not? we are watched by guards on every side, + +PYL. I saw the streets of the city lined with arms. + +ORES. We are invested as to our persons, as a city by the enemy. + +PYL. Now ask me also, what I suffer; for I too am undone. + +ORES. By whom? This would be an evil added to my evils. + +PYL. Strophius, my father, being enraged, hath driven me an exile from his +house. + +ORES. Bringing against thee some private charge, or one in common with the +citizens? + +PYL. Because I perpetrated with thee the murder of thy mother, he banished +me, calling me unholy. + +ORES. O thou unfortunate! it seems that thou also sufferest for my evils. + +PYL. We have not Menelaus's manners--this must be borne. + +ORES. Dost thou not fear lest Argos should wish to kill thee, as it does +also me? + +PYL. We do not belong to these to punish, but to the land of the Phocians. + +ORES. The populace is a terrible thing, when they have evil leaders. + +PYL. But when they have good ones, they always deliberate good things. + +ORES. Be it so: we must speak on our common business. + +PYL. On what affair of necessity? + +ORES. Supposing I should go to the citizens, and say-- + +PYL. --that thou hast acted justly? + +ORES. Ay, avenging my father: + +PYL. I fear they might not receive thee gladly. + +ORES. But shall I die then shuddering in silence! + +PYL. This were cowardly. + +ORES. How then can I do? + +PYL. Hast thou any chance of safety, if thou remainest? + +ORES. I have none. + +PYL. But going, is there any hope of thy being preserved from thy miseries? + +ORES. Should it chance well, there might be. + +PYL. Is not this then better than remaining? + +ORES. Shall I go then? + +PYL. Dying thus, at least thou wilt die more honorably. + +ORES. And I have a just cause. + +PYL. Only pray for its appearing so. + +ORES. Thou sayest well: this way I avoid the imputation of cowardice. + +PYL. More than by tarrying here. + +ORES. And some one perchance may pity me-- + +PYL. Yes; for thy nobleness of birth is a great thing. + +ORES. --indignant at my father's death. + +PYL. All this in prospect. + +ORES. Go I must, for it is not manly to die ingloriously. + +PYL. These sentiments I praise. + +ORES. Shall we then tell these things to my sister? + +PYL. No, by the Gods. + +ORES. Why, there might be tears. + +PYL. This then is a great omen. + +ORES. Clearly it is better to be silent. + +PYL. Thou art a gainer by delay. + +ORES. This one thing only opposes me. + +PYL. What new thing again is this thou sayest? + +ORES. I fear lest the goddesses should stop me with their torments. + +PYL. But I will take care of thee. + +ORES. It is a difficult and dangerous task to touch a man thus disordered. + +PYL. Not for me to touch thee. + +ORES. Take care how thou art partner of my madness. + +PYL. Let not this be thought of. + +ORES. Wilt thou not then be timid to assist me? + +PYL. No, for timidity is a great evil to friends. + +ORES. Go on now, the helm of my foot. + +PYL. Having a charge worthy of a friend. + +ORES. And guide me to my father's tomb. + +PYL. To what end is this? + +ORES. That I may supplicate him to save me. + +PYL. This at least is just. + +ORES. But let me not see my mother's monument. + +PYL. For she was an enemy. But hasten, that the decree of the Argives +condemn thee not before thou goest; leaning thy side, weary with disease, +on mine: since I will conduct thee through the city, little caring for the +multitude, nothing ashamed; for where shall I show myself thy friend, if I +assist thee not when them art in perilous condition? + +ORES. This it is to have companions, not relationship alone; so that a man +who is congenial in manners, though a stranger in blood, is a better friend +for a man to have, than ten thousand relatives. + +CHORUS. + +The great happiness, and the valor high sounding throughout Greece, and by +the channels of the Simois, has again withdrawn from the fortune of the +Atridæ, as of old, from the ancient calamity of the house, when the strife +of the golden lamb[20] arose among the descendants of Tantalus; most +shocking feasts, and the slaughter of noble children; from whence murder +responsive to murder fails not to attend on the two sons of Atreus. What +seems good is not good, to gash the parents' skin with a fierce hand, and +brandish the sword black-stained with blood in the sunbeams. But, on the +other hand, to act wickedly[21] is mad impiety, and the folly of +evil-minded men. + +But the wretched daughter of Tyndarus in the fear of death shrieked out, +"My son, thou darest impious deeds, killing thy mother; do not, attending +to the gratification of thy father, kindle an everlasting disgrace." + +What malady, or what tears, or what pity on earth is greater, than to +imbrue one's hand in a mother's blood? What a deed, what a deed having +performed, does the son of Agamemnon rave with madness, a prey to the +Eumenides, marked for death, giddy with his rolling eyes! O wretched on +account of his mother, when though seeing the breast bared from the robe of +golden texture, he stabbed the mother in retaliation for the father's +sufferings. + +ELECTRA, CHORUS. + +ELEC. Ye virgins, has the wretched Orestes, overcome with heaven-inflicted +madness, rushed any where from this house? + +CHOR. By no means; but he is gone to the Argive people, to undergo the +trial proposed regarding life, by which you must either live or die. + +ELEC. Alas me! what thing has he done? but who persuaded him? + +CHOR. Pylades.--But this messenger seems soon about to inform us of what +has passed there concerning thy brother. + +MESSENGER, ELECTRA, CHORUS. + +MESS. O wretched hapless daughter of the chief Agamemnon, revered Electra, +hear the unfortunate words which I am come to bring. + +ELEC. Alas! alas! we are undone; this thou signifiest by thy speech. For +thou comest, as it seems, a messenger of woes. + +MESS. It has been carried by the vote of the Pelasgians, that thy brother +and thou must die this day. + +ELEC. Ah me! the expected event has come, which long since fearing, I pined +away with lamentations on account of what was in prospect.--But what was +the debate? What arguments among the Argives condemned us, and confirmed +our sentence of death? Tell me, old man, whether by the hand raised to +stone me, or by the sword must I breathe out my soul, having this calamity +in common with my brother? + +MESS. I chanced indeed to be entering the gates from the country, anxious +to hear both what regarded thee, and what regarded Orestes; for at all +times I had a favorable inclination toward thy father: and thy house fed +me, poor indeed, but noble in my conduct toward friends. But I see the +crowd going and sitting down on an eminence; where they say Danaus first +collected the people to a common council, when he suffered punishment at +the hands of Ægyptus. But seeing this concourse, I asked one of the +citizens, "What new thing is stirring in Argos? Has any message from +hostile powers roused the city of the Danaids?" But he said, "Seest thou +not this Orestes walking near us, who is about to run in the contest of +life and death?" But I see an unexpected sight, which oh that I had never +seen! Pylades and thy brother walking together, the one indeed broken with +sickness, but the other, like a brother, sympathizing with his friend, +tending his weakened state with fostering care. But when the assembly of +the Argives was full, a herald stood forth and said, "Who wishes to speak +_on the question_, whether it is right that Orestes, who has killed his +mother, should die, or not?" And on this Talthybius rises, who, in +conjunction with thy father, laid waste the Phrygians. But he spoke words +of divided import, being the constant slave of those in power; struck with +admiration indeed at thy father, but not commending thy brother (speciously +mixing up words of bad import), because he laid down no good laws toward +his parents: but he was continually casting a smiling glance on Ægisthus's +friends. For such is this kind; heralds always dance attendance on the +prosperous; but that man is their friend, whoever may chance to have power +in the state, and to be in office. But next to him prince Diomed harangued; +he indeed was for suffering them to kill neither thee nor thy brother, but +_bid them_ observe piety by punishing you with banishment. But some indeed +murmured their assent, that he spoke well, but others praised him not.[22] +And after him rises up some man, intemperate in speech, powerful in +boldness, an Argive, yet not an Argive,[23] forced upon us, relying both on +the tumult, and on ignorant boldness, prompt by persuasion to involve them +in some mischief. (For when a man, sweet in words, holding bad sentiments, +persuades the multitude, it is a great evil to the city. But as many as +always advise good things with understanding, although not at the present +moment, eventually are of service to the state: but the intelligent leader +ought to look to this, for the case is the same with the man who speaks +words, and the man who approves them.) Who said, that they ought to kill +Orestes and thee by stoning. But Tyndarus was privily making up such sort +of speeches for him who wished your death to speak. But another man stood +up, and spoke in opposition to him, in form indeed not made to catch the +eye; but a man endued with the qualities of a man, rarely polluting the +city, and the circle of the forum; one who farmed his own land,[24] which +class of persons[25] alone preserve the country, but prudent, and wishing +the tenor of his conduct to be in unison with his words, uncorrupted, one +that had conformed to a blameless mode of living; he proposed to crown +Orestes the son of Agamemnon,[25a] who was willing to avenge his father by +slaying a wicked and unholy woman, who took this out of the power of men, +and would no one have been the cause of arming the hand for war, nor +undertaking an expedition, leaving his home, if those who are left destroy +what is intrusted to their charge in the house, disgracing their husbands' +beds. And to right-minded men at least he appeared to speak well: and none +spoke besides, but thy brother advanced and said, "O inhabitants of the +land of Inachus, avenging you no less than my father, I slew my mother, for +if the murder of men shall become licensed to women, ye no longer can +escape dying, or ye must be slaves to your wives. But ye do the contrary to +what ye ought to do. For now she that was false to the bed of my father is +dead; but if ye do indeed slay me, the law has lost its force, and no man +can escape dying, forasmuch as there will be no lack of this audacity." + +But he persuaded not the people, though appearing to speak well. But that +villain, who spoke among the multitude, overcomes him, he that harangued +for the killing of thy brother and thee. But scarcely did the wretched +Orestes persuade them that he might not die by stoning; but he promised +that this day he would quit his life by self-slaughter together with +thee:--but Pylades is conducting him from the council, weeping: but his +friends accompany him bewailing him, pitying him; but he is coming a sad +spectacle to thee, and a wretched sight. But prepare the sword, or the +noose for thy neck, for thou must die, but thy nobleness of birth hath +profited thee nothing, nor the Pythian Phœbus who sits on the tripod, but +hath destroyed thee. + +CHOR. O unhappy virgin! how art thou dumb, casting thy muffled countenance +toward the ground, as though about to run into a strain of groans and +lamentations! + +ELEC. I begin the lament, O land of Greece, digging my white nail into my +cheek, sad bleeding woe, and dashing my head, which[26] the lovely[27] +goddess of the manes beneath the earth has to her share. And let the +Cyclopian land[28] howl, applying the steel to their head cropped of hair +over the calamity of our house. This pity, this pity, proceeds for those +who are about to die, who once were the princes of Greece. For it is gone, +it is gone, the entire race of the children of Pelops has perished, and the +happiness which once resided in these blest abodes. Envy from heaven has +now seized it, and the harsh decree of blood in the state. Alas! alas! O +race of mortals that endure for a day, full of tears, full of troubles, +behold how contrary to expectation fate comes. But in the long lapse of +time each different man receives by turns his different sufferings.[29] But +the whole race of mortals is unstable and uncertain. + +Oh! could I go to that rock stretched from Olympus in its loftiness midst +heaven and earth by golden chains, that mass of clay borne round with rapid +revolutions, that in my plaints I might cry out to my ancient father +Tantalus; who begat the progenitors of my family, who saw calamities, what +time in the pursuing of steeds, Pelops in his car drawn by four horses +perpetrated, as he drove, the murder of Myrtilus, _by casting him_ into the +sea, hurling him down to the surge of the ocean, as he guided his car on +the shore of the briny sea by Geræstus foaming with its white billows. +Whence the baleful curse came on my house since, by the agency of Maia's +son,[30] there appeared the pernicious, pernicious prodigy of the +golden-fleeced lamb, a birth which took place among the flocks of the +warlike Atreus. On which both Discord drove back the winged chariot of the +sun, directing it from the path of heaven leading to the west toward Aurora +borne on her single horse.[31] And Jupiter drove back the course of the +seven moving Pleiads another way: and from that period[32] he sends deaths +in succession to deaths, and "the feast of Thyestes," so named from +Thyestes. And the bed of the Cretan Ærope deceitful in a deceitful marriage +has come as a finishing stroke on me and my father, to the miserable +destruction of our family. + +CHOR. But see, thy brother is advancing, condemned by the vote of death, +and Pylades the most faithful of all, a man like a brother, supporting the +enfeebled limbs of Orestes, walking by his side[33] with the foot of tender +solicitude. + +ELECTRA, ORESTES, PYLADES, CHORUS. + +ELEC. Alas me! for I bewail thee, my brother, seeing thee before the tomb, +and before the pyre of thy departed shade: alas me! again and again, how am +I bereft of my senses, seeing with my eyes the very last sight of thee. + +ORES. Wilt thou not in silence, ceasing from womanish groans, make up thy +mind to what is decreed? These things indeed are lamentable, but yet we +must bear our present fate. + +ELEC. And how can I be silent? We wretched no longer are permitted to view +this light of the God. + +ORES. Do not thou kill me; I, the unhappy, have died enough already under +the hands of the Argives; but pass over our present ills. + +ELEC. O Orestes! oh wretched in thy youth, and thy fate, and thy untimely +death, then oughtest thou to live, when thou art no more. + +ORES. Do not by the Gods throw cowardice around me, bringing the +remembrance of my woes so as to cause tears. + +ELEC. We shall die; it is not possible not to groan our misfortunes; for +the dear life is a cause of pity to all mortals. + +ORES. This is the day appointed for us! but we must either fit the +suspended noose, or whet the sword with our hand. + +ELEC. Do thou then kill me, my brother; let none of the Argives kill me, +putting a contumely on the offspring of Agamemnon. + +ORES. I have enough of thy mother's blood, but thee I will not slay; but +die by thine own hand in whatever manner thou wilt. + +ELEC. These things shall be; I will not be deserted by thy sword;[34] but I +wish to clasp my hands around thy neck. + +ORES. Thou enjoyest a vain gratification, if this be an enjoyment, to throw +thy hands around those who are hard at death's door. + +ELEC. Oh thou most dear! oh thou that hast the desirable and most sweet +name, and one soul with thy sister! + +ORES. Thou wilt melt me; and still I wish to answer thee in the endearment +of encircling arms, for why am I any longer ashamed? O bosom of my sister, +O dear object of my caresses, these embraces are allowed to us miserable +beings instead of children and the bridal bed. + +ELEC. Alas! How can the same sword (if this request be lawful) kill us, and +one tomb wrought of cedar receive us? + +ORES. This would be most sweet; but thou seest how destitute we are, in +respect to being able to share our sepulture. + +ELEC. Did not Menelaus speak in behalf of thee, taking a decided part +against thy death, the base man, the deserter of my father? [Note [G].] + +ORES. He showed it not even in his countenance, but keeping his hopes on +the sceptre, he was cautious how he saved his friends. But let be, he will +die acting in a manner nobly, and most worthily of Agamemnon. And I indeed +will show my high descent to the city, striking home to my heart with the +sword; but thee, on the other hand, it behooveth to act in concert with my +bold attempts. But do thou, Pylades, be the umpire of our death, and well +compose the bodies of us when dead, and bury us together, bearing us to our +father's tomb. And farewell--but I am going to the deed, as thou seest. + +PYL. Hold. This one thing indeed first I bring in charge against thee--Dost +thou think that I can wish to live when thou diest?[35] + +ORES. For how does it concern thee to die with me? + +PYL. Dost ask? But how does it to live without thy company? + +ORES. Thou didst not slay my mother, as I did, a wretch. + +PYL. With thee I did at least; I ought also to suffer these things in +common with thee. + +ORES. Take thyself back to thy father, do not die with me. For thou indeed +hast a city (but I no longer have), and the mansion of thy father, and a +great harbor of wealth. But thou art frustrated in thy marriage with this +unhappy virgin, whom I betrothed to thee, revering thy friendship. +Nevertheless do thou, contracting other nuptials, be a blest father, but +the connection between me and thee no longer subsists, But thou, O darling +name of my converse, farewell, be happy, for this is not allowed me, but it +is to thee; for we, the dead, are deprived of happiness. + +PYL. Surely thou art wide astray from my purposes. Nor may the fruitful +plain receive my blood, nor the bright air, if ever I betraying thee, +having freed myself, forsake thee; for I committed the slaughter with thee +(I will not deny it), and I planned all things, for which now thou +sufferest vengeance. Die then I must with thee and her together, for her, +whose marriage I have courted, I consider as my wife; for what good excuse +ever shall I give, going to the Delphian land to the citadel of the +Phocians, I, who was present with you, your friend, before indeed you were +unfortunate, but now, when you are unfortunate, am no longer thy friend? It +is not possible--but these things are my care also. But since we are about +to die, let us come to a common conference, how Menelaus may be involved in +our calamity. + +ORES. O thou dearest man: for would I see this and die. + +PYL. Be persuaded then, but defer the slaughtering sword. + +ORES. I will defer, if any how I can avenge myself on my enemy. + +PYL. Be silent then, for I have but small confidence in women. + +ORES. Do not at all fear these, for they are friends that are present. + +PYL. Let us kill Helen, which will cause great grief to Menelaus. + +ORES. How? for the will is here, if it can be done with glory. + +PYL. Stabbing her; but she is lurking in thy house. + +ORES. Yes indeed, and is putting her seal on all my effects. + +PYL. But she shall seal no more, having Pluto for her bridegroom. + +ORES. And how can this be? for she has a train of barbarian attendants. + +PYL. Whom? for I would be afraid of no Phrygian. + +ORES. Such men as should preside over mirrors and scents. + +PYL. For has she brought hither her Trojan fineries? + +ORES. _Oh yes!_ so that Greece is but a cottage for her. + +PYL. A race of slaves is a mere nothing against a race that will not be +slaves. + +ORES. In good truth, this if I could achieve, I shrink not from two deaths. + +PYL. But neither do I indeed, if I could revenge thee at least. + +ORES. Disclose thy purpose, and go through it as thou sayest. + +PYL. We will enter then the house, as men about to die. + +ORES. Thus far I comprehend, but the rest I do not comprehend. + +PYL. We will make our lamentation to her of the things we suffer. + +ORES. So that she shall weep, though joyed within her heart. + +PYL. And the same things will be for us to do afterward, which she does +then. + +ORES. Then how shall we finish the contest? + +PYL. We will wear our swords concealed beneath our robes. + +ORES. But what slaughter can there be before her attendants? + +PYL. We will bolt them out, scattered in different parts of the house. + +ORES. And him that is not silent we must kill. + +PYL. Then the circumstances of the moment will point out what steps to +take. + +ORES. To kill Helen, I understand the sign. + +PYL. Thou seest: but hear on what honorable principles I meditate it. For, +if we draw our sword on a more modest woman, the murder will blot our names +with infamy. But in the present instance, she shall suffer vengeance for +the whole of Greece, whose fathers she slew, and made the brides bereaved +of their spouses; there shall be a shout, and they will kindle up fire to +the Gods, praying for many blessings to fall to thee and me, inasmuch as we +shed the blood of a wicked woman. But thou shalt not be called the +matricide, when thou hast slain her, but dropping this name thou shalt +arrive at better things, being styled the slayer of the havoc-dealing +Helen. It never, never were right that Menelaus should be prosperous, and +that thy father, and thou, and thy sister should die, and thy mother; (this +I forbear, for it is not decorous to mention;) and that he should seize thy +house, having recovered his bride by the means of Agamemnon's valor. For +may I live no longer, if I draw not my black sword upon her. But if then we +do not compass the murder of Helen, having fired the palace we will die, +for we shall have glory, succeeding in one of these two things, nobly +dying, or nobly rescued. + +CHOR. The daughter of Tyndarus is an object of detestation to all women, +being one that has given rise to scandal against the sex. + +ORES. Alas! There is no better thing than a real friend, not riches, not +kingdoms; but the popular applause becomes a thing of no account to receive +in exchange for a generous friend. For thou contrivedst the destruction +that befell Ægisthus, and wast close to me in my dangers. But now again +thou givest me to revenge me on mine enemies, and art not out of the +way--but I will leave off praising thee, since there is some burden even in +this "to be praised to excess." But I altogether in a state of death, wish +to do something to my foes and die, that I may in turn destroy those who +betrayed me, and those may groan who also made me unhappy. I am the son of +Agamemnon, who ruled over Greece by general consent; no tyrant, but yet he +had the power as it were of a God, whom I will not disgrace, suffering a +slavish death, but breathe out my soul in freedom, but on Menelaus will I +revenge me. For if we could gain this one thing, we should be prosperous, +if from any chance safety should come unhoped for on the slayers _then_, +not the slain: this I pray for. For what I wish is sweet to delight the +mind without fear of cost, though with but fleeting words uttered through +the mouth. + +ELEC. I, O brother, think that this very thing brings safety to thee, and +thy friend, and in the third place to me. + +ORES. Thou meanest the providence of the Gods: but where is this? for I +know that there is understanding in thy mind. + +ELEC. Hear me then, and thou too give thy attention. + +ORES. Speak, since the existing prospect of good affords some pleasure. + +ELEC. Art thou acquainted with the daughter of Helen? Thou knowest her of +whom I ask. + +ORES. I know her, Hermione, whom my mother brought up. + +ELEC. She is gone to Clytæmnestra's tomb. + +ORES. For what purpose? what hope dost thou suggest? + +ELEC. To pour libations on the tomb in behalf of her mother. + +ORES. And what is this, thou hast told me of, that regards our safety? + +ELEC. Seize her as a pledge as she is coming back. + +ORES. What remedy for the three friends is this thou sayest? + +ELEC. When Helen is dead, if Menelaus does any harm to thee or Pylades, or +me (for this firm of friendship is all one), say that thou wilt kill +Hermione; but thou oughtest to draw thy sword, and hold it to the neck of +the virgin. And if indeed Menelaus save thee, anxious that the virgin may +not die; when he sees Helen's corse weltering in blood, give back the +virgin for her father to enjoy; but should he, not governing his angry +temper, slay thee, do thou also plunge the sword into the virgin's neck, +and I think that he, though at first he come to us very big, will after a +season soften his heart; for neither is he brave nor valiant: this is the +fortress of our safety that I have; my arguments on the subject have been +spoken. + +ORES. O thou that hast indeed the mind of a man, but a form among women +beautiful, to what a degree art thou more worthy of life than death! +Pylades, wilt thou miserably be disappointed of such a woman, or dwelling +with her obtain this happy marriage? + +PYL. For would it could be so! and she could come to the city of the +Phocians meeting with her deserts in splendid nuptials! + +ORES. But when will Hermione come to the house? Since for the rest thou +saidst most admirably, if we could succeed in taking the whelp of the +impious father. + +ELEC. Even now I guess that she must be near the house, for _with this +supposition_ the space itself of the time coincides. + +ORES. It is well; do thou therefore, my sister Electra, waiting before the +house, meet the arrival of the virgin. And watch, lest any one, either some +ally, or the brother of my father, should be beforehand with us coming to +the palace: and make some noise toward the house, either knocking at the +doors, or sending thy voice within. But let us, O Pylades (for thou +undertakest this labor with me), entering in, arm our hands with the sword +to one last attempt. O my father, that inhabitest the realms of gloomy +night, Orestes thy son invokes thee to come a succor to thy suppliants; for +on thy account I wretched suffer unjustly, and am betrayed by thy brother, +myself having acted justly: whose wife I wish to take and destroy; but be +thou our accomplice in this affair. + +ELEC. O father, come then, if beneath the earth thou hearest thy children +calling, who die for thee. + +PYL. O thou relation[36] of my father, give ear, O Agamemnon, to my prayers +also, preserve thy children. + +ORES. I slew my mother. + +PYL. But I directed the sword. + +ELEC. But I at least incited you, and freed you from delay. + +ORES. Succoring thee, my father. + +ELEC. Neither did I forsake thee. + +PYL. Wilt thou not therefore, hearing these things that are brought against +thee,[37] defend thy children? + +ORES. I pour libations on thee with my tears. + +ELEC. And I with lamentations. + +PYL. Cease, and let us haste forth to the work, for if prayers penetrate +under the earth, he hears; but, O Jove our ancestor, and thou revered deity +of justice, grant us to succeed, him, and myself, and this virgin, for over +us three friends one hazard, one cause impends, either for all to live, or +all to die! + +ELECTRA, CHORUS. + +ELEC. O dear Mycenian virgins, who have the first place at the Pelasgian +seat of the Argives;-- + +CHOR. What voice art thou uttering, my respected mistress? for this +appellation awaits thee in the city of the Danaids. + +ELEC. Arrange yourselves, some of you in this beaten way, and some there, +in that other path, to guard the house. + +CHOR. But on what account dost thou command this, tell me, my friend. + +ELEC. Fear possesses me, lest any one being in the palace, on account of +this murderous deed, should contrive evils on evils. + +SEMICHOR. Go, let us hasten, I indeed will guard this path, that tends +toward where the sun flings his first rays. + +SEMICHOR. And I indeed this, which leads toward the west. + +ELEC. Now turn the glances of your eyes around in every position, now here, +now there, then take some other view. + +CHOR. We are, as thou commandest. + +ELEC. Now roll your eyelids over your pupils, glance them every way through +your ringlets. + +SEMICHOR. Is this any one here appearing in the path?--Who is this rustic +that is standing about thy palace? + +ELEC. We are undone then, my friends; he will immediately show to the enemy +the lurking beasts of prey armed with their swords. + +SEMICHOR. Be not afraid, the path is clear, which thou thinkest not. + +ELEC. But what?--does all with you remain secure? Give me some good report, +whether the space before the hall be empty? + +SEMICHOR. All here at least is well, but look to thy province, for no one +of the Danaids is approaching toward us. + +SEMICHOR. Thy report agrees with mine, for neither is there a disturbance +here. + +ELEC. Come now,--I will listen at the door: why do ye delay, ye that are +within, to sacrifice the victim, now that ye are in quiet?--They hear not: +Alas me! wretched in misery! Are the swords then struck dumb at her beauty? +Perhaps some Argive in arms rushing in with the foot of succor will +approach the palace.--Now watch more carefully; it is no contest that +admits delay; but turn _your eyes_ some this way, and some that. + +CHOR. I turn each different way, looking about on all sides. + +HELEN. (_within_) Oh! Pelasgian Argos! I am miserably slain! + +ELEC. Heard ye? The men are employing their head in the murder.--It is the +shriek of Helen, as I may conjecture. + +SEMICHOR. O eternal might of Jove, come to assist my friends in every way. + +HEL. Menelaus, I die! But thou art at hand, and dost not help me! + +ELEC. Kill, strike, slay, plunging with your hands the two double-edged +swords into the deserter of her father, the deserter of her husband, who +destroyed numbers of the Grecians perishing by the spear at the river, +whence tears fell into conjunction with tears, fell on account of the iron +weapons around the whirlpools of Scamander. + +CHOR. Be still, be still: I heard the sound of some one coming along the +path around the palace. + +ELEC. O most dear women, in the midst of the slaughter behold Hermione is +present; let us cease from our clamor, for she comes about to fall into the +meshes of our toils. A goodly prey will she be, if she be taken. Again to +your stations with a calm countenance, and with a color that shall not give +evidence of what has been done. I too will preserve a pensive cast of +countenance, as though perfectly unacquainted with what has happened. + +HERMIONE, ELECTRA, CHORUS. + +ELEC. O virgin, art thou come from crowning Clytæmnestra's tomb, and +pouring libations to her manes? + +HERM. I am come, having obtained her good services; but some terror has +come upon me, on account of the noise in the palace, which I hear being a +far distance off the house. + +ELEC. But why? There have happened to us things worthy of groans. + +HERM. Speak good words; but what news dost thou tell me? + +ELEC. It has been decreed by this land, that Orestes and I die. + +HERM. No, I hope not so; you, who are my relations. + +ELEC. It is fixed; but we stand under the yoke of necessity. + +HERM. Was the noise then in the house on this account? + +ELEC. For falling down a suppliant at the knees of Helen, he cries out-- + +HERM. Who? for I know no more, except thou tellest me. + +ELEC. The wretched Orestes, that he may not die, and in behalf of me. + +HERM. For a just reason then the house lamented. + +ELEC. For on what other account should one rather cry out? But come, and +join in supplication with thy friends, falling down before thy mother, the +supremely blest, that Menelaus will not see us perish. But, O thou, that +receivedst thy education at the hands of my mother, pity us, and alleviate +our sufferings. Come hither to the trial; but I will lead the way, for thou +alone hast the ends of our preservation. + +HERM. Behold I direct my footstep toward the house. Be preserved, as far as +lies in me. + +ELEC. O ye in the house, my dear warriors, will ye not take your prey? + +HERM. Alas me! who are these I see? + +ORES. (_advancing_) Thou must be silent; for thou art come to preserve us, +not thyself. + +ELEC. Hold her, hold her; and pointing a sword to her neck be silent, that +Menelaus may know, that having found men, not Phrygian cowards, he has +treated them in a manner he should treat cowards. What ho! what ho! my +friends, make a noise, a noise, and shout before the palace, that the +murder that is perpetrated spread not a dread alarm among the Argives, so +that they run to assist to the king's palace, before I plainly see the +slaughtered Helen lying weltering in her blood within the house, or else we +hear the report from some of her attendants. For part of the havoc I know, +and part not accurately. + +CHOR. With justice came the vengeance of the Gods on Helen. For she filled +the whole of Greece with tears on account of the ruthless, ruthless Idean +Paris, who brought the Grecian state to Ilium. But be silent, for the bolts +of the royal mansion resound, for some one of the Phrygians comes forth, +from whom we shall hear of the affairs within the house, in what state they +are. + +PHRYGIAN, CHORUS. + +PHRY. I have escaped from death by the Argive sword in these barbaric +slippers, _climbing_ over the cedar beams of the bed and the Doric +triglyphs, by the flight of a barbarian.[38] Thou art gone, thou art gone, +O my country, my country! Alas me! whither can I escape, O strangers, +flying through the hoary air, or the sea, which the Ocean, with head in +shape like a bull's, rolling with his arms encircles the earth? + +CHOR. But what is the matter, O attendant of Helen, thou man of Ida? + +PHRY. O Ilion, Ilion! alas me! O thou fertile Phrygian city, thou sacred +mount of Ida, how do I lament for thee destroyed, a sad,[39] sad strain for +my barbaric voice, on account of that form of the hapless, hapless Helen, +born from a bird, the offspring of the beauteous Leda in shape of a swan, +the fiend of the splendid Apollonian Pergamus! Alas! Oh! lamentations! +lamentations! O wretched Dardania, warlike school[40] of Ganymede, the +companion of Jove! + +CHOR. Relate to us clearly each circumstance that happened in the house, +for I do not understand your former account, but merely conjecture. + +PHRY. Αιλινον, αιλινον, the Barbarians begin the song of death in the +language of Asia, Alas! alas! when the blood of kings has been poured on +the earth by the ruthless swords of death. There came to the palace (that I +may relate each circumstance) two Grecians, lions, of the one the leader of +the Grecian host was said to be the father, the other the son of Strophius, +a man of dark design; such was Ulysses, secretly treacherous, but faithful +to his friends, bold in battle, skilled in war, cruel as the dragon. May he +perish for his deep concealed design, the worker of evil! But they having +advanced within her chamber, whom the archer Paris had as his wife, their +eyes bathed with tears, they sat down in humble mien, one on each side of +her, on the right and on the left, armed with swords. And around her knees +did they both fling their suppliant hands, around the knees of Helen did +they fling them. But the Phrygian attendants sprung up, and fled in +amazement: and one called out to another in terror, _See_, lest there be +treachery. To some indeed there appeared no danger; but to others the +dragon stained with his mother's blood appeared bent to infold in his +closest toils the daughter of Tyndarus. + +CHOR. But where wert thou then, or hadst thou long before fled through +fear? + +PHRY. After the Phrygian fashion I chanced with the close circle of +feathers to be fanning the gale, _that sported_ in the ringlets of Helen, +before her cheek, after the barbaric fashion. But she was winding with her +fingers the flax round the distaff, but what she had spun she let fall on +the ground, desirous of making from the Phrygian spoils a robe of purple as +an ornament for the tomb, a gift to Clytæmnestra. But Orestes entreated the +Spartan girl; "O daughter of Jove, here, place thy footstep on the ground, +rising from thy seat, come to the place of our ancestor Pelops, the ancient +altar, that thou mayest hear my words." And he leads her, but she followed, +not dreaming of what was about to happen. But his accomplice, the wicked +Phocian, attended to other points. "Will ye not depart from out of the way, +but are the Phrygians always vile?" and he bolted us out scattered in +different parts of the house, some in the stables of the horses, and some +in the outhouses, and some here and there, dispersing them some one way, +some another, afar from their mistress. + +CHOR. What calamity took place after this? + +PHRY. O powerful, powerful Idean mother, alas! alas! the murderous +sufferings, and the lawless evils, which I saw, I saw in the royal palace! +From beneath their purple robes concealed having their drawn swords in +their hands, they turned each his eye on either side, lest any one might +chance to be present. But like mountain boars standing over against the +lady, they say, "Thou shalt die, thou shalt die! thy vile husband kills +thee, having given up the offspring of his brother to die at Argos." But +she shrieked out, Ah me! ah me! and throwing her white arm on her breast +inflicted on her head miserable blows, and, her feet turned to flight, she +stepped, she stepped with her golden sandals; but Orestes thrusting his +fingers into her hair, outstripping her flight,[41] bending back her neck +over his left shoulder, was about to plunge the black sword into her +throat. + +CHOR. Where then were the Phrygians, who dwell under the same roof, to +assist her? + +PHRY. With a clamor having burst by means of bars the doors and cells where +we were waiting, we run to her assistance, each to different parts of the +house, one bringing stones, another spears, another having a long-handled +sword in his hand. But Pylades came against us, impetuous, like as the +Phrygian Hector or Ajax in his triple-crested helmet, whom I saw, I saw at +the gates of Priam: but we clashed together the points of our swords: then +indeed, then did the Phrygians give clear proof how inferior we were in the +force of Mars to the spear of Greece. One indeed turning away, a fugitive, +but another wounded, and another deprecating the death that threatened him: +but under favor of the darkness we fled: and the corses fell, but some +staggered, and some lay prostrate. But the wretched Hermione came to the +house at the time when her murdered mother fell to the ground, that unhappy +woman that gave her birth. And running upon her as Bacchanals without their +thyrsus, as a heifer in the mountains they bore her away in their hands, +and again eagerly rushed upon the daughter of Jove to slay her. But she +vanished altogether from the chamber through the palace. O Jupiter and O +earth, and light, and darkness! or by her enchantments, or by the art of +magic, or by the stealth of the Gods. But of what followed I know no +farther, for I sped in stealth my foot from the palace. But Menelaus having +endured many, many severe toils, has received back from Troy the violated +rites of Helen to no purpose. + +CHOR. And see something strange succeeds to these strange things, for I see +Orestes with his sword drawn walking before the palace with agitated step, + +ORESTES, PHRYGIAN, CHORUS. + +ORES. Where is he that fled from my sword out of the palace? + +PHRY. I supplicate thee, O king, falling prostrate before thee after the +barbaric fashion. + +ORES. The case before us is not in Ilium, but the Argive land. + +PHRY. In every region to live is sweeter than to die, in the opinion of the +wise. + +ORES. Didst thou not raise a cry for Menelaus to come with succor? + +PHRY. I indeed am present on purpose to assist thee; for thou art the more +worthy. + +ORES. Perished then the daughter of Tyndarus justly? + +PHRY. Most justly, even had she three lives for vengeance. + +ORES. With thy tongue dost thou flatter, not having these sentiments +within? + +PHRY. For ought she not? She who utterly destroyed Greece as well as the +Phrygians themselves? + +ORES. Swear, I will kill thee else, that thou art not speaking to curry +favor with me. + +PHRY. By my life have I sworn, which I should wish to hold a sacred oath. + +ORES. Was the steel thus dreadful to all the Phrygians at Troy also? + +PHRY. Remove thy sword, for being so near me it gleams horrid slaughter. + +ORES. Art thou afraid, lest thou shouldest become a rock, as though looking +on the Gorgon? + +PHRY. Lest I should become a corse, but I know not of the Gorgon's head. + +ORES. Slave as thou art, dost thou fear death, which will rid thee from thy +woes? + +PHRY. Every one, although a man be a slave, rejoices to behold the light. + +ORES. Thou sayest well; thy understanding; saves thee, but go into the +house. + +PHRY. Thou wilt not kill me then? + +ORES. Thou art pardoned. + +PHRY. This is good word thou hast spoken. + +ORES. Yet we may change our measures. + +PHRY. But this thou sayest not well. + +ORES. Thou art a fool, if thou thinkest I could endure to defile me by +smiting thy neck, for neither art thou a woman, nor oughtest thou to be +ranked among men. But that thou mightest not raise a clamor came I forth +out of the house: for Argos, when it has heard a noise, is soon roused, but +we have no dread in meeting Menelaus, as far as swords go; but let him come +exulting with his golden ringlets flowing over his shoulders, for if he +collects the Argives, and brings them against the palace seeking revenge +for the death of Helen, and is not willing to let me be in safety, and my +sister, and Pylades my accomplice in this affair, he shall see two corses, +both the virgin and his wife. + +CHORUS. + +Alas! alas! O fate, the house of the Atridæ again falls into another, +another fearful struggle. + +SEMICHOR. What shall we do? shall we carry these tidings to the city, or +shall we keep in silence? + +SEMICHOR. This is the safer plan, my friends. + +SEMICHOR. Behold before the house, behold this smoke leaping aloft in the +air portends _something_. + +SEMICHOR. They are lighting the torches, as about to burn down the mansion +of Tantalus, nor do they forbear from murder. + +CHOR. The God rules the events that happen to mortals, whichsoever way he +wills. But some vast power by the instigation of the Furies has struck, has +struck these palaces to the shedding of blood on account of the fall of +Myrtilus from the chariot. + +But lo! I see Menelaus also here approaching the house with a quick step, +having by some means or other perceived the calamity which now is present. +Will ye not anticipate him by closing the gates with bolts, O ye children +of Atreus, who are in the palace? A man in prosperity is a terrible thing +to those in adversity, as now them art in misery, Orestes. + +MENELAUS _below_, ORESTES, PYLADES, ELECTRA, HERMIONE +_above_, CHORUS. + +MEN. I am present, having heard the horrid and atrocious deeds of the two +lions, for I call them not men. For I have now heard of my wife, that she +died not, but vanished away, this that I heard was empty report, which one +deceived by fright related; but these are the artifices of the matricide, +and much derision. Open some one the door, my attendants I command to burst +open these gates here, that my child at least we may deliver from the hand +of these blood-polluted men, and may receive my unhappy, my miserable lady, +with whom those murderers of my wife must die by my hand. + +ORES. What ho there! Touch not these gates with thine hands: to Menelaus I +speak, that thou towerest in thy boldness, or with this pinnacle will I +crush thy head, having rent down the ancient battlement, the labor of the +builders. But the gates are made fast with bolts, which will hinder thee +from thy purpose of bringing aid, so that thou canst not pass within the +palace. + +MEN. Ha! what is this? I see the blaze of torches, and these stationed on +the battlements, on the height of the palace, and the sword placed over the +neck of my daughter to guard her. + +ORES. Whether is it thy will to question, or to hear me? + +MEN. I wish neither, but it is necessary, as it seems, to hear thee. + +ORES. I am about to slay thy daughter if thou wish to know. + +MEN. Having slain Helen, dost thou perpetrate murder on murder? + +ORES. For would I had gained my purpose not being deluded, as I was, by the +Gods. + +MEN. Thou hast slain her, and deniest it, and speakest these things to +insult me. + +ORES. It is a denial that gives me pain, for would that-- + +MEN. Thou had done what deed? for thou callest forth alarm. + +ORES. I had hurled to hell the fury of Greece. + +MEN. Give back the body of my wife, that I may bury her in a tomb. + +ORES. Ask her of the Gods; but I will slay thy daughter. + +MEN. The matricide contrives murder on murder. + +ORES. The avenger of his father, whom thou gavest up to die. + +MEN. Was not the blood of thy mother formerly shed sufficient for thee? + +ORES. I should not be weary of slaying wicked women, were I to slay them +forever. + +MEN. Art thou also, Pylades, a partaker in this murder? + +ORES. By his silence he assents, but if I speak, it will be sufficient. + +MEN. But not with impunity, unless indeed thou fliest on wings. + +ORES. We will not fly, but will set fire to the palace? + +MEN. What! wilt thou destroy thy father's mansion? + +ORES. Yes, that thou mayest not possess it, will I, having stabbed this +virgin here over the flames. + +MEN. Slay her; since having slain thou shalt at least give me satisfaction +for these deeds. + +ORES. It shall be so then. + +MEN. Alas! on no account do this! + +ORES. Be silent then; but bear to suffer evil justly. + +MEN. What! is it just for thee to live? + +ORES. Yes, and to rule over the land. + +MEN. What land! + +ORES. Here, in Pelasgian Argos. + +MEN. Well wouldst thou touch the sacred lavers! + +ORES. And pray why not? + +MEN. And wouldst slaughter the victim before the battle! + +ORES. And thou wouldst most righteously. + +MEN. Yes, for I am pure as to my hands. + +ORES. But not thy heart. + +MEN. Who would speak to thee? + +ORES. Whoever loves his father. + +MEN. And whoever reveres his mother. + +ORES. --Is happy. + +MEN. Not thou at least. + +ORES. For wicked women please me not. + +MEN. Take away the sword from my daughter. + +ORES. Thou art false in thy expectations. + +MEN. But wilt thou kill my daughter? + +ORES. Thou art no longer false. + +MEN. Alas me! what shall I do? + +ORES. Go to the Argives, and persuade them. + +MEN. With what persuasion? + +ORES. Beseech the city that we may not die.[41a] + +MEN. Otherwise ye will slay my daughter? + +ORES. The thing is so. + +MEN. O wretched Helen!-- + +ORES. And am I not wretched? + +MEN. I brought thee hither from the Trojans to be a victim. + +ORES. For would this were so! + +MEN. Having endured ten thousand toils. + +ORES. Except on my account. + +MEN. I have met with dreadful treatment. + +ORES. For then, _when thou oughtest_, thou wert of no assistance. + +MEN. Thou hast me. + +ORES. Thou at least hast caught thyself. But, ho there! set fire to the +palace, Electra, from beneath: and thou, Pylades, the most true of my +friends, light up these battlements of the walls. + +MEN. O land of the Danai, and inhabitants of warlike Argos, will ye not, ho +there! come in arms to my succor? For this man here, having perpetrated the +shocking murder of his mother, brings destruction on your whole city, that +he may live. + +APOLLO. + +Menelaus, cease from thy irritated state of mind; I Phœbus the son of +Latona, in thy presence, am addressing thee. Thou too, Orestes, who +standest over that damsel with thy sword drawn, that thou mayest know what +commands I bring with me. Helen indeed, whom thou minded to destroy, +working Menelaus to anger, didst fail of thy purpose, she is here, whom ye +see wrapt in the bosom of the sky, preserved, and not slain by thy hands. +Her I preserved, and snatched from thy sword, commanded by my father Jove. +For being the daughter of Jove, it is right that she should live immortal. +And she shall have her seat by Castor and Pollux in the bosom of the sky, +the guardian of mariners. But take to thyself another bride, and lead her +home, since for the beauty of this woman the Gods brought together the +Greeks and Trojans, and caused deaths, that they might draw from off the +earth the pride of mortals, who had become an infinite multitude. Thus is +it with regard to Helen; but thee, on the other hand, Orestes, it +behooveth, having passed beyond the boundaries of this land, to inhabit the +Parrhasian plain during the revolution of a year, and it shall be called by +a name after thy flight, so that the Azanes and Arcadians shall call it +Oresteum: and thence having departed to the city of the Athenians, undergo +the charge of shedding thy mother's blood laid by the three Furies. But the +Gods the arbiters of the cause shall pass on thee most sacredly their +decree on the hill of Mars, in which it behooveth thee to be victorious. +But Hermione, to whose neck thou art holding the sword, it is destined for +thee, Orestes, to wed, but Neoptolemus, who thinks to marry her, shall +never marry her. For it is fated to him to die by the Delphic sword, as he +is demanding of me satisfaction for his father Achilles. But to Pylades +give thy sister's hand, as thou didst formerly agree, but a happy life now +coming on awaits him. But, O Menelaus, suffer Orestes to reign over Argos. +But depart and rule over the Spartan land, having it as thy wife's dowry, +who exposing thee to numberless evils always was bringing thee to this. But +what regards the city I will make all right for him, I, who compelled him +to slay his mother. + +ORES. O Loxian prophet, thou wert not then a false prophet in thine +oracles, but a true one. And yet a fear comes upon me, that having heard +one of the Furies, I might think that I have been hearing thy voice. But it +is well fulfilled, and I will obey thy words. Behold I let go Hermione from +slaughter, and approve her alliance, whenever her father shall give her. + +MEN. O Helen, daughter of Jove, hail! but I bless thee inhabiting the happy +mansions of the Gods. But to thee, Orestes, do I betroth my daughter at +Phœbus's commands, but illustrious thyself marrying from an illustrious +family, be happy, both thou and I who give her. + +APOL. Now depart each of you whither we have appointed, and dissolve your +quarrels. + +MEN. It is our duty to obey. + +ORES. I too entertain the same sentiments, and I receive with friendship +thee in thy sufferings, O Menelaus, and thy oracles, O Apollo. + +APOL. Go now, each his own way, honoring the most excellent goddess Peace; +but I will convey Helen to the mansions of Jove, passing through the pole +of the shining stars, where sitting by Juno, and Hercules's Hebe, a +goddess, she shall ever be honored by mortals with libations, in +conjunction with the Tyndaridæ, the sons of Jove, presiding over the sea to +the benefit of mariners. + +CHOR. O greatly glorious Victory, mayest thou uphold my life, and cease not +from crowning me! + + * * * * * + +NOTES ON ORESTES + + * * * * + +[1] στεμματα, ερια, _Schol._ "eo quod colum cingant seu coronant," Scapula +explains it. + +[2] "_Then_" is not to be considered as signifying point of time, but it is +meant to express ουν, _continuativam_. See Hoogeveen de Particula ουν, +Sect. ii. § 6. + +[3] The original Greek phrase was ελπιδος λεπτης, which Euripides has +changed to ασθενους ‛ρωμης, though the other had equally suited the metre. +But Euripides is fond of slight alterations in proverbs. PORSON. + +[4] δους--δυναται δε και αποδους. SCHOL. + +[5] Perhaps this interpretation of χρονιον is better than "slow," for the +considerate Electra would hardly go to remind her brother of his +infirmities. + +[6] Ποτνιαδες. The Furies have this epithet from Potnia, a town in Bœotia, +where Glaucus's horses, having eaten of a certain herb and becoming mad, +tore their own master in pieces. SCHOL. + +[6a] Note [D]. + +[6b] Dindorf would omit this verse. + +[7] ‛αλιτυπων, ‛αλιεων, ‛οι ταις κωπαις τυπτουσι την θαλασσαν. SCHOL. + +[8] αφυλλου. Alluding to the branch, which the ancients used to hold in +token of supplication. + +[9] "κατα την νυκτα πεπονθα τηρων την αναιρεσιν, και την αναληψιν των +οστεων, τουτεστιν, ‛ινα μη τις αφεληται ταυτα." PARAPH. Heath translates +it, _watchfully observing, till her bones were collected._ + +[10] The old reading was απαιδευτα. The meaning of the present reading +seems to be, "Yes, they are awful 'tis true, but still however you need not +be so very scrupulous about naming them." + +[11] αναφορα was a legal term, and signified the line of defense adopted by +the accused, when he transferred the charge brought against himself to some +other person.--See Demosthenes in Timocr. + +[12] Œax was Palamede's brother. + +[13] And therefore we are not to impeach the _man_. Some would have δουλον +to bear the sense of δουλοποιον, enslaves, and therefore can not be +avoided. + +[14] εχω for ενοχος ειμι. + +[15] Ζηλω, το μακαριζω. ενταυθα δε αντι του επαινω. SCHOL. + +[16] Conf. Ter. Eun. Act. v. Sc. 2. + + Non dedignum, Chærea, + Fecisti; nam si ego digna hac contumelia + Sum maxume, at tu indignus, qui faceres, tamen. + +[16a] Note [E]. + +[17] Of this passage the Scholiast gives two interpretations; either it may +mean μετα δακρυων και γοων ειπον: or, ειπον ταυτα εις δακρυα και γοους, και +ξυμφορας, ηγουν ‛ινα μη τυχω, τουτων: τευξομαι δε, ει πετρωθηναι με εασηις. + +[18] _"Beyond any woman,"_ γυνη μια, this is a mode of expression +frequently met with in the Attic writers, especially in Xenophon. + +[19] επι τωι φονωι, τουτεστι δια τον φονον, ‛ον ειργασαμεθα. PARAPH. + +[20] Thyestes and Atreus, having a dispute about their father Pelops's +kingdom, agreed, that whichever should discover the first prodigy should +have possession of the throne. There appeared in Atreus's flock a golden +lamb, which, however, Ærope his wife secretly had conveyed to Thyestes to +show before the judges. Atreus afterward invited Thyestes to a feast, and +served up before him Aglaiis, Orchomenus, and Caleus, three sons he had by +his intrigues with Ærope. + +[21] Alluding to the murder of Agamemnon by Clytæmnestra. This is the +interpretation and explanation of the Scholiast; but it is perhaps better +translated, "_but on the other hand to play the coward is great impiety, +and the error of cowardly-minded men_;" the chorus meaning, that this might +have been said of Orestes, had he not avenged his father. + +[22] That is, _blamed him_. So St. Paul, 1 Cor. xi. 21, επαινεσω ‛υμας εν +τουτοι; ουκ επαινω. Ter. And. Act. II. Sc. 6. "Et, quod dicendum hic siet, +Tu quoque perparce nimium, non laudo." + +[23] An Argive as far as he was born there, and therefore ηναγκασμενος; not +an Argive, inasmuch as his parents were not of that state. This is supposed +to allude to Cleophon. SCHOL. See Dindorf. + +[24] This is the interpretation of one Scholiast; another explains it +οικειαις χερσιν εργαζομενος. Grotius translates it _agricola_. + +[25] The same construction occurs in the Supplicants, 870. φιλοις δ' αληθης +ην φιλος, παρουσι τε και μη παρουσιν: ‛ων (of which sort of men) αριθμος ου +πολυς. PORSON. + +[25a] See Note [F]. + +[26] Which, κτυπον namely: ονυχα and κτυπον are each governed by τιθεισα; +but it is not easy to find a single verb in English that should be +transitive to both these substantives. + +[27] καλλιπαις, _lovely_, not lovely in her children: so in Phœn. 1634. +ευτεκνος ξυνωρις. + +[28] Argos, so called from the Cyclopes, a nation of Thrace, who, being +called in as allies, afterward settled here. + +[29] ‛ετεροις may perhaps seem to make the construction plainer than +‛ετερος; but Porson has received the latter into his text on account of the +metre. + +[30] Myrtilus was the son of Mercury, who therefore sowed this dissension +between the two brothers in revenge for his death by Pelops. See note at +line 802. + +[31] Some would understand by μονοπωλον not that Aurora was borne on one +horse, but that this alteration in the course of nature took place for one +day. SCHOL. + +[32] και απο τωνδε, ητοι μετα ταυτα. PARAPH. + +[33] παρασειρος is used to signify a loose horse tied abreast of another in +the shaft, and is technically termed "the outrigger." The metaphorical +application of it to Pylades, who voluntarily attached himself to the +misfortunes of his friend, is extremely beautiful. + +[34] Or, _"I will not be at all behind thy slaughter."_ + +[35] ευ in this passage _interrogat oblique_, see Hoogeveen, xvi. § 1. 15. + +[36] Strophius, the father of Pylades, married Anaxibia, Agamemnon's +sister. + +[37] ονειδη, των ευεργεσιων τας ‛υπομνησεις. SCHOL. Ter. And. i. 1. "isthæc +commemoratio quasi exprobratio est immemoris benefici." + +[38] i.e. being a barbarian, and therefore not knowing whither to go. + +[39] ‛αρματειον, such a strain as that raised over Hector, ‛ελκομενω, δια +του ‛αρματος. See two other explanations in the Scholia. + +[40] ‛ιπποσυνα, ‛ητις ‛υπηρχες ‛ιππηλασια του Γ. BRUNCK. + +[41] Literally, _her Mycenian slipper_. + +[41a] Read θανειν with Pors. Dind. + + * * * * + +ADDITIONAL NOTES. + + * * * * + +[A] But Dindorf reads κτυπου η ηγαγετ'. ουχι; interrogatively, thus: "Ye +were making a noise. Will ye not ... enable him," etc.? + +[B] Dindorf would continue this verse to Orestes. + +[C] Dindorf supposes something to be wanting after vs. 314. + +[D] The use of αλλος ‛ετερος is learnedly illustrated by Dindorf. + +[E] Elmsley, on Heracl. 852, more simply regards the datives σοι σηι τ' +αδελφη as dependent upon επισεισω, understanding ‛ωστε δουναι δικην. This +is better than to suppose (with Porson) that δουναι δικην can mean to +_inflict_ punishment. + +[F] Dindorf (in his notes) agrees with Porson in omitting the following +verse. + +[G] Dindorf's text and punctuation must be altered. + + * * * * * * + +THE PHŒNICIAN VIRGINS. + + * * * * + +PERSONS REPRESENTED. + + JOCASTA. + TUTOR. + ANTIGONE. + CHORUS OF PHŒNICIAN VIRGINS. + POLYNICES. + ETEOCLES. + CREON. + MENŒCEUS. + TIRECIAS. + MESSENGERS. + ŒDIPUS. + +_The Scene is in the Court before the royal palace at Thebes_. + + * * * * * + +THE ARGUMENT. + + * * * * + +Eteocles having gotten possession of the throne of Thebes, deprived his +brother Polynices of his share; but he having come as an exile to Argos, +married the daughter of the king Adrastus; but ambitious of returning to +his country, and having persuaded his father-in-law, he assembled a great +army for Thebes against his brother. His mother Jocasta made him come into +the city, under sanction of a truce, and first confer with his brother +respecting the empire. But Eteocles being violent and fierce from having +possessed the empire, Jocasta could not reconcile her children.--Polynices, +prepared as against an enemy, rushed out of the city. Now Tiresias +prophesied that victory should be on the side of the Thebans, if Menœceus +the son of Creon would give himself up to be sacrificed to Mars. Creon +refused to give his son to the city, but the youth was willing, and, his +father pointing out to him the means of flight and giving him money, he put +himself to death.--The Thebans slew the leaders of the Argives. Eteocles +and Polynices in a single combat slew each other, and their mother having +found the corses of her sons laid violent hands on herself; and Creon her +brother received the kingdom. The Argives defeated in battle retired. But +Creon, being morose, would not give up those of the enemy who had fallen at +Thebes, for sepulture, and exposed the body of Polynices without burial, +and banished Œdipus from his country; in the one instance disregarding the +laws of humanity, in the other giving way to passion, nor feeling pity for +him after his calamity. + + * * * * * + +THE PHŒNICIAN VIRGINS. + + * * * * + +JOCASTA. + +O thou that cuttest thy path through the constellations[1] of heaven, and +art mounted on thy golden-joined seats, thou sun, whirling thy flame +with[2] thy swift steeds, how inauspicious didst thou dart thy ray on that +day when Cadmus came to this land having left the sea-washed coast of +Phœnicia; who in former time having married Harmonia, daughter of Venus, +begat Polydorus; from him they say sprung Labdacus, and from him Laius. But +I am[3] the daughter of Menœceus, and Creon my brother was born of the same +mother; me they call Jocasta (for this name[4] my father gave me), and +Laius takes me for his wife; but after that he was childless, for a long +time sharing my bed in the palace, he went and inquired of Apollo, and at +the same time demands the mutual offspring of male children in his family; +but the God said, "O king of Thebes renowned for its chariots, sow not for +such a harvest of children against the will of the Gods, for if thou shalt +beget a son, he that is born shall slay thee, and the whole of thy house +shall wade through blood." But having yielded to pleasure, and having +fallen into inebriety, he begot to us a son, and having begot him, feeling +conscious of his error and the command of the God, gives the babe to some +herdsmen to expose at the meads of Juno and the rock of Cithæron, having +bored sharp-pointed iron through the middle of his ankles, from which +circumstance Greece gave him the name of Œdipus. But him the grooms who +attend the steeds of Polybus find and carry home, and placed him in the +arms of their mistress. But she rested beneath her bosom him that gave me a +mother's pangs, and persuades her husband that she had brought forth. But +now my son showing signs of manhood in his darkening cheek, either having +suspected it by instinct, or having learned it from some one, went to the +temple of Apollo, desirous of discovering his parents; at the same time +went Laius my husband, seeking to gain intelligence of his son who had been +exposed, if he were no longer living; and both met at the same point of the +road at Phocis where it divides itself; and the charioteer of Laius +commands him, "Stranger, withdraw out of the way of princes;" but he moved +slowly, in silence, with haughty spirit; but the steeds with their hoof +dyed with blood the tendons of his feet. At this (but why need I relate +each horrid circumstance besides the deed itself?) the son kills his +father, and having taken the chariot, sends it as a present to his +foster-father Polybus. Now at this time the sphinx preyed vulture-like[5] +upon the city with rapacity, my husband now no more, Creon my brother +proclaims that he will give my bed as a reward to him who would solve the +enigma of the crafty virgin. But by some chance or other Œdipus my son +happens to discover the riddle of the sphinx, [and he receives as a prize +the sceptre of this land,][5a] and marries me, his mother, wretched he not +knowing it, nor knew his mother that she was lying down with her son. And I +bear children to my child, two sons, Eteocles and the illustrious +Polynices, and two daughters, one her father named Ismene, the elder I +called Antigone. But Œdipus, after having gone through all sufferings, +having discovered in my bed the marriage with his mother, he perpetrated a +deed of horror on his own eyes, having drenched in blood their pupils with +his golden buckles. But after that the cheek of my children grows dark with +manly down, they hid their father confined with bolts that his sad fortune +might be forgotten, which indeed required the greatest policy. He is still +living in the palace, but sick in mind through his misfortunes he +imprecates the most unhallowed curses on his children, that they may share +this house with the sharpened sword. But these two, dreading lest the Gods +should bring to completion these curses,[6] should they dwell together, in +friendly compact determined that Polynices the younger son should first go +a willing exile from this land, but that Eteocles remaining here should +hold the sceptre for a year, changing in his turn; but after that he sat on +the throne of power, he moves not from his seat, but drives Polynices an +exile from this land. But he having fled to Argos, and having contracted an +alliance with Adrastus, assembles together and leads a vast army of +Argives; and having marched to these very walls with seven gates he demands +his father's sceptre and his share of the land. But I to quell this strife +persuaded my son to come to his brother, confiding in a truce before he +grasped the spear. And the messenger who was sent declares that he will +come. But, O thou that inhabitest the shining clouds of heaven, Jove, +preserve us, give reconciliation to my children; it becomes thee, if thou +art wise, not to suffer the same man always to be unfortunate. + +TUTOR, ANTIGONE. + +TUT. O thou fair bud in thy father's house, Antigone, since thy mother has +permitted thee to leave the virgin's apartments for the extreme chamber[7] +of the mansion, in order to view the Argive army in compliance with thy +entreaties, yet stay, until I shall first investigate the path, lest any +citizen should appear in the pass, and to me taunts should come as a slave, +and to thee as a princess: and I who well know each circumstance will tell +you all that I saw or heard from the Argives, when I went bearing the offer +of a truce to thy brother, from this place thither, and again to this place +from him. But no citizen approaches this house; come, ascend with thy steps +these ancient stairs of cedar, and survey the plains, and by the streams of +Ismenus and Dirce's fount how great is the host of the enemy. + +ANT. Stretch forth now, stretch forth thine aged hand from the stairs to my +youth, raising up the steps of my feet. + +TUT. Behold, join thy hand, virgin, thou hast come in lucky hour, for the +Pelasgian host is now in motion, and they are separating the bands from one +another. + +ANT. O awful daughter of Latona, Hecate, the field all brass[8] gleaming +like lightning. + +TUT. For Polynices hath not come tamely to this land, raging with host of +horsemen, and ten thousand shields. + +ANT. Are the gates fastened with bars, and is the brazen bolt fitted to the +stone-work of Amphion's wall? + +TUT. Take courage; as to the interior the city is safe, But view the first +chief, if thou desirest to know. + +ANT. Who is he with the white-plumed helmet, who commands in the van of the +army, moving lightly round on his arm his brazen shield? + +TUT. He is a leader, lady. + +ANT. Who is he? From whom sprung? Speak, aged man, what is he called by +name? + +TUT. He indeed is called by birth a Mycenæan, and he dwells at the streams +of Lerna,[9] the king Hippomedon. + +ANT. Ah! how haughty, how terrible to behold! like to an earth-born giant, +starlike in countenance amidst his painted devices,[10] he corresponds not +with the race of mortals. + +TUT. Dost thou not see him now passing the stream of Dirce, a general? + +ANT. Here is another, another fashion of arms. But who is he? + +TUT. He is the son of Œneus, Tydeus, and bears on his breast the Ætolian +Mars. + +ANT. Is this the prince, O aged man, who is husband to the sister of my +brother's wife?[11] In his arms how different of color, of barbaric +mixture! + +TUT. For all the Ætolians, my child, bear the target, and hurl with the +lance, most certain in their aim. + +ANT. But how, O aged man, dost thou know these things so perfectly? + +TUT. Having seen the devices of the shields, then I remarked them, when I +went to bear the offer of a truce to thy brother, beholding which, I +recognize the warriors. + +ANT. But who is this, who is passing round the tomb of Zethus, with +clustering locks, in his eyes a Gorgon to behold, in appearance a youth? + +TUT. A general he is. [See Note [A].] + +ANT. How a crowd in complete armor attends him behind![12] + +TUT. This is Parthenopæus, son of Atalanta. + +ANT. But, may Diana who rushes over the mountains with his mother destroy +him, having subdued him with her arrows, who has come against my city to +destroy it. + +TUT. May it be so, my child, nevertheless they are come with justice to +this land; wherefore also I fear lest the Gods should judge rightly. + +ANT. Where, but where is he who was born of one mother with me in hard +fate, O dearest old man; tell me, where is Polynices? + +TUT. He is standing near the tomb of the seven virgin daughters of Niobe, +close by Adrastus. Seest thou him? + +ANT. I see indeed, but not distinctly; but somehow I see the resemblance of +his form, and his shape shadowed out. Would that with my feet I could +perform the journey of the winged cloud through the air to my brother, then +would I fling my arms round his dearest neck, after so long a time a +wretched exile. How splendid is he, O old man, in his golden armor, +glittering like the morning rays of the sun. + +TUT. He will come to this house confiding in the truce, so as to fill thee +with joy. + +ANT. But who, O aged man, is this, who guides his milk-white steeds seated +in his chariot? + +TUT. The prophet Amphiaraus this, O my mistress, and with him the victims, +the libations of the earth delighting in blood. + +AST. O thou daughter of the brightly girded sun, thou moon, golden-circled +light, applying what quiet and temperate blows to his steeds does he direct +his chariot! But where is he who utters such dreadful insults against this +city, Capaneus? + +TUT. He is scanning the approach to the towers, measuring the walls both +from their foundation to the top. + +ANT. O vengeance, and ye loud-roaring thunders of Jove, and thou blasting +fire of the lightning, do thou quell this more-than-mortal arrogance. This +is he who will with his spear give to Mycenæ, and to the streams of Lernæan +Triæna,[13] and to the Amymonian[14] waters of Neptune, the Theban women, +having invested them with slavery. Sever, O awful Goddess, never, O +daughter of Jove, with golden clusters of ringlets, Diana, may I endure +servitude. + +TUT. My child, enter the palace, and at home remain in thy virgin chambers, +since thou hast arrived at the indulgement of thy desire, as to what you +were anxious to behold. For, since confusion has entered the city, a crowd +of women is advancing to the royal palace. The race of women is prone to +complaint, and if they find but small occasion for words, they add more, +and it is a sort of pleasure to women, to speak nothing well-advised one of +another.[15] + +CHORUS. + +I have come, having left the Tyrian wave, the first-fruits of Loxias, from +the sea-washed Phœnicia, a slave for the shrine of Apollo, that I might +dwell under the snowy brows of Parnassus, having sped my way over the +Ionian flood by the oar, the west wind with its blasts riding over the +barren plains of waters[16] which flow round Sicily, the sweetest murmur in +the heavens. Chosen out from my city the fairest present to Apollo, I came +to the land of the Cadmeans, the illustrious descendants of Agenor, sent +hither to these kindred towers of Laius. And I am made the slave of Apollo +in like manner with the golden-framed images. Moreover the water of +Castalia awaits me, to lave the virgin pride of my tresses, in the ministry +of Apollo. O blazing rock, the flame of fire that seems[17] double above +the Dionysian heights of Bacchus, and thou vine, who distillest the daily +nectar, producing the fruitful cluster from the tender shoot; and ye divine +caves of the dragon,[18] and ye mountain watch-towers of the Gods, and thou +hallowed snowy mountain, would that I were the chorus of the immortal God +free from alarms encompassing thee around, by the caves of Apollo in the +centre of the earth, having left Dirce. But now impetuous Mars having +advanced before the walls lights up against this city, which may the Gods +avert, hostile war; for common are the misfortunes of friends, and common +is it, if this land defended by its seven turrets should suffer any +calamity, to the Phœnician country, alas! alas! common is the affinity,[19] +common are the descendants of Io bearing horns; of which woes I have a +share. But a thick cloud of shields glares around the city, the likeness of +gory battle, bearing which destruction from the Furies to the children of +Œdipus Mars shall quickly advance. O Pelasgian Argos, I dread thy power, +and vengeance from the Gods, for he rushes not his arms to this war +unjustly, who seeks to recover his home. + +POLYNICES, CHORUS. + +POL. The bolts indeed of the gate-keepers have with ease admitted me, that +I might come within the walls; wherefore also I fear, lest, having caught +me within their nets, they let[19a] not my body go without bloodshed. On +which account my eye must be turned about on every side, both that way and +this, lest there be treachery. But armed in my hand with this sword, I will +give myself confidence of daring. Ha! Who is this; or do we fear a noise? +Every thing appears terrible even to the bold, when his foot shall pass +across a hostile country. I trust however in my mother, at the same time I +scarce trust, who persuaded me to come hither confiding in a truce. But +protection is nigh; for the hearths of the altars are at hand, and houses +not deserted. Come. I will let go my sword into its dark scabbard, and will +question these who they are, that are standing at the palace. Ye female +strangers, tell me, from what country do ye approach Grecian habitations? + +CHOR. The Phœnician is my paternal country, she that nurtured me: and the +descendants of Agenor sent me hither from the spoils, the first-fruits to +Apollo. And while the renowned son of Œdipus was preparing to send me to +the revered shrine, and to the altars of Phœbus, in the mean time the +Argives marched against the city. But do thou in turn answer me, who thou +art, who hast come to this bulwark of the Theban land with its seven gates? + +POL. My father is Œdipus the son of Laius; Jocasta daughter of Menœceus +brought me forth; the Theban people call me Polynices. + +CHOR. O thou allied to the sons of Agenor, my lords, by whom I was sent, I +fall at thy knees in lowly posture, O king, preserving my country's custom. +Thou hast come, thou hast come, after a length of time, to thy paternal +land. O venerable matron, come forth quickly, open the doors; dost thou +hear, O mother, that producedst this hero? why dost thou delay to leave thy +lofty mansion, and to embrace thy child with thine arms? + +JOCASTA, POLYNICES, CHORUS. + +JOC. Hearing the Phœnician tongue, ye virgins, within this mansion, I drag +my steps trembling with age. Ah! my son, after length of time, after +numberless days, I behold thy countenance; clasp thy mother's bosom in +thine arms, throw around her[20] thy kisses, and the dark ringlets of thy +clustering hair, shading my neck. Ah! scarce possible is it that thou +appearest in thy mother's arms so unhoped for, and so unexpected. How shall +I address thee? how shall I perform all? how shall I, walking in rapture +around thee on that side and this, both with my hands and words, reap the +varied pleasure, the delight of my former joys? O my son, thou hast left +thy father's house deserted, sent away an exile by wrongful treatment from +thy brother. How longed for by thy friends! how longed for by Thebes! From +which time I am both shorn of my hoary locks, letting them fall with tears, +with wailing;[21] deprived, my child, of the white robes, I receive in +exchange around me these dark and dismal weeds. But the old man in the +palace deprived of sight, always preserving with tears regret for the +unanimity of the brothers which is separated from the family, has madly +rushed on self-destruction with the sword and with the noose above the +beams of the house, bewailing the curse imprecated on his children; and +with cries of woe he is always hidden in darkness. But thou, my child, I +hear, art both joined in marriage, and hast the joys of love in a foreign +family, and cherishest a foreign alliance; intolerable to this thy mother +and to the aged Laius, the woe of a foreign marriage brought upon us. But +neither did I light the torch of fire for you, as is customary in the +marriage rites, as befits the happy mother; nor was Ismenus careful of the +bridal rites in the luxury of the bath: and the entrance of thy bride was +made in silence through the Theban city. May these ills perish, whether the +sword, or discord, or thy father is the cause, or whether fate has rushed +with violence upon the house of Œdipus; for the weight of these sorrows has +fallen upon me. + +CHOR. Parturition with the attendant throes has a wonderful effect on +women;[22] and somehow the whole race of women have strong affection toward +their children. + +POL. My mother, determining wisely, and yet not determining wisely, have I +come to men my foes; but it is necessary that all must be enamored of their +country; but whoever says otherwise, pleases himself with vain words, but +has his heart there. But so far have I come to trouble and terror, lest any +treachery from my brother should slay me, so that having my hand on my +sword I proceeded through the city rolling round my eye; but one thing is +on my side, the truce and thy faith, which has brought me within my +paternal walls: but I have come with many tears, after a length of time +beholding the courts and the altars of the Gods, and the schools wherein I +was brought up, and the fount of Dirce, from which banished by injustice, I +inhabit a foreign city, having a stream of tears flowing through my eyes. +But, for from one woe springs a second, I behold thee having thy head shorn +of its locks, and these sable garments; alas me! on account of my +misfortunes. How dreadful a thing, mother, is the enmity of relations, +having means of reconciliation seldom to be brought about! For how fares +the old man my father in the palace, vainly looking upon darkness; and how +fare my two sisters? Are they indeed bewailing my wretched banishment? + +JOC. Some God miserably destroys the race of Œdipus; for thus began it, +when I brought forth children in that unhallowed manner, and thy father +married me in evil hour, and thou didst spring forth. But why relate these +things? What is sent by the Gods we must bear. But how I may ask the +questions I wish, I know not, for I fear lest I wound at all thy feelings; +but I have a great desire. + +POL. But inquire freely, leave nothing out. For what you wish, my mother, +this is dear to me. + +JOC. I ask thee therefore, first, for the information that I wish to +obtain. What is the being deprived of one's country, is it a great ill? + +POL. The greatest: and greater is it in deed than in word. + +JOC. What is the reason of that? What is that so harsh to exiles? + +POL. One thing, and that the greatest, not to have the liberty of speaking. + +JOC. This that you have mentioned belongs to a slave, not to give utterance +to what one thinks. + +POL. It is necessary to bear with the follies of those in power. + +JOC. And this is painful, to be unwise with the unwise. + +POL. But for interest we must bend to slavery contrary to our nature. + +JOC. But hopes support exiles, as report goes. + +POL. They look upon them with favorable eyes, at least, but are slow of +foot. + +JOC. Hath not time shown them to be vain? + +POL. They have a certain sweet delight to set against misfortunes. + +JOC. But whence wert thou supported, before thou foundest means of +sustenance by thy marriage? + +POL. At one time I had food for the day, at another I had not. + +JOC. And did the friends and hosts of your father not assist you? + +POL. Be prosperous, _and thou shalt have friends_:[23] but friends are +none, should one be in adversity. + +JOC. Did not thy noble birth raise thee to great distinction? + +POL. To want is wretched; high birth fed me not. + +JOC. Their own country, it appears, is the dearest thing to men. + +POL. You can not express by words how dear it is. + +JOC. But how camest thou to Argos? What intention hadst thou? + +POL. Apollo gave a certain oracle to Adrastus. + +JOC. What is this thou hast mentioned? I am unable to discover. + +POL. To unite his daughters in marriage with a boar and lion. + +JOC. And what part of the name of beasts belongs to you, my son. + +POL. I know not. The God called me to this fortune. + +JOC. For the God is wise. But in what manner didst thou obtain her bed? + +POL. It was night; but I came to the portals of Adrastus. + +JOC. In search of a couch to rest on, as a wandering exile? + +POL. This was the case, and then indeed there came a second exile. + +JOC. Who was this? how unfortunate then was he also! + +POL. Tydeus, who they say sprung from Œneus his sire. + +JOC. In what then did Adrastus liken you to beasts? + +POL. Because we came to blows for lodging. + +JOC. In this the son of Talaus understood the oracle. + +POL. And gave in marriage to us two his two virgin daughters. + +JOC. Art thou fortunate then in thy marriage alliance, or unfortunate? + +POL. My marriage can not be found fault with up to this day. + +JOC. But how didst thou persuade an army to follow you hither? + +POL. Adrastus swore this oath to his two sons-in-law, that he would replace +both in their own country, but me first. And many princes of the Argives +and Mycenæans are at hand, rendering to me a sad, but necessary favor; for +I am leading an army against this my own city; but I have called the Gods +to witness how unwillingly I have raised the spear against my dearest +parents. But the dissolution of these ills extends to thee, my mother, that +having reconciled the friendly brothers, you may free from toil me and +thyself, and the whole city. It is a proverb long ago chanted, but +nevertheless I will repeat it; wealth is honored most of all things by men, +and has the greatest influence of any thing among men. In pursuit of which +I am come, leading hither ten thousand spears: for a nobly-born man in +poverty is nothing. + +CHOR. And see Eteocles here comes to this mediation; thy business it is, O +Jocasta, being their mother, to speak words, with which thou shalt +reconcile thy children. + +ETEOCLES, POLYNICES, JOCASTA, CHORUS. + +ETEO. Mother, I am present; giving this grace to thee, I have come; what +must I do? Let some one begin the conference. Since arranging also around +the walls the chariots of the bands, I restrained the city, that I may hear +from thee the common terms[24] of reconciliation, for which thou hast +permitted this man to come within the walls under sanction of a truce, +having persuaded me. + +JOC. Stay; precipitate haste has not justice; but slow counsels perform +most deeds in wisdom. But repress that fierce eye and those blasts of rage; +for thou art not looking on the Gorgon's head cut off at the neck, but thou +art looking on thy brother who is come to thee. And do thou again, +Polynices, turn thy face toward thy brother; for looking at the same point +with thine eyes, thou wilt both speak better, and receive his words better. +But I wish to give you a wise piece of advice. When a friend is enraged +with a man his friend, having met him face to face, let him fix his eyes on +his friend's eyes, this only ought he to consider, the end for which he is +come, but to have no recollection of former grievances. Thy words then +first, my son, Polynices; for thou art come leading an army of Argives, +having suffered injustice, as thou sayest; and may some God be umpire and +the reconciler of your strife. + +POL. The speech of truth is simple, and those things which are just need +not wily interpretations; for they have energy themselves; but the unjust +speech, unsound in itself, requires cunning preparations to gloze it. But I +have previously considered for my father's house, and my own advantage and +that of this man; desiring to escape the curses, which Œdipus denounced +formerly against us, I myself of my own accord departed from this land, +having given him to rule over his own country for the space of a year, so +that I myself should have the government again, having received it in turn, +and not having come into enmity and bloodshed with this man to perform some +evil deed, and to suffer what is now taking place. But he having assented +to this, and having brought the Gods to witness his oaths, has performed +nothing of what he promised, but himself holds the regal power and my share +of the palace. And now I am ready, having received my own right, to send +the army away from out of this land, and to regulate my house, having +received it in my turn, and to give it up again to this man for the same +space of time, and neither to lay my country waste, nor to apply to its +towers the means of ascent by the firmly-fixed ladders. Which, should I not +meet with justice, will I endeavor to put in execution: and I call the Gods +as witnesses of this, that acting in every thing with justice, I am without +justice deprived of my country in the most unrighteous manner. These +individual circumstances, mother, not having collected together intricacies +of argument, have I declared, but both to the wise and to the illiterate +just, as appears to me. + +CHOR. To me indeed, although we have not been brought up according to the +Grecian land, nevertheless to me thou appearest to speak with judgment. + +ETEO. If the same thing were judged honorable alike by all, and at the same +time wise, there would not be doubtful strife among men. But now nothing is +similar, nothing the same among mortals, except in names; but the sense is +not the same, for I, my mother, will speak having kept nothing back; I +would mount to the rising of the stars, and sink beneath the earth, were I +able to perform this, so that I might possess the greatest of the +Goddesses, kingly power.[25] This prize then, my mother, I am not willing +rather to give up to another, than to preserve for myself. For it implies +cowardice in him, whoever having lost the greater share, hath received the +less; but in addition to this I feel ashamed, that this man having come +with arms, and laying the country waste, should obtain what he wishes; for +to Thebes this would be a reproach, if through fear of the Mycenæan spear I +should give up my sceptre for this man to hold. But he ought, my mother, to +effect a reconciliation, not by arms: for speech does every thing which +even the sword of the enemy could do. But if he is desirous of inhabiting +this land in any other way, it is in his power; but the other point I will +never give up willingly. When it is in my power to rule, ever to be a slave +to him? Wherefore come fire, come sword, yoke thy steeds, fill the plains +with chariots, since I will not give up my kingly power to this man. For if +one must be unjust, it is most glorious to be unjust concerning empire, but +in every thing else one should be just. + +CHOR. It is not right to speak well, where the deeds are not glorious; for +this is not honorable, but galling to justice. + +JOC. My son, Eteocles, not every ill is added to age, but experience has it +in its power to evince more wisdom than youth.[26] Why, my child, dost thou +so desirously court ambition, the most baneful of the deities? do not thou; +the Goddess is unjust. But she hath entered into many families and happy +states and hath come forth again, to the destruction of those who have to +do with her. Of whom thou art madly enamored. This is more noble, my son, +to honor equality, which ever links friends with friends, and states with +states, and allies with allies: for equality is sanctioned by law among +men. But the lesser share is ever at enmity with the greater, and straight +begins the day of hatred. For equality arranged also among mortals +measures, and the divisions of weights, and defined numbers. And the dark +eye of night, and the light of the sun, equally walk their annual round, +and neither of them being overcome hath envy of the other. Thus the sun and +the night are subservient to men, but wilt not thou brook having an equal +share of government, and give his share to him? Then where is justice? Why +dost thou honor so unboundedly that prosperous injustice, royalty, and +think so highly of her? Is the being conspicuous honorable? At least, it is +empty honor. Or dost thou desire to labor much, possessing much in thy +house? but what is superfluity? It possesses but a name; since a +sufficiency indeed to the temperate is abundance. Neither do men enjoy +riches as their own, but having the property of the Gods do we cherish +them. And when they list, again do they take them away. Come, if I ask +thee, having proposed together two measures, whether it is thy wish to +reign, or save the city? Wilt thou say, to reign? But should he conquer +thee, and the Argive spears overcome the Cadmæanforces, thou wilt behold +this city of the Thebans vanquished, thou wilt behold many captive maidens +with violence ravished by men your foes. Bitter then to Thebes will be the +power which thou seekest to hold; but yet thou art ambitious of it. To thee +I say this: but to thee, Polynices, say I, that Adrastus hath conferred an +unwise favor on thee; and foolishly hast thou also come to destroy this +city. Come, if thou wilt subdue this land (may which never happen), by the +Gods, how wilt thou erect trophies of thy spear? And how again wilt thou +sacrifice the first-fruits, having conquered thy country? and how wilt thou +engrave upon the spoils by the waters of Inachus, "Having laid Thebes in +ashes, Polynices consecrated these shields to the Gods?" Never, my son, may +it come to thee to receive such glory from the Greeks. But again, shouldest +thou be conquered, and should the arms of the other prevail, how wilt thou +return to Argos having left behind ten thousand dead? Surely some one will +say, O! unfortunate marriage alliance! O Adrastus, who placed them on us, +through the nuptials of one bride we are lost! Thou art hastening two ills, +my son, to be deprived of those, and to fail in this. Give up your too +great ardor, give it up; the follies of two when they clash together in the +same point, are the most hateful ill. + +CHOR. O ye Gods, may ye be averters of these ills, and grant to the +children of Œdipus some means of agreement. + +ETEO. My mother, this is not a contest of words, but intervening time is +fruitlessly wasted; and thy earnestness avails nothing; for we shall not +agree in any other way, than on the terms proposed, that I holding the +sceptre be monarch of this land. Forbearing then tedious admonitions, let +me have my way; and do thou begone from out these walls, or thou shalt die. + +POL. By whose hand? Who is there so invulnerable, who having pointed the +murderous sword against me, shall not bear the same fate? + +ETEO. He is near, not far removed from thee: dost thou look on these my +hands? + +POL. I see them. But wealth is cowardly, and feeble, loving life. + +ETEO. And therefore hast thou come, with such a host against one who is +nothing in arms? + +POL. For a cautious general is better than one daring. + +ETEO. Thou art insolent, having trusted in the truce, which preserves you +from death. + +POL. A second time again I demand of you the sceptre and my share of the +land. + +ETEO. I will admit no demand, for I will regulate my own family. + +POL. Holding more than your share? + +ETEO. I own it; but quit this land. + +POL. O ye altars of my paternal Gods. + +ETEO. Which thou art come to destroy? + +POL. Do ye hear me? + +ETEO. Who will hear thee, who art marching against thy country? + +POL. And ye shrines of the Gods[27] delighting in the milk-white steeds; + +ETEO. Who hate thee. + +POL. I am driven out of my own country. + +ETEO. For thou hast come to destroy it. + +POL. With injustice indeed, O ye Gods! + +ETEO. At Mycenæ call upon the Gods, not here. + +POL. Thou art impious. + +ETEO. But not my country's enemy, as thou art. + +POL. Who drives me out without my share. + +ETEO. And I will put thee to death in addition. + +POL. My father, hearest thou what I suffer? + +ETEO. For he hears what wrongs thou doest. + +POL. And thou, my mother? + +ETEO. It is not lawful for thee to mention thy mother. + +POL. O my city! + +ETEO. To Argos go, and call on Lerna's stream. + +POL. I will go, do not distress thyself; but thee, my mother, I mention +with honor. + +ETEO. Depart from out of the country. + +POL. I will go out; but grant me to see my father. + +ETEO. You will not obtain your request. + +POL. But my virgin sisters then. + +ETEO. Never shalt thou behold these. + +POL. O my sisters! + +ETEO. Why callest thou on these--being their greatest enemy? + +POL. My mother, but thou farewell. + +JOC. Do I experience any thing that is well, my son? + +POL. I am no longer thy child. + +JOC. To many troubles was I born. + +POL. For he throws insults on us. + +ETEO. For I am insulted in turn. + +POL. Where wilt thou stand before the towers? + +ETEO. Why dost thou ask me this question? + +POL. I will oppose myself to thee, to slay thee. + +ETEO. Desire of this seizes me also. + +JOC. Wretched me! what will ye do, my children? + +POL. The deed itself will show. + +JOC. Will ye not escape your father's curses? + +ETEO. Let the whole house perish! + +POL. Since soon my blood-stained sword will not remain any longer in +inactivity. But I call to witness the land that nurtured me, and the Gods, +how dishonored I am driven from this land, suffering such foul treatment, +as a slave and not born of the same father Œdipus. And if any thing befalls +thee, my city, blame not me, but him; for against my will have I come, and +against my will am I driven from this land. And thou, king Apollo, God of +our streets, and ye shrines, farewell, and ye my equals, and ye altars of +the Gods receiving the victims; for I know not if it is allowed me ever +again to address you. But hope does not yet slumber, in which I have +trusted with the favor of the Gods, that having slain this man, I shall be +master of this Theban land. + +ETEO. Depart from out of the country; with truth indeed did your father +give you the name of Polynices by some divine foreknowledge, a name +corresponding with strife. + +CHORUS. + +Cadmus came from Tyre to this land, before whom the quadrupede heifer bent +with willing fall,[28] showing the accomplishment of the oracle, where the +divine word ordered him to colonize the plains of the Aonians productive of +wheat, where indeed the fair-flowing stream of the water of Dirce passes +over the verdant and deep-furrowed fields, where the * * * * mother +produced Bacchus, by her marriage with Jove, whom the wreathed ivy twining +around him instantly, while yet a babe, blest and covered with its verdant +shady branches, an event to be celebrated with Bacchic revel by the Theban +virgins and inspired women. There was the bloodstained dragon of Mars, the +savage guard, watching with far-rolling eyeballs over the flowing fountains +and grassy streams; whom Cadmus, having come for water for purification, +slew with a fragment of rock, the destroyer of the monster having thrown +his arms with blows on his blood-stained head, by the counsel of the divine +Pallas born without mother, having thrown the teeth fallen to the earth +upon the deep-furrowed plains. Whence the earth sent forth a spectacle, an +armed [host] above the extreme limits of the ground; but iron-hearted +slaughter again united them with their beloved earth; and sprinkled with +blood the ground which showed them to the serene gales of the air. And +thee, sprung of old from our ancestor Io, Epaphus, O progeny of Jove, on +thee have I called, have I called in a foreign tongue, with prayers in +foreign accent, come, come to this land (thy descendants have founded it), +where the two Goddesses Proserpine and the dear Goddess Ceres, queen of all +(since earth nurtures all things), have held their possessions, send the +fire-bearing Goddesses to defend this land: since every thing is easy to +the Gods. + +ETEOCLES, CHORUS, MESSENGER. + +ETEO. Go thou, and bring hither Creon son of Menœceus, the brother of my +mother Jocasta, saying this, that I wish to communicate with him counsels +of a private nature and those which concern the common welfare of the +country, before we go into battle and the ranks of war. And see, he spares +the trouble of your steps, by his presence; for I see him coming toward my +palace. + +CREON, ETEOCLES, CHORUS. + +CRE. Surely have I visited many places, desiring to see you, O king +Eteocles! and I have gone round to the gates and the guards of the Thebans, +seeking you. + +ETEO. And indeed I have wished to see you, Creon, for I found attempts at +reconciliation altogether fail when I came and entered into conference with +Polynices. + +CRE. I have heard that he aspires to higher thoughts than Thebes, having +trusted in his alliance with Adrastus and his army. But it becomes us to +hold these things in dependence on the Gods. But what is most immediately +before us, this am I come to acquaint you with. + +ETEO. What is this? for I understand not your speech. + +CRE. A prisoner is arrived from the Argives. + +ETEO. Does he bring us any news of those stationed there? + +CRE. The Argive army is preparing quickly to surround the city of the +Thebans with thickly-ranged arms.(Note [B].) + +ETEO. Therefore must we draw our forces out of the Theban city. + +CRE. Whither? Dost thou not in the impetuosity of youth see what it +behooves thee to see? + +ETEO. Without these trenches, as we are quickly about to fight. + +CRE. Small are the forces of this land; but theirs innumerable. + +ETEO. I know that they are bold in words. + +CRE. Argos of the Greeks has some renown. + +ETEO. Be confident; quickly will I fill the plain with their slaughter. + +CRE. I would it were so: but this I see is a work of much labor. + +ETEO. Know that I will not restrain my forces within the walls. + +CRE. And yet the whole of victory is prudence. + +ETEO. Dost thou wish then that I have recourse to other measures? + +CRE. To every measure indeed, rather than hazard all on one battle. + +ETEO. What if we were to attack them by night from ambush? + +CRE. If, having failed, at least you can have a safe retreat hither. + +ETEO. Night brings the same advantage to all, but more to the daring. + +CRE. Dreadful is it to fail in the darkness of night. + +ETEO. But shall I lead my force against them while at their meal? + +CRE. That would cause terror; but we must conquer. + +ETEO. The ford of Dirce is indeed deep to pass. + +CRE. Every thing is inferior to a good guard. + +ETEO. What then, shall I charge the Argive army with my cavalry? + +CRE. And there the army is fenced round with chariots. + +ETEO. What then shall I do? give up the city to the enemy? + +CRE. By no means; but deliberate if thou art wise. + +ETEO. What more prudent forethought is there? + +CRE. They say that they have seven men, as I have heard. + +ETEO. What have they been commanded to do? for their strength is small. + +CRE. To head their bands, to besiege the seven gates. + +ETEO. What then shall we do? I will not wait this indecision. + +CRE. Do thou thyself also choose seven men for the gates. + +ETEO. To head divisions, or for single combat? + +CRE. To head divisions, having selected the bravest. + +ETEO. I understand you; to guard the approach to the walls. + +CRE. And with them other generals; one man sees not every thing? + +ETEO. Having chosen them for boldness, or prudence in judgment? + +CRE. For both; for one without the other availeth nothing. + +ETEO. It shall be so: and having gone to the city of the seven towers, I +will appoint chiefs at the gates, as you advise, having opposed equal +champions against equal foes. But to mention the name of each would be a +great delay, the enemy encamped under our very walls. But I will go, that I +may not be idle with my hand. And may it befall me to find my brother +opposed to me, and being joined with me in battle, to take him with my +spear, [and to slay him, who came to desolate my country.] But it is thy +duty to attend to the marriage of my sister Antigone and thy son Hæmon, if +I fail aught of success; but the firm vow made before I now confirm at my +going out. Thou art my mother's brother, why need I use more words? Treat +her worthily, both for thine own and my sake. But my father incurs the +punishment of the rashness he brought upon himself, having quenched his +sight; I praise him not; even us will he put to death with his execrations, +should he gain his point. But one thing is left undone by us, if the +soothsayer Tiresias have any oracle to deliver, to enquire this of him; but +I will send thy son, Creon, Menœceus, of the same name with thy father, to +bring Tiresias hither. With pleasure will he enter into conversation with +you; but I lately reviled him with his divining art, so that he is offended +with me. But this charge I give the city with thee, Creon; if my arms +should conquer, that the body of Polynices be never buried in this Theban +land; but that the man who buries him shall die, although he be a friend. +This I have told you: but my attendants I tell, bring out my arms, and my +panoply which covers me, that we may go this appointed contest of the spear +with victorious justice. But to Caution, the most valued of the Goddesses, +will we address our prayers to preserve this city. + +CHORUS. + +O Mars, cause of infinite woe, why, I pray, art thou so possessed with +blood and death, so discordant with the revels of Bacchus? Thou dost not in +the circle of beautiful dancers in the bloom of youth, having let flow thy +hair,[29] on the breath of the flute modulate strains, in which there is a +lovely power to renew the dance. But with thy armed men, having excited the +army of Argives against Thebes with blood, thou dancest before the city in +a most inharmonious revel, thou movest not thy foot maddened by the thyrsus +clad in fawn-skins, but thy solid-hoofed steed with thy chariot and horses' +bits; and bounding at the streams of Ismenus, thou art borne rapidly in the +chariot-course, having excited against the race of those sown [by Cadmus,] +a raging host that grasp the shield, well armed, adverse to us at the walls +of stone: surely Discord is some dreadful Goddess, who devised all these +calamities against the princes of this land, the Labdacidæ involved in woe. +O thou forest of heavenly foliage, most productive of beasts, thou snowy +eye of Diana, Cithæron, never oughtest thou to have nourished him doomed to +death, the son of Jocasta, Œdipus, the babe who was cast out from his home, +marked by the golden clasps. Neither ought that winged virgin the Sphinx, +thou mountain monster, that grief to this land, to have come, with her most +inharmonious lays; who formerly approaching our walls, bore in her four +talons the descendants of Cadmus to the inaccessible light of heaven, whom +the infernal Pluto sends against the Thebans; but other ill-fated discord +among the children of Œdipus springs up in the palace and in the city. For +that which is not honorable, never can be honorable, as neither can +children the unhallowed offspring of the mother, the pollution of the +father. But she came to a kindred bed. Thou didst produce, O [Theban] land! +thou didst produce formerly (as I heard the foreign report,[30] I heard it +formerly at home), the race sprung from teeth from the fiery-crested dragon +fed on beasts, the proudest honor of Thebes. But to the nuptials of +Harmonia the Gods came of old, and by the harp and by the lyre of Amphion +uprose the walls of Thebes the tower of the double streams,[31] at the +midst of the pass of Dirce, which waters the verdant plain before Ismenus. +And Io, our ancient mother, doomed to bear horns, brought forth a line of +Theban kings. But this city receiving ten thousand goods one in change for +another, hath stood in the highest chaplets of war. + +TIRESIAS (_led by his daughter_), MENŒCEUS, CREON, CHORUS. + +TIR. Lead onward, my daughter, since thou art an eye to my blind steps, as +the star to the mariners. Placing my steps hither on this level plain, +proceed lest we stumble; thy father is feeble; and preserve carefully in +thy virgin hand my calculations which I took, having learned the auguries +of the birds, sitting in the sacred seats where I fortell the future. My +child, Menœceus, son of Creon, tell me, how far is the remainder of the +journey through the city to thy father? Since my knees are weary, and with +difficulty I accomplish such a long journey. + +CRE. Be of good cheer; for thou hast steered thy foot, Tiresias, near to +thy friends; but take hold of him, my son. Since every chariot,[32] and the +foot of the aged man is used to expect the assistance of another's hand. + +TIR. Well: I am present; but why didst thou call me with such haste, Creon? + +CRE. We have not as yet forgotten: but recover thy strength, and collect +thy breath, having thrown aside the fatigue occasioned by the journey. + +TIR. I am relaxed indeed[32a] with toil, brought hither from the Athenians +the day before this. For there also was a contest of the spear with +Eumolpus, where I made the descendants of Cecrops splendid conquerors. And +I wear this golden chaplet, as thou seest, having received the first-fruits +of the spoil of the enemy. + +CRE. Thy victorious garlands I make a happy omen. For we, as thou well +knowest, are tossing in a storm of war with the Greeks, and great is the +hazard of Thebes. The king Eteocles has therefore gone forth adorned with +his armor already to battle with the Argives. But to me has he sent that I +might learn from you, by doing what we should be most likely to preserve +the city. + +TRE. For Eteocles' sake indeed I would have stopped my mouth, and repressed +the oracles, but to thee, since thou desirest to know them, will I declare +them: for this land labors under the malady of old, O Creon, from the time +when Laïus became the father of children in spite of the Gods, and begat +the wretched Œdipus, a husband for his mother. But the cruel lacerations of +his eyes were in the wisdom of the Gods, and a warning to Greece. Which +things the sons of Œdipus seeking to conceal among themselves by the lapse +of time, as about forsooth to escape from the Gods, erred through their +ignorance, for they neither giving the honor due to their father, nor +allowing him a free liberty, infuriated the unfortunate man: and he +breathed out against them dreadful threats, being both in affliction, and +moreover dishonored. And I, what things omitting to do, and what words +omitting to speak on the subject, have nevertheless fallen into the hatred +of the sons of Œdipus? But death from their mutual hands is near them, O +Creon. And many corses fallen around corses, having mingled the weapons of +Argos and Thebes, shall cause bitter lamentations to the Theban land. And +thou, O wretched city, art sapped from thy foundations, unless men will +obey my words. For this were the first thing, that not any of the family of +Œdipus should be citizens, nor king of the territory, inasmuch as they are +possessed by demons, and are they that will overthrow the city. And since +the evil triumphs over the good, there is one other thing requisite to +insure preservation. But, as this is neither safe for me to say, and +distressing to those on whom the lot has fallen, to give to the city the +balm of preservation, I will depart: farewell; for being an individual with +many shall I suffer what is about to happen if it must be so; for what can +I do![33] + +CRE. Stay here, old man. + +TIR. Lay not hold upon me. + +CRE. Remain; why dost thou fly me? + +TIR. Thy fortune flies thee, but not I. + +CRE. Tell me the means of preserving the citizens and their city. + +TRE. Thou wishest now indeed, and soon thou wilt not wish. + +CRE. And how am I not willing to preserve my country? + +TIR. Art thou willing then to hear, and art thou eager? + +CRE. For toward what ought I to have a greater eagerness? + +TIR. Hear now then my prophecies.--But this first I wish to ascertain +clearly, where is Menœceus who brought me hither. + +CRE. He is not far off, but close to thee. + +TIR. Let him depart then afar from my oracles. + +CRE. He that is my son will keep secret what ought to be kept secret. + +TIR. Art thou willing then that I speak in his presence? + +CRE. _Yes_: for he would be delighted to hear of the means of preservation. + +TIR. Hear now then the tenor of my oracles; what things doing ye may +preserve the city of the Cadmeans. It is necessary for thee to sacrifice +this thy son Menœceus for the country, since thou thyself callest for this +fortune. + +CRE. What sayest thou, what word is this thou hast spoken, old man? + +TIR. As circumstances are, thus also oughtest thou to act. + +CRE. O thou, that hast said many evils in a short time! + +TIR. To thee at least; but to thy country great and salutary. + +CRE. I heard not, I attended not; let the city go where it will. + +TIR. This is no longer the same man; he retracts again what he said. + +CRE. Farewell! depart; for I have no need of thy prophecies. + +TIR. Has truth perished, because thou art unfortunate? + +CRE. By thy knees I implore thee, and by thy reverend locks. + +TIR. Why kneel to me? the evils thou askest are hard to be controlled. +(Note [E].) + +CRE. Keep it secret; and speak not these words to the city. + +TIR. Dost thou command me to be unjust? I can not be silent. + +CRE. What then wilt thou do to me? Wilt thou slay my son? + +TIR. These things will be a care to others; but by me will it be spoken. + +CRE. But from whence has this evil come to me, and to my child? + +TIR. Well dost thou ask me, and comest to the drift of my discourse. It is +necessary that he, stabbed in that cave where the earth-born dragon lay, +the guardian of Dirce's fountain, give his gory blood a libation to the +earth on account of the ancient wrath of Mars against Cadmus, who avenges +the slaughter of the earth-born dragon; and these things done, ye shall +obtain Mars as your ally. But if the earth receive fruit in return for +fruit, and mortal blood in return for blood, ye shall have that land +propitious, which formerly sent forth a crop of men from seed armed with +golden helmets; but there must of this race die one, who is the son of the +dragon's jaw. But thou art left among us of the race of those sown men, +pure in thy descent, both by thy mother's side and in the male line; and +thy children too: Hæmon's marriage however precludes his being slain, for +he is not a youth, [for, although he has not approached her bed, he has yet +contracted the marriage.] But this youth, devoted to this city, by dying +may preserve his native country. And he will cause a bitter return to +Adrastus and the Argives, casting back death over their eyes, and Thebes +will he make illustrious: of these two fates choose the one; either +preserve thy child or the state. Every information from me thou hast:--lead +me, my child, toward home;--but whoever exercises the art of divination, is +a fool; if indeed he chance to show disagreeable things, he is rendered +hateful to those to whom he may prophesy; but speaking falsely to his +employers from motives of pity, he is unjust as touching the Gods.--Phœbus +alone should speak in oracles to men, who fears nobody. + +CREON, MENŒCEUS, CHORUS. + +CHOR. Creon, why art thou mute compressing thy voice in silence, for to me +also there is no less consternation. + +CRE. But what can one say?--It is clear however what my answer will be. For +never will I go to this degree of calamity, to expose my son a victim for +the state. For all men live with an affection toward their children, nor +would any give up his own child to die. Let no one praise me for the deed, +and slay my children. But I myself, for I am arrived at a mature period of +life, am ready to die to liberate my country. But haste, my son, before the +whole city hears it, disregarding the intemperate oracles of prophets, fly +as quickly as possible, having quitted this land. For he will tell these +things to the authorities and chiefs, going to the seven gates, and to the +officers: and if indeed we get before him, there is safety for thee, but if +thou art too late, we are undone, thou diest. + +MEN. Whither then fly? To what city? what friends? + +CRE. Wheresoever thou wilt be farthest removed from this country. + +MEN. Therefore it is fitting for thee to speak, and for me to do. + +CRE. Having passed through Delphi-- + +MEN. Whither is it right for me to go, my father? + +CRE. To the land of Ætolia. + +MEN. And from this whither shall I proceed? + +CRE. To Thesprotia's soil. + +MEN. To the sacred seat of Dodona? + +CRE. Thou understandest. + +MEN. What then will there be to protect me? + +CRE. The conducting deity. + +MEN. But what means of procuring money? + +CRE. I will supply gold. + +MEN. Thou sayest well, my father. Go then, for having proceeded to +salute[34] thy sister, whose breast I first sucked, Jocasta I mean, +deprived of my mother, and reft from her, an orphan, I will depart and save +my life. But haste, go, let not thy purpose be hindered. + +MENŒCEUS, CHORUS. + +MEN. Ye females, how well removed I my father's fears, having deceived him +with words, in order to gain my wishes; who sends me out of the way, +depriving the city of its good fortune, and gives me up to cowardice. And +these things are pardonable indeed in an old man, but in my case it +deserves no pardon to become the deserter of that country which gave me +birth. That ye may know then, I will go, and preserve the city, and will +give up my life for this land. For it is a disgraceful thing, that those +indeed who are free from the oracle, and are not concerned with any +compulsion of the Gods, standing at their shields in battle, shall not be +slow to die fighting before the towers for their country; and I, having +betrayed my father, and my brother, and my own city, shall depart +coward-like from out of the land; but wherever I live, I shall appear vile. +No: by that Jove that dwelleth amidst the constellations, and sanguinary +Mars, who set up those sown men, who erst sprung from the earth, to be +kings of this country. But I will depart, and standing on the summit of the +battlements, stabbing myself over the dark deep lair of the dragon, where +the prophet appointed, will give liberty to the country--the word has been +spoken. But I go, by my death about to give no mean gift to the state, and +will rid this land of its affliction. For if every one, seizing what +opportunity he had in his power of doing good, would persist in it, and +bring it forward for his country's weal, states, experiencing fewer +calamities, henceforward might be prosperous. + +CHOR. Thou camest forth, thou camest forth, O winged monster, production of +the earth, and the viper of hell, the ravager of the Cadmeans, big with +destruction, big with woes, in form half-virgin, a hostile prodigy, with +thy ravening wings, and thy talons that preyed on raw flesh, who erst from +Dirce's spot bearing aloft the youths, accompanied by an inharmonious lay, +thou broughtest, thou broughtest cruel woes to our country; cruel was he of +the Gods, whoever was the author of these things. And the moans of the +matrons, and the moans of the virgins, resounded in the house, in a voice, +in a strain of misery, they lamented some one thing, some another, in +succession through the city. And the groaning and the noise was like to +thunder, when the winged virgin bore out of sight any man from the city. +But at length came by the mission of the Pythian oracle Œdipus the unhappy +to this land of Thebes, to us then indeed delighted, but again came woes. +For he, wretched man, having gained the glorious victory over the enigmas, +contracts a marriage, an unfortunate marriage with his mother, and pollutes +the city. And fresh woes does the unfortunate man cause to succeed with +slaughter, devoting by curses his sons to the unhallowed contest.--With +admiration, with admiration we look on him, who is gone to kill himself for +the sake of his country's land; to Creon indeed having left lamentations, +but about to make the seven-towered gates of the land greatly victorious. +Thus may we be mothers, thus may we be blest in our children, O dear +Pallas, who destroyedst the blood of the dragon by the hurled stone, +driving the attention of Cadmus to the action, whence with rapine some +fiend of the Gods rushed on this land. + +MESSENGER, JOCASTA, CHORUS. + +MESS. Ho there! who is at the gate of the palace? Open, conduct Jocasta +from out of the house.--What ho! again--after a long time indeed, but yet +come forth, hear, O renowned wife of Œdipus, ceasing from thy lamentations, +and thy tears of grief. + +JOC. O most dear man, surely thou comest bearing the news of some calamity, +of the death of Eteocles, by whose shield thou always didst go, warding off +the weapons of the enemy. What new message, I pray, dost thou come to +deliver? Is my son dead or alive? Tell me. + +MESS. He lives, be not alarmed for this, for I will rid thee of this fear. + +JOC. But what? In what state are our seven-towered ramparts? + +MESS. They stand unshaken, nor is the city destroyed. + +JOC. Come they in danger from the spear of Argos? + +MESS. To the very extreme of danger; but the arms of Thebes came off +superior to the Mycenæan spear. + +JOC. Tell me one thing, by the Gods, whether thou knowest any thing of +Polynices (since this is a concern to me also) whether he sees the light. + +MESS. Thus far in the day thy pair of children lives. + +JOC. Be thou blest. But how did ye stationed on the towers drive off the +spear of Argos from the gates? Tell me, that I may go and delight the old +blind man in the house with the news of his country's being preserved. + +MESS. After that the son of Creon, he that died for the land, standing on +the summit of the towers, plunged the black-handled sword into his throat, +the salvation of this land, thy son placed seven cohorts, and their leaders +with them, at the seven gates, guards against the Argive spear; and he drew +up the horse ready to support the horse, and the heavy-armed men to +reinforce the shield-bearers, so that to the part of the wall which was in +danger there might be succor at hand. But from the lofty citadel we view +the army of the Argives with their white shields, having quitted Tumessus +and now come near the trench, at full speed they reached the city of the +land of Cadmus. And the pæan and the trumpets at the same time from them +resounded, and off the walls from us. And first indeed Parthenopæus the son +of the huntress (_Atalanta_) led his division horrent with their thick +shields against the Neïtan[35] gate, having a family device in the middle +of his shield, Atalanta destroying the Ætolian boar with her +distant-wounding bow. And against the Prætan gate marched the prophet +Amphiaraüs, having victims in his car, not bearing an insolent emblem, but +modestly having his arms without a device. But against the Ogygian gate +stood Prince Hippomedon, bearing an emblem in the middle of his shield, the +Argus gazing with his spangled[36] eyes, [some eyes indeed with the rising +of the stars awake,[37] and some with the setting closed, as we had the +opportunity of seeing afterward when he was dead.] But Tydeus was drawn up +at the Homoloïan gate, having on his shield a lion's skin rough with his +mane, but in his right hand he bore a torch, as the Titan Prometheus,[38] +intent on firing the city. But thy son Polynices drew up his array at the +Crenean gate; but the swift Potnian mares, the emblem on his shield, were +starting through fright, well circularly[39] grouped within _the orb_ at +the handle of the shield, so that they seemed infuriated. But Capaneus, not +holding less notions than Mars on the approaching battle, drew up his +division against the Electran gate. Upon the iron embossments of his shield +was an earth-born giant bearing upon his shoulders a whole city, which he +had torn up from the foundations with bars, an intimation to us what our +city should suffer. But at the seventh gate was Adrastus, having his shield +filled with a hundred vipers, bearing on his left arm a representation of +the hydra, the boast of Argos, and from the midst of the walls the dragons +were bearing the children of the Thebans in their jaws. But I had the +opportunity of seeing each of these, as I took the word of battle to the +leaders of the divisions. And first indeed we fought with bows, and +javelins, and distant-wounding slings, and fragments of rocks; but when we +were conquering in the fight, Tydeus shouted out, and thy son on a sudden, +"O sons of the Danaï, why delay we, ere we are galled with their missile +weapons, to make a rush at the gates all in a body, light-armed men, +horsemen, and those who drive the chariots?" And when they heard the cry, +no one was backward; but many fell, their heads besmeared with blood; of us +also you might have seen before the walls frequent divers toppling to the +ground; and they moistened the parched earth with streams of blood. But the +Arcadian, no Argive, the son of Atalanta, as some whirlwind falling on the +gates, calls out for fire and a spade, as though he would dig up the city. +But Periclymenus the son of the God of the Ocean stopped him in his raging, +hurling at his head a stone, a wagon-load, a pinnacle[40] _rent_ from the +battlement; and dashed in pieces his head with its auburn hair, and crushed +the suture of the bones, and besmeared with blood his lately blooming +cheeks; nor shall he carry back his living form to his mother, glorious in +her bow, the daughter of Mænalus. But when thy son saw this gate was in a +state of safety, he went to another, and I followed. But I see Tydeus, and +many armed with shields around him, darting with their Ætolian lances at +the highest battlements of the towers, so that our men put to flight +quitted the heights of the ramparts; but thy son, as a hunter, collects +them together again; and posted them a second time on the towers; and we +hasten on to another gate, having relieved the distress in this quarter. +But Capaneus, how can I express the measure of his rage! For he came +bearing the ranges of a long-reaching ladder, and made this high boast, +"That not even the hallowed fire of Jove should hinder him from taking the +city from its highest turrets." And these things soon as he had proclaimed, +though assailed with stones, he clambered up, having contracted his body +under his shield, climbing the slippery footing of the bars[41] of the +ladder: but when he was now mounting the battlements of the walls Jupiter +strikes him with his thunder; and the earth resounded, insomuch that all +trembled; and his limbs were hurled, as it were by a sling, from the ladder +separately from one another, his hair to heaven, and his blood to the +ground, and his limbs, like the whirling of Ixion on his wheel, were +carried round; and his scorched body falls to the earth. But when Adrastus +saw that Jove was hostile to his army, he stationed the host of the Argives +without the trench. But ours on the contrary, when they saw the auspicious +sign from Jove, drove out their chariots, horsemen and heavy-armed, and +rushing into the midst of the Argive arms engaged in fight: and there were +all the sorts of misery together: they died, they fell from their chariots, +and the wheels leaped up and axles upon axles: and corses were heaped +together with corses.--We have preserved then our towers from being +overthrown to this present day; but whether for the future this land will +be prosperous, rests with the Gods. + +CHOR. To conquer is glorious; but if the Gods have the better intent, may I +be fortunate! + +JOC. Well are the ways of the Gods, and of fortune; for my children live, +and my country has escaped; but the unhappy Creon seems to feel the effects +of my marriage, and of Œdipus's misfortunes, being deprived of his child; +for the state indeed, happily, but individually, to his misery: but recount +to me again, what after this did my two sons purpose to do? + +MESS. Forbear the rest; for in every circumstance hitherto thou art +fortunate. + +JOC. This hast thou said so as to raise suspicion; I must not forbear. + +MESS. Dost thou want any thing more than that thy sons are safe? + +JOC. In what follows also I would hear if I am fortunate. + +MESS. Let me go: thy son is deprived of his armor-bearer. + +JOC. Thou concealest some ill and coverest it in obscurity. + +MESS. I can not speak thy ills after thy happiness. + +JOC. _But thou shalt_, unless fleeing from me thou fleest through the air. + +MESS. Alas! alas! Why dost thou not suffer me to depart after a message of +glad tidings, but forcest me to tell calamities?--Thy sons are intent on +most shameful deeds of boldness--to engage in single combat apart from the +whole army, having addressed to the Argives and Thebans in common a speech, +such as they never ought to have spoken. But Eteocles began, standing on +the lofty turret, having commanded to proclaim silence to the army. And he +said, "O generals of the Grecian land, and chieftains of the Danaï, who +have come hither, and O people of Cadmus, neither for the sake of Polynices +barter your lives, nor for my cause. For I myself, taking this danger on +myself, alone will enter the lists with my brother; and if indeed I slay +him, I will dwell in the palace alone; but should I be subdued, I will give +it up to him alone. But you, ceasing from the combat, O Argives, shall +return to your land, not leaving your lives here; [of the Theban people +also there is enough that lieth dead,"] Thus much he spake; but thy son +Polynices rushed from the ranks, and approved his words. But all the +Argives murmured their applause, and the people of Cadmus, as thinking this +plan just. And after this the generals made a truce, and in the space +between the two armies pledged an oath to abide by it. And now the two sons +of the aged Œdipus clad their bodies in an entire suit of brazen armor. And +their friends adorned them, the champion of this land indeed the chieftains +of the Thebans; and him the principal men of the Danaï. And they stood +resplendent, and they changed not their color, raging to let forth their +spears at each other. But their friends on either side as they passed by +encouraging them with words, thus spoke. "Polynices, it rests with thee to +erect the statue of Jove, emblem of victory, and to confer a glorious fame +on Argos." But to Eteocles on the other hand; "Now thou fightest for the +state, now if thou come off victorious, thou art in possession of the +sceptre." These things they said exhorting them to the combat. But the +seers sacrificed the sheep, and scrutinized the shooting of the flames, and +the bursting _of the gall_, the moisture adverse[42] _to the fire_, and the +extremity of the flame, which bears a two-fold import, both the sign of +victory,[43] and the sign of being defeated.[44] But if thou hast any +power, or words of wisdom, or the soothing charms of incantation, go, stay +thy children from the fearful combat, since great the danger, [and dreadful +will be the sequel of the contest, _namely_, tears for thee, deprived this +day of thy two children.] + +JOC. O my child, Antigone, come forth from before the palace; the state of +thy fortune suits not now the dance, nor the virgin's chamber, but it is +thy duty, in conjunction with thy mother, to hinder two excellent men, and +thy brothers verging toward death from falling by each other's hands. + +ANTIGONE, JOCASTA, CHORUS. + +ANT. With what new horrors, O mother of my being, dost thou call out to thy +friends before the house? + +JOC. O my daughter, the life of thy brothers is gone from them. + +ANT. How sayest thou? + +JOC. They are drawn out in single combat. + +ANT. Alas me! what wilt thou say, my mother? + +JOC. Nothing of pleasant import; but follow. + +ANT. Whither? leaving my virgin chamber. + +JOC. To the army. + +ANT. I am ashamed to go among the crowd. + +JOC. Thy present state admits not bashfulness. + +ANT. But what shall I do then? + +JOC. Thou shalt quell the strife of the brothers. + +ANT. Doing what, my mother. + +JOC. Falling before them with me. + +ANT. Lead to the space between the armies; we must not delay. + +JOC. Haste, daughter, haste, since, if indeed I reach my sons before they +engage, I still exist in heaven's fair light, but if they die, I shall lie +dead with them. + +CHORUS. + +Alas! alas! shuddering with horror, shuddering is my breast; and through my +flesh came pity, pity for the unhappy mother, on account of her two +children, whether of them then will distain with blood the other (alas me +for my sufferings, O Jove, O earth), the own brother's neck, the own +brother's life, in arms, in slaughter? Wretched, wretched I, over which +corse then shall I raise the lamentation for the dead? O earth, earth, the +two beasts of prey, blood-thirsty souls, brandishing the spear, will +quickly distain with blood the fallen, fallen enemy. Wretches, that they +ever came to the thought of a single combat! In a foreign strain will I +mourn with tears my elegy of groans due to the dead. Destiny is at +hand--death is near; this day will decide the event. Ill-fated, ill-fated +murder because of the Furies! But I see Creon here with clouded brow +advancing toward the house, I will cease therefore from the groans I am +uttering. + +CREON, CHORUS. + +CRE. Ah me! what shall I do? whether am I to groan in weeping myself, or +the city, which a cloud of such magnitude encircles as to cast us amidst +the gloom of Acheron? For my son has perished having died for the city, +having achieved a glorious name, but to me a name of sorrow. Him having +taken just now from the dragon's den, stabbed by his own hand, I wretched +bore in my arms; and the whole house resounds with shrieks; but I, myself +aged, am come after my aged sister Jocasta, that she may wash and lay out +my son now no more. For it behooves the living well to revere the God below +by paying honors to the dead. + +CHOR. Thy sister is gone out of the house, O Creon, and the girl Antigone +attending the steps of her mother. + +CRE. Whither? and for what hap? tell me. + +CHOR. She heard that her sons were about to come to a contest in single +battle for the royal palace. + +CRE. How sayest thou? whilst I was fondly attending to my son's corse, I +arrived not so far _in knowledge_, as to be acquainted with this also. + +CHOR. But thy sister has indeed been gone some time; but I think, O Creon, +that the contest, in which their lives are at stake, has already been +concluded by the sons of Œdipus. + +CRE. Ah me! I see indeed this signal, the downcast eye and countenance of +the approaching messenger, who will relate every thing that has taken +place. + +MESSENGER, CREON, CHORUS. + +MESS. O wretched me! what language or what words can I utter? we are +undone-- + +CRE. Thou beginnest thy speech with no promising prelude. + +MESS. Oh wretched me! doubly do I lament, for I hear great calamities. + +CRE. In addition to the calamities that have happened dost thou still speak +of others? + +MESS. Thy sister's sons, O Creon, no longer behold the light. + +CRE. Ah! alas! thou utterest great ills to me and to the state. + +MESS. O mansions of Œdipus, do ye hear these things of thy children who +have perished by similar fates? + +CHOR. Ay, so that, had they but sense, they would weep. + +CRE. O most heavy misery! Oh me wretched with woes! alas! unhappy me! + +MESS. If that thou knewest the evils yet in addition to these. + +CRE. And how can there be more fatal ills than these? + +MESS. Thy sister is dead with her two children. + +CHOR. Raise, raise the cry of woe, and smite your heads with the blows of +your white hands. + +CRE. Oh unhappy Jocasta, what an end of thy life and of thy marriage hast +thou endured in the riddles of the Sphinx![45] But how took place the +slaughter of her two sons, and the combat arising from the curse of Œdipus? +tell me. + +MESS. The success of the country before the towers indeed thou knowest; for +the circuit of the wall is not of such vast extent, but that thou must know +all that has taken place. But after that the sons of the aged Œdipus had +clad their limbs in brazen armor, they came and stood in the midst of the +plain between the two armies, ready for the contest, and the fierceness of +the single battle. And having cast a look toward Argos, Polynices uttered +his prayer; "O venerable Juno (for I am thine, since in marriage I joined +myself with the daughter of Adrastus, and dwell in that land), grant me to +slay my brother, and to cover with blood my hostile hand bearing the +victory." And Eteocles looking at the temple of Pallas, glorious in her +golden shield, prayed; "O Daughter of Jove, grant me with my hand to hurl +my victorious spear from this arm home to the breast of my brother, [and +slay him who came to lay waste my country."] And when the sound of the +Tuscan trumpet was raised, as the torch, the signal for the fierce battle, +they sped with dreadful rush toward each other; and like wild boars +whetting their savage tusks, they met, their cheeks all moist with foam; +and they rushed forward with their lances; but they couched beneath the +orbs of their shields, in order that the steel might fall harmless. But if +either perceived the other's eye raised above the verge, he drove the lance +at his face, intent to be beforehand with him: but dexterously they shifted +their eyes to the open ornaments of their shields, so that the spear was +made of none effect. And more sweat trickled down the spectators than the +combatants, through the fear of their friends. But Eteocles, stumbling with +his foot against a stone, which rolled under his tread,[46] places his limb +without the shield. But Polynices ran up with his spear, when he saw a +stroke open to his steel, and the Argive spear passed through the shank. +And all the host of the Danaï shouted for joy. And the hero who first was +wounded, when he perceived his shoulder exposed in this effort, pierced the +breast of Polynices with his lance, and gave joy to the citizens of Cadmus, +but he broke the point of his spear. But being come to a strait for a +spear, he retreated backward on his leg, and taking a stone of marble, he +hurled it and crashed _his antagonist's_ spear in the middle: and the +battle was on equal terms, both being deprived of the spear in their hands. +Then seizing the handles of their swords they met at close quarters, and, +as they clashed their shields together, raised a great tumult of battle +around them. And Eteocles having a sort of idea of its success, made use of +a Thessalian stratagem, _which he had learned_ from his connection with +that country. For giving up his present mode of attack, he brings his left +foot behind, protecting well the pit of his own stomach; and stepping +forward his right leg, he plunged the sword through the navel, and drove it +to the vertebræ. But the unhappy Polynices bending together his side and +his bowels falls weltering in blood. But the other, as he were now the +victor, and had subdued him in the fight, casting his sword on the ground, +went to spoil him, not fixing his attention on himself, but on that his +purpose. Which thing also deceived him; for Polynices, he that fell first, +still breathing a little, preserving his sword e'en in his deathly fall, +with difficulty indeed, but he did stretch his sword to the heart of +Eteocles. And holding the dust in their gripe they both fall near one +another, and determined not the victory. + +CHOR. Alas! alas! to what degree, O Œdipus, do I groan for thy misfortunes! +but the God seems to have fulfilled thy imprecations. + +MESS. Hear now then woes even in addition to these--For when her sons +having fallen were breathing their last, at this moment the wretched mother +rushes before them, and when she perceived them stricken with mortal wounds +she shrieked out, "Oh my sons, I am come too late a succor:" and throwing +herself by the side of her children in turn, she wept, she lamented with +moans her long anxiety in suckling them _now lost_: and their sister, who +accompanied to stand by her in her misery, at the same time _broke forth_; +"O supporters of my mother's age! Oh ye that have betrayed my hopes of +marriage, my dearest brothers!"--But king Eteocles heaving from his breast +his gasping breath, heard his mother, and putting out his cold clammy hand, +sent not forth indeed a voice; but from his eyes spoke her in tears to +signify affection. But Polynices, who yet breathed, looking at his sister +and his aged mother, thus spoke: "We perish, O my mother; but I grieve for +thee, and for this my sister, and my brother who lies dead, for being my +friend, he became my enemy, but still my friend.--But bury me, O mother of +my being, and thou my sister, in my native land, and pacify the exasperated +city, that I may obtain thus much at least of my country's land, although I +have lost the palace. And close my eyelids with thy hand, my mother" (and +he places it himself upon his eyes), "and fare ye well! for now darkness +surroundeth me." And both breathed out their lives together. And the +mother, when she saw what had taken place, beyond endurance grieving, +snatched the sword from the dead body, and perpetrated a deed of horror; +for she drove the steel through the middle of her throat, and lies dead on +those most dear to her, having each in her arms embraced. But the people +rose up hastily to a strife of opinions; we indeed, as holding, that my +master was victorious; but they, that the other was; and there was also a +contention between the generals, those on the other side _contended_, that +Polynices first struck with the spear, but those on ours that there was no +victory where the combatants died. [And in the mean time Antigone withdrew +from the army;] but they rushed to arms; but fortunately by a sort of +foresight the people of Cadmus had sat upon their shields: and we gained +the advantage of falling on the Argives not yet accoutred in their arms. +And no one made a stand, but flying they covered the plain; and immense +quantities of blood were spilt of the corses that fell, but when we were +victorious in the fight, some indeed raised the image of Jove emblem of +victory, but some of us stripping the shields from the Argive corses sent +the spoils within the city. But others with Antigone are bearing hither the +dead for their friends to lament over. But these contests have in some +respect turned out most happy for this state, but in other respect most +unhappy. + +CHOR. No longer the misfortunes of the house come to our ears, we may also +see before the palace these three fallen corses, who have shared the dark +realms by a united death. + +[_The dead bodies borne_.] + +ANTIGONE, CREON, CHORUS. + +ANT. Not veiling the softness of my cheek on which my ringlets fall, nor +caring for the purple glow of virginity under my lids, the blush of my +countenance, I am borne along the bacchanal of the dead, rending the fillet +from my hair, rejecting the saffron robe of delicateness, having the +mournful office of conducting the dead. Alas! alas! woe is me! Oh +Polynices, thou well answeredst to thy name! Alas me! Oh Thebes! but thy +strife, no strife, but murder consummated with murder,[47] hath destroyed +the house of Œdipus with dreadful, with mournful blood. But what groan +responsive to my sufferings, or what lament of music shall I invoke to my +tears, to my tears, O house, O house, bearing these three kindred bodies, +my mother, and her children, the joy of the fury? who destroyed the entire +house of Œdipus, what time intelligently[48] he unfolded the difficult song +of the fierce monster, having thereby slain the body of the fierce musical +Sphinx. Alas me! my father; what Grecian, or what Barbarian, or what other +of the noble in birth, of mortal blood, in time of old ever bore such +manifest sufferings of so many ills? Wretched I, how do I lament! What +bird, sitting on the highest boughs of the oak or pine, will sing +responsive to my lamentations, who have lost my mother? who weep the strain +of grief in addition to these moans _for my brothers_, about to pass my +long life in floods of tears.--Which shall I bewail? On which first shall I +scatter the first offerings rent from my hair? On my mother's two breasts +of milk, or upon the death-wounds of my two brothers? Alas! alas! Leave +thine house, bringing thy sightless eye, O aged father, Œdipus, show thy +wretched age, who within thy palace having poured the gloomy darkness over +thine eyes, draggest on a long[49] life. Dost thou hear wandering in the +hall,--resting thy aged foot upon the couch in a state of misery? + +ŒDIPUS, CREON, ANTIGONE, CHORUS. + +ŒD. Why, O virgin, hast thou with the most doleful tears called me forth +leaning on the support of a blind foot[50] to the light, a bed-ridden man +from his darksome chamber, gray-headed, an obscure phantom of air--a dead +body beneath the earth--a flitting dream? + +ANT. O father, thou shalt receive words of unhappy tidings; no longer do +thy children behold the light, nor thy wife, who ever was employed in +attending as a staff on thy blind foot, my father: alas me! + +ŒD. Alas me, for my sufferings! for well may I groan and vociferate these +things. The three souls, tell me, my child, by what fate, how quitted they +this light? + +ANT. Not for the sake of reproaching thee, nor exulting over thee, but for +grief I speak: thy evil genius, heavy with swords, and fire, and wretched +combats, has rushed down upon thy children, O my father. + +ŒD. Alas me! ah! ah! + +ANT. Why dost thou thus groan? + +ŒD. Alas me! my children! + +ANT. Thou wouldest grieve indeed, if looking on the chariot of the sun +drawn by its four steeds, thou couldest direct the sight of thine eyes to +these bodies of the dead. + +ŒD. The evil of my sons indeed is manifest; but my wretched wife, by what +fate, O my child, did she perish? + +ANT. Causing to all tears of grief they could not contain, to her children +she bared her breast, a suppliant she bared it, holding it up in +supplication. But the mother found her children at the Electran gate, in +the mead where the lotus abounds, contending with their lances in the +common war, as lions bred in the same cave, with the blood-wounds now a +cold, a gory libation, which Plato received, and Mars gave. And having +seized the brazen-wrought sword from the dead she plunged it into her +flesh, but with grief for her children she fell amidst her children. But +all these sufferings, O my father, has the God heaped this day upon our +house, whoever he be, that adds this consummation. + +CHOR. This day hath been the beginning of many woes to the house of Œdipus; +but may life be more fortunate! + +CRE. Now indeed cease from your grief, for it is time to think of the +sepulture. But hear these words, O Œdipus; Eteocles, thy son, hath given to +me the dominion of this land, giving them as a marriage portion to Hæmon, +and _with them_ the bed of thy daughter Antigone. I therefore will not +suffer thee any longer to dwell in this land. For clearly did Tiresias say, +that never, whilst thou dost inhabit this land, will the state be +prosperous. But depart; and this I say not from insolence, nor being thine +enemy, but on account of thy evil genius, fearing lest the country suffer +any harm. + +ŒD. O Fate, from the beginning how wretched [and unhappy] didst thou form +me, [if ever other man was formed!] whom, even before I came into the light +from my mother's womb, when yet unborn Apollo foretold that I should be the +murderer of my father Laïus, alas! wretch that I am! And when I was born, +again my father who gave me life, seeks to take my life, considering that I +was born his enemy: for it was fated that he should die by my hands, and he +sends me, poor wretch, as I craved the breast, a prey for the wild beasts: +where I was preserved--for would that Cithæron, it ought, had sunk to the +bottomless chasms of Tartarus, for that it did not destroy me; but the God +fixed it my lot to serve under Polybus my master: but I unhappy man, having +slain my own father, ascended the bed of my wretched mother, and begat +children, my brothers, whom I destroyed, having received down the curse +from Laïus, and given it to my sons. For I was not by nature so utterly +devoid of understanding, as to have devised such things against my eyes, +and against the life of my children, without the interference of some of +the Gods. Well!--what then shall I ill-fated do? who will accompany me the +guide of my dark steps? She that lies here dead! living, well know I, she +would. But my noble pair of sons? I have no sons.--But still in my vigor +can I myself procure my sustenance? Whence?--Why, O Creon, dost thou thus +utterly kill me? for kill me thou wilt, if thou shalt cast me out of the +land. Yet will I not appear base, stretching my hands around thy knees, for +I can not belie my former nobleness, not even though my plight is +miserable. + +CRE. Well has it been spoken by thee, that thou wilt not touch my knees, +but I can not permit thee to dwell in the land. But of these corses, the +one we must even now bear to the house; but the body of Polynices cast out +unburied beyond the borders of this land. And these things shall be +proclaimed to all the Thebans: "whoever shall be found either crowning the +corse, or covering it with earth, shall receive death for his offense." But +thou, ceasing from the groans for the three dead, retire, Antigone, within +the house, and behave as beseems a virgin, expecting the approaching day in +which the bed of Hæmon awaits thee. + +ANT. Oh father, in what a state of woes do we miserable beings lie! How do +I lament for thee! more than for the dead! For it is not that one of thy +ills is heavy, and the other not heavy, but thou art in all things unhappy, +my father.--But thee I ask, our new lord, [wherefore dost thou insult my +father here, banishing him from his country?] Why make thy laws against an +unhappy corse? + +CRE. The determination of Eteocles this, not mine. + +ANT. It is absurd, and thou a fool to enforce it. + +CRE. How so? Is it not just to execute injunctions? + +ANT. No, if they are base, at least, and spoken with ill intent. + +CRE. What! will he not with justice be given to the dogs? + +ANT. _No_, for thus do ye not demand of him lawful justice. + +CRE. _We do_; since he was the enemy of the state, who least ought to be an +enemy. + +ANT. Hath he not paid then his life to fortune? + +CRE. And in his burial too let him now satisfy vengeance. + +ANT. What outrage having committed, if he came after his share of the +kingdom? + +CRE. This man, that you may know once for all, shall be unburied. + +ANT. I will bury him; even though the city forbid it. + +CRE. Thyself then wilt thou at the same time bury near the corse. + +ANT. But that is a glorious thing, for two friends to lie near. + +CRE. Lay hold of her, and bear her to the house. + +ANT. By no means--for I will not let go this body. + +CRE. The God has decreed it, O virgin, not as thou wilt. + +ANT. And this too is decreed--that the dead be not insulted. + +CRE. Around him none shall place the moist dust. + +ANT. Nay, by his mother here Jocasta, I entreat thee, Creon. + +CRE. Thou laborest in vain, for thou canst not obtain this. + +ANT. But suffer thou me at any rate to bathe the body. + +CRE. This would be one of the things forbidden by the state. + +ANT. But let me put bandages round his cruel wounds. + +CRE. In no way shalt thou show respect to this corse. + +ANT. Oh most dear, but I will at least kiss thy lips. + +CRE. Thou shalt not prepare calamity against thy wedding by thy +lamentations. + +ANT. What! while I live shall I ever marry thy son? + +CRE. There is strong necessity for thee, for by what means wilt thou escape +the marriage? + +ANT. That night then shall find me one of the Danaïdæ. + +CRE. Dost mark with what audacity she hath insulted us? + +ANT. The steel be witness, and the sword, by which I swear. + +CRE. But why art thou so eager to get rid of this marriage? + +ANT. I will take my flight with my most wretched father here. + +CRE. There is nobleness in thee; but there is some degree of folly. + +ANT. And I will die with him too, that thou mayest farther know. + +CRE. Go--thou shalt not slay my son--quit the land. + +ŒDIPUS, ANTIGONE, CHORUS. + +ŒD. O daughter, I praise thee indeed for thy zealous intentions. + +ANT. But if I were to marry, and thou suffer banishment alone, my father? + +ŒD. Stay and be happy; I will bear with content mine own ills. + +ANT. And who will minister to thee, blind as thou art, my father? + +ŒD. Falling wherever it shall be my fate, I will lie on the ground. + +ANT. But Œdipus, where is he? and the renowned Enigmas? + +ŒD. Perished! one day blest me, and one day destroyed. + +ANT. Ought not I then to have a share in thy woes? + +ŒD. To a daughter exile with a blind father is shameful. + +ANT. Not to a right-minded one however, but honorable, my father. + +ŒD. Lead me now onward, that I may touch thy mother. + +ANT. There: touch the aged woman with thy most dear hand. + +ŒD. O mother! Oh most hapless wife! + +ANT. She doth lie miserable, having all ills at once on her. + +ŒD. But where is the fallen body of Eteocles, and of Polynices? + +ANT. They lie extended before thee near one another. + +ŒD. Place my blind hand upon their unhappy faces. + +ANT. There: touch thy dead children with thy hand. + +ŒD. O ye dear wrecks, unhappy, of an unhappy father. + +ANT. O name of Polynices, most dear indeed to me. + +ŒD. Now, my child, is the oracle of Apollo come to pass. + +ANT. What? but dost thou mention evils in addition to these evils? + +ŒD. That I must die an exile at Athens. + +ANT. Where? what citadel of Attica will receive thee? + +ŒD. The sacred Colonus, and the temple of the Equestrian God. But +stay--minister to thy blind father here, since thou art desirous of sharing +his exile. + +ANT. Go to thy wretched banishment: stretch forth thy dear hand, O aged +father, having me as thy guide, as the gale that wafts the ship. + +ŒD. Behold, I go, my child, be thou my unhappy conductor. + +ANT. We are, we are indeed unhappy above all Theban virgins. + +ŒD. Where shall I place my aged footstep? Bring my staff, my child. + +ANT. This way, this way come; here, here place thy foot, thou that hast the +strength of a dream. + +ŒD. Alas! alas! for my most wretched flight!--To drive me, old as I am, +from my country--Alas! alas! the dreadful, dreadful things that I have +suffered! + +ANT. What suffered! what suffered![51] Vengeance sees not the wicked, nor +repays the foolishness of mortals. + +ŒD. That man am I, who mounted aloft to the victorious heavenly song, +having solved the dark enigma of the virgin Sphinx. + +ANT. Dost thou bring up again the glory of the Sphinx? Forbear from +speaking of thy former successes. These wretched sufferings awaited thee, O +father, being an exile from thy country to die any where. Leaving with my +dear virgins tears for my loss, I depart far from my country, wandering in +state not like a virgin's. + +ŒD. Oh! the excellency of thy mind! + +ANT. In the calamities of a father at least it will make me glorious. +Wretched am I, on account of the insults offered to thee and to my brother, +who has perished from the family, a corse denied sepulture, unhappy, whom, +even if I must die, my father, I will cover with secret earth. + +ŒD. Go, show thyself to thy companions. + +ANT. They have enough of my lamentations. + +ŒD. But make thy supplications at the altars. + +ANT. They have a satiety of my woes. + +ŒD. Go then, where stands the fane of Bacchus unapproached, on the +mountains of the Mænades. + +ANT. To whom I formerly, clad in the skin of the Theban fawn, danced the +sacred step of Semele on the mountains, conferring a thankless favor on the +Gods? + +ŒD. O ye inhabitants of my illustrious country, behold, I, this Œdipus, who +alone stayed the violence of the bloodthirsty Sphinx, now, dishonored, +forsaken, miserable, am banished from the land. Yet why do I bewail these +things, and lament in vain? For the necessity of fate proceeding from the +Gods a mortal must endure. + +CRE. [O greatly glorious Victory, mayest thou uphold my life, and cease not +from crowning me!] (See note [H].) + + * * * * * + +NOTES ON THE PHŒNICIAN VIRGINS + + * * * * + +[1] That is, through the signs of the zodiac: αστηρ differs from αστρον, +the former signifying a single star, the latter many. + +[2] The preposition συν is omitted, as in Homer, + + Αυτηι κεν γαιηι ερυσαιμι. + +The same omission occurs in the Bacchæ, αυτηισιν ελαταις, and again in the +Hippolytus. It is an Atticism. + +[3] See note on Hecuba, 478. + +[4] The word τουνομα must be supplied after τουτο, which is implied in the +verb καλουσιν. + +[5] The ζαρος is a bird of prey of the vulture species. The sphinx was +represented as having the face of a woman, the breast and feet of a lion, +and the wings of a bird. + +[5a] Dindorf would omit this verse. + +[6] αραι and αρασθαι are often used by the poets in a good sense for +prayers, ευχαι and ευχεσθαι for curses and imprecations. + +[7] διηρες ‛υπερωον, η κλιμαξ. HESYCHIUS. + +[8] Milton, Par. Regained, b. iii. l. 326. + + The field, all iron, cast a gleaming brown. + +[9] Lerna, a country of Argolis celebrated for a grove and a lake where the +Danaides threw the heads of their murdered husbands. It was there also that +Hercules killed the famous Hydra. + +[10] This alludes to the figure of Argus engraved on his shield. See verse +1130. + +[11] Tydeus married Deipyle, Polynices Argia, both daughters of Adrastus, +king of Argos. + +[12] Some suppose ‛υστερωι ποδι to mean with their last steps, that is, +with steps which are doomed never to return again to their own country. + +[13] Triæna was a place in Argolis, where Neptune stuck his trident in the +ground, and immediately water sprung up. SCHOL. + +[14] Amymone was daughter of Danaus and Europa; she was employed, by order +of her father, in supplying the city of Argos with water, in a great +drought. Neptune saw her in this employment, and was enamored of her. He +carried her away, and in the place where she stood he raised a fountain, +which has been called Amymone. See Propert. ii. El. 20. v. 47. + +[15] αλληλας λεγουσιν is, _they say one of another_; αλληλαις λεγουσιν, +_they say among themselves_. + +[16] By πεδιων ακαρπιστων is to be understood the sea. The construction +πεδιων περιρρυτον Σικελιας, that is, ‛α Σικελιαν περιρρει. The same +construction is found in Sophocles, Œd. Tyr. l. 885. δικας αφοβητος. L. +969. αφαυστος εγχους. See also Horace, Lib. iv. Od. 4. 43. + + Ceu flamma per tædas, vel Eurus + Per Siculas equitavit undas. + +[17] The fire was on that head of Parnassus which was sacred to Apollo and +Diana; to those below it appeared double, being divided to the eye by a +pointed rock which rose before it. SCHOL. + +[18] The Python which Apollo slew. + +[19] Libya the daughter of Epaphus bore to Neptune Agenor and Belus. Cadmus +was the son of Agenor, and Antiope the daughter of Belus. + +[19a] But Dind. εκφρωσ'. See his note. + +[20] The construction is, αμφιβαλλε μοι το των παρηϊδων σου ορεγμα: that +is, _genarum ad oscula porrectionem_. It can not be translated literally. +The verb αμφιβαλλε is to be supplied before ορεγμα, and before πλοκαμον. +See Orestes, 950. + +[21] Locus videtur corruptus. PORSON. Valckenaer proposes to read +δακρυοεσσ' ανιεισα κ.τ.λ. Markland would supply φωνην after ‛ιεισα. Another +reading proposed is, δακρυοεσσ' ενιεισα πενθηρη κονιν. _Lacrymabunda, +lugubrem cinerem injiciens_. Followed by Dindorf. + +[22] Cf. Æsch. Prom. 39. το συγγενες τοι δεινον ‛η θ' ‛ομιλια, where +consult Schutz. + +[23] See Porson's note. A similar ellipse is to be found in Luke xiii. 9. +Καιν μεν ποιησηι καρπον: ει δε μηγε, εις το μελλον εκκοψεις αυτην: which is +thus translated in our version; "And if it bear fruit, _well_: and if not, +_then_ after that thou shalt cut it down." See also Iliad, A. 135. +Aristoph. Plut. 468. ed. Kuster. + +[24] Βραβευς, properly, is the judge in a contest, who confers the prizes, +and on whose decision the awarding of the prizes depends: βραβευτης is the +same. Βραβειον is the prize. Βραβεια, and in the plural βραβειαι, the very +act of deciding the contest. + +[25] So Hotspur, of honor: + + By heaven, methinks, it were an easy leap, + To pluck bright honor from the pale-faced moon: + Or dive into the bottom of the deep, + Where fathom-line could never touch the ground, + And pluck up drowned honor by the locks; + So he, that doth redeem her thence, might wear, + Without corrival, all her dignities. + Hen. IV. P. i. A. i. Sc. 3. + +[26] See Ovid. Met. vi. 28. Non omnia grandior ætas, Quæ fugiamus, habet; +seris venit usus ab annis. + +[27] The Scholiast doubts whether these Gods were Castor and Pollux, or +Zethus and Amphion, but inclines to the latter. See Herc. Fur. v. 29, 30. + +[28] Or, _fell with limbs that had never known yoke_.--V. Ovid: Met. iii. +10. + + Bos tibi, Phœbus ait, solis occurret in arvis, + Nullum passa jugum. + +[29] Valckenaer proposes reading instead of ‛οραις or ‛ορας, αυραις, +writing the passage αυραις βοστρυχον αμπετασας, "per auras leves crine +jactato:" which seems peculiarly adapted to this place, where the poet +places the tumultuous rage of Mars in contrast with the sweet enthusiasm of +the Bacchanalians, who are represented as flying over the plains with their +hair streaming in the wind. But see Note [C]. + +[30] ακοη is here to be understood in the sense of ακουομενον as we find +αισθησις for αισθητον, νους for το νοουμενον. + +[31] The words διδυμων ποταμων do not refer to Dirce, but to Thebes, Thebes +being called πολις διποταμος. The construction is πυργος διδυμων ποταμων. +Thus in Pindar οικημα ποταμου means οικημα παρα ποταμωι. Olymp. 2. Antistr. +1. + +[32] See note [D]. + +[32a] γουν. See Dind. + +[33] τι γαρ παθω; _Quid enim agam?_ est formula eorum, quos invitos natura +vel fatum, vel quæcumque alia cogit necessitas. VALCKEN. + +[34] Προσηγορησων is to be joined with μολων, not with ειμι. In +confirmation of this see line 1011. + +[35] So called after Neïs the son of Amphion and Niobe, or from νεαται, +"_Newgate_." SCHOL. + +[36] Argus himself might be called στικτος, but not his eyes, hence πυκνοις +is proposed by Heinsius. Abreschius receives στικτοις in the sense of ‛οις +στικτος εστι. + +[37] The Scholiast makes βλεποντα the accusative singular to agree with +πανοπτην. Musgrave takes it as agreeing with ομματα; in this latter case +κρυπτοντα is used in a neuter signification. Note [F]. + +[38] This is Musgrave's interpretation, by putting the stop after ‛ως, +which also Porson adopts; others would join ‛ως with πρησων. It seems +however more natural that the torch should be referred to Tydeus's emblem, +than to himself. + +[39] Commentators and interpreters are much at variance concerning the word +στροφιγξιν. For his better satisfaction on this passage the reader is +referred to the Scholia. + +[40] γεισσα is in apposition to λααν in the preceding line. Cf. Orestes, +1585. + +[41] Commentators are divided on the meaning of ενηλατα. One Scholiast +understands it to mean the uprights of the ladder in which the bars are +fixed. Eustathias considers ενηλατων βαθρα a periphrasis for βαθρα, ενηλατα +being the βαθρα or βαθμιδες, which ενεληλανται τοις ορθοϊς ξυλοις. + +[42] Musgrave would render ‛υγροτητ' εναντιαν by "mobilitatem male +coalescentem;" in this case it would indicate the bad omen, and be opposed +to ακραν λαμπαδα, which then should be translated "the pointed flame." +Valckenaer considers the passage as desperately corrupt. See Musgrave's +note. Cf. Note [G]. + +[43] If the flame was clear and vivid. + +[44] If it terminated in smoke and blackness. + +[45] The construction of this passage is the same as that of Il. Δ 155. +θανατον νυ τοι ‛ορκι' εταμνον. "Fœdus, quod pepigi, tibi mortis causa est." +PORSON. + +[46] Beck, by putting the stop after πετρον, makes ‛υποδρομον to agree with +κολον, "_his limb diverted from its tread_." + +[47] The construction is φονος κρανθεις φονωι: αιματι depends on εν +understood. + +[48] Most MSS. have ξυνετος. Here then is a remarkable instance of the same +word having both an active and a passive signification in the same +sentence. + +[49] μακροπνουν, not μακροπουν, is Porson's reading, μακροπνους ζωη is +explained "vita in qua longo tempore spiratur; ergo longa." + +[50] See note at Hecuba 65. + +[51] The old reading was τι τλας; τι τλας; making it the present tense. +Brunck first edited it as it stands in Porson. Antigone repeats the last +word of her father. + + * * * * + +ADDITIONAL NOTES. + + * * * * + +[A] "Signum interrogandi non post νεανιας, sed post λοχαγος ponendum. +λοχαγος in libris pedagogo tribuitur: quod correxit Hermannus." DINDORF. + +[B] Porson and Dindorf (in his notes) favor Reiske's conjecture, πυκνοισι +for πυργοισι. + +[C] Dindorf rightly approves the explanation of Musgrave, who takes +στεφανοισι, like the Latin _corona_, to mean the _assemblies_. He +translates: "_nec in pulchros choros ducentibus circulis juventutis_." + +[D] The full sense, as laid down by Schœfer and Dindorf, is, "for ever when +an old man travels, whether in a carriage, or on foot, he requires help +from others." πασα απηνη πους τε is rather boldly used, but is not without +example. + +[E] i.e. "_you ask a thing_ (i.e. your son's safety) _dangerous to the +city, which you can not preserve_." SCHŒFER. + +[F] These three lines are condemned by Valck. and Dind. + +[G] Matthiæ attempts to explain these words as follows: "εμπυροι ακμαι may +be put for τα εμπυρα, in which the seers observed (ενωμων) two things, viz. +the divisions (‛ρηξεις) of the flame, which, if it slid round the altars, +was of ill omen (hence ‛υγραι, i.e. gliding gently around the altars with +many curves, for which is put ‛υγροτης εναντια); and 2dly, _the upright +shooting of the flame_, ακραν λαμπαδα." + +[H] See Dindorf on Orest. 1691. He fully condemns these lines as the work +of an interpolator. They are, however, as old as the days of Lucian. + + * * * * * * + +MEDEA. + + * * * * + +PERSONS REPRESENTED. + + NURSE. + TUTOR. + MEDEA. + CHORUS OF CORINTHIAN WOMEN. + CREON. + JASON. + ÆGEUS + MESSENGER. + SONS OF MEDEA. + +_The Scene lies in the vestibule of the palace of Jason at Corinth_. + + * * * * * + +THE ARGUMENT. + + * * * * + +JASON, having come to Corinth, and bringing with him Medea, espouses +Glauce, the daughter of Creon, king of Corinth. But Medea, on the point of +being banished from Corinth by Creon, having asked to remain one day, and +having obtained her wish, sends to Glauce, by the hands of her sons, +presents, as an acknowledgment for the favor, a robe and a golden chaplet, +which she puts on and perishes; Creon also having embraced his daughter is +destroyed. But Medea, when she had slain her children, escapes to Athens, +in a chariot drawn by winged dragons, which she received from the Sun, and +there marries Ægeus son of Pandion. + + * * * * * + +MEDEA. + + * * * * + +NURSE OF MEDEA. + +Would that the hull of Argo had not winged her way to the Colchian land +through the Cyanean Symplegades,[1] and that the pine felled in the forests +of Pelion had never fallen, nor had caused the hands of the chiefs to +row,[2] who went in search of the golden fleece for Pelias; for neither +then would my mistress Medea have sailed to the towers of the Iolcian land, +deeply smitten in her mind with the love of Jason; nor having persuaded the +daughters of Pelias to slay their father would she have inhabited this +country of Corinth with her husband and her children, pleasing indeed by +her flight[3] the citizens to whose land she came, and herself concurring +in every respect with Jason; which is the surest support of conjugal +happiness, when the wife is not estranged from the husband. But now every +thing is at variance, and the dearest ties are weakened. For having +betrayed his own children, and my mistress, Jason reposes in royal wedlock, +having married the daughter of Creon, who is prince of this land. But Medea +the unhappy, dishonored, calls on his oaths, and recalls the hands they +plighted, the greatest pledge of fidelity, and invokes the gods to witness +what return she meets with from Jason. And she lies without tasting food, +having sunk her body in grief, dissolving all her tedious time in tears, +after she had once known that she had been injured by her husband, neither +raising her eye, nor lifting her countenance from the ground; but as the +rock, or the wave of the sea, does she listen to her friends when advised. +Save that sometimes having turned her snow-white neck she to herself +bewails her dear father, and her country, and her house, having betrayed +which she hath come hither with a man who has now dishonored her. And she +wretched hath discovered from affliction what it is not to forsake one's +paternal country. But she hates her children, nor is she delighted at +beholding them: but I fear her, lest she form some new design: for violent +is her mind, nor will it endure to suffer ills. I know her, and I fear her, +lest she should force the sharpened sword through her heart, or even should +murder the princess and him who married her, and after that receive some +greater ill. For she is violent; he who engages with her in enmity will not +with ease at least sing the song of victory. But these her children are +coming hither having ceased from their exercises, nothing mindful of their +mother's ills, for the mind of youth is not wont to grieve. + +TUTOR, WITH THE SONS OF MEDEA, NURSE. + +TUT. O thou ancient possession of my mistress's house, why dost thou stand +at the gates preserving thus thy solitude, bewailing to thyself our +misfortunes? How doth Medea wish to be left alone without thee? + +NUR. O aged man, attendant on the children of Jason, to faithful servants +the affairs of their masters turning out ill are a calamity, and lay hold +upon their feelings. For I have arrived at such a height of grief that +desire hath stolen on me to come forth hence and tell the misfortunes of +Medea to the earth and heaven. + +TUT. Does not she wretched yet receive any respite from her grief? + +NUR. I envy thy ignorance; her woe is at its rise, and not even yet at its +height. + +TUT. O unwise woman, if it is allowable to say this of one's lords, since +she knows nothing of later ills. + +NUR. But what is this, O aged man? grudge not to tell me. + +TUT. Nothing: I have repented even of what was said before. + +NUR. Do not, I beseech you by your beard, conceal it from your +fellow-servant; for I will preserve silence, if it be necessary, on these +subjects. + +TUT. I heard from some one who was saying, not appearing to listen, having +approached the places where dice is played, where the elders sit, around +the hallowed font of Pirene, that the king of this land, Creon, intends to +banish from the Corinthian country these children, together with their +mother; whether this report be true, however, I know not; but I wish this +may not be the case. + +NUR. And will Jason endure to see his children suffer this, even although +he is at enmity with their mother? + +TUT. Ancient alliances are deserted for new, and he is no friend to this +family. + +NUR. We perish then, if to the old we shall add a new ill, before the +former be exhausted.[4] + +TUT. But do thou, for it is not seasonable that my mistress should know +this, restrain your tongue, and be silent on this report. + +NUR. O my children, do you hear what your father is toward you? Yet may he +not perish, for he is my master, yet he is found to be treacherous toward +his friends. + +TUT. And what man is not? dost thou only now know this, that every one +loves himself dearer than his neighbor,[5] some indeed with justice, but +others even for the sake of gain, unless it be that[6] their father loves +not these at least on account of new nuptials. + +NUR. Go within the house, my children, for all will be well. But do thou +keep these as much as possible out of the way, and let them not approach +their mother, deranged through grief. For but now I saw her looking with +wildness in her eyes on these, as about to execute some design, nor will +she cease from her fury, I well know, before she overwhelm some one with +it; upon her enemies however, and not her friends, may she do some [ill.] + +MEDEA. (_within_) Wretch that I am, and miserable on account of my +misfortunes, alas me! would I might perish! + +NUR. Thus it is, my children; your mother excites her heart, excites her +fury. Hasten as quick as possible within the house, and come not near her +sight, nor approach her, but guard against the fierce temper and violent +nature of her self-willed mind. Go now, go as quick as possible within. But +it is evident that the cloud of grief raised up from the beginning will +quickly burst forth with greater fury; what I pray will her soul, great in +rage, implacable, irritated by ills, perform! + +MED. Alas! alas! I wretched have suffered, have suffered treatment worthy +of great lamentation. O ye accursed children of a hated mother, may ye +perish with your father, and may the whole house fall. + +NUR. Alas! alas! me miserable! but why should your children share their +father's error? Why dost thou hate these! Alas me, my children, how beyond +measure do I grieve lest ye suffer any evil! Dreadful are the dispositions +of tyrants, and somehow in few things controlled, in most absolute, they +with difficulty lay aside their passion. The being accustomed then[7] to +live in mediocrity of life is the better: may it be my lot then to grow old +if not in splendor, at least in security. For, in the first place, even to +mention the name of moderation carries with it superiority, but to use it +is by far the best conduct for men; but excess of fortune brings more power +to men than is convenient;[8] and has brought greater woes upon families, +when the Deity be enraged. + +NURSE, CHORUS. + +CHOR. I heard the voice, I heard the cry of the unhappy Colchian; is not +she yet appeased? but, O aged matron, tell me; for within the apartment +with double doors, I heard her cry; nor am I delighted, O woman, with the +griefs of the family, since it is friendly to me. + +NUR. The family is not; these things are gone already: for he possesses the +bed of royalty; but she, my mistress, is melting away her life in her +chamber, in no way soothing her mind by the advice of any one of her +friends. + +MED. Alas! alas! may the flame of heaven rush through my head, what profit +for me to live any longer. Alas! alas! may I rest myself in death, having +left a hated life. + +CHOR. Dost thou hear, O Jove, and earth, and light, the cry which the +wretched bride utters? why I pray should this insatiable love of the +marriage-bed hasten thee, O vain woman, to death? Pray not for this. But if +thy husband courts a new bed, be not thus[9] enraged with him. Jove will +avenge these wrongs for thee: waste not thyself so, bewailing thy husband. + +MED. O great Themis and revered Diana, do ye behold what I suffer, having +bound my accursed husband by powerful oaths? Whom may I at some time see +and his bride torn piecemeal with their very houses, who dare to injure me +first. O my father, O my city, whom I basely abandoned, having slain my +brother. + +NUR. Do ye hear what she says, and how she invokes Themis hearing the vow, +and Jove who is considered the dispenser of oaths to mortals? It is not +possible that my mistress will lull her rage to rest on any trivial +circumstance. + +CHOR. By what means could she come into our sight, and hear the voice of +our discourse, if she would by any means remit her fierce anger and her +fury of mind. Let not my zeal however be wanting ever to my friends. But go +and conduct her hither from without the house, my friend, and tell her +this, hasten, before she injure in any way those within, for this grief of +hers is increased to a great height. + +NUR. I will do it, but I fear that I shall not persuade my mistress; +nevertheless I will give you this favor of my labor. And yet with the +aspect of a lioness that has just brought forth does she look sternly on +her attendants when any one approaches near attempting to address her. But +thou wouldest not err in calling men of old foolish and nothing wise, who +invented songs, for festivals, for banquets, and for suppers, the delights +of life that charm the ear; but no mortal has discovered how to soothe with +music and with varied strains those bitter pangs, from which death and +dreadful misfortunes overthrow families. And yet for men to assuage these +griefs with music were gain; but where the plenteous banquet is furnished, +why raise they the song in vain? for the present bounty of the feast brings +pleasure of itself to men. + +CHOR. I heard the dismal sound of groans, and in a shrill voice she vents +her bitter[10] anguish on the traitor to her bed, her faithless +husband--and suffering wrongs she calls upon the Goddess Themis, arbitress +of oaths, daughter of Jove, who conducted her to the opposite coast of +Greece, across the sea by night, over the salt straits of the boundless +ocean. + +MEDEA, CHORUS. + +MED. Ye Corinthian dames, I have come from out my palace; do not in any +wise blame me; for I have known many men who have been[11] renowned, some +who have lived far from public notice, and others in the world; but those +of a retired turn have gained for themselves a character of infamy and +indolence. For justice dwells not in the eyes of man,[12] whoever, before +he can well discover the disposition of a man, hates him at sight, in no +way wronged by him. But it is necessary for a stranger exactly to conform +himself to the state, nor would I praise the native, whoever becoming +self-willed is insolent to his fellow-citizens through ignorance. But this +unexpected event that hath fallen upon me hath destroyed my spirit: I am +going, and having given up the pleasure of life I am desirous to meet +death, my friends. For he on whom my all rested, as you well know, my +husband, has turned out the basest of men. But of all things as many as +have life and intellect, we women are the most wretched race. Who indeed +first must purchase a husband with excess of money, and receive him a lord +of our persons; for this is a still greater ill than the former. And in +this is the greatest risk, whether we receive a bad one or a good one; for +divorces bring not good fame to women, nor is it possible to repudiate +one's husband. But on passing to new tempers and new laws, one need be a +prophetess, as one can not learn of one's self, what sort of consort one +shall most likely experience. And if with us carefully performing these +things a husband shall dwell not imposing on us a yoke with severity, +enviable is our life; if not, to die is better. But a man, when he is +displeased living with those at home, having gone abroad is wont to relieve +his heart of uneasiness, having recourse either to some friend or compeer. +But we must look but to one person. But they say of us that we live a life +of ease at home, but they are fighting with the spear; judging ill, since I +would rather thrice stand in arms, than once suffer the pangs of +child-birth. But, for the same argument comes not home to you and me, this +is thy city, and thy father's house, thine are both the luxuries of life, +and the society of friends; but I being destitute, cityless, am wronged by +my husband, brought as a prize from a foreign land, having neither mother, +nor brother, nor relation to afford me shelter from this calamity. So much +then I wish to obtain from you, if any plan or contrivance be devised by me +to repay with justice these injuries on my husband, and on him who gave his +daughter, and on her to whom he was married,[13] that you would be silent; +for a woman in other respects is full of fear, and timid to look upon deeds +of courage and the sword; but when she is injured in her bed, no other +disposition is more blood-thirsty. + +CHOR. I will do this; for with justice, Medea, wilt thou avenge thyself on +thy husband, and I do not wonder that you lament your misfortunes. But I +see Creon monarch of this land advancing, the messenger of new counsels. + +CREON, MEDEA, CHORUS. + +CRE. Thee of gloomy countenance, and enraged with thy husband, Medea, I +command to depart in exile from out of this land, taking with thee thy two +children, and not to delay in any way, since I am the arbiter of this +edict, and I will not return back to my palace, until I shall drive thee +beyond the boundaries of this realm. + +MED. Alas! alas! I wretched am utterly destroyed, for my enemies stretch +out every cable against me; nor is there any easy escape from this evil, +but I will speak, although suffering injurious treatment; for what, Creon, +dost thou drive me from this land? + +CRE. I fear thee (there is no need for me to wrap my words in obscurity,) +lest thou do my child some irremediable mischief, And many circumstances +are in unison with this dread. Thou art wise, and skilled in many evil +sciences, and thou art exasperated, deprived of thy husband's bed. And I +hear that thou threatenest, as they tell me, to wreak some deed of +vengeance on the betrother, and the espouser and the espoused; against this +then, before I suffer, will I guard. Better is it for me now to incur +enmity from you, than softened by your words afterward greatly to lament +it. + +MED. Alas! alas! not now for the first time, but often, Creon, hath this +opinion injured me, and worked me much woe. But whatever man is prudent, +let him never educate his children too deep in wisdom. For, independent of +the other charges of idleness which they meet with, they find hostile envy +from their fellow-citizens. For holding out to fools some new-discovered +wisdom, thou wilt seem to be useless and not wise. And being judged +superior to others who seem to have some varied knowledge, thou wilt appear +offensive in the city. But even I myself share this fortune; for being +wise, to some I am an object of envy, but to others, unsuited; but I am not +very wise. Thou then fearest me, lest thou suffer some grievous +mischief.[14] My affairs are not in a state, fear me not, Creon, so as to +offend against princes. For in what hast thou injured me? Thou hast given +thy daughter to whom thy mind led thee; but I hate my husband: but thou, I +think, didst these things in prudence. And now I envy not that thy affairs +are prospering; make your alliances, be successful; but suffer me to dwell +in this land, for although injured will I keep silence, overcome by my +superiors. + +CRE. Thou speakest soft words to the ear, but within my mind I have my +fears, lest thou meditate some evil intent. And so much the less do I trust +thee than before. For a woman that is quick to anger, and a man likewise, +is easier to guard against, than one that is crafty and keeps silence. But +begone as quick as possible, make no more words; since this is decreed, and +thou hast no art, by which thou wilt stay with us, being hostile to me. + +MED. No I beseech you by your knees, and your newly-married daughter. + +CRE. Thou wastest words; for thou wilt never persuade me. + +MED. Wilt thou then banish me, nor reverence my prayers? + +CRE. For I do not love thee better than my own family. + +MED. O my country, how I remember thee now! + +CRE. For next to my children it is much the dearest thing to me. + +MED. Alas! alas! how great an ill is love to man! + +CRE. That is, I think, as fortune also shall attend it. + +MED. Jove, let it not escape thine eye, who is the cause of these +misfortunes. + +CRE. Begone, fond woman, and free me from these cares. + +MED. Care indeed;[15] and do not I experience cares? + +CRE. Quickly shalt thou be driven hence by force by the hands of my +domestics. + +MED. No, I pray not this at least; but I implore thee, Creon. + +CRE. Thou wilt give trouble, woman, it seems.[16] + +MED. I will go; I dare not ask to obtain this of you. + +CRE. Why then dost thou resist, and wilt not depart from these realms? + +MED. Permit me to remain here this one day, and to bring my purpose to a +conclusion, in what way we shall fly, and to make provision for my sons, +since their father in no way regards providing for his children; but pity +them, for thou also art the father of children; and it is probable that +thou hast tenderness: for of myself I have no care whether I may suffer +banishment, but I weep for them experiencing this calamity. + +CRE. My disposition is least of all imperious, and through feeling pity in +many cases have I injured myself. And now I see that I am doing wrong, O +lady, but nevertheless thou shalt obtain thy request; but this I warn thee, +if to-morrow's light of the God of day shall behold thee and thy children +within the confines of these realms, thou shalt die: this word is spoken in +truth. But now if thou must stay, remain here yet one day, for thou wilt +not do any horrid deed of which I have dread. + +MEDEA, CHORUS. + +CHOR. Unhappy woman! alas wretched on account of thy griefs! whither wilt +thou turn? what hospitality, or house, or country wilt thou find a refuge +for these ills? how the Deity hath led thee, Medea, into a pathless tide of +woes! + +MED. Ill hath it been done on every side. Who will gainsay it? but these +things are not in this way, do not yet think it. Still is there a contest +for those lately married, and to those allied to them no small affliction. +For dost thou think I ever would have fawned upon this man, if I were not +to gain something, or form some plan? I would not even have addressed him. +I would not even have touched him with my hands. But he hath arrived at +such a height of folly, as that, when it was in his power to have crushed +my plans, by banishing me from this land, he hath granted me to stay this +day in which three of mine enemies will I put to death, the father, the +bride, and my husband. But having in my power many resources of destruction +against them, I know not, my friends, which I shall first attempt. Whether +shall I consume the bridal house with fire, or force the sharpened sword +through her heart having entered the chamber by stealth where the couch is +spread? But one thing is against me; if I should be caught entering the +house and prosecuting my plans, by my death I shall afford laughter for my +foes. Best then is it to pursue the straight path, in which I am most +skilled, to take them off by poison. Let it be so. And suppose them dead: +what city will receive me? What hospitable stranger affording a land of +safety and a faithful home will protect my person? There is none. Waiting +then yet a little time, if any tower of safety shall appear to us, I will +proceed to this murder in treachery and silence. But if ill fortune that +leaves me without resource force me, I myself having grasped the sword, +although I should die, will kill them, and will rush to the extreme height +of daring. For never, I swear by my mistress whom I revere most of all, and +have chosen for my assistant, Hecate, who dwells in the inmost recesses of +my house, shall any one of them wring my heart with grief with impunity. +Bitter and mournful to them will I make these nuptials, and bitter this +alliance, and my flight from this land. But come, spare none of these +sciences in which thou art skilled, Medea, deliberating and plotting. +Proceed to the deed of terror: now is the time of resolution: seest thou +what thou art suffering? Ill doth it become thee to incur ridicule from the +race of Sisyphus, and from the nuptials of Jason, who art sprung from a +noble father, and from the sun. And thou art skilled. Besides also we women +are, by nature, to good actions of the least capacity, but the most cunning +inventors of every ill. + +CHOR. The waters of the hallowed streams flow upward to their sources, and +justice and every thing is reversed. The counsels of men are treacherous, +and no longer is the faith of heaven firm. But fame changes, so that my sex +may have the glory.[17] Honor cometh to the female race; no longer shall +opprobrious fame oppress the women. But the Muses shall cease from their +ancient strains, from celebrating our perfidy. For Phœbus, leader of the +choir, gave not to our minds the heavenly music of the lyre, since they +would in turn have raised a strain against the race of men. But time of old +hath much to say both of our life and the life of men. But thou hast sailed +from thy father's house with maddened heart, having passed through the +double rocks of the ocean, and thou dwellest in a foreign land, having lost +the shelter of thy widowed bed, wretched woman, and art driven dishonored +an exile from this land. The reverence of oaths is gone, nor does shame any +longer dwell in mighty Greece, but hath fled away through the air. But thou +helpless woman hast neither father's house to afford you haven from your +woes, and another more powerful queen of the nuptial bed rules over the +house. + +JASON, MEDEA, CHORUS. + +JAS. Not now for the first time, but often have I perceived that fierce +anger is an irremediable ill. For though it was in your power to inhabit +this land and this house, bearing with gentleness the determination of thy +superiors, by thy rash words thou shalt be banished from this land. And to +me indeed it is of no importance; never cease from saying that Jason is the +worst of men. But for what has been said by thee against the royal family, +think it the greatest good fortune that thou art punished by banishment +only. I indeed was always employed in diminishing the anger of the enraged +princes, and was willing that thou shouldest remain. But thou remittest not +of thy folly, always reviling the ruling powers; wherefore thou shalt be +banished from the land. But nevertheless even after this am I come, not +wearied with my friends, providing for thee, O woman, that thou mightest +not be banished with thy children, either without money, or in want of any +thing. Banishment draws many misfortunes with it. For although thou hatest +me, I never could wish thee evil. + +MED. O thou vilest of men (for this is the greatest reproach I have in my +power with my tongue to tell thee, for thy unmanly cowardice), hast thou +come to us, hast thou come, who art most hateful? This is not fortitude, or +confidence, to look in the face of friends whom thou hast injured, but the +worst of all diseases among men, impudence. But thou hast done well in +coming. For both I shall be lightened in my heart while reviling thee, and +thou wilt be pained at hearing me. But I will first begin to speak from the +first circumstances. I preserved thee (as those Greeks well know as many as +embarked with thee on board the same ship Argo) when sent to master the +fire-breathing bulls with the yoke, and to sow the fatal seed: and having +slain the dragon who watching around the golden fleece guarded it with +spiry folds, a sleepless guard, I raised up to thee a light of safety. But +I myself having betrayed my father, and my house, came to the Peliotic +Iolcos[18] with thee, with more readiness than prudence. And I slew Pelias +by a death which it is most miserable to die, by the hands of his own +children, and I freed thee from every fear. And having experienced these +services from me, thou vilest of men, thou hast betrayed me and hast +procured for thyself a new bed, children being born to thee, for if thou +wert still childless it would be pardonable in thee to be enamored of this +alliance. But the faith of oaths is vanished: nor can I discover whether +thou thinkest that the former Gods are not still in power, or whether new +laws are now laid down for men, since thou art at least conscious of being +perjured toward me. Alas! this right hand which thou hast often touched, +and these knees, since in vain have I been polluted by a wicked husband, +and have failed in my hopes. Come (for I will converse with thee as with a +friend, not expecting to receive any benefit from thee at least, but +nevertheless I will; for when questioned thou wilt appear more base), now +whither shall I turn? Whether to my father's house, which I betrayed for +thee, and my country, and came hither? or to the miserable daughters of +Pelias? friendly would they indeed receive me in their house, whose father +I slew. For thus it is: I am in enmity with my friends at home; but those +whom I ought not to injure, by obliging thee, I make my enemies. On which +account in return for this thou hast made me to be called happy by many +dames through Greece, and in thee I, wretch that I am, have an admirable +and faithful husband, if cast out at least I shall fly this land, deserted +by my friends, lonely with thy lonely children. Fair renown indeed to the +new married bridegroom, that his children are wandering in poverty, and I +also who preserved thee. O Jove, why I pray hast thou given to men certain +proofs of the gold which is adulterate, but no mark is set by nature on the +person of men by which one may distinguish the bad man. + +CHOR. Dreadful is that anger and irremediable, when friends with friends +kindle strife. + +JAS. It befits me, it seems, not to be weak in argument, but as the prudent +pilot of a vessel, with all the sail that can be hoisted, to run from out +of thy violent abuse, O woman. But I, since thou thus much vauntest thy +favors, think that Venus alone both of Gods and men was the protectress of +my voyage. But thou hast a fickle mind, but it is an invidious account to +go through, how love compelled thee with his inevitable arrows to preserve +my life. But I will not follow up arguments with too great accuracy, for +where thou hast assisted me it is well. Moreover thou hast received more at +least from my safety than thou gavest, as I will explain to thee. First of +all thou dwellest in Greece instead of a foreign land, and thou learnest +what justice is, and to enjoy laws, not to be directed by mere force. And +all the Grecians have seen that thou art wise, and thou hast renown; but if +thou wert dwelling in the extreme confines of that land, there would not +have been fame of thee. But may neither gold in my house be be my lot, nor +to attune the strain more sweet than Orpheus, if my fortune be not +conspicuous. So much then have I said of my toils; for thou first +broughtest forward this contest of words. But with regard to those +reproaches which thou heapest on me for my royal marriage, in this will I +show first that I have been wise, in the next place moderate, thirdly a +great friend to thee, and my children: but be silent. After I had come +hither from the Iolcian land bringing with me many grievous calamities, +what measure more fortunate than this could I have invented, than, an exile +as I was, to marry the daughter of the monarch? not, by which thou art +grated, loathing thy bed, nor smitten with desire of a new bride, nor +having emulation of a numerous offspring, for those born to me are +sufficient, nor do I find fault with that; but that (which is of the +greatest consequence) we might live honorably, and might not be in want, +knowing well that every friend flies out of the way of a poor man; and that +I might bring up my children worthy of my house, and that having begotten +brothers to those children sprung from thee, I might place them on the same +footing, and having united the family, I might flourish; for both thou hast +some need of children, and to me it were advantageous to advance my present +progeny by means of the children which might arise; have I determined ill? +not even thou couldest say so, if thy bed did not gall thee. But thus far +have you come, that your bed being safe, you women think that you have +every thing. But if any misfortune befall that, the most excellent and +fairest objects you make the most hateful. It were well then that men +should generate children from some other source, and that the female race +should not exist, and thus there would not have been any evil among +men.[19] + +CHOR. Jason, thou hast well adorned these arguments of thine, but +nevertheless to me, although I speak reluctantly, thou appearest, in +betraying thy wife, to act unjustly. + +MED. Surely I am in many things different from many mortals, for in my +judgment, whatever man being unjust, is deeply skilled in argument, merits +the severest punishment. For vaunting that with his tongue he can well +gloze over injustice, he dares to work deceit, but he is not over-wise. +Thus do not thou also be now plausible to me, nor skilled in speaking, for +one word will overthrow thee: it behooved thee, if thou wert not a bad man, +to have contracted this marriage having persuaded me, and not without the +knowledge of thy friends. + +JAS. Well wouldest thou have lent assistance to this report, if I had +mentioned the marriage to thee, who not even now endurest to lay aside this +unabated rage of heart. + +MED. This did not move thee, but a foreign bed would lead in its result to +an old age without honor. + +JAS. Be well assured of this, that I did not form this alliance with the +princess, which I now hold, for the sake of the woman, but, as I said +before also, wishing to preserve thee, and to beget royal children brothers +to my sons, a support to our house. + +MED. Let not a splendid life of bitterness be my lot, nor wealth, which +rends my heart. + +JAS. Dost thou know how to alter thy prayers, and appear wiser? Let not +good things ever seem to you bitter, nor when in prosperity seem to be in +adversity. + +MED. Insult me, since thou hast refuge, but I destitute shall fly this +land. + +JAS. Thou chosest this thyself, blame no one else. + +MED. By doing what? by marrying and betraying thee? + +JAS. By imprecating unhallowed curses on the royal family. + +MED. From thy house at least am I laden with curses. + +JAS. I will not dispute more of this with thee. But if thou wishest to +receive either for thyself or children any part of my wealth as an +assistant on thy flight, speak, since I am ready to give with an unsparing +hand, and to send tokens of hospitality to my friends, who will treat you +well; and refusing these thou wilt be foolish, woman, but ceasing from +thine anger, thou wilt gain better treatment. + +MED. I will neither use thy friends, nor will I receive aught; do not give +to me, for the gifts of a bad man bring no assistance. + +JAS. Then I call the Gods to witness, that I wish to assist thee and thy +children in every thing; but good things please thee not, but thou +rejectest thy friends with audacity, wherefore shalt thou grieve the more. + +MED. Begone, for thou art captured by desire of thy new bride, tarrying so +long without the palace; wed her, for perhaps, but with the assistance of +the God shall it be said, thou wilt make such a marriage alliance, as thou +wilt hereafter wish to renounce. + +CHOR. The loves, when they come too impetuously, have given neither good +report nor virtue among men, but if Venus come with moderation, no other +Goddess is so benign. Never, O my mistress, mayest thou send forth against +me from thy golden bow thy inevitable shaft, having steeped it in desire. +But may temperance preserve me, the noblest gift of heaven; never may +dreaded Venus, having smitten my mind for another's bed, heap upon me +jealous passions and unabated quarrels, but approving the peaceful union, +may she quick of perception sit in judgment on the bed of women. O my +country, and my house, never may I be an outcast of my city, having a life +scarce to be endured through poverty, the most lamentable of all woes. By +death, by death, may I before that be subdued, having lived to accomplish +that day; but no greater misfortune is there than to be deprived of one's +paternal country. We have seen it, nor have we to speak from others' +accounts; for thee, neither city nor friend hath pitied, though suffering +the most dreadful anguish. Thankless may he perish who desires not to +assist his friends, having unlocked the pure treasures of his mind; never +shall he be friend to me. + +ÆGEUS, MEDEA, CHORUS. + +ÆG. Medea, hail! for no one hath known a more honorable salutation to +address to friends than this. + +MED. Hail thou also, son of the wise Pandion, Ægeus, coming from what +quarter dost thou tread the plain of this land? + +ÆG. Having left the ancient oracle of Phœbus. + +MED. But wherefore wert thou sent to the prophetic centre of the earth? + +ÆG. Inquiring of the God how offspring may arise to me? + +MED. By the Gods, tell me, dost thou live this life hitherto childless? + +ÆG. Childless I am, by the disposal of some deity. + +MED. Hast thou a wife, or knowest thou not the marriage-bed! + +ÆG. I am not destitute of the connubial bed. + +MED. What then did Apollo tell thee respecting thy offspring? + +ÆG. Words deeper than a man can form opinion of. + +MED. Is it allowable for me to know the oracle of the God? + +ÆG. Certainly, inasmuch as it needs also a deep-skilled mind. + +MED. What then did he say? Speak, if I may hear. + +ÆG. That I was not to loose the projecting foot of the vessel-- + +MED. Before thou didst what, or came to what land? + +ÆG. Before I revisit my paternal hearth. + +MED. Then as desiring what dost thou direct thy voyage to this land? + +ÆG. There is one Pittheus, king of the country of Trazene. + +MED. The most pious son, as report says, of Pelops. + +ÆG. To him I wish to communicate the oracle of the God. + +MED. For he is a wise man, and versed in such matters. + +ÆG. And to me at least the dearest of all my friends in war. + +MED. Mayest thou prosper, and obtain what thou desirest. + +ÆG. But why is thine eye and thy color thus faded? + +MED. Ægeus, my husband is the worst of all men. + +ÆG. What sayest thou? tell me all thy troubles. + +MED. Jason wrongs me, having never suffered wrong from me. + +ÆG. Having done what? tell me more clearly. + +MED. He hath here a wife besides me, mistress of the house. + +ÆG. Hath he dared to commit this disgraceful action? + +MED. Be assured he has; but we his former friends are dishonored. + +ÆG. Enamored of her, or hating thy bed? + +MED. [Smitten with] violent love indeed, he was faithless to his friends. + +ÆG. Let him perish then, since, as you say, he is a bad man. + +MED. He was charmed to receive an alliance with princes. + +ÆG. And who gives the bride to him? finish the account, I beg. + +MED. Creon, who is monarch of this Corinthian land. + +ÆG. Pardonable was it then that thou art grieved, O lady. + +MED. I perish, and in addition to this am I banished from this land. + +ÆG. By whom? thou art mentioning another fresh misfortune. + +MED. Creon drives me an exile out of this land of Corinth. + +ÆG. And does Jason suffer it? I praise not this. + +MED. By his words he does not, but at heart he wishes [to endure my +banishment:] but by this thy beard I entreat thee, and by these thy knees, +and I become thy suppliant, pity me, pity this unfortunate woman, nor +behold me going forth in exile abandoned, but receive me at thy hearth in +thy country and thy house. Thus by the Gods shall thy desire of children be +accomplished to thee, and thou thyself shalt die in happiness. But thou +knowest not what this fortune is that thou hast found; but I will free thee +from being childless, and I will cause thee to raise up offspring, such +charms I know. + +ÆG. On many accounts, O lady, am I willing to confer this favor on thee, +first on account of the Gods, then of the children, whose birth thou +holdest forth; for on this point else I am totally sunk in despair. But +thus am I determined: if thou comest to my country, I will endeavor to +receive thee with hospitality, being a just man; so much however I +beforehand apprise thee of, O lady, I shall not be willing to lead thee +with me from this land; but if thou comest thyself to my house, thou shalt +stay there in safety, and to no one will I give thee up. But do thou of +thyself withdraw thy foot from this country, for I wish to be without blame +even among strangers. + +MED. It shall be so, but if there was a pledge of this given to me, I +should have all things from thee in a noble manner. + +ÆG. Dost thou not trust me? what is thy difficulty? + +MED. I trust thee; but the house of Pelias is mine enemy, and Creon too; to +these then, wert thou bound by oaths, thou wouldest not give me up from the +country, should they attempt to drag me thence. But having agreed by words +alone, and without calling the Gods to witness, thou mightest be their +friend, and perhaps[20] be persuaded by an embassy; for weak is my state, +but theirs are riches, and a royal house. + +ÆG. Thou hast spoken much prudence, O lady. But if it seems fit to thee +that I should do this, I refuse not. For to me also this seems the safest +plan, that I should have some pretext to show to your enemies, and thy +safety is better secured; propose the Gods that I am to invoke. + +MED. Swear by the earth, and by the sun the father of my father, and join +the whole race of Gods. + +ÆG. That I will do what thing, or what not do? speak. + +MED. That thou wilt neither thyself ever cast me forth from out of thy +country, nor, if any one of my enemies desire to drag me thence, that thou +wilt, while living, give me up willingly. + +ÆG. I swear by the earth, and the hallowed majesty of the sun, and by all +the Gods, to abide by what I hear from thee. + +MED. It is sufficient: but what wilt thou endure shouldest thou not abide +by this oath? + +ÆG. That which befalls impious men. + +MED. Go with blessings; for every thing is well. And I will come as quick +as possible to thy city, having performed what I intend, and having +obtained what I desire. + +CHOR. But may the son of Maia the king, the guide, conduct thee safely to +thy house, and the plans of those things, which thou anxiously keepest in +thy mind, mayest thou bring to completion, since, Ægeus, thou hast appeared +to us to be a noble man. + +MEDEA, CHORUS. + +MED. O Jove, and thou vengeance of Jove, and thou light of the sun, now, my +friends, shall I obtain a splendid victory over my enemies, and I have +struck into the path. Now is there hope that my enemies will suffer +punishment. For this man, where I was most at a loss, hath appeared a +harbor to my plans. From him will I make fast my cable from the stern, +having come to the town and citadel of Pallas. But now will I communicate +all my plans to thee; but receive my words not as attuned to pleasure. +Having sent one of my domestics, I will ask Jason to come into my presence; +and when he is come, I will address gentle words to him, as that it appears +to me that these his actions are both honorable, and are advantageous and +well determined on.[21] And I will entreat him that my sons may stay; not +that I would leave my children in a hostile country for my enemies to +insult, but that by deceit I may slay the king's daughter. For I will send +them bearing presents in their hands, both a fine-wrought robe, and a +golden-twined wreath.[22] And if she take the ornaments and place them +round her person, she shall perish miserably, and every one who shall touch +the damsel; with such charms will I anoint the presents. Here however I +finish this account; but I bewail the deed such as must next be done by me; +for I shall slay my children; there is no one who shall rescue them from +me; and having heaped in ruins the whole house of Jason, I will go from out +this land, flying the murder of my dearest children, and having dared a +deed most unhallowed. For it is not to be borne, my friends, to be derided +by one's enemies. Let things take their course; what gain is it to me to +live longer? I have neither country, nor house, nor refuge from my ills. +Then erred I, when I left my father's house, persuaded by the words of a +Grecian man, who with the will of the Gods shall suffer punishment from me. +For neither shall he ever hereafter behold the children he had by me alive, +nor shall he raise a child by his new wedded wife, since it is fated that +the wretch should wretchedly perish by my spells. Let no one think me +mean-spirited and weak, nor of a gentle temper, but of a contrary +disposition to my foes relentless, and to my friends kind: for the lives of +such sort are most glorious. + +CHOR. Since thou hast communicated this plan to me, desirous both of doing +good to thee, and assisting the laws of mortals, I dissuade thee from doing +this. + +MED. It can not be otherwise, but it is pardonable in thee to say this, not +suffering the cruel treatment that I do. + +CHOR. But wilt thou dare to slay thy two sons, O lady? + +MED. For in this way will my husband be most afflicted. + +CHOR. But thou at least wilt be the most wretched woman. + +MED. Be that as it may: all intervening words are superfluous; but go, +hasten, and bring Jason hither; for I make use of thee in all matters of +trust. And thou wilt mention nothing of the plans determined on by me, if +at least thou meanest well to thy mistress, and art a woman. + +CHOR. The Athenians happy of old, and the descendants of the blessed Gods, +feeding on the most exalted wisdom of a country sacred and unconquered, +always tripping elegantly through the purest atmosphere, where they say +that of old the golden-haired Harmonia gave birth to the chaste nine +Pierian Muses.[23] And they report also that Venus drawing in her breath +from the stream of the fair-flowing Cephisus, breathed over their country +gentle sweetly-breathing gales of air; and always entwining in her hair the +fragrant wreath of roses, sends the loves as assessors to wisdom; the +assistants of every virtue. How then will the city of hallowed rivers,[24] +or the country which conducts thee to friends, receive the murderer of her +children, the unholy one? Consider in conjunction with others of the +slaughter of thy children, consider what a murder thou wilt undertake. Do +not by thy knees, by every plea,[25] by every prayer, we entreat you, do +not murder your children; but how wilt thou acquire confidence either of +mind or hand or in heart against thy children, attempting a dreadful deed +of boldness? But how, having darted thine eyes upon thy children, wilt thou +endure the perpetration of the murder without tears? Thou wilt not[26] be +able, when thy children fall suppliant at thy feet, to imbrue thy savage +hand in their wretched life-blood. + +JASON, MEDEA, CHORUS. + +JAS. I am come, by thee requested; for although thou art enraged, thou +shalt not be deprived of this at least; but I will hear what new service +thou dost desire of me, lady. + +MED. Jason, I entreat you to be forgiving of what has been said, but right +is it that you should bear with my anger, since many friendly acts have +been done by us two. But I reasoned with myself and rebuked myself; wayward +woman, why am I maddened and am enraged with those who consult well for me? +and why am I in enmity with the princes of the land and with my husband, +who is acting in the most advantageous manner for us, having married a +princess, and begetting brothers to my children? Shall I not cease from my +rage? What injury do I suffer, the Gods providing well for me? Have I not +children? And I know that I am flying the country, and am in want of +friends. Revolving this in my mind I perceive that I had much imprudence, +and was enraged without reason. Now then I approve of this, and thou +appearest to me to be prudent, having added this alliance to us; but I was +foolish, who ought to share in these plans, and to join in adorning and to +stand by the bed, and to delight with thee that thy bride was enamored of +thee; but we women are as we are, I will not speak evil of the sex; +wherefore it is not right that you should put yourself on an equality with +the evil, nor repay folly for folly. I give up, and say that then I erred +in judgment, but now I have determined on these things better. O my +children, my children, come forth, leave the house, come forth, salute, and +address your father with me, and be reconciled to your friends from your +former hatred together with your mother. For there is amity between us, and +my rage hath ceased. Take his right hand. Alas! my misfortunes; how I feel +some hidden ill in my mind! Will ye, my children, in this manner, and for a +long time enjoying life, stretch out your dear hands? Wretch that I am! how +near am I to weeping and full of fear!--But at last canceling this dispute +with your father, I have filled thus my tender sight with tears. + +CHOR. In my eyes also the moist tear is arisen; and may not the evil +advance to a greater height than it is at present. + +JAS. I approve of this, lady, nor do I blame the past; for it is reasonable +that the female sex be enraged with a husband who barters them for another +union.--But thy heart has changed to the more proper side, and thou hast +discovered, but after some time, the better counsel: these are the actions +of a wise woman. But for you, my sons, your father not without thought hath +formed many provident plans, with the assistance of the Gods. For I think +that you will be yet the first in this Corinthian country, together with +your brothers. But advance and prosper: and the rest your father, and +whatever God is propitious, will effect. And may I behold you blooming +arrive at the prime of youth, superior to my enemies. And thou, why dost +thou bedew thine eyes with the moist tear, having turned aside thy white +cheek, and why dost thou not receive these words from me with pleasure? + +MED. It is nothing. I was thinking of my sons. + +JAS. Be of good courage; for I will arange well for them. + +MED. I will be so, I will not mistrust thy words; but a woman is of soft +mould, and was born to tears. + +JAS. Why, I pray, dost thou so grieve for thy children? + +MED. I brought them into the world, and when thou wert praying that thy +children might live, a feeling of pity came upon me if that would be. But +for what cause thou hast come to a conference with me, partly hath been +explained, but the other reasons I will mention. Since it appeareth fit to +the royal family to send me from this country, for me also this appears +best, I know it well, that I might not dwell here, a check either to thee +or to the princes of the land; for I seem to be an object of enmity to the +house; I indeed will set out from this land in flight; but to the end that +the children may be brought up by thy hand, entreat Creon that they may not +leave this land. + +JAS. I know not whether I shall persuade him; but it is right to try. + +MED. But do thou then exhort thy bride to ask her father, that my children +may not leave this country. + +JAS. Certainly I will, and I think at least that she will persuade him, if +indeed she be one of the female sex. + +MED. I also will assist you in this task, for I will send to her presents +which (I well know) far surpass in beauty any now among men, both a +fine-wrought robe, and a golden-twined chaplet, my sons carrying them. But +as quick as possible let one of my attendants bring hither these ornaments. +Thy bride shall be blessed not in one instance, but in many, having met +with you at least the best of husbands, and possessing ornaments which the +sun my father's father once gave to his descendants. Take these nuptial +presents, my sons, in your hands, and bear and present them to the blessed +royal bride; she shall receive gifts not indeed to be despised. + +JAS. Why, O fond woman, dost thou rob thy hands of these; thinkest thou +that the royal palace is in want of vests? in want of gold? keep these +presents, give them not away; for if the lady esteems me of any value, she +will prefer pleasing me to riches, I know full well. + +MED. But do not oppose me; gifts, they say, persuade even the Gods,[27] and +gold is more powerful than a thousand arguments to men. Hers is fortune, +her substance the God now increases, she in youth governs all. But the +sentence of banishment on my children I would buy off with my life, not +with gold alone. But my children, enter you the wealthy palace, to the new +bride of your father, and my mistress, entreat her, beseech her, that you +may not leave the land, presenting these ornaments; but this is of the +greatest consequence, that, she receive these gifts in her own hand. Go as +quick as possible, and may you be bearers of good tidings to your mother in +what she desires to obtain, having succeeded favorably. + +CHOR. Now no longer have I any hope of life for the children, no longer [is +there hope]; for already are they going to death. The bride shall receive +the destructive present of the golden chaplet, she wretched shall receive +them, and around her golden tresses shall she place the attire of death, +having received the presents in her hands. The beauty and the divine +glitter of the robe will persuade her to place around her head the +golden-wrought chaplet. Already with the dead shall the bride be adorned; +into such a net will she fall, and such a destiny will she, hapless woman, +meet with; nor will she escape her fate. But thou, oh unhappy man! oh +wretched bridegroom! son-in-law of princes, unknowingly thou bringest on +thy children destruction, and on thy wife a bitter death; hapless man, how +much art thou fallen from thy state![28] But I lament for thy grief, O +wretch, mother of these children, who wilt murder thy sons on account of a +bridal-bed; deserting which, in defiance of thee, thy husband dwells with +another wife. + +TUTOR, MEDEA, CHORUS. + +TUT. Thy sons, my mistress, are reprieved from banishment, and the royal +bride received thy presents in her hands with pleasure, and hence is peace +to thy children. + +MED. Ah! + +TUT. Why dost thou stand in confusion, when thou art fortunate? + +MED. Alas! alas! + +TUT. This behavior is not consonant with the message I have brought thee. + +MED. Alas! again. + +TUT. Have I reported any ill fortune unknowingly, and have I failed in my +hope of being the messenger of good? + +MED. Thou hast said what thou hast said, I blame not thee. + +TUT. Why then dost thou bend down thine eye, and shed tears? + +MED. Strong necessity compels me, O aged man, for this the Gods and I +deliberating ill have contrived. + +TUT. Be of good courage; thou also wilt return home yet through thy +children. + +MED. Others first will I send to their home,[29] O wretched me! + +TUT. Thou art not the only one who art separated from thy children; it +behooves a mortal to bear calamities with meekness. + +MED. I will do so; but go within the house, and prepare for the children +what is needful for the day. O my sons, my sons, you have indeed a city, +and a house, in which having forsaken me miserable, you shall dwell, ever +deprived of a mother. But I am now going an exile into a foreign land, +before I could have delight in you, and see you flourishing, before I could +adorn your marriage, and wife, and nuptial-bed, and hold up the torch.[30] +O unfortunate woman that I am, on account of my wayward temper. In vain +then, my children, have I brought you up, in vain have I toiled, and been +consumed with cares, suffering the strong agonies of child-bearing. Surely +once there was a time when I hapless woman had many hopes in you, that you +would both tend me in my age, and when dead would with your hands decently +compose my limbs, a thing desired by men. But now this pleasing thought +hath indeed perished; for deprived of you I shall pass a life of misery, +and bitter to myself. But you will no longer behold your mother with your +dear eyes, having passed into another state of life. Alas! alas! why do you +look upon me with your eyes, my children? Why do ye smile that last smile? +Alas! alas! what shall I do? for my heart is sinking. Ye females, when I +behold the cheerful look of my children, I have no power. Farewell my +counsels: I will take my children with me from this land. What does it +avail me grieving their father with the ills of these, to acquire twice as +much pain for myself? never will I at least do this. Farewell my counsels. +And yet what do I suffer? do I wish to incur ridicule, having left my foes +unpunished? This must be dared. But the bringing forward words of +tenderness in my mind arises also from my cowardice. Go, my children, into +the house; and he for whom it is not lawful to be present at my sacrifice, +let him take care himself to keep away.[31] But I will not stain my hand. +Alas! alas! do not thou then, my soul, do not thou at least perpetrate +this. Let them escape, thou wretch, spare thy sons. There shall they live +with us and delight thee. No, I swear by the infernal deities who dwell +with Pluto, never shall this be, that I will give up my children to be +insulted by my enemies. [At all events they must die, and since they must, +I who brought them into the world will perpetrate the deed.] This is fully +determined by fate, and shall not pass away. And now the chaplet is on her +head, and the bride is perishing in the robes; of this I am well assured. +But, since I am now going a most dismal path, and these will I send by one +still more dismal, I desire to address my children: give, my sons, give thy +right hand for thy mother to kiss. O most dear hand, and those lips dearest +to me, and that form and noble countenance of my children, be ye blessed, +but there;[32] for every thing here your father hath taken away. O the +sweet embrace, and that soft skin, and that most fragrant breath of my +children. Go, go; no longer am I able to look upon you, but am overcome by +my ills. I know indeed the ills that I am about to dare, but my rage is +master of my counsels,[33] which is indeed the cause of the greatest +calamities to men. + +CHOR. Already have I often gone through more refined reasonings, and have +come to greater arguments than suits the female mind to investigate; for we +also have a muse, which dwelleth with us, for the sake of teaching wisdom; +but not with all, for haply thou wilt find but a small number of the race +of women out of many not ungifted with the muse.[34] + +And I say that those men who are entirely free from wedlock, and have not +begotten children, surpass in happiness those who have families; those +indeed who are childless, through inexperience whether children are born a +joy or anguish to men, not having them themselves, are exempt from much +misery. But those who have a sweet blooming offspring of children in their +house, I behold worn with care the whole time; first of all how they shall +bring them up honorably, and how they shall leave means of sustenance for +their children. And still after this, whether they are toiling for bad or +good sons, this is still in darkness. But one ill to mortals, the last of +all, I now will mention. For suppose they have both found sufficient store, +and the bodies of their children have arrived at manhood, and that they are +good; but if this fortune shall happen to them, death, bearing away their +sons, vanishes with them to the shades of darkness. How then does it profit +that the Gods heap on mortals yet this grief in addition to others, the +most bitter of all, for the sake of children? + +MEDEA, MESSENGER, CHORUS. + +MED. For a long time waiting for the event, my friends, I am anxiously +expecting what will be the result thence. And I see indeed one of the +domestics of Jason coming hither, and his quickened breath shows that he +will be the messenger of some new ill. + +MESS. O thou, that hast impiously perpetrated a deed of terror, Medea, fly, +fly, leaving neither the ocean chariot,[35] nor the car whirling o'er the +plain. + +MED. But what is done that requires this flight? + +MESS. The princess is just dead, and Creon her father destroyed by thy +charms. + +MED. Thou hast spoken most glad tidings: and hereafter from this time shalt +thou be among my benefactors and friends. + +MESS. What sayest thou? Art thou in thy senses, and not mad, lady? who +having destroyed the king and family, rejoicest at hearing it, and fearest +not such things? + +MED. I also have something to say to these words of thine at least; but be +not hasty, my friend; but tell me how they perished, for twice as much +delight wilt thou give me if they died miserably. + +MESS. As soon as thy two sons were come with their father, and had entered +the bridal house, we servants, who were grieved at thy misfortunes, were +delighted; and immediately there was much conversation in our ears, that +thy husband and thou had brought the former quarrel to a friendly +termination. One kissed the hand, another the auburn head of thy sons, and +I also myself followed with them to the women's apartments through joy. But +my mistress, whom we now reverence instead of thee, before she saw thy two +sons enter, held her cheerful eyes fixed on Jason; afterward however she +covered her eyes, and turned aside her white cheek, disgusted at the +entrance of thy sons; but thy husband quelled the anger and rage of the +young bride, saying this; Be not angry with thy friends, but cease from thy +rage, and turn again thy face, esteeming those as friends, whom thy husband +does. But receive the gifts, and ask thy father to give up the sentence of +banishment against these children for my sake. But when she saw the +ornaments, she refused not, but promised her husband every thing; and +before thy sons and their father were gone far from the house, she took and +put on the variegated robes, and having placed the golden chaplet around +her tresses she arranges her hair in the radiant mirror, smiling at the +lifeless image of her person. And after, having risen from her seat, she +goes across the chamber, elegantly tripping with snow-white foot; rejoicing +greatly in the presents, looking much and oftentimes with her eyes on her +outstretched neck.[36] After that however there was a sight of horror to +behold. For having changed color, she goes staggering back trembling in her +limbs, and is scarce in time to prevent herself from falling on the ground, +by sinking into a chair. And some aged female attendant, when she thought +that the wrath either of Pan or some other Deity[37] had visited her, +offered up the invocation, before at least she sees the white foam bursting +from her mouth, and her mistress rolling her eyeballs from their sockets, +and the blood no longer in the flesh; then she sent forth a loud shriek of +far different sound from the strain of supplication; and straightway one +rushed to the apartments of her father, but another to her newly-married +husband, to tell the calamity befallen the bride, and all the house was +filled with frequent hurryings to and fro. And by this time a swift runner, +exerting his limbs, might have reached[38] the goal of the course of six +plethra;[39] but she, wretched woman, from being speechless, and from a +closed eye having groaned deeply writhed in agony; for a double pest was +warring against her. The golden chaplet indeed placed on her head was +sending forth a stream of all-devouring fire wonderful to behold, but the +fine-wrought robes, the presents of thy sons, were devouring the white +flesh of the hapless woman. But she having started from her seat flies, all +on fire, tossing her hair and head on this side and that side, desirous of +shaking off the chaplet; but the golden wreath firmly kept its hold; but +the fire, when she shook her hair, blazed out with double fury, and she +sinks upon the ground overcome by her sufferings, difficult for any one +except her father to recognize. For neither was the expression of her eyes +clear, nor her noble countenance; but the blood was dropping from the top +of her head mixed with fire. But her flesh was dropping off her bones, as +the tear from the pine-tree, by the hidden fangs of the poison; a sight of +horror. But all feared to touch the body, for we had her fate to warn us. +But the hapless father, through ignorance of her suffering, having come +with haste into the apartment, falls on the corpse, and groans immediately; +and having folded his arms round her, kisses her, saying these words; O +miserable child, what Deity hath thus cruelly destroyed thee? who makes an +aged father bowing to the tomb[40] bereaved of thee? Alas me! let me die +with thee, my child. But after he had ceased from his lamentations and +cries, desiring to raise his aged body, he was held, as the ivy by the +boughs of the laurel, by the fine-wrought robes; and dreadful was the +struggle, for he wished to raise his knee, but she held him back; but if he +drew himself away by force he tore the aged flesh from his bones. But at +length the wretched man swooned away, and gave up his life; for no longer +was he able to endure the agony. But they lie corses, the daughter and aged +father near one another; a calamity that demands tears. And let thy affairs +indeed be not matter for my words; for thou thyself wilt know a refuge from +punishment. But the affairs of mortals not now for the first time I deem a +shadow, and I would venture to say that those persons who seem to be wise +and are researchers of arguments, these I say, run into the greatest folly. +For no mortal man is happy; but wealth pouring in, one man may be more +fortunate than another, but happy he can not be. + +CHOR. The Deity, it seems, will in this day justly heap on Jason a variety +of ills. O hapless lady, how we pity thy sufferings, daughter of Creon, who +art gone to the house of darkness, through thy marriage with Jason. + +MED. The deed is determined on by me, my friends, to slay my children as +soon as possible, and to hasten from this land; and not by delaying to give +my sons for another hand more hostile to murder. But come, be armed, my +heart; why do we delay to do dreadful but necessary deeds? Come, O wretched +hand of mine, grasp the sword, grasp it, advance to the bitter goal of +life, and be not cowardly, nor remember thy children how dear they are, how +thou broughtest them into the world; but for this short day at least forget +thy children; hereafter lament. For although thou slayest them, +nevertheless they at least were dear, but I a wretched woman. + +CHOR. O thou earth, and thou all-illuming beam of the sun, look down upon, +behold this abandoned woman, before she move her blood-stained hand itself +about to inflict the blow against her children; for from thy golden race +they sprung; but fearful is it for the blood of Gods to fall by the hand of +man. But do thou, O heaven-born light, restrain her, stop her, remove from +this house this blood-stained and miserable Erinnys agitated by the Furies. +The care of thy children perishes in vain, and in vain hast thou produced a +dear race, O thou who didst leave the most inhospitable entrance of the +Cyanean rocks, the Symplegades. Hapless woman, why does such grievous rage +settle on thy mind; and hostile slaughter ensue? For kindred pollutions are +difficult of purification to mortals; correspondent calamities falling from +the Gods to the earth upon the houses of the murderers.[41] + +FIRST SON. (_within_) Alas! what shall I do? whither shall I fly from my +mother's hand? + +SECOND SON. I know not, dearest brother, for we perish. + +CHOR. Hearest thou the cry? hearest thou the children? O wretch, O +ill-fated woman! Shall I enter the house? It seems right to me to ward off +the murderous blow from the children. + +SONS. Nay, by the Gods assist us, for it is in needful time; since now at +least are we near the destruction of the sword. + +CHOR. Miserable woman, art thou then a rock, or iron, who cuttest down with +death by thine own hand the fair crop of children which thou producedst +thyself? one indeed I hear of, one woman of those of old, who laid violent +hands on her children, Ino, maddened by the Gods when the wife of Jove sent +her in banishment from her home; and she miserable woman falls into the sea +through the impious murder of her children, directing her foot over the +sea-shore, and dying with her two sons, there she perished! what then I +pray can be more dreadful than this? O thou bed of woman, fruitful in ills, +how many evils hast thou already brought to men! + +JASON, CHORUS. + +JAS. Ye females, who stand near this mansion, is she who hath done these +deeds of horror, Medea, in this house; or hath she withdrawn herself in +flight? For now it is necessary for her either to be hidden beneath the +earth, or to raise her winged body into the vast expanse of air, if she +would not suffer vengeance from the king's house. Does she trust that after +having slain the princes of this land, she shall herself escape from this +house with impunity?--But I have not such care for her as for my children; +for they whom she has injured will punish her. But I came to preserve my +children's life, lest [Creon's] relations by birth do any injury,[42] +avenging the impious murder perpetrated by their mother. + +CHOR. Unhappy man! thou knowest not at what misery thou hast arrived, +Jason, or else thou wouldest not have uttered these words. + +JAS. What is this, did she wish to slay me also? + +CHOR. Thy children are dead by their mother's hand. + +JAS. Alas me! What wilt thou say? how hast thou killed me, woman! + +CHOR. Think now of thy sons as no longer living. + +JAS. Where did she slay them, within or without the house? + +CHOR. Open those doors, and thou wilt see the slaughter of thy sons. + +JAS. Undo the bars, as quick as possible, attendants; unloose the hinges, +that I may see this double evil, my sons slain, and may punish her. + +MED. Why dost thou shake and unbolt these gates, seeking the dead and me +who did the deed. Cease from this labor; but if thou wantest aught with me, +speak if thou wishest any thing; but never shall thou touch me with thy +hands; such a chariot the sun my father's father gives me, a defense from +the hostile hand.[43] + +JAS. O thou abomination! thou most detested woman, both by the Gods and by +me, and by all the race of man; who hast dared to plunge the sword in thine +own children, thou who bore them, and hast destroyed me childless. And +having done this thou beholdest both the sun and the earth, having dared a +most impious deed. Mayest thou perish! but I am now wise, not being so then +when I brought thee from thy house and from a foreign land to a Grecian +habitation, a great pest, traitress to thy father and the land that +nurtured thee. But the Gods have sent thy evil genius on me. For having +slain thy brother at the altar, thou embarkedst on board the gallant vessel +Argo. Thou begannest indeed with such deeds as these; and being wedded to +me, and bearing me children, thou hast destroyed them on account of another +bed and marriage. There is not one Grecian woman who would have dared a +deed like this, in preference to whom at least, I thought worthy to wed +thee, an alliance hateful and destructive to me, a lioness, no woman, +having a nature more savage than the Tuscan Scylla. But I can not gall thy +heart with ten thousand reproaches, such shameless confidence is implanted +in thee. Go, thou worker of ill, and stained with the blood of thy +children. But for me it remains to bewail my fate, who shall neither enjoy +my new nuptials, nor shall I have it in my power to address while alive my +sons whom I begot and educated, but I have lost them. + +MED. Surely I could make long reply to these words, if the Sire Jupiter did +not know what treatment thou receivedst from me, and what thou didst in +return; but you were mistaken, when you expected, having dishonored my bed, +to lead a life of pleasure, mocking me, and so was the princess, and so was +Creon, who proposed the match to thee, when he expected to drive me from +this land with impunity. Wherefore, if thou wilt, call me lioness, and +Scylla who dwelt in the Tuscan plain. For thy heart, as is right, I have +wounded. + +JAS. And thou thyself grievest at least, and art a sharer in these ills. + +MED. Be assured of that; but this lessens[44] the grief, that thou canst +not mock me. + +JAS. My children, what a wicked mother have ye found! + +MED. My sons, how did ye perish by your father's fault! + +JAS. Nevertheless my hand slew them not. + +MED. But injury, and thy new nuptials. + +JAS. And on account of thy bed didst thou think fit to slay them? + +MED. Dost thou deem this a slight evil to a woman? + +JAS. Whoever at least is modest; but in thee is every ill. + +MED. These are no longer living, for this will gall thee. + +JAS. These are living, alas me! avenging furies on thy head. + +MED. The Gods know who began the injury. + +JAS. They know indeed thy execrable mind. + +Meo. Thou art hateful to me, and I detest thy bitter speech. + +JAS. And I in sooth thine; the separation at least is without pain. + +MED. How then? what shall I do? for I also am very desirous. + +JAS. Suffer me, I beg, to bury and mourn over these dead bodies. + +MED. Never indeed; since I will bury them with this hand bearing them to +the shrine of Juno, the Goddess guardian of the citadel, that no one of my +enemies may insult them, tearing up their graves. But in this land of +Sisyphus will I institute in addition to this a solemn festival and +sacrifices hereafter to expiate this unhallowed murder. But I myself will +go to the land of Erectheus, to dwell with Ægeus son of Pandion. But thou, +wretch, as is fit, shalt die wretchedly, struck on thy head with a relic of +thy ship Argo, having seen the bitter end of my marriage. + +JAS. But may the Fury of the children, and Justice the avenger of murder, +destroy thee. + +MED. But what God or Deity hears thee, thou perjured man, and traitor to +the rights of hospitality? + +JAS. Ah! thou abominable woman, and murderer of thy children. + +MED. Go to thy home, and bury thy wife. + +JAS. I go, even deprived of both my children. + +MED. Thou dost not yet mourn enough: stay and grow old.[45] + +JAS. Oh my dearest sons! + +MED. To their mother at least, but not to thee. + +JAS. And yet thou slewest them. + +MED. To grieve thee. + +JAS. Alas, alas! I hapless man long to kiss the dear mouths of my children. + +MED. Now them addressest, now salutest them, formerly rejecting them with +scorn. + +JAS. Grant me, by the Gods, to touch the soft skin of my sons. + +MED. It is not possible. Thy words are thrown away in vain. + +JAS. Dost thou hear this, O Jove, how I am rejected, and what I suffer from +this accursed and child-destroying lioness? But as much indeed as is in my +power and I am able, I lament and mourn over these; calling the Gods to +witness, that having slain my children, thou preventest me from touching +them with my hands, and from burying the bodies, whom, oh that I had never +begotten, and seen them thus destroyed by thee. + +CHOR. Jove is the dispenser of various fates in heaven, and the Gods +perform many things contrary to our expectations, and those things which we +looked for are not accomplished; but the God hath brought to pass things +unthought of. In such manner hath this affair ended. + + * * * * * + +NOTES ON MEDEA + + * * * * + +[1] The Cyaneæ Petræ, or Symplegades, were two rocks in the mouth of the +Euxine Sea, said to meet together with prodigious violence, and crush the +passing ships. See Pindar. Pyth. iv. 386. + +[2] ερετμωσαι signifies to make to row; ερετμησαι, to row. In the same +sense the two verbs derived from πολεμος are used, πολεμοω signifying ad +bellum excito; πολεμεω, bellum gero. + +[3] Elmsley reads φυγη in the nominative case, "_a flight indeed +pleasing_," etc. + +[4] Literally, _Before we have drained this to the very dregs_. So Virgil, +Æn. iv. 14. _Quæ bella exhausta canebat_! + +[5] Ter. And. Act. ii. Sc. 5. _Omnes sibi malle melius esse quam alteri_. +Ac. iv. Sc. 1. _Proximus sum egomet mihi_. + +[6] Elmsley reads και for ει, "_And their father_," etc. + +[7] In Elms. Dind. το γαρ ειθισθαι, "_for the being accustomed_," etc. + +[8] δυναται here signifies ισχυει, σθενει; and in this sense it is +repeatedly used: ουδενα καιρον, in this place, is not to be interpreted +"intempestive", but "immoderate, supra modum." For this signification +consult Stephen's Thesaurus, word καιρος. EMSLEY. + +[9] ‛οδε is used in this sense v. 49, 687, 901, of this Play. + +[10] μογερα is best taken with Reiske as the accusative plural, though the +Scholiast considers it the nominative singular. ELMSLEY. + +[11] γεγωτας need not be translated as νομιζομενους, the sense is [Greek; +ontas]: so αυθαδης γεγως, line 225. + +[12] That is, the character of man can not be discovered by the +countenance: so Juvenal, + + Fronti nulla fides. + +‛οστις, though in the singular number, refers to βροτων in the plural: a +similar construction is met with in Homer, Il. Γ. 279. + + ανθρωπους τιννυσθον, ‛ο τις κ' επιορκον ‛ομοσσηι. + +[13] Grammarians teach us that γαμειν is applied to the husband, γαμεισθαι +to the wife; and this rule will generally be found to hold good. We must +either then read ‛η τ' εγηματο, which Porson does not object to, and +Elmsley adopts; or understand εγηματο in an ironical sense, in the spirit +of Martial's _Uxori nubere nolo meæ_: in the latter case ‛ηι τ' εγηματο +should be read (not ‛ην τ'), as being the proper syntax. + +[14] The primary signification of πλημμελης is _absonus_, _out of tune_: +hence is easily deduced the signification in which it is often found in +Euripides. The word πλημμελησας occurs in the Phœnissæ, l. 1669. + +[15] Elmsley approves of the reading adopted by Porson, though he has given +in his text + + πονουμεν ‛ημεις, κ' ον πονων κεχρημεθα. + +"_We are oppressed with cares, and want not other cares_," as being more +likely to have come from Euripides. So also Dindorf. + +[16] ‛ως εοικας; is here used for the more common expression ‛ως εοικεν. So +Herodotus, Clio, clv. ου παυσονται ‛οι Λυδοι, ‛ως οικασι, πραγματα +παρεχοντες, και αυτοι εχοντες. See also Hecuba, 801. + +[17] Beck interprets this passage, "Mea quidem vita ut non habeat laudem, +fama obstat." Heath translates it, "Jam in contrariam partem tendens fama +efficit, ut mea quoque vita laudem habeat." We are told by the Scholiast, +that by βιοταν is to be understood φυσιν. + +[18] Iolcos was a city of Thessaly, distant about seven stadii from the +sea, where the parents of Jason lived: Pelion was both a mountain and city +of Thessaly, close to Iolcos; whence Iolcos is called Peliotic. + +[19] For the same sentiment more fully expressed, see Hippolytus, 616-625. +See also Paradise Lost, x. 890. + + Oh, why did God, + Creator wise, that peopled highest heaven + With spirits masculine, create at last + This novelty on earth, this fair defect + Of nature, and not fill the world at once + With men, as angels, without feminine? + +[20] Porson rightly reads ταχ' αν πιθοιο with Wyttenbach. + +[21] Elmsley has + + "‛ως και δοκει μοι ταυτα, και καλως εχειν + γαμους τυραννων, ‛ους προδους ‛ημας εχει, + και ξυμφορ' ειναι, και καλως εγνωσμενα." + +"_that these things appear good to me, and that the alliance with the +princes, which he, having forsaken me, has contracted, are both +advantageous and well determined on_." So also Dind. but καλως εχει. Porson +omits the line. + +[22] In Elmsley this line is omitted, and instead of it is inserted + + "νυμφηι φεροντας, τηνδε μη φευγειν χθονα." + +"_offering them to the bride, that they may not be banished from this +country_," which Dindorf retains, and brackets the other. + +[23] Although the Scholiast reprobates this interpretation, it seems to be +the best, nor is it any objection, that Μνημοσυνη is elsewhere represented +as the Mother of the Muses; so much at variance is the poetry of Euripides +with the received mythology of the ancients. ELMSLEY. + +[24] The construction is πολις ‛ιερων ποταμων; thus Thebes, Phœnis. l. 831, +is called πυργος διδυμων ποταμων. A like expression occurs in 2 Sam. xii. +27. I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken _the city of waters_, +πολιν των ‛υδατων in the Septuagint version. + +[25] Elmsley reads παντες, "_we all entreat thee_." So Dindorf. + +[26] Elmsley reads ‛η δυνασει with the note of interrogation after θυμωι; +"_or how wilt thou be able,_" etc. + +[27] An allusion to that well-known saying in Plato, de Repub. 1. 3. Δωρα +θεους πειθει, δωρ' αιδοιους βασιληας. Ovid. de Arte Am. iii. 635. + + Munera, crede mini, capiunt hominesque deosque. + +[28] Vertit Portus, _O infelix quantam calamitatem ignoras_. Mihi sensus +videtur esse, _quantum a pristina fortuna excidisti_. ELMSLEY. + +[29] Medea here makes use of the ambiguous word καταξω, which may be +understood by the Tutor in the sense of "bringing back to their country," +but implies also the horrid purpose of destroying her children: τοδε +'καταξω' αντι του πεμψω εις τον Αιδην, as the Scholiast explains it. + +[30] It was the custom for mothers to bear lighted torches at their +children's nuptials. See Iphig. Aul. l. 372. + +[31] ‛οτωι δε φησιν ουκ ευσεβες φαινεται παρειναι τωι φονωι, και δεχεσθαι +τοιαυτας θυσιας, ‛ουτος αποτω.--τωι δε αυτωι μελησει συναπτεον το μη +παρειναι. SCHOL. + +[32] _But there_; that is, in the regions below. + +[33] Ovid. Metamorph. vii. 20. + + Video meliora proboque, + Deteriora sequor. + +[34] Elmsley reads + + παυρον δε γενος (μιαν εν πολλαις + ‛ευροις αν ισως) + ουκ, κ.τ.λ. + +"_But a small number of the race of women (you may perchance find one among +many) not ungifted with the muse_." + +[35] A similar expression is found in Iphig. Taur, v. 410. ναϊον οχημα. A +ship is frequently called ‛Ερμα θαλασσης: so Virgil, Æn. vi. Classique +immittit habenas. + +[36] Elmsley is of opinion that _the instep_ and not _the neck_ is meant by +τενων. + +[37] The ancients attributed all sudden terrors, and sudden sicknesses, +such as epilepsies, for which no cause appeared, to Pan, or to some other +Deity. The anger of the God they endeavored to avert by a hymn, which had +the nature of a charm. + +[38] Elmsley has ανθηπτετο, which is the old reading: this makes no +difference in the construing or the construction, as, in the line before, +he reads αν ‛ελκων, where Porson has ανελκων. + +[39] The space of time elapsed is meant to be marked by this circumstance. +MUSGRAVE. PORSON. Thus we find in Μ of the Odyssey, l. 439, the time of day +expressed by the rising of the judges; in Δ of the Iliad, l. 86, by the +dining of the woodman. When we recollect that the ancients had not the +inventions that we have whereby to measure their time, we shall cease to +consider the circumlocution as absurd or out of place. + +[40] The same expression occurs in the Heraclidæ, l. 168. The Scholiast +explains it thus; τυμβογεροντα, τον πλησιον θανατου ‛οντα: τυμβους δε +καλουσι τους γεροντας, παροσον πλησιον εισι του θανατου και του ταφου. + +[41] αυτοφονταις may be taken as an adjective to agree with δομοις, or the +construction may be αχη πιτνοντα αυτοφονταις επι δομοις, in the same manner +as λιθος επεσε μοι επι κεφαληι. ELMSLEY. + +[42] μη με τι δρασωσι' had been "lest they do _me_ any injury." Elmsley +conceives that νιν is the true reading, which might easily have been +corrupted into μοι. + +[43] Here Medea appears above in a chariot drawn by dragons, bearing with +her the bodies of her slaughtered sons. SCHOL. See Horace, Epod. 3. + + Hoc delibutis ulta donis pellicem, + Serpente fugit alite. + +[44] λυει may also be interpreted, with the Scholiast, in the sense of +λυσιτελει, "the grief delights me." The translation given in the text is +proposed by Porson, and approved of by Elmsley. + +[45] Elmsley has + + μενε και γηρας. + +"_Stay yet for old age_." So also Dindorf. + + * * * * * * + +HIPPOLYTUS. + + * * * * + +PERSONS REPRESENTED. + + VENUS. + HIPPOLYTUS. + ATTENDANTS. + PHÆDRA. + NURSE. + THESEUS. + MESSENGER. + DIANA. + CHORUS OF TRŒZENIAN DAMES. + + * * * * * + +THE ARGUMENT. + + * * * * + +Theseus was the son of Othra and Neptune, and king of the Athenians; and +having married Hippolyta, one of the Amazons, he begat Hippolytus, who +excelled in beauty and chastity. When his wife died, he married, for his +second wife, Phædra, a Cretan, daughter of Minos, king of Crete, and +Pasiphaë. Theseus, in consequence of having slain Pallas, one of his +kinsmen, goes into banishment, with his wife, to Trœzene, where it happened +that Hippolytus was being brought up by Pittheus: but Phædra having seen +the youth was desperately enamored, not that she was incontinent, but in +order to fulfill the anger of Venus, who, having determined to destroy +Hippolytus on account of his chastity, brought her plans to a conclusion. +She, concealing her disease, at length was compelled to declare it to her +nurse, who had promised to relieve her, and who, though against her +inclination, carried her words to the youth. Phædra, having learned that he +was exasperated, eluded the nurse, and hung herself. At which time Theseus +having arrived, and wishing to take her down that was strangled, found a +letter attached to her, throughout which she accused Hippolytus of a design +on her virtue. And he, believing what was written, ordered Hippolytus to go +into banishment, and put up a prayer to Neptune, in compliance with which +the god destroyed Hippolytus. But Diana declared to Theseus every thing +that had happened, and blamed not Phædra, but comforted him, bereaved of +his child and wife, and promised to institute honors in the place to +Hippolytus. + +The scene of the play is laid in Trœzene. It was acted in the archonship of +Ameinon, in the fourth year of the 87th Olympiad. Euripides first, Jophon +second, Jon third. This Hippolytus is the second of that name, and is +called ΣΤΕΦΑΝΙΑΣ: but it appears to have been written the latest, for what +was unseemly and deserved blame is corrected in this play. The play is +ranked among the first. + + * * * * * + +HIPPOLYTUS. + + * * * * + +VENUS. + +Great in the sight of mortals, and not without a name am I the Goddess +Venus, and in heaven: and of as many as dwell within the ocean and the +boundaries of Atlas, beholding the light of the sun, those indeed, who +reverence my authority, I advance to honor; but overthrow as many as hold +themselves high toward me. For this is in sooth a property inherent even in +the race of the Gods, that "they rejoice when honored by men." But quickly +will I show the truth of these words: for the son of Theseus, born of the +Amazon, Hippolytus, pupil of the chaste Pittheus, alone of the inhabitants +of this land of Trœzene, says that I am of deities the vilest, and rejects +the bridal bed, and will have nothing to do with marriage. But Dian, the +sister of Phœbus, daughter of Jove, he honors, esteeming her the greatest +of deities. And through the green wood ever accompanying the virgin, with +his swift dogs he clears the beasts from off the earth, having formed a +fellowship greater than mortal ought. This indeed I grudge him not; for +wherefore should I? but wherein he has erred toward me, I will avenge me on +Hippolytus this very day: and having cleared most of the difficulties +beforehand,[1] I need not much labor. For Phædra, his father's noble wife, +having seen him, (as he was going once from the house of Pittheus to the +land of Pandion, in order to see and afterward be fully admitted to the +hallowed mysteries,) was smitten in her heart with fierce love by my +design. And even before she came to this land of Trœzene, at the very rock +of Pallas that overlooks this land, she raised a temple to Venus, loving an +absent love; and gave out afterward,[2] that the Goddess was honored with +her temple for Hippolytus's sake. But now since Theseus has left the land +of Cecrops, in order to avoid the pollution of the murder of the sons of +Pallas, and is sailing to this land with his wife, having submitted to a +year's banishment from his people; there indeed groaning and stricken with +the stings of love, the wretched woman perishes in secret; and not one of +her domestics is conscious of her malady. But this love must by no means +fall to the ground in this way: but I will open the matter to Theseus, and +it shall become manifest. And him that is our enemy shall the father kill +with imprecations, which Neptune, king of the ocean, granted as a privilege +to Theseus, that he should make no prayer thrice to the God in vain. But +Phædra dies, an illustrious woman indeed, yet still [she must die]; for I +will not make her ills of that high consequence, that will hinder my +enemies from giving me such full vengeance as may content me. But, as I see +the son of Theseus coming, having left the toil of the chase, I will depart +from this spot. But with him a numerous train of attendants following +behind raise a clamor, praising the Goddess Dian with hymns, for he knows +not that the gates of hell are opened, and that this day is the last he +beholds. + +HIPPOLYTUS, ATTENDANTS. + +HIPP. Follow, follow, singing the heavenly Dian, daughter of Jove; Dian, +under whose protection we are. + +ATT. Holy, holy, most hallowed offspring of Jove, hail! hail! O Dian, +daughter of Latona and of Jove, most beauteous by far of virgins, who, born +of an illustrious sire, in the vast heaven dwellest in the palace of Jove, +that mansion rich in gold. + +HIPP. Hail, O most beauteous, most beauteous of virgins in Olympus, Dian! +For thee, my mistress, bear I this wreathed garland from the pure mead, +where neither does the shepherd think fit to feed his flocks, nor yet came +iron there, but the bee ranges over the pure and vernal mead, and Reverence +waters it with river dews. Whosoever has chastity, not that which is taught +in schools, but that which is by nature, for this description of persons it +is lawful thence to pluck, but for the evil it is not lawful.[3] But, O my +dear mistress, receive this wreath to bind your golden tresses from a pious +hand. For to me alone of mortals is allowed this privilege. With thee I am +both present, and exchange words with thee, hearing thy voice, but not +seeing thy countenance. But may I finish the last turn of my course of +life, even as I began. + +ATT. O king, (for the Gods alone ought we to call Lords,) will you hear +somewhat from me, who advise you well? + +HIPP. Most certainly, or else I should not seem wise. + +ATT. Knowest thou then the law, which is established among men? + +HIPP. I know not; but what is the one, about which thou askest me? + +ATT. To hate haughtiness, and that which is disagreeable to all. + +HIPP. And rightly; for what haughty mortal is not odious? + +ATT. And in the affable is there any charm? + +HIPP. A very great one indeed, and gain with little toil. + +ATT. Dost thou suppose that the same thing holds also among the Gods? + +HIPP. Certainly, forasmuch as we mortals use the laws of the Gods. + +ATT. How is it then that thou addressest not a venerable Goddess? + +HIPP. Whom? but take heed that thy mouth err not.[4] + +ATT. Venus, who hath her station at thy gates. + +HIPP. I, who am chaste, salute her at a distance. + +ATT. Venerable is she, however, and of note among mortals. + +HIPP. Different Gods and men are objects of regard to different persons. + +ATT. May you be blest, having as much sense as you require.[5] + +HIPP. No one of the Gods, that is worshiped by night, delights me. + +ATT. My son, we must conform to the honors of the Gods. + +HIPP. Depart, my companions, and having entered the house, prepare the +viands: delightful after the chase is the full table.--And I must rub down +my horses, that having yoked them to the car, when I am satiated with the +repast, I may give them their proper exercise. But to your Venus I bid a +long farewell. + +ATT. But we, for one must not imitate the young, having our thoughts such, +as it becomes slaves to give utterance to, will adore thy image, O Venus, +our mistress; but thou shouldest pardon, if any one having intense feelings +of mind by reason of his youth, speak foolishly: seem not to hear these +things, for Gods must needs be wiser than men. + +CHOR. There is a rock near the ocean,[6] distilling water, which sends +forth from its precipices a flowing fountain, wherein they dip their urns; +where was a friend of mine wetting the purple vests in the dew of the +stream, and she laid them down on the back of the warm sunny cliff: from +hence first came to me the report concerning my mistress, that she, worn +with the bed of sickness, keeps her person within the house, and that fine +vests veil her auburn head. And I hear that she this day for the third +keeps her body untouched by the fruit of Ceres, [which she receives not] +into her ambrosial mouth, wishing in secret suffering to hasten to the +unhappy goal of death. For heaven-possessed, O lady, or whether by Pan, or +by Hecate, or by the venerable Corybantes, or by the mother who haunts the +mountains, thou art raving. But thou art thus tormented on account of some +fault committed against the Cretan huntress, profane because of unoffered +sacred cakes. For she goes through the sea and beyond the land on the +eddies of the watery brine. Or some one in the palace misguides thy noble +husband, the chief of the Athenians, by secret concubinage in thy bed. Or +some sailor who put from port at Crete, hath sailed to the harbor most +friendly to mariners, bringing some message to the queen; and, confined to +her couch, she is bound in soul by sorrow for its sufferings. But wretched +helplessness is wont to dwell with the wayward constitution of women, both +on account of their throes and their loss of reason. Once through my womb +shot this thrill, but I invoked the heavenly Dian, who gives easy throes, +who presides over the bow, and to me she came ever much to be blessed, as +well as the other Gods. But lo! the old nurse is bringing her out of the +palace before the gates; and the sad cloud upon her brows is increased. +What it can possibly be, my soul desires to know, with what can be +afflicted the person of the queen, of color so changed.[7] + +PHÆDRA, NURSE, CHORUS. + +Alas! the evils of men, and their odious diseases! what shall I do for +thee? and what not do? lo! here is the clear light for thee, here the air: +and now is thy couch whereon thou liest sick removed from out of the house: +for every word you spoke was to come hither; but soon you will be in a +hurry to go to your chamber back again: for you are soon changed, and are +pleased with nothing. Nor does what is present delight you, but what is not +present you think more agreeable. It is a better thing to be sick, than to +tend the sick: the one is a simple ill, but with the other is joined both +pain of mind and toil of hands. But the whole life of men is full of grief, +nor is there rest from toils. But whatever else there be more dear than +life, darkness enveloping hides it in clouds. Hence we appear to dote on +this present state, because it gleams on earth, through inexperience of +another life, and the non-appearance of the things beneath the earth. But +we are blindly carried away by fables. + +PHÆ. Raise my body, place my head upright--I am faint in the joints of my +limbs, my friends, lay hold of my fair-formed hands, O attendants--The +dressing on my head is heavy for me to support--take it off, let flow my +ringlets on my shoulders. + +NUR. Be of good courage, my child, and do not thus painfully shift [the +posture of] your body. But you will bear your sickness more easily both +with quiet, and with a noble temper, for it is necessary for mortals to +suffer misery. + +PHÆ. Alas! alas! would I could draw from the dewy fountain the drink of +pure waters, and that under the alders, and in the leafy mead reclining I +might rest! + +NUR. O my child, what sayest thou? Wilt thou not desist from uttering these +things before the multitude, blurting forth a speech of madness?[8] + +PHÆ. Bear me to the mountain--I will go to the wood, and by the pine-trees, +where tread the dogs the slayers of beasts, pursuing the dappled hinds--By +the Gods I long to cheer on the hounds, and by the side of my auburn hair +to hurl the Thessalian javelin bearing the lanced weapon in my hand. + +NUR. Wherefore in the name of heaven, my child, do you hanker after these +things? wherefore have you any anxiety for hunting? and wherefore do you +long for the fountain streams? for by the towers there is a perpetual flow +of water, whence may be your draught. + +PHÆ. O Dian, mistress of Limna near the sea, and of the exercises of the +rattling steeds, would that I were on thy plains, breaking the Henetian +colts. + +NUR. Wherefore again have you madly uttered this word? at one time having +ascended the mountain you set forth with the desire of hunting; but now +again you long for the colts on the wave-beaten sands. These things demand +much skill in prophecy [to find out], who it is of the Gods that torments +thee, O lady, and strikes mad thy senses. + +PHÆ. Wretch that I am, what then have I committed? whither have I wandered +from my sound mind? I have gone mad; I have fallen by the evil influence of +some God. Alas! alas! unhappy that I am--Nurse, cover my head again, for I +am ashamed of the things I have spoken: cover me; a tear trickles down my +eyes, and my sight is turned to my disgrace. For to be in one's right mind +causes grief: but madness is an ill; yet it is better to perish, nothing +knowing of one's ills. + +NUR. I cover thee--but when in sooth will death cover my body? Length of +life teaches me many things. For it behooves mortals to form moderate +friendships with each other, and not to the very marrow of the soul: and +the affections of the mind should be dissoluble, and so that we can slacken +them, or tighten.[9] But that one soul should feel pangs for two, as I now +grieve for her, is a heavy burden. The concerns of life carried to too +great an extent, they say, bring rather destruction than delight, and are +rather at enmity with health. Thus I praise what is in extreme less than +_the sentiment of_ "Nothing in excess;" and the wise will agree with me. + +CHOR. O aged woman, faithful nurse of the queen Phædra, we see indeed the +wretched state of this lady, but it is not clear what her disease is: but +we would wish to inquire and hear from you. + +NUR. I know not by my inquiries; for she is not willing to speak. + +CHOR. Nor what is the origin of these pangs? + +NUR. You come to the same result; for she is silent with regard to all +these things. + +CHOR. How feeble she is, and wasted away as to her body! + +NUR. How could it be otherwise, seeing that she has abstained from food +these three days? + +CHOR. From the violence of her calamity is it, or does she endeavor to die? + +NUR. To die; but she fasts to the dissolution of her life. + +CHOR. An extraordinary thing you have been telling me, if this conduct +meets the approbation of her husband. + +NUR. [He nothing knows,] for she conceals this calamity, and denies that +she is ill. + +CHOR. But does he not guess it, looking into her face? + +NUR. [How should he?] for he is out of this country. + +CHOR. But do you not urge it as a matter of necessity, when you endeavor to +ascertain her disease and the wandering of her senses? + +NUR. I have tried every thing, and have made no further advances. I will +not however abate even now from my zeal, so that you being present may bear +witness with me, how I behave to my mistress when in calamity--Come, dear +child, let us both forget our former conversations; and be both thou more +mild, having smoothed that contracted brow, and altered the bent of your +design; and I giving up that wherein I did not do right to follow thee, +will have recourse to other better words. And if indeed you are ill with +any of those maladies that are not to be mentioned, these women here can +allay the disease: but if it may be related to men, tell it, that the thing +may be mentioned to physicians.--Well! why art thou silent? It doth not +behoove thee to be silent, my child, but either shouldst thou convict me, +if aught I say amiss, or yield to words well spoken.--Say something--look +hither--O wretch that I am! Ladies, in vain do we undergo these toils, +while we are as far off from our purpose as before: for neither then was +she softened by our words, nor now does she give heed to us. Still however +know (now then be more obstinate than the sea) that, if thou shalt die, +thou wilt betray thy children, who will have no share in their paternal +mansion. I swear by the warlike queen the Amazon, who brought forth a lord +over thy children, base-born yet of noble sentiments, thou knowest him +well, Hippolytus. + +PHÆ. Ah me! + +NUR. This touches thee. + +PHÆ. You have destroyed me, nurse, and by the Gods I entreat thee +henceforth to be silent with respect to this man. + +NUR. Do you see? you judge well indeed, but judging well you are not +willing both to assist your children and to save your own life. + +PHÆ. I love my children; but I am wintering in the storm of another +misfortune. + +NUR. You have your hands, my child, pure from blood. + +PHÆ. My hands are pure, but my mind has some pollution. + +NUR. What! from some calamity brought on you by any of your enemies? + +PHÆ. A friend destroys me against my will, himself unwilling. + +NUR. Has Theseus sinned any sin against thee? + +PHÆ. Would that I never be discovered to have injured him. + +NUR. What then this dreadful thing that impels thee to die? + +PHÆ. Suffer me to err, for against thee I err not. + +NUR. Not willingly [dost thou do so,] but 'tis through thee that I shall +perish.[10] + +PHÆ. What are you doing? you oppress me, hanging on me with your hand. + +NUR. And never will I let go these knees. + +PHÆ. Ills to thyself wilt thou hear, O wretched woman, if thou shalt hear +these ills. + +NUR. [Still will I cling:] for what greater evil can befall me than to lose +thee? + +PHÆ. You will be undone.[11] The thing however brings honor to me. + +NUR. And dost thou then hide what is useful, when I beseech thee? + +PHÆ. _Yes_, for from base things we devise things noble. + +NUR. Wilt not thou, then, appear more noble by telling it? + +PHÆ. Depart, by the Gods, and let go my hand! + +NUR. No in sooth, since thou givest me not the boon that were right. + +PHÆ. I will give it; for I have respect unto the reverence of thy hand. + +NUR. Now will I be silent: for hence is it yours to speak. + +PHÆ. O wretched mother, what a love didst thou love! + +NUR. That which she had for the bull, my child, or what is this thou +meanest? + +PHÆ. Thou, too, O wretched sister, wife of Bacchus! + +NUR. Child, what ails thee? thou speakest ill against thy relations. + +PHÆ. And I the third, how unhappily I perish! + +NUR. I am struck dumb with amazement. Whither will thy speech tend? + +PHÆ. _To that point_, whence we have not now lately become unfortunate. + +NUR. I know not a whit further of the things I wish to hear. + +PHÆ. Alas! would thou couldst speak the things which I must speak. + +NUR. I am no prophetess so as to know clearly things hidden. + +PHÆ. What is that thing, which they do call men's loving![12] + +NUR. The same, my child, a most delightful thing, and painful withal. + +PHÆ. One of the two feelings I must perceive. + +NUR. What say'st? Thou lovest, my child? What man! + +PHÆ. Him whoever he is,[13] that is born of the Amazon. + +NUR. Hippolytus dost thou say? + +PHÆ. From thyself, not me, you hear--this name. + +NUR. Ah me! what wilt thou go on to say? my child, how hast thou destroyed +me! Ladies, this is not to be borne; I will not endure to live, hateful is +the day, hateful the light I behold. I will hurl myself down, I will rid me +of this body: I will remove from life to death--farewell--I no longer am. +For the chaste are in love with what is evil, not willingly indeed, yet +still [they love.] Venus then is no deity, but if there be aught mightier +than deity, that is she, who hath destroyed both this my mistress, and me, +and the whole house. + +CHOR. Thou didst hear, O thou didst hear the queen lamenting her wretched +sufferings that should not be heard. Dear lady, may I perish before I come +to thy state of mind! Alas me! alas! alas! O hapless for these pangs! O the +woes that attend on mortals! Thou art undone, thou hast disclosed thy evils +to the light. What time is this that has eternally[14] awaited thee? Some +new misfortune will happen to the house. And no longer is it obscure where +the fortune of Venus sets, O wretched Cretan daughter. + +PHÆ. Women of Trœzene, who inhabit this extreme frontier of the land of +Pelops. Often at other times in the long season of night have I thought in +what manner the life of mortals is depraved.[15] And to me they seem to do +ill, not from the nature of their minds, for many have good thoughts, but +thus must we view these things. What things are good we understand and +know, but practice not; some from idleness, and others preferring some +other pleasures to what is right: for there are many pleasures in life-long +prates, and indolence, a pleasing ill, and shame; but there are two, the +one indeed not base, but the other the weight that overthrows houses, but +if the occasion on which each is used, were clear, the two things would not +have the same letters. Knowing them as I did these things beforehand, by no +drug did I think I should so far destroy these _sentiments_, as to fall +into an opposite way of thinking. But I will also tell you the course of my +determinations. After that love had wounded me, I considered how best I +might endure it. I began therefore from this time to be silent, and to +conceal this disease. For no confidence can be placed in the tongue, which +knows to advise the thoughts of other men, but itself from itself has very +many evils. But in the second place, I meditated to bear well my madness +conquering it by my chastity. But in the third place, since by these means +I was not able to subdue Venus, it appeared to me best to die: no one will +gainsay this resolution. For may it be my lot, neither to be concealed +where I do noble deeds, nor to have many witnesses, where I act basely. +Besides this I knew I was a woman--a thing hated by all. O may she most +miserably perish who first began to pollute the marriage-bed with other +men! From noble families first arose this evil among women: for when base +things appear right to those who are accounted good, surely they will +appear so to the bad. I hate moreover those women who are chaste in their +language indeed, but secretly have in them no good deeds of boldness: who, +how, I pray, O Venus my revered mistress, look they on the faces of their +husbands, nor dread the darkness that aided their deeds, and the ceilings +of the house, lest they should some time or other utter a voice? For this +bare idea kills me, friends, lest I should ever be discovered to have +disgraced my husband, or my children, whom I brought forth; but free, happy +in liberty of speech may they inhabit the city of illustrious Athens, in +their mother glorious! For it enslaves a man, though he be valiant-hearted, +when he is conscious of his mother's or his father's misdeeds. But this +alone they say in endurance compeers with life, an honest and good mind, to +whomsoever it belong. But Time, when it so chance, holding up the mirror as +to a young virgin, shows forth the bad, among whom may I be never seen! + +CHOR. Alas! alas! In every way how fair is chastity, and how goodly a +report has it among men! + +NUR. My mistress, just now indeed thy calamity coming upon me unawares, +gave me a dreadful alarm. But now I perceive I was weak; and somehow or +other among mortals second thoughts are the wisest. For thou hast not +suffered any thing excessive nor extraordinary, but the anger of the +Goddess hath fallen upon thee. Thou lovest--what wonder this? with many +mortals.--And then will you lose your life for love? There is then no +advantage for those who love others, nor to those who may hereafter, if +they must needs die. For Venus is a thing not to be borne, if she rush on +vehement. Who comes quietly indeed on the person who yields; but whom she +finds haughty and of lofty notions, him taking (how thinkest thou?) she +chastises. But Venus goes through air, and is on the ocean wave; and all +things from her have their birth. She it is that sows and gives forth love, +from whence all we on earth are engendered. As many indeed as ken the +writings of the ancients, or are themselves ever among the muses, they know +indeed, how that Jove was formerly inflamed with the love of Semele; they +know too, how that formerly the lovely bright Aurora bore away Cephalus up +to the Gods, for love, but still they live in heaven, and fly not from the +presence of the Gods: but they acquiesce yielding, I ween, to what has +befallen them. And wilt thou not bear it? Thy father then ought to have +begotten thee on stipulated terms, or else under the dominion of other +Gods, unless thou wilt be content with these laws. How many, thinkest thou, +are in full and complete possession of their senses, who, when they see +their bridal bed diseased, seem not to see it! And how many fathers, +thinkest thou, have aided their erring sons in matters of love, for this is +a maxim among the wise part of mankind, "that things that show not fair +should be concealed." Nor should men labor too exactly their conduct in +life, for neither would they do well to employ much accuracy in the roof +wherewith their houses are covered; but having fallen into fortune so deep +as thou hast, how dost thou imagine thou canst swim out? But if thou hast +more things good than bad, mortal as thou art, thou surely must be well +off. But cease, my dear child, from these evil thoughts, cease too from +being haughty, for nothing else save haughtiness is this, to wish to be +superior to the Gods. But, as thou art in love, endure it; a God hath +willed it so: and, being ill, by some good means or other try to get rid of +thy illness. But there are charms and soothing spells: there will appear +some medicine for this sickness. Else surely men would be slow indeed in +discoveries, if we women should not find contrivances. + +CHOR. Phædra, she speaks indeed most useful advice in thy present state: +but thee I praise. Yet is this praise less welcome than her words, and to +thee more painful to hear. + +PHÆ. This is it that destroys cities of men and families well +governed--words too fair. For it is not at all requisite to speak words +pleasant to the ear, but that whereby one may become of fair report. + +NUR. Why dost thou talk in this grand strain? thou needest not gay +decorated words, but a man: as soon as possible must those be found, who +will speak out the plain straightforward word concerning thee. For if thy +life were not in calamities of such a cast, I never would have brought thee +thus far for the sake of lust, and for thy pleasure: but now the great +point is to save thy life; and this is not a thing deserving of blame. + +PHÆ. O thou that hast spoken dreadful things, wilt thou not shut thy mouth? +and wilt not cease from uttering again those words most vile? + +NUR. Vile they are, but better these for thee than fair; but better will +the deed be (if at least it will save thee), than the name, in the which +while thou boastest, thou wilt die. + +PHÆ. Nay do not, I entreat thee by the Gods (for thou speakest well, but +base are [the things thou speakest]) go beyond this, since rightly have I +surrendered my life to love; but if thou speak base things in fair phrase, +I shall be consumed, [being cast] into that [evil] which I am now avoiding. + +NUR. If in truth this be thy opinion, thou oughtest not to err, but if thou +hast erred, be persuaded by me, for this is the next best thing thou canst +do.[16] I have in the house soothing philters of love (and they but lately +came into my thought); which, by no base deed, nor to the harm of thy +senses, will rid you of this disease, unless you are obstinate. But it is +requisite to receive from him that is the object of your love, some token, +either some word, or some relic of his vest, and to join from two one love. + +PHÆ. But is the charm an unguent or a potion? + +NUR. I know not: wish to be relieved, not informed, my child. + +PHÆ. I fear thee, lest thou should appear too wise to me. + +NUR. Know that you would fear every thing, _if you fear this_, but what is +it you are afraid of? + +PHÆ. Lest you should tell any of these things to the son of Theseus. + +NUR. Let be, my child, I will arrange these matters honorably, only be thou +my coadjutor, O Venus, my revered mistress; but the other things which I +purpose, it will suffice to tell to my friends within. + +CHORUS, PHÆDRA. + +CHOR. Love, love, O thou that instillest desire through the eyes, inspiring +sweet affection in the souls of those against whom thou makest war, mayst +thou never appear to me to my injury, nor come unmodulated: for neither is +the blast of fire nor the bolt of heaven more vehement, than that of Venus, +which Love, the boy of Jove, sends from his hands. In vain, in vain, both +by the Alpheus, and at the Pythian temples of Phœbus does Greece then +solemnize the slaughter of bulls: but Love, the tyrant of men, porter of +the dearest chambers of Venus, we worship not, the destroyer and visitant +of men in all shapes of calamity, when he comes. That virgin in Œchalia, +yoked to no bridal bed, till then unwedded, and who knew no husband, having +taken from her home a wanderer impelled by the oar, her, like some +Bacchanal of Pluto, with blood, with smoke, and murderous hymeneals did +Venus give to the son of Alcmena. O unhappy woman, because of her nuptials! +O sacred wall of Thebes, O mouth of Dirce, you can assist me in telling, in +what manner Venus comes: for by the forked lightning, by a cruel fate, did +she put to eternal sleep the parent of the Jove-begotten Bacchus, when she +was visited as a bride. For dreadful doth she breathe on all things, and +like some bee hovers about. + +PHÆ. Women, be silent: I am undone. + +CHOR. What is there that affrights thee, Phædra, in thine house? + +PHÆ. Be silent, that I may make out the voice of those within. + +CHOR. I am silent: this however is an evil bodement. + +PHÆ. Alas me! O! O! O! oh unhappy me, because of my sufferings! + +CHOR. What sound dost thou utter? what word speakest thou? tell me what +report frightens thee, lady, rushing upon thy senses! + +PHÆ. We are undone. Do you, standing at these gates, hear what the noise is +that strikes on the house? + +CHOR. Thou art by the gate, the noise that is sent forth from the house is +thy care. But tell me, tell me, what evil, I pray thee, came _to thine +ears_? + +PHÆ. The son of the warlike Amazon, Hippolytus, cries out, abusing in +dreadful forms my attendant. + +CHOR. I hear indeed a noise, but can not plainly tell how it is. The voice +came, it came through to the door. + +PHÆ. But hark! he calls her plainly the pander of wickedness, the betrayer +of her master's bed. + +CHOR. Alas me for thy miseries! Thou art betrayed, dear mistress. What +shall I counsel thee? for hidden things are come to light, and thou art +utterly destroyed---- + +PHÆ. O! O! + +CHOR. Betrayed by thy friends. + +PHÆ. She hath destroyed me by speaking of my unhappy state, kindly but not +honorably endeavoring to heal this disease. + +CHOR. How then? what wilt thou do, O thou that hast suffered things +incurable? + +PHÆ. I know not, save one thing; to die as soon as possible is the only +cure of my present sufferings. + +HIPPOLYTUS, PHÆDRA, NURSE, CHORUS. + +HIPP. O mother earth, and ye disclosing rays of the sun, of what words have +I heard the dreadful sound! + +NUR. Be silent, my son, before any one hears thy voice. + +HIPP. It is not possible for me to be silent, when I have heard such +dreadful things. + +NUR. Nay, I implore thee by thy beauteous hand. + +HIPP. Wilt not desist from bringing thy hand near me, and from touching my +garments? + +NUR. O! by thy knees, I implore thee, do not utterly destroy me. + +HIPP. But wherefore this? since, thou sayest, thou hast spoken nothing +evil. + +NUR. This word, my son, is by no means to be divulged. + +HIPP. It is more fair to speak fair things to many. + +NUR. O my child, by no means dishonor your oath. + +HIPP. My tongue hath sworn--my mind is still unsworn.[17] + +NUR. O my son, what wilt thou do? wilt thou destroy thy friends? + +HIPP. _Friends!_ I reject the word: no unjust person is my friend. + +NUR. Pardon, my child: that men should err is but to be expected. + +HIPP. O Jove, wherefore in the name of heaven didst thou place in the light +of the sun that specious[18] evil to men, women? for if thou didst will to +propagate the race of mortals, there was no necessity for this to be done +by women, but men might, having placed an equivalent in thy temples, either +in brass, or iron, or the weighty gold, buy a race of children, each for +the consideration of the value paid, and thus might dwell in unmolested +houses, without females. But now, first of all, when we prepare to bring +this evil to our homes, we squander away the wealth of our houses. By this +too it is evident, that woman is a great evil; for the father, who begat +her and brought her up, having given her a dowry sends her away in order to +be rid of the evil. But the husband, on the other hand, when he has +received the baneful evil[19] into his house, rejoices, having added a +beautiful decoration to a most vile image, and tricks her out with robes, +unhappy man, while he has been insensibly minishing the wealth of the +family. But he is constrained; so that having made alliance with noble +kinsmen, he retains with [seeming] joy a marriage bitter to him: or if he +has received a good bride, but worthless parents in law, he suppresses the +evil that has befallen him by the consideration of the good. But his state +is the easiest, whose wife is settled in his house, a cipher, but useless +by reason of simplicity. But a wise woman I detest: may there not be in my +house at least a woman more highly gifted with mind than woman ought to be. +For Venus engenders mischief rather among clever women, but a woman who is +not endowed with capacity, by reason of her small understanding, is removed +from folly. But it is right that an attendant should have no access to a +woman, but with them ought to dwell the speechless brute beasts, in which +case they would be able neither to address any one, nor from them to +receive a voice in return. But now, they that are evil follow after their +evil devices within, and the servants carry it forth abroad. As thou also +hast, O evil woman, come to the purpose of admitting me to share a bed +which must not be approached--a father's. Which impious things I will wash +out with flowing stream, pouring it into my ears: how then could I be the +vile one, who do not even deem myself pure, because I have heard such +things?--But be well assured, my piety protects thee, woman, for, had I not +been taken unawares by the oaths of the Gods, never would I have refrained +from telling these things to my father. But now will I depart from the +house, _and stay_ during the time that Theseus is absent from the land, and +will keep my mouth silent; but I will see, returning with my father's +return, how you will look at him, both you and your mistress. But your +boldness I shall know, having before had proof of it. May you perish: but +never shall I take my fill of hating women, not even if any one assert, +that I am always saying this. For in some way or other they surely are +always bad. Either then let some one teach them to be modest, or else let +him suffer me ever to utter my invectives against them. + +CHORUS, PHÆDRA, NURSE. + +CHOR. Oh unhappy ill-fated fortune of women! what art now or what words +have we, having failed as we have, to extricate the knot caused by [these] +words? + +PHÆ. We have met a just reward; O earth, and light, in what manner, I pray, +can I escape from my fortunes? and how, my friends, can I conceal my +calamity? Who of the Gods will appear my succorer, or what mortal my ally, +or my fellow-worker in unjust works? for the suffering of my life that is +at present on me comes hardly to be escaped.[20] I am the most ill-fated of +women. + +CHOR. Alas! alas! we are undone, lady, and the arts of thy attendant have +not succeeded, and it fares ill with us. + +PHÆ. O thou most vile, and the destruction of thy friends, what hast thou +done to me! May Jove, my ancestor, tear thee up by the roots, having +stricken thee by his fire. Did not I tell thee (did not I foresee thy +intention?) to be silent with regard to those things with which I am now +tormented? but thou couldst not refrain; wherefore I can no longer die with +glory: but I must now in sooth employ new measures. For he, now that his +mind is made keen with rage, will tell, to my detriment, thy errors to his +father, and will fill the whole earth with the most vile reports. Mayst +thou perish, both thou and whoever else is forward to assist friends +against their will otherwise than by honorable means. + +NUR. Lady, thou canst indeed blame the evil I have wrought; for that which +gnaws upon thee masters thy better judgment;--but I too have somewhat to +say in answer to these things, if thou wilt admit it: I brought thee up, +and have a kind affection toward thee; but, while searching for medicine +for thy disease, I found not that I wished for. But if I had succeeded, I +had been surely ranked among the wise; for we have the reputation of sense +according to our success. + +PHÆ. What? is this conduct just, and satisfactory to me, to injure me +first, and then to meet me in argument? + +NUR. We talk too long--I did not behave wisely. But even from this state of +things it is possible that thou mayest be saved, my child. + +PHÆ. Desist from speaking; for before also thou didst not well advise for +me, and didst attempt evil things. But depart from my sight, and take care +about thyself; for I will settle my own affairs in an honorable manner. But +you, noble daughters of Trœzene, grant thus much to me requesting it, bury +in silence what you here have heard. + +CHOR. I swear by hallowed Dian, daughter of Jove, that I will never reveal +to the face of day one of thy evils. + +PHÆ. Thou hast well spoken: but one kind of resource, while I search around +me,[21] do I find for my present calamity, so that I may make the life of +my children glorious, and may myself be assisted as things have now fallen +out. For never will I disgrace the house of Crete at least, nor will I come +before the face of Theseus having acted basely, for one's life's sake. + +CHOR. But what irremediable evil art thou then about to perpetrate? + +PHÆ. To die: but how, this will I devise. + +CHOR. Speak words of better omen. + +PHÆ. And do thou at least advise me well. But having quitted life this day, +I shall gratify Venus, who destroys me, and shall be conquered by bitter +love. But when I am dead, I shall be an evil to another at least,[22] so +that he may know not to exult over my misfortunes; but, having shared this +malady in common with me, he shall learn to be modest. + +CHOR. Would that I were under the rocks' vast retreats,[23] and that there +the God would make me a winged bird among the swift flocks, and that I were +lifted up above the ocean wave that dashes against the Adriatic shore, and +the water of Eridanus, where for grief of Phaethon the thrice wretched +virgins let fall into their father's billow the amber-beaming brightness of +their tears: and that I could make my way to the shore where the apples +grow of the harmonious daughters of Hesperus, where the ruler of the ocean +no longer permits the passage of the purple sea to mariners, dwelling in +that dread bourn of heaven which Atlas doth sustain, and the ambrosial +founts stream forth hard by the couches of Jove's palaces, where the divine +and life-bestowing earth increases the bliss of the Gods. O white-winged +bark of Crete, who didst bear my queen through the perturbed[24] ocean wave +of brine from a happy home, thereby aiding her in a most evil marriage. For +surely in both instances, or at any rate from Crete she came ill-omened to +renowned Athens, when on the Munychian shore they bound the platted ends of +their cables, and disembarked on the continent. Wherefore she was +heartbroken with the terrible disease of unhallowed love by the influence +of Venus; and now that she can no longer hold out against the heavy +calamity,[25] she will fit around her the noose suspended[26] from the +ceiling of her bridal chamber, adjusting it to her white neck, having +revered the hateful Goddess, and embracing an honorable name, and ridding +from her breast the painful love. + +FEMALE SERVANT, CHORUS, THESEUS. + +SERV. Alack! alack! run to my succor all that are near the house--My +mistress the wife of Theseus is hanging. + +CHOR. Alas! alas! the deed is done: the queen is indeed no more--she is +suspended in the noose that hangs there. + +SERV. Will ye not haste? will not some one bring a two-edged sword, with +which we may undo this knot around her neck? + +SEMICHOR. My friends, what do we? does it seem good to enter the house and +to free the queen from the tight-drawn noose? + +SEMICHOR. Why we? Are not the young men-servants at hand? The being +over-busy is not a safe plan through life. + +SERV. Lay right the wretched corpse, pull her limbs straight. A grievous +housekeeping this for my master! + +CHOR. The unhappy woman, as I hear, has perished, for already are they +laying her out as a corpse. + +THES. Know ye, females, what noise this is in my house? a heavy sound of my +attendants reached me. For the family does not think fit to open the gates +to me and to hail me with joy as having returned from the oracle. Has any +ill befallen the aged Pittheus? His life is now indeed far advanced; but +still he would be much lamented by us, were he to leave this house. + +CHOR. This that has happened, Theseus, extends not to the old; the young +are they that by their death will grieve thee. + +THES. Alas me! is the life of any of my children stolen from me? + +CHOR. They live, but their mother is dead in a way that will grieve thee +most. + +THES. What sayest? My wife dead? By what fate? + +CHOR. She suspended the noose, wherewith she strangled herself. + +THES. Wasted with sorrow, or from some sudden calamity? + +CHOR. Thus much we know--_nothing further_; for I am but just come to thy +house, Theseus, to bewail thy evils. + +THES. Alas! alas! why then have I my head crowned with entwined leaves, who +am the unhappy inquirer of the oracle? Servants, undo the bars of the +gates; unloose the bolts, that I may behold the mournful spectacle of my +wife, who by her death hath utterly undone me. + +CHOR. Alas! alas! unhappy for thy wretched ills: thou hast been a sufferer; +thou hast perpetrated a deed of such extent as to throw this house into +utter confusion. Alas! alas! thy boldness, O thou who hast died a violent +death, and, by an unhallowed chance, the act committed by thy wretched +hand. Who is it then, thou unhappy one, that destroys thy life? + +THES. Alas me for my sufferings![27] I have suffered, unhappy wretch, the +extreme of my troubles--O fortune, how heavy hast thou come upon me and my +house, an imperceptible spot from some evil demon! the wearing out of a +life not to be endured;[28] and I, unhappy wretch, perceive a sea of +troubles so great, that never again can I emerge from it, nor escape beyond +the flood of this calamity. What mention making can I unhappy, what +heavy-fated fortune of thine, lady, saying that it was, can I be right? For +as some bird thou art vanished from my hand, having leaped me a sudden leap +to the realms of Pluto. Alas! alas! wretched, wretched are these +sufferings, but from some distant period or other receive I this calamity +from the Gods, for the errors of some of those of old. + +CHOR. Not to thee alone, O king, have these evils happened; but with many +others thou hast lost an excellent wife.[29] + +THES. In the shades beneath the earth, I unhappy wish, dying, to dwell in +darkness, reft as I am of thy most dear company, for thou hast destroyed +rather than perished--What then do I hear? whence came the deadly chance, +lady, to thine heart? Will any speak what has happened, or does my royal +palace contain to no purpose the crowd of my attendants?--Alas me on thy +account! unhappy that I am, what grief in my house have I seen, +intolerable, indescribable! but--we are undone! my house left desolate, and +my children orphans. + +CHOR. Thou hast left us, thou hast left us, O dear among women, and most +excellent of those as many as both the light of the sun, and the +star-visaged moon of night behold. O unhappy man! how great ill doth the +house contain! with tears gushing over, my eyelids are wet at thy calamity. +But the woe that will ensue on this I have long since been dreading. + +THES. Alas! alas! What I pray is this letter suspended from her dear hand? +does it mean to betoken some new calamity?--What, has the unhappy woman +written injunctions to me, making some request about[30] my bridal bed and +my children? Be of good courage, hapless one; for no woman exists, who +shall enter the bed and the house of Theseus. But lo! the impressions of +the golden seal[31] of her no more here court my attention.[32] Come, let +me unfold the envelopments of the seal, and see what this letter should say +to me. + +CHOR. Alas! alas! this new evil in succession again doth the God bring on. +To me indeed the condition of life will be impossible to bear,[33] from +what has happened; for I consider, alas! as ruined and no more the house of +my kings. O God, if it be in any way possible, do not overthrow the house; +but hear me as I pray, for from some quarter, as though a prophet, I behold +an evil omen. + +THES. Ah me! what other evil is this in addition to evil, not to be borne, +nor spoken! alas wretched me! + +CHOR. What is the matter? Tell me if it may be told me. + +THES. It cries out--the letter cries out things most dreadful: which way +can I fly the weight of my ills; for I perish utterly destroyed. What, what +a complaint have I seen speaking in her writing! + +CHOR. Alas! thou utterest words foreboding woes. + +THES. No longer will I keep within the door of my lips this dreadful, +dreadful evil hardly to be uttered. O city, city, Hippolytus has dared by +force to approach my bed, having despised the awful eye of Jove. But O +father Neptune, by one of these three curses, which thou formerly didst +promise me, by one of those destroy my son, and let him not escape beyond +this day, if thou hast given me curses that shall be verified. + +CHOR. O king, by the Gods recall back this prayer, for hereafter you will +know that you have erred; be persuaded by me. + +THES. It can not be: and moreover I will drive him from this land. And by +one or other of the two fates shall he be assailed: for either Neptune +shall send him dead to the mansions of Pluto, having respect unto my wish; +or else banished from this country, wandering over a foreign land, he shall +drag out a miserable existence. + +CHOR. And lo! thy son Hippolytus is present here opportunely, but if thou +let go thy evil displeasure, king Theseus, thou wilt advise the best for +thine house. + +HIPPOLYTUS, THESEUS, CHORUS. + +HIPP. I heard thy cry, my father, and came in haste; the thing however, for +which you are groaning, I know not; but would fain hear from you. Ha! what +is the matter? I behold thy wife, my father, a corpse: this is a thing meet +for the greatest wonder.--Her, whom I lately left, her, who beheld the +light no great time since. What ails her? In what manner died she, my +father, I would fain hear from you. Art silent? But there is no use of +silence in misfortunes; for the heart which desires to hear all things, is +found eager also in the case of ills. It is not indeed right, my father, to +conceal thy misfortunes from friends, and even more than friends. + +THES. O men, who vainly go astray in many things, why then do ye teach ten +thousand arts, and contrive and invent every thing; but one thing ye do not +know, nor yet have investigated, to teach those to be wise who have no +intellect! + +HIPP. A clever sophist this you speak of, who is able to compel those who +have no wisdom to be rightly wise. But (for thou art arguing too refinedly +on no suitable occasion) I fear, O father, lest thy tongue be talking at +random through thy woes. + +THES. Alas! there ought to be established for men some infallible proof of +their friends, and some means of knowing their dispositions, both who is +true, and who is not a friend, and men ought all to have two voices, the +one true, the other as it chanced, that the untrue one might be convicted +by the true, and then we should not be deceived. + +HIPP. Has some one then falsely accused me in your ear, and am I suffering +who am not at all guilty? I am amazed, for your words, wandering beyond the +bounds of reason, do amaze me. + +THES. Alas! the mind of man, to what lengths will it go? what will be the +limit to its boldness and temerity? For if it shall increase with each +generation of man, and the successor shall be wicked a degree beyond his +predecessor, it will be necessary for the Gods to add to the earth another +land, which[34] will contain the unjust and the evil ones.--But look: ye on +this man, who being born of me hath defiled my bed, and is manifestly +convicted by the deceased of being most base.--But, since thou hast come to +this attaint, show thy face here before thy father. Dost thou forsooth +associate with the Gods, as being an extraordinary person? art thou chaste +and uncontaminated with evil? I will not believe thy boasts, attributing +(_as I must, if I do believe_) to the Gods the folly of thinking evil. Now +then vaunt, and with thy feeding on inanimate food retail your doctrines +upon men, and having Orpheus[35] for your master, revel it, reverencing the +emptiness of many letters; _which avail you not_; since you are caught. + +But such sort of men I warn all to shun; for they hunt with fair-sounding +words, while they devise base things. She is dead: dost thou think this +will save thee? By this thou art most detected, O thou most vile one! For +what sort of oaths, what arguments can be more strong than what she says, +so that thou canst escape the accusation? Wilt thou say that she hated +thee, and that the bastard race is hateful forsooth to those of noble +birth? A bad housewife then of life you account her, if through hatred of +thee she lost what was most dear to her. But wilt thou say that there is +not this folly in men, but that there is in women? I myself have known +young men who were not a whit more steady than women, when Venus disturbed +the youthful mind: but their pretense of manliness protects them. Now +however, why do I thus contend against thy words, when the corse, the +surest witness, is here? Depart an exile from this land as soon as +possible. And neither go to the divine-built Athens, nor to the confines of +that land over which my sceptre rules. For if I thus suffering by thee be +vanquished, never will the Isthmian Sinis bear witness of me that I killed +him, but will say that I vainly boast. Nor will the Scironian rocks, that +dwell by the sea, confess that I am formidable to the bad. + +CHOR. I know not how I can say that any of mortals is happy; for the things +that were most excellent are turned back again. + +HIPP. Father, thy rage indeed, and the commotion of thy mind is terrible; +this thing, however, though it have fair arguments, if any one unravel it, +is not fair. But I am unadorned with phrase to speak to the multitude, but +to speak to my equals and to a few, more expert: but this also has +consistency in it; for those, who are of no account among the wise, are +more fitted to speak before the rabble. But yet it is necessary for me, +since this calamity has come, to unloose my tongue. But first will I begin +to speak from that point where first you attacked, as though you would +destroy, and as though I should not answer again. Dost thou behold this +light and this earth? In these there is not a man more chaste than me, not +even though thou deny it. For, first indeed, I know to reverence the Gods, +and to have such friends as attempt not to be unjust, but those, to whom +there is modesty, so that neither they give utterance to evil thoughts, nor +minister in return base services to those who use their friendship: nor am +I the derider of my associates, O father, but the same man to my friends +when they are not present, and when I am with them. But of one thing by +which thou thinkest to crush me, I am pure;[36] for to this day my body is +undefiled by the couch of love; and I know not the deed except hearing of +it by report, and seeing it in a picture, nor even am I forward to look at +these things, having a virgin mind. And perhaps my modesty persuades you +not. Behooves it thee then to show in what manner I lost it. Did this +woman's person excel in beauty all women? Or did I hope to rule over thine +house, having thy bridal bed as carrying dowry with it? I must in that case +have been a fool, and not at all in my senses. But did I do it as though to +reign were pleasant to the modest? By no means indeed is it, except +monarchy have destroyed the minds of men who are pleased with her. But I +would wish indeed to be first victor in the Grecian games, but second in +the state ever to be happy with the most excellent friends. For thus is it +possible to be well circumstanced: but the absence of the danger gives +greater joy than dominion. One of my arguments has not been spoken, but the +rest you are in possession of: for, if I had a witness such as myself am, +and were she alive during my contention, you would know the evil ones, +searching them by their works. But now I swear by Jove, the guardian of +oaths,[37] and by the plain of the earth, that never touched I thy bridal +bed, nor ever wished it, nor conceived the thought. Else may I perish +inglorious, without a name, and may neither sea nor earth receive the flesh +of me when dead, if I be a wicked man. But whether or no she have destroyed +her life through fear, I know not: for it is not lawful for me to speak +further. Cautious[38] she was, though she could not be chaste; but I, who +could be, had the power to no good purpose. + +CHOR. Thou hast said sufficient to rebut the charge, in offering the oaths +by the Gods, no slight proof. + +THES. Is not this man then an enchanter and a juggler, who trusts that he +will overcome my mind by his goodness of disposition, after he has +dishonored his father? + +HIPP. I too very much wonder at this conduct of yours, my father; for if +you were my son, and I your father, I should slay you, and not punish you +by banishment, if you had dared to defile my wife. + +THES. How fitly hast thou said this! yet thou shalt not so die, as thou +hast laid down this law for thyself; for a quick grave is easiest to the +miserable man; but wandering an exile from thy country's land to foreign +realms, thou shalt drag out a life of bitterness; for this is the reward +for the impious man. + +HIPP. Ah me! what wilt thou do? wilt thou not even await time as evidence +against me, but wilt thou banish me from the land? + +THES. Ay, beyond the ocean, and the place of Atlas,[39] if any way I could, +so much do I hate thee. + +HIPP. Without having even examined oath, or proof, or the sayings of the +seers, wilt thou cast me uncondemned from out the land? + +THES. This letter here, that waiteth no seer's observations,[40] accuses +thee faithfully; but to the birds that flit above my head I bid a long +farewell. + +HIPP. O Gods, wherefore then do I not ope my mouth, who am destroyed by you +whom I worship?--And yet not so--for thus I should not altogether persuade +those whom I ought, but should be violating to no purpose the oaths which I +have sworn. + +THES. Alas me! how thy sanctity kills me! Wilt not thou go as quick as +possible from thy country's land? + +HIPP. Whither then shall I unhappy turn me; what stranger's mansion shall I +enter, banished on this charge? + +THES. His, who delights to entertain defilers of women, and those who dwell +with[41] evil deeds. + +HIPP. Alas! alas! this goes to my heart, and almost makes me weep: if +indeed I appear vile, and seem so to thee. + +THES. Then oughtest thou to have groaned, and owned the guilt before, when +thou daredst to wrong thy father's wife. + +HIPP. O mansions, would that ye could utter me a voice, and bear witness +whether I be a vile man! + +THES. Dost fly to dumb witnesses? this deed, though it speak not, clearly +proves thee vile. + +HIPP. Alas! would that I could look upon myself standing opposite, to that +degree do I weep for the evils which I suffer! + +THES. Thou hast accustomed thyself much more to regard thyself, than to be +a just man, and to do what is righteous to thy parents. + +HIPP. O unhappy mother! O wretched natal hour! may none of my friends ever +be illegitimate. + +THES. Servants, will ye not drag him out? did you not hear me long ago +pronounce him banished! + +HIPP. Any one of them shall touch me to his cost however; but thou thyself, +if it be thy desire, thrust me out from the land. + +THES. I will do this, unless thou wilt obey my words, for no pity for thy +banishment comes over me. + +HIPP. It is fixed, as it seems; alas, wretch that I am! since I know these +things indeed, but know not how to say them. O most dear to me of deities, +daughter of Latona, thou that assortest with me, huntest with me, we shall +then indeed be banished illustrious Athens: but farewell O city, and land +of Erectheus. O plain of Trœzene, how many things hast thou to employ the +happy youth! Farewell! for I address thee, beholding thee for the last +time--Come youths of this land my companions, bid me farewell, and conduct +me from the land, for never shall you see a man more chaste, even though I +seem not to my father. + +CHORUS. + +Surely the providence of the Gods, when it comes into my mind, greatly +takes away sorrow: but cherishing in my hope some knowledge, I am utterly +deficient, when I look on the fortunes and on the deeds of men, for they +are changed in different manners, and the life of man varies, ever +exceeding vague. Would that in answer to my petitions fate from the Gods +would give me this, prosperity with riches, and a mind unsullied by griefs. +And be my character neither too high, nor on the other hand infamous. But +changing my easy habits with the morrow ever may I lead a happy life; for +no longer have I an unperturbed mind, but I see things contrary to my +expectations: since we have seen the brightest star of Grecian Minerva sent +forth to another land on account of his father's rage. O sands of the +neighboring shore, and mountain wood, where with the swift-footed dogs he +wont to slay the wild beasts, accompanying the chaste Dian! No more shalt +thou mount the car drawn by the team of Henetian steeds, restraining with +thy foot the horses in their exercise on the course round Limna.[42] And +the sleepless song that used to dwell under the bridge of the chords shall +cease in thy father's house. And the haunts of the daughter of Latona in +the deep wood shall be without their garlands: and the contest among the +damsels for thy bridal bed has died away by reason of thy exile. But I, for +thy misfortunes, shall endure with tears a fortuneless fortune.[43] O +unhappy mother, thou hast brought forth in vain! Alas! I am enraged with +the Gods. Alas! alas! united charms of marriage, wherefore send ye the +unhappy one, guilty of no crime, away from his country's land--away from +these mansions? + +But lo! I perceive a follower of Hippolytus with a sad countenance coming +toward the house in haste. + +MESSENGER, CHORUS. + +MESS. Ye females, whither going can I find Theseus, king of this land? If +ye know, tell me: is he within this palace? + +CHOR. The [king] himself is coming out of the palace. + +MESSENGER, THESEUS, CHORUS. + +MESS. I bring a tale that demands concern, of thee and of thy subjects, +both those who inhabit the city of the Athenians, and the realms of the +Trœzenian land. + +THES. What is it? Has any sudden calamity come upon the two neighboring +states? + +MESS. To speak the word--Hippolytus is no more. He views the light however +for a short moment. + +THES. _Killed_? By whom? Has any come to enmity with him, whose wife, as +his father's, he has forcibly defiled? + +MESS. His own chariot slew him, and the imprecations of thy mouth, which +thou didst put up to thy father, the ruler of the ocean, concerning thy +son. + +THES. O ye Gods! and O Neptune! how truly then wert thou my father, when +thou didst duly hear my imprecations! Tell me too, how did he perish? in +what way did the staff of Justice strike him that disgraced me? + +MESS. We indeed near the wave-beaten shore were combing out with combs the +horses' hair, weeping, for there had come a messenger saying, that +Hippolytus no longer trod on this land, having from thee received the +sentence of wretched banishment. But he came bringing to us on the shore +the same strain of tears: and an innumerable throng of his friends and +companions came following with him. But at length after some time he spake, +having ceased from his groans. "Wherefore am I thus disquieted? My father's +words must be obeyed. My servants, yoke to my car the harnessed steeds, for +this city is for me no more." Then indeed every man hasted, and sooner than +one could speak we drew up the horses caparisoned before our master; and he +seizes with his hands the reins from off the bow of the chariot, mounting +with his foot sandaled as it was.[44] And first indeed he addressed the +Gods with outstretched hands: "Jove, may I no longer exist, if I am a base +man; but may my father perceive how unworthily he treats me, either when I +am dead, or while I view the light." And on this having taken the whip in +his hands he struck the horses both at once: and we the attendants followed +our master by the chariot close to the reins, along the road that leads +straightway to Argos and Epidauria, but when we came into the desert +country, there is a certain shore beyond this land which slopes even down +to the Saronic Sea, from thence a voice like the subterraneous thunder of +Jove sent forth a dreadful groan appalling to hear, and the horses pointed +their heads erect and their ears toward the sky, and on us there came a +vehement fear, whence possibly the voice could come: but looking toward the +sea-beaten shore we beheld a vast wave pillared in heaven, so that the view +of the heights of Sciron was taken from mine eye:[45] and it concealed the +Isthmus and the rock of Æsculapius. And then swelling up and splashing +forth[46] much foam around in the ocean surf, it moves toward the shore, +where was the chariot drawn by its four horses. But together with its +breaker and its tripled surge,[47] the wave sent forth a bull, a fierce +monster; with whose bellowing the whole land filled resounded fearfully: +and to the lookers-on a sight appeared more dreadful than the eyes could +bear. And straightway a dreadful fear comes over the steeds. But their +master, being much conversant with the ways of horses, seized the reins in +his hands, and pulls them as a sailor pulls his oar, having fixed his body +in an opposite direction to the reins.[48] But they, champing with their +jaws the forged bits, bare him on forcibly, heeding neither the hand that +steered them, nor the traces, nor the compact chariot: and, if indeed +holding the reins he directed their course toward the softer ground, the +bull appeared in front, so as to turn them away maddening with fright the +four horses that drew the chariot. But if they were borne to the rocks +maddened in mettle, silently approaching the chariot he followed so far, +until he overthrew it and drove it backward, dashing the felly of the wheel +against the rock. And all was in confusion, and the naves of the wheels +flew up, and the linch-pins of the axles. But the unhappy man himself +entangled in the reins is dragged along, bound in a difficult bond, his +head dashed against the rocks, and torn his flesh, and crying out in a +voice dreadful to hear, "Stop, O ye that have been trained up in my stalls, +do not destroy me. Oh unhappy imprecation of my father! Who will come near +and save a most excellent man?" But many of us wishing so to do failed +through want of swiftness: and he indeed freed, in what manner I know not, +from the entanglements of the reins, falls, having the breath of life in +him, but for a very short time. And the horses vanished, and the woeful +monster of the bull I know not where in the mountain country. I am indeed +the slave of thy house, O king, but thus much never shall I at least be +able to be persuaded of thy son, that he is evil, not even if the whole +race of women were hung, and though one should fill with writing all the +fir of Ida,[49] since I am confident that he is virtuous. + +CHOR. Alas! alas! The calamity of new evils is consummated, nor is there +refuge from fate and from what must be. + +THES. Through hate of the man, who has thus suffered, I was pleased with +this account; but now, having respect unto the Gods, and to him, because he +is of me, I am neither pleased, nor yet troubled at these ills. + +MESS. How then? Must we bring him hither, or what must we do to the unhappy +man to gratify thy wishes! Think; but if thou take my advice, thou wilt not +be harsh toward thy son in his misfortunes. + +THES. Bear him hither, that seeing him before my eyes that denied he had +defiled my bed, I may confute him with words, and with what has happened +from the Gods. + +CHOR. Thou, Venus, bendest the stubborn mind of the Gods, and of mortals, +and with thee he of varied plume, that darts about on swiftest wing; and +flies over the earth and over the loud-resounding briny ocean; and Love +charms to subjection, on whose maddened heart the winged urchin come +gleaming with gold, the race of the mountain whelps, and of those that +inhabit the sea, and as many things as the earth nourisheth, which the sun +doth behold scorched [with its rays,] and men: but over all these things +thou, Venus, alone holdest sovereign rule. + +DIANA, THESEUS, CHORUS. + +DI. Thee, the noble son of Ægeus, I command to listen; but it is I, Diana, +daughter of Latona, who am addressing thee: Theseus, wherefore dost thou, +wretched man, take delight in these things, seeing that thou hast slain in +no just way thy son, being persuaded by the lying words of thy wife in +things not seen? But the guilt that has seized on thee is manifest. How +canst thou, shamed as thou art, refrain from hiding thy body beneath the +dark recesses of the earth? or from withdrawing thy foot from this +suffering, by changing thy nature, and becoming a winged creature above? +Since among good men at least thou hast not a part in life to possess. +Hear, O Theseus, the state of thy ills. Even though I gain no advantage +from it, yet will I torment thee; but for this purpose came I to show thee +the upright mind of thy son, that he may die with a good reputation, and +thy wife's passion, or, in some sort, nobleness; for, gnawed by the stings +of that deity most hateful to us, as many as delight in virginity, she +became enamored of thy son. But while she endeavored by right feeling to +conquer Venus, she was destroyed not willingly by the means employed by the +nurse, who having first bound him by oaths, told thy son her malady. But +he, as was right, obeyed not her words; nor, again, though evil-entreated +by thee, did he violate the sanctity of his oaths, being a pious man. But +she, fearing lest her conduct should be scrutinized, wrote a false letter, +and by deceit destroyed thy son, but nevertheless persuaded thee. + +THES. Ah me! + +DI. My tale torments thee, Theseus, but be still, that having heard what +follows thou mayest groan the more--Knowest thou then that thou receivedst +from thy father three wishes with a certainty of their being granted? +Whereof one thou hast expended, O most evil one, on thy son, when thou +mightest have done it on some of thine enemies. Thy father then that +dwelleth in the ocean, gave thee as much as he was bound to give, because +he promised. But thou both in his eyes and in mine appearest evil, who +neither didst await nor examine proof, nor the voice of the prophets, didst +not leave the consideration to length of time, but, quicker than became +thee, didst vent thy curses against thy son and slay him. + +THES. Mistress, let me die! + +DI. Thou hast committed dreadful deeds, but nevertheless, it is still +possible even for thee to obtain pardon for these things. For Venus willed +that these things should be in order to satiate her rage. But among the +Gods the law is thus--None wishes to thwart the purpose of him that wills +anything, but we always give way. Since, be well assured, were it not that +I feared Jove, never should I have come to such disgrace, as to suffer to +die a man of all mortals the most dear to me. But thine error, first of all +thine ignorance frees from malice; and then thy wife by her dying put an +end to the proof of words, so as to persuade thy mind. Chiefly then on thee +these ills are burst, but sorrow is to me too; for Gods rejoice not when +the pious die; the wicked however we destroy with their children and their +houses. + +CHOR. And lo! the unhappy man there is coming, all mangled his young flesh +and auburn head. Oh the misery of the house! such double anguish coming +down from heaven has been wrought in the palaces! + +HIPPOLYTUS, DIANA, THESEUS, CHORUS. + +HIPP. O! O! O! Unhappy I was thus foully mangled by the unjust prayers of +an unjust father--I am destroyed miserably. Ah me! ah me! Pains rush +through my head, and the spasm darts across my brain. Stop, I will rest my +fainting body. Oh! oh! O those hateful horses of my chariot, things which I +fed with my own hand, ye have destroyed me utterly and slain me. Oh! oh! by +the Gods, gently, my servants, touch with your hands my torn flesh. Who +stands by my side on the right? Lift me up properly, and take hold all +equally on me, the unblessed of heaven, and cursed by my father's +error--Jove, Jove, beholdest thou these things? Lo! I, the chaste, and the +reverencer of the Gods, I who in modesty exceed all, have lost my life, and +go to a manifest hell beneath the earth; but in vain have I labored in the +task of piety toward men. O! O! O! O! and now the pain, the pain comes upon +me, loose unhappy me, and let death come to be my physician. Destroy me, +destroy the unhappy one--I long for a two-edged blade, wherewith to cut me +in pieces, and to put my life to an eternal rest. Oh unhappy curse of my +father! the evil too of my blood-polluted kinsmen, my old forefathers, +bursts forth[50] upon me; nor is it at a distance; and it hath come on me, +wherefore, I pray, who am nothing guilty of these ills? Alas me! me! what +can I say? how can I free my life from this cruel calamity? Would that the +black and nightly fate of Pluto would put me wretched to eternal sleep! + +DI. Oh unhappy mortal, with what a calamity art thou enthralled! but the +nobleness of thy mind hath destroyed thee. + +HIPP. Let be. O divine breathing of perfume, for, even though being in +ills, I perceived thee, and felt my body lightened of its pain.[51] The +Goddess Dian is in this place. + +DI. Oh unhappy one! she is, to thee the most dear of deities. + +HIPP. Mistress, thou seest wretched me, in what state I am. + +DI. I see; but it is not lawful for me to shed a tear down mine eyes. + +HIPP. Thy hunter, and thy servant is no more. + +DI. No in sooth; but beloved by me thou perishest. + +HIPP. And he that managed they steeds, and guarded thy statutes. + +DI. _Ay_, for the crafty Venus hath so wrought. + +HIPP. Ah me! I perceive indeed the power that hath destroyed me. + +DI. She thought her honor aggrieved, and hated thee for being chaste. + +HIPP. One Venus hath destroyed us three. + +DI. Thy father, and thee, and his wife the third. + +HIPP. I mourn therefore also my father's misery. + +DI. He was deceived by the devices of the Goddess. + +HIPP. Oh! unhappy thou, because of this calamity, my father! + +THES. I perish, my son, nor have I delight in life. + +HIPP. I lament thee rather than myself on account of thy error. + +THES. My son, would that I could die in thy stead! + +HIPP. Oh! the bitter gifts of thy father Neptune! + +THES. Would that the prayer had never come into my mouth. + +HIPP. Wherefore this wish? thou wouldst have slain me, so enraged wert thou +then. + +THES. For I was deceived in my notions by the Gods. + +HIPP. Alas! would that the race of mortals could curse the Gods! + +DI. Let be; for not even when thou art under the darkness of the earth +shall the rage arising from the bent of the Goddess Venus descend upon thy +body unrevenged: by reason of thy piety and thy excellent mind. For with +these inevitable weapons from mine own hand will I revenge me on +another,[52] whoever to her be the dearest of mortals. But to thee, O +unhappy one, in recompense for these evils, will I give the greatest honors +in the land of Trœzene; for the unwedded virgins before their nuptials +shall shear their locks to thee for many an age, owning the greatest sorrow +tears can give; but ever among the virgins shall there be a remembrance of +thee that shall awake the song, nor dying away without a name shall +Phædra's love toward thee pass unrecorded:--But thou, O son of the aged +Ægeus, take thy son in thine arms and clasp him to thee; for unwillingly +thou didst destroy him, but that men should err, when the Gods dispose +events, is but to be expected!--and thee, Hippolytus, I exhort not to +remain at enmity with thy father; for thou perceivest the fate, whereby +thou wert destroyed. And farewell! for it is not lawful for me to behold +the dead, nor to pollute mine eye with the gasps of the dying; but I see +that thou art now near this calamity. + +HIPP. Go thou too, and farewell, blessed virgin! But thou easily quittest a +long companionship. But I give up all enmity against my father at thy +request, for before also I was wont to obey thy words. Ah! ah! darkness now +covers me over mine eyes. Take hold on me, my father, and lift up my body. + +THES. Ah me! my son, what dost thou, do to me unhappy? + +HIPP. I perish, and do indeed see the gates of hell. + +THES. What? leaving my mind uncleansed from thy blood? + +HIPP. No in sooth, since I free thee from this murder. + +THES. What sayest thou? dost thou remit me free from the guilt of blood? + +HIPP. I call to witness Dian that slays with the bow. + +THES. O most dear, how noble thou appearest to thy father! + +HIPP. O farewell thou too, take my best farewell, my father! + +THES. Oh me! for thy pious and brave soul! + +HIPP. Pray to have legitimate sons like me. + +THES. Do not, I prithee, leave me, my son, but be strong. + +HIPP. My time of strength is past; for I perish, my father: but cover my +face as quickly as possible with robes. + +THES. O famous realms of Athens and of Pallas, of what a man will ye have +been bereaved! Oh unhappy I! What abundant reason, Venus, shall I have to +remember thy ills! + +CHOR. This common grief to all the citizens hath come unexpectedly. There +will be a fast falling of many tears; for the mournful stories of great men +rather obtain. + + * * * * * + +NOTES ON HIPPOLYTUS + + * * * * + +[1] The construction in the original furnishes a remarkable example of the +"nominativus pendens." + +[2] Or, _that posterity might know it_. TR. Dindorf would omit these words. +B. + +[3] Dindorf would omit these lines. I think the difficulty in the structure +may be removed by reading ‛οστις instead of ‛οσοις. The enallage, ‛οστις +... τουτοις, is by no means unusual. B. + +[4] Cf. Soph. Œd. Col. 121, sqq. B. + +[5] Which at present you do not appear to have. + +[6] Monk would join ωκεανου with πετρα, as in the translation, but other +commentators prefer, which is certainly more simple, to join it with ‛υδωρ. +Then the difficulty occurs of sea-water being unfit for washing vests. This +difficulty Beck obviates, by saying that ‛υδωρ ωκεανου may be applied to +fresh water, Ocean being the parent of all streams, the word ωκεανου being +here, in a manner, redundant. TR. Matthiæ is very wrath with the "all on a +washing day" manner in which the Chorus learned Phædra's indisposition. The +"Bothie of Toper na Fuosich" will furnish some similar simplicities, such +as the meeting a lassie "digging potatoes." But we might as well object to +the whole story of Nausicaa. It must be recollected that the duties of the +laundry were considered more aristocratic by the ancients, than in modern +times. B. + +[7] Cf. Æsch. Pr. 23. Χροιας αμειψεις ανθος. B. + +[8] Literally _a speech mounted on madness_. A similar expression occurs, +Odyssey Α. 297. Νηπιαας οχεειν. + +[9] Plutarch in explanation of this line says, "καθαπερ ποδα νεως, +επιδιδοντα και προσαγοντα ταις χρειαις την φιλιαν." + +[10] I have followed the elegant interpretation of L. Dindorf, who observes +that ου δηθ ‛εκουσα refers to Phædra's assertion, ου γαρ ες σ' αμαρτανω, +and that the meaning is, "non quidem consilio in me peccas, sed si tu +peribis, ego quoque occidero." He compares Alcest. 389. B. + +[11] See Matthiæ's note. I prefer, however, ολεις, with Musgrave. B. + +[12] Matthiæ considers this as briefly expressed for τι τουτο, το εραν, ‛α +λεγουσι ποιειν ανθρωπους. Still I can not help thinking ανθρωπων a better +reading. B. + +[13] Phædra struggles between shame and uncertainty, before she can +pronounce the name. It should be read as if ‛οστις ποθ'--‛ουτος--‛ο της +Αμαζονος. B. + +[14] Matthiæ takes παναμεριος as = εν τηιδε τηι ‛ημεραι, i.e. up to this +very time. I think the passage is corrupt. B. + +[15] This passage, like many others in the play, is admirably burlesqued by +Aristoph., Ran. 962. B. + +[16] _Or, this is a second favor thou mayst grant me_. + +[17] On the numberless references to this impious sophism, see the learned +notes of Valckenaer and Monk. Compare more particularly Aristoph. Ran. 102, +1471. Thesmoph. 275. Arist. Rhet. iii. 15. B. + +[18] Literally, "spurious coined race." B. + +[19] The MSS. reading, φυτον, is preferable. B. + +[20] The syntax appears to be δυσεκπερατον βιου, _such as my like can +scarcely get over_. Musgrave has followed the other explanation of the +Scholiast, which makes βιου depend on παθος. TR. I have followed the +Scholiast and Dindorf. B. + +[21] προτρεπουσα, αντι του ζητουσα και εξερευνωσα. Schol. Dindorf +acknowledges the strangeness of the usage, and seems to prefer προσκοπουσ', +with Monk. B. + +[22] Cf. Soph. Ant. 751. ‛ηδ' ουν θανειται, και θανουσ' ολει τινα. B. + +[23] For the meaning and derivation of αλιβατοις, see Monk's note. + +[24] ‛αλικτυπον seems to be an awkward epithet of κυμα, unless it mean +"_dashed [against the shore] by the waves_." Perhaps αλικτυπον would be +less forced. B. + +[25] ‛Υπεραντλος ουσα συμφοραι, a metaphor taken from a ship which can no +longer keep out water. + +[26] See the note on my Translation of Æsch. Agam., p. 121, note 1. ed. +Bonn. B. + +[27] Read ωμοι εγω πονων: επαθον ω ταλας with cod. Hav. See Dindorf. B. + +[28] Cf. Matth. apud Dindorf. B. + +[29] In the same manner the chorus in the Alcestis comforts Admetus. v. + + Ου γαρ τι πρωτος, ουδε λοισθιος βροτων + γυναικος εσθλης ημπλακες. + +[30] ‛Υπερ is here to be understood. VALK. + +[31] Σφενδονη, literally, the setting of the seal, which embraces the gem +as a sling its stone. + +[32] See a similar expression in Æsch. Eum. 254, + + Οσμη βροτειων ‛αιματων με προσγελαι. + +[33] The construction is, ειη αν εμοι αβιωτος τυχα βιου, ‛οστε τυχειν +αυτης. MONK. + +[34] η, _which land, together with the present earth_. + +[35] On the Orphic abstinence from animal food, see Matth. apud Dind. +Compare Porphyr. de Abst. ii. 3 sqq. B. + +[36] Αθικτος appears here to have an active sense. So in Soph. Œd. c. 1521. +αθικτος ‛ηγητηρος. It is used in its more frequent sense (a passive) in v. +648, of this play. TR. Compare my note on Æsch. Prom. 110, p. 6, n. I. B. + +[37] Cf. Med. 169. Ζηνα θ' ‛ος ορκων θνατοις ταμιας νενομισται. B. + +[38] There are various interpretations of this passage. The Scholiast puts +this sense upon it, _Phædra was chaste (in your eyes), who had not the +power of being chaste, I had the power, and is it likely that I did not +exert it to good purpose?_ Others translate the former part of the passage +with the Scholiast, but make ου καλως εχρωμεθα refer to the present time, +_had it to no good purpose_, i.e. am not now able to persuade you of my +innocence. Some translate εσωφροησεν, _acted like a chaste woman_. TR. +There is evidently a double meaning, which is almost lost by translation. +Theseus is not intended to understand this. B. + +[39] Cf. vs. 3. B. + +[40] Κληροι were the notes the augurs took of their observations, and wrote +down on tablets. See Phœn. 852. + +[41] ξυνοικουρους appears to be metaphorically used, but I think the sense +would be greatly improved by reading κακους, and taking ξυνοικουρους to +mean "to dwell with him," referring it to ‛οστις. B. + +[42] But we must read γυμναδος ‛ιππου with Reiske, Brunot, and Dindorf. See +his notes. ποδι must be joined with γυμ. ‛ιππου. B. + +[43] ποτμον αποτμον. B. + +[44] Αυταισιν αρβυλαισιν. Some have supposed αρβυλη to mean a part of the +chariot, but this seems at variance with the best authorities (see Monk's +note); perhaps the expression may mean what is implied in the translation; +that Hippolytus did not wait to change any part of his dress. TR. But I +agree with Dindorf, that αυταισιν is then utterly absurd and useless. The +Scholiast seems correct in saying, ταις τον ‛αρματος περι την αντυγα, ενθα +την οτασιν εχει ‛ο ‛ηνιοχος. B. + +[45] "Adeo ut deficerent a visu, ne cernere possem, Scironis alta." B. + +[46] Καχλαζω, a word formed from the noise of the sea--‛ο γαρ ηχος του +κυματος εν τοις κοιλωμασι των πετρων γινομενος, δοκει μιμεισθαι το καχλα, +καχλα.--_Etym. Mag._ + +[47] Τρικυμιαι. See Blomfield's _Glossary to the Prometheus_, 1051. + +[48] Musgrave supposes that Hippolytus wound the reins round his body; but +on this supposition, not to mention other objections, the comparison with +the sailor does not hold so well. It is more natural to suppose that he +leaned back in order to get a purchase: in this attitude he is made to +describe himself in Ov. _Met._ xv. 519, _Et retro lentas tendo resupinus +habenas._ If there be any doubt of εις τουμισθεν ‛ιμασιν being Greek, this +objection is obviated by putting a stop after ‛ιμασιν, and making it depend +on ‛ελκει. + +[49] i.e. in Crete. See Dindorf's note. B. + +[50] Εξοριζεται, _valde prorumpit, liberat terminos, quibus hactenus septum +fuit_. REISKE. + +[51] Heath translates ανεκουφισθην _adtollebam corpus_, honoris scilicet +gratia. Compare Iliad, Ο. 241. αταρ ασθμα και ‛ιδρως παυετ', επει μιν +εγειρε Διος νοος αιγιοχοιο, which Pope translates, + + "Jove thinking of his pains, they pass'd away:" + +in which the idea is much more sublime; for there the thought of a Deity +effects what the presence of one does here. + +[52] Probably meaning Adonis. See Monk. B. + + * * * * * * + +ALCESTIS. + + * * * * + +PERSONS REPRESENTED. + + APOLLO. + DEATH. + CHORUS OF PHERŒANS. + ATTENDANTS. + ALCESTIS. + ADMETUS. + EUMELUS. + HERCULES. + PHERES. + + * * * * * + +THE ARGUMENT. + + * * * * + +Apollo desired of the Fates that Admetus, who was about to die, might give +a substitute to die for him, that so he might live for a term equal to his +former life; and Alcestis, his wife, gave herself up, while neither of his +parents were willing to die instead of their son. But not long after the +time when this calamity happened, Hercules having arrived, and having +learned from a servant what had befallen Alcestis, went to her tomb, and +having made Death retire, covers the lady with a robe; and requested +Admetus to receive her and keep her for him; and said he had borne her off +as a prize in wrestling; but when he would not, he unveiled her, and +discovered her whom he was lamenting. + + * * * * * + +ALCESTIS + + * * * * + +APOLLO. + +O mansions of Admetus, wherein I endured to acquiesce in the slave's +table,[1] though a God; for Jove was the cause, by slaying my son +Æsculapius, hurling the lightning against his breast: whereat enraged, I +slay the Cyclops, forgers of Jove's fire; and me my father compelled to +serve for hire with a mortal, as a punishment for these things. But having +come to this land, I tended the herds of him who received me, and have +preserved this house until this day: for being pious I met with a pious +man,[2] the son of Pheres, whom I delivered from dying by deluding the +Fates: but those Goddesses granted me that Admetus should escape the +impending death, could he furnish in his place another dead for the powers +below. But having tried and gone through all his friends, his father and +his aged mother who bore him, he found not, save his wife, one who was +willing to die for him, and view no more the light: who now within the +house is borne in their hands, breathing her last; for on this day is it +destined for her to die, and to depart from life. But I, lest the +pollution[3] come upon me in the house, leave this palace's most dear +abode. But already I behold Death near, priest of the dead, who is about to +bear her down to the mansions of Pluto; but he comes at the right time, +observing this day, in the which it was destined for her to die. + +DEATH,[4] APOLLO. + +DEA. Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! What dost thou at the palace? why tamest here, Phœbus? +Art thou again at thy deeds of injustice, taking away and putting an end to +the honors of the powers beneath? Did it not suffice thee to stay the death +of Admetus, when thou didst delude the Fates by fraudful artifice?[5] But +now too dost thou keep guard for her, having armed thine hand with thy bow, +who then promised, in order to redeem her husband, herself, the daughter of +Pelias, to die for him? + +AP. Fear not, I cleave to justice and honest arguments. + +DEA. What business then has your bow, if you cleave to justice? + +AP. It is my habit ever to bear it. + +DEA. Yes, and without regard to justice to aid this house. + +AP. _Ay_, for I am afflicted at the misfortunes of a man that is dear to +me. + +DEA. And wilt thou deprive me of this second dead? + +AP. But neither took I him from thee by force. + +DEA. How then is he upon earth, and not beneath the ground? + +AP. Because he gave in his stead his wife, after whom thou art now come. + +DEA. Yes, and will bear her off to the land beneath. + +AP. Take her away, for I know not whether I can persuade thee. + +DEA. What? to slay him, whom I ought? for this was I commanded. + +AP. No: but to cast death upon those about to die. + +DEA. Yes, I perceive thy speech, and what thou aim'st at. + +AP. Is it possible then for Alcestis to arrive at old age? + +DEA. It is not: consider that I too am delighted with my due honors. + +AP. Thou canst not, however, take more than one life. + +DEA. When the young die I earn the greater glory. + +AP. And if she die old, she will be sumptuously entombed.[6] + +DEA. Thou layest down the law, Phœbus, in favor of the rich. + +AP. How sayest thou? what? hast thou been clever without my perceiving it? + +DEA. Those who have means would purchase to die old. + +AP. Doth it not then seem good to thee to grant me this favor? + +DEA. No in truth; and thou knowest my ways. + +AP. Yes, hostile to mortals, and detested by the Gods. + +DEA. Thou canst not have all things, which thou oughtest not. + +AP. Nevertheless, thou wilt stop, though thou art over-fierce; such a man +will come to the house of Pheres, whom Eurystheus hath sent after the +chariot and its horses,[7] _to bring them_ from the wintry regions of +Thrace, who in sooth, being welcomed in the mansions of Admetus, shall take +away by force this woman from thee; and there will be no obligation to thee +at my hands, but still thou wilt do this, and wilt be hated by me. + +DEA. Much though thou talkest, thou wilt gain nothing. This woman then +shall descend to the house of Pluto; and I am advancing upon her, that I +may begin the rites on her with my sword; for sacred is he to the Gods +beneath the earth, the hair of whose head this sword hath consecrated.[8] + +CHORUS. + +SEMICH. Wherefore in heaven's name is this stillness before the palace? why +is the house of Admetus hushed in silence? + +SEMICH. But there is not even one of our friends near, who can tell us +whether we have to deplore the departed queen, or whether Alcestis, +daughter of Pelias, yet living views this light, who has appeared to me and +to all to have been the best wife toward her husband. + +CHOR. Hears any one either a wailing, or the beating of hands within the +house, or a lamentation, as though the thing had taken place?[9] There is +not however any one of the servants standing before the gates. Oh would +that thou wouldst appear, O Apollo, amidst the waves of this calamity! + +SEMICH. They would not however be silent, were she dead. + +SEMICH. For the corse is certainly not gone from the house. + +SEMICH. Whence this conjecture? I do not presume this. What is it gives you +confidence? + +SEMICH. How could Admetus have made a private funeral of his so excellent +wife? + +CHOR. But before the gates I see not the bath of water from the +fountain,[10] as is the custom at the gates of the dead: and in the +vestibule is no shorn hair, which is wont to fall in grief for the dead; +the youthful[11] hand of women for the youthful _wife_ sound not. + +SEMICH. And yet this is the appointed day,-- + +SEMICH. What is this thou sayest? + +SEMICH. In the which she must go beneath the earth. + +SEMICH. Thou hast touched my soul, hast touched my heart. + +SEMICH. When the good are afflicted, he must mourn, who from the beginning +has been accounted good. + +CHOR. But there is not whither in the earth any one having sent naval +equipment, or to Lycia, or to the thirsty site of Hammon's temple, can +redeem the unhappy woman's life, for abrupt fate approaches, and I know not +to whom of those that sacrifice at the hearths of the Gods I can go. But +only if the son of Phœbus were viewing with his eyes this light, could she +come, having left the darksome habitations and the gates of Pluto: for he +raised up the dead, before that the stroke of the lightning's fire hurled +by Jove destroyed him. But now what hope of life can I any longer +entertain? For all things have already been done by the king, and at the +altars of all the Gods abound the victims dropping with blood, and no cure +is there of these evils. + +CHORUS, FEMALE ATTENDANT. + +CHOR. But here comes one of the female attendants from the house, in tears; +what shall I hear has happened? To mourn indeed, if any thing happens to +our lords, is pardonable: but whether the lady be still alive, or whether +she be dead, we would wish to know. + +ATT. You may call her both alive and dead. + +CHOR. And how can the same woman be both alive and dead? + +ATT. Already she is on the verge of death,[12] and breathing her life away. + +CHOR. Oh wretched man, being what thyself of what a wife art thou bereft! + +ATT. My master knows not this yet, until he suffer. + +CHOR. Is there no longer hope that she may save her life? + +ATT. No, for the destined day makes its attack upon her. + +CHOR. Are not then suitable preparations made for these events? + +ATT. Yes, the adornments[13] are ready, wherewith her husband will bury +her. + +CHOR. Let her know then that she will die glorious, and by far the best of +women under the sun. + +ATT. And how not the best? who will contest it? What must the woman be, who +has surpassed her? and how can any give greater proof of esteeming her +husband, than by being willing to die for him? And these things indeed the +whole city knoweth. But what she did in the house you will marvel when you +hear. For, when she perceived that the destined day was come, she washed +her fair skin with water from the river; and having taken from her closets +of cedar vesture and ornaments, she attired herself becomingly; and +standing before the altar she prayed: "O mistress, since I go beneath the +earth, adoring thee for the last time, I will beseech thee to protect my +orphan children, and to the one join a loving wife, and to the other a +noble husband: nor, as their mother perishes, let my children untimely die, +but happy in their paternal country let them complete a joyous life."--But +all the altars, which are in the house of Admetus, she went to, and +crowned, and prayed, tearing the leaves from off the myrtle boughs, +tearless, without a groan, nor did the approaching evil change the natural +beauty of her skin. And then rushing to her chamber, and her bed, there +indeed she wept and spoke thus: "O bridal bed, whereon I loosed my virgin +zone with this man, for whom I die, farewell! for I hate thee not; but me +alone hast thou lost; for dreading to betray thee, and my husband, I die; +but thee some other woman will possess, more chaste there can not, but +perchance more fortunate."[14]--And falling on it she kissed it; but all +the bed was bathed with the flood that issued from her eyes. But when she +had satiety of much weeping, she goes hastily forward,[15] rushing from the +bed. And ofttimes having left her chamber, she oft returned, and threw +herself upon the bed again. And her children, hanging to the garments of +their mother, wept; but she, taking them in her arms, embraced them, first +one and then the other, as about to die. But all the domestics wept +throughout the house, bewailing their mistress, but she stretched out her +right hand to each, and there was none so mean, whom she addressed not, and +was answered in return. Such are the woes in the house of Admetus. And had +he died indeed, he would have perished; but now that he has escaped death, +he has grief to that degree which he will never forget. + +CHOR. Surely Admetus groans at these evils, if he must be deprived of so +excellent a wife. + +ATT. Yes, he weeps, holding his dear wife in his hands, and prays her not +to leave him, asking impossibilities; for she wastes away, and is consumed +by sickness, but fainting a wretched burden in his arms, yet still though +but feebly breathing, she fain would glance toward the rays of the sun; as +though never again, but now for the last time she is to view the sun's beam +and his orb. But I will go and announce your presence, for it is by no +means all that are well-wishers to their lords, so as to come kindly to +them in their misfortunes; but you of old are friendly to my master. + +SEMICH. O Jove, what means of escape can there in any way be, and what +method to rid us of the fortune which attends my master? + +SEMICH. Will any appear? or must I cut my locks, and clothe me even now in +black array of garments? + +SEMICH. 'Tis plain, my friends, too plain; but still let us pray to the +Gods, for the power of the Gods is mightiest. + +SEMICH. O Apollo, king of healing, find out some remedy for the evils of +Admetus, procure it, O! procure it. For before this also thou didst find +_remedy_, and now become our deliverer from death, and stop the murderous +Pluto. + +SEMICH. Alas! alas! woe! woe! O son of Pheres, how didst thou fare when +thou wert deprived of thy wife? + +SEMICH. Alas! alas! these things would even justify self-slaughter, and +there is more, than whereat one might thrust one's neck in the suspending +noose.[16] + +SEMICH. For not a dear, but a most dear wife, wilt thou see dead this day. + +SEMICH. Behold, behold; lo! she doth come from the house, and her husband +with her. Cry out, O groan, O land of Pheres, for the most excellent woman, +wasting with sickness, _departing_ beneath the earth to the infernal Pluto. +Never will I aver that marriage brings more joy than grief, forming my +conjectures both from former things, and beholding this fortune of the +king; who, when he has lost this most excellent wife, will thenceforward +pass a life not worthy to be called life.[17] + +ALCESTIS, ADMETUS, EUMELUS, CHORUS. + +ALC. Thou Sun, and thou light of day, and ye heavenly eddies of the +fleeting clouds-- + +ADM. He beholds[18] thee and me, two unhappy creatures, having done nothing +to the Gods, for which thou shouldst die. + +ALC. O earth, and ye roofs of the palace, and thou bridal bed of my native +Iolcos. + +ADM. Lift up thyself, unhappy one, desert me not; but entreat the powerful +Gods to pity. + +ALC. I see--I see the two-oared boat--and the ferryman of the dead, holding +his hand on the pole--Charon even now calls me--"Why dost thou delay? +haste, thou stoppest us here"--with such words vehement he hastens me. + +ADM. Ah me! a bitter voyage this thou speakest of! Oh! unhappy one, how do +we suffer! + +ALC. He pulls me, some one pulls me--do you not see?--to the hall of the +dead, the winged Pluto, staring from beneath his black eyebrows--What wilt +thou do?--let me go--what a journey am I most wretched going! + +ADM. Mournful to thy friends, and of these especially to me and to thy +children, who have this grief in common. + +ALC. Leave off[19] supporting me, leave off now, lay me down, I have no +strength in my feet. Death is near, and darkling night creeps upon mine +eyes--my children, my children, no more your mother is--no more.--Farewell, +my children, long may you view this light! + +ADM. Ah me! I hear this sad word, and more than any death to me. Do not by +the Gods have the heart to leave me: do not by those children, whom thou +wilt make orphans: but rise, be of good courage: for, thee dead, I should +no longer be: for on thee we depend both to live, and not to live: for thy +love we adore. + +ALC. Admetus, thou seest both thy affairs and mine, in what state they are, +I wish to tell thee, ere I die, what I would have done. I, honoring thee, +and causing thee at the price of my life to view this light, die, it being +in my power not to die, for thee: but though I might have married a husband +from among the Thessalians whom I would, and have lived in a palace blessed +with regal sway, was not willing to live, bereft of thee, with my children +orphans; nor did I spare myself, though possessing the gifts of bloomy +youth, wherein I delighted. And yet thy father and thy mother forsook thee, +though they had well arrived at a point of life, in which they might have +died, and nobly delivered their son, and died with glory: for thou wert +their only one, and there was no hope, when thou wert dead, that they could +have other children.[20] And I should have lived, and thou, the rest of our +time. And thou wouldst not be groaning deprived of thy wife, and wouldst +not have to bring up thy children orphans. But these things indeed, some +one of the Gods hath brought to pass, that they should be thus. Be it +so--but do thou remember to give me a return for this; for never shall I +ask thee for an equal one, (for nothing is more precious than life,) but +just, as thou wilt say: for thou lovest not these children less than I do, +if thou art right-minded; them bring up lords over my house, and bring not +in second marriage a step-mother over these children, who, being a worse +woman than me, through envy will stretch out her hand against thine and my +children. Do not this then, I beseech thee; for a step-mother that is in +second marriage is enemy to the children of the former marriage, no milder +than a viper. And my boy indeed has his father, a great tower of defense; +but thou, O my child, how wilt thou be, brought up during thy virgin years? +Having what consort of thy father's? _I fear_, lest casting some evil +obloquy on thee, she destroys thy marriage in the bloom of youth.[21] For +neither will thy mother ever preside over thy nuptials, nor strengthen thee +being present, my daughter, at thy travails, where nothing is more kind +than a mother. For I needs must die, and this evil comes upon me not +to-morrow, nor on the third day of the month, but immediately shall I be +numbered among those that are no more. Farewell, and may you be happy; and +thou indeed, my husband, mayst boast, that thou hadst a most excellent +wife, and you, my children, that you were born of a most excellent mother. + +CHOR. Be of good cheer; for I fear not to answer for him: he will do this, +if he be not bereft of his senses. + +ADM. These things shall be so, they shall be, fear not: since I, when alive +also, possessed thee _alone_, and when thou art dead, thou shalt be my only +wife, and no Thessalian bride shall address me in the place of thee: there +is not woman who shall, either of so noble a sire, nor otherwise most +exquisite in beauty. But my children are enough; of these I pray the Gods +that I may have the enjoyment; for thee we do not enjoy. But I shall not +have this grief for thee for a year, but as long as my life endures, O +lady, abhorring her indeed that brought me forth, and hating my father; for +they were in word, not in deed, my friends. But thou, giving what was +dearest to thee for my life, hast rescued me. Have I not then reason to +groan deprived of such a wife? But I will put an end to the feasts, and the +meetings of those that drink together, and garland and song, which wont to +dwell in my house. For neither can I any more touch the lyre, nor lift up +my heart to sing to the Libyan flute; for thou hast taken away my joy of +life. But by the cunning hand of artists imaged thy figure shall be lain on +my bridal bed, on which I will fall, and clasping my hands around, calling +on thy name, shall fancy that I hold my dear wife in mine arms, though +holding her not:[22] a cold delight, I ween; but still I may draw off the +weight that sits upon my soul: and in my dreams visiting me, thou mayst +delight me, for a friend is sweet even to behold at night, for whatever +time he may come. But if the tongue of Orpheus and his strain were mine, so +that invoking with hymns the daughter of Ceres or her husband, I could +receive thee from the shades below, I would descend, and neither the dog of +Pluto, nor Charon at his oar, the ferryman of departed spirits, should stay +me before I brought thy life to the light. But there expect me when I die +and prepare a mansion for me, as about to dwell with me. For I will enjoin +these[23] to place me in the same cedar with thee, and to lay my side near +thy side: for not even when dead may I be separated from thee, the only +faithful one to me! + +CHOR. And I indeed with thee, as a friend with a friend, will bear this +painful grief for her, for she is worthy. + +ALC. My children, ye indeed hear your father saying that he will never +marry another wife to be over you, nor dishonor me. + +ADM. And now too, I say this, and will perform it + +ALC. For this receive these children from my hand. + +ADM. Yes, I receive a dear gift from a dear hand. + +ALC. Be thou then a mother to these children in my stead. + +ADM. There is much need that I should, when they are deprived of thee. + +ALC. O my children, at a time when I ought to live I depart beneath. + +ADM. Ah me; what shall I do of thee bereaved! + +ALC. Time will soften thy grief: he that is dead is nothing. + +ADM. Take me with thee, by the Gods take me beneath. + +ALC. Enough are we _to go_, who die for thee. + +ADM. O fate, of what a wife thou deprivest me! + +ALC. And lo! my darkening eye is weighed down. + +ADM. I am undone then, if thou wilt leave me, my wife. + +ALC. As being no more, you may speak of me as nothing. + +ADM. Lift up thy face; do not leave thy children. + +ALC. Not willingly in sooth, but--farewell, my children. + +ADM. Look on them, O! look. + +ALC. I am no more. + +ADM. What dost thou? dost thou leave us? + +ALC. Farewell! + +ADM. I am an undone wretch! + +CHOR. She is gone, Admetus' wife is no more. + +EUM. Alas me, for my state! my mother is gone indeed below; she is no +longer, my father, under the sun; but unhappy leaving me has made my life +an orphan's. For look, look at her eyelid, and her nerveless arms. Hear, +hear, O mother. I beseech thee; I, I now call thee, mother, thy young one +falling on thy mouth-- + +ADM. Who hears not, neither sees: so that I and you are struck with a heavy +calamity. + +EUM. Young and deserted, my father, am I left by my dear mother: O! I that +have suffered indeed dreadful deeds!--and thou hast suffered with me, my +sister. O father, in vain, in vain didst thou marry, nor with her didst +thou arrive at the end of old age, for she perished before, but thou being +gone, mother, the house is undone. + +CHOR. Admetus, you must bear this calamity; for in no wise the first, nor +the last of mortals hast thou lost thy dear wife: but learn, that to die is +a debt we must all of us discharge. + +ADM. I know it, and this evil hath not come suddenly on me; but knowing it +long ago I was afflicted. But be present, for I will have the corse borne +forth, and while ye stay, chant a hymn to the God below that accepteth not +libations. And all the Thessalians, over whom I reign, I enjoin to share in +the grief for this lady, by shearing _their locks_ with steel, and by +arraying themselves in sable garb. And harness[24] your teams of horses to +your chariots, and cut from your single steeds the manes that fall upon +their necks. And let there be no noise of pipes, nor of the lyre throughout +the city for twelve completed moons. For none other corse more dear shall I +inter, nor one more kind toward me. But she deserves to receive honor from +me, seeing that she alone hath died for me. + +CHORUS. + +O daughter of Pelias, farewell where thou dwellest in sunless dwelling +within the mansions of Pluto. And let Pluto know, the God with ebon locks, +and the old man, the ferryman of the dead, who sits intent upon his oar and +his rudder, that he is conducting by far the most excellent of women in his +two-oared boat over the lake of Acheron. Oft shall the servants of the +Muses sing of thee, celebrating thee both on the seven-stringed lute on the +mountains, and in hymns unaccompanied by the lyre: in Sparta, when returns +the annual circle in the season of the Carnean month,[25] when the moon is +up the whole night long; and in splendid[26] and happy Athens. Such a song +hast thou left by thy death to the minstrels of melodies. Would that it +rested with me, and that I could waft thee to the light from the mansions +of Pluto, and from Cocytus' streams, by the oar of that infernal river. For +thou, O unexampled, O dear among women, thou didst dare to receive thy +husband from the realms below in exchange for thine own life. Light may the +earth from above fall upon thee, lady! and if thy husband chooses any other +alliance, surely he will be much detested by me and by thy children. When +his mother was not willing for him to hide her body in the ground, nor his +aged father, but these two wretches, having hoary locks, dared not to +rescue him they brought forth, yet thou in the vigor of youth didst depart, +having died for thy husband. May it be mine to meet with another[27] such a +dear wife; for rare in life is such a portion, for surely she would live +with me forever without once causing pain. + +HERCULES, CHORUS. + +HER. Strangers, inhabitants of the land of Pheres, can I find Admetus +within the palace? + +CHOR. The son of Pheres is within the palace, O Hercules. But tell me, what +purpose sends thee to the land of the Thessalians, so that thou comest to +this city of Pheres? + +HER. I am performing a certain labor for the Tirynthian Eurystheus. + +CHOR. And whither goest thou? on what wandering expedition art bound? + +HER. After the four chariot-steeds of Diomed the Thracian. + +CHOR. How wilt thou be able? Art thou ignorant of this host? + +HER. I am ignorant; I have not yet been to the land of the Bistonians. + +CHOR. Thou canst not be lord of these steeds without battle. + +HER. But neither is it possible for me to renounce the labors _set me_. + +CHOR. Thou wilt come then having slain, or being slain wilt remain there. + +HER. Not the first contest this that I shall run. + +CHOR. But what advance will you have made, when you have overcome their +master? + +HER. I will drive away the horses to king Eurystheus. + +CHOR. 'Tis no easy matter to put the bit in their jaws. + +HER. _'Tis,_ except they breathe fire from their nostrils. + +CHOR. But they tear men piecemeal with their devouring jaws. + +HER. The provender of mountain beasts, not horses, you are speaking of. + +CHOR. Their stalls thou mayst behold with blood bestained. + +HER. Son of what sire does their owner boast to be? + +CHOR. Of Mars, prince[28] of the Thracian target, rich with gold. + +HER. And this labor, thou talkest of, is one my fate compels me to (for it +is ever hard and tends to steeps); if I must join in battle with the +children whom Mars begat, first indeed with Lycaon, and again with Cycnus, +and I come to this third combat, about to engage with the horses and their +master. But none there is, who shall ever see the son of Alcmena fearing +the hand of his enemies. + +CHOR. And lo! hither comes the very man Admetus, lord of this land, from +out of the palace. + +ADMETUS, HERCULES, CHORUS. + +ADM. Hail! O son of Jove, and of the blood of Perseus. + +HER. Admetus, hail thou too, king of the Thessalians! + +ADM. I would I could _receive this salutation;_ but I know that thou art +well disposed toward me. + +HER. Wherefore art thou conspicuous with thy locks shorn for grief? + +ADM. I am about to bury a certain corse this day. + +HER. May the God avert calamity from thy children! + +ADM. My children whom I begat, live in the house. + +HER. Thy father however is of full age, if he is gone. + +ADM. Both he lives, and she who bore me, Hercules. + +HER. Surely your wife Alcestis is not dead? + +ADM. There are two accounts which I may tell of her. + +HER. Speakest thou of her as dead or as alive? + +ADM. She both is, and is no more, and she grieves me. + +HER. I know nothing more; for thou speakest things obscure. + +ADM. Knowest thou not the fate which it was doomed for her to meet with? + +HER. I know that she took upon herself to die for thee. + +ADM. How then is she any more, if that she promised this? + +HER. Ah! do not weep for thy wife before the time; wait till this happens. + +ADM. He that is about to die is dead, and he that is dead is no more. + +HER. The being and the not being is considered a different thing. + +ADM. You judge in this way, Hercules, but I in that. + +HER. Why then dost weep? Who is he of thy friends that is dead? + +ADM. A woman, a woman we were lately mentioning. + +HER. A stranger by blood, or any by birth allied to thee? + +ADM. A stranger; but on other account dear to this house. + +HER. How then died she in thine house? + +ADM. Her father dead, she lived an orphan here. + +HER. Alas! Would that I had found thee, Admetus, not mourning! + +ADM. As about to do what then, dost thou make use of these words? + +HER. I will go to some other hearth of those who will receive a guest. + +ADM. It must not be, O king: let not so great an evil happen! + +HER. Troublesome is a guest if he come to mourners. + +ADM. The dead are dead--but go into the house. + +HER. 'Tis base however to feast with weeping friends. + +ADM. The guest-chamber, whither we will lead thee, is apart. + +HER. Let me go, and I will owe you ten thousand thanks. + +ADM. It must not be that thou go to the hearth of another man. Lead on +thou, having thrown open the guest-chamber that is separate from the house: +and tell them that have the management, that there be plenty of meats; and +shut the gates in the middle of the hall: it is not meet that feasting +guests should hear groans, nor should they be made sad. + +CHOR. What are you doing? when so great a calamity is before you, Admetus, +hast thou the heart to receive guests? wherefore art thou foolish? + +ADM. But if I had driven him who came my guest from my house, and from the +city, would you have praised me rather? No in sooth, since my calamity had +been no whit the less, but I the more inhospitable: and in addition to my +evils, there had been this other evil, that mine should be called the +stranger-hating house. But I myself find this man a most excellent host, +whenever I go to the thirsty land of Argos. + +CHOR. How then didst thou hide thy present fate, when a friend, as thou +thyself sayest, came? + +ADM. He never would have been willing to enter the house if he had known +aught of my sufferings. And to him[29] indeed, I ween, acting thus, I +appear not to be wise, nor will he praise me; but my house knows not to +drive away, nor to dishonor guests. + +CHORUS. + +O greatly hospitable and ever liberal house of this man, thee even the +Pythian Apollo, master of the lyre, deigned to inhabit, and endured to +become a shepherd in thine abodes, through the sloping hills piping to thy +flocks his pastoral nuptial hymns. And there were wont to feed with them, +through delight of his lays, both the spotted lynxes, and the bloody troop +of lions[30] came having left the forest of Othrys; disported too around +thy cithern, Phœbus, the dappled fawn, advancing with light pastern beyond +the lofty-feathered pines, joying in the gladdening strain. Wherefore he +dwelleth in a home most rich in flocks by the fair-flowing lake of Bœbe; +and to the tillage of his fields, and the extent of his plains, toward that +dusky _part of the heavens_, where the sun stays his horses, makes the +clime of the Molossians the limit, and holds dominion as far as the +portless shore of the Ægean Sea at Pelion. And now having thrown open his +house he hath received his guest with moistened eyelid, weeping over the +corse of his dear wife, who but now died in the palace: for a noble +disposition is prone to reverence [of the guest]. But in the good there is +all manner of wisdom. And confidence is seated on my soul that the man who +reveres the Gods will fare prosperously. + +ADMETUS, CHORUS. + +ADM. Ye men of Pheræ that are kindly present, my servants indeed bear +aloft[31] the corse, having every thing fit for the tomb, and for the pyre. +But do you, as is the custom, salute[32] the dead going forth on her last +journey. + +CHOR. And lo! I see thy father advancing with his aged foot, and attendants +bearing in their hands adornment for thy wife, due honors of those beneath. + +PHERES, ADMETUS, CHORUS. + +PHE. I am at present sympathizing in thy misfortunes, my son: for thou hast +lost (no one will deny) a good and a chaste wife; but these things indeed +thou must bear, though hard to be borne. But receive this adornment, and +let it go with her beneath the earth: Her body 'tis right to honor, who in +sooth died to save thy life, my son, and made me to be not childless, nor +suffered me to waste away deprived of thee in an old age of misery. But she +has made most illustrious the life of all women, having dared this noble +action. O thou that hast preserved my son here, and hast raised us up who +were falling, farewell,[33] and may it be well with thee even in the +mansions of Pluto! I affirm that such marriages are profitable to men, or +that it is not meet to marry. + +ADM. Neither hast thou come bidden of me to this funeral, nor do I count +thy presence among things acceptable. But she here never shall put on thy +decorations; for in no wise shall she be buried indebted to what thou hast. +Then oughtest thou to have grieved with me, when I was in danger of +perishing.[34] But dost thou, who stoodest aloof, and permittedst another, +a young person, thyself being old, to die, weep over this dead body? Thou +wert not then really the father of me, nor did she, who says she bore me, +and is called my mother, bear me; but born of slavish blood I was secretly +put under the breast of thy wife. Thou showedst when thou camest to the +test, who thou art; and I deem that I am not thy son. Or else surely thou +exceedest all in nothingness of soul, who being of the age thou art, and +having come to the goal of life, neither hadst the will nor the courage to +die for thy son; but sufferedst this stranger lady, whom alone I might +justly have considered both mother and father. And yet thou mightst have +run this race for glory, hadst thou died for thy son. But at any rate the +remainder of the time thou hadst to live was short: and I should have lived +and she the rest of our days, and I should not, bereft of her, be groaning +at my miseries. And in sooth thou didst receive as many things as a happy +man should receive; thou passedst the vigor of thine age indeed in +sovereign sway, but I was thy son to succeed thee in this palace, so that +thou wert not about to die childless and leave a desolate house for others +to plunder. Thou canst not however say of me, that I gave thee up to die, +dishonoring thine old age, whereas I was particularly respectful toward +thee; and for this behavior both thou, and she that bare me, have made me +such return. Wherefore you have no more time to lose[35] in getting +children, who will succor thee in thine old age, and deck thee when dead, +and lay out thy corse; for I will not bury thee with this mine hand; for I +in sooth died, as far as in thee lay; but if, having met with, another +deliverer, I view the light, I say that I am both his child, and the +friendly comforter of his old age. In vain then do old men pray to be dead, +complaining of age, and the long time of life: but if death come near, not +one is willing to die, and old age is no longer burdensome to them.[36] + +CHOR. Desist, for the present calamity is sufficient; and do not, O son, +provoke thy father's mind. + +PHE. O son, whom dost thou presume thou art gibing with thy reproaches, a +Lydian or a Phrygian bought with thy money?[37] Knowest thou not that I am +a Thessalian, and born from a Thessalian father, truly free? Thou art too +insolent, and casting the impetuous words of youth against us, shalt not +having cast them thus depart. But I begat thee the lord of my house, and +brought thee up, but I am not thy debtor to die for thee; for I received no +paternal law like this, nor Grecian law, that fathers should die for their +children; for for thyself thou wert born, whether unfortunate or fortunate, +but what from us thou oughtest to have, thou hast. Thou rulest indeed over +many, and I will leave thee a large demesne of lands, for these I received +from my father. In what then have I injured thee? Of what do I deprive +thee? Thou joyest to see the light, and dost think thy father does not +joy?[38] Surely I count the time we must spend beneath long, and life is +short, but still sweet. Thou too didst shamelessly fight off from dying, +and livest, having passed over thy destined fate, by slaying her; then dost +thou talk of my nothingness of soul, O most vile one, when thou art +surpassed by a woman who died for thee, the handsome youth? But thou hast +made a clever discovery, so that thou mayst never die, if thou wilt +persuade the wife that is thine from time to time to die for thee: and then +reproachest thou thy friends who are not willing to do this, thyself being +a coward? Hold thy peace, and consider, if thou lovest thy life, that all +love theirs; but if thou shalt speak evil against us, thou shalt hear many +reproaches and not false ones. + +CHOR. Too many evil things have been spoken both now and before, but cease, +old man, from reviling thy son. + +ADM. Speak, for I have spoken; but if thou art grieved at hearing the +truth, thou shouldst not err against me. + +PHE. But had I died for thee, I had erred more. + +ADM. What? is it the same thing for a man in his prime, and for an old man +to die? + +PHE. We ought to live with one life, not with two. + +ADM. Mayst thou then live a longer time than Jove! + +PHE. Dost curse thy parents, having met with no injustice? + +ADM. _I said it_, for I perceived thou lovedst a long life. + +PHE. But art not thou bearing forth this corse instead of thyself? + +ADM. A proof this, O most vile one, of thy nothingness of soul. + +PHE. She died not by us at least; thou wilt not say this. + +ADM. Alas! Oh that you may ever come to need my aid! + +PHE. Wed many wives, that more may die. + +ADM. This is a reproach to thyself, for thou wert not willing to die. + +PHE. Sweet is this light of the God, sweet is it. + +ADM. Base is thy spirit and not that of men. + +PHE. Thou dost not laugh as carrying an aged corse. + +ADM. Thou wilt surely however die inglorious, when thou diest. + +PHE. To bear an evil report is no matter to me when dead. + +ADM. Alas! alas! how full of shamelessness is old age! + +PHE. She was not shameless: her you found mad. + +ADM. Begone, and suffer me to bury this dead. + +PHE. I will depart; but you will bury her, yourself being her murderer. But +you will render satisfaction to your wife's relatives yet: or surely +Acastus no longer ranks among men, if he shall not revenge the blood of his +sister. + +ADM. Get thee gone, then, thou and thy wife; childless, thy child yet +living, as ye deserve, grow old; for ye no more come into the same house +with me: and if it were necessary for me to renounce by heralds thy +paternal hearth, I would renounce it. But let us (for the evil before us +must be borne) proceed, that we may place the corse upon the funeral pyre. + +CHOR. O! O! unhappy because of thy bold deed, O noble, and by far most +excellent, farewell! may both Mercury[39] that dwells beneath, and Pluto, +kindly receive thee; but if there too any distinction is shown to the good, +partaking of this mayst thou sit by the bride of Pluto. + +SERVANT. + +I have now known many guests, and from all parts of the earth that have +come to the house of Admetus, to whom I have spread the feast, but never +yet did I receive into this house a worse one than this stranger. Who, in +the first place, indeed, though he saw my master in affliction, came in, +and prevailed upon himself to pass the gates. And then not at all in a +modest manner received he the entertainment that there happened to be, when +he heard of the calamity: but if we did not bring any thing, he hurried us +to bring it. And having taken in his hands the cup wreathed with ivy,[40] +he quaffs the neat wine of the purple mother, until the fumes of the liquor +coming upon him inflamed him; and he crowns his head with branches of +myrtles howling discordantly; and there were two strains to hear; for he +was singing, not caring at all for the afflictions of Admetus, but we the +domestics, were bewailing our mistress, and we showed not that we were +weeping to the guest, for thus Admetus commanded. And now indeed I am +performing the offices of hospitality to the stranger in the house, some +deceitful thief and robber. But she is gone from the house, nor did I +follow, nor stretched out my hand in lamentation for my mistress, who was a +mother to me, and to all the domestics, for she saved us from ten thousand +ills, softening the anger of her husband. Do I not then justly hate this +stranger, who is come in our miseries? + +HERCULES, SERVANT. + +HER. Ho there! why dost thou look so grave and thoughtful? The servant +ought not to be of woeful countenance before guests, but should receive +them with an affable mind. But thou, though thou seest a companion of thy +lord present, receivest him with a morose and clouded countenance, fixing +thy attention on a calamity that thou hast nothing to do with. Come hither, +that thou mayst become more wise. Knowest thou mortal affairs, of what +nature they are? I think not; from whence should you? but hear me. Death is +a debt that all mortals must pay: and there is not of them one, who knows +whether he shall live the coming morrow: for what depends on fortune is +uncertain how it will turn out, and is not to be learned, neither is it +detected by art. Having heard these things then, and learned them from me, +make thyself merry, drink, and think the life allowed from day to day thine +own, but the rest Fortune's. And honor also Venus, the most sweet of +deities to mortals, for she is a kind deity. But let go these other things, +and obey my words, if I appear to speak rightly: I think so indeed. Wilt +thou not then leave off thy excessive grief, and drink with me, crowned +with garlands, having thrown open these gates? And well know I that the +trickling of the cup falling down _thy throat_ will change thee from thy +present cloudy and pent state of mind. But we who are mortals should think +as mortals. Since to all the morose, indeed, and to those of sad +countenance, if they take me as judge at least, life is not truly life, but +misery. + +SERV. I know this; but now we are in circumstances not such as are fit for +revel and mirth. + +HER. The lady that is dead is a stranger; grieve not too much, for the +lords of this house live. + +SERV. What live! knowest thou not the misery within the house? + +HER. Unless thy lord hath told me any thing falsely. + +SERV. He is too, too hospitable. + +HER. Is it unmeet that I should be well treated, because a stranger is +dead? + +SERV. Surely however she was very near. + +HER. Has he forborne to tell me any calamity that there is? + +SERV. Depart and farewell; we have a care for the evils of our lords. + +HER. This speech is the beginning of no foreign loss. + +SERV. For I should not, _had it been foreign_, have been grieved at seeing +thee reveling. + +HER. What! have I received so great an injury from mine host? + +SERV. Thou camest not in a fit time for the house to receive thee, for +there is grief to us, and thou seest that we are shorn, and our black +garments. + +HER. But who is it that is dead? Has either any of his children died, or +his aged father? + +SERV. The wife indeed of Admetus is dead, O stranger. + +HER. What sayst thou? and yet did ye receive me? + +SERV. _Yes_, for he had too much respect to turn thee from his house. + +HER. O unhappy man, what a wife hast thou lost! + +SERV. We all are lost, not she alone. + +HER. But I did perceive it indeed, when I saw his eye streaming with tears, +and his shorn hair, and his countenance; but he persuaded me, saying, that +he was conducting the funeral of a stranger to the tomb: but spite of my +inclination having passed over these gates, I drank in the house of the +hospitable man, while he was in this case, and reveled, crowned as to my +head with garlands. But 'twas thine to tell me not _to do it_, when such an +evil was upon the house. Where is he burying her? whither going can I find +her? + +SERV. By the straight road that leads to Larissa, thou wilt see the +polished tomb beyond the suburbs. + +HERCULES. + +O my much-daring heart and my soul, now show what manner of son the +Tirynthian Alcmena, daughter of Electryon, bare thee to Jove. For I must +rescue the woman lately dead, Alcestis, and place her again in this house, +and perform this service for Admetus. And going I will lay wait for the +sable-vested king of the departed, Death, and I think that I shall find him +drinking of the libations near the tomb. And if having taken him by lying +in wait, rushing from my ambush, I shall seize hold of him, and make a +circle around him with mine arms, there is not who shall take him away +panting as to his sides, until he release me the woman. But if however I +fail of this capture, and he come not to the clottered mass of blood, I +will go a journey beneath to the sunless mansions of Cora and her king, and +will prefer my request; and I trust that I shall bring up Alcestis, so as +to place her in the hands of that host, who received me into his house, nor +drove me away, although struck with a heavy calamity, but concealed it, +noble as he was, having respect unto me. Who of the Thessalians is more +hospitable than he? Who that dwelleth in Greece? Wherefore he shall not +say, that he did a service to a worthless man, himself being noble. + +ADMETUS, CHORUS. + +ADM. Alas! alas! O hateful approach, and hateful prospect of this widowed +house. Oh me! Alas! alas! whither can I go! where rest! what can I say! and +what not! would that I could perish! Surely my mother brought me forth to +heavy fortune. I count the dead happy, them I long for! those houses I +desire to dwell in: for neither delight I in viewing the sunbeams, nor +treading with my foot upon the earth; of such a hostage has death robbed +me, and delivered up to Pluto. + +CHOR. Advance, advance; go into the recesses of the house. + +(ADM. Oh! Oh!) + +Thou hast suffered things that demand groans. + +(ADM. Alas! alas!) + +Thou hast gone through grief, I well know. + +(ADM. Woe! Woe!) + +Thou nothing aidest her that is beneath. + +(ADM. Ah me! me!) + +Never to see thy dear wife's face again before thee, is severe. + +ADM. Thou hast made mention of that which ulcerated my soul; for what can +be greater ill to man than to lose his faithful wife? Would that I never +had married and dwelt with her in the palace. But I judge happy those, who +are unmarried and childless; for theirs is one only life, for this to +grieve is a moderate burden: but to behold the diseases of children, and +the bridal bed wasted by death, is not supportable, when it were in one's +power to be without children and unmarried the whole of life. + +CHOR. Fate, fate hard to be struggled with hath come. + +(ADM. Oh! Oh!) + +But puttest thou no bound to thy sorrows? + +(ADM. Alas! alas!) + +Heavy are they to bear, but still + +(ADM. Woe! woe!) + +endure, thou art not the first man that hast lost + +(ADM. Ah me! me!) + +thy wife; but calamity appearing afflicts different men in different +shapes. + +ADM. O lasting griefs, and sorrows for our friends beneath the earth!--Why +did you hinder me from throwing myself[41] into her hallowed grave, and +from lying dead with her, by far the most excellent woman? And Pluto would +have retained instead of one, two most faithful souls having together +passed over the infernal lake. + +CHOR. I had a certain kinsman, whose son worthy to be lamented, an only +child, died in his house; but nevertheless he bore his calamity with +moderation, being bereft of child, though now hastening to gray hairs, and +advanced in life. + +ADM. O house, how can I enter in? and how dwell in thee now my fortune has +undergone this change? Ah me! for there is great difference between: then +indeed with Pelian torches, and with bridal songs I entered in, bearing the +hand of my dear wife, and there followed a loud-shouting revelry hailing +happy both her that is dead and me, inasmuch as being noble, and born of +illustrious parents both, we were united together: but now the groan +instead of hymeneals, and black array instead of white robes, usher me in +to my deserted couch. + +CHOR. This grief came quick on happy fortune to thee unschooled in evil: +but thou hast saved thy life. Thy wife is dead, she left her love behind: +what new thing this? Death has ere this destroyed many wives. + +ADM. My friends, I deem the fortune of my wife more happy than mine own, +even although these things appear not so. For her indeed no grief shall +ever touch, and she hath with glory ceased from many toils. But I, who +ought not to have lived, though I have scaped destiny, shall pass a bitter +life; I but now perceive. For how can I bear the entering into this house? +Whom speaking to, or by whom addressed,[42] can I have joy in entering? +Whither shall I turn me? For the solitude within will drive me forth, when +I see the place where my wife used to lie, empty, and the seat whereon she +used to sit, and the floor throughout the house all dirty, and when my +children falling about my knees weep their mother, and they lament their +mistress, _thinking_ what a lady they have lost from out of the house. Such +things within the house; but abroad the nuptials of the Thessalians and the +assemblies full of women will torture me: for I shall not be able to look +on the companions of my wife. But whoever is mine enemy will say thus of +me: "See that man, who basely lives, who dared not to die, but giving in +his stead her, whom he married, escaped Hades, (and then does he seem to be +a man?) and hates his parents, himself not willing to die."--Such report +shall I have in addition to my woes; why then is it the more honorable +course for me to live, my friends, having an evil character and an evil +fortune? + +CHOR. I too have both been borne aloft through song, and having very much +handled arguments have found nothing more powerful than Necessity: nor is +there any cure in the Thracian tablets which Orpheus[43] wrote, nor among +those medicines, which Phœbus gave the sons of Æsculapius, dispensing[44] +them to wretched mortals. But neither to the altars nor to the image of +this Goddess alone, is it lawful to approach, she hears not victims. Do +not, O revered one, come on me more severe, than hitherto in my life. For +Jove, whatever he have assented to, with thee brings this to pass. Thou too +perforce subduest the iron among the Chalybi; nor has thy rugged spirit any +remorse. + +And thee, _Admetus_, the Goddess hath seized in the inevitable grasp of her +hand; but bear it, for thou wilt never by weeping bring back on earth the +dead from beneath. Even the sons of the Gods by stealth begotten perish in +death. Dear she was while she was with us, and dear even now when dead. But +thou didst join to thy bed[45] the noblest wife of all women. Nor let the +tomb of thy wife be accounted as the mound over the dead that perish, but +let it be honored equally with the Gods, a thing for travelers to +adore:[46] and some one, going out of his direct road, shall say thus: "She +in olden time died for her husband, but now she is a blest divinity: Hail, +O adored one, and be propitious!" Such words will be addressed to her.--And +lo! here comes, as it seems, the son of Alcmena to thy house, Admetus. + +HERCULES, ADMETUS, CHORUS. + +HER. One should speak freely to a friend, Admetus, and, not in silence keep +within our bosoms what we blame. Now I thought myself worthy as a friend to +stand near thy calamities, and to search them out;[47] but thou didst not +tell me that it was thy wife's corse that demanded thy attention; but didst +receive me in thy house, as though occupied in grief for one not thine. And +I crowned my head and poured out to the Gods libations in thy house which +had suffered this calamity. And I _do_ blame thee, I blame thee, having met +with this treatment! not that I wish to grieve thee in thy miseries. But +wherefore I am come, having turned back again, I will tell thee. Receive +and take care of this woman for me, until I come hither driving the +Thracian mares, having slain the king of the Bistonians. But if I meet with +what I pray I may not meet with, (for may I return!) I give thee her as an +attendant of thy palace. But with much toil came she into my hands; for I +find some who had proposed a public contest for wrestlers, worthy of my +labors, from whence I bear off her, having received her as the prize of my +victory; for those who conquered in the lighter exercises had to receive +horses, but those again who conquered in the greater, the boxing and the +wrestling, cattle, and a woman was added to these; but in me, who happened +to be there, it had been base to neglect this glorious gain. But, as I +said, the woman ought to be a care to you, for I am come not having +obtained her by stealth, but with labor; but at some time or other thou too +wilt perhaps commend me for it. + +ADM. By no means slighting thee, nor considering thee among mine enemies, +did I conceal from thee the unhappy fate of my wife; but this had been a +grief added to grief, if thou hadst gone to the house of another host: but +it was sufficient for me to weep my own calamity. But the woman, if it is +in any way possible, I beseech thee, O king, bid some one of the +Thessalians, who has not suffered what I have, to take care of (but thou +hast many friends among the Pheræans) lest thou remind me of my +misfortunes. I can not, beholding her in the house, refrain from weeping; +add not a sickness to me already sick; for I am enough weighed down with +misery. Where besides in the house can a youthful woman be maintained? for +she is youthful, as she evinces by her garb and her attire; shall she then +live in the men's apartment? And how will she be undefiled, living among +young men? A man in his vigor, Hercules, it is no easy thing to restrain; +but I have a care for thee. Or can I maintain her, having made her enter +the chamber of her that is dead? And how can I introduce her into her bed? +I fear a double accusation, both from the citizens, lest any should convict +me of having betrayed my benefactress, and lying in the bed of another +girl; and I ought to have much regard toward the dead (and she deserves my +respect). But thou, O lady, whoever thou art, know that thou hast the same +size of person with Alcestis, and art like her in figure. Ah me! take by +the Gods this woman from mine eyes, lest you destroy me already destroyed. +For I think, when I look upon her, that I behold my wife; and it agitates +my heart, and from mine eyes the streams break forth; O unhappy I, how +lately did I begin to taste this bitter grief! + +CHOR. I can not indeed speak well of thy fortune; but it behooves thee, +whatever thou art, to bear with firmness the dispensation of the Gods. + +HER. Oh would that I had such power as to bring thy wife to the light from +the infernal mansions, and to do this service for thee! + +ADM. Well know I that thou hast the will: but how can this be? It is not +possible for the dead to come into the light. + +HER. Do not, I pray, go beyond all bound, but bear it decently, + +ADM. Tis easier to exhort, than suffering to endure. + +HER. But what advantage can you gain if you wish to groan forever? + +ADM. I know that too myself; but a certain love impels me. + +HER. For to love one that is dead draws the tear. + +ADM. She hath destroyed me, and yet more than my words express. + +HER. Thou hast lost an excellent wife; who will deny it? + +ADM. _Ay,_ so that I am no longer delighted with life. + +HER. Time will soften the evil, but now it is yet in its vigor[48] on thee. + +ADM. Time thou mayst say, if to die be time. + +HER. A wife will bid it cease, and the desire of a new marriage. + +ADM. Hold thy peace--What saidst thou? I could not have supposed it. + +HER. But why? what, wilt not marry, but pass a widowed life alone? + +ADM. There is no woman that shall lie with me. + +HER. Dost thou think that thou art in aught benefiting her that is dead? + +ADM. Her, wherever she is, I am bound to honor. + +HER. I praise you indeed, I praise you; but you incur the charge of folly. + +ADM. _Praise me, or praise me not;_ for you shall never call me bridegroom. + +HER. I do praise thee, because thou art a faithful friend to thy wife. + +ADM. May I die, when I forsake her, although she is not! + +HER. Receive then this noble woman into thine house. + +ADM. Do not, I beseech thee by thy father Jove. + +HER. And yet you will be acting wrong, if you do not this. + +ADM. Yes, and if I do it, I shall have my heart gnawed with sorrow. + +HER. Be prevailed upon: perhaps this favor may be proved a duty. + +ADM. Ah! would that you had never borne her off from the contest! + +HER. Yet with me conquering thou'rt victorious too. + +ADM. Thou hast well spoken; but let the woman depart. + +HER. She shall depart, if it is needful; but first see whether it be +needful. + +ADM. It is needful, if thou at least dost not mean to make me angry. + +HER. I too have this desire, for I know somewhat. + +ADM. Conquer then. Thou dost not however do things pleasing to me. + +HER. But some time or other thou wilt praise me; only be persuaded. + +ADM. Lead her in, if I must receive her in my house. + +HER. I will not deliver up the woman into the charge of the servants. + +ADM. But do thou thyself lead her into the house if it seems fit. + +HER. I then will give her into thine hands. + +ADM. I will not touch her; but she is at liberty to enter the house. + +HER. I trust her to thy right hand alone. + +ADM. O king, thou compellest me to do this against my will. + +HER. Dare to stretch out thy hand and touch the stranger. + +ADM. And in truth I stretch it out, as I would to the Gorgon with her +severed head.[49] + +HER. Have you her? + +ADM. I have. + +HER. Then keep her fast; and some time or other thou wilt say that the son +of Jove is a generous guest. But look on her, whether she seems aught to +resemble thy wife; and being blest leave off from thy grief. + +ADM. O Gods, what shall I say? An unexpected wonder this! Do I truly see +here my wife, or does the mocking joy of the Deity strike me from my +senses? + +HER. It is not so; but thou beholdest here thy wife. + +ADM. Yet see, whether this be not a phantom from the realms beneath. + +HER. Thou hast not made thine host an invoker of spirits. + +ADM. But do I behold my wife, whom I buried? + +HER. Be well assured _thou dost;_ but I wonder not at thy disbelief of thy +fortune. + +ADM. May I touch her, may I speak to her as my living wife?[50] + +HER. Speak to her; for thou hast all that thou desirest. + +ADM. O face and person of my dearest wife, have I thee beyond my hopes, +when I thought never to see thee more? + +HER. Thou hast: but _take care_ there be no envy of the Gods. + +ADM. O noble son of the most powerful Jove, mayst thou be blest, and may +thy father, who begot thee, protect thee, for thou alone hast restored me! +How didst thou bring her from beneath into this light! + +HER. Having fought a battle with the prince of those beneath. + +ADM. Where dost thou say thou didst have this conflict with Death! + +HER. At the tomb itself, having seized him from ambush with my hands. + +ADM. But why, I pray, does this woman stand here speechless? + +HER. It is not yet allowed thee to hear her address thee, before she is +unbound from her consecrations[51] to the Gods beneath, and the third day +come. But lead her in, and as thou oughtest, henceforward, Admetus, +continue in thy piety with respect to strangers. And farewell! But I will +go and perform the task that is before me for the imperial son of +Sthenelus. + +ADM. Stay with us, and be a companion of our hearth. + +HER. This shall be some time hence, but now I must haste. + +ADM. But mayst thou be prosperous, and return on thy journey back. But to +the citizens, and to all the tetrarchy I issue my commands, that they +institute dances in honor of these happy events, and make the altars +odorous with their sacrifices of oxen that accompany their vows. For now +are we placed in a better state of life than the former one: for I will not +deny that I am happy. + +CHOR. Many are the shapes of the things the deities direct, and many things +the Gods perform contrary to our expectations. And those things which we +looked for are not accomplished; but the God hath brought to pass things +not looked for. Such hath been the event of this affair. + + * * * * * + +NOTES ON ALCESTIS + +[1] Lactant. i. 10. "Quid Apollo? Nonne ... turpissime gregem pavit +alienum?" B. + +[2] Hygin. Fab. li. "Apollo ab eo in servitutem liberaliter acceptus." B. + +[3] Cf. Hippol. 1437. B. + +[4] No one will, I believe, object to this translation of ΘΑΝΑΤΟΣ; it seems +rather a matter of surprise that Potter has kept the Latin ORCUS, a name +clearly substituted as the nearest to ΘΑΝΑΤΟΣ of the masculine gender. + +[5] Cf. Æsch. Eum. 723 sqq. B. + +[6] It was customary to bury those, who died advanced in years, with +greater magnificence than young persons. + +[7] The horses of Diomed, king of Thrace. The construction is, Ευρυσθεως +πεμψαντος [αυτον meta hippeion ochêma [axonta] ek topôn dyschei merôn +Thrêikês]. MONK. + +[8] On this custom, see Monk, and Lomeier de Lustrationibus § xxviii. B. + +[9] Perhaps, "as though all were over," B. + +[10] Casaubon on Theophr. § 16, observes that it was customary to place a +large vessel filled with lustral water before the doors of a house during +the time the corpse was lying out, with which every one who came out +sprinkled himself. See also Monk's note, Kirchmann de Funeribus, iii. 9. +The same custom was observed on returning from the funeral. See Pollux, +viii. 7. p. 391, ed. Seber. B. + +[11] See Dindorf. B. + +[12] Potterus, Arch. Gr. _mortuos_ a _Græcis_ προνωπεις vocari tradit, quod +solebant ex penitiore ædium parte produci, ac in _vestibulo_, i.e. +προνωπιωι collocari: atque hunc locum adducit, sed frustra, ut opinor. Non +enim _mortua_ jam erat, nec _producta_, sed, ut recte hanc vocem +interpretatur schol. εις θανατον προνενευκυια, i.e. _morti propinqua_. +Proprie προνωπης is dicitur, qui _corpore prono ad terram fertur_, ut +Æschyl. Agam. 242. Inde, quia moribundi virium defectu terram petere +solent, ad hos designandos translatum est. KUINOEL. + +[13] The old word "dizening" is perhaps the most literal translation of +κοσμος, which, however, here means the whole preparations for the funeral. +Something like it is implied in Hamlet, v. 1. + + ... her virgin rites, + Her maiden strewments, and the bringing home + Of bell and burial. B. + +[14] Aristophanes is almost too bad in his burlesque, Equit. 1251. σε δ' +αλλος τις λαβων κεκτησεται, κλεπτης μεν ουκ αν μαλλον, ευτυχης δ' ‛ισως. B. + +[15] Some would translate προνωπης in the same manner as in verse 144. + +[16] Conf. Ter.: Phorm. iv. 4, 5. Opera tua ad _restim_ mihi quidem res +rediit planissume. + +[17] Perhaps it is unnecessary to remark, that αβιωτον agrees with βιον +implied in βιοτευσει. + +[18] ‛οραι scilicet ‛ηλιος. MONK. + +[19] Cf. Hippol. 1372. B. + +[20] It must be remembered that to survive one's children was considered +the greatest of misfortunes. Cf. Plaut. Mil. Glor. l. 1. "Ita ut tuum vis +unicum gnatum tuæ Superesse vitæ, sospitem et superstitem." B. + +[21] Kuinoel carries on the interrogation to γαμους, and Buchanan has +translated it according to this punctuation. Monk compares Iliad, p. 95; +μηπως με περιστελωσ' ‛ενα πολλοι. + +[22] Compare my note on Æsch. Ag. 414 sqq. B. + +[23] _These_, my children. + +[24] Reiske proposes to read τεθριππα δε ζευγη τε και--_And both from your +chariot teams, and from your single horses cut the manes_. + +[25] This festival was celebrated in honor of Apollo at Sparta, from the +seventh to the sixteenth day of the month Carneus. See Monk. B. + +[26] On λιπαραις Αθαναις, see Monk. B. + +[27] Literally, _the duplicate_ of such a wife. + +[28] αναξ πελτης, so αναξ κωπης in Æsch. Pers. 384, _of a rower_. Wakefield +compares Ovid's _Clypei dominus septemplicis Ajax_. MONK. + +[29] Heath and Markland take τωι for τινι. + +[30] Cf. Theocrit. Id. i. 71 sqq. of Daphnis, τηνον μεν θωες, τηνον λυκοι +ωρυσαντο, Τηνον χοι 'κ δρυμοιο λεων ανεκλαυσε θανοντα ... πολλαι μεν παρ +ποσσι βοες, πολλοι δε τε ταυροι, πολλαι δ' αυ δαμαλαι και πορτιες ωδυραντο. +Virg. Ecl. v. 27 sqq. Calpurnius, Ecl. ii. 18. Nemesianus, Ecl. i. 74 sqq.; +ii. 32. B. + +[31] αρδην γινεται απο του αιρειν. δηλοι δε το φοραδην. Schol. + +[32] Cf. Suppl. 773. Αιδου τε μολπας εκχεω δακρυρροους, φιλους προσαυδων, +‛ων λελειμμενος ταλας ερημα κλαιω. See Gorius Monum. sive Columbar. Libert. +Florent. mdccxxvii. p.186, who observes, "χαιρε was the accustomed +salutation addressed to the dead. Catullus, Carm. xcvii. _Accipe fraterno +multum manantia fletu, atque in perpetuum frater HAVE, atque VALE_." The +same scholar compares a monument, apud Fabretti, cap. v. p. 392, n. 265, + + +D. M +AVE SALVINIA +OMNIUM. AMAN +TISSIMA. ET. +VALE, + +which is very apposite to the present occasion. B. + +[33] Wakefield reads χαιρε καιν Αιδου δομοις; having in his mind probably +Hom. Il. Ψ. 19. Χαιρε μοι ‛ω Πατροκλε, και ειν Αϊδαο δομοισι. + +[34] I should scarcely have observed that this is the proper sense of the +imperfect, had not the former translator mistaken it. B. + +[35] Cf. Iph. Taur. 244. χερνιβας δε και καταργματα ουκ αν φθανοις αν +ευτρεπη ποιουμενη. B. + +[36] An apparent allusion to the fable of Death and the Old Man. B + +[37] Aristophanes' version of this line is, ω παι, τιν αυχεις, ποτερα Λυδον +η Φρυγα Μορμολυττεσθαι δοκεις. B. + +[38] Turned by Aristophanes into an apology for beating one's father, Nub. +1415. κλαουσι παιδες, πατερα δ' ου κλαειν δοκεις. See Thesmoph. 194. B. + +[39] Cf. Æsch. Choeph. sub init. and Gorius, Monum. Libert. p. 24. ad Tab. +x. lit. A. + +[40] Theocrit. i. 27. Και βαθυ κισσυβιον κεκλυσμενον ‛αδει καρωι, Τω περι +μεν χειλη μαρευεται ‛υψοθι κισσος. B. + +[41] Hamlet, v. 1. + + --Hold off the earth awhile, + Till I have caught her once more in mine arms: + [_ leaps into the grave_.] + Now pile your dust upon the quick and dead. B. + +[42] Cf. vs. 195. ‛ον ου προσειπε και προσερρηθη παλιν. B. + +[43] Ορφεια γαρυς, a paraphrasis for Ορφευς. + +[44] αντιτεμων, μεταφορικως απο των τας ‛ριζας τεμνοντων και ‛ευρισκοντων. +SCHOL. TR. Cf. on Æsch. Agam. 17. B. + +[45] In Phavorinus, among the senses of κλισια is κλινη και κλινητηριον. + +[46] It will be remembered that the tombs were built near the highways, +with great magnificence, and sometimes very lofty, especially when near the +sea-coast (cf. Æsch. Choeph. 351. D'Orville on Charit. lib. i. sub fin. +Eurip. Hecub. 1273). They are often used as landmarks or milestones, as in +Theocr. vi. 10, and as oratories or chapels, Apul. Florid, i. p.340, ed. +Elm. B. + +[47] This appears the most obvious sense, as connected with what follows. +All the interpreters, however, translate it, _I thought myself worthy, +standing, as I did, near thy calamities_,(i.e. near thee in thy +calamities,) _to be proved thy friend._ + +[48] In the same manner ‛ηβαι is used in Orestes, 687, ‛οταν γαρ ‛ηβαι +δημος εις οργην πεσων. + +[49] i.e. _the severed head of the Gorgon_. Valckenaer observes, that this +is an expression meaning _facie aversa_, and compares l. 465 of the +Phœnissæ. + +[50] Winter's Tale, v. 3. + + Start not: her actions shall be holy, as, + You hear, my spell is lawful: do not shun her, + Until you see her die again; for then + You kill her double: Nay, present your hand: + When she was young you woo'd her; now, in age, + Is she become the suitor? + +Compare also Much Ado about Nothing, v. 4. B. + +[51] ‛αφαγνιζειν h. l. non _purificare_ sed _desecrare_. Orcus enim, quando +gladio totondisset Alcestidis capillos, eam diis manibus sacram dicaverat, +quod diserte ‛ηγνισαι appellat noster, vide 75--77. Contraria igitur aliqua +ceremonia desecranda erat, antequam Admeto ejus consuetudine et colloquio +frui liceret. HEATH. + + * * * * * * + +THE BACCHÆ. + + * * * * + +PERSONS REPRESENTED, + + BACCHUS. + CHORUS. + TIRESIAS. + CADMUS. + PENTHEUS. + SERVANT. + MESSENGER. + ANOTHER MESSENGER. + AGAVE. + + * * * * * + +THE ARGUMENT. + + * * * * + +Bacchus, the son of Jove by Semele, had made Thebes, his mother's +birth-place, his favorite place of abode and worship. Pentheus, the then +reigning king, who, as others say, preferred the worship of Minerva, +slighted the new God, and persecuted those who celebrated his revels. Upon +this, Bacchus excited his mother Agave, together with the sisters of +Semele, Autonoe and Ino, to madness, and visiting Pentheus in disguise of a +Bacchanal, was at first imprisoned, but, easily escaping from his bonds, he +persuaded Pentheus to intrude upon the rites of the Bacchants. While +surveying them from a lofty tree, the voice of Bacchus was heard inciting +the Bacchants to avenge themselves upon the intruder, and they tore the +miserable Pentheus piecemeal. The grief and banishment of Agave for her +unwitting offense conclude the play. + + * * * * * + +THE BACCHÆ.[1] + + * * * * + +BACCHUS. + +I, Bacchus, the son of Jove, am come to this land of the Thebans, whom +formerly Semele, the daughter of Cadmus, brought forth, delivered by the +lightning-bearing flame. And having taken a mortal form instead of a God's, +I am present at the fountains of Dirce and the water of Ismenus. And I see +the tomb of my thunder-stricken mother here near the palace, and the +remnants of the house smoking, and the still living name of Jove's fire, +the everlasting insult of Juno against my mother. But I praise Cadmus, who +has made this place hallowed, the shrine of his daughter; and I have +covered it around with the cluster-bearing leaf of the vine. And having +left the wealthy lands of the Lydians and Phrygians, and the sun-parched +plains of the Persians, and the Bactrian walls; and having come over the +stormy land of the Medes, and the happy Arabia, and all Asia which lies +along the coast of the salt sea, having fair-towered cities full of Greeks +and barbarians mingled together; and there having danced and established my +mysteries, that I might be a God manifest among men, I have come to this +city first of the Grecian [cities,] and I have raised my shout first in +Thebes of this land of Greece, fitting a deer-skin on my body, and taking a +thyrsus in my hand, an ivy-clad[2] weapon, because the sisters of my +mother, whom, it least of all became, said that I, Bacchus, was not born of +Jove; but that Semele, having conceived by some mortal, charged the sin of +her bed upon Jove, a trick of Cadmus; on which account they said that Jove +had slain her, because she told a false tale about her marriage. Therefore +I have now driven them from the house with frenzy, and they dwell on the +mountain, insane of mind; and I have compelled them to wear the dress of my +mysteries. And all the female seed of the Cadmeans, as many as are women, +have I driven maddened from the house. And they, mingled with the sons of +Cadmus, sit on the roofless rocks beneath the green pines. For this city +must know, even though it be unwilling, that it is not initiated into my +Bacchanalian rites, and that I plead the cause of my mother, Semele, in +appearing manifest to mortals as a God whom she bore to Jove. Cadmus then +gave his honor and power to Pentheus, born from his daughter, who fights +against the Gods as far as I am concerned, and drives me from sacrifices, +and in his prayers makes no mention of me; on which account I will show him +and all the Thebans that I am a God. And having set matters here aright, +manifesting myself, I will move to another land. But if the city of the +Thebans should in anger seek by arms to bring down the Bacchæ from the +mountain, I, general of the Mænads, will join battle.[3] On which account I +have changed my form to a mortal one, and transformed my shape into the +nature of a man. But, O ye who have left Tmolus, the bulwark of Lydia; ye +women, my assembly, whom I have brought from among the barbarians as +assistants and companions to me; take your drums, your native instruments +in the Phrygian cities, the invention of the mother Rhea[4] and myself, and +coming beat them around this royal palace of Pentheus, that the city of +Cadmus may see it. And I, with the Bacchæ, going to the dells of Cithæron, +where they are, will share their dances. + +CHOR. Coming from the land of Asia, having left the sacred Tmolus, I dance +in honor of Bromius, a sweet labor and a toil easily borne, celebrating the +god Bacchus. Who is in the way? who is in the way? who is in the halls? Let +him depart. And let every one be pure as to his mouth speaking propitious +things; for now I will with hymns celebrate Bacchus according to +custom:--Blessed is he,[5] whoever being favored, knowing the mysteries of +the gods, keeps his life pure, and has his soul initiated into the Bacchic +revels, dancing o'er the mountains with holy purifications, and reverencing +the mysteries of the mighty mother Cybele, and brandishing the thyrsus, and +being crowned with ivy, serves Bacchus! Go, ye Bacchæ; go, ye Bacchæ, +escorting Bromius, a God, the son of a God, from the Phrygian mountains to +the broad streets of Greece! Bromius! whom formerly, being in the pains of +travail, the thunder of Jove flying upon her, his mother cast from her +womb, leaving life by the stroke of the thunder-bolt. And immediately +Jupiter, the son of Saturn, received him in a chamber fitted for birth; and +covering him in his thigh, shuts him with golden clasps hidden from Juno. +And he brought him forth, when the Fates had perfected the horned God, and +crowned him with crowns of snakes, whence the thyrsus-bearing Mænads are +wont to cover their prey with their locks. O Thebes, thou nurse of Semele, +crown thyself with ivy, flourish, flourish with the verdant yew bearing +sweet fruit, and be ye crowned in honor of Bacchus with branches of oak or +pine, and adorn your garments of spotted deer-skin with fleeces of +white-haired sheep,[6] and sport in holy games with the insulting wands, +straightway shall all the earth dance, when Bromius leads the bands to the +mountain, to the mountain, where the female crowd abides, away from the +distaff and the shuttle,[7] driven frantic by Bacchus. O dwelling of the +Curetes, and ye divine Cretan caves,[8] parents to Jupiter, where the +Corybantes with the triple helmet invented for me in their caves this +circle o'erstretched with hide; and with the constant sweet-voiced breath +of Phrygian pipes they mingled a sound of Bacchus, and put the instrument +in the hand of Rhea, resounding with the sweet songs of the Bacchæ. And +hard by the raving satyrs went through the sacred rites of the mother +Goddess. And they added the dances of the Trieterides;[9] in which Bacchus +rejoices; pleased on the mountains, when after the running dance he falls +upon the plain, having a sacred garment of deer-skin, seeking a sacrifice +of goats, a raw-eaten delight,[10] on his way to the Phrygian, the Lydian +mountains; and the leader is Bromius, Evoe![11] but the plain flows with +milk, and flows with wine, and flows with the nectar of bees; and the smoke +is as of Syrian frankincense. But Bacchus bearing a flaming torch of pine +on his thyrsus, rushes about arousing in his course the wandering Choruses, +and agitating them with shouts, casting his rich locks loose in the +air,--and with his songs he shouts out such words as this: O go forth, ye +Bacchæ; O go forth, ye Bacchæ, delight of gold-flowing Tmolus. Sing Bacchus +'neath the loud drums, Evoe, celebrating the God Evius in Phrygian cries +and shouts. When the sweet-sounding sacred pipe sounds a sacred playful +sound suited to the frantic wanderers, to the mountain, to the +mountain--and the Bacchant rejoicing like a foal with its mother at +pasture, stirs its swift foot in the dance. + +TIRESIAS. Who at the doors will call out Cadmus from the house, the son of +Agenor, who, leaving the city of Sidon, erected this city of the Thebans? +Let some one go, tell him that Tiresias seeks him; but he himself knows on +what account I come, and what agreement I, an old man, have made with him, +yet older; to twine the thyrsi, and to put on the skins of deer, and to +crown the head with ivy branches. + +CADMUS. O dearest friend! how I, being in the house, was delighted, hearing +your voice, the wise voice of a wise man; and I am come prepared, having +this equipment of the God; for we needs must extol him, who is the son +sprung from my daughter, Bacchus, who has appeared as a God to men, as much +as is in our power. Whither shall I dance, whither direct the foot, and +wave the hoary head? Do you lead me, you, an old man! O Tiresias, direct +me, an old man; for you are wise. Since I shall never tire, neither night +nor day, striking the earth with the thyrsus. Gladly we forget that we are +old. + +TI. You have the same feelings indeed as I; for I too feel young, and will +attempt the dance. + +CA. Then we will go to the mountain in chariots.[12] + +TI. But thus the God would not have equal honor. + +CA. I, an old man, will lead you, an old man.[13] + +TI. The God will without trouble guide us thither. + +CA. But shall we alone of the city dance in honor of Bacchus? + +TI. [Ay,] for we alone think rightly, but the rest ill. + +CA. We are long in delaying;[14] but take hold of my hand. + +TI. See, take hold, and join your hand to mine. + +CA. I do not despise the Gods, being a mortal. + +TI. We do not show too much wiseness about the Gods. Our ancestral +traditions, and those which we have kept throughout our life, no argument +will overturn them; not if any one were to find out wisdom with the highest +genius. Some one will say that I do not respect old age, being about to +dance, having crowned my head with ivy; for the God has made no distinction +as to whether it becomes the young man to dance, or the elder; but wishes +to have common honors from all; but does not at all wish to be extolled by +a few. + +CA. Since you, O Tiresias, do not see this light, I will be to you an +interpreter of things. Hither is Pentheus coming to the house in haste, the +son of Echion, to whom I give power over the land. How fluttered he is! +what strange thing will he say? + +PENTHEUS. I happened to be at a distance from this land, and I hear of +strange evils in this city, that the women have left our palace in +mad-wandering Bacchic rites; and that they are rushing about in the shady +mountains, honoring with dances this new God Bacchus, whoever he is; and +that full goblets stand in the middle of their assemblies, and that flying +each different ways into secrecy, they yield to the embraces of men, on +pretence, indeed, as [being] worshiping Mænads; but that they consider +Venus before Bacchus. As many then as I have taken, the servants keep them +bound as to their hands in the public strong-holds, and as many as are +absent I will hunt from the mountain, Ino, and Agave who bore me to Echion, +and the mother of Actæon, I mean Autonoe; and having bound them in iron +fetters, I will soon stop them from this ill-working revelry. And they say +that some stranger has come hither, a juggler, a charmer, from the Lydian +land, fragrant in hair with golden curls, florid, having in his eyes the +graces of Venus, who days and nights is with them, alluring the young +maidens with Bacchic mysteries--but if I catch him under this roof, I will +stop him from making a noise with the thyrsus, and waving his hair, by +cutting off his neck from his body. He says he is the God Bacchus, [He was +once on a time sown in the thigh of Jove,[15] ] who was burned in the flame +of lightning, together with his mother, because she falsely claimed +nuptials with Jove. Are not these things deserving of a terrible halter, +for a stranger to insult us with these insults, whoever he be? But here is +another marvel--I see Tiresias the soothsayer, in dappled deer-skins, and +the father of my mother, most great absurdity, raging about with a +thyrsus--I deprecate it, O father, seeing your old age destitute of sense; +will you not dash away the ivy?[16] will you not, O father of my mother, +put down your hand empty of the thyrsus? Have you persuaded him to this, O +Tiresias? do you wish, introducing this new God among men, to examine birds +and to receive rewards for fiery omens? If your hoary old age did not +defend you, you should sit as a prisoner in the midst of the Bacchæ, for +introducing these wicked rites; for where the joy of the grape-cluster is +present at a feast of women, I no longer say any thing good of their +mysteries. + +CHOR. Alas for his impiety! O host, do you not reverence the Gods! and +being son of Echion, do you disgrace your race and Cadmus, who sowed the +earth-born crop? + +TI. When any wise man takes a good occasion for his speech, it is not a +great task to speak well; but you have a rapid tongue, as if wise, but in +your words there is no wisdom; but a powerful man, when bold, and able to +speak, is a bad citizen if he has not sense. And this new God, whom you +ridicule, I am unable to express how great he will be in Greece. For, O +young man, two things are first among men; Ceres, the goddess, and she is +the earth, call her whichever name you will.[17] She nourishes mortals with +dry food; but he who is come as a match to her, the son of Semele, has +invented the liquid drink of the grape, and introduced it among mortals, +which delivers miserable mortals from grief,[18] when they are filled with +the stream of the vine; and gives sleep an oblivion of daily evils: nor is +there any other medicine for troubles. He who is a God is poured out in +libations to the Gods, that by his means men may have good things--and you +laugh at him, as to how he was sewn up in the thigh of Jove; I will teach +you that this is well--when Jove snatched him out of the lightning flame, +and bore him, a young infant, up to Olympus, Juno wished to cast him down +from heaven; but Jove had a counter contrivance, as being a God. Having +broken a part of the air which surrounds the earth, he placed in it, giving +him as a pledge, Bacchus, safe from Juno's enmity; and in time, mortals +say, that he was nourished in the thigh of Jove; changing his name, because +a God gave him formerly as a pledge to a Goddess, they having made +agreement.[19] But this God is a prophet--for Bacchanal excitement and +frenzy have much divination in them.[20] For when the God comes violent[21] +into the body, he makes the frantic to foretell the future; and he also +possesses some quality of Mars; for terror flutters sometimes an army under +arms and in its ranks, before they touch the spear; and this also is a +frenzy from Bacchus. Then you shall see him also on the Delphic rocks, +bounding with torches along the double-pointed district, tossing about, and +shaking the Bacchic branch, mighty through Greece. But be persuaded by me, +O Pentheus; do not boast that sovereignty has power among men, nor, even if +you think so, and your mind is disordered, believe that you are at all +wise. But receive the God into the land, and sacrifice to him, and play the +Bacchanal, and crown your head. Bacchus will not compel women to be +modest[22] with regard to Venus, but in his nature modesty in all things is +ever innate. This you must needs consider, for she who is modest will not +be corrupted by being at Bacchanalian revels. Dost see? Thou rejoicest when +many stand at thy gates, and the city extols the name of Pentheus; and he, +I ween, is pleased, when honored. I, then, and Cadmus whom you laugh to +scorn, will crown ourselves with ivy, and dance, a hoary pair; but still we +must dance; and I will not contend against the Gods, persuaded by your +words--for you rave most grievously; nor can you procure any cure from +medicine, nor are you now afflicted beyond their power.[23] + +CHOR. O old man, thou dost not shame Apollo by thy words, and honoring +Bromius, the mighty God, thou art wise. + +CAD. My son, well has Tiresias advised you; dwell with us, not away from +the laws. For now you flit about, and though wise are wise in naught; for +although this may not be a God, as you say, let it be said by you that he +is; and tell a glorious falsehood, that Semele may seem to have borne a +God, and that honor may redound to all our race. You see the hapless fate +of Actæon,[24] whom his blood-thirsty hounds, whom he had reared up, tore +to pieces in the meadows, having boasted that he was superior in the chase +to Diana. This may you not suffer; come, that I may crown thy head with +ivy, with us give honor to the God-- + +PEN. Do not bring your hand toward me; but departing, play the Bacchanal, +and wipe not off your folly on me; but I will follow up with punishment +this teacher of your madness; let some one go as quickly as possible, and +going to his seat where he watches the birds, upset and overthrow it with +levers, turning every thing upside down; and commit his crowns to the winds +and storms; for doing this, I shall gnaw him most. And some of you going +along the city, track out this effeminate stranger, who brings this new +disease upon women, and pollutes our beds. And if you catch him, convey him +hither bound; that meeting with a judgment of stoning he may die, having +seen a bitter revelry of Bacchus in Thebes. + +TI. O wretched man! how little knowest thou what thou sayest! You are mad +now, and before you was out of your mind. Let us go, O Cadmus, and entreat +the God, on behalf of him, savage though he be, and on behalf of the city, +to do him no ill: but follow me with the ivy-clad staff, and try to support +my body, and I will yours; for it would be shameful for two old men to fall +down: but let that pass, for we must serve Bacchus, the son of Jove; but +beware lest Pentheus bring grief into thy house, O Cadmus. I do not speak +in prophecy, but judging from the state of things, for a foolish man says +foolish things. + +CHOR. O holy venerable Goddess! holy, who bearest thy golden pinions along +the earth, hearest thou these words of Pentheus? Hearest thou his unholy +insolence against Bromius, the son of Semele, the first deity of the Gods, +at the banquets where the guests wear beautiful chaplets! who has this +office, to join in dances, and to laugh with the flute, and to put an end +to cares, when the juice of the grape comes at the feast of the Gods, and +in the ivy-bearing banquets the goblet sheds sleep over man? Of unbridled +mouths and lawless folly misery is the end, but the life of quiet and +wisdom remains unshaken, and supports a house; for the heavenly powers are +afar indeed, but still inhabiting the air, they behold the deeds of +mortals. But cleverness[25] is not wisdom, nor is the thinking on things +unfit for mortals. Life is short; and in it who, pursuing great things, +would not enjoy the present? These are the manners of maniacs; and of +ill-disposed men, in my opinion. Would that I could go to Cyprus, the +island of Venus, where the Loves dwell, soothing the minds of mortals, and +to Paphos, which the waters of a foreign river flowing with an hundred[26] +mouths, fertilize without rain--and to the land of Pieria, where is the +beautiful seat of the Muses, the holy hill of Olympus. Lead me thither, O +Bromius, Bromius, O master thou of Bacchanals! There are the Graces, and +there is Love, and there is it lawful for the Bacchæ to celebrate their +orgies; the God, the son of Jove, delights in banquets, and loves Peace, +giver of riches, the Goddess the nourisher of youths. And both to the rich +and the poor[27] has she granted to enjoy an equal delight from wine, +banishing grief; and he who does not care for these things, hates to lead a +happy life by day and by friendly night--but it is wise[28] to keep away +the mind and intellect proceeding from over-curious men; what the baser +multitude thinks and adopts, that will I say. + +SERVANT. Pentheus, we are here; having caught this prey, for which you sent +us: nor have we gone in vain; but the beast was docile in our hands, nor +did he withdraw his foot in flight, but yielded not unwillingly; nor did he +[turn] pale nor change his wine-complexioned cheek, but laughing, allowed +us to bind and lead him away; and remained still, making my work easy; and +I for shame said, O stranger, I do not take you of my own will, but by +order of Pentheus who sent me. And the Bacchæ whom you shut up, whom you +carried off and bound in the chains of the public prison, they being set +loose are escaped, and are dancing in the meadows, invoking Bromius as +their God, and of their own accord the fetters were loosed from their feet, +and the keys opened the doors without mortal hand, and full of many wonders +is this man come to Thebes; but the rest must be thy care. + +PEN. Take hold of him by the hands; for being in the toils, he is not so +swift as to escape me: but in your body you are not ill-formed, O stranger, +for women's purposes, on which account you have come to Thebes. For your +hair is long, not through wrestling, scattered over your cheeks, full of +desire, and you have a white skin from careful preparation; hunting after +Venus by your beauty not exposed to strokes of the sun, but [kept] beneath +the shade. First then tell me who thou art in family. + +BAC. There is no boast; but this is easy to say; thou knowest by hearsay of +the flowery Tmolus? + +PEN. I know, [the hill] which surrounds the city of Sardis. + +BAC. Thence am I; and Lydia is my country. + +PEN. And whence do you bring these rites into Greece? + +BAC. Bacchus persuaded us, the son of Jove. + +PEN. Is Jove then one who begets new Gods? + +BAC. No, but having married Semele here,-- + +PEN. Did he compel you by night, or in your sight [by day]? + +BAC. Seeing me who saw him; and he gave me orgies. + +PEN. And what appearance have these orgies? + +BAC. It is unlawful for the uninitiated among mortals to know. + +PEN. And have they any profit to those who sacrifice? + +BAC. It is not lawful for you to hear, but they are worth knowing. + +PEN. You have well coined this story, that I may wish to hear. + +BAC. The orgies of the God hate him who works impiety. + +PEN. For you say, forsooth, that you saw the God clearly what he was like? + +BAC. As he chose; I did not order this. + +PEN. This too you have well contrived, saying mere nonsense. + +BAC. One may seem, speaking wisely to one ignorant, not to be wise. + +PEN. And did you come hither first, bringing the God? + +BAC. Every one of the barbarians celebrates these orgies. + +PEN. [Ay,] for they are much less wise than Greeks. + +BAC. In these things they are wiser, but their laws are different. + +PEN. Do you practice these rites at night, or by day? + +BAG. Most of them at night;[29] darkness conveys awe. + +PEN. This is treacherous toward women, and unsound. + +BAC. Even by day some may devise base things. + +PEN. You must pay the penalty of your evil devices. + +BAC. And you of your ignorance, being impious to the God. + +PEN. How bold is Bacchus, and not unpracticed in speech. + +BAC. Say what I must suffer, what ill wilt thou do me? + +PEN. First I will cut off your delicate hair. + +BAC. The hair is sacred, I cherish it for the God.[30] + +PEN. Next yield up this thyrsus out of your hands. + +BAC. Take it from me yourself, I bear it as the ensign of Bacchus. + +PEN. And we will guard your body within in prison. + +BAC. The God himself will release me when I wish.[31] + +PEN. Ay, when you call him, standing among the Bacchæ. + +BAC. Even now, being near, he sees what I suffer. + +PEN. And where is he? for at least he is not apparent to my eyes. + +BAC. Near me, but you being impious, see him not. + +PEN. Seize him, he insults me and Thebes! + +BAC. I warn you not to bind me: I in my senses command you not in your +senses. + +PEN. And I bid them to bind you, as being mightier than you. + +BAC. You know not why you live, nor what you do, nor who you are. + +PEN. Pentheus, son of Agave, and of my father Echion. + +BAC. You are suited to be miserable according to your name.[32] + +PEN. Begone! confine him near the stable of horses that he may behold dim +darkness! There dance; and as for these women whom you bring with you, the +accomplices in your wickedness, we will either sell them away, or stopping +their hand from this noise and beating of skins, I will keep them as slaves +at the loom. + +BAC. I will go--for what is not right it is not right to suffer; but as a +punishment for these insults Bacchus shall pursue you, who you say exists +not; for, injuring us, you put him in bonds. + +CHOR. O daughter of Achelous, venerable Dirce, happy virgin, for thou didst +receive the infant of Jove in thy fountains when Jove who begat him saved +him in his thigh from the immortal fire; uttering this shout: Go, O +Dithyrambus, enter this my male womb, I will make you illustrious, O +Bacchus, in Thebes, so that they shall call you by this name. But you, O +happy Dirce, reject me having a garland-bearing company about you. Why dost +thou reject me? Why dost thou avoid me? Yet, I swear by the clustering +delights of the vine of Bacchus, yet shall you have a care for Bacchus. +What rage, what rage does the earth-born race show, and Pentheus once +descended from the dragon, whom the earth-born Echion begat, a fierce-faced +monster, not a mortal man, but like a bloody giant, an enemy to the Gods, +who will soon bind me, the handmaid of Bacchus, in halters, he already has +within the house my fellow-reveler, hidden in a dark prison. Dost thou +behold this, O son of Jove, Bacchus, thy prophets in the dangers of +restraint? Come, O thou of golden face, brandishing your thyrsus along +Olympus, and restrain the insolence of the blood-thirsty man. Where art +thou assembling thy bands of thyrsus-bearers, O Bacchus, is it near Nysa +which nourishes wild beasts, or in the summits of Corycus?[33] or perhaps +in the deep-wooded lairs of Olympus, where formerly Orpheus playing the +lyre drew together the trees by his songs, collected the beasts of the +fields; O happy Pieria, Evius respects you, and will come to lead the dance +with revelings having crossed the swiftly-flowing Axius, he will bring the +dancing Mænads, and [leaving] Lydia[34] the giver of wealth to mortals, and +the father whom I have heard fertilizes the country renowned for horses +with the fairest streams. + +BAC. Io! hear ye, hear ye my song, Io Bacchæ! O Bacchæ! + +CHOR. Who is here, who? from what quarter did the shout of Evius summon me? + +BAC. Io, Io, I say again! I, the son of Semele, the son of Jove! + +CHOR. Io! Io! Master, master! come now to our company. O Bromius! Bromius! +Shake this place, O holy Earth![35] O! O! quickly will the palace of +Pentheus be shaken in ruin--Bacchus is in the halls. Worship him. We +worship him. Behold these stone buttresses shaken with their pillars. +Bacchus will shout in the palace. + +BAC. Light the burning fiery lamp; burn, burn the house of Pentheus. + +SEM. Alas! Dost thou not behold the fire, nor perceive around the sacred +tomb of Semele the flame which formerly the bolt-bearing thunder of Jupiter +left? + +SEM. Cast on the ground your trembling bodies, cast them down, O Mænads, +for the king turning things upside down is coming to this palace, +[Bacchus,] the son of Jupiter. + +BAC. O barbarian women! have ye fallen to the ground thus stricken with +fear? Ye have felt, it seems, Bacchus shaking the house of Pentheus; but +lift up your bodies, and take courage, casting off fear from your flesh. + +CHOR. O thou most mighty light to us of Evian Bacchic rites, how gladly do +I see thee, being before alone and desolate! + +BAC. Ye came to despair, when I was sent in, as about to fall into the dark +prison of Pentheus. + +CHOR. How not?--who was my guardian if you met with misfortune? but how +were you liberated, having met with an impious man? + +BAC. I delivered myself easily without trouble. + +CHOR. And did he not bind your hands in links of chains? + +BAC. In this too I mocked him; for, thinking to bind me, he neither touched +nor handled me, but fed on hope; and finding a bull in the stable, where +having taken me, he confined me, he cast halters round the knees of that, +and the hoofs of its feet;[36] breathing out fury, stilling sweat from his +body, gnashing his teeth in his lips. But I, being near, sitting quietly, +looked on; and, in the mean time, Bacchus coming, shook the house, and +kindled flame on the tomb of his mother; and he, when he saw it, thinking +the house was burning, rushed to and fro, calling to the servants to bring +water,[37] and every servant was at work toiling in vain; and letting go +this labor, I having escaped, seizing a dark sword he rushes into the +house, and then Bromius, as it seems to me, I speak my opinion, made an +appearance in the palace, and he rushing toward it, rushed on and stabbed +at the bright air,[38] as if slaying me; and besides this, Bacchus afflicts +him with these other things; and threw down his house to the ground, and +every thing was shivered in pieces, while he beheld my bitter chains; and +from fatigue dropping his sword, he falls exhausted--for he being a man, +dared to join battle with a God: and I quietly getting out of the house am +come to you, not regarding Pentheus. But, as it seems to me, a shoe sounds +in the house; he will soon come out in front of the house. What will he say +after this? I shall easily bear him, even if he comes vaunting greatly, for +it is the part of a wise man to practice prudent moderation. + +PEN. I have suffered terrible things, the stranger has escaped me, who was +lately coerced in bonds. Hollo! here is the man; what is this? how do you +appear near my house, having come out? + +BAC. Stay your foot; and substitute calm steps for anger. + +PEN. How come you out, having escaped your chains? + +BAC. Did I not say, or did you not hear, that some one would deliver me? + +PEN. Who? for you are always introducing strange things. + +BAC. He who produces the rich-clustering vine for mortals. + +PEN. This is a fine reproach you charge on Bacchus; I order ye to close +every tower all round. + +BAC. Why? do not Gods pass over walls too? + +PEN. You are wise, wise at least in all save what you should be wise in. + +BAC. In what I most ought, in that I was born wise; but first learn, +hearing his words who is come from the mountain to bring a message to you; +but we will await you, we will not fly. + +MESSENGER. Pentheus, ruler o'er this Theban land, I come, having left +Cithæron, where never have the brilliant flakes of white snow fallen.[39] + +PEN. But bringing what important news are you come? + +MESS. Having seen the holy Bacchæ, who driven by madness have darted their +fair feet from this land, have I come, wishing to tell you and the city, O +king, what awful things they do, things beyond marvel; and I wish to hear +whether in freedom of speech I shall tell you the matters there, or whether +I shall repress my report, for I fear, O king, the hastiness of thy mind, +and your keen temper, and too imperious disposition.[40] + +PEN. Speak, as you shall be in all things blameless as far as I am +concerned; for it is not meet to be wrath with the just; and in proportion +as you speak worse things of the Bacchæ, so much the more will we punish +this man who has taught these tricks to the women. + +MESS. I was just now driving up to the heights the herd of calves, when the +sun sends forth his rays warming the land, and I see three companies of +dances of women, of one of which Autonoe was chief; of a second, thy +mother, Agave; and Ino led the third dance; and they were all sleeping, +relaxed in their bodies, some resting their locks against the leaves of +pine, and some laying their heads at random on the leaves of oak in the +ground, modestly, not, as you say, that, drunk with the goblet and the +noise of the flute, they solitary hunt Venus through the wood. But thy +mother standing in the midst of the Bacchæ, raised a shout, to wake their +bodies from sleep, when she heard the lowing of the horned oxen; but they, +casting off refreshing sleep from their eyes, started upright, a marvel to +behold for their elegance, young, old, and virgins yet unyoked, And first +they let loose their hair over their shoulders; and arranged their +deer-skins, as many as had had the fastenings of their knots unloosed, and +they girded the dappled hides with serpents licking their jaws--and some +having in their arms a kid, or the wild whelps of wolves, gave them white +milk, all those who, having lately had children, had breasts still full, +having left their infants, and they put on their ivy chaplets, and garlands +of oak and blossoming yew; and one having taken a thyrsus, struck it +against a rock, whence a dewy stream of water springs out; another placed +her wand on the ground, and then the God sent up a spring of wine. And as +many as had craving for the white drink, scratching the earth with the tips +of their fingers, obtained abundance of milk; and from the ivy thyrsus +sweet streams of honey dropped, so that, had you been present, beholding +these things, you would have approached with prayers that God whom you now +blame. And we came together, herdsmen and shepherds, to reason with one +another concerning this strange matter, what terrible things and worthy of +marvel they do; and some one, a wanderer about the city, and practiced in +speaking, said to us all, O ye who inhabit the holy downs of the mountains, +will ye that we hunt out Agave, the mother of Pentheus, back from the +revels, and do the king a pleasure? And he seemed to us to speak well, and +hiding ourselves, we lay in ambush in the foliage of the thickets; and +they, at the appointed hour, waved the thyrsus in their solemnities, +calling on Bacchus with united voice, the son of Jove, Bromius; and the +whole mountain and the beasts were in a revel; and nothing was unmoved by +their running; and Agave was bounding near to me, and I sprang forth, as +wishing to seize her, leaving my ambush where I was hidden. But she cried +out, O my fleet hounds, we are hunted by these men; but follow me, follow, +armed with thyrsi in your hands. We then flying, avoided the tearing of the +Bacchæ, but they sprang on the heifers browsing the grass with unarmed +hand, and you might see one rending asunder a fatted lowing calf, and +others rent open cows, and you might see either ribs, or a cloven-footed +hoof, tossed here and there, and hanging beneath the pine-trees the +fragments were dripping, dabbled in gore; and the fierce bulls before +showing their fury with their horns, were thrown to the ground, overpowered +by myriads of maiden hands; and quicker were the coverings of flesh torn +asunder by the royal maids than you could shut your eyes; and like birds +raised in their course, they proceed along the level plain, which by the +streams of the Asopus produce the fertile crop of the Thebans, and falling +on Hysiæ and Erythræ,[41] which, are below Cithæron, they turned every +thing upside down; they dragged children from the houses; and whatever they +put on their shoulders stuck there without chains, and fell not on the dark +plain, neither brass nor iron; and they bore fire on their tresses, and it +burned not; but some from rage betook themselves to arms, being plundered +by the Bacchæ, the sight of which was fearful to behold, O king! For their +pointed spear was not made bloody, but the women hurling the thyrsi from +their hands, wounded them, and turned their backs to flight, women +[defeating] men; not without the aid of some God. And they went back again +to whence they had departed, to the same fountains which the God had caused +to spring up for them, and they washed off the blood; and the snakes with +their tongues cleaned off the drops from their cheeks. Receive then, O +master, this deity, whoever he be, in this city, since he is mighty in +other respects, and they say this too of him, as I hear, that he has given +mortals the vine which puts an end to grief,--for where wine exists not +there is no longer Venus, nor any thing pleasant to men.[42] + +CHOR. I fear to speak unshackled words to the king, but still they shall be +spoken; Bacchus is inferior to none of the Gods. + +PEN. Already like fire does this insolence of the Bacchæ extend thus near, +a great reproach to the Greeks. But I must not hesitate; go to the Electra +gates, bid all the shield-bearers and riders of swift-footed horses to +assemble, and all who brandish the light shield, and twang with their hand +the string of the bow, as we will make an attack upon the Bacchæ; but it is +too much, if we are to suffer what we are suffering at the hands of women. + +BAC. O Pentheus, you obey not at all hearing my words; but although +suffering ill at your hands, still I say that you ought not to take up arms +against a God, but to rest quiet; Bromius will not endure your moving the +Bacchæ from their Evian mountains. + +PEN. You shall not teach me; but be content,[43] having escaped from +prison, or else I will again bring punishment upon you. + +BAC. I would rather sacrifice to him than, being wrath, kick against the +pricks; a mortal against a God. + +PEN. I will sacrifice, making a great slaughter of the women, as they +deserve, in the glens of Cithæron. + +BAC. You will all fly, (and that will be shameful,) so as to yield your +brazen shields to the thyrsi of the Bacchæ. + +PEN. We are troubled with this impracticable stranger, who neither +suffering nor doing will be silent. + +BAC. My friend, there is still opportunity to arrange these things well. + +PEN. By doing what? being a slave to my slaves? + +BAC. I will bring the women here without arms. + +PEN. Alas! you are contriving some trick against me. + +BAC. Of what sort, if I wish to save you by my contrivances? + +PEN. You have devised this together, that ye may have your revelings +forever. + +BAC. And indeed, know this, I agreed on it with the God. + +PEN. Bring hither the arms! and do you cease to speak. + +BAC. Hah! Do you wish to see them sitting on the mountains? + +PEN. Very much, if I gave countless weight of gold for it. + +BAC. But why? have you fallen into a great wish for this? + +PEN. I should like to see them drunk grievously [for them]. + +BAC. Would you then gladly see what is grievous to you? + +PEN. To be sure, sitting quietly under the pines. + +BAC. But they will track you out, even though you come secretly. + +PEN. But [I will come] openly, for you have said this well. + +BAC. Shall I then guide you? and will you attempt the way? + +PEN. Lead me as quickly as possible; for I do not grudge you the time. + +BAC. Put on then linen garments on your body. + +PEN. What then, shall I be reckoned among women, being a man? + +BAC. Lest they slay you if you be seen there, being a man. + +PEN. You say this well, and you have been long wise. + +BAC. Bacchus taught me this wisdom. + +PEN. How then can these things which you advise me be well done? + +BAC. I will attire you, going into the house. + +PEN. With what dress--a woman's? but shame possesses me. + +BAC. Do you no longer wish to be a spectator of the Mænads? + +PEN. But what attire do you bid me put on my body? + +BAC. I will spread out your hair at length on your head. + +PEN. And what is the next point of my equipment? + +BAC. A garment down to your feet; and you shall have a turban on your head. + +PEN. Shall you put any thing else on me besides this? + +BAC. A thyrsus in your hand, and the dappled hide of a deer. + +PEN. I can not wear a woman's dress. + +BAC. But you will shed blood if you join battle with the Bacchæ. + +PEN. True; we must first go and see. + +BAC. That is wiser at least than to hunt evils with evils. + +PEN. And how shall I go through the city escaping the notice of the +Cadmeans? + +BAC. We will go by deserted roads, and I will guide you. + +PEN. Every thing is better than for the Bacchæ to mock me. + +BAC. We will go into the house and consider what seems best. + +PEN. We can do what we like; my part is completely prepared. Let us go; for +either I will go bearing arms, or I will be guided by your counsels. + +BAC. O women! the man is in the toils,[44] and he will come to the Bacchæ, +where, dying, he will pay the penalty. Now, Bacchus, 'tis thine office, for +you are not far off. Let us punish him; but first drive him out of his +wits, inspiring vain frenzy, since, being in his right mind, he will not be +willing to put on a female dress, but driving him out of his senses he will +put it on; and I wish him to furnish laughter to the Thebans, being led in +woman's guise through the city, after[45] his former threats, with which he +was terrible. But I will go to fit on Pentheus the dress, which, having +taken, he shall die, slain by his mother's hand. And he shall know Bacchus, +the son of Jupiter, who is in fact to men at once the most terrible, and +the mildest of deities.[46] + +CHOR. Shall I move my white foot in the night-long dance, honoring Bacchus, +exposing my neck to the dewy air, sporting like a fawn in the verdant +delights of the mead, when it has escaped a fearful chase beyond the watch +of the well-woven nets, (and the huntsman cheering hastens on the course of +his hounds,) and with toil like the swift storm[47] rushes along the plain +that skirts the river, exulting in the solitude apart from men, and in the +thickets of the shady-foliaged wood? What is wisdom, what is a more +glorious gift from the Gods among mortals than to hold one's hand on the +heads of one's enemies? What is good is always pleasant; divine strength is +roused with difficulty, but still is sure, and it chastises those mortals +who honor folly, and do not extol the Gods in their insane mind. But the +Gods cunningly conceal the long foot[48] of time, and hunt the impious man; +for it is not right to determine or plan any thing beyond the laws: for it +is a light expense to deem that that has power whatever is divine, and that +what has been law for a long time has its origin in nature. What is wisdom, +what is a more noble gift from the Gods among men, than to hold one's hand +on the heads of one's enemies? what is honorable is always pleasant. Happy +is he who has escaped from the wave of the sea, and arrived in harbor.[49] +Happy, too, is he who has overcome his labors; and one surpasses another in +different ways, in wealth and power. Still are there innumerable hopes to +innumerable men, some result in wealth to mortals, and some fail, but I +call him happy whose life is happy day by day. + +BAC. You, who are eager to see what you ought not, and hasty to do a deed +not of haste, I mean Pentheus, come forth before the house, be seen by me, +having the costume of a woman, of a frantic Bacchant, as a spy upon your +mother and her company! In appearance, you are like one of the daughters of +Cadmus. + +PEN. And indeed I think I see two suns,[50] and twin Thebes, and +seven-gated city; and you seem to guide me, being like a bull, and horns +seem to grow on your head. But were you ever a beast? for you look like a +bull. + +BAC. The God accompanies us, not propitious formerly, but now at truce with +us. You see what you should see. + +PEN. How do I look? Does not my standing seem like that of Ino, or of +Agave, my mother? + +BAC. I seem to see them as I behold you; but this lock of hair of yours is +out of its place, not as I dressed it beneath the turban. + +PEN. Moving it within doors backward and forward, and practicing Bacchic +revelry, I disarranged it. + +BAC. But we who ought to wait upon you will again rearrange it. But hold up +your head. + +PEN. Look, do you arrange it, for we depend on you. + +BAC. And your girdle is loosened, and the fringes of your garments do not +extend regularly round your legs. + +PEN. They seem so to me, too, about the right foot at least; but on this +side the robe sits well along the leg. + +BAC. Will you not think me the first of your friends when, contrary to your +expectation, you see the Bacchæ acting modestly? + +PEN. But shall I be more like a Bacchant holding the thyrsus in my right +hand, or in this? + +BAC. You should [hold it in] your right hand, and raise it at the same time +with your right foot; and I praise you for having changed your mind. + +PEN. Could I bear on my shoulders the glens of Cithæron, Bacchæ and all? + +BAC. You could if you were willing; but you had your mind unsound before; +but now you have such as you ought. + +PEN. Shall we bring levers, or shall I tear them up with my hands, putting +my shoulder or arm under the summits? + +BAC. No, lest you ruin the habitations of the Nymphs, and the seats of Pan +where he plays his pipes. + +PEN. You speak well,--it is not with strength we should conquer women; but +I will hide my body among the pines. + +BAC. Hide you the hiding in which you should be hidden, coming as a crafty +spy on the Mænads. + +PEN. And, indeed, I think to catch them in the thickets, like birds in the +sweet nets of beds. + +BAC. You go then as a watch for this very thing; and perhaps you will catch +them, if you be not caught first. + +PEN. Conduct me through the middle of the Theban land, for I am the only +man of them who would dare these things. + +BAC. You alone labor for this city, you alone; therefore the labors, which +are meet,[51] await you. But follow me, I am your saving guide, some one +else will guide you away from thence. + +PEN. Yes, my mother. + +BAC. Being remarkable among all. + +PEN. For this purpose do I come. + +BAC. You will depart being borne.[52] + +PEN. You allude to my delicacy. + +BAC. In the hands of your mother. + +PEN. And wilt thou compel me to be effeminate? + +BAC. Ay, with such effeminacy. + +PEN. I lay mine hands to worthy things. + +BAC. You are terrible, terrible: and you go to terrible sufferings; so that +you shall find a renown reaching to heaven. Spread out, O Agave, your +hands, and ye, her sister, daughters of Cadmus! I lead this young man to a +mighty contest; and the conqueror shall be I and Bacchus! The rest the +matter itself will show. + +CHOR. Go, ye fleet hounds of madness, go to the mountain where the +daughters of Cadmus hold their company; drive them raving against the +frantic spy on the Mænads,--him in woman's attire. First shall his mother +from some smooth rock or paling, behold him in ambush; and she will cry out +to the Mænads: Who is this of the Cadmeans who has come to the mountain, +the mountain, as a spy on us, who are on the mountain? Io Bacchæ! Who +brought him forth? for he was not born of the blood of women: but, as to +his race, he is either born of some lion, or of the Libyan Gorgons. Let +manifest justice go forth, let it go with sword in hand, slaying the +godless, lawless, unjust, earth-born offspring of Echion through the +throat; who, with wicked mind and unjust rage about your orgies, O Bacchus, +and those of thy mother,[53] with raving heart and mad disposition proceeds +as about to overcome an invincible deity by force. To possess without +pretext a wise understanding in respect to the Gods, and [a disposition] +befitting mortals, is a life ever free from grief. I joyfully hunt after +wisdom, if apart from envy, but the other conduct is evidently ever great +throughout life, directing one rightly the livelong day, to reverence +things honorable.[54] Appear as a bull, or a many-headed dragon, or a fiery +lion, to be seen. Go, O Bacchus! cast a snare around the hunter of the +Bacchæ, with a smiling face falling upon the deadly crowd of the Mænads. + +MESS. O house, which wast formerly prosperous in Greece! house of the +Sidonian old man, who sowed in the land the earth-born harvest of the +dragon; how I lament for you, though a slave. But still the [calamities] of +their masters are a grief to good servants. + +CHOR. But what is the matter? Tellest thou any news from the Bacchæ? + +MESS. Pentheus is dead, the son of his father Echion. + +CHOR. O, king Bacchus! truly you appear a great God! + +MESS. How sayest thou? Why do you say this? Do you, O woman, delight at my +master being unfortunate? + +CHOR. I, a foreigner, celebrate it in foreign strains; for no longer do I +crouch in fear under my fetters. + +MESS. But do you think Thebes thus void of men? + +CHOR. Bacchus, Bacchus, not Thebes, has my allegiance. + +MESS. You, indeed may be pardoned; still, O woman, it is not right to +rejoice at the misfortunes which have been brought to pass. + +CHOR. Tell me, say, by what fate is the wicked man doing wicked things +dead, O man? + +MESS. When having left Therapnæ of this Theban land, we crossed the streams +of Asopus, we entered on the height of Cithæron, Pentheus and I, for I was +following my master, and the stranger who was our guide in this search, for +the sight: first, then, we sat down in a grassy vale, keeping our steps and +tongues in silence, that we might see, not being seen; and there was a +valley surrounded by precipices, irrigated with streams, shaded around with +pines, where the Mænads were sitting employing their hands in pleasant +labors, for some of them were again crowning the worn-out thyrsus, so as to +make it leafy with ivy; and some, like horses quitting the painted yoke, +shouted in reply to another a Bacchic melody. And the miserable Pentheus, +not seeing the crowd of women, spake thus: O stranger, where we are +standing, I can not come at the place where is the dance of the Mænads; but +climbing a mound, or pine with lofty neck, I could well discern the +shameful deeds of the Mænads. And on this I now see a strange deed of the +stranger; for seizing hold of the extreme lofty branch of a pine, he pulled +it down, pulled it, pulled it to the dark earth, and it was bent like a +bow, or as a curved wheel worked by a lathe describes a circle as it +revolves, thus the stranger, pulling a mountain bough with his hands, bent +it to the earth; doing no mortal's deed; and having placed Pentheus on the +pine branches, he let it go upright through his hands steadily, taking care +that it should not shake him off; and the pine stood firm upright to the +sky, bearing on its back my master, sitting on it; and he was seen rather +than saw the Mænads, for sitting on high he was apparent, as not +before.[55] And one could no longer see the stranger, but there was a +certain voice from the sky; Bacchus, as one might conjecture, shouted out: +O youthful women, I bring you him who made you and me and my orgies a +laughing-stock: but punish ye him. And at the same time he cried out, and +sent forth to heaven and earth a light of holy fire;[56] and the air was +silent, and the fair meadowed grove kept its leaves in silence, and you +could not hear the voice of the beasts; but they not distinctly receiving +the voice, stood upright, and cast their eyes around. And again he +proclaimed his bidding. And when the daughters of Cadmus' recognized the +distinct command of Bacchus, they rushed forth, having in the eager running +of their feet a speed not less than that of a dove; his mother, Agave, and +her kindred sisters, and all the Bacchæ: and frantic with the inspiration +of the God, they bounded through the torrent-streaming valley, and the +clefts. But when they saw my master sitting on the pine, first they threw +at him handfuls of stones, striking his head, mounting on an opposite piled +rock; and with pine branches some aimed, and some hurled their thyrsi +through the air at Pentheus, wretched mark;[57] but they failed of their +purpose; for he having a height too great for their eagerness, sat, +wretched, destitute through perplexity. But at last thundering together[58] +some oaken branches, they tore up the roots with levers not of iron; and +when they could not accomplish the end of their labors, Agave said, Come, +standing round in a circle, seize each a branch, O Mænads, that we may take +the beast[59] who has climbed aloft, that he may not tell abroad the secret +dances of the God. And they applied their innumerable hands to the pine, +and tore it up from the ground; and sitting on high, Pentheus falls to the +ground from on high, with numberless lamentations; for he knew that he was +near to ill. And first his mother, as the priestess, began his slaughter, +and falls upon him; but he threw the turban from his hair, that the +wretched Agave, recognizing him, might not slay him; and touching her +cheek, he says, I, indeed, O mother, am thy child,[60] Pentheus, whom you +bore in the house of Echion; but pity me, O mother! and do not slay me, thy +child, for my sins. But she, foaming and rolling her eyes every way, not +thinking as she ought to think, was possessed by Bacchus, and he did not +persuade her; and seizing his left hand with her hand, treading on the side +of the unhappy man, she tore off his shoulder, not by [her own] strength, +but the God gave facility to her hands; and Ino completed the work on the +other side, tearing his flesh. And Autonoe and the whole crowd of the +Bacchæ pressed on; and there was a noise of all together; he, indeed, +groaning as much as he had life in him, and they shouted; and one bore his +arm, another his foot, shoe and all; and his sides were bared by their +tearings, and the whole band, with gory hands, tore to pieces the flesh of +Pentheus: and his body lies in different places, part under the rugged +rocks, part in the deep shade of the wood, not easy to be sought; and as to +his miserable head, which his mother has taken in her hands, having fixed +it on the top of a thyrsus, she is bearing it, like that of a savage lion, +through the middle of Cithæron, leaving her sisters in the dances of the +Mænads; and she goes along rejoicing in her unhappy prey, within these +walls, calling upon Bacchus, her fellow-huntsman, her fellow-workman in the +chase, of glorious victory, by which she wins a victory of tears. I, +therefore, will depart out of the way of this calamity before Agave comes +to the palace; but to be wise, and to reverence the Gods, this, I think, is +the most honorable and wisest thing for mortals who adopt it. + +CHOR. Let us dance in honor of Bacchus; let us raise a shout for what has +befallen Pentheus, the descendant of the dragon, who assumed female attire +and the wand with the beautiful thyrsus,--a certain death, having a +bull[61] as his leader to calamity. Ye Cadmean Bacchants, ye have +accomplished a glorious victory, illustrious, yet for woe and tears. It is +a glorious contest to plunge one's dripping hand in the blood of one's son. +But--for I see Agave, the mother of Pentheus, coining to the house with +starting eyes; receive the revel of the Evian God. + +AGAVE. O Asiatic Bacchæ! + +CHOR. To what dost thou excite me? O! + +AG. We bring from the mountains a fresh-culled wreathing[62] to the house, +a blessed prey. + +CHOR. I see it, and hail you as a fellow-reveler, O! + +AG. I have caught him without a noose, a young lion, as you may see. + +CHOR. From what desert? + +AG. Cithæron. + +CHOR. What did Cithæron? + +AG. Slew him. + +CHOR. Who was it who first smote him? + +AG. The honor is mine. Happy Agave! We are renowned in our revels. + +CHOR. Who else? + +AG. Cadmus's. + +CHOR. What of Cadmus? + +AG. Descendants after me, after me laid hands on this beast. + +CHOR. You are fortunate in this capture. + +AG. Partake then of our feast. + +CHOR. What shall I, unhappy, partake of? + +AG. The whelp is young about the chin; he has just lost his soft-haired +head-gear.[63] + +AG. For it is beautiful as the mane of a wild beast. + +CHOR. Bacchus, a wise huntsman, wisely hurried the Mænads against this +beast. + +CHOR. For the king is a huntsman. + +AG. Do you praise? + +CHOR. What? I do praise. + +AG. But soon the Cadmeans. + +CHOR. And thy son Pentheus his mother-- + +AG. --will praise, as having caught this lion-born prey. + +CHOR. An excellent prey. + +AG. Excellently. + +CHOR. You rejoice. + +AG. I rejoice greatly, having accomplished great and illustrious deeds for +this land. + +CHOR. Show now, O wretched woman, thy victorious booty to the citizens, +which you have come bringing with you. + +AG. O, ye who dwell in the fair-towered city of the Theban land, come ye, +that ye may behold this prey, O daughters of Cadmus, of the wild beast +which we have taken; not by the thonged javelins of the Thessalians, not by +nets, but by the fingers, our white arms; then may we boast that we should +in vain possess the instruments of the spear-makers; but we, with this +hand, slew this beast, and tore its limbs asunder. Where is my aged father? +let him come near; and where is my son Pentheus? let him take and raise the +ascent of a wattled ladder against the house, that he may fasten to the +triglyphs this head of the lion which I am present having caught. + +CAD. Follow me, bearing the miserable burden of Pentheus; follow me, O +servants, before the house; whose body here, laboring with immeasurable +search, I bear, having found it in the defiles of Cithæron, torn to pieces, +and finding nothing in the same place, lying in a thicket, difficult to be +searched. For I heard from some one of the daring deeds of my daughters +just as I came to the city within the walls, with the old Tiresias, +concerning the Bacchæ; and having returned again to the mountain, I bring +back my child, slain by the Mænads. And I saw Autonoe, who formerly bore +Actæon to Aristæus, and Ino together, still mad in the thicket, unhappy +creatures; but some one told me that Agave was coming hither with frantic +foot; nor did I hear a false tale, for I behold her, an unhappy sight. + +AG. O father! you may boast a great boast, that you of mortals have +begotten by far the best daughters; I mean all, but particularly myself, +who, leaving my shuttle at the loom, have come to greater things, to catch +wild beasts with my hands. And having taken him, I bear in my arms, as you +see, these spoils of my valor, that they may be suspended against your +house. And do you, O father, receive them in your hands; and rejoicing over +my successful capture, invite your friends to a feast; for you are blessed, +blessed since I have done such deeds. + +CAD. O, woe! and not to be seen, of those who have accomplished a slaughter +not to be measured by wretched hands; having stricken down a glorious +victim for the Gods, you invite Thebes and me to a banquet. Alas me, first +for thy ills, then for mine own; how justly, but how severely, has king +Bromius destroyed us, being one of our own family! + +AG. How morose is old age in men! and sullen to the eye; would that my son +may be fond of hunting, resembling the disposition of his mother, when with +the Theban youths he would strive after the beasts--but he is only fit to +contend with Gods. He is to be admonished, O father, by you and me, not to +rejoice in clever evil. Where is he? Who will summon him hither to my +sight, that he may see me, that happy woman? + +CAD. Alas, alas! knowing what ye have done, ye will grieve a sad grief; but +if forever ye remain in the condition in which ye are, not fortunate, you +will seem not to be unfortunate. + +AG. But what of these matters is not well, or what is grievous? + +CAD. First cast your eyes up to this sky. + +AG. Well; why do you bid me look at it? + +CAD. Is it still the same, or think you it is changed? + +AG. It is brighter than formerly, and more divine. + +CAD. Is then this fluttering still present to your soul? + +AG. I understand not your word; but I become somehow sobered, changing from +my former mind. + +CAD. Can you then hear any thing, and answer clearly? + +AG. How I forget what we said before, O father! + +CAD. To what house did you come in marriage? + +AG. You gave me, as they say, to the sown Echion. + +CAD. What son then was born in your house to your husband? + +AG. Pentheus, by the association of myself and his father. + +CAD. Whose head then have you in your arms? + +AG. That of a lion, as those who hunted him said. + +CAD. Look now rightly; short is the toil to see. + +AG. Ah! what do I see? what is this I bear in my hands? + +CAD. Look at it, and learn more clearly. + +AG. I see the greatest grief, wretch that I am! + +CAD. Does it seem to you to be like a lion? + +AG. No: but I, wretched, hold the head of Pentheus. + +CAD. Ay, much lamented before you recognized him. + +AG. Who slew him, how came he into my hands? + +CAD. O wretched truth, how unseasonably art thou come! + +AG. Tell me, since delay causes a quivering at my heart. + +CAD. You and your sisters slew him. + +AG. And where did he die, in the house, or in what place? + +CAD. Where formerly the dogs tore Actæon to pieces. + +AG. But why did he, unhappy, go to Cithæron? + +CAD. He went deriding the God and your Bacchic revels. + +AG. But on what account did we go thither? + +CAD. Ye were mad, and the whole city was frantic with Bacchus.[64] + +AG. Bacchus undid us--now I perceive. + +CAD. Being insulted with insolence--for ye thought him not a God. + +AG. But the dear body of my child, O father! + +CAD. I having with difficulty traced it, bring it all. + +AG. What! rightly united in its joints? * * * * + +AG. But what part had Pentheus in my folly?[65] + +CAD. He was like you, not reverencing the God, therefore he joined all in +one ruin, both ye and this one, so as to ruin the house, and me, who being +childless of male children, see this branch of thy womb, O unhappy woman! +most miserably and shamefully slain--whom the house respected; you, O +child, who supported my house, born of my daughter, and was an object of +fear to the city; and no one wished to insult the old man, seeing you; for +he would have received a worthy punishment. But now I shall be cast out of +my house dishonored, I, the mighty Cadmus, who sowed the Theban race, and +reaped a most glorious crop; O dearest of men, for although no longer in +being, still thou shalt be counted by me as dearest of my children; no +longer touching this, my chin, with thy hand, addressing me, your mother's +father, wilt thou embrace me, my son, saying, Who injures, who insults you, +O father, who harasses your heart, being troublesome I say, that I may +punish him who does you wrong, O father. But now I am miserable, and thou +art wretched, and thy mother is pitiable, and thy relations are wretched. +But if there is any one who despises the Gods, looking on this man's death, +let him acknowledge the Gods. + +CHOR. I grieve for thy state, O Cadmus; but your child has the punishment +of your daughter, deserved indeed, but grievous to you. + +AG. O father, for you see how I am changed ... + +BAC ... changing, you shall become a dragon, and your wife becoming a +beast, shall receive in exchange the form of a serpent, Harmonia, the +daughter of Mars, whom you had, being a mortal. And as the oracle of Jove +says, you shall drive with your wife a chariot of heifers, ruling over +barbarians; and with an innumerable army you shall sack many cities; and +when they plunder the temple of Apollo, they shall have a miserable return, +but Mars shall defend you and Harmonia, and shall settle your life in the +islands of the blessed. I say this, I, Bacchus, not born of a mortal +father, but of Jove; and if ye had known how to be wise when ye would not, +ye would have been happy, having the son of Jupiter for your ally. + +CAD. Bacchus, we beseech thee, we have erred. + +BAC. Ye have learned it too late; but when it behooved you, you knew it +not. + +CAD. I knew it, but you press on us too severely. + +BAC. [Ay,] for I, being a God, was insulted by you. + +CAD. It is not right for Gods to resemble mortals in anger.[66] + +BAC. My father, Jove, long ago decreed this. + +AG. Alas! a miserable banishment is the decree[67] [for us,] old man. + +BAC. Why do ye then delay what must needs be? + +CAD. O child, into what terrible evil have we come; both you wretched and +your * * * * sisters,[68] and I miserable, shall go, an aged sojourner, to +foreigners. Still it is foretold that I shall bring into Greece a motley +barbarian army, and leading their spears, I, a dragon, shall lead the +daughter of Mars, Harmonia, my wife, having the fierce nature of a dragon, +to the altars and tombs of the Greeks. Nor shall I, wretched, rest from +ills, nor even sailing over the Acheron below shall I be at rest. + +AG. O, my father! and I being deprived of you shall be banished. + +CAD. Why do you embrace me with your hands, O unhappy child, as a white +swan does its exhausted[69] parent? + +AG. For whither can I turn, cast out from my country? + +CAD. I know not, my child; your father is a poor ally. + +AG. Farewell, O house! farewell, O ancestral city! I leave you in +misfortune a fugitive from my chamber. + +CAD. Go then, my child, to the land of Aristæus * * * *. + +AG. I bemoan thee, O father! + +CAD. And I thee, my child; and I lament your sisters. + +AG. Terribly indeed has king Bacchus brought this misery upon thy house. + +BAC. [Ay,] for I have suffered terrible things from ye, having a name +unhonored in Thebes. + +AG. Farewell, my father. + +CAD. And you farewell, O miserable daughter; yet you can not easily arrive +at this. + +AG. Lead me, O guides, where I may take my miserable sisters as the +companions of my flight; and may I go where neither accursed Cithæron may +see me, nor I may see Cithæron with my eyes, and where there is no memory +of the thyrsus hallowed, but they may be a care to other Bacchæ. + +CHOR. There are many forms of divine things; and the Gods bring to pass +many in an unexpected manner: both what has been expected has not been +accomplished, and God has found out a means for doing things unthought of. +So, too, has this event turned out.[70] + + * * * * * + +NOTES ON THE BACCHÆ + + * * * * + +[1] For illustrations of the fable of this play, compare Hyginus, Fab. +clxxxiv., who evidently has a view to Euripides. Ovid, Metam. iii. fab. v. +Oppian, Cyneg. iv. 241 sqq. Nonnus, 45, p. 765 sq. and 46, p. 783 sqq., +some of whose imitations I shall mention in my notes. With the opening +speech of this play compare the similar one of Venus in the Hippolytus. + +[2] Cf. vs. 176; and for the musical instruments employed in the +Bacchanalian rites, vs. 125 sqq. Oppian, Cyn. iv. 243. νεβρισι δ' +αμφεβαλοντο, και εστεψαντο κορυμβοις, Εν σπεϊ, και περι παιδα το μυστικον +ωρχησαντο. Τυμπανα δ' εκτυπεον, και κυμβαλα χερσι κροταινον. Compare +Gorius, Monum. Libert. et Serv. ad Tab. vii. p. 15 sq. + +[3] Such is the sense of συναψομαι, μαχην being understood. See Matthiæ. + +[4] Drums and cymbals were invented by the Goddess in order to drown the +cries of the infant Jupiter. Minutius Felix, xxi. "Avido patri subtrahitur +infans ne voretur, et Corybantum cymbalis, ne pater audiat, vagitus initus +eliditur" (read _audiat vagitus, tinnitus illi editur_, from the _vestigia_ +of Cod. Reg.). Cf. Lactant. i. 13. + +[5] Cf. Homer, Hymn. in Cerer. 485. ολβιος, ‛ος ταδ' οπωπεν επιχθονιων +ανθρωπων: ‛Ος δ' ατελης, ‛ιερων ‛οστ' αμμορος, ουποθ' ‛ομοιων Αισαν εχει, +φθιμενος περ, ‛υπο ζοφωι ευρωεντι. See Ruhnken's note, and Valck. on Eur. +Hippol. + +[6] This passage is extremely difficult. Πλοκαμων seems decidedly corrupt. +Reiske would read ποκαδων, Musgrave λευκοτριχων πλοκαμοις μαλλων. Elmsley +would substitute προβατων, "si προβατον apud Euripidem exstaret." This +seems the most probable view as yet expressed. The εριοστεπτοι κλαδοι are +learnedly explained by Lobeck on Ag. p. 375 sq., quoted by Dindorf. The +μαλλωσις or insertion of spots of party-colored fur upon the plain skin of +animals, was a favorite ornament of the wealthy. The spots of ermine +similarly used now are the clearest illustration to which I can point. +Lobeck also observes, "κατα βακχιουσθαι non bacchari significat, sed +coronari." + +[7] These ladies seem to have been rather undomestic in character, as Agave +makes this very fact a boast, vs. 1236. + +[8] Cf. Apollodor. l. i., § 3, interpp. ad Virg. G. iv. 152. Compare +Porphyr. de Nymph. Antr. p. 262, ad. Holst. σπηλαια τοινυν και αντρα των +παλαιοτατων πριν και ναους επινοησαι θεοις αφοσιουντων. και εν Κρητηι μεν +κουρητων, Διϊ εν Αρκαδιαι δε, σεληνηι και Πανι Λυκειωι: και εν Ναξωι +Διονυσωι. πανταχου δ' ‛οπου τον Μιθραν εγνωσαν, δια σπηλαιου τον θεον +‛ιλεουμενων. Cf. Moll. ad Longi Past. i. 2. p. 22 sq. ed. Boden. + +[9] Cf. Virg. Æn. iv. 301, and Ritterh. on Oppian, Cyn. i, 24. + +[10] Compare the epithet of Bacchus Ωμαδιος, Orph. Hymn. xxx. 5; l. 7, +which has been wrongly explained by Gesner and Hermann. The true +interpretation is given by Porphyr. de Abst. ii. 55, who states that human +sacrifices were offered ωμαδιωι Διονυσωι the man being torn to pieces +(διααπωντες). + +[11] Persius i. 92. "et lynceus Mænas flexura corymbis Evion ingeminat, +reparabilis assonat Echo." Euseb. Pr. Ev. ii. 3, derives the cry from Eve! + +[12] I should read this line interrogatively, with Elmsley. + +[13] Quoted by Gellius, xiii. 18. + +[14] Elmsley would read μακρον το μελλον. Perhaps the true reading is +μελλειν ακαιρον = _it is no season for delay_. + +[15] The construction is so completely akward, that I almost feel inclined +to consider this verse as an interpolation, with Dindorf. + +[16] Compare Nonnus, 45. p. 765 4. Τειρεσιαν και Καδμον ατασθαλον ιαχε +Πενθευς. Καδμε, τι μαργαινεις, τινι δαιμονι κωμον εγειρεις; Καδμε, +μιαινομενης αποκατθεο κισσον εθειρης, Κατθεο και ναρθεκα νοοπλανεος +Διονυσου.... Νηπιε Τειρεσια στεφανηφορε ‛ριψον αηταις Σων πλοκαμων ταδε +φυλλα νοθον στεφος, κ.τ.λ. + +[17] Compare the opinion of Perseus in Cicero de N.D. i. 15, with Minutius +Felix, xxi. + +[18] Pseud-Orpheus Hymn. l. 6. παυσιπονον θνητοισι φανεις ακος. + +[19] Dindorf truly says that this passage smacks rather of Proclus, than of +Euripides, and I agree with him that its spuriousness is more than +probable. Had Euripides designed an etymological quibble, he would probably +have made some allusion to Merus, a mountain of India, where Bacchus is +said to have been brought up. See Curtius, viii. 10. "Sita est sub +radicibus montis, quem Meron incolæ appellant. Inde Græci mentiendi traxere +licentiam, Jovis femine liberum patrem esse celatum." Cf. Eustath. on +Dionys. Perieg. 1159. Lucian. Dial. Deor. ix. and Hermann on Orph. Hymn. +lii. 3. + +[20] The gift of μαντικη was supposed to follow initiation, and is often +joined with the rites of this deity. Philostratus, Heroic. p. 22, ed. +Boiss. ‛οτε δη και μαντικης σοφιας εμφορουνται, και το χρησμωδες αυταις +προσβακχευει. + +[21] Cf. Hippol. 443. Κυπρις γαρ ου φορητον ην πολλη ‛ρυηι. + +[22] I have followed Matthiæ's interpretation of this passage. + +[23] See Hermann's note. + +[24] The fate of Actæon is often joined with that of Pentheus. + +[25] i.e. over-cunning in regard to religious matters. Cf. 200. ουδεν +σοφιζομεσθα τοισι δαιμοσιν. + +[26] Probably a mere hyperbole to denote great fruitfulness. See Elmsley. + +[27] Cf. Hor. Od. iii. 21, 20. + +[28] I follow Dindorf in reading σοφα δ', but am scarcely satisfied. + +[29] Hence his epithet of Bacchus Νυκτελιος. See Herm. on Orph. Hymn. xlix. +3. + +[30] See my note on Æsch. Choeph. 7. + +[31] Cf Person Advers. p. 265. Hor. Ep. i. 16. 73 "Vir bonus et sapiens +audebit dicere Pentheu, Rector Thebarum, quid me perferre patique Indignum +coges? Adima bona, nempe pecus, rem, Lectos, argentum: tollas licet. In +manicis et Compedibus sævo te sub custode tenebo. Ipse deus, simul atque +volam, me solvet. Opinor, Hoc sentit: moriar. Mors ultima linea rerum est." + +[32] Punning on πενθος, _grief_. Cf. Arist. Rhet. ii. 23, 29. + +[33] i.e. of Parnassus. Elmsley (after Stanl. on Æsch. Eum. 22.) remarks +that Κωρυκις πετρα means the Corycian cave in Parnassus, Κωρυκιαι κορυφαι, +the heights of Parnassus. + +[34] Hermann and Dindorf correct Λοιδιαν from Herodot. vii. 127. + +[35] The earth and buildings were supposed to shake at the presence of a +deity. Cf. Callimach. Hymn. Apol. sub init. Virg. Æn. iii. 90; vi. 255. For +the present instance Nonnus, 45. p. 751. + + ηδη δ' αυτοελικτος εσειετο Πενθεος αυλη, + ακλινεων σφαιρηδον αναϊσσουσα θεμεθλων, + και πολεων δεδονητο θορων ενοσιχθονι παλμωι + πηματος εσσομενοιο προαγγελος. + +[36] The madness of Ajax led to a similar delusion. Cf. Soph. Aj. 56 sqq. + +[37] Compare a fragment of Didymus apud Macrob. Sat. v. 18, who states +Αχελωον παν ‛υδωρ Ευριπιδης φησιν εν ‛Υψιπυληι. See also comm. on Virg. +Georg. i. 9. + +[38] The reader of Scott will call to mind the fine description of Ireton +lunging at the air, in a paroxysm of fanatic raving. See "Woodstock." So +also Orestes in Iph. Taur. 296 sqq. + +[39] ανεισαν, _solvuntur, liquescunt._ BRODEUS. + +[40] Cf. Soph Ant. 243 sqq. + +[41] These two cities were in ruins in the time of Pausanias. See ix. 3. p. +714, ed. Kuhn. + +[42] Cf. Athenæus, p. 40. B. Terent. Eun. iv. 5. "Sine Cerere et Libero +friget Venus." Apul Met. ii. p. 119, ed. Elm. "Ecce, inquam, Veneris +hortator et armiger Liber advenit ultro," where see Pricæus. + +[43] More literally, perhaps, "keep it and be thankful." + +[44] Theocrit. i. 40. μεγα δικτυον ες βολον ‛ελκει. + +[45] But εκ των απειλων conveys a notion of change = _instead of_. + +[46] Elmsley remarks that ανθρωποισι belongs to both members of the +sentence. I have therefore supplied. The sense may be illustrated from +Hippol. 5 sq. + +[47] See Matthiæ. + +[48] i.e. step. This is ridiculed by Aristoph. Ran. 100, where the +Scholiast quotes a similar example from our author's Alexandra. + +[49] Compare Havercamp on Lucret. ii. sub init. + +[50] Compare Virgil, Æn. iv. 469. "Et solem geminum, et duplices se +ostendere Thebas." In the second passage of Clemens Alexandrinus quoted by +Elmsley, γερων is probably a mistaken reference to Tiresias. + +[51] An obscure hint at the impending fate of Pentheus. Nonnus has led the +way to the catastrophe by a graphic description of Agave's dream. Dionys. +45. p. 751. + +[52] φερομενος may mean either "carried in a litter," or "carried to +burial." There is a somewhat similar play in the epigram of Ausonius, +xxiii. "Mater Lacæna clypeo obarmans filium, cum hoc, inquit, aut in hoc, +redi." + +[53] Burges more rightly reads ματρος τε Γας. See Elmsley's note. + +[54] As one must make some translation, I have done my best with this +passage, which is, however, utterly unintelligible in Dindorf's text. A +reference to his selection of notes will furnish some new readings, but, as +a whole, quite unsatisfactory. + +[55] Compare the parallel account in Nonnus, 46. p. 784. + +[56] Alluded to by Oppian, Cyn. iv. 300. απτε σελας φλογερον πατρωιον, αν +δ' ελεληξον Δαιαν, αταρτηρον δ' οπασον τισιν ωκα τυραννου. He then relates +that Pentheus was transformed into a bull, the Mænads into panthers, who +tore him to pieces. + +[57] στοχος is either the aim itself, or the mark aimed at, as in this +passage, and Xenoph. Ages. 1. 25. + +[58] I have done my best with this extraordinary expression, of which +Elmsley quotes another example from Archilochus Fragm. 36. Perhaps the +notion of excessive rapidity is intended to be expressed. + +[59] θηρ seems metaphorically said, as in Æsch. Eum. 47. Nonnus, 45. p. +784, 23. above, 922. + +[60] Compare Nonnus, 46. p. 784. + + Και τοτε μιν λιπε λυσσα νοοσφαλεος Διονυσου, + και προτερας φρενας εσχε το δευτερον: αμφι δε γαιηι + γειτονα ποτμον εχων κενυρην εφθεγξατο φωνην. + * * * * * * + μητερ εμη δυσμητερ απηνεος ιοχεο λυσσης, + θηρα ποθεν καλεεις με τον ‛υιεα. + +The whole passage is very elegant, and even pathetic. + +[61] Alluding to the horns of Bacchus. Cf. Sidon. Apoll. Burg. Pontii +Leontii, vs. 26, "Caput ardua rumpunt Cornua, et indigenam jaculantur +fulminis ignem." See some whimsical reasons for this in Isidor. Origg viii. +2. Albricus de Deor. Nu. xix. But compare above, vs. 920. Και ταυρος ‛ημιν +προσθεν ‛ηγεισθαι δοκεις, και σωι κερατε κρατι προσπεφυκεναι. + +[62] Elmsley has rightly shown that ‛ελικα could not of itself mean "a +bull" or "heifer," although Homer has ειλιποδας ‛ελικας βους. I have +therefore followed Hermann, who remarks, "‛ελιξ seems properly to be meant +for the clusters of ivy with which the thyrsus was entwined. Hence Agave +says that she adorns the thyrsus with a new-fashioned wreath, viz. the head +of her son." Such language is, however, more like the proverbial boldness +of Æschylus, than the even style of our poet. + +[63] "κορυθα, ornamentum capitis, vix potest dubitari quin pro ipso capite +posuerit." HERMANN. There is considerable variation in the manner in which +the following lines are disposed. + +[64] Or, "Bacchus-mad." + +[65] I have marked a lacuna with Dindorf. + +[66] See the commentators on Virg. Æn. i. 11. "Tantæne animis cœlestibus +iræ?" + +[67] After τλημονες φυγαι supply μενουσιν. ELMSLEY. + +[68] A word is wanting to complete the verse. + +[69] See Musgrave. Cranes are chiefly celebrated for parental affection. + +[70] These verses are found at the ends of no less than four others of our +author's plays, viz. Andromacha, Helen, Medea, and Alcestis. + + * * * * * * + +THE HERACLIDÆ. + + * * * * + +PERSONS REPRESENTED. + + IOLAUS. + COPREUS.* + CHORUS. + DEMOPHOON. + APOLLO. + MACARIA.* + SERVANT. + ALCMENA. + MESSENGER. + EURYSTHEUS. + +_Note_.--The names of Copreus and Macaria were wanting in the MSS., but +have been supplied from the mythologists. See Elmsley on vss. 49 and 474. + + * * * * * + +THE ARGUMENT. + + * * * * + +Iolaus, son of Iphiclus, and nephew of Hercules, whom he had joined in his +expeditions during his youth, in his old age protected his sons. For the +sons of Hercules having been driven out of every part of Greece by +Eurystheus, he came with them to Athens; and, embracing the altars of the +Gods, was safe, Demophoon being king of the city; and when Copreus, the +herald of Eurystheus, wished to remove the suppliants, he prevented him. +Upon this he departed, threatening war. Demophoon despised him; but hearing +the oracles promise him victory if he sacrificed the most noble Athenian +virgin to Ceres, he was grieved; not wishing to slay either his own +daughter, or that of any citizen, for the sake of the suppliants. But +Macaria, one of the daughters of Hercules, hearing of the prediction, +willingly devoted herself. They honored her for her noble death, and, +knowing that their enemies were at hand, went forth to battle. The play +ends with their victory, and the capture of Eurystheus. + + * * * * * + +THE HERACLIDÆ. + + * * * * + +IOLAUS. + +This has long since been my established opinion, the just man is born for +his neighbors; but he who has a mind bent upon gain is both useless to the +city and disagreeable to deal with, but best for himself. And I know this, +not having learned it by word of mouth; for I, through shame, and +reverencing the ties of kindred, when it was in my power to dwell quietly +in Argos, partook of more of Hercules' labors, while he was with us, than +any one man besides:[1] and now that he dwells in heaven, keeping these his +children under my wings, I preserve them, I myself being in want of safety. +For since their father was removed from the earth, first Eurystheus wished +to kill me, but I escaped; and my country indeed is no more, but my life is +saved, and I wander in exile, migrating from one city to another. For, in +addition to my other ills, Eurystheus has chosen to insult me with this +insult; sending heralds whenever on earth he learns we are settled, he +demands us, and drives us out of the land; alleging the city of Argos, one +not paltry either to be friends with or to make an enemy, and himself too +prospering as he is; but they seeing my weak state, and that these too are +little, and bereaved of their sire, respecting the more powerful, drive us +from the land. And I am banished, together with the banished children, and +fare ill together with those who fare ill, loathing to desert them, lest +some may say thus, Behold, now that the children have no father, Iolaus, +their kinsman born, defends them not. But being bereft of all Greece, +coming to Marathon and the country under the same rule, we sit suppliants +at the altars of the Gods, that they may assist us; for it is said that the +two sons of Theseus inhabit the territory of this land, of the race of +Pandion, having received it by lot, being near akin to these children; on +which account we have come this way to the frontiers of illustrious Athens. +And by two aged people is this flight led, I, indeed, being alarmed about +these children; and the female race of her son Alcmena preserves within +this temple, clasping it in her arms; for we are ashamed that virgins +should mingle with the mob, and stand at the altars. But Hyllus and his +brothers, who are older, are seeking where there is a strong-hold that we +may inhabit, if we be thrust forth from this land by force. O children, +children! hither; take hold of my garments; I see the herald of Eurystheus +coming hither toward us, by whom we are pursued as wanderers, deprived of +every land.[2] O detested one, may you perish, and the man who sent you: +how many evils indeed have you announced to the noble father of these +children from that same mouth! + +COPREUS. I suppose you think that this is a fine seat you are sitting in, +and have come to a city which is an ally, thinking foolishly; for there is +no one who will choose your useless power in preference to Eurystheus. +Depart; why toilest thou thus? You must rise up and go to Argos, where +punishment by stoning awaits you. + +IOL. Not so, since the altar of the God will aid me, and the free land in +which we tread. + +COP. Do you wish to cause me trouble with this band? + +IOL. Surely you will not drag me away, nor these children, seizing by +force? + +COP. You shall know; but you are not a good prophet in this. + +IOL. This shall never happen, while I am alive. + +COP. Depart; but I will lead these away, even though you be unwilling, +considering them, wherever they may be, to belong to Eurystheus. + +IOL. O ye who have dwelt in Athens a long time, defend us; for, being +suppliants of Jove, the Presider over the Forum,[3] we are treated with +violence, and our garlands are profaned, both a reproach to the city, and +an insult to the Gods. + +CHORUS. Hollo! hollo! what is this noise near the altar? what calamity will +it straightway portend? + +IOL. Behold me, a weak old man, thrown down on the plain; miserable that I +am. + +CHOR. By whose hand do you fall this unhappy fall? + + * * * * + +IOL. This man, O strangers, dishonoring your Gods, drags me violently from +the altar of Jupiter. + +CHOR. From what land, O old man, have you come hither to this people +dwelling together in four cities?[4] or, have you come hither from across +[the sea] with marine oar, having quitted the Eubœan shore? + +IOL. O strangers, I am not accustomed to an islander's life, but we are +come to your land from Mycenæ. + +CHOR. What name, O old man, did the Mycenæan people call you? + +IOL. Know that I am lolaus, once the companion of Hercules; for this body +is not unrenowned. + +CHOR. I know, having heard of it before; but say whose youthful children +you are leading in your hand. + +IOL. These, O strangers, are the sons of Hercules, who are come as +suppliants of you and the city. + +CHOR. What do ye seek? or, tell me, is it wanting to have speech of the +city? + +IOL. Not to be given up, and not to go to Argos, being dragged from your +Gods by force. + +COP. But this will not be sufficient for your masters, who, having power +over you, find you here. + +CHOR. It is right, O stranger, to reverence the suppliants of the Gods, and +not for you to leave by violent hands the habitations of the deities, for +venerable Justice will not suffer this. + +COP. Send now Eurystheus's subjects out of this land, and I will not use +this hand violently. + +CHOR. It is impious for a state to reject the suppliant prayer of +strangers. + +COP. But it is good to have one's foot out of trouble, being possessed of +the better counsel. + +CHOR. You should then have dared this, having spoken to the king of this +land, but you should not drag strangers away from the Gods by force, if you +respect a free land. + +COP. But who is king of this country and city? + +CHOR. Demophoon, the son of Theseus, of a noble father. + +COP. With him, then, the contest of this argument had best be; all else is +spoken in vain. + +CHOR. And indeed hither he comes in haste, and Acamas, his brother, to hear +these words. + +DEMOPHOON. Since you, being an old man, have anticipated us, who are +younger, in running to this hearth of Jove, say what hap collects this +multitude here. + +CHOR. These sons of Hercules sit here as suppliants, having crowned the +altar, as you see. O king, and Iolaus, the faithful companion of their +father. + +DE. Why then did this chance occasion clamors? + +CHOR. This man caused the noise, seeking to lead him by force from this +hearth; and he tripped up the legs of the old man, so that I shed the tear +for pity. + +DE. And indeed he has a Grecian robe and style of dress; but these are the +doings of a barbarian hand; it is for you then to tell me, and not to +delay, leaving the confines of what land you are come hither. + +COP. I am an Argive; for this you wish to learn: and I am willing to say +why, and from whom, I am come. Eurystheus, the king of Mycenæ, sends me +hither to lead away these men; and I have come, O stranger, having many +just things at once to do and to say; for I being an Argive myself, lead +away Argives, having them as fugitives from my country condemned to die by +the laws there; and we have the right, managing our city ourselves by +ourselves, to fix our own punishments: but they having come to the hearths +of many others also, there also we have taken our stand on these same +arguments, and no one has dared to bring evils upon himself. But either +perceiving some folly in you, they have come hither, or in perplexity +running the risk, whether it shall be or not. For surely they do not think +that you alone are mad, in so great a portion of Greece as they have been +over, so as to commiserate their foolish distresses. Come, compare the two; +admitting them into your land, and suffering us to lead them away, what +will you gain? Such things as these you may gain from us; you may add to +this city the whole power of Argos, and all the might of Eurystheus; but if +looking to the words and pitiable condition of these men, you are softened +by them, the matter comes to the contest of the spear; for think not that +we will give up this contest without steel. What then will you say? +deprived of what lands, making war with the Tirynthians and Argives, and +repelling them, with what allies, and on whose behalf will you bury the +dead that fall? Surely you will obtain an evil report among the citizens, +if, for the sake of an old man, a mere tomb,[5] one who is nothing, as one +may say, and of these children, you will put your foot into a mess;[6] you +will say, at best, that you shall find, at least, hope; and this too is at +present much wanting; for these who are armed would fight but ill with +Argives if they were grown up, if this encourages your mind, and there is +much time in the mean while in which ye may be destroyed; but be persuaded +by me, giving nothing, but permitting me to lead away my own, gain Mycenæ. +And do not (as you are wont to do) suffer this, when it is in your power to +choose the better friends, choose the worse. + +CHOR. Who can decide what is right, or understand an argument, till he has +clearly heard the statement of both? + +IOL. O king, this exists in thy city; I am permitted in turn to speak and +to hear, and no one will reject me before that, as in other places; but +with this man we have nothing to do; for since nothing of Argos is any +longer ours, (it having been decreed by a vote,) but we are exiled our +country, how can this man justly lead us away as Mycenæans, whom they have +driven from the land? for we are strangers; or else you decide that whoever +is banished Argos is banished the boundaries of the Greeks. Surely not from +Athens; they will not, for fear of the Argives, drive out the children of +Hercules from their land; for it is not Trachis, nor the Achæan city, from +whence you, not by justice, but bragging about Argos; just as you now +speak, drove these men, sitting at the altars as suppliants; for if this +shall be, and they ratify your words, I no longer know this Athens as free. +But I know their disposition and nature; they will rather die; for among +virtuous men, disgrace is considered before life. Enough of the city; for +indeed it is an invidious thing to praise it too much; and often I know +myself I have been oppressed at being overpraised: but I wish to say to you +that it is necessary for you to save these men, since you are ruler over +this land. Pittheus was son of Pelops and Æthra, daughter of Pittheus, and +your father Theseus was born of her. And again I trace for you their +descent: Hercules was son of Jupiter and Alcmena, and she was the child of +the daughter of Pelops; so your father and theirs must be fellow-cousins. +Thus you, O Demophoon, are related to them by birth; and, besides this +connection, I will tell you for what you are bound to requite the children. +For I say, I formerly, when shield-bearer to their father, sailed with +Theseus after the belt,[7] the cause of much slaughter, and from the murky +recesses of hell did he bring forth your father. All Greece bears witness +to this; for which things they beseech you to return a kindness, and that +they may not be yielded up, nor be driven from this land, torn from your +Gods by violence; for this would be disgraceful to you by yourself, and an +evil to the city,[8] that suppliant relations, wanderers--alas for the +misery! look on them, look--should be dragged away by force. But I beseech +you, and offer you suppliant garlands, by your hands and your chin, do not +dishonor the children of Hercules, having received them in your power; but +be thou a relation to them, be a friend, father, brother, master; for all +these things are better than [for them] to fall into the power of the +Argives. + +CHOR. Hearing of these men's misfortunes, I pitied them, O king! and now +particularly I have witnessed nobleness overcome by fortune; for these men, +being sons of a noble father, are undeservedly unhappy. + +DE. Three ways of misfortune urge me, O Iolaus, not to reject these +suppliants. The greatest, Jupiter, at whose altars you sit, having this +procession of youths with you; and my relationship to them, and because I +am bound of old that they should fare well at my hands, in gratitude to +their father; and the disgrace,[9] which one ought exceedingly to regard. +For if I permitted this altar to be violated by force by a strange man, I +shall not seem to inhabit a free country. But I fear to betray my +suppliants to the Argives; and this is nearly as bad as the noose. But I +wish you had come with better fortune; but still, even now, fear not that +any one shall drag you and these children by force from this altar. And do +thou, going to Argos, both tell this to Eurystheus; and besides that, if he +has any charge against these strangers, he shall meet with justice; but you +shall never drag away these men. + +COP. Not if it be just, and I prevail in argument? + +DE. And how can it be just to drag away a suppliant by force? + +COP. This, then, is not disgraceful to me, but an injury to you. + +DE. To me indeed, if I allow you to drag them away. + +COP. But do you depart, and then will I drag them thence. + +DE. You are stupid, thinking yourself wiser than a God. + +COP. Hither it seems the wicked should fly. + +DE. The seat of the Gods is a common defense to all. + +COP. Perhaps this will not seem good to the Mycenæans. + +DE. Am not I then master over those here? + +COP. [Ay,] but not to injure them, if you are wise. + +DE. Are ye hurt, if I do not defile the Gods? + +COP. I do not wish you to have war with the Argives. + +DE. I, too, am the same; but I will not let go of these men. + +COP. At all events, taking possession of my own, I shall lead them away. + +DE. Then you will not easily depart back to Argos. + +COP. I shall soon see that by experience. + +DE. You will touch them to your own injury, and that without delay. + +CHOR. For God's sake, venture not to strike a herald! + +DE. I will not, if the herald at least will learn to be wise. + +CHOR. Depart thou; and do not you touch him, O king! + +COP. I go; for the struggle of a single hand is powerless. But I will come, +bringing hither many a brazen spear of Argive war; and ten thousand +shield-bearers await me, and Eurystheus, the king himself, as general. And +he waits, expecting news from hence, on the extreme confines of Alcathus; +and, having heard of your insolence, he will make himself too well known to +you, and to the citizens, and to this land, and to the trees; for in vain +should we have so much youth in Argos, if we did not chastise you. + +DE. Destruction on you! for I do not fear your Argos. But you are not +likely, insulting me, to drag these men away from hence by force; for I +possess this land, not being subject to that of Argos, but free. + +CHOR. It is time to provide, before the army of the Argives approaches the +borders. And very impetuous is the Mars of the Mycenæans, and on this +account more than before; for it is the habit of all heralds to tower up +what is twice as much. What do you not think he will say to his princes +about what terrible things he has suffered, and how within a little he was +losing his life. + +IOL. There is not, to this man's children, a more glorious honor than to be +sprung from a good and valiant father, and to marry from a good family; but +I will not praise him who, overcome by desire, has mingled with the vulgar, +to leave his children a reproach instead of pleasure; for noble birth wards +off misfortune better than low descent; for we, having fallen into the +extremity of evils, find these men friends and relations, who alone, in so +large a country as Greece, have stood forward [on our behalf.] Give, O +children, give them your right hand; and do ye give yours to the children, +and draw near to them. O children, we have come to experience of our +friends; and if you ever have a return to your country, and [again] possess +the homes and honors of your father, always consider them your saviors and +friends, and never lift the hostile spear against the land, remembering +these things; but consider it the dearest city of all. And they are worthy +that you should revere them, who have chosen to have so great a country and +the Pelasgic people as enemies instead of us, though seeing us to be +beggared wanderers; but still they have not given us up, nor driven us from +their land. But I, living and dying, when I do die, with much praise, my +friend, will extol you when I am in company with Theseus; and telling this, +I will delight him, saying how well you received and aided the children of +Hercules; and, being noble, you preserve through Greece your ancestral +glory; and being born of noble parents, you are nowise inferior to your +father, with but few others; for among many you may find perhaps but one +who is not inferior to his father.[10] + +CHOR. This land is ever willing to aid in a just cause those in difficulty; +therefore it has borne numberless toils for its friends, and now I see this +contest at hand. + +DE. Thou hast spoken well; and I boast, old man, that their disposition is +such that the kindness will be remembered. And I will make an assembly of +the citizens, and draw them up so as to receive the army of the Mycenæans +with a large force. First, I will send spies toward it, that it may not +fall upon me by surprise: for in Argos every warrior is eager to run to +assistance. And having collected the soothsayers, I will sacrifice. And do +you go to my palace with the children, leaving the hearth of Jove, for +there are those who, even if I be from home, will take care of you; go +then, old man, to my palace. + +IOL. I will not leave the altar; but we will sit here, as suppliants, +waiting till the city is successful; and when you are well freed from this +contest, we will go to thy palace. But we have Gods as allies not inferior +to those of the Argives, O king; for Juno, the wife of Jove, is their +champion, but Minerva ours; and I say that this also tends to success, to +have the best Gods, for Pallas will not endure to be conquered. + +CHOR. If thou boastest greatly, others do not therefore care for thee the +more, O stranger, coming from Argos; but with thy big words thou wilt not +terrify my mind: may it not be so to the mighty Athens, with the beauteous +dances. But both thou art foolish, the son of Sthenelus, king in Argos, +who, coming to another city not less than Argos, being a stranger, seek by +violence to lead away wanderers, suppliants of the Gods, and claiming the +protection of my land, not yielding to our kings, nor saying any thing else +that is just. How can this be thought well among the wise? Peace indeed +pleases me; but, O foolish king, I tell thee, if thou comest to this city, +thou wilt not thus obtain what thou thinkest for. You are not the only one +who has a spear and a brazen shield; but, O lover of war, mayest thou not +with the spear disturb my city dear to the Graces; but restrain thyself. + +IOL. O my son, why comest thou, bringing solicitude to my eyes? Hast thou +any news of the enemy? Do they delay, or are they at hand I or what do you +hear? for I fear the word of the herald will in no wise be false, for their +leader will come, having been fortunate in previous affairs, I clearly +know, and with no moderate pride, against Athens; but Jove is the chastiser +of over-arrogant thoughts.[11] + +DE. The army of the Argives is coming, and Eurystheus the king. I have seen +it myself;[12] for it behooves a man who says he knows well the duty of a +general not to reconnoitre the enemy by means of messengers. He has not +then, as yet, let loose his army on these plains, but, sitting on a lofty +crag, he reconnoitres (I should tell thee this as a conjecture) to see by +which way he shall now lead his expedition, and place it in a safe station +in this land; and my preparations are already well arranged, and the city +is in arms, and the victims stand ready for those Gods to whom they ought +to be slain offered; and the city, by means of soothsayers, is preparing by +sacrifices flight for the enemy and safety for the city.[13] And having +collected together all the bards who proclaim oracles, I have tested the +ancient oracles, both public and concealed, which might save this land; and +in their other counsels many things are different; but one opinion of all +is conspicuously the same, they command me to sacrifice to the daughter of +Ceres a damsel who is of a noble father.[14] And I have indeed, as you see, +such great good-will toward you, but I will neither slay my own child[15] +nor compel any other of my citizens to do so unwillingly; and who is so mad +of his own accord, as to give out of his hands his dearest children? And +now you may see bitter meetings; some saying that it is right to aid +foreign suppliants, and some blaming my folly; and if I do this, a civil +war is at once prepared. This, then, do you consider, and devise how both +you yourselves may be saved and this land, and I be not brought into ill +odor with the citizens; for I have not absolute sovereignty, as over +barbarians; but if I do just things, I shall receive just things. + +CHOR. But does not the Goddess allow this city, although eager, to aid +strangers? + +IOL. O children, we are like sailors, who, fleeing from the fierce rage of +the storm, have come close to land, and then, again, by gales from the +land, have been driven again out to sea; thus also shall we be driven from +this land, being already on shore, as if saved. Alas! why, O wretched hope, +did you then delight me, not being about to perfect my joy? For his +thoughts, in truth, are to be pardoned if he is not willing to slay the +children of his citizens; and I acquiesce in their conduct here, if the +Gods decree that I shall fare thus. My gratitude to you shall never perish. +O children, I know not what to do with you: whither shall we turn? for who +of the Gods has been uncrowned by us? and what bulwark of land have we not +approachedl? We shall perish, my children, we shall be given up; and for +myself I care nothing if it behooves me to die, except that, dying, I shall +gratify my enemies; but I weep for and pity you, O children, and Alcmena, +the aged mother of your father; O! unhappy art thou, because of thy long +life; and miserable am I, having labored much in vain. It was our fate +then, our fate, falling into the hands of an enemy, to leave life +disgracefully and miserably. But do you know in what you may aid me? for +all hope of their safety has not deserted me. Give me up to the Argives +instead of them, O king, and so neither run any risk yourself, and let the +children be saved for me; I must not love my own life, let it go; and above +all, Eurystheus would like taking me, the ally of Hercules, to insult me; +for he is a froward man; and the wise should pray to have enmity with a +wise man, not with an ignorant disposition, for in that case one, even if +unfortunate, may meet with much respect. + +CHOR. O old man, do not now blame the city, perhaps it might be a gain to +us; but still it would be an evil reproach that we betrayed strangers, + +DE. You have spoken things noble indeed, but impossible; the king does not +lead his army hither wanting you; for what profit were it to Eurystheus for +an old man to die? but he wishes to slay these children; for noble youths, +who remember their fathers' injuries, springing up, are terrible to +enemies; all which he must needs foresee; but if you know any other more +seasonable counsel, prepare it, since I am perplexed and full of fear, +having heard the oracle. + +MACARIA. O strangers, do not impute boldness to me because of my +advances,[16] this I will beg first; for silence and modesty are best for a +woman, and to remain quietly in-doors; but, having heard your lamentations, +O Iolaus, I have come forth, not being commissioned to act as embassador +for my race, but I am in some wise fit to do so; but chiefly do I care for +these, my brothers: concerning myself I wish to ask whether, besides our +former evils, any additional distress gnaws your mind? + +IOL. O daughter, it is not a new thing that I justly have to praise you +most of the children of Hercules; but our house having appeared to us to +progress well, has again changed to perplexity, for this man says, that the +deliverers of oracles order us to sacrifice not a bull or a heifer, but a +virgin, who is of a noble father, if we and this city would exist. About +this then we are perplexed, for this man says he will neither slay his own +children nor those of any one else; and to me he says, not plainly indeed, +but somehow or other, unless I can devise any remedy for this, that we must +find some other land, but he himself wishes to preserve this country. + +MAC. On this condition can we then be saved? + +IOL. On this, being fortunate in other respects. + +MAC. Fear not then any longer the hostile spear of the Argives; for I +myself, old man, before I am commanded, am prepared to die, and to stand +for slaughter; for what shall we say if the city thinks fit for our sakes +to encounter a great danger, but we putting toils on others, avoid death +when we can be saved? Not so, since this would be ridiculous for suppliants +sitting at the shrines of the Gods to mourn, but being of such a sire as we +are, to be seen to be cowards; how can this seem good! it were more noble, +I think, (which may it never happen!) to fall into the hands of the enemy, +this city being taken, and afterward, being born of a noble father, having +suffered dreadful things, to see Hades none the less; but shall I wander +about, driven from this land, and shall I not indeed be ashamed if any one +says, "Why have ye come hither with your suppliant branches, yourselves +being too fond of life! Depart from the land, for we will not aid cowards." +But neither, indeed, if these die, and I myself am saved, have I any hope +to fare well; for before now many have in this way betrayed their friends. +For who would choose to have me, a solitary damsel, for his wife, or to +raise children from me? therefore it is better to die than to have such an +unworthy fate as this; and this may even be more seemly for some other, who +is not illustrious as I. Lead me then where this body must needs die, and +crown me and begin the rites, if you think fit, and conquer your enemies; +for this life is ready for you, willing, and not unwilling; and I promise +to die for these my brethren, and for myself; for not caring for life, I +have found this most glorious thing to find, namely, to leave life +gloriously. + +CHOR. Alas! alas! what shall I say, hearing this noble speech of the maiden +who is willing to die on behalf of her brothers? Who can utter more noble +words than these I who of men can do [a greater deed?][17] + +IOL. My child, your head comes from no other source, but thou, the seed of +a divine mind, art sprung from Hercules.[18] I am not ashamed at your +words, but I am grieved for your fortune; but how it may be more justly +done, I will say: we must call hither all her sisters, and then let her who +draws the lot die for her family; but it is not right for thee to die +without casting lots. + +MAC. I will not die, obtaining the lot by chance, for then there are no +thanks [to me;]--speak it not, old man; but if you accept me, and are +willing to use me willing, I readily give up my life to them, but not, +being compelled. + +IOL. Alas! this word of thine is again nobler than the former, and that +other was most excellent; but you surpass daring by daring, and [good] +words by good words. I do not bid you, nor do I forbid you, to die, my +child; but you will benefit your brothers by dying. + +MAC. Thou biddest wisely; fear not to partake of my pollution, but I shall +die freely. But follow me, O old man; for I wish to die by your hand; and +do you, being present, wrap my body in my garments, since I am going to the +terror of sacrifice, because I am born of the father of whom I boast to be. + +IOL. I could not be present at your death. + +MAC. At least, then, entreat of him that I may die, not by the hands of +men, but of women. + +CHOR. It shall be so, O hapless virgin; since it were disgraceful to me too +not to deck thee honorably on many accounts; both for your valiant spirit, +and for justice' sake: but you are the most unhappy of all women that I +have beheld with mine eyes; but, if thou wilt, depart, bespeaking a last +address to these and to the old man. + +MAC. Farewell, old man, farewell; and train up for me these children to be +such as thyself, wise in all respects, nothing more, for they will suffice; +and endeavor to save them, not being over-willing to die. We are your +children; by your hands we were brought up, and behold see me yielding up +my nuptial hour, dying for them. And ye, my company of brothers now +present, may ye be happy, and may every thing be yours, for the sake of +which my soul is sacrificed; and honor the old man, and the old woman in +the house, Alcmena, the mother of my father, and these strangers. And if a +release from troubles, and a return should ever be found for you through +the Gods, remember to bury her who saves you, as is fitting; most honorably +were just, for I was not wanting to you, but died for my race. This is my +heir-loom instead of children and virginity, if indeed there be aught under +the earth. May there indeed be nothing; for if we, mortals who die, are to +have cares even there, I know not where one can turn, for to die is +considered the greatest remedy for evils. + +IOL. But, O you, who mightily surpass all women in courage, know that, both +living and dying, you shall be most honored by us: and farewell; for I +abhor to speak words of ill omen about the Goddess to whom your body is +given as the first-fruits, the daughter of Ceres. O children, we are +undone; my limbs are relaxed by grief; take me, and place me in my seat, +veiling me there with these garments, O children; since neither am I +pleased at these things which are done, and if the oracle were not +fulfilled, life would be unbearable, for the ruin would be greater; but +even this is a calamity. + +CHOR. I say that no man is either happy or miserable but through the Gods, +and that the same family does not always walk in good fortune, but +different fates pursue it different ways; it is wont to make one from a +lofty station insignificant, and makes the wanderer wealthy: but it is +impossible to avoid what is fated; no one can repel it by wisdom, but he +who is hasty without purpose will always have trouble; but do not thus bear +the fortune sent by the Gods, falling down [in prayer,] and do not +over-pain your mind with grief, for she hapless possesses a glorious +portion of death on behalf of her brethren and her country; nor will an +inglorious reputation among men await her: but virtue proceeds through +toils. These things are worthy of her father, and worthy of her noble +descent; and if you respect the deaths of the good, I share your feelings. + +SERVANT. O children, hail! But at what distance from this place is the aged +Iolaus and your father's mother? + +IOL. We are here, such a presence as mine is. + +SERV. On what account dost thou lie thus, and have an eye so downcast? + +IOL. A domestic care has come upon me, by which I am constrained. + +SERV. Raise now thyself, erect thy head. + +IOL. I am an old man, and by no means strong. + +SERV. But I am come, bearing to you a great joy. + +IOL. And who art thou, where having met you, do I forget you? + +SERV. I am a poor servant of Hyllus; do you not recognize me, seeing me? + +IOL. O dearest one, dost thou then come as a savior to us from injury? + +SERV. Surely; and moreover you are prosperous as to the present state of +affairs. + +IOL. O mother of a doughty son, I mean Alcmena, come forth, hear these most +welcome words; for you have been long wasting away as to your soul in +anxiety concerning those who have come hither, where they would ever +arrive.[19] + +ALCMENA. Wherefore has a mighty shout filled all this house? O Iolaus, does +any herald, coming from Argos, again do you violence? my strength indeed is +weak, but thus much you must know, O stranger, you shall never drag these +away while I am living, else may I no longer be thought to be his mother; +but if you touch them with your hand, you will have no honorable contest +with two old people. + +IOL. Be of good cheer, old woman; fear not, the herald is not come from +Argos bearing hostile words. + +ALC. Why then did you raise a shout, a messenger of fear? + +IOL. To you, that you should approach near before this temple. + +ALC. I do not understand this; for who is this man? + +IOL. He announces that your son's son is come. + +ALC. O! hail thou also for this news; but why and where[20] is he now +absent putting his foot in this country? what calamity prevents him from +appearing hither with you, and delighting my mind? + +SERV. He is stationing and marshaling the army which he has come bringing. + +ALC. I no longer understand this speech. + +IOL. I do; but it is my business to inquire about this. + +SERV. What then of what has been done do you wish to learn? + +IOL. With how great a multitude of allies is he come? + +SERV. With many; but I can say no other number. + +IOL. The chiefs of the Athenians know, I suppose. + +SERV. They do; and they occupy the left wing.[21] + +IOL. Is then the army already armed as for the work? + +SERV. Ay; and already the victims are led away from the ranks. + +IOL. And how far distant is the Argive army? + +SERV. So that the general can be distinctly seen. + +IOL. Doing what? arraying the ranks of the enemies? + +SERV. We conjectured this, for we did not hear him; but I will go; I should +not like my masters to join battle with the enemy, deserted as far as my +part is concerned. + +IOL. And I will go with you; for we think the same things, being present to +aid our friends as much as we can. + +SERV. It is not your part to say a foolish word. + +IOL. And not to share the sturdy battle with my friends! + +SERV. One can not see a wound from an inactive hand. + +IOL. But what, can not I too strike through a shield? + +SERV. You might strike, but you yourself would fall first. + +IOL. No one of the enemy will dare to behold me. + +SERV. You have not, my good friend, the strength which once you had. + +IOL. But I will fight with them who will not be the fewer in numbers. + +SERV. You add but a slight weight to your friends. + +IOL. Do not detain me who am prepared to act. + +SERV. You are not able to do any thing, but you may perhaps be to advise. + +IOL. You may say the rest, as I not staying to hear. + +SERV. How then will you appear to the soldiers without arms? + +IOL. There are within this palace arms taken in war, which I will use and +restore if alive; but the God will not demand them back of me, if I fall; +but go in, and taking them down from the pegs, bring me as quickly as +possible the panoply of a warrior; for this is a disgraceful house-keeping, +for some to fight, and some to remain behind through fear. + +CHOR. Time does not depress your spirit, but it grows young again, but your +body is weak: why dost thou toil in vain? which will harm you indeed, but +profit our city but little; you should consider your age, and leave alone +impossibilities, it can not be that you again should acquire youth. + +ALC. Why are you, not being in your senses, about to leave me alone with my +children? + +IOL. For valor is the part of men; but it is your duty to take care of +them. + +ALC. But what if you die? how shall I be saved? + +IOL. Your sons who are left will take care of your son. + +ALC. But if they, which Heaven forbid, should meet with fate! + +IOL. These strangers will not betray you, do not fear. + +ALC. Such confidence indeed I have, nothing else. + +IOL. And Jove, I well know, cares for your toils. + +ALC. Alas! Jupiter shall never be reproached by me, but he himself knows +whether he is just toward me. + +SERV. You see now this panoply of arms; but you can not make too much +haste[22] in arraying your body in them, as the contest is at hand, and, +above all things, Mars hates those who delay; but if you fear the weight of +arms, now then go forth unarmed,[23] and in the ranks be clad with this +equipment, and I will carry it so far. + +IOL. Thou hast said well; but bring the arms, having them close at hand, +and put a spear in my hand, and support my left arm guiding my foot. + +SERV. Is it right to lead a warrior like a child? + +IOL. One must go safely for the sake of the omen. + +SERV. Would you were able to do as much as you are willing. + +IOL. Make haste, I shall suffer sadly if too late for the battle. + +SERV. It is you who delay, and not I, seeming to do something. + +IOL. Do you not see how my foot presses on? + +SERV. I see you rather seeming to hasten than hastening. + +IOL. You will not say so, when you behold me there. + +SERV. Doing what? I wish I may see you successful. + +IOL. Striking some of the enemy through the shield. + +SERV. If indeed we get there; for that I have fears of. + +IOL. Alas! O arm, would thou wert such an ally to me as I recollect you in +your youth, when you ravaged Sparta with Hercules, how would I put +Eurystheus to flight; since he is but a coward in abiding a spear. But in +prosperity then is this too which is not right, a reputation for courage; +for we think that he who is prosperous knows all things well. + +CHOR. O earth, and moon that shinest through the night, and most brilliant +rays of the God, that gave light to mortals, bring me news, and shout in +heaven and at the queenly throne of the blue-eyed Minerva. I am about, on +behalf of my country, on behalf of my house, having received suppliants I +am about to cut through danger with the white steel. It is terrible that a +city, prosperous as Mycenæ, and much praised for valor in war, should +nourish secret[24] anger against my land; but it is evil too, O city, if we +are to give up strangers at the bidding of Argos.[25] Jupiter is my ally, I +fear not; Jupiter rightly has favor toward me. Never shall the Gods seem +inferior to men in my opinion.[26] But, O venerable Goddess, for the soil +of this land is thine, and the city of which you are mother, mistress, and +guardian, lead away by some other way him who unjustly leads on this +spear-brandishing host from Argos; for as far as my virtue is concerned, I +do not deserve to be banished from these halls. For honor, with much +sacrifice, is ever offered to you; nor does the waning[27] day of the month +forget you, nor the songs of youths, nor the measures of dances; but on the +lofty hill shouts resound in accordance with the beatings of the feet of +virgins the livelong night. + +SERV. O mistress, I bring news most concise for you to hear, and to myself +most glorious; we have conquered our enemies, and trophies are set up +bearing the panoply of your enemies. + +ALC. O best beloved, this day has caused thee to be made free for this thy +news; but from one disaster you do not yet free me, for I fear whether they +be living to me whom I wish to be. + +SERV. They live, the most glorious in the army. + +ALC. Does not the aged Iolaus survive? + +SERV. Surely, and having done most glorious deeds by help of the Gods. + +ALC. But what? has he done any doughty act in the fight? + +SERV. He has changed from an old into a young man again. + +ALC. Thou tellest marvelous things, but first I wish you to relate the +prosperous contest of your friends in battle. + +SERV. One speech of mine shall tell you all this; for when stretching out +[our ranks] face to face, we arrayed our armies against one another, Hyllus +putting his foot out of his four-horse chariot, stood in the mid-space of +the field;[28] and then said, O general, you are come from Argos, why leave +we not this land alone? and you will do Mycenæ no harm, depriving it of one +man; but you fighting alone with me alone, either killing me, lead away the +children of Hercules, or dying, allow me to possess my ancestral +prerogative and palaces. And the army gave praise; that the speech was well +spoken for a termination of their toils, and in respect of courage. But he +neither regarding those who had heard the speech, nor, although he was +general, his [own character for] cowardice, ventured not to come near the +warlike spear, but was most cowardly; and being such, he came to enslave +the descendants of Hercules. Hyllus then returned again back to his ranks; +but the soothsayers, when they saw that the affair could not be arranged by +single combat of one shield, sacrificed, and delayed not, but let fall +forth immediately the propitious slaughter of mortal throats; and some +mounted chariots, and some concealed their sides under the sides of their +shields; but the king of the Athenians gave to his army such orders as +become a high-born man. "O fellow-citizens, now it behooves one to defend +the land that has produced and cherished us."[29] And the other also +besought his allies not to disgrace Argos and Mycenæ. But when the signal +was sounded on a Tyrrhenian trumpet, and they joined battle with one +another, what a clash of spears dost thou think sounded, how great a +groaning and lamentation at the same time! And first the dashing on of the +Argive spear broke us; then they again retreated; and next foot being +interchanged with foot, and man standing against man, the battle waged +fierce; and many fell; and there were two cries, O ye who [dwell in] +Athens, O ye who sow the land of the Argives, will ye not avert disgrace +from the city? And with difficulty doing every thing, not without toils did +we put the Argive force to flight; and then the old man, seeing Hyllus +rushing on, Iolaus, stretching forth his right hand, besought him to place +him on the horse-chariot; and seizing the reins in his hands, he pressed +hard upon the horses of Eurystheus. And what happened after this I must +tell by having heard from others, I myself hitherto having seen all; for +passing by the venerable hill of the divine Minerva of Pellene, seeing the +chariot of Eurystheus, he prayed to Juno and Jupiter to be young for one +day, and to work vengeance on his enemies. But you have a marvel to hear; +for two stars standing on the horse-chariot, concealed the chariot in a dim +cloud, the wiser men say it was thy son and Hebe; but he from the obscure +darkness showed forth a youthful image of youthful arms. And the glorious +Iolaus takes the four-horse chariot of Eurystheus at the Scironian +rocks--and having bound his hands in fetters, he comes bringing as glorious +first-fruits of victory, the general, him who before was prosperous; but by +his present fortune he proclaims clearly to all mortals to learn not to +envy him who seems prosperous, till one sees him dead, as fortune is but +for the day. + +CHOR. O Jupiter, thou turner to flight, now is it mine to behold a day free +from dreadful fear. + +ALC. O Jupiter, at length you have looked upon my miseries, but still I +thank you for what has been done: and I, who formerly did not think that my +son dwelt with the Gods, now clearly know it. O children, now indeed you +shall be free from toils, and free from Eurystheus, who shall perish +miserably; and ye shall see the city of your sire, and you shall tread on +your inheritance of land; and ye shall sacrifice to your ancestral gods, +debarred from whom ye have had, as strangers, a wandering miserable life. +But devising what clever thing has Iolaus spared Eurystheus, so as not to +slay him, tell me; for in my opinion this is not wise, having taken our +enemies, not to exact punishment of them. + +SERV. Having respect for you, that with your own eyes you may see him[30] +defeated and subjected to your hand; not, indeed, of his own will, but he +has bound him by force in constraint, for he was not willing to come alive +into your sight and to be punished. But, O old woman, farewell, and +remember for me what you first said when I began my tale. Make me free; and +in such noble people as you the mouth ought to be free from falsehood. + +CHOR. To me the dance is sweet, if there be the thrilling delight of the +pipe at the feast; and may Venus be kind. And sweet it is to see the good +fortune of friends who did not expect it before; for the fate which +accomplishes gifts gives birth to many things; and Time, the son of Saturn. +You have, O city, a just path, you should never be deprived of it, to honor +the Gods; and he who bids you not do so, is near madness, such proofs as +these being shown. God, in truth, evidently exhorts us, taking away the +arrogance of the unjust forever. Your son, O old woman, is gone to heaven; +he shuns the report of having descended to the realm of Pluto, being +consumed as to his body in the terrible flame of fire; and he embraces the +lovely bed of Hebe in the golden hall. O Hymen, you have honored two +children of Jupiter. Many things agree with many; for in truth they say +that Minerva was an ally of their father, and the city and people of that +Goddess has saved them, and has restrained the insolence of a man to whom +passion was before justice, through violence. May my mind and soul, never +be insatiable. + +MESS. O mistress, you see, but still it shall be said, we are come, +bringing to you Eurystheus here, an unhoped-for sight, and one no less so +for him to meet with, for he never expected to come into your hands when he +went forth from Mycenæ with a much-toiling band of spearmen, proudly +planning things much greater than his fortune, that he should destroy +Athens; but the God changed his fortune, and made it contrary. Hyllus, +therefore, and the good Iolaus, have set up a statue, in honor of their +victory, of Jove, the putter to flight; and they send me to bring this man +to you, wishing to delight your mind; for it is most delightful to see an +enemy unfortunate, after having been fortunate. + +ALC. O hateful thing, art thou come? has justice taken you at last? first +then indeed turn hither your head toward me, and dare to look your enemies +in the face; for now you are ruled, and you rule no more. Art thou he, for +I wish to know, who chose, O wretch, much to insult my son, though no +longer existing? For in what respect didst thou not dare to insult him? who +led him, while alive, down to hell, and sent him forth, bidding him destroy +hydras and lions? And I am silent concerning the other evils you contrived, +for it would be a long story; and it did not satisfy you that he alone +should endure these things, but you drove me also, and my children, out of +all Greece, sitting as suppliants of the Gods, some old, and some still +infants; but you found men and a city free, who feared you not. Thou needs +must die miserably, and you shall gain every thing, for you ought to die +not once only, having wrought many evil deeds. + +MESS. It is not practicable for you to put him to death.[31] + +ALC. In vain then have we taken him prisoner. But what law hinders him from +dying? + +MESS. It seems not so to the chiefs of this land. + +ALC. What is this? not good to them to slay one's enemies? + +MESS. Not any one whom they have taken alive in battle. + +ALC. And did Hyllus endure this decision? + +MESS. He could, I suppose, disobey this land![32] + +ALC. He ought no longer to live, nor behold the light. + +MESS. Then first he did wrong in not dying. + +ALC. Then it is no longer right for him to be punished?[33] + +MESS. There is no one who may put him to death. + +ALC. I will. And yet I say that I am some one. + +MESS. You will indeed have much blame if you do this. + +ALC. I love this city. It can not be denied. But as for this man, since he +has come into my power, there is no mortal who shall take him from me. For +this, whoever will may call me bold, and thinking things too much for a +woman; but this deed shall be done by me. + +CHOR. It is a serious and excusable thing, O lady, for you to have hatred +against this man, I well know it. + +EURYSTHEUS. O woman, know plainly that I will not flatter you, nor say any +thing else for my life, whence I may incur any imputation of cowardice. But +not of my own accord did I undertake this strife--I knew that I was your +cousin by birth, and a relation to your son Hercules; but whether I wished +it or not, Juno, for it was a Goddess, forced me to toil through this ill. +But when I took up enmity against him, and determined to contest this +contest, I became a contriver of many evils, and sitting continually in +council with myself, I brought forth many plans by night, how dispersing +and slaying my enemies, I might dwell for the future not with fear, knowing +that your son was not one of the many, but truly a man; for though he be +mine enemy, yet shall he be well spoken of, as he was a doughty man. And +when he was released [from life], did it not behoove me, being hated by +these children, and knowing their father's hatred to me, to move every +stone, slaying and banishing them, and contriving, that, doing such things, +my own affairs would have been safe? You, therefore, had you obtained my +fortunes, would not have oppressed with evils the hostile offspring of a +hated lion, but would wisely have permitted them to live in Argos; you will +persuade no one of this. Now then, since they did not destroy me then, when +I was willing, by the laws of the Greeks I shall, if slain, bear pollution +to my slayer; and the city, being wise, has let me go, having greater honor +for God than for its enmity toward me. And to what you said you have heard +a reply: and now you may call me at once suppliant and brave.[34] Thus is +the case with me, I do not wish to die, but I should not be grieved at +leaving life. + +CHOR. I wish, O Alcmena, to advise you a little, to let go this man, since +it seems so to the city. + +ALC. But how, if he both die, and still we obey the city? + +CHOR. That would be best; but how can that be? + +ALC. I will teach you, easily; for having slain him, then I will give his +corpse to those of his friends who come after him; for I will not deny his +body to the earth, but he dying, shall satisfy my revenge. + +EU. Slay me, I do not deprecate thy wrath. But this city indeed, since it +has released me, and feared to slay me, I will present with an ancient +oracle of Apollo, which, in time, will be of greater profit than you would +expect; for ye will bury me when I am dead, where it is fated, before the +temple of the divine virgin of Pallene; and being well disposed to you, and +a protector to the city, I shall ever lie as a sojourner under the ground, +but most hostile to their descendants when they come hither with much +force, betraying this kindness: such strangers do ye now defend. How then +did I, knowing this, come hither, and not respect the oracle of the God? +Thinking Juno far more powerful than oracles, and that she would not betray +me, [I did so.] But suffer neither libations nor blood to be poured on my +tomb, for I will give them an evil return as a requital for these things; +and ye shall have a double gain from me, I will both profit you and injure +them by dying. + +ALC. Why then do ye delay, if you are fated to accomplish safety to the +city and to your descendants, to slay this man, hearing these things? for +they show us the safest path. The man is an enemy, but he will profit us +dying. Take him away, O servants; then having slain him, ye must give him +to the dogs; for hope not thou, that living, thou shalt again banish me +from my native land. + +CHOR. These things seem good to me, proceed, O attendants, for every thing +on our part shall be done completely for our sovereigns. + + * * * * * + +NOTES ON THE HERACLYDÆ + + * * * * + +[1] Such seems to be the force of εις ανηρ. + +[2] But the construction is probably αληται γης, (compare my note on Æsch. +Eum. 63,) and απεστερημενοι is _bereaved, destitute_. + +[3] Cf. Æsch. Eum. 973. + +[4] i.e. Œnoe, Marathon, Probalinthus, and Tricorythus. + +[5] Elmsley compares Med. 1209. τις τον γεροντα τυμβον ορθανον σεθεν +τιθησι; so the Latins used "Silicernium." Cf. Fulgent. Expos. Serm. Ant. p. +171, ed. Munck. + +[6] αντλος, sentina, bilge-water. See Elmsley. + +[7] See Elmsley's note. + +[8] See Dindorf, who repents of the reading in the text, and restores σοι +γαρ τοδ' αισχρον χωρις εν πολει κακον. He, however, condemns this and the +two next lines as spurious. + +[9] i.e. if I neglect them. + +[10] Cf. Hor. Od. iii. 6, 48. "Ætas parentum, pejor avis, tulit Nos +nequiores, mox daturos Progeniem vitiosiorem." + +[11] Cf. Soph. Ant. 127. Ζευς γαρ μεγαλης γλωσσης κομπους ‛Υπερεχθαιρει. + +[12] Cf. Æsch. Sept. c. Th. 40 sq., also Soph. Œd. T. 6 sqq. + +[13] i.e. μαντεις κατ' αστυ θυηφολουσι. ELMSLEY. + +[14] Pausanias, i. 32, states that the oracle expressly required that one +of the descendants of Hercules should be devoted, and that upon this +Macaria, his daughter by Deianira, voluntarily offered herself. Her name +was afterward given to a fountain. Enripides probably omitted this fact, in +order to place the noble-mindedness of Macaria in a stronger light. The +curious reader may compare the similar sacrifices of Codrus, (Pausan. vii. +25. Vell. Patere. i. 4,) Menœceus, (Eur. Phœn. 1009, Statius Theb. x. 751 +sqq.,) Chaon (Serv. on Virg. Æn. iii. 335). See also Lomeier de +Lustrationibus, § xxii., where the whole subject is learnedly treated. + +[15] Cf. Æsch. Ag. 206 sqq. + +[16] I prefer understanding ‛ενεκα εξοδων εμων with Elmsley, to Matthiæ's +forced interpretation. Compare Med. 214 sqq. + +[17] The cognate accusative to δρασειεν must be supplied from the context. + +[18] There is some awkwardness in the construction. Perhaps if we read +σπερμα, της θειας φρενος! πεφ. the sense will be improved. + +[19] The construction is thus laid down by Elmsley: παλαι γαρ ωδινουσα +[περι tôn aphig. ps. et. ei. n. [autôn] genêsetai]. He remarks that νοστος +often means "arrival," in the tragedians. + +[20] See Matthiæ. I should, however, prefer παις for που, with Elmsley. + +[21] κατα is understood, as in Thucyd. v. 67. ELMSLEY. + +[22] See Alcest. 662, Iph. Taur. 245, and Elmsley's note on this passage. + +[23] γυμνος, _expeditus_. As in agriculture it is applied to the husbandman +who casts off his upper garment, so also in war it simply denotes being +without armor. + +[24] κευθειν. + +[25] I have corrected κελευσμασιν Αργους, with Reiske and Dindorf. + +[26] I have adopted Dindorf's correction, ‛ησσονες παρ' εμοι θεοι +φανουνται. + +[27] i.e. the last, says Brodæus. But Elmsley prefers taking it for the +νουμηνια or Kalends, with Musgrave. + +[28] δορος, which is often used to signify _the fight_, is here somewhat +boldly put for the arrangement of the battle. + +[29] Cf. Æsch. Soph. c. Th. 14 sqq. Elmsley's notes on the whole of this +spirited passage deserve to be consulted. + +[30] κρατουντα can not be used passively. κλαιοντα is the conjecture of +Orelli, approved by Dindorf. I have expressed the sense, not the text. + +[31] See Musgrave's note (apud Dindorf). Tyrwhitt considers all the +dramatis personæ wrongly assigned. + +[32] Ironically spoken. + +[33] There seems to be something wrong here. + +[34] See Matthiæ, who explains it: "_me et supplicem_, qui mortem +deprecetur, _et fortem_, qui mortem contemnat, _dicere licet_." + + * * * * * * + +IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. + + * * * * + +PERSONS REPRESENTED. + + AGAMEMNON. + OLD MAN. + MENELAUS. + ACHILLES. + MESSENGER. + ANOTHER MESSENGER. + IPHIGENIA. + CLYTÆMNESTRA. + CHORUS. + + * * * * * + +THE ARGUMENT. + + * * * * + +When the Greeks were detained at Aulis by stress of weather, Calchas +declared that they would never reach Troy unless the daughter of Agamemnon, +Iphigenia, was sacrificed to Diana. Agamemnon sent for his daughter with +this view, but repenting, he dispatched a messenger to prevent Clytæmnestra +sending her. The messenger being intercepted by Menelaus, an altercation +between the brother chieftains arose, during which Iphigenia, who had been +tempted with the expectation of being wedded to Achilles, arrived with her +mother. The latter, meeting with Achilles, discovered the deception, and +Achilles swore to protect her. But Iphigenia, having determined to die +nobly on behalf of the Greeks, was snatched away by the Goddess, and a stag +substituted in her place. The Greeks were then enabled to set sail. + + * * * * * + +IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. + + * * * * + +AGAMEMNON. Come before this dwelling, O aged man. + +OLD MAN. I come. But what new thing dost thou meditate, king Agamemnon? + +AG. You shall learn.[1] + +OLD M. I hasten. My old age is very sleepless, and sits wakeful upon mine +eyes. + +AG. What star can this be that traverses this way? + +OLD M. Sirius, flitting yet midway (between the heavens and the ocean,)[2] +close to the seven Pleiads. + +AG. No longer therefore is there the sound either of birds or of the sea, +but silence of the winds reigns about this Euripus. + +OLD M. But why art thou hastening without the tent, king Agamemnon? But +still there is silence here by Aulis, and the guards of the fortifications +are undisturbed. Let us go within. + +AG. I envy thee, old man, and I envy that man who has passed through a life +without danger, unknown, unglorious; but I less envy those in honor. + +OLD M. And yet 'tis in this that the glory of life is. + +AG. But this very glory is uncertain, for the love of popularity is +pleasant indeed, but hurts when present. Sometimes the worship of the Gods +not rightly conducted upturns one's life, and sometimes the many and +dissatisfied opinions of men harass. + +OLD M. I praise not these remarks in a chieftain. O Agamemnon, Atreus did +not beget thee upon a condition of complete good fortune.[3] But thou needs +must rejoice and grieve; [in turn,] for thou art a mortal born, and even +though you wish it not, the will of the Gods will be thus. But thou, +opening the light of a lamp, art both writing this letter, which thou still +art carrying in thy hands, and again you blot out the same characters, and +seal, and loose again, and cast the tablet to the ground, pouring abundant +tears, and thou lackest naught of the unwonted things that tend to madness. +Why art thou troubled, why art thou troubled? What new thing, what new +thing [has happened] concerning thee, O king? Come, communicate discourse +with me. But thou wilt speak to a good and faithful man, for to thy wife +Tyndarus sent me once on a time, as a dower-gift, and disinterested +companion.[4] + +AG. To Leda, daughter of Thestias, were born three virgins, Phœbe, and +Clytæmnestra my spouse, and Helen. Of this latter, the youths of Greece +that were in the first state of prosperity came as suitors. But terrible +threats of bloodshed[5] arose against one another, from whoever should not +obtain the virgin. But the matter was difficult for her father Tyndarus, +whether to give, or not to give [her in marriage,] and how he might best +deal with the circumstances, when this occurred to him; that the suitors +should join oaths and plight right hands with one another, and over +burnt-offerings should enter into treaty, and bind themselves by this oath, +"Of whomsoever the daughter of Tyndarus shall become wife, that they will +join to assist him, if any one should depart from his house taking [her] +with him, and excluding the possessor from his bed, and that they will make +an expedition in arms, and sack the city [of the ravisher,] Greek or +barbarian alike." But after they had pledged themselves, the old man +Tyndarus somehow cleverly overreached them by a cunning plan. He permits +his daughter to choose one of the suitors, toward whom the friendly gales +of Venus might impel her. But she chose (whom would she had never taken!) +Menelaus. And he who, according to the story told by men, once judged the +Goddesses, coming from Phrygia to Lacedæmon, flowered in the vesture of his +garments, and glittering with gold, barbarian finery, loving Helen who +loved him, he stole and bore her away to the bull-stalls of Ida, having +found Menelaus abroad. But he, goaded hastily[6] through Greece, calls to +witness the old oath given to Tyndarus, that it behooves to assist the +aggrieved. Henceforth the Greeks hastening with the spear, having taken +their arms, come to this Aulis with its narrow straits, with ships and +shields together, and accoutred with many horses and chariots. And they +chose me general of the host, out of regard for Menelaus, being his brother +forsooth. And would that some other than I had obtained the dignity. But +when the army was assembled and levied, we sat, having no power of sailing, +at Aulis. But Calchas the seer proclaimed to us, being at a loss, that we +should sacrifice Iphigenia, whom I begat, to Diana, who inhabits this +place, and that if we sacrificed her, we should have both our voyage, and +the sacking of Troy, but that this should not befall us if we did not +sacrifice her. But I hearing this in rousing proclamation, bade Talthybius +dismiss the whole army, as I should never have the heart to slay my +daughter. Upon this, indeed, my brother, alleging every kind of reasoning, +persuaded me to dare the dreadful deed, and having written in the folds of +a letter, I sent word to my wife to send her daughter as if to be married +to Achilles, both enlarging on the dignity of the man, and asserting that +he would not sail with the Greeks, unless a wife for him from among us +should come to Phthia. For I had this means of persuading my wife, having +made up a pretended match for the virgin. But we alone of the Greeks know +how these matters are, Calchas, Ulysses, and Nestor. But the things which I +then determined not well, I am now differently writing so as to be well, in +this letter, which by the shadow of night thou beheldest me opening and +closing, old man. But come, go thou, taking these letters, to Argos. But as +to what the letter conceals in its folds, I will tell thee in words all +that is written therein; for thou art faithful to my wife and house. + +OLD M. Speak, and tell me, that with my tongue I may also say what agrees +with your letter. + +AG. (reading) "I send to thee, O germ of Leda, besides[7] my former +dispatches, not to send thy daughter to the bay-like wing of Eubœa,[8] +waveless Aulis. For we will delay the bridals of our daughter till another +season." + +OLD M. And how will not Achilles raise up his temper against thee and thy +wife, showing great wrath at failing of his spouse? This also is terrible. +Show what thou meanest. + +AG. Achilles, furnishing the pretext, not the reality, knows not these +nuptials, nor what we are doing; nor that I have professed to give my +daughter into the nuptial chain of his arms by marriage.[9] + +OLD M. Thou venturest terrible things, king Agamemnon, who, having promised +thy daughter as wife to the son of the Goddess, dost lead her as a +sacrifice on behalf of the Greeks. + +AG. Ah me! I was out of my senses. Alas! And I am falling into calamity. +But go, plying thy foot, yielding naught to old age. + +OLD M. I hasten, O king. + +AG. Do not thou either sit down by the woody fountains, nor repose in +sleep. + +OLD M. Speak good words. + +AG. But every where as you pass the double track, look about, watching lest +there escape thee a chariot passing with swift wheels, bearing my daughter +hither to the ships of the Greeks. + +OLD M. This shall be. + +AG. And go out of the gates[10] quickly,† for if you meet with the +procession,† again go forth, shake the reins, going to the temples reared +by the Cyclops. + +OLD M. But tell me, how, saying this, I shall obtain belief from thy +daughter and wife. + +AG. Preserve the seal, this which thou bearest on this letter. Go: morn, +already dawning forth this light, grows white, and the fire of the sun's +four steeds. Aid me in my toils. But no one of mortals is prosperous or +blest to the last, for none hath yet been born free from pain. + +CHORUS. I came to the sands of the shore of marine Aulis, having sailed +through the waves of Euripus, quitting Chalcis with its narrow strait, my +city, the nurse of the sea-neighboring waters[11] of renowned Arethusa, in +order that I might behold the army of the Greeks, and the ship-conveying +oars of the Grecian youths, whom against Troy in a thousand ships of fir, +our husbands say that yellow-haired Menelaus and Agamemnon of noble birth, +are leading in quest of Helen,[12] whom the herdsman Paris bore from +reed-nourishing Eurotas, a gift of Venus, when at the fountain dews Venus +held contest, contest respecting beauty with Juno and Pallas. But I came +swiftly through the wood of Diana with its many sacrifices, making my cheek +red with youthful modesty, wishing to behold the defense of the shield, and +the arm-bearing tents[13] of the Greeks, and the crowd of steeds. But I saw +the two Ajaces companions, the son of Oileus, and the son of Telamon, the +glory of Salamis, and Protesilaus and Palamedes, whom the daughter of +Neptune bore, diverting themselves[14] with the complicated figures of +draughts, and Diomede rejoicing in the pleasures of the disk, and by them +Merione, the blossom of Mars, a marvel to mortals, and the son of Laertes +from the mountains of the isle, and with them Nireus, fairest of the +Greeks, and Achilles, tempest-like in the course, fleet as the winds, whom +Thetis bore, and Chiron trained up, I beheld him on the shore, coursing in +arms along the shingles. And he toiled through a contest of feet, running +against a chariot of four steeds for victory. But the charioteer cried out, +Eumelus, the grandson of Pheres,[15] whose most beauteous steeds I beheld, +decked out with gold-tricked bits, hurried on by the lash, the middle ones +in yoke dappled with white-spotted hair, but those outside, in loose +harness, running contrariwise in the bendings of the course, bays, with +dappled skins under their legs with solid hoofs. Close by which Pelides was +running in arms, by the orb and wheels of the chariot.[16] And I came to +the multitude of ships, a sight not to be described, that I might satiate +the sight of my woman's eyes, a sweet delight. And at the right horn [of +the fleet] was the Phthiotic army of the Myrmidons, with fifty valiant +ships. And in golden effigies the Nereid Goddesses stood on the summit of +the poops, the standard of the host of Achilles. And next to these there +stood the Argive ships, with equal number of oars, of which [Euryalus] the +grandson of Mecisteus was general, whom his father Talaus trains up, and +Sthenelus son of Capaneus. But [Acamas] son of Theseus, leading sixty ships +from Athens, kept station, having the Goddess Pallas placed[17] in her +equestrian winged chariot, a prosperous sign to sailors. But I beheld the +armament of the Bœotians, fifty sea-bound ships, with signs at the +figure-heads, and their sign was Cadmus, holding a golden dragon, at the +beaks of the ships, and Leitus the earth-born was leader of the naval +armament, and [I beheld] those from the Phocian land. But the son of +Oileus, leading an equal number of Locrian ships, came, having left the +Thronian city. But from Cyclopian Mycenæ the son of Atreus sent the +assembled mariners of a hundred ships. And with him was Adrastus, as friend +with friend, in order that Greece might wreak vengeance on those who fled +their homes, for the sake of barbarian nuptials. But from Pylos we beheld +on the poops of Gerenian Nestor, a sign bull-footed to view, his neighbor +Alpheus. But there were twelve beaks of Ænian ships, which king Gyneus led, +and near these again the chieftains of Elis, whom all the people named +Epeians, and o'er these Eurytus had power. But the white-oared Taphian host +* * * * led,[18] which Meges ruled, the offspring of Phyleus, leaving the +island Echinades, inaccessible to sailors. And Ajax, the foster-child of +Salamis, joined the right horn to the left, to which he was stationed +nearest, joining them with his furthermost ships, with twelve most swift +vessels, as I heard, and beheld the naval people. To which if any one add +the barbarian barks, * * * * it will not obtain a return. * * * * Where I +beheld the naval expedition, but hearing other things at home I preserve +remembrance of the assembled army. + +OLD M. Menelaus, thou art daring dreadful deeds thou shouldst not dare. + +MENELAUS. Away with thee! thou art too faithful to thy masters. + +OLD M. An honorable rebuke thou hast rebuked me with! + +MEN. To thy cost shall it be, if thou dost that thou shouldst not do. + +OLD M. You have no right to open the letter which I was carrying. + +MEN. Nor shouldst thou bear ills to all the Greeks. + +OLD M. Contest this point with others, but give up this [letter] to me. + +MEN. I will not let it go. + +OLD M. Nor will I let it go. + +MEN. Then quickly with my sceptre will I make thine head bloody. + +OLD M. But glorious it is to die for one's masters. + +MEN. Let go. Being a slave, thou speakest too many words. + +OLD M. O master, I am wronged, and this man, having snatched thy letter out +of my hands, O Agamemnon, is unwilling to act rightly. + +MEN. Ah! what is this tumult and disorder of words? + +OLD M. My words, not his, are fittest to speak.[19] + +AG. But wherefore, Menelaus, dost thou come to strife with this man and art +dragging him by force? + +MEN. Look at me, that I may take this commencement of my speech. + +AG. What, shall I through fear not open mine eyelids, being born of Atreus? + +MEN. Seest thou this letter, the minister of writings most vile? + +AG. I see it, and do thou first let it go from thy hands. + +MEN. Not, at least, before I show to the Greeks what is written therein. + +AG. What, knowest thou what 'tis unseasonable thou shouldst know, having +broken the seal? + +MEN. Ay, so as to pain thee, having unfolded the ills thou hast wrought +privily. + +AG. But where didst thou obtain it? O Gods, for thy shameless heart! + +MEN. Expecting thy daughter from Argos, whether she will come to the army. + +AG. What behooves thee to keep watch upon my affairs? Is not this the act +of a shameless man? + +MEN. Because the will [to do so] teased me, and I am not born thy slave. + +AG. Is it not dreadful? Shall I not be suffered to be master of my own +family? + +MEN. For thou thinkest inconsistently, now one thing, before another, +another thing presently. + +AG. Well hast thou talked evil. Hateful is a too clever tongue.[20] + +MEN. But an unstable mind is an unjust thing to possess, and not clear[21] +for friends. I wish to expostulate with thee, but do not thou in wrath turn +away from the truth, nor will I speak overlong. Thou knowest when thou wast +making interest to be leader of the Greeks against Troy--in seeming indeed +not wishing it, but wishing it in will--how humble thou wast, taking hold +of every right hand, and keeping open doors to any of the people that +wished, and giving audience to all in turn even if one wished it not, +seeking by manners to purchase popularity among the multitude. But when you +obtained the power, changing to different manners, you were no longer the +same friend as before to your old friends, difficult of access,[22] and +rarely within doors. But it behooves not a man who has met with great +fortune to change his manners, but then chiefly to be firm toward his +friends, when he is best able to benefit them, being prosperous. I have +first gone over these charges against thee, in which I first found thee +base. But when thou afterward camest into Aulis and to the army of all the +Greeks, thou wast naught, but wast in stupefaction at the fortune which +then befell us from the Gods, lacking a favorable breeze for the journey. +But the Greeks demanded that you should dismiss the ships, and not toil +vainly at Aulis. But how cheerless and distressed a countenance you wore, +because you were not able to land your army at Priam's land, having a +thousand ships under command.[23] And thou besoughtest me, "What shall I +do?" "But what resource shall I find from whence?" so that thou mightest +not lose an ill renown, being deprived of the command. And then, when +Calchas o'er the victims said that thou must sacrifice thy daughter to +Diana, and that there would [then] be means of sailing for the Greeks, +delighted in heart, you gladly promised to sacrifice your child, and of +your own accord, not by compulsion--do not say so--you send to your wife to +convoy your daughter hither, on a pretext of being wedded to Achilles. And +then changing [your mind] you are caught altering to other writings, to the +effect that you will not now be the slayer of your daughter. Very pretty, +forsooth! This is the same air which heard these very protestations from +thee. But innumerable men experience this in their affairs; they persevere +in labor when in power,[24] and then make a bad result, sometimes through +the foolish mind of the citizens, but sometimes with reason, themselves +becoming incapable of preserving the state, I indeed chiefly groan for +hapless Greece, who, wishing to work some doughty deed against these +good-for-nothing barbarians, will let them, laughing at us, slip through +her hands, on account of thee and thy daughter. I would not make any one +ruler of the land for the sake of necessity,[25] nor chieftain of armed +men. It behooves the general of the state to possess sense, for every man +is a ruler who possesses sense. + +CHOR. 'Tis dreadful for words and strife to happen between brothers, when +they fall into dispute. + +AG. I wish to address thee in evil terms, but mildly,[26] in brief, not +uplifting mine eyelids too much aloft through insolence, but moderately, as +being my brother. For a good man is wont to show respect [to others.] Tell +me, why dost thou burst forth thus violently, having thy face suffused with +rage? Who wrongs thee? What lackest thou? Wouldst fain gain a good wife! I +can not supply thee, for thou didst ill rule over the one you possessed. +Must I therefore pay the penalty of your mismanagement, who have made no +mistake? Or does my ambition annoy thee? But wouldst thou fain hold in +thine arms a fair woman, forgetting discretion and honor? Evil pleasures +belong to an evil man. But if I, having before resolved ill, have changed +to good counsel, am I mad? Rather art thou [mad,] who, having lost a bad +wife, desirest to recover her, when God has well prospered thy fortune. The +nuptial-craving suitors in their folly swore the oath to Tyndarus, but +hope, I ween, was their God, and wrought this more than thyself and thy +strength. Whom taking[27] make thou the expedition, but I think thou wilt +know [that it is] through the folly of their hearts, for the divinity is +not ignorant, but is capable of discerning oaths ill plighted and perforce. +But I will not slay my children, so that thy state will in justice be well, +revenge upon the worst of wives, but nights and days will waste me away in +tears, having wrought lawless, unjust deeds against the children whom I +begat. These words are briefly spoken to thee, both plain and easy, but if +thou art unwilling to be wise, I will arrange my own affairs well. + +CHOR. These words are different from those before spoken, but they are to a +good effect, that the children be spared. + +MEN. Alas! alas! have I then wretched no friends? + +AG. [Yes, you have,] at least, if you do not wish to ruin your friends. + +MEN. But how will you show that you are born of the same sire with me? + +AG. I am born to be wise with you, not foolish.[28] + +MEN. It behooves friends to grieve in common with friends. + +AG. Admonish me by well doing, not by paining me. + +MEN. Dost thou not then think fit to toil through this with Greece? + +AG. But Greece, with thee, is sickening through some deity. + +MEN. Vaunt then on thy sceptre, having betrayed thy brother. But I will +seek some other schemes, and other friends. + +[_Enter a Messenger_.[29]] + +MESSENGER. O Agamemnon, king of all the Greeks, I am come, bringing thy +daughter to thee, whom thou didst name Iphigenia in thy palace. But her +mother follows, the person of thy [wife] Clytæmnestra, and the boy Orestes, +that thou mayest be pleased at the sight, being away from thine home a long +season. But as they have come a long way, they and their mares are +refreshing their female feet by the fair-flowing fountain, and we let loose +the mares in a grassy meadow, that they might taste fodder. But I am come +before them to prepare you [for their reception,] for a swift report passed +through the army, that thy daughter had arrived. And all the multitude +comes out hastily to the spectacle, that they may behold thy child. For +prosperous men are renowned and conspicuous among all mortals. And they +say, "Is there a marriage on foot? or what is going on?" Or, "Has king +Agamemnon, having a yearning after his daughter, brought his child hither?" +But from some you would have heard this: "They are initiating[30] the +damsel in honor of Artemis, queen of Aulis, who will marry her." But come, +get ready the baskets,[31] which come next, crown thine head. And do thou, +king Menelaus, prepare a nuptial lay, and through the house let the pipe +sound and let there be noise of feet, for this day comes blessed upon the +virgin. + +AG. I commend [your words,] but go thou within the house, and it shall be +well, as fortune takes its course. Alas! what shall I wretched say? Whence +shall I begin? Into what fetters of necessity have I fallen! Fortune has +upturned me, so as to become far too clever for my cleverness. But lowness +of birth has some advantage thus. For such persons are at liberty to weep, +and speak unhappy words, but to him that is of noble birth, all these +things belong. We have our dignity as ruler of our life, and are slaves to +the multitude. For I am ashamed indeed to let fall the tear, yet again +wretched am I ashamed not to weep, having come into the greatest +calamities. Well! what shall I say to my wife? How shall I receive her? +What manner of countenance shall I present? And truly she hath undone me, +coming uncalled amidst the ills which before possessed me. And with reason +did she follow her daughter, being about to deck her as a bride,[32] and to +perform the dearest offices, where she will find us base. But for this +hapless virgin--why [call her] virgin? Hades, as it seems, will speedily +attend on her nuptials,--how do I pity her! For I think that she will +beseech me thus: O father, wilt thou slay me? Such a wedding mayest thou +thyself wed, and whosoever is a friend to thee. But Orestes being present +will cry out knowingly words not knowing, for he is yet an infant. Alas! +how has Priam's son, Paris, undone me by wedding the nuptials of Paris, who +has wrought this! + +CHOR. And I also pity her, as it becomes a stranger woman to moan for the +misfortune of her lords. + +MEN. Brother, give me thy right hand to touch. + +AG. I give it, for thine is the power, but I am wretched. + +MEN. I swear by Pelops, who was called the sire of my father and thine, and +my father Atreus, that I indeed will tell thee plainly from my heart, and +not any thing out of contrivance, but only what I think. I, beholding thee +letting fall the tear from thine eyes, pitied thee, and myself let fall [a +tear] for thee in return. And I have changed[33] my old determinations, not +being wrath against you, but I will place myself in your present situation, +and I recommend you neither to slay your child, nor to take my part; for it +is not just that thou shouldst groan, but my affairs be in a pleasant +state, and that thine should die, but mine behold the light. For what do I +wish? Might I not obtain another choice alliance, if I crave nuptials? But, +having undone my brother, whom it least behooved me, shall I receive Helen, +an evil in place of a good? I was foolish and young, before that, viewing +the matter closely, I saw what it is to beget children. Besides, pity came +over me, considering our connection, for the hapless girl, who is about to +be sacrificed because of my marriage. But what has thy virgin [daughter] to +do with Helen? Let the army go, being disbanded from Aulis. But cease thou +bedewing thine eyes with tears, my brother, and exciting me to tears. But +if I have any concern in the oracle respecting thy daughter, let me have +none: to thee I yield my part. But I have come to a change[34] from +terrible resolutions. I have experienced[35] what was meet. I have changed +to regard him who is sprung from a common source. Such changes belong not +to a bad man, [viz.] to follow the best always. + +CHOR. Thou hast spoken generous words, and becoming Tantalus the son of +Jove. Thou disgracest not thine ancestors. + +AG. I commend thee, Menelaus, in that, contrary to my expectation, you have +subjoined these words, rightly, and worthily of thee. + +MEN. A certain disturbance[36] between brothers arises on account of love, +and avarice in their houses. I abhor such a relationship, mutually sore. + +AG. But [consider,] for we are come into circumstances that render it +necessary to accomplish the bloody slaughter of my daughter. + +MEN. How? Who will compel thee to slay thy child? + +AG. The whole assembly of the armament of the Greeks. + +MEN. Not so, if at least thou dismiss it back to Argos. + +AG. In this matter I might escape discovery, but in that I can not.[37] + +MEN. What? One should not too much fear the multitude. + +AG. Calchas will proclaim his prophecy to the army of the Greeks. + +MEN. Not if he die first--and this is easy. + +AG. The whole race of seers is an ambitious ill. + +MEN. And in naught good or profitable, when at hand.[38] + +AG. But dost thou not fear that which occurs to me? + +MEN. How can I understand the word you say not? + +AG. The son of Sisyphus knows all these matters. + +MEN. It can not be that Orestes can pain thee and me. + +AG. He is ever changeable, and with the multitude. + +MEN. He is indeed possessed with the passion for popularity, a dreadful +evil. + +AG. Do you not then think that he, standing in the midst of the Greeks, +will tell the oracles which Calchas pronounced, and of me, that I promised +to offer a sacrifice to Diana, and then break my word. With which [words] +having carried away the army, he will bid the Greeks slay thee and me, and +sacrifice the damsel. And if I flee to Argos, they will come and ravage and +raze the land, Cyclopean walls and all. Such are my troubles. O unhappy me! +How, by the Gods, am I at a loss in these present matters! Take care of one +thing for me, Menelaus, going through the army, that Clytæmnestra may not +learn these matters, before I take and offer my daughter to Hades, that I +may fare ill with as few tears as possible. But do ye, O stranger women, +preserve silence. + +CHORUS. Blest are they who share the nuptial bed of the Goddess +Aphrodite,[39] when she is moderate, and with modesty, obtaining a calm +from the maddening stings, when Love with his golden locks stretches his +twin bow of graces, the one for a prosperous fate, the other for the +upturning of life. I deprecate this [bow,] O fairest Venus, from our beds, +but may mine be a moderate grace, and holy endearments, and may I share +Aphrodite, but reject her when excessive. But the natures of mortals are +different, and their manners are different,[40] but that which is clearly +good is ever plain. And the education which trains[41] [men] up, conduces +greatly to virtue, for to have reverence is wisdom, and it possesses an +equivalent advantage, viz. to perceive what is fitting by one's mind, where +report bears unwasting glory to life.[42] 'Tis a great thing to hunt for +[the praise of] virtue, among women indeed, by a secret affection,[43] but +among men, on the other hand, honor being inherent,[44] [bears that praise, +honor,] which increases a state to an incalculable extent.[45] + +Thou earnest, O Paris, †where thou wast trained up a shepherd with the +white heifers of Ida, trilling a barbarian lay, breathing an imitation of +the Phrygian pipes of Olympus on a reed. And the cows with their +well-filled udders browsed, when the judgment of the Goddesses drove thee +mad, which sends thee into Greece,† before the ivory-decked palaces, thou +who didst strike love into the eyes of Helen which were upon thee, and +thyself wast fluttered with love. Whence strife, strife brings Greece +against the bulwarks of Troy with spears and ships.† Alas! alas! great are +the fortunes of the great.[46] Behold the king's daughter, Iphigenia, my +queen, and Clytæmnestra, daughter of Tyndarus, how are they sprung from the +great, and to what suitable fortune they are come. The powerful, in sooth, +and the wealthy, are Gods to those of mortals who are unblest. [Let us +stand still, ye children of Chalcis, let us receive the queen from her +chariot to the earth, not unsteadily, but gently with the soft attention of +our hands, lest the renowned daughter of Agamemnon, newly coming to me, be +alarmed, nor let us, as strangers to strangers, cause disturbance or fear +to the Argive ladies.[47]] + +[_Enter_ Clytæmnestra, IPHIGENIA, _and probably_ ORESTES _in a chariot. +They descend from it, while the Chorus make obeisance_.] + +CLY. I regard both your kindness and your favorable words as a good omen, +and I have some hope that I am here as escort [of my daughter] to honorable +nuptials. But take out of my chariot the dower-gifts which I bear for my +girl, and send them carefully into the house. And do thou, my child, quit +the horse-chariot, setting [carefully] thy foot delicate and at the same +time tender. But you,[48] maidens, receive her in your arms, and lift her +from the chariot. And let some one give me the firm support of his hand, +that I may beseemingly leave the chariot-seat. But do some[49] of you stand +in front of the horses' yoke, for the uncontrolled eye of horses is +timorous, and take this boy, the son of Agamemnon, Orestes, for he is still +an infant. Child! dost sleep, overcome by the ride? Wake up happily for thy +sisters' nuptials. For thou thyself being noble shalt obtain relationship +with a good man, the God-like son of the daughter of Nereus. [[50]Next come +thou close to my foot, O daughter, to thy mother, Iphigenia, and standing +near, show these strangers how happy I am, and come hither indeed, and +address thy dear father.] O thou most great glory to me, king Agamemnon, we +are come, not disobeying thy bidding. + +IPH. O mother, running indeed, (but be thou not angry,) I will apply my +breast to my father's breast. [[51]But I wish, rushing to embrace thy +breast, O father, after a long season. For I long for thy face. But do not +be angry.] + +CLY. But, O my child, enjoy [thine embraces,] but thou wert ever most fond +of thy father, of all the children I bore. + +IPH. O father, joyous do I behold thee after a long season. + +AG. And I, thy father, [joyously behold] thee. Thou speakest thus equally +in respect to both. + +IPH. Hail! But well hast thou done in bringing me to thee, O father. + +AG. I know not how I shall say, yet not say so, my child. + +IPH. Ah! how uneasily dost thou regard me, joyfully beholding me [before.] + +AG. A king and general has many cares. + +IPH. Give thyself up to me now, and turn not thyself to cares. + +AG. But I am altogether concerned with thee, and on no other subject. + +IPH. Relax thy brow, and open thy eyes in joy. + +AG. See, I rejoice as I rejoice, at seeing thee, child.[52] + +IPH. And then dost let fall a tear from thine eyes? + +AG. For long to us is the coming absence. + +IPH. I know not what you mean, I know not, dearest father mine. + +AG. Speaking sensibly, thou movest me the more to pity. + +IPH. I will speak foolishly, if I so may rejoice you. + +AG. Alas! I can not keep silence, but I commend thee. + +IPH. Remain, O father, in the house with thy children, + +AG. I fain would, but not having what I would, I am pained. + +IPH. Perish war and the ills of Menelaus![53] + +AG. What has undone me will first undo others. + +IPH. How long a time wast thou absent in the recesses of Aulis! + +AG. And now also there is something hinders me from sending on the army. + +IPH. Where say they that the Phrygians dwell, father? + +AG. Where would that Paris, Priam's son, had never dwelt. + +IPH. And dost thou go a long distance, O father, when thou leavest me? + +AG. Thou art come, my daughter, to the same state with thy father.[54] + +IPH. Alas! would that it were fitting me and thee to take me with thee as +thy fellow-sailor. + +AG. But there is yet a sailing for thee, where thou wilt remember thy +father. + +IPH. Shall I go, sailing with my mother, or alone? + +AG. Alone, apart from thy father and mother. + +IPH. What, art thou going to make me dwell in other houses, father? + +AG. Cease. It is not proper for girls to know these matters. + +IPH. Hasten back from Phrygia, do, my father, having settled matters well +there. + +AG. It first behooves me to offer a certain sacrifice here. + +IPH. But it is with the priests that thou shouldst consider sacred matters. + +AG. [Yet] shalt thou know it, for thou wilt stand round the altar. + +IPH. What, shall we stand in chorus round the altar, my father?[55] + +AG. I deem thee happier than myself, for that thou know-est nothing. But go +within the house, that the girls may behold thee,[56] having given me a sad +kiss and thy right hand, being about to dwell a long time away from thy +sire. O bosom and cheeks, O yellow tresses, how has the city of the +Phrygians proved a burden to us, and Helen! I cease my words, for swift +does the drop trickle from mine eyes when I touch thee. Go into the house. +But I, I crave thy pardon, (_to Clytæmnestra_,) daughter of Leda, if I +showed too much feeling, being about to bestow my daughter on Achilles. For +the departure [of a girl] is a happy one, but nevertheless it pains the +parents, when a father, who has toiled much, delivers up his children to +another home. + +CLY. I am not so insensible--but think thou that I shall experience the +same feelings, (so that I should not chide thee,) when I lead forth my girl +with nuptial rejoicings, but custom wears away these thoughts in course of +time. I know, however, the name of him to whom thou hast promised thy +daughter, but I would fain know of what race, and whence [he is.] + +AG. Ægina was the daughter of her father Asopus. + +CLY. And who of mortals or of Gods wedded her? + +AG. Jove, and she gave birth to Æacus, prince of Œnone. + +CLY. But what son obtained the house of Æacus? + +AG. Peleus, and Peleus obtained the daughter of Nereus. + +CLY. By the gift of the God, or taking her in spite of the Gods? + +AG. Jove acted as a sponsor, and bestowed her, having the power.[57] + +CLY. And where does he wed her? In the wave of the sea? + +AG. Where Chiron dwells at the sacred foot of Pelion. + +CLY. Where they say that the race of Centaurs dwells? + +AG. Here the Gods celebrated the nuptial feast of Peleus. + +CLY. But did Thetis, or his father, train up Achilles? + +AG. Chiron, that he might not learn the manners of evil mortals. + +CLY. Hah! wise was the instructor, and wiser he who intrusted him. + +AG. Such a man will be the husband of thy child. + +CLY. Not to be found fault with. But what city in Greece does he inhabit? + +AG. Near the river Apidanus in the confines of Phthia. + +CLY. Thither will he lead thy virgin [daughter] and mine. + +AG. This shall be the care of him, her possessor. + +CLY. And may the pair be happy; but on what day will he wed her? + +AG. When the prospering orb of the moon comes round. + +CLY. But hast thou already sacrificed the first offerings for thy daughter +to the Goddess? + +AG. I am about to do so. In this matter we are now engaged. + +CLY. And wilt thou then celebrate a wedding-feast afterward? + +AG. [Ay,] having sacrificed such offerings as it behooves me to sacrifice +to the Gods. + +CLY. But where shall we set out a banquet for the women? + +AG. Here, by the fair-pooped ships of the Greeks. + +CLY. Well, and poorly,[58] forsooth! but may it nevertheless turn out well. + +AG. Do then thou knowest what, O lady, and obey me. + +CLY. In what? for I am accustomed to obey thee. + +AG. We indeed in this place, where the bridegroom is-- + +CLY. Will do what without the mother, [of those things] which it behooves +me to do? + +AG. --will bestow your daughter among the Greeks. + +CLY. But where must I be in the mean time? + +AG. Go to Argos, and take care of your virgins. + +CLY. Leaving my child? And who will bear the [nuptial] torch? + +AG. I will furnish the light that becomes the nuptials. + +CLY. The custom is not thus, but you think these matters trifles. + +AG. It is not proper that thou shouldst mingle in the crowd of the army. + +CLY. It is proper that I, the mother, should bestow at least my own +daughter. + +AG. And it [is proper] that the damsels at home should not be alone. + +CLY. They are well guarded in their close chambers. + +AG. Obey me. + +CLY. [No,] by the Argive Goddess queen. But go you, and attend to matters +abroad, but I [will mind] the affairs at home, as to the things which +should be present to virgins at their wedding.[59] + +AG. Alas! In vain have I toiled,[60] and have been frustrated in my hope, +wishing to send my wife out of my sight. But I am using stratagems, and +finding contrivances against those I best love, overcome at all points. But +nevertheless with the prophet Calchas I will go and ask the pleasure of the +Goddess, not fortunate for me, the trouble of Greece.[61] But it behooves a +wise man either to support a useful and good wife in his house or not to +marry at all.[62] + +CHORUS. The assembly of the Grecian army will come to Simois, and to the +silver eddies, both with ships and with arms, to Ilium, and to the Phœbeian +plain of Troy, where I hear that Cassandra, adorned with a green-blossoming +crown of laurel, lets loose her yellow locks, when the prophetic influence +of the Gods breathes upon her. And the Trojans will stand upon the towers +of Troy and around its walls, when brazen-shielded Mars, borne over the sea +in fair-prowed ships, approaches the beds of Simois by rowing, seeking to +bear away Helen, [the sister] of the twain sons of Jove in heaven, into the +land of Greece, by the war-toiling shields and spears of the Greeks. But +having surrounded Pergamus,[63] the city of the Phrygians, around its +towers of stone, with bloody Mars, having torn off the heads [of the +citizens] cut from their necks, having completely ravaged the city of Troy, +he will make the daughters and wife of Priam shed many tears. But Helen, +the daughter of Jove, will sit† in sad lamentation, having left her +husband. Never upon me or upon my children's children may this expectation +come, such as the wealthy Lydian and Phrygian wives possess while at their +spinning, conversing thus with each other. Who,[64] dragging out my +fair-haired tresses, will choose me as his spoil despite my tears, while my +country is perishing? Through thee [forsooth,] the offspring of the +long-necked swan, if indeed the report is true, that Leda † met with[65] a +winged bird, when the body of Jove was transformed, and then in the tablets +of the muses fables spread these reports among men, inopportunely, and in +vain. + +[_Enter_ ACHILLES.] + +ACHILLES. Where about here is the general of the Greeks? Who of the +servants will tell him that Achilles, the son of Peleus, is seeking him at +the gates? For we do not remain by the Euripus in equal condition; for some +of us being unyoked in nuptials, having left our solitary homes, sit here +upon the shore, but others, having wives and children:[66] so violent a +passion for this expedition has fallen upon Greece, not without the will of +the Gods. It is therefore right that I should speak of what concerns me, +and whoever else wishes will himself speak for himself. For leaving the +Pharsalian land, and Peleus, I am waiting for these light gales of +Euripus,[67] restraining the Myrmidons, who are continually pressing me, +and saying, "Achilles, why tarry we? what manner of time must the armament +against Troy yet measure out? At any rate act, if you are going to do any +thing, or lead the army home, not abiding the delays of the Atrides." + +CLY. O son of the Goddess, daughter of Nereus, hearing from within thy +words, I have come out before the house. + +ACH. O hallowed modesty, who can this woman be whom I behold here, +possessing a fair-seeming form? + +CLY. It is no wonder that you know me not, whom you have never seen before, +but I commend you because you respect modesty. + +ACH. But who art thou? And wherefore hast thou come to the assembly of the +Greeks, a woman to men guarded with shields? + +CLY. I am the daughter of Leda, and Clytæmnestra is my name, and my husband +is king Agamemnon. + +ACH. Well hast thou in few words spoken what is seasonable. But it is +unbecoming for me to converse with women. (_Is going_.) + +CLY. Remain, (why dost thou fly?) at least join thy right hand with mine, +as a happy commencement of betrothal. + +ACH. What sayest thou? I [give] thee my right hand? I should be ashamed of +Agamemnon, if I touched what is not lawful for me. + +CLY. It is particularly lawful, since you are going to wed my daughter, O +son of the sea Goddess, daughter of Nereus. + +ACH. What marriage dost thou say? Surprise possesses me, lady, unless, +being beside yourself, you speak this new thing. + +CLY. This is the nature of all people, to be ashamed when they behold new +friends, and are put in mind of nuptials. + +ACH. I never wooed thy daughter, lady, nor has any thing been said to me on +the subject of marriage by the Atrides. + +CLY. What can it be? Do you in turn marvel at my words, for thine are a +marvel to me. + +ACH. Conjecture; these matters are a common subject for conjecture, for +both of us perhaps are deceived in our words.[68] + +CLY. But surely I have suffered terrible things! I am acting as match-maker +in regard to a marriage that has no existence. I am ashamed of this. + +ACH. Perhaps some one has trifled with both me and thee. But pay no +attention to it, and bear it with indifference. + +CLY. Farewell, for I can no longer behold thee with uplifted eyes, having +appeared as a liar, and suffered unworthy things. + +ACH. And this same [farewell] is thine from me. But I will go seek thy +husband within this house. + +[_The_ OLD MAN _appears at the door of the house_.] + +OLD M. O stranger, grandson of Æacus, remain. Ho! thee, I say, the son of +the Goddess, and thee, the daughter of Leda. + +ACH. Who is it that calls, partially opening the doors? With what terror he +calls! + +OLD M. A slave. I will not be nice about the title, for fortune allows it +not. + +ACH. Of whom? for thou art not mine. My property and Agamemnon's are +different. + +OLD M. Of this lady who is before the house, the gift of her father +Tyndarus. + +ACH. We are still. Say if thou wantest any thing, for which thou hast +stopped me. + +OLD M. Are ye sure that ye alone stand before these gates? + +CLY. Ay, so that you may speak to us only. But come out from the royal +dwelling. + +OLD M. (Coming forward) O fortune, and foresight mine, preserve whom I +wish. + +ACH. These words will do for[69] a future occasion, for they have some +weight. + +CLY. By thy right hand [I beseech thee,] delay not, if thou hast aught to +say to me. + +OLD M. Thou knowest then, being what manner of man, I have been by nature +well disposed to thee and thy children. + +CLY. I know thee as being a faithful servant to my house. + +OLD M. And that king Agamemnon received me among thy dowry. + +CLY. Thou camest into Argos with us, and thou wast always mine. + +OLD M. So it is, and I am well disposed to thee, but less so to thy +husband. + +CLY. Unfold now at least to me what words you are saying. + +OLD M. The father who begat her is about to slay thy daughter with his own +hand. + +CLY. How? I deprecate thy words, old man, for thou thinkest not well. + +OLD M. Cutting the fair neck of the hapless girl with the sword. + +CLY. O wretched me! Is my husband mad? + +OLD M. He is in his right mind, save with respect to thee and thy daughter, +but in this he is not wise. + +CLY. Upon what grounds? What maddening fiend impels him? + +OLD M. The oracles, as at least Calchas says, in order that the army may be +able to proceed. + +CLY. Whither? Wretched me, and wretched she whom her father is about to +slay? + +OLD M. To the house of Dardanus, that Menelaus may recover Helen. + +CLY. To the destruction, then, of Iphigenia, was the return of Helen +foredoomed? + +OLD M. Thou hast the whole story. Her father is going to offer thy daughter +to Diana. + +CLY. What! what pretext had the marriage, that brought me from home? + +OLD M. That thou rejoicing mightest bring thy child, as if about to wed her +to Achilles. + +CLY. O daughter, both thou and thy mother are come to meet with +destruction. + +OLD M. Ye twain are suffering sad things, and dreadful things hath +Agamemnon dared. + +CLY. I wretched am undone, and my eyes no longer restrain the tear. + +OLD M. For bitter 'tis to mourn, deprived of one's children. + +CLY. But whence, old man, sayest thou that thou hast learned and knowest +these things? + +OLD M. I went to bear a letter to thee, in reference to what was before +written. + +CLY. Not allowing, or bidding me to bring my child, that she might die? + +OLD M. [It was] that you should not bring her, for your husband then +thought well. + +CLY. And how was it then, that, bearing the letter, thou gavest it not to +me? + +OLD M. Menelaus, who is the cause of these evils, took it from me. + +CLY. O child of Nereus' daughter, O son of Peleus, dost hear these things? + +ACH. I hear that thou art wretched, and I do not bear my part +indifferently. + +CLY. They will slay my child, having deceived her with thy nuptials. + +ACH. I also blame thy husband, nor do I bear it lightly. + +CLY. I will not be ashamed to fall down at thy knee, mortal, to one born of +a Goddess. For wherefore should I make a show of pride? Or what should I +study more than my children? But, O son of the Goddess, aid me in my +unhappiness, and her who is called thy wife, vainly indeed, but +nevertheless, having decked her out, I led her as if to be married, but now +I lead her to sacrifice, and reproach will come upon thee, who gavest no +aid. For though thou wast not yoked in nuptials, at least thou wast called +the beloved husband of the hapless virgin. By thy beard, by thy right hand, +by thy mother [I beseech] thee, for thy name hath undone me, to whom thou +shouldst needs give assistance. I have no other altar to fly to, but thy +knee, nor is any friend near me,[70] but thou hearest the cruel and +all-daring conduct of Agamemnon. But I a woman, as thou seest, have come to +a naval host, uncontrolled, and bold for mischief, but useful, when they +are willing. But if thou wilt venture to stretch thine hand in my behalf, +we are saved, but if not, we are not saved. + +CHOR. A terrible thing it is to be a mother, and it bears a great +endearment, and one common to all, so as to toil on behalf of their +children. + +ACH. My mind is high-lifted in its thoughts,[71] and knows both how to +grieve [moderately] in troubles, and to rejoice moderately in high +prosperity. For the discreet among mortals are such as pass through life +correctly with wisdom. Now there are certain cases where it is pleasant not +to be too wise, and also where it is useful to possess wisdom. But I, being +nurtured [in the dwelling] of a most pious man, Chiron, have learned to +possess a candid disposition. And I will obey the Atrides, if indeed they +order well, but when not well, I obey not. But here in Troy showing a free +nature I will glorify Mars with the spear, as far as I can. But, O thou who +hast suffered wretchedly at the hands of those dearest, in whatever can be +done by a youth, I, showing so much pity, will set thee right, and thy +daughter, having been called my bride, shall never be sacrificed by her +father, for I will not furnish thy husband with my person to weave +stratagems upon. For my name, even if he lift not up the sword, will slay +thy daughter, but thy husband is the cause. But my body is no longer pure, +if on my account, and because of my marriage, there perish a virgin who has +gone through sad and unbearable troubles, and has been marvelously and +undeservedly ill treated. I were the worst man among the Greeks, I were of +naught (but Menelaus would be among men), not as born from Peleus, but from +some fiend, if my name acts the murderer for thy husband.[72] By Nereus, +nurtured in the damp waves, the father of Thetis, who begat me, king +Agamemnon shall not lay hands on thy daughter, not so much as with a little +finger, so as to touch her garments. I' faith, Sipylus, a fortress of +barbarians, whence the [royal] generals trace their descent, shall be +deemed a city, but the name of Phthia shall nowhere be named. And the seer +Calchas will to his cost consecrate the sacrificial cakes and lustral +waters. (But what man is a prophet?) who tells[73] a few things true, (but +many falsely,) when he has made a hit, but when he fails, is undone. These +words are not spoken for the sake of my wedding, (ten thousand girls are +hunting after alliance with me,) but [because] king Agamemnon has been +guilty of insult toward me. But it behooved him to ask [the use of] my name +from me, as an enticement for his daughter, and Clytæmnestra would have +been most readily persuaded to give her daughter to me as a husband. And I +would have given her up to the Greeks, if on this account their passage to +Troy had been impeded: I would not have refused to augment the common +interest of those with whom I set out on the expedition. But now I am held +as of no account by the generals, and it is a matter of indifference +whether I benefit them or not. Soon shall my sword witness, which, before +death came against the Phrygians,[74] I stained with spots of blood, +whether any one shall take thy daughter from me. But keep quiet, I have +appeared to thee as a most mighty God, though not [a God,] but nevertheless +I will be such. + +CHOR. O son of Peleus, thou hast spoken both worthily of thyself, and of +the marine deity, hallowed Goddess. + +CLY. Alas! how can I praise thee neither too much in words, nor, being +deficient in this respect, [not] lose thy favor? For in a certain wise the +praised dislike their praisers, if they praise too much. But I am ashamed +at alleging pitiable words, being troubled in myself, while thou art not +diseased with my ills. But in fact the good man has some reason, even +though he be unconnected with them, for assisting the unfortunate. But pity +us, for we have suffered pitiably; I, who, in the first place, thinking to +have thee for a kinsman, cherished a vain hope.--Moreover, my child, by +dying, might perchance become an omen to thy future bridals,[75] which thou +must needs avoid. But well didst thou speak both first and last, for, if +thou art willing, my child will be saved. Dost wish that she embrace thy +knee as a suppliant? Such conduct is not virgin-like, but if thou wilt, she +shall come, with her noble face suffused with modesty. Or shall I obtain +these things from thee, without her presence? + +ACH. Let her remain within doors, for with dignity she preserves her +dignity. + +CLY. Yet one must needs have modesty [only] as far as circumstances allow. + +ACH. Do thou neither bring forth thy daughter into my sight, lady, not let +us fall into reproach for inconsiderate conduct, for our assembled army, +being idle from home occupations, loves evil and slanderous talk. But at +all events you will accomplish the same, whether you come to me as a +suppliant, or do not supplicate, for a mighty contest awaits me, to release +you from these evils. Wherefore, having heard one thing, be persuaded that +I will not speak falsely. But if I speak falsely, and vainly amuse you, may +I perish; but may I not perish, if I preserve the virgin. + +CLY. Mayest thou be blest, ever assisting the unhappy. + +ACH. Hear me then, that the matter may be well. + +CLY. What is this thou sayest? for one must listen to thee. + +ACH. Let us again persuade her father to be wiser. + +CLY. He is a coward, and fears the army too much. + +ACH. But words can conquer words. + +CLY. Chilly is the hope, but tell me what I must do. + +ACH. Beseech him first not to slay his child, but if he oppose this, you +must come to me. For if he will be persuaded what you wish, there is no +occasion for my efforts, for this very [consent] contains her safety. And I +also shall appear in a better light with my friend, and the army will not +blame me, if I transact matters by discretion rather than force. And if +this turn out well, these things, even without my help, may turn out +satisfactorily to thy friends and thyself.[76] + +CLY. How wisely hast thou spoken! But what thou sayest must be done. But if +I do not obtain what I seek, where shall I again see thee? Where must I +wretched woman, coming, find thee an assistant in my troubles? + +ACH. We guards will watch thee when there is occasion, lest any one behold +thee going in agitation through the host of the Greeks. But do not shame +thy ancestral home, for Tyndarus is not worthy of an evil reputation, +seeing he is great among the Greeks. + +CLY. These things shall be. Command; it is meet that I obey thee. But if +there are Gods, you, being a just man, will receive a good reward; but if +not, why should one toil? + +CHOR. What was that nuptial song that raised[77] its strains on the Libyan +reed, and with the dance-loving lyre, and the reedy syrinx, when o'er +Pelion at the feast of the Gods the fair-haired muses, striking their feet +with golden sandals against the ground, came to the wedding of Peleus, +celebrating with melodious sounds Thetis, and the son of Æacus, on the +mountains of the Centaurs, through the Palian wood. + +But the Dardan,[78] [Phrygian Ganymede,] dear delight of Jove's bed, poured +out the nectar in the golden depths of the goblets, and along the white +sands the fifty daughters of Nereus, entwining in circles, adorned the +nuptials of Nereus with the dance. But with darts of fir, and crowns of +grass, the horse-mounted troop of the Centaurs came to the banquet of the +Gods and the cup of Bacchus. And the Thessalian girls shouted loud,[79] "O +daughter of Nereus," and the prophet Phœbus, and Chiron, skilled in +letters, declared, "Thou shalt bring forth a mighty light, who shall come +to the [Trojan] land with Myrmidons armed with spear and shield, to burn +the renowned city of Priam, around his body armed with a covering of golden +arms wrought by Vulcan, having them as a gift from his Goddess Thetis, who +begat him blessed." Then the deities celebrated the nuptials of the noble +daughter of Nereus first,[80] and of Peleus. But thee, [O Iphigenia,] they +will crown on the head with flowery garlands, like as a pure spotted heifer +from a rocky cave, making bloody the mortal throat [of one] not trained up +with the pipe, nor amidst the songs of herdsmen, but as a bride[81] +prepared by thy mother for some one of the Argives. Where has the face of +shame, or virtue any power to prevail? Since impiety indeed has influence, +but virtue is left behind and disregarded by mortals, and lawlessness +governs law, and it is a common struggle for mortals, lest any envy of the +Gods befall. + +CLY. I have come out of the house to seek for my husband, who has been +absent, and has quitted the house a long time. But my hapless daughter is +in tears, casting forth many a change of complaint, having heard the death +her father devises for her. But I was mindful of Agamemnon who is now +coming hither,[82] who will quickly be detected doing evil deeds against +his own children. + +AG. Daughter of Leda, opportunely have I found you without the house, that +I may tell thee, apart from the virgin, words which it is not meet for +those to hear who are about to marry. + +CLY. And what is it, on which your convenience lays hold? + +AG. Send forth thy daughter from the house with her father, since the +lustral waters are ready prepared, and the salt-cakes to scatter with the +hands upon the purifying flame, and heifers, which needs must be slain in +honor of the Goddess Diana before the marriage solemnities, a shedding of +black gore. + +CLY. In words, indeed, thou speakest well, but for thy deeds, I know not +how I may say thou speakest well. But come without, O daughter, for thou +knowest all that thy father meditates, and beneath thy robes bring the +child Orestes, thy brother. See, she is here present to obey thee. But the +rest I will speak on her behalf and mine. + +AG. Child, why weepest thou, and no longer beholdest me cheerfully, but +fixing thy face upon the ground, keepest thy vest before it? + +CLY. Alas! What commencement of my sorrows shall I take? For I may use them +all as first, [both last, and middle throughout.[83]] + +AG. But what is it? How all of you are come to one point with me, bearing +disturbed and alarmed countenances. + +CLY. Wilt thou answer candidly, husband, if I ask thee? + +AG. There needs no admonition: I would fain be questioned. + +CLY. Art thou going to slay thy child and mine? + +AG. Ah! wretched things dost thou say, and thinkest what thou shouldst not. + +CLY. Keep quiet, and first in turn answer me that. + +AG. But if thou askest likely things, thou wilt hear likely. + +CLY. I ask no other things, nor do thou answer me others. + +AG. O revered destiny, and fate, and fortune mine! + +CLY. Ay, and mine too, and this child's, one of three unfortunates! + +AG. But in what art thou wronged? + +CLY. Dost thou ask me this? This thy wit hath no wit.[84] + +AG. I am undone. My secret plans are betrayed. + +CLY. I know and have learned all that you are about to do to me, and the +very fact of thy silence, and of thy groaning much, is a proof that you +confess it. Do not take the trouble to say any thing. + +AG. Behold, I am silent: for what need is there that, falsely speaking, I +add shamelessness to misfortune? + +CLY. Listen, then, for I will unfold my story, and will no longer make use +of riddles away from the purpose. In the first place, that I may first +reproach thee with this--thou didst wed me unwilling, and obtain me by +force, having slain Tantalus, my former husband, and having dashed[85] my +infant living to the ground, having torn him by force from my breast. And +the twin sons of Jove, my brothers, glorying in their steeds, made war +[against thee] but my old father Tyndarus saved you, when you had become a +suppliant, and thou again didst possess me as a wife. When I, being +reconciled to thee in respect to thy person and home, thou wilt bear +witness how blameless a wife I was, both modest in respect to affection, +and enriching thy house, so that thou both going within and without thy +doors wast blessed. And 'tis a rare prize for a man to obtain such a wife, +but there is no lack of getting a bad spouse. And I bear thee this son, +besides three virgins, of one of whom thou art cruelly going to deprive me. +And if any one ask thee on what account thou wilt slay her, say, what will +you answer? or must I needs make your plea, "that Menelaus may obtain +Helen?" A pretty custom, forsooth, that children must pay the price of a +bad woman. We gain the most hateful things at the hand of those dearest. +Come, if thou wilt set out, leaving me at home, and then wilt be a long +time absent, what sort of feelings dost think I shall experience, when I +behold every seat empty of this child's presence, and every virgin chamber +empty, but myself sit in tears alone, ever mourning her [in such strains as +these:] "My child, thy father, who begat thee, hath destroyed thee, +himself, no other, the slayer, by no other hand, leaving such a reward for +[my care of] the house."[86] Since there wants but a little reason for me +and my remaining daughters to give thee such a reception as you deserve to +receive. Do not, by the Gods, either compel me to act evilly toward thee, +nor do thou thyself be so. Ah well! thou wilt sacrifice thy daughter--what +prayers wilt thou then utter? What good thing wilt thou crave for thyself, +slaying thy child? An evil return, seeing, forsooth, thou hast +disgracefully set out from home. But is it right that I should pray for +thee any good thing? Verily we must believe the Gods are senseless, if we +feel well disposed to murderers. But wilt thou, returning to Argos, embrace +thy children? But 'tis not lawful for thee. Will any of your children look +upon you, if thou offerest one of them for slaughter? Thus far have I +proceeded in my argument. What! does it only behoove thee to carry about +thy sceptre and marshal the army?--whose duty it were to speak a just +speech among the Greeks: "Do ye desire, O Greeks, to sail against the land +of the Phrygians? Cast lots, whose daughter needs must die"--for this would +be on equal terms, but not that you should give thy daughter to the Greeks +as a chosen victim. Or Menelaus, whose affair it was, ought to slay +Hermione for her mother's sake. But now I, having cherished thy married +life, shall be bereaved of my child, but she who has sinned, bearing her +daughter under her care to Sparta, will be blest. As to these things, +answer me if I say aught not rightly, but if I have spoken well, do not +then slay thy child and mine, and thou wilt be wise. + +CHOR. Be persuaded, Agamemnon, for 'tis right to join in saving one's +children. No one of mortals will gainsay this. + +IPH. If, O father, I possessed the eloquence of Orpheus, that I might charm +by persuasion, so that rocks should follow me, and that I might soften whom +I would by my words, to this would I have resorted. But now I will offer +tears as all my skill, for these I can. And, as a suppliant bough, I press +against thy knees my body, which this [my mother] bore thee, [beseeching] +that thou slay me not before my time, for sweet it is to behold the light, +nor do thou compel me to visit the places beneath the earth. And I +first[87] hailed thee sire, and thou [didst first call] me daughter, and +first drawing nigh to thy knees, I gave and in turn received sweet tokens +of affection. And such, were thy words: "My daughter, shall I some time +behold thee prospering in a husband's home, living and flourishing worthily +of me?" And mine in turn ran thus, as I hung about thy beard, which now +with my hand I embrace: "But how shall I [treat] thee? Shall I receive thee +when an old man, O father, with the hearty reception of my house, repaying +thee the careful nurture of my youth?" Of such words have remembrance, but +thou hast forgotten them, and fain wouldst slay me. Do not, [I beseech you] +by Pelops and by thy father Atreus, and this my mother, who having before +brought me forth with throes, now suffers this second throe. What have I to +do with the marriage of Paris and Helen? Whence came he, father, for my +destruction? Look upon me; give me one look, one kiss, that this memorial +of thee at least I, dying, may possess, if thou wilt not be persuaded by my +words. Brother, thou art but a little helpmate to those dear, yet weep with +me, beseech thy sire that thy sister die not. Even in babes there is wont +to be some sense of evil. Behold, O father, he silently implores thee. But +respect my prayer, and have pity on my years. Yea, by thy beard we, two +dear ones, implore thee; the one is yet a nursling, but the other grown up. +In one brief saying I will overcome all arguments. This light of heaven is +sweetest of things for men to behold, but that below is naught; and mad is +he who seeks to die. To live dishonorably is better than to die gloriously. + +CHOR. O wretched Helen, through thee and thy nuptials there is come a +contest for the Atrides and their children. + +AG. I can understand what merits pity, and what not; and I love my +children, for [otherwise] I were mad. And dreadful 'tis for me[88] to dare +these things, O woman, and dreadful not to do so--for so I must needs act. +Thou seest how great is this naval host, and how many are the chieftains of +brazen arms among the Greeks, to whom there is not a power of arriving at +the towers of Troy, unless I sacrifice you, as the seer Calchas says, nor +can we take the renowned plain of Troy. But a certain passion has maddened +the army of the Greeks, to sail as quickly as possible upon the land of the +barbarians, and to put a stop to the rapes of Grecian wives. And they will +slay my daughters at Argos, and you, and me, if I break through the +commands of the Goddess. It is not Menelaus who has enslaved me, O +daughter, nor have I followed his device, but Greece, for whom I, will or +nill, must needs offer thee. And I am inferior on this head. For it +behooves her, [Helen,] as far as thou, O daughter, art concerned, to be +free, nor for us, being Greeks, to be plundered perforce of our wives by +barbarians. + +CLY. O child! O ye stranger women! O wretched me for thy death! Thy father +flees from thee, giving thee up to Hades. + +IPH. Alas for me! mother, mother. The same song suits both of us on account +of our fortunes, and no more to me is the light, nor this bright beam of +the sun. Alas! alas! thou snow-smitten wood of Troy, and mountains of Ida, +where once on a time Priam exposed a tender infant, having separated him +from his mother, that he might meet with deadly fate, Paris, who was styled +Idæan, Idæan [Paris] in the city of the Phrygians. Would that the herdsman +Paris, who was nurtured in care of steers, had ne'er dwelt near the white +stream, where are the fountains of the Nymphs, and the meadow flourishing +with blooming flowers, and roseate flowers and hyacinths for Goddesses to +cull. Where once on a time came Pallas, and artful Venus, and Juno, and +Hermes, the messenger of Jove; Venus indeed, vaunting herself in charms, +and Pallas in the spear, and Juno in the royal nuptials of king Jove, +[these came] to a hateful judgment and strife concerning beauty; but my +death, my death, O virgins, bearing glory indeed to the Greeks, Diana hath +received as first-fruits [of the expedition] against Troy.[89] But he that +begot me wretched, O mother, O mother, has departed, leaving me deserted. O +hapless me! having †beheld† bitter, bitter, ill-omened Helen, I am slain, I +perish, by the impious slaughter of an impious sire. Would[90] for me that +Aulis had never received the poops of the brazen-beaked ships into these +ports, the fleet destined for Troy, nor that Jove had breathed an adverse +wind over Euripus, softening one breeze so that some mortals might rejoice +in their [expanded] sails, but to others a pain, to others difficulty, to +some to set sail, to others to furl their sails, but to others to tarry. In +truth the race of mortals is full of troubles, is full of troubles, and it +necessarily befalls men to find some misfortune. Alas! alas! thou daughter +of Tyndarus, who hast brought many sufferings, and many griefs upon the +Greeks. + +CHOR. I indeed pity you having met with an evil calamity, such as thou +never shouldst have met with. + +IPH. O mother, to whom I owe my birth, I behold a crowd of men near. + +CLY. Ay, the son of the Goddess, my child, for whom thou camest hither. + +IPH. Open the house, ye servants, that I may hide myself. + +CLY. But why dost thou fly hence, my child? + +IPH. I am ashamed to behold this Achilles. + +CLY. On what account? + +IPH. The unfortunate turn-out of my nuptials shames me. + +CLY. Thou art not in a state to give way to delicacy in the present +circumstances. But do thou remain, there is no use for punctilio, if we can +[but save your life.] + +ACH. O hapless lady, daughter of Leda. + +CLY. Thou sayest not falsely. + +ACH. Terrible things are cried out among the Greeks. + +CLY. What cry? tell me. + +ACH. Concerning thy child. + +CLY. Thou speakest a word of ill omen. + +ACH. That it is necessary to slay her. + +CLY. Does no one speak the contrary to this? + +ACH. Ay, I myself have got into trouble. + +CLY. Into what [trouble,] O friend? + +ACH. Of having my body stoned with stones. + +CLY. What, in trying to save my daughter! + +ACH. This very thing. + +CLY. And who would have dared to touch thy person? + +ACH. All the Greeks. + +CLY. And was not the host of the Myrmidons at hand for thee? + +ACH. That was the first that showed enmity. + +CLY. Then are we utterly undone, my daughter. + +ACH. For they railed at me as overcome by a betrothed-- + +CLY. And what didst thou reply? + +ACH. That they should not slay my intended bride. + +CLY. For so 'twas right. + +ACH. [She] whom her father had promised me. + +CLY. Ay, and had sent for from Argos. + +ACH. But I was worsted by the outcry. + +CLY. For the multitude is a terrible evil. + +ACH. But nevertheless I will aid thee. + +CLY. And wilt thou, being one, fight with many? + +ACH. Dost see these men bearing [my] arms? + +CLY. Mayest thou gain by thy good intentions. + +ACH. But I will gain. + +CLY. Then my child will not be slain? + +ACH. Not, at least, with my consent. + +CLY. And will any one come to lay hands on the girl? + +ACH. Ay, a host of them, but Ulysses will conduct her. + +CLY. Will it be the descendant of Sisyphus? + +ACH. The very man. + +CLY. Doing it of his own accord, or appointed by the army? + +ACH. Chosen willingly. + +CLY. A wicked choice forsooth, to commit slaughter! + +ACH. But I will restrain him. + +CLY. But will he lead her unwillingly, having seized her? + +ACH. Ay, by her auburn locks. + +CLY. But what must I then do? + +ACH. Keep hold of your daughter. + +CLY. As far as this goes she shall not be slain. + +ACH. But it will come to this at all events.[91] + +IPH. Mother, do thou hear my words, for I perceive that thou art vainly +wrathful with thy husband, but it is not easy for us to struggle with +things [almost] impossible. It is meet therefore to praise our friend for +his willingness, but it behooves thee also to see that you be not an object +of reproach to the army, and we profit nothing more, and he meet with +calamity. But hear me, mother, thinking upon what has entered my mind. I +have determined to die, and this I would fain do gloriously, I mean, by +dismissing all ignoble thoughts. Come hither, mother, consider with me how +well I speak. Greece, the greatest of cities, is now all looking upon me, +and there rests in me both the passage of the ships and the destruction of +Troy, and, for the women hereafter, if the barbarians do them aught of +harm, to allow them no longer to carry them off from prosperous Greece, +having avenged the destruction of Helen, whom Paris bore away.[92] All +these things I dying shall redeem, and my renown, for that I have freed +Greece, will be blessed. Moreover, it is not right that I should be too +fond of life; for thou hast brought me forth for the common good of Greece, +not for thyself only. But shall ten thousand men armed with bucklers, and +ten thousand, oars in hand, their country being injured, dare to do some +deed against the foes, and perish on behalf of Greece, while my life, being +but one, shall hinder all these things? What manner of justice is this? +Have we a word to answer? And let me come to this point: it is not meet +that this man should come to strife with all the Greeks for the sake of a +woman, nor lose his life. And one man, forsooth, is better than ten +thousand women, that he should behold the light. But if Diana hath wished +to receive my body, shall I, being mortal, become an opponent to the +Goddess! But it can not be. I give my body for Greece. Sacrifice it, and +sack Troy. For this for a long time will be my memorial, and this my +children, my wedding, and my glory. But it is meet that Greeks should rule +over barbarians, O mother, but not barbarians over Greeks, for the one is +slavish, but the others are free. + +CHOR. Thy part, indeed, O virgin, is glorious; but the work of fortune and +of the Gods sickens. + +ACH. Daughter of Agamemnon, some one of the Gods destined me to happiness, +if I obtained thee as a wife, and I envy Greece on thy account, and thee on +account of Greece. For well hast thou spoken this, and worthily of the +country, for, ceasing to strive with the deity, who is more powerful than +thou art, thou hast considered what is good and useful. But still more does +a desire of thy union enter my mind, when I look to thy nature, for thou +art noble. But consider, for I wish to benefit you, and to receive you to +my home, and, Thetis be my witness, I am grieved if I shall not save you, +coming to conflict with the Greeks. Consider: death is a terrible ill. + +IPH. I speak these words, no others, with due foresight. Enough is the +daughter of Tyndarus to have caused contests and slaughter of men through +her person: but do not thou, O stranger, die in my behalf, nor slay any +one. But let me preserve Greece, if I am able. + +ACH. O best of spirits, I have naught further to answer thee, since it +seems thus to thee, for thou hast noble thoughts; for wherefore should not +one tell the truth? But nevertheless thou mayest perchance repent these +things. In order, therefore, that thou mayest all that lies in my power, I +will go and place these my arms near the altar, as I will not allow you to +die, but hinder it. And thou too wilt perhaps be of my opinion, when thou +seest the sword nigh to thy neck. I will not allow thee to die through thy +wild determination, but going with these mine arms to the temple of the +Goddess, I will await thy presence there. + +IPH. Mother, why dost thou silently bedew thine eyes with tears? + +CLY. I wretched have a reason, so as to be pained at heart. + +IPH. Cease; do not daunt me, but obey me in this. + +CLY. Speak, for thou shalt not be wronged at my hands, my child. + +IPH. Neither then do thou cut off the locks of thine hair, [nor put on +black garments around thy body.] + +CLY. Wherefore sayest thou this, my child? Having lost thee-- + +IPH. Not you indeed--I am saved, and thou wilt be glorious as far as I am +concerned. + +CLY. How sayest thou? Must I not bemoan thy life? + +IPH. Not in the least, since no tomb will be upraised for me. + +CLY. Why, what then is death? Is not a tomb customary?[93] + +IPH. The altar of the Goddess, daughter of Jove, will be my memorial. + +CLY. But, O child, I will obey thee, for thou speakest well. + +IPH. Ay, as prospering like the benefactress of Greece. + +CLY. What then shall I tell thy sisters? + +IPH. Neither do thou clothe them in black garments. + +CLY. But shall I speak any kind message from thee to the virgins? + +IPH. Ay, [bid them] fare well, and do thou, for my sake, train up this +[boy] Orestes to be a man. + +CLY. Embrace him, beholding him for the last time. + +IPH. O dearest one, thou hast assisted thy friends to the utmost in thy +power. + +CLY. Can I, by doing any thing in Argos, do thee a pleasure? + +IPH. Hate not my father, yes, thy husband. + +CLY. He needs shall go through terrible trials on thy account. + +IPH. Unwillingly he hath undone me on behalf of the land of Greece. + +CLY. But ungenerously, by craft, and not in a manner worthy of Atreus. + +IPH. Who will come and lead me, before I am torn away by the hair?[94] + +CLY. I will go with thee. + +IPH. Not you indeed, thou sayest not well. + +CLY. Ay [but I will,] clinging to thy garments. + +IPH. Be persuaded by me, mother. Remain, for this is more fitting both for +me and thee. But let some one of these my father's followers conduct me to +the meadow of Diana, where I may be sacrificed. + +CLY. O child, thou art going. + +IPH. Ay, and I shall ne'er return. + +CLY. Leaving thy mother-- + +IPH. As thou seest, though, not worthily. + +CLY. Hold! Do not leave me. + +IPH. I do not suffer thee to shed tears. But, ye maidens, raise aloft the +pæan for my sad hap, [celebrate] Diana, the daughter of Jove,[95] and let +the joyful strain go forth to the Greeks. And let some one make ready the +baskets, and let flame burn with the purifying cakes, and let my father +serve the altar with his right hand, seeing I am going to bestow upon the +Greeks safety that produces victory.[96] + +Conduct me, the conqueror of the cities of Troy and of the Phrygians. +Surround[97] me with crowns, bring them hither. Here is my hair to crown. +And [bear hither] the lustral fountains.[98] Encircle [with dances] around +the temple and the altar, Diana, queen Diana, the blessed, since by my +blood and offering I will wash out her oracles, if it needs must be so. O +revered, revered mother, thus † indeed † will we [now] afford thee our +tears, for it is not fitting during the sacred rites. O damsels, join in +singing Diana, who dwells opposite Chalcis, where the warlike ships have +been eager [to set out,] being detained in the narrow harbors of Aulis here +through my name.[99] Alas! O my mother-land of Pelasgia, and my Mycenian +handmaids. + +CHOR. Dost thou call upon the city of Perseus, the work of the Cyclopean +hands? + +IPH. Thou hast nurtured me for a glory to Greece, and I will not refuse to +die. + +CHOR. For renown will not fail thee. + +IPH. Alas! alas! lamp-bearing day, and thou too, beam of Jove, another, +another life and state shall we dwell in. Farewell for me, beloved light! + +CHOR. Alas! alas! Behold[100] the destroyer of the cities of Troy and of +the Phrygians, wending her way, decked as to her head with garlands and +with lustral streams, to the altar of the sanguinary Goddess, about to +stream with drops of gore, being stricken on her fair neck. Fair dewy +streams, and lustral waters from ancestral sources[101] await thee, and the +host of the Greeks eager to reach Troy. But let us celebrate Diana, the +daughter of Jove, queen of the Gods, as upon a prosperous occasion. O +hallowed one, that rejoicest in human sacrifices, send the army of the +Greeks into the land of the Phrygians, and the territory of deceitful Troy, +and grant that by Grecian spears Agamemnon may place a most glorious crown +upon his head, a glory ever to be remembered. + +[_Enter a_ MESSENGER.[102]] + +MESS. O daughter of Tyndarus, Clytæmnestra, come without the house, that +thou mayest hear my words. + +CLY. Hearing thy voice, I wretched came hither, terrified and astounded +with fear, lest thou shouldst be come, bearing some new calamity to me in +addition to the present one. + +MESS. Concerning thy daughter, then, I wish to tell thee marvelous and +fearful things. + +CLY. Then delay not, but speak as quickly as possible. + +MESS. But, my dear mistress, thou shalt learn every thing clearly, and I +will speak from the very commencement, unless my memory, in something +failing, deceive my tongue. For when we came to the inclosure and flowery +meads of Diana, the daughter of Jove, where there was an assembly of the +army of the Greeks, leading thy daughter, the host of the Greeks was +straightway convened. But when king Agamemnon beheld the girl wending her +way to the grove for slaughter, he groaned aloud, and turning back his +head, he shed tears, placing his garments[103] before his eyes. But she, +standing near him that begot her, spake thus: "O father, I am here for +thee, and I willing give my body on behalf of my country, and of the whole +land of Greece, that, leading it to the altar of the Goddess, they may +sacrifice it, since this is ordained. And, as far as I am concerned, may ye +be fortunate, and obtain the gift of victory, and reach your native land. +Furthermore, let no one of the Greeks lay hands on me, for with a stout +heart I will present my neck in silence." Thus much she spoke, and every +one marveled on hearing the courage and valor of the virgin. But +Talthybius, whose office this was, standing in the midst, proclaimed +good-omened silence to the people. And the seer Calchas placed in a golden +canister a sharp knife,[104] which he had drawn out,† within its case,† and +crowned the head of the girl. But the son of Peleus ran around the altar of +the Goddess, taking the canister and lustral waters at the same time. And +he said: "O Diana, beast-slaying daughter of Jove, that revolvest thy +brilliant light by night, receive this offering which we bestow on thee, +[we] the army of the Greeks, and king Agamemnon, the pure blood from a fair +virgin's neck; and grant that the sail may be without injury to our ships, +and that we may take the towers of Troy by the spear." But the Atrides and +all the army stood looking on the ground, and the priest, taking the knife, +prayed, and viewed her neck, that he might find a place to strike. And no +little pity entered my mind, and I stood with eyes cast down, but suddenly +there was a marvel to behold. For every one could clearly perceive the +sound of the blow, but beheld not the virgin, where on earth she had +vanished. But the priest exclaimed, and the whole army shouted, beholding +an unexpected prodigy from some one of the Gods, of which, though seen, +they had scarcely belief. For a stag lay panting on the ground, of mighty +size to see and beautiful in appearance, with whose blood the altar of the +Goddess was abundantly wetted. And upon this Calchas (think with what joy!) +thus spake: "O leaders of this common host of the Greeks, behold this +victim which the Goddess hath brought to her altar, a mountain-roaming +stag. This she prefers greatly to the virgin, lest her altar should be +denied with generous blood. And she hath willingly received this, and +grants us a prosperous sail, and attack upon Troy. Upon this do every +sailor take good courage, and go to his ships, since on this day it +behooves us, quitting the hollow recesses of Aulis, to pass over the Ægean +wave." But when the whole victim was reduced to ashes, he prayed what was +meet, that the army might obtain a passage. And Agamemnon sends me to tell +thee this, and to say what a fortune he hath met with from the Gods, and +hath obtained unwaning glory through Greece. But I speak, having been +present, and witnessing the matter. Thy child has evidently flown to the +Gods; away then with grief, and cease wrath against your husband. But the +will of the Gods is unforeseen by mortals, and them they love, they save. +For this day hath beheld thy daughter dying and living [in turn.] + +CHOR. How delighted am I at hearing this from the messenger; but he says +that thy daughter living abides among the Gods. + +CLY. O daughter, of whom of the Gods art thou the theft? How shall I +address thee? What shall I say that these words do not offer me a vain +comfort, that I may cease from my mournful grief on thy account? + +CHOR. And truly king Agamemnon draws hither, having this same story to tell +thee. + +[_Enter_ AGAMEMNON.] + +AG. Lady, as far as thy daughter is concerned, we may be happy, for she +really possesses a companionship with the Gods. But it behooves thee, +taking this young child [Orestes,] to go home, for the army is looking +toward setting sail. And fare thee well, long hence will be my addresses to +thee from Troy, and may it be well with thee. + +CHOR. Atrides, rejoicing go thou to the land of the Phrygians, and +rejoicing return, having obtained for me most glorious spoils from Troy. + + * * * * * + +NOTES ON IPHIGENIA IN AULIS + + * * * * + +[1] From the answer of the old man, Porson's conjecture, σπευδε, seems very +probable. + +[2] See Hermann's note. The passage has been thus rendered by Ennius: + + AG. "Quid nocti" videtur in altisono + Cœli clupeo? + SEN. Temo superat stellas, cogens + Sublime etiam atque etiam noctis + Itiner. + +See Scaliger on Varr. de L.L. vi. p.143, and on Festus s.v. Septemtriones. +All the editors have overlooked the following passage of Apuleius de Deo +Socr. p. 42, ed. Elm. "Suspicientes in hoc perfectissimo mundi, ut ait +Ennius, clypeo," whence, as I have already observed in my notes on the +passage, there is little doubt that Ennius wrote "in altisono mundi +clypeo," of which _cœli_ was a gloss, naturally introduced by those who +were ignorant of the use of _mundus_ in the same sense. The same error has +taken place in some of the MSS. of Virg. Georg. i. 5, 6. Compare the +commentators on Pompon. Mela. i. 1, ed. Gronov. + +[3] Such seems the force of επι πασιν αγαθοις. The Cambridge editor aptly +compares Hipp. 461. χρην σ' επι ‛ρητοις αρα Πατερα φυτευειν. + +[4] The συννυμφοκομος was probably a kind of gentleman usher, but we have +no correlative either to the custom or the word. + +[5] Hermann rightly regards this as a hendiadys. + +[6] δρομωι for μορωι is Markland's, and, doubtless, the correct, reading. +μονος is merely a correction of the Aldine edition. + +[7] But read τας--δελτους with the Cambridge editor, = "in relation to my +former dispatches." + +[8] ταν should probably be erased before κολπωδη, with the Cambridge +editor. He remarks, "the sea-port, although separated from the island by +the narrow strait of Euripus, is styled its _wing_." On the metrical +difficulties and corruptions throughout this chorus, I must refer the +reader to the same critic. + +[9] But λεκτρον, _uxorem_, is better, with ed. Camb. + +[10] It is impossible to get a satisfactory sense as these lines now stand. +I have translated εξορμα. There seems to be a lacuna. The following are the +readings of the Camb. ed. εν γαρ π. αντησηις, παλιν εξ. ς. χαλινους, επι +κυκλωπων νιν ‛ιεις θυμ. + +[11] But αγχιαλον is better, with ed. Camb. from the Homeric χαλκιδα τ' +αγχιαλον. He remarks that this word, in tragedy, is always the epithet of a +place. + +[12] i.e. to exact satisfaction for her abduction. + +[13] i.e. the tents containing the armed soldiers. + +[14] ‛ηδομενους refers both to Πρωτεσιλαον and Παλαμηδεα, divided by the +schema Alcmanicum. See Markland. + +[15] Cf. Homer, Il. Β. 763 sqq. + +[16] Cf. Monk on Hippol. 1229. I have translated συριγγας according to the +figure of a part for the whole. The whole of the remainder of this chorus +has been condemned as spurious by the Cambridge editor. See his remarks, p. +219 sqq. + +[17] Can θετον refer to αγαλμα understood? + +[18] This part of the chorus is hopeless, as it is evidently imperfect. See +Herm. + +[19] The Cambridge editor would assign this line to Menelaus. + +[20] I read ευ κεκομψευσαι, with Ruhnken. The Cambridge editor also reads +πονηρα, which is better suited to the style of Euripides. + +[21] The same scholar has anticipated my conjecture, σαφης for σαφες. + +[22] Compare the similar conduct of Pausanias in Thucyd. i. 130, Dejoces in +Herodot. i., with Livy, iii. 36, and Apul. de Deo Socr. p. 44, ed. Elm. + +[23] I read το Πριαμου with Elmsley. See the Camb. ed. + +[24] With the Cambridge editor I have restored the old reading εχοντες. + +[25] But see ed. Camb. + +[26] αυ is a better reading. See Markland and ed. Camb. + +[27] There is little hope of this passage, unless we adopt the readings of +the Cambridge editor, ‛ους λαβων στρατευμ'. ‛ετοιμοι δ' εισι. The next line +was lost, but has been restored from Theophilus ad Autol. p. 258, and Stob. +xxviii. p. 128, Grot. + +[28] Cf. Soph. Antig. 523. ουτοι συνεχθειν, αλλα συμφιλειν εφυν. + +[29] Dindorf condemns the whole of this speech of the messenger, as well as +the two following lines. Few will perhaps be disposed to follow him, +although the awkwardness of the passage may be admitted. Hermann considers +that the hasty entrance of the messenger is signified by his commencing +with half a line. + +[30] There seems an intended allusion to the double sense of προτελεια, +both as a marriage and sacrificial rite. See the Cambridge editor, and my +note on Æsch. Agam. p. 102, n. 2, ed. Bohn. + +[31] "Auspicare canistra, id quod proximum est." MUSGR. + +[32] I think this is the meaning implied by νυμφευσουσα, as in vs. 885. +‛ιν' αγαγοις χαιρουσ' Αχιλλει παιδα νυμφευσουσα σην. Alcest. 317. ου γαρ σε +μητηρ ουτε νυμφευσει ποτε. The word seems to refer to the whole business of +a mamma on this important occasion. + +[33] The Cambridge editor on vs. 439, p. 109, well observes, "the actual +arrival of Iphigenia having convinced Menelaus that her sacrifice could not +any longer be avoided, he bethinks him of removing from his brother's mind +the impression produced by their recent altercation; and knowing his open +and unsuspicious temper, he feels that he may safely adopt a false +position, and deprecate that of which he was at the same time most +earnestly desirous." + +[34] So Markland, but Hermann and the Cambridge editor prefer the old +reading μετεστι σοι. + +[35] This and the two following lines are condemned by Dindorf. + +[36] Bœckh, Dindorf, and the Cambridge editor rightly explode these three +lines, which are not even correct Greek. + +[37] λησομεν, _latebo faciens_. + +[38] παρα for παρον, ed. Camb. + +[39] i.e. by the gift of Venus. For the sense, compare Hippol. 443. + +[40] Read διαφοροι δε τροποι with Monk, and ορθως with Musgrave. + +[41] But παιδευομενων is better, with ed. Camb. + +[42] I have partly followed Markland, partly Matthiæ, in rendering this +awkward passage. But there is much awkwardness of expression, and the notes +of the Cambridge editor well deserve the attention of the student. +εξαλλασσουσαν χαριν seems to refer to μετρια χαρις in vs. 555, and probably +signifies that the grace of a reasonable affection leads to the equal grace +of a clear perception, the mind being unblinded by vehement impulses of +passion. + +[43] i.e. quiet, domestic. + +[44] ενων is only Markland's conjecture. The whole passage is desperate. + +[45] I read μυριοπληθη with ed. Camb. The pronoun ‛ο I can not make out, +but by supplying an impossible ellipse. + +[46] The Cambridge editor rightly reads ιου, ιου, as an exclamation of +pleasure, not of pain, is required. + +[47] Dindorf condemns this whole paragraph. + +[48] The Cambridge editor thinks these two lines a childish interpolation. +They certainly are childish enough, but the same objection applies to the +whole passage. + +[49] But read ‛οι δ' with Dobree. The grooms are meant. + +[50] Porson condemns these four lines, which are utterly destitute of sense +or connection. + +[51] These "precious" lines are even worse than the preceding, and rightly +condemned by all. + +[52] See Elmsl. on Soph. Œd. C. 273. The student must carefully observe the +hidden train of thought pervading Agamemnon's replies. + +[53] τα Μενελεω κακα must mean the ills resulting from Menelaus, the +mischiefs and toils to which his wife led, as in Soph. Antig. 2. των απ +Οιδιπου κακων, "the ills brought about by the misfortunes or the curse of +Œdipus." But I should almost prefer reading λεχη for κακα, which would +naturally refer to Helen. + +[54] This line is metrically corrupt, but its emendation is very uncertain. + +[55] I have endeavored to convey the play upon the words as closely as I +could. Elmsley well suggests that the proper reading is ‛εστηξεις in vs. +675. + +[56] οφθηναι κοραις, "non, ut hic, a viris et exercitu." BRODÆUS. + +[57] Porson on Orest. 1090, remarks on that ‛ο κυριος was the term applied +to the father or guardian of the bride. We might therefore render, "Jove +gave her away," etc. + +[58] If this be the correct reading, we must take καλως ironically. But I +think with Dindorf, that κακως, αναγκαιως δε. + +[59] This verse is condemned by the Cambridge editor. + +[60] Barnes rightly remarked that ηιξα is the aorist of αισσω, _conor_, +_aggredior_. + +[61] These three lines are expunged by the Cambridge editor. + +[62] I have expressed the sense of η μη τρεφειν (= μη εχειν γυναικα), +rather than the literal meaning of the words. + +[63] I must inform the reader that the latter portion of this chorus is +extremely unsatisfactory in its present state. The Cambridge editor, who +has well discussed its difficulties, thinks that Περγαμον is wrong, and +that ερυμα should be introduced from vs. 792, where it appears to be quite +useless. + +[64] I have ventured to read δακρυοεν τανυσας with MSS. Pariss., omitting +ερυμα with the Cambridge editor, by which the difficulty is removed. The +same scholar remarks that δακρυοεν is used adverbially. + +[65] There is obviously a defect in the structure, but I am scarcely +pleased with the attempts made to supply it. + +[66] Read και παιδας with Musgrave. + +[67] But see ed. Camb. + +[68] But see ed. Camb. + +[69] But the Cambridge editor admirably amends, εις μελλοντα σωσει χρονον, +i.e. "it will be a long time before it preserves them," a hit at the +self-importance of the old gentleman. + +[70] I have little hesitation in reading πελας μοι with Markland, in place +of γελαι μοι. + +[71] There is much difficulty in this passage, and Markland appears to give +it up in despair. Matthiæ simply takes the first part as equivalent to +‛υψηλοφρον εστι, referring μετριως to both verbs. The Cambridge editor +takes διαζην as an infinitive disjoined from the construction. Vss. 922 sq. +are indebted to Mr. G. Burges for their present situation, having before +been assigned to the chorus. + +[72] I have closely followed the Cambridge editor. + +[73] See the notes of the same scholar. + +[74] Dindorf has rightly received Porson's successful emendation. See +Tracts, p. 224, and the Cambridge editor. + +[75] Read σοις τε μελλουσιν with Markland. + +[76] The Cambridge editor would omit vs. 1022. There is certainly a strange +redundancy of meaning. + +[77] Read εστασεν with Mark. Dind. + +[78] So called, either because he was carried off by Jove while hunting in +the promontory of Dardanus, or from his Trojan descent. + +[79] I have adopted Tyrwhitt's view, considering the words inclosed in +inverted commas as the actual words of the epithalamium. See Musgr. and ed. +Camb. Hermann is strangely out of his reckoning. + +[80] Read, however, Νηρηιδων with Heath, "first of the Nereids." + +[81] The Cambridge editor would read νυμφοκομοι, Reiske νυμφοκομον. There +is much difficulty in the whole of this last part of the chorus. + +[82] Such is Hermann's explanation, but βεβηκοτος can not bear the sense. +The Cambridge editor suspects that these five lines are a forgery. + +[83] The Cambridge editor rightly, I think, condemns this line as the +addition of some one "who thought that something more was wanting to +comprise all the complaints of the speaker." I do not think the sense or +construction is benefited by their existence. + +[84] "Verum astus hic astu vacat." ERASMUS. + +[85] Dindorf has apparently done wrong in admitting προσουδισας, but I have +some doubt about every other reading yet proposed. + +[86] See Camb. ed., who suspects interpolation. + +[87] Cf. Lucret. i. 94. "Nec miseræ prodesse in tali tempore quibat, Quod +patrio princeps donarat nomine regum." Æsch. Ag. 242 sqq. + +[88] The Cambridge editor clearly shows that μοι is the true reading, as in +vs. 54, το πραγμα δ' απορως ειχε Τυνδαρεωι πατρι, and 370. + +[89] There is much doubt about the reading of this part of the chorus. See +Dind. and ed. Camb. + +[90] I have partly followed Abresch in translating these lines, but I do +not advise the reader to rest satisfied with my translation. A reference to +the notes of the elegant scholar, to whom we owe the Cambridge edition of +this play, will, I trust, show that I have done as much as can well be done +with such corrupted lines. + +[91] Achilles is supposed to lay his hand on his sword. See however ed. +Camb. + +[92] Obviously a spurious line. + +[93] I have punctuated with ed. Camb. + +[94] See ed. Camb. + +[95] ευφημησατε here governs two distinct accusatives. + +[96] The Cambridge editor here takes notice of Aristotle's charge of +inconsistency, ‛οτι ουδεν εοικεν ‛η ‛ικετευουσα [Iphigenia] τηι ‛υστεραι. +He well remarks, that Iphigenia at first naturally gives way before the +suddenness of the announcement of her fate, but that when she collects her +feelings, her natural nobleness prevails. + +[97] Cf. Lucret. i. 88. "Cui simul _infula_ virgineos _circumdata_ comtus, +Ex utraque pari malarum parte profusa est." + +[98] Read παγας with Reiske, Dind. ed. Camb. There is much corruption and +awkwardness in the following verses of this ode. + +[99] On the sense of μεμονε see ed. Camb., who would exclude δι' εμον +ονομα. + +[100] Cf. Soph. Ant. 806 sqq. The whole of this passage has been admirably +illustrated by the Cambridge editor. + +[101] There is much awkwardness about this epithet πατρωιαι. One would +expect a clearer reference to Agamemnon. I scarcely can suppose it correct, +although I do not quite see my way in the Cambridge editor's readings. + +[102] Porson, Præf. ad Hec. p. xxi., and the Cambridge editor (p. 228 sqq.) +have concurred in fully condemning the whole of this last scene. It is +certain that in the time of Ælian something different must have been in +existence, and equally certain that the whole abounds in repetitions and +inconsistencies, that seem to point either to spuriousness, or, at least, +to the existence of interpolations of a serious character. In this latter +opinion Matthiæ and Dindorf agree. + +[103] An allusion to the celebrated picture of Timanthes. See Barnes. + +[104] I have done my best with this passage, following Matthiæ's +explanation, which, however, I do not perfectly understand. If vs. 1567 +were away, we should be less at a loss, but the same may be said of the +whole scene. + + * * * * * * + +IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. + + * * * * + +PERSONS REPRESENTED. + + IPHIGENIA. + ORESTES. + PYLADES. + HERDSMAN. + THOAS. + MESSENGER. + MINERVA. + CHORUS OF GRECIAN CAPTIVE WOMEN. + + * * * * * + +THE ARGUMENT. + + * * * * + +Orestes, coming into Tauri in Scythia, in company with Pylades, had been +commanded to bear away the image of Diana, after which he was to meet with +a respite from the avenging Erinnyes of his mother. His sister Iphigenia, +who had been carried away by Diana from Aulis, when on the point of being +sacrificed by her father, chances to be expiating a dream that led her to +suppose Orestes dead, when a herdsman announces to her the arrival and +detection of two strangers, whom she is bound by her office to sacrifice to +Diana. On meeting, a mutual discovery takes place, and they plot their +escape. Iphigenia imposes on the superstitious fears of Thoas, and, +removing them to the sea-coast, they are on the point of making their +escape together, when they are surprised, and subsequently detained and +driven back by stress of weather. Thoas is about to pursue them, when +Minerva appears, and restrains him from doing so, at the same time +procuring liberty of return for the Grecian captives who form the chorus. + + * * * * * + +IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. + + * * * * + +IPHIGENIA. + +Pelops,[1] the son of Tantalus, setting out to Pisa with his swift steeds, +weds the daughter of Œnomaus, from whom sprang Atreus; and from Atreus his +sons, Menelaus and Agamemnon, from which [latter] I was born, Iphigenia, +child of [Clytæmnestra,] daughter of Tyndarus, whom my father, as he +imagined, sacrificed to Diana on account of Helen, near the eddies, which +Euripus continually whirls to and fro, upturning the dark blue sea with +frequent blasts, in the famed[2] recesses of Aulis. For here indeed king +Agamemnon drew together a Grecian armament of a thousand ships, desiring +that the Greeks might take the glorious prize of victory over Troy,[3] and +avenge the outraged nuptials of Helen, for the gratification of Menelaus. +But, there being great difficulty of sailing,[4] and meeting with no winds, +he came to [the consideration of] the omens of burnt sacrifices, and +Calchas speaks thus. O thou who rulest over this Grecian expedition, +Agamemnon, thou wilt not lead forth thy ships from the ports of this land, +before Diana shall receive thy daughter Iphigenia as a victim; for thou +didst vow to sacrifice to the light-bearing Goddess whatsoever the year +should bring forth most beautiful. Now your wife Clytæmnestra has brought +forth a daughter in your house, referring to me the title of the most +beautiful, whom thou must needs sacrifice. And so, by the arts of +Ulysses,[5] they drew me from my mother under pretense of being wedded to +Achilles. But I wretched coming to Aulis, being seized and raised aloft +above[6] the pyre, would have been slain by the sword; but Diana, giving to +the Greeks a stag in my stead, stole me away, and, sending me through the +clear ether,[7] she settled me in this land of the Tauri, where barbarian +Thoas rules[8] the land, o'er barbarians, [Thoas,] who guiding his foot +swift as the pinion, has arrived at this epithet [of Thoas, i.e. _the +swift_] on account of his fleetness of foot. And she places me in this +house as priestess, since which time the Goddess Diana is wont to be +pleased with such rites as these,[9] the name of which alone is fair. But, +for the rest, I am silent, fearing the Goddess. For I sacrifice even as +before was the custom in the city, whatever Grecian man comes to this land. +I crop the hair, indeed, but the slaying that may not be told is the care +of others within these shrines.[10] But the new visions which the [past] +night hath brought with it, I will tell to the sky,[11] if indeed this be +any remedy. I seemed in my sleep, removed from this land, to be dwelling in +Argos, and to slumber in my virgin chamber, but the surface of the earth +[appeared] to be shaken with a movement, and I fled, and standing without +beheld the coping[12] of the house giving way, and all the roof falling +stricken to the ground from the high supports. And one pillar alone, as it +seemed to me, was left of my ancestral house, and from its capital it +seemed to stream down yellow locks, and to receive a human voice, and I, +cherishing this man-slaying office which I hold, weeping [began] to +besprinkle it, as though about to be slain. But I thus interpret my dream. +Orestes is dead, whose rites I was beginning. For male children are the +pillars of the house, and those whom my lustral waters[13] sprinkle die. +Nor yet can I connect the dream with my friends, for Strophius had no son, +when I was to have died. Now, therefore, I being present, will to my absent +brother offer the rites of the dead--for this I can do--in company with the +attendants whom the king gave to me, Grecian women. But from some cause +they are not yet present. I will go[14] within the home wherein I dwell, +these shrines of the Goddess. + +ORESTES. Look out! Watch, lest there be any mortal in the way. + +PYLADES. I am looking out, and keeping watch, turning my eyes every where. + +OR. Pylades, does it seem to you that this is the temple of the Goddess, +whither we have directed our ship through the seas from Argos?[15] + +PYL. It does, Orestes, and must seem the same to thee. + +OR. And the altar where Grecian blood is shed? + +PYL. At least it has its pinnacles tawny with blood. + +OR. And under the pinnacles themselves do you behold the spoils? + +PYL. The spoils, forsooth, of slain strangers. + +OR. But it behooves one, turning one's eye around, to keep a careful watch. +O Phœbus, wherefore hast thou again led me into this snare by your +prophecies, when I had avenged the blood of my father by slaying my mother? +But by successive[16] attacks of the Furies was I driven an exile, an +outcast from the land, and fulfilled many diverse bending courses. But +coming [to thy oracle] I required of thee how I might arrive at an end of +the madness that drove me on, and of my toils [which I had labored through, +wandering over Greece.[17]] But thou didst answer that I must come to the +confines of the Tauric territory, where thy sister Diana possesses altars, +and must take the image of the Goddess, which they here say fell from +heaven[18] into these shrines; and that taking it either by stratagem or by +some stroke of fortune, having gone through the risk, I should give it to +the land of the Athenians--but no further directions were given--and that +having done this, I should have a respite from my toils.[19] But I am come +hither, persuaded by thy words, to an unknown and inhospitable land. I ask +you, then, Pylades, for you are a sharer with me in this toil, what shall +we do? For thou beholdest the lofty battlements of the walls. Shall we +proceed to the scaling of the walls? How then should we escape notice[20] +[if we did so?] Or shall we open the brass-wrought fastenings of the bolts? +of which things we know nothing.[21] But if we are caught opening the gates +and contriving an entrance, we shall die. But before we die, let us flee to +the temple, whither we lately sailed. + +PYL. To fly is unendurable, nor are we accustomed [to do so,] and we must +not make light of the oracle of the God. But quitting the temple, let us +hide our bodies in the caves, which the dark sea splashes with its waters, +far away from the city, lest any one beholding the bark, inform the rulers, +and we be straightway seized by force. But when the eye of dim night shall +come, we must venture, bring all devices to bear, to seize the sculptured +image from the temple. But observe the eaves [of the roof,[22]] where there +is an empty space between the triglyphs in which you may let yourself down. +For good men dare encounter toils, but the cowardly are of no account any +where. We have not indeed come a long distance with our oars, so as to +return again from the goal.[23] + +OR. But one must follow your advice, for you speak well. We must go +whithersoever in this land we can conceal our bodies, and lie hid. For the +[will] of the God will not be the cause of his oracle falling useless. We +must venture; for no toil has an excuse for young men.[24] + +[ORESTES _and_ PYLADES _retire aside_.] + +CHORUS. Keep silence,[25] O ye that inhabit the twain rocks of the Euxine +that face each other. O Dictynna, mountain daughter of Latona, to thy +court, the gold-decked pinnacles of temples with fine columns, I, servant +to the hallowed guardian of the key, conduct my pious virgin foot, changing +[for my present habitation] the towers and walls of Greece with its noble +steeds, and Europe with its fields abounding in trees, the dwelling of my +ancestral home. I am come. What new matter? What anxious care hast thou? +Wherefore hast thou led me, led me to the shrines, O daughter of him who +came to the walls of Troy with the glorious fleet, with thousand sail, ten +thousand spears of the renowned Atrides?[26] + +IPHIGENIA. O attendants mine,[27] in what moans of bitter lamentation do I +dwell, in the songs of a songless strain unfit for the lyre, alas! alas! in +funereal griefs for the ills which befall me, bemoaning my brother, what a +vision have I seen in the night whose darkness has passed away![28] I am +undone, undone. No more is my father's house, ah me! no more is our race. +Alas! alas! for the toils in Argos! Alas! thou deity, who hast now robbed +me of my only brother, sending him to Hades, to whom I am about to pour +forth on the earth's surface these libations and this bowl for the +departed, and streams from the mountain heifer, and the wine draughts of +Bacchus, and the work of the swarthy bees,[29] which are the wonted +peace-offerings to the departed. O germ of Agamemnon beneath the earth, to +thee as dead do I send these offerings. And do thou receive them, for not +before [thine own] tomb do I offer my auburn locks,[30] my tears. For far +away am I journeyed from thy country and mine, where, as opinion goes, I +wretched lie slaughtered. + +CHOR. A respondent strain and an Asiatic hymn of barbarian wailing will I +peal forth to thee, my mistress, the song of mourning which, delighting the +dead, Hades hymns in measure apart from Pæans.[31] Alas! the light of the +sceptre in the Atrides' house is faded away. Alas! alas for my ancestral +home! And what government of prosperous kings will there be in Argos?[32] +* * * * And labor upon labor comes on * * * * [33] with his winged mares +driven around. But the sun, changing from its proper place, [laid aside] +its eye of light.[34] And upon other houses woe has come, because of the +golden lamb, murder upon murder, and pang upon pang, whence the avenging +Fury[35] of those sons slain of old comes upon the houses of the sons of +Tantalus, and some deity hastens unkindly things against thee. + +IPH. From the beginning the demon of my mother's zone[36] was hostile to +me, and from that night in which the Fates hastened the pangs of +childbirth[37] * * * * whom, the first-born germ the wretched daughter of +Leda, (Clytæmnestra,) wooed from among the Greeks brought forth, and +trained up as a victim to a father's sin, a joyless sacrifice, a votive +offering. But in a horse-chariot they brought[38] me to the sands of Aulis, +a bride, alas! unhappy bride to the son of Nereus' daughter, alas! And now +a stranger I dwell in an unpleasant home on the inhospitable sea, unwedded, +childless, without city, without a friend, not chanting Juno in Argos, nor +in the sweetly humming loom adorning with the shuttle the image of Athenian +Pallas[39] and of the Titans, but imbruing altars with the shed blood of +strangers, a pest unsuited to the harp, [of strangers] sighing forth[40] a +piteous cry, and shedding a piteous tear. And now indeed forgetfulness of +these matters [comes upon] me, but now I mourn my brother dead in Argos, +whom I left yet an infant at the breast, yet young, yet a germ in his +mother's arms and on her bosom, Orestes [the future] holder of the sceptre +in Argos. + +CHOR. But hither comes a herdsman, leaving the sea-coast, about to tell +thee some new thing. + +HERDSMAN. Daughter of Agamemnon and child of Clytæmnestra, hear thou from +me a new announcement. + +IPH. And what is there astonishing in the present report? + +HERDS. Two youths are come into this land, to the dark-blue Symplegades, +fleeing into a ship, a grateful sacrifice and offering to Diana. But you +can not use too much haste[41] in making ready the lustral waters and the +consecrations. + +IPH. Of what country? of what land do the strangers bear the name? + +HERDS. Greeks, this one thing I know, and nothing further. + +IPH. Hast thou not heard the name of the strangers, so as to tell it? + +HERDS. One of them was styled Pylades by the other. + +IPH. But what was the name of the yoke-fellow of this stranger? + +HERDS. No one knows this. For we heard it not. + +IPH. But how saw ye them, and chanced to take them? + +HERDS. Upon the furthest breakers of the inhospitable sea. + +IPH. And what had herdsmen to do with the sea? + +HERDS. We came to lave our steers in the dew of the sea. + +IPH. Go back again to this point--how did ye catch them, and by what means, +for I would fain know this? For they are come after a long season, nor has +the altar of the Goddess yet been crimsoned with Grecian blood.[42] + +HERDS. After we woodland herdsmen had brought our cattle down to the sea +that flows between the Symplegades, there is a certain hollow cave,[43] +broken by the frequent lashing of the waves, a retreat for those who hunt +for the purple fish. Here some herdsman among us beheld two youths, and he +retired back, piloting his step on tiptoe, and said: See ye not? these who +sit here are some divine powers. And one of us, being religiously given, +uplifted his hand, and addressed them, as he beheld: O son of Leucothea, +guardian of ships, Palæmon our lord, be propitious to us, whether indeed ye +be the twin sons of Jove (Castor and Pollux) who sit upon our shores, or +the image of Nereus, who begot the noble chorus of the fifty Nereids. But +another vain one, bold in his lawlessness, scoffed at these prayers, and +said that they were shipwrecked[44] seamen who sat upon the cleft through +fear of the law, hearing that we here sacrifice strangers. And to most of +us he seemed to speak well, and [we resolved] to hunt for the accustomed +victims for the Goddess. But meanwhile one of the strangers leaving the +rock, stood still, and shook his head up and down, and groaned, with his +very fingers quaking, wandering with ravings, and shouts with voice like +that of hunter, "Pylades, dost thou behold this? Dost not behold this snake +of Hades, how she would fain slay me, armed against me with horrid +vipers?[45] And she breathing from beneath her garments[46] fire and +slaughter, rows with her wings, bearing my mother in her arms, that she may +cast upon me this rocky mass. Alas! she will slay me. Whither shall I fly?" +And one beheld not the same form of countenance, but he uttered in turn the +bellowings of calves and howls of dogs, which imitations [of wild beasts] +they say the Furies utter. But we flinching, as though about to die, sat +mute; and he drawing a sword with his hand, rushing among the calves, +lion-like, strikes them on the flank with the steel, driving it into their +sides, fancying that he was thus avenging himself on the Fury Goddesses, +till that a gory foam was dashed up from the sea. Meanwhile, each one of +us, as he beheld the herds being slain and ravaged, armed himself, and +inflating the conch[47] shells and assembling the inhabitants--for we +thought that herdsmen were weak to fight against well-trained and youthful +strangers. And a large number of us was assembled in a short time. But the +stranger, released from the attack of madness, drops down, with his beard +befouled with foam. But when we saw him fallen opportunely [for us,] each +man did his part, with stones, with blows. But the other of the strangers +wiped away the foam, and tended his mouth, and spread over him the +well-woven texture of his garments, guarding well the coming wounds, and +aiding his friend with tender offices. But when the stranger returning to +his senses leaped up, he perceived that a hostile tempest and present +calamity was close upon them, and he groaned aloud. But we ceased not +hurling rocks, each standing in a different place. But then indeed we heard +a dread exhortation, "Pylades, we shall die, but that we die most +gloriously! Follow me, drawing thy sword in hand." But when we saw the +twain swords of the enemy[48] brandished, in flight we filled the woods +about the crag. But if one fled, others pressing on pelted them; and if +they drove these away, again the party who had just yielded aimed at them +with rocks. But it was incredible, for out of innumerable hands no one +succeeded in hitting these victims to the Goddess. And we with difficulty, +I will not say overcome them by force, but taking them in a circle, +beat[49] their swords out of their hands with stones, and they dropped +their knees to earth [overcome] with toil. And we brought them to the king +of this land, but he, when he beheld them, sent them as quickly as possible +to thee for lustral waters and sacrifice. But do thou, O virgin, wish that +such strangers may be here as victims, and if thou slayest these strangers, +Hellas will atone for thy [intended] murder, paying the penalty of the +sacrifice at Aulis.[50] + +CHOR. Thou hast told wondrous things concerning him who has appeared, +whosoever he be that has come to the inhospitable sea from the Grecian +earth.[51] + +IPH. Be it so. Do thou go and bring the strangers, but I will take care +respecting the matters[52] here. O hapless heart, that once wast mild and +full of pity toward strangers, awarding the tear to those of thine own +land, when thou didst receive Grecian men into thine hands.[53] But now, +because of the dreams by which I am driven wild, thinking that Orestes no +longer beholds the sun, ye will find me ill disposed, whoever ye be that +come. For this is true, I perceive it, my friends,[54] for the unhappy who +themselves fare ill have no good feelings toward those more fortunate. But +neither has any wind sent by Jove ever come [hither,] nor ship, which could +have brought hither Helen, who destroyed me, and Menelaus, in order that I +might be avenged on them, placing an Aulis here to the account[55] of the +one there, where the sons of Danaus seized, and would have slain me like as +a calf, and the father who begat me was the priest. Ah me! for I can not +forget the ills of that time, how oft I stretched out my hands to his +beard, and hanging on the knees of him who gave me life, spake words like +these: "O father, basely am I, basely am I wedded at thine hands. But my +mother, while thou art slaying me, and her Argive ladies are hymning my +wedding[56] with their nuptial songs, and all the house resounds with the +flute, while I perish by thy hands. Hades in truth was Achilles, not the +son of Peleus, whom thou didst name as my husband, and in the chariot didst +pilot me by craft unto a bloody wedding." But I, casting mine eye through +my slender woven veil, neither took up with mine hands my brother who is +now dead, nor joined my lips to my sister's,[57] through modesty, as +departing to the home of Peleus; and many a salutation I deferred, as +though about to come again to Argos. Oh wretched one, if thou hast died! +from what glorious state, Orestes, and from how envied a sire's fortune art +thou fallen! But I reproach the devices of the Goddess, who, if any one +work the death of a man, or touch with hands a woman newly delivered, or a +corpse, restrains him from her altars, as deeming him impure, but yet +herself takes pleasure in man-slaying sacrifices. It can not be that the +consort of Jove, Latona, hath brought forth so much ignorance. I even +disbelieve the banquets of Tantalus set before the Gods, [as that they] +should be pleased with feeding on a boy. But I deem that those in this +land, being themselves man-slayers, charge the Goddess with their own +baseness, for I think not that any one of the Gods is bad. + +CHOR. Ye dark blue, dark blue meetings of the sea, which Io, hurried along +by the brize, once passed through to the Euxine wave, having changed the +territory of Asia for Europe,--who were they who left fair-watered Eurotas, +flourishing in reeds, or the sacred founts of Dirce, and came, and came to +the inhospitable land, where the daughter of Jove bedews her altars and +column-girt temples with human blood? Of a truth by the surge-dashing oars +of fir, worked on both sides, they sailed in a nautical carriage o'er the +ocean waves, striving in the emulation after loved wealth in their houses. +For darling hope is in dangers insatiate among men, who bear off the weight +of riches, wandering in vain speculation on the wave and o'er barbarian +cities. But to some[58] there is a mind immoderate after riches, to others +they come unsought. How did they pass through the rocks that run together, +the ne'er resting beaches of Phineus, [and] the marine shore, running o'er +the surge of Amphitrite,[59]--where the choruses of the fifty daughters of +Nereus entwine in the dance,--[although] with breezes that fill the sails, +the creaking rudders resting at the poop, with southern gales or the +breezes of Zephyr, to the bird-haunted land, the white beach, the glorious +race-course of Achilles, near the Euxine Sea. Would that, according to my +mistress' prayers, Helen, the dear daughter of Leda, might sometime chance +to come, quitting the city of Troy, that, having been drenched about the +head with the blood-stained lustral dews, she might die by my mistress' +hand, paying in turn an equal penalty [for her death.] Most joyfully then +would we receive this news, if any one came sailing from the Grecian land, +to make the toils of my hapless slavery to cease. And would that in my +dreams I might tread[60] in mine home and ancestral city, enjoying the +hymns of delight, a joy shared with the prosperous. But hither they come, +bound as to their two[61] hands with chains, a new sacrifice for the +Goddess. Be silent, my friends, for these first-fruits of the Greeks +approach the temples, nor has the herdsman told a false tale. O reverend +Goddess, if the city performs these things agreeably to thee, receive the +sacrifice which, not hallowed among the Greeks, the custom of this place +presents as a public offering.[62] + +IPH. Be it so. I must first take care that the rites of the Goddess are as +they should be. Let go the hands of the strangers, that being consecrated +they may no longer be in bonds. And, going within the temple, make ready +the things which are necessary and usual on these occasions. Alas! Who is +the mother who once bore you? And who your father, and your sister, if +there be any born? Of what a pair of youths deprived will she be +brotherless! For all the dispensations of the Gods creep into obscurity, +and no one [absent] knows misfortune,[63] for fortune leads astray to what +is hardly known. Whence come ye, O unhappy strangers? After how long a time +have ye sailed to this land, and ye will be a long time from your home, +ever among the shades![64] + +OR. Why mournest thou thus, and teasest us[65] concerning our future ills, +whoever thou art, O lady? In naught do I deem him wise, who, when about to +die, with bewailings seeks to overcome the fear of death, nor him who +deplores death now near at hand,[66] when he has no hope of safety, in that +he joins two ills instead of one, both incurs the charge of folly, and dies +none the less. But one must needs let fortune take its course. But mourn us +not, for we know and are acquainted with the sacrificial rites of this +place. + +IPH. Which of ye twain here is named Pylades? This I would fain know first. + +OR. This man, if indeed 'tis any pleasure for thee to know this. + +IPH. Born citizen of what Grecian state? + +OR. And what wouldst thou gain by knowing this, lady? + +IPH. Are ye brothers from one mother? + +OR. In friendship we are, but we are not related, lady. + +IPH. But what name did the father who begot thee give to thee? + +OR. In truth we might be styled the unhappy. + +IPH. I ask not this. Leave this to fortune. + +OR. Dying nameless, I should not be mocked. + +IPH. Wherefore dost grudge this, and art thus proud? + +OR. My body thou shalt sacrifice, not my name. + +IPH. Nor wilt thou tell me which is thy city? + +OR. No. For thou seekest a thing of no profit, seeing I am to die. + +IPH. But what hinders thee from granting me this favor? + +OR. I boast renowned Argos for my country. + +IPH. In truth, by the Gods I ask thee, stranger, art thou thence born? + +OR. From Mycenæ,[67] that was once prosperous. + +IPH. And hast thou set out a wanderer from thy country, or by what hap? + +OR. I flee in a certain wise unwilling, willingly. + +IPH. Wouldst thou tell me one thing that I wish? + +OR. That something, forsooth,[68] may be added to my misfortune. + +IPH. And truly thou hast come desired by me, in coming from Argos. + +OR. Not by myself, at all events; but if by thee, do thou enjoy it.[69] + +IPH. Perchance thou knowest Troy, the fame of which is every where. + +OR. Ay, would that I never had, not even seeing it in a dream! + +IPH. They say that it is now no more, and has fallen by the spear. + +OR. And so it is, nor have you heard what is not the case. + +IPH. And is Helen come back to the house of Menelaus? + +OR. She is, ay, coming unluckily to one of mine. + +IPH. And where is she? For she has incurred an old debt of evil with me +also. + +OR. She dwells in Sparta with her former consort. + +IPH. O hateful pest among the Greeks, not to me only! + +OR. I also have received some fruits of her nuptials. + +IPH. And did the return of the Greeks take place, as is reported? + +OR. How dost thou question me, embracing all matters at once! + +IPH. For I wish to obtain this before that thou diest. + +OR. Examine me, since thou hast this longing, and I will speak. + +IPH. Has a certain seer named Calchas returned from Troy? + +OR. He perished, as the story ran, at Mycenæ. + +IPH. O revered Goddess, how well it is! And how fares the son of Laertes? + +OR. He has not yet returned to his home, but he is alive, as report goes. + +IPH. May he perish, never obtaining a return to his country! + +OR. Invoke nothing--all his affairs are in a sickly state. + +IPH. But is the son of Thetis, the daughter of Nereus, yet alive? + +OR. He is not. In vain he held his wedding in Aulis. + +IPH. A crafty [wedding] it was, as those who have suffered say. + +OR. Who canst thou be? How well dost ken the affairs of Greece! + +IPH. I am from thence. While yet a child I was undone. + +OR. With reason thou desirest to know the affairs there, O lady. + +IPH. But how [fares] the general, who they say is prosperous. + +OR. Who? For he whom I know is not of the fortunate. + +IPH. A certain king Agamemnon was called the son of Atreus. + +OR. I know not--cease from these words, O lady. + +IPH. Nay, by the Gods, but speak, that I may be rejoiced, O stranger. + +OR. The wretched one is dead, and furthermore hath ruined one.[70] + +IPH. Is dead? By what mishap? O wretched me! + +OR. But why dost mourn this? Was he a relation of thine? + +IPH. I bemoan his former prosperity. + +OR. [Ay, well mayest thou,] for he has fallen, slain shamefully by a woman. + +IPH. O all grievous she that slew and he that fell! + +OR. Cease now at least, nor question further. + +IPH. Thus much at least, does the wife of the unhappy man live? + +OR. She is no more. The son she brought forth, he slew her. + +IPH. O house all troubled! with what intent, then?[71] + +OR. Taking satisfaction on her for the death of his father. + +IPH. Alas! how well he executed an evil act of justice.[72] + +OR. But, though just, he hath not good fortune from the Gods. + +IPH. But does Agamemnon leave any other child in his house? + +OR. He has left a single virgin [daughter,] Electra. + +IPH. What! Is there no report of his sacrificed daughter?[73] + +OR. None indeed, save that being dead she beholds not the light. + +IPH. Hapless she, and the father who slew her! + +OR. She perished, a thankless offering[74] because of a bad woman. + +IPH. But is the son of the deceased father at Argos? + +OR. He, wretched man, is nowhere and every where. + +IPH. Away, vain dreams, ye were then of naught! + +OR. Nor are the Gods who are called wise any less false than winged dreams. +There is much inconsistency both among the Gods and among mortals. But one +thing alone is left, when[75] a man not being foolish, persuaded by the +words of seers, has perished, as he hath perished in man's knowledge. + +CHOR. Alas! alas! But what of us and our fathers? Are they, or are they not +in being, who can tell? + +IPH. Hear me, for I am come to a certain discourse, meditating what is at +once profitable for you and me. But that which is well is chiefly produced +thus, when the same matter pleases all. Would ye be willing, if I were to +save you, to go to Argos, and bear a message for me to my friends there, +and carry a letter, which a certain captive wrote, pitying me, nor deeming +my hand that of a murderess, but that he died through custom, as the +Goddess sanctioned such things as just? For I had no one who would go and +bear the news back to Argos, and who, being preserved, would send my +letters to some one of my friends.[76] But do thou, for thou art, as thou +seemest, of no ignoble birth, and knowest Mycenæ and the persons I wish, do +thou, I say,[77] be saved, receiving no dishonorable reward, your safety +for the sake of trifling letters. But let this man, since the city compels +it, be a sacrifice to the Goddess, apart from thee. + +OR. Well hast thou spoken the rest, save one thing, O stranger lady, for +'tis a heavy weight upon me that this man should be slain. For I was +steersman of the vessel to these ills,[78] but he is a fellow-sailor +because of mine own troubles. In no wise then is it right that I should do +thee a favor to his destruction, and myself escape from ills. But let it be +thus. Give him the letter, for he will send it to Argos, so as to be well +for thee, but let him that will slay me. Base is the man, who, casting his +friends into calamity, himself is saved. But this man is a friend, who I +fain should see the light no less that myself. + +IPH. O noblest spirit, how art thou sprung from some generous root, thou +truly a friend to thy friends! Such might he be who is left of my brothers! +For in good truth, strangers, I am not brotherless, save that I behold him +not. But since thou willest thus, let us send this man bearing the letter, +but thou wilt die, and some great desire of this chances to possess +thee?[79] + +OR. But who will sacrifice me, and dare this dreadful deed? + +IPH. I; for I have this sacrificial duty[80] from the Goddess. + +OR. Unenviable indeed. O damsel, and unblest. + +IPH. But we lie under necessity, which one must beware. + +OR. Thyself, a female, sacrificing males with the sword? + +IPH. Not so; but I shall lave around thy head with the lustral stream. + +OR. But who is the slayer, if I may ask this? + +IPH. Within the house are they whose office is this. + +OR. And what manner of tomb will receive me, when I die? + +IPH. The holy flame within, and the dark chasm of the rock.[81] + +OR. Alas! Would that a sister's hand might lay me out.[82] + +IPH. A vain prayer hast thou uttered, whoever thou art, O stranger, for she +dwells far from this barbarian land. Nevertheless, since thou art an +Argive, I will not fail to do thee kindness in what is possible. For on thy +tomb will I place much adornment, and with the tawny oil will I cause thy +body to be soon consumed,[83] and on thy pyre will I pour the flower-sucked +riches of the swarthy bee. But I will go and fetch the letter from the +shrines of the Goddess. But do thou not bear ill will against me. Guard +them, ye servants, [but] without fetters.[84] Perchance I shall send +unexpected tidings to some one of my friends at Argos, whom I chiefly love, +and the letter, telling to him that she lives whom he thinks dead, will +announce a faithful pleasure. + +CHOR. I deplore thee now destined to the gory streams of the lustral +waters.[85] + +OR. 'Tis piteous, truly;[86] but fare ye well, stranger ladies. + +CHOR. But thee, (_to Pylades_) O youth, we honor for thy happy fortune, +that at some time thou wilt return to thy country. + +PYL. Not to be coveted[87] by friends, when friends are to die. + +CHOR. O mournful journeying! Alas! alas! thou art undone. Woe! woe! which +is the [victim] to be? For still my mind resolves[88] twain doubtful +[ills,] whether with groans I shall bemoan thee (_to Orestes_) or thee (_to +Pylades_) first. + +OR. Pylades, hast thou, by the Gods, experienced the same feeling as +myself? + +PYL. I know not. Thou askest me unable to say. + +OR. Who is this damsel? With what a Grecian spirit she asked us concerning +the toils in Troy, and the return of the Greeks, and Calchas wise in +augury, and about Achilles, and how she pitied wretched Agamemnon, and +asked me of his wife and children. This stranger lady is[89] some Greek by +race; for otherwise she never would have been sending a letter and making +these inquiries, as sharing a common weal in the well-doing of Argos. + +PYL. Thou hast outstripped me a little, but thou outstrippest me in saying +the same things, save in one respect--for all, with whom there is any +communication, know the fate of the king. But I was[90] considering another +subject. + +OR. What? laying it down in common, you will better understand. + +PYL. 'Tis base that I should behold the light, while you perish; and, +having sailed with you, with you I must needs die also. For I shall incur +the imputation of both cowardice and baseness in Argos and the Phocian land +with its many dells, and I shall seem to the many, for the many are evil, +to have arrived alone in safety to mine home, having deserted thee, or even +to have murdered thee, taking advantage of the sickly state of thine house, +and to have devised thy fate for the sake of reigning, in order that, +forsooth, I might wed thy sister as an heiress[91]. These things, then, I +dread, and hold in shame, and it shall not be but I will breathe my last +with thee, be slain, and have my body burned with thee, being a friend, and +dreading reproach. + +OR. Speak words of better omen. I must needs bear my troubles, but when I +may [endure] one single trouble, I will not endure twain. For what thou +callest bitter and reproachful, that is my portion, if I cause thee to be +slain who hast shared my toils. For, as far as I am concerned, it stands +not badly with me, faring as I fare at the hands of the Gods, to end my +life. But thou art prosperous, and hast a home pure, not sickening, but I +[have] one impious and unhappy. And living thou mayest raise children from +my sister, whom I gave thee to have[92] as a wife, and my name might exist, +nor would my ancestral house be ever blotted out. But go, live, and dwell +in my father's house; and when thou comest to Greece and chivalrous Argos, +by thy right hand, I commit to thee this charge. Heap up a tomb, and place +upon it remembrances of me, and let my sister offer tears and her shorn +locks upon my sepulchre. And tell how I died by an Argive woman's hand, +sacrificed as an offering by the altar's side. And do thou never desert my +sister, seeing my father's connections and home bereaved. And fare thee +well! for I have found thee best among my friends. Oh thou who hast been my +fellow-huntsman, my mate! Oh thou who hast borne the weight of many of my +sorrows! But Phœbus, prophet though he be, has deceived me. For, artfully +devising, he has driven me as far as possible from Greece, in shame of his +former prophecies. To whom I, yielding up mine all, and obeying his words, +having slain my mother, myself perish in turn. + +PYL. Thou shalt have a tomb, and never will I, hapless one, betray thy +sister's bed, since I shall hold thee more a friend dead than living. But +the oracle of the God has never yet wronged thee, although thou art indeed +on the very verge of death. But excessive mischance is very wont, is very +wont to present changes, when the matter so falls. + +OR. Be silent--the words of Phœbus avail me naught, for the lady is coming +hither without the temple. + +IPH. Depart ye, and go and make ready the things within for those who +superintend the sacrifice. These, O stranger, are the many-folded +inclosures of the letter, but hear thou what I further wish. No man is the +same in trouble, and when he changes from fear into confidence. But I fear, +lest he having got away from this land, will deem my letter of no account, +who is about to bear this letter to Argos.[93] + +OR. What wouldst thou? Concerning what art thou disturbed? + +IPH. Let him make me oath that he will ferry these writings to Argos, to +those friends to whom I wish to send them. + +OR. Wilt thou in turn make the same assertion to him? + +IPH. That I will do, or will not do what thing? say. + +OR. That you will release him from this barbarian land, not dying. + +IPH. Thou sayest justly; for how could he bear the message? + +OR. But will the ruler also grant this? + +IPH. Yea. I will persuade him, and will myself embark him on the ship's +hull. + +OR. Swear, but do thou commence such oath as is holy. + +IPH. Thou must say "I will give this [letter] to my friends." + +PYL. I will give this letter to thy friends. + +IPH. And I will send thee safe beyond the Cyanean rocks. + +PYL. Whom of the Gods dost thou call to witness of thine oath in these +words? + +IPH. Diana, in whose temple I hold office. + +PYL. But I [call upon] the king of heaven, hallowed Jove. + +IPH. But if, deserting thine oath, thou shouldst wrong me-- + +PYL. May I not return? But thou, if thou savest me not-- + +IPH. May I never living set footprint in Argos. + +PYL. Hear now then a matter which we have passed by. + +IPH. There will be opportunity hereafter, if matters stand aright. + +PYL. Grant me this one exception. If the vessel suffer any harm, and the +letter be lost[94] in the storm, together with the goods, and I save my +person only, that this mine oath be no longer valid.[95] + +IPH. Knowest thou what I will do?[96] for the many things contained in the +folds of the letter bear opportunity for many things.[97] I will tell you +in words all that you are to convey to my friends, for this plan is safe. +If indeed thou preservest the letter, it will itself silently tell the +things written, but if these letters be lost at sea, saving thy body, thou +wilt preserve my message. + +PYL. Thou hast spoken well on behalf of the Gods[98] and of myself. But +tell me to whom at Argos I must needs bear these epistles, and what hearing +from thee, I must tell. + +IPH. Bear word to Orestes, the son of Agamemnon, (_reading_) "she[99] that +was sacrificed at Aulis gives this commission, Iphigenia alive, but no +longer alive as far as those in Argos are concerned." + +OR. But where is she? Does she come back again having died? + +IPH. She, whom you see. Do not confuse me with speaking. (_Continues +reading_) "Bear me to Argos, my brother, before I die, remove me from this +barbarian land and the sacrifices of the Goddess, in which I have the +office of slaying strangers." + +OR. Pylades, what shall I say? where shall we be found to be?[100] + +IPH. (_still reading_) "Or I will be a cause of curses upon thine house, +Orestes," (_with great stress upon the name and turning to Pylades_,) "that +thou, twice hearing the name, mayest know it." + +PYL. O Gods! + +IPH. Why callest thou upon the Gods in matters that are mine? + +PYL. 'Tis nothing. Go on. I was wandering to another subject. Perchance, +inquiring of thee, I shall arrive at things incredible.[101] + +IPH. (_continues reading_) "Say that the Goddess Diana saved me, giving in +exchange for me a hind, which my father sacrificed, thinking that it was +upon me that he laid the sharp sword, and she placed me to dwell in this +land." This is the burden of my message, these are the words written in my +letter. + +PYL. O thou who hast secured me in easy oaths, and hast sworn things +fairest, I will not delay much time, but I will firmly accomplish the oath +I have sworn. Behold, I bear and deliver to thee a letter, O Orestes, from +this thy sister. + +OR. I receive it. And letting go the opening of the letter, I will first +seize a delight not in words (_attempts to embrace her_). O dearest sister +mine, in amazement, yet nevertheless embracing thee with a doubting arm, I +go to a source of delight, hearing things marvelous to me.[102] + +CHOR. Stranger,[103] thou dost not rightly pollute the servant of the +Goddess, casting thine arm around her garments that should ne'er be +touched. + +OR. O fellow-sister born of one sire, Agamemnon, turn not from me, +possessing a brother whom you never thought to possess. + +IPH. I [possess] thee my brother? Wilt not cease speaking? Both Argos and +Nauplia are frequented by him.[104] + +OR. Unhappy one! thy brother is not there. + +IPH. But did the Lacedæmonian daughter of Tyndarus beget thee? + +OR. Ay, to the grandson of Pelops, whence I am sprung.[105] + +IPH. What sayest thou? Hast thou any proof of this for me? + +OR. I have. Ask something relative to my ancestral home. + +IPH. Thou must needs then speak, and I learn. + +OR. I will first speak from hearsay from Electra, this.[106] Thou knowest +the strife that took place between Atreus and Thyestes? + +IPH. I have heard of it, when it was waged concerning the golden lamb. + +OR. Dost thou then remember weaving [a representation of] this on the +deftly-wrought web? + +IPH. O dearest one. Thou art turning thy course near to my own +thoughts.[107] + +OR. And [dost thou remember] a picture on the loom, the turning away of the +sun? + +IPH. I wove this image also in the fine-threaded web. + +OR. And didst thou receive[108] a bath from thy mother, sent to Aulis? + +IPH. I know it: for the wedding, though good, did not take away my +recollection.[109] + +OR. But what? [Dost thou remember] to have given thine hair to be carried +to thy mother? + +IPH. Ay, as a memorial for the tomb[110] in place of my body. + +OR. But the proofs which I have myself beheld, these will I tell, viz. the +ancient spear of Pelops in my father's house, which brandishing in his +hand, he [Pelops] won Hippodameia, having slain Ænomaus, which is hidden in +thy virgin chamber. + +IPH. O dearest one, no more, for thou art dearest. I hold thee, Orestes, +one darling son[111] far away from his father-land, from Argos, O thou dear +one! + +OR. And I [hold] thee that wast dead, as was supposed. But tears, yet +tearless,[112] and groans together mingled with joy, bedew thine eyelids, +and mine in like manner. + +IPH. This one, this, yet a babe I left, young in the arms of the nurse, ay, +young in our house. O thou more fortunate than my words[113] can tell, what +shall I say? This matter has turned out beyond marvel or calculation. + +OR. [Say this.] May we for the future be happy with each other! + +IPH. I have experienced an unaccountable delight, dear companions, but I +fear lest it flit[114] from my hands, and escape toward the sky. O ye +Cyclopean hearths, O Mycenæ, dear country mine. I am grateful to thee for +my life, and grateful for my nurture, in that thou hast trained for me this +brother light in my home. + +OR. In our race we are fortunate, but as to calamities, O sister, our life +is by nature unhappy. + +IPH. But I wretched remember when my father with foolish spirit laid the +sword upon my neck. + +OR. Ah me! For I seem, not being present, to behold you there.[115] + +IPH. Without Hymen, O my brother, when I was being led to the fictitious +nuptial bed of Achilles. But near the altar were tears and lamentations. +Alas! alas, for the lustral waters there! + +OR. I mourn aloud for the deed my father dared. + +IPH. I obtained a fatherless, a fatherless lot. But one calamity follows +upon another.[116] + +OR. [Ay,] if thou hadst lost thy brother, O hapless one, by the +intervention of some demon. + +IPH. O miserable for my dreadful daring! I have dared horrid, I have dared +horrid things. Alas! my brother. But by a little hast thou escaped an +unholy destruction, stricken by my hands. But what will be the end after +this? What fortune will befall me? What retreat can I find for thee away +from this city? can I send you out of the reach of slaughter to your +country Argos, before that my sword enter on the contest concerning thy +blood?[117] This is thy business, O hapless soul, to discover, whether over +the land, not in a ship, but by the gust[118] of your feet thou wilt +approach death, passing through[119] barbarian hordes, and through ways not +to be traversed? Or[120] [wilt thou pass] through the Cyanean creek, a long +journey in the flight of ships. Wretched, wretched one! Who then or God, or +mortal, or [unexpected event,[121]] having accomplished a way out of +inextricable difficulties, will show forth to the sole twain Atrides a +release from ills? + +CHOR. Among marvels and things passing even fable are these things which I +shall tell as having myself beheld, and not from hearsay. + +PYL. It is meet indeed that friends coming into the presence of friends, +Orestes, should embrace one another with their hands, but, having ceased +from mournful matters, it behooves you also to betake you to those measures +by which we, obtaining the glorious name of safety, may depart from this +barbarian earth. For it is the part of wise men, not wandering from their +present chance, when they have obtained an opportunity, to acquire further +delights.[122] + +OR. Thou sayest well. But I think that fortune will take care of this with +us. For if a man be zealous, it is likely that the divine power will have +still greater power. + +IPH. Do not restrain or hinder me from your words, not first to know what +fortune of life Electra has obtained, for this were pleasant to me [to +hear.][123] + +OR. She is partner with this man, possessing a happy life. + +IPH. And of what country is he, and son of what man born? + +OR. Strophius the Phocian is styled his father. + +IPH. And he is of the daughter of Atreus, a relative of mine? + +OR. Ay, a cousin, my only certain friend. + +IPH. Was he not in being, when my father sought to slay me? + +OR. He was not, for Strophius was childless some time. + +IPH. Hail! O thou spouse of my sister. + +OR. Ay, and my preserver, not relation only. + +IPH. But how didst thou dare the terrible deeds in respect to your mother? + +OR. Let us be silent respecting my mother--'twas in avenging my father. + +IPH. And what was the reason for her slaying her husband? + +OR. Let go the subject of my mother. Nor is it pleasant for you to hear. + +IPH. I am silent. But Argos now looks up to thee. + +OR. Menelaus rules: I am an exile from my country. + +IPH. What, did our uncle abuse our house unprospering? + +OR. Not so, but the fear of the Erinnyes drives me from my land. + +IPH. For this then wert thou spoken of as being frantic even here on the +shore. + +OR. We were beheld not now for the first time in a hapless state. + +IPH. I perceive. The Goddesses goaded thee on because of thy mother. + +OR. Ay, so as to cast a bloody bit[124] upon me. + +IPH. For wherefore didst thou pilot thy foot to this land? + +OR. I came, commanded by the oracles of Phœbus-- + +IPH. To do what thing? Is it one to be spoken of or kept in silence? + +OR. I will tell you, but these are the beginning for me of many[125] woes. +After these evil things concerning my mother, on which I keep silence, had +been wrought, I was driven an exile by the pursuits of the Erinnyes, when +Loxias sent my foot[126] to Athens, that I might render satisfaction to the +deities that must not be named. For there is a holy council, that Jove once +on a time instituted for Mars on account of some pollution of his +hands.[127] And coming thither, at first indeed no one of the strangers +received me willingly, as being abhorred by the Gods, but they who had +respect to me, afforded me[128] a stranger's meal at a separate table, +being under the same house roof, and silently devised in respect to me, +unaddressed by them, how I might be separated from their banquet[129] and +cup, and, having filled up a share of wine in a separate vessel, equal for +all, they enjoyed themselves. And I did not think fit to rebuke my guests, +but I grieved in silence, and did not seem to perceive [their conduct,] +deeply groaning, because I was my mother's slayer.[130] But I hear that my +misfortunes have been made a festival at Athens, and that this custom still +remains, that the people of Pallas honor the Libation Vessel.[131] But when +I came to the hill of Mars, and stood in judgment, I indeed occupying one +seat, but the eldest of the Erinnyes the other, having spoken and heard +respecting my mother's death, Phœbus saved me by bearing witness, but +Pallas counted out for me[132] the equal votes with her hand, and I came +off victor in the bloody trial.[133] As many then as sat [in judgment,] +persuaded by the sentence, determined to hold their dwelling near the court +itself.[134] But as many of the Erinnyes as did not yield obedience to the +sentence passed, continually kept driving me with unsettled wanderings, +until I again returned to the holy ground of Phœbus, and lying stretched +before the adyts, hungering for food, I swore that I would break from life +by dying on the spot, unless Phœbus, who had undone, should preserve me. +Upon this Phœbus, uttering a voice from the golden tripod, sent me hither +to seize the heaven-sent image, and place it in the land of Athens. But +that safety which he marked out for me do thou aid in. For if we can lay +hold on the image of the Goddess, I both shall cease from my madness, and +embarking thee in the bark of many oars, I shall settle thee again in +Mycenæ. But, O beloved one, O sister mine, preserve my ancestral home, and +preserve me, since all my state and that of the Pelopids is undone, unless +we seize on the heavenly image of the Goddess. + +CHOR. Some dreadful wrath of the Gods hath burst forth, and leads the seed +of Tantalus through troubles.[135] + +IPH. I entertained the desire to reach Argos, and behold thee, my brother, +even before thou camest. But I wish, as you do, both to save thee, and to +restore again our sickening ancestral home from troubles, in no wise wrath +with him who would have slain me. For I should both release my hand from +thy slaughter, and preserve mine house. But I fear how I shall be able to +escape the notice of the Goddess and the king, when he shall find the stone +pedestal bared of the image. And how shall I escape death? What account can +I give? But if indeed these matters can be effected at once, and thou wilt +bear away the image, and lead me in the fair-pooped ship, the risk will be +a glorious one. But separated from this I perish, but you, arranging your +own affairs, would obtain a prosperous return. Yet in no wise will I fly, +not even if I needs must perish, having preserved thee. In no wise, I +say;[136] for a man who dies from among his household is regretted, but a +woman is of little account. + +OR. I would not be the murderer both of thee and of my mother. Her blood is +enough, and being of the same mind with you, [with you] I should wish, +living or dying, to obtain an equal lot. †But I will lead thee, even though +I myself fall here, to my house, or, remaining with thee, will die.[137]† +But hear my opinion. If this had been disagreeable to Diana, how would +Loxias have answered, that I should remove the image of the Goddess to the +city of Pallas, and behold thy face? For, putting all these matters +together, I hope to obtain a return. + +IPH. How then can it happen that neither you die, and that we obtain what +we wish? For it is in this respect that our journey homeward is at fault, +but the will is not wanting. + +OR. Could we possibly destroy the tyrant? + +IPH, Thou tellest a fearful thing, for strangers to slay their receivers. + +OR. But if it will preserve thee and me, one must run the risk. + +IPH. I could not--yet I approve your zeal. + +OR. But what if you were secretly to hide me in this temple? + +IPH. In order, forsooth, that, taking advantage of darkness, we might be +saved? + +OR. For night is the time for thieves, the light for truth. + +IPH. But within are the sacred keepers,[138] whom we can not escape. + +OR. Alas! we are undone. How can we then be saved? + +IPH. I seem to have a certain new device. + +OR. Of what kind? Make me a sharer in your opinion, that I also may learn. + +IPH. I will make use of thy ravings as a contrivance. + +OR. Ay, cunning are women to find out tricks. + +IPH. I will say that thou, being slayer of thy mother, art come from Argos. + +OR. Make use of my troubles, if you can turn them to account. + +IPH. I will say that it is not lawful to sacrifice thee to the Goddess. + +OR. Having what pretext? For I partly suspect. + +IPH. As not being pure, but I will [say that I will][139] give what is holy +to sacrifice. + +OR. How then the more will the image of the Goddess be obtained? + +IPH. I [will say that I] will purify thee in the fountains of the sea. + +OR. The statue, in quest of which, we have sailed, is still in the temple. + +IPH. And I will say that I must wash that too, as if you had laid hands on +it. + +OR. Where then is the damp breaker of the sea of which you speak? + +IPH. Where thy ship rides at anchor with rope-bound chains. + +OR. But wilt thou, or some one else, bear the image in their hands? + +IPH. I, for it is lawful for me alone to touch it. + +OR. But in what part of this contrivance will our friend Pylades[140] be +placed? + +IPH. He will be said to bear the same pollution of hands as thyself. + +OR. And wilt thou do this unknown to, or with the knowledge of the king? + +IPH. Having persuaded him by words, for I could not escape notice. + +OR. And truly the well-rowed ship is ready for sailing.[141] + +IPH. You must take care of the rest, that it be well. + +OR. There lacks but one thing, namely, that these women who are present +preserve our secret. But do thou beseech them, and find words that will +persuade. A woman in truth has power to move pity. But all the rest will +perchance fall out well. + +IPH. O dearest women, I look to you, and my affairs rest in you, as to +whether they turn out well, or be of naught, and I be deprived of my +country, my dear brother, and dearest sister. And let this first be the +commencement of my words. We are women, a race well inclined to one +another, and most safe in keeping secret matters of common interest. Do ye +keep silence for us, and labor out our escape. Honorable is it for the man +who possesses a faithful tongue. But behold how one fortune holds the three +most dear, either a return to our father-land, or to die. But, being +preserved, that thou also mayest share my fortune, I will restore thee safe +to Greece. But, by thy right hand, thee, and thee [_addressing the women of +the chorus in succession_] I beseech, and thee by thy beloved cheek, and +thy knees, and those most dear at home, mother, and father, and children, +to whom there are such.[142] What say ye? Who of you will, or will not +[speak!] these things.[143] For if ye assent not to my words, I am undone, +and my wretched sister. + +CHOR. Be of good cheer, dear mistress, and think only of being saved, since +on my part all shall be kept secret, the mighty Jove be witness! in the +things thou enjoinest. + +IPH. May your words profit ye, and may ye be blest. 'Tis thy part now, and +thine [to the different women] to enter the house, as the ruler of this +land will straightway come, inquiring concerning the sacrifice of the +strangers, whether it is over. O revered Goddess, who in the recesses of +Aulis didst save me from the dire hand of a slaying father, now also save +me and these, or the voice of Loxias will through thee be no longer +truthful among mortals. But do thou with good will quit the barbarian land +for Athens, for it becomes thee not to dwell here, when you can possess a +blest city. + +CHORUS. Thou bird, that by the rocky cliffs of the sea, halcyon,[144] dost +chant thy mournful elegy, a sound well understood by the skilled, namely, +that thou art ever bemoaning thine husband in song, I, a wingless bird, +compare my dirge with thine, longing for the assemblies[145] of the Greeks, +longing for Lucina, who dwells along the Cynthian height, and near the +palm[146] with its luxuriant foliage, and the rich-springing laurel, and +the holy shoot of the deep blue olive, the dear place of Latona's +throes,[147] and the lake that rolls its waters in a circle,[148] where the +melodious swan honors the muses. O ye many tricklings of tears which fell +upon my cheeks, when, our towers being destroyed, I traveled in ships +beneath the oars and the spears of the foes.[149] And through a bartering +of great price I came a journey to a barbarian land,[150] where I serve the +daughter of Agamemnon, the priestess of the Goddess, and the +sheep-slaughtering[151] altars, envying her who has all her life been +unfortunate;[152] for she bends not under necessity, who is familiar with +it. Unhappiness is wont to change,[153] but to fare ill after prosperity is +a heavy life for mortals. And thee indeed, O mistress, an Argive ship of +fifty oars will conduct home, and the wax-bound reed of mountain Pan with +Syrinx tune cheer on the oarsmen, and prophet Phœbus, plying the tones of +his seven-stringed lyre, with song will lead thee prosperously to the rich +land of Athens. But leaving me here thou wilt travel by the dashing oars. +And the halyards by the prow,[154] will stretch forth the sails to the air, +above the beak, the sheet lines of the swift-journeying ship. Would that I +might pass through the glittering course, where the fair light of the sun +wends its way, and over my own chamber might rest from rapidly moving the +pinions on my shoulders.[155] And would that I might stand in the dance, +where also [I was wont to stand,] a virgin sprung from honorable +nuptials,[156] wreathing the dances of my companions at the foot of my dear +mother,[157] bounding to the rivalry of the graces, to the wealthy strife +respecting [beauteous] hair, pouring my variously-painted garb and tresses +around, I shadowed my cheeks.[158] + +[_Enter_ THOAS.] + +THOAS. Where is the Grecian woman who keeps the gate of this temple? Has +she yet begun the sacrifice of the strangers, and are the bodies burning in +the flame within the pure recesses? + +CHOR. Here she is, O king, who will tell thee clearly all. + +TH. Ah! Why art thou removing in your arms this image of the Goddess from +its seat that may not be disturbed, O daughter of Agamemnon? + +IPH. O king, rest there thy foot in the portico. + +TH. But what new matter is in the house, Iphigenia? + +IPH. I avert the ill--for holy[159] do I utter this word. + +TH. What new thing art thou prefacing? speak clearly. + +IPH. O king, no pure offerings hast thou hunted out for me. + +TH. What hath taught you this? or dost thou speak it as matter of opinion? + +IPH. The image of the Goddess hath again turned away from her seat.[160] + +TH. Of its own accord, or did an earthquake turn it? + +IPH. Of its own accord, and it closed its eyes. + +TH. But what is the cause? is it pollution from the strangers? + +IPH. That very thing, naught else, for they have done dreadful things. + +TH. What, did they slay any of the barbarians upon the shore? + +IPH. They came possessing the stain of domestic murder. + +TH. What? for I am fallen into a longing to learn this. + +IPH. They put an end to a mother's life by conspiring sword. + +TH. Apollo! not even among barbarians would any one have dared this. + +IPH. By persecutions they were driven out of all Greece. + +TH. Is it then on their account that thou bearest the image without? + +IPH. Ay, under the holy sky, that I may remove it from blood stains. + +TH. But how didst thou discover the pollution of the strangers? + +IPH. I examined them, when the image of the Goddess turned away. + +TH. Greece hath trained thee up wise, in that thou well didst perceive +this. + +IPH. And now they have cast out a delightful bait for my mind. + +TH. By telling thee any charming news of those at Argos? + +IPH. That my only brother Orestes fares well. + +TH. So that, forsooth, thou mightest preserve them because of their +pleasant news! + +IPH. And that my father lives and fares well. + +TH. But thou hast with reason attended to the interest of the Goddess. + +IPH. Ay, because hating all Greece that destroyed me. + +TH. What then shall we do, say, concerning the two strangers? + +IPH. We needs must respect the established law. + +TH. Are not the lustral waters and thy sword already engaged?[161] + +IPH. First I would fain lave them in pure cleansings. + +TH. In the fountains of waters, or in the dew of the sea? + +IPH. The sea washes out all the ills of men. + +TH. They would certainly fall in a more holy manner before the Goddess. + +IPH. And my matters would be in a more fitting state.[162] + +TH. Does not the wave dash against the very temple? + +IPH. There is need of solitude, for we have other things to do. + +TH. Lead them whither thou wilt, I crave not to see things that may not be +told. + +IPH. The image of the Goddess also must be purified by me. + +TH. If indeed the stain of the matricide hath fallen on it. + +IPH. For otherwise I should not have removed it from its pedestal. + +TH. Just piety and foresight! How reasonably doth all the city marvel at +thee! + +IPH. Knowest thou then what must be done for me? + +TH. 'Tis thine to explain this. + +IPH. Cast fetters upon the strangers. + +TH. Whither could they escape from thee? + +IPH. Greece knows nothing faithful. + +TH. Go for the fetters, attendants. + +IPH. Ay, and let them bring the strangers hither. + +TH. This shall be. + +IPH. Having enveloped their heads in robes. + +TH. Against the scorching of the sun? + +IPH. And send thou with me of thy followers-- + +TH. These shall accompany thee. + +IPH. And send some one to signify to the city-- + +TH. What hap? + +IPH. That all remain in their homes. + +TH. Lest they encounter homicide? + +IPH. For such things are unclean. + +TH. Go thou, and order this. + +IPH. That no one come into sight. + +TH. Thou carest well for the city. + +IPH. Ay, and more particularly friends must not be present.[163] + +TH. This you say in reference to me. + +IPH. But do thou, abiding here before the temple of the Goddess-- + +TH. Do what? + +IPH. Purify the house with a torch. + +TH. That it may be pure when thou comest back to it? + +IPH. But when the strangers come out, + +TH. What must I do? + +IPH. Place your garment before your eyes. + +TH. Lest I contract contagion? + +IPH. But if I seem to tarry very long, + +TH. What limit of this shall I have? + +IPH. Wonder at nothing. + +TH. Do thou rightly the business of the Goddess at thy leisure. + +IPH. And may this purification turn out as I wish! + +TH. I join in your prayer. + +IPH. I now see these strangers coming out of the house, and the adornments +of the Goddess, and the young lambs, in order that I may wash out foul +slaughter by slaughter, and the shining light of lamps, and the other +things, as many as I ordered as purifications for the strangers and the +Goddess. But I proclaim to the strangers to get out of the way of this +pollution, if any gate-keeper of the temples keeps pure hands for the Gods, +or is about to join in nuptial alliance, or is pregnant, flee, get out of +the way, lest this pollution fall on any. O thou queen, virgin daughter of +Jove and Latona, if I wash away the blood-pollution from these men, and +sacrifice where 'tis fitting, thou wilt occupy a pure house, and we shall +be prosperous. But although I do not speak of the rest, I nevertheless +signify my meaning to the Gods who know most things,[164] and to thee, O +Goddess. + +CHORUS.[165] Of noble birth is the offspring of Latona, whom once on a time +in the fruitful valleys of Delos, Phœbus with his golden locks, skilled on +the lyre, (and she who rejoices in skill of the bow,) his mother bore while +yet an infant[166] from the sea-side rock, leaving the renowned place of +her delivery, destitute of waters,[167] the Parnassian height haunted by +Bacchus, where the ruddy-visaged serpent, with spotted back, † brazen † +beneath the shady laurel with its rich foliage, an enormous prodigy of the +earth, guarded the subterranean oracle. Him thou, O Phœbus, while yet an +infant, while yet leaping in thy dear mother's arms, didst slay, and +entered upon thy divine oracles, and thou sittest on the golden tripod, on +the throne that is ever true, distributing to mortals prophecies from the +divine adyts beneath the Castalian streams, dwelling hard by, occupying a +dwelling in the middle of the earth.[168] But when, having gone against +Themis, daughter of earth, he expelled her from the divine oracles, earth +begot dark phantoms of dreams, which to many mortals explain what first, +what afterward, what in future will happen, during their sleep in the +couches of the dusky earth.[169] But † the earth † deprived Phœbus of the +honor of prophecies, through anger on her daughter's account, and the +swift-footed king, hastening to Olympus, stretched forth his little hand to +the throne of Jove.[170] [beseeching him] to take away the earth-born[171] +wrath of the Goddess, † and the nightly responses. † But he laughed, +because his son had come quickly to him, wishing to obtain the wealthy +office, and he shook his hair, and put an end to the nightly dreams,[172] +and took away nightly divination from mortals, and again conferred the +honor on Loxias, and confidence to mortals from the songs of oracles +[proclaimed] on this throne, thronged to by many strangers.[173] + +[_Enter_ A MESSENGER.] + +MESS. O ye guardians of the temple and presidents of the altars, where in +this land has king Thoas gone? Do ye, opening the well-fastened gates, call +the ruler of this land outside the house. + +CHOR. But what is it, if I may speak when I am not bidden? + +MESS. The two youths have escaped, and are gone by the contrivances of +Agamemnon's daughter, endeavoring to fly from this land, and taking the +sacred image in the bosom of a Grecian ship. + +CHOR. Thou tellest an incredible story, but the king of this country, whom +you wish to see, is gone, having quitted the temple. + +MESS. Whither? For he needs must know what has been done. + +CHOR. We know not. But go thou and pursue him to wheresoever, having met +with him, thou mayest recount this news. + +MESS. See, how faithless is the female race! and ye are partners in what +has been done. + +CHOR. Art thou mad? What have we to do with the flight of the strangers? +Will you not go as quickly as possible to the gates of the rulers? + +MESS. Not at least before some distinct informer[174] tell me this, whether +the ruler of the land is within or not within. Ho there! Open the +fastenings, I speak to those within, and tell the master that I am at the +gates, bearing a weight of evil news. + +THOAS. (_coming out_) Who makes this noise near the temple of the Goddess, +hammering at the door, and sending fear within? + +MESS. These women told me falsely, (and tried to drive me from the house,) +that you were away, while you really were in the house. + +TH. Expecting or hunting after what gain? + +MESS. I will afterward tell of what concerns them, but hear the present, +immediate matter. The virgin, she that presided over the altars here, +Iphigenia, has gone out of the land with the strangers, having the sacred +image of the Goddess; but the expiations were pretended. + +TH. How sayest thou? possessed by what breath of calamity?[175] + +MESS. In order to preserve Orestes, for at this thou wilt marvel. + +TH. What [Orestes]? Him, whom the daughter of Tyndarus bore? + +MESS. Him whom she consecrated to the Goddess at these altars. + +TH. Oh marvel! How can I rightly[176] call thee by a greater name? + +MESS. Do not turn thine attention to this, but listen to me; and having +perceived and heard, clearly consider what pursuit will catch the +strangers. + +TH. Speak, for thou sayest well, for they do not flee by the way of the +neighboring sea, so as to be able to escape my fleet. + +MESS. When we came to the sea-shore, where the vessel of Orestes was +anchored in secret, to us indeed, whom thou didst send with her, bearing +fetters for the strangers, the daughter of Agamemnon made signs that we +should get far out of the way, as she was about to offer the secret[177] +flame and expiation, for which she had come. But she, holding the fetters +of the strangers in her hands, followed behind them. And these matters were +suspicious, but they satisfied your attendants, O king. But at length, in +order forsooth that she might seem to us to be doing something, she +screamed aloud, and chanted barbarian songs like a sorceress, as if washing +out the stain of murder. But after we had remained sitting a long time, it +occurred to us whether the strangers set at liberty might not slay her, and +take to flight. And through fear lest we might behold what was not fitting, +we sat in silence, but at length the same words were in every body's mouth, +that we should go to where they were, although not permitted. And upon this +we behold the hull of the Grecian ship, [the rowing winged with well-fitted +oars,[178]] and fifty sailors holding their oars in the tholes, and the +youths, freed from their fetters, standing [on the shore] astern of the +ship.[179] But some held in the prow with their oars, and others from the +epotides let down the anchor, and others hastily applying the ladders, drew +the stern-cables through their hands, and giving them to the sea, let them +down to the strangers.[180] But we unsparing [of the toil,] when we beheld +the crafty stratagem, laid hold of the female stranger and of the cables, +and tried to drag the rudders from the fair-prowed ship from the +steerage-place. But words ensued: "On what plea do ye take to the sea, +stealing from this land the images and priestess? Whose son art thou, who +thyself, who art carrying this woman from the land?" But he replied, +"Orestes, her brother, that you may know, the son of Agamemnon, I, having +taken this my sister, whom I had lost from my house, am bearing her off." +But naught the less we clung to the female stranger, and compelled them by +force to follow us to thee, upon which arose sad smitings of the cheeks. +For they had not arms in their hands, nor had we; but fists were sounding +against fists, and the arms of both the youths at once were aimed against +our sides and to the liver, so that we at once were exhausted[181] and worn +out in our limbs. But stamped with horrid marks we fled to a precipice, +some having bloody wounds on the head, others in the eyes, and standing on +the heights, we waged a safer warfare, and pelted stones. But archers, +standing on the poop, hindered us with their darts, so that we returned +back. And meanwhile--for a tremendous wave drove the ship against the land, +and there was alarm [on board] lest she might dip her +sheet-line[182]--Orestes, taking his sister on his left shoulder, walked +into the sea, and leaping upon the ladder, placed her within the +well-banked ship, and also the image of the daughter of Jove, that fell +from heaven. And from the middle of the ship a voice spake thus, "O +mariners of the Grecian ship, seize[183] on your oars, and make white the +surge, for we have obtained the things on account of which we sailed o'er +the Euxine within the Symplegades." But they shouting forth a pleasant cry, +smote the brine. The ship, as long indeed as it was within the port, went +on; but, passing the outlet, meeting with a strong tide, it was driven +back. For a terrible gale coming suddenly, drives [the bark winged with +well-fitted oars] poop-wise,[184] but they persevered, kicking against the +wave, but an ebbing tide brought them again aground. But the daughter of +Agamemnon stood up and prayed, "O daughter of Latona, bring me, thy +priestess, safe into Greece from a barbarian land, and pardon the stealing +away of me. Thou also, O Goddess, lovest thy brother, and think thou that I +also love my kindred." But the sailors shouted a pæan in assent to the +prayers of the girl, applying on a given signal the point of the +shoulders,[185] bared from their hands, to the oars. But more and more the +vessel kept nearing the rocks, and one indeed leaped into the sea with his +feet, and another fastened woven nooses.[186] And I was immediately sent +hither to thee, to tell thee, O king, what had happened there. But go, +taking fetters and halters in your hands, for, unless the wave shall become +tranquil, there is no hope of safety for the strangers. For the ruler of +the sea, the revered Neptune, both favorably regards Troy, and is at enmity +with the Pelopidæ. And he will now, as it seems, deliver up to thee and the +citizens the son of Agamemnon, to take him into your hands, and his sister, +who is detected ungratefully forgetting the Goddess in respect to the +sacrifice at Aulis.[187] + +CHOR. O hapless Iphigenia, with thy brother wilt thou die, again coming +into the hands of thy masters. + +TH. O all ye citizens of this barbarian land, will ye not, casting bridles +on your horses, run to the shore, and receive the casting on of the Grecian +ship? But hastening, by the favor of the Goddess, will ye not hunt down the +impious men, and some of you haul the swift barks down to the sea, that by +sea, and by horse-coursings on the land seizing them, we may either hurl +them down the broken rock, or impale their bodies upon stakes. But you +women, the accomplices in these plots, I will punish hereafter, when I have +leisure, but now, having such a present duty, we will not remain idle. + +[MINERVA _appears_.] + +MIN. Whither, whither sendest thou this troop to follow [the fugitives,] +king Thoas? List to the words of me, Minerva. Cease pursuing, and stirring +on the onset of your host. For by the destined oracles of Loxias Orestes +came hither, fleeing the wrath of the Erinnyes, and in order to conduct his +sister's person to Argos, and to bear the sacred image into my land, by way +of respite from his present troubles. Thus are our words for thee, but as +to him, Orestes, whom you wish to slay, having caught him in a tempest at +sea, Neptune has already, for my sake, rendered the surface of the sea +waveless, piloting him along in the ship. But do thou, Orestes, learning my +commands, (for thou hearest the voice of a Goddess, although not present,) +go, taking the image and thy sister. And when thou art come to heaven-built +Athens, there is a certain sacred district in the farthest bounds of +Atthis, near the Carystian rock, which my people call Alœ--here, having +built a temple, do thou enshrine the image named after the Tauric land and +thy toils, which thou hast labored through, wandering over Greece, under +the goad of the Erinnyes. But mortals hereafter shall celebrate her as the +Tauric Goddess Diana. And do thou ordain this law, that, when the people +celebrate a feast in grateful commemoration of thy release from +slaughter,[188] let them apply the sword to the neck of a man, and let +blood flow on account of the holy Goddess, that she may have honor. But, O +Iphigenia, thou must needs be guardian of the temple of this Goddess at the +hallowed ascent of Brauron;[189] where also thou shalt be buried at thy +death, and they shall offer to you the honor of rich woven vestments, which +women, dying in childbed, may leave in their houses. But I command thee to +let these Grecian women depart from the land on account of their +disinterested disposition,[190] I, having saved thee also on a former +occasion, by determining the equal votes in the Field of Mars, Orestes, and +that, according to the same law, he should conquer, whoever receive equal +suffrages. But, O son of Agamemnon, do thou remove thy sister from this +land, nor be thou angered, Thoas. + +TH. Queen Minerva, whosoever, on hearing the words of the Gods, is +disobedient, thinks not wisely. But I will not be angry with Orestes, if he +has carried away the image of the Goddess with him, nor with his sister. +For what credit is there in contending with the potent Gods? Let them +depart to thy land with the image of the Goddess, and let them prosperously +enshrine the effigy. But I will also send these women to blest Greece, as +thy mandate bids. And I will stop the spear which I raised against the +strangers, and the oars of the ships, as this seems fit to thee, O Goddess. + +MIN. I commend your words, for fate commands both thee and the Gods +[themselves.] Go, ye breezes, conduct the vessel of Agamemnon's son to +Athens. And I will journey with you, to guard the hallowed image of my +sister. + +CHOR. Go ye, happy because of your preserved fortune. But, O Athenian +Pallas, hallowed among both immortals and mortals, we will do even as thou +biddest. For I have received a very delightful and unhoped-for voice in my +hearing. O thou all hallowed Victory, mayest thou possess my life, and +cease not to crown it.[191] + + * * * * * + +NOTES ON IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS + + * * * * + +[1] This verse and part of the following are set down among the "oil cruet" +verses by Aristophanes, Ran. 1232. Aristotle, Poet. § xvii. gives a sketch +of the plot of the whole play, by way of illustrating the general form of +tragedy. Hyginus, who constantly has Euripides in view, also gives a brief +analysis of the plot, fab. cxx. For a description of the quadrigæ of +Pelops, see Philostratus Imagg. i. 19. It must be observed, that Antoninus +Liberalis, § 27, makes Iphigenia only the supposititious daughter of +Agamemnon, but really the daughter of Theseus and Helen. See Meurs. on +Lycophron, p. 145. + +[2] I must confess that I can not find what should have so much displeased +the critics in this word. Iphigenia, in using such an epithet, evidently +refers to her own intended sacrifice, which had rendered the recesses of +Aulis a place of no small fame. + +[3] But Lenting prefers Αχαιους, with the approbation of the Cambridge +editor. + +[4] See Reiske apud Dindorf. Compare my note on Æsch. Ag. 188, p. 101, ed. +Bohn. So also Callimachus, Hymn. iii. μειλιον απλοϊης, ‛οτε ‛οι κατεδησας +αητας. + +[5] Sinon made the same complaint. Cf. Virg. Æn. ii. 90. + +[6] Cf. Æsch. Ag. 235. + +[7] This whole passage has been imitated by Ovid, de Ponto, iii. 2, 60. +"Sceptra tenente illo, liquidas fecisse per auras, Nescio quam dicunt +Iphigenian iter. Quam levibus ventis sub nube per aera vectam Creditur his +Phœbe deposuisse locis." Cf. Lycophron, p. 16, vs. 3 sqq. Nonnus xiii. p. +332, 14 sqq. + +[8] Observe the double construction of ανασσει. Orest. 1690. ναυταις +μεδεουσα θαλασσης. + +[9] The Cambridge editor would expunge this line, which certainly seems +languid and awkward. Boissonade on Aristænet. Ep. xiii. p. 421, would +simply read τα δ' αλλα ς. τ. θ. φοβουμενη: θυω γαρ. He also retains +‛ιερειαν, referring to Gaisford on Hephæst. p. 216. + +[10] The Cambridge editor would throw out vs. 41. + +[11] The Cambridge editor refers to Med. 56, Androm. 91, Soph. El. 425. Add +Plaut. Merc. i. 1, 3. "Non ego idem facio, ut alios in comœdiis vidi facere +amatores, qui aut nocti, aut die, Aut Soli, aut Lunæ miserias narrant +suas." Theognetus apud Athen. xv. p. 671. Casaub. πεφιλοσοφηκας γηι και +ουρανωι λαλων. Cf. Davis, on Cicero, Tusc. Q. iii. 26, and Lomeier de +Lustrat. § xxxvii. + +[12] Θριγκον is properly the uppermost part of the walls of any building +(Pollux, vii. 27) surrounding the roof, στεγος is the roof itself. + +[13] Cf. Meurs. ad Lycophron, p. 148. + +[14] I read ειμ' εισω with Hermann and the Cambridge editor. + +[15] This line is condemned by the Cambridge editor. Burges has transposed +it. + +[16] But διαδρομαις, the correction of the Cambridge editor, seems +preferable. + +[17] An interpolation universally condemned. + +[18] See Barnes, and Wetstein on Acts xix. 35. + +[19] On the wanderings of Orestes see my note on Æsch. Eum. 238 sqq. p. +187, ed. Bohn. + +[20] See the note of the Cambridge editor, with whom we must read +εισβησομεσθα. + +[21] ‛ων ουδεν ισμεν ad interiora templi spectat. HERM. + +[22] We must read γεισα τριγλυφων ‛οποι, with Blomfield and the Cambridge +editor. See Philander on Vitruv. ii. p. 35, and Pollux, vii. 27. + +[23] The sense is ουτοι, μακραν ελθοντες, εκ τερματων (sc. a meta) +νοστησομεν. ED. CAMB. + +[24] The Cambridge editor appositely compares a fragment of our author's +Cresphontes, iii. 2, αισχρον τε μοχθειν μη θελειν νεανιαν. + +[25] On the whole of this chorus, which is corrupt in several places, the +notes of the Cambridge editor should be consulted. + +[26] This last lumbering line must be corrupt. + +[27] Compare the similar scene in Soph. El. 86 sqq. + +[28] Cf. Elect. 90. νυκτος δε τησδε προς ταφον μολων πατρος. Hecub. 76. +Æsch. Pers. 179. Aristoph. Ran. 1331. + +[29] Compare my note on Æsch. Pers. 610 sqq. + +[30] See on Æsch. Choeph. 6. + +[31] Markland's emendation has been unanimously adopted by the later +editors. + +[32] Schema Colophonium. The Cambridge editor compares vs. 244. Αργει +σκηπτουχον. Phœn. 17. Θηβαισιν αναξ. Heracl. 361. Αργει τυραννος. + +[33] I have marked lacunæ, as some mythological particulars have evidently +been lost. + +[34] An imperfect allusion to the Thyestean banquet. Cf. Seneca Thyest. +774. "O Phœbe patiens, fugeris retro licet, medioque ruptum merseris cœlo +diem, sero occidisti--" vs. 787 sqq. + +[35] Cf. Æsch. Ag. 1501 sqq. Seneca, Ag. 57 sqq. + +[36] i.e. the demon allotted to me at my birth (cf. notes on Æsch. 1341, p. +135, ed. Bohn). Statius, Theb. i. 60, makes Œdipus invoke Tisiphone under +the same character.--"Si me de matre cadentem Fovisti gremio." + +[37] See the note of the Cambridge editor. + +[38] εβησαν is active. + +[39] The Cambridge editor aptly refers to Hecub. 464. + +[40] These participles refer to the preceding αιμορραντων ξεινων. + +[41] See on Heracl. 721. + +[42] The Cambridge editor would omit these two lines. + +[43] Cf. vs. 107. κατ' αντρ', ‛α ποντιος νοτιδι διακλυζει μελας. On αγμος +(Brodæus' happy correction for ‛αρμος) the Cambridge editor quotes Nicander +Ther. 146. κοιλη τε φαραγξ, και τρηχεες αγμοι, and other passages. The +manner of hunting the purple fish is thus described by Pollux, i. 4, p. 24. +They plat a long rope, to which they fasten, like bells, a number of hempen +baskets, with an open entrance to admit the animal, but which does not +allow of its egress. This they let down into the sea, the baskets being +filled with such food as the murex delights in, and, having fastened the +end of the rope to the rock, they leave it, and returning to the place, +draw up the baskets full of the fish. Having broken the shells, they pound +the flesh to form the dye. + +[44] εφθαρμενους. Cf. Cycl. 300. Hel. 783. Ed. Camb. + +[45] Compare Orest. 255 sqq. + +[46] χιτωνων is probably corrupt. + +[47] Cf. Lobeck on Aj. 17. Hesych. κοχλος τοις θαλαττιοις (i.e. κοχλοις) +εχρωντο, προ της των σαλπιγγων ευρεσεως. Virg. Æn. vi. 171. "Sed tum forte +cava dum personat æquora concha." + +[48] "Moriamur, et in media arma ruamus." Virg. Æn. ii. + +[49] Such seems to be the sense, but εξεκλεψαμεν is ridiculous, and +Hermann's emendation more so. Bothe reads εξεκοψαμεν, which is better. The +Cambridge editor thinks that the difficulty lies in πετροισι. + +[50] I would omit this line as an evident gloss. + +[51] See the Cambridge editor. + +[52] Reiske's emendation, ‛οσια for ‛οια, seems deserving of admission. + +[53] The Cambridge editor would omit these lines. + +[54] This line also the Cambridge editor trusts "will never hereafter be +reckoned among the verses of Euripides." + +[55] Such is the proper sense of αντιθεισα. + +[56] νιν is νυμφευματα. + +[57] Read κασιγνητηι. + +[58] I read τοις μεν and τοις δ' with the Cambridge editor. Hermann's +emendation is unheard of. + +[59] This clause interrupts the construction. δραμοντες must be understood +with all the following sentence, as no finite verb is expressed except +επερασαν. + +[60] I have partly followed Hermann, reading επεβαιην ... απολαυων, but, as +to reading ‛υπνων for ‛υμνων, the Cambridge editor well calls it "one of +the wonders of his edition." I should prefer reading ολβου with the same +elegant scholar. + +[61] I follow the Cambridge editor in reading διδυμας, from Ovid, Ep. Pont. +iii. 2, 71. "Protinus immitem Triviæ ducuntur ad aram, Evincti geminas ad +sua terga manus." + +[62] "_displays while she offers_" i.e. "_presents as a public offering_" +ED. CAMB. + +[63] I am but half satisfied with this passage. + +[64] Read εσεσθε δη κατω with the Cambridge editor. + +[65] We must read νω with Porson. + +[66] Probably a spurious line. + +[67] Read Μυκηνων γ', _ay, from Mycenæ_, with the Cambridge editor. + +[68] Hermann seems rightly to read ‛ος γ' εν. + +[69] Dindorf rightly adopts Reiske's emendation συ τουδ' ερα. + +[70] The Cambridge editor rightly reads τινά with an accent, as Orestes +obviously means himself. Compare Soph. Ant. 751. ‛ηδ' ουν θανειται, και +θανουσ' ολει τινά. + +[71] Such is the force of δη. + +[72] I would read εξεπραξατο with Emsley, but I do not agree with him in +substituting κακην. The oxymoron seems intentional, and by no means unlike +Euripides. + +[73] The Cambridge editor would read εστ' ουτις λογος. + +[74] But χαριν, as Matthiæ remarks, is taken in two senses; as a +preposition with γυναικος, _ob improbam mulierem_, and as a substantive, +with αχαριν added. Cf. Æsch. Choeph. 44. Lucretius uses a similar oxymoron +respecting the same subject, i. 99. "Sed _casta inceste_ nubendi tempore in +ipso Hostia concideret mactatu mæsta parentis." + +[75] This passage is very corrupt. The Cambridge editor supposes something +lost respecting the fortunes of Orestes. Hermann reads ‛εν δε λυπεισθαι +μονον, ‛ο τ' ουκ αφρων ων. But I am very doubtful. + +[76] These three lines are justly condemned as an absurd interpolation by +Dindorf and the Cambridge editor. + +[77] This seems the easiest way of expressing και συ after συ δ'. + +[78] I am partly indebted to Potter's happy version. The Cambridge editor +is as ingenious as usual, but he candidly allows that conjecture is +scarcely requisite. + +[79] i.e. thou seemest reckless of life. + +[80] προστροπη, this mode of offering supplication, i.e. this duty of +sacrifice. + +[81] Diodorus, xx. 14. quotes this and the preceding line reading χθονος +for πετρας. He supposes that Euripides derived the present account from the +sacrifices offered to Saturn by the Carthaginians, who caused their +children to fall from the hands of the statue εις τι χασμα πληρες πυρος. +Compare Porphyr. de Abst. ii. 27. Justin, xviii. 6. For similar human +sacrifices among the Gauls, Cæsar de B.G. vi. 16, with the note of Vossius. +Compare also Saxo Grammaticus, Hist. Dan. iii. p. 42, and the passages of +early historians quoted in Stephens' entertaining notes, p. 92. + +[82] Cf. Tibull. i. 3, 5. "Abstineas, mors atra, precor, non hic mihi +mater, Quæ legat in mæstos ossa perusta sinus; non soror, Assyrios cineri +quæ dedat odores, et fleat effusis ante sepulchra comis." + +[83] This must be what the poet _intends_ by κατασβεσω, however awkwardly +expressed. See Hermann's note. + +[84] Compare vs. 468 sq. + +[85] This line is hopelessly corrupt. + +[86] I read μεν ουν with the Cambridge editor. + +[87] αζηλα is in opposition to the whole preceding clause. + +[88] See the note of the Cambridge editor on Iph. Aul. 1372. + +[89] I should prefer εστι δη,"_she surely is._" + +[90] We must evidently read either διηλθον with Porson, or διελθε with +Jan., Le Fevre, and Markland. + +[91] I almost agree with Dindorf in considering this line spurious. + +[92] For this construction compare Ritterhus. ad Oppian, Cyn. i. 11. + +[93] I can not help thinking this line is spurious, and the preceding θηται +corrupt. One would expect θησηι. + +[94] Cf. Kuinoel on Cydon. de Mort. Contem. § 1, p. 6, n. 18. + +[95] Literally, "no longer a hinderance," i.e. "that I be no longer +responsible for its fulfillment." + +[96] The Cambridge editor, however, seems to have settled the question in +favor of οισθ' ‛ουν ‛ο δρασον. + +[97] I must candidly confess that none of the explanations of these words +satisfy me. Perhaps it is best to regard them, with Seidler, as merely +signifying the mutability of fortune. + +[98] i.e. as far as the fulfilling of my oath is concerned. + +[99] The letter evidently commences with the words ‛η 'ν Αυλιδι σφαγεισα. I +can not imagine how Markland and others should have made it commence with +the previous line. + +[100] i.e. in what company. + +[101] This line is either spurious or out of place. See the Cambridge +editor. + +[102] The Cambridge editor in a note exhibiting his usual chastened and +elegant judgment, regards these three lines as an absurd and trifling +interpolation. For the credit of Euripides, I would fain do the same. + +[103] The same elegant scholar justly assigns these lines to Iphigenia. + +[104] So Erfurdt. + +[105] See the Cambridge editor. + +[106] This line seems justly condemned by the Cambridge editor. + +[107] With καμπτεις understand δρομον = thou art fast arriving at the goal +of the truth. + +[108] Read απεδεξω with ed. Camb. + +[109] "I remember it: for the wedding did not, by its happy result, take +away the recollection of that commencement of nuptial ceremonies." CAMB. +ED. + +[110] i.e. Iphigenia sent it with a view to a cenotaph at Mycenæ, as she +was about to die at Aulis. See Seidler. + +[111] "This Homeric epithet of an only son is used, I believe, nowhere else +in Attic poetry. Its adoption here seems owing to Hom. Il. Ι. 142 and 284. +τισω δε μιν ‛ισον Ορεστηι ‛Ος μοι τηλυγετος τρεφεται θαλιηι ενι πολληι." +ED. CAMB. + +[112] This is Musgrave's elegant emendation, which Hermann, unwilling to +let well alone, has attempted to spoil. See, however, the Cambridge editor, +who possesses taste and clear perception, unbiased by self-love. + +[113] Read εμοις with the Cambridge editor. + +[114] But φυγηις, and ω φιλος, the emendation of Burges, seems far better, +and is followed by the Cambridge editor. + +[115] i.e. I can imagine your sufferings at Aulis. + +[116] The Cambridge editor compares Hec. 684. ‛ετερα δ' αφ' ‛ετερων κακα +κακων κυρει. + +[117] This is Reiske's interpretation, taking the construction πριν ξιφος +παλ. επι ‛αιματι. But Seidler would recall the old reading πελασαι, +comparing Hel. 361. αυτοσιδαρον εσω πελασω δια σαρκος ‛αμιλλαν. This is +better, but we must also read ετι for επι with the Cambridge editor. + +[118] ‛ριπαι ποδων is a bold way of expressing rapid traveling. + +[119] Read ανα with Markland, for αρα. + +[120] I read η δια κυαν. with the Cambridge editor. The following words are +rendered thus by Musgrave, "Per ... _est_ longum iter." + +[121] Unintelligible, and probably spurious. + +[122] The Cambridge editor finds fault with the obvious clumsiness of the +expression, and proposes εχειν for λαβειν. I have still greater doubts +about εκβαντας τυχης. The sense ought to be, "'tis the part of wise men, +_when fortune favors_, not to lose the opportunity, but to gain other +advantages." + +[123] See Dindorf's notes. But the Cambridge editor has shown so decided a +superiority to the German critics, that I should unhesitatingly adopt his +reading, as follows: ου μη μ' επισχηις, ουδ' αποστησεις λογου, το μη ου +πυθεσθαι ... φιλα γαρ ταυτα, (with Markland,) although πρωτον may perhaps +be defended. + +[124] See the Cambridge editor. The same elegant scholar has also improved +the arrangement of the lines. + +[125] "Quanquam animus meminisse horret, luctuque refugit, Incipiam." Virg. +Æn. i. + +[126] I read ενθ' εμον ποδα with Herm. and Dind. + +[127] Cf. Elect. 1258 sqq., and Meurs. Areop. § i. ψηφος seems here used to +denote the place where the council was held. The pollution of Mars was the +murder of Hallirothius. Cf. Pausan. i. 21. + +[128] An instance of the nominativus pendens. + +[129] So Valckenaer, Diatr. p. 246, who quotes some passages relative to +the treatment of Orestes at Athens. + +[130] See the Cambridge editor. + +[131] See Barnes, who quotes the Schol. on Arist. Eq. 95. Χους was the name +of the festival. + +[132] εμοι is the dativus commodi. + +[133] I am indebted to Maltby for this translation. + +[134] Cf. Piers, on Mœr. p. 351, and the Cambridge editor. + +[135] But see ed. Camb. + +[136] Such is the force, of ου γαρ αλλ'. + +[137] These lines are very corrupt, and perhaps, as Dindorf thinks, +spurious. + +[138] Markland rightly reads ‛ιεροφυλακες. + +[139] "dicam me daturam." MARKLAND. + +[140] ‛οδ' is the correction of Brodæus. + +[141] νεως πιτυλος seems not merely a periphrase, but implies that the oars +are in the row-locks, as if ready for starting. + +[142] But the Cambridge editor very elegantly reads ει τοι. + +[143] Put φθεγξασθε in an inclosure, and join ταυτα with θελει. See ed. +Camb. + +[144] Schol. Theocr. Id. vii. 57. θρηνητικον το ζωιον, και παρα τοις +αιγιαλοις νεοττευον. Cf. Aristoph. Ran. 1309, who perhaps had the passage +in view. + +[145] αγορος is a somewhat rare word for αγυρις. + +[146] Cf. Hecub. 457 sqq. + +[147] So Matthiæ, "locum ubi Latona partum edidit." + +[148] Read κυκλιον with Seidler. On the λιμνη τροχοειδης at Delos, see +Barnes. + +[149] "I was conveyed by sailors and soldiers." ED. CAMB. + +[150] The same scholar quotes Soph. Ph. 43. αλλ' η' πι φορβης νοστον +εξεληλυθεν, vhere νοστος is used in the same manner as here, simply meaning +"a journey." + +[151] But see Camb. ed. + +[152] I read ζηλουσα ταν with the same. + +[153] The Cambridge critic again proposes μεταβολαι δ' ευδαιμονια, which he +felicitously supports. Musgrave has however partly anticipated this +emendation. + +[154] Dindorf has shown so little care in editing this passage, that I have +merely recalled the old reading, αερι δ' ‛ιστια προτονοι κ. πρ. ‛υπερ +στολον εκπ., following the construction proposed by Heath, and approved, as +it appears, by the Cambridge editor. Seidler's note is learned and +instructive, but I have some doubts about his criticism. + +[155] i.e. I wish I might become a bird and fly homeward. + +[156] See ed. Camb. + +[157] But see ibid. Dindorf's text is a hopeless display of bad readings +and worse punctuation. + +[158] Reading γεννας, I have done my best with this passage, but I can only +refer to the Cambridge editor for a text and notes worthy of the play. + +[159] I have recalled the old reading, ‛οσια. + +[160] On these sort of prodigies, see Musgrave, and Dansq. on Quintus +Calaber, xii. 497 sqq. + +[161] "in eo, ut" is the force of εν εργωι. + +[162] Perhaps a sly allusion to their escape. + +[163] See ed. Camb. + +[164] But we must read τοις τε with the Cambridge editor = "who know more +than men." + +[165] I can not too early impress upon the reader the necessity of a +careful attention to the criticisms of the Cambridge editor throughout this +difficult chorus, especially to his masterly sketch of the whole, p. 146, +147. + +[166] φερεν ινιν is Burges' elegant emendation, the credit of which has +been unduly claimed by Seidler. + +[167] i.e. the place afterward called Inopus. See Herm., whose construction +I have followed. + +[168] On the ομφαλος see my note on Æsch. Eum. p. 180, ed. Bohn. On the +Delphic priesthood, compare ibid. p. 179. + +[169] See, however, the Cambridge editor. + +[170] Read ες θρονον with Barnes and Dind., or rather επι Ζηνος θρονον with +Herm. + +[171] But see Dindorf. + +[172] See Dindorf's note, but still better the Cambridge editor. + +[173] I follow Seidler. + +[174] So ed. Camb. + +[175] i.e. what evil inspiration of the Gods impelled her to this act? +Thoas, who is represented as superstitious to the most barbarian extent, +naturally regards the infidelity of Iphigenia as proceeding from the +intervention of heaven. + +[176] Cf. Monk. on Hippol. 828. + +[177] Cf. vs. 1197. ερημιας δει. + +[178] Dindorf and the Cambridge editor follow Hermann, who would place this +line after vs. 1394. + +[179] So Musgrave. + +[180] Seidler has deserved well of this passage, both by his correction +τοιν ξενοιν for την ξενην, and by his learned and clear explanation of the +nautical terms. + +[181] Dindorf has adopted Markland's emendation, but I prefer ‛ωστ' +εξαναπνειν with the Cambridge editor. + +[182] i.e. capsize. + +[183] But see ed. Camb. + +[184] I have introduced the line above mentioned, and have likewise adopted +Hermann's introduction of παλιμπρυμνηδον from Hesychius, in lieu of παλιν +πρυμνησι'. + +[185] See ed. Camb. + +[186] "The obvious intent of these measures was to fasten the vessel to +some point of the rocks, and thus prevent her being wrecked." ED. CAMB. + +[187] "Our passage is thus to be understood, ‛η ‛αλισκεται προδουσα το +μνημονευειν θεαι φονον." ED. CAMB. + +[188] So Hermann rightly explains the sense. I agree with the Cambridge +editor, that if Euripides had intended to use ‛οσιας substantively, he +would hardly have joined it with θεας, thereby causing an ambiguity. + +[189] There is another construction, taking κλιμ. θεας together. On the +whole introduction of Minerva, see the clever note of the Cambridge editor, +p. 158, 159. + +[190] There is evidently a lacuna, as the transition to Orestes is worse +than abrupt. The mythological allusions in the following lines are well +explained in the notes of Barnes and Seidler. + +[191] On these last verses see the end of the Orestes, with Dindorf's note. + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 15081 *** |