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THE

TRAGEDIES

OF

KHURIPIDES

LITERALLY TRANSLATED,

WITH CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES,

BY

THEODORE ALOIS BUCKLEY,

OF CHRIST CHURCH.’

VOL. II.

HERCULES FURENS, TROADES, ION, ANDROMACHE, SUPPLIANTS,
HELEN, ELECTRA, CYCLOPS, RHESUS.

LONDON :

HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.
y MDCCCLXIII.
| d
CE

   

Z

¥ WNEAS)¥

 

JOHN CHILDS AND SON, PRINTERS.
HERCULES FURENS.

PERSONS REPRESENTED.

AMPHITRYO.

MEGARA.

LYCUS.

IRIS.

MADNESS.

MESSENGER.

HERCULES.

THESEUS.

CHORUS OF THEBAN
OLD MEN.
THE ARGUMENT.

Hercu es, on his return to Thebes, finds Lycus in possession of the
throne, on the point of slaying his wife Megara, and his children. Having
slain the tyrant, he is seized with madness at the instigation of Juno, and
murders his wife and children, supposing them to be the relatives of his
task-master, Eurystheus. On coming to his senses, he meditates suicide ;
but is comforted by the advice of Theseus, with whom he sets out to
Athens, in order to obtain expiation.
HERCULES FURENS

AMPHITRYO.

Wuo among mortals knows not Amphitryo of Argos, the
sharer of Jove’s nuptial bed,! he whom once on atime Alczus,
the son of Perseus, begot, the father of Hercules? Who pos-
sessed this country of Thebes; where the earth-born crop of
sown heroes sprung forth, of whose race Mars preserved a
small number, who with children of their children people the
city of Cadmus.?_ Hence (was) sprung Creon, son of Me-
nzceus, the ruler of this land. And Creon becomes the father
of this Megara, at whose nuptials® erst the whole Cadmean
people shouted in tune with the flute, when the renowned
Hercules conducted her into my house. But my son, having
left ‘Thebes, where I was settled, and this [my daughter |
Megara, and his kindred, he chose to inhabit the Argive walls
and Cyclopean city,‘ from which I take flight, having slain
Electryon. But wishing to alleviate my woes, and to dwell
in his own country, he offers, as a great recompence to Eurys-
theus for my return, to render the land safe from pests,
whether being subdued by the goad of Juno, or under the
influence of fate. And through the rest of his labours he
toiled; and at last he went down to [the house of] Hades,
through the mouth of Txnarus, to bring the triple-bodied

-¥ Woodhull compares Plaut. Amphit. v. 1, 72, “Pol me haud peenitet
Scilicet boni dimidium mihi dividere cum Jove.’
2 Cf. 798, Emapriv—r6xoe, 6 bc yay réxvwy rixvorc perapetBer,
3 Read je with Reiske.
4 Ani inv erted form of expression, for “the Cyclopean walls of the city
of Argos,” :
B
4 HERCULES FURENS. 25—63.

hound into the light; from whence he comes not back. But
there is an old story among the Cadmeians, that Lycus, the
husband of Dirce, once was ruler over this city of seven
towers, before that Zethus and Amphion, the twins with
white steeds, the descendants of Jove, lorded it over the
land. His son [Lycus], called by the same name as his
father, not being a Cadmean® [by birth], but coming from
Eubcea, slays Creon, and having slain him, sways the land,
falling upon this city while under a sedition. But the rela-
tionship united to Creon has, as it seems, become the greatest
evil to me. For while my son is in the recesses of the earth,
this glorious® ruler of this land, Lycus, desires to destroy the
children of Hercules, slaying them and his wife too, that he
may extinguish one murder by another, and me too,—if in-
deed it is fitting to speak of me, myself among men, a useless
old man,—lest at some time these boys, coming to man’s estate,
should avenge their maternal grandsire’s death. But I, (for
my son leaves me in this dwelling, as the careful guardian of
his children, when he descended into the murky gloom of the
earth,) together with their mother, lest the descendants of
Hercules should perish, am sitting at this altar of Jove the
Preserver, which my noble son reared as a memorial of his
victorious spear, having subdued the Minyx. And, destitute
of all things, of food, of drink, of raiment, we are keeping
this sitting, placing our backs upon the bare ground. For
we sit, barred out from dwellings, in want of the means of
safety. But of friends some I perceive are not sure friends ;
-while they that are sure friends are unable to render assistance.
Such a thing is misfortune to men, which never may any one,
who is even‘moderately well disposed towards me, encounter,
[seeing it is] a most unerring test of friends.’

Mecara. Oh! thou old man, who once didst take the city
of the ‘Taphians, having with renown led the arms of the Cad-
meians, how uncertain is the will of the Gods to men! For
neither in respect to my father have I been unfortunate,

§ Because born during his father’s banishment at Eubora. See Barnes
and Woodhull.

© This is said ironically, Or else we must read cade, “new,” with
Pierson and Elmsley.

7 The accusative éAsyxor does not relate to Suompatia, but to a sup-
pressed infinitive, dvompatiag ruyeiv, Etmsiey.
64—100. HERCULES FURENS. 5

who was once vaunted great because of his wealth, possessing
royal sway, (through the love for which are long spears aimed at
fortunate persons,) and possessing children; and he gave me
to thy son, having united me as the noble wife of Hercules.’
And now those things have departed in death. But I and
thou, old man, are about to die, and these the sons of Hercules,
whom, crouching down, I guard, as a bird does a brood under
her wings. But they by turns come questioning me, “O
mother, speak, where onthe earth is my father gone?
What is he doing? When will he come?” And deceived
[as to their sad state] through their youth, they seek their
sire, and I change the theme, comforting them with words.
And I marvel, when the doors creak, and each one starts up,
that they may fall at their father’s knee. Now, therefore, what
hope or way of safety dost thou discover, old man; for to thee
T look? For neither can we privily pass the boundaries of
the land, for guards, more powerful than us, are at the outlets ;
nor are there any longer hopes of safety for us in friends.
Tell us then in common, what opinion you entertain, lest
death be ready at hand, but we, being feeble, lengthen out
the time.®

Ampu. O daughter, in no wise is it easy to give advicé
casually in such a state of things, hastening without trouble.!®

Mec. Dost thou lack aught of grief, or art thou so fond
of life ? ;

Ampu. I both rejoice in life, and cherish hopes.

Meg. And I. But one should not look for things not to
be looked for, old man. ;

Ampu. In.delay there is wont to be remedy for ills.

Mec. But the intervening time, being grievous, gnaws me.

Ampit. O daughter, an auspicious gale may waft { us] out of
these evils present to me and thee, and my son and thy husband
may yet return. But keep quiet, and dry up the tear-founts flow-
ing of thy children, and console them with words, beguiling
them, though sad the cheat, with tales. For the disasters of

8 The construction is most irregular, With éwxe we must understand
réxy from vs. 63, The regular expression would have been: ovr’ eic
warépa, ovr’ tc wdoty, as remarked by Matthie. ,

® i, e, 1), TOU Oavety Eroipov bvTog Xodvoy pyKdvwpEv, Dinpdorr.

10 @abdwe is explained by the words dvev wévou, and omovdac, dy,
aéyvov is one of those oxymorons in which Euripides delights, MaTrruz.
6 HERCULES FURENS. 101—144,

mankind are wont to cease, and the blasts of winds have not
always the (same) violence, and the fortunate are not fortunate
throughout, for all things undergo a change, and stand apart
from each other. But best is that man, who ever relies on
hope, but to despair is the part of a base man.

Cuo. Resting for support on a staff, I have come to the roofed
dwellings, and the chambers of the aged,"! like the white swan,
the bard of grievous dirges, a mere word, and dim-visaged
phantom of nightly dreams,'? tremulous indeed, yet with good
will. O fatherless children, of your sire, O old man, and
thou too, hapless mother, who bemoanest thy husband in the
dwellings of Hades. Weary not yourselves, letting go your
foot and tired ankle, like a yoke-bearing steed up a rocky
steppe,'3 bearing the weight of his foot, driven in a waggon.
Take hold of the hands and garments [of me, an old man]
whose weak footstep is failing; and do thou aged escort me
aged, thou with whom, while young, in the toils of equals,
there were fellow-shields (and) young spears, I4 no disgrace
to our most glorious country. See! how the terrible-looking
beams from the eyes [of these children] are like their sire’s ;
but yet misfortune has not failed’ from these children, nor is
their beauty gone.® O Greece, of what, ah! of what allies
wilt thou be deprived, after having destroyed these! But [I
cease], for I behold Lycus, the ruler of this land, passing near
to this dwelling.

Lycus. I ask, if I may, the father and wife of Ilercules;
but since indeed I am your master, I may ask what I will.
For what period do ye seek to prolong life? What hope or
defence do ye perceive, that ye should not die? Do ye be-

11 j, e, the house of Amphitryon and Alcmena,

@ ‘These expressions refer to the old men themselves, Cf. Atsch. Ag.
82, With déxnua vux. dvepiv, compare Hee, 73, Evvvxov dWic.... Oe
déveipwy, For éea below, vs, 239, obdty évra mhiv yucane pogo,

18 I think Hermann is right in reading ¢Zavévrec, and I have followed
his construing, But the whole passage is far from satisfactory, In the
following lines I have followed Dobree,

4 The construction seems to be: yipwy—q@ 7d m. by HA, wovarg véw
[Sure] Evvijy wore Evy, dépara véa, ‘The more simple mode of expres-
sion would have been viog vi ouvijy. With vs. 126, cf. Bacch, 185,
LEnyob ob pot Pépwy yépovrs,

'® This is very clumsily expressed, Dindorf most happily reads, dy,
duy, réixvwy, Ob0' droixerat xaprc. Td d8 waxoruxic ob éxAfdourev,
The verses ought evidently to change places,
145-183. HERCULES FURENS, q

lieve that the father of these children, who lies in Hades, will
return? Since ye lift up your grief beyond what is proper,
since it must needs be that ye die; thou indeed having thrown
out empty boasts through Greece, how that Jove being thy fel-
low in nuptials, begat a new God: and thou, that thou wert call-
ed the wife of the greatest of heroes. Now what mighty deed
has been achieved by your husband, even if he destroyed and
slew the hydra of the marshes, or the Nemean wild beast, whom
having caught in toils, he says he killed by the strangling grap-
plings of his arm? Do ye contest it out with [me] through
such exploits? Is it for such things that the children of
Hercules must not die ; who, being nothing, got the reputa»
tion for valour, in war with wild beasts; but, for the rest, was
of no prowess ; who never wore a shield on his left arm, nor
encountered the spear, but equipped with a bow, that most
cowardly weapon, was well prepared for flight. But bow and
arrows are no proofs of a man’s valour; but he [is the brave
man] who, abiding still, keeps an eye and looks undaunted
upon the swift cut furrow of the spear, having taken his station.
But my intent, old man, has nothing of ruthlessness, but of
forethought; for I know that I slew Creon, the father of this
woman, and possess his throne. I do not, therefore, wish,
these being trained up, to leave them the avengers for what I
have done.!®

Ampn. Let Jove assert the cause of his own son. But as
for me, O Hercules, it is my care in your behalf to evince by
arguments the folly of this man in respect to you; for one
must not permit to hear your spoken ill of. First, indeed, the
charge not to be spoken, (and thy cowardice, O Hercules,
I deem amongst things not to be spoken,) it behoves me to
remove from thee, with the Gods as witnesses. But I would
fain appeal to Jove’s thunder and four steeds, mounted on
which he, having fixed the winged darts in the flanks of the
earth-born giants, celebrated his victory with the Gods ; and :
of the four-legged vaunting race of the centaurs, going to
Pholoe, ask thou, the basest of kings, what man they would judge
the best ? whether it would not be my son, whom you say (only)

16 This is most clumsily expressed. Dindorf would read rept, ¢pot xp.

X. ray dedp. épt,  Elmsley construes rip, die roy dedp, but as the
words at present stand, dixqy can only be taken adverbially.
8 HERCULES FURENS, 184—224,

seemed to be. But if you asked of Eubcan Dirphys,'? who
trained thee up, it would not praise thee; for there is not
where, haying done any good deed, thou couldst call thy
country to witness. But you find fault with that all-wise
invention, the equipment of archery. Listen now to my words,
and be wise.. A man in heavy armour is the slave of his
weapons, and [joined] with those who are in rank, not being
brave, himself is wont to perish through the cowardice of those
close at hand; and having broken his spear, he has nought
wherewith to ward off death from his person, having one de-:
fence alone. Butas many as possess a hand skilled in archery,
to them there is one excellent point; having discharged ten
thousand arrows against others, a man can defend his body,
so that he die not ; but standing aloof, he wards off the ene-
my, wounding those who can see with unseen shafts; and he
does not expose his own body to the enemy, but is on a good
guard. Now this ‘is wise in battle, to do the enemy most
harm, but to preserve one’s own person, not hurrying forth!® at
random.!® These words, indeed, have a different bent to yours
¢oncerning the subject in hand; but wherefore dost thou
wish to slay these children? , What have they done to thee?
In one thing I deem thee wise, if thou, thyself being base,
dost fear the descendants of the best of men. But, neverthe-
less, this is grievous to us, if we must die for thy cowardice’
sake,—a tute which it were meet for you to suffer at the hands
of us, your betters, if Jove had a just mind towards us. If then
thou thyself wouldst fain possess the sceptre of this land, let
us depart out of the land as fugitives; but do nothing by
violence, or thou wilt suffer violence when the deity shall
chance to change the gale against thee. Alas! O land of
Cadmus (for I will go against thee, uttering words of re-
_proach). Is this your defence of Hercules and his children ?
who, coming singly to battle with all the Minyx, caused
Thebes to uplift the eye of freedom. Nor do I commend
Greece, nor will I ever endure to keep silence, from finding
most base towards my son [that Greece], which ought to

17 Abas was one of the-ancient names of Eubea.

1% One would rather expect wpzenpévoug, as Mr. Burges remarks.

® Or, as Hermann interprets, ‘non consistentem extra stationem a
bona fortuna oblatam.”
225—266. HERCULES FURENS, gg

bring for these young ones, fire, spears, arms, as a re-'
turn for the purification of the sea?° and land, for the sake.
of which he toiled. But in these matters, children, neither
the city of the Thebans nor Greece aids you; but ye look to
me, a weak friend, who am nothing but the sound of a tongue.
For the strength I once possessed has left me; and through
old age my limbs are trembling and my strength failing. But
were [a young man, and still in possession of bodily strength,
I would, snatching a sword, have made this man’s yellow
locks bloody, so that through cowardice he would have fled
beyond the Atlantic bounds! from my sword.

Cuno. Is it not true that the good among mortals possess
an occasion for discourse, though one may be slow to speak ?

Lycus. Thou indeed dost speak against us with the words
in which thou towerest up thyself; but I will requite thee evilly
toreturn for thy words. Go, some [of ye] to Helicon, some to
Parnassus’ vale, and bid woodmen goand fell faggots of oak; and
when they are borne into the city, having heaped wood around
the altar, so as to surround it,2? burn and consume the bodies
of them all, that they may learn that it is not the dead who
sways this land, but that it is I, at the present time.. But
you old men, being opposed to my will, shall not mourn only
the children of Hercules, but also the fortunes of your house,
when it shall suffer something, and ye shall remember that ye
are the slaves of my sway.

Cuo. O offspring of the earth, whom Mars once sowed,
having denuded of its teeth the savage jaw of the dragon, will
ye not uplift your staffs, the supports of your right hands,
and make bloody the impious head of this man, who, not
being a Cadmeian, rules over these youths, the basest of
aliens? But thou shalt never have mastery over me with
impunity, nor shalt thou possess what I have toiled for,
labouring much with my hands; but going thither from
whence thou camest, act the tyrant; for, while I am living,
thou ne’er shalt kill the children of Hercules; nor is he so
long hidden beneath the earth, having left his children. For
you indeed have been the ruin of this land; but he, having
benefited it, obtains not what is worthy. And am Ia busy-

20 On the exploits of Hercules by sea cf. Musgrave.
2 Cf, Hippol. 3, with Monk’s note.
2 In order to force the suppliants from the altar. Sce Barnes,
10 HERCULES FURENS. 266—303.

body, because I act well towards my deceased friends at a
time where there is greatest need of friends? O right hand,
how dost thou crave to seize the spear; but in thy weakness
hast lost thy desire! For I would have stopped thee calling
me slave, and I would have dwelt with renown in this land
of Thebes, in which thou art rejoicing. But a city has
not good thoughts, labouring under a sedition and evil
counsels. For never otherwise would it have owned thee as
its master.

Mec. Old men, I commend you; for ’tis meet that friends
should entertain just indignation on behalf of their friends.
But do not ye suffer aught wrathful with your masters on
our account. But hear my opinion, Amphitryo, if I seem
to thee to say any thing [wisely]. I love my children—for
how should I not love those, whom I bore and toiled for ?—
And to die I deem a dreadful thing. Yet doI hold that mor-
tal foolish, who strives against the stress of necessity. But
since we needs must die, it behoves us to die, not wasted
away by fire, furnishing laughter to our enemies, which to me
is a greater evil than death ; for we owe much honour to our
house. Thou indeed a fair renown in warfare hath possessed ;
so that ’tis not to be endured that thou shouldst die under the
imputation of cowardice; but my husband, even without
witness, is of such fair renown, that he would not wish to
save these children, having obtained a bad repute ; for the
noble ill bear to contend with baseness on behalf of their
children,”* and the example of my husband must not be re-
jected by me. But consider thy grounds of hope, as far as I can
reckon. Thou thinkest thy son will return from below”! the
earth. And who of the dead has ever returned from Hades ?
But [perhaps thou hopest] that we may soften this man with
entreaties. By no means; it behoves one to avoid a froward
enemy; but to yield to the wise and well trained; for more
easily, offering friendly words, will you meet with pity. And
already it has occurred to me, whether we could obtain a
commutation of the fate of these children to exile.> But this
also is sad, to invest oneself with safety together with pitiable
poverty ; since they say that the faces of hosts present but for

23 « Probra egre ferunt pro liberis propugnantes, igitur que in liberos
congeruntur.”) MaTTHLs.

% yaiag brep, Dose. Dinn. 23 Literally, “beg off exile.”
306—343, HERCULES FURENS, 11

one day a pleasant look for fugitive friends.2® Endure with us
death, which nevertheless awaits thee. I call upon thy noble-
ness, old man; for whosoever is eager to try to escape from
misfortunes sent by the Gods, is in his eagerness foolish. For
what must be, no one will ever make so that it must not be.

Cuno. If any one had insulted thee while my arms were
strong, he would easily have ceased. But now we are
nought; and ’tis for thee henceforward to consider how thou
wilt endure thy fortunes, Amphitryo.

Ampeu. Neither cowardice nor the desire of life hinders me
from dying ; but I wish to preserve the children for my son.
But I seem vainly to desire impossible things. See, this neck
is ready for the sword, to pierce, to'slay, to hurl down from a
rock. But grant us one favour, O king, we beseech thee.
Kill me and this wretched woman before the children, that
we may not behold (accursed sight!) the children breathing
their last, and calling upon their mother, and their mother’s
father. But do the rest, as you have the will; for we have
no defence, so as not to die.

Mere. And I beseech thee to add a favour to this favour,
that you, being one, may render us both a double office. Do
thou, having opened [the doors of] the house, permit me to put
upon the children the ornaments of the dead, (for we are now
shut out,) that they may obtain this at least from the house
of their sire.

Lyc. These things shall be. I bid the domestics open the
bolts. Going within, bedeck yourselves; I grudge not garments.
But when ye have thrown the garments round your bodies,
I will come to you, and give [you] to the nether world.

Mec. O children, follow the hapless step of your mother
into your ancestral dwelling, where others possess our sub-
stance, though our name is still in existence.

Ampu. O Jove, truly in vain have I possessed thee for a
partner in my nuptials, and in vain indeed have I been called
the father of thy son.” But thou wast certainly less a friend
than thou didst seem. I, being a mortal, surpass in virtue
thee, a mighty God. For I did not betray the children of

26 See Matthiz,

27 The common reading is hopeless, and I have therefore translated
Reiske’s emendation, matdd¢ cod yovets Exdylopny, which Dindorf seems
to approve.
12 HERCULES FURENS. 344—397.

Hercules. But thou knewest how to come stealthily to the
nuptial bed, taking another man’s wife with no one’s permis-
sion ; but knowest not how to preserve thy friends. ‘Thou
art some ignorant God, or not by nature wise.

Cuo. Aflinon! sooth in joyous song®® does Phebus shout,
striking quickly with golden quill the sweet-stringed lyre. But
I would fain celebrate with praise him who has gone into the
gloom of earth and the shades, whether I may style him son of
Jove or Amphitryo, as a reward for his labours. But the
valour of noble toils is a glory to the dead. First, indeed,
he freed the [Nemean] wood of Jove from the lion, and
having thrown it athwart his shoulders, he covered his auburn
locks with the terrible yawning jaws”? of the tawny mon-
ster. And with his deadly arrows he wounded erst the
mountain-ranging race of the wild centaurs, destroying them
with his winged shafts. Peneius, with its beauteous eddies,
was conscious of [his prowess ],®° and the wide unfruitful fields
of the plains, and the Pelian knolls, and the neighbouring caves
of Omole, from whence arming their hands with pine-trees,
they subdued the land of the Thessalians in onslaughts with
horse. And having slain the golden-horned dappled hind,
that ravaged the fields, he made it a prize-offering to the God-
dess of Cinoe*! that delights in hunting. And he mounted
the chariot of Diomede, and tamed his steeds with the bit,
who, in their bloody mangers unbridled, gorged with jaws their
gory food, at the table accursed by banquets of men’s flesh.
But he drove them across { to the bank { *? beyond the silver

28 Hermann appositely compares Athen. xiv, p. 619, c, Aivoe Gé Kai
aihivog, ob povoy ty wivOeoty, GAG Kai én’ ebrvxsi podwd, KaTa Téy
"Evperidny, Perhaps by Aadvwy we should rather understand the rapid
passing over the strings in arpeggio movements, So in Latin ‘ percur-
rens”’ is used, . ree

29 Rather a bold phrase, signifying that the head hung from his shoulder,
over which the skin was thrown, aupcod is used to qualily it, as it
clearly refers to the colour of the skin.

%° This must mean that Pencius and its neighbourhood was the scene
of this victory. See Musgrave,

3t Diana, See Hesych.s.v. Olvwarie "Aprepic.

2 6yOay is Matthie’s correction for dy@ov, but is totally inapplicable
to the sense. Dindorf would read péy@ov with Musgrave, and change
exépacey into kémpake or ikémpacce, I have some doubts whether the
old reading may not be retained, simply changing dpyupoppiray “EBpoy
into the genitive, with Elmsley on Med, 631.
388—445, HERCULES FURENS. 13

stream of Hebrus, toiling for the Mycenian tyrant, along Pe-
lion’s strand by the mouth of Anauros. And he put to death
Cycnus, the murderer of his guests, the unsocial inhabitant
of Amphanma; and he went to the harmonious nymphs and
the Hesperian retreat, in order to pluck with his hand the
golden fruit from the apple-bearing boughs,®? having slain
the swarthy-backed dragon, who, wreathing his vast orbs
around [the tree ],34 kept guard. And he entered the recesses
of the ocean deep, forming a calm for mortals®* with his oars,
and beneath the mid-ward seat of heaven he plied his hands,
coming to the house of Atlas, and by his might he supported
the starry-visaged dwelling of the Gods.3° And through the
waves of the Euxine he came to the equestrian host of the
Amazons, around Meotis of many streams, (assembling every
troop of friends from Greece,) [in quest of ] the gold-decked
vestment of the robe of the warlike girl,” the deadly hunting
after the belt [of Mars]. But Greece received the glorious
spoils of the barbarian maid, and treasured them up at My-
cene. And the murderous dog of Lerna, with its ten thou-
sand heads, the hydra, he burnt up, and plied on all sides with
the darts with which he slew the triple-bodied herds-man of
Erytheia.28 And through the prospering honours of other .
courses he ran. He sailed into tearful Hades, as an end of
his toils, where wretched he concludes his life, nor has he re-
turned again. And his house is bereft of friends ; the bark
of Charon awaits the godless, unjust journey of his children
from life, [a journey ] from whence there is no return; and the
house looks to the hands of you whoare absent. But if I were
young in strength, and brandished the spear in war, and [such
were | my fellow-youths of the Cadmeians, I would have stood
forth to the aid of thy children. But now I am destitute of
happy youth. But [I must cease], for I perceive these per-
sons bearing the garments of the dead, yea, the sons of once
mighty Hercules, and his dear wife leading along her chil-

33 yotocov—pydopdpwy. Waxer, Dinp.

% See Matthie.

3 i, e. exploring the yet unvisited recesses of Gades.

36 Cf. Ion, 1 sq.

3* Hippolita, queen of the Amazons, There is much awkwardness in

the next lines. 1
38 Geryon.
14 HERCULES FURENS, 446—480.

dren at a slow pace,®® and the aged sire of Hercules. Un-
happy me! how unable am I to restrain any longer the aged
fountain of tears from mine eyes |

Mea. Well then! who is the priest? who the butcher
of these hapless [children]? or who is the destroyer of the
life of wretched me? These victims are ready to be con-
ducted to Hades. O children, we are led along, a yoke of
dead not seemly, we together the old, the young, and mothers.
O hapless fate both of myself and these children, whom, for
the last time, I behold with mine eyes. I bore you, indeed,
but I have trained you up as a scoff, and joy, and victim for
enemies, Alas! in truth, my hopes [frustrated] have cast me
far down from the expectation which I once entertained from
the words of your father. For to thee,’° indeed, your de-
ceased father allotted Argos, and thou wast about to dwell
in the house of Eurystheus, having sway over the fruitful
Pelasgian land; and he threw around thine head the robe of
the savage lion, wherewith himself was wont to be equipped.
But thou wert (to be) the king of the chariot-loving Thebes,
possessing the fields of my land for an inheritance, as thou
hadst persuaded‘! him who begat thee. And in thy right
hand he placed the mace of defence, the deceitful gift of De-
dalus.4? But to thee he promised to give Cichalia, which he
once laid waste with his far-darting shafts. And you, being
three in number, with threefold empire did your father tower
up, entertaining high thoughts through his manliness. But
I was selecting the choicest brides [for you], about to form
alliances, both from the land of the Athenians, and Sparta,
and Thebes; that, being fastened by cables from the stern,‘
ye might have a happy life. But these things are no more ;

39 Literally, “ beneath her off-yoked feet.’ Hermann observes: ‘“‘ pro-
cedit Megara filiis eam utrinque circa medium corpus amplexantibus, et
ita ab ea pendentibus, ut pedes ejus progredientes eos reluctantes una at-
trahere, sicut equi jugales, viderentur.”’

© The three sons of Hercules were Therimachus, Creontiades, and
Deicoon, according to Apollodorus, ;

“. «The child is supposed to say, Pray, papa, make me king of Thebes.”
ELMSLEY.

* There is little satisfaction in the interpretations of this passage. I
believe that allusion is made to some obsolete tradition.

« A metaphor from a vessel riding at anchor in safety.
480—515. HERCULES FURENS. 15

for fortune changing has given to you in their stead the Fates
as brides; but to me my tears are [in place of nuptial] lave-
ments, unhappy in my thoughts! But this, your’ grandsire,
celebrates your nuptial feast, deeming Hades, your father-in-
law, a bitter alliance. Alas! which of you first, which last,
shall I press tomy breast? To which shall J join my lips?
Whom shall I take hold of ? How, like some brown-winged
bee, might I collect the groans from all, and, joining them in
one, emit one collected tear [for all]! O dearest Hercules,
if any one of the dead can hear a voice in Hades, to thee I
speak these words. ‘Thy father and thy children are dying,
and I perish, I, who was once called happy among mortals,
on thy account. Aid me, come, and, though but a shade,‘4
appear to me; for sufficient wilt thou be, if thou comest; for
dastards are these, who slay thy children, compared with
thee.‘

Ampru. Do thou, indeed, O woman, make propitious‘ the
powers below. But I, stretching forth my hands to heaven, im-
plore thee, O Jove, if thou wilt afford any aid to these children,
to succour, since thou wilt soon be of no avail. And yet thou
hast oft been called upon. I toil in vain ; for there is necessity,
as it seems, for me to die. But, O ye old men, the time of
life [left you] is small; but pass this as pleasantly as you can,
grieving not from day tonight. For time, indeed, knows not
how to preserve our hopes, but, having accomplished his own
purpose, flies away. Behold me, who was an object of regard
among mortals, doing things of renown; but fortune hath
taken [all] from me, like a feather into the air, in a single
day. But to whom great wealth and glory are firm, I know
not. Farewell; for ye, old men, behold a friend now for the
last time.

Mec. Alas! O old man, doI behold what is dearest to me?
Or, what shall I say ?

Ampu. I know not, daughter ; but want of speech possesses
me likewise.

“4 See my note on Soph. Gad. Col. p. 87, n. 2, ed. Bohn.

45 Dindorf condemns these lines as spurious, and with some reason.
They are tame beyond endurance.

48° Such surely must be the sense, but edrpemij, or ebrperij. are scarce.y
the words to express it, I think with Musgrave, that ebpera is the word
wanted, or rather mpevpevi, which would more easily be corrupted into
the common reading. Beck’s index will supply examples, :
16 HERCULES FURENS. 516—545.

Mec. Hlere is he whom we heard was beneath the earth ;
unless, indeed, we behold some dream in the light of day.
What do I say? What manner of dreams in my madness do
I see? This is no other than thy son, old man. Hither, my
children, hang from your father’s garments; come, hasten, do
not let go; since this man is for you nought inferior to sa-
viour Jove. .

IIercures. O hail, thou dwelling, and thou vestibule of my
home, how willingly do I behold you, coming back into the
light! Ha! what is this? I behold my children in front of
the house with their heads decked with the habiliments of the
dead, and, amid a crowd of men, my wife and father weep-

.ing for some calamity. Come, let me learn, coming nigher
to these, what new event has befallen this house.

_Ampu. O dearest of men, O thou that comest a light to
thy sire, art thou come? Art thou saved, coming to thy
friends at the very crisis?

Herc. What sayest thou? Into what tumult, father, are
we come?

Merc. Weare undone. But do thou, old man, forgive me,
if I have first snatched up the words which it were meet that
you should speak to this one; for womankind is somehow
more pitiable than males, and my children are as dead, and I
am perishing.

Herc. Apollo! with what preludes dost thou begin thy
speech !

Mec. My brothers and my aged sire are dead.

Ilerc. Ilow sayest thou? JIaving done what, or en-
countering what spear ?

Mec. Lycus, the renowned, forsooth,*” king of this land,
has undone them.

Herc. Meeting them with arms, or when the land was in
disorder ?

Mec. Ay, by a revolt he holds the seven-gated Cadmus.

Herc. Why then did fear come upon thee and the old
man?

Merc. He was about to slay thy father, and myself, and
children.

47 cXecvde must be ironical. Otherwise, we must read caivde with
Elnsley. This is approved by Dindort, whose note on vs. 38 deserves
attention.
516—576. HERCULES FURENS. 17

Herc. What sayest thou? Why fearing the orphan state
of my children ?

Mec. Lest they should ever avenge the death of Creon.

Herc. But why is there this adornment of robes befitting
the dead? ;

Mec. We are clad just now in these vestments of death.
ee And were ye about to die by violence? O wretched
me!
Z a Destitute of friends; and we heard that thou wast

ead.

Herc. But whence came this despondency upon you?

Mec. The heralds of Eurystheus brought these tidings.

Herc. And wherefore left ye my house and hearth?

Mega. Thy sire, indeed, was dragged by force. frota his
strewn couch.

Herc. And had he [Lycus] no eompunction in insulting
the old man ?

Mec. Compunction, forsooth, dwells far away from this
Goddess !48 ,

Herc. But in my absence was I thus destitute of friends ?

Mec. Ay, for who are friends to the unfortunate man?

Herc. And did they disregard the battles which I sus-
tained against the Minyx.

Mec. Friendless (as I may tell thee again) is misfortune.

Herc. Will ye not cast away these deathly fillets of your
hair,*® and look upon the light, seeing ye behold with your
eyes a pleasing exchange for the darkness below? But I
(for now there is work for my hand) will first go, and upturn
the houses of the new tyrant, and having cut off his impious
head, will cast it to be dragged by dogs; and as many. of the
Cadmeians as I have found base, having suffered well at my
hands, with this victorious weapon will I subdue; but dis-
persing others with the winged shafts of my bow, I will fill
all Ismenus with the gore of the dead, and the white stream
of Dirce shall be stained with blood. For to whom should I
rather bear aid than to my wife, and children, and aged sire ?
Farewell to my labours; for vainly did I accomplish them

* i.e. Bia, which is personified, but as a Titan, in Auschylus’ Pro-
metheus.
© Matthie rightly refers the two genitives to the single substantive
wepiBordc. Musgrave took pipere dung as = amd Kdpune.
c
18 HERCULES FURENS, 577-611.

rather than these [nearer duties], And it behoves me in
their defence to die, since they [were about to perish] on
their father’s account; or how shall I call it noble to come to
battle with the hydra and the lion at the mission of Eurys-
theus? and shall I not toil against the death of my children?
shall I not be called Hercules, the renowned for victory, as
before?

Cuo. It is just that parents should aid their children, and
an aged sire, and the partner of their nuptials.

Ampu. Tis thine, O son, to be a friend to friends, and to
hate enemies. But do not be too hasty.

Herc. But what of these matters is more hasty than is
meet, O sire? :

Amp. The king has many allies, poor, but seeming rich
by report, who have raised a sedition, and ruined the city, in
order to plunder their neighbours, for through idleness their
goods at home are spent and gone in extravagance. Thou
must have been perceived as you entered the city; but since
you have been perceived, beware, lest, having assembled to-
gether your enemies, you fall contrary to your opinion.

Herc. I care not if all the city saw me. But having be-
held a certain bird in an ill-boding seat, I guessed some cala-
mity had befallen the house, so that with forethought I
entered the land by stealth.

Ampu. It was well done. Approach now, and salute the
hearth with reverence, and grant to thine ancestral halls to
behold thy face. For the king himself will come to drag
away and murder thy wife ahd children, and to slay me also.
But all will take place, if you remain here, and thou wilt gain
by not stumbling. But* do not disturb thy city, my son, be-

‘fore you have set this aright.

Herc. I will do this, for you advise well ; I will go within
‘the house. And returning after a season from the sunless
recesses of Hades and Cora beneath, I will not neglect first to
salute the Gods within the roof.

Amps. For didst thou, son, really go into the dwellings of
Hades ?

Herc. Ay, and I dragged the three-headed beast up
into the light.

8 rédey 68, Lup. Dinp.
612—636, ‘HERCULES FURENS. 19

Ampu. Having overcome him in conflict, or by a gift
from the Goddess ?

Herc. In battle; but I was blest in having seen the orgies
of the mystics.5!

Ampu. Is the beast then in the house of Eurystheus ?

Herc. The grove of Chthonia*? and the city of Hermion
possess him.

Ampu. And does not Eurystheus know that you are re-
turned above the earth?

Herc. He knows it not, [for I did not tell him, ]® in order
that I might first come and learn matters here.

Amru. And how wast thou so long a time beneath the
earth?

Herc. I tarried in order to bring back Theseus from
Hades, sire.

Ampn. And where is he? Has he gone to the plain of
his country land?

Herc. He has gone to Athens, gladly escaping from the
nether world. But come, follow your father into the house,
O children. Far fairer is your entrance than your departure.
But be of good cheer, and do no longer let drop the stream
from your eyes. And do thou too, O lady mine, collect your
spirits, and cease from trembling, and let go my robes; for I
am not winged, nor have I wish to escape from those dear
tome. Ah! they will not quit their hold, but cling so much
the faster to my garments. Were ye so near upon the edge
[of death?] I will then take and lead these with my hands ;
like a ship will I tow these little boats. And sooth I dis-
dain not the care of my children. All things amongst men
[in this respect] are equal. Both the better class of mertals ©
love their children, and they who are of no xzwunt. But
in wealth they are different: [some] have, some not. But
all the race [of mortals] is child-loving.

51 Bither the Eleusinian, in which Hercules was initiated before his
descent to Hades, or the mysteries celebrated among the dead. See
Musgrave.

82 i, e. Ceres. This temple was near the chasm through which Her-
cules descended. :

53“ Before iva, we, &c. words are often omitted, which can be easily
understood, as Ion, 950, 6 mate dé rod ory; tva od payxir’ Yo drarg,
quod quero, ne tu amplius prole a - Matra,

c
20 HERCULES FURENS. 637—698.

Cuo. Youth is dear to me, but age ever lies upon my head,
a heavier burden than the rocks of A°tna, dimming mine
eyelids with sable veil. Never. for me may there be the
wealth of an Asiatic empire, nor houses filled with gold, to
take in preference to youth, that is fairest in wealth, and
fairest too in poverty, But dull and deathly age I abhor ;*4 and
may it perish in the waves ; and would that it might never visit
the dwellings and cities of mortals, but let it ever be borne
through the air on wings. But had the Gods possessed
counsel and wisdom, as regards mankind, they would have
bestowed a twofold youth, an evident mark of virtue, upon
such as shared it; and after dying they would have returned
again by a second course into the light of the sun; but base-
ness would have possessed a single term of life; and by this
means it would have been possible to distinguish the bad and
the good, equally well as the numbering of the stars amid the
clouds is [a guide] to sailors. But now no certain distinction
is given by the Gods to the good or bad; but revolving time
increases wealth alone. I will not cease mingling the Graces
with the Muses, a most pleasant union. Never may I live
without music, and ever may I be among the crowns [of
poets]. Still, indeed, do I, an aged bard, celebrate Mnemo-
syne, still do I sing the renowned victory of Hercules, both
with Bromius the giver of wine, and amid the music of the
seven-stringed lyre and the Libyan pipe. I will not put a
stop to the Muses, who made me to dance. The Delian
girls, indeed, hymn a pxan, wreathing** around the gates the
graceful dance in honour of the noble son of Latona. And
pzans too, at thy house, [O Hercules, | will I, an aged bard,
shout from my hoary cheeks, swan-like ; for there is a good
subject for song, “THE son oF Jove.” For he, having sur-
passed much [in the virtues ]*” of nobleness, has rendered the

5* Cf. Shakspeare’s,

se Youth, I do adore thee,
Age, I do abhor thee.”

5 As the Attic future of deidw is deicouat, I have taken Elmsley’s
aeidw, with Dindorf, instead of deiow., ;

5* For the construction cf. Iph. Aul, 1489, éXioger’ “Aprepey.

't Tyrwhitt supplies dperaig to complete the verse and sense.
699—730. HERCULES FURENS, 21

life of mortals tranquil, having destroyed the terrors of
monsters. ‘

Lyc. Amphitryo, thou comest out from the house season-
ably ; for it is now a long time since ye were decked as to
your body with garments and the adornments of the dead.
But come, bid the children and wife of Hercules appear out-
side this dwelling, at which ye have undertaken to die self-
called [to the act].

Ampn. O king, thou persecutest me who have fared wretch-
edly, and scoffest with insolence at mine who are about
to die, in which matters it were meet, as though thou hast
the power to have a haste with moderation. But since you
press upon us the necessity of dying, we needs must acquiesce
and-do what seems to thee. .

Lyc. Where then is Megara? Where are the children of
Alcmena’s son ?

Ampu. I think she is, to guess from what is at the door-
way—

Lae. What thing hast thou as evidence of this opinion ?

AmpH. —sitting as a suppliant at the low floor of the sa-
ceved hearth.

Lyc. Vainly, forsooth, beseeching [the Gods] to save her life.

Ampuy. And vainly does she call upon her deceased husband.

_Lyc. He is not present, and will never come.

Ampu. Never, unless, indeed, some God shall raise him up.

Lyc. Go to her, and lead her out from the house.

Ampu. Doing so, I should be an accomplice in her murder,

Lyc. Since you have this scruple, we, who are free from
fear, will cause the children to pass out with their mother.
Hither follow, attendants, that joyfully we may recreate our-
selves with rest °° from toils.

Ampu. Go then; but thou art wending the way that is
fated, but the rest will, perhaps, be the care of another; and
expect that, doing ill, thou wilt suffer ill, O ye old men, at.
a lucky hour the consummate villain steps along ; but he will
be enclosed in the sword-set ambush of nets, thinking to slay

58 By simply reading éypiy for & xpijv we may get rid of a confused
construction. Gzorce Burces. a id, ;

59 Matthie explains the construction thus: ‘idem est ac si dixisset ws
dv mover Hpac Aboavreg oxodr}y AdBuper. vel we dv Adowpev évous,,
Gore cxoAny elvat Toywy, constructione simili ei, que infra est 1070.
22: HERCULES FURENS. 731-781.

others. But I will go, that I may see him fall a corse, for
there is pleasure in a dying enemy, who pays the penalty for
the deeds he has done,

Cuo. There is a change from troubles. He who was crst a
mighty king, in turn descends to Hades. O justice, and the
changing tide of the Gods. Thou art come at length, where
dying thou wilt pay the penalty, having scoffed with wanton-
ness at thy betters. My joy gives forth the gushing tears.
In turn have come the events which the king of this land
never, in his mind, expected to suffer. But, O old man, let
us inspect matters within the house, whether some one is
faring as I wish.

Lyc. (from within.) Ah me! ah me!

Cuo. This strain, pleasant for me to hear, has commenced
in the house. Death is not far off. -The king with groans
cries out the prelude of slaughter.

Lyc. (from within.) O all thou land of Cadmus, through
treachery I am destroyed.

Cuo. For thou hast destroyed [others]. But, paying a
penalty in return, endure it, giving satisfaction for thy deeds.
Who, being a mortal, befouling the Gods by lawlessness, has
cast forth fond words against the blest powers of heaven,
that the Gods have no power? Ye elders, that impious man
is now nomore. The house is silent; let us turn ourselves
to dances, for the friends, whom I wish, are prospering.
Dances, dances, and banquets are [now ] the care through the
holy city of Thebes; for a change from tears, from mischance,
a change has brought forth songs. The new king is no more;
but the former bears sway, having quitted, forsooth, the port
of Acheron, and hope has come beyond expectation. The
Gods, the Gods take care to regard deeds unjust and to hear
the holy. Riches and good fortune carry mortals away from
right thoughts, bringing on [unjust] power. For no one
ventures to contemplate the vicissitudes of time,°! having
transgressed law, and given joy to lawlessness ; and he breaks
the dark chariot of wealth.52 © Ismenus, be thou crowned

© Géicoy is condemned by Hermann.

8! So Dindorf.

®? Hermann refers xeXacvdy “ad scelera.”” Barnes gives some other
fanciful explanations. I myself am scarcely satisfied with the sense or
construction.
782—825, HERCULES FURENS, 23°

with garlands, and ye well-built streets of the seven-gated
city, and thou fair Dirce, with lovely streams, and ye daugh-
ters of Asopus, quitting the waters of your sire, [and] * * *
ye fellow-minstrel nymphs, come [to] the ® glorious and vic-
torious contest of Hercules. O thou well-wooded rock of.
Pythius, and ye dwellings of the Muses of Helicon, come
with well-rejoicing sound to my city, my walls, where appeared
the race of men sown, a band of men with brazen shields,
who repeoples the land with children’s children, a sacred
light to Thebes. O ye twain partners of the nuptial bed, of
one born of a mortal, and of Jove, who came into the bed of
the bride sprung from Perseus ;® for hitherto, O Jove, thy.
union [with her] did not appear worthy: of belief according to
my expectations,® but time has clearly shown forth the prowess
of Hercules, who has emerged from the chambers of the earth,
quitting the nether house of Pluto. Thou hast been, in my
opinion, by birth a mightier sovereign than. a king of de-
generate race; which exhibits [for us] to behold the strife of
sword-bearing contests,” if justice yet pleases the Gods. Ah!
ah! Old men, have we fallen into the same panic of fear ?
What phantom do I behold above the house? In flight, in
flight lift up thy tardy foot; hasten out of the way. Sovereign
king of Healing, maycst thou be to me the averter of evils.

[Enter Ints and Mavyess. |

Irts. Be of good cheer, old men, beholding this Madness
here, the offspring of Night, and myself, Iris, the servant of
the Gods; for we are come not as a bane to the city, but are
making war against the house of one man, whom they say is

88 By inserting kai before cvvaoidoi and "s (t¢) before réy we may re-
cover both the sense and metre. G. B. :

% #xer’, L, Dindorf—But as the dwellings of the Muses at the Helicon
were not like ‘the Birnam wood that came to Dunsinane’—it is evident
that #éere and fjxere are equally unintelligible. G. B.

8 Perseus was the father of Electryo, whose daughter Alemena was.

6 The construction appears to be we rd man. 40n = anciently, up to this
time, rd adv AExog ob EGavOn Mardy pot tm’ Edrridt. This is followed by
an apodosis almost Pindaric in its abruptness. The regular sense would
have required, ‘“ but time shows that Hercules was really thy son ;”” in-
stead of which, a general praise of the hero conveys the same meanings
in lyric style. duoyéver’ dvaxrwy refers to Lycus. a

e7 Gpiddg or év aplhdg ought to follow, but the poet refers to toopgy,
as if he had written éoopwyra sig dwAav, Matraias
24 HERCULES FURENS. 826—866.

sprung from Jove and Alemena. For before he had brought
his bitter toils to an end, fate preserved him; nor did his
father Jove allow either myself or Juno ever to do him harm.
But since he has gone through the labours, of Eurystheus,
Juno wishes to stain him with fresh bloodshed, by slaying
his children, and I wish it too. But come, collecting thy re-
lentless heart, thou unwedded daughter of black Night, and
urge on, excite madness in this man, and child-slaying dis-
turbances of reason, and leapings of his feet; let go thy cable
of blood ; so that, having sent his crown formed of beauteous
children down to the ferry of Acheron by his own murderous
hand, he may learn of what kind is the wrath of Juno and of
myself against him. In truth the Gods will be of no account,
but mortal things great, if he pay not a penalty. .

Mapness. Of a noble sire and dame am I sprung, from
Night and from the blood of Colus. But I have this credit,
not to be held in honour by friends, nor am I pleased at going
against the friends of men. And I would fain admonish
Juno and you, before I see you err, if you will be persuaded
by my words. This man is not obscure cither upon the earth,
or among the Gods, against whose house you are sending me;
but, having civilized an inaccessible country and a savage sea,
he alone has raised up the honours of the Gods, which had
fallen by the hands of impious men; so that I do not advise
you to wish for great mischiefs.

Irts. Do not thou advise about the plans of Juno and
myself.

Frenp. I am turning you to the best track instead of the
bad one.

Iris. The wife of Jove did not send thee hither to show
thy wisdom.

Fienp. I call the sun to witness that I am doing what I
desire not to do. But if I must needs be subservient to Juno
and thee, I must follow swiftly and with a rush, as dogs doa
huntsman,—I will go ; nor is a sea groaning with billows, nor
an earthquake and the thunder-clap breathing out acute pain,
so violent, as I will rush with racing speed against the breast
of Hercules. And I will break down the dwelling, and in-.
vade the house, having first caused him to slay his children ;
but the slayer shall not know that he is killing the children
whom he begat, before that he ceases from my madness. See,
867—914. HERCULES FURENS. 25

e’en now he shakes his head [standing] at the barriers,®* and
silence rolls his distraught scowling eyes. And he has no
command over his breathings, but, like a bull [prepared] for
the onslaught, he bellows dreadfully, invoking the Fates from
Tartarus. Quickly will I rouse thee more to the dance, and
give the music [rife] with terror. Away, Iris, to Olympus,
lifting in mid air your noble foot: but we will enter unseen
the abode of Hercules. .

Cuo. Woe, woe, groan, O ¢ity ; thy flower is cropped, the
son of Jove. Hapless Greece, that wilt lose thy benefactor ;
thou wilt destroy him, driven in the dance by the unmusical
ravings of Madness. In her chariot hath gone the marble-
visaged, all-mournful Madness, the Gorgon of Night, and with
the hissing of hundred heads of snakes, she gives the goad to
her chariot, on mischief bent. Swift hath a demon changed
the prosperous; and swiftly shall the children breathe out
[their life] at the hands of the father. Alas! me wretched,
O Jove, soon will frenzied, cruel vengeance, exacting pun-
ishment, smite thy childless child. Alas! ye dwellings, with-
out drums are dances beginning, not delighted with the
thyrsus of Bacchus. Alas! O house, [a dance] for blood-
shed, not for the pouring out of libations from the grape-
bunches of Dionysus. Speed forth in flight, O children;
a hostile, a hostile song is here preluded. And he makes,
hunter-like, a pursuit of his children. Never, never shall
Madness rave forth [prophecies] unfulfilled upon this house.
Alas for our woes! Alas! in truth, how I mourn for his aged
sire, and the nurse of his children, by whom children are
born in vain. See, see, a whirlwind shakes the house; the
roof is falling together. Ho! ho! what art thou doing, O
son of Jove? Thou art sending a hellish uproar upon the
house, as Pallas did once against Enceladus.

MEssENGER. (entering in haste.) O bodies whitening with
age—

“Cuo. With what cry dost thou call upon me?

Mess. Accursed are the events in the house.

Cuo. I need not bring another seer.

Mess. The children are dead, alas! Groan, for ’tis a

& Literally, “ from the barriers of the race-course.” See on Troad. 523,
6° The oxymoron is rather in xopevOévr’ avatdrorg than in dvaddorc
paviaoty.
26 HERCULES FURENS. 915—954.

subject for groaning. Hostile are the murders, and hostile
the hands of the parent. .... None can speak of more than
we have suffered.

Cxo. How dost thou show forth the lamentable calamity
done by the father to the children? Say, say in what man-
ner he was urged on by the Gods to these evil deeds against
the house, and the miserable fate of his children.

Mess. Before the hearth of Jove victims were placed the
house to purify ; after Hercules, having slain the ruler of the
land, had cast him out of this dwelling. But the beauteous
band of children, and his sire, and Megara were standing by ;
and already had the sacred vessel been borne round the altar,
and we observed well-omened words. But the son of Alc-
mena, being about to bear in his right hand a torch, in order
that he might dip it in the lustral water, stood still in silence.
But as their sire delayed, the children kept their eye [upon
him]. And he was no longer the same; but distraught with
rollings of the eyes, and casting forth the bloody looking
roots of his eyes, dropt foam down his well-bearded chin.
And amid frantic laughter he said, “O father, why do I make
the fire of purification before I have slain Eurystheus, and
have double trouble, when I might make this the work of a
single hand? But as soon as I bring hither the head of
Eurystheus, I will purify my hands in respect to those now
slain. Pour out the waters; cast away the vessels from your
hands. Who brings my bow? who my hand-weapon? I will
go to Mycenz. Ye must Jay hold of bars and mattocks, that
the city, the foundations of the Cyclops, fitted with the red-
stained” plumb-line and chisel, I may upturn with the bent
iron, After this going on, he said he had a chariot, having
none, and would fain mount the seat, and he smote, as though
having a goad in his hand. And there was a twofold laughter
and dread upon his followers at once. And one looking
towards another spoke thus: “Does our master sport with
us, or does he rave?” But he went up and down through
the house, and breaking into the midst of the men’s apart-
ment, he said that he had arrived at the city of Nisus,”!

70 yotdpevoy pitty i wear, as Eustathius explains it. On rédxot see
Pollux vii. 27,

" i, e. Megara, which was allotted to Nisus, upon Attica being divided
into four portions.
955—995. HERCULES FURENS, 27

having come within the house. And reclining on the ground,
as [he lay] there, he makes ready a banquet. And having
passed a brief interval of delay, he said that he was travers-
ing the woody tracts of the isthmus. And hereupon, strip-
ping his body naked of his robes, he entered into a contest with
nobody, and was himself by himself proclaimed the victor, hav-
ing called no one to hear him.”? But bawling out against Eurys-
theus terrible words, he was [now] at Mycenz in his talk. But
his father, laying hold of his powerful hand, speaks thus: “O
son, what is the matter with thee? What is the manner of
this estrangement? Surely the blood of the dead, whom thou
hast just now slain, has not driven thee raving.” But he,
thinking that the father of Eurystheus was touching his
hand a ‘suppliant, thrusts him away, and makes ready his
‘ quiver and bow against his own sons, thinking to slay the
children of Eurystheus. But they, trembling with fear,
rushed each a different way, one to the robes of his wretched
mother, another behind the shade of a column, and another,
like a bird, crouched beneath the altar. And the mother
shrieks out, “O father, what art thou doing? Slayest thou
thy sons?” And the old man and crowd of servants shriek
out. But he, causing the boy to move in a circle from the
column, a fearful turning of his feet, [at length,] standing
opposite, strikes him to the liver. And falling supine, the
boy wetted the erect stone pillars [with his gore], breathing
out his life. But Hercules shouted, and vaunted thus: “This
one, a youngling of Eurystheus, has fallen for me, expiating
by his death his father’s hate.” And he held towards another
his bow, who had been crouching at the foot of the altar, as
thinking to lie hid. But the wretched boy, in anticipation,
falls at his father’s knees, and stretching forth his hand to his
father’s beard and neck, he cries, “ O dearest father, do not
destroy me; I am thy son; thou wilt not be killing the son
of Eurystheus.” But he, rolling the savage eye of a Gorgon,
as the boy stood within the deadly reach of the shaft, like as
the hammer-blow [upon the anvil], throwing over his own
head the club, he brought it down upon the yellow-haired
head of the boy, and broke the bones. And having killed
the second boy, he goes on to make the third sacrifice upon

72 i.e. omitting the customary cry, axovere Ewe.
28 CO HERCULES FURENS. 996—1027

the other two. But anticipating him, the wretched mother
caught him up, and fled within the house, and closed the doors.
But he, as though at the very Cyclopeian walls, tears up,
bursts open the doors, and, hurling away the standing posts,
with a single shaft laid prostrate wife and child. And
thence with speed of horse he turns to slay the old man. But
there came a spectre, as it appeared to our sight, Pallas,
brandishing her spear upon her crest { heart {,”? and hurled
a rock against the breast of Hercules, which stayed him from
his murderous raving, and settled him to sleep. And he
falls upon the ground, having struck his back against a co-
lumn, which, amidst the ruins’ of the roof, had been split
asunder and was lying near its base. But we, freeing our
foot from flight, together with the old man, fastened to the
pillar fetters of linked cords, that [Hercules], ceasing from
sleep, might do no deed in addition to what was already done.
And the wretched one sleeps a sleep unblest, having murdered
his children and wife. Iindeed know not any of mortals who
is more unhappy.

Cuo. There was a murder which the Argive land pos-
sesses,”> then, indeed, the most wondrous, and of mightiest
good" for Greece, [the murder] of the.sons of Danaus. But
these™ evils have surpassed, have gone beyond the evils of
that time. I can recount the murder sacrificed to the Muses,’®
of the wretched Jove-descended boy of Progne, who had but
one son; but yon, O hostile man, having begotten three chil-
dren, have brought them to an end by a fate proceeding from
madness. For what groan, or lamentation, or song of the
dead, or quire of Hades shall I cry aloud? Alas! alas! See

73 Unless Wakefield’s tai:Adgw kapg be right, I can do nothing in this
passage. Dindorf gives it up.

7 Musgrave interprets weojpace “ casu tecti,” but I trust the reader of
Euripides will rather incline to my version. Cf. Hec. 700, wéonpa gui-
viov dopdg. Phoen. 1701, & pita reoquar’. Below, vs. 1131, rade réswr
meonpara. So mrdpa=the thing fallen, thence a corpse. Cf. Blomf. on
Esch. Sept, c. Th. 13.

% But Musgrave’s adyet is better.

78 Because it freed the Argives from the sway of the sons of Aigyptus.
Matrurs.

7 +40’ is Hermann’s correction for rao’.

78 Properly speaking, the son of Progne himself, 2@vero, instead of
which ¢évog OdeoOar is said, and, as this murder was afterwards celebrate:
in song, OvecOat Modoatg. Martrura,
1028—1069. HERCULES FURENS. 29

the portals of the lofty dwelling lie shivered [on the ground].
Alas! Behold the wretched children lying before their
miserable sire, who sleeps a fearful sleep, [as yet] out of the
way of slaughter. And around’ [behold] these fetters and
many-corded fastenings of ropes about the body of Hercules,
fastened to the stone columns of the house. But the old
man, like a bird bewailing its callow brood of young, pursuing
with foot too late his sad journey, is present hither.

Anupy. Ye Cadmeian elders, will ye not in silence, in si-
lence, permit him, stretched out in sleep, to forget his woes.

Cuo. And thee, indeed, old man, I bewail with tears,
and the children, and his head crowned with victory.

. Apu. Go further on; make no noise, do not cry out ; do
not raise from sleep him who fares calmly tand is slum-
bering.f®

Cuo. Alas! How great is this slaughter !

AmpuH. Ah! ah! Ye will undo me.

Cuo. Having been stretched out, he is -now rising again.

Ampy, Will ye not quietly utter your lamentation, old
men ? lest he, being aroused, break from his chains, and de-
stroy the city, and his sire, and break down the house.

Cuo. ’Tis impossible, impossible for me.

Ampu. Be silent, I will mark his breathing. Come, let me
place my ear [closer].

Cuo. Does he sleep ?

Ampu. Ay, he sleeps a deathful sleep, who has slain his
wife, and slain his children, having transfixed them with the
bow-drawn twang.

Cuo. Groan then—

AmpH. I groan—

Cuo. The death of the children—

Ampu. Ah me!

Cxo. And of thy child.

Ampu. Alas!

Cuo. O old man—

Ampu. Peace, peace; again aroused, he turns to and fro.

7° epi is here used adverbially. For rade in vs. 1037, 1 should pre-
fer rdde. pecue ee

8° Dindorf, partly after Musgrave, reads evdtdovr’ an’ ebvag Eyeiper
* * * © condemning the following words as a gloss substituted for the
true reading.
\

80 HERCULES FURENS. 1070—1118.

Come, I will conceal my body out of the way beneath the
dwelling.
Cuo. Be of good cheer, night possesses the eyelids of thy son.
Ampu, See, see. I wretched will not indeed refuse to
quit the light, in my unhappy state; but if he shall slay me,
who am his father, guilt on guilt will he. accumulate, and will

-have a kindred bloodshed in addition to [his present] Furies.

Cuno. Then shouldst thou have died, when for thy wife
thou wast about to avenge the slaughter of her brothers,*!
having sacked the sea-girt city of the Taphians.

Ampu. In flight, in flight, old men, hasten ye from before
the house, fly from this raving man whois awakening. Soon
will he, setting another murder upon a murder, rave through
the city of the Cadmeians.

Cuo. O Jove, why hast thou thus so very wrathfully hated
thy son, and brought him into this sea of troubles ?

Herc. (waking.) Hah! I breathe, then, and behold such
things, as I ought, the sky, the earth, and these beams of the
sun. But into what terrible tempest and disturbance of mind
have I fallen? and I breathe heated breath, with palpitation,
not steadily from my lungs. Behold, why, like a ship at
anchor, [bound] with cords, as to my youthful chest and arm,
to this half-broken stone of a wall, do I sit, having a seat next
the dead ; and my winged darts and bow are strewn along
the ground, which once keeping shield-guard in mine arms,
defended my sides, and were defended by me. Have I a
second time descended into Hades, coming into Hades on a
journey for Eurystheus ?®? But neither do I behold the rock
of Sisyphus, nor Pluto, nor the sceptre of Ceres’ daughter. I
sure am stricken senseless. I am at a loss as to where I can
be. Hah! who of my friends is near or far, who can cure
my doubts? For I know nothing clear of what is wont.

AmpH. Ye old men, shall I draw nigh my woes ?

Cuo. Ay, and I with thee, not deserting thy calamitous
state.

Herc. Father, why dost thou weep, and veil thine eyes,
going far off from thy dearest son ?

Ampn. O child, for mine thou art, though faring ill,

81 They had been killed in a battle with the Taphians, Cf. Apollodor.
ii, 4, 6. . MusGrave.
82 T have no doubt that this whole line is spurious,
1114—1139. HERCULES FURENS. 31

Herc. But what calamity do I suffer, for which thou art
shedding tears?

Ampu. Such as e’en a God, if he suffered, would bewail ?

Herc. Great is the assertion, but yet thou tellest not
the hap.

Ampn. For thou thyself beholdest it, if thou art yet
sensible. ,

Herc. Say, if thou inditest any new charge against my life.

Ampu. If thou art no longer possessed by Hades, I will tell.

Herc. Alas! How suspicious is this at which thoy again
art glancing !

Ampu. And Iam considering thee, whether thou art firmly
in thy right senses.

Herc. But I do not at all remember my mind distraught.

Ampuy. Shall I unloose the fetters of my son, old men, or
what shall I do?

Herc. Ay, and say who bound them, for I deny [that I
know ].

Ampu. Thus much know of thine evils, but leave the rest.

Herc. What, will silence suffice for me to learn what I
wish?

Ampu. O Jove, dost thou then behold these things from
Juno’s throne ?

Herc. But have I then suffered aught hostile from thence?

Ampu. Leaving alone the Goddess, tend thine own ills.

Herc. Jam undone. Art thou going to tell of. some ca-
lamity ?

Ampu. See, look upon these prostrate bodies.of thy chil-
dren.

Herc. Ah me! what sight here do I wretched behold ?

Ampu. O son, thou hast waged against thy children a war
not to be warred.

Herc. What speakest thou of war? Who hath destroyed
these ?

Ampu. Thou, and thy bow, and whoso of the Gods was
the cause.

Herc. What sayest thou! Having done what? O father,
that bearest ill tidings. .

Amp. In madness. But thou askest for a sad explanation.

Herc. And am I, too, the murderer of my wife ?

Ampu. All these are the deeds of thy one hand.
32 HERCULES FURENS. 1140—1174.

Herc. Alas! for a cloud of sorrow surrounds me.

Apu. On this account I bemoan thy state.

Herc. For have I torn down my house, and® raved
through it?

Ampu, I know but one fact; all thy state is unfortunate.

Herc. But where did the madness seize me? Where did it
undo me ?

Amen. When round the altar thou wast purifying thy
hands with fire.

Herc. Alas! why then doI spare my life, becoming the
murderer of children to me most dear, and go not rather
to leap from the precipitate rock, or having darted the
sword against my vitals, become [myself | the avenger of blood
to my children, or having burnt my flesh with fire, ward off
the disgrace, which awaits me, from my life? But hither
comes Theseus, to oppose these murderous plans, my kinsman
and friend. I shall be seen [by him], and the stain of chil-
dren’s murder will come into the sight of my dearest of guests.
Alas! what shall I do? where shall I find solitude from ills,
becoming winged, or going beneath the earth? Come, I will
throw darkness over my head, wrapped in my garments. For
I am ashamed because of my evil deeds, and casting the
contamination of blood upon this man, I wish to do no ill to
those unworthy. ;

‘THESEUS (entering). I am come in company with others,
who, armed youths of the Athenians, are tarrying near the
streams of Asopus, and I am bearing to thy son, old man, an
allied spear. For a report reached the city of Erectheus’
sons, that Lycus, having seized the sceptre.of this realm, had
come to war and battle with you. But giving a return for the
assistance which Heréules rendered, having recovered me
from the nether world, I have come, old man, if there is any
need to thee of my hand or allies. Ah! why is the ground
filled with these corses? Have I been wanting, then, and do
I come too late for recent evils? Who has slain these chil-
dren? Whose wife is this that I behold? For the children
are not near the [field of ] war, but it must be some other new
ill that I find here.

Ampu. Oh thou that possessest the olive-bearing height.*4

"3. Dindorf. % The Acropolis.
1175—1215. HERCULES FURENS. 33

Tues. Wherefore hast thou addressed me with a pitiable
prelude ?

@ Sih We have suffered sad sufferings at the hands of the
ods.

rag Who are these children, for whom thou sheddest
tears 5

Ampu. My hapless son begat them, and having begot them,
slew them, having dared a terrible slaughter.

Tues. Speak well-omened words.

Amru. Thou biddest those who are willing.

Tues. O thou hast spoken dreadful words.

Ampu. We are undone, undone, swift as flight.85

Tues. What sayest thou? Having done what ?

Amen. Frenzy-driven with maddening violence, with the
tincture of the hundred-headed Hydra. ;

Tues. This is the contest of Juno. But who is this among
the dead, old man ?

Anpu. Mine, mine is he, my son of many woes, who with
the Gods went forth in arms to the Phlegrwan field, for the
giant-slaughtering war.

Tues. Alas! alas! who among men is born so ill-fortuned ?

Ampn. You could not see another of mortals of greater
toils and wanderings. ;

Tues. But why does he hide his wretched head in gar-
ments ?

Ampu. Ashamed of thy presence, and of thy kindred friend-
ship, and the blood of his children shed.

Tues. But I have come to sympathize with him; uncover
him.

Ampu. O child, let go thy garment from thine eyes, throw
it away, show thy face to thesun. Thy dignity contends in
opposition to tears.8° I beseech thee, falling about thy cheek,
and knee, and hand, and letting drop an aged tear.. Alas!
my son, restrain the wrath of the savage lion, since it hurries
you to a bloody, impious course,®’ wishing to join evils to
evils, O child.

Tues. Be itso. Thee I address, who sittest at the seat of
misery ; show thy face to thy friends. For no darkness hath

4,

85 Brodeus explains rravol by “ very quickly.”
8 j,e, is at variance with tears.
87 Spdpor for Bpdpoy. Retske, Dinp.

D
34 HERCULES FURENS. 1216—1247.

a cloud so black, as to hide the calamity of thy woes. Why,
waving thy hand to me, dost thou point to the slaughter? Is.
it lest defilement from thy words fall on me? I care not: if
I fare ill, at least with thee; for truly I once was happy ;
thither must I turn my thoughts, when thou broughtest me
safe to light from the dead. But I abhor the gratitude of
friends that grows old, and him, too, whoever wishes to enjoy
prosperity, but not to sail along with friends in adversity.
Arise, uncover thy wretched head; look upon us. Whoever
of mortals is nobly born, endures the ills sent by the Gods,
nor does he reject them.

Herc. Theseus, hast thou seen this contest against my
children ?

Tues. I have heard of it; and thou tellest ills to one that
[mow] beholds them.

Herc. Why then hast thou uncovered my head to the sun?

Tues. Why not? Dost thou, being a man, pollute the
Gods?

Herc. Fly, O wretched one, from my unholy pollution.

Tues. To friends there comes no fury from their friends.

Herc. I acknowledge it, and I do not deny that I have
done thee good.

Tues. And J, having then been well done by, do now
pity thee.

Herc. For pitiable I am, having my children murdered.

Tues. I weep for thy sake, in thy changed ® fortunes.

Herc. But hast thou found others in greater troubles ?

Tues. ‘Thou reachest from earth to heaven in misfortune.

Herc. Therefore am I prepared so as to die.

Tues. Thinkest thou the Gods care for thy threats ?

Herc. A self-willed thing is God, and towards the Gods
[such am] I.

Tues. Restrain thy tongue, lest speaking great words, thou
suffer greater ill.

Herc. I am full of ills, nor is there where one can be
stowed. | __ 2

Tues. But what wilt thou do? whither art thou borne in
thy rage ?

Herc. Dying, I will go beneath the earth, from whence I
came,

% i.e. adverse. So ¥repog daluwy, fortuna adversa.
1248—1283, HERCULES FURENS, 35

Tues. Thou hast spoken the language of a common person.

Herc. But thou, being out of trouble, dost admonish me.

THEE Does Hercules, the man of much endurance, speak
thus?

Herc. [I had not said] so much, had it been for me to
labour with moderation.®9

Tues. Hercules, the benefactor and great friend of mortals?

Herc. They nought avail me, but Juno prevails.

Tuxs. Greece will not endure that you should die in thy
foolishness. :

Herc. Hear then, that I may combat your advice by my
words. But I will unfold to you that life is unbearable to me
both now and before. First, indeed, I was born of this man,
who having slain the aged sire of his mother, being defiled
with blood, wedded Alemena, who gave me birth. But when
the foundation of a race is not laid rightly, it is neces-
sary for the descendants to be unfortunate. But Jove, who-
ever Jove is, begat me an enemy to Juno. Be not thou then
aggrieved, old man, for I deem thee my father instead of Jove.
And while I was yet at the breast, the consort of Jove sent
snakes of savage aspect into my cradle, that I might perish.
But when I obtained the youthful vesture of fiesh,"! what need
is there to tell the labours I endured? To what lions, or
triple-bodied monsters, or giants, or hosts of four-legged
warring centaurs did I not putan end? And having slain the
many-headed and fresh-springing hound, the hydra, I both went
through ten thousand other toils, and arrived among the dead,
in order that I might, at the behest of Eurystheus, cause the
three-headed dog to pass into the light. And this last toil
have I wretched dared, having slain my children, to put the
coping-stone of woes upon my house. But I am come to this
necessity. It is not lawful for me to dwell in my beloved
Thebes; but if I do remain, into what temple® or assem-

8° This is Matthie’s interpretation.

® See my note on Aésch. Ag. p. 100, u. 7, ed. Bohn.

5! Shakspeare, ‘‘ muddy vesture of decay.” ;

% Tuddvae, if it be correct, must mean any monsters in general; for
Typhon has nothing to do with the exploits of Hercules. Elmsley would
read I'npvdvac, but I think it is best ro retain the common reading in the
sense proposed.

%3 With the following passage compare the remarks of Muller, Eu-
menides, § 50, p. 137 sqq. 3

D
36 HERCULES FURENS, 1284—1319.

blage of friends canI go? For I bear a curse not fit for con-
verse. But shall I go to Argos? How so, since I fly my
country ? Come then, suppose I go to some other city, and
then I shall be looked upon askance, as one well known, ha-
rassed °4 with the bitter stings of the tongue: “Is not this the
son of Jove, who once slew his children and wife? Shall
he not be cast out from this land?” Now vicissitudes are bitter
to a man once called happy; but he, to whom evil is ever pre-
sent, mourns not, being continually wretched. But I deem
that I shall at some time arrive at this pitch of calamity: for
the earth will send forth a voice, forbidding me to touch the
land, and the ocean [forbidding me] to pass over, and the
sources of the rivers. And I shail imitate Ixion, wheel-driven
in fetters. And this is best, that none of the Greeks behold
me, among whom, prospering, I once was happy. Why then
must I live? What profit shall I gain, possessing an impious,
useless life? But let Jove’s illustrious wife dance, striking
with sandal’d foot the house of Olympus ;*° for she has ac-
complished the deviee she desired, having turned up and down
upon, from his very foundation, the first man of Greece. To
such a.Goddess who would pray ? who, envying Joye through
a woman’s love, has undone the benefactor of Greece, guilty
of no wrong, ~

Tues, This contest is from none other of the Gods than
the wife of Jove; perceive this clearly ****. I should
rather recommend * * * *° than to suffer ill. But no one of
mortals lives unmixed with misfortune; nor of the Gods, if
indeed the words of poets are not false. Have they not
joined nuptials with each other, for which there is no law?
Have they not placed a stain upon their sires by fetters for
the sake of power?” Nevertheless they dwell in Olympus,

™ T have expressed the sense, for the common reading is corrupt. The
reader may choose between Reiske’s Xordopovpevor, and Hermann’s enXt-
Sodpevor, obnozii calumnia, tanqguam rdjpouxovpevor.

*° I have, with the approbation of Dindorf, adopted Dobree’s elegant
emendation of this very corrupt line: kxpovovo’ ‘Odtprov, dopar’ dp-
Boddy Todoe.

% Here there is a lacuna, ;

** This misconduct of the Gods, handed down from Homer’s time, was
a popular common-place, and hence it gave rise to Plato’s condemnation
of Homer and the other poets. Cf. Repub. ii. p. 430, ed. Lamar., with
Sallust. de Diis, ix. 3, p. 246. Gale, Dionys. Hal. A. R. ii. 39. Numen
1320—1352, HERCULES FURENS., 37

and endure [the disgrace] of having sinned. And what wilt
thou say, if you, being a mortal, bearest thy fortunes im-
patiently, but not so the Gods? Quit then Thebes, on account
of the law, and come with me to the city of Pallas. There,
having purified your hands of the pollution, I will give you
dwellings, and a share of my possessions. And the gifts
which I have from the citizens, after saving the fourteen
children, and slaying the Cnosian bull, these I will bestow on
thee; and sacred groves are assigned to me every where in the
land. ‘These shall hereafter be called by mortals after your
name, while living ; but when dead, and when thou shalt have
gone to Hades, the whole city of the Athenians shall upraise
thee honoured with sacrifices and structures of stone. For to
the citizens it is a fair crown [received] from the Greeks, to
obtain glory, benefiting a good man. And I will do thee this
favour in return for my preservation, for now thou art in
want of friends. But when the Gods do honour to a man, he
has no need of friends ; for sufficient is the Deity to aid when
he is willing.

Herc. Ah me! these words are beside® my woes. But
I deem that the Gods neither love nuptials that are .unlaw-
ful, nor have I ever supposed it, nor shall I be persuaded,
that they fasten fetters to [each other’s] hands, or that one
is born the master of another. For the Deity, if he be truly
the Deity, lacks nothing.°® These are but the miserable
tales of poets. But I have considered, although in the midst
of ills, not to incur the charge of cowardice by leaving the
light. For he who, being born a mortal, does not know how
to bear misfortunes in the manner that he ought, could not
stand up against the weapon of a foe. I will endure to death,
and will go to thy city, and owe thee ten thousand thanks

apud Euseb. P. E. xiii. 5, interpp. on Minut. Felix, Oct. 22. August. de
Civ. Dei, ii. 14. Euripides, however, has turned this most ingeniously
into an argument against the despair resulting from a conscience oppressed
with guilt. The character of Theseus, as the comforter of the wretched,
appears to equal advantage in the Cédipus at Colonus, and in the Sup-
pliants of our author. i: oS

% Dobree quotes Hel. 925, wdpepyov Sotea roto rijc rixnc.

8 Euripides here seems to express his own opinions respecting the
all-sufficiency of the Deity. ‘‘ Nam semota dolori omni, semota querela,
Ipsa suis pollens opibus, nihil indiga nostri, Nec bene promeritis capitur,
nec tangitur ira ;”? to use the words of Lucretius,
38 HERCULES FURENS. 1353—1394,

for thy [proffered] gifts. But I have tasted of ten thousand
toils, in none of which I have been faint-hearted, nor have I
let drop the tear-fount from mine eyes, nor did I ever think it
would come to this, that I should let fall tears from mine eyes.
But now, as it seems, I must be the slave to fortune. Be it
sd. Thou art witness, old man, of my banishment ; and seest
that I am the murderer of my children. Give these to the
tomb, and deck their corpses, honouring them with thy tears ;
for me the law does not permit. Place firmly at the breast
and give to the arms of the mother the hapless common off-
spring, whom I wretched have unwitting slain. But when
thou shalt have hidden their corses in the earth, inhabit this
city, unhappily indeed, yet do thou constrain thy soul to bear
with me my woes. O children, I, thy father who begat, who
gave you birth, have destroyed you, nor have ye profited by
the good things which I was preparing, by labouring out per-
force for you a fair enjoyment in your father’s fame. And
thee too, O hapless wife, I have destroyed, not equally as
thou hast preserved my marriage bed in safety, toiling through
the long work of housekeeping at home. Alas! for my wife
and children, and alas! for me. How wretchedly have I
fared! and I am now unyoked from children and wife. O
sad delights of kisses, and the sad companionship of these
arms. For I am uncertain whether I shall retain or send
away these weapons, which, hanging at my side, will speak
these words: “ With us didst thou thy children and thy wife
destroy; us, thy child-murderers, dost thou keep?” And
shall I then bear these on my arms? what saying? But
stripped of the weapons with which I did most glorious deeds
in Greece, shall I die basely, throwing myself under the
power of my foes? I must not leave them, but must, though
sadly, keep them. In one thing, O Theseus, do thou aid me
wretched... Going to Argos, arrange for me the reward for
bringing the dog [Cerberus to light], lest, being alone, I
should suffer aught, through grief for my children. O land
of Cadmus, and all ye Theban people, cut your hair; weep
in concert, come to the funeral!° of my children, and
mourn them all, the dead, and me, in one joint speech. We
are all undone, stricken by the single wretched bane of Juno.
_ Tues. Rise up, O wretched one; there is enough of tears.
10 T read rdgag with Reiske,
1395—1420. HERCULES FURENS. 39

Herc. I cannot; for my joints are fixed.

Tues. For fortune pulls down e’en the strong.

Herc. Alas! Here might I become a stone, unmindful of
my woes ! ‘

Tues. Cease, and give thy hand to thine assisting friend. .

Herc. But [I fear] lest I wipe the stain of blood on thy
garments.

Tues. Wipe it, fear thou not, I do not refuse it.

Herc. Of sons deprived, I hold thee as my son.

Tues. Place thy arm round my neck, and I will lead you:

Herc. A friendly pair indeed, but the one is unhappy. O
old man, such a person should one possess as a friend.

Ampu. Ay, for of fair progeny is the country that pro-
duced him.

Herc. Theseus, turn me again that I may behold my
children. :

Tues. As finding this a love charm, wilt thou be more
easy ?

i I desire it; and I wish to press me to my father’s
bosom.

Ampu. See, here it is, O son, for thou seekest what is dear
to me.

Tues. Art thou now thus unmindful of thy labours ?

Herc. All those evils I have endured are less than these.

Tues. If any one sees you unmanned, he will not praise.

Herc. Do I live lowly [in thy estimation]? But I seem
not so before.

Tues. Too much indeed. Where is the renowned Her-
cules ?

Herc. What manner of man wast thou, when in troubles
beneath the earth ?

Tues. As far as courage, I was less than any man.

Herc. How then dost thou still say that I am overpowered
with woes ?

Tues. Move onward.

Herc. Farewell, old man.

Ampn. And farewell thou, my child.

Herc. Bury the children as I have said.

AmpnH. And who [shall bury] me, my child ?

Here. I will.

Amrn. When coming?
40 HERCULES FURENS. 1420—1428.

Herc. When thou hast buried my children.

AmpH., How?

Herc. I will send for thee to Athens from Thebes. But
bear in the children’s bodies that pollute the earth. But we,
who have wasted our house by disgraceful deeds, will like
battered skiffs follow Theseus. But whoever prefers to pos-
sess wealth or strength rather than good friends, thinks not
well.

Caorvs. We wend our way sad, with many tears, having
lost our best friend.
THE TROADES.

PERSONS REPRESENTED.

NEPTUNE.

MINERVA.

HECUBA.

TALTHYBIUS.

CASSANDRA.

ANDROMACHE.

MENELAUS..

HELEN.

CHORUS OF TROJAN
CAPTIVE WOMEN.
THE ARGUMENT.

Tue incident of this play is but small, it being occupied with the
lamentations of the captive Trojan women previous to their departure,
and the preparations of the Greeks to set sail. The death of Astyanax
forms the principal incident. Although, however, it is deficient in
dramatic purpose and action, it is rich in pathetic and sometimes ener-
getic passages, especially where the ravings of Cassandra are introduced.

The Scene lies before the Grecian encampment, near the coast.
THE TROADES,

 

NEPTUNE.

I, Neprunz, am come, leaving the briny deep of the Aigean
Sea, where the choirs of Nereus’ daughters most gracefully
entwine their footsteps. For from the time when around
this territory of Troy, Phoebus and myself erected walls of
stone according to the correct plumb-line,! never has a kind
feeling towards the city of the Phrygians been absent from
my mind ; which [city] is now smouldering, and has perished,
having been laid waste by the Argive spear. For the Par-
nassian Phocian Epeius,? by the contrivances of Pallas, having
jointed together a horse pregnant with arms, sent it within
the towers, a burden fraught with destruction; whence by
men hereafter it will be called the Duratean horse, conceal-
ing the hidden spear. But the deserted groves and temples
of the gods are streaming with gore, and at the steps of the
altar of Hercean Jove, Priam‘ has fallen in death. And
much gold and Phrygian spoils are being sent to the ships of
the Greeks, and they are waiting for a favourable wind from
the stern, in order that the Greeks, who made a warlike ex-
pedition against this city, after ten years, may with gladness
behold [again] their wives and children. But I—for I am

! Cf. Virg. Ain. iii. 2, “ceciditque superbum Ilium, et omnis humo
fumat Neptunia ‘Troja.”’

2 This was in obedience to the decrees of fate. Virg. Ain. 257. Conon
Narrat. 34. Palephat. 17. For descriptions of the machine, and of the
siege accomplished by its means, the reader may compare Tryphiodor.
200 sqq. Petronius, § 89. Tzetzes, Homeric. 17 sqq.

3 A play upon the derivation of the word.

“Cf. Virg. Ain. ii. 513 sqq.
44 THE TROADES. 2356.

overcome by the Argive Goddess Juno, and by Minerva, who
have together overthrown the Phrygians—am quitting® re-
nowned lium and my own altars; for when evil devastation
seizes upon a city, the affairs of the Gods are in a sickly state,
nor are they wont to be respected. And Scamander resounds
with many lamentations of female slaves, who are allotted to
their masters; and some the Arcadian, others the Thessalian
people have obtained, and likewise the sons of Theseus,®
chieftains of the Athenians. But as many of the daughters
of Troy as are not disposed of by lot, are beneath this roof,
selected by the leading men of the army; and with them the
Lacedemonian Helen, daughter of Tyndarus, who has been
justly regarded as a captive. But, if any one wishes to look
upon this hapless woman, Hecuba is present there, lying be-
fore the gates, pouring forth many a tear, and for many a
woe; whose daughter, Polyxena, has, unknown to her, died
miserably at the monument of Achilles’ tomb, while Priam and
her children are no more. But Cassandra, whom king Apollo
dismissed as raving mad, has Agamemnon, putting aside his
duty to the God and the laws of right, wedded perforce by a
clandestine marriage.’ But fare thee well, O thou once pros-
perous city, and well-wrought fortress. Had not Pallas,
Jove’s daughter, undone thee, thou hadst still been standing
on thy foundations.

Minerva. May I, relaxing my former enmity, address one
who is nearest to my sire in race, and who is a mighty
power, and honoured among the Gods?

Nepr. Thou mayest; for kindred connexions, queen Mi-
nerva, are a no small endearment to the feelings.

Min. I commend your mild disposition, but I bear words
of common interest to thee, O king, and to myself.

Nept. Bearest thou new intelligence from some of the Gods,
from Jove, or is it from® some one of the [other] Gods?

5 On this superstition compare my note on isch. Sept. c. Th. p. 89,
u. 1, ed. Bohn.

® According, however, to the Scholiast, they only obtained Aithra.

7 Or, “a bride obtained by stealth.” Zxdreoc, however, rather refers
to her doubtful position in relation to Clytemnestra, the lawful, wedded
wife of Agamemnon.

® Such seems to be the proper force of 4 xai in this passage. On the
distinction of Jove from the other gods, see my note on Asch. Prom. p.
359, ed. Bohn,
57—87. THE TROADES.: 46

Min. No, but on account of Troy, where we are now walk-
ing, I am come to [crave] thy influence, that I may have it in
common.

Nepr. Dost thou then, casting away thy former enmity,
feel pity for it,9 reduced to ashes by fire ?

Min. First come back to this question—Wilt thou share in
counsel, and jointly labour in what I wish to do?

Neprr. Most particularly ; but I wish to know your busi-
ness. Have you come on account of the Greeks or the Phry-

ians.

Min. The Trojans, my former enemies, I wish to gratify,
and to bring upon the army of the Greeks a bitter journey
homewards.

Nert. And why dost thou leap to and fro with different
feelings, and feel for whom it may happen a violent hate and
love?

Min. Knowest thou not that I and my altars have been
insulted ?

Nerr. [know when Ajax dragged Cassandra by violence.!°

Min. And yet he suffered nothing, and heard [no ill words]
from the Greeks.

Nert. And yet did they lay waste Ilion by thy power.

Min. Wherefore I wish, with thy assistance, to do them a
mischief.

Nert. Whatever you wish is ready, as far as I am con-
cerned. But what wilt thou do?

Min. I wish to bring upon them a bad voyage homeward.

Nepr. While tarrying near the land, or on the briny sea?

Min. When they shall set sail homewards from Troy. Jove
will send both rain and hail unspeakable, and darkening
blasts of the air; and he promises to lend me the fiery thun-
derbolt, to smite the Greek, and to burn their ships with flames.
And do thou, in turn, perform thy part in making the Avgean
Sea to roar with tripled waves and whirlpools of the deep,
and to fill Eubcea’s hollow recess with corpses; that for the
future the Greeks may know how to respect my temples, and
to honour the other Gods.

Nerr. These things shall be; for the favour requires not

® sy, quasi sequeretur oixrizec.”’ Dind.
10 See Virg. Ain. i..43 sqq. Hor. Ep. x. 13 sqq.
46 THE TROADES. 88—130.

many words. I will embroil the main of the Egean Sea; and
the shores of Myconus, and the Delian crags, and Scyrus, and
Lemnos, and the heights of Caphareus- shall contain the
corpses of many dead. But, go thou to Olympus, and re-
ceiving the thunder-shafts from thy father’s hands, be on the
watch for the time when the Greek armament shall let go
the cable. But foolish [is] the mortal, who lays waste cities,
temples, and tombs, the sanctuaries of the dead ; [for] having
consigned them to solitude, he is wont himself to perish after-
wards. [Exit Neptune. ]

Hecusa. Rise, O wretched one; uplift thy head, thy neck,
from the ground. No longer is this Troy, or are we the so-
vereigns of Troy. Since fortune changes, endure. Sail with
the stream, sail with thy fortune; nor present thou the prow
against the waves of life, sailing along with thy fortunes.
Alas! alas! for what is there not for hapless me to bemoan,
whose country, children, and husband are no more? O thou
pride of mine ancestors greatly puffed up, now contracted intoa’
small compass, how truly art thou nothing ! Of what should I be
silent, and of what not be silent ? And what bemoan ? Wretched
me, on account of the unhappy reclining of my members ; how
am I lying, stretching out my back upon a hard pallet! Alas
for my head! Alas for my temples, and sides! how I desire
to turn and stretch out my back and spine upon both the walls
of my frame,!? for the continual elegies of mourning. But
this is the house for the wretched, to chant of calamities un-
friendly to the dance. Ye swift prows of ships, which [borne]
to-sacred Troy by oars, through the empurpled deep and the
fair harbours of Greece, with the hated Paan-song of pipes,
and the clear sounding voice of the Syringx, hauled up the
skilful-woven Egyptian work,'? alas! in the bosom of Troy ;

1 guoredddpevog for ovoreddopéivwy is the correction of Victorius.
Although it has, obtained the approval of Dindorf, I should prefer retain-
ing the reading of the MSS. I have followed Seidler’s explanation.

12 There is great awkwardness in this passage, and Seidler seems fa-
vourable to reading émtovo’ for éwi robg. I think that if we transpose the
prepositions ef¢ and é7i, we shall obtain a clear sense, éwi du. meaning,
* upon the ribs on both sides of the spine,” (see Reiske,) and eig rote
... &déyoug being taken in its proper construction, I have expressed
this sense in the version.

13 j, e. the tackle, cables, &c.
131—183. THE TROADES, ° 47

ye did come after the hated wife of Menelaus, a bane to Cas-
tor, and an ill renown to the Eurotas; she caused the murder
of Priam, the father of fifty children, and has dashed me, the
wretched Hecuba, upon this calamity. Alas! for the sitting
which I occupy close by the tents of Agamemnon. And I,
an aged woman, am led captive from my dwelling, with my
hair cut close to my head in sign of sorrow. But, O wretched
wives of the brazen-speared Trojans, ye wretched girls, and.
ill-wedded, let us wail out, “lium smokes:” and, as some
mother, o’er her [new] fledged nestlings, I will begin the
strain; but not such as when, once on a time, I, resting on
the sceptre of Priam, began [to hymn] the Gods" with the
cheerful Phrygian beatings of the foot that led the dance.

Semicu. Hecuba; why mournest thou? And why dost thou
shriek out? Whither do thy words tend? For through the
house I heard the mournful cries thou criest ; and fear rushes
through the breasts of the Trojan women, "who ‘within the.
house are bemoaning their slavery.

Hec. O children, now is the oar-fitted hand of the Greeks
directed to the ships.

Sem. Alas! me wretched! What mean they ? ? ded will
they really. hurry hapless me away from my ancestral land i in
ships?

Hes, I know not, but I conjecture the misfortune.

Sem. Alas! alas! 1 ye hapless Trojan women who are about
to hear of troubles, come out of the house. The Greeks
are arranging their departure. ‘

Hec. Ah! ah! Do not now, I beseech you, send out the
raving Cassandra, a disgrace among the Greeks, so that I
may suffer grief on grief. Alas! thou hapless Troy, thou art
no more, and miserable are they who leave thee, both living
and dead.

Sem. Alas! trembling I left these tents of Agamemnon,
having heard thy voice, lest some resolution of the Greeks is
fixed to slay wretched me. Are the sailors now ready at the
poops to ply their oars.'®

Hec. O child, I came, stricken with horror in my never-
slumbering mind.

14 T have great doubts whether, we should not read Qeotg, with Reiske.
18 More literally, ‘so, they are ready,” &c.
48 THE TROADES. ' 184232,

Szm. * * Has some Grecian herald already come, to whom
I wretched am appointed a slave?

Hec. Thou liest near to the casting of lots.

Sem. Alas! alas! who of the Argives or Phthians, or who
will lead me wretched to an insular country,'® far away from
Troy.

Hec. Alas! alas! to whom shall I, a wretched old woman,
and where, where on the earth, be a slave, like a drone, the
miserable form of a corpse, the strengthless image of the dead,
either possessing the keeping of the vestibule, or as the nurse
of children, I, who had the regal sway of Troy?

Cuo. Alas! alas! and with what plaints dost thou mourn
thy misfortune? I shall not, plying the shuttle, vary [the
web] with the woof of Ida. For the:last time, the last time
I behold the bodies of my children. I shall have greater
toils, either brought to the couch of some Greek—may that
night and such a fate perish !—or, drawing water from Pi-
rene, be a miserable drudge at the sacred waters. Would
that I may come to the renowned and prosperous country of
Theseus; oh, may I not [come], at all events, to the eddy of
Kurotas, to hateful Therapne, [the country] of Helen, where
I, as a slaye, may meet Menelaus, the ravager of Troy. I
have heard a report that the holy region of Peneus, the fair-
est base of Olympus, abounds in wealth, and in flourishing
fruitfulness. This is the second place to which I [should
wish] to come, after the divine country of Theseus.!7_ And I
hear that the Aftnean territory of Vulcan, another of Sicilian
mountains, opposite to Phoenicia, is proclaimed with chaplets
of glory."® And [so I hear of] the land which neighbours
to Tthose who navigatef!9 the Ionian Sea,2° which fair Cra-
this, reddening with its yellow locks, waters, nourishing and
blessing the well-peopled land with its divine streams. And
truly hither a herald from the army of the Greeks, the bearer
of new tidings, wends his way, hastening his swift footsteps.

16 An irregular mode of expression, for which one would have expected
H tig vyowruv. See Matthie.

1” Euripides is not unmindful of Athenian vanity.

18 Less literally, “ with praise that awards the crown.’”

'9 It is more than probable that vairarg is wrong, but Dindorf’s note

is scarcely satisfactory.
2 i.e. Thurii.
233—264. THE TROADES. 49

What does he bring? What says he? For truly we are now
the slaves of the Dorian land.

[Enter Tatuysivs. |

Tat. Hecuba, (for thou knowest that I have come fre-
quent journeys to Troy, being sent as herald by the Grecian
army, and being also before known to thee, lady,) I am Tal-
thybius who come, bearing a new message.

Hec. This, this, dear women, was what I feared long
since.

Tat. Ye are already allotted, if this was what you feared.

Hec. Alas! to what city of Thessaly, or Phthia, or of the
Cadmeian earth, dost thou say ?

Tau. Ye are each allotted to single men respectively, and
not together.

Wec. To whom has each one fallen? Whom of the
daughters of Troy will a happy lot await?

Tat. I know; but ask one thing at a time, not all at once.

Hec. Say, who has obtained my child, the wretched Cas-
sandra ?

Tat. King Agamemnon has obtained her as a choice

rize.
: Hec. What, as a slave to his Lacedemonian wife? Alas!
for me !

Ta. Not so, but as a stealthy companion of his bed.

Hec. What, the virgin of Phcebus, upon whom the golden-
haired [God] bestowed the honour of an unwedded life ?

Tat. Love for the heaven-possessed damsel hath shot the
dart against him.

Hc. Cast away from thee, O child, the divine keys, and
the sacred adornment of the garlands which you wear.

Tau. For is it not a great thing she should obtain royal
nuptials ?

Hec. And what of the child whom you lately took away
from me? where is she?

Tat. Dost thou mean Polyxena? or after whom dost thou
inquire ?

Hec. To whom has the lot joined her ? *!

Tax. She is appointed to minister at the tomb of Achilles.

21 But Dindorf would omit ratray.

EB
50 THE TROADES. 265—292.

Heo. Woe is me! have I given birth to a minister of the
tomb ?2? But what is this law or custom among the Greeks,
my friends ?

Tat. Deem your daughter happy ; for she is well.

Hec. What hast thou said? Does she behold the sun as
mine ?

Tat, A fate possesses her, so that she is released from
troubles.

Hec, But what of Andromache, the wretched wife of
Hector, whose thoughts were on war,?? what fortune has
she ?

Tat. Her also the son of Achilles has obtained as a chosen
prize.

Hec. And to whom am I the servant, I, who lack a staff
in my hand, as a third leg for my aged person ?

Tat. Ulysses, king of Ithaca, has obtained by lot to have
thee as a slave.

Hec. Woe! woe! smite the shorn head, tear both cheeks
with the nails. Alas! woe is me! J have obtained the lot
of being the slave to a wicked and crafty man, an enemy to
justice, a lawless monster, who with his deceitful tongue ren-
ders all things in one place before friendly, hostile in turn in
another.2* Groan for me, ye daughters of Troy. I, ill fated,
have perished, I wretched, am undone, I who have fallen to
a most ill-fortuned lot.

2 T should prefer putting a note of interrogation after this line, thus,
** And have I brought forth,” &c.? ‘‘In the words éye eadée there is a
designedly concealed ambiguity. So in Soph. Trach. 1160, the oracular
oak of Dodona is feigned to have told Hercules that he would have a re-
lease from his troubles; and he fancied therefore that he would do well ;
but he did not see that by this release from troubles was meant his death—
a state in which no trouble isfound. A similar ambiguity is expressed in
Shakspeare, Macbeth, iii. 2, Life’s fitful fever over, she sleeps woell.—F or
another example see Flor. iv. 69, respecting the death of Scipio.’ For
this note I am indebted to Mr. G. Burges.

% Instead of yadxeoperopoc, which is not a Greek word, Reiske pro-
posed yadxeounropoc, subsequently found in MS, Havn. Burges and
Pflugk have proposed yaAneouphoropoc, which I have adopted.

2% This seems a sort of proverbial phrase, which can hardly be ex-
pressed literally. The Scholiast’s note furnishes the clearest explanation,
thus; rd ply ixet dtaBddrAwy tvradOa dvrimada riOnow, adOre be ixet
modipia TiQnat, Onrovédre rd bvraiOa‘ TovTo yap Acie.
293—341, THE TROADES. 51

Cxo. Thy fate thou knowest, respected lady. But who of
the Achaians or of the Hellenes”> will hold my fortunes?

Ta. Go ye, O servants ; it is requisite that ye bring out
Cassandra hither, as quickly as possible, that, having given
her into the hand of the general, I may then lead those of the
female slaves who have been chosen by the rest. Ah! what
bright torch-flame is lit within? Are the Trojan women
burning the house, or what are they doing, as being about to
be led away from this land to Argos? and are they burning
their bodies, wishing to die? Of a truth a free disposition
bears ill the yoke under such circumstances. Open [the
doors], open, lest that which suits them, but is hateful to the
Greeks, cast blame upon me.

Hec. It is not so, they are not burning, but my daughter,
Cassandra, rushes hither in her maddened course.

CassANDRA. (coming forth.) Uplift [the lamp], give it,
bear light. Iworship. See! see! I illumine this festival
with lamps. Hymen, O king Hymen! blest is the bride-
groom, and blest am I the bride of a royal bed, through
Argos. Hymen, O king Hymen! Since you, mother, in tears
and groans are bemoaning my dead father and dear country,
I kindle up this light of a lamp in honour of my nuptials, for
splendour, for glory, to thee, Hymen, O king Hymen! And
do thou, O Hecate,?” give light for the nuptials of the virgin,
as is the custom. Move thy foot aloft, lead the dance, Evoe!
Evoe! since upon the most blest fortunes of my sire the
dance ‘is hallowed, do thou lead it, O Phoebus. Amid thy
laurel-girt temple” I officiate as priestess, Hymen, O Hymen,
Lymen! Dame, O mother, lead [the dance], entwine thy foot
hither and thither, hearing thy well-beloved step in tune with
my feet. Hymen, O loudly hymn the bride with hymenzal
strain,2? in happy songs and shouts. Go, ye fair-robed Trojan
damsels, sing my nuptials, the husband destined to my couch.

25 From Musgrave’s note, it appears that the Achwans inhabited Lace-
demon; the Hellenes, Thessaly.

2 Dindorf follows the reading of the Schol. on Aristoph. Av. 1717.
I think that for cBw, we ought to read ceiw, with Musgrave.

27 But Musgrave’s emendation, ‘Exd(a, is rightly approved by Dindorf
in his notes. :

78 Nothing more seems to be meant than the laurel groves surrounding
the temple. 3 ;

2 Bodoare T.'Y. vipgay, i.e. ipvicare vingay, SEIDLER.

Ba
52 THE TROADES. 342379.

Co. O queen, wilt thou not lay hands on this raving
girl, lest she direct her light step towards the army of the
Greeks ?

Hec, O Vulcan, thou art wont to bear the torch at the
nuptials of mortals. But mournful indeed is this flame thou
art kindling, and beyond my high hopes. Alas! my child,
how little did I ever expect that thou shouldst wed such wed-
ding, beneath the sword, or Argive spear. Give me the
light; for thou dost not rightly bear the fire, raving as a
Menad, nor have thy fortunes made thee wise, O child; but
thou art still in the same state. Bear the pine-torches within,
ye Trojan women, and give tears in exchange for the wed-
ding songs of this damsel.

Cass. O mother, adorn my victorious head,?° and rejoice
thou in my kingly wedding, and escort me; and if my acts
be not to thy liking, push me on forcibly. For if Apollo ex-
ists,3! Agamemnon, the renowned king of the Greeks, shall
espouse in me a more ill-fated wife than Helen. For I
shall destroy him, and lay waste his house, obtaining in re-
turn satisfaction for my brothers and my sire. But these
things I will pass over. I will not sing of the axe, which
shall fall upon my neck and that of others,®? and the troubles
resulting from a mother’s murder, which my marriage will
_ cause, and the overthrow of the house of Atreus; and I will
exhibit this city as more blest than are the Greeks ; possessed,
indeed, with frenzy,yet thus much I will desist from my frantic
ravings, [the Greeks, ] who through one woman’s love, hunt-
ing after Helen, lost innumerable men. But the wise general,
forsooth, on behalf of those most hateful destroyed the dear-
est to him, giving up to his brother the home delights of chil-
dren®3 for a woman’s sake, and this too for a woman carried
off by her own consent, and not by violence. But when they
arrived at the Scamander, they died off, not exiled, indeed,
from the borders of their land or country with lofty towers ;
and they, whom Mars destroyed, saw not their children, nor
were they wrapped in shrouds by the hands of a wife, but on
a stranger land they lie. And matters at home were in a

3° Perhaps it is better to take wxnpdpoy by itself, “in victorious guise.””
3 i, e. “if Loxias is anybody.”

*% Intimating Agamemnon’s death.

3 i, e. Iphigenia.
380—416. THE TROADES. 53

similar state to these; some died in widowhood, and others
{were] at home childless, having nurtured their offspring for
others ;*4 nor at their tombs is there any one who will offer
blood to the earth. The expedition surely is worthy of this
praise ! It is better not to speak of what is more base, nor let
my muse become a bard to sing of evils. But the Trojans,
in the first place, died, which is the most fair renown, in de-
fence of their country ; and they, whom the spear destroyed,
carried as corses by their friends into their houses, obtained an
enclosure of earth in their father land, decked by the hands
of those whom it was meet [to do so]. But as many of the
Phrygians as died not in battle, dwell continually day by day
with their wives and children ; the delight from whom was
wanting to the Greeks. And hear how Hector’s state, griev-
ous in thy estimation, stands. He is gone dead, having shown
himself the best of men; and this the coming of the Greeks
has brought to pass. But if they had remained at home, he
would not have been known as a man of worth. Paris, too,
married the daughter of Jove; but had he not married, he
would have possessed an obscure alliance in his house. It
behoves him therefore, whosoever is wise, to avoid war ; but
if it come to this, it is no crown of dishonour to die nobly,
but [to die] not nobly is inglorious. On which account,
mother, thou shouldst not lament thy country or my nuptials;
for by my nuptials I shall destroy those who are most hateful
to myself and to thee. .

Cuo. How pleasantly dost thou smile upon the sorrows of
thine own, and singest in strains, which thou perchance wilt
prove thou hast not truly sung.

Tat. Unless Apollo had maddened thee in mind, thou
wouldst not with impunity have sent away my commanders from
the land with such words as these. But pompous words, and
but in seeming wise, are in truth nought better than nothing.
For the most mighty sovereign of the united Greeks, the be-
loved son of Atreus, submits himself to the love of this raving
creature. Now I am poor indeed, but I would not possess
the marriage-bed of this woman. And for thee indeed, (for

3 j, e. for the benefit of Menelaus. Such an explanation is much
more simple and to the purpose, than if we refer the words to those who
took care of the children of the absent, Still, I should prefer Tyrwhitt’s
emendation, d\Awg, ‘in vain.”
54 THE TROADES. 417—451.

thou hast not thy reason aright,) I give thy reproaches of the
Greeks and praises of the Phrygians to the winds to bear
away. But follow me to the ships, a fair alliance for our

eneral, But do thou, when the son of Laertes wishes to
lead thee, follow ; and thou wilt be the servant of a modest
woman, as they say, who have come to Troy.

Cass. This servant is a mighty fellow truly ! Why do they
possess the name of heralds? One common detestation to all
mortals are these messengers of kings and: cities. Sayest
thou my mother will come into the abode of Ulysses? But
where are the oracles of Apollo, interpreted by me,® which
says that he shall die here? But for the rest, I will abstain
from reproach. Unhappy [Ulysses] ! he knows not what there
awaits him to suffer, to such an extent that the troubles of
myself and the Phrygians will at some time appear like gold.
For, having toiled through ten years in addition to [those]
spent here, he alone will reach his country, [during which
years*6 he will traverse the sea] where cruel Charybdis in-
habits the narrow strait between the rocks, and [where
dwells] the mountain-roaming Cyclops, feeding on raw flesh,
and the Ligystian Circe, that turns [men] into swine, and
[where is] the shipwreck in the briny sea, and the desire for
the lotus, and the sacred cows of the sun, which from their
sounding flesh shall hereafter emit words bitter to Ulysses.%?
And, to sum up all, living he shall descend into Hades, and
having escaped the water of the sea, he shall, on his return,
find ten thousand ills at home. But wherefore do I thus hurl

forth the troubles of Ulysses? Proceed, that with all speed
I may wed my spouse in Hades. Miserable as thou art,
miserable shalt thou be entombed by night, not by day, O
thou who thinkest that thou hast done a proud deed, thou
leader of the sons of Danaus. And me, in truth, a corpse,
cast forth naked, the hollow of a rock flowing with a torrent
stream, near thy tomb, will give to beasts to banquet on, me
the priestess of Apollo. O garlands of the God dearest to me,

3 But ypunvevpévoc is rendered “ edita,”” by Musgrave.

4 There seems to be something wanting: unless we suppose with Mat-
thi, that od refers to déea érn = “ during which time he will sce,” which
seems very far fetched. I have supplied what appears to be the sense.

37 Literally, ‘‘ who shall emit sounding flesh, a voice bitter,” &c.

% Alluding to the fate which awaited both herself and Agamemnon.
But see Matthie.
452482, THE TROADES, 55

ye holy ornaments, farewell ; I leave the festivals in which I
before rejoiced. Depart from me, [plucked off] by tearings
by hand,* since, while yet my flesh is pure, I may give these
to the swift winds to bear to thee, O king of augury. Where
is the bark of the commander? Whither, whither must I
embark? But you cannot too quickly” seize the gale with
your sails, as being about to lead me, one of three Furies, from
this land? Farewell, my mother, do not weep. Farewell,
dear country; and ye beneath the earth, my brothers, and
the sire that begot me, ye shall receive me after no long season.
But victorious shall I arrive among the dead, and having
overthrown the house of the Atrides, by whom we have
perished.

Cuo. Ye guardians of aged Hecuba, do ye not behold
your mistress, how she falls speechless to the ground? Will
ye not seize hold of her? Will you let her go, base creatures ?
Lift upright again the aged woman.

Hec. Suffer me, O damsels, to lie as I have fallen. Things
unpleasant in themselves are not pleasant to me ;4! for I am
suffering, have suffered, and still shall suffer things worthy of
this prostration. O Gods, as vain allies indeed do I invoke
you; but nevertheless the calling upon the Gods seems to have
some reason, when any one of us falls into an ill-fortuned
event. First indeed, then it pleases me to recount my good
fortune, for I shall excite more commiseration for my ills.
We were of kingly lineage and wedded to a kingly line; and I
then gave birth to children surpassing in goodness, not
merely of the mass,’? but the chiefest among the Phrygians,
such as no Trojan, Grecian, or barbarian woman could ever
boast of having brought forth. And them have I beheld fall-

39 Compare Aisch. Ag. 1269, tod &’’Awod\Awy aduric ixdiwy éme xpn-
ornpiay tobiir’. :

4° See note on Iphig. in Taur. 245, ode dv pOdvorg dv ebrperi
mrovoupévy. ;

4 T have expressed Matthie’s interpretation: ‘rd yu) ¢iAa in univer-
sum valet & dv pu) gida gy, oboe piAa, si ad certum hominem, h. 1. Hecu-
bam respicies.”” ;

4 Ruhnk. on Timeus Lex. p. 199, and 283, has collected the following
examples of this expression, in which dAAwe==non nisi. Demosth. de falsa
leg. p. 123, of d8 dyrthéyovrec byAo¢ GAAwe, Kai BacKcavia Karepaivero.
Dio Chrys. Or. lv. p. 561, C. kai byXov GAdwe Kai PAvapiay Tyouvrat.
Eurip. in Stob. p. 590, yépovrec obdty topiy dAdo, wAHY SxAog. Heracl.
997, eidwg py ode apiOpor, add’ irnréipwe “Avip’ bvTa.
56 THE TROADES. 483—521.

ing by the Grecian spear ; and I have shorn off these locks at
the tomb of them dead ; and the author of their birth, Priam,
have I bemoaned; not hearing from others, but with these
eyes I myself beheld him slaughtered at the Hercwan pyre, »
and the city taken. But the virgins whom I trained up, as
a chosen dignity for nuptials,*? having trained them in vain,
Lhave lost them out of my hands, And neither is there a
hope that I shall be seen by them, nor shall I myself ever see
them. But, what is the coping-stone to my wretched woes,
J, an aged woman, shall arrive at Greece a slave. And to
those things, which are the least suited to this old age, will
they subject me, either as a servant to keep the keys of the
gates, me, the mother of Hector, or to make bread, and have
a bed on the ground for my wrinkled back, after kingly
couches ; wearing squalid ragged vestments upon my squalid
frame, things unseemly for the prosperous to wear. Alas me
wretched! what things have I obtained, and what shall I
obtain, through the single marriage of a single woman! O
child, O Cassandra, joint Bacchant with the Gods, for what
calamities hast thou broken thy chastity! And thou too, O
wretched Polyxena, where art thou? Since wretched me nor
male nor female offspring aids, although many were born to
me! Why then do ye raise me up? Under what hopes?
Conduct the foot once delicate in Troy, but now enslaved, to
a mat laid on the ground, and to a pillow of rock, that falling
down, I may die, wasted away to nought with tears. But
think that of the well fortuned none is fortunate before he
dies.44

_Cuo. Sing to me,‘® O Muse, a sad song of Troy, in the
tearful strains of new hymns ; for now will I peal forth a son
concerning Troy, how through the four-footed chariot“ of
the Greeks I wretched was undone, captured by the spear,
when the Greeks left the horse at the gates, snorting heaven
high,*? with golden trappings, with arms in it. And stand-

“® Cf. Virg. An. ii. 503, “‘ Quinquaginta illic thalami, spes tanta ne-
potum.”

« Cf. Soph. Trach. 1 sqq.

“ See Matthie.

© Schol. GAAnyopixig rdv immoyv rdv dovpsov, réiscapag Bacety
txovra.

| Merely a bold expression to show its height.
622—571. THE TROADES. 57

ing on the Trojan height,*® the people shouted: “Go, ye that
now rest from toils, conduct this holy image in honour to the
Trojan virgin, daughter of Jove.” What youth, what old
man went not from their houses? And rejoicing in songs,
they obtained the crafty bane. And the whole race of the
Phrygians rushed to the gates, about to offer the armed band
of the Greeks and the bane of Troy, [enclosed] in the moun-
tain fir to the Goddess, the gift of the unyoked divine horse ; ‘9
and dragged by surrounding ropes, like the dark hull of a
ship, they placed it on the stone seats and the plain Pallas,
fraught with slaughter to their country. And upon their toil
and joy nightly gloom.came, and the Libyan lotus [pipe]
sounded, and Phrygian songs, and virgins chaunted the joy-
ous song*? amid the uplifted beating of their feet, and in the
houses the brilliant light of fire gave forth a dusky light f dur-
ing sleep.*! And I around the house was then celebrating with
dances the mountain-loving Diana, daughter of Jove, when a
cry of slaughter through the city seized the dwellings of Per-
gamus, and beloved children stretched forth their hands in
terror 5? around their mother’s garments, and from the treach-
erous snare Mars went forth, the work of Virgin Minerva.
And slaughters of the Phrygians around the altars, and head-
severing desolations of the youths in the beds, brought a crown
for Greece, the nourisher of youth, and grief to the country
of the Phrygians.

Hecuba, dost thou behold Andromache borne hither in a
strange chariot? And near the rowing? of her breasts fol-
lows dear Ascanius, the little son of Hector.

8 i, e. standing, they shouted from the rock. Cf. Matth. Gk. ‘Gr. $596,
c. With the whole of the following passage compare Virg. Amn. ii. 478
sqq: Petron. § 89, ‘‘ Jam turba portis libera, ac bello carens, In vota pro-
perans: fletibus manant gene, Mentisque pavide gaudium lacrymas
habet.”” Tryphiodor. 247 sqq.

49 See Matthiz.

50 I have omitted 7’ after Boay, v with Matthie.

5! Dindorf regards ESwxev rap Urvy as a clumsy attempt to fill up a
lacuna. In explaining péad. alyhav, I have followed Matthie, who ren-
ders it, ‘‘lucem fumo involutam.”

2 | should prefer reading éronpévg, referring it to parpi.

53 This absurd expression had best be taken for granted. The ex-
planations only make it more ridiculous.
58 THE TROADES, 672—593,

[ANpROMACHE appears, borne in a chariot.)

Hec. Where, where art thou borne on the back of the
chariot, O hapless woman, sitting by the brazen arms of
Hector and the spear-captured spoils of the Phrygians, with
which, [taken] from Troy, the son of Achilles will adorn the
temples of Phthia ?

Anpr. Grecian masters are leading me.

Hec, Alas!

Anpr. Why dost thou groan forth my pan?

Heo. Alas!

Anpr. for these woes—

Hec. O Jove!

ANpDR. —and calamity.

Hec. O children!

Anpr. Once we were.*4

Hec. Prosperity is gone, Troy is gone.

Anpr. Wretched.

Hec. And my noble-born children—

Anpr. Alas! alas!

Hec. Alas! indeed, for my—

ANDR. —woes.

Her. O piteous fate

Anpr. of the city,

Hec. which is smoking.

Anpr. Would thou mightest return to me, husband.

Hec. Thou criest after my son that is in Hades, O
wretched one.

Anpr. The strength of thy wife.

Hec. You indeed, O terror of the Greeks, who wast once
the eldest of my children, bear me to Priam in Hades.

Anpr. These are great troubles,5> wretched one; these
woes we suffer, the city being undone, and griefs succeed on
griefs, by the ill will of the Gods, when thy son*® escaped
death, who ruined Troy for the sake of hateful nuptials. And
the blood-stained corses of the dead are stretched out near

Cf. Virg. Aun, ii. 325, “fuimus Troés, fuit Ilium, et ingens Gloria
Dardanidum.”

5S T read xévoe with Wakefield, Burges, and Matthie.

% i, e. Paris.
594—626. THE TROADES. 59

the Goddess Pallas, for vultures to carry off, and Troy has
fallen under the yoke of slavery.

Hec. O country, hapless country, I bemoan thee deserted.
Now thou beholdest a piteous end, and my house, where I
saw the light. O children, your mother, bereft of her city,
is deserted. What mourning, and what grief, and tears upon
tears are shed for our house! But the tearless dead forgets
troubles.

Cuo. How sweet to those who have fared ill are tears, and
the lamentations of mourning, and the Muse, whose province
is grief.

Anpr. O mother of Hector, the man who once on a time
destroyed a mighty number of the Greeks with the spear,
dost thou behold these things ?

Hec. I see the work of the Gods, how that they exalt
tower-like some things that were nought, but destroy others
that are in repute.57

Anpr. I am carried away as booty with my child, and no-
ble birth comes to a state of slavery, subject to so many
changes.

Hec. Terrible is necessity. Cassandra has but just gone
away, snatched from me by violence.

Awnpr. Alas! alas! some other second Ajax,® as it seems,
has appeared for your daughter, and thou art sickening
through other ills.

Hec. Ay, [in troubles] of which I have neither mea-
sure or number; for trouble comes into contest: with
trouble.

Anpr. Thy child Polyxena is dead, sacrificed at the tomb
of Achilles, an offering to the lifeless dead.

Hec. Alas me wretched! this was that riddle, which,
though clear, Talthybius not clearly told me just now.

Anpr. I myself beheld her, and, quitting this chariot, I
covered her corpse with garments, and struck my breast in
sorrow.

Hec. Alas! alas! for the impious sacrifice. Alas! again
and again, how evilly am I undone!

Anpr. She has perished as she has perished; but never-

51 Musgrave compares Hec, 295, nde roy doxobyrwy.

38 i. e. Agamemnon, spoken with a reference to Ajax Oileus. Barnes
well compares Virg. in. vi. 89, “‘alius Latio jam partus Achilles.”
60 THE TROADES. 627—658.

theless she has perished by a fate more fortunate than me who
am living.*®

Hec. My child, to die is not the same thing as to behold
the light, for the one is nought, but in the other there is hope.

Anpr. O mother, twho hast brought forth,t®! hear a
most excellent discourse, that I may bring pleasure to thy
soul. To be not born I count equal with death; but to die is
better than to live grievously ; for not perceiving his ills,
[the dead] in nothing grieves.®? But he who, having been
prosperous, falls into misfortune, wanders in soul from his
former happiness. Now she, just as if she had not beheld the
light, is-dead, and knows none of her own troubles. But J,
having shot the arrow, and having obtained more than a good
report, have missed good fortune. For all such acts, as are
the proper duty of women, I have practised thoroughly in the
house of Hector. In the first place, indeed, that matter,
which, whether reproach fall or fall not upon women, itself
brings this [reproach] of a bad reputation, upon her who re-
mains not at home,® giving up the desire of this, I tarried in
my dwelling, and admitted not the garrulous talk of women
within my house, but having my mind at home as a good
preceptor, I had all I wished. And to my husband I pre-
sented the silence of tongue and a quiet look, and I knew in
what things it behoved me to prevail over my husband, and
how to yield to him the victory in the things it behoved me.
And the report of this conduct reaching the army of the
Greeks, has undone me; for when I was captured, the son of
Achilles wished to take me for his wife, and I shall be a slave
in the house of the murderers [of my husband]. But if, for-
getting the beloved person of Hector, I open my heart to my
present husband, I shall seem base towards the dead; but if

59 i. e. it is more fortunate for her that she is dead, than for me that I
am living.

® Cf. Theocrit. iv. 42, Edaideg Ev Zwototy, avidmioror O& Oavdvrec.

6! Matthie# and Dindorf here have recourse to the popular method of
getting rid of a difficulty, by omitting these two lines. As few will be likely
to take this view, and still fewer to assert that the common reading has
any sense, I recommend Burges’ emendation, & pijrep drexvog ovca,
as far preferable.

ee ov dey belongs to both verb and participle.

* The whole of this passage, although quite in character with the

sentiments of Euripides, is most clumsily expressed ; so much so, that the
German critics are almost unanimous in rejecting its authenticity.
659—701. THE TROADES. 61

on the other hand I loathe him, I shall be hated by my mas-
ters. And yet they say that one night removes the hatred of
a woman towards a husband’s bed. I hold in contempt the
woman, who, having cast away from her a former husband,
loves another in new wedlock. For not even a filly, which
has been separated from the one mate trained up with her,
easily draws the yoke; and yet the race of beasts is without
4 voice, and has no use of reason, and is deficient by nature.
But thee, dear Hector, I had as a husband sufficing for me in
intellect, in nobility, and mighty in riches and valour ; and
receiving me without a stain from my father’s house, thou
first were united to me in my virgin bed.® And now thou art
no more, and Ia captive shall be carried away to the yoke of
slavery, in a ship to Greece. Is not the death of Polyxena,
which you mourn, less than my troubles ? For to me there is
not even hope, which is left to all [other] mortals, nor am I
deceived in mind [by the expectation] that I shall do well.
Still even to expect is pleasant.

Cuo. Thou art come into the same state of calamity ; and
lamenting thine own fate, thou teachest me in what a state of
troubles I am.

Hec. I myself have never embarked on the hull of the ship ;
but Iam acquainted with it, both seeing it in a picture, and
by hearing of it. If astorm be moderate for the sailors to
bear, they exhibit an earnestness to be saved from troubles,
one going to the helm, another to the sails, another keeping
out the water from the ship ; but if the sea, greatly disturbed,
overcomes them, they, yielding to fortune, are wont to, give
themselves up to the course of the waves. Thus also I, hav-
ing many troubles, am speechless, and, succumbing, hold my
tongue ; for the tempest sent by the Gods overpowers me.
But do thou, dear child, dismiss the fortunes of Hector ; thy
tears cannot restore him ; and honour thy present lord, pre-
senting to thy husband the sweet endearment of thy manners.
And if thou doest this, thou wilt delight thy friends in com-
mon, and be able to train up this son of (my) son, a very great
help to Troy. So that the children born from thee may at some
time dwell again in Troy, and it still become acity. But, (for
one speech arises after another,) what servant is this of the
; 6 So Virgil, ‘‘ Cui pater intactam dederat, primisque jugarat Omini-
us.”
62 THE TROADES. 702—729.

Greeks, whom I again behold thus approaching as a teller
of new.resolves ?

[Enter Tacruysivs. ]

Tat. Thou the wife of Hector, once the bravest of the
Phrygians, loathe me not ;© for not willingly do I bear the
common message of the Greeks, and of the sons of Pelops.

Anpr. What is it? How thou dost begin a prelude of
woes for me !

Tat, It has been determined that this boy—how shall I
speak the word ?

Anpr. What, that he shall not have the same master
as we?

Tat. Never shall any one of the Greeks be his master.

Anpr. But [has it been determined] to leave him here, a
remnant of the Phrygians ?

Tat. I know not how to tell thee evils gently.

Anpr. I commend your delicacy, save if you tell good
things.

Tau. They will slay thy son—that you may hear a great ill.

Awpr. Alas! how do I hear this, a greater evil than my
nuptials !

Tat. And Ulysses, speaking among the assembled Greeks,
prevails.

AnpR. Woe! woe again! for we are suffering no moderate
ills.—

Tat. Having spoken thus: “ Do not train up the son of a
most excellent sire.”

Awnpr. Such victory may he gain on behalf his own !

Ta. “But it behoved them to cast him down from the
* towers of Troy.” [And so let it be, and you will appear more
wise ;] nor do thou cling to him, but grieve nobly in thy trou-
bles, nor think that you have. any power, having none. For
thou hast no resource; and you must reflect both thy city
and husband are no more, and thou art overpowered, and we
are able to make a stand against a single woman. On this
account I wish thee neither to love strife, nor to do any thing
base or invidious, nor yet to hurl curses against the Greeks.

% Cf. Senec. Troad. 523, ‘‘ Dure minister sortis, hoc primum peto; Ut

ore quamvis verba dicantur meo, Non esse credas nostra; Graiorum, om-
nium, Procerumque vox est.” See Brunck. on Soph, Ant. 231 sq.
730—774, THE TROADES. 63.

For if thou shalt say any thing at which the army will be
angry, this child will neither be buried, nor meet with la-
mentation. But keeping silence, and bearing thy fortunes
well, thou wilt not leave the corpse of this boy unburied, and
wilt thyself meet with Greeks more kind.

Anpr. O dearest child, O thou above all things prized,
thou wilt perish at the hands of foes, leaving thy wretched
mother. Truly the nobleness of thy sire hath undone thee, that
which was wont to be the protection of others ; but the bravery
of thy father came not seasonably for thee. O my ill-for-
tuned bed and bridals, with which I once on a time entered
the house of Hector, not as about to bear a victim for the
Greeks, but a king for fertile Asia. O child, dost thou weep ?
Dost thou perceive thy troubles? Why dost thou seize me
with thy hand, and cling to my garments, crouching under
my wings like a nestling? Hector will not come, having
seized his renowned spear, returning from beneath the earth,
bearing safety to thee, nor the kindred of thy sire, nor the
strength of the Phrygians. But falling on thy neck without
pity by a grievous leap from aloft, thou wilt burst thy wind-
pipe. O youthful burden of my arms, most dear to thy
mother, O sweet odour of thy skin, vainly in truth did this
breast nourish thee in thy swaddling clothes, and vainly did
I toil and was worn down with cares. Now, never again,
embrace thy mother, fall at the feet of her who bore thee,
and wind thy arms around my back, and join thy lips to
mine. O Greeks, who have devised barbarian ills, why slay
ye this child, in nothing guilty? O germ of Tyndarus, thou
art no daughter of Jove, but I deem thee to have sprung from
many fathers, first from an Evil Genius, then from Envy,
Murder, and Death, and as many ills as the earth cherishes.
For never will I say that Jove begat thee, a bane to many
both barbarians and Greeks. Perdition seize thee! for
through thy too bright eyes thou hast basely destroyed the
renowned plains of the Phrygians. Drag, bear away, cast
headlong, if to cast headlong seems good; banquet on his
flesh. For we by the Gods are undone, and cannot ward off
death from our son. Hide my wretched frame, and cast me
into the ship ; for to a pleasant wedding do I wend my way,
having lost my child.
64 THE TROADES. 775—821

Cuo. Unhappy Troy, thou hast lost innumerable men for
the sake of one woman and one hated match.

‘Fat. Come, O boy, having dismissed the friendly embrace
of your wretched mother, go to the lofty battlements of thine
ancestral towers; where the vote has decided for thee to
yield thy life. (To his followers.) Take hold of him. (Aside.)
And yet it behoves a man to herald such commands, who is
destitute of pity, and a greater friend to shamelessness than is
my mind.

Hxc. O child, O son of my hapless son, thy mother and
‘I are unjustly robbed of thy life. What shall I do? How
shall I treat thee, ill-fated one? We will give thee these
beatings of the head and blows upon the breast, for over these
we have a power. Alas, for the city! and alas, for thee! For
what troubles have we not? what do we lack of going com-
pletely through utter destruction ?

Cuo. O Telamon, king of bee-nurturing Salamis, inhabit-
ing the territory of a wave-encircled isle, lying close upon the
sacred hills, where Minerva first showed forth the branch of
dull-green ivy, a heavenly crown, the adornment of fertile
Athens ; thou camest to act gloriously in company with the
bow-bearing son of Alemena, to sack Troy, Troy, our city,
when before thou camest [from Greece ],°7 when he led the
first chief flower of Greece, grieved on account of his steeds,"
and at the broad-flowing Simois stopped his sea-passing bark,
and fastened the cables tied to the sterns of the vessels, and
out of the ship took his well-guided arrows, a destruction to
Laomedon, and having broken down the contrivances of
Phoebus’ skill by the red blast of fire, sacked the territory
of Troy, and twice with two assaults 7 the bloody spear over-
threw the walls around Troy. In vain, O son of Laomedon,?!

% I need hardly remind the reader that this epithet Aurapaic is empha-
tically applied to Athens. Burges appusitely quotes Arist. Acharn. 639.

8 But see Burges.

*§ Which Laomedon had promised to Hercules, for the delivery of
Hesione. Cf. Ovid Met. xi. fab. 6.

* Literally, “ of Phabus’ plumb-line.” Cf. vs. 5, boiBde re xayw
Aatvoug ripyoug wiptk 'OpOoiary Mepev cavdory. Pollux, vii. 27, p. 355,
ed Seber. On ruxicpara, see Seidler’s note. Hyginus, Fab. lxxxiz.,
appears to have Euripides in view in his account of the story of Laomedon.

‘This is Heath’s explanation.

7 Ganymede,
822—872. THE TROADES. 65

thou hast the filling of the cups of Jove, a most glorious service,
stepping delicately amid the offerings of golden wine-pourings;
but the land which gave thee birth is ravaged by fire, and
the sea-shores resound. Like as a bird mourns for her young,
some for their husbands, some for their children, and some
for their aged mothers.”* But thy dewy paths and the
courses of the games are no more; but thou art nurturing
thy youthful face in beauty at the throne of Jove, in a sweet
calm; but the Grecian spear has undone the land of Priam.
Love, love, thou that once camest to the Dardanian house,
an object of care to the Gods of heaven, how gloriously then
didst thou exalt Troy, joining alliance with the Gods! I
will no longer speak of the disgrace of Jove ;73 but the light
of white-pinioned day, beloved by mortals, beheld the land
{of Troy] destroyed, beheld the ruin of Pergamus, [although]
having“ a husband descended from this land as her partner,”
whom the four-horsed golden chariot of the stars snatched
off, a great hope to his father-land; but the affections of the
Gods for Troy have disappeared.”

[Enter MENELAUS. |

Men. O thou fair-shining beam of the sun on this day,’7
in which I shall obtain possession of my wife Helen; for I
am that Menelaus who have toiled much, as did the Achzan
host.78 But I came to Troy, not, as they think I did, on ac-
count of my wife, but against the man, who, having deceived
his host, stole away my wife from my house. He, then, has
paid the penalty to the Gods, himself and his land falling by
the Grecian spear. But I am come to lead away the Lace-
dzemonian woman, (for I cannot with pleasure call her by the
name of wife, who once was mine,) for in this enslaved dwell-
ing she is numbered with the other Trojan women. For

72 We must supply yvvaixec, i. e. ‘the women on the sea-shore.”’

3 i.e. Ganymede. But I should prefer ot é¢ évedog with MS. Flor.
and Valckenaer; i. e. ‘I will not lay Jove’s love to his disgrace.”

4 Zyovoa agrees with #pépa implied in rd rag ap. déyyoc,

75 i.e. Tithonus. rexvozrotéc is used passively = “‘ oriundus.”

6 i, e. avail not. These loves were, I. Jove’s passion for Ganymede,
If. Aurora’s for Tithonus, III, Venus’ for Anchises: which last our
poet omits. Cf. Ovid Heroid. xv. 195 sqq.

77 7éée limits the exclamation to this sense,

78 See Matthiw’s note.

F
66 THE TROADES. 873—913,

they who obtained her by the toil of the spear, have given
her to me to slay, or, if not slaying her, I wish to lead her
back again to the Grecian land. But it is my determination
to let alone the fate of Helen, while in Troy, but to lead her
in a sailing bark to the land of Greece, and then to give her
there to be slain, as a penalty for as many as have died, her
friends at Troy. But come, ye servants, enter the house,
bring her out, dragging her by her hair with blood defiled ;
but when favourable breezes come, we will send her to Greece.

Hec. O chariot of earth, and thou who hast thy seat over
earth, whoever thou art, hard to be known even by conjec-
ture, Jove, whether [thou art] the necessity of nature, or the
mind of mortals, I pray to thee ; for, proceeding by a noiseless
track, thou guidest all mortal affairs according to justice.

Men. What is it, that you have made a new prayer to
the Gods ?

Hec. I commend you, Menelaus, should you slay your wife.
But, beholding this woman, (pointing to Helen,) fly, lest she
make thee a captive by a desire for her. For her eyes de-
stroy men, devastate cities, and fire houses. Such bewitch-
ing wiles hath she. I know her, and thou, and they who
have suffered.

Heven. Menelaus, this prelude indeed is fit matter for
fear ; for by the hands of thy servants am I hurried out by
force before these dwellings. But I know full well that I
am loathed by thee ; yet still I would fain ask what resolves
there are to the Greeks and thyself concerning my life.

Men. You have not arrived at a settled judgment, but the
whole army, whom you injured, have given you to me to slay.

Het. Is it permitted me then to answer by a speech, to
this point, that if I die, I shall not die justly ?

Men. I have not come for words, but to kill thee.

Hec. Listen to her, lest she die lacking a hearing, O Mene-
laus, and leave a speech on the contrary side against her to
me; for thou knowest nought of her misdeeds at Troy. And
my whole reasons, when put together, will cause her death,
so that she shall in no wise escape.

Men. This grant requires delay; but if she wishes to
speak, she may. But it is on account of thy request, (that
she may know it,) that I give her this permission; but I will
not grant it for her own sake.
914—954, THE TROADES. 67

Het. Thou perchance, deeming me an enemy, wilt not an-
swer me, whether I seem to speak well or ill. But I will
answer the points,’? where I think thou wouldst accuse me,
if you came to the question with me, opposing my charges
and thine. First, this woman, in bringing forth Paris, brought
forth the beginning of evils; secondly, the old man destroyed
both Troy and myself, in not slaying the infant Paris at the
time, that bitter mimicry of a firebrand. Henceforth hear
how the rest of matters stand. ‘This youth judged the triple
yoke of the three Goddesses. And Pallas’ gift to Paris was
that, leading an army of Phrygians, he should overturn
Greece; but Juno promised that he should possess Asia and
the bounds of Europe as a kingdom, if Paris should give a
verdict for her ; but Venus, celebrating greatly my person,
promised to bestow me as a gift, if she should surpass the
Goddesses in beauty. Now consider the progress of the story,
how it stands. Venus conquers the Goddesses. And thus far
my nuptials benefited Greece. Ye were not overcome by the
barbarians, either in standing against their spears, or by their
tyranny. But in those things in which Greece was fortunate,
I was undone, being sold for [the prize of adjudged] beauty,®°
and I am reproached with those things, on account of which I
ought rather to wear a crown upon my head. You will say
that I have not yet come to the matter in hand, how I privily
departed from thy house. The Evil Genius of this woman
came, (whether you will call him Alexander or Paris,) having
with him no weak a Goddess ; whom thou, O most base one,
leaving in your house, didst set sail in a ship for the land of
Crete. Well! I will not ask thee, but myself, with what in-
tent did I follow a stranger from my home, betraying my
country and house? Chastise the Goddess, and be thou more
potent than Jove ; who over the other Gods indeed has power,
but is her slave; and there is an excuse for me. But after
this thou mayest find a specious charge against me ; [that]
when Alexander, dying, went beneath the recesses of the
earth, it behoved me, since my nuptials were no longer the
work of the Gods, to quit the house, and to come to the ships of

7 Heath rightly remarks, that avrcOeioa must be distinguished by a
comma, so as to govern airtdpara.
8 i.e, sold to Paris by Venus, as a reward for his decision in her
favour.
F 2
68 THE TROADES. 955—992.

the Greeks. I attempted this very thing ; and the guardian
of the gates and the watchmen on the walls are my witnesses ;
who often found me trying by stealth to let down this body
with ropes from the battlements. But this new husband, Dei-
phobus, having seized me by force, against the will of the
Phrygians, possessed me as a wife. How then, after this,
should I die with justice, and rightly®! at thy hand, my hus-
band, I whom one man weds by force, but with regard to the
things from home,®? in place of victory, was bitterly a slave ?
But if thou wouldst fain overcome the Gods, thy wish in this
respect is foolish. .

Cuo. O queen, avenge thy children and country, refuting
the persuasion of this woman, since she, being an evil-doer,
speaks well. This then is dreadful.

Hec. I will first be an ally to the Goddesses, and will
prove that this woman speaks things not just. For I do not
think that Juno and Virgin Pallas would arrive at such a
pitch of silliness, as for the one to sell Argos to the barba-
rians, or Pallas ever to make Athens a slave to the Phry-
gians; they who came to Ida with games and wantonness re-
specting beauty. For why should the Goddess Juno have
had such a passion after beauty ? Was it that she might ob-
tain a better husband than Jove? or was Minerva hunting
after the alliance of some one of the Gods, she who, avoiding
nuptials, obtained the boon of virginity from her sire? Do
not make the Goddesses [appear] silly, adorning thine own
fault. You will not persuade the wise. But thou saidst (for
this is very ridiculous!) that Venus came with my son to the
house of Menelaus. Could she not, remaining quiet in heaven,
have led thee, Amycle,® and all, to Troy? My son was most
surpassing in beauty, but thy mind, on seeing him, became a
Venus.*4 For every folly among mortals is their Aphrodite ;
and well does the name of the Goddess begin with folly.®
Whom, forsooth, beholding radiant in barbarian vesture and
gold, thou wast maddened in soul. For thou didst dwell at

8 “ Quomodo juste occidar, et quidama te.” Matrnta.

7 i.e. her beauty, her ebpopgia, says Matthie, but I am hardly satis-
fied,

83 The birth-place of Castor and Pollux.

84 i, e. played the part with which you charge the Goddess.

® A play upon ’Agpodiry and agpociry.
993—1037. THE TROADES. 69

Argos, having but little state; but, quitting Sparta, thou didst
hope that the city of the Phrygians, flowing with gold, would
overwhelm thee in extravagance. Nor were the dwellings of
Menelaus sufficient for thee to wanton in thy luxury. Well!
for thou sayest that my son carried thee away forcibly. Who
of the Spartans perceived it? Or what cry didst thou utter,
while Castor, thy brother, was a youth yet living, and not yet
among the stars. And when thou camest to Troy, and the
Argives after thy footsteps, and there was a contest with the
spear, you used to commend Menelaus, if his affairs were
announced to thee as prospering, in order that my son might
be annoyed, having a mighty competitor for thy love. But
if the Trojans were successful, he was nothing. And looking
to fortune, you studied to follow after it, but did not wish [to
follow] virtue. And then you say that you tried to steal thy
body. away, letting it down from the towers, as if remaining
against your will? Where, I pray, was you caught either
hanging from ropes, or sharpening the sword? which a ge-
nerous woman would have done, had she longed after her
former husband? And yet I admonished thee much and often :
“ O daughter, go away; and my sons shall form other mar-
riages ; and I, having aided thy stealthy escape, will send theo
to the Grecian ships; and do thou cause the Greeks and our-
selves to cease from strife. But this was bitter to thee ; for
thou wast wantoning in the house of Alexander, and wished
to be reverenced by the barbarians. For great thoughts
were thine ; and, moreover, you came forth having carefully ar-
ranged thy body, and didst behold the same sky as thy husband,
O thou despicable one! whom it behoved to come humble in
tattered rags, trembling with dread, and with thy head shaven,
Scythian-like,®* having more of modesty than shamelessness,
after thy former sins. Menejaus, (that thou mayest know,
where I will end my words, Ao thou place a crown on Greece,
slaying this woman, as becomes thee, and establish this law for
other women, that she shall die who betrays her husband.

Cuo. Menelaus, punish thy wife in a manner befitting thy
ancestors and house, and remove from Greece the reproach of
effeminacy, showing thyself noble against thy enemies.

Men. Thou hast fallen into the same opinion with myself,
that this woman went willingly from my house to a strange

8 See Barnes’s note. ©

  
70 THE TROADES, 1038—1086.

bed, and that Venus is introduced in her tale by way of gloss.
Go to the stoners, and in brief time recompense the long la-
bours of the Greeks, dying, that thou mayest learn not to
disgrace me.

Hew. Do not, I implore you by your knees, charging me
with the disorder sent by the Gods, slay me, but forgive.

Hec. Nor do thou betray those allies of thine, whom she
has destroyed. I beseech thee on their behalf and their
children’s.

Men. Cease, aged woman; but for this one I care not.
But I bid my servants bear her away to the prows of the ships,
where she shall take her voyage.

Hec. Let her not embark in the same ship with thee.

Men. And why? Carries she a heavier weight than before?

Hec. He is no lover, who does not love for ever.

Men. That the mind of loved ones may turn out (as it
will); but it shall be as you wish; for she shall not embark
in the ship in which I do ; for you do not sayill. But arriving
at Argos, she, a bad woman, shall perish badly, as she de-
serves, and shall establish [a law] for women to be chaste.
This indeed is not éasy: but nevertheless her death will
bring fear on their folly, even though they be still worse.

Cuo. Thus then hast thou, O Jove, betrayed to the Greeks
thy shrine and altar of frankincense in Troy, and the flame of
cakes, and the smoke of myrrh reaching to heaven, and holy
Pergamus, and the Idan, Idwan groves ivy-bearing, (and)
watered by the river-like snow, and the boundary first lit by
the sun, the shining, divine [mountain’s] height.87 Vanished
are thy sacrifices, and the well-omened sounds of dances, and
vigils for the Gods during the live-long night, and the forms
of golden images, and the divine full-moons twelve in number.
There is a care to me, a care to me, O king, whether thou re-
gardest these things, dwelling in thy celestial abode of A®ther,
while my city is perishing, which a burning attack of flame
has caused to be dissolved. O dear, O husband mine, thou
indeed in death art roaming, unburied, with no lustral stream:*8

87 i. e. the summit of Ida, called réppwy, because the sun’s light is first
visible upon it, being observed at night. Musgrave refers to Mela ii. 18.
Diod. Sic. xvii. 7. Lucret. v, 662.

*s Burges quotes most appositely Hesychius: ’Avidpovo¢g [he reads
dyvdpog By] aradgog, ob AEdovpivog, ob Tw vopilopévwy TUXeY.
1087—1130. .THE TROADES. 71

but me shall a marine ship, flitting along with its wings, bear
over the sea to the horse-feeding Argos, and to where they
inhabit the heaven-towering stone fortresses of the Cyclops.
But a multitude of children at the gates groan long ® with
tears, they cry, they cry :—Alas! mother! the Greeks will
carry me alone away from thy sight toa dark ship with sea-
_ Stirring oars, or to holy Salamis, or to the summit of Isthmus
that overlooks two seas, where the land of Pelops has its
gates. Would that, while the bark of Menelaus is passing
through the midst of the sea, the double holy fire of the thun-
derbolt in the AZgean Sea might fall upon the middle of
the ship,®! because it bears me much-sorrowing from my own
land of Troy, a slave for Greece. But the daughter of Jove
possesses golden mirrors, the delight of virgins.°* But never
may she come to the city of Sparta and to the marriage cham-
ber at the paternal hearth, nor to the city of Pitané, and to the
Goddess with the brazen gates,®3 bringing upon mighty
Greece the disgrace of her inauspicious nuptials, and in turn
sad sufferings to’Simois’ streams. Alas! alas! new fortunes
upon new in turn befall this land. See, ye wretched wives
of the Trojans, the corpse of Astyanax [brought] hither,
whom the Greeks have slain by a cruel hurling from the
towers.

Tar. O Hecuba, one ship*4 which is left is about to con-
vey the remaining spoils of the son of Achilles to the shores
of Phthia. But Neoptolemus himself has gone, having heard
some new misfortune of Peleus, how that Acastus, the son of
Pelias,® has expelled him from his country. On which ac-
count he has departed more hastily, than if he had grace of
delay, and with him Andromache, the cause to me of many

89 From the affinity of xargopoc to dmyopoc, and other similar words,
(see Matthie, and Valck. on Theocrit. Adoniay. p. 243,) I think we
shall do little violence in considering that an idea of extension or length is
implied, and hence we may take oréve: katdopa to mean “ groan con-
tinually.”” Matthie’s explanation, ‘‘ lacrymis quasi oppleti,” seems to
please him but indifferently.

% I prefer zAarac with Dindorf.

1 Matthie takes ’Aryaiou with rep. wip, not with pécor wédayog.

% These words are strangely placed. See Dindort.

°3 The temple of Minerva Chalchioiké at Sparta. Cf. Hel. 228,

Literally, ‘the rowing of one ship.”

95 See Barnes’s note, and a long, but important disquisition of the
Scholiast.
72 THE TROADES. 1131—1171.

tears, when she set out from this land, bemoaning her coun-
try, and calling upon the tomb of Hector. And she obtained
leave from him to have this corse buried,®* who, the son of
thy son Hector, falling from the walls, breathed out his life;
and for this brazen-backed shield, the terror of the Greeks,
which this boy’s father used to throw round his side, [she
craved] that he would not cause it to pass to the house of
Peleus, nor to the same%” chamber, where Andromache, the
mother of this boy, will be wedded, a grief to behold; but
to bury the boy in it, instead of coffins of stone and cedar,
and [for me] to give the corpse into thy hands, that thou
mayest lay it out adorned with garments and with garlands,
as far as you have power in your present circumstances ;
since she herself is gone, and the hurry of her lord prevented
her from entombing her son. We therefore, as soon as you
have adorned the corse, having cast the earth upon him, will
set up a spear.®8 But do you, as quickly as possible, perform
what is enjoined. From one toil, indeed, I have freed you.
For passing over these streams of Scamander, I washed the
corpse and cleansed the wounds. But I will go and dig an
excavated grave for him, that our tasks both on my side and
thine, being speedily combined, may hasten our ship’s sail
homeward.

Hec. Place the round-turned shield of Hector on the ground,
a grievous spectacle, and not pleasant for me to behold. O ye
Greeks, who have greater renown for war than wisdom, why
did ye, fearing this boy, work a fresh slaughter? Was it lest
he should ever restore fallen Troy? Nought were ye then,
when, while Hector was prospering in the field, and we had
innumerable other forces, we were undone! But when the
city has been taken and the Phrygians are undone, ye fear
an infant like this? I praise not the fear of him who fears
without going through any reasons. O dearest one, how ill-
fortuned has death come to thee! For if thou hadst died on
behalf of the city, having attained to youth, and met with
nuptials, and God-like kingly power, thou hadst been blest,
if aught of these things is blest. Now, on the contrary,
having seen and known this in thy soul, O child, thou didst

*8 T follow Elmsley.

*’ But surely avrod, “ his chamber,” is better, referring to Neoptolemus.
* This custom is learnedly illustrated by Seidler.
1172—1202. THE TROADES, 73

not know it, ® and having [possessions] at home, thou hast
used nothing. O wretched one, how miserably have thy
ancestral walls, the fortifications of Loxias, shorn thine hair,!
whose rich locks thy mother nurtured well, and gave to it
kisses, from whence, amid the broken bones, murder grins
out, not to speak what is shocking.!©! O hands, how do ye
bear the pleasant likeness of your father ; but for me ye lie re-
laxed in your joints. O beloved mouth, that used to utter
many a boast, thou hast perished; thou hast deceived me,
since, clinging fast to my garments, thou wouldst say, “O
mother, truly will I cut off many locks of my hair for thee,
and to thy tomb!” will lead bands of my compeers, present-
ing a friendly address [to thy manes]. But thou dost not
[bury] me, but J, an aged woman, without a city, without
children, bury thee the younger, a wretched corse. Alas!
those many embracings, and my cares in nursing, and those
fsleeps'3} have vanished. And what inscription would a
poet write for thee on thy tomb? “This boy, who lies here,!%™
the Greeks once on a time slew through fear?” A disgrace-
ful inscription, indeed, for Greece! But, O thou, who hast
not obtained thy ancestral possessions, nevertheless shalt thou
have [thy father’s] brass-backed shield, in which thou shalt
be buried. O thou that hast oft preserved the fair-formed
arm of Hector, thou hast lost thy best guardian. How sweet
is the impression [of his hand] which lies upon the clasp,!%
and the sweat upon the well-turned circumference of the
shield, which Hector hath often, amidst his toils, dropped
from his forehead, placing thee against his cheek. Come,
bring the adornments for the wretched corse, according to -
our present means; for the deity gives no fortune for splen-
dour; but from such as I have, shalt thou receive these. But
foolish is the mortal, who, seeming to fare well, securely re-

° Seidler rightly supplies od« oicOa idwy ral yvovc.

109 Matthies observes, xoardg is referred to Béorpuxoy in ys. 1175, the
signification of which is already contained in éxepev.

101 Meaning the scattered brain. See the commentators.

102 Burg, Udvoe 7’ divot. Herm."Yarvoe 1’ diva.

103 | cannot see any sense in Uzrvor, and Musgrave’s Bpvoe is little bet-
ter. I think aévor is the correct reading, as rpogat wovot r’ éxeivor =
“that labour I underwent in bringing thee up,’ seems at once a clear
and natural expression.

14 Such seems to be the force of révde.

105 J read ow for od¢, with Dobree.
74 THE TROADES. 1203—1242.

Joices; for in their changes misfortunes, like an insane man,
leap here and there, and the same man is never fortunate.

« CHo, And truly these women are bearing in their hands
the decoration of Phrygian spoils to fit the dead.

Hec. O child, thee not conquering thy compeers on horse-
back or in archery, which customs the Phrygians cultivate,
not hunting! after these pursuits to excess—to thee the
mother of thy sire offers gifts of what was once thine, but now
the heaven-detested Helen hath bereft thee, and moreover
hath taken away thy life, and thoroughly destroyed thine
whole house.

Cuo. Alas! alas! thou hast touched, thou hast touched
my very soul, O thou who wast once a mighty ruler of the city.

Hec. But those in which thou oughtest to have clad thy
person, wedding the best damsel of the Asiatics, these Phrygian
robes I fit to thy skin. And thou, that once wast the victo-
rious mother of ten thousand trophies, thou beloved shield of
Hector, receive this crown, for thou shalt die, not being dead,
with this corse, since it is meet to honour thee much more than
the arms of the crafty and vile Ulysses.

Cuo. Alas! alas! the earth will receive thee, a sad object
of wailing, O child; groan, O mother.

Hec. Alas!

Cuo. The lamentation for the dead.

Hec. Alas for me!

Cuo. Alas! indeed, for thy ill-fated woes.

Hec. Thy wounds, indeed, I will unhappy heal with band-
ages, possessing the name of a physician, but not the deeds.
But for the matters among the dead thy father will take care.

Cuno. Smite, smite the head with thy hand, giving frequent
beatings of the hand. Alas, for me!

Hec. O dearest women.

Cuo. [Hecuba], * * * * say!°? what ery thou utterest.

Hec. There was nought [determined] by the Gods, save
toils for me; and Troy is hated far above all cities, and vainly
did we sacrifice steers. But unless a God had overturned
us, casting us from above beneath the earth, being in ob-
seurity, we should not be hymned in song, furnishing a sub-

106 Hermann renders, ‘‘non nimium his studiis se dantes.” Seidler
thinks there is a slight allusion to the immoderate passion for hunting
among the Athenians,

17 On the lacuna see Dindorf, oag is probably the termination of podcac
12431986. THE TROADES. 75

ject of poems for mortals hereafter. Go, bury the dead in
his sad tomb, for he has such adornments of the dead as are
suitable. But I think that it makes little difference to the
dead, if any one obtains sumptuous funeral attire. For this
is a vain boast even among the living.

Cuo. Alas! alas! wretched mother, who hast come to an
end of the great hopes of life in thee. And being deemed very
happy, in that thou wast sprung from noble ancestors, thou
hast perished by a fearful death.

Hec. Woe! woe! Whom do I see on these Trojan heights
shaking their hands fiery with brands? Is some new ill
about to befall Troy.

Tat. I proclaim to you leaders of the bands, who are ap-
pointed to burn this citadel of Priam, no longer to keep the
flame idle in your hands, but to hurl the fire, that, having
razed the city of Ilium, we may gladly set sail home from Troy.
But (that the same speech may have two forms!) go, ye
offspring of the Trojans, when the chieftains of the army give
the clear sound of the trumpet, to the ships of the Greeks,
that ye may set sail from the land. And do thou, O aged,
most unfortunate lady, follow me. These are come after
thee from Ulysses, to whom the lot sends you a slave from
this land.

Hec. Alas me wretched! This then is the last, the
boundary at last of allmy woes. I shall go from my country ;
my city is burnt up with fire. But do thou, O aged foot, fol-
low, although with difficulty, that I may salute my hapless
city. O Troy, thou, that once didst breathe a mighty spirit
among barbarians, wilt soon be deprived of thy renowned name.
They are burning thee, and leading us slaves from out the
land. Alas! ye Gods. And wherefore do I invoke the Gods?
For before they heard not when invoked. Come, let us rush
to the pyre, since it is most honourable for me to die in com-
pany with this my burning country.

Tau. Thou art raving, O wretched one, through thy woes.
But lead her; spare not. For it is meet to give her into the
hand of Ulysses, and send her as his reward.

Herc. O woe! woe! woe! O sire, Saturnian offspring,
ruler of Phrygia, dost behold how we are suffering things un-
worthy the descendants of Dardanus?

18 i, e, because he orders the Trojan women to depart, immediately
they hear the trumpet sound, but Hecuba, immediately. See Matthie.
76 THE TROADES. 12871332.

Cuo. He beholds. But the mighty city Troy, now no
city, is perished, is no more.

Hec. O woe! woe! woe! ‘Troy.shines, and the heights
of Pergamus, and the city, and the summits of the walls are
lit with the flame.

Cuo. And like as smoke with heaven-ascending!® wing,
this land, having fallen by the spear, wastes away. The
houses are burnt up, ravaged by the fire, and by the hostile
spear.

Hec. Alas! O earth that hast nurtured my children.

Cuo. Woe! woe!

Hec. O children, listen, hear the words of your mother.

Cuo. With a dirge thou callest on the dead.

Hec. And placing my aged members on the ground, and
smiting the earth with two hands.

Cuo. In response to thee I place my knee on the ground,
calling upon our wretched husbands beneath the earth.

Hec. We are led, we are hurried away.

Cuo. A grief, a grief thou utterest.

Hec. Toa house of slavery, and this too from my country.
Alas! O Priam, Priam, you indeed perishing art unburied,
of friends destitute, ignorant of my woe.

Cno. For black death hath closed the eyes of the pious
[slain] by impious slaughter.

Hec. Alas! temples of the Gods, and beloved city.

Cro. Woe ! woe!

Hec. You have the bloody flame and the point of the spear.

Cuo. Quickly will you fall without a name to the beloved
ground.

Hec. And the dust, ascending into the air, with wing like
that of smoke, will make me ignorant of my house.

Cuo. And the name of the land will pass away unknown ;
and each thing in different ways will vanish; and wretched
Troy is no more.

Hec. Have ye learnt, have ye heard ?

Cuo. What, the sound of [falling] Troy ?

Hec. A shock, a shock, will overwhelm the whole city.
Alas! trembling, trembling limbs, bear ye my footsteps.
Wend thy way to the slavish day of thy life.

Cuo. Alas! wretched city ; but nevertheless advance thy
foot towards the ships of the Greeks.

109 I read odpavig, with Reiske and Dindorf.
ION,

PERSONS REPRESENTED.

MERCURY.

ION,

CHORUS OF THE HAND-
MAIDS OF CREUSA.

CREUSA.

XUTHUS.

OLD MAN OR PADAGOGUE,

SERVANT OF CREUSA.

PYTHIA.,

MINERVA,
THE ARGUMENT.

Creusa, being violated by Apollo, exposed her infant in a cave, from
whence he was conveyed to the temple at Delphi by Mercury. His
mother being subsequently united to Xuthus, was childless, but, upon
consulting the oracle, Xuthus was directed to salute as his own son the
first person he met on coming out of the temple. Hence his name of Ion.
In jealousy at the supposed illegitimate offspring of her husband, Creusa
attempted to poison Ion, but a discovery took place, leading to the recog-
nition of mother and son. By the advice of the oracle, Xuthus was still
kept in ignorance as to the real father of Ion, and rejoiced in thus obtain-
ing a son.
ION.

MEncory.

ATLAS, who wears! on his brazen shoulders heaven, the an-
cient dwelling of the Gods, from one of the Goddesses? begat
Maia, who brought me forth, Mercury, the messenger to Jove,
greatest of the deities. But I am come to this land of Del-
phi, where Phebus, sitting on the central navel stone? of the
earth, gives oracles‘ to mortals, ever divining both things
that are and things that shall be. For there is a city of the
Greeks not obscure, named after Pallas of the golden spear,
where Phebus by force joined in wedlock Creusa, the daugh-
ter of Erectheus, where the northern rocks beneath the hill
of Pallas, in the land of the Athenians,5 the chieftains of the
Attic territory call Macrean. But unknown to her father,
(for so it pleased the God,) she bore the burden of her womb,
and, when her time came, having brought forth a boy in the
house, Creusa carried the infant to the same cave where she
had been united to the God, and exposes it as if about to die

! By txrpiBwy Euripides does not appear to mean any thing more than
éywy, which is used by Hesiod Theog. 517. Homer. Od. A. 53. Apollo-
dor. i. 2,§3, But perhaps there is some reference to the rotatory motion
of the heavens, as in Virg. Ain. iv. 481, “‘ ubi maximus Atlas Axem hu-
mero torguet stellis ardentibus aptum.” Cf. Hill on Dionys. Perieg. 67.

2 i.e, from Pleione: others say, from Athra. See Muncker on Hy-
gin. Fab. cxcii. and Poet. Astron. ii. 21.

3 See my note on Asch, Eun. p. 180, ed. Bohn.

4 Eustathius on Dion. Perieg. 1181, p. 206, ed. Hill, observes, rd tp-
vpoeiv avri rov OcowiZe TiOnot. Compare the compound Osomipdijoat
in Pollux i. 18. :

5 See Matthie’s note. The easiest way of rendering the passage is,
“‘ where are the northern rocks, which they call,” &c.
80 ION. 19—56.

in the well-rounded circle of a hollow cradle, observing the
custom of her ancestors and of earth-born Erectheus. For
the daughter of Jove having yoked for him two dragons ds
a guard of his person, gives this custom to the Agraulian ©
virgins to observe. Whence there is a certain custom there’
among the Erecthide, to train up their children [encircled]
with gold-wrought serpents. But such ornaments as the
maid possessed, she fitted to the child, and left, as though
about to perish. And Phebus, being my brother, asks this
favour: O brother, going to the earth-born people of the re-
nowned Athenians, (for thou knowest the city of the Goddess, )
taking the new-born infant from the hollow rock, bear it for
me, thy brother, to my oracle, cradle, swaddle-clothes, and all
that it possesses; and place it at the very entrance of my
temple. But the rest shall be my care, for the infant is mine
(that you may know this). But I, doing the favour for
Loxias, having lifted up the woven cradle, carried it, and I
place the boy upon the steps of this temple, having opened
the woven basket of the cradle, that the child might be per-
ceived. But with the circle of the sun riding forth® the
priestess of the Goddess happens to be entering the prophetic
shrine ; and casting her eye upon the infant boy, she marvel-
led if any girl of the Delphians had dared to cast the fruit of
her concealed throes at the house of the God. And she was
fain to cast it beyond the threshold, but through pity she set
aside her cruel determination, and the God was ally to the boy,
that he should not be cast out of his abode. And taking him,
she trains him up, but she knows not Phoebus who begat him,
nor the mother from whom he sprung ; and the boy knows not
his parents. He, therefore, a youth, would wander sporting
about the altars which fed him ; but when his figure grew to
manhood, the Delphians made him guardian of the treasures of
the God, and trustworthy comptroller of all, and in the shrines
of the God he has ever, up till now, passed a hallowed life.!°

6 The custom of adorning the necks of children with serpent-necklaces
is meant. Agraulos was the wife of Cecrops.

’ Read ér for éxei, with Barnes.

8 i. e. at sun-rise.

® It is strange that no one should have anticipated the obvious emenda-
tion yw Oed¢. See the appendix to my notes on Apul. de Deo Socr., where
I first printed this correction.

10 Exquisitely expressed by Talfourd, Ion, i. 1;
57—98, ION. 81

But Creusa, who brought forth the boy, is united to Xuthus,
in consequence of this kind of accident. There befell the
Athenians and the Chalcidians, who dwell in the Eubcean land,
a storm of war, through which having toiled and terminated
by the spear, he received the honour of Creusa’s nuptials, not
being of the land, but an Achezan sprung from A‘olus, the
son of Jove. But having long cohabited, he and Creusa are
childless; on which account they are come to this oracle of
Apollo, through desire of children. But Loxias guided the
misfortune to this pass, and has not forgotten [his son], as it
seems. For he will give his own son to Xuthus on entering
this temple, and will say that he is sprung from him, in order
that, coming to his mother’s house, he may be made known to
Creusa, and the nuptials of Loxias may be concealed, and the
boy obtain what isright. And he will appoint that his name
be called Ion throughout Greece, the founder of the Asiatic
territory. But I will enter into these laurel-decked recesses,
that I may learn what is determined concerning the boy. For
I perceive the son of Loxias coming out hither, that with
boughs of laurel he may cleanse the porticoes before the tem-
ple; and I, first of the Gods, will call him by the name which
he is about to obtain, Ion.

(Mercury retires, and Ion enters from the temple. ]

Jon. The sun now lights up o’er the earth these shining
chariots of his four steeds, and the stars flee from this light
of the zther into sacred night, and the untrodden heights of
Parnassus illumined receive the revolving-wheel of day."! And
the smoke of dry myrrh wings its way to the roofs of Phebus.
And the Delphic woman is sitting on the divine tripod, pro-
claiming to the Greeks the chaunt which Apollo pronounces.
But, O ye Delphian ministers of Phoebus, go to the silver-
like eddies of Castalia, and having laved yourselves in the
pure dews, approach the temple. But ’tis good to preserve

‘go his life hath flow’d
From its mysterious urn a sacred stream,
In whose calm depth the beautiful and pure
Alone are mirror’d; which, though shapes of ill
May hover round its surface, glides in light,
And takes no shadow from them.”
" j, e. the light of day is first seen on the heights of Parnassus. I
read 7jpepia, with Canter, Herm., Dind.
@

 
&2 ION.” 99—163.

well-omened words, and to utter from your own tongues good
words for [the hearings of] those who wish to consult the
oracle,!2.. But we, in the labours through which we have ever
toiled from childhood, will with branches of laurel and with sa-
cred garlands cleanse the entrances of Phoebus, and will water
the ground with moist drops, and with my bow will I put to
flight the flocks of birds which harm the holy offerings ; for,
as being born motherless and fatherless, I will serve the tem-
ples of Apollo which trained me up. Come, O fresh-sprung
implement of fairest laurel, that sweepest the pavements of
Phoebus beneath his shrine, [sprung] from immortal gardens,
where the holy dews, sending forth an eternal stream, bedew
the sacred foliage of the myrtle, with which I sweep the
ground of the God, fulfilling my daily task throughout the
day with the swift wing of the sun.!8 O Pean, O Pean,
mayest thou be blest, be blest, O son of Latona. In a worthy
toil, indeed, O Phebus, I serve thee before thine house, hon-
ouring thy seat of oracles. But renowned is the labour for
me to have my hands ministering to the Gods, not to mortals,
but immortals, and I do not tire of labouring through toils of
fair fame, Phoebus is my sire, my father, for I bless him
that feeds me. But 1 call Phoebus in the temple by the name
of father, useful to me. O Pan, O Pean, mayest thou be
blest, be blest, O son of Latona. But I will cease my work
with the dragging of laurel; but from golden vessels I will
pour forth the stream of the earth, which the eddies of Cas-
talia distil, sprinkling the dewy water, keeping pure from
nuptials. Would that I might never cease thus serving Phe-
bus, or that I might cease with good fortune. Ha! ha! the
winged troop are now approaching, and leave their nests on
Parnassus. I bid ye not approach the battlements, nor the
gold-decked houses. I will hit thee with my arrows, thou
herald of Jove, overcoming the strength of birds with thy
talons. Hither towards the courts another, a swan, is oaring
his way. Wilt thou not bestir thy ruddy leg another way?

2 gpoupeiv for dpoupeir’ is the satisfactory emendation of L. Dindorf.
The reader will do well to consult his note. The sense he expresses
thus; “‘linguis favere vos decet, ne a vestris ipsorum linguis infausta
omina capiant qui consulturi oraculum sunt.’”

Fi i. e, from the sun’s first rising. So in vs. 41, dy’ iwaebovroc HAiov
cicry.
164—218. ION. 88

In no way shall the lyre of Phaebus, that accompanies the
song, deliver thee from my bow. Turn aside your wings: go
to the Delian lake. If you will not obey, thou wilt make.
bloody thy sweet-sounding songs.’ Ah! ah! what new bird
is this that approaches? Is she about to place a nest of dry
sticks for her young beneath the eaves? ‘The twanging of my
bow shall prevent thee. Will you not obey? Go and in the
eddies of Alpheus raise a family, or to the Isthmian wood, that
the offerings may not be injured, nor the temple of Pheebus.
Yet I have respect from killing you, who announce the oracles
of the Gods to mortals; but I will serve Phoebus with the
labours to which I am subjected, and will not cease attending
upon those who feed me.

SemicHorus. Not in divine Athens only are there courts
of the Gods decked with columns, nor the worship of Aguieus,"®
but also with Loxias, Latona’s son, there is the fair-eyed light
of twain countenances.'§ See! behold how the son of Jove
is slaying this!’ Lernean hydra with a golden scythe. Re-
gard it with your eyes, my friend.

Sem. I perceive it, and near it another is raising a blazing
brand. Who is it? Is it the warrior Iolaus whose story is
told in my weaving, who, undertaking a common toil, exhausts
it in company with the son of Jove.

Sem. And now behold this hero mounted on a winged
charger, how he slays the fire-breathing might of three
bodies.

Sem. On every side indeed I am turning my eyes.

Sem. Regard the conflict of the giants on the stone walls.

Sem. We are looking this way, O friends * * * *

Sem. Dost thou then perceive her who brandishes her
Gorgon shield against Enceladus?

Sem. I perceive Pallas, my Goddess.

Sem. What? Do you also [perceive] the lightning glitter-
ing on both sides, in the far-darting hands of Jove?

“4 The sense is neatly expressed by Woodhull: “ obey, Or streaming
blood shall intercept thy song.”
18 On this surname of Apollo, see the note of Barnes.
16 j, e. the images of Apollo and Diana, painted on the walls. HzaTH.
 ravée is used Secxrixde, as one stranger points out the paintings to:
another. See Burges on Atsch. Eum. 1. In the description of these
aintings, there is an evident reference to the peplus of Minerva. See
indorf’s notes on vss. 190 and 207. 4 . a
G
84° ION. 214—251.

Sem. I see. He is reducing the hostile Mimas to ashes
with the flame. And Bacchus Bromius slays another’ of the
children of earth with his ivy-bound staff.

Cuo. Thee, thee I call, that art by the temple, is it lawful
to enter the recesses with my white foot! * * * *

“Ton. It is not lawful, O strangers.

Cuo. Nor can I hear a word from thee ?

Ion. What then do you wish?

Cxo. Does the abode of Phoebus really occupy the centre
navel-stone of the earth?

Ion. Ay, decked with garlands, and around are the
Gorgons. .

Cuo. So report also proclaims.

Ion. If indeed ye have sacrificed a cake before the temple,
and wish to learn any thing from Phoebus, go to the pavement
[around the altar], but enter not the recess of the dwelling
unless sheep have been slaughtered.

Cuo. I have learnt, and we will not transgress the custom
of the God; but the things without shall delight the eye.

Ton. Regard all things with your eyes, that it is lawful.

Cro. My masters have sent me to behold this retirement
of the God.

Ton. And of what house are ye called servants ?

‘ Cuo. The dwellings of Pallas are the houses that nurtured
my masters. But thou askest concerning this [my mistress ]
present.?0

Ion. Nobility is thine,?! and thy evidence of thy manners
presents this appearance, O lady, whosoever thou art. But,
by regarding appearance, one is for the most part wont to
learn respecting a man, whether he is noble by nature. Ah!
but thou makest me surprised, closing thine eyes, and bedew-
ing thy noble cheeks with tears, as soon as thou sawest the
holy shrines of Loxias. Wherefore, O lady, hast thou fallen
into this state of care? Where all others rejoice, beholding the
recesses of the God, here thine eye sheds tears.

Creusa. O stranger, this conduct of thine is not unreason-
able, that thou shouldst marvel at my tears. But I, behold-
ing this temple of Apollo, retraced anew some old remem-
brance. And I had my feelings at home, though myself being

18 i.e. Alcyoneus. See Herm. 1» See Dindorf.

20 i, e. Creusa, 2 Read yevvatog et reg, with Dobree.
252—274. ION. 85

here. O hapless women! O daring deeds of the Gods! What
then? Whither shall we refer our claims for justice, if we are
undone by the unjust deeds of our rulers?

Ion. But wherefore art thou secretly sad at heart, O lady ?

Crev. I have let go my arrow for nothing,” but, for what
follows, I will be silent, nor do thou take any thought.

Jon. But who art thou? From what land hast thou come?
From what country art thou sprung? What name is it fitting
we call thee? :

Crev. Creusa indeed is my name, and I am sprung from
Erectheus; and the city of the Athenians is my country.

Ion. O thou that inhabitest a renowned city, and art trained
up from noble sires, how I revere you, lady!

Creu. Thus far we haye been fortunate, O stranger, no
farther. a

Ion. [Say,] by the Gods, are those things true which are
reported by mortals? :

Creu. What matter askest thou, O stranger, I would fain
know.

Ion. Was the grandfather of thy father sprung from the
earth.3

Creu. Ay, Ericthonius; but my descent avails me nought.

Ton. And did Minerva lift him from the earth?

Crev. Ay, into her virgin hands, not having brought him
forth.

Ton. And she gives him, as is described in the paint-
ing ??4

Creu. Yes, to the children of Cecrops, not [however] be-
ing seen [by them]. ‘

Ton. 1 have heard that virgins opened the ark of the
Goddess.

Crev. Therefore dying they stained with blood the crag
of the rock.”

2 The stop after obééy must be removed. See Dind. ;

23 The genealogy runs thus: 1. Ericthonius, 2, Pandion, 3. Erectheus,
4. Creusa. See Barnes and Musgrave.

2 Cf, vs, 21 sqq.

25 Ericthonius, enclosed in a chest, was committed to the care of the
three daughters of Cecrops by Minerva, with orders not to attempt to
open it, Pandrosus obeyed the Goddess, but Aglaurus and. Herse opened
the chest, and, smitten with madness, cast themselves from the Macrean
rock, Cf. Pausan.i 18, According to Hyginus, Fab. clxvi., all three sis-
‘86 “ION. 275—296.

Ton. Ah! but what is this? Is the report true or vain?

Crev. What matter do you ask? for I am not displeased
with this leisure.

Ion. Did thy father Erectheus sacrifice thy sisters?

Creu. He dared to slay the virgins as offerings on behalf
of the land.?6

Ion. And how wast thou alone of the sisters preserved ?

Creu. I was a recently-born infant in my mother’s arms.

Ton. And is it true that an opening of the earth conceals
thy father ?

Crev. A blow of a marine trident” destroyed him.

Ton. .And the place there is called Macre ?

Creu. Why askest thou this? How thou remindest me of
something !

Ion. Do Pythius and the Pythian lightnings honour that
place? i :

Creu. Ay, honour dishonourably. Ah! would that I had
never beheld that place!

Ton. Why dost thou hate that which the God best loves ?’

Creu. Not so. Iam conscious of a certain shame within
those caves.

Ton. And what husband of the Athenians has wedded thee,
lady ?

Gren. Not a citizen, but an alien from another land.

Ion. Who? He needs must have been some one nobly
born.

Crev. Xuthus, born from A®olus and Jove.

Ion. And how, being a stranger, did he possess thee, being
of the soil ?”8

Crev. Eubeea is a territory neighbouring to Athens.

Ion. Bounded, as they say, by limits of the sea.

Crev. This [Xuthus] conquered, in joint warfare with the
Athenians.

ters were equally guilty, and the information was conveyed to Minerva
by the crow Coronis (Ovid Met. ii. 8). He was guarded by a dragon.
Cf. Fulgent. Myth. ii. 14. There is some similarity in the Countess
D’Anois’ “ Serpentine Vert.” See Fairy Tales.
26 See the notes of Barnes on this and the following fables.
- 2° Neptune smote the earth, and overwhelmed Ericthonius in the stream
that gushed forth. Cf. Virg. Georg. i. “ magno tellus percussa tridenti.’’
% Respecting the restrictions of marriage to citizens and their descend-
ants, see Potter, Antig. Book iy. ch. xi. p, 613, ed, Boyd,
297-319. ION, 87

Ion. Coming as an ally; and after this he weds thy
nuptials ?

Creu. Ay, receiving me as a dowry of war and a reward
of his spear.

Ion. But art thou come to the oracle alone, or with thy
husband ?

Creu. With my husband. But he is visiting the cave of
Trophonius.”

Ion. As a spectator, or for the sake of oracles ?

Crev. Wishing to learn one word from him and from
Pheebus. i

Ion. And are ye come [for oracles] respecting the fruits
of the earth, or children ?

Creu. We are childless, having been wedded long.

Ion. Didst thou never give birth to any child, but art
childless ?

Creu. Phebus knows my childlessness.

Ion. O hapless one, how, prospering in other things, thou
art yet not fortunate !

Crev. But who art thou? How blest I deem her who
gave thee birth!

Ton. I am called, and am, the servant of the God, O
lady.

Creu. An offering of the city, or sold by some one?

Ton. I know not, save one thing; I am called [the servant]
of Loxias.

Creu. Then we in turn pity thee, O stranger.

Jon. As not knowing who was my mother, and from whom
I sprung.

Crev. And dwellest thou in this temple, or at home ?

Jon. Every house of the God is my house,®° when sleep
overtakes me. /

Creu. But didst thou come to the temple as a boy, or as a
young man?

Ion. They who are thought to know say, an infant.

Crev. And who of the Delphian women nurtured thee
with her milk?

Jon. I never knew the breast, but she that nourished me
was—

29 Cf, Matt. Gr. Gr. § 425.
” i.e. ray Ocod ddpa dépd poi torty, Mattie.
88 ION. 320-342.

Creu. Who? O hapless one. How sickening I have en-
countered sickness! (aside.)

Ion. The priestess of Phebus, so that I hold her as my
mother.

Crev. And thou hast arrived at manhood, possessing what
manner of nourishment ?

Ion. The altars fed me, and any guest that chanced to
come.

CrEv. Miserable in truth was she that bore thee, whoso-
ever she be.

Ton. Perchance I have been the fruit of some woman’s
shame.

Creu. And whence hast thou a livelihood, for thou art
well adorned in clothing ?

Ion. I am robed in the raiment of the God, whom I serve.

Crev. Hast thou not come to search after thy parents ?

Ion. [No,] for I have no means of proof, O lady.

Crev. Alas! Some other woman has suffered the same a3
thy mother.

Ion. Who? If she would aid me in the labour, I should
rejoice,

Crev. She, on whose account I came hither, before my
husband might arrive.

Ion. Seeking what manner of thing, so that I may assist
thee, lady ?

Creu. Desiring to learn a secret oracle from Phoebus.

Ion. Speak, then. We will render thee aid in the rest.

Crev. Hear then my story. But I am ashamed—

Jon. Then thou wilt do nothing. An idle Goddess is
[modesty].

Creu. Some one of my friends says that she was united
to Phoebus.

Ion. A woman born, with Phoebus? Say it not, O lady
guest. : ‘

Crev. Ay, and she brought forth a son to the God, un-
known to her father.

Jon. It cannot be. She is ashamed [at having suffered]
shame from a man.

Crev. That which®! she herself says, the miserable woman
has suffered,

5! Dindorf, however, approves of Dobree’s emendation, od,
343—367. ION. 89

Ion. Doing what thing, if indeed she was united to a
God?

Creu. The child she brought forth she exposed out of the
house.

os But where is the exposed child? Does it behold the
light ?

Creu. No one knows. Upon this matter I seek the oracle.

Ion. But if it is no more, in what manner did it perish?

Creu. She thinks that wild beasts destroyed the miserable
one.

Ion. Using what evidence did she suppose this?

Creu. Going to the place where she had exposed it, she
found it no longer there.

Jon. But was there any dripping of blood on the path?

Creu. She does not say so, although she much traversed
the spot.

Ion. But how a long a time has elapsed since the child was
destroyed ?

Creu. If he were living, he would have been about tlie
same measure of years with thee.

Ion. The God does him wrong, and unhappy is his mother.

Crev. After this she brought forth no other child.

Ion. But what if Phoebus has taken, and nurtures him in
secrecy ?

Creu. He does not rightly, alone rejoicing over a common
oy.
: Ion. Alas! his fortune is of the same strain with my own.
Creu. And thee, I ween, O stranger, some hapless mother
longs for.

Ion. But do not thou excite me to a grief which I have
forgotten.

Crev. I am silent. But go on with the matters concerning
which I ask you.

Ion. Knowest thou then what part of thy story involves
most difficulty ?

Crev. Ay, what is not so with that hapless woman?

Ion. How will the God give an oracle concerning what he
would wish concealed ?

Crev. If indeed he sits on the common tripod of Greece—

Jon. He is ashamed of this affair. Seek not to bring him
to proof, °
90 ION. 368—409

Creu. But she who has suffered is in grief because of her
misfortune.

Ton. There is no one who will give an oracle on these mat-
ters tothee. For Phebus, being in his own temple proved base,
would with reason work some ill upon him that proclaimed it
to thee. Leave the place, lady; for one must not by oracles
seek for things contrary to the God. For to so great a
height of folly we should come, if we shall seek to compel the
Gods, being unwilling, to say what they will not, either by
slaughter of sheep near the altar, or through the flight of birds.
For such things as we seek after against the will of the Gods,
we possess not as real goods, O lady; but by such things as
they give willingly, we are benefited.

Cuo. Many are the calamities of various mortals, and their
forms differ. But one will scarcely find one [continual form]
of good fortune in the life of men.

Creu. O Phebus, both there and here thou art not just
towards her that is absent, whose words are present. But
thou hast not preserved thine own son, whom it behoved thee
to preserve, nor, being a prophet, wilt thou inform the mother,
that, if he is no more, he may be honoured with a tomb, but
if he is in being, he may at some time come into his mother’s
sight. But one must quit the subject, if I am hindered by
the God from learning what I wish. But, O stranger—for I
behold my noble husband Xuthus coming hither, nigh at
hand, having quitted the recesses of Trophonius—be silent to
my husband respecting what I have told you, lest I incur any
reproach by managing secret affairs, and the story go on dif-
ferently from the manner in which I have detailed it. For
women’s condition is a difficult one among men, and, the good
being mixed up with the evil, we are objects of hatred. So
unhappy are we by nature.

Xuruus. (entering.) First indeed may the God, receiving
the first offerings of my address, hail! And thou too, O lady.
Have I stricken thee with fear, coming after a long period.

Crev. In no wise, but thou wast a cause of care. But tell
me what response thou bearest from Trophonius, as to how
the procreation of children may be accomplished by us.

Xurtu. He did not attempt to anticipate the oracles of Apollo ;
but, at all events, he said one thing ; that I should not return,
nor thou either, homeward from the oracles, without children.
410—450. ION. 91

Crev. O revered mother of Phcebus, may we have come ®?
with good omen, and may our former acquaintance with thy
son turn out with better event!

Xutu. These things shall be, but who acts as interpreter
to the God?

Ion. We do, as far as matters without [the temple], but
those within are the care of others, who sit near the tripod, O
stranger, the chief men of the Delphians, to whom the lot has
fallen.

Xourn. ’Tis well. I have therefore all that we desired. I
would fain go within, for, as I hear, the common victim of the
visitors is slain before the temple. And I wish on this day,
(for it is well-omened,?4) to receive the oracles of the God.
But do thou, O woman, bearing the laurel boughs around the
altars, pray the Gods that I may bring back a response, fraught
with the hope of children, from the dwelling of Apollo.

Crev. This shall be done, it shall be. But if Loxias now
at. least desires to amend his errors of old, he will not alto-
gether be a friend towards us; but, as much as he is so will-
ing, I will receive, for he is a God.

Ion. What can the strange woman be aiming at, ever utter-
ing reproaches against the God in covert words? Is it that
she loves her for whom she consults the oracle, or that she is
silent on some point where it behoves her to keep silence?
But what should I care for this daughter of Erectheus, when
she is no relation of mine? So going with golden pitchers to
the lavers, I will sprinkle the dew. But Phoebus deserves
remonstrance at my hands. What is he doing? He betrays
virgins by nuptials perforce, and neglects the perishing chil-
dren whom he has privily begotten. Do not thou act so; but
when thou hast power, pursue virtue. For whosoever of
mortals is base, him the Gods chastise. How then is it right
that you, who write down laws for mortals, should yourselves
be guilty of lawless deeds? For if (for ye will not, but I will
use it by way of argument) ye shall have to pay to men the
penalty of violent marriages, you, and Neptune, and Jove,
who sways the heaven, will empty your temples, paying the
penalty of violence. For ye do wrong, cultivating pleasures
before prudence. No longer is it right to call men vile, if we

32 Cf, Soph. Gd, T, 80, ef yap bv rixy yé Ty Zwrijp Bain,

33 On account of the rites being duly accomplished. See Hermann.
92 10N. 451—610

imitate the evil deeds of the Gods, but [rather] those who
give such teaching.

[Ion enters the temple.|

Corvus. I beseech thee, inexperienced in the throes of
child-birth,#4 my [patron goddess] Minerva, thou who wast
delivered from the lofty head of Jove by the Promethean
Titan. O hallowed Victory, come to the Pythian abode, fly-
ing from the golden chambers of Olympus to the streets, where
the breath of Phoebus, in the navel of the earth, brings oracles
to pass near the tripod round which dances [are celebrated ],
thou, and the daughter born of Latona, two Goddesses, vir-
gins two, solemn sisters of Phoebus. But beseech, O maidens,
that by the holy oracles the ancient race of Erectheus may
obtain a happy offspring, though late. For it conveys sur-
passing happiness to mortals, an undisturbed resource, [to those ]
for whom*® prolific youths shine flourishing in the paternal
chambers, as being about to possess wealth in succession from
their sires to other children; for ’tis a strength in troubles,
and pleasant in good fortune, and in war bears help to the
country. To me, indeed, may the nurturing care of good chil-
dren be before wealth and the nuptials of kings; but a child-
less life I abhor, and I blame him who approves it. But with
moderate possessions may I possess a life with good off-
spring. O haunts of Pan, and thou rock, neighbouring on the
cavernous Macrez, where the three daughters of Agraulus®’
step in dances with their feet, on the green course before the
temple of Pallas, to the varied tune of pipes, when thou, O
Pan, playest on the syrinx in thy grot. Where some virgin,
having brought forth an infant to Phoebus, O wretched one!
exposed it as a banquet for birds and a bloody repast to wild
beasts, the fruit of the shame of her sad nuptials. Neither in
woven pictures [have I seen], nor in story have I heard a re-
port, that the children among mortals, sprung from the Gods,
partake of a happy existence.

Jon. Ye handmaids, who watch for your master, keeping

* On the reading Aoyidy dvedeiOuav, see Matth. apud Dind.

% i, e. Vulcan.

% ‘The natural construction would have been, evdamoviag dgpoppay
tye 7d récvwy Bac Adpruv. See Heath and Matthia.

37 The wife of Cecrops, See Musgrave,
511—530. ION. 93

guard around the base of this incense-receiving temple, has
Xuthus already left the sacred tripod and shrine, or does he
remain within the house questioning concerning his want of
children?

Cuno: He is in the house, O stranger; he does not yet quit
this dwelling. But we hear the noise of these gates as though
he were on the point of coming out, and now you may per-
ceive my master advancing out.

Xutu. O son, hail! for this beginning of speech be-
comes me.

Ion. I am well; but do thou be wise, and both of us will
fare well.

Xutx. Give me thy hand to kiss and thy body to embrace.

Ion. Art thou indeed in thy right senses, O stranger, or
has some curse of the Gods maddened thee ?

Xourtu. I am in my senses, if, ‘having found my best be-
loved, I seek to embrace him.

Ton. Cease, lest, touching the garlands of the God, thou
break them with thy hand. ;

XurtH. I will touch thee, and I do not drag thee off as a
pledge ;** but I find what is dear to me.

Ion. Wilt thou not let go, before thou shalt receive these
shafts within thy vitals?

Xutu. Wherefore dost fly me? Recognise those most dear
to thyself.

Ion. I love not to enlighten foolish and raving strangers.

Xutu. Slay, and burn; for if thou slayest me, thou wilt
be thy father’s murderer.

Ion. But how art thou my father? Is not this ridiculous
for me to listen to?

Xuru. Not so; a speedy explanation would tell you how
I am circumstanced.

Jon. And what wilt thou tell me?

Xuru. I am thy father, and thou [art] my son.

Ion. Who says so?

Xurs. Loxias, who nurtured thee, being mine.

Jon. Thou bearest witness for thyself.

Xvuru. At least, having learnt the oracles of the God.

Ion. Thou wast deceived, hearing a riddle.

% Jvordtw, “bona alicujus tanquam piovoy, i. e. pignus, vi abduco.”
Muscrave. Hence it is applied to any dragging off by forcible means.
94 ION. 631—5852.

Xoru. Do we not therefore hear what is correct ?
Ton. And’ what are the words of Phebus?
Xutn. That he who meets me—
Ton. With what meeting ?
Xurn. As I go out from this dwelling of the God—
Ion. Shall he meet with what event ?
Xurtu. Shall be my son,
Ion. Thine by birth, or only as a gift?
Xura. As a gift, but as sprung from me.
Ion. And to me then thou first didst draw near thy step?
Xutu. To no other, child.
Ion. Whence, whence has this fortune come ?
Xutu. We twain marvel at one [fortune].
Ion. Hold! But from what mother am I born to tlice?
Xuta. I cannot say.
Jon. Nor did Phoebus say ?
Xutua. Pleased in this matter, I did not ask him that.
Ion, I am sprung, then, from mother earth!
Xuru. The earth does not bring forth children.
Ion. How then can I be thine?
XutuH. I know not, but I refer it to the God.
Ion. Come, let us touch upon some other topic,
Xutu. This is better, O son.
Ion. Didst thou approach any illegitimate nuptials ?
Xutu. Ay, in the folly of youth.
Ion. Before you wedded the daughter of Erectheus ?
Xoutn. For never afterwards, indeed.
Ion. Did you then on that occasion beget me ?
Xutu. The matter certainly tallies with the time.
Ion. And how then could I have come hither ?
XoutH. There I am ata loss.
Jon. Having traversed o’er a long journey ?
Xuru. This also throws me into doubt.
Jon. But didst thou before come to the Pythian rock ?
Xutu. Yes, to the orgies®? of Bacchus.
Ion. But at the house of what host didst thou tarry ?
ini [At the house of a man] who me with the Delphic
maids—

Ion. Initiated? Or what is it you say ?
Xurs, Ay, with the Mznads of Bacchus,

39 See Musgrave and Hermann,
553—682, ION, 95

Ion. In thy senses, or overpowered with wine?

Xotu. Amid the delights of Bacchus.

Ion. Thus, then, was I begotten.

Xutu. Fate hath found thee, child.

Ion. But how came I to the temple ?

Xuru. Perchance, being exposed by the girl.

Ion. I have therefore escaped slavery.

Xurtn. Receive then thy father, child.

Ion. It is not meet at least to disobey the God.

XutuH. Thou art certainly wise.

Ion. And what else can I wish?

Xutu. Now thou beholdest what ’tis meet thou shouldst
behold.

Ion. To be the son of Jove’s son?

XutTH. Which is thy lot.

Ion. Shall I then touch him that begat me?

Xora. Yes, in obedience to the God. .

Ton. Hail for me, father?

Xutu. As a loved address, indeed, do I receive this.

Ton. And this present day—

XutTu. Has made me happy indeed.

Ion. O mother dear, shall I at some time behold thee ?’
Now, more than erst, I long to behold thee, whoever thou art.
But perchance thou art dead, and we can nought avail.

Co. Common indeed to us are the good fortunes of the
house; but nevertheless I should have wished my mistress
also, and the house of Erectheus, to be fortunate in respect to
children.

Xutu. O child, in regard indeed to thy discovery, a God
hath well brought it to pass, and he has joined thee to me,
and thou in turn hast found those dearest to thee, not having
known them before. But as to that which thou hast rightly
hinted at, desire possesses me also, how you, O son, will find
your mother, and I [discover] the woman from whom thou wast
sprung. But leaving this to time, we shall perchance find
out. But do thou, quitting the temple of the God, and thy
ministry, come to Athens, being of one mind with thy father,
where the rich sceptre and large wealth of thy sire await thee.
Nor, being unfortunate in both respects, wilt thou be called
ignobly born and poor at the same time, but nobly born and very
rich in resources. Art thou silent! Why dost thou keep thy
96 ION. 683—630.

countenance cast on the ground, and art lost in thought, and,
changing from thy joyousness, inspirest thy father with dread ?

Ion. The form of things does not appear the same when
far off, and when beheld near. But I indeed embrace my
fortune, in finding thee my father ; but do thou hear concern-
ing what I am thinking. They say that the renowned Athe-
nians are earth-born, not an alien race. Among whom I shall
be introduced, possessing two disadvantages, both being from an
alien father, and myself illegitimate. And possessing this re-
proach, in an humble sphere, indeed, I shall be called of no ac-
count, and from none. But if, aiming at the first seat in the vessel
of the state, I shall seek to be somebody, I shall be hated in-
deed by the powerless, for the more powerful are disagreeable ;
but as many as being good, and able to be wise, are silent, and
take no interest in affairs, among them I shall incur ridicule
and the charge of folly, not keeping quiet in a city full of con-
fusion. But again, if I aim at the dignity of men of reputa-
tion, who administer matters in the city,° I shall be watched
the more by decrees passed by vote. For such is wont to be
the custom, my father: they who possess influence in cities,
are most hostile to those who oppose them. And I a stranger
coming into a foreign house, and to a childless woman, who
having before been a partner in your calamity, now failing of
her hope, herself within herself will sadly bear her fate—how
shall I not with reason be hated by her, when I stand near thy
foot, but she, being childless, bitterly beholds thy dear child;
and then thou wilt either betray me, turning thy eyes to thy
wife, or, honouring me, wilt have thine house in confusion.
How many slaughters and murderous draughts of deadly poison
have women devised for men! And moreover I pity thy wife,
father, growing old in childlessness, for she, descended from
good ancestors, is not worthy to suffer by childlessness. And
of vainly-praised sovereignty the aspect indeed is pleasant, but
its domestic state is grievous. For who is blest, who fortunate,
who drags through life in terror, and expecting violence? But
I would rather live happy as a commoner, than as a tyrant, to
whom it is a pleasure to have the wicked for friends, and who,
fearing to die, hates the good. Thou wilt say that gold over-
comes these ills, and that ’tis pleasant to be rich. I love not,

° There is little doubt that Matthim’s emendation, rdv 0’ év Adyy, is
better than the common reading. See Dindorf.
630—669. ION.. 97

keeping wealth in my hands, to hear reproach and be subject
to troubles. But may moderate means be my lot apart from
grief. Now hear, O father, what advantages I have possessed
here. First, indeed, leisure, which is most pleasant to men, and
a moderate crowd of people; nor is any wicked fellow wont
to jostle me from the path; for it is unbearable to: yield
making way for those worse than oneself. But I was [ever]
amidst the prayers to the Gods, or the words of mortals at-
tending upon the rejoicing, not mourning. And some in-
deed I dismissed, but [other] strangers came, so that I was
always merry, being new amongst new faces. And, that
which men should pray for, e’en though it befall them against
their will, custom and nature together rendered me just before
the God. Musing upon these things, I deem my lot better
here than there, O father. But suffer me to live for myself,
for equal is the pleasure, to rejoice in abundance, and to pos-
sess a little with good will.

Cuo. Well hast thou spoken, if indeed those whom I love
will be made happy by these words of thine.

Xutu. Cease this discourse, and learn to be happy. For
I wish in the place where I found thee, child, to begin [sacred.
rites], reclining at the: common banquet of a common table,
and to sacrifice those birth-day offerings‘! for thee which I
did not sacrifice before. And now indeed, leading thee as a
guest at my hearth, I will delight: thee with banquets, and I
will escort thee as a visitor, forsooth, to see the land of
Athens, not as being my son. For truly I do not wish, my-
self being happy, to pain my wife who is childless. But here-
after seizing an opportunity, I will bring over my wife to
suffer thee to hold my sceptre over the land. And I name
thee Jon, suitably to the chance, inasmuch as, as I came out
from the recesses of the God, thou first didst present thy foot-
steps. But having collected an assembly of thy friends, salute
them with the joys of a bull-sacrifice, being about to quit the
Delphian city. But I enjoin you, attendants, silence as to
these things, or death if ye tell them to my wife.

Jon. I will go, but one part of fortune is yet wanting to
me. For if I shall not find her who bore me; father, life will

“' See Stanley on Asch, Eum, 7, yevéOAcov déorv, and Barnes on
v3. 804. .
H
98 ION. 670—721.

be unbearable. But, if it behoves to pray; may the woman
who was my mother be from Athens, that on the mother’s
side a liberty of speech may accrue to me. For if a stranger
fall into an unmixed city, though in his language he be a
citizen, yet he possesses a slavish mouth, and has not a liberty
in speech,

Cuo. I foresee tears and fothert*? woeful utterings of
groans, when my queen shall behold her husband possessing a
fair progeny, but she herself is childless and bereft of’ children.
What prophecy didst thou utter, O oracular son of Latona?
Whence did this boy spring, nurtured in thy temple, from
what woman? For the oracles please me not, lest they convey
some deceit. I fear this event, as to what will be its result.
{ Unwonted [is this oracle], for it tells strange things to me.t
‘The boy, nurtured up from other blood, possesses this [good]
fortune by a trick.44 Who will not agree with this? Friends,
shall we tell all this clearly to our mistress’ ear, concerning
her husband, on whom resting all, she miserable shared his
hopes? But now she is perishing away under calamity, but
he is fortunate, she entering upon hoary old age, but her hus-
band is unhonoured by friends. Wretched man, who coming
to the house a stranger, to great prosperity, did not preserve
his fortunes!46 May he perish, may he perish, who deceived
my respected mistress, and may he never consecrate upon a
fire to the Gods the cake burnt with the well-omened flame!
But-mine shall know * * * * * * dear of tyranny.47 Already
the son and father, new to each ‘other, are approaching the
banquet, where the crags of the Parnassian rock possess their
watch-tower and heaven-reaching home, where Bacchus, up-
lifting his blazing torches, leaps swiftly in company with the
night-revelling Bacchants. Never may the boy enter my city,
but may he die, quitting life yet young. For the sorrowing ®

| ® See Dindorf. This chorus is very corrupt in places,

‘8 Hopelessly corrupt. See Dind.

“ T have treated déAov réyay 6’ as an hendiadys, with Matthie. Per-
haps ye: dédw rbyay y’ would be better. é
_ “% The reader will find a variety of explanations of these words in Mat-
thie’s note, none of them sufficiently clear to make me willing to tran-
scribe them.

‘© j. e, Xuthus had no sons to succeed him in his good fortune.

‘7 A hopeless lacuna, :

‘S Literally, “narrowed,” ‘put to straits.” See Matthie.
721—755. ION. 99

city would have this pretext for an introduction of strangers.
Enough, enough”? is our former ruler, king Erectheus.

Creusa. O aged tutor of my father Erectheus, that once
was, as long as he beheld the light, uplift thyself to the shrine
of the God, that thou mayest rejoice with me, if king Loxias
hath uttered any oracle concerning the procreation of children.
For it is pleasant indeed to rejoice with one’s friends ; but,
(what may not befall!) if any ill happen, ’tis sweet to look
upon the countenance of a well-wishing man. But I, although
thy mistress, have a care for thee as for a father, as thou didst
have once in the case of my sire. ;

Pzpacocue. O daughter, thou dost cherish a disposition
worthy of worthy ancestors, and thou dost not disgrace thine .
ancient earth-born forefathers.5° Draw, draw, and bring me
to the temple. The temple is high up, but do thou, aiding my
foot in the toil, be physician of mine old age.

Crev. Follow then, and take care where you plant your step.

Pap. See! my foot is tardy, but my mind is swift.

Crev. But lean on thy staff [along] the path of the ground
around thee.5!

Pzxp. And this too is blind, since I see but faintly.

Crev. Thou sayest rightly, but yield not to the toil.

Pep. Not willingly indeed, but I have no control over
what is wanting to me. 4

Crev. Women, ye faithful servants of my loom and distaff,
happening on what fortune has my husband gone away, in
respect to the children concerning whom we came. Tell me,
for if ye tell me good tidings, ye will not confer joy upon au
ungrateful mistress.

Cuo. O fortune!

Pap. The prelude indeed of thy words is not well-fortuned.

Cuo. Ah! wretched.

Pp. But am I sickened in aught at the oracles given to
my masters ? >?

49 On the form dXlac, see Dindorf’s learned note. :

89 See Dindorf, who approves of Bothe’s emendation, rod cov

a £ 4

eee canna 6 Bs Seidler’s interpretation, but I think it rather
signifies a winding path leading up to the temple. But I have doubts

whether there is not some error. ; : eo
8 For voow I should prefer vécov, i.e. “is there aught of ill in the

oracles ?””
e H 2
100 ION. 756—791.

_ Cuo. Well !53 why do we those things for which death is
the appointed penalty ?

Crev. What song is this? And about what is this fear?

Cuo. Shall we speak, or be silent, or what shall we do?

Creu. Speak, since ye are in possession of some calamity
that affects me. :

Cuo, It shall be spoken indeed, even if ‘I must die twice.
It is not permitted thee, O mistress, to receive children in
thine arms, or draw them to thy breast.

_ Crev. Alas! may I perish.

Pap. Daughter.

Crev. O wretched me. I have received misfortune, I have
suffered a grief that makes life unbearable, my friends.

Pap. Child, we are undone.

Crev. Alas! alas! a fatal grief has pierced me quite
through these lungs.54

Pp. Do not groan.

Crev. But groans are present.

Pap. Before we learn—

Creu. What news for me?

Pap. Whether your lord, suffering the same, is a partner
in the calamity, or whether thou alone art unhappy.

Cxo. To him indeed, old man, Loxias has given a son,
and he in himself is happy, apart from this lady.

Crev. This crowning evil upon evil thou hast uttered,
hast uttered, a grief for me to mourn.

Pap. But does it behove him to beget the son you mention
from.some woman, or did the oracle speak of him as born.

Cuno. Loxias awards him a youth, born, and of ripe years;
and I was present.

Crev.. How sayest thou? me an unutterable, unutterable,
unspeakable tale thou tellest.

Pap. Ay, and to me also. But how is the oracle brought
toanend? Tell me more clearly; and who is the boy ?

Cuno. Whomsoever thy husband, coming from the God,
should first meet, him the God gave to him as a son.

Creu. Woe! woe! but my life childless, childless he
hath received,® and in solitude I shall inhabit a childless home.

53 G. Burges conjectures éa, i, e. “Cease, why should we do, &c.”
* Cf. isch. Choeph. 380, rodro diaprepic od¢ "Iker? daep re Bédog.
 j,e. rd eudy pépoc, says Musgrave, But after @edc at the end of
792—825. ION. 101

Pap. Who then was meant by the oracle? To whom did
the husband of this wretched lady join his footstep? And
how, and where seeing him ?

Cuo. Knowest thou, dear mistress, the youth who was
sweeping this temple? He is the boy. .

Creu. Would that I might take flight through the humid
air, beyond the land of Greece, to the western stars. What,
what a grief have I suffered !

Pap. And by what name does his father call him? know+
est thou, or does this remain in silence, not being settled ?

Cuo. Ion, since he first met his father. ©

Pap. And from what mother is he?

‘ Cuo. I cannot tell. But her husband is gone, (that you
may know all that depends on me, old man,) to sacrifice for
strangers and birthday offerings in the holy temple, unknown
to her, being about to join in a common banquet with his son.

Pap. Mistress, we are betrayed by thy husband, (for with
thee do I suffer,) and we are insulted with wilful planning,
and cast out of the dwelling of Erectheus. And I speak, not
as hating thy husband, but loving thee rather than him,®¢ who
having wed thee, coming as a stranger to the city and thine
house, and receiving thine whole inheritance, is proved to have
privily obtained children the fruit of another woman, and how
[he hath done so] privily, I will explain. When he perceived
that thou wast childless, he was not content to be like thee,
and to bear an equal fortune, but having taken to himself and
secretly wedded a slavish bed, he begat a son, and commits
him, being sent abroad, to some one of the Delphians to train
up. And he, like a sacred [animal], is bred up in the house
of the God, to escape notice. But when he perceived that the
youth had been completely brought up, he persuaded thee to
come hither on account of thy childlessness. And here the God
told no falsehood ; but the other lied, having trained up the boy

the preceding speaker’s words, one would expect some verb referring to
the God, and his influence upon the fortunes of Creusa. I have no doubt
that Euripides wrote Z\axey, ZXaxev, =‘ pronounced that it should be.’’
Cf. intpp. Aristoph. Plut, 39, ri dijra botBoc EAaxey tx rev oreuparwy,

56 Compare Julius Cesar, iii. 2. ‘If there be any in this assembly,
any dear friend of Cesar’s, to him I say, that Brutus’ love to Cesar was
no less than his. If, then, that friend demand why Brutus rose against
Cesar, this is my answer,—not that I loved Cesar less, but that I loved
Rome more.” ;
102 ION. 826—866.

of old, and he wove such cunning wiles as these. Being detected
indeed, he would have offered him up to the God, but} com-
ing, and wishing time to help him, 5” he thought to endow him
-with the sway of the land. And [he called him] by a new
name invented for some time, Ion, because forsooth he first met
him as he went. Alas! how I always detest evil men, who,
concocting unjust deeds, then set them off with their crafty de-
vices. I would rather wish to possess a simple, good man as
a friend, than a more clever, but evil one. And thou wilt
suffer the worst of all these ills, [having] to lead a motherless
wretch, of no account, the offspring of some slave, into thine
house. For the evil would have been simple, if he had in-
troduced into the house one born of a noble mother, having
persuaded thee, representing thy own childlessness. But if
this were bitter to thee, it behoved him to desire the nuptials
of ‘Zolus.5® Wherefore it behoves thee to do some woman’s
deed; for thou must needs either take the sword, or by some
* eraft or potion destroy thy husband and his son, before death
befall thee at their hands; but if thou succumbest, thou wilt
cease from this life. For when two hostile parties come under
one roof, either one or the other must fare ill. I indeed am both
willing to toil with thee, and to join in slaying the boy, enter-
ing the house, where he is preparing the banquet, and paying
the price of my support to my mistress to die, and living to
behold the light.59 For one thing brings a shame to slaves—
the name. But as to all other things, no slave that is honour-
able is worse than the free.

Cxo. And I, dear mistress, wish to die, or live honourably,
sharing this mischance with thee.

Crev. O my soul, how shall I be silent? and how shall
I declare my stealthy nuptials, and lay aside my modesty ?
For what hinderance for me is there yet in the way? Before
whom do I enter upon the contest of virtue? Has not my
husband proved a traitor? and I am deprived of my house,
deprived of children, and vanished are the hopes, which,

57 The common reading is quite hopeless. See Dindorf's note. I am
little satisfied with the emendations already proposed, and am almost in-
clined to think that something has been lost.

58 Because Xuthus was of the Aolian race.

59 i, e. whether I die or live, I wish to show gratitude to my mistress,
But I am scarcely satisfied.
867—927. ION. 103

wishing to set aright, I was not able, keeping silence as to
my marriage, and silence as to my much-wept-for childbear-
ing. But no, by the starry séat of Jove, and by the God-
dess who dwells above my native rocks, and the hallowed
beach of the watery Tritonian lake, I will no longer conceal
my nuptials, that removing [the load of trouble] from my
breast, I may be lighter. The pupils of my eyes are flowing
with tears, and my life is pained, evilly plotted against both
by men and by immortals, whom I will prove the ungrateful
traitors of my bed. O thou that tunest thy voice to the music
of the seven-stringed lyre, which to herdsmen sounds with its
lifeless horns the sweet-sounding hymns of the Muses, to
thee, O son of Latona, I will uplift my voice of blaming before
this light of day. Thou camest to me with thy hair glittering
with gold, when I was gathering in the lap of my garments
the crocus bells, to deck myself as with gold. But clinging to
my white hands, thou, a God, didst impudently lead me, while
crying out, O mother, mother, to nuptials in the cave, doing a
pleasure to Venus.. And I wretched bear to thee a boy, whom,
through fear of my mother, I expose upon thy bed, where
wretched wretchedly thou didst wed hapless me. Alas for
me!. And now my hapless boy and thine is perished, snatched
away by winged birds as a banquet; and yet thou soundest
on the lyre, singing pans. Alas! I address thee, the son of
Latona, who allottest a response at the golden seat, and at the
middle station of the earth; to thy ears will I proclaim my
ery. Alas! thou evil sharer of my bed, who to my husband
(when thou hast received no previous favour from him) dost
bring a son to dwell in his house; but my son and thine, un-
known, perishes by birds, torn away by birds, changing the
swaddling clothes in which his mother wrapped him. But
Delos hates thee, and the shoots of laurel near the rich-
foliaged palm, where Latona was delivered of thee her hon-
oured offspring by her divine hands. é
Cuo. Alas! how is there opened a great store of woes,
upon which every one would shed the tear! . igen
Pxp. O daughter, I cannot satiate my gaze in looking on
thy countenance, but I am beside myself. For when I was
but just now trying to exhaust the waves of trouble from

6 [join kéAroue pdpecty, taking dvizew for dore avOifev épaurdy.
104 ION, 928—956.

my mind, another [torrent] at the stern attacks me, because
of thy words, which uttering, thou hast turned to a new track
-of woes besides the present ills, What sayest thou? What
‘charge dost lay against Loxias? What child sayest thou that
‘thou didst bring forth? Where in the city didst thou place it,
a grateful object for beasts to entomb? Detail to me again.
- Creu. I feel a shame before thee, old man; but neverthe-
less I will speak.

Pap. Ay, for I know how to mourn generously with my
friends.

Crev. Hear then. Knowest thou the northern cave of the
Cecropian rock, which we call Macrean ?

‘Pap. I know it, near which are the recesses and altars
of Pan.

Creu. Here we went through a fearful contest.

Pxp. What? [tell me,] that my tears may suit thy tale.

Crev. Unwilling I united an unhappy wedding with
Phebus.

Pzxp. O daughter, was this what I perceived ?

Creu. I know not. But if thou speakest truth, I will
confess.

Pap. When thou secretly groaned over a hidden disease.

Crev. Then happened the evil which now I tell thee plainly.

Pap. And then how did you conceal the nuptials of
Pheebus ?

Creu. I gave birth. Hear this from me with patience, old
man.

Pp. Where, and who delivers thee? Or didst thou toil
through this alone? _

Creu. Alone in the cave, where I was yoked in marriage.

Pzp. But where is the boy, so that thou mayest be no
longer childless ? ;

Creu. He is dead, old man, being exposed to wild beasts.

Pp. Is dead? But did evil Apollo bear no help?

Crev. He did not; but in the house of Hades [the child]
is educated.

Pap. And who exposed him? For surely it was not
yourself. '

Crev. ’Twas I; having swathed him in my garments by
night.

Pap. And was no one privy to thee in exposing the child?
957—982. ION. 105

Crev. My calamities, forsooth, and secrecy alone.

ea And how didst thou dare to leave thy boy in the
cave

Crev. How indeed? Casting forth many piteous words
from my mouth.

Pzxp. Alas! wretched thou for thy daring; but the God
more so than thou!

Crev. Ay, [you would indeed say so,] if you had seen the
child stretching out his hands to me.

Pap. Seeking the breast, or to be taken in thy arms?

Creu. [Seeking those arms,] where not being, he suffered
wrongfully from me. ,

‘ae And how came the thought for thee to expose a
child

Creu. [Thinking] that the God would at least preserve
his own son.

Pap. Alas! how is the prosperity of thine house lost by
a storm!

Creu. Why, old man, dost thou shed tears, having hidden
thine head ? ;

Pap. Beholding thee and thy father in unhappiness.

Crev. Such are mortal things ; nought remains in the
same state.

Pp. Let us then no longer keep to things of pity,
daughter. : ,

Creu. For what must I do? Unhappiness hath no ways
and means. . :

Pap. Avenge thyself on the God who first injured thee.

Crev. And how, being a mortal, shall I-outstrip those
more powerful ?

Pzp. Burn the holy shrines of Loxias.

Creu. I dread [to do so]. Already I have enough of woes.

Pp. Dare then what thou canst do. Slay thy husband.

Crev. I revere the former wedded life, when he was good.

Pap. But at least [slay] the boy who has appeared
against thee.

Crev. How? For if it were possible, how I should
wish it!

Pp. Having armed thine attendants with swords.

Crev. I will go. But where shall this be done?

Pap. In the holy tents, where he is feasting his friends.
106 ION. 983—1006.

Crev. Murder is a marked deed, and slaves are weak.

Pp, Alas! Thou art faint-hearted. Come, do you plan
something. :

Creu. And in truth I have a plan both crafty and effective.

Pap. I would be an assistant in both these things.

Creu. Hear, then. Knowest thou of the battle of the
earth-born race ?

Pp. I know that which the giants waged against the
Gods at Phlegre.

Creu. There Earth brought forth Gorgon,®! a terrible
“prodigy.

Pp. What, as an ally to her children, a toil to the Gods?

Creu. Yea, and the Goddess Pallas, the daughter of Jove,
slew her.

Pap. What manner of savage form possessed she?

Crev. A breastplate armed with wreathings of a viper.

Pap. Is this then the story which I long since heard ? ‘

Creu. Yes, that Minerva wears her skin upon her breast ? °

Pap. That which they call wgis, the accoutrement of
Minerva?

Crev. It obtained this name, when she came to the battle -
of the Gods.

Pzp. What harm, I pray you, daughter, will this be to
your enemies ?

Crev. Knowest thou Ericthonius, or what wilt thou not
[forget], old man ?®

Pzp. Him whom the earth sent forth, the first-born of
your ancestors ? ;

Crev. Pallas gives to him, being young—

Pap. What thing? For thou art uttering some tardy
speech.

Crev. Two drops of blood from the Gorgon.

Pzp. Having what influence upon man’s nature ?

Crev. One deadly, the other a curer of diseases.

Pzp. To what part of the infant’s body having bound it?

51 See Barnes. % See Dindorf’s note.

4 The construction is Ev rq [i.e. rive piper] odparog nadawac dppi
madi. Heatx. ‘The sense is continued trom vs. 1001, Still I should
prefez, with Musgrave, ty rq; xa@dy. as Woodhull has rendered :

“In what were they contained ?
Did Pallas to the body of the child
Affix them?” :
1007—1033, ION. 107

Creu. With golden ligaments; and he gives them to my
father.

Pap. And at his death, they came to you?

Crev. Yes, and I bear them, too, on the wrist of my hand.

Pap. How then is the nature of this twofold gift of the
Goddess ?

Creu. Whatever [drop] of blood has trickled from the
hollow vein [of the monster ]— Be
Pzp. What is to be done with it? Hath it any power?

Crev. It keeps off disease, and contains the nutriment of life.

Pap. But the second number, of which you speak, what is
its effect ? a?

Crev. It causes death, being venom from the snakes of the
Gorgons.

Pp. But bearest thou them mixed together, or separate?

Creu. Separate, for with evil good is not mixed.

Pap. O dearest daughter, thou hast all of which there
is need.

Creu. By this the boy shall die, and thou shalt be his
slayer. '

Pap. Where, and what doing?: ’Tis thine to speak, but
mine to dare.

Crev. At Athens, when he comes to my house.

Pap. This thou sayest not well; for you also blame my

lan.
: Crev. How? Hast thou suspected what also occurred to
me?

Pp. Thou wilt seem to have slain the boy, even though
you did not slay him.

Crev. Right. For they say that step-dames have grudg-
ing against children.

Pp. Slay him then here, that thou mayest deny the murder.

Crev. I certainly anticipate the pleasure in time.

Pap. And thou wilt escape the notice of thy husband in
what he himself seeks to keep secret from thee.

Crev. Do then, know’st what? Receiving from my hand
this ancient vase, the golden work of Minerva, go where my
husband is privily sacrificing bulls ; and when they cease from
the banquets, and are about to offer libations to the Gods,

Cf. Virg. Ain. i. 727 sqq., where the libation after a meal is fully
described, with Servius on vs. 734. j
108 ION. 1033—1090,

keeping this in thy garments, pour it into the drink of the
young man, and allot the draught to him alone, not to all, to.
him who is about to be the master in my house. And if it
[once] pass his throat, he will never come to renowned
Athens, but dying will remain here.

Pzp. Do thou then remove thy foot within the house of our
hosts, and we will accomplish the task to which we are ap-
pointed. Come, O aged foot, be young in deeds, even though
in years [youth] be not thine. But go with thy mistress,
against an hostile man, and join in slaying and removing him
from the house. But.’tis good for the prosperous to honour
piety ; but when any one wishes to do his enemies harm, no
law is an impediment. ;

Cuno. O Trivia, daughter of Ceres, who art the guardian
deity over journeys by night and day, guide the cup full of sad
death to those against whom my respected, respected mistress
sends it, [full of deadly poison] from the tricklings of the cut
throat of the Gorgon, for him that aims at the dwellings of
the Erectheidez, Never may a stranger from other houses
rule over the city, except the nobly-born sons of Erectheus.
But if his death and the attempts of my mistress be not
brought to pass, and opportunity for the deed be wanting,
whither hope is borne onwards, she will either handle the
sharpened sword, or fit the noose for her throat around her
neck, and having put an end to sufferings by sufferings, will
descend to another form of life. For never will she, who is
sprung from a noble house, with her bright eyes endure, while
living, others and aliens ruling in her house. I am ashamed of
the God of many hymns,“ if around the Castalian fountains,
he by night, being sleepless, shall behold the lamp, spectator
of the Eikads:® when also the starry-visaged ether of Jove
is wont to dance,® and the Moon dances, and the fifty daugh-
ters of Nereus, which in the sea, and in the eddies of eternal
rivers, celebrate in choir Cora with her golden crown, and her
hallowed mother [Ceres]; where, [forsooth, ] this vagabond of
Phoebus hopes to reign, falling upon [the fruits of ] others’ toil.

* Hecate is meant. See Bares and Matthie.

6 i, e. Bacchus,

8" One of the days of the Mysteries. Cf. Aristoph. Ran. 326, and
Buarnes’s note.

6% See my notes on Asch. Ag. 4, p. 95, ed. Bohn.
1091—1181. ION. 109

See, all ye who, following the Muse, chaunt in harsh-sounding
hymns of our beds,’ and the’ lawless, impious nuptials ‘of
Venus, how much we surpass the unjust race of men in
piety. And let a contrary verse and Muse, with harsh sound-
ing, go forth against men respecting their beds. For this
{Xuthus], born from the sons of Jove, shows forgetfulness,
not begetting from my mistress the fortune of a common off-
spring of children in his house, but, turning his delight towards
another love, he hath obtained an illegitimate son.

[Enter a Servant. ]

Serv. Renowned ladies, where shall I find my mistress,
the daughter of Erectheus? for I have gone over the whole,
of the city, searching after her, and cannot find her.

Cito. What is it, O fellow slave? What swiftness of feet
possesses thee, and what news dost’ thou bear? ova

Serv. We are pursued, and the country magistrates of the
land are seeking her that she may die by being stoned.

Cuo. Ah me! what wilt thou say? Surely we are not
discovered contriving a secret murder against the youth ?

Serv. Thou hast hit it; thou wilt partake of the evil not
among the least.

Cuo. And how were the secret contrivances perceived ?

Serv. The God, not wishing to be defiled, took care that
injustice should be inferior to justice.

Cuo. How? I suppliant beseech thee to declare this. For
having learnt whether we needs must die, we should die more
pleasantly, or behold the light.

Serv. When the husband of Creusa went away, and left
the oracle, taking his new son to the banquet and sacrifice
which he was preparing for the Gods, Xuthus indeed went to
the place where the Bacchic fire of the God leaps forth, in
order that he might wet the double rocks® of Bacchus with
the blood of sacrifice, in return for the sight” of his son, say- ’
ing, Do you indeed, O son, remain, and erect a circular tent
by the labours of workmen. And if, after sacrificing to the
Gods who preside over birth, I be a long time absent, let
there be banquets for your friends present. Then taking the

8 j. e. the two heights of Parnassus.
70 Barnes well observes that éarjpia (= quod videndi causa datum)

is here used for dy¢, the sight itself.
110 ION. 1132—1169.

calves, he went away ; but the young man religiously”! reared
up the enclosure of a tent with erect pillars, destitute of
walls,”? taking great care against the heat of the sun, that
neither towards the middle rays of the sun,’ nor, on the
other hand, towards the setting beams, having measured out
a rectangle of the length of a plethron, having an area of
ten thousand feet, as the skilful say, as inviting the whole
of the Delphian people to a banquet.74 And taking sacred
tapestries out of the coffers, he formed with them a cover-
ing, a marvel for men to behold. First indeed he spreads
a wing of garments over the roof, the gift of the son of Jove,
which Hercules™ brought to the God, spoils of the Ama-
zons, And such woven figures were painted on this texture.
Heaven [was] collecting the stars in the circle of ether;
the Sun was driving his horses to the last waning light [of
day], drawing with him the shining light of Vesper. And
black-robed Night was driving her two-horsed chariot, with-
out loose-reined steeds,7° and the stars followed the Goddess.
The Pleiad indeed was travelling through the midway air,
and sword-bearing Orion. And above was Arctos turning
round with its tail in the golden-decked pole. And the cir-
_ cle of the full Moon was darting [its rays] above, the divider

of the month, and the Hyades, the most distinct sign for sailors,
and light-bearing Morn chasing away the stars. And upon
the walls he placed other weavings of barbarian workmanship,
well-rowed ships drawn up in array against the Grecks, and
half-savage men, and hunting on horseback, and the chace
after stags and fierce lions. And at the entrance, Cecrops,
rolling his dragon folds, near by his daughters, the offering
of some Athenian. And he placed golden goblets in the midst
of the festal board, and walking on tip-toe, herald-like he pro-
claimed for whoever of the natives wished to come to the ban-
quet. But when the tent was filled, they, decked with crowns,

” But Dindorf rightly approves of Dobree’s emendation, cepvuy.

*? Because formed only of canvass stretched upon poles.

Tread mpdg picag Oeot .... mpd reXevrwaag Bodac, with Dindorf.

™ T have followed Musgrave’s clever explanation of this passage. ‘he
words we Abyovaty ol cogoi seem to be parenthetically introduced.

’ An anachronism, as Hercules was posterior to Ion.

'® As Seidler well observes, “bigw’ are generally attributed to the
moon, who therefore has no horses in a loose rein. Such is the sense of
aotipwroy.
1169—1213. ION. 111

satisfied their desire with abundant food. But when they
had ceased from this pleasure, an old man, coming forth into
the midst of the plain, stood still, and afforded much laughter
to the guests by acting with a set design. For he both poured
out from pitchers water for washing hands, and burnt the juice
of myrrh, and ruled over the golden cups, himself assigning
himself this task. But when matters came to the music of
pipes and the common cup, the old man said, We ought to
take away the small wine cups, and bring large, that these
{our friends] may sooner arrive at delight of their heart. And
then there was labour for those who brought in the silver and
gold-wrought goblets. But he taking a selected one, as if for-
sooth doing honour to his new master, gave the full vessel,
casting into the wine that mufderous poison, which they say
his mistress gave him, that the youth might quit the light.
But nobody knew the truth. But one of the servants uttered
an ill-omened word, as the new-found son [of Xuthus], in
company with others, held the libation in his hand. But he,
as nurtured in the temple and among clever soothsayers, held
it as an omen, and ordered them to fill another fresh goblet,
and he gives to the earth the libation before intended for the
God, and bids all pour theirs away. And silence succeeded ;
and after this, with the sacred dew of Bybline wine we filled
the sacred goblets. And amid this toil a winged flock of
pigeons lights upon the house, for they dwell without fear in
the habitations of Loxias. But when they had poured away
their wine, the birds in want of drink dipped their beaks into
it, and sucked it into their well-feathered necks. And to the
others the libation of the God was harmless; but one bird,’
which had settled where the new son [of Xuthus] had poured
away the wine, and tasted the draught, straightway shook her:
well-winged form, and raved like a Bacchant, and screamed
aloud, wailing in a not intelligible guise. And the whole com-
pany of the guests was astonished at the troubles of the bird ;
and she dies in convulsions, stretching out her purple feet. But
the son who had been proclaimed by the oracle leaped upon the
table with his limbs bared of garments,” and cries out, What
man sought to kill me? Tell me, old man, for thine was the
set design, and from thy hand I received the cup. And im-
mediately he examines the old man, seizing him by his aged

7 He had torn his robes asunder, in astonishment, Cf. [ph. T. 1469.
112 ION. 1214—1254,
arm, that he might catch him in the fact [of having poison
in his possession]. And he was detected, and, under com-
pulsion, he with much ado let out the daring deed of Creusa
and the contrivance of the cup. And the youth pro-
claimed by the oracle of Pythian Apollo, rashes out imme-
diately, taking with him the guests, and standing among the
Pythian: chieftains, he says, O sacred earth, our life is with
poison attempted by a stranger woman, the daughter of Erec-
theus. And the chiefs of the Delphians decreed with unani-
mous vote that my mistress should die, hurled from a rock, as
having attempted to destroy a consecrated man, and to perpe-
trate a murder in the temple. And all the city is searching
after her who has hastened hither her unprosperous journey.
For coming to Phoebus through desire of children, she has
destroyed herself-in common with her children.

Cuo. There is not, there is not an escape from death for
miserable me now; for these things are now plain, are now
plain, from the death caused by libation made of the clusters
of Bacchus,”® mingled with the quick drops of the viper. Plain
are the sacrifices [prepared] for the dead; calamities indeed
for. my. life, and death by stoning for my mistress. By what
winged flight [shall I escape], or shall I wend my way be-
neath the murky recesses of the earth, fleeing from the curse
of a death by stoning, ascending the chariot drawn by swift-
hoofed” steeds, or the stern of the ship? One cannot escape
notice, when God is unwilling to favour one’s escape. What,
O wretched mistress, awaits thee to suffer in soul? Shall
we not, wishing to do some one evil, ourselves suffer, as indeed
is just? ,

Creu. Attendants, we are pursued unto deadly slaughter,
condemned by the Pythian vote, and I am given up [to exe-
cution].

Cuo. O wretched one, we know thy calamities, in what
state of fortune thou art.

Creu. Where then shall I fly? For with difficulty I with-
drew my foot from the house, so as not to die, and I have got
here, escaping from my enemies by stealth.

7 T read Ooaic with Dobree, to whom ozovddg¢ for orordac is also due.
See Dindorf. The construction appears to be gavepd rad’ Hon gory éx
Avov. Borp. peyvup. Ooaig aray. tyidvac, ~

% T have softened the bold. expression, xn\dy baiBao’,
1255—1288, ION. 113

Cuno. And whither else [shouldst thou fly], than to the altars?

Creu. And what will this avail me? ~

Cno. It is not lawful to slay a suppliant.

Creu. But by the law I perish.

Cuo. Ay, if taken by the hand.

Creu. And truly hither are the bitter executioners hasten-
ing, sword in hand.

Cuo. Sit then at the pyre; and even if you die whilst
here, thou wilt lay the guilt of a suppliant’s blood upon thy
slayers; but fortune must be endured.

Ion. O bull-faced® visage of father Cephisus, what a viper
is this thou hast begotten, or a dragon, looking flames of bloody
fire, in whom is all daring, nor is she in nature inferior to the
drops of the Gorgon’s venom, with which she thought to kill
me. Seize on her, that the hills of Parnassus, whence she
shall be hurled by a leap from the rock, may lacerate the un-
dishevelled locks of her hair. But I have happened on a lucky
fortune, before I came to the city of Athens, and was made
subject to a stepmother. For while among allies I have mea-
sured the amount of your good will, how great a bane, how
wrathful thou art against me. For, once receiving me within
your house, you would have quickly sent me down to the
realms of Pluto. But neither the altar, nor the house of
Apollo, shall save thee; and the commiseration thou wouldst
excite is rather due to me and my mother; for though her
person be wanting to me, her name is in no wise wanting.
Behold this daring wretch, what device upon device she hath
woven. Has she not crouched down at the altar of Gods, in
order that she may not pay the penalty of what she has done?

Crev. I forbid thee to slay me, both on my own behalf,
and of the God, where I have taken refuge.

Ion. And what is there in common both to Phoebus and to
thee?

Creu. I give my body as consecrated to the God.

Ton. And then youslay with poisonsthe [servant] of the God ?

Crev. But thou wast no longer Apollo’s, but thy sire’s.

Ion. But I was—I speak of the time when my father was
absent.®!

80 A common epithet of rivers. Barnes remarks that Cephisus was the
father uf Diogenea, who gave birth to Proxithea, the mother of Creusa.
81 J read warpd¢ amouciay, with Seidler and Dindorf.
I
114 ION. . 1289—1312,

Crev. But thou wast not then. But now I [am sacred to
the God], but thou art [so] no longer.

Ion. And being not pious, but my deeds were pious then.

Crev. I sought to slay thee, being an enemy to my house.

Ion. I came not armed into thy land.

Crev. You did, ay, and thou hast burnt the house of Erec-
theus.®?

Ion. With what manner of brands, or with what flame of
fire?

Crev. Thou wast about to dwell in my possessions, taking
them in spite of me..

Ion. Ay, my sire.-bestowing the land of which he had
gained possession.

Creu. And how had the sons of A®olus.a share in [the city]
of Pallas?

Ion. He delivered that city by. arms, not by words.

Creu. An ally, though, ought not to. be the possessor of
the land.

Ton. And then, through fear of what didst seek to slay me ?

Crev. That I, forsooth, might not myself die, if thou wast
not about [to die].

Ion. Being childless, art thou envious that my father found
me?

Crev. Wilt thou, then, pillage the houses of the childless?

Ton. And to me, forsooth, was there to be no share at least
of my paternal inheritance.

Crev. Ay, as far as shield and spear. This is thy whole
possession.

Ion. Leave the altar and the heaven-possegsed abode.

Crev. Advise your mother, wherever she happens to be.

Ion. And shalt thou, attempting my death, not undergo
punishment ?

Creu. Yes, if you are willing to slay me within these
sacred recesses.
@ Ton. What pleasure for thee.to die amid the garlands of the

od ?

Crev. We shall pain some one of those by whom we have
been pained.®3

Jon. Alas! it is dreadful, in sooth, how unfairly, and inno wise

5? i. e. such would have been the effect of thy arrival. See vs. 1298.
83 j. e. Apollo.
1313—1335, ION, 116

from a wise decree, the God hath ordained laws for mortals.
For it is not meet that the wicked should sit at the altar, but
that one should drive them away. For it is not good that a
wicked hand should touch the Gods ; but it were meet that the
just,®4 if one of them were injured, should sit in sacred places,
and that just and unjust, coming to the same place, should not
possess the same advantage from the Gods. ©

Prruia.® (suddenly breaking silence.) Hold! my son—
for I, quitting the oracular tripod, pass over this enclosure
with my foot, the priestess of Phoebus, chosen out of all the
Delphian women, observing the ancient custom of the tripod.

Ion. Hail, O my mother dear, although thou didst not give
me birth.

Pyru. But so at least I am called, and the name is not un-
pleasant to me. :

Jon. Hast thou heard how this woman tried to kill me by
her stratagems ?

Pytu. I have heard. And thou, being enraged, art in
fault.

Ion. Does it not behove me to kill in turn those who would
have killed me?

Pytn. Wives are always wont to be hostile to children
previously begotten.

Ion. But I indeed [am wrath] with my mother-in-law,
having suffered ill.

Pyrru. Do not [speak] thus. Quitting the temple, and go-
ing to thy country— " i

Ion. What does it behove me to do upon thy advice?

Pytu. Being pure, go to Athens under fair omens.

Ion. Pure indeed is every man who slays his enemies.

Pytrx. Not you, indeed; but receive from me the words I
have.

8 Dindorf well observes, that any attempt to defend the dative after
Xpijvac is useless, and that we must read rodg dé y’ Evdixouc, with Dobree.

8 The acting here must have given great spirit and intensity to the
scene. Ion, with all his piety, in vain seeks for an excuse for the deed
of Cretisa; even the altar of the God ceases to check the daring impulse
of his wrath. His hand is upon his sword, Creusa with fearful earnest--
ness seizes the sacred shrine, when the Pythian priestess, the old and
well-tried friend of Ion, suddenly arrests his attention. The reader will
do well to compare the recognition of Ion and Adrastus in the beautiful
tragedy of Talfourd, Act iv. Sc. i., to which I have already alluded in my.
note on Aristot. Poetic, xiv.,7, p. aoe ed. Bohn, .

14
116 ION. 1336—1369

Ion. Speak: for, being well disposed, thou wilt say what-
ever thou sayest.

Pyru. Dost thou see this vessel embraced by my arms?

Ion. I see an old chest amid the garlands.

Pyrra. In this I once on a time found thee, being an infant.

Ion. What sayest thou? This is a new story that is
introduced. | ‘

Pytu. For I kept matters in silence. But now I show them
forth.

Ion. How then didst thou keep it secret, having received
me long since?

Pytu. The God wished to have thee a minister in his
dwelling.

Ion. But does he now no longer wish it? By what means
must I know this?

PytH, Proclaiming thy father, he sends thee from this land.

Ion. But dost thou preserve this by commands, or whence ?

Prtx. Loxias suggested it to my mind.

Ion. To do what? Say, complete thy story.
- Pytu. To preserve this that I found, up to the present time.

Ion. But what advantage, or what harm does it convey
to me?

Pyra. In it are contained the swaddling clothes in which
thou wast enwrapped.

Ion. You produce these as helps to discover my mother.

Pytg. Ay, since the God wishes it, but not so before.

Iow. O day for me of happy visions!
; Pyta. Taking them, therefore, seek out thy mother. And

traversing all Asia, and the bounds of Europe, thou wilt thy-
self learn these matters. But for the sake of the God have I
trained thee up, O boy, and these things I restore to thee,
which he wished me, unbidden, to take and preserve. But
wherefore he wished, I cannot say. But no one of mortals
knew that I possessed these things, nor where they were hid-
den. And fare thee well, for I salute thee e’en as a mother.
And begin from whence it behoves thee to seek for thy
mother ; first, indeed, if any of the Delphian virgins, having
brought thee forth, exposed thee in these temples, and then
whether any Grecian woman. But from me thou hast all,
and from Phebus, who is partaker in this event.

Ton. Alas! alas! how I let fall the wet tear down from mine
1370—1407. ION. 117

eyes, turning my mind to that time, when my mother, privily
wedded, sold me away, and held not the breast under me; but
I, without a name, continued the life of a servant in the dwell-
ings of the God. The conduct of the God indeed was good,
but of fortune, evil. For all the time during which I ought to
have been revelling in my mother’s arms, and tasting some of
the pleasure of life, I was destitute of the most tender nurture
ofa mother. And wretched, too, was she who bore me. How
has she suffered the same calamity, losing the delights of her
boy! And now, taking this chest, I will bear offerings to the
God, [praying] that I may light upon nought that I do not
wish. For if some slave chance to be. my mother, ’tis worse
to find my mother, than in silence to let her alone. O Phe-
bus, I offer this at thy shrines. And yet what am I doing?
I shall be contending against the God, who preserved these
indications of my mother for me. I must dare and endure
these things; for things fated none can ever overcome. OQ sa-
cred garland, why have ye been hidden from me, and ye band-
ages, in which my goods dear to me were guarded? Behold
the surrounding frame of the well-rounded chest, how it has
not grown old, and how mould is absent from its texture,
through some divine interference. But a long time has passed
during the interval to these treasures.

Crev. What phantom of unhoped-for things do I see?

Jon. Be silent, thou hast been before conscious of much
against me.8¢ :

Crrv. My state is not one for silence. Advise me not.
For I behold the burden which once on a time I exposed;
thee, forsooth, my child, being yet an infant babe, in the caves
of Cecrops, and the rocky Macre. But I will leave this altar,
even if I must die.

Jon. Seize on her; for, maddened by some God, she hag
left the images of the altar; and bind her arms.

Crev. Cease not from slaying me; for to this [chest] will
I cling, and to thee, and to the things concealed within it.

‘Ton. Is not this dreadful? Iam carried off by a pretended
bond.8?

Crev. Not so, but thou art found, dear to those dear.

& Tread ofya of rod Kat rapa’ goyoOd por, with L. Dindorf.
% i, e, This woman falsely claims me as her own. See Hermann.
118 ION. 1408-1434

Ton. I dear to thee? And thou then wouldst privily
destroy me?
Crev.: Ay, my son, if this is most dear to parents.
Ton. Cease weaving [plots]. I will take you nicely [in
_your own toils].
Creu. May I come to this, O son. At this I aim.
Ton. Is this vessel empty, or does it contain something
that fills it?
Crev. Ay, your swaddling clothes, in which I once ex-
posed you. °
Tow. And can you tell their name, before you see them ?
Crev. If I cannot say, I undertake to die.
Ton. Say ‘then ; for thy boldness has something strange.
Crev. Look for the texture which I once wove when a
irl.
Ion. Of what kind? There are many textures woven by
virgins.
Creu. Not completed, but like a lesson in weaving.
Ton. Having what form? for you shall not catch me on
this point.
Crev. A Gorgon is in ‘the centre web of the garment.
Ton. (seeing wz.) _Q Jove, what fate is hunting me
out?
Crev. And it is fringed with serpents like an xgis.
Ton. See! this is the garment, and the wrappings, as I
have found them. .
Crev. O ancient virgin-labour of my ‘shuttle.
Ton. Is there any [evidence] in addition to this, or art
thou fortunate in this alone?
Crev. Two dragons glittering with golden jaws.
Ton. The gift of Minerva, who commands to train up
‘children [amidst them]?
Crev. Ay, imitations of ancient Ericthonius.
Ion. To do what? For what use are these golden orna-
ments? Tell me.
Creu. As a necklace for a young boy to bear, my child.
Ion. These are in [it]. But I desire to know the third.
Crev. I placed around thee then a crown of the olive
which Minerva first brought forth on the rock,® which, if it

88 i.e. &¢ oxdedov, Dindorf, comparing Hel. 1566, eiséOevro cédpata
Cf. Servius on Virg. Georg. i. 18.
1435—1478, 10N. 119

is yet [in the chest], will never cease its bloom, but flourishes,
being sprung from an unfading olive.

Ion. O dearest mother mine, seeing thee, willingly .I em-
brace thy willing cheek.

Crev. O child, O light to a mother surpassing the sun, (for
the God will pardon my words,) I hold thee in my“arms, an
unhoped-for discovery, whom I thought was dwelling beneath
the earth, in the shades with Proserpine.

Ion. But, O, dear mother mine, in thine arms I shall seem
to appear both as the dead and not the dead. :

Crev. Io! Io! thou expanse of shining ether, what words
shall I utter, shall I cry out? Whence has this unexpected
pleasure reached me? Whence have I received this joy ?

Jon. Every thing would have seemed: likely to happen to
me, O mother, sooner than this, that I am thine. *

Crev. With fear I tremble.

Ion. What, as having, not having me ? :

Crev. For I had banished afar such hopes. O woman,
whence, whence didst thou receive my infant in thy arms ?®9
Through whose hand did he enter the house of Loxias?

Ton. This was the work of the God; but for the rest of our
fortune we are blest as much as we were before unhappy.

Crev. Child, thou wast not brought forth without tears,
and thou wast separated from thy mother’s hands with groans.
But now near thy cheek I breathe again, obtaining a pleasure
most blest.

Ion. Thou art expressing my feelings and thine in common.

Crev. No longer are we childless or without offspring.
And my house is strengthened, and the land® possesses a
ruler, and Erectheus grows young again, and the earth-born
house no longer bebolds the night, but looks up with the
lamps of the sun. ,

Ion. Mother, let my father, being present, also share in the
pleasure I have given thee. t

Crev. O child, what sayest thou? How, how shall I be
brought to the charge?

Ion. How say you?

Crev. From others, from others art thou sprung.

Ion. Alas! thy virgin state gave me a spurious birth.

&% T read é¢ ayxddac, with cod. Pal. See Dind.
5 Read ya, with Reiske, Dind.
120 ION. 1474—1517.

Crev. Not amid lamps nor dances did my nuptials, O son,
produce thee.

Jon. Alas! am I base born, O mother? from whom?

Crev. Bear witness she who slew the Gorgon.

Ion. What is this thou sayest ?

Crev. Who on my native rocks inhabits the hill that brings
forth olives ?

Ion. Thou tellest, thou tellest me obscure things, and not
clear,

Creu. Near the nightingale-resounding rock, by Phoeebus—

Ion. What sayest thou of Phoebus ?

Creu. I was wedded in secret embraces.

Ion. Speak; for thou tellest something good and fortunate
for me.

Creu. And in the tenth revolution of a month I brought
thee forth, a.secret offspring, to Phoebus.

Toy. O thou who tellest things most dear, if thou speakest
true.

_Crev. I wrapped these virgin-wrought garments around
thee, the plyings of my shuttle, a task set by my mother.”
But I did not bring nourishment by milk, nor by the breast,
nor were there the washings with my hands. But in a lone
cave thou wast cast forth to be slain and feasted on to death
by the claws of birds.

Ion. O mother that hast dared fearful things.

Crev. Bound down by fear, I cast away thy life, my child,
unwilling I have slain thee.

Ion. And by me thou wast about to die not holily.

Creu. Alas! dreadful indeed our fortunes then, and misera-
ble now also, We have been whirled to and fro by good and
ill fortunes in turn. The gale is changed: may it remain.
Enough the former ills; but now after ills a prosperous
breeze has sprung up, O boy.

Cuo. Let no man ever think that any thing is not to be ex-
pected, considering what has now taken place.

Ton. O Fortune, thou who hast already changed number-
less mortals both to be unhappy, and, in turn, to fare well,
to what a turning point of life had I come, to slay my mother
or suffer unworthy things! Alas! is there in the shining re-
volutions of the sun the power of learning all these things by

1 “A matre dicit, quod ab ca id velamen texendum acceperat.” Hiro.
1518—1561, ION, 121

day? Ihave found thee, O mother, a dear discovery, and that
this my descent is not one to be despised ; but the rest I fain
would speak to thee alone. Come hither, for I wish to speak
words in thy ear, and to throw a shade on acts done. See
thou, O mother, lest, having failed by the wonted weakness
that befalls maidens in secret loves, thou chargest the guilt
upon a God, and seeking to avoid shame falling upon me,
thou sayest thou bore me to Phebus, not having through a
God become a mother.

Creu. By victorious Minerva, who in her chariot once
stood in aid to Jove against the giants, there is none of mortals
who is thy father, child, but king Loxias, who nurtured thee.

Ion. How, then, did he give his own son to another father,
and say that I am born the son of Xuthus ?

Creu. Not that thou art born; but he bestows thee, being
born from himself; for a friend may give to a friend his own
son as the master of his house. :

Ion. Whether the God is true, or gives a vain response,
naturally, O mother, disturbs my mind.

Creu. Hear, then, what has occurred to me, O child.
Loxias, doing thee a kindness, settles thee in a noble house.
But wert thou called [the son] of the God, thou wouldst never
possess the full inheritance of the house, nor a father’s
name. For how so? when I myself concealed my connexion
with him, and nearly slew thee privily. But he, seeking thy
welfare, gives thee to another father.

Ion. I do not enter upon matters thus lightly; but, enter-
ing the temple, I will inquire of Phoebus whether I am sprung
from a mortal sire or from Loxias. Ah! who of the Gods,
passing beyond the incense-receiving dwelling, presents a
countenance radiant as the sun ? Let us fly, O mother, lest we
behold the power of the Gods, unless it be seasonable to
behold.

Minerva. Fly not, for I am no enemy whom you fly, but
am well inclined to you both in Athens and here. And I,
called after thy land, Pallas, am come hither, hastening my
course, from Apollo; who did not think fit to come into your
presence, lest blame for former transactions should arise; but
he sends me to tell you that this woman brought thee forth by
Apollo, and he gives thee to those to whom he has given
122 -ION. 1562—1601

thee, who have not begotten thee, but in order that he may
settle thee in a most noble house. But when this matter was
declared and laid open, fearing lest thou shouldest die by the
schemes of thy mother, and she by thee, he delivered you by
stratagems, And king [Apollo] intended to have kept this
* in silence, and have made known at Athens that this was thy
poetic and that thou wast sprung from this woman and
rom Pheebus as thy sire. But, that I may pass through the
matter, and the oracles of the God, on account of which I
have yoked my chariot towards this land, go thou, Creusa,
taking this boy to the land of Cecrops, and seat him on the
throne of state; for he, being born from the descendants of
Erectheus, has a just right to rule over my land. And he
shall be renowned through Greece ; for his children, born four
in number, from one root, shall give their names to the land,
and territory belonging to tribes®? of the people, who inhabit
my rock. ‘Teleon indeed shall be the first, then second the
Hopletes and Argadians, and, [deriving their name] from my
zgis, the Aigikores shall possess one tribe. But their chil-
dren in turn, born in the destined season, shall inhabit the
insular cities of the Cyclades, and the continent along the
coast, which will confer strength upon my land, and they will
possess the opposite lands of the ‘two continents, of the Asian
territory, and European. But on account of this youth’s
name being called Ionians, they shall obtain renown. But to
Xuthus and to thee there shall be a common race [of chil-
dren]; Dorus, whence the Dorian district will be celebrated ;
and secondly Achzus, in the Pelopeian land, who shall be
king of the sea-coast land near Rhium, and the people shall
glory much in being called after his name. And well has
Apollo brought all to pass. First, indeed, he delivers you
without illness, 80 that your friends might not know; and
when you brought forth this boy, and exposed him in swad-
dling clothes, he bade Mercury, having taken the infant in
his arms, bring. him hither, and he nurtured him, and suffered
him not to die. Now therefore be silent as to this being thy
son, that the supposition may pleasantly possess Xuthus, and

2 “ie, ray bri rai¢g pudaig odcay, tribubus permissam earumque

potestati subjectam.” Herm. On the names of the tribes here men-
tioned, see Musgrave and Matthie.
1602—1622, ION 123

thou in turn mayest possess thine own good, O woman. And
fare ye well, for after this respiration from your toils I an-
nounce to you a happy fate.

Ton. O Pallas, daughter of most mighty Jove, not with in-
credulity will I receive thy words; but I am persuaded that I
am [the son] of Loxias and this woman, and before this was
not disbelieved by me.

Creu. Here me then. I commend Phebus, not before
approving his conduct, in that he restores to me the son he
once neglected. And of pleasant aspect to me are these gates
and shrines of the God, being before an hostile spectacle.
But now I hang my hands at the knocker,®? and address the

ates.
: Min. I commend you, because you have changed your
conduct, and praise the God. Late indeed, at times, is the
aid of the Gods, but in the end not weak.

Crev. O child, let us go home.

Min. Go, and I will follow.

Jon. A worthy companion of the way, forsooth.

Creu. Ay, and one that loves the city.

Min. And sit down on thine ancient throne.

Ion. A worthy possession for me.

Cuorvus. O Apollo, son of Jove and Latona, hail! But
him whose house is harassed by calamities, it behoves to wor-
ship the Gods, and be of good confidence. For in the end
the good obtain their due, but the wicked, as they are by
nature, will never fare well.®4

'

3 Cf. Pollux, x. 4, péarpov rd txixpoboy tiv Obpay odtwg wrdpalov.

% This conclusion is indisputably true, but, like the conclusions or
“tags”? to plays in general, it is much better omitted. The genius who
first ornamented Aésop’s fables with “ morals” and ‘‘ applications,” per-
haps suggested the ends of plays. We can almost imagine “ virtue re-
warded and vice punished” figuring in capitals at the conclusion of a
play bill, in which “ Ion” was the “ stupendous attraction.”
ANDROMACHE.

PERSONS REPRESENTED.

ANDROMACHE.

FEMALE SERVANT.

HERMIONE.

MENELAUS.

MOLOSSUS.

PELEUS.

NURSE.

ORESTES.

MESSENGER.

THETIS.

CHORUS OF PHTHIAN
WOMEN.
THE ARGUMENT.

Hermione, daughter of Menelaus, was wedded to Neoptolemus, who
also received Andromache as a prize from the siege of Troy, and married
her. While he was absent at Delphi craving satisfaction for the death of
his father, Hermione, jealous of Andromache, accused her of causing her
own childlessness by magical devices, and, aided by her father Menelaus,
sought to slay her with her infant son. This deed was prevented by the
arrival of Peleus, and Menelaus retired in disgust to Sparta, leaving Her-
mione in great dread of the consequences of her attempt. Meantime
Orestes, the former lover of Hermione, arrived, and claimed her hand.
She accompanied him to Sparta, and he procured the murder of Neopto-
lemus while consulting the oracle. Peleus bewailed his death, but was
comforted by Thetis, who announced to him his own immortality, and
ordered Andromache and her son to be sent to the Molossian territory.
ANDROMACHE,

ANDROMACHE..

THovu ornament of the Asiatic land, city of Thebes,! from
whence once on a time, with a dowry of much gold, I came to
the regal house of Priam, having been given to Hector as a wife
to bear children, Andromache, an object of envy, indeed, in
former times, but now, if any other is, 2 most unhappy wo-
man; who have beheld, forsooth, my husband Hector slain
by Achilles, and Astyanax, the boy whom I bear to my hus-
band, cast. down from the erect towers, when the Greeks took
the plain of Troy. And I myself, having been accounted of
the noblest family, have come to Greece as a slave, being be-
stowed on the islander? Neoptolemus, selected out of the booty
of Troy as a reward for his valour. And I now inhabit the
plains neighbouring on this Phthia and the city of Pharsalia,
where the sea-goddess Thetis dwells with Peleus, apart from
mankind, and shunning their society. But the Thessalian
people call the place the Thetideium, on account of the nup-
tials of the Goddess. There the son of Achilles has taken up
this his dwelling, but allows Peleus to rule the Pharsalian land,
not wishing to take the sceptre from the old man whilst alive.
And I bear to this house a male son, in union with the son of
Achilles, my master. And formerly indeed, although lying in
misery, hope ever urged me on, that, my son being preserved,
I should find some aid and assistance in my troubles. But
since my lord, neglecting the bed of me a slave, has wedded
the Lacedemonian Hermione, I am driven by her with

1 Not the celebrated city on the banks of the Nile, but a Cilician city,

where Eetion reigned. See the Scholiast.
2 He dwelt in the island of Scyrus.
128 ANDROMACHE, 31—70.

wretched ill-treatment. For she asserts that with secret
drugs I render her childless, and hated by her husband; and
that I myself wish to inhabit this house instead of her, having
cast out by violence her tie of marriage; which I, in the first
place, received not willingly, and have now quitted. Mighty
Jove, be witness to this, that I have not willingly shared her
bed. But I do not persuade her, and she wishes to slay me,
and her father Menelaus joins with his daughter in this deed.
And now he is within, having come from Sparta for this very
purpose; and I in terror have come, and ‘am sitting at this
shrine of Thetis close by the house, if it will hinder me from
dying. For Peleus and the descendants of Peleus reverence
it, [being] the monument of the nuptials of the daughter of
Nereus. But him, who is my only boy, I privily send away
to other houses, fearing lest he perish. For he who begat him
is not at hand to aid me, and is of no avail in behalf of the
boy, being absent in the land of the Delphians, where he pays
to Loxias the penalty of madness ;3 through which, once on a
time, having gone to Python, he demanded his father of Phe-
bus ; for which [demand] he pays the penalty; if by any
means, begging off the former offence, he may render the God
favourable hereafter.

Maw Servant. Mistress, I indeed do not shrink from call-
ing thee by this name, since also I thus distinguished you in your
own house, when we were dwelling in the plain of Troy. And
as I was well disposed both to you and to your husband while
living, now too I am come, bringing thee new tidings, in
a fear indeed, lest any one of our masters should hear, but
in pity for thee; for Menelaus and his daughter are plotting
against thee dreadful things, against which thou must guard.

Anpr. O dearest fellow-slave, for fellow-slave thou art to
me, who was once thy queen, but is now an unhappy [woman],
what are they doing? what devices are they again weaving,
seeking to slay all-wretched me?

Serv. They are about to slay thy son, whom thou, O
wretched one, didst privily send from the house.

Anpr. Ah me! Whence can she have learnt‘ that my son
is exposed? O wretched me, how I am undone!

* On this whole passage, see Matthis, whose readings and interpreta-
tion have been adopted by Dindorf.
‘ But L. Dindorf reads wéavoGe. See his note. .
71—108. ANDROMACHE. 129

Srrv. I know not, but I heard this from them, and Mene-
laus has gone from the house after him.

Anpr. Then I am undone. O child, the twain vultures
will seize and slay thee; but he who is called thy sire is
abiding at Delphi.

Serv. For I do not think that thou wouldst fare thus ill,
were he present: but now thou art bereft of friends.

Anpr. But has no report arrived concerning Peleus, that
he is coming ?

Serv. He is too old to benefit thee by his presence.

Awnpr. And yet I have sent for him, not once only.

Serv. Dost thou then think that any of the messengers
care for thee?

Anpr. How so? will you then go as messenger for me?

Serv. What account then shall I give, being a long time
absent from the house ? gos

Anpr. Thou canst find many contrivances; for thou art 4
woman.

Serv. There is danger, for Hermione is no trifling guard.

Awnpr. Dost perceive? Thou deniest thy friends in their
troubles.

Serv. Not so. Reproach me not with this. But I will
go; for the life of a captive woman is not of great import,
e’en if I suffer any ill. !

Anpr. Go then; but we will stretch forth to the sky the
lamentations, and groans, and tears, in which we are ever in-
volved; for to women it is a natural delight in present
troubles ever to keep them in their mouth and on the tongue.
And there is not one thing, but many, for me to bewail ; my
ancestral city, and Hector dead, and the stern fate to which I
am yoked, having fallen undeservedly upon the day of slavery.
But it behoves one to call none of mortals happy,® before,
upon his death, you see how, having passed the last day, he
will go below. Paris led Helen, companion of his bed, to his
couch, not as a bride, but as some curse to lofty Troy. For
whose sake, O Troy, the swift warlike force of the Greeks,
with thousand ships, captured thee, ravaged with spear and
fire, and Hector the husband of wretched me, whom the son
of marine Thetis dragged charioteering around the walls.

* With this sentiment cf. Soph, Trach. 1 sqq. with the notes,
K
130 ANDROMACHE, 109—153.

And I myself have been led from my chamber to the shore of
the sea, putting hateful slavery around my head. And many
tears fell down my face, when I left the city, and my chamber,
and my husband in the dust.. Alas! me wretched, why need
I still behold the light, the slave of Hermione? By whom
worn down, I as a suppliant at this image of the Goddess, and
throwing my arms around it, am wasting away, as the rill
trickles from the rock.

Carorvs. O lady, who for a long while art sitting on the
[sacred] precinct, and at the shrine of Thetis, nor quittest it,
to thee of an Asiatic race I have nevertheless come a Phthian, if
I might be able to shred for thee any remedy for thy troubles,
hard to be released, which have enclosed you and Hermione in
a hateful strife, O wretched one, she being a partner in the
double nuptials with the sonof Achilles. Know thy fortune, con-
sider the present evil, into which thou art come. Contendest
thou with thy masters? thou, being a Trojan woman, with the
descendants of Lacedemon? Quit the sheep-receiving’ dwell-
ing of the marine Goddess. What occasion is there for you
to waste away unseemly your body in grief, through the
compulsion of your masters? But power will induce you.
Why, being nought, dost thou toil this toil? But come, quit
the splendid seat of the Goddess daughter of Nereus, and
learn that you are a servant in a strange land, in a foreign
city, where thou beholdest none of thy friends, O thou most
unfortunate, O all-wretched bride. For most pitied by me
hast thou come to this house, O Trojan lady, but through fear
of my masters I keep quiet, (but I [nevertheless] bear thy lot
with pity,) lest the child of the daughter of Jove perceive
that I am well disposed towards thee.®

Hermione. I have come hither, not indeed bearing an or-
nament of golden luxury around my head, nor this vesture of
embroidered garments around my person, as first-fruits culled
from the house of Achilles or of Peleus; but my father Mene-
laus, of the Lacedemonian Spartan land, bestows these on me
with many dower-gifts, so that I may speak freely. To you

® Cf, Asch, Ag. 17, Urvov-tyripvwy Geog, with the notes.

7 i. e, the sheep for sacrifice.

8 There is some awkwardness in the intervening clause, which I have
placed in an enclosure, The sense is much the same as in vs, 61, ¢68y
Hiv, el tig deorordy alcOjaerar, Oixrwp dt rp oD,
154—198. ANDROMACHE. 131

indeed I give answer with these words. But thou, being a slave
obtained by the spear, wishest to possess this house, having
cast me out, and through thy drugs I am detested by. my hus-
band, and my womb, through thee, perishes away without
offspring. For the minds of Asiatic women are very clever
in such matters; from which I will restrain thee. And
neither shall this house of Nereus’ daughter avail thee, nor
her altar, nor shrine, but thou shalt die. And if any mortal,
or God, wishes to preserve thee, it behoves thee, instead of
thy former prosperous vauntings, to crouch submissive, and to
fall down at my knee, and to sweep this house, sprinkling the
dew of Achelous from gold-wrought vessels, and to know
where on the earth thou art. For this® is not Hector, nor
Priam, nor gold, but a Grecian city. But thou art come to
this pitch of ignorance, O thou miserable one, that thou
darest to share the bed of the son of a sire who destroyed thy
husband, and to bring forth children by his slayer. Such is
the whole race of the barbarians: a father is united to his
daughter, and a son to his mother, and a maid to her brother;
and through murder pass the dearest of kin, and the law pre-
vents none of these things. Which do not thou introduce
amongst us; for it is not well for one man to have the reins
over two women; but, looking to one love, the companion of
their bed, men are content, if they wish not to live evilly.

Cuo. Envious by nature is the femalé kind, and ever
most hostile to their fellows in marriage.

Anpr. Alas! alas! youth is an evil to mortals, and [evil
it is for him] who cherishes not justice in youth. But I fear
lest my state of slavery drive me from converse with thee,
although having much of justice; but if on the other hand I
shall prevail, [I fear] lest I shall incur harm by this ; for they
who have high thoughts bear ill the better arguments of their
inferiors ; but nevertheless I will not be detected deserting
my own cause. Say, young lady, moved by what reason worthy
of credit do I drive away thee from genuine nuptials? Is it
because Lacedemon is a smaller city than that of the Phry-
gians, and that my fortune excels, and thou beholdest me free?
Or is it that, puffed up with youth and lustiness of body,
with the greatness of my city, and my friends, I seek to
possess thy house in thy stead? Is it that, instead of thee, I

Cf. Blomf. on ASsch. Pers, i.
xk 2 :
132 : ANDROMACHE, 198—235

may myself bear children, as slaves, and a wretched drag to
myself? Or who will endure my children as the rulers of
Phthia, even if you do not bring forth? For the Greeks love
me, both on Hector’s account! and [because] I myself was
humble and not a queen among the Phrygians. It is not
through my drugs that thy husband loathes thee; but because
thou art not fit to be connected with him. But this too is a
love spell. It is not beauty, lady, but virtues that delight
bed-fellows. But if you are at all annoyed, then Lacedemon
indeed is amighty city,!! but Scyrus!? thou accountest nothing,
and thou showest thy wealth among the not wealthy, and
Menelaus in thy estimation is greater than Achilles. For
these things indeed thy husband hates thee. For it behoves
a woman, even if she be bestowed on a bad husband, to be
content, and not to hold a strife of haughtiness. But if thou
hadst had a royal husband in Thrace, overflowed by snow
where one man, dwelling with many, in turn bestows the
nuptial couch, thou wouldst have slain them. And then thou
wouldst have been found bringing upon all women the charge
of being insatiate in marriage. This indeed is base; and yet
we sicken with this disease worse than men; but we have
striven well against it, O dearest Hector, but I for thy sake
loved the same as thee, if Venus led thee aught astray, and
ofttimes have I given the breast to thy illegitimate sons, that
I might not offer thee any bitterness. And acting thus, I did
by virtue draw my husband to myself; but you in fear do not
allow a drop of the dew of the sky to fall upon thy husband.
Do not seek, O woman, to surpass thy mother in man-loving ;
for it behoves children of sense to shun the manners of evil
mothers.
' Cuo. Mistress, as far as thou canst with ease, so much be
thou persuaded to agree with this woman in words.

Herm. Why dost thou mouth it solemnly, and come to the
strife of words, that thou forsooth art prudent, but my con-
duct is not prudent ?

 Schol, cai did roy “Exropa, cal & tnavrnv. “Exropa piv, we
ebepyérny Tyndyrec, ene 8, wo pa} BapBapoy, rai pr modepiay repipary
avroig yevonivny tdeovyrec.

" wy’ lori, i.e. peyadbverae bmd ood. Cf. Or. 784, plya ydp
‘y sbyéved gov. PriucK.

'® The country of Neoptolemus.
236—269. ANDROMACHE, 133

Anpr. You are not so, at least in the words you have been
using.

Herm. Never may thy disposition dwell with me, O woman.

Apr. Thou art young, yet talkest about things of shame.

Herm. But thou dost not talk indeed, but art doing so to
me, to the utmost of your power.

Awpr. Will you not grieve about Venus in silence ?

Herm. What? is not this every where the first considera-
tion with women?

Anpr. [Yea,] to those who use it properly, but if not, it
is not honourable.

Herm. We do not regulate our city by the laws of bar-
barians.

Anpr. Both there and here dishonourable deeds convey
disgrace.

Herm. Clever, clever art thou; but still thou must die.

Anpr. Dost thou perceive the statue of Thetis looking
upon thee ?

Herm. Ay, hating thy country for the death of Achilles.

Anpr. Helen, thy mother, destroyed him, not I.

Herm. What, wilt thou further touch upon my evils?

Anvr. See, I am silent, and compress my lips.

Herm. Say rather, for what purpose I have*come hither.

Anopr. I say that thou hast not as much sense as behoves
thee.

Herm. Wilt thou quit this sacred enclosure of the marine
Goddess ?

Anpr. Ay, provided I do not die. But unless [this be so],
I will never quit it.

Herm. This then is fixed, and I will not wait for my hus-
band to return.

Anvr. But neither will I yield myself to thee before.

Herm. I will bring fire upon thee, and will not consider
thy welfare.!% :

Anpr. Do thou, then, light the flame; for the Gods will
know these things. :

Herm. And the pangs too of dreadful wounds against thy
person.

13 But surely Musgrave is right in reading rémov. Her contempt of the
sacred place would increase her crime.
134 ANDROMACHE. 260—309.

Awpr. Slay, imbrue with blood the altar of the Goddess,
who will punish thee.

Herm. O thou barbarian creature, and of hardy daring,
art thou, then, braving out death? But swiftly will I upraise
thee, of thine own accord, from this [suppliant] sitting. Sucha
bait for thee do I possess; but I will conceal my plans, and
the deed will speedily show itself. Sit as thou sittest; for
even though molten lead surround thee, I will make thee rise,
before the son of Achilles, in whom thou art confident, re-
turns,

Awnpr. I have a good trust; but strange it is that one of
the Gods should have furnished mortals with remedies against
savage serpents, but that no one has yet discovered a cure for
a bad woman, who is beyond a viper and fire itself. Such a
bane are we to men.

Cuo. Truly the son of Maia and Jove was the beginner of
great woes, when he came to the Idan wood, escorting the
fair-yoked car of the three Goddesses, armed for the hateful
contest of beauty, to the sheds of the herdsman, and to the
solitary cattle-tending youth, and the deserted hearth of the
house. But when they came to the foliaged grove, they laved
their shining bodies in the streams of mountain rills, and came
to the son of Priam, making comparisons between one another
with overweening words of strife. Venus overcame him by
crafty words, pleasant indeed to hear, but [bringing] a bitter
confusion of life on the hapless city of the Phrygians and the
towers of Troy. But would that she, who erst gave Paris
birth, had cast over her head '4 the bane, before he had dwelt
on the Idzan height; when amid the prophetic laurels Cas-
sandra cried out to slay him, the mighty bane of Priam’s city.
To whom did she not go? Whom of the old chiefs of the peo-
ple did she not beseech to slay the infant? For neither would
the yoke of slavery have come upon the Trojans, nor would
you, O lady, have had a dwelling in a tyrant’s house. And it
would have prevented the grievous toils of Greece, which for
ten years their youth wandering in spears endured; and the
beds had not been left widowed, nor old men reft of their
children.

Men. Iam come, having caught thy son, whom, unknown to

™ On this superstition cf. Aisch. Choeph. 99. Virg. Ecl. viii. 102.
310—347. ANDROMACHE. 135

my daughter, thou didst privily send away to other dwellings.
For thou didst trust that this image of the Goddess would
preserve thee, and that those who concealed him [would pre-
serve] this [boy]; but thou art found less wise than this man
Menelaus, O woman. And unless you quit and desert this
place, he shall be slain instead of thy body. Consider this,
then, whether you wish to die, or him to perish for your fault,
in which you have erred against me and my daughter. '
Anpr. O reputation, reputation, how in pride hast thou
greatly swollen up their life to innumerable mortals, who were
nothing! But happy I deem those to whom there is glory
from truth; but I will hold that they [who have] renown
falsely, have it not,'5 except that they seem to be wise through
chance. Didst thou, being a general over the picked men of
the Greeks, once on a time deprive Priam of Troy, being so
mean as thou art? who, from the words of thy daughter, a
mere child, hast breathed forth thus violently, and hast come
to a contest with a hapless female slave. I no longer deem
thee worthy of Troy, nor Troy of thee. They who seem to
be wise have outwardly a splendour; but inwardly are the
equals of all men, unless indeed [they excel] aught in wealth ;
but this has a mighty power. Come, then, Menelaus, let
us go through our reasons. Suppose I am dead as regards
your daughter, and she has destroyed me; you cannot escape
the stain of a foul murder. But among the people thou too
wilt have to plead to this murder; for the being an accom-
plice will force you [to pay] the debt. But if I indeed
escape from dying, will ye slay my child? And how then
will the father endure the death of his son? Troy calls him
not so unmanly, but he will go the way that behoves him,!?
for he will be seen doing deeds worthy of Peleus, and of his
father Achilles. And he will drive thy daughter from his
house; and when thou bestowest her on another, what wilt
thou say? That her modesty flies from a bad husband? But
it will be a lie.!8 And who will marry her? Or wilt thou

15 Matthie observes that the plena locutio would be rode 8 id Wevday
tyovrag etxAeray obk dbiow Exev stkAtay.

16 “Usus tui, quem prestas, cedi socias manus conferendo, coget te
discrimen hoc, invidiam hance, adire.”” REISKE. 2

17 i, e. he will set about avenging him. :

18 GNX’ dpedoerat is the proper reading. See Dind.
136 ANDROMACHE. 347—385.

keep her at home, an unwedded, white-haired widow? O
unhappy man, dost thou not perceive the influx of so great
evils? And how many marriages would you prefer that your
daughter should experience, to her injury, rather than suffer
what I say?!® It is not right to bring on great evils for
small advantage, nor, if we women are a baleful ill, for men
to resemble women in their nature. For we, if we drug thy
daughter, and make her womb abortive, as she says, willingly,
not unwillingly, nor falling at the altars, we will ourselves sub-
mit to trial at the hands of thy son-in-law, to whom I owe no
less satisfaction for guilt, by causing him childlessness. Such
then are we; but one thing in thy” mind I dread. Through
strife about a woman thou also didst destroy the wretched
city of the Phrygians.

Cuo. To much hast thou spoken, as a woman to men, and
the moderation of thy mind has overshot the mark.?!

Men. These are trifling matters, woman, and, as you say,
not worthy of my empire, nor of Greece. But know this
well; that, of which one chances to have need, is to each of
greater importance than to take Troy. And J, for I account
this a great matter, stand forth an ally to my daughter against
being robbed of her marriage right. For the other things
which a woman may suffer are secondary; but failing in her
husband, she fails in her life. And it is right that he”? should
have power over my slaves, and me and mine over his also ;
for among friends who are truly friends, there is nothing
private, but goods are common. But waiting for those who
are absent, if I do not arrange my affairs in the best manner
possible, I am a silly man, and not wise. But do thou rise
up from this shrine of the Goddess, that, if thou diest, this
boy may escape his fate; but if thou art unwilling to die, I
will slay him. And now there is a necessity for one of you
two to leave life.

Anpr. Ah me! A bitter allotment and choice of life thou
givest me, and I both choosing am wretched, and not choos-

1° Andromache lays an amusing stress on the desire of Menelaus to get
rid of his daughter. ‘“ Any thing for a quiet life,” is the sum total of
her arguments.

20 crov for cov. Voss. Dinp,

2 Uerdzevoey = tEerotedOn, or dxrerdtevrat.

2 i, e, Neoptolemus.
‘

386—422, ANDROMACHE, 137

ing, am unhappy. O thou that doest great things for a small
cause, be persuaded. Why slayest thou me? On what ac-
count? What city have I betrayed? What child of thine
have I slain? And what house have I burned? I have been
perforce the bed-companion of masters; and then thou wilt
slay me, not him, the causer of these things; but, letting
alone the beginning [of the evil], thou art hurried on to that
which is the last end. Alas for these ills! O my unhappy
country! How do I suffer dreadful things! Why then did
it behove me to bear children, and to impose a double burden
upon this burden? But wherefore do I mourn these things,
but do not weep for?’ and consider my present ills? I indeed
who have seen the slaughter of Hector, dragged piteously by
the chariot-wheel, and Troy in flames; and I myself have
gone as a slave to the ships of the Greeks, dragged by my
hair; and when I came to Phthia, I am wedded to the mur-
derer of Hector.24 Why then is it sweet for me to live? To
what must I look? to my present or past fortunes? This one
boy was alone left to me, the eye of life; him they are about
to kill, to whom this act seems good. But they shall not do
so for the sake of my wretched life; for in him indeed there
is hope, if he be preserved; but disgrace for me not to die for
my child. See, I quit the altar, and am in your hands, to
slay, to kill, to bind, to hang up my neck.% 0 child, I, thy
mother, wend niy way to Hades, that thou mayest not die;
but if thou shalt secretly flee the fate of thy mother, bear mind
what I endured, [and how] I perished. And to thy father,
kissing him, and shedding tears, and twining thyself around
his hands, tell how I acted. Truly to all mankind their chil-
dren is their life; but whoever is unexperienced [in chil-
dren]? and blames me [for this sentiment], feels less pain
indeed, but happy is though hapless.

Cuo. Thee do I pity, hearing; for unhappiness is piteous
to all mortals, even if one be a stranger. But, Menelaus, it

23 This is Barnes’ and Matthie’s explanation of t&txpaZw, but Dindorf
condemns the reading as spurious. See his note,

24 i, e, to Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles, who slew Hector.

25 This accumulation of infinitives is common in such passages, espe-
cially in Euripides. Perhaps Aristophanes burlesques it in Nub. 440,
rouri 76 7’ ipdy ciip’ adroiow Mapixw romrey, wevijy, Oupiy, "Abypeiv
prydiv, doxoy Caipev,”Evrep ra xpta dvagevtodpa,

28 So Shakspeare: ‘he speaks to me, who never had a son.”
138 ANDROMACHE. 423452,

behoves thee to bring thy daughter and this woman to an
agreement, that she may be released from troubles.

Men. Seize me this woman here, ye servants, throwing
your hands around her; for she will hear no friendly words.
I did indeed, that thou mightest quit the holy altar of the
Goddess, hold out the death of the boy, with which I induced
thee to come into my hands to be destroyed. And know that,
as regards thyself, thus matters stand; but as regards this
boy, my daughter shall decide, whether she will destroy or will
not destroy him. But go thou into this house, that, being a
born slave, thou mayest learn no longer to insult the free.

Anpr. Alas! thou hast come over me by a trick. I have
been deceived.

Men. To all proclaim it; for I do not deny it.

Anpr. Are these things deemed clever by those near the
Eurotas?

Men. Ay, and by those at Troy, that the sufferers should
do in turn.?7

Anpr. But dost thou think the Gods are no Gods, and
have no care of justice ?*

Men. When this comes to pass, we will bear [the conse-
quences}. But thee I will slay.

Aypr. And wilt thou too [slay] this youngling, dragging
him from beneath the wing ?

Men. Not so; but I will give him to my daughter to slay,
if she wish.

Anpr. Ah me! How shall I groan for thee, O child?

Men. Certainly no confident hope awaits him.”

Anpr. O ye inhabitants of Sparta, most hated of mortals
among all men, crafty in counsel, kings of liars, concocters of
evil plots, crooked, and thinking nothing soundly, but all
things tortuously,° unjustly are ye prosperous in Greece.
And what [evil] is there not in you? Are there not abundant
murders? Are ye not given to base gain? Are ye not de-
tected speaking ever one thing with the tongue, but thinking

37 Cf. Aisch, Choeph. 313, dpdcavre waGeiy, with the notes.

2 Sixn here denotes the power both of tuking cognisance of and of
punishing offences.

29 i, e. the chances of his escape are small.

5 On this charge of perfidy against the Lacedemonians, compare

Aristoph, Ach. 308, olor otre Bwpde obre wiotic ob Spo péver. Sce
Barnes’s note.
453—601. ANDROMACHE. 139

another? A murrain seize you! But to me death is not so
painful as it seems to you. For those things destroyed me,
when the hapless city of the Trojans was laid waste, and my
renowned husband, who ofttimes with his spear rendered thee
the coward, a sailor instead of a land [soldier]. But now ap-
pearing as a terrible soldier against a woman, thou slayest me.
Slay me then, for I will leave thee and thy daughter unflat-
tered by my tongue. For you indeed are great in Sparta,
but Tin Troy. But if I fare ill, vaunt not in this; for thou
too mayest fare the same.

Cxo. Never will I commend the twofold nuptials of mor-
tals, nor children sprung from different mothers, a strife at
home, and hostile grief. Let my husband be content with
one bed, not shared by [another] man. For neither in states
are two kingships better to bear than one, and [they are] a
burden upon burden, and sedition for the citizens. Even the
Muses are wont to make strife between two joint composers
of a hymn.®?, And when the swift gales bear along vessels,
the wisdom of twofold minds at the helm and a collected
number of experienced men are weaker than a more common
mind with self-possession.** [Let there be] both in a house
and in a city, the power of one, when they wish to find what
is opportune. This the Lacedemonian [daughter] of Mene-
laus has proved, for she has gone through fire against another
wife, and she slays the hapless Trojan girl and. her son
through despiteful strife. Godless, lawless, graceless is the
murder. Still, O revered one, shall a change [of fortune]
come upon thee for these deeds. And truly I behold the
wedded pair before the house, destined by vote to death.
Miserable woman, and wretched thou too, O boy, who diest
for thy mother’s nuptials, being no accomplice, nor guilty
against the rulers.

31 i, e. drove you in flight to the ships. Cf. Valck. on Herodot. vi. 32,
referred to by Pflugk. re

= Of, Hesiod, tpy. 26, ral mrwyic mrwxp POorvée, ral dowdde dowdy.
It must be remembered that rewards were often given for the composition
of hymns and peans, whence much jealousy at times arose. Compare
the anecdote told of Diagoras the Melian in Suidas, See Fabric. on
Sextus Empir. adv. Math. ix. § 53, note s, and the similar story of Vir-
gil and Bathyllus, in Donatus, vit. Virg.

3 © ddévace, scil. tori. “A is the neuter plural. Understand TO
abroxpariy elvat gpiva tvég, PFLUGK.
140 ANDROMACHE, 502—547.

[Enter ANDROMACHE and her son, in fetters.]

Anpr. Behold* I, bound as to my gory hands with fetters,
am sent below the earth.

Mo ossus. Mother, mother, and I under thy wing de-
scend with thee.

Anpr. O hostile sacrifice, O rulers of the land of Phthia.

Mot. O father, come and assist those dear to thee.

Anpr. Thou wilt be then, O dear one, around the breast,
and with the corse of thy dead mother beneath the earth.

Mot. Ah me! ah me! what shall I wretched do, and thou,
O mother? ;

Men. Go beneath the earth, for truly ye are come from
the towers of our enemies. And die ye too from a twofold
necessity. Thee indeed my determination destroys, but thy
son, my daughter Hermione. For truly it is great folly to
spare enemies sprung from enemies,** when it is in one’s
power to kill them, and remove fear from houses.

AnpDR. O husband, husband, thou son of Priam, would that
I possessed thy hand and spear of alliance !

Mot. Wretched me, what strain shall I find to turn aside
my fate?

Anpr. Beseech thou, drawing nigh to thy master’s knees,
O child.

Mot. O friend, friend, remit my death.

Anpr. I bedew my pupils with tears, I wretched am drip-
ping away like a sunless drop from a steep rock.

Mot. Alas for me! What remedy of my ills can I find?

Men. Wherefore dost thou fall down, beseeching with
prayers me, who am as a rock or wave of the sea? For I am
the natural benefactor of mine own; but I have no friendly
feeling for thee; since indeed, having wasted a grent part of
my life, I captured Troy and thy mother, of whose [deeds]
thou bearing the fruits, shalt descend to nether Hades.

Cuo. And truly I perceive Peleus coming hither, directing
his aged foot in haste.

PEL. TI ask you,3* and him who stands at the slaughter,

3 Nearly equivalent to the doar’ Zu’ & woNtrae of Soph. Antig. 806.

35 A marginal annotator in cod. Putean. aptly compared: yymog b¢
warépa kreivag waidag xaradeire.

46 Cf. Asch, Sept. c. Th, 182, tpag towrd, Opiupar’ ob dvacyerd.
548—586. ANDROMACHE. 141

what is this? How, and for what reason is the house
troubled? What are you doing, planning things without a trial ?
O Menelaus, hold! hasten not without justice. Do thou lead
on quickly ; for, as it seems, this is not a matter of leisure for
me;*" but I wish, if I ever did, to obtain the strength of youth.
First, indeed, I will breathe upon this woman, as upon the
canvass, with prospering gale. Say, by what right do these
lead thee and thy child, having bound thy hands; for thou art
perishing like some lamb,®* we and thy lord being absent.

Awpr. These are leading me to die with my child, O aged
man, as thou seest ; why need I tell thee? For I sent for thee
not with the earnestness of a single message, but by innumer-
able envoys. But thou, I ween, hast heard of the strife within
the house [proceeding] from this man’s daughter, and through
which I perish. And now they lead me, having dragged me
from the altar of Thetis, who bore thy noble son to thee, and
whom thou holdest in wondrous honour, neither having decided
with justice, nor having waited for those absent from the
house; but knowing my desert state, and that of my child,
whom, in nought guilty, they are about to slay along with
wretched me. But I implore you, old man, falling before thy
knees, (for it is not possible for me to touch thy beard with
my hand,) deliver me, by the Gods; for if not, we shall
perish, disgraceful for you old man, but miserably for me.

Pet. I bid you relax the chains, before some one suffer for
it, and to let go both her hands.

Men. But I forbid it, I, another person not inferior to
thyself, and far more the lord over this woman.”

Pet. How? Shalt thou regulate my house, having come
hither? Is it not enough for thee to rule over those in Sparta?
Men. I took her as a captive from Troy. .

Pret. But my grandson took her as his reward.

Men. Are not mine his, and his mine?

Pe. Yea, to treat well, but not evilly, nor to slay them by
violence.

37 wot must be construed with Epyov, not with gore. Dinponr.

38 With Jmapvocg understand ofc, as iméppyvoc in Homer, bzapvor
in Callimachus in Apoll. 53. Dinponrr.

39 Because she was bound in fetters. Schol. 4 Gre vdpo¢g Bw roic
BapBaporg, py Errecar rou yevecov rov deamdrov,

Cf. vs. 374 sq.
142 ANDROMACHE. 587—623.

Men. [Know] that thou shalt never lead her away from my
hand.

Pet. But with this sceptre I will make thy head bloody.”

Men. Touch me then, that you may know [your man], and
draw nigh to me.*?

Pet, What! wilt thou [strive] with men, O thou the basest,
and [sprung] from the base ? Whatshare hast thou ofany account
amongst men? Thou who by a Phrygian man wast deprived
of thy wife, leaving the home of thine hearth unlocked, without
slaves, as if forsooth thou hadst a chaste wife in your dwell-
ing, [when she was] the vilest of all. Nor if one of the
Spartan girls wished to be chaste, could she be; they who quit
their dwellings, and in company with youths with naked
thighs and loose robes, practise a common race and exercises,
not to be endured by me. And must one then marvel, if ye
do not train up modest women? You ought to inquire this
of Helen; who, deserting the power that presides over
friends,“ went rioting from thy house to another land, with a
young man. And then, having assembled such a crowd of
Greeks, thou didst lead them against Troy for the sake of her,
whom it behoved thee, finding her bad, to abhor, and not stira
spear, but to suffer her to remain there, and to give a sum for
not taking her back again into thy house. But it was not
in this direction thou didst waft thy mind; but thou hast
destroyed many a gallant heart, and hast made old women
destitute of children in their houses, and deprived hoary
fathers of their noble offspring. Of whom I wretched am
one; and I look upon thee, the cause of Achilles’ death, as
some evil genius. Who alone camest from Troy not even
wounded, and carried thither and back again in the same
state thy beautiful arms in their beautiful cases. And I in-
deed advised [my son] when marrying, neither to join alli-
ance with thee, nor to receive into his house the foal of a bad
woman ; for they are wont to carry into public the reproach of
the mother. Wherefore be ye mindful of this, O suitors, to take

4' Nearly the same words occur Iph. Aul. 3!1.

“2 Not badly translated by Prevét: ‘Toi, Ache, te mesurer avec un
homme! Eh, mérites tu donc &tre compté parmi les hommes?”

‘? Respecting this behaviour of the Spartan women, see Barnes’s note.
Cf. Plato de Legg. vii. p. 634, B. c. ed. Lam.

‘4 Musgrave has established this interpretation with considerable learn-
ing. On such titles see Hemst. on Lucian, Timon, sub init.
§28—660. ANDROMACHE. 143

[to wife] the daughter of a virtuous mother. Besides, of what
insolence wast thou guilty towards thy brother, bidding him
to sacrifice most foolishly his daughter! So fearful wert thou
lest thou shouldst not have thy bad wife. But having taken
Troy, (for thither will I proceed with thee,) thou didst not
slay the woman, when thou hadst her in thy hands, but when
thou didst look upon her breast, casting away thy sword,” thou
didst receive her kisses, fondling the dog that had betrayed
thee, being, O thou most vile one, the slave of Venus. And
then coming into the house of my child, when he is absent,
thou dost ravage it, and dishonourably slay his unhappy wife
and child; who, though he were thrice spurious by birth,
shall make thee and thy daughter rue thy conduct. But often
indeed does the dry land surpass the deep loam, and many
illegitimate sons are better than genuine. But do thou take
away thy child. It is better for mortals to possess a poor, but
honest relative, than a base rich one. But thou art nought.

Cuo. From a small beginning the tongue furnishes a
mighty dispute to men; but the wise among mortals are on
their guard against this—not to pick quarrels with their
friends.

Men. Why then should you say that old men, and those who
once seemed to be clever among the Greeks, are wise? When
thou, being Peleus, and sprung from a renowned sire * * * *
having joined alliance, dost speak words disgraceful to thy-
self, and reproachful to us, on account of a barbarian woman ;
whom it behoved thee to drive the way “* beyond the streams
of the Nile, and beyond Phasis, and to exhort me always [to
treat her thus], being indeed from the continent [of Asia],
where‘? very many of Greeks have fallen corses by the spear,
and being a partner in the blood of thy son. For Paris, who
slew thy son Achilles, was the brother of Hector, and this
woman is the wife of Hector. And thou enterest the same
house with her forsooth, and thinkest fit to have thy life at
the same table, and allowest her to bring forth most hateful
children in the house. On which account, old man, I, wish-

45 Cf. Aristoph. Lys. 155, who refers to this passage.

48 With ry understand dd6v. See Dindorf.

7 ob =ly rg H7eipy. :

48 Matthia, however, thinks that the idea of the poet was, @ iyw
matey OdAwy Kai Kravety THVOE.
144 ANDROMACHE. 661—701.

ing, through foresight for thee and me, to slay this woman,
have her snatched from my hands, Yet come, (for it is not
base to enter upon reasons,) if my daughter indeed do not
-bring forth, but children spring from this woman, wilt thou
set them as rulers over the land of Phthia ; and shall they, being
barbarian by race, bear sway over Greeks ? Am I not then wise,
in hating what is not just? And is there wisdom in thee?
And now consider this too. If you had given your daughter
to any one of the citizens, and she had suffered such treat-
ment, would you have sat in silence? I think not. ,But dost
thou, for the sake of a stranger woman, thus bawl at thy near
relations? And yet both a man and woman have equal power,
when she is injured by a husband; and in like manner a hus-
band, who has a wanton wife in his house. And the one in-
deed possesses great power in his hands, but the other has her
affairs in the hands of her parents and friends. Is it not then
right for me to assist those belonging to me? Old, old art thou.
But by speaking of my generalship, you aid my cause more
than by keeping silence. And Helen suffered woe? not will-
ingly, but through the Gods; and this most greatly benefited
Greece; for being ignorant of arms and battle, they marched
onto deeds of valour. But intercourse is the teacher of all things
to mortals. But if, coming in view of my wife, I abstained
from killing her, I acted with moderation. And I could wish
that thou hast not slain Phocus.5° In these words I have ad-
dressed thee, with good intent, not for the sake of wrath. But
-if thou art swift to anger, to thee indeed there is a greater
harshness of speech, but to me prudence is a gain.

Cuo, Cease now, for this is far better than vain words,
lest ye two err together.

Pex. Ah me! how evil is the custom in Greece! When
an army has erected trophies over the enemy, they do not
consider this the work of the toiling soldiers, but the general
reaps the renown; who brandishing the spear, one amid ten
thousand others, and doing no more than one, has greater
glory. And sitting stately in office in the city, they have,
although nobodies, more lofty thoughts than the people; but
these [the people] are ten thousand times wiser than those, if

“ Menelaus delicately glosses over her crime, and speaks only of its

consequence. Marruyz.
50 See Barnes.

‘

oe
702—747.. ANDROMACHE. 145°

daring and counsel were theirs at the same time. Thus you:
and your brother, puffed up with pride, sate at Troy, and in
the generalship there, raised up by the toils and labours of
others. But I will teach you never to consider Idan Paris
less an enemy than Peleus, unless you take yourself off from
this house as quickly as possible, and thy childless daughter,
whom the son sprung from me shall drag through this house,
seizing her by the hair; she who, being a barren heifer, will
not endure others bearing children, herself having none. But
if her state is unhappy in respect of children, does it behove:
us to be destitute of children? Get ye away from this woman,
ye servants, that I may learn whether any one will hinder me
from unbinding her hands. Raise thyself up; since I, although
trembling, will unloose the twisted coils of thongs. Hast
thou, most base one, injured thus the hands of this woman?
Didst thou fancy thou wert binding with cords a bull or lion?
Or didst thou fear lest, taking a sword, she might defend her-
self against thee ? Come hither under my arm, O child; relax
thy mother’s fetters. In Phthia I will train thee up, a powerful
enemy to these. But ifthe glory of the spear and the contest
of war were wanting to the Spartans, know that in other re-
spects ye are no better than any one.

Cuno. The race of old men is by nature free to act, and not
easily guarded against, through its quickness of temper.

Men. Thou art borne along too prone to revilings. But I,
coming to Phthia, will neither do nor suffer any thing mean
through violence. And now indeed, for I have not abundant
leisure, I will go home; for there is a certain city not far
from Sparta, which before this indeed was friendly, but now
acting with hostility. Against this I therefore wish to go out,
leading an army, so as to bring it under my hand. But when I
shall have settled matters there according to my desire, I -will
come, and in the presence of my son-in-law I present will
teach, and in turn be taught reason. And if he (Neoptole-
mus) shall punish this woman, and hereafter act with modera-
tion towards us, he shall receive moderate treatment in turn.
But if he be wrathful, he shall meet with the wrathful, and
shall receive deeds in return for deeds. But I bear thy words
easily ; for thou hast a voice like as a shadow, being incapable
of aught except only to talk.

Pex, Lead on hither, child, standing under my arms; and

L
146 ANDROMACHE, 748—801.

thou too, O wretched one, for, having encountered a violent
tempest, thou hast come into a tranquil port.

Anpr. O may the Gods give good gifts to thee, old man,
and thine, for having saved my child and hapless me. But
see now,®! Jest these, crouching down in a deserted place on
the way, hurry me off by force, perceiving that thou indeed
art aged, and me weak, and this child an infant. Consider
this, lest, escaping now, we be taken afterwards.

Pex. Thou shalt not bring forward the timid words of wo-
men. Go on; who will touch you? He will touch you to
his cost if he does. For in behalf of the Gods, we havea com-
mand over horse troops, and many heavy-armed soldiers in
Phthia. And I am still erect, and not an old man, as you
think; but looking in the face of such a man as this alone, I,
though an old man, will erect a trophy over him. For an old
man, if he be valiant, is better than many youths. What
profits it, being a coward, to have a good body?

Cuo. Might I either not be born, or might I be born from
good parents, and a partaker in wealthy houses ; for if one were
to suffer any thing difficult, there is no lack of defence to the
well-born. But from those who are bruited as coming from
good families, time never takes away honour and renown, the
remnants of good men, but virtue shines even among the dead.
But it is better to have a victory free from ill repute, than to
overthrow justice with envy and might. For this is on the
instant pleasant for mortals, but in time it withers, and is
among the disgraces of the house. This life I commend, this
also I pursue, that no power apart from justice prevail in the
chambers or in the city. O aged son of AMacus, I am per-
suaded that thou wast present with the Lapithz 5 at the re-
nowned war against the Centaurs, and didst also pass in the
ship Argo the humid Euxine through the marine Symple-
gades,®3 in glorious navigation; and, when of erst the re-
nowned son of. Jove surrounded the city of Troy 4 with
slaughter, that thou didst gain a common glory, and return
to Europe.

51 T read viv for ypy, with Taur. Gu. Ald.

52 Peleus is placed among the Argonauts by Apollon. Rhod. i, 91,
Hygin. Fab. 14, together with his brother Telamon. According to the
latter, the death of Phocus was the cause of their leaving home.

58 Cf. Med. 2; and Apoll. Rhod: i. 2.

' 8 See Boeckh, Explic. Pind. p. 182.
802—841. ANDROMACHE. 147

[Enter a Nurse. ]

Nurse. O dearest women, how evil succeeding evil is sent
as a gift on this day. For my mistress in the house, I mean
Hermione, both being left alone by her father and with the
consciousness too of what a deed she has done, in having laid
a plan to kill Andromache and her son, wishes to die, dread-
ing her husband, lest, on account of her deeds, she be sent
disgracefully from this house, or die, having sought to slay
those whom she ought not to slay. And with difficulty do the
servants, keeping watch, restrain her, wishing to suspend her
neck, and they snatch from her right hand the sword, taking
it away. So greatly does she grieve, and has perceived that what
she has before done was not right. I indeed, then, O friends,
am toiling in restraining my mistress from hanging ; 3 but do
you, going within this house, release her from death; for new
friends coming are more persuasive than accustomed ones.

Cuo. And ‘truly we hear within the house the cries of the
servants concerning the things which thou hast come hither to
tell. But the wretched woman seems on the point of showing
how much she grieves, having done dreadful things. For she
is coming out from the house, fleeing from the hands of her
attendants, through a desire of death.

Heru. Ah me! ah me! I will make tearing of my hair,
and hostile lacerations with my nails.

Nurse. My child, what art thou doing ? wilt thou maltreat
thy person?

Herm. Alas! alas! go to the air, from my locks, thou
slender veil.

Norsz. Child, cover thy bosom, bind together thy robes.®

Herm. Why must I cover my bosom with robes? I have
done against my husband deeds evident, and apparent, and
unconcealed.

Norse. Dost thou grieve at having devised death against
thy fellow-wife ?

Herm. I mourn indeed the hostile dating I have attempted,
I cursed, ah! cursed amongst mankind.

Norse. Thy husband will pardon thee this offence.

Herm. Wherefore didst thou snatch the sword out of my

55 | prefer wémXoug, with Flor. A.
L2
148 .ANDROMACHE, — 842-883,

hand? Give it back, O friend, give it back, that I may inflict
astab right through. Wherefore do ye keep me from halters ?
. Norse. But [it would not be right],°* if I were to let you
loose, not being in your senses, so that you would die.

Herm. Alas for my fate! Where for me is the friendly
flame of fire? And where can I be raised up to a precipice
either near the ocean, or the mountain wood, that dying, I
may be a care to the dead ?

Norse. Why dost thou labour thus? calamities sent by the
Gods come to all mortals or now or then.

Herm. Thou hast left, thou hast left me,°? O father, on the
shore, as one alone and deserted by the marine oar. He will
destroy, he will destroy me.*® No longer will I dwell in this
house of my husband. As suppliant to whose image shall I
rush? or slave-like shall I embrace the knees of a slave?
[From the Phthian land]® would that I were a blue-winged
bird, or that pitched bark, which, the first ship that sailed,
passed between the Cyanean shores.

Norsg. O daughter, I did commend neither the excess of
thy conduct, when thou didst offend against the Trojan
woman, nor do I now the fear which thou too greatly fearest.
Thy husband will not thus reject thy alliance, persuaded by
the paltry words of a barbarian woman. For he has not thee
a captive from Troy, but the daughter of a good man, re-
ceiving thee with many dower gifts, and from a city not
moderately blest. And thy father will not thus, as thou fear-
est, child, desert thee and Jet thee be cast out from this house.
But go within, and do not appear before this dwelling, lest,
child, thou incur any reproach, being seen in front of this
house.

Cuo. And truly with haste of steps wends his way to us
this foreign guest, in a strange garb.

Orestes. Ye strange women, is this the house and royal
roof of the son of Achilles ?

Co. Thou knowest [rightly]; but who art thou that ask-
est this?

56 For this ellipse Dindorf compares Phoen. 1684, dA)’ ei yapoiuny, od
3 pdvos pebyouc, warEp,

7 na.vdd is a typographical error for povad’. Cf. Propert. “ Qualis
. hesea jacuit cedente carina, Languida desertis Gnosia litoribus.””

58 §ndadi) wéorg is a gloss in some of the MSS. See Dindorf.
59 i, e. supplicate Andromache for mercy. 6 See Dindorf.
’

884—917. ANDROMACHE. 149

Or. [I am] the son of Agamemnon and Clytamnestra, by
name Orestes; and I am going to the oracles of Jove at
Dodona. But when I arrived at Phthia, it seemed good to me
to learn concerning a woman related to me, whether Hermione
of Sparta is alive and faring well. For although she inhabits
a country far distant from us, she is nevertheless dear.

Herm. O thou that hast appeared as a port ina storm to .
sailors, thou son of Agamemnon, by these thy knees, I be-
seech thee, pity us, whose fortunes thou beholdest faring not
well. And to thy knees I apply mine arms, not less [to be
respected ] than garlands.

Or. Ah! what is this? Am I deceived, or do I distinctly
see the daughter of Menelaus, queen of the house?

Herm. Ay, her whom Helen, the daughter of Tyndarus,
brought forth in her father’s house. Be not ignorant.

Or. O healing Phebus, mayest thou grant a release from
troubles. What is it? Art thou suffering ills from Gods or
men?

Herm. Some from myself, some from the husband who pos-
gsesses me, and others from some one of the Gods. But on all
sides we are undone.

Or. What calamity, then, can befall a woman, save in re-
spect to her nuptial bed, children not being yet born?

Herm. In this very thing I suffer. Well hast thou drawn
me out. :

Or. Does thy husband love some other wife instead of thee ?

Herm. The captive, who once was Hector’s wife.

Or. Thou tellest of an evil thing, that an husband has two
wives.

Herm. Such are these matters. And then I fain would
defend myself.

Or. What, hast thou plotted against a wife such things as
a wife is wont?

Herm. Ay, death against her and her spurious son.

Or. And didst thou slay her? or what circumstance pre-
vented thee?

Herm. The old man Peleus, reverencing the worse.

Or. But hadst thou any accomplice in this deed ?

Herm. Ay, my father, coming from Sparta for this very
purpose. ;

Or. And was he then worsted by the hand of an old man?
150 ANDROMACHE. 918—951,

Herm. Ay, through respect [towards him], and he is
gone, having left me desolate.

Or. I understand. Thou fearest thy husband because of
what you have done.

Herm. Thou hast well guessed it. For with justice he will
destroy me; what need I say it? But I beseech thee, invoking
Jove, who regards relationship, send me as far away as pos-
sible from this land, or to my ancestral home; for these
houses seem as though they had a voice,®! to drive me away,
and the land of Phthia loathes me. And if my husband, leav-
ing the oracle of Phoebus, shall come home before [I get
away ], he will slay me for deeds most base, or I shall be a slave
to a concubine, over whom I before lorded it.

Or. But how, as one may say it, hast thou thus erred ?

Herm. The approach of bad women has undone me 56?
who puffed me up, talking these words: Wilt thou endure a
most base captive in the house as the partner of thy bed? By
the queen [Juno], she should not in my house have enjoyed
my husband, beholding the light of day. And I, hearing these
discourses of the Sirens, clever, wicked, artful talkers, was

‘vainly puffed up with folly. For why need I keep a watch
upon my husband, when I had all I wanted; much wealth ;
and I was ruler in my palace; and I indeed might have borne
legitimate children; but she illegitimate ones, half slaves to
mine. _ But never, never, (for I will not say it once only,) is
it proper for those who have their wits, and a wife, to allow
women to visit the wife in their house; for they are the
teachers of evil deeds. For one indeed, gaining something by
it, corrupts the wife; but another, having sinned, wishes her
to sin with herself,*4 and many [do this] through a violence of
feelings; and hence the houses of men are troubled. Wherefore

ae Cf. Aisch. Ag. 37, otkog &’ adbric, si PO0yyiv AdBor, Dapiorar’ dv
éEeey.

se Amusingly parodied by the emperor Hadrian: wodAwy iarpiv
sicodot p’ amwdecav.

83 None of the commentators appear to have noticed the reference to
Juno, Diana, or Venus, as guardian of the conjugal bed. (‘ Genialis
tori Lucina custos.”” Senec. Med. 1.)

®| Compare the candid confession of Lady Sneerwell: ‘* Wounded
myself, in the early part of life, by the envenomed tongue of slander, I
confess I have since known no pleasure equal to the reducing others to
the level of my own reputation.” School for Scandal, i.1.
952—982. ANDROMACHE. 151

keep fast the gates of your houses with bolts and bars; for
visits of women from without do no good, but rather many evils.

Cuo. Greatly hast thou let loose thy tongue against thine
own sex. ‘This may be forgiven thee; but still it is fit for,
women to dress out wornen’s natures. ;

Or. It was the wise advice of him who taught mortals to hear
the words of opposite sides. For I, knowing the confusion
in this house, and the strife between thee and the wife of
Hector, have remained keeping watch, whether thou wilt re-
main here, or, terrified through dread of acaptive woman, wish

‘to be removed from this house. But I have come, not in re- .
spect to thy letters, but in order that, if thou gavest an op-
portunity of converse, as thou dost give, I might send thee
away from this house. For being mine, before thou dwellest
with this man through thy father’s evil conduct, who, before
that he invaded the boundaries of Troy, having bestowed thee
on meas wife, afterwards promised thee to him that now pos-
sesses thee, if he would sack the Trojan city. But when the
son of Achilles returned hither, I forgave thy sire indeed ;
but I besought him®™ to yield up thy nuptials, relating my
misfortunes and present fate, that from my relations indeed I
might wed, but not easily from without, being an exile from
home by such a flight as I am fleeing. But he was insolent,
and scoffed at me respecting the murder of my mother, and
the blood-faced Goddesses. And I, rendered humble® by my
misfortunes at home, grieved, ay, grieved indeed, but endured
my calamity, and unwillingly departed, deprived of thy nuptials,
Now then, since thou hast a change of fortune, and, having fallen

* [ however prefer vécoug, i.e, failings. See Pflugk’s note.

8 Cf, Aristoph. Vesp. 725, 7} rou copie Hy, b¢ Teg pee mpiv av dp-
goiv pvOov dxovoye, Ob« dy duxdoate, quated by Din orf. See Demosth.
de Cor. § 1, respecting the similar oath of jurymen, ¥

87 i. e. Neoptolemus.

68 Viz. after the death of his mother Clytemnestra. With the re-
mainder of the story as here detailed, cf. Virg. Ain. iii. 327, sqq. with
Servius, and the latter on vs. 297. Hyginus, fab. cxxiii., agrees with Eu-
ripides, except in calling the son of Andromache Amphialus. The super-
stitious dread in which ot évayeic were held unfit for intermarrying with,
may be seen from the treatment of the Alemeonids at Athens. Cf. Hero-
a Sach was the bearing of Orestes during his wanderings, on which
see my note on Aésch. Eum. p. 187. The conduct of Neoptolemus was
a gross violation of the aidwe¢ due to a fugitive for blood. Cf. Muller,
‘Eumenides, § 51. :
152 ANDROMACHE. $83—1025.

into this calamity, art at a loss, I will lead thee from this house,
and will give thee into the hands of thy father. For relation-
ship isa serious tie; and in troubles nothing is better than a
‘kindred friend. /

Herm. Of my nuptials indeed my father will have the care,
and it is not for me to decide on this. But as quickly as pos-
sible convey me from these dwellings, lest my husband anti-
cipate me, advancing and coming to the house; or Peleus,
learning that I have deserted the house of his son, pursue me
with chasings of his steeds.

Or. Cheer up. Fear not the old man’s hand, nor the son of
‘Achilles, as to the many” insults she has offered me. For such
a snare of death, interwoven with meshes not to be moved,
stands prepared for him at my hands, which I will not tell of
before; but when the deed is done, the Delphian rock” shall
know. And the slayer of a mother will teach him (if the plighted
oaths of my spear-friends remain firm in the Pythian land)
not to marry any [person] who is mine by right. And bit-
terly will he demand of king Phoebus”? justice for his father’s
death ; nor will change of opinion profit him, now paying the
penalty to the God. But through him, and through my ac-
cusations,’3 he will evilly perish; and will be made aware of
my hatred. For the deity brings the fortunes of one’s enemies
to an overthrow, nor allows them to have high thoughts.

Cxo. O Phebus, thou who once didst fortify the fair-
walled hill at Troy, and thou, O Neptune, who on thy
azure steeds dost charioteer over the ocean, on what account,
having given up to Mars, whose thoughts are on war, the hand
of the workman, dishonouring the instrument,” did ye give
‘up wretched, wretched Troy? But ye yoked many chariots
with beauteous steeds on the banks of Simois, and entered
on bloody contests of men, from whence no crowns accrued ;
and the rulers of Troy are gone dead, nor does the flame on
the altars in Troy any longer shine to the Gods midst the

% $0’ is Lobeck’s emendation for Se.

1 So called, from the lofty situation of the cily. Pflugk compares
Soph. Céd, T. 463, and Nonnus, Dionys. 13, 122.

7 Cf. vs. 51 sqq.

78 SaBEBrnue yap abrov, de bri wopOqoe Tod vaovd EAndvOéra. Schol.

% J join dripov rexroodvac, with Matthiee, who interprets it, “‘ manum
non honoratam, quod attinet ad fabricam, i. e. nulla opere in exstruendis
meenibus posite ratione habita.”
1026-—1069. ANDROMACHE. 153

smoke of incense.. And <Atrides has perished through the
contrivance of his wife, and she in turn hath reaped death
for murder at the hands of her son. The oracular command
of the God, of the God was directed against her, when the
son of Agamemnon, setting out from Argos, having entered
the inner recesses [of the house], became the murderer of his
mother. Odeity, O Phoebus, how am I to believe this? And
many wives chaunted their moans for unhappy children through
the resounding streets of the Greeks, and left their houses for
another husband. Not upon thee only, not upon thy friends,
have sad griefs fallen. A disease, a disease hath Greece en-
dured; and a thunder-bolt, causing Hades to drop with blood,
has descended upon the fruitful fields of the Phrygians.

Peitus. Ye women of Phthia, signify to me inquiring,
(for I heard an obscure story,) that the daughter of Menelaus
had gone, leaving this dwelling. But I am come, being
anxious to know whether this is true; for it behoves those
who are at home to look after the fortunes of those absent.

Cuo. Peleus, thou hast rightly heard; nor is it honourable
for me to conceal in what ills I am; for the queen has escaped
in flight from this house.

Pet. Meeting with what terror? go through [the story]
to me.

Cuo. Dreading her husband, lest he should cast her out of
the house.

Pex. What, on account of her deadly plots against his son ?

Cuno. Yes, and through fear of the captive woman.

Pex. But has she left the house in company with her father,
or with whom ?

Cxo. The son of Agamemnon has gone, leading her away
from the land.

Prev. Fulfilling what hope? wishing to marry her ?

Cuo. Ay, and preparing death for thy son’s son.

Pex. Lying in wait, or coming face to face in battle ?

Cuo. In the sacred temple of Loxias, together with the
Delphians.

Prev. Alas! this now is dreadful. Will not some one go
as quickly as possible to the Pythian dwelling, and tell our
friends there the matters here, before the son of Achilles die
at the hands of his enemies.
154 ANDROMACHE. 1070—1103.

[Enter a MessEncer. ]

Mess, Alas! what misfortunes do I wretched come bearing
to thee, old man, and to my master’s friends.

Pen, Alas! how my presaging soul” expects something !

Mess. Thy grandson, aged Peleus, is no more, that thou
mayest learn this. Such blows of swords has he received
from the Delphijans, and from the Mycenian stranger.

Cro. Ah! ah! what wilt thou do, aged one? Do not fall.
Raise thyself up.

Pet. I am nought, I am undone. Gone is my voice, and
gone beneath me are my limbs.

Mess. Hear what has been done, if thou wouldst fain
avenge those dear, having raised up your frame.

Pet. O fate, how hast thou compassed unhappy me upon
the last boundary of old age! But how has the only son of
my only son perished? Say, for I wish to hear what should
not be heard.

Mess. When we reached the renowned soil of Pheebus, we
did for three shining courses of the sun fill our eyes with
sight-seeing.” And this was certainly suspicious. The
people who dwelt [within the precinct] of the God went to
meetings and assemblies. But the son of Agamemnon, pass-
ing through the city, spoke hostile words into the ears of
each: “Do ye observe this man, who treads the precinct of
the God fraught with gold, the treasury of mortals, a second
time here upon the same errand as he before came hither,
seeking to sack the temple of Phasbus?” And from hence
there went an evil-sounding report through the city, and the
magistrates’? came in numbers into the council halls, and as
many as had the superintendence of the treasures of the God
appointed a watch in the column-girt abodes. But we, hav-
ing as yet learned none of these things, taking some sheep,
brought up in a Parnassian grove, went and stood at the
hearths, with the guest-patrons and the Pythian seers. And

% So in Hamlet, ‘‘O, my presaging soul!’? Ausch, Pers, 10, caxé-
payric dyay dpcodomeirat Cup EowGev.

7 @éa exactly answers to our phrase, “sight-seeing.” I need scarcely
remind the reader of the attractions the temple at Delphi must have pre-
sented for strangers, as is evident from the Ion of Euripides.

1 The order is, dpyai re ig re Bovrevrfjpia EwAnpovyro idig @ boot.
Marruia,
1104—1143, ANDROMACHE. 155

some one spake these words: “O youth, what shall we crave
the God for thee? For sake of what art thou come?” But he
replied: “I wish to render satisfaction to Phoebus for my
former error; for I once on a time demanded of him to give
a satisfaction for my father’s blood. And hereupon the speech
of Orestes appeared to prevail strongly, to the effect that my
master spoke falsely, being come with a base intent. And he
goes within the dome of the temple, that, before consulting the
oracle, he might make a prayer to Phoebus; and he happened to.
be amongst the burning victims. But for him a sword-armed
troop, shaded with boughs of laurel, was in waiting ; of whom
the son of Orestes was one, the contriver of this whole plan.
And he indeed, standing in [their] sight, offersa prayer to the
God; but they, armed with sharp-whetted swords, privily .
smite the son of Achilles unarmed. And he retires back,’
(for he was not yet wounded mortally,) and he drags himself
away; and having snatched down the arms, which hung on
pegs in the portico, he stood close to the altar, a valiant war-
rior to behold, and he shouts to the sons of the Delphians,
asking this question: ‘On what account do ye slay me, who
am come upon a pious errand? For what crime do I perish?”
But of the ten thousand who stood nigh, not one uttered a
word; but they pelted him with stones from their hands.
And oppressed by a dense shower on all sides, he stretched
forth his arms, and guarded off the attack, turning with his
hand his shield hither and thither. But he nought availed ; for
together many darts, arrows, javelins, and two-pointed wea-
pons drawn [from their cases], and bull-transfixing knives,
fell before his feet. And thou mightest have seen a terrible -
dancing of thy son guarding himself against the missiles. But
when they compassed him around in a circle, giving him no
breathing time, he having deserted the sheep-receiving hearth
of thealtar, and leaping a Trojan leap” with his feet, goes against
them. And they, like pigeons beholding a hawk, turned their
backs in flight. And many fell pell-niell, both with wounds,
and [some trodden down] by each other in the narrow out-

78 Literally, “to the stern.” Hesycu. rpopvy, ra dxiow. It must be
remembered that Orestes was not present at the death of Neoptolemus,
but was only the planner of it. See Matthie.

72 An allusion to the celebrated leap by which Achilles jumped from
the ship to the Trojan shore. Scxoxtast. :
156 ANDROMACHE. 1144—1190.

lets; and an inauspicious clamour in the auspicious house was
echoed by the rocks. But like a calm my master stood, radi-
ant with shining arms, before some one uttered a dreadful,
thrilling sound from the midst of the recesses, and excited the
host, turning them to valour. Here the son of Achilles falls,
smitten in the side with a sharp-whetted sword by a Delphian
man, who with many others destroyed him. But as he falls
to the earth, who did not bring the sword? Who did not
throw and hurl a stone? And his whole body, of beauteous
form, is wasted by savage wounds. And when he was dead,
lying near the altar, they cast him out of the incense-receiv-
ing shrines. But we, having snatched him up with our hands
as quickly as possible, bring him for thee to bewail and mourn
with lamentations, old man, and to honour with a tomb in the
earth. Thus has the king who gives oracles to others, who
is the judge to all men of what is right, requited the son of
Achilles, seeking to render satisfaction. And, like a bad man,
he has remembered an ancient feud. How then can he be
wise ?

Cuo. And truly hither does the king, borne in a litter,
draw nigh to his house from the Delphian land. Wretched
the sufferer, and wretched thou also, old man, for thou re-
ceivest the whelp of Achilles into thy house, not as thou
wishest ; and thyself too, having met with evil calamities, hast
fallen into one fate.

Pet. Alas for me, what evil is this I behold, and receive
into my dwelling with my hand. Alas for me! Alas! O
city of Thessaly, we are undone, we have perished. No
longer is a race, no longer are children left to me in mine
house, O wretched I on account of my sufferings. To what
friend turning mine eyes, shall I receive delight? O beloved
mouth, and cheek, and hands, would that the deity had
wrought thy death beneath Troy,®° by the banks of Simois.

Cuo. Then would he, dying, have been honoured as far as
these things permit,®! old man, and thy state would thus have
been more fortunate.

Pet. O marriage, marriage, which hast destroyed this
house and my city! Alas! alas! O son, would that my off-
spring from thy bed of ill-omened name, in respect to my

80 Cf. Aisch. Choeph. 345 sqq. and Virg. Ain. i. 98 sqq.
“ we Ex révd? = quantum quidem pro hoc rerum statu. Matrnie.
1191—1231. ANDROMACHE, . 157

children® and house, had never brought destruction upon
thee, O child, at the hands of Hermione, but that she had
sooner perished by the lightning’s shaft; nor shouldst thou,
being a mortal, on account of deadly arrows aimed at thy sire,
have ever charged the God Phebus with the blood of one of
Jove’s descendants.®3

Cuo. Woe! woe! I will begin to hymn my dead master
with groans, according to the law of the dead.

Prev. Woe! woe! And I, a wretched and unfortunate old
man, weep in turn. :

Cuo. For ’tis the fate of the deity; a God hath brought the
calamity to pass. .

Pet. O friend, thou didst leave thy house deserted, having
bereaved the old man of children.

Cuo. It behoved thee to die, to die, old man, before thy
children.

Pet. Shall I not rend my hair? shall I not place upon my
head the destructive beating of my hand? O city, Phoebus
has deprived me of both my sons.

Cuo. O thou unhappy old man, who hast suffered and seen
ills, what a life wilt thou have hereafter! .

Pet. Childless, solitary, having no end of ills, I shall toil
through troubles to the grave.

Cuo. In vain did the Gods bless thee with nuptials.

Pex. All things have fled far away from lofty boastings,
and vanished.

Cxo. Alone thou dwellest in a lonely house.

Peu. Nor have I a city, a city. Let this sceptre perish on
the ground; and thou, O daughter of Nereus, in thy gloomy
caves shalt see me falling in utter destruction on the earth.

Cuno. Ha! ha! What is this movement? What deity do
I perceive? Ye damsels, see, behold. Hither some Goddess,
sailing along the white air, comes to the horse-pasturing fields
of Phthia.

(Tuetis appears. |
Tuetis. O Peleus, I, Thetis, on account of thy former

8 See Matthie. : .

83 dtoyeveic is merely the Homeric name applied to kings. See Pflugk.
The order is, pnd’ (wpedeg) wore iri réfocive povip warpic detips
alpa rd duoy. tig BoiB. Bp. cig Gedy.
158 ANDROMACHE. 1232—1280

nuptials [with me], am come, leaving the dwellings of Nereus.
And first indeed, in thy present ills, I advise thee not to bear
them too impatiently; for I also, whom it behoved to bring
forth children free from grief, have lost the son whom I bare
to thee, the swift-footed Achilles, the first man in Greece. But
for what purpose I have come, I will explain, and do thou re-
ceive [my words]. Bury indeed this dead son of Achilles,
having gone to the Pythian altar, a disgrace to the Delphians,.
that the tomb may proclaim his violent murder at the hands
of Orestes.®4 But the captive woman, I mean Andromache, it.
behoves to dwell in the Molossian land, old man, being united
in nuptials to Helenus, and this her son, who alone is left of
the descendants of A®acus. And it behoves one king after
another, sprung from him, to pass over Molossia in prosperity ;
for it is not fated that thy race and mine, old man, and that of
Troy shall be thus overthrown. For the Gods have a care even
of Troy, although it has fallen by the will of Pallas. But for
thee, (that thou mayest feel a thankfulness for my union with
thee,) I, born a Goddess, and the child of a sire a God, having
freed thee from mortal ills, will make thee an immortal, im-
perishable God. And then, in the house of Nereus, together
with me a Goddess, thou a God shalt hereafter dwell. Thence
conveying thy foot dry from the sea, thou shalt behold Achilles,
a son most dear to thee and me, inhabiting an insular dwelling,
near the white shore within the Kuxine path. But wend thy
way to the divine-built city of Delphi, bearing this corse, and
having hid it in the earth, coming to the hollow recess of the
ancient Sepian rock, sit down, and wait, until I come, bring-
ing the choir of the fifty daughters of Nereus to fetch thee;
for thou must needs carry out what is fated ; for these things
seem fit to Jove. But cease from your grief for the dead; for
unto all men this vote is ratified by the Gods, to die is a debt.

Pex. O revered [Goddess], O noble wife, thou daughter of
Nereus, hail! “These things thou doest worthy of thyself and
the children sprung from thee. But I, O Goddess, will cease
my grief at thy bidding; and, having buried this corse, I will
go to the recesses of Pelion, where I received thy beauteous
body with my hands. Is it not then one’s duty to marry from
the noble, and to give in marriage among the good, whoever

% ji, e, at his instigation, as before observed.
1281—1288, ANDROMACHE. 159

takes good counsel ? and not to have a desire for a bad bed,
not even if one should carry off a wealthy dower to the house.
For [thus], thou wouldst never fare ill at the hands of the
Gods.

Cuo. There are many complexions of divine acts; and the
Gods bring many things to pass unexpectedly; and things
expected have not been accomplished ; but God finds a way

out of things not expected. Thus far has this matter turned
out.
SUPPLIANTS.

PERSONS REPRESENTED.

JETHRA.
CHORUS.
THESEUS,
ADRASTUS.
HERALD.
MESSENGER.
IPHIS,
CHILDREN.
MINERVA.

M
THE ARGUMENT

This play is one of the least dramatic of our author’s, but by no means
deficient in good passages. Theseus at first refused to bury the bodies
of the chieftains slain at Thebes, despite the entreaties of Adrastus.
But, upon the arguments of his mother Aithra, he was induced to aid the
Suppliants; and, having routed Creon’s army, he possessed himself of the
corses, which he honourably interred. Evadne, the wife of Capaneus,
threw herself upon his funeral pile, and perished with him.
SUPPLIANTS.

JETHRA,

O Ceres, hearth-guardian of this land of Eleusis, and ye
ministers! who keep the temples of the Goddess, [I pray] that
both Theseus my son may be fortunate, and the city of Athens,
and the land of Pittheus, in which my father having nurtured
me, Acthra, in a happy house, gives me to Adgeus, the son of
Pandion, as wife, at the oracular command of Loxias.2_ For
I have uttered these prayers, having looked upon these aged
women, who, leaving their dwellings in the Argive territory,
have fallen at my knees with the suppliant bough, having
suffered a dreadful calamity. For they are bereft of seven
noble sons, who have fallen round the gates of Cadmus, whom
once on a time Adrastus, king of the Argives, led, wishing to
have a share of the inheritance of C&dipus, with the exile
Polynices, his son-in-law. But their mothers wish to hide in
the earth the corses of the fallen. But those in power? hin-
der them, nor are they willing to grant the lifting-up, dishon-
ouring the laws of the Gods. But Adrastus, having with
them the common burden of a want for my assistance, lies
here, bedewing his eyes with tears, bewailing both his spear,
and the most ill-fated expedition which he sent from his house.
And he urges me by prayers to persuade my son to become
the bearer-off of the dead, and partner in the burial, either by
words or the might of the spear; setting this only task upon

1 The priests are mentioned, because it was their office to offer the
same prayers as the suppliant did, in his name. See Markland.
2 Cf. Med. 674 sqq with the Scholiast.
* i.e. Creon.
M2
164 SUPPLIANTS. 27—66

my son and the city of Athens. But, coming forth from my
dwelling, I chance to be sacrificing on behalf of the harvest
of the earth, at this temple, where first the fruitful grain ap-
peared bristling‘ above this earth. And holding this chainless
chain of leaves,’ I remain at the holy altars of the two God-
desses, Cora and Ceres,® pitying indeed these white-haired
mothers bereft of their sons, and reverencing the sacred
garlands. But a herald has gone for me to the city, to call
Theseus hither, that he may either remove the grief of these
women from the land, or may loose these suppliant bonds,
doing some holy thing towards the Gods. For it is meet for
such women 4s are wise, to do all things through the medium
of men.

Cxrorvus. I, an aged woman, beseech thee from my aged
mouth, falling at thy knee, to redeem for me my children from
among the dead corses, who leave their bodies in limb-relaxing
death, a food for the beasts of the mountains, beholding in-
deed piteous tears about mine eyelids, and the wrinkled tear-
ings of my hoary flesh with my hands. For what [shall I
do]? I, who have neither laid out my dead children in my
house, nor behold a mound of earth heaped up for a tomb.
Thou also, O revered one, hast once brought forth a son,
having made thy nuptial bed pleasant to thy husband. Share
then in my feelings, and share too in proportion as I wretched
grieve for those dead, whom I bare. And persuade thy son,
whom we supplicate, to come to Ismenus, and to place in the
hand of me unhappy the bodies of the youthful dead, and in
a stone tomb, Not according to holy custom,’ but according
to necessity falling down. [at thy knees], I have come with
prayer to the sacrificial altars of the Gods. But we have a
Just cause, and thou hast some strength, so as through thy

‘ Cf. Hom. Il. ¥. 599, Uve gpiscovsr Gpoupa. Virg. Georg. i. 151,
“horreret in arvis Carduus.”” The Rharian plain was the place where
corn first appeared in the Bleusinian territory, according to Pausan. i. 38.

5 Meaning the garlands held by the women, who surrounded her.
These she calls dsoudy, because religious respect compelled her to stay ;
@eopuov, because the compulsion was only religious. Hermann.

° From the position af these Goddesses as Erinnyes, their mention
here is very effective, as the rights of the dead were in question. Cf,
Muller, Eumen, § 85 aq.
az npvaee not possessing wewAwpara Oewpid, vs. 96, as observed by

Hea
* 66—112, SUPPLIANTS. 165

good son to remove my unhappiness. And suffering piteously,
I a wretched one beseech thee to place in my hand my dead
son, that I may embrace the sad remains of my son. ‘This
new contest of groans succeeding to groans comes on; the
hands of the servants sound.® Go, O fellow-mourners in woes,
go, O ye that grieve in tune for the dance, which Hades hon-
ours. Make bloody your white nail along your cheek, and your
blood-stained skin; for the affairs of the dead are an honour to
the living. With many a toil this insatiate joy of mourning
leads me on, like as the liquid drop flowing from the sun-
trodden rock, ever unceasing of groans. For the state of dead
children is naturally a thing full of pain amongst women in
grief. Alas! alas! in death might I forget these sorrows.

Tuersevus. What groans, and beatings of the breast, and dirges
for the dead have I heard through their echo issuing from this
temple? How a fear fluttered me, lest my mother (after whom
I am coming with my foot, being a long time absent from the
house) had sustained any new ill. Ha! what is this? I see a
new commencement of discourse, my aged mother sitting at the
altar, and with her stranger women, not having one common
strain of woes; for both from their venerable eyes they let fall
the piteous tear to the ground, and there are shorn locks and
garments not fit for sacred rites. What mean these things,
mother? ’Tis thine to inform me, and mine to hear; for I ex-
pect something new.

/éTH. O son, these women are the mothers of the children,
the seven generals who fell round the Cadmeian gates ; and they
keep guard on me in a circle with the suppliant boughs, as
thou seest, my son.

Tuxs. But who is this who groans piteously at the portals?

J@1H. Adrastus, as they say, king of the Argives.

Tues. And are these boys around him his children?

Z&1H. No, but the sons of the dead who perished.

Tues. But why have they come to us with suppliant hand ?

ZEtTH. I know; but henceforth the speech is theirs, my son.

Tues. Thee, wrapped in men’s robes,° I ask. Speak ; hav-
ing uncovered thine head, and ceasing groans; for thou ad-
vancest nothing, except by proceeding with the tongue.

® i.e, with mourning. Cf. Aésch. Choeph. 23, d8bxeepe ody xrémy.
® See Markland, who clearly establishes this meaning. For wépag I
should prefer with the same scholar wepg¢—iwy,

t
166 SUPPLIANTS. 113—140.

Aprastus. O thou victorious king of the Athenians, The-
seus, I am come as a suppliant to thee and thy city.

Tues. What matter seeking, and of what having need ?

Apr. Knowest thou the destructive expedition on which I
went?

Tues. Ay, for thou didst by no means pass through Greece
in silence.

Apr. In this I lost the chief men of the Argives.

Tues. Such things does wretched war bring to pass.

Apr. I have come to this city to crave their dead bodies.

Tues. Relying on the heralds of Mercury, that you might
bury the dead ? ;

Avr. And then the slayers do not allow me.

Tues. For what do they allege, since you crave a holy
thing ?

Apr. What? Being fortunate, they know not how to bear
it [rightly].

Tues. Hast thou, then, come to me as an adviser? or for
sake of what?

Apr. Wishing thee, O Theseus, to bear away the [slain]
sons of the Argives.

Tues. But where to you is Argos? were her boasts in vain ?

Apr. Having failed, we are undone, and are come to thee.

Tues. Did this seem good to thee alone, or to the whole city ?

Avr. All the sons of Danaus implore you to inter the slain.

Tues. But for what cause didst thou lead thy seven squad-
rons against Thebes?

Avr. Doing this favour for my two sons-in-law.

Tues. But to whom of the Argives didst thou give thy sons ?

Apr. I did not join a native wedlock in my family.

Tues, And didst thou bestow the Argive damsels on
strangers ?

Apr. On Tydeus and Polynices of Thebes.

Tues. Coming into what a desire for this connexion ?

Avr. The riddles of Phosbus, hard to be understood, de-
ceived me.

Tues. And what said Apollo, accomplishing a marriage for
virgins ?

ie That I should give my two daughters to a boar and
a lion,

10 Elmsley, wdXcy for addy, i, e. I went out to beg the dead bodies back.
141—170. SUPPLIANTS. 167

Tues. But how didst thou unravel the oracles of the God ?

Apr. Two men coming by night as fugitives to my
gates—

Tues. Who, and who? tell me, for thou speakest of two at
once.

Avr. Tydeus and Polynices engaged in fight together.

Tues. And didst thou bestow thy daughters on these, as
on wild beasts ?

Apr. Ay, having likened their combat [to that] of two
wild beasts.

THeEs. And how came they, leaving the confines of their
country ?

Avr. Tydeus indeed was fleeing his country on account of
a kindred murder.

Tues. But in what manner did the son of Cidipus leave
Thebes ?

Apr. Under his father’s curse, lest he should slay his
brother.

Tues. Thou speakest of a wise flight of his own accord.

Apr. But they who remained injured those absent.

Tues. What, did his brother defraud him of his wealth?

Avr. I went to decide this, and was undone.

Tues. But didst thou visit the seers, and behold the flame
of victims ?

Apr. Alas! thou art pursuing me to that in which I
chiefly failed.

Tues. Thou didst not go with the good will of the Gods,
as it seems.

Apr. Yet more! I went even against the opposition of
Amphiaraus.

Tues. Didst thou so easily turn away from the deity ?

Avr. Ay, for the clamour of young warriors hurried me on.

Tues. Thou hast exercised courage rather than discretion ;
which conduct indeed has ruined many generals.

Apr. But, O thou bravest one among the Greeks, king of
Athens, I hold it among my disgrace, thus falling prostrate on
the ground, to embrace thy knees with my hands, an aged
man, once @ prosperous king; but nevertheless there is need
for me to yield to my misfortunes. Preserve thou the dead
for me, pitying both my woes, and these the mothers of the
dead children, upon whom hoary age has come with childless-
168 SUPPLIANTS. 171—208.

ness, and who have endured to come hither, and place their
stranger foot, moving their aged limbs with difficulty, as an
embassy not for the mysteries of Ceres, but that they may
bury the dead; from whom it behoved them to obtain just
rites, being buried by their hands. But it is wise for the
prosperous to look upon poverty, and for the poor to look to
the rich; emulating [the poor], that love of frugality may
possess him, and that those not unhappy may look upon what
is piteous; and that the poet with joy may produce the songs
he produces; for if he be not thus circumstanced, he would
never be able to delight others, being in troubles at home: for
he has not right. Perhaps then you will say: Setting aside
the land of Pelops, why dost thou impose this labour upon
Athens? I am justified in explaining this. Sparta indeed is
cruel and deceitful in disposition, and the other states are
small and powerless; but your city alone would be able to
support this labour. For it looks upon what is piteous, and
possesses thee as a young and brave ruler, through lack of
which many cities have perished in want of a general.

Cuo. And I speak to thee the same words as this man, O
Theseus, for thou to take pity on my misfortunes.

Tues. With others indeed I have laboured, disputing on
this question. For one has said"! that amongst men the worse
things are more than the better. But I hold the contrary opinion
to these, that there are more good things to mortals than bad.
For if this were not so, we should not exist in the light. And
IT praise him who regulated our life from the confused and
savage state,!? first indeed having endued it with intelligence,
and then giving the tongue as the messenger of words, so as to
distinguish speech, and the nurture of fruits, and for that nur-
ture drops of rain from the sky, so that the fruits of the earth
may be nourished, and may refresh the stomach.!? And be-
sides this, [he invented] coverings against the winter, and for

"A probable reference to Hom. Il. A. 576, ra yepeiova veg. Cf.
Duport. Gnom. Homer. p, 8 sq.

,-7 ‘The reader who desires illustrations of this description of the early
civilization of men, may consult my notes on Aésch. Prom. p. 15 sq. 1.
5, ed. Bohn.

% Dindorf says, ‘‘telluris,”” but this is very indistinctly expressed.
Musgrave would read dpdy 1’ dvvdpoy, “sc. yaiav, petendam ex pre-
cedenti versu, et ut riget siccam.’’ Hermann, alg rd 7’ ix yaiag rpige,
“Apode re vnddy.
209—246. SUPPLIANTS. 169

keeping off the burning heat of the sun, and the sailing over
the sea, that we might have intercourse with one another of
such things as a land might want. But of things which are
uncertain and which we know not clearly, seers, looking into
the flame and the folds of the entrails, and from birds likewise,
foretell the future. Are we not then luxurious, who are not

atisfied when the deity bestows such an apparatus for life?
But our wisdom seeks to be more powerful than God; and
possessing haughtiness in our minds, we think to be wiser
than the Gods. Of which tithe 4 thou too seemest to be, not
being wise; who, forsooth, compelled by the oracles of Phe-
bus, thus wedded thy daughters to strangers, as though
[dceming that] the Gods exist,!® and having mingled thy fa-
mily of clear blood with one polluted, thou didst bring a sore
upon thine house; for it is the duty of a wise man not to join
even the bodies of the unjust with the just, but to obtain in
one’s household prosperous connexions. For the deity, deem-
ing fortune common, is wont in the ruin of him that sickens,
to destroy him that sickens not, and has done no evil. But
leading all the Argives on an expedition, when the seers
pronounced oracles, thou didst, contemning the Gods and
transgressing [their commands], by violence destroy the city,
led aside by youths, who rejoice when honoured, and increase
wars without justice, ruining the citizens; one, in order that he
may be general of the army; another, that he may wanton,
having received power in his hands; but another for the sake
of gain, not considering whether the multitude is at all in-
jured by suffering these things. For there are three divisions
of citizens. Some indeed are rich, and useless, and ever crave
for more; but others, having nothing, and lacking the means
of life, are vehement, and, giving the greatest sway to envy,
let fly their evil darts against the rich, deceived by the tongues
of evil leaders. But of the three classes the middle one pre-
serves cities, watching over whatsoever order the city may ap-
point. And shall I then become an ally to thee? Alleging

4 Properly a decuria, or division of soldiers. Cf. Pollux, i. 10, 2, and
Musgrave’s note. : .

15 ‘This is opposed to aripadoag Geode in vs. 230 sq. But I prefer Por-
son’s emendation, #¢ EONTON Océ, in append. ad Tonp. T. iv. p. 461,
= “volentibus Diis.” z

16 For this sentiment cf. Asch. Sept. c. Th, 597, sqq. and my note on
Soph. G&d, Col. p. 101 sq, n. 4, ed. Bohn.
170 SUPPLIANTS. 247—279

what honourable reason to my citizens? Go and be well; for
if you yourself have not counselled well, it is too much 7 that
[your] fate should press upon us ?

Cuo. He has erred, but this is in the nature of young men;
and it is meet to excuse him. [But to thee, as to a physician,
O king, we are come. ]

[Apr. In no wise did I choose thee for a judge of my mis-
deeds, | nor, if I am found to have done something not aright,
as a chastiser and punisher of it, O king, but that I might
profit by thee. But if you do not wish it, [ needs must sub-
mit to your determination. For what can I do? Come, O
aged women, go your way, leaving here the dark green sward
covered with foliage,!® and calling the Gods to witness, and
earth, and the fire-bearing Goddess, Ceres,!® and the light of
the sun, that the prayers made in the name of the Gods avail-
ed us not.

Cuo. * * * *20 who indeed was the son of Pelops, but
we from the Pelopeian land possess the same blood on the fa-
ther’s side with thee. What art thou doing ? Wilt thou desert
this cause, and cast out from the land old women, who have
obtained nothing of what were meet for them? Do not so;
for the wild beast has the rock for its refuge, and the slave
the altars of the Gods, and a city tempest-tost is wont to
crouch down to city; for of mortal affairs there is not one
that is happy to the end. Go, wretched one, from the sacred
plains of Proserpine; go, and entreat by her knees, putting
forth thine hand, that she bury the bodies of our dead chil-
dren, O wretched I! my sons whom beneath the Cadmean
walls I lost. Alas forme! Take me, bear, escort, uplift us
wretched by our aged hand. By thy heard, O friend, O thou
most renowned in Greece, I wretched entreat thee, falling at

\ There is no lacuna, as Dindorf supposes; but Aiay can neither bear
the sense I have assigned in the translation, nor any other. Hermann
reads ri det; I think xaxéy is nearer the ductus linearum, The corrup-
tion might arise from ka\dy, kaddc, in the terminations of the preceding
lines.

18 The Chorus throw down on the ground the branch of supplication.

B

19 So called from the torch with which she sought her daughter.

20 The attempt to fill up this lacuna in the Brubach ed. cannot be re-
garded as of any authority, although Markland has attached some weight
to the lines substituted. Pittheus is the person meant.
280—316. SUPPLIANTS. ‘171

thy knee and hand, to take compassion on me a suppliant on
behalf of my children, like some wanderer, uttering a piteous,
piteous dirge ; and I beseech you, my son, not in thy young
years to behold my children unburied in the land of Cadmus,
a joy to wild beasts. Look upon the tear on mine eyelids, who
thus fall at thy knees, [craving] to obtain a tomb for my
children.

Tues. Mother, why weepest thou, casting thy slender gar-
ments upon thine eyes? Is it at hearing the unhappy groans
of these women? for some feeling has entered my mind also.
Uplift thine hoary head ; do not shed tears, sitting at the hal-
lowed hearth of Ceres.

/ETH. Alas!

Tues. It is not for thee to lament the troubles of these.

/EtTH. O unhappy women.

Tues. Thou art not of their number.

41H. Shall I, O son, speak something honourable both for
thee and the city?

Tues. Ay, since there are many wise things even from
females.

JiTH. But the word, which I conceal, tends to hesitation.

Tues. Thon speakest of a base thing, to hide good [advice |
from friends, C.

Zé1H. I will not then by silence incur blame hereafter,
in that I on this occasion basely kept silence, nor, fearing
lest it be useless for women to speak well, will I through
timidity let go the honourable advice I have to offer. I, O
son, bid thee first consider whether thou mayest not err in
dishonouring the things belonging to the Gods; for in this
alone thou wilt err, being right in the rest. Moreover, if it
were not fitting to be bold on account of the injured, I should
have kept complete silence. But now this both brings credit
to thee, and to me brings no fear of recommending it, O son,
that you should by thine hand bring to a compulsion vio-
lent men, and those who restrain the dead from obtaining a
share of sepulture and funeral rites, and to stop them from
confounding the laws of all Greece. For this it is that keeps
together the cities of men, when each one well preserves the
laws. But some one will say, that, through cowardice of
hand, when there was an opportunity for thee to obtain a
crown of glory for the city, through fear thou didst stand aloof,
172 SUPPLIANTS., 317-356.

and that thou indeed didst encounter a contest with a savage
boar, toiling through a mean labour; but that where it be-
hoved thee to look to the helmet, and the spear’s point, thou
wast found a dastard. Do not then, being my son, O child,
act thus. Dost thou perceive how thy country, scoffed at for
‘) want of counsel, looks savage upon her scoffers? For amidst
“x toils it increases. But states that quietly act in darkness, see
‘tDalso things darkly, through [over] care. Will you not, O
gson, go to the aid of the dead, and of wretched women in
want. For neither do I fear for thee, setting out in a just
cause; and seeing the people of Cadmus to have fared well, I
am confident that it will yet cast another throw of the die ; for
the deity is wont to turn all things upside down.
Cxo. O thou most dear to me, thou hast spoken well both
for this man and myself ; and this becomes a twofold joy.
Tues. My words, O mother, which have been spoken, are
correct in reference to this man, and I have pronounced my
opinion of the devices through which he erred. But I also
perceive this, wherein thou advisest me, that it is not suitable
tomy character to shun dangers. For having done many hon-
ourable deeds, I have chosen this conduct towards the Greeks,
ever to be a chastiser of the bad. It ig not therefore possible |
for me to be faint-hearted in toils. For what will the ill-dis-
posed among mortals say of me, when thou, my mother, fear-
ing for me, art the first to bid me undergo this trouble? I
will go and do this, and will liberate the dead, having per-
suaded by words; but if not, this shall be brought to pass by
force of the spear, if the Gods be not envious.2!_ But I wish
this to be approved”? by the whole city, and it will be so, if I
desire it. But by giving [the power] of consultation [to the
people}, I shall find the public better disposed. For truly I
brought them to a monarchy, having freed this city, so as to
have an equality of suffrage. But taking Adrastus as a proof
of what I say, I will go to the multitude of them, and having
persuaded [them of] this, having assembled the chosen youth

1 We must, I think, read yx) odxi, with Markland and Hermann, or
there will be a solecism.

2 Theseus, though possessed of monarchy, (vs. 352,) shows the extent
of its limitation by the loopngia in vs. 356, and the custom of laying
every question before the people. I have translated do£ec in its forensic
sense.
357—388. SUPPLIANTS. 173

of the Athenians, I will come hither, and sitting in arms,?3 I
will send word to Creon, begging for the bodies of the slain.
But, O aged women, take away the hallowed garlands from
my mother, that I may lead her to the house of A¢geus, touch-
ing her dear hand. For unhappy is that child who does not
do service to his parents ; since, having bestowed the fairest
gift, if he bestow it on his parents, he in turn receives it
from his children.

Cuo. Thou horse-feeding Argos, O thou my father-land,
thou hast heard, thou hast heard indeed these words of a
king, holy in respect to the Gods, and in mighty Pelasgia™
and in Argos. Oh! may he, coming to the end of, and even
beyond, my ills, bear off the blood-stained delight of the
mother,?* and make the land of Inachus friendly by benefiting
it. A glorious adornment for cities is a pious labour, and it
possesses a grateful claim’ for evermore. What determina-
tion will the city ratify? Will it plight amity ° with me,
and shall we obtain sepulture for our children? Aid a
mother, O thou city of Pallas, aid, in order that thou mayest
not defile the laws of the Gods.?® Thou indeed dost reverence
justice, and assigning the weaker share to injustice, thou ever
aidest every one unhappy.

Tues. Ever exercising this art, thou servest the city and
myself bearing messages as herald. But do thou, passing be-
yond Asopus and the water of Ismenus, speak thus to the
haughty ruler of the Cadmeians, “Theseus begs of thee, as
a favour, to inter®° the corses, conceiving that, as dwelling in
a neighbouring land, he should obtain it, and for thou to make
friends of the whole people of the sons of Erectheus.” And if
they are willing to acquiesce, come back again ; but if they re-

23 Cf. vss. 664, 674.

* Cf. Aristot. GEcon. i. 3, @ yap av duvapevot tic aduvdroug rorjowst,
madw Kopilovrat rapa duvapévwy advvarovyrec év r@ ynog. MARKLAND.

75 i, e. Peloponnesus. ‘his is Musgrave’s emendation for peyada
Ilekacyia. Hermann observes, “ pertinet ad hunc dativum et ad se-
quentia vocabulum Sora,”

20 i, e. the slain children of the Argive mothers.

21 For this sense of ydpec cf. Arist. Rhet. ii. 7, 2.

% Tépve gida, secare amica, est secando partes victimarum facere
amicitiam seu fedus. Sic Spxia répvery, et omovddg réuvery, MARKLAND.

29 For the construction cf. A&sch, Theb. 14, Qeotc dpjyev nai Oedy
tyxwpiwy Bopotot, ripde pap EarerpOijvai wore. MatTTHiz.

30 j, e. to permit him to inter. See Markland.
174 SUPPLIANTS, 389—425

fuse, this is your second address, “Receive my revel-rout
shield-bearing. For the army stands at hand, and is being re-
viewed there in full array around the holy Callichorus.3! And
in truth the city willingly and gladly undertook this labour,
when it perceived that I was willing.” Ha! who comes
hither to interrupt my discourse ? A Cadmean herald, as it
seems to one who knows not for certain. Stop! [see] whether
he will free you from your trouble, and has come hither to
meet my wishes.

Herp. Who is the tyrant *? of this land? To whom does
it behove me to convey the words of Creon, who sways the
land of Cadmus, Eteocles having died at the seven-mouthed
gates 53 by the hand of his brother Polynices ?

Tues. In the first place, O stranger, thou hast incorrectly
commenced thy speech, seeking a tyrant here. For the city
is not. governed by one man, but_is free. And the people
rule by turn in annual succession, not bestowing the chief in-
fluence on wealth, but the poor man having an equal power.

Her. This one superior chance * thou givest us, as in the
dice. For the city from which I am come, is ruled .by_one
man, not by the multitude; nor is there any man who, puffing
it up with words, can turn it hither and thither to his own
gain. But he who is for the moment agreeable, and gives much
pleasure, does shortly afterwards some harm: and then, by
new calumnies concealing his former errors, slips out of justice.
And, in another way, how could a people rightly guide a city,
not correctly examining the reasons® [alleged ] ? For time gives
better knowledge than celerity. But a poor labourer of the soil,
even if he were not ignorant through his very employment,
would not be able to look to the common interest. Surely this
is an unhealthy state for the better classes, when a man of
ho account holds dignity, a fellow who was before nothing re-
straining the people by his tongue!

31 A well in Attica.

82 j. e, tyrant, in the sense of an absolute ruler. Theseus takes it ina
stronger sense, but not in malam partem, as in after times,

33 Cf. Soph. Ant. 119, érrdmudov orépa.

i, e. thou givest us the advantage by thy own confession. Markland
well observes that Euripides has in mind the conduct of the dqpaywyoit
and pyropeg of his own time,

35 I have my doubts about this reading, and, with Valckenaer, prefer
Markland’s dtorredwr,
,

~

426—456, SUPPLIANTS. 175

Tues. This herald is a clever fellow and a dabbler® in talk.
But since thou also hast exercised thyself in this contest,?7
listen; for thou hast proposed a dispute of words. There is
nothing more hostile to a city than a tyrant, under whom, in
the first and chiefest place, there are not laws in common, but
one man, keeping the law himself to himself,?* has the sway,
and this is no longer equal.) But the laws being written, the
weak and the rich have equal justice, and it is in the power
of the weaker to answer the prosperous in the same words,
when he hears ill language, and the weaker;-having a just
cause, prevails over the great. And that [cry ] too is of liberty,
“Who, having some good counsel for the city, is willing to bring
it in the middle [of all]?”%° And glorious is the man who
wishes this; but he who does not wish it, is silent. What is
there more equal for a city than this? And truly where the
people is the ruler* of the land, it delights in a supply of
valiant citizens. But aman when king thinks this havent
and slays the best men, whom he thinks are wise, fearing for

’ his tyranny. How then can a city thus become strong, when’

some one removes boldness, and plucks off the choice youths,*!
like the crop from the vernal meadow? Why then should
one obtain wealth and sustenance for one’s children, in order _
to toil out more means of living fora tyrant? Or for daugh- °
ters, after living a virgin’s life honourably in one’s house, to be
a pleasant delight for a tyrant, when he wishes it, but tears for
those who prepare [the delight].42 May I no longer live, if my
children be espoused by force. And these words indeed I have

38 Tlapepydrnc Markland regards as meaning a bad speaker, from the
sense of apd in composition = prave. It rather seems to me to denote
a person who does something not properly belonging to his own craft,
being as it were a mapepyoy to his legitimate calling. Hence I should
understand wupepydrng Aéywy to denote a kind of amateur speaker, «
hanger-on of vestries and debating clubs, &c.

37 i.e. of oratory.

28 Porson happily’compares Ausch, Prom. 194, oid’ bre rpaxtg rai
map’ EavT@ 7d dixatov Exwy Lede.

39 An allusion to the formula, ric ayopedery BoddrAerar, Cf. Aristoph.
Thes. 379. Acharn. 45.

«© We must read es@dvrye, with Mark}. Dind.

41 Compare the conduct of Thrasybulus in Herodotus v. 6, and of Tar-
quin in Liv. i. :

4 Such is Markland’s explanation, which Dindorf justly esteems harsh,
and would read daxpva dé roig yovetot, which Markland had suggested
by way of explanation,

1
176 SUPPLIANTS. 456—496.

hurled out to thy remarks. But what requiring from this land
art thou come? Thou wouldst have come to thy cost, forsooth,
speaking superfluously, had not the city sent thee. For it is
the duty of a messenger to speak whatever any one ordains, and
to go back again as quick as possible. And for the future
let Creon send some less talkative messenger than thyself to
my city.
Cuo. Alas! alas! how do the evil vaunt, when the deity
. grants them good, as though they were ever to be prosperous !
Her. I will speak now; for of what has been contested
let these seem good to thee, but to me the contrary. But I,
and the whole Cadmean people, forbid thee to admit Adras-
tus into this land; but, if he is in the land, do thou be-
fore the radiant light of the God sets, having broken the
sacred mystery of the [suppliant] garlands, drive him out
of this country, nor attempt to bury the dead by force,
since you have nothing to do with the city of the Argives.
And if indeed you obey me, without waves thou wilt steer
along thy city; but if not, a mighty wave of war will be
upon thee and thine allies. But consider, and do not, being
wrath at my words, as forsooth possessing a free city, reply
in words swelling into manual strength.44 Hope arising from
the arms is the worst thing for mortals; it has set together
many cities, carrying their rage to excess. For when war is
put to the vote of the city, no one any longer considers his
own death, but turns away this misfortune upon another.‘4
But if death were before the eyes in giving the vote, Greece,
mad with war, would never have been undone. And yet all
we men know which is the better of two words, the good and
bad, and how much better than war for mortals is peace, which
in the first place is most beloved by the Muses, and hostile to
lamentations, and is delighted with a flourishing offspring, and
rejoices in wealth. We fools, leaving these advantages, take up
war, and we enslave, men men, and city city. But thou art
benefiting the dead enemies to the Gods, burying and bearing
off those whom insolence has destroyed. Does not the body of

“ ke Bpaytsywy. As brachia and lacerti among the Latins, so Bpayi-
oveg among the Greeks, denotes strength, force. MARKLAND.

‘« i. e. he thinks that he shall escape, but that his neighbour will fall.
te a May compare the reasoning of Bob Acres, Rivals, Act v.

cene 3,
496—630. SUPPLIANTS, 177

Capaneus, justly fire-stricken, smoke on the upright ladders,

which bringing against the gates, he swore he would destroy

the city, whether a deity were willing or not?** Did not a

chasm ingulf the augur, surrounding his four-horsed chariot

with its yawn? And do not the other chieftains lie at the:
gates, ground by stones in the joinings of their bones? Hither:
then vaunt that thou art wiser than Jove, or [grant] that the

Gods justly destroy the wicked. It behoves then the wise

first to love their children, and then their parents and country,

which it befits them to increase, and not to break down.

Dangerous is a daring pilot and sailor in a ship; wise is the-
quiet one at the opportune moment. And to my mind dis-
cretion is valour.‘®

Cuo. Sufficient was Jove to punish them, but it behoved
you not to offer this so great an insult.”

Apr. O thou most base—

Tues. Silence, Adrastus, restrain thy mouth, and do not
bring out thy sayings before mine, for this fellow is not come
as herald to thee, but to me. Us too it is meet to give reply. .
And first indeed I will answer thee in reference to your first
words. I am not aware that Creon is my master,‘ or has
the greater power, so as to compel Athens to do these things.
For matters would thus be flowing upwards, if we indeed
were to be commanded. But I do not enter upon this war,
I, who neither came with these into the land of Cadmus; but
I think fit to bury the corses of the dead, not doing injury
to the city, nor bringing on manslaying contests, but observ-
ing the law of all the Greeks in general. What of these.
things is not honourable? For even if ye have suffered some-'
thing at the hands of the Argives, they are dead; ye have re-
pelled the enemy with credit to yourselves, but with disgrace
to them, and justice is accomplished." Allow the dead to be

45 Cf. Asch. Sept. c. Th, 427. All this passage is spoken aa

“6 So Falstaff in Shakspeare says, ‘‘ The better part of valour is dis-
cretion.”

47 The denial of sepulture.

48 For this proverbial phrase see Bergler on Alciphron, Ep. iii. 33.
Compare Virg. Georg. i. 199, “* Sic omnia fatis In pejus ruere, ac retro
sublapsareferri.”’ Ain. ii. 169, ‘“‘ Ex illo fluere ac retro sublapsa referri
Spes Danaum.” Med. 410, dvw rorapéy iepiiv ywpotor mayal, rai
Sika nal wdvra wdadwy orpegerat.

49 Hermann renders, et vindicta finita est, comparing Soph. Cid,
Col. 574, xw Adyog Stolxerat, nihil, quod dicam, reliquum est.

N
178 ‘SUPPLIANTS. 530—568

now hidden in the earth. For from whence each [particle ,
entered into the body, thither has it gone, the spirit indeed to-
wards the sky, but the body toearth.°° For we do not possess
this [body] as our own save for to dwell in it during life, and
then [the earth] that nurtured it must needs receive it. Dost
thou think to do harm to Argos, by not burying the dead?
By no means. This is a common question for all Greece, if
any one, defrauding the dead of what they ought to obtain,
shall keep them unburied; for it bears a reproach to the
brave, if this law be laid down. And to me indeed thou hast
come, threatening terrible words; but ye are afraid of the
dead, if they be hidden in the earth. Lest what should
happen? Lest being buried they dig up your land, or in the
recesses of the earth bring forth children, from whom some
revenge will come? A foolish waste, forsooth, of the tongue is
this, to fear wicked and empty terrors. But, O ye vain ones,
learn the ills of mankind. Our life is a strpggle; and some
of mortals are quickly prosperous, but some hereafter, and
some already. But fortune wantons; for by the unhappy it
is honoured, in order that he may be fortunate; but the
prosperous raises it aloft [with praise], fearing that its gale
should leave him. It behoves us then, knowing these things,
both being moderately injured, to bear it not with wrath,
and to do such injuries as hurt not the state. How then can
it be? Permit us, who wish to act piously, to bury the corses
of the dead. Or plain is my conduct afterwards. I will go
and bury them by force. For never shall it be spread abroad
among the Greeks, that the ancient law of the Gods, comin
to me and to the city of Pandion, was violated. i

Cuo. Be of good cheer. At least whilst preserving the
light of justice, thou wilt escape from many [evil] words of
men.

Her. Dost thou wish that I briefly confer with thee ?

Tues, Speak, if you wish aught. For truly thou art not
prone to silence.

Her. Thou shalt never take the children of the Argives
from our land,

6 Of. Valcken. Diatr. § vi. So Phocylid. Gnom. p. 107, in Poett. Min.
Tivetpa yap tori Ocod xpiotg Ovynrotor wai eikwy. THpa ydp tk yaing
exouty kal mayrec lg avriy Avdpevor xbvig iopev, dijo 0 dvd mrvedpa

edexrat,
569—605. SUPPLIANTS. 179

Tues. And hear me in turn, if you are willing.

Her. I will hear; for it is meet to give oa turn.

Tues. I will bury the dead, taking them out of the Aso-
pian land.

Her. Then thou must first run a risk amidst shields.

Tues. I indeed have endured many other labours.5!

Her. Did then your sire beget thee to be equal to all?

Tues. Ay, as many as are insolent: but the good we
chastise not. ;

Her. Thou and thy city are wont to do many things.

Tues. And therefore labouring much, it prospers much.

Her. Come, that the spear of the sown race may catch
thee in the city. :

Tues. What warrior sprung from a dragon would be va-
liant ? ,

Her. Thou shalt know by suffering, but now thou art yet
a youth.

Tues. Thou shalt not move me to be angered in mind by
thy braggart words. But depart from the land, taking with
thee the vain words thou broughtest. For we do no good [by
dallying]. Let every man full armed, and mounted in chariots,
and let trappings on the foam-distilling mouths of the single
horses, be moved towards the Cadmean earth. For I will go
to the seven gates of Cadmus, myself having the sharp steel
in my hand, myself the herald. But I bid thee remain,
Adrastus, and not to mix up thy fortunes with me; for I with
mine own fortune will lead my army, renowned with a re-
nowned spear. One thing only it behoves thee; to have [as
allies] all the Gods who revere justice; for these things joined
together give victory. But valour profits mortals nought,
unless one have the deity willing.

Semicnorus. O wretched mothets of wretched chieftains,
how does pale fear at my heart disturb me!

Sem. What new voice is this thou utterest ?

Sem. How will the armament of Pallas determine the ques-
tion ?

Sem. Dost thou mean through the spear, or by agreement
of words?

Sem. That would be profitable; but if contests of the
sword, combats and breast-smiting blows again appear in the
On Erepoc—aAdog of Dind. on Orest. 345.

N
180 SUPPLIANTS. 607—640.

field [of battle], wretched, what account shall I, the cause of
this, take on myself?

Sem. But some fate may in turn seize upon him that is
glorious in prosperity. This confidence comes around me.

Sem. Thou indeed speakest of the Gods as just.

Sem. For what other beings distribute events?

Sem: I see much variety in the ordinations of the Gods to
mortals.

Sem. Ay, for thou art overcome by thy former fear. Jus-
tice calls for justice, and death for death, but the Gods, them-
selves possessing the bound of all things, give a respite from
evils.

Sem. Would that, quitting the water of Callichorus, we
could in any way come to the fair-towered plain.

Sem. If any one of the Gods would make me winged, that I
might come to the city of the two rivers.*?

Sem. Thou wouldst see, thou wouldst see the fortunes of
thy friends,

Sem. What hap, what fate can await the warlike king of
this land?

Sem. Again we call upon Gods already invoked; but this

-is the best confidence in fear.

Sem. Alas! Jove, thou husband of our ancient mother, the
heifer [daughter] of Inachus.

Sem. Be thou for me a propitious ally to this city.

Sem. Thy glory,5? thy statue placed in the city, I bear
away, having been insulted, to the pyre.

[Enter a MEssENnGER. ]

Mess. O women, I am come having many pleasant things to
tell, both being myself saved, (for I was taken captive in the
battle where the troops of the seven dead chieftains engaged,
near the stream of Dirce,) and bearing news of Theseus’
victory. But I will free you from a long discourse, for I was
the servant of Capaneus, whom Jove has reduced to ashes
with his fire-darting bolt.

52 i, e. Asopus and Ismenus,

** This passage is very awkward. Musgrave’s explanation, in brief, is
as follows. By d&yaya is metaphorically designated the bodies of the
generals slain and deprived (i@pio0év) of sepulture. While living, they
were in a manner the foundation of the city [idpupa wédewe],
641—681. SUPPLIANTS. 181

Cuo. O dearest man, thou tellest well concerning thy re-
turn, and the report of Theseus. But if the army algo of the
Athenians is safe, thou wilt tell all things agreeably. :

Mess. It is safe, and has fared as Adrastus ought to have
fared with his Argives, when having led forth from Inachus,
he attacked the city of the Thebans.

Cxo. But how did the son of Augeus, and those who shared
in the enterprise, raise up the trophies of Jove. Say, for
being present [there] thou wilt delight the absent.

Mess. The shining beam of the sun, a clear rule, fell upon
the earth, and at the Electrean portals I stood a spectator,
having possessed myself of a wide-seeing tower. And I per-
ceive three tribes of three [troops of] warriors; first, an arm-
bearing mass stretching upwards to Ismenus’ banks, as indeed
was a report, and the king himself, the renowned son of Aigeus,
and with him, drawn up on the right wing, the inhabitants of
ancient Cecropia, and the people of the Parali® equipped with
the spear, close by the fountain of Mars, and the crowd of
horsemen drawn up in equal number at the flanks® of the
encampment, and the chariot-vehicles below the hallowed
monument of Amphion. But the people of Cadmus stood
before the fortifications, placing behind them the dead, about
whom was the contest. And horsemen to horsemen were
opposed in arms, and chariots to four-horsed chariots. And
the herald of Theseus spoke these words to all: “Keep
silence, ye people; in silence hear, ye ranks of the Cad-
Meians: we are come for the dead, wishing to bury them,
observing the law of all the Greeks, and not wishing to cause
bloodshed. And Creon made no counter proclamation to
these words, but sate in silence yet in arms. But, the drivers
of the four-horsed chariots forthwith began the battle, and
driving their chariots past each other, they set down the
warriors [within them] in the array of battle. And they
indeed fought with the steel, but they (the drivers) turned
back 5* the horses for the contest, against. the warriors. But
Phorbus, who was chieftain of the single horses of the
Erectheide, seeing the confusion of the chariots, and they

8¢ i. e. the inhabitants of the coast. On the disposition of the army
see the copious notes in Dindorf. 3

55 Literally, ‘hem, border.”

36 On these maneeuvres see Hermann,
182 SUPPLIANTS, 682—721.

also, who guarded off the cavalry of Cadmus, joined battle,
and conquered, and were worsted [in turn]. But seeing, and
. not hearing these things, (for I was on the spot where the
chariots and their riders were contending,) I know not which
of the many ills there present I shall narrate first ; whether
the dust rising up to heaven, (how much it was,) or of [the
horsemen] who were borne away up and down by the traces,
“and5? the flowing of the shed blood, some indeed falling, but
others tumbling, like divers, with violence to the earth from
their broken seats, and leaving their life amid the wrecks of
chariots. But when Creon beheld the army from hence*®
conquering with its cavalry, seizing a spear in his hand, he
goes on, before faint-heartedness seized his allies. And truly
the troops of Theseus were not spoiled by fear; but they went
forwards, having snatched up their shining arms,"? and strik-
ing upon the whole centre of the {opposing spear, the enemy |
slew, were slain, and confirmed with hearty shouts the cheer
to one another: “Strike, press the spear against the sons of
Erectheus.” And the manly band, sprung from the dragon’s
teeth, was a terrible wrestler; for it made our left horn give
way ; but their [left], worsted by our right, takes to flight, and
the contest was balanced equally. And at this [momend] one
might praise our general; for he did not care® only for this
the successful side, but he went to that part of his own army
which was in trouble, and burst forth a loud voice, so that the
ground under him echoed: “O youths, if ye do not restrain
these sturdy spears of the sown men, the state of Pallas is no
more.” And boldness sprang up among the whole army of the
Greeks, and he himself, taking his Epidaurian weapon with
its terrible head, with a whirl he slings it about, reaping and
mowing down at once with the wood necks and the heads
with helmets placed upon them. And with difficulty they
somehow put the feet [of the Thebans] to flight. But I
shouted, and danced, and clapped my hands; but they turned
towards the gates. And there was noise and lamentation
8” The construction is irregular. It should have been 4 9. ali. podg.
5@ This is Hermann’s excellent emendation for ye rovvOévd.
89 These lines are either out of place, or spurious, as Dindorf considers,
The participle cuzrardtavreg must refer to the Thebans,
% xuvéag is the accusative plural, and xdpa émixeipevoy (sing. for

plur.) = capita, gue galeas impositas habent. So rpaywdoi triceipevor
xpavy, Lucian de Gymn. p. 285. Marguanp.
722—761. .BUPPLIANTS. 183

through the city, of youths, of old men, and in terror they
filled the temples. But, when it was in his power to have
got within the walls, Theseus forbore, for he said he had not
come as about to sack the city, but to demand the dead. Such
a general it is needful to choose, who is both brave in dan-
gers, and hates an insolent people; who, faring well, and
seeking to scale the highest steps of ladders, lose the prosper-
ity it was in their power to enjoy.

Cuo. Now, beholding this unhoped-for day, I deem that
there are Gods, and I think that I have less of calamity, since
these have paid the penalty.

Apnastus. O Jove, why in truth do they say that hapless
mortals are wise? For upon thee do we depend, and we do
such things as thou dost happen to will. For by us Argos
was once not to be endured; and we ourselves, being many
and youthful in strength, and Eteocles proposing an agree-
ment, and offering moderate terms, we did not wish to accept
them. But he, on the other hand, being then fortunate, like
& poor man receiving newly-acquired wealth, became inso-
lent; and again, the unwise people of Cadmus were undone
in their insolence. O vain of mortals ye, who stretching the
bow beyond what is fitting, and justly suffering many ills,
will not be persuaded by your friends, but by circumstances.
And ye cities, when ye have the power of turning from trou-
bles by discourse, decide matters by bloodshed, not by words.
But why (do I say) this? I wish to know how thou wast
preserved; then I will ask the rest.

Mess. When disturbance stirred up the city with the spear,
I passed through the gates, through which thearmy had entered.

Apr. And do ye carry out the dead, on whose account the
contest was?

Mess. Ay, all the seven who led the renowned battalions.

Avr. How sayest thou? But where is the other ‘multitude
of slain?

Mess. They are given to the tomb in the dells of Cithzron.

Avr. By their side or ours? Who buried them?

Mess. Theseus, where is the shady Eleutherian rock.

Avr. But the dead, whom he did not inter, where leaving
hast thou come?

Mess. Near at hand. For near is all that has been
toiled for.
184 SUPPLIANTS. 762—801.

Avr. Did the servants bear them with disgust from the
battle-field ?

Mess. No servant presided over this toil.

Apr. * * * *

Mess, Thou wouldst have said [that he was a noble man],
if thou hadst been present, when he tended the dead.

Avr. Did he himself wash the wounds of the wretched
[corses]}? =

Mess. Ay, and he spread the couches, and covered their
bodies.

Avr. A terrible office, and fraught with unseemliness.

Mess. But what is unseemly to men in each other’s
troubles ?

Avr. Alas! how I wish to have died with them!

Mess. Thou mournest in vain, and drawest tears from
these [women].

Apr. I think so indeed, but they themselves teach [me to
weep]. But come, I will uplift my hand, going to meet the
dead, and I will pour forth tear-flowing strains of Hades, ad-
dressing my friends, of whom being bereft, do I weep miser-
able in solitude. For this waste [of life] having once befallen
mortals, it is not possible to recover the soul of man; but
there are roads to wealth.

Cuo. Some things are well, but some unhappy ; to the city
indeed is a good report, and to the leaders of the army honour
from the spear is doubled; but to me it is bitter to behold the
limbs of my children; yet an honourable spectacle, if indeed
I shall behold an unhoped-for day,*! having seen the greatest
grief of all. Would that time, the ancient sire of days, had
made me ever unmarried up to this time. For what need had
I of children? For then I should not have expected to suffer
this excessive calamity, if I had been free from the yoke of
nuptials. But now I behold a most evident evil, being de-
prived of my dearest sons. But now I behold these bodies
of my departed sons. Wretched me! Would that I might
have died with these children, descending into a common
Hades.

Apr. O mothers, raise aloud a groan for the dead beneath
the earth, utter a response having heard my groans.

8 deXrroyv apipay, because their sons’ bodies are restored to the rites
of sepulture; dAyog péy:orov, because they were slain. Marrnia.
802—829. SUPPLIANTS. 185

Cxo. O sons, O bitter address for loving mothers, I address
thee the dead. ;

Apr. Alas! alas!

Cuo. Ay, I indeed, for my woes.

Apr. Alas.

Coo. * * *

Apr. We have suffered, ah!

Cuo. The worst griefs of trouble.

Apr. O Argive city, do ye not behold my fate?

Cxo. We too they behold, the wretched one, reft of my
children.

Apr. Bring hither the blood-dripping bodies of the unhap-
py, slain not fitly, nor by fit persons, by whom the contest
was finished.

Cuo. Give [them to me], that adjusting my hands for em-
braces I may place my children in my arms.

Apr. Thou hast, thou hast—

Cuo. Enough weight of woes.

Apr. Alas!

Cuo. But dost thou not say so for the parents ?®

Avr. Listen to me.

Cuo. Thou groanest for the troubles of both.

Apr. Would that the ranks of the Cadmeians had slain
me in the dust.

Cuo. But [would]. that my person had never been yoked
to wedlock with any man.

Apr. Behold this sea of troubles, O hapless mothers of
children.

Cno. With our nails are we furrowed, and on our heads
have we poured ashes.

Apr. Alas! alas for me! for me! Would that the

,

6 After Adrastus had said rév poy worpoy ode tcopare, it would be
more likely for the Chorus to say, dpare dijra nde, than to change to the
third person. Such, too, is the constant manner of response in these sort
of lyric passages. ; :

*3 Alluding particularly to Eteocles and Polynices. Cf. isch. Sept, c.
Th. 907 sqq. and 935, dtaropatc ob gidarg”Epidt parvopévg, Neixeos by
redevT@. ioe, ; .

61 [ have ventured to read this line interrogatively, as otherwise I can-

not understand it. ; :
es dv xoviatoty, “in the bustle of war.” Aasch. Ag. 63, moda traXaic-

para cai yuoBapi Tovarog coviatoty Epedopévov.
186 SUPPLIANTS. 830—855.

plain of the earth might swallow me; would that a whirlwind
might seize me, and a flame of fire sent by Jove fall on my
head.

Cuo. Bitter nuptials hast thou witnessed, and a bitter pro-
phecy of Phebus. Upon thee hath come the mournful
Erynnys, leaving the lonely home of C&dipus.*”

Tues. { Being ® about to ask thee, when thou wert exhaust-
ing thy lamentations for. an army, I will let go, and omit my
words there, in reference at least to thine affairs; but now I
ask Adrastus,} From whence were born these soldiers sur-
passing all mortals in a noble spirit? Tell me, since thou art
wiser, to these youths of the citizens, for thou art skilled in
this. For I saw greater deeds of daring done by them, than
one can describe in words, by which they hoped to take the
city. But one thing I will not ask thee, lest I incur a debt of de-
rision, viz. against whom each of these was fitted in the fight,
or [from whose] spear of the enemy he received a wound. For
these stories are vain both for the hearers and the speaker,
who, having gone out in battle, while spears were thickly
moving before his eyes, would tell clearly who was a brave
man. I could neither ask this question, nor believe those
who dare to answer it. For a man who stands confronted to

68 Cf. Virg. Ain. iv. 24, Sed mihi vel tellus optem prius ima dehiscat,
Vel pater emnipotens adigat me fulmine ad umbras, Pallentes umbras
Erebi, noctemque profundam.”’ Compare the following brilliant passage
of a modern dramatist :

"Why sleep the thunderbolts ?
If from my heart’s abyss a cry may rise
To the empyreal throne, heav’n hear me now!
If there be fiercer fire than fell remorse,
Dart on me living flames that I may die!
Scorch up my veins, and turn my brain to lead,
Make me a stone, or nothing!”

BepDINGFIELD’s Madeline, Act iii. Sc. 2.

6 So we find “ Cadipodes” in Stat. Theb. i. 48. For the Erinnys of
Ceding si Esch, Sept. c. Th. 976, 1055, with Agam, 1190, 1468. Soph.
Ant. .

83 | have obelized this very corrupt passage, which Dindorf considers
as imperfect, as well as corrupt. See his notes, As far as the present
text goes, Beck truly says, ‘‘ Lectionis hujus .oci prodigium non inter-
pretaretur totus haruspicum ordo,”’

6 A sneer at the minute descriptions of the chieftains in the Sept.
&. Th, of Aschylus, Cf, Phen. 751, "Ovopa & éxdorov dtarpiBi} odds}

yey.
865—901. SUPPLIANTS. 187

the enemy, would with difficulty be able to see what is just
necessary.

Avr. Hear then indeed; for truly to me not displeased
dost thou permit to speak the praise and just laudation of
these, for whom I wish [to do so]. Seest thou him through
whom the shaft of Jove has flown? This man is Capaneus,
who indeed possessed great means, but was least of all proud
of his wealth, and entertained thoughts no higher than a poor
man, avoiding such as spurning bare sufficiency, revelled in
[sumptuous] tables; for he said that the good was not in the
food of the belly, but that a moderate portion was sufficient.
And he was a true friend to friends both present and absent ;
of which persons the number is not great. [He was of].an
unlying temper, an affable address, having no vain intent
either towards his servants or citizens. But I speak [now] of
this second man, Eteoclus, another who practised goodness.
He was a youth, deficient indeed in means, but he possessed
the greatest honours in the Argive land. And when his
friends often offered gold, he would not receive it into his
house, so as to make his manners slavish, being a bondsman
to wealth. But he hated those that erred, not the city ; since
a city is nought to blame, being in {ll repute through a bad
helmsman. But the third of these, Hippomedon, was of this
kind by nature. Being a youth, he ventured at once not to turn
himself to the pleasures of the Muses, to softness of life, but
inhabiting the fields, giving hard practice to his nature, he
rejoiced in manliness, both going to huntings, and rejoicing in
horses, and stretching the bow with his hands, desiring, to
render his body useful to the city. But this other, the son of
Atalanta, Parthenopeus, most surpassing in form, was an
Arcadian indeed; but coming to the streams of Inachus, he
passed his boyhood at Argos. And having been trained up
there, he first of all, (as becomes guests sharing another state, )
was not troublesome to nor envied by the city, nor given to
strife of words, from whence a man most chiefly becomes a
disagreeable citizen and guest. But standing in a battalion,
like an Argive born, he defended the country, and whenever
the city was faring well, he rejoiced; but bore it ill, if it was
at all unfortunate. And having many lovers, and not fewer
among the women, he kept guard not to sin. But the great
praise of Tydeus I will sum up in brief. In words he was
188 SUPPLIANTS. 902—938.

not renowned, but in the fight [a cunning sophist, and [cun-
ning] to devise wise things]. But though inferior in counsel
to his brother Meleager, he obtained equal renown through
the art of the spear, finding an exact science in the shield.
His temper [was] ambitious; but his thoughts rich in deeds,
not equally so in speech. From the words thus spoken, O
Theseus, marvel not that these dared to die before the towers:

of Thebes]; for to be trained up not badly brings the shame

of disgrace]. And every one who has studied good deeds is
ashamed to be called a bad man.” But valour is a thing to be
learnt ; since a child is taught to say and hear those things of
which it has not the knowledge. And such things as a boy
learns, these he is wont to remember till old age. Do ye then
educate your children well.

Cuo. Alas! my child, unhappy did I bear thee, enduring
pangs in labour. And now Hades possesses the labours of
hapless me; and I, a wretched mother, have no child to
cherish my old age.

Tues. And truly the Gods, having snatched away the
noble son of Cicleus alive into the recesses of the earth,
chariot and all, clearly give him an eulogy. But, in praising
the son of Gidipus, I mean Polynices, we should not tell an
untruth. For he was a guest of mine, before that, having
left the city of Cadmus, in voluntary exile he passed over to
Argos. But dost thou know what I wish thee to do con-
cerning these things?

Apr, I know not, save one thing, to yield obedience to thy
words,

Tues. Capaneus, who was stricken by the fire of Jove—

Apr. What, dost thou wish to bury?? him apart, as a
sacred corse ?

Tues. Yes, but all the others on one single pile.

Avr. Where then wilt thou place a memorial for him apart ?

Tues. Here, having erected a tomb close by the house. ,

7 An obviously spurious line, as detected by Porson,

71 Tn comparing the characters of the seven chieftains as given respect-
ively by Aischylus and Euripides, it will be well to remember that
4&schylus preferred the more terrible attributes of violent courage and
anger, as essential to the Titan grandeur of his poetry, while Euripides,
as the philosopher poet, handled the domestic habits, and dwelt upon the
training of the same characters,

7 i, e, to burn his body. See Markland,
939—986. SUPPLIANTS. 189

Apr. This labour then shall be the task of my servants.

Turs. But these [corses] our [task]. But let the load of
corses approach.

Apr. Come, O wretched mothers, near your children.

Turs. By no means, Adrastus, dost thou say this fittingly.

Apr. How is it not fitting for mothers to touch their
children ?

Tues. They would perish, if they beheld these changed to
another colour: for bitter is the sight of corses even at the
time of death.”2 Why then do you wish to add griefs to these ?

Apr. Thou prevailest. It behoves you to remain patiently,
for Theseus says well. But when we have put them on the
fire, ye shall take the bones to yourselves. O wretched ye of
mortals! Why do ye possess spears and cause slaughter
against each other? Cease. But having ceased from toils,
guard the cities, quiet with the quiet. ‘The affair of life is
small, but it behoves one to pass through this as easily as
possible, and not with toils.

Cuo. No longer [am I] possessed of fair children or fair
offspring, nor have I a share of happiness among the Argive
mothers, nor will Diana who presides over childbirth salute
us childless. And our life is unhappy, and like some wan-
dering cloud, I flit beneath the stormy winds. We seven
wretched mothers brought forth seven sons, the most re-
nowned among the Argives; and now without son, without
child I grow old most miserably, deemed neither among the
dead, nor among the living,”4 but having some lot apart from
[both] these, tears are left for me; the sad memorials of my
son lie at home, shorn tresses and garlands of hair, and liba-
. tions to those gone dead, songs, which golden-haired Apollo
receives not. And wakened betimes by groans, I shall ever
with tears bedew the damp folds of my robe upon my breast.
And truly I perceive here the couch of Capaneus, and his
sacred tomb, and without the dwelling the offerings of The-
seus to the dead, and Evadne, the renowned wife of this man
that was slain by lightning, near at hand, whom king Iphis

73 i, e. the appearance of the dead is terrible even at the very time of
death ; how much the worse, after six days had elapsed, when they were
changed and deformed! See Markland.

74 Cf, Soph, Ant. 850, io Sécravog, oir’ év Bporotg odr’ tv vexpoioty
Mérotkog, ob Zé, ob Oavotor.
190 SUPPLIANTS, 986—1031.

begat as his daughter. Why stands she on the sky-towering
rock which rears its height above the house, treading her way
hither.

Evapne. What light, what radiancy did the sun then bear
in his chariot, and the moon in the ether, where the swift-
moving nymphs? drive their lamp through the night * * *
when for the nuptials of me and my brazen-armed spouse
Capaneus the city of Argos raised aloft a song of good for-
tune. In swift course frantic I have come from my house,
to possess the flame of fire and seeking the same tomb, to rest
in Hades my wearisome life and the toils of life. For sweetest
is the death to die in company with dying friends, if the deity
indeed decree this.

. Cuo. And truly thou beholdest this pile, near which thou
standest, the treasure-chest’® of Jove, where thy husband
. lies, subdued by the flashing thunderbolts.

Evap. I indeed see the end where I am standing ; and the
good fortune of my journey befalls me; but for the sake of
good repute I will rush from this rock, leaping among the
flames, and amid the glaring fire having mingled my body dear
to my husband, placing my skin near his, [I will come] to
the chambers of Proserpine, never by life betraying thee who
art dead beneath the earth. Farewell the light, and nuptials.
May some” union in rightful marriage befall my descendants
in Argos, unto whom a faithful wedded husband is loved by
a wife with the uncorrupted breath of a noble soul.

Cuo. And truly hither thy father himself draws nigh, the

8 As the nymphs attend Diana, so the moon may be said to have simi-
lar attendants. This is Markland’s explanation. But if we remember
that the Pleiades, Hyades, and other constellations, were nymphs who had
obtained a place in the heavens, there is little difficulty about the epithet.
See my note on isch, Ag. 4.

78 This seems merely to mean that as Jove had caused the death of
Capaneus, go his funeral pile contained what was pleasing and grateful to
Jove. The commentators have overlooked the sense of Oncavpig—a
casket, treasure-chest. Cf, Bos and Wetst. on Matth. ii. 11.

77 Dindorf’s text and notes are alike disfigured by the typographical
mistake Botog 6’ for dcorg 6, But, as Hermann observes, ei0e—gaviow
is a solecism, and he would read 80ey py riveg.... Téxvotory Boote "Eoriw
ebv, But the metre will scarcely correspond with the strophic verse 1006,
In explaining the passage I have followed Heath, ZuvyrnyGeic Epwrt,
which would have been the simple expression, is amplified, and joined
with dAéyw, as in fragm. incert. waca ydp dya6x) yur) “Hreg dvdpi
OUVTETHKE.
1032—1064. SUPPLIANTS. 191

aged Iphis, to a new discourse, which not having known be-
fore, he will be grieved to hear.

Irxis. O thou unhappy woman, and I unhappy old man,
I am come, having a twofold grief in my house; being about
to pilot into his father-land my son Eteoclus, who died by
the spear of the Cadmeians, and seeking also my daughter,
who, the wife of Capaneus, has hurried out of sight from my
dwelling, wishing to die with her husband. For the previous
time indeed she was kept guarded in the house; but since J,
in present troubles, have relaxed the watching, she has gone.
But I suppose she is most likely to be here. Say, if ye have
seen her.

Eivap. Why dost thou ask these women? Here I upon
this rock, and like some bird, am arranging an unhappy bal-
ance’® above the pile of Capaneus, O father.

Ip. My child, what gale [has borne thee hither]? What
is this garb? For sake of what, quitting thy house, hast
thou come into this land?

Evap. Thou wouldst conceive anger on account of my
plans, if thou didst hear them. But I would not have thee
hear, O father.

Jpn. What! Is it not right for thy father to know?

Evap. Thou wouldst be an unwise judge of my resolution.

Iru. But on what account dost thou deck thy body in this
adornment ?

Evap. This garb has some new design, O father.

Irg. [Ay, it must,] for thou art not in becoming mourning
for thy husband.

Evapv. [No,] for I am dressed for some newly-devised
matter.

Ien. And dost thou then appear near the tomb and pile?

Evap. For here indeed I come a glorious conqueror.

Jeu. Conquering what conquest? I wish to learn from thee.

Evap. All women, whom the sun beholds.

Ipu. In the works of Minerva, or in wisdom of mind?

Evap. In virtue; for dying I shall lie with my husband.

Ien. What sayest thou? What is this unsound enigma
that thou showest ?”

78 The force of rovgiZw seems to be, ‘I am endeavouring to arrange

so as to fall easily.”
79 | prefer onpaiver, with Markland.
192 SUPPLIANTS. 1065—1107.

Evan. I will leap upon this pyre of dead Capaneus.

Irn. O daughter, speak not this word before many.

Evap. This very thing I desire all the Argives to know.

Ipu. But I will not acquiesce in thy doing this.

Evap. ’Tis all the same. For thou shalt not succeed in
seizing me with thy hand. And truly my body is let go, a
thing to thee not pleasant, but to me and my husband who is
burned with me.

[She casts herself from the rock upon the funeral pile.]

Cuno. Alas! O woman, thou hast done a dreadful deed.

Ipx. I wretched am undone, ye daughters of the Argives.

Cxo. Woe! woe! Suffering these wretched things, thou
wretched wilt behold a deed of all daring.

Irn. Thou canst not find another more wretched.

Cuo. Alas thou wretched! Thou hast shared a part of the
fate of Cidipus, old man, both thou and my unhappy city.

Irn. Alas! why is not this [permitted] to mortals, twice
to be youths, and old men again, in turn? For in our houses
indeed, if any thing is not in a good state, we put it right by
after thoughts; but age it is not in our power [to amend].
But if we twice were youths and old men, if any one erred,
obtaining a twofold life, we should correct it. For I, per-
ceiving others begetting children, was both a great lover of
children, and was undone with my desire [of them]. But if
I had come to this, and, having begotten [children], had ex-
perienced what it is for a father to be deprived of his offspring,
I should never have fallen into this coil which now [I suffer},
I who, having begotten and given life to the noblest of youths,
am after that now bereaved of him. Be it so. What does it
behove wretched me todo? To go home? And shall I then
behold much desolation of my house, and destitution for my
life? Or shall I go to the dwelling of this Capaneus? . Most
pleasant indeed [it was] to me before, [when] my daughter
was yet living; but she is no more, who ever used to press
my beard to her mouth, and held this head in her hand. But
nothing is sweeter to an aged sire than a daughter; for the
souls of males are greater, but less sweet for coaxings. Will
ye not with all haste conduct me into the house, and give me
to darkness, where, with fastings wasting away my aged frame,
I may perish? What will it avail me to touch the bones of
1108—1148. SUPPLIANTS. 193

my child? O age, difficult to combat with, how, possessing
thee, I hate thee, and hate whoever desire to lengthen out
existence; with food, with drink, and with spells turning
aside the stream, so as not to die, whom it became, since they
nought benefit the earth, to pass away in death, and make
way for the young.

Cuo. Alas!-hither already are the bones of my slain sons
carried. Take hold, ye servants, of a tottering old woman,
(for I have no strength through grief for my children,) and
one who has lived for a long time, and is wasting away with
many griefs. For what greater suffering than this canst thou
find for mortals, than to behold their children dead? —

Boy. I bear, I bear, O miserable mother, the remains of my
father from the pile, a weight not light, indeed, for woes, but
placing mine all in a little space.®°

Cuo. Woe! woe! whither art thou bearing a subject of
tears for the loving mother of the slain, and a little mass of
cinders in place of bodies®! once renowned in Mycenz?

Boy. Alas! alas! And I wretched, reft of my unhappy sire,
shall lead an orphan life receiving a lonely home, not [cherish-
ed] in the arms of the sire who gave me life.

Cuo. Alas! alas! For where is the labour of my children,
where the joy of nuptials, and the nurture given by a mother,
and the sleepless duties of the eye, and the fond applications of
the face?

Boy. They are gone; thy children are no more, mother ;
they are gone. ‘The sky now possesses them wasted in the
smouldering of the flame, and they have winged their rapid
flight to Hades.

Boy. Father, hearest thou the wailings of thy children?
shall I ever hereafter, shield in hand, avenge thy death ?&?

Cuo. May it be so, my child.

Boy. Yet with God’s will may satisfaction for my sire
befall me. Not yet does this foul deed slumber.®

8 Cf, Aasch. Ag. 443, wupwOevy é 'IKiov pirotc mipme Bapd Wijypa
dvoddkpurov dvravopos erodod yepifwy AEBnrag ebQérouc, which served
almost as a paraphrase of the present passage.

81 Cf. Aasch. Ag. 54, depviornpn méovor dpradrixwy ddéoavrec.

82 J read dyrericopat, with Canter, Dind. Matthice vainly defends the
common reading.

8 i, e, it is not forgotten.
194 , SUPPLIANTS. 1149—1188,

Cuo. Alas! Enough of groans for my fortune, and enough
of griefs is present to me.

Boy. Will the stream of Asopus yet receive me, a general of
the Danaids in golden armour, avenger of my dead father ?

Boy, Still do I' seem to behold thee,®4 father, in my sight.

Cuo. Placing a sweet kiss upon thy chin.

Boy. And the cheering order of thy words—

Cuo. Is gone, borne in the air.

Boy, And the griefs of two he hath left to his mother.

Cuo. But grief for thy sire will never quit thee. I have
so great a weight as that which has undone me. Come, to my
breast I press [my son’s] ashes.

Boy. .I weep, hearing this most hateful word, It has
touched me to the soul,

Cuo. O child, thou art gone; no more shall I behold thee,
the dear darling of thy mother,

Tues. Adrastus, and ye wamen of the Argive race, behold
these children bearing in their hands the bodies of their ex-
cellent sires, which I recovered. With these I and the city pre-
sent thee, But you it behoves to,be mindful to preserve gra-
titude for these, seeing what things ye have obtained from me.
And to these children I have secretly spoken the same words,
that they honour this city from one generation to another
continually, handing down the memory of what things ye
have obtained. But Jove be witness, and the Gods in heaven,
of what things being accounted worthy by us, ye wend your
way.

Avr. Theseus, we are conscious of all the good that thou
hast done for the land of the Argives standing in need of
benefactors. “And we shall feel a gratitude never growing
old; for having been treated nobly, we ought to treat you so
in return.

Tues. What other things does it behove me to minister to
you?

Apr. Fare thee well, for thou and thy city are worthy.

Tues. This shall be; and mayest thou too obtain the same.

Minerva. (suddenly appearing.) Hear, O Theseus, these

* Hamlet, i. 2.
‘* My father, methinks I see my father.
Horat, Where, my lord?
Hamil. In my mind’s eye.”
1184—1224. SUPPLIANTS, 195

commands of Athena, which it behoves thee fo fulfil, and
having done so, to benefit your own interests.. Give not these
bones to these boys to bear to the Argive land, letting them
go thus easily; but in requital for thy toils and those of the
city, first receive an oath. And this must Adrastus needs
swear; heis the fit person, being the ruler, to plight an oath on
behalf of the whole land of Danaus’ sons. And the oath shall
be—that never shall the Argives bring to this land a hostile
panoply ; and that, if others come, they will place their spears
in. the way. But if, deserting their oath, they shall come
against this city, lead the invocation that the land of the
Argives may perish evilly. And learn from me [the place]
in which it behoves thee to slay the victims. You have a
brazen-footed tripod within your house, which once on a time
Hercules, having upturned the foundations of Troy, setting
out upon another exploit, bade thee place at the Pythian
hearth. On it, having cut the three throats of three slieep,
write the words of the oath on the hollow vessel of the
tripod, and then give it to the God of Delphi to preserve,
as a memorial of oaths, and a witness to Greece. But the
sharp sword by which thou shalt have cut their necks, and
slain the victims, do thou hide in the recesses of the earth
near the seven funeral pyres of the dead; for being shown,
it will, if they ever come to the city, cause terror to them,
and an unfortunate journey back again. And having done
these things, send the corpses out of the land. But leave
the holy enclosures, where their bodies were purified with fire,
to the God, by the Isthmian three ways.8> To thee indeed
I have spoken thus; but to the sons of the Argives I speak
{thus]: When ye are of age, storm the city of Ismenus, aveng-
ing the death of your sires who fell, both thou, A¢gialeus, being
appointed a youthful general instead of thy father, and thou
the son of Tydeus, whom thy father named Diomede, coming
from the Ztolians. And as soon as your chins are shaded
by a beard, you must rush, a brass-armed host of the sons
of Danaus, against the seven-gated fortress of the Cadmeians.
For bitter shall ye come against them, the nurtured cubs of
lions, ravagers of the city. And it cannot be otherwise. But
being called Epigoni through Greece, ye shall give a subject

® This is Tyrwhitt’s emendation for "Io@piac Ocod. Apollo is meant,

as is understood from vs. 1203. ee
o
196 SUPPLIANTS. 1225—1234.

of song to those hereafter, such an armament, by the grace
of God, shall ye send forth.

Tues. Mistress Minerva, I will obey thy words; for thou
settest me right, so as not toerr. And this man I will bind to
myself by oaths; do thou but set me right. For whilst thou
oe well inclined to the city, we shall for the future dwell in
safety.

Cuo.: Let us on our way, Adrastus. Let us give oaths to
this man, and to his city. For they have before laboured in
a manner worthy to be respected by us.
HELEN,

PERSONS REPRESENTED.

HELEN.

TEUCER.

CHORUS.

MENELAUS.

OLD WOMAN.

MESSENGER.

THEONOE.

THEOCLYMENUS.

MESSENGER EXTRAORDINARY.
CASTOR AND POLLUX.
THE ARGUMENT.

Heroporus states that Helen never was at Troy at all, but that a
phantom was sent in her stead, she herself being carried into Egypt.
Upon this tradition Euripides has constructed the following play.

As long as Proteus was king of Egypt, Helen remained unmolested,
but upon his death his son Theoclymenus tried to obtain her in marriage.
In despair she took refuge at the tomb of Proteus, where she met with
Menelaus, who had been shipwrecked on the coast. A recognition took
place, and by the aid of Theonoe, they effected their escape under a pre-
tence of paying funeral rites to the drowned Menelaus. Upon discover-
ing how he had been deceived, Theoclymenus, enraged with his sister
Theonoe for not acquainting him with the fact that Menelaus was really
alive and present, would have slain her; but was prevented by the inter-
vention of the Dioscuri.
HELEN.

 

HELEN.

THESE indeed are the fair virgin-streams of the Nile, which,
in the place of heaven-sent showers, waters the plain of
Egypt, when the white snow melts [over] the fields.’ But
Proteus, whilst he lived, was the ruler of this land, inhabit-
ing the island Pharos, but the king of Egypt; who marries
Psamathe, one of the virgins of the sea, when she had left the
bed of A®acus. And she bears two children to this house,
Theoclymenus, a male, [so called] because forsooth he passed
his life reverencing the Gods, and a virgin noble in form, the
pride of her mother while she was an infant, but when she
arrived at an age ripe for nuptials, they call her Theonoe ;?
for she knew all things divine, both things that are and shall
be, receiving the gift from her ancestor Nereus. But to me
indeed there is a country-land, not unrenowned, Sparta, and
my father is Tyndarus. And there is a certain story that
Jove flew down upon my mother, assuming the form of a
swan; that, pretending to flee from an eagle’s pursuit, accom-

! T have softened the harshness of the parallelism xédov—ytac. See
Pflugk, who well observes that the poet designates Egypt by the river,
quoting Strabo xv. p. 691, ép@é¢ Kat épdvupoy rg Alyurrp gist dex-
Ojvat roy Netdov 6 Nedpxoc. So Milton, Paradise Lost, i. 342,

‘That o’er the realm of impious Pharaoh hung

Like night, and darken’d all the land of Nile.”
The lover of a “ screaming burlesque,”’ will do well to read the humorous
parody of this whole prologue in Aristoph, Thesm. 855 sqq., where Inne-
silochus, the brother of Euripides, appears as Helen, For some amusing
remarks on the incongruities and drolleries of this play, see Schlegel,
Lect. x. p. 141, ed. Bohn, who calls it ‘‘ the merriest of all tragedies.”

2 Kidothea, in Hom, Od. A. 365,
200 HELEN. 21—64.

plished stealthy nuptials, if this story be true. And I was
called Helen; and I will narrate the evils which I have suf-
fered. There came [toa contest] of beauty in the Idzan recess,
before Alexander, three Goddesses, Juno, and Venus, and the
Jove-born virgin, wishing to undergo his judgment of their
form. Now Venus, holding forth my beauty, (if misfortune
is beautiful,) so that Alexander may majry it, prevails; and the
Idezan Paris, quitting his cattle-stalls, came to Sparta, as about
to possess my bed. But Juno, indignant that she does not
surpass the Goddesses, gave my nuptials with Alexander to
the winds; and gives to the son of king Priam not me, but
a breathing image formed of ether,’ making it like myself.
And he thinks (vain thought!) that he has me, not having
me. And other devices of Jove go along with these evils.
For he'brought war upon the land of the Greeks, and on the
wretched Phrygians, that he might lighten mother earth of a
crowd and multitude of mortals, and might make known the
mightiest in Greece. And I was placed in the power of the
Phrygians, not myself indeed, but my name, as a prize of the
spear for the Greeks. And Hermes, taking me up in folds of
ether, having hidden me in a cloud, (for Jove did not neglect
me,) settled me in this house of Proteus, having chosen out
the most temperate of all mortals, in order that I might pre-
serve the bed of Menelaus undefiled. And I indeed am here;
but my wretched husband, having assembled an army, is
hunting out my ravishers, setting out to the fortresses of
Troy. And through me many souls have perished at Scaman-
der’s stream, and I, the sufferer of all, am accursed, and seem,
having deserted my own husband, to have lit up a great war
against the Greeks. Why then doI yet live? I have heard
this saying from the God Hermes, that I shall yet dwell in
the renowned land of Sparta with my husband, he having
learned that I did not come to Troy, so that I could not spread
my couch for any [other]. As long, therefore, as Proteus
beheld this light of the sun, I was held sacred from nuptials ;
but when he was hidden in the gloom of the earth, the son of
the deceased hunts me down to marry me. But respecting
my husband of old, I have fallen a suppliant at this monument

* Read do, with Reiske, Dind. With the following passage compare
my note on Ausch, Ag. 415 sqq.
4 i.e, Achilles. Compare the notes of Barnes and Matthie.
65—99. HELEN. 201

of Proteus, that it may preserve my bed for my husband ; so
that, if throughout Greece I bear a name of ill repute, my
body at least may not pay the debt of shame here.

Trvucer. Who has the rule over these fortified dwellings ?
For the house is fit to be guessed as one of wealth, since both
the porticoes are regal, and the mansion well'turreted. Ha,
ye Gods, what sight have I seen? I behold that most ‘hated,
murderous image of a woman, who has undone me, and all
the Greeks. The Gods abhor thee, in as far as thou hast the
likeness of Helen! But if I had not held my foot in a strange
land, with this stone® well-aimed thou shouldst have died, as
the consequence of thy likeness to the daughter of Jove.

Het. Why, O wretched man, dost thou, whoever thou art,
loathe me, and hate me for her misfortunes ?

Truc. J was wrong, and yielded more to wrath than be-
came me; for all Greece hates the daughter of Jove. But
excuse me for my words, O lady.

Het. But whoart thou? from whence hast thou turned thy-
self to the plains of this earth?

Trvc. One of the unhappy Greeks, O lady.

Het. It is not then to be wondered if you hate Helen.
But who art thou, of whom (born)? It behoves thee to speak.

Truc. My name is Teucer; and the father, who begat me,
is Telamon; and Salamis is the country that nurtured me.

Het. Why then dost thou visit these fields of the Nile?

Truc. I have been driven an exile out of my father-land.

Hev. Thou must be unhappy. And who casts thee out
of thy country ?

Truc. Telamon, my father. Whom could you have more
friendly ?

Het. Through what? for the matter carries with it some
calamity.

Truc. My brother Ajax, dying in Troy, was my ruin.

Hew. How? not, surely, deprived of life by thy sword?

.Truc. A leap upon his own sword destroyed him.

Het. Being mad? For who in his senses would dare this
thing?

Truc. Knowest thou a certain Achilles, the son of Peleus?

Het. He once ona time came a suitor for Helen, as we hear.

5 But Elmsley, with the approbation of Dindorf, elegantly corrects
TTEpps ;
202 HELEN, 100—128.

Truc. He dying, caused among his allies a strife for his
arms.

Het. And what ill then does this become to Ajax?

Truc. Through another receiving the arms, he removed
himself from life.

Het. Then thou art sickening at his woes ?

Truc. Ay, because I did not perish together with him.

Het. And didst thou arrive, O stranger, at the renowned
city of Troy?

Teruo. Ay, and having destroyed it, myself was destroyed
in turn,

Het. For is it already burnt and consumed with fire?

Truc. Ay, so that there is not a clear vestige of the walls.

Het. O miserable Helen, through thee the Phrygians have
perished,

Truc. Ay, and the Greeks besides; and great evils have
been done.

Het. How long a time has the city been destroyed ?

Truc, About seven fruit-bearing circles of years.

Hex. And how long was the other time you remained in
Troy ?

Teuc. Many moons, passing through ten years.

Het. And did you take the Spartan woman?

Truc. Menelaus led her away, seizing her by the hair.

Het. Didst-thou behold the unhappy woman? Or dost
thou speak from hearsay ?

Tuo. Ay, as I see thee with my eyes,® nothing less.

Het. Consider lest ye had a vision sent by the Gods,

Truc. Speak of some other subject, no longer of her.

Het. Are ye thus certain in your opinion?

Truc. [Yes,] for I saw her myself with mine eyes, and
my mind sees her.

Het. And is Menelaus now in his dwelling with his wife ?

Tevc. He is not yet in Argos, nor at the streams of Eurotas.

Het. Alas! thou hast told this ill to those to whom thou
art speaking.”

Truc. It is rumoured that he is vanished with his wife.

Hex. Was there not the same voyage for all the Greeks?

Truc. There was; but a tempest drove each different ways.

§ But see Dindorf. ™ Ambiguously, meaning herself.
129—169, HELEN. 203

Het. On what surface of the ocean main?

oo As they passed the midway waves of the Aigean
road. : oe

Het. And from this time does no one know of Menelaus’
arrival ?

Truc. Not one; but it is rumoured through Greece that
he is dead.

eae We are undone. But is the daughter of Thestias
alive .
Txvc. Dost thou mean Leda? She indeed is gone dead.
. oa What, did the disgraceful reputation of Helen destroy
er

Truc, They say so, having fitted her noble neck to the
noose.

Het. But are the sons of Tyndarus alive, or not alive?

Truc, They are dead, and are not dead; for there are two
stories.

Het, Which is the better one? O wretched I on account
of my troubles!

Truc. They say that they two, likened to stars, are
Gods.

Het. Well hast thou spoken this. But what is the other
[report] ?

Truc. That by suicide on their sister’s account they breath-
ed out life. But enough of discourse, I do not desire to grieve
twice. But, in the matter on account of which I came to this
regal house, desiring to see the prophetic Theonoe, do thou
aid a stranger, that I may obtain oracular responses, how I
may steer my ship’s sail prosperously to the sea-coast land
of Cyprus, where Apollo foretold that I should dwell, giving
it the island name of Salamis, for the sake of my former
country.

Hex. The voyage itself will show, O stranger; but do
thou, quitting this land, fly, before the son of Proteus, who
rules this land, sees thee. For he is absent, trusting to his
hounds, in beast-slaying huntings. For he murders whatever
Grecian stranger he takes. But for what reason, do not thou
seek to learn, and I keep silence. For what should I avail
thee ?

Truc. Well hast thou spoken, O lady; and may the Gods
give thee a reward for thy good counsel. But thou, possess-
204 HELEN, 160—213.

ing a form like Helen’s, has not ‘a like disposition, but very
different. But ill may she perish, nor come to the streams of
Eurotas; but mayest thou be ever fortunate, lady.

Het. O thou that art beginning a mighty piteous strain of
woes, what grodn shall I vie in uttering? Or what song shall
I commence, with tears, with lamentations, or mourning?
Woe! woe! ye Sirens, winged youthful virgins, daughters of
Earth, would that ye might come to [join with] my groans,
having the Libyan pipe, or the syrinx ; tears connected with
my lamentable woes, sufferings with sufferings, and dirges
with dirges; and may Proserpine send companies of singers
in harmony with dirges, deadly, deadly, that by tears she may
receive from me the favour of the dead who have perished,
beneath her gloomy dwelling.®

Cuo. Around the blue-surfaced ocean I chanced to be
warming in the sun’s golden rays my purple garments,° on the
tufted herbage, and on the fresh-sprung reeds, whence (I
heard the plaintive, unmusical elegy) some nymph uttered a
piteous cry, lamenting with mournings whatever it was she
shrieked forth, like a Naiad on the mountains, uttering a wan-
dering sad strain,!° and beneath the rocky dells she bemoans
the ravishment of Pan.

He. Alas! ‘alas! ye Grecian girls, prey of the barbarian
ship, a sailor of the Greeks has come, ah! has come, bearing
to me tears upon tears, the destruction of Troy, a care for the
hostile flame, through me the many-slayer, through my name
of many troubles. And Leda in the noose has received her death
through grief for my shame. And my much-wandering hus-
band perishing at sea is no more, and the twin-born glory of
their country, Castor and his brother, have left, vanishing,
vanishing, the horse-trodden plains, and the gymnasia of reedy
Eurotas, a fit toil for youths.

Cro. Alas! alas! O, for thy fortune of much grief, and
thy fate,O lady. A life not to be lived has been thy lot, has

* The tears of men are the gift and honour (ydpirec) of the dead.
Pflugk, whose interpretation of the whole passage I have followed.

® To improve their colour, Musgrave quotes Pollux, i, 49, yelper d2
HArip dprovea rijg moegipes 4 Bagi, cat Hy axrig abriy advarupoede,
cal wreiw roti Kal padperepay rihy abyny,

10 yépuoy is Matthiw’s correction for yduov, He translates: tanguam
nympha, que ob vina Pane sibi illatam vociferatur.
214—268. HELEN. 205

been thy lot, when by thy mother Jove begot thee, con-
spicuous in the sky, with the snow-coloured plumage of a
swan. For what of ills is wanting to thee?, And, what life
hast thou not endured? Thy mother indeed is no more, and
the twin beloved sons of Jove are not faring prosperously ;
and thou beholdest not thy country-land, and through the city:
goes a report, that bestows thee, honoured lady, on a barbarian
bed. But thy [husband]!!:has quitted life amid the waves of
the sea, nor wilt thou ever again bless thy father’s house and
the Goddess of the brazen house.!?

Het. Alas! alas! who was it!? of the Phrygians, or who
from the Grecian land, that cut down the pine causing tears
to Troy? Whence having fitted together the destructive bark, |
the son of Priam sailed in a barbarian ship to my hearth, after
my ill-fated beauty, that he might obtain me in marriage.
And the crafty, many-slaying Venus, bringing death upon’ the
sons of Danaus and Priam, [sent him]. O wretched for my
calamity! But she who sits on golden thrones, Juno, the dig-
nified sponse of Jove, sent the swift-footed son of Maia, who
carried me off’ through the air, while gathering fresh rose-
buds in my robe, that I-might visit Minerva of the brazen
temple, and has placed me unhappy in.this land, for an
unhappy strife, a strife to the sons of Priam with Greece.
And my name has, near the streams of Simois, an ill report
in vain.

Cuo. Thou hast, I know, grievous sufferings; but it is ex-
pedient for thee to bear the necessary events of life as easily
as possible.

Het. Ye dear women, to what a fate have I been yoked!
Did not my mother bring me forth as a prodigy to men? For
neither Greek nor barbarian woman has given birth to a white
vessel of younglings, in which they say Leda begot me by
Jove. For my life and affairs are a prodigy; in part through
Juno; but of some my beauty is the cause. Would that, be-
ing sponged out, like a picture, I might again in turn receive a
-foul appearance instead of a fairone; and would that the evil
chances, which I now endure, the Greeks had forgotten, but

1 awécig may be supplied from the preceding Aéxect.

12 i, e. Minerva, who had a brazen temple at Sparta.
318 Phereclus, according to Homer, Il. E. 59.
ve

206 . HELEN. . 266—296.

preserved the good [in memory] as they preserve my bad.'4
Whosoever therefore, looking to one fate only, is ill-treated by
the Gods, it is a thing heavy indeed, but may nevertheless be
borne; but I lie amidst many calamities. First indeed, not
being unjust, Iam in ill repute; and this isa greater evil than
the truth, when any one is charged with evils he does not
possess.'5 Then the Gods have removed me from my coun-
try-land to barbarian customs; and bereft of friends, I have
become a slave, born of free parents; for amongst barbarians
all are slaves, save one. But one anchor alone has supported '6
my fortunes, that my husband would some time come, and re-
lease me from ills. He is dead, he is now no more. And my
mother is dead; and I am her murderess, unjustly indeed ;
yet is that injustice mine.!7_ And my daughter, who was the
ornament of mine house and self, grows grey in unwedded
virginity ; and the Dioscuri, the reputed twin sons of Jove,
exist no more. But having all things unfortunate, I am dead
in circumstances, but not in deed. And what is the last of
all—if I were to arrive at my country, I should be confined
by bars, persons thinking'* that [the real] Helen had come,
who had been at Troy with Menelaus. For if my husband
were alive, I should be recognised, proceeding to the proofs
by tokens, which would be evident to us alone. But now
there neither is this [hope], nor will he be ever saved. Why
then do I longer live? In what misfortune am I deficient ?
Shall I, choosing nuptials as a release from ills, live with a
barbarian husband, sitting at a wealthy table? But when »

'™ Elegantly rendered by Woodhull ;

“Think but of what redounds not to my honour,
And still remember my ideal shame.”

Compare King Henry the Eighth, ‘iv. 4:
‘* Men’s evil manners live in brass; their virtues
We write in water.”

18 T cannot better illustrate this sophism than by the words of Joseph
Surface. ‘ Ay, madam, to be sure, that is the provoking circumstance—
without foundation ; yes, yes, there’s the mortification, indeed; for, when
a scandalous story is believed against one, there certainly is no comfort
like the consciousness of having deserved it.”” School for Scandal, iv. 3.

19 T prefer dyer, with Musg, Dind.

i.e. [am falsely charged, yet cannot disprove it.

8 Joxotyreg dixit quasi precessisset p’ etyoev, MatTuie,
297-331. » HELEN. 207

husband is bitter to a stranger woman, even to be saved is
bitter. ”Tis best to die? How then shall I die honourably ?
Unseemly indeed are hangings aloft, and even among slaves it
is thought unbecoming ; but cutting the throat has something
noble and glorious, and of little account is the time to free
oneself from life.!9 For into such a depth of woes have we
come; since other women are fortunate indeed through their
beauty, but me has this very thing undone.

Cuo. Do not, Helen, think that the stranger, whoever he
be who has arrived, has told all things truly.

Her. And yet he stated clearly that my husband had
perished. .

Cuo. Many words may be spoken even to a false pur-
port.

Het. Ay, and, on the contrary, clear ones to a true.20

Cuo. For thou art carried to calamity rather than to good.

He. For a fear, surrounding me, leads me to apprehension.

Cxo. But how hast thou a kind reception in this house?

Het. All are my friends save he who seeks my nup-
tials.

Cuo. Do then, know’st thou what? Quitting the seat of:
the monument— :

Hex. To what discourse or advice art thou slowly com-
ing?

(ab: Going into the house, inquire of Theonoe, who knows
every thing, as the virgin is descended from the marine
daughter of Nereus, concerning thy husband, whether he is
yet alive, or has quitted the light ; and having well ascertained
the fact, regulate your joy and lamentation according to your
fortunes. But before thou knowest aught rightly, what will
it profit thee to be in sorrow? But be persuaded by me;
quitting this tomb, mix in company with the virgin, from
whom thou wilt know all. When thou hast in these dwell-
ings the power of learning the truth, why dost thou look
farther? And I too wish to enter the house with thee, and
with thee to learn the prophecies of the virgin, for it is meet
that a woman should with a woman labour.

Het. Friends, I receive your advice. Go, go into the

19 3, e, it little matters whether I die now, or some time hence.

2 ddnOeiac is governed by dtd, to be taken from the preceding dd
Wevdav, Dinvorr, But see Herm,
208 HELEN, . “ 332—275.

house, that thou mayest learn my troubles within the
house. ,

Cuo. Thou callest one not slowly willing.?!

Het. Alas! unhappy day, what tearful story shall I un-
happy hear?

Cuo. Do not, O dear one, anticipate lamentations like a
prophetess of woes. ‘

Hex. What has my wretched husband endured? Does he
behold the light and the four-horse chariot of the sun, and
[look] up to the tracks of the stars? or does he possess the lot
of earth among the dead below the earth?

Cro. Set down the future, whatsoever it shall be, to the
better side.

Het. For I have called upon thee, I have sworn by thee,
the damp Eurotas, green with reeds, that if this report con-
cerning my husband’s death be true—

Cuo, What unintelligible words are these?

Het. I should wish for the deadly hanging for my neck ;
or, I would cause to approach the sword-slaying violence of
a throat-cutting slaughter, in a contest of the very steel
driven within [and] through my flesh ;” a sacrifice to the
triple yoke of Goddesses, and to the son of Priam who
cultivated the pipe in Ida near his cattle stalls.*8

Cuo. Elsewhere may these ills be averted; but may thy
state be fortunate.

Het. Alas! wretched Troy, thou art perishing through
deeds not done,*4 and wretched things hast thou undergone.
But in the gift Venus has produced much blood and many
tears, and griefs on griefs, tears on tears,{* sufferings she
received.?6 And mothers have lost their children, and virgins
related to the dead have shorn their tresses around the Phry-
gian wave of Scamander, And Greece has shouted forth and
uttered a cry, a cry, and has placed her hands on her head,
and with her nails has wetted her soft-skinned chin, and with
bloody blows. O thou virgin, once happy in Arcadia, Callisto,

21 Elmal, pe de for pdrce,

72 Hermann takes these words as = 7} Eig. diwypa (ic, Eipoc) Aap. of.
ow did capnde wed, adbroo. dpidda, e

23 A very corrupt passage.

2 i.e. my supposed abduction.

25 Dindorf thinks this passage imperfect. See his note.

26 Burges, dye’ tm’ dyeoty EBare, for fdafe, i.e. “has hurled.”
375—A18, HELEN. 209

.

who with four-footed limbs didst once approach the bed of
Jove, how much more hast thou obtained than my mother;
who in the form of a hairy-limbed beast changed the griefs
of thy sorrow, in the form of lioness with savage eye.27, And
she too [more], whom once on a time Diana cast out of her
chorus, the stag with golden horns, the Titanian daughter of
Merops, on account of her beauty. But my person has de-
stroyed, has destroyed the towers of Troy, and the Greeks
who perished.

Menetavs. O Pelops, who at Pisa didst once successfully
contend with Gnomaus in the contest of cars with four steeds,
would that, when thou, being sawn asunder, didst furnish a
banquet for the Gods, thou hadst quitted life among the Gods,
before thou hadst ever begotten my father Atreus; who, by
his union with Aerope begat Agamemnon and myself, Mené-
laus, a renowned pair. For I think (and this I speak not in
boast) that I directed the largest armament sent by oars
against Troy, leading as a king the expedition, not by force,
but ruling over the willing youths of Greece. And one can
number up some who are now no more, and some who, joy-
fully escaping from the sea, are bearing the names of the dead
home to their dwellings. But wretched I am wandering on
the marine wave of the dark-blue sea through all the time
[since] I sacked the towers of Troy; and, seeking to go to
my country, I am not granted by the Gods to obtain this.
But I have sailed to the deserted and inhospitable retreats of
Libya; and when I am near my country, again the breeze
drives me back, and never does a favourable wind come upon
my sail, so that I may reach my country.2® And now, a miser-
able shipwrecked mariner, I have, after losing my friends,
fallen out upon this land; but my vessel is broken against the
rocks into a great number of wrecks. And the lowest plank
was [alone] left of the varied joinings, upon which I was with
difficulty saved, through an unexpected fortune, and Helen too,
whom I have dragged away from Troy. I know not however

27 T am inclined to think that Euripides has here followed a scheme of
mythology different from that of other writers; and I am thereforg little
disposed to believe that Aeaivne is corrupt, as Hermann supposes. The
student will find copious, but most unsatisfactory, details of the fables to
which Euripides alludes, in the notes of Barnes and Musgrave.

8 Compare the speech of the first witch in Macbeth, i. 4.

P
210 HELEN, # 414-450.

“the name of ‘this country and the people; for I was ashamed

to fall in with the crowd, so that they should inquire about
these my squalid garments, and I conceal through shame my
misfortunes. For when a man [once] in a lofty station fares
ill, he is wont to fall into an unusual state worse than he who
‘has been unhappy of old. But necessity wears me down; for
neither is food at hand, nor garments round my body ; but this
may be conjectured,” [seeing] I am girt round in the thrown-
out sheets of the ship. But my former robes, and splendid
coverings, and luxurious vestments, the sea has snatched away.
But having hidden in the recesses of a cave the woman wha
.is the cause of all my troubles, I am come [hither], having
compelled my surviving friends to guard my wife. And I
am travelling alone, seeking what is advantageous for my
-friends there, if perchance I can by a discovery lay hold of
it. But perceiving this dwelling, surrounded with battlements,
and the majestic portals of some wealthy man, I have ap-
proached. And there is a hope that sailors may receive some-
thing at least from a wealthy house; but of those who have’
not the means of life, none, even if they wished, could have
the power to assist. Ho! what porter will come from the
house, who will tell my troubles [to those] within ?

Otp Woman. Who is at the gates? Wilt thou not betake
thyself from the house ? nor, by standing at the gates of the
vestibule, give trouble to the masters? Or wilt thou die,

‘being a Greek by birth, for whom there is no regard?

Men. O aged dame, well dost thou speak all these words.
-May I—for I will obey—but defer your speech.®°

Otp W. Away! for this duty is laid on me, stranger, that
no Greek approach. this dwelling.

Men. Hold; do not stretch forth thine hand, nor drive me
away by force.

Op W. For thou art persuaded of nought that I say.
Thou art the cause.

_ Men. Tell it to thy masters within.

Op W. To thy cost, I think, I should tell thy words.

Men. I am come, a shipwrecked stranger, a race to be not
without an asylum.

‘OLp W. Go, then, to some other house instead of this.

29 viz. from his wretched appearance. 30 See Herm.
451—476. HELEN. 211

Men. Not 80; but I will pass by within; and do thou be
persuaded by me.

Otp W. Know that thou art troublesome, and thou wilt
soon be pushed away by force.

Men. Alas! where are my renowned armaments?

Otp W. There, perhaps, thou wast a man to be worshipped,
not so here.

Men. O fortune, how unworthily have I been dishonoured !

Oup W. Why dost thou bedew thine eyelids with tears?
Wherefore art thou in grief?

Men. In reference to my former happy fortunes.

Op W. Wilt thou not, then, going away, give thy tears to
thy friends. ; :

Men. But what country is this? And of whom are these
the regal abodes?

Op W. Proteus inhabits these dwellings, but the land is
Egypt.

"Men. Egypt? O wretched me! whither indeed have I
sailed ?

Op W. Why is the race of the Nile to be blamed by thee ?

Men. I find no fault with it. I mourn my fate.

Op W.. Many fare ill, not thou, forsooth, alone.

Men. Is the king you name in the house ?

Op W. This is his monument; but his son rules the land.

Men. Where then is he? Is he from home or. in the
house?

-— Oxp W. He is not within; but he is most hostile to the

Greeks.

Men. Having what cause, from which I suffer?

Op W. Helen, the daughter of Jove, is in this house.

Men. How sayest thou? What tale hast thoutold? Tell
it me again.

Oxtp W. The daughter of Tyndarus, who was once at
Sparta. ,

Men. Coming from whence? What meaning has this af-
fair? (aside.)

Op W. Journeying hither from the Lacedemonian land.

Men. When? Surely I have not been robbed of my wife
out of the cave. (aside.)

OLp W. Before that the Greeks came to Troy, O stranger.
P2 , ‘
212 HELEN. 477-519.

But go from the house, for there is in the dwelling a calamity,
by which the royal house is disturbed. And thou hast come
at no opportune time; for if my master catch thee, death
will be thy guest. For I am well inclined to the Greeks, not
so [bitter to them] as the bitter words I have uttered, fearing
my master.

Men. What shall I speak? what shall I say? for I hear
of present calamities following the past; if I indeed have
come, bringing my wife, who was taken captive, from Troy,
and she is preserved in the cave; but some other woman,
having the same name as my wife, dwells in this house. She [the
old woman] said indeed that she [Helen] was born the daughter
of Jove. But perhaps there is some man by the banks of
Nile, possessing the name of Jove? For in heaven there is
but one. But where on the earth is Sparta, save only where
are the streams of Eurotas with beautiful reeds? And the name
of Tyndarus is applied to him alone. But what land bears the
name of Lacedzemon, and what of Troy? I indeed have nought
to say. For many persons, it seems, in the wide earth possess
the same names, and city the same with city, and woman with
woman. There is nothing then to be wondered at ; nor, again,
will I fly from the fear held forth by that woman. For there
is no man so barbarous in disposition as that, having heard
my name, he will not bestow food. Renowned is the flame
of Troy, and I, Menelaus, who kindled it, am not unknown
in the whole earth. I will wait for the ruler of the house;
and [this resolution] has for me a two-fold protection. If
indeed he be a cruel wretch, I will, having concealed myself,
go [back] to the wreck; but if he yields to any softness, I
will crave the things conducive to my present misfortunes.
But being a king oneself, it is the extreme of evils for us
wretched to beg of other kings for sustenance; but it needs
must be. For it is not my saying, but the saying of wise
men: Nought has a greater power than terrible necessity.

Cuo. I heard the prophetic maiden, who appeared and
gave out the oracles to the royal household,®! how that Mene-
laus has not yet passed through murky Erebus, being hidden

31 i.e. to Helen, If we suppose Menelaus also to be meant, since he

did not consult the oracle, we must treat rupdyvorc Séuote as the dativus
commodi.
520—550. HELEN. 2138

in the earth; but that, still worn down on the waves®? of the
sea, he has not yet touched the ports of his country land,
wretched in his wandering of life, friendless of friends, upon
all manner of lands drawing nigh his foot®? with the marine
oar, from the Trojan land. .

Het. Hither I am come again to the seat of this tomb, having
learned pleasing news from Theonoe; who knows all things
truly. For she says that my husband, yet dwelling in the
light, beholds the light,®4 but wanders, having sailed through.
innumerable seas, hither and thither; and that he will come
not unexercised in wanderings, when indeed he shall obtain an
end of his troubles. But one thing she did not say, whether
on his arrival he will be saved. But I stood off from clearly
asking this, being delighted, since she said that he was pre-
served for me. And she said that he was some where near
this land, having been cast shipwrecked with a few friends.
Ah! wilt thou come to me? How longed-for wouldst thou
come! Ha! who is this? surely I am not stealthily attacked
through the devices of the impious son of Proteus? Shall I
not, like a swift foal, or Bacchanal of the God, unite my limbs
with the tomb? But this is some man, savage in appearance,
who seeks to take me.

Men. Oh thou who art striving forward with terrible®
hastening to the base of the tomb and the burning cakes,%
remain; why dost thou fly? How, after showing thy person
to my view, dost thou bring astonishment and an inability to
speak | ,

: Hux. I am wronged, O women ; for I am kept off from the

32 Mackbeth, i. 3. .
‘© Weary seven nights, nine times nine,
Shall he dwindle, peak, and pine ;
Though his bark cannot be lost,
Yet it shall be tempest toss’d.”’ :

33 Does not zoda xpiprrépevog rather mean “‘ landing,” literally,
“ drawing nigh the sheet rope’? ; .

% Pflugk’s defence of this most clumsy pleonasm fails to convince me
of its genuineness. I should condemn the verse #) wdvr’ adn Owe olde,
gnoiv ev dae, as a decided interpolation, introduced by some copyist, who
did not perceive that the sentence dow... eicopdy is. governed by.
héyerv, implied in Adyovg. :

35 Schefer on Bos Ellips, p. 628, deAdy for devdy.

% Musgrave quotes Pollux iv. 73, 6 d& dpSocrarie, iepod dproy ri
eldog.
214 HELEN. 551—578.

sepulchre by this man; and he wishes, having seized me, to
give me to the tyrant from whose nuptials I fled.
' Men. We are not thieves, nor ministers of bad men.
Hex. And yet thou hast an unseemly garb around thy
body.
Mane Stay thy swift foot, dismissing fear.
Het. I stay it, since indeed I touch this place.
Men. Who art thou? What sight, lady, do I behold in
thee?
Her. And who art thou? for the same question pos-
sesses me.
Men. I never saw a frame more like—(aside.)
Het. O Gods, for a God it is to recognise those dear. (aside.)
Men. Grecian art thou, woman, or one of the country ?
Het. Grecian; but I also wish to know thy [country].
Men. I perceive thee, lady, most like to Helen.
_ Hex. And I thee, indeed, to Menelaus; nor know I what
to say. ©
Men. Thou hast well recognised a most ill-fortuned man.
Hew. O thou who after a long time hast come into the
hands of thy wife!
Men. Of what wife? Touch thou not my garments.
Het. She whom Tyndarus my father gave thee.
Men. O thou light-bearing Hecate, send favourable visions.
Het. In me thou beholdest not a night-seen minister of
Hecate.
Men. No one man is born husband of two wives.
Het. And of what other marriage-bed art thou the lord?
Men. [Of her] whom a cave hides, and [whom] I am
carrying off from the Phrygians. .
Het. None other than myself is thy wife.
Men. Am I then in my senses, but mine eye at fault ?
_Het. For dost not thou, seeing me, think that thou seest
thy wife?
Men.. Thy body is like [to hers]; but clearness of decision
is wanting to me.*7
Het. Consider. But in this*® no man is a better judge
than you. :

7 yp’ drocrepet = ob cupwaptreral pot. Priuex.
38 rd 8 obdeic is an emendation of Wyttenbach’s, received by Dindorf,
but, in my opinion, hardly satisfactory.
679—607. HELEN. 215

Men. Thou art like [her]. This at least I will not deny.

Het. Who other than thine eyes shall teach thee?

Men. In this I am at fault, that I have another wife.

Het. I came not to the Trojan land; but it was a spectre. -

Men. And who makes bodies capable of sight ?

Het, The ether; whence thou hast a wife made by a God.

Men. Which of the Gods was the moulder? for thou
tellest unexpected things.

Het. It was an exchange effected by Juno, that Paris
might not receive me. :

Men. How then wast thou here and at Troy at the same
time ?

He. My name might be in many places, but not my body.

Men. Let me go; I have come possessing griefs enough.

Het. What, wilt thou leave me, and bear away that vain
spouse ?

Men. Ay, and fare thee well, because thou art like Helen.

Het. I am undone; having found thee, I shall not possess
a husband.

Men. The might of my labours there’ persuades me, not
thou.

Het. Woe’s me! Who was ever more wretched than I?
Those dearest desert me, nor shall I ever come to the Greeks
nor to my country.

MEssENGER. (entering.) Menelaus, after seeking thee, I find
thee with difficulty, having wandered about the whole of this
barbarian land, sent by thy surviving friends.

Men. What is the matter? Are ye plundered by the
barbarians ?

Mess. [I am come], having a marvel [to tell of], less in
name than in fact.

Men. Say; since by this haste [of thine] thou bearest
some new tidings.

Mess. I say that thou hast vainly undergone innumerable
toils.

Men. Thou weepest ancient ills. But what is your news?

Mess. Thy wife has departed to the folds of the sky, wafted
from view; and she is hidden in heaven, having quitted the
sacred cave, where we were guarding her, [and] having

39 i. e. living figures. Menelaus was no Frankenstein.
4 i.e. at Troy.
216 HELEN. 608—651.

spoken thus much: “O miserable Phrygians, and ye all
Greeks, through me, by the art of Juno, ye died at the banks
of Scamander, thinking that Paris, who had not Helen, -did
have her. But I, after I had remained as long a time as it
behoved me, preserving the decree of fate, will go to heaven
my father; but the hapless daughter of Tyndarus has vainly
borne evil reports, being in nothing guilty.” O hail! thou
daughter of Leda, thou wert here. But I told of thee as hav-
ing gone to the recesses of the stars, nought knowing that
thou bearest a winged body. I will not again permit thee to
mock us; since vainly at ‘Troy didst thou give troubles to thy
husband and allies.

Men. This is it. The true words of this woman have
come together. O longed-for day, that has given thee to me
to receive in my arms.

Hex. O Menelaus, most dear of men, the time indeed is
ancient, but the pleasure is lately near at hand. With delight
have I received my husband, friends, throwing around [him]

my loving hand after a long lapse of light-bearing days.

‘ _Mmn. And I [embrace] thee; but having many things to
tell of common interest, I know not with which I now shall
first begin.

Het. I rejoice, and I, bird-like, am uplifted as to the hair
erect on my head,*! and I shed the tear [of joy]. But around
thy limbs I cast my hands, now that I receive delight. O
husband, O sight most dear!

Men. I do not blame thee.4? I possess my wife, the daugh-
ter of Jove and Leda, whom by lamplight her twin brothers
on their white steeds blessed, ah! blessed in former times ;
but the Gods conveyed thee from me.

Het. But the deity leads on to another fortune better than
this, and evil has brought thee and me to good, O husband,
after a long season; but nevertheless may I enjoy my fortune.

Men. Mayest thou indeed enjoy; in this same prayer I
join, for of the two one cannot be wretched, the other not.

Het. My friends, my friends, we no longer mourn past
evils, nor do I grieve. I have, I have my husband, for whom
I have waited, waited to come for many a year.

41 Woodhull; “Joy raises my exulting crest, these tears Are tears of
ecstasy.”
2 ob« iuéupOny, I am no longer dissatisfied.
652—680. HELEN. 217

. Men. Thou hast me, and I have thee; but having with
difficulty passed through numberless years, I perceive the
plans of the Goddess. But my joyous tears have more of
joy than grief.

Hex. What can I say? Who of mortals would ever have
hoped for this? I hold thee unexpected to my breast.

Men. And I thee, who wast thought to have come to the
Idean city and unhappy towers of Troy. By the Gods, how
wast thou removed from mine house?

Hex. Alas! alas! to a bitter commencement thou art
coming; alas! alas! and a bitter report art thou tracking.

Men. Speak; for all that is brought to pass by the Gods
may be listened to. :

Hex. I abhor the story; what kind shall I introduce?

Men. Yet speak. Sweet is it in truth to hear of la-
bours.‘4

Het. Not to the couch of a barbarian youth with a flying
oar,* and with the winged love of lawless nuptials [did I go].

Men. For what deity,‘* or what fortune robbed thee of thy
country ?

Het. The son of Jove, of Jove, O husband, has caused me
to approach the Nile. ,

Men. Marvellous things [thou tellest] of the sender. O
fearful tale !

Het. I have wept, and I now wet mine eyelids with tears.
The wife of Jove has destroyed me.

Men. Juno? Desiring to add what of ills?

Het. Alas! for my woes, for the baths and fountains,
where the Goddesses beautified their forms, [and] where came
the trial.

Men. Did Juno bring on thee these ills on account of that
trial ? '

Het. [Ay], that she might take away love—

Men. How? Speak.

8 But yappovady, Elmsley’s emendation, is preferred by Dindorf, and
almost by Pflugk. pate ees .

i.e. of labours past. Cf. Androm. p. 18, add’ 7d roe cw8évra
peprvijoOa mévwy. ae

45 Cf. Catull. iii. 4, “sive palmulis Opus foret volare, sive linteo.”’

‘6 It is perhaps worth while to observe that the early classical mean-
ings of dafpwy, especially in Euripides, are most elaborately discussed
and illustrated by Rudolf on Ocellus Lucanus iii. § 3, n. 3.
218 HELEN. 681—716.

Het. From Paris, to whom [Venus] had by her nod given
me.

Men. O wretched one.

Het. Wretched, wretched one! Thus she caused thee to
approach Egypt.

Men. Then she gave a phantom in thy stead, as I hear
from you.

Hex. But for the sufferings, the sufferings at home, O
mother, woe is me!

Men, What sayest thou ?

Hew. My mother is no more. Through me, an ill-wedded
disgrace! she fastened the strangling noose.

Men. Ah me! And is thy daughter Hermione alive?

Het. Unwedded, childless, O husband, she with shame
laments my nuptials no nuptials.

Men. O Paris, who hast utterly destroyed my house, these
things have destroyed both thee and myriads of brazen-armed
Greeks.

Het. But me, ill fated, accursed, the God cast out from
my country, from my city, and from thee, in that I, not leav-
ing, left thy house and couch for shameful nuptials.

Cuo. If ye can meet with prosperous fortune hereafter, it
will avail against the past.

Mess. Menelaus, to me also give some of the pleasure,
which I too am hearing, but do not clearly possess.

Men. Thou too, old man, share our discourse.

Mess. Is not this the authoress of our troubles at Troy ?

Men. Not she, we were deceived by the Gods, having a
sad 47 image of vapour in our hands.

Mess. What sayest thou? Did we then vainly undergo
toils for a cloud ?

Men. This was the deed of Juno, and the strife of the three
Goddesses.

Mess. And is this woman really and truly thy wife ?

Men. Herself; believe this on my assertion.

Mess. O daughter, how variable is the Deity, and inscrut-
able! But well I ween he turns things around, bearing them
hither and thither. One man toils; another, who has not
toiled, in turn evilly perishes, possessing firmly nothing of his
fortune, which is only for the time being. For thou and thy

 Valck. dypdy, moist,
716—756.° HELEN. 219

husband did share in troubles, thou indeed in words, but he in

his ardour for the deeds of the spear. But hastening, when

he hastened he obtained nought, but now he fares most for-

tunately, having obtained good spontaneously.4® Then thou

hast not disgraced thy old father and the Dioscuri, nor hast

thou done such things as are reported! Now I again renew

thy hymeneal rite, and call to mind the torches, which I bore,

running beside the four-horsed chariot: and thou in thy car -
quitted thy happy home with this man as his bride. For

base is that man who regards not his masters’ affairs, and does.
not rejoice? and grieve together in their good and ill.. May

I, indeed, although born a servant, be numbered among

generous slaves, not having the name, but the mind of a free-

man. For better is this than, being one man, to be subject

to two evils, both to have a bad disposition, and to be taunted
by others as the slave of neighbours.

Men. Come, O aged man, many labours hast thou per-
formed near my shield, having toiled through them with me;
and now having shared in [the news of ] my prosperity, go,
tell the tidings to our surviving friends, how you have found
these matters, and in what state of fortune we are. And [bid
them] stay on shore, and wait for my contests that remain,
and ‘which I expect, and to keep watch [if] we can by any
means steal away this woman from the land, in order that by
coming to one point of luck, we may, if we can, be saved from
the barbarians.

Mess. These things shall be, O king. Although I have
witnessed how trivial and how full of falsehoods are the words
of seers. ‘There is nothing sound in the flames of fire, nor in.
the voices of winged birds. And foolish indeed it is even to
suppose that birds can benefit mortals. For neither Calchas
said nor signified to the army, when he saw his friends dying
on account of a cloud, nor Helenus; but the city was destroyed
in vain. You will say it was because the deity did not wish it
[that they should speak]; why then do we consult seers? It
behoves us, sacrificing to the Gods, to ask for good things, but
to let alone prophecies. For this was invented as nought but

4 The construction is slightly inverted, the sense being éywy adrépara,
modoce ebruxéorara,

After Evyyéyne supply dya8oic. Such a zeugma is common in pro-
verbial phrases.

eae
220 HELEN, 756—783,

a bait to life; and no one, being a sluggard, ever grew rich
on divinations. For discernment and prudence are the best
of prophets.5°

Cuo. My opinion, too, concerning prophets tends to the
same point with this old man’s. If one has the Gods as his
friends, he has the best divination in his house.

He... Be it so. Thus far matters stand well; but to learn
how thou, O hapless man, wast saved from Troy, is indeed
no profit; but there is a certain desire for friends to hear the
troubles of friends.

Men. In truth thou hast asked me many things in a single
sentence and by a single road. Why should I tell thee of the
shipwrecks in the AZgean Sea, of the fires lighted in Euboea
by Nauplius,®! and of Crete, and of Libya, to which cities
I turned my course, and of the look-outs of Perseus. I
could never satisfy thee with the story, and telling thee my
troubles I should still grieve. In suffering I was troubled ;
and I should thus be pained twice.

Hex. Thou hast spoken more fitly5* than I asked thee.
But, leaving all [other matters], tell me one thing. For how
long a time hast thou been tossed in marine wanderings
upon the surface of the sea ?

Men. Year after year®4 in addition to the ten years at
Troy, I have passed through seven revolutions of years.

Het, Alas! alas! a long time thou tellest, O hapless one.
And being preserved from thence, thou art hither come to
death.55

Men. How sayest thou? What wilt thou say? How hast
thou undone me, woman !

Het. Thou wilt perish by the man whose house this is.

Mng. Having done what deed worthy of this misfortune ?

Het. Thou art come unexpected and a hinderance to my
nuptials.

5° For the sentiment of Menander, p. 78, 6 wXetaroy voir tywy Mavic
7’ dptardég tort abpBovdog 6’ dua, see Barnes’s note, Duport. Gnomol.
Homer, p. 72.

5\ Cf. Serv. on Virg. Aen. xi. 260.

% At one extremity of the Egyptian Delta. Cf. Herod. ii. 15.

% j. e. with greater prudence than I showed in asking the question.

» Literally, “‘ year-wise, computing by years.”

*$ Dindorf has omitted the line gedy’ We TdXLora Tij¢ O dmwadd\axSeic
x9ovdc, with Valckenaer.
784—811. HELEN, 221

Men. What, has some one wished to wed my wife?
Hex. Ay, and to work that insult on me, which I have
undergone.*6
Men. Some one of private influence, or ruling the land ?
Het. The son of Proteus, who governs this country.
Men. This is that riddle which I heard from the servant.
Hew. Standing at what barbarian portals?
Mun. These, from whence I was driven like a beggar.
He. And wast thou craving sustenance? O wretched me !
Men. The matter indeed was such, but it had not this name.
Hint Thou knowest then, as you seem, all about my nup-
tials ?
Men. I know; but this I know not, whether thou hast
escaped the nuptials ?
Het. Know that thy bed has been preserved inviolate for
thee. i
MEN. What evidence [is there] of this? for thou tellest
pleasant things, if true.
Hex. Dost thou behold the unhappy seat of me a sup-
pliant at this tomb?
Men. I see a couch strewn on the ground, O wretched one;
but what have you to do with it?
He. Here I have kept beseeching an escape from nup-
tials.
Men. Through lack of an altar, or.after barbarian customs ?
Het. This has been defence for me equal to the temples
of the Gods.
Men. Is it not then allowed me to ship thee homewards ?
Het. The sword, rather than my bed, will await thee.
Men. Thus I shall be the most wretched of mortals.
Het. Do not then be ashamed [to flee], but escape from
this land.
Men. Leaving thee? I have destroyed Troy for thy sake.
Het. For it is better than for my bed to cause your death.
Men. Thou speakest unmanly acts, and unworthy of Troy.
Het. Thou wilt not slay the king, as thou perhaps aimest at.
Men. Has he then a body invulnerable to the sword ?
Hex. Thou wilt see; but to dare what is impossible is not
the part of a wise man.
38 Viz. as aslave. Cf. vs. 283, dovAn xabéiorny’, ove’ 2devOipwy dro.
Martrtuez.
222 HELEN. 812—841.

Men. Shall I then in silence give him my hands to bind?

Het. Thou art come to a difficulty, and there is need of
some contrivance. ;

Men. For better is it to die by doing’ than by not doing.

Het. There is one hope, by which alone we may be saved.

Men. To be purchased, or dared, or depending upon words?

Het, If the tyrant were not to hear of thy arrival.

Men, And who will tell [him] of me? He will not surely
know who I am.

Het. Within he has an ally equal to the Gods.

Men. Some oracular voice shrined in his dwelling ?

Het. No, but his sister; they call her Theonoe.

Men. A name for oracles ; but say, what is she doing?

Het. She knows all, and will tell her brother thou art pre-
sent.

Men. Then I shall die; for it is impossible for me to lie
concealed.

Het. If we could both by any entreaties persuade her—

Men. To do what thing? Into what hope dost thou
lead me?

Het. Not to tell her brother of your presence in the land ?

Men. And having persuaded her, could we separate our
footsteps from the land ?

Het, Easily, in common with her, but not by stealth.

Men. It is thy work; since a woman is fitted for a woman.

Het. She shall not have her knees untouched by my hands.

Men. But what if she will not receive our entreaties ?
i Het. Thou wilt die; and I unhappy shall be wedded by
orce.

Men. Thou wouldst be a traitress. Thou usest that force
as a pretence. %

Hex. But I have sworn a sacred oath by thine head.

Men. What sayest thou? that thou wilt die, and never
change thine husband ?

He. Ay, and with the same sword; and I will lie beside
thee.

Men. On these terms touch then my right hand.

Het. I touch it, [swearing] that if thou diest, I will quit
this light.

Men. And I, deprived of thee, will end my life.

Het. How then shall we die, so as to obtain renown?

.
842—874, HELEN, 223

Men. Having slain thee on the back of the tomb, I will
slay myself. But first we will engage in a mighty contest for
thy bed; and let him who will, draw nigh. For I will not
disgrace my renown at Troy; nor shall I returning to Greece
obtain much reproach, who deprived Thetis of Achilles, and
have seen the death of Ajax the son of Telamon, and the son
of Neleus;57 but for my own wife’s sake shall I not think fit
to die? Ay, most decidedly, for if the Gods are wise, they
will with light earth®® cover in the tomb the valiant man,
who has fallen by the enemy, but cast the craven beneath a
hard mound of earth. :

Cuo. O Gods, at length may the race of Tantalus be pros-
perous, and be freed from ills.

Het. Alas! me wretched. For thus am I in fortune, O
Menelaus. We are undone. The prophetic Theonoe is coming
out of the palace. The house resounds, as the bars are loos-
ened. Fly; but how canst thou fly? For both absent and
present she knows that thou hast come hither. O wretched
one, how am I undone! For thou, after being preserved from
Troy, and from a barbarian land, will, coming to barbarians’
swords, fall again.

TuEon. (followed by two female attendants.) Do thou in-
deed lead the way, bearing the light of lamps, and with sul-
phur purge the holy consecrated®® recess of the air, that we
may receive the pure breath of heaven. And do thou in turn
purify with cleansing flame the path, should any one have
violated it, by treading with impious foot; and shake the
pine-brand, that I may pass through. But both of you,
having performed this law of mine, take back the flame of
the hearth into the dwelling. Helen, what, how stand my
divinations? Thy husband Menelaus is plainly come hither,

57 This is Musgrave’s necessary emendation for Onotwe, for Acamas
and Polymestor both returned safe from Troy.

58 Cf, Alc. 462, xodga cot Ow trdvwOe réoot, with Monk’s note,
PFLUGK.

59 T read Osiov 2 cepvd0eopor aidépoc puxdy, sulphure lustra etheris
recessum sanctis legibus consecratum, with Pflugk and Dindorf. puxév.
aidipog seems equivalent to wrvxai, as in vs. 44. On the custom see
Musgrave. For Osiov Pflugk compares Hom. Od. X. 481, ¥. 50. So
Lysippus apud Polluc. vii. 11, éaeyrvdac wal Oewoac rag dddorpiag
ixcvotac. Cf. Feith. Antiq. Homeric. i. 6, § 2. Lomeier de Lustrat. xix.
p. 249 sq.
224 | HELEN, 875—910.

deprived of his ships, and of thine image. O wretched one,
from what toils having escaped didst thou come, nor knowest
whether thou wilt return home, or remain here. For there is
a strife among the Gods; and a council concerning thee will
be this day sitting near Jove. Juno, indeed, who before was
hostile.to thee, is now well inclined, and wishes to bring you
safe to your country with this [your wife], that Greece may
learn that the nuptials of Paris, the gift of Venus, were pre-
tended nuptials. But Venus wishes to destroy thy return,
that she may neither be convicted, nor be seen to have
purchased [the palm of] beauty by a foolish marriage with
Helen. But the result rests with me, whether, as Venus
desires, having told my brother thou art here, I shall destroy
thee ; or, on the other hand, siding with Juno, I save thy life,
concealing thee from my brother, who appoints me to tell
him of this, when thou chancest to arrive at this land. Who
will go to tell my brother that this man is here present, that
I may be safe?

Het. O virgin, I fall a suppliant at thy knee, and am sitting
at a seat®! not blest, both on my behalf and this man’s, whom
with difficulty at length having found, I am on the very point
of seeing dying. Tell not to thy brother that this my husband
is come into these most loving hands; but save him, I beseech
thee; and for thy brother do not desert thy piety, purchasing
base and unjust thanks. For the deity hates violence, and
orders all men to obtain what may be acquired, not through
plunder.® For the heaven is common to all mortals,® and the
earth, on which it behoves us dwelling in our houses, not to have
other men’s goods, nor to seize them by force. But Hermes,
by the will of heaven™ indeed, but sadly for me, has given
me to thy father to preserve for this my husband ; who is pre-

© Or rather, “will sit by Jove.” Tdpedpoc may be illustrated from
Ovid. Met. i. fab. 4,5 sqq. Virg. Aon, x. 2sqq. With reference to the
pee Gediv, or “consensus Deorum,” cf. Arnaud, de Diis Mapé-

parc, § 7,

* Cf, Phen. 300, yovurertic {pac mpoomrva a’ dvak. Soph, C&d.
T. 2, rivag 100" tpac—BodZere.

® ke dpwayde = ody wore dpwalayv. Hipp. 276, dorsi & sic dxéc-
tyow Biov. Matrura.

63 The verse éaréog 8’ 6 wAovrog ddixde Tig Sv, has been thrown out
by Herm,

% waxapiweg.
911-954. HELEN. 225

sent and desires to take me away. How then, dying, can he
take me away? And how could he ever restore the living to -
the dead? Now consider the will of the deity and of thy sire,
whether the deity and the deceased would wish or not wish to
restore again the property of their neighbours. I think [they -
would]. It behoves thee not to attach greater weight to thy
silly-minded brother than thy good father. But if, being a
prophetess, and believing there are Gods, thou shalt break
through thy father’s justice, and do favour to thine unjust
brother, ’tis base indeed that thou shouldst know all things
divine, what is, what is not, but not know things just. But
deliver wretched me from the ills in which I lie, giving this
as a by-deed of fortune ; for there is no one among mortals
who hates not Helen; I who am bruited through Greece as
having betrayed my husband, and dwelt in the wealthy man-
sions of the Phrygians. But if I come to Greece, and again
tread the land of Sparta, they hearing, [and] seeing, that it was
by the contrivance of the Gods they perished, and that I was
not the betrayer of my friends, will again on the contrary re-
store me to [the repute of ] modesty, and I shall dower my
daughter, whom no one marries; and quitting my bitter wan-
derings here, I shall enjoy the wealth that isin my house. But
if indeed this man dying had been consumed on the funeral pile,
I should with my tears have cherished him being far away;
but shall I now be deprived of him, who is alive and well ?
Not so, O virgin; but I implore thee this; grant me this fa-
vour, and imitate the manners of thy just sire. For this is
the fairest renown for children, whosoever being sprung from
a good father, arrives at the same manners as his parents.

Cuo. Piteous indeed are the words just spoken, and pitiable
too art thou. But I desire to hear from Menelaus what words
he will speak on behalf of his life.

Men. I could not endure to fall prostrate at your knees,
nor to bedew mine eyelids with tears ; for, becoming a craven,
I should very greatly disgrace Troy. And yet they say
that it is the part of a man well born to shed the tear from
his eyes in misfortunes. But not even this honourable act,
if honourable it be, will I choose before a courageous soul.
But if indeed it seems good to thee to save a stranger, and me

8 i.e, my deeds at Troy, as in vs. 845, rd Tpwikdy ydp ov xara:-
oxuvd Kréog. é
226. HELEN. 955—1000

who justly seeks to recover my wife, restore her, and more-
over, save me; but if it does not seem good, I shall be not
wretched now for the first time, but often [before], and thou
wilt appear a wicked woman. But those things which we
deem worthy of us, and just, and which will chiefly touch
thine heart, I will gladly say near this monument of thy sire.
O thou old man, who dwellest in this stone tomb, restore [her }.
I demand back of thee my wife, whom Jove sent hither for
thee to preserve for me. I know that thou being dead canst
never make us restitution, but this woman will not think fit
that her father, who was once most glorious, should hear re-
proaches, being called upon from below, for she now has the
power.6 © nether Hades, thee too I invoke as ally, who
hast received for the sake of this woman many bodies that fell
by my sword, and thou hast thy reward. Lither then give
them back again to life, or compel this woman who seems to
be better than her impious sire, to give back my nuptials,
But if ye rob me of my wife, I will tell thee what argu-
ments she has omitted. By an oath, O virgin, (that thou
mayest know it,) we are bound first to do battle with thy
brother; and he or I must die; the word is simple. But if
he does not in the fight oppose foot to foot, but seeks [to slay ]
by starvation us suppliant at this tomb ; it has been determined
by me to slay this woman, and then to drive this two-edged
sword to my heart, upon the summit of this tomb, that streams
of blood may trickle down the burial-place ; and we shall af-
terwards lie, two corses on this polished tomb, an undying
grief to thee, and reproach to thy sire. For neither thy
brother nor any one else shall wed this woman; but I will
take her away for myself, if not to my house, at least to the
dead. What is this? turning myself to woman by tears, I
shall be an object of pity rather than a man to act. Slay, if
please thee; for thou wilt not slay me ingloriously ; but rather
indeed be persuaded by my words, that thou mayest be just,
and I may recover my wife.

Cuo. It is for thee, O damsel, to decide the question. But
do thou give judgment so as to please all parties.

Taeon. I am both born to act piously, and willing to do so;
and I love myself, and I would not stain the renown of my
father; nor would I grant a favour to my brother by which

6 «upia is explained by vs, 887, rédog 0” eg’ piv, K.7.A.
1001—1043. HELEN, 227

I shall appear infamous. But in me there is by nature a great
shrine of justice ; and having this from Nereus, I will endeavour
to preserve Menelaus. And since Juno wishes to benefit thee,
J will place my vote on the same side; and may Venus bo
propitious to me, although she has never marched with me: ®
and I will endeavour to remain a virgin for ever. But as to
the matters of which thou hast spoken as a disgrace to my
father at this tomb, there is the same language on my part.
I should be guilty of injustice, should I not restore [thy wife] ;
for he would, if living, have given back to her to possess thee,
and thee to [possess] her. For in sooth there is vengeance for
these matters both among the dead, and to all men above. The
mind of the deceased lives not indeed, but has an immortal
intelligence, falling into the immortal ether. That I may not,
then, make a long speech, I will be silent as to the things thou
hast besought me; nor in folly will I ever be a fellow coun-
sellor with my brother ; for I benefit him, though not seeming
to do so, if from impiety I make him holy. Do ye then your-
selves find out an escape; and I, getting out of the way, will
keep silence. But begin ye from the Gods, and beseech Venus
indeed to let thee return to thy country; and that Juno's re-
solves may remain in the same state, which she entertains for
the safety of thee and thy husband. But thou, my deceased
father, os far as I have strength, shalt never be called im-
pious, instead of pious. (zit THEONOE.)

Cuo. No one, being born unjust, has ever prospered; but
in justice are there hopes of safety.

Het. Menelaus, we have been saved by the virgin; but
henceforward it behoves thee, producing reasons, to combine
a common contrivance for our safety.

Men. Hear then indeed. Thou hast long been in the
dwelling, and hast been bred up with the attendants on the
king.

Het. Why dost thou say this? for thou bringest hopes as
though about to do something for our common good.

Men. Couldst thou persuade any one of those who guide
the four-horse chariots, so as to furnish us with a car?

Het. I might persuade; but what flight can we take, being
ignorant of the plains and the barbarian land ?

Men. You mention a thing impossible. Come; what if,

67 j, e. I have never been acquainted with her rites,
'

a
.
228 -HELEN. 1044—1077.

hiding myself in the house, I were to slay the king with this
two-edged sword? ,

Het. His sister would not suffer it, nor be silent, if thou
wert about to slay her brother.

Men. But neither is there a ship, in which flying we might
be saved, for the sea possesses the one we had.

Het. Listen, if even a woman can say aught wise. Art
thou willing to be reported dead in words, not being dead ?

Men. ’Tis a bad omen; but if I gain by saying so, I am
ready to die in report, not dying.

Her. And truly we will excite pity in the impious [king]
by female cuttings of hair and groanings.

Men. But what means of safety does this furnish for us ?
For there is something of simplicity in the design.

He. I will request the tyrant of this land to make a
burial in an empty tomb,® as though you had died by sea.

Men. And suppose he permits; how then shall we, having
given an empty tomb to my body, be saved without a ship?

Het. I will urge him to bestow a ship, in which he will
place adornments for thy coffin to be thrown into the arms of
the deep.

Men. How well hast thou spoken of this, save ‘in one
thing, should he bid thee make the burial on the land! The
pretence will bring nothing with it.

Het. But we will say that it is not the custom in Greece
to inter on land those who die at sea.

Men. In this again thou art right; then shall I sail with
thee, and place the adornments on board the same bark ?

Het. It behoves thee especially to be present, and thy
sailors, who escaped from the shipwreck.

Men. And truly if I lay hold of a ship at anchor, man
shall stand by man sword in hand.

Het. It behoves thee to decide on all this. Only let there
be escorting breezes to the sail, and to the ship a course.

Men. It will be so; for the Gods will put a stop to my
troubles. But from whom wilt thou say thou hast learnt I
am dead?

Nev. From thee. And do thou say that thou alone hast

% @aya: is used in four different senses in Euripides: 1. to inter or bury ;
2. to permit to be interred ; 3. to honour with an empty tomb or memorial,
as in this passage; 4. to burn the dead bodies. See Beck’s index.
1078—1116. HELEN. 229

escaped death, sailing with the son of Atreus, and that you
saw him perish. .

Men. And truly these rags, the coverings of my body, will
bear witness concerning the wreck of the ships.

' Hex. [Things] have happened opportunely, which formerly
were inopportunely lost ; and that unhappiness may perchance
fall out happily.

Men. But does it behove me to enter the house with thee,
or shall we sit quiet at this tomb?

Hex. Stay here; for even if he seek to do thee any
wrong, this tomb and thy sword will protect thee. But I,
going into the house, will shear my locks, and will exchange
my white garments for black. And on my cheek I will throw
the nail, [drawing] blood from the skin. For great is the
struggle, and I perceive two inclinations of the balance; for
I must either perish, if I be detected in my plans, or come
to my country and preserve thy life. O hallowed Juno, who
reclinest on the bed of Jove, give two unfortunate beings a
rest from their toils, we beseech thee, stretching our hands
direct up to heaven,.where thou dwellest amid the varied
spanglings of the stars. And thou, who didst obtain [the
prize of | beauty for my nuptials, thou Venus, daughter of
Dione, do not destroy me. For enough is the injury, where-
with thou hast injured me before, presenting among the bar-
barians my name, not my body. But if thou wilt slay me,
suffer me to die in father-land. Wherefore art thou insatiate
of ills, practising loves, deceits, and cunning devices, and
philters causing blood in houses? But if thou wert moderate,
in other respects thou art the sweetest of Goddesses to men.
I speak not in vain.

Cuo. On thee I call, who sittest in thy seat of song® be-
neath the foliaged nooks; thee, the musical bird of sweetest
warbling, the plaintive nightingale. Come, O thou that
through thy dun cheeks”° dost trill thy lay, a partner in my
dirge, and singing the tearful toils of hapless Helen and of
the Trojans under the spears of the Greeks; Paris,” who

«9 T have treated povoeia cai Oaxouc as a hendiadys. On the meaning
of povoeia sce Pflugk on vs. 174. :

7 Expressed by Aristophanes, Av. 211 sqq.

1 Join S¢ Epoteyv—Edpape—Mldpec aivdyapoc, transposing the name ;
for the maraeal onde would be this: 2d@é deidovea révoug ‘EXévag Tov,
"IA. re wévov, Tape aivéyapoy, o¢ tuokey, PFLUGK.
230 HELEN. 1117—1151.

came, who came to the plains [of Greece] with barbarian oar,
who coursed the waves, bringing from Lacedemon thy nuptials
unhappy to the sons of Priam, when he had obtained [thee]
by the gift of Venus. But many of the Greeks, having
breathed out their life by the spear and hurlings of stones,
possess sad Hades, having caused the mourning locks of their
wives to be shorn; and dwellings exist without bridegrooms,
But a man with a single bark” having kindled up a burning
flame, around sea-girt Euboea, [and] having fallen upon the
Capherian rocks and the marine coasts of the Augean, de-
stroyed many, having lit up a deceitful light.7 But the moun-
tains of Malea were without ports, when there rushed far from
his country on the gale of the winds [a man] bearing in his ship
in barbarian guise a prodigy, no prodigy, but strife on strife
to the Greeks, a cloud, the divine image sent by Juno. Whe-
ther it was a God, or not a God, or something between,’ who
of mortals can aver,”> having searched out to the very end, so
as to discover, who [indeed] perceives the counsels of the
Gods flitting hither and thither in unexpected, contradictory
turns of fate? Thou art the daughter of Jove, O Helen, for
thy winged sire begat thee in the bosom of Leda. And yet’
thy report through Greece is that of an unjust wretch, a
betrayer, a faithless, godless one; nor have I [to say] what is
clear among mortals. I find the word of the Gods to be
true. Foolish ye, as many as obtain [the renown of] valour

7 Because Nauplius was carried from Troy to Eubea in a ship,
Teta If we read dy¢iptray with Matthie, card must be sup-
plied.

73 BapBdpov orodac cannot, I think, signify “classi adversus barbaros
profecte,’’ as Pflugk supposes, and there seems little doubt that a new sen-
tence should commence at ddipev’. I have therefore adopted Hermann’s
bold, but, I think, certain emendation, dAiueva 6’ dpea (the old reading)
MaXea, BapBdpov crodag br’ EsvTo warpidog am. xe. THO, TF. 0. T.
épty Epdt Aavawv. He observes, “ vel sententia ostendit, dAAd ineptum
esse, quia isti inter se opponi nequeunt. Est id a metricis adjectum, cum
excidisset gpids post Zorv, Id metro strophico confirmatur. “Epey dicit
belli ad Trojam, éprde autem refertur ad procorum Helene inter se con-
tentionem.’’ .

4 Cf. Ausch. Prom, 115, rig d3ua mposimra, p’ ageyyic, Oedaurog, 7}
Bpéreog, 7 Kexpapévy.

7s Hermann has rewritten this passage, but, I think, with little ne-
cessity.

78 Such is the sense of cal, according to Pflugk, but Dindorf rightly
reads viv 0 laxnoas. \
1152—1188, HELEN. 231

by war, foolishly resting from the toils of mortals’ in the
spears of valiant war. For if the contest of blood is to deter-
mine [men’s quarrels], never will strife leave the cities of
men; which” left the dwellings of the land of Priam, when
it was in their power to decide by words the strife concerning
thee, O Helen. But now they indeed are the care of Hades
below, and fire, like the lightning of Jove, has fallen on their
walls, bringing sufferings on sufferings in calamity to miser-
able Troy.” ea

[Enter Tuzociymenvs, from hunting. |

TueEoc. O hail, thou tomb of my sire; for I have interred
thee at the outlets [of my palace] for the sake of my address-
ing it. For ever on going out and coming into the house,
this thy son Theoclymenus addresses thee. Do ye indeed, O
servants, remove the dogs and the nets for the wild beasts
into the regal dwelling. But I indeed reproach myself much,
in that we do not punish thé’ad with death. And now I learn
that some one of the Greeks is,openly come to this land, and
has escaped ® the notice of the watch, either as a spy, or seek-
ing to steal away Helen. But he shall die, if indeed he be but
caught. Ha! I find, it seems, every thing evilly done; for the
daughter of Tyndarus, having left empty her seat at the tomb,
has been convoyed away from this land. Ho! open the doors,
remove the horses from the stable,®! ye servants, and bring out
the chariots, that, as far as trouble is concerned, the bride,
whom I aim at, may not escape me, being carried off from this
land. Stop! for I see her, whom I meant to pursue, present in
the house, and not fled away. Thee I address. Why hast thou
put black garments on thy form in exchange for white? and
from thy noble head hast shorn the locks, having brought

77 There is something wrong here. «raoQe dopdc ddxaiov re Adyxatc,
Herm. Dind. wé@ovg Gavdrwy, Seidler.

73 What is meant by at? Matthie says, “puto gpide¢ vel dpeddar.”
But this would be exactly the reverse of the truth. But I by no means
hold for altering Aurov, with Hermann and others. I have very little
doubt that the only correction wanted is & (scil. Zo.de de’ Epev) Tprapio,
i. e. “through which the sons of Priam left the earth, (i. e. died,) when
they might,” &c.

1 Pindorf seems right in regarding this verse as a gloss.

%® The Greek dgrypévoc pavepoc Hy, apixero dt KaDwy rodg axorods.
Priuck.

8 iO’ imexds gdrvac.
232 HELEN, 1189—1217.

[upon them] the steel? and why art thou weeping and be-
dewing thy cheek with tears? Is it through being persuaded

‘ by nightly dreams that thou lamentest, or having heard some
report from home art afflicted in thy mind with grief ?

Het. My lord, for now I address you by this name, I am

undone; my state is vanished, and I am nothing now.

Tueoc. And in what state of calamity art thou? What
_has befallen ?

Het. Menelaus, alas! how shall I say it ?—is dead for me.

Tueoc. I rejoice not indeed at thy words, but in some re-

spects I am fortunate. How dost thou know? Does Theonoe
tell thee this ?

Het. Both she says so, and he who was present when he

perished. :

TxeEoc. What, has any one come, who tells this clearly ?

Het. He has come. And may he come, as I should wish

him to come.®?

Tueoc. Who is it? Where is he? that I may learn more

clearly ?

Het. This man, who sits crouching at this tomb.

TueEoc. Apollo! how conspicuous he is in unhappy garb !

Het, Alas! I fancy my husband too.has such another.

Txeoc. But of what country is this man, and whence has

he come to this land?

Het, A Greek, one of the Achwzans, a fellow-voyager with

my husband.

Tueroc. By what death does he say Menelaus died ?

Hr. Most piteously, amid the wet surges of the main.

Tueoc. Sailing where in the barbarian seas ?

Het. Falling among the harbourless rocks of Libya.
Tate, And how did not this man perish, sharing in the
ship ? .

Het. The worse are sometimes more fortunate than the
good.

Tueoc, But where leaving the fragments of his ship, is he
present ?

Hex. Where I wish he had perished, and not Menelaus.

Tueoc. He is no more. But in what bark came [this
man]?

Het. Sailors met with and took him up, as he says

*? An equivoque, as in vs. }205, 1215, 1225.
1218—1243, HELEN, 233

Tneoc. Where indeed is the evil sent to Troy instead
of thee?

Her. Thou meanest the image of cloud. It is gone to
the sky.

Tueoc. O Priam, and land of Troy, how vainly have ye
perished !

Het. AndI shared the calamity with the sons of Priam.

Tueoc. But has she left her husband buried, or hides him
in the earth!

Hev. Unburied, alas! me wretched for mine ills.

Tuoc. On this account hast thou shorn the locks of thy
yellow hair ?

Het. For he is dear, whoever he is, being here. .

Tneoc. Is this calamity rightly bewailed ?

Ten. Would it be a light thing for thy sister to die?

Tueoc. No indeed. How then? Wilt thou still dwell at
this tomb ?

Hex. Why dost thou mock me, and not leave alone the
dead ?

Treoc. Thou art faithful to thy husband, flying from me.

Het. But not so longer. Now begin my nuptials.

Tueoc. Thou hast come [to this determination] late, but
nevertheless I commend this.

He. Knowest thou then what to do? Let us forget all that
has passed.

Tueoc. On what condition? For let favour come in re-
turn for favour.

Het. Let us plight a truce, and be thou reconciled to me.

Tueoc. I yield up my hostility to thee, and let it fly away.

Het. By thy knees then, since thou now art a friend—

Txeroc. Seeking what thing, hast thou stretched out thy-
self as a suppliant to me?

Het. I desire to inter my dead husband.

Tuxoc. But what interment is there for the absent? Wilt
thou inter his shade?

Het. It is a custom with the Greeks, whosoever dies at
sea—

Turoc. To do what? The sons of Pelops in sooth are
clever at such things.

Het. To bury in empty shrouds of vestments.
234 HELEN. 1244—1269.

Txeroc. Bury then. Raise a tomb where thou wilt in this
land.

Hex. We do not thus inter sailors who have perished.

Tueoc. How then? I am deficient in the customs of the
Greeks,

Het. Into the sea we cast what are due to the dead.

Tueoc. What then shall I furnish thee for the dead?

Het. I know not; for Iam unskilled [in such matters],
having before been happy.

TaeEoc. O stranger, thou hast indeed brought an acceptable
message of words.

Men. Not so to me indeed, or to the dead.

Tueoc. How do ye inter the corses of those who die
at sea? ;

Men. According as each person has means at hand.

Tueoc. Speak in respect to expense, whatever you wish,
for this woman’s sake.

Men. The blood of a victim is first offered to the dead.

TueEoc. Of what victim? tell me, and I will comply.

Men. Decide thou thyself. For whatever thou shalt give,
will suffice.

Taeoc. Among the barbarians indeed the custom is a
horse or bull.

Men. In giving it indeed, give thou nothing mean.

Trxoc. We do not lack these [beasts] in our rich herds.

Men. And biers empty of the body are brought [well]
spread,

Tuaxoc. This shall be; but what other thing is it the cus-
tom to offer ?

Men. Brazen-wrought arms; for he loved the spear.

Tueoc. These, which we shall give, will be worthy the
sons of Pelops.

Men. And the other beautiful fruits which the soil bears.

TuHeoc. How then? In what way do ye cast them into
the wave?

Men. A ship, and those who stand at the oar, must be pre-
sent.

Tueroc. And how far does the ship put out from land ?

Men. So far, that the surge [around the keel] can scarcely
be seen from land.
1270—1301. HELEN, 235

Turoc. Why indeed, and from what cause, does Greece
respect this custom ?

Men. So that the waves may not cast the ablutions back
to land.

Tueoc. A swift-going Pheenician oar shall be furnished.

Men. It will be well, as a favour at least to Menelaus.

TueEoc. Wilt thou be sufficient to do these things without
this [woman] ?

Men. This is the office of a mother, a wife, or of children.

Tueoc. It is the task of this woman, as you say, to inter
her husband.

Men. It is piety at least not to rob the dead of their due.

Tuxoc. Be it so; it is for my interest to train up a pious
wife. But going into the house, I will bring forth adornments
for the dead, and I will send thee away from the land not

with empty hands, having done these things as a favour to
this woman. But having brought me good tidings, instead of
thy ragged garb thou shalt receive vesture and food, so as for
thee to return to thy country, since indeed I see thee now in a
wretched plight. But do thou, O wretched one, not for things
which cannot be mended,*? * * * * wasting away thyself. But
Menelaus has his lot ; for thy husband, being dead, can never
live [again].

Men. ’Tis thy task, O damsel. It indeed behoves thee to
love thy present husband, but to let alone him that is dead,
for this is best for thee under circumstances. But if I arrive
in Greece, and obtain safety, I will cause thee to cease from
thy former reproach, if thou be such a woman to thy consort
as it becomes thee to be.

Hew. These things shall be, nor shall my husband ever
find fault with me; but thou, being near, shalt thyself know
this. But, O wretched one, go within, and obtain a bath, and
change thy dress. Without delay I will do thee akindness ;
for thou wilt with better will perform the rites due to Mene-
laus. if thou meetest with such things from me as is befitting.

Cuo. Once® on a time with hurried step the mountain-

83 Dindorf seems to have acted injudiciously in marking this lacuna,

when the simple conjecture of Elmsley, rpixou ceavrijy, received by
Pflugk, fully completes the sense.

The opinion of critics since the time of Heath seems to be almost
unanimous in condemning this Chorus as an unsuitable introduction froin

another play. See however Pflugk’s note.
236 HELEN, 1302—1847.

roaming mother of the Gods rushed through the woody groves,
and the river-stream of waters, and the deep-roaring billows
of the sea, in anxious desire of her departed daughter, not to
be named.§° And the Bacchic cymbals sending forth a pierc-
ing clang, loudly shouted, when the Goddess, having yoked
her chariot to wild beasts, [sought] her who had been snatched
away from out the circles of virgin dances; and with [her]
were damsels, with feet as swift as the storm; Diana with
her bow, and the Gorgon in complete armour with her spear.
But [Jupiter], looking down from his heavenly [seat], brought
to pass another fate.8* But when the mother ceased from her
swift many-wandering toils, seeking out the stealthy tracks*?
of her daughter’s abduction, she passed indeed the snow-fed
heights of the Idean nymphs, and she casts [herself] down
in grief upon the rocky snow-covered thickets, and not with
ploughings fertilizing for mortals the plains of the earth des-
titute of grass,®* she destroys the race of the people; and sends
not fresh pasture of rich-leaved tendrils for the flocks. And
the life of cities failed; and the sacrifices of the Gods ceased,
and cakes burned not on the altars, and she stopped the dewy
fountains of crystal waters from gushing forth,® raving through
grief for her daughter. But when she put a stop to the ban-
quets of the Gods and of the human race, Jove, softening the
bitter wrath of the mother, said: “Go, ye holy Graces, go,
comfort with your voices ®° the grief of Ceres®! in wrath for
her daughter; and ye Muses with the hymns of the dance,
and the skin-stretched drums with earthly ° sound of brass.

‘ ‘ a e. Proserpine. Respecting the confusion of Ceres and Cybele, see
ugk, ;

8° Throughout this difficult passage, the bracketed words are but an
uncertain attempt to fill up the sense. I must refer the reader to Din-
dorf’s collection of notes for a selection of conjectures, none of which ap-
pear to meet the difficulty completely. The supplement of Zev¢ and
Udpdvwy after vs, 1317, is due to G. Burges on Troad. p. 196.

57 But Matthie reads paorebovc’ amépoug.

8 i.e. dare dydoa élvat.

5° ixBadety-is intransitive, according to Pflugk. In the next line L.
Dindorf reads dAdory.

* But for d\ad¢ Bothe reads d\dy. We must read i¥ad\d£ar’,
with the old editions.

" ¢¢ for ray. L. Din.

™ yGoviav, because rebounding along the earth. Translate “ pealing,”
“ rumbling.”
1348—1991. HELEN. 287

Then first the fairest of the deities, the Goddess Venus, both
smiled, and received in her hands the deep-toned flute, de-
lighted with the strain. Him, whom it is neither lawful
nor pious, thou hast inflamed in marriage-beds [with love],
and thou, O daughter, hast obtained 4 the wrath of the mighty
mother, not reverencing ® the sacrifices of the Gods. Of much -
power indeed are the dappled skins of deer, and the green of
the ivy wound on the sacred wands, and the circular whirling
of the rhombus in the air, and the hair wildly dishevelled in
honour of Bacchus, and night-vigils for the Goddess. f But
well did the Moon overcome her in the day. Thou alone
prevailest in beauty.f%

Het. In respect to matters in the house we are fortunate,
O friends; for the daughter of Proteus, who aids our escape,
having been asked about my husband being present has not told
her brother ; but for my sake says that he, baving died, beholds
no longer the light. Most beautiful arms indeed has my hus-
band snatched up; for the weapons he was about to let down
into the sea, these he himself bears, placing his noble hand on
the handle [of the shield], and taking the spear in his right
hand, as indeed jointly toiling in a favour to the dead. And
before the deed he has his body equipped in arms for battle, as
being about to plant a trophy over numberless barbarians by
his hand, when we embark on the oared ship. And having
changed his shipwrecked dress for robes, I decked him out,
and gave his skin to the bath, a washing in the river dew after
along time. But I must be silent; for he that thinks he has
my nuptials ready to his hands, is coming out of the house; and
we crave thy good will, (¢o the Chorus,) controlling thy tongue,
that, if we can, ourselves being saved, we may save thee also.°

Turoc. Go forth in order, as the stranger directed, O
servants, bearing the marine burial offerings. O Helen, do

93 I have followed the common reading, only substituting 5» for Ov,
with Canter. But érdpwoac Oaddporge cannot bear the meaning assigned
in the common interpretation. The most plausible conjecture seems to
be Dindorf’s Sy (i. e. Pluto) ob Oéute a’ ot0’ Gaia '"Exwpoag iv ydc Oa-
ere “iram cohibuisti,” as evident from vs. 1358 sqq. Dinporr.

% gyooeBilovea, Seidl. Dind., which yields better sense.

% popBwy, Musgrave, quoting Schol. Apol. Rhod. i, 1139, ‘Pop Boe,
Tpoxtaxog, by orpépovory iudot, TUTTOVTEG, Kai OUTwE KTUTOY amore.

87 Versus corruptissimi. Dinporr.

% Remove the comma after vs. 1388, and restore xpareiy re. Dinp.
238 HELEN. 1392—1426,

thou, if I seem not to speak ill to thee, be persuaded ; remain
here. For being present thou wilt do the same things to thy
husband as if thou wert not present. For I fear lest some
wild passion, seizing thee, induce thee to cast thy body inta
the billows of the sea, struck with the fond: remembrance of:
thy former spouse; for greatly dost thou bemoan him, though
not present.

Het. O thou new husband mine, it is necessary to honour
one’s first nuptials and marriage connexions. But I, through
loving my husband, would even die with him. But what
gratification is it to him for me to die with the dead? Let
me then go myself and give a burial to his corse; and may
the Gods bestow what I wish on thee, and on this stranger;
because he aids me in this toil. But thou shalt have me such
a wife in your house as is fitting; since thou art benefiting
Menelaus and myself; for these matters indeed are coming to
a certain fortune. But command who is to give us a ship, in
which we may convey these things, that I may receive the
favour fully.

THEOC. (fo an attendant.) Go then, and give to these a Si-
donian ship of fifty oars, and men to stand at the oars,

Hex. Will not this man who adorns the tomb govern the
ship ?

Txeoc. It particularly behoves my sailors to attend to him.

Het. Order it again, that they may clearly learn it from
thee.

Taeoc. Again I order it, ay, and a third time, if it is
pleasing to you. :

HEL. Mayest thou profit [by it], and I by my plans.

TueEoc. Do not now waste too much thy form with tears.

He. This day to thee shall prove my gratitude.

TxHeoc. The matters of the dead are nought; but the la-
bour is in vain.

Het. There is both there and here of the things I mention.

Tueoc. Thou shalt find me no worse a husband than
Menelaus.

Het. Thou art in nought to blame, it is the business of for-
tune only.

TueEoc. This rests with thee, if thou givest thy good-will
to me.

Het. I shall not now be taught to love my friends.
1427-1466, HELEN. 239

Tueoc. Dost thou wish that I myself, joining in the task,
should send out the expedition ?

. Het. By no means. Be not a servant to thy servants, O
ing.

Tueoc. Well then! I leave alone the laws of the sons of
Pelops; for my dwelling is pure; since Menelaus did not
here breathe out his life. But let some one go and tell my
officers to bear the bridal gifts into my palace. And it be-
hoves the whole land to resound with joyous hymns, the
hymeneal song of me and Helen, that it may be to be envied.
But do thou, O stranger, go and give to the arms of the sea
these things in honour of the former husband of this woman.
Again hasten to the house, having [with you] my wife, that,
after you have enjoyed the nuptial feast of this lady with me,
thou mayest set sail for thine home, or remaining, mayest be
happy.

Men. O Jove, thou art called both Sire and a wise God;
look upon us, and remove us from our troubles. But strenu-
ously assist us who are dragging our circumstances against a
crag; and if you touch us with even the tip of your finger, we
shall come to that pitch of fortune whither we fain would
come. But enough of the labours we have before laboured.
Hear me, O Gods, that I may obtain many good things,'free
from pain.°® For I deserve not always to fare ill, but to walk
with step erect. But bestowing one favour on me, ye will
render me hereafter fortunate.

Cuo. O thou swift Phoenician oar of the Sidonian [ship],
mother of frothy billows; thou that delightest in rowing,
chorus-leader of the dolphins that gambol pleasantly, when
the’ sea is quiet in its breezes, and the cerulean daughter of
Ocean, Galaneia, thus speaks: “Stretch forth your sails,
leaving them to the sea-breezes, and seize your oars of fir, O
sailors! Ho! sailors, escorting Helen to the safe-harbouring
shores of the house of Perseus.!°! Perchance thou mayest
meet with the daughters of Leucippe by the river wave, or

99 I read KécAnoGé pot, Geol, woAAd ypijor’ Epol rvxeiv eddvT’, with
Herm. Dind. The common reading is destitute of meaning. Pflugk
has attempted the following interpretation: ‘testes vos sepe adhibui,
Dii, ut quam essem probus quamque idem miser cognosceretis.” (In
Hermann’s correction ruxeéty is without regimen.)

109 i, e, causing them to rise. See Musgrave’s note. 10. Mycenz.
240 HELEN. 1467—1516.

before the temple of Pallas, joining after a long season in the
dances and revels of Hyacinthus, a nightly delight, with whom
[ Hyacinthus] Pheebus contending, unwillingly slew him with
the quoit-end ; whence! the son of Jove ordered the Lacede-
monian land to hallow a day for the sacrifice of oxen; and
the heifer,!°3 whom ye two left in your house * * * * for whose
nuptials the torches have not yet shone. Would that we
might wing through the air, like!‘ Libyan birds in flocks,
that quitting the winter storm, return, persuaded by the very
old voice! of their leader, who screams aloud, as he flies
over the unwetted and fruitful plains of the land. O ye
winged long-necked sharers of the course of the clouds, go
ye beneath the middle Pleiads and nightly Orion, and pro-
claim the news, lighting on Eurotas, that Menelaus will return
home, having captured the city of Dardanus. May ye come,
O sons of Tyndarus, driving your horse-chariot through the
sky, under the eddyings of the stars, ye who dwell in heaven,
preservers of Helen, upon the dark-blue wave of the sea,
and the cerulean foam of the waves whitening on the sea,
sending to sailors gentle gales of winds from Jove. And
avert from your sister the disgrace of barbarian nuptials,
which she possessed, troubled on account of the Idawan con-
test, she who came not to the towers of Troy erected by
Phebus, !%

Mess. O king, we have found matters in the house!” in
the worst state, so that thou wilt hear perhaps new troubles
from me.

Tueoc. But what is it?

Mess. Seek the suitorship of another wife, for Helen has
gone out of this land. é

Tueoc. Raised aloft on winds, or with her foot treading
the land?

102 66ey for rg, Hermann’s emendation, scems to be required both by
the sense and the metre, omitting the following 62. The rest of the pas-
sage follows Matthie’s text, but Dindorf would restore the old reading,
Tpoxy Teppdve = “ orbiculari acie,” according to Heath.

103 Hermione, the daughter of Menelaus and Helen, is meant, whence
Hermann and Dindorf write Xewérqy. The lacuna prevents any cun-
jecture as to the sense. ;

1% But Herm. Dind. yevoiped’ 06.

108 See Barnes and Musgrave on these migrations of cranes.

106 Cf, Troad. 5 sqq. 17 See Dindorf.
1517—1666. HELEN. 241

Mess. Menelaus, who himself came reporting his own
death, has conveyed her away from the land. ;

Tueroc. O thou who hast told dreadful things. And what
guiding of a ship conveyed her from this land? for thou
tellest incredible things.

Mess. [The ship] indeed which thou gavest to the stranger ;
and he has gone away, having thine own sailors, that thou
mayest briefly learn.

THEoc. How? I am anxious to know; for I come not into
the expectation that one single hand could overcome so many
sailors, with whom thou wast sent. :

Mess. When the daughter of Jove, after quitting this royal
dwelling, went to the sea, most cleverly did she, placing her
delicate step, bemoan her husband, though present, and not dead.
But when we arrived at the enclosure of thy dockyards, we
hauled out the best-sailing Sidonian ship, having a measure of
fifty seats and oars, and work succeeded work. For one placed
the mast, another the oar !8 in his hand; and at the same time
the white sails were [arranged ], and at the same time the rudder
let down with thongs. And during this labour some Grecian
fellow-sailors, with Menelaus, watching for this very oppor-
tunity, drew nigh the shore, clad in the garb of shipwrecked
mariners, of fair form indeed, but shabby to behold. But the
son of Atreus, seeing them present, addressed them, alleging a
feigned grief: “O unhappy men, how, and from what Grecian
vessel are ye come, having shattered your bark? Will ye
bury with me the dead son of Atreus, whom absent this, the
daughter of Tyndarus, honours with an empty tomb? But
they, shedding tears in a feigned guise, went on board the
ship, bearing sea-offerings to Menelaus. But to us indeed
this was suspicious; and [we said] to each other, that there
was a multitude of those that came on board; yet we kept.
silence, obeying thy orders; for having commanded that the
stranger should rule the ship, thou hast caused all this con-
fusion. And the other things indeed we easily raised and
placed within the ship; but the foot of the bull would not ad-

108 ararny rapooy re isa pleonasm for which we have no English, un-
less we say, “‘ the oars and their tips” (rd reXevratoy rjc xdane mrepa
xai rapool. Pollux, i. 90). Herm. “remos remigiumque.” In the next
line etc y Hy is probably corrupt, but I have followed Hermann’s inter-
pretation, although the words will not bear it.

R
242 HELEN. 1557—1598.

vance steadily along the gangway, but he bellowed, rolling
around his eyes ;.and curving his back, and louring between
his horns, he kept us off from touching him. But the hus-
band of Helen called out: “O ye that did ravage the city of
Troy, will ye not rush on, in Grecian manner, and seizing !°
on your youthful shoulders heave the body of the bull up to
the prow, (and at the same time he drew his sword,)!!° an
offering to the dead? And they, coming at his bidding,
seized on the bull, and bearing it, they placed it on planks.
And Menelaus, stroking down the neck and forehead of the
bull with a single band, persuaded it to embark on the ship.
At length, when the ship had received all things, Helen,
having completed the number of the ladder’s steps with her
fair-ankled foot, sate down on the mid-deck, and near her
Menelaus, in word indeed no longer living; but the rest of
the crew in equal numbers on the right and left, man sate by
man, having their swords concealed under their garments ;
and the waves were filled with the shouts, as we heard the
voice of the boatswain. But when we had got out neither
very far from, nor near to, the land, thus asked the guardian
of the helm: “Shall we sail further onward, stranger, or is it
well? for the government of the ship is thy charge.” But he
replied, “Enough for me.” Drawing then his sword with his
right hand, he went to the prow, and while he stood over the
neck of the bull, of no one dead indeed had he a remembrance,
but, as he cut the throat, he prayed: “O thou that dwellest
in the seas, thou Ocean Neptune, and ye pure daughters of
Nereus, preserve me and my wife inviolate from this land to
the Nauplian shore.” But a stream of blood darted into the
wave, propitious to the stranger. And some one said: “ This
voyage is treacherous, let ys sail back to Naxia; do thou give
the command, and do thou turn the. rudder.” But after the
slaughter of the bull the son of Atreus, standing up, called out
to his allies: “Why delay ye, flower of the land of Greece, to
slay, to kill the barbarians, and to cast them from the ship
into the waves?” But to thy sailors the boatswain shouts a
contrary cry ; “ Will ye not on? will not one seizing a remain-
ing plank, another having broken a bench, and another tear-

109 Geet is “he will push.’

"9 Musgrave rightly perceived that these words are spoken paren-
thetically.
1599—1633. HELEN. 243

ing an oar from its row-lock, make bloody the head of these
hostile strangers?” And they all jumped up erect, one party
having ship’s spars in their hands, but the other swords, And
the ship streamed with gore. But there was the cheering cry
of Helen from the prow, “Where is the renown of Troy?
Show it against barbarian men.” And in their haste they fell,
and some rose up [again]; but others thou mightest have
seen lying dead. But Menelaus, equipped in arms, watching
wherever his allies were troubled, bore thitherward the sword
in his right hand, so that they dived from the ship, and he
caused the oars to be deserted by thy sailors; and going to
the helm, the king bade them guide the ship for Greece.
And they raised the mast, and favourable gales sprang up,
and they are gone from the land. But I, escaping death, let
myself down into the sea near the anchor. And as my
strength began to fail, some one, stretching forth a rope, drew
me up, and landed me on shore to bear this news to thee. But
there is nought more useful to mortals than a wise distrust.

Cuo. I never thought, O king, that Menelaus could thus
have deceived thee and us, as he has deceived us, being
present. :

Tueoc. O wretched me, taken in a woman's toils, my
nuptials have fled from me. But if indeed the ship could be
taken by pursuit, I would have toiled and perchance caught
the strangers. But now I will revenge myself on my sister,
who has deceived me; for, seeing Menelaus in the house, she
told me not. Never then shall she deceive another man by
her prophecies.

Cuo. Ho thou! whither art thou stirring thy foot, O mas-
ter; to what deed of blood?

Tueoc. Whither justice bids me. But get out of the way.

Cuo. I will not let go thy garments, for thou hastenest
to great evils.

Tueoc. But wilt thou rule thy masters, being a slave?

Cuo. Yes; for I am wise—

Tueoc. But not for me, if ye will not let me go—

Cxo. I will not then let thee go—

Turoc. To slay my most base sister—

Cao. But yet most pious.

Tnuroc. Who has betrayed me?

Cuo. An honourable hemayel to do just deeds. °

R

“
244 HELEN, 1634—1670

TueEoc. Giving my bride to another?

Cuo. To one who had a greater right.

Tueoo. But who has a right over mine?

Cuo. He who received her from her sire.

Tueoc. But fortune gave her to me.

Cuo. And fate has taken her away.

Txueoc. Thou hast no right to judge of my affairs.

Cuo. Yes; if I speak better.

Turoc. We are governed; do not govern!

Cuo. Ay, to do holy acts; but not unjust.

Tuxoc. Thou seemest to have a wish to die.

Cuo, Kill me, but thou shalt not kill thy sister with our
consent, but myself; since to generous servants it is most
glorious to die for their masters.

Castor AND POLLUX. (appearing.) Restrain the passion
by which thou art not rightly hurried on, O Theoclymenus,
king of this land. We, who call on thee, are the twin sons,
of Jove, whom Leda once bore, with Helen, who has fled from
thine house. For thou art wrath about a marriage not fated
for thee; nor does the virgin, sprung from the Goddess
daughter of Nereus, thy sister Theonoe, do thee wrong, hon-
ouring the will of the Gods, and her father’s just commands.
For up to the now present time it was destined that she
should always dwell in thine house. But after the founda-
tions of Troy have been overturned, and she has furnished
her name to the Gods, it no longer behoves her to be yoked
in the same nuptials, but to arrive at her home, and dwell
together with her husband. But do thou keep off the black
sword from thy sister, and consider that she has done these
things prudently. Now we have long since [endeavoured to]
preserve our sister even before this, ever since Jove made us
Gods; but we were too weak for fate and the Gods at once,
to whom it seemed fit that matters should be thus. ‘To thee
indeed I speak thus; but to my sister I enjoin, “ Sail with
thy husband; and ye shall have a favourable wind; and we,
thy twin brothers, riding by you over the main, will preserve
and send you to your country. But when thou shalt have
turned [the course] and ended thy life, thou shalt be called
a Goddess, and with the Dioscuri share libations, and with
us receive gifts from men; for thus Jove wills. But where
first the son of Maia lodged thee, having removed thee from
1671—1692. HELEN. 245

Sparta, having from the abodes of heaven stolen [an image
of] thy person, lest Paris should marry thee, there stretches a
guard-coast territory along Acte,!!! I mean the island, that
shall hereafter, among mortals, be called Helené. And by the
Gods it is destined for the wanderer Menelaus to inhabit the
islands of the blessed; for the Gods do not detest the noble;
but toils are rather for the countless multitude.

TuEoc. O ye twin sons of Jove and Leda, I will indeed
let go my former wrath concerning your sister; and I will
not slay my sister. But let her go to her home, if it please
the Gods. But know ye both that ye are born from the
same kindred blood as the best and chastest of sisters. And
fare ye well, for the sake of your most noble sister’s mind,
which is not in the nature of many women.

Cuo. Many are the forms of things connected with the
deities, and many things the Gods perform contrary to our ex-
pectations. But those things which we looked for are not ac-
complished; but the God hath brought to pass things not
looked for. Thus has this matter turned out.

M1 Like oxomid, gpoupa is used of a rugged, rocky place on the sea-
shore. This island lay a little above the Sunian promontory.
ELECTRA,

PERSONS REPRESENTED.

PEASANT.

ELECTRA.

ORESTES,

PYLADES (4 DUMB PEBSONAGE).
CHORUS.

CLYTASMNESTRA.

OLD MAN.

MESSENGER.

CASTOR AND POLLUX,
THE ARGUMENT.

Tue return of Orestes from exile, and his revenge upon Clyteemnes‘ra
and Aégisthus for the murder of-Agamemnon. The subject is the same
as that of the “‘ Choephorw ” of Aéschylus, and the “ Electra” of Sopho-
cles, but is handled with much less dramatic skill, while the development
is tedious and inartistic.
ELECTRA:

PEASANT.

O ancient Argos of the land,? [and] ye streams of Inachus,
whence once on atime king Agamemnon, conducting the war,
in a thousand ships sailed to the Trojan land. And having
slain Priam, the ruler over the Trojan land, and taken the
renowned city of Dardanus, he came back to this Argos,
and in the lofty temples placed very many spoils of the bar-
barians; and there indeed he was prosperous; but at home
he perishes by stratagem at the hands of his wife Clytem-
nestra, and by the hand of Atgisthus, son of Thyestes. And
he indeed, having left the ancient sceptre of Tantalus, is
no more ; but Atgisthus reigns over the land, having his wife,
the daughter of Tyndarus. But they whom he left in his dwell-
ing when he sailed to Troy, the male Orestes, and the female
blossom of Electra, the former the old guardian of his father
stole away, when, [by name] Orestes, tte was about to perish
by the hand of A®gisthus, and gave him to Strophius to train
up in the land of the Phocians.’ But the latter [Electra] re-
mained in the house of her father. Her, as soon as the blooming
season of youth arrived, the first men of the land of Greece
wooed as suitors. But fearing lest she should bring forth to
any of the chieftains a son, who might take vengeance for
Agamemnon, Avgisthus kept her in his house, nor united her

1 I can promise the student but little satisfaction, the general reader
still less, from the perusal of this very poor play. An able comparison of
its merits with the plays of A=schylus and Sophocles on the same subject,
will be found in Schlegel’s ninth lecture.

2 yijc is redundant. See Marruiz.

3 A mixture of the expressions Zdwxe, Wore rpigey tv ri yi, and Erep-

ev gic yay.
250 ELECTRA. 25—68.

to any bridegroom. But since this matter also was fraught
with much dread, lest she should privily bear children to any
noble man, when he wished to slay her, her mother, though
cruel-minded, yet saved her from the hand of Aégisthus. For
in regard to her husband’s death she had a pretence ;4 but she
feared that by the death of her children she herself might die.
Upon this, then, A&gisthus devised such a contrivance. He
mentioned a sum of gold for him who should slay Orestes ; who
indeed was away from the land in exile; but to me he gives
Electra to have as a wife, I being born of Mycenian sires; (and
on this account, indeed, I am not liable to reproach, for Iam no-
ble at least in race, but yet poor in means, from whence a noble
descent is lost ;) that giving her to a humble person, he might
have little fear. For if a man possessing dignity had obtained
her, he would have roused up the death of Agamemnon, that
now sleeps, and justice would then have come upon /Kgis-
thus. But never did this man (Venus is my witness!) dis-
honour her in his bed, but she is still a virgin. For I am
ashamed at having received the child of a prosperous family,
to do her an insult, not being by birth worthy [of her]. But
I bewail the wretched Orestes, who is nominally related to me,
if ever, returning to Argos, he shall behold the unhappy nup-
tials of his sister. But whoever says that I am foolish, be-
cause, having. received a young virgin into my house, I touch
her not, let him know that he measures continence by a bad
rule of sentiment, and that he himself is such an one.

Exec. O sable night, nurse of golden stars, during which,
bearing this vessel placed on my head, I go in quest of river
water ; not indeed because I am reduced to so great necessity,
but that I may show to the Gods the insult of Atgisthus, and
may utter lamentations to the mighty ether for my sire. For
the all-destructive daughter of Tyndarus, my mother, has
cast me out of her house, doing a favour to her husband; and
having borne other children to Atgisthus, she accounts Orestes
and me as things unimportant in her house.

. Pea. But why, O hapless one, dost thou labour thus for
my sake, submitting to toils, when thou before wast well
brought up, nor ceasest this, when I entreat you ?

Exsc. I deem thee a friend equal to the Gods; for in mine
ills thou hast nat behaved insolently. But it is a great good

* Viz. the sacrifice of Iphigenia.

‘
69—111. ELECTRA. 251

fortune for mortals to find a physician in an evil calamity, as
I obtain thee. It behoves me then, even unbidden, lightening
thy toil to the utmost of my power, that thou mayest more
easily bear it, to partake in thy labours. And thou hast work
enough without; but matters within doors it behoves me to
make ready. For it is sweet for a labourer entering from
without, to find things within [his house] aright.

Pea. If indeed it seems fit to thee, go, for the streams are
not far from this house. But I at dawn of day will drive my
steers into the corn-lands, and sow the fields. For no sloth-:
ful man, having the Gods continually in his mouth, will be
able to obtain a livelihood without labour.

Orsstes. Pylades, for thee indeed I above all men account a
faithful friend and guest to me; and thou alone of my friends
hast respected me, Orestes, faring as I fare, having suffered
terribly at the hands of Avgisthus, who, with my all-abandoned
mother, destroyed my sire. But I have come from the oracles
of the God to the Argive threshold, no one being conscious, in
order to punish the slaughter of my father by slaughter. But
during this night having gone to the tomb of my sire, I both
gave tears, and made offerings of my hair, and sacrificed at the
tomb the blood of a slain sheep, unknown to the tyrants who
sway this land. And within the walls, indeed, I advance
not my foot; but I came to the boundaries of this land
framing two projects,5 that I may turn away with my
foot to another land, should any one of the watch recog-
nise me while seeking my sister, for they say that she
living is united in nuptials and does not remain a virgin, in
order that I may converse with her, and, obtaining her for an
assistant_in the slaughter, may learn clearly the matters within
the house. Now therefore, for morn is raising her shining
face, we will turn our footsteps out of this track. For
either some ploughman or some domestic woman will appear
to us, of whom we may inquire whether my sister dwells in
this place. But—(for I see some servant coming hither, with
shorn hair, bearing a burden of water)—let us sit down, and
learn from this female slave, if we can receive any intelligence
as to the matters for which, O Pylades, we are come to this land.

8 I have taken Woodhull’s translation in preference to transcribing the
tedious notes of Matthise and Seidler, which the student will find in Din
dorf’s collection.
252 ELECTRA. 112—167.

Exec. Hasten on the course of my foot, O hour; O, go thou
on, go on, weeping. Alas! for me, forme. I was born of
Agamemnon, and Clytzmnestra, the hateful daughter of Tyn-
darus, gave me birth, and the citizens call unhappy me Electra.
Alas! alas! for my hapless toils and hateful life. O father,
but thou indeed art lying in Hades, murdered by thy wife,
and by AZgisthus, O Agamemnon. Come! raise the same
lamentation, lead off the delight of many tears. Taste on the
course of my foot, O hour; O go thou on, go on, weeping.
Alas! for me, forme. What city,’ what house, O unhappy
brother, dost thou serve, leaving thy poor sister in her cham-
bers amid saddest calamities resulting from her sire? O,
mayest thou come as a releaser to wretched me from these toils,
O Jove, Jove, and as an avenger to thy father of blood most
hateful, having neared thy wandering foot to Argos. Let me
put down this vessel, taking it off my head, that I may loudly
utter gloomy mournings to my sire, a sounding song of Hades,
Tor Hales O father. to thee beneath the earth I utter la-
mentations, which ever day by day® I ply, gashing my loved
neck with my nails, and striking my hand upon my shorn
head, on account of thy death. Woe! woe! tear the head,
and like some tuneful swan by the river stream calls upon her
dearest sire, who has perished in the crafty meshes of a net,
so do I mourn thee, my hapless sire, having been washed as
to thy flesh with a last bath, in the most piteous bed of death.
Alas! for me, for me, for the bitter cutting by an axe, O
sire, and the bitter plot on thy return from Troy! Not with
mitres nor with garlands did thy wife receive thee ; but having
made thee® the scoff of Avgisthus with the two-edged sword,
she obtained her cunning paramour.

Crorvs. O Electra, daughter of Agamemnon, I have come

* Electra addresses herself. Possibly woddc¢ éppav may mean “ the
course of thy foot,” i.e. of time. Xpdvov wéda was one of the yérpa
pnpara of Euripides, according to Aristoph. Ran. 100, Such appeals to
time are common, as in Juliet’s soliloquy, Act iii.Sc.2. Perhaps jpa—
karak\aiovoa = “ thou time of woe.”

7 Narpedw is found with an accusative in Iph. Taur. 1115, and Suidas
gives the same construction, but with reference to ecclesiastical writers.
I do not feel satisfied with Dobree’s riv’ dv’ olcov, and think that the ac-
cusative is used, as if riva wéAtv oixetg had been in the mind of the poet.
Such would be the natural question, but Electra, considering the proba-

bly dependent state of her brother, uses a more emphatic word,
§ Cf. Asch, Choeph, 24 sqq. 5 Understand oé after Oépeva.
168—218. ELECTRA. 253

to thy rustic home. A certain milk-drinking Mycenian herds-
man treading the mountain has come, has come; and he brings
word that the Argives are proclaiming the third day of the feast,
and all the virgins are about to make procession to’ Juno.

Exec. Not for splendid doings, O friends, nor for golden
necklaces, am wretched I elate in mind, nor forming dances
together with Argive nymphs shall I beat my foot whirled
round. With tears I dance, and_tears.are.the daily care for_
garments,!° whether they become the royal daughter of Aga-
memnon, and Troy, which remembers once being taken by my
sire.

Cuo. Great is the Goddess ;!! but come, and from me re-
ceive? richly-woven robes to wear, and golden additions of
ornament for thy beauty. Dost thou think, that, not honour-
ing the Gods, thou wilt overcome thine enemies by thy tears ?
Not with groans, but with prayers, worshipping: the Gods,
wilt thou obtain a happy day, O daughter.

Exc. No one of the Gods hears the voice of [the]
wretched, nor the sacrifices offered of old! by my sire. Alas!
both for the dead, and for the living wanderer, who, I ween,
dwells in some other land, wandering wretched to the slaves’
hearth,'4 being sprung from a renowned sire. But I myself in
a poverty-stricken abode am dwelling, pining away at heart,
a fugitive from my ancestral halls, dwelling '° on the moun-
tain rocks. And my mother dwells wedded in bloody nup-
tials to another. —

Cuo. Helen, thy mother’s sister, has the blame of many ills
upon the Greeks and thine house.

Exec. Alas! O women, I cease from my lamentations.
Some strangers having a station close by!® the house rise up
from their ambush. Let us escape with flight of foot from

0 Cf. dpacpdrwy Aakidec. Asch. Choeph. 34. . ;

1 j,e. Juno. ‘This is a common formula. See Comm. on Acts xix.
34, peyadrn 7" Aprepec. :

12 ypijcoy da mutuo, Xpijoat mutuo accipe. SEIDLER.

13 Observe the double construction of khvev. nut

4 The apparent custom with wanderers, who probably gave their ser-
vices as menials, as an equivalent for their temporary support and protec-
tion. Cf. Alcest. 2. ; ;

18 But read odpeiag dv’ tpimvac, with Musgr. Dind. .

16 ‘This seems the best way of rendering é¢eorloug in this passage.
254 ELECTRA. 219—245.

the evil-doing men, you indeed by the road-way, but I into
the house.

Or. Remain, O wretched one; fear not my hand.

Exec. O Phebus Apollo! I fall on thy knees that I may
not die.

Or. I would fain slay others more hateful than thou.

Exec. Away! touch not what thou shouldst not touch.

Or. There is not one whom I could more rightly touch.

Exec. And wherefore, sword in hand, dost thou lay in am-
bush for me?

Or. Torry and listen, and perhaps thou wilt not say other-
wise.!7 ;

Exxc. I stand, and am altogether thine, for thou art the
more powerful.

Or. I am come, bearing thee words from thy brother.

Exec. O dearest one, is it of him living or dead ?

Or. He lives; I fain would first tell thee the good news.

Exec. Mayest thou be blest, as a reward for most pleasant
words.

Or. I give this in common for both of us to possess.

E.zc. Where on earth is the wretched one enduring a
wretched banishment ?

Or. He'® is wandering, not respecting the law of one
city.!9

Exec. Ay, perhaps in want of daily sustenance.

Or. He possesses it indeed, but is weak as an exiled man.

Exec. But what message comest thou bearing from him ?

Or. Whether thou art alive, and, living, what fortunes thou
hast.

Exxc. Dost thou not first see how dried up is my frame?

Or. Ay, wasted away with grief, so that I utter a groan.

Exxc. And my head, and locks savage with being shorn.

Or. Thy brother, and thy father’s death, I suppose, gnaws
thee equally ?

Exec. Alas! for what is dearer to me than these?

Or. Alas! alas! how indeed art thou thought of by thy
brother !

Exec. He being absent, not present, is dear to me.

1” Understand ) tyd, after ray’ ob dddwe épeic.
18 On POepetcOar, to wander, see Helen, 780, and Seidler.
19 i. e. not having a fixed abcde in any city.
216—268. ELECTRA. 255

Or. But through what dost thou dwell here, far away from
the city?

Exec. I have wedded, O stranger, a deadly wedding.

Or. I grieve for your brother. [Was it] to one of the
Mycenians ?

Exec. Not in such wise as my father at some time ex-
pected to bestow me.

Or. Tell me, that having heard I may tell your brother.

Exxc, Far off from him, I dwell in this abode.

Or. Some husbandman or neatherd is worthy of such a
dwelling.

Exec. A man poor, noble, and pious towards me.

Or. But what piety is present to thine husband ?

Exec. He has never ventured to approach my bed.

Or. Having some divine feeling of chastity, or disdaining
thee?

Exec. He did not think himself worthy to disgrace my
parents.

Or. And how was he not delighted on receiving such a
match ?

Exec. He thinks, O stranger, that he who gave me had no
right [to do so].

Or. I understand, lest he should at some time pay the
penalty to Orestes.

Exc. Fearing this very thing. Besides, he is by nature
chaste.

Or. Alas! thou speakest of a noble fellow, and one that
must be well treated.

Exec. Ay, if he who now is absent shall ever return to his
home. ;
Or. But did the mother, who bore thee, suffer this?

Etec. Women, O stranger, are friends to men, not to
children.

Or. But on what account did A®gisthus offer thee this
insult ?

Exec. He wished me to bring forth a weak race, having

iven me to such a man.

Or. That, forsooth, you might not bring forth children as

avengers?

2 Cf. Iph. Aul. 703, Zede qyyonce, rai didwo’ 6 kiptog: SEIDLER.
256 ELECTRA. 269—300.

Exzc. Such things he planned, for which may he pay me
the penalty.
Or. But does thy mother’s husband know thou art [still]
a virgin?
Exzc. He does not know; we have kept this from him in
silence.
Or. Are these who overhear our words friends to thee?
Exzc, Ay, so as to well conceal my words and thine.
Or. What could Orestes do, if he should come to this
\ Argos?
Exec. Dost thou ask this? A foul thing thou sayest, for is
it not now the crisis?
Or. But on his arrival how might he slay the murderers
of his father?
Esc. By daring such things as were dared against his
ather by his enemies.
. Or. And wouldst thou endure to slay thy mother with him?
| Exec. Ay, with the same axe by which my father perished.
| Or, Shall I tell these things to him, and is thy resolution

 

rm?
r Exec. Oh might I die, having shed the blood of my mother.
Or. Alas! would that Orestes were near to hear this.
\ Exec. But, O stranger, I should not know him, if I saw him.
* Or. It is no wonder; for being young, thou wast separated
from him while young.
Exec. One only of my friends would know him.
Or. What, he who they say stole him away from death?
Etec. Ay, the old man, the former pedagogue of my father.
Or. And has thy dead father obtained a tomb ?
Exec. Cast out of the house, he has obtained what he has
btained.
{° Or. Alas! What is this thou sayest ? For the perception even
‘of out-door evils pains mortals. But speak, that knowing, I
may bear to thy brother unpleasant words indeed, but needful
to hear. For there is a feeling of pity, not at all in the un-
taught, but in the wise of mankind; for it is not even free
from harm that a too wise cleverness is in the wise.
Cuo. And I have the same longing at heart as this man.
For being far from the city, I know not the ills in the city ; but
! now I also wish to learn,

Exc, I will speak, if it behoves me. And it behoves me
301—346. ELECTRA. 257

to tell toa friend the heavy fortunes of me and my father.
But since thou hast stirred the subject, I beseech thee, O
stranger, to tell Orestes my ills and his. First, indeed, in
what garments I live, and with what filth I am weighed down,
and under what a roof I dwell, after a royal house; I myself
labouring mine own garments with the shuttle, or I should
have my body naked and be destitute; and myself bearing
the river stream, without a feast at holy rites, and deprived
of the dance; and being a virgin, I am denied the rights of
women, denied [the bed of] Castor, to whom, being of my
family, they affianced me, before he went among the Gods.
But my mother sits on a throne, amid Phrygian spoils, and
by her seat the Asiatic captives, whom my father took, are
standing with their Idaan robes bound with golden clasps.
And my father’s black blood still putrifies in the house; but
he that slew him, mounting the same charict as my sire, goes
forth, and is puffed up, holding in his blood-stained hands the
sceptre, with which he ruled the Greeks. But the dishonoured
tomb of Agamemnon has never received libations nor a bough
of myrtle ; but the funeral pile is barren?! of adornments. And
the famous spouse (as they call him) of my mother, steeped in
drunkenness, leaps on the tomb, and with stones defaces the
stone monument of my sire, and dares to utter this saying
against us: “ Where is the boy Orestes? Will he, being pre-
sent, honourably defend thy tomb?” Thus is he mocked in his
absence. But, O stranger, I beseech thee, tell this news.
For many things are they, that lay this charge upon me, but
I [am] their interpreter, my hands, my tongue, and wretched
mind, and my shorn hair, and his father. For base is it, if
my father indeed captured Troy, but he, being one, is unable
to slay one man, being a youth, and of a better sire. d

Cuo. And truly I perceive this person (I mean your hus-
band) approaching the house, having ceased from labour.

Pea. Hah! who are these strangers I see at the gate? And
for what reason have they come near this rustic door? Is it
in want of myself? surely it is unseemly for a woman to be
standing with young men.

Exec. O dearest one, do not fall into a suspicion of me.
But thou shalt know the real story; for these strangers are

2 y£oooe is here an adjective—tpypoc, xnpevovoa. So xipcoug maidacg
or virgins in Soph. Gad, Tyr. 1501. Barnes.

8
ma

258. ELECTRA. 347—388.

come to meas heralds of the words of Orestes. And do
ye, O strangers, excuse what has been said.

Pea. What say they? Is the man alive, and does he be-
hold the light ?

Exec, He is, at least by report. And they say things not
discredited by me.

Pea. Does he at all remember the ills of thy father and of
thee ?

Exec. These matters are in [my hopes]. Weak is an ex-
iled man.

Pea. But what words did they come telling from Orestes ?

Exrc. He has sent these men as spectators of my woes.

Pra. Some then they see, and others I suppose thou tellest.

Exec. They know [all]; they have no deficiency of these.

Pera. Long ago then should the doors have been opened to
them. Go into the house; for ye shall obtain in return for your
good news a hospitable reception in such things as my house
contains, Take the baggage within the house, ye followers,
and make no denial, having come as friends from a friend. For
though I am born poor, I willnevershow a base-born disposition.

Or. By the Gods, is this the man, who joins in concealing
your nuptials, not desiring to disgrace Orestes?

Exec. This man is called the husband of wretched me.

Or. Alas! there is no certain mark of manliness; for the
natures of mortals exhibit a confusion. For already have I seen
a man who was nought sprung from a noble sire, and good

‘ children [sprung] from bad [fathers], and hunger in the spirit
_of a rich man, and a great mind in a poor body. How then

will any one, distinguishing, judge aright ? By wealth? Then
he will make use of an unjust judge. Or by those who have
nothing? But poverty posesses [this] disease; through want

_it teaches a man evil. But shall I turn to [the consideration

of]arms? But-who, looking to the spear, could testify what
person is good? It is best to leave these things to take their
own course. For this man being neither great among the Ar-
gives, nor, on the other hand, puffed up with the reputation of
his house, and being among the multitude, has been found most
excellent. Will ye not be wise, who wander full of vain
opinions? and by association and manners judge of the well-
born amongst mortals. For such men as these well administer
cities and houses; but flesh, destitute of sense, are the orna-
388—425. ELECTRA. 259

ment of the forum. For neither does the stronger arm better
abide the spear than the weak; but this is in nature and
in valour. But,—whether present or not present, the son
‘of Agamemnon, for whose sake we are come, is worthy,—let
us accept the hospitality of this house. We must go within
this dwelling, servants. For I would rather have a willing,
though poor host, than a rich one [unwilling]. I therefore
accept this man’s reception into his house. But I would have
wished that your brother prospering could have led me into
prospering abodes. But perchance he may come; for the
oracles of Loxias are firm, but to the divination of men I
bid adieu.

Cxo. Now, more than before, O Electra, we are warmed
at heart with joy; for perhaps, though slowly progressing,
fortune may [at length] settle well.

Exc. O hapless one, knowing the scantiness of thine
house, why hast thou received these strangers superior to
thee?

Pea. But what? If they are, as they seem to be, noble,
will they not be equally content with little or not ?”?

Exec. Since then you, being in scant circumstances, have
fallen into this mistake, go to the aged guardian of my dear
father, who, around the river Tanaus,” that divides the con-
fines of the Argive territory and the Spartan land, tends his
flocks, having been cast out from the city. And bid him,
having come homeward, to go and furnish something as a
banquet for the strangers. He will be delighted, and will
offer prayers to the Gods, when he hears that the boy is living
whom he once saved. For we shall not obtain any thing from
my mother out of my ancestral house, and we should be
telling bitter news, should the wretched wonian learn that
Orestes is alive.

Pea. But, if it seems thus to thee, I will bear this message
to the old man. But go thou into the house as quickly as
possible, and make ready the matters within. A woman in-
deed, if willing, can find many things to bring for a banquet.
And there is even now so much at home, so as to satisfy

2% Cf, Virg. Ain. viii. 364, ** Aude, hospes, contemnere opes: et te
quoque dignum Finge deo; rebusque veni non asper egenis.”
2° Or Tanos. It flows down from the mountain Parnon, through the
Argive territory, into the Gulf of ee
8
260 ELECTRA. 426—475.

these men with food for one day at least. But when my
mind falls upon this subject, I consider how great a power
wealth has, both to bestow on strangers, and by expense to

> . . ’
preserve one’s body when fallen into sickness; but for one’s
daily food it comes to little. For every man once filled, rich
or poor, bears an equality.

Cuo. Ye renowned ships, which once on a time came to
Troy with numberless oars, leading the dance with the daugh-
ters of Nereus, where the flute-loving dolphin leaped, whirled
around the prows with dark blue beaks, escorting the son of
Thetis, Achilles, light as to the leaping of his feet, with Aga-
memnon, to the Trojan shores of Simois. sf And the daughters
of Nereus, quitting the Eubcean strand, bore the toils of shield
[and] arms [forged] on the golden anvils of Vulcan, both over
Pelion, and over the sacred groves of Ossa’s height,™4 the
nymph-dwelt summits f sought the virgins,f ?° where the eques-
trian sire®® trained up the marine son of Thetis, a light for
Greece, Achilles, swift of foot, for the Atridex./ And I have
heard from some one, who came from Troy to the Nauplian
ports, that in the circle of thy renowned shield, O son of The-
tis, such effigies as these, Phrygian terrors,2” were sculptured.
On the circumference, indeed, of the shield, Perseus, [raised }
above’ the sea with winged slippers, was holding the throat-
cut terror of the Gorgon, with Hermes, the messenger of Jove,
the rustic? son of Maia. } But in the midst of the shield the
radiant circle of the sun shone with his winged steeds, and
the ethereal dances of the stars,®° the Pleiades, Hyades, terri-
ble?! to the eyes of Hector. But upon the golden-wrought
crest Sphinxes were bearing their song-obtained prey in their
claws. And on his cuirass the fiery lioness? was hastening
in course [after] the Pirenian horse*? with her hoofs, having

% Seidler quotes Suidas, rpidprat, ai dxpas.
% This js thoroughly corrupt. Sce Seidler’s note.

36 ji,e. Peleus. ~

21 Although deiuara may with propriety refer to the images of the
Gorgon, yet it was not a Phrygian wonder, nor does the term apply to the
rest of the description. I think Euripides wrote detyyara, images.

28 Understand depOévra.

* Because educated in Arcadia. See Seidler.

3 See my note on Asch, Ag. 4. ‘The reader may compare Il. 5, 486
sqq- with Virg. Aun, i. 348; iii. 516; Georg. i. 138,

3 Literally, “ putting to flight.’

= The Chimera. 33 Pegasus.
476—520. ELECTRA, 261

beheld it. But in a bloody fight four horses were rushing
along, and round their backs the black dust went forth. The
king of such spear-labouring men didst thou slay, thy hus-
band, O evil-minded daughter of Tyndarus. Wherefore the
powers of heaven will send thee down to death, and yet, yet
shall I behold the blood poured out by the sword beneath thy
gore-streaming neck.

~—~ Op Man. Where, where is my youthful, honoured mistress,
the daughter of Agamemnon, whom once I nurtured? How
steep an approach it is to these dwellings for me, a wrinkled
old man, to draw nigh with my foot! But nevertheless I
must needs drag on my bent spine and crooked knee. O
daughter, (for I but just now behold thee near the house,) I
am come bearing to thee this young offspring of my fold,
having taken it from the flocks, and garlands,*4 and cheese
which I have taken out of the presses, and this old store of
Bacchus, redolent of fragrance, little indeed, but still ’tis sweet
to pour a cup of this into a weaker draught. Let some one go
and bear these into the house for the strangers. But I, having
bedewed mine eyes with tears, would fain wipe them away
with this my tattered garment..

Exec. But wherefore, O aged man, hast thou thine eye
thus wet ? Have mine afflictions after a long interval awakened
thy remembrance? Or dost thou bemoan the unhappy exile
of Orestes, and my sire, whom once holding in thine arms,
thou didst in vain nurture for thee and thy friends?

Oxtp M. In vain. But nevertheless this at least I could
not refrain from.3> For I came to his tomb, aside from the
road, and falling down, I wept, having met with solitude, and
I poured out libations, having opened the skin which I bear
for the strangers, and set myrtle garlands around the tomb.
But upon the pile itself I saw the victim, a sable-fleeced sheep,
and the blood but lately shed, and shorn locks of auburn hair.
And I marvelled, O daughter, whoever of men had dared to
come to the tomb; for it certainly was none of the Argives.
But perchance, I think, thy brother has come privily, and on
his coming has honoured the miserable tomb of his sire. And
do thou examine the hair, placing it against thy hair, whether

3 Recall the old reading orepdvove, with Heath, Dind. aedavoug is
Jacob’s conjecture. :
85 Referring to what immediately follows.
262 ELECTRA. 621—555.

the tint of the shorn tresses is the same. For in those who
have the same father’s blood, most parts of the body are wont
to be naturally alike.

Exec. Thou speakest words unworthy of a wise man, O
aged one, if thou thinkest that my very bold brother would
come by stealth into this land through fear of Aigisthus.
Then how will the lock of hair® agree, the one belonging to
‘a well-born mah brought up in wrestling exercises, but the
other to a female [brought up] amidst wool-combing? It is
impossible. And thou wilt find similar hair among many
persons, though not sprung from the same blood, old man.

Oxtp M. But do thou, stepping in his track,37 consider the
print of his slipper, whether it is of the same measure with
thy foot, O child.

Exec, But how could there be an impression of feet upon
the stony surface of the ground? And if it were so, the foot
of a brother and sister would not be equal, of a man and
woman ; but the male prevails.

Otp M. Is there no [evidence], by which, supposing your
brother to have come to the land, you might discern the
woof of thy shuttle,** in which I once concealed him, lest he
should die.

Exec. Knowest thou not, when Orestes was banished from
the land, that I was a mere child? But if I did weave the
vest, how would he, being then a child, be now wearing the
same garments, unless the robes grew along with the body ?
But either some stranger, pitying his [undecked] tomb, or
some one of this land, obtaining [the opportunity of] dark-
ness, has shorn his own hair.

Oxtp M. But where are the strangers? for I wish to see,
and ask them concerning thy brother.

Exec. Hither with quick step they are coming out from
the house.

Op M. And they are noble indeed, but this is superficial ;
for many born noble, are base ; but nevertheless I say to the
strangers, hail,

Or. Hail thou! O aged man. Of what friend is this man
the ancient relict, Electra ?

Etc. He nurtured my sire, O stranger.

5° This is a sly hit at AZschylus. Cf. Choeph. 187 sqq.
37 Cf. Choeph, 205 sqq. 38 Choeph. 233 sqq.
556—681. ELECTRA. 263

Or. What sayest thou? Was this he who privily removed
thy brother ?

Exxc. This is he who saved him, if he indeed is yet in
being.

Or. Ah! why has he gazed on me, as though viewing the
clear stamp of silver? Does he liken me to any one?

Evrc. Perchance he is pleased at looking on thee, a com-
peer of Orestes.

Or. Ay, of a well-loved man; but wherefore does he turn
his step around me?

Exzc. I too marvel as I behold this, O stranger.

Op M. O revered daughter Electra, adore the deities.

Exc. In respect of what things absent or present ?

Ox.p M. For holding the cherished treasure, which a God
shows thee.

Exec. Lo! I call upon the Gods. Or what dost thou mean,
indeed, old man?

Op M. Look then upon this most beloved one, O child.

Exec. Long since I fear lest thou art no longer in thy
right senses.

Otp M. Am I not in my right senses, beholding thy
brother ?

Exec. How sayest thou this incredible saying, O aged man?

Oxp M. That in this man I see Orestes, the son of Aga-
memnon. .

Exec. Perceiving what indication, by which I may be
persuaded ? ;

Otp M. A scar near upon his forehead, by which once in
his father’s house he, falling, was stained with blood, pursuing
with thee a hind.

Exec. How sayest thou? I see indeed the evidence of
the fall.

Op M. And then dost thou delay to fall upon those most
dear ?

Exec. But no longer so, O aged man; for in mind I am
persuaded by thy proofs. O thou who appearest after a long
season, unexpectedly I hold thee. ;

Or. Ay, and by me thou art held after a long season.

Exec. Never did I expect it.

Or. Nor did I hope it.

Exsc. Art thou he?
264 ELECTRA. 581—621.

Or. Ay, thine only ally, if indeed I can but draw up
[successfully] the net after which I am going. But I havea
good trust; or it behoves one no longer to think that there are
Gods, if unjust deeds get the advantage of justice.

Cxo. Thou hast come, thou hast come, O day, after a
long time; thou hast shone out, thou hast shown forth a clear
torch to the city, which wretched during a long exile from an
ancestral home has come wandering. Some God, some God
again brings on our victory. Uplift your hands, uplift your
voice, send forth prayers to the Gods, that thy brother may
enter the city with good fortune, with good fortune.

Or. Be it so. I indeed have the sweet pleasure of em-
braces, but in time again we shall bestow them. But do thou
say, O aged man, (for thou hast come in season,) by what
doing shall I punish the murderer of my father, and my
mother, partaker of an unholy marriage. ‘Is there aught of
friends well-disposed towards me? Or have I prepared all
things, according to fortunes ? With whom shall I confederate ?
By night, or by day? By what road shall I turn against mine
enemies ?

Op M. O son, to thee unhappy no one is a friend. For
this thing is [indecd] a discovery, to share good and evil in
common, But do thou (for thou art utterly undone from the
very foundations, in respect to thy friends, nor hast thou left
any hope) know this, hearing from me. In thy hand and
fortune thou hast all thethance of recovering thy ancestral
house and city.

Or. By doing then what, shall we reach this end ?

Otp M. By slaying the son of Thyestes and thy mother.

Or. I am come for this crown [of success], ‘and how shall
I obtain it?

Oxp M. Not by going indeed within the walls, even if you
wished.

Or. Is he protected by the guards and their right hands?

Op M. Thou hast hit it; for he fears you, and sleeps not
in certainty.

Or. Well! do thou then henceforward advise, old man.

Otp M. And do thou hear me; for something has just
come into my thoughts. ;

Or. Mayest thou give some good advice, and I hear it.

Otp M. I saw /Egisthus as I was coming slowly hither—
622—645. ELECTRA. 265

Or. I attend to what you have said. In what place?

Op M. Near upon these horse-pasturing meadows.

Or. Doing what? For I see help out of things inex-
tricable. ,

Op M. He was preparing a banquet for the Nymphs, as
it seemed to me.

Or. Asa payment for his sons’ nurturing, or for future
offspring ? -

Otp M. I know but one thing; he had armed himself for
the slaughter of a bull.

Or. With how many companiogs? Or was he alone with
his domestics ?

Otp M. No Argive was present, but his own band [of
servants |.

Or. Is there any one who will know me, when he sees me,
old man? ; :

Op M. His servants only are present, who have never
seen thee.

Or. But would they be friendly to us, if we prevailed ?

Otp M. Ay, for this is peculiar to slaves, and useful to
thee.

Or. How, then, should I even approach him ?

Otp M. Going [to a place] where he will see thee, as he
is sacrificing.

Or. He is in the fields by the way itself, as it seems.

Op M. Ay, from whence espying thee, he will invite
you to share his banquet.

Or. In truth a bitter fellow-banqueter, if God be willing.

Op M. Observe henceforward according to the occasion.

Or. Well hast thou spoken. But where is my mother?

Op M. At Argos ; but she will come to the drinking and
banquet.®9

Or. But wherefore did not my mother set out at once with
her husband ?

Otp M. She was left, dreading the reproach of the citizens.

Or. I understand. She knows that she is suspected by
the city. 3

Oxp M. So it is; for an impious woman is hated.

* But we must evidently correct éy rdyet, with Reiske. moose came
from the following line. If correct, srdee is here “ drinking,’’ as Barnes
observes,
266 ELECTRA. 616—667.

Or. How then shall I slay at once both her and this
fellow ?

Exec. I indeed will contrive the death of my mother.

Or. And truly fortune shall set that matter right.

Exec. Let then this man help us, being two.

Otp M. This shall be. But how wilt thou devise death
for thy mother?

Exc. [Go and say thus, old man, to Clytemnestra.] Bear
word that I am brought to bed in labour of a male.

Otp M. Whether having brouglit forth some time since, or
lately ?

Exec. Ten suns; during which the woman in labour is
purified.

Op M. But what in truth does this tend to thy mother’s
death ? ,

Exec. She will come, when she has heard of my childbirth
sickness. ‘

Otp M. Whence? What dost thou think she cares, O
child?

Exec. Yea, and she will bemoan the dignity of my off-
spring.

Op M. Perhaps so; I lead thy discourse back to the point
of turning.

Exec. It is plain that she will perish when she has come.

Oxp M. And truly let her come to the very gates of the
dwelling.

Exec. Is it not a little thing to turn to Hades ?4!

Otp M. Would that I might die, having sometime beheld
this.

Exec. Then first of all lead the way for this person, old
man.

Op M. [What to] where Agisthus is now sacrificing to
the Gods?

Exec. Then meeting my mother, deliver my message.

Oxp M. Ay, so that it shall seem to be spoken by thy own
mouth.

i. e. their fallen condition. But I think Woodhull is nearer the sense :
“Yes, and weep
To learn I am become a happy mother.”

4 Seidler : “ obxoty opixpdy (ori) rparécOar réd_ (Snrovérs 8 Aéyete
EIS AOMOQN wihag, wore elvat) ETE ‘AITAOY.”’ I am but half satisfied.
668—703. ELECTRA, 267

Excc. ’Tis thy task now. Thou art allotted first to begin
the slaughter.

Or. I will go, if any one will be leader of the way.

Oxtp M. And in truth I will escort thee not unwillingly.

Or. O thou ancestral Jove, putter to flight of mine enemies,
pity us, for we have suffered pitiable things.

Exc. Ay, pity those who are born thy descendants.

Or. And thou, Juno, who rulest over the Mycenian altars,
grant us the victory, if we crave just things.

Exec. Give indeed to us an avenging power for our sire.

Or. And thou who impiously dost dwell below the earth,
O father, [and thou queen Earth, to whom I stretch forth
my hands, | aid, aid these thy dearest children. Now come,
taking all the dead as allies, as many as with thee destroyed
the Phrygians with the spear, and as many as hate impious
assassins. Hast thou heard, O thou that hast suffered dread-
ful things from my mother?

Exec. Father hears all, I know; but it is time to go. And
to thee I proclaim moreover that Adgisthus must die. So
that, if in contest thou shalt fall a deadly fall, I also am dead ;
nor speak of me as living; for I will smite my head with a
two-edged sword. But going within the dwelling, I will make
ready, so that, should prosperous tidings of thee arrive, the
whole house shall shout aloud; but if thou diest, the contrary
of these things will be. TI tell thee this.

Or. I know all.

Exec. Therefore it behoves thee to be a man. But do you,
O women, well light up the shout of this contest.“ But I
will keep guard, carrying in my hand a ready spear. ‘ For
never, overcome by my enemies, will I pay the penalty for
my body to be abused.

Cuo. A report remains in the ancient traditions of the
Argive mountains," that once on a time Pan, the guardian of

2 Ilupoetere, i. q. onpaivere, quasi hodie diceres, send me intelligence
by telegraph. Doxsree. ‘ : x

43 Matthiee would join draddc i7d partpog with xp. dpva ropevoa,
making id = dztk, as bwd wrepdv omdoag. Andr. 442. Regarding the
legend of the golden fleece, see Orest. 812 sqq. Iph. Taur. 196. The
following passages are important: Senec. Thyest. 224 sqq., “‘ Est Pelopis
altis nobile in stabulis pecus, Arcanus aries, ductor opulenti gregis ; Hu-
jus per omne corpus effuso coma Dependet auro; cujus e tergo, novi
‘Aurata reges sceptra Tantalici gerunt: Posseasor hujus regnat; hunc
268 ELECTRA. 704—748.

the fields, breathing forth a sweet-sounding song on the well-
compacted reeds, conducted from its tender mother a ram
with beauteous fleece of gold. And standing on a rocky
bench, a herald exclaimed, “To the forum, to the forum
come, O Mycenians, about to behold prodigies, [and] fearful
visions-of happy rulers.” And choirs of the sons of Atreus
adorned the dwelling, and the gold-decked temples! were
opened, and on the altars through the city the fire offered by
‘the Argives blazed. And the pipe, the minister of the Muses,
sent forth a most beauteous sound, and delightful songs in-
creased concerning the golden lamb, as praises of Thyestes.*®
For having seduced the dear wife*® of Atreus to clandestine
nuptials, he bears off the prodigy to his home, and returning
to the assembly, he proclaims that he possessed the golden-
fleeced horned flock in his dwelling. Then indeed, then Jove
changed the shining paths of the stars, and the light of the
Sun, and the white face of Morn, and to the western side he
drives [them] with warm flames glittering from heaven, and
the damp clouds [go] towards the north, and the dry seats of
Hammon are parched for lack of moisture, deprived of the
fairest showers from Jove.*? It is said (but with me, at least,
it has little credit) that the golden-visaged sun turned away,
having changed his warm station through a mortal misfor-
tune, on account of mortal justice.4® But stories terrible to
mortals are a gain for the worship of the Gods; of which
thou being unmindful, hast slain thy husband, thou joint
mother*? of noble children.©° Hold, hold, my friends, heard
ye a noise? or has a vain opinion possessed me, like as the

tante domus Fortuna sequitur.” A poet in Cicer. de N. D. iii., “ Addo
huc, quod mihi portento ccelestum pater Prodigium misit, regni stabilimen
mei; Agnum inter pecudes aurea clarum coma. Quondam Thyestem
clepere ausum esse e regia; Qua in re adjutricem conjugem cepit sibi.”’

4 [ see little difficulty in understanding @vpéAai as put for the temples
themselves, a part for the whole.

4 But read we tort Adyoc, Ovéorov, with Seidl. Dind.

‘0 Aérope. Cf. Serv. on Ain. xi. 262, Hygin. Fab. 86. Colimna on
Ennius, Fragm. p, 272 sq. ed. Hessel.

7 AdOev = le Arde, (Cf. Hel. 2, Aiag Waxddoc. Alceus, Fragm. 1,)
from the supposition that rain was sent by Jove.

48 i, e. the Thyestean banquet, in revenge for the seduction of Aérope.

4 Merely equivalent to yevéreoa, unless we understand, with Mus-
grave, “ gue simul procreavit, i, e. simul cum marito,”

50 Electra and Orestes.
749—782, ELECTRA. 269

nether thundering of Jove? Behold! these sounds are
wafted not indistinct. My mistress Electra, pass out of this
dwelling.

Exc. My friends, what is the matter? To what peril are
we come?

Cuo. I know but one thing, I hear a shriek of death.

Etrc. I also heard it, far off indeed, but yet [I heard it].

Cuo. Ay, for sound comes a long distance, and still clear.

Exrc. Is it the groan of an Argive, or of my friends?

Cuo. I know not; for all the tone of the cry is confused.

Exec. Thou enjoinest this as a death to me; why do we
hesitate ? .

Cuo. Stop! that thou mayest clearly learn thy fortunes.

Exec. It cannot be. We are vanquished ; for where are the
messengers ?

Cuo. They will come; it is no easy task to kill a king.

Messencer. O ye victorious Mycenian virgins, I pronounce
to all his friends that Orestes is victorious, and that the mur-
derer of Agamemnon, /Egisthus, lies on the ground; and it
is meet to adore the Gods.

Exec. And who art thou? How dost thou signify to me
things certain?

Mess. Knowest thou not that thou beholdest in me an at-
tendant on thy brother.”

Exec. O dearest one, through fear indeed I had a difficulty
in recognising thy face; but now indeed I know thee. What
sayest thou? Is my father’s hated murderer dead?

Mess. He is dead; I tell thee twice, what thou indeed
wishest.

Cuno. O Gods, and Justice, that beholdest all things, thou
hast come at last.

Exec. But in what manner and by what system of slaugh-
ter he slew the son of Thyestes I desire to learn.

Mrss. After we had withdrawn our footsteps from these
dwellings, we entered upon a dividing waggon-road, where
was the renowned king of the Mycenians. And he chanced
to be walking in his well-watered gardens, cropping for his
head branches of tender myrtle. And on seeing us, he cries
out: O strangers, whoare ye? Whence come ye, and of what
land are ye? And Orestes replied: “We are Thessalians,
and are come to Alpheus in order to sacrifice to Olympian
270 ELECTRA. 783—825.

Jove.” And Egisthus, hearing this, speaks thus: ‘ Now in-
deed ye must be as my hearth-sharers in the feast; for I hap-
_ pen to be sacrificing a bull to the Nymphs; but having risen
in the morning from bed ye will go the same way.*! But let
us go within the house.” And, thus saying, he took us by the-
hand, and led us on; nor was it right to refuse. But when
we were within the house, he speaks thus: “Let some one
with all speed bring lavers for the guests, that they may stand
round the altar near the lustral vessels.” But Orestes an-
swered: ‘“ Weare but lately purified in pure baths from river
streams. But if it befit strangers to join with the citizens in
sacrifice we are ready, king Acgisthus, and refuse not.” This
conference then they both broke off in the middle ; and the
servants, having laid down the spears, the protection of their
master, all set their hands to work. Some bore a vessel
to catch the blood; others uplifted the canisters; others
kindled the fire, and placed the cauldrons round the
hearth; and the whole roof echoed. But the partner of
thy mother’s bed, taking the salted cakes, cast them on the
altar, speaking such words as these: “ Ye Nymphs of the rock,
[grant] that I may often sacrifice a bull, as also my wife
within the house, the daughter of Tyndarus, faring as we do
now ; but that my enemies [may fare ] ill”—meaning Orestes
and thee. But my master prayed the opposite—not speaking
aloud—that he might recover his ancestral home. And A’gis-
thus, taking a straight knife out of the canister, cut off [some
of ] the bullock’s hair, and placed it on the pure flame with his
right hand; then he slew the bullock on the shoulders of the
servants, as they lifted it with their hands, and speaks thus
to thy brother: “They boast that this is among the noble
deeds of the Thessalians, to dissect a bull skilfully, and to rein
in horses. Take the steel, O stranger, and prove that the re-
port concerning the Thessalians is true.” But he, having seized
in his hands the well-wrought Doric blade, stripping off the
well-fastened robe from his shoulders, took Pylades, indeed,
as an assistant in the toil, and pushed away the domestics.
Then seizing the foot of thie bullock, he laid bare the white flesh,
stretching out his hand, and more quickly stripped off the skin
than a horse courser could finish twice twelve hundred paces,*?

6! The sense ‘is, “ you will come to the same thing,” i. e. you will not
be hindered on your way. 82 See Barnes.
826—865. ELECTRA, 277

and he opened the flank. And A@gisthus, taking the entrails
in his hands, examined them. But the lobe was not in the
entrails; and the entrance [of the liver] and the receptacle of
the bile denoted evil attacks upon the searcher. And he in-
deed knit his brow; but my master asked, ‘“ Wherefore art
thou sad, O stranger?” [He replied]: “I fear some fo-
reign plot; for the son of Agamemnon is most detested, and
is hostile to mine house.” But he replied: “ Dost thou dread
the stratagem of a wanderer, being ruler over the city? Wil!
not some one exchange for us a Phthian chopper® instead of ‘1
Dorian, that we may celebrate the banquet of inspection ?°4 ]
will cleave open the breast.”*> Then holding, he cleaves it;
and égisthus, taking the entrails,56 contemplated them,
having separated them. But as he stooped down, thy bro-
ther, standing on tip-toe, smote him on the spine, and broke
the joints of his back. And all his body was convulsed
up and down, and he howled, dying with difficulty from the
death-blow. But when the servants beheld it, they forthwith
rushed to arms, being many to fight against two; but through
their valour Pylades and Orestes stood brandishing their
weapons before their faces. And he (Orestes) said: “I am
not come as an enemy to this city, nor to my subjects, but I,
the hapless Orestes, have avenged myself on the murderer of
my sire. Slay me not then, ye ancient domestics of my sire.”
But they, after they heard his words, restrained their spears ;
and he was recognised by some aged veteran in the house.
And straightway they crown the head of thy brother, re-
joicing, shouting. And he comes to thee to show the head,
not bearing that of the Gorgon, but of him thou hatest, Augis-
thus. But blood for blood has come upon him, who now dies,
as the bitter payment for a debt.

—— Cuo. Place thy step for a dance, O dear one, like a fawn,
with delight lightly moving its bounding aloft. Thy brother
conquers,’ having accomplished a garland-bearing better than
by the streams of Alpheus. But chant a strain of victory for
my dance.

83 Because Orestes pretended to be a Thessalian.

5$ With wevornpiay understand Ooivny or Ouciav.
55 Called a tortoise from its similar shape. REISKE.
56 i, e. of the breast, the heart, lungs, &c.

57 Tread vixg, with Canter, Musgr., Dind,
272 ELECTRA, 866—904.

Exec. O light, O splendour of the four-horsed sun, O earth,
and night,5® which I before beheld, now mine eye, and ye
folds [of heaven]® now free, since Avgisthus, my father’s
murderer, has fallen. Come, I must bring out whatever orna-
ments for the hair I [possess] and my dwellings conceal, O
friends, and I will crown the head of my victorious brother.

Cuo. Do ‘you then bring forth ornaments for the head ;
but on our part the dance loved by the Muses shall proceed.
Now our former well-beloved kings rule our land, having
justly put down the unjust; and let a shout go forth, attuned
to joy. ;

Euro. O thou with a glorious victory, born of a sire vic-
torious in the war under Troy, Orestes, receive fillets for the
locks of thine hair. For thou art come to thy home, not as
-having run an useless contest of six plethra,*! but having
slain the enemy Atgisthus, who destroyed thine and my sire.
And do thou, Pylades, a shield companion, [and] nursling of
a most pious man, receive a garland from my hand; for thou
too bearest an equal share of the contest with this man; and
may ye ever appear to me fortunate.

Or. Think in the first place, Electra, that the Gods are
the leaders of this fortune, and then commend me, the minis-
ter of the Gods and of fortune. For I am come, having slain
4Egisthus not in word, but in deed; and to give any one the
power of knowing this clearly, I bring the dead himself to
thee; whom, if thou wilt, expose as a prey to wild beasts, or,
fixing to a stake, stick him down, a booty for birds, the chil-
dren of the sky. For he is now thy slave, having before
been called thy master.

Exec. I am ashamed, yet wish to speak.

Or. What is it, speak; since thou art far off from fear.

Exzc. [I fear] to insult the dead, lest some one smite me
with invidiousness.

Or. There is no one who could blame thee.

Exec. Our city is hard to please, and fond of slander.

8 i. e. her former misery.

** This is but harsh, and Reiske’s dumvoai is very elegant. However,
Euripides is very fond of the other expression,

6 Read ’xw for ’yw, with Canter, Dindorf.

$j. e. a stadium = a furlong.

§? Strophius, the Phocian. saidsupa = wai.
905—918. ELECTRA. 273

Or. Speak, if thou desirest, sister ; for we have entered upon
enmity with this person upon terms that admit of no treaty.

Exec. (to the corpse of Aigisthus.) Well then, what be-
ginning of reproaches shall I address to thee? What end?
what middle discourse shall I draw out? And truly from
the dawn I never ceased muttering what I wished to say to
thy face, had I indeed been free from my former fears.. Now
then I am so; and I will repay thee those words of ill which
I would have said to thee living. Thou didst destroy me,
and, nought injured, didst make me and this man bereft of
a dear father, and didst shamefully marry my mother, and
murder her husband, the leader of the Grecian army, not
having [thyself] gone against the Phrygians. And to such
an extent of folly didst thou come, that thou didst hope to
find my mother not wicked towards thee, but thou didst in-
jure my father’s bed. But let a man know, when after hav-
ing corrupted a man’s wife with secret nuptials, he is subse-
quently compelled to take her, that he is a wretched being, if
he thinks that she in the one case will be unmindful of chas-
tity, but will be mindful of it with him. And most miserably
didst thou live, not thinking to live ill; for thou knewest in-
deed that thou hadst made an unholy marriage, and my
mother [knew] that she in thee possessed an impious hus-
band. But being an evil pair, ye obtained your fortune, she
thine evil one, and thou hers. And among all the Argives thou
didst hear such words as these: “ See that woman’s slave,” not
“the husband’s wife.” But surely this is base, for the woman,
not the man, to rule the household; and I loathe those chil-
dren, who are named in the city not from the male sire, but
from the mother. For when a man marries a conspicuous and
superior match, of the man there is no account, but of the
woman. Which thing has most deceived thee, not knowing
it. Thou didst boast to be somebody, relying on thy wealth ;
but wealth is nought, except to tarry with us for a little time.
But nature is stable ; not money: since the one ever remain-
ing uplifts her head ; but wealth unjust, and dwelling with the
foolish, is wont to flit from the house, having flourished for a
short season. But for the matters regarding women I am silent;
for it is not seemly for a virgin to speak [of them], and
knowingly I will but hint. Thou didst wanton, a3 possessing,
forsooth, a regal palace, and as being firm in beauty. But may

T
274 ELECTRA. 949—980

my husband be he, who has not the face of a virgin, but of
manly manner. For their children depend on Mars; but mere
prettiness is an ornament only in the dance. Perdition seize
thee, ignorant of all; for which, in time detected, thou hast
paid the penalty, being thus an evil-doer. Let not a man, if
he run the first course well, think he will win the victory, be-
.fore he comes nigh the line, and turns the end of life.

Cxo. He has done dreadful deeds, and a dreadful retribu-
tion has he paid to thee and this man. For a mighty strength
does justice possess.

Or. Be it so. It behoves you, servants, to bear the body
of this man within, and to give it to darkness, that when my
mother comes, she may not see the corse before [her own]
death.

Exrc. Stop! Let us throw ourselves upon another topic.

Or. What? dost thou see auxiliary troops from Mycene ?

Exec. No, but the mother, who gave me birth.

Or. Opportunely indeed, she comes into the midst of the
snare.

Exerc. And truly she is brilliant in her chariot and robes.

| Or. What then shall we do? shall we murder our mother ?

Exec. Does pity possess thee, as soon as thou seest thy

; mother’s person ?
‘Or. Alas! for how shall I slay her, who bore and nourish-
ed me?

Exsc. Like as she destroyed thy sire and mine.

Or. O Phebus, much folly indeed hast thou prophesied—
. Exec. But where Apollo is foolish, who are wise?

Or. Who hast bidden me to slay my mother, whom it is
not fitting.

Exxc. But in what art thou harmed, avenging thy father ?

Or. Having been then® pure, I shall now be accused of
my mother’s murder.

: Exec. Ay, and not avenging thy father, thou wilt be im-
pious.

Or. But I shall pay to my mother the penalty of death.

Exec. But to whom, on the other hand, shouldst thou
abandon the avenging of thy sire?

Or. Did not some demon, likened to the God, enjoin that?

Exec. What, sitting on the sacred tripod? I opine not.

i °3 Viz. when I was ordered to slay her,
981—1022, ELECTRA, 275

Or. I cannot be persuaded that this was a genuine response.
i Exec. Thou shalt not through cowardice fall into unman-
iness.

Or. Shall I then contrive the same artifice against her ?

Etec. Ay, by which thou also didst destroy her husband
4Egisthus, having slain him.

Or. I will enter in; but I am beginning a dreadful at- |
tempt. Ay, and I shall do dreadful things; but if this seems
fit to the Gods, let it bes but the contest is for me [at once]
bitter and sweet.

Cao. Ho! thou royal lady of the land of Argos, daughter
of Tyndarus, and sister of the twin noble sons of Jove, who
inhabit the flaming ether, amid the stars, having honours from
mortals as protectors amidst the waves of the sea. Hail! I
reverence you equally with the Gods, because of your wealth
and great happiness. And it is now the season for thy for-
tunes, O queen, to be respected by all.

Cry. Descend from the chariot, ye Trojan damsels, and lay
hold of my hand, that I may place my foot outside this car.
For the houses indeed of the Gods are adorned with Phrygian
spoils ; but I possess in my house these, chosen from the Trojan
land, in place of the daughter whom I lost, a small but’ hon-
ourable gift.

Exec. Shall I not then, O mother, (for I am a slave cast out
of my ancestral home and inhabit an unhappy dwelling,) take
hold of thy happy hand?

Cry. These slaves are present. Do not thou labour for me?

Exec. What, hast thou not dislodged me, in truth, as a slave
from the house? for when mine house was taken, I was taken,
like as these women, being left destitute of a father.

Cry. Such plans indeed did thy sire devise against those
friends against whom it least behoved him. But I will speak,
although, when a wrong opinion possesses a woman, there is
a certain bitterness upon her tongue, (as indeed is the case
with us,) not fitly indeed ; but it is just that we hate, when we
have learnt the matter, if indeed one has right grounds for
hating. But if not, why should one hate?. Now Tyndarus
bestowed me on thy sire, not that I nor my children should
perish. But that man, having persuaded my daughter by the
[pretended] nuptials of Achilles, went from home leading her
from the ship-receiving Aulis, mere stretching her above the

T
276 ELECTRA. 1023—1066.

pile, he cut through the fair cheek of Iphigenia. Now if, to pre-
vent the capture of a city, or to benefit his house, and save his
other children, he had slain one on behalf of many, it would
have been pardonable; but now because Helen was a wanton,
and he who had recovered her knew not how to chastise a trai-
torous wife, on this account he (Agamemnon) destroyed my
child. At this, then, although injured, I was not rendered
savage, nor would I have slain my husband. But he came to
me bringing a raving God-possessed girl, and introduced her
to his bed, and would have had two wives at once in the same
dwelling. Now. women are foolish, I will not deny it; but
when this being the case, a husband errs, by neglecting the
bed in his home, a wife is wont to imitate her husband, and
possess another love. And then the blame shines forth upon
us; but the men, who are the cause of this, are in no bad re-
pute. But if Menelaus had been privily carried off from
home, must I needs have slain Orestes, that I might pre-
serve Menelaus my sister’s husband? And how would thy
sire have tolerated this? Was it then right that he indeed
should not die, having slain my [children], but that I should
suffer at his hands? I slew him; I turned myself the way
that lay. open to his enemies. For who of your father’s
friends would have shared the deed with me? Say, if thou
desirest aught, and lay down with freedom, on the other side,
that thy father died not justly.

Exo. Thou hast spoken justly ; but even justice has some-
thing of disgrace; for it behoves a woman who is in her
senses to yield to her husband in all things. But if this seems
not so, neither does it come into the account of my words.
Remember, mother, the last words thou didst say, in permit-
ting me to speak to thee with freedom.

Cry. Ay, and I say so now, and deny not, child.

Exec. But wilt thou, O mother, treat me ill, when thou
hast heard ?

Cry. Not so; but I will add what is pleasant to thy feelings.

Exec. I will speak then; and this is the beginning of my
prelude. Would that, O mother, thou hadst possessed a wiser
mind. For the form indeed both of Helen and thee is worthy
to bear commendation; but ye were born twin sisters, both
wanton, and not worthy of Castor. For she indeed being
carried off, willingly was lost; but thou hast destroyed the
1066—1110, / ELECTRA. xt

best man of Greece, alleging a pretence, that thou didst slay thy
husband on thy child’s account (for they know not well the facts,
as I do); thou who, before the sacrifice of thy daughter was
completed, and when thy husband had but lately set out from
home, didst adorn the auburn tresses of thine hair before a mir-
ror. But a woman who, while her husband is absent from home,
decks herself out for beauty, writes herself down as evil. For
it behoves her to show not at all her fair face out of doors,
unless she is seeking some wickedness. But I know that thou
alone of all the Grecian women didst rejoice, if the Trojan
affairs prospered; but, if they had the worst, that thou didst.
wear a clouded look, not wishing Agamemnon to return from
Troy. And yet there were good reasons for thee to be chaste.
Thou hadst a husband not worse than A¢gisthus, whom Greece
chose for her general; and when thy sister Helen had done
such deeds, it was in thy power to obtain great renown; for
evil deeds furnish an example and contemplation to the good.
But if, as thou sayest, my father slew thy daughter, how have
I and my brother injured thee? Why then didst thou not,
having slain thy husband, unite to us ancestral houses? but
thou carried off stranger nuptials, purchasing a husband for
hire. And neither is thy husband (A®gisthus) banished on
account of thy son (Orestes), nor is he dead on my account,
twice having slain me on account of my sister (Iphigenia) ?
But if slaughter shall requite slaughter, I and thy son Orestes
must slay thee, avenging our father. For if those deeds were
just, these are just likewise. But whosoever, looking: to
wealth or nobility, marries a wicked woman, is a fool; for an
humble, yet modest partner is better in one’s house, than a
powerful one. ;

Cuo. There is a fatality in the nuptials of women; for I
perceive that among mortals some marriages fall out well, some
not well. ;

Cry. O daughter, thou wert born to love ever thy sire. And
this is the case: some side with the males; but others love
their mother rather than their father. I will pardon thee;
for in truth, my child, I do not so very much rejoice in what
I have done. But thus unwashed, and with thy form thus
badly clothed, hast thou just ceased from thy throes in child-
Dirth? Alas! wretched me for my devices; how have I
stirred my husband to wrath more than was fitting!
278 ELECTRA. 1111—1138.

Exec, Thou mournest late, when thou hast no remedy.
My father is dead; but why dost thou not recall thy son who
is wandering out of this land?

Cry. I have a fear, and consider my own interests, not his.
For he is angered, as they say, at the death of his father.

Exec, Why then dost thou keep thy husband furious
against us?

Cry. Such are his manners; and thou also art self-willed.

Exzc. For I am pained; but I will cease being wrath.

Cry. And truly he shall no longer be harsh to thee.

Exec. He is very proud, for he dwells in my house.

Cxy. Dost thou see? Thou art again fanning new quarrels.

Exxc, I will be silent, for I fear him, as I fear him.

Cry. Cease from these words. But wherefore didst thou
call me, child?

Exec. Thou hast heard, I suppose, of my being brought to
bed. On this account do thou offer sacrifice for me, (for I
know not how,) on the tenth day of the month from the
child’s birth,® as is the custom. For I am not experienced,
being hitherto childless.

Cry, This is the task of another, who has acted as
midwife, |

Exec, I myself was my midwife, and alone brought forth
an infant, ;

Cy. Dost thou inhabit a home so neighbourless of friends ?

Exec. No one desires to possess the poor as friends.

Cry. But I will go, that I may sacrifice for the accom-
plished number of the child’s [days]; but after I have done
this favour for thee, I will go to the field where my husband
is offering sacrifices to the Nymphs. But ye, attendants, lead-
ing these harnessed steeds, place them in the stalls ; but when
ye think that I am released from this sacrifice to the Gods, be
at hand; for it behoves me also to do favour to my husband,

* Alluding to his death. Woodhull:

“For I dread him, as far as there is cause
. To dread Atgisthus,””

§§ Cf. Aristoph. Av. 494, é¢ dexdrny ydp more watdapiou kr Oeig dré-
muvoy ty dora, where the Scholiast remarks that the birth-day festival
and the naming of the child was celebrated on the tenth, by others, on
the seventh day after birth. Among the Romans the lustration-day was
the eighth for girls, the ninth for boys. Loneter de Lustrat. § 27,
1139—1185. ELECTRA. 279.

Exec. Enter into our poor abode; but take care lest the
smoky roof discolour thy robes, for thou shalt make such a
sacrifice to the Gods as behoves thee. (Clytemnestra goes in.)
For the canister is ready, and the knife whetted, which has
already destroyed the bull, near whom thou stricken shalt
fall. And even in the house of Hades thou shalt be united
to him with whom thou didst sleep during life. So great a
favour will I bestow on thee; and thou on me an atonement
for my father.

Cuo. A requital for evils, changed gales for'the house
are blowing. ‘Then indeed in the bath my lord, my lord fell,
and the house shrieked, and the stone-pinnacles of the house,
as he spake thus: “‘O wretched woman, why dost thou slay
me returning to my dear country after ten corn-seasons ?”
But a changing tide of justice secretly leads on this woman,
wretched on account of her changed bed; who having taken
an axe in her hands, slew with the sharp-whetted blade by
her own hand her wretched husband, returning after a long
season to his house and the Cyclopeian sky-capping walls.
A wretched husband, in that he had a wretched woman for a

bane! Like as a mountain lioness, pasturing amidst the oak- .

thickets of the woods, she wrought these deeds.

Cry. O children, by the Gods, slay not your mother,

Cuo. Dost thou hear the noise beneath the roof ?

Cry. Alas! for me, for me!

Cuo. I also bewail her murdered by her children. In
truth the deity regulates justice, when there is a chance;
Wretchedly hast thou suffered; but impious deeds hast thou
done to thy husband, unhappy one. But hither these direct
their foot from the house, defiled with the new-shed blood of
their mother, terrible evidences of her hapless addresses [to
them]. There is not, nor ever was a house more wretched
than that of the descendants of Tantalus.

Or. O earth and Jove, that surveyest all mortal things,
behold these bloody, horrid deeds, two bodies prostrate on the
ground, by a blow from my hand, a requital of mine ills.

Exec. Mournful matters indeed, O brother, but I am the
cause. Through fire I have wretched gone against this my
mother, who gave me, her daughter, birth. Alas! for thy
fortune, thy fortune, O mother that didst give me birth; thou
that hast suffered accursed things, wretched and more than

r

Ce a
280 ELECTRA. 1186—1237.

[wretched], at the hands of thy children. But justly hast
thou atoned for my father’s murder.

Or. Alas! Phoebus, thou didst enjoin justice; thou hast
wrought publicly griefs not to be told, and hast given bloody
nuptials from Greece. But to what other city can I go?
What host, what pious friend will look upon the face of me
a inatricide ?

Exec. Alas! alas for me! And whither shall I? to what
dance, to what nuptials, shall I go? What husband will re-
ceive me to a bridal bed?

Or. Again, again has thy disposition changed [with the
gale]; for thou now hast pious thoughts, not having them
then; but thou, O dear one, hast done dreadful things to-
wards thy unwilling brother. Didst thou see how the
wretched woman threw aside her robes, and showed her
bosom during the slaughter, alas! for me, bending her knees
to the earth? But I was like to faint.®

Exzc. I well know thou wast in grief, hearing the piteous
groan of the mother who bore thee.

Or. And she uttered such a cry as this, placing her hand
on my beard, “ My child, I beseech thee ;” and she hung upon
my cheeks, so that the sword fell from my hands.

Cuno. Oh! wretched one, how hast thou had the heart to
behold in thy sight the slaughter of thy mother breathing her
last ¢

Or. I indeed casting my robes upon mine eyes, began [the
slaughter] with my sword, driving it into my mother’s neck.

Exec. And I indeed encouraged thee ; and at the same
time laid hands on the sword. You have done® the most
dreadful of deeds.

Or. Take hold, take hold, cover the limbs of my mother
with garments, close up her wounds. Murderers in truth
didst thou give birth to for thyself.

Exec. See, thee a friend, yet not a friend, we cover with
garments, a finish of the great ills in the house.

Cuo. But hither above the summit of the house appear
some demons, or of the heavenly Gods; for this is no path for
mortals. Why come they into the clear sight of mortals?

8° Dindorf would omit zpdc¢ aipay.

* raxépay for ray kéuay, Seipt. Dinp.
6 But Seidler reads peta,
1238—1280, ' ELECTRA. 281

Castor AND PoLLux. (appearing.) O son of Agamemnon,
listen ; for the twin brothers of thy mother, the sons of Jove,
call upon thee, Castor, and this his brother Pollux. But
having lately appeased a terrible storm of the ocean, we have
come to Argos, when we saw the slaughter of this our sister,
thy mother. She then has what was just, but thou dost not so;
and Pheebus, Phoebus—but I will be silent, for he is my king
—but being wise, he prophesied to thee things not wise. But
we must needs acquiesce in this. But henceforth it behoves
thee to perform what Fate and Jove have decreed concerning
thee. On Pylades, indeed, bestow Electra as a wife for his
house; but do thou leave Argos, for it is not for thee to tread
this land, having slain thy mother. But the dreadful Furies,
the dog-visaged Goddesses, will drive thee maddened to roam
astray. And when thou shalt arrive at Athens, embrace the
hallowed image of Minerva; for she will drive them off, ter-
rified by her terrible dragons, so as not to touch thee, strétch-
ing forth the Gorgon-faced circle over thine head. Now there
is a certain hill of Mars, where the Gods first sate in vote
concerning blood, when savage Mars, in wrath for the impious
nuptials of his daughter, slew Halirrothius, the son of the
ruler of the ocean, where from that [time] there is a most
pious and firm judgment for the Gods. Here it behoves thee
also to run the gauntlet concerning murder. But votes being
placed equal will preserve thee from dying by justice; for
Loxias will take the blame upon himself, having commanded
the murder of your mother. And to those hereafter this law
shall be fixed, that the defendant shall always escape by equal
votes. The fearful Goddesses indeed, stricken with this vex-
ation, will sink into a chasm of the earth near the hill itself, a
sacred pious oracle [hereafter] for mortals. But thee it be-
hoves to dwell ina city? on the streams of Alpheus, near the
Lyecwan enclosure; and the city shall be called after thy
name. To thee indeed I have thus spoken; but this corse
of AEgisthus the citizens of Argos shall conceal in a tomb
of earth. But Menelaus, who has just arrived at Nauplia, since
he has conquered the Trojan land, and Helen, will bury thy

« Alcippe, the daughter of Mars, was violated by Halirrothius. Cf.
Apollod. iii. 13. See Meurs. Areop. § 10, p. 85 sq.

7 Cf. Orest. 1645 sqq. It was before called ’AZavia, and formed a
district of Arcadia, Pausan. viii. 4. Steph. Byz. 8. v.
282 ELECTRA. 1281—1322.

mother. For [Helen] is come from the house of Proteus, having
left Egypt; nor did she go to the Phrygians. But Jove, in
order that strife and slaughter of mortals might arise, sent an
image of Helen to Troy. Let Pylades then, having this dam-
sel as his wife, return to his home in the Achaian land, and
bear him who is nominally thy brother-in-law” into the land
of the Phocians, and give him weight of wealth. But do thou,
passing with thy foot over the neck of the Isthmian land, go
towards the prosperous house of Cecropia; for having ful-
filled thy destined fate [resulting] from this murder, thou
wilt be happy, being freed from these ills.

Cxo. O sons of Jove, is it lawful for us to approach thy
converse ?

Cas. AND Pot. It is lawful, for those not polluted by these
murders.

Or. And may I share in speech, sons of Tyndarus?

Cas. anp Pot. Thou mayest. I will lay this deed of blood
upon Pheebus.

Cuo. How, being Gods and brothers of this woman who
hast perished, did ye not avert the calamities from these
houses ?

Cas. anD Pot. Destiny of necessity led on her fate, and
the unwise words of the tongue of Phebus.

Exec. But what Apollo [compelled] me? What oracles
pronounced that I should be the murderess of my mother?

Cas. AND Pot. Common was the deed, and common the
fate; and one curse of your sires has harassed both.

Or. O sister mine, seeing thee after a long time, I am im-
mediately deprived of thine endearments, and, left by thee, I
leave thee.

Cas. anD Pot. She has a husband and home. She has
not suffered things to be pitied, save that she leaves her
Argive city..

Or. And what other greater cause is there for groaning,
than to leave the boundaries of one’s country ? But I shall go
out from my father’s house, and undergo the charge of mur-
der of my mother at the votes of others.

Cas. AND Pot. Be of good cheer, Thou wilt come to the
holy city of Pallas. But bear up.

’ Exec. Join thy breast to my breast, O dearest brother; for
7 Meaning the old peasant,
1823—1359. ELECTRA. 283

es bloody curses of our mother disjoin us from our ancestral
home.

Or. Throw thy body closely, hug me; and weep, as on the
tomb of me dead.

Cas. AND Pot. Alas! alas! thou hast uttered this a terri-
ble thing even for Gods to hear. For in me and in the in-
habitants of heaven there is pity for much-toiling mortals.

Or. No more shall I behold thee.

Exec. Nor shall I approach thine eye.

Or. This is my last address to thee.

Exec. O fare thee well, city, and fare ye well, and greatly
well, my female citizens.

Or. O most faithful sister, art thou now on thy way ?

Exec. I am on my way, bedewing my tender cheek.

Or. Pylades, go rejoicing, wed the form of Electra.

Cas. anp Por. The marriage shall be their care; but do
thou, fleeing from these dogs,” wend thy way to Athens, for
with their snaky hands, these black-skinned [Furies], fraught
with the fruit of dreadful woes, cast their dread footstep upon
thee. But we [hie] to the Sicilian Sea in haste, to save the
marine prows of ships. And passing through the ethereal
plain, the wicked indeed we aid not; but to whom holiness
and justice is dear in their life, these we preserve, releasing
them from heavy toils. Thus let no one be willing to act un-
justly, nor let him sail together with the perjured. I, a God,
proclaim this to mortals.

Cuo. Farewell; but whosoever of mortals is able to fare
well, and bends not under some misfortune, fares happily.

7 The Furies appear.
CYCLOPS.

PERSONS REPRESENTED.

SILENUS.
CHORUS OF SATYRS.
ULYSSES.
CYCLOPS.
THE ARGUMENT.

 

On the return of Ulysses from Troy, he was driven to Sicily, where
Polyphemus and the Cyclops dwelt. Meeting with Silenus and the Satyrs,
who had been enslaved to Polyphemus, he sought to purchase meat and
cheese in exchange for wine. Polyphemus entering, Silenus accused
Ulysses of stealing, and offering violence to himself and companions. All
would have perished, but that Ulysses and his sailors bored out the one
eye of the sleeping Polyphemus, and thereby escaped, liberating the
Satyrs. The plot is entirely Homeric.
CYCLOPS.

SILENUS.

O Bromivs, through thee I have ten thousand toils, both
now, and when my body was hale in youth. First indeed,
when, maddened by Juno, thou wentest away, deserting thy
nurses, the mountain nymphs ; and afterwards being an assist-
ant to thee on thy right hand in the conflict of the spear with
the earth-born race, having smitten Enceladus on the midst
of his shield, I slew him with my spear. Come, let me see,
do I speak of this, having seen a dream?! No, by Jove, since
indeed I showed even the spoils to Bacchus. And now I am
exhausting a labour greater than those. For after Juno had
excited against thee a Tyrrhenian race of pirates, that thou
mightest be? sold far off, I, having learned the news, sail with
my children in quest of thee. But myself taking the two-
handled tiller at the extremity of the stern, steered, and my
children sitting at the oars, whitening with oars the deep-blue
sea,? sought thee, O king. But just as we had sailed near to
Malea, an Eastern blast, blowing down upon our ship, drove

1 The full point of this proverbial saying may be well estimated from
the swaggering of Bacchus in Arist, Ran. 49 sqq. After boasting of his
exploits, the pot-valiant hero observes, kai caredtcoapév ye vailg rév ro-
Aepiwy 7 Ow@der’  Tproxaidexa, To which the hero Hercules quietly re-
sponds, o¢; Bacchus, 1) rév ’AwdAAw. This being too much even for
Hercules, he exclaims, x¢7’ tywy’ tEnypdpny. I need scarcely observe
that Silenus’ account of his valour and that of his accomplished pupil
must be taken “cum grano salis,”’ perhaps with some still larger allow-
ance for Satyric notions of mythology. o

2 Cf. Hesych. OdnGein.

3 Cf. Virg. Ain. i. 39, “‘spumas salis ere ruebant.””
288 CYCLOPS. 20—58.

us upon this rock of A®tna, where the one-eyed sons of the
ocean God, the Cyclops, dwell in desert caves, slayers of men.‘
Being taken captives by one of these we are slaves in his
house; and they call him, whom we serve, Polyphemus. But
instead of Bacchanalian revels we feed the flocks of the im-
pious Cyclops. My children indeed, youths born, are tending
sheep on the distant downs; but I remaining [at home] am
appointed to fill the troughs,® and sweep this house, as the
servant to the unholy Cyclops at his impious feasts. And
now the enjoined command must needs be [done], that I sweep
the dwelling with this iron rake, [and] that we may receive
my absent master, the Cyclops, and his sheep, in clean caves.
But already I perceive my sons draw nigh, tending upon®
their flocks.. What is this? Is this your noise now like that
of the Sicinnides,? when, accompanying me in Bacchic revelry
to the house of Althea, ye drew nigh, wantoning in strains
of the lyre?

Cuorvs. Whither indeed for me dost thou, born of noble
sires, and sprung from noble parents, whither indeed for me
dost thou bound o’er the rocks?® Here is no gentle gale, or
grassy herbage ; but the eddying water of the rivers lies in the
troughs near the caves, where® are the bleatings of thy young,
Ho! ho! not here, not here shalt thou feed? Wilt thou not
rather to the dewy slope? Ho! I will soon cast a stone at
thee, get thee gone, O get thee gone, thou horned one, to the
stall! of the sheep-pasturing wild Cyclops. Relax for me
your swollen udders, receive to your breasts your offspring
whom ye leave in the beds of the lambs.!! The bleatings

* I need hardly refer the reader to the story of Achemenes in Virg.
An. iii. 616 sqq., and the third voyage of Sinbad the Sailor (we 27d? call
him so) in the Arabian Nights, vol. iii. p. 25 sqq., Lane’s Translation.

5 “ Alveos, unde pecora bibebant. Ilignos canales vocat Virgil, Georg.
iii. vs. 330." Muscr.

6 Literally, “feed hither their flocks,” 1. e. “feed them, coming in
this direction.” :

7 The Xuxcvvig was a dance probably more lively than graceful, pecu-
liar to the Satyrs. See Barnes and Musgrave.

5 As this address is made to a goat or kid, we must suppose a little of
the dithyrambic loftiness introduced animi gratia.

® ov for od is the necessary correction of Casaubon.

10 graciwpoy, “stabuli custodem.”” Muscrave.

" So Dindorf, but, with Musgrave, I prefer joining dovér omopdg,
like Booxnpara pécxwy, Bacch. 677.
59—105, CYCLOPS. ‘289

of your little young ones day-slumbering yearn for you.
Will you ever return! within the Aétnean rocks, having
quitted the grassy pastures? These things are not Bacchus,
these are not dances and thyrsus-bearing Bacchants, not the
clang of cymbals by stream-pouring fountains, not the fresh
drippings of wine, or Nesa with the nymphs. To Venus I
sing a hymn, Iacchus, Iacchus! [Venus,] whom chasing I
flew with the white-footed Bacchants. O friend, O thou dear
Bacchus, whither dost thou saunter alone, waving thy auburn
locks? But J, thy attendant, am a slave to a one-eyed Cyclops,
wandering a slave in this wretched goat’s-skin vest, reft of
thy friendship.

. Su. Keep silence, O children, and bid your followers col-
lect the flocks into the caves with rocky roofs.'3 / :

Cuo. Go. But why hast thou this haste, father?

Siu. I see on the shore the hull of a Grecian ship, and the
rulers of the oars with some chieftain drawing nigh to this
cave; and on their necks they carry empty vessels, being in
lack of food, and water pitchers, O unhappy strangers! Who
can they be? They know not our master Polyphemus, what
manner of man he is, having approached this inhospitable
roof, and unhappily arrived near this Cyclops’ man-devouring
jaw. But be quiet, that we may learn whence they are come
to the Sicilian rock of tna.

Uxysses. (entering.) Can ye, strangers, tell whence we
may obtain a river draught, a remedy for thirst? Or is
any one willing to sell food to mariners in need? What is
this? We seem to have entered the city of Bacchus; I behold
this troop of Satyrs near the cave. I bid the oldest first “ all
hail !” ;

Su. Hail! O stranger; but say who thou art, and what
is thy country.

Utys. I am Ulysses of Ithaca, king of the land of the
Cephallenians. :

Sit. I know the babbling fellow, the sharp son of Sisyphus.

Uys. That very man am JI. Don’t be abusive.

1% But dygiBadeic can hardly bear this meaning. Dindorf reads
dppOadeig—eloer, with Seidler. a: ,
18 Virg. Ain. i. 170, “ scopulis pendentibus antrum.’”” Ennius apud
Cic. Tuse. Q. i., “per speluncas saxeis structas aspercis pendentibus ;”
where see Columna, p. 244, ed. Hessel.
u
290 CYCLOPS. 106—134.

, Sm. From whence sailing comest thou to this Sicilian
and?

Utys. From Troy, and the labours at Troy.

Si. How? Didst thou not know the passage to your own
father-land ?

Uys. A storm of winds drove me hither by violence.

Sm. By the Gods! you’re exhausting the same fortune as I.

Unys. What, was you, too, brought hither by force?

Sm. Pursuing the pirates who carried off Bacchus.

Uxys. And what country is this, and who inhabit it ?

Sm. The A®tnean hill, the highest spot in Sicily.

Uys. And where are the walls and fortifications of the city?

Su. There are none; the heights are destitute of men,
O stranger. ;

Unys. And who possess the land? Is it a race of wild
_ beasts?

Sm. The Cyclops dwelling in caves, not in roofed houses.

Unys. Obeying whom? Or is the power with the people?

Sm. Wandering shepherds; and no one obeys any body in
any thing.

Uxys. But do they sow the wheat of Ceres? or on what
do they live?

Sm. On milk, and cheeses, and the flesh of sheep.

Unys. And have they the cup of Bacchus, the juice of
the vine?

Sm. By no means. Therefore they inhabit a graceless earth.

Utys. But are they guest-loving and pious in respect to
strangers ?

Sit. They say that strangers furnish the sweetest meat.

Unys. What sayest thou? Do they rejoice in the flesh of
slaughtered men ?

Sit. No one has come hither who has not been slaughtered.

Utys. But where is the Cyclops himself? Is he within
the house ? ‘ ‘ae

Sit. He is gone towards AXtna, hunting wild beasts with
hounds.

Uys. Knowest thou then what thou mayest do, that we
may escape from the land?
_ Sm. I know not, Ulysses; but I would do any thing for you.
| Unys. Sell us food, of which we are in need.

Sit. There is no other, as I said, except flesh.
135—163. CYCLOPS. 291

Uys. But even this is a sweet preventive of hunger.
Sit, And there is coagulated! cheese, and cows’ milk.
Urs. Bear it out; for the light [of day] is fitting for
dealings.
Sit. But tell me, how much gold wilt thou give instead ?
Utys. I carry not gold, but the cup of Bacchus.
Sit. O thou that tellest of the dearest things, which we
long since lack.
g a And truly Maro, the son of the God, gave me the
rink.
Sir. He whom I once nursed in these arms ?
Utys. The son of Bacchus, that thou mayest learn more
clearly. :
Siu. Is it aboard the ship, or dost thou bring it?
“Uxys. This wine-skin, which conceals it as you see, old
man,
Su. This would not fill even my mouth.
Unys. Ah! but [I have] even twice as much as flows from
this skin.
Si. A lovely fountain thou tellest of, and pleasant to me.
Uxys. Wilt thou that I first give thee a taste of wine un-
mixed ?
Siz. It is just; for taste will induce the purchase.
Utys. And truly I bring a cup together with the skin.
Siz. Come, pour forth, that I may recollect as I drink.
Uys. See!
Sit. O Gods! how sweet an odour it has!
Unys. What, didst thou see it?
Sit. No, by Jove, but I smell it.
Utys. Taste then, that thou mayest not praise it from re-
ort alone.
Siz. O Gods! Bacchus invites me to dance. Hah! hah! hah!
Utys. Did it trickle through thy throat nicely for thee.
Siz. Ay, so that it came to the very tips of my nails.
Unys. Besides this we will also give coin. be
Sr. Only open the wine-skin ; let the money alone.
Uys. Bring out then some cheeses, or the offspring of
sheep.
Sur. I will do this, caring little for my masters. For I

“4 From Atheneus xiv. p. 658, c., rupdc d7iag appears to be cheese.

curdled by the juice of figs. i
u

'
292 CYCLOPS. 161—205.

would readily drain a single cup, giving the cattle of all the
Cyclops in exchange, and cast myself off the White Rock® in-
to the sea, having once got drunk, and bringing down mine
eyelids. For he, who rejoices not when drinking; is mad,
where it is for this to stand erect, and a handling of breasts,
and a garden is prepared for hands to touch, and dancing
too, and forgetfulness of ill. Shall I then not adore such a
cup as this, bidding the ignorant Cyclops and the eye mid-
head weep to his cost ?

Cro. Listen, Ulysses; let us hold some converse with thee.

Unys. And truly as friends ye confer with a friend.

Cuno. Did ye take Troy and Helen into your hands?

Uys. Ay, and we have sacked the whole house of the sons
of Priam.

Siz. Did ye not then, when ye took the young lady, em-
brace her all in turn; since indeed she is fond of being mar-
ried to many? The traitoress! who, when she saw a person
wearing embroidered drawers around his legs, and a golden
collar around his neck, was all in a flutter, leaving her good
little man Menelaus. Never should this same race of women
have been born—save for me only. See, here is for you food
of sheep, O king Ulysses, a banquet of bleating lambs, and
no scarcity of cheeses of pressed milk. Bear them away; go
as quickly as possible from the cave, having given me in re-
turn the juice of Bacchic clusters.

Uys. Alas! hither comes the Cyclops; what shall we do?
For we are undone, O old man; whither must we fly?

Sm. Within this rock, where indeed ye may lie hid.

ve This is terrible that thou sayest, to go within the
toils.

cae It is not terrible. There are many retreats in the
rock.

Uys. Not soindeed. For greatly indeed would even Troy
moan, if we fly from one man; for I have often with my
shield withstood an innumerable crowd of Phrygians. But if
we must die, we will die nobly; or living, will well preserve
our former renown. |

Cyciors. Hold! give way! whatisthis? Whatis this idle
riot ? Why are ye raving in Bacchic guise? Here is not Bac-
chus, nor cymbals of brass, nor beatings of drums. How are my

8 The well-known “ lover's leap,”
206—237. CYCLOPS.: 293

young lambkins in the cave? Are they at the breast, or run-
ning under the sides of their dams; and is there plenty of
cheese pressed out in the wicker vats? What do you say?
What speak you? Soon shall some one of you shed tears with
[a blow of] this stick. Look up, not down. :

Cuo. See! we are looking up to Jove himself, and I be-
hold the stars and Orion. ‘

Cyc. Is my dinner well got ready ?

Cuo. It is ready. Only let your jaws be ready.'¢

Cyc. Are the bowls also full of milk ?
Cuo. Ay, so that you may suck up a whole tubful, if you
wish. ‘

Cyc. Of sheep’s milk, or cow’s, or both mixed ?

Cuo. Of whatever you please. Only don’t swallow me.

Cyc. By no means; for dancing in the middle of my paunch,
ye would destroy me by cutting your figures.” Ah! what
crowd is this that I see by the stalls? Some pirates or thieves
have landed in the country. I at all events see these lambs
from my caves bound as to their bodies with bent osiers, and
the cheese-vats scattered about, and this old man with his
bald head swollen with blows.

Sit. Alas! I wretched am being beaten into a fever.

Cyc. By whom? Who hag been pummelling thy head,
old man?

Sm. These men, O Cyclops; because I would not allow
them to plunder your property.

Cyc. Knew they not that I was a God, and sprung from
Gods?

Sit. I told them so; but they carried off your goods, and
eat the cheese, when I did not allow it, and dragged away the
lambs. And they said that, after they had“bound you with a

- collar three cubits long, they would by force drill out your
entrails through your central eye,'® and tan'® your back well

16 A tolerable parallel to the heartless conduct of the waiter, who in
answer to the question of the testy gentleman, whether his steak was
ready ? mentale replied, ‘No, but your chops are.” See Albert Smith’s
“ Bowl of Punch,” ’ ,

1” The reader will probably call to mind Baron Munchausen’s exploit
in the belly of the fish.

18 But éugaddv, Scatic, Dinp. :

is doh ey and puddva are the excellent emendations of Ruhnk.
Ep. Crit, 2, p. 208, for dro@Ahpey and mvddva, Heath and Woodhull
294 CYCLOPS.: 238—267,

for you with a scourge; and then, having bound you, they
would cast you into the deck of their ship, and sell you to
somebody, to heave up stones, or put you to the mill.

. Cyc. Indeed! Will you not with all haste go and sharpen
the knives, and collecting a mighty pile of faggots, set it on
fire?. that being slaughtered. forthwith, they may fill my
belly as I eat flesh warm from off the coals for the carver,”©
and some boiled and sodden in a cauldron; for I am sick of
the mountain-haunting deer; I have banqueted enough on
lions and stags, and it is a long time since I tasted any
human flesh.

Siz. And truly new things after customary are more pleas-
ant, O master. For certainly other strangers have not lately
come to these caves.

Utys. O Cyclops, hear too the strangers in their turn.
We, desiring to meet with the purchase of food, came nigh
thy caves from our ship. But this man sold and gave us
lambs in return for a vessel of wine, having received it to
drink, willing to us willing ; and none of these things was
done by violence. But this man says nothing true in what
he says, since he was caught selling your goods without your
knowledge. .

. Siz. 1? A murrain on thee!

Uxys. If I speak falsely—

St. By Neptune, who begat thee, O Cyclops, by the great
Triton and Nereus, by Calypso and the daughters of Nereus,
by the sacred waves and all the race of fishes,2' I swear, O
dearest one, O little Cyclops, O dear little master, that I never

defend wvdGva, thinking that the breaking of doors (cf. Hor. Od. i. 25,
1 sqq. Theocrit. ii. 127) at the houses of popular ladies is facetiously
alluded to by Silenus.

20 If this reading is correct, the construction must be, 7Aq. v0. 7. tua)
%Zdovrog (ventrem meum comedentis) daira Oeppnjy adm’ dvOpaxoc [zpot]
T@ Kpeavépy, making ry kpeavdpy the dativus commodi, (cf. vs. 345, rq
6e@,) and supplying some such participle as wapackevacpévny with dx’
ay@paxog. This is more clear than Matthiw’s explanation; but I believe
Dindorf is right in considering it as a corrupt passage, and reading, partly
with Musgrave, partly with Dobree, éAévrog dair' drep cpeavopov. The
term xpeavdpou ought certainly to be applied to the servant, (Pollux vii.
6,) not to the person eating. ‘The office answers to that of the “ diribi-
tores.” (Apul. Met. ii, p. 123, ed. Elm.)

. : This seems almost like the origin of the phrase, “ Gods and little
fishes.”
268—304. CYCLOPS. 295

sold thy goods to the strangers. Or evilly may perish these
evil children mine, whom I most love.

Cuo. Keep thyself quiet! I myself saw thee selling the
goods to the strangers. And if I speak falsely, may my father
perish, but do not wrong these strangers.

Cyc. Ye lie. I believe this man more than Rhadamanthus,
and say that he is more just. But I wish to ask some ques-
tions. From whence have you sailed, O strangers? Of what
country are ye? What city has trained you up?

Uys. We are of Ithaca by race; and departing from Troy,
having sacked the city, we have been cast out, O Cyclops, by
the waves of the sea, and are come to thy land.

Cyc. What, are ye they who went to the city of Troy,
neighbouring on the Scamander, in a pursuit after the rape
of worthless Helen?

Utys. The same, having toiled through the terrible trouble.

Cyc. A base expedition, forsooth; ye who for one woman’s
sake sailed away to the land of the Phrygians. ;

Utys. It was the will of the deity ;2 charge none of mor-
tals with it. But we implore thee, O noble son of the marine
God—and we speak like free-men—do not thou endure to slay
friends who have come to thy caves, and place an impious.
food in thy jaws; we who have enshrined” thy sire, O king,
to have the station of his temple in the recesses of the Grecian
land. And the haven of Tzenarus, an unviolated temple, awaits
him ; and the extreme recesses of Malea, and the rock of Su-
nium, with its silver under it, preserved for Jove-born Minerva,
and the retreats of Gerestus; but we pardoned not to the Phry-
gians the foul reproach of Greece. In which matters thou
also sharest, for thou dwellest in Grecian®4 recesses beneath
/Btna, the fire-streaming rock. But turn thou away to the

consideration of human laws, [so as] to receive shipwrecked
suppliant mariners, and to bestow gifts, and furnish raiment, and
not that they, fixed upon bull-piercing spits, may fill thy belly:
and jowls. For enough has the land of Priam emptied Greece,

% Qeot rd mpaypa from the following air, must be nearly equivalent
to aeria Oeov, in Asch. Sept. c, Th. 3.

% I read idpvcdpecOa, with Steph. Dobr. Dind. On the places here
mentioned see Barnes and Musgrave.

24 Alluding by a prolepsis to the subsequent colonization of the Greeks
in Sicily.
296 CYCLOPS, 305—349.

drinking the blood of many dead, slain by the spear, and has
destroyed widowed wives, and childless grandams, and hoary
sires. But if thou, having burnt these relics, devour a bitter
banquet, whither shall any one turn? But be persuaded by
me, O Cyclops; relax the gluttony of thy jaw, and prefer
piety to impiety ; for to many has base gain brought punish-
ment in exchange.

_ Stt.. I wish to give this advice. Leave not a morsel of this
fellow’s flesh ; but if thou eatest his tongue, thou wilt become
a most clever talker, O Cyclops.

_ Cyc, Wealth, my little man, is the deity of the wise; the
rest isa mere brag and fine words. And I bid farewell to
the seashore promontories, on which my father is enshrined.
Why hast thou set these forward in thy speech? Nor doI dread
the thunderbolt of Jove, O stranger; nor do I know that Jove
is a more potent deity than myself, nor will I care [for him]
in future ; and why I care not, hear. When he pours down
rain from above, I have a secure shelter in this rock, feasting
on either a roasted calf, or some savage beast, and well moist-
ening my supine belly, drinking up a pitcher of milk; I smite
the plain, making a noise in contest with the thunders of
Jove. But when Thracian Boreas pours forth snow, clothing
my body in skins of wild beasts, and kindling a fire, I care
not for the snow. And the earth of necessity, whether she
will or not, bringing forth grass, fattens my flocks, which I
sacrifice to no one but myself, and not to the Gods, and to
this my belly, the greatest of Gods ; for to drink and eat each
day, and to give oneself no trouble, this is [the God] Jove for
wise men. But they who enacted laws, checkering the life of
men, I bid to weep; but I will not cease from indulging my
spirit, and eating up thee. And thou shalt receive this hos-
pitable gift, that I may be free from blame; the fire, and this
mine ancestral cauldron, which bubbling shall pleasantly re-
ceive thy tough” flesh. But go ye within, that, standing round
the altar [prepared] for the deity within the cave, ye may
feast me. :

Utys. Alas! From the labours of Troy, indeed, and of the
sea I have escaped, but now I have met with the disposition and
unhospitable heart of an impious man. O Pallas, O mistress,

25 T read wédov, with Musgr. Dind.
6 Such seems to be the meaning of duogdpyrov,
360—390, CYCLOPS. 297

daughter of Jove, now, now give me your aid; for I have
come to greater toils and depths of danger than at Troy.
And thou, who dwellest in the habitation of the shining stars,
O Jove, the guardian of strangers, behold these things; for
if thou regardest them not, thou, O Jove, being nought, art
vainly esteemed a God.

Cro. Open the lips of thy wide jaw, O Cyclops, since there
is ready for thee [meat] boiled, and roast, and from the coals,
to devour, to grind, to mince the limbs of the strangers, cut up
on dishes of shaggy hide. Do not, do not, I pray you, betray
[me] alone ; for [me] alone bring?’ aship’s hull. Adieu to this
dwelling, and to the sacrifice which the godless 28 Cyclops of
Etna possesses, rejoicing in the food of strangers’ flesh. Cruel
the daring wretch, who sacrifices the suppliant hearth-guests
of his home, cutting, mincing, and feasting with accursed
teeth on the flesh of men warm from the coals.?9

Utys. O Jove, what shall I say? seeing dreadful things
within the cave, and not to be believed, like the tales, not the
deeds of mortals.

Cuo. What is it, Ulysses? has the most impious Cyclops
been banqueting on thy dear companions? —

Utys. Ay, having looked at two of them, and weighed
them in his hands,®° which had the best-fed thickness of flesh.
Cxo. How, O wretched one, did ye suffer these things ?

Utys. After we entered into this rocky cave, he first kin-
dled a fire, casting faggots of the lofty oak upon the wide
hearth, sufficient weight for three waggons to carry. He
then spread his bed of beech leaves on the ground near the
- flame of the fire; and filled a cup holding about ten gallons,
pouring in the white milk, after having milked the heifers.
And he set a cup formed of the ivy-tree, of the width of three

27 T am but ill satisfied respecting this passage. Matthie regards the pre~
ceding words as spoken reproachfully, and vs, 361, as referring to Ulysses,
not to the Cyclops. The saying, povog—oxd¢goc, is by some regarded as
a proverbial phrase = ‘‘ take care of yourself alone.” I must confess
my inability to satisfy the reader in this instance.

28 dropwpioc, aBeoe, kai Ouoiat adroBwpor, at pi ly rotc Bwpote,
Hesych., evidently referring to this passage, since the adjective may be re-
ferred either to KéxAwy or @ucia, Matra.

20 Utterly corrupt, as is evident from the tame repetitions in vs. 370
sq. and the confusion of sense in é¢0¢—az’ dvOpdxwy, which ought to
be distinguished, as in vs. 244 sqq., 358.

58° This must be the meaning of Baordeag.
298 CYCLOPS. 891—424.

cubits, but the depth appeared to be of four. Then he made
the brazen cauldron bubble with fire, and [he got ready] spits
with the points burnt with fire, and the other parts polished
‘with the bill, [formed] of boughs of the christ-thorn,*' and
/&tnean vessels to receive the blood shed by the jaw of the
axe. But when all things were ready for the God-de-
tested cook of Hades, having seized on two men of my com-
panions, he slaughtered them in a certain order,** one against
the brazen-wrought hollow of the cauldrons, but seizing the
other by the farthest tendon of his foot, striking indeed against
the sharp nail-like point of a rocky stone, he caused to flow
the brain; and having seized upon the flesh with a savage
knife, he roasted it in the fire; and put some of the limbs
into the cauldron to boil. But I wretched, pouring forth
tears from mine eyes, approached, and ministered to the Cy-
clops. But the rest, like birds, kept crouched down in the
recesses of the rock, and no blood was in their skin. But
when, sated with the food of my companions, he fell down,
sending forth heavy breathings from his jaws, some divine
counsel inspired me. Having filled Maro’s cup with pure
wine, I bring it to him to drink,®? speaking thus, ““O Cyclops,
son of the ocean God, look at this, how divine a draught
Greece obtains from the vine, the juice of Bacchus.” But he,
being filled with his shameless repast, received it, and emptied
it, drawing it in without fetching his breath.*4 And lifting
up his hand, he commended [me]: “O dearest of strangers, a
glorious cup for a glorious banquet dost thou give me.” But
when I perceived that he was delighted, I gave him another
cup, knowing that the wine would do for him, and that he
would soon pay the penalty. And then he betook himself to
singing. But I, pouring out one cup after another, warmed

31 T read dpexdvw rddda, wadtodpou (cf. interpp. on Virg. Ecl. v. 39)
«dddwy, with Scal. Dind. On vs. 395, cf. Curt, iii. 2, “lignum igne du-
raverant.” So Virg. Ain, vii, 524; xi. 894; Ovid, Met. xii. 299.

32. AvOuq@ Ti well expresses the cool deliberation with which the Cy-
clops prepared his delicate banquet. With the description that follows
the reader will do well to compare the parallel passages in Homer, Od.
i. 288 sqq.; Virg. Amn. iii, 623 sqq.; Ovid, Met. xiv, 205 sqq.

i rovde. L. Dindorf, referring Secxrixig to the wine-skin he
carried.

34 i, e. at a single draught. See on Hor. Od. i. 36,14. Pollux, vi. 3,
dpvori rive, apvoriler, xavddy rivay, and 16, ob pévoy riv abpsav
moat, GAG kai lxrwparog oxijpa dndAot.
425—462. CYCLOPS. 299

his heart with drink. And he sang all out of tune close to
my weeping fellow-sailors, and the cave échoed. But I, steal-
ing out in silence, wish to preserve thee and me, if thou art
willing. Say then, whether ye wish or do not wish to escape
from this unsocial man, and to dwell in the home of Bacchus
along with the Naiad Nymphs? For thy father within ap-
proves of this; but®> he is weak, and caring for nought,
through drink, he wavers, having his wing caught by the cup,
as if by birdlime. But do you (for you are a sturdy youth)
be saved along with me, and recover your old friend Bacchus,
not like to the Cyclops.

Cuo. O dearest one, could we but see this day, escaping
from the accursed person of the Cyclops; since for a long
time we are widowed as to our beloved wine,®* not being able
to escape from this man.

Utys. Hear then the revenge I plan against this wicked
beast, and the escape from thy slavery.

Cuo. Speak, for I should not hear more pleasantly the
twang of the Asiatic lyre than that the Cyclops was undone.

Utys. Delighted with this draught of Bacchus, he wishes
to go to a revel with his brothers.

Cxo. I understand. You think to slay or cast him down
from a precipice, having seized on him alone with ropes.

Utys. Nothing of this kind; my device is a crafty one.

Cuo. How indeed? We have long since heard that thou
art clever. ; ‘

Utys. I will keep?” him from this revel, saying, that it is
not well to give this wine to the Cyclops, but to keep it to
himself, and to pass his life pleasantly. But when, overpowered
by Bacchus, he sleeps, there is a certain bough of olive in the
house, which having sharpened at the tip with this sword, I
will put into the fire. And when I see it red hot, taking it
up, and driving it hot into the central orb of the Cyclops, I
will burn out his eye with the fire. And as a man, in fitting
together a ship, drives round and round by the handle the
auger with its doubled thongs,®* so will I whirl round the

35 The force of aX’ doOevijc yap would be, but [he is of no use to
assist us], for he is weak,” &c, a

36 A double entendre. See Musg. 37 @raddakw, Casaus. Dinp.

33 Cf, Hom. Od. X. 384, we 0’ bre reg rpg doy vaioy avip TpvTarvy,
ol dé 7° EvepOev. Yrrocatiovow ipavre ‘Apdpevor ixadrepOe, Td O& rpexes
tupevic altel. MusGRave,
300 CYCLOPS. 463—502.

brand in the light-bearing eye of the Cyclops, and dry up his
upil.
(Ga: Ho! hot I rejoice, I am mad with thy contrivances.

Uys. And then having embarked thee, and thy friends,
and the old man® in the hollow hull of the dark ship, I will
with a double tier of oars convey you from this land.

Cuo. Can I then, as if after a libation to a God," take hold
also of the brand that blinds his eye? For I wish to take part
in this slaughter.

Unys. You must do so; for the brand of which we have to
take hold together, is great.

Cro. I would raise it, were it an hundred waggon loads in
weight, if I could tear out, like a swarm of wasps, the eye of
the Cyclops about to perish.

Unys. Be silent then, for thou knowest well my stratagem ;
and when I bid, obey the prime mover of the scheme. For I
will not alone be saved, having left my dear friends who are
within, And yet I might fly, since I have passed out of the
cave's recess; but it is not just to be saved alone, deserting
my friends with whom I came hither.

Sem. Come! Who first? And who appointed after the
first, having laid fast hold of the handle of the brand, and
driven it within the eyelids of the Cyclops, shall tear out his
brilliant eye?

Sem. Peace! peace! and now drunk, singing an unpleasant
tune, the unskilled songster is about to weep, coming out of
the rocky dwelling. Come,*! let us with revels teach the un-
taught [savage]. By all means shall he soon be blind.

Cuo. Blest is he who revels like a Bacchanal, extended
. out for a revel through the pleasant streams of: the grape,
fondling in his arms a beloved youth, and on a couch, per-
fumed with ointment, handling the anointed auburn tresses
of a delicate mistress, while he cries out, “ Who will open the
door for me?” #

% Silenus.

40 A reference to the brand dipped in the lustral water. Marrura,

“I should prefer making a different division of these lines, assigning
‘vss. 492, 493, to one half of the chorus, and 494 to the other.

“® The probable commencement of a serenade, A specimen will be
found in Tibull. i, 2, “ Janua difficilis domini, te verberet imber, Te Jovis
imperio fulmina missa petant. Janua jam pateas uni mihi victa querelis,
neu furtim verso cardine aperta sones.”
503—638, CYCLOPS. 801

Cyc. Hah! hah! hah! full indeed [am I] with wine, and
am pleased with the joy“ of the banquet. Freighted, like a
bark of burden, up to the top deck of my belly. But the
pleasant grass invites me to the revel in the spring time, to
my brother Cyclops. Bear me, O stranger, bear, and give.
me the wine-skin.

Cuo. Looking pleasantly from his eyes, pleasantly he
passes from the house. * * Soi one loves us. But a hostile
brand awaits thy person, and like a tender nymph is within
the dewy cave.4 And not one tint of crowns shall shortly
surround thy head.‘

Utys. Cyclops, listen; for I am experienced in the wine
which I gave thee to drink.

Cyc. And what God is Bacchus held to be?

Utys. The greatest to men for delight of life.

Cyc. I therefore throw him up“ pleasantly.

Utys. Such is the God; he hurts none of mortals.

Cyc. But how can a God rejoice at having his abode in
a skin? ‘

Uxys. Wherever any one places him, there he is well suited.

Crc. It behoves not the Gods to have a habitation in skins.

Utys. But what matter, if it delight thee? Is the skin
disagreeable to thee?

Cyc. I hate the skin, but I love this cup.

Uxys. Remain then and drink, and please yourself, O
Cyclops.

Cyc. Must I not share this drink with my brothers?

Uys. [No,] for by keeping it yourself, you will appear
more honourable.

Cyc. But more useful, by giving it to my friends.

Unys. A revel loves fisticuffs, and abusive strife.

Cyc. Granted I am drunk. But no one on earth would
touch me. ;

Uys. My good friend, it behoves one who has been drink-
ing, to remain at home.

Cyc. A dolt is he, who having drunk, loves not revelling.

Unrs. But whoever being drunk remains at bome, is. wise.

43 #8n voluptatem significat, que e conviviis capitur, Marrurz.
npn 'P iS i i \

“A sorry heap of corruption. See Dind.

4S Alluding to his burned and mauled appearance.

46 Lit. “I belch him up.”
302 CYCLOPS. 639566.

Cyc. What shall we do, O Silenus? Do you think we
should remain?

Utyrs. I think so; for what need is there of fellow-was-
sailers, O Cyclops.

Cyc. And truly the ground of the flowery grass is covered
with down. ;

Sm. Ay, and ’tis delightful to drink in the warmth of the
sun. Sit down then by me, resting thy side on the ground.

Cyc. See! why indeed dost thou set the cup behind me?

Siz. That no one should come and lay hold of it.

Cyc. No, it is that you want to drink by stealth. Set it
in the midst. But do thou, O stranger, say by what name I
must call thee.

Utys. No-man. But obtaining what favour, shall I com-
mend thee?

Cyc. I will banquet on thee the last of all thy companions.

Utys. A pretty honour, indeed, thou grantest to a stranger,
O Cyclops.

Cyc. Ho you! what doest thou? art thou drinking the
wine by stealth ?

Sit. Not so, but this [wine] kissed me, because I look fair.

Cyc. Thou shalt pay for it, kissing the wine that kisses
not thee.

Sit. Yes, by Jove, since it says that it loves me, being fair.

Cyc. Pour forth, and give me only a full cup.

Sit. How is it mixed. Come, let me see.

Cro. Perdition seize you! give it here.

Siz. Not, by Jove, before I see you put on a crown, and I
taste it further.

Cyc. My cup-bearer is a cheat.

Sit. Ay, by Jove, the wine is sweet. But thou oughtest
to wipe thy mouth, that thou mayest receive it to drink.

Cyc. See! my lips and beard are clean.

Sm. Place then your elbow gracefully, and then drink as
thou seest me drinking, or not.“

Cyc. Ah! ah! what wilt thou do?

Siz. I took a delightful draught without drawing breath.

Croc. Do thou, O stranger, taking it, yourself become my
cup-bearer.

‘1 i, e. imitate me, both when I am drinking, and when not,
8.

303

Utys. [The juice of] the vine is [well] known to my hand. -

Cyc. Come, pour it out then.

Utys. I pour it out; only be silent.

ig Thou speakest of a difficult matter to him who drinks
much.

Unys. See! taking it, drink it up, and leave nothing. For
it behoves a person to take a draught and to die with his cup.

Cyc. O Gods, wise indeed is the tree of the vine.

Utys. And if indeed you drink much, in addition to an
abundant repast, having moistened your not-thirsting’stomach,
thou wilt fall asleep. But if thou leavest aught, Bacchus will
make thee dry.

Cyc. Ho! ho! with what difficulty I have swum out—this
is unmixed delight. But the heaven appears to me~to be
borne along mingled with the earth, and I perceive the throne
of Jove and all the holy glory of the Gods. I will not kiss
you—the Graces are tempting me. Having this Ganymede,

- enough for me, I shall rest most sweetly, by the Graces. For
somehow I am more pleased with boys than women.

Sit. For am I the Ganymede of Jove, O Cyclops?

Croc. Ay, by Jove, whom I carry off from Dardanus.

Sm. Iam undone, children ; I shall suffer wretched ills.

Cxo. Dost blame thy lover, and wanton over him fallen.

Sit. Alas! I soon shall see wine most bitter.

Utys. Come then, ye sons of Bacchus, noble children ;: the
man indeed is within. But relaxed in sleep soon will he
vomit forth lumps of flesh from his shameless maw. And the
brand sends forth smoke within the hall, and nothing remains
to be got ready, but to burn out the Cyclops’ eye. Take care
then to act like a man.

Cxo. We will have a mind of rock and adamant. But go
into the house, before thy father suffer aught unbeseeming,
since things here are ready for thee.

Utys. O Vulcan, king of AXtna, release thyself at once
from thine evil neighbour, having burnt out his shining eye.
And thou too, sleep, the nursling of black night, fall with thy
full strength upon this God-detested brute, and do not, after
the most glorious labours of Troy, destroy Ulysses himself,
and his sailors, at the hands of a man who cares nought for
Gods or mortals. Or it is necessary that one esteem fortune
a deity, and the power of the Gods inferior to fortune.

667—607. CYCLOPS.
304 ‘ CYCLOPS. 608—654.

Cuo, Firmly will a crab-like grapple seize the neck of the
feaster on strangers; for by fire he will soon lose his light-
bearing eyes. Already the fire-hardened brand, the mighty
brarich of a tree,*®-is hidden in the cinders. But go forth,
Maro, let it maddened work revenge. Let it take out the
Cyclops’ eye, that to his cost he may drink. And I desire to
see beloved, ivy-loving Bacchus, quitting the solitude of the
Cyclops. Shall I then come to so great a thing ?

Uys. By the Gods! be silent, ye savages, keeping close
your mouths. I cannot allow one of you even to breathe, nor
wink, nor cough; lest this evil thing should wake—until that
the sight of the Cyclops’ eye be taken away by fire.

Cuo. Let us keep silence, snuffing the air in with your jaws.

Uxys. Come then, and seize the brand in your hands, going
within. For it is heated nicely red hot.

CHo. You must then appoint those, whom it first behoves
to take the burnt lever, and burn out the eye of the Cyclops,
that we may share in one fortune.

Sem. We indeed before the portals are too far off to stand
and drive the fire into his eye.

Sem. And we have just become lame.

Sem. Ye have suffered just the same thing with me; for
as we stood, our feet were convulsed, I know not how.

Srm. Ye were convulsed as ye stood?

Sem. Ay, and our eyes from some where or other are filled
with dust or ashes.

Utys. These allies are worthless cowards, and nought.

Cuo. Because, forsooth, we have compassion for our back
and spine, and because, being beaten, I do not wish to lose my
teeth, this is cowardice? But I know a most excellent in-
cantation of Orpheus, so that the brand of its own accord en-
tering his skull, may burn the one-eyed son of earth.

Utys. I have long since known that thou wert such by
nature; and now I know it still better; I needs must then
make use of mine own friends. But if thou hast no strength
of hand, at least cheer [us] on, since we shall obtain courage
by the cheers of you our friends.

Cuo. I will do this. We will run a Carian®® risk. And

8 Spc, way Eddov cal Sévdpov. HeEsycu.

49 eae Ofjpag: rode caripove.
50 As the Carians were the earliest mercenary soldiers, the chorus fa-
655—682, CYCLOPS. 805

as far as our encouragement goes, let the Cyclops burn. Ho!
ho! most nobly push on, hasten, burn out the eyelid of the
monster that feeds on strangers. Burn, O burn, O the shep-
herd of .Aitna. Drive, push, lest in his pain he do you some
vain deed.

Cyc. Alas! I am burnt to ashes as to my bright eye. (from
within the cave. )

Cuo. Sweet is the pean. Sing this to me, O Cyclops.

Cyc. Alas! again, how am I injured, how am I undone!
But ye shall not with impunity escape from out of this rock,
ye men of nought; for standing at the gates of this opening,
I will thus fix my hands. (he comes to the entrance.)

Cuo. Wherefore dost thou cry out, O Cyclops?

Cyc. I am undone.

Cuo. Ay, thou appearest in base plight.

Cyc. Ay, and wretched to boot.

Cuno. Drunk didst thou fall into the midst of the cinders?

Cyc. No-man® has ruined me.

Cuo. Why, then, no man has harmed thee.

Cyc. No-man has blinded mine eye.

Cxo. Then thou art not blind.

Cyc. As would that you were.®3

Cxo. And how could No-man make thee blind?

Cyc. Thou mockest me. But where is No-man?

Cuo. No where, Cyclops.

Cro. The stranger, that thou mayest rightly biome ‘has
destroyed me, the wicked rascal, who having given me the
cup, overthrew me.

Cuo. For wine is eelibig and heavy to strive against.

Crc. By the Gods, have they escaped, or do they remain
within the house?

Cuo. They stand in silence, having the rock as a shade.

Cyc. At which hand?

Cuo. At thy right.

Cyc. Where?

Cxo. Close by the rock. Hast thou got them?

cetiously say, that they run a Carian risk, in allowing others to fight for
them. See Musgrave.
82 This pun upon odrte is Homeric.
38 So Barnes. Dindorf thinks the whole line spurious.
x
306 CYCLOPS. 683—709.

Cyc. Evil indeed upon evil! I have struck my skull and
broken it.

Cuo. Ay, and they have escaped thee.

Cyc. Not by this road; where you said they were.

Cuo. I say not by this road.

Cyc. Where then?

Cuo. They surround thee on your left hand.

Cyc. Alas! I am laughed at; ye mock me in my disaster.

Cxo. But no longer; for this man stands before thee.

Cyc. O thou most base one, where ever art thou?

Utys. Far from thee I am keeping this body of Ulysses
under guard.

Cyc. How sayest thou? changing thy name, dost thou
mention a new one?

Utys. Ay, Ulysses, the one my father named me. But
thou wast destined to pay a ‘penalty for thy impious banquets ;
for in vain indeed I had burned Troy, had I not avenged on
thee the slaughter of my comrades.

Cyc. Alas! the old oracle is fulfilled. For. it was said that
I should obtain a blinded sight from thee on thy sailing from
Troy. But it also foretold that thou shouldst undergo punish-
ment for this, being tossed at sea for a long space of time.

Utrs. I bid thee weep! and I have done as I say. But
I will go to the shore, and will launch the bark of my ship
upon the Sicilian Sea, and towards my country.

Crc. Not so; since breaking off [a piece] of this rock, I
will hurl it, and shatter thee, crew and all. And I will mount
high up on the cliff, although being blind, moving on with my
foot through this crannied rock.

Cuo. But we indeed, being the fellow-voyagers of Ulysses,
will hereafter serve Bacchus.
RHESUS.

PERSONS REPRESENTED.

CHORUS OF TROJAN
GUARDS.

HECTOR.

AENEAS,

DOLON.

MESSENGER.

RHESUS,

ULYSSES.

DIOMEDE.

MINERVA.

PARIS.

MUSE,

CHARIOTEER OF RHESUS:
THE ARGUMENT.

Tue action of this piece takes place by night in the Trojan camp.
Rhesus, king of Thrace, comes to the assistance of Hector, and is confi-
dent of obtaining an immediate victory over the Greeks, who are sup-
posed to be on the point of leaving Troy. But Dolon, who had gone
forth as a spy, being intercepted, Ulysses and Diomede discover the
Trojan pass-word, and, by the advice of Minerva, slay him. The Muse,
his mother, appears, and her lamentations conclude the play.
RHESUS:

 

CuHorus.

Go to the tent of Hector, some sleepless henchman of the king,
[to inquire] whether he has received a report of new intel-
ligence from the armed soldiers, who sit in watch over the
whole army for the fourth part of the night. Uplift your
head, resting on your elbow, relax the gorgon-looking seat of
thine eyelashes, quit thy leaf-strewn couch, O Hector, for it is
the time to hear.

Hector. Who is this? is it the voice of a friend? What
man? What is the watchword? Pronounce. What men by
night approach my bed? You must speak out.

Cuno. The guards of the camp.

Hec. Why art thou borne along in confusion ?

Cuo. Be of good cheer. ‘

Hec. Iam so. Is there some nightly ambuscade ?

Cuo. Not yet.

Hec. Why then dost thou, having quitted thy post, already

1 Since the days of Scaliger (Prolegg. in Manil. p. 6) and Petitus
(Miscel. iii. 22) the genuineness of this play has been impugned by va-
rious authors, especially by Harduin, Valckenaer, (Diatr. ix. and x.) Beck,
(Diatr. in Rhes.) and Matthie. Dindorf is rather inclined to consider
it as a juvenile work of our poet’s, on the authority of a Scholiast in the
Cod. Vat. on vs. 515, and would assign it to Olymp. 81, making it about
fifteen years older than the Alcestis, He is also disposed to regard it as
a satyric drama, or rather as a species of mixed domestic drama, akin
to the Alcestis and Heraclide (Annot. p. 560 sqq.) Schlegel (Lect. 10)
leaves the question undecided, observing: ‘(If the piece is to be taken
from Euripides, I should be disposed to attribute it to some eclectic imi-
tator, but one of the school of Sophocles rather than that of Euripides,
and who lived only a little later than both.”’ :
310 RHESUS. 19—57.

stir the army, unless having some nightly tidings ?? Knowest
thou not that we, armed cap-a-pie, are keeping our nightly
rest close to the Argive spear?

Cro. Arm thy band, go to the tents® of your allies, O
Hector. ‘Encourage them to wield the spear, wake them.
Send friends to go to thy battalion; fit the horses to the
harness. Who will go to the son of Panthus,* or to the son
of Europa, the leader of the Lycian warriors? Where are
the presidents of the sacrifices? and where the monarchs of
the light-armed troops?& And ye bow-bearers of the Phry-
gians, join your horn-bound bows to the strings.

Hec. Some things thou tellest terrible to hear; but in
others thou givest good cheer, and nothing unmixed. But art
thou terrified by the trembling scourge of Saturnian Pan,’ and
having left thy station, puttest the army in motion? What
sayest thou? What news shall I say thou bearest? In having
said many things, thou hast shown nothing clearly.

Cxo. The Argolic army has kept its beacon-fires lighted,
Hector, through the whole night, and the stations of the ships
are brilliant® with torches, and all the army in tumult rush by
night to the tent of Agamemnon, seeking some new orders.
For never before was the ship-wafted armament so terrified.
And suspecting the future, I have come as a messenger to
thee, that thou mayest never speak any blame against me.

Hec. Thou hast come in time, although announcing a fear ; for
the men are about to betake themselves to flight from this land,
by a nightly sailing, lying hid from mine eye; and the beacon-
lights by night are pleasing to me. O thou deity, who hast
deprived me, a successful lion, of my banquet, before that I had

2 Cf. Asch, Sept. c. Th, 28, Aéyer peyiorny mpooBorgrv ’Axaida Nux-
tnvopeiobal.
5 Literally, “ their couches,” as in vs. 1.

* Euphorbus. 5 Sarpedon.
* Pollux, i. 10, 5, yupvijrec, wotpor, tAagpoi —Wrdol, odevdovijra,
ALOoBdror.

7 All sudden terrors were attributed to the influence of Pan. On his
parentage it is observed by the Schol, Theocrit. i, 123, rov Tava oi piv
TIyveddrng cat Oducctwe, 7 ‘Eppod, dddot dé Arde nai Kaddorove, trepot
58 ’ABépog Kai Olvnidog, 4 Nypnidog, tvtor dé Odpavod cai Tijc. But the
Scholiast on this passage in Cod, Vat. 909, quotes A¢schylus as an author-
ity for distinguishing between Pan the son of Jove, and Pan the son of
Saturn. So also Joannes Lydus de Mensibus, 4, 74, quoted by Dindorf.

8 dtimerie, dtagavic. Etym. Magn. See Musgrave.
58—94. RHESUS. ' 311

utterly destroyed the whole host of the Argives with this spear.
For if the shining beams of the sun had not contracted, I
would not have restrained my prospering spear, till I had
burned their ships, and made my way through the tents, slay-
ing the Argives with this much-slaughtering hand. And I.
indeed was willing to hurl the spear by night, and use the
prospering course of fortune; but the wise prophets, skilled in
things divine, persuaded me to await the light of day, and
then not to leave a single Greek upon the land. But they
wait not for the plans of my soothsayers; in darkness a run-
away has mighty strength. But it behoves you with all haste
to bear orders to the army to take their arms in hand, and
cease from sleep ; that some of the [enemy ] leaping even upon
the ships, nay, wounded in the back, stain the ladders with
blood, and some, being caught and bound in fetters, may learn
to till the land of the Phrygians.

Cuno. Hector, thou art hastening, before thou learnest what
is done; for we do not clearly know whether the men are
taking flight.

Hec. But what reason is there for the army of the Argives
to kindle beacon-fires ?

Cuno. I know not; but to my mind it is very suspicious.

Tec. Know that, this fearing, thou wouldst fear every
thing. '
a0, Never before did the enemy kindle so great a light.

Hec. Nor did they ever so basely fall in the flight of
battle.

Cuo. Thou didst achieve this; therefore consider present
matters.

Hec. There is against foes a simple word,“ Arm hands.”

Cxo. And truly hither comes Aineas, and with much haste
of foot, having some new matter to inform his friends.

JZEnras. Hector, wherefore do the nightly guards through-.
out the army, having come in terror to thy tents, hold con-.
verse by night, and [why] is the army in disturbance?

Hec. Attire thy body in arms, A®neas.

Ey. What is the matter? Is any secret stratagem of our
enemies announced to be settled during night?

Hac. The men are taking flight and embarking in the
ships. .

EN. What safe evidence of this canst thou allege?
312 RHESUS. 95—134.

Hec.. Through all the night they are burning beacons of
fire; and they seem to me not likely to remain till morning ;
but having kindled torches upon their well-banked ships, they
will in flight set sail homeward from this land.

4En. But as being about to do what under these circum-
stances dost thou arm thine hand?

Hec. As they are flying and leaping upon their ships, I
will restrain them with my spear, and will press heavy upon
them ;. for it is base for us, and besides the baseness an evil,
that, when the deity favours, we should without a battle let
the enemy escape, who have done many ills.

En. Would thou wert a man of good counsel, as [thou art
good]® to use thine hand. But the same one of mortals is not
born to know all things, but one gift belongs to one person,
[another to another]; to thee, indeed, to fight; but to others
to take good counsel. Thou who forsooth, on hearing of the
beacon-fires, wast elated with the idea that the Greeks were
taking flight, and wast about to lead the army, having passed
over the ditches during night. And yet, having once passed
the hollow depth of the trenches, if you do not find the enemy
flying from the land, but facing thy spear, shouldst thou be
conquered indeed, thou canst not return hither to the city; for
how wilt thou pass the palisades in the flight of battle? and
how again will the charioteers pass the bridges, unless they
break the axles of their chariots? But if victorious, you have
the son of Peleus as an adversary, who will not allow thee to
hurl flames upon the ships, or to carry off the Greeks in the
manner thou thinkest.. For he is a fierce man, and towered up
with boldness. But let us suffer the army to sleep quiet by
their shields after their toils in war; and to me it seems good
to send a scout toward the enemy, whosoever shall be willing ;
and if indeed they are taking to flight, let us go and fall upon
the army of the Argives; but if these watch-fires are leading
to any stratagem, let us, having learned the contrivances of the
enemy from the scout, take counsel. This is the opinion I
have, O king.

Cno. This seems good [to us]; this do thou, changing thy
opinion, consider ; for I love not the strength of commanders
that stumbles. For what is better than for a swift scout to

® Supply eb repucwe or lkavdc, with Matthie. For the sentiment cf. Il,
N. 729 sqq. :
135—171. RHESUS. 313

go nigh the ships, [to see] why indeed the flame is being lighted
up along the drawn-up prows of the ships of the enemy?

Heo. Ye prevail; since these matters please all.” But go,
and arrange thine allies; perhaps the army may move, having
heard the nightly advice.’ But I will send a s@but against
the enemy. And if indeed we learn any contrivance of the
enemy, thou shalt hear all, and present shalt learn the reason ;
but if they go away setting off for a flight, do thou, awaiting
the voice of the trumpet, tarry, as I am about to; but I will
mingle this night with the hulls of the ships against the host
of the Argives.

En, Send with all haste; for now thou thinkest safely.
And thou shalt see me doing bravely with thee, when. there is
a need. e

Hec. Who then of. the Trojans, who are present at this
conference, is willing to go as a scout to the ships of the
Argives? Who will be a benefactor of this land? who says
[he will]? I cannot assist in all things my ancestral city and
my allies. :

Doton. I am willing, running this hazard for the country,
to go as a scout to the ships of the Argives; and I will come
back; having learned all the plans of the Greeks.’ On these
terms I undertake this task.

.Hec. Dolon” is rightly named, and loves the city. But
thou hast now rendered the house of your father, before glori-
ous, twice again as glorious. — at ee

Dot. I must therefore labour, and labouring, bear off a
worthy reward. For the gain that is added to every deed
brings forth a double pleasure.

Hec. Yea, and I say that this is just, and not otherwise.
But fix your reward, save only my royal power.

Dot. I covet not thy troublesome power.

Hec. But do thou, by marriage, become a kinsman of the
sons of Priam. a

Dot. I do not wish to marry out of families greater than
myself.’ i: ,

Hec. Gold is at hand, if thou askest this as a reward.

Dot. But I have it at home. T lack not means. |

Hec. What then dost thou desire of the things that Troy
contains ?

10 i. e. the crafty one.
‘314 RHESUS, .172—205.

. Dot. When thou hast conquered the Greeks, promise me
gifts.

Hec. "I will give-them; but do thou ask aught, save the
[captive] generals of the ships.

Dot. ‘Slay [them], I do not ask for thine hands to be re-
strained from Menelaus.

Hec. Thou dost not crave of me to receive the son of
Oileus? .:

Dot. Useless for agriculture are delicately trained hands..

Hec. .Whom then of the Greeks dost thou wish to’ possess
alive for thy reward ?

Dot. I have before said, there is gold in mine house.

Hec. .And truly you yourself, being present, shall take
choice of the spoils.

Dot. Nail them up on the houses of the Gods.

Hexc. What greater reward wilt thou ask me than these ?.
_ Dot.. The horses of Achilles; for it behoves me to labour
for a worthy object, risking my life upon the dice of fortune.

Heo. And truly thou art a rival to me of the horses I love ;
for they, being born immortal from immortals, bear the valiant
son of Peleus. . But the marine king Neptune, having broken
them. in, bestows them on Peleus, as they say. But having
excited thee [with hope], I will not deceive thee ; but I will
give to thee the chariot of Achilles, a most glorious possession
in thine house.

Dox. I commend [thy words] ; 3 and having received them,
I say that I shall receive the fairest gift of the Phrygians for
my strong heart. But thou must not be envious; thou hast
ten thousand other things in which thou wilt be delighted,
being the best man of this land.

Cuo. Great is the peril; and great are the things thou dost
think to obtain. ._Blest indeed wilt thou be, having attained
thine end; and the labour is glorious; and great it is to be a
kinsman of kings. May justice look down from heaven; but
mortal matters appear .in thee to be perfect.

‘Dot. I will go then; but having gone to my home and
hearth, I will becomingly fit my body with armour, and thence
I will direct my foot to the ships of the Argives.

Cuo. Say, whether thou wilt have any other garb instead
of this?

Dot. Such as becomes the deed, and my stealthy walk.
206-255. RHESUS. 315

Cuo. From a wise man it is fitting to learn something wise.
Say what will be the equipment for thy body.

Dot, I will fit a wolf’s skin around my back, and will place
the wide mouth of the beast upon my head, and having fitted
its fore-feet to my hands, and limbs to limbs, I*will imitate
the four-footed path of a wolf, difficult to be discovered
by the enemy, approaching the trenches and'the bulwarks
of the ships. But when I tread the clear country with my
feet, I will walk on two legs. Thus is the stratagem ar-
ranged.

Cuo. And well may the son of Maia, Hermes, the king of
cheaters, escort thee thither and back again. But thou hast
the [fashion of the] deed; thou needest only be fortunate.

Dot. I shall both be preserved, and having slain him, I will
bring to thee the head of Ulysses; and having a clear evi-
dence, thou shalt say that Dolon has indeed gone to the ships
of the Greeks. Or [I will slay] the son of Tydeus, nor
with unstained hand will I return home, before that light
visits the earth.

Cuo. O thou of Thymbra, and Delos, and who dwellest in
the temple at Lycia, Apollo; O thou of a divine head, come
bow in hand, come by night, and be a preserving conductor
to this man on his way, and aid the sons of Dardanus; O
thou all-potent, O thou that didst build the ancient walls of
Troy. And may he arrive at the ship-stations, and come as
a spy of the Grecian army ; and may he again return to the
Trojan foundations of his father’s house. Then may he
ascend the chariot of Phthian steeds, having destroyed the
Grecian valour of their Achezan master, [the steeds] which
the deity of the sea gave to Peleus, the son of /Macus; since
he [Dolon] has for his house and country dared alone to go
and spy the ship-stations. I marvel at his courage. Surely
there is not a scarcity of the brave. When a city [like a
ship] is on the sea, without the sun, and is tost about, there
is, there is one brave among the Phrygiansj and there is
boldness in war. He is on the side of the Mysians who de-
spised our alliance. What man of the Greeks will the foot-
travelling slaughterer wound in the tents, having the four-

" Valckenaer is not particularly pleased with Dolon’s ingentity. At
best, it is much less entertaining than Sancho Panza’s adventure among
the asses. See also Woodhull’s note,
316 RHESUS. 256—294,

footed imitation of a beast along the ground? May he kill
Menelaus, and may he bring the head of Agamemnon, a luck-
less relation, having slain him, [and place] in the hands of
Helen a subject for groans, who against our state, who against
the Trojan land, came, having an armament of a thousand ships.

Messencer. O king, may I hereafter be a messenger to
my masters of such things as I now bear to thee to learn.

Hec. In truth there are many foolish things inherent in
the minds of rustics; and you indeed seem to be come to tell
something about the good state of the flocks to thy masters,
at an.unfitting season. Dost thou not know my house, or my
father’s throne, where it is thy duty to proclaim thy good
fortune in the flocks ?

Mess. We are simple shepherds, I deny it not; but none
the less I bear thee good intelligence.

Hec. Cease telling me the fortunes of the fold, [for] I have
battle and strife in hand. |

Mess. Such matters, too, have I come to relate. For a
man, commanding a force of ten thousand valiant soldiers, is
wending hither as a friend to thee and an ally to this land.

Hec. Having deserted the plain of what ancestral land ?

Mess. Of Thrace; and he is called [the son] of his father
Strymon.

Hec. Thou sayest that Rhesus has planted his foot on
Troy.

Mess. Thou hast hit it, and hast lightened me of twice
ag many words.

Hec. And why js he making his way towards the sacred
grove of Ida, straying from the broad and level waggon track ?

‘Mess. I know not accurately ; yet one may conjecture. For
by night it is not a trifling thing to lead on an army, after
hearing that the country is full of a hostile band. And he
caused a terror.to us rustics, who on the Idzan height inhabit
the original !? dwelling, coming by night to the thicket haunted
by wild beasts. For the Thracian army went along, flowing
with a loud noise; and, smitten with fear, we drove our flocks
to the heights, lest any one of the Argives should come to
pillage and plunder thy folds. Before, indeed, we heard in

12 Referring to the fable that Ida was inhabited before Troy was built
on the plain. avréppiZov therefore meuns that it was the first settlement
of the aboriginal inhabitants. Muscrave.
295-334, RHESUS, 317

our ears a voice not Grecian, and ceased from fear; and
going, I inquired of the vanguard of the king’s army in a
Thracian speech, who is the general, and after whom named,
who was going towards the city as an ally to the sons of Priam.
And having heard all I desired tolearn, I stood still; and I beheld
Rhesus, like ‘some God, standing amid the Thracian chariot-
steeds. And a golden balance-beam shut in the yoke-bearing
neck of the steeds, whiter than snow. And a small shield with
gold-wrought devices shone upon his shoulders, and a brazen
Gorgon, as on the xgis of the Goddess (Minerva), was bound
to the foreheads of the horses, and with many bells sounded
a fear. But the number of the army you could not put down
by a calculation in pebbles, so immense was it to see; many
were the horsemen; many the ranks of small shield-bearers ;
and many the bowmen with arrows; and a great multitude
following without armour, having a Thracian dress. Such a
man is present as an ally to Troy, whom neither flying, nor
standing in battle, will the son of Peleus be able to escape.

Cxo. Whenever the deities are well-disposed towards. citi-
zens, fortune glides down-hill towards good.

Hec. Many friends I shall find, since my spear is prosper-
ous, and Jove is on our side. But I lack none of their sup-
port, who laboured not with us of old, when war, like a violent,
wind, shivered the sails of this land,! blowing stiffly. But
Rhesus has shown what manner of friend he was; for he is
come to the feast, not having been present with the hunters,
when they took their prey, nor toiling [with them] in the
battle. :

Cxo. Deservedly thou blamest and art angry with thy
friends; but receive those who wish to benefit the city.

Hec. We are sufficient, who have preserved Troy of old.

Cuno. Art thou confident that thou hast already captured
the foe ?

’ Hec. I am confident; the coming light of day shall make
it manifest.

Cuo. Look to the future; the deity. overturns many
things.

Hec. I hate to come late to the assistance of friends.

Mess. O king, it is an invidious thing to reject allies.

13 A very bold metaphor.
318 ‘RHESUS, 335—373,

‘

[This man Rhesus] would cause terror to the enemy, merely
being seen.!4

Cro. Let him then, since he has come, come not as an ally,
but as a stranger to the table of a host; for gratitude towards
him from the sons of Priam has perished.

Herc. Thou (to the Chorus) dost advise well; and thou
(to the Messenger) art a scout opportunely. But on account
of the messenger’s words let Rhesus with his golden armour
be present as an ally to this land.

Cro. May Adrastea, then, daughter of Jove, restrain envy
from my lips;'5 for I will speak as much as is pleasant to my
soul to utter. Thou art come, O son of the river (Strymon),
thou art come; thou hast drawn nigh to the Phrygian court,
most welcome; since after a long season thy Pierian mother!®
and the fair-bridged river Strymon sends thee on, [Strymon, ]
who once in watery guise, eddying through the pure bosom of
the tuneful muse, begat thy lovely form. Thou to me an ap-
pearing!’ Jove art come, careering with thy swift!® steeds.
Now, O country, O Phrygian realm, now, by the grace of
God, mayest thou say that a Jove of deliverance is nigh. And
shall ancient Troy again all day celebrate the quaffing feast
of love, with songs, and with contests of cups passing to the
right hand and leading astray through wine,!® the Atride
having betaken themselves to Sparta by sea from the Trojan
beach? O friend, mayest thou, having accomplished these
things for me with thine hand, and thy spear, return home.
Come, appear, present thy all-golden shield before the fuce of
the son of Peleus, raising it obliquely by the opening of thy
chariot,” goading on thy horses, and brandishing thy twofold

™ Vater compares Aristid. vol. i. p. 124, 8, rocairn & qv drepnga-
via Tij¢ wapaokevig Kal THY Toovpéevwy—wore LEapxeiv UddKet Tots
BapBapog b¢0Arvat povoy. See the description of the giant Gram in
Saxo Grammaticus, Hist. Dan. i. p. 6 sq.

15 i. e. prevent my uttering any thing that may excite envy, while I
enlarge on the praises of Rhesus and my confidence in his powerful aid.
See Matth.

18 There is much doubt which of the Muses had this honour. See
Vater in Prolegg. p. 27 (apud Dind.).

7 Cf. vs. 370, 202, davnOr.

* Not “dappled,” for from vs. 304, it appears that they were white.
[Read roXaion, “white.” G. B.]

'@ raic did rod oivov wapayobaate rév voy. ScHor.

© rapa rHy oxtary abritc weptdépeiay. SoHo. The opening in the
374—412. RHESUS. 319

dart. For no one, having withstood thee, will ever [again]
dance on the level sward sacred to the Argive Juno;?! but
this land will bear him a most pleasant burthen, perishing by
a Thracian death. Io! Io! O mighty king, O Thrace, that
hast nurtured for thy ruler a [lion’s] cub fair to behold. Re-
gard the gold-armed might of his frame, and hear the proud
rattling of bells tinkling from the handles of his shield. A
God, O Troy, 2 God; Mars himself, the Strymonian foal of
the tuneful Muse breathes down on thee.

Rug. Hail! thou good son of a good sire, ruler of this
land, Hector; I accost thee after along season. And I re-
joice that thou art prospering, and sittest at the towers of
the enemy; and I am come to aid in overturning their walls
and burning the hulls of their ships. |

Hrco. Son of a tuneful mother, one of the Muses, and of
the Thracian river Strymon, I ever love to speak the truth, and
am not by nature a double-meaning man. Long, long since it
behoved thee to come and toil with this land, and not, as far
as thou wast concerned, to leave Troy to fall by the spear of
Argive enemies. For thou canst not say that, because thou
wast uncalled, thou didst neither come, nor help, nor draw
nigh to your friends. For what herald or senate of the Phry-
gians did not come and request thee to aid our city? And
what ornament of gifts did we not send? But thou, being a
native and a barbarian, hast, as far as thou wast concerned, by
a pledge-cup betrayed us barbarians to the Greeks. And yet
with this hand I made thee a mighty king of the Thracians
instead of a small principality ; when, around the Pangan
[hills] and the territory of the Pzonians, falling face to face
upon the bravest of the Thracians, I broke through their small
shields, and. having enslaved the people, bestowed them on
thee. Yet thon, having spurned the great favour of these
things, comest late to aid thy friends in trouble. But they

chariot, by which the warrior mounted, is meant. Woodhull has ex-
pressed the general sense thus:

“ Before him wave thy golden shield

Obliquely raised, that meteor of the field,

Vault from thy chariot with unrivall’d might

And brandish with each dexterous hand a lance.”

21 On Juno as the patroness of Argos, the reader may compare Virg.
Zin. i, 28. Silius, i. 25. Apul. Met. vi. p. 458,
320 RHESUS. . : 4138—452.

who are no relations to us, being long since present, some,
having fallen, lie in heaped-up graves, [a proof of] no small
fidelity to our city; but others in arms and by the horse cha-
riots abide, enduring the cold blasts, and the thirsty heat of
the God, not pledging each other. on couches with frequent
drinkings?? of cups, as didst thou. Thus I reproach and speak
to thee face to face, that thou mayest know that Hector. is
sincere. . i

Rug. Such too am JI, cutting the straight path of dis-
course, and I am not by nature a man of duplicity. And I
too was. worn away, bearing a deeper pang at heart”? than
thou, at being absent from this land. But in a neighbouring
land the Scythian people went to war with me as I was
about to set out on a journey towards Troy; and I came
to the shores of the Euxine Sea, having ferried over my
Thracian troops. There a blooty clot? of Scythian blood
was shed by my spear, and Thracian slaughter was mingled.
‘Such an accident indeed hindered me from reaching the 'Tro-
jan plain, and coming as an ally to thee. But now that I have
conquered them, taking their children. as hostages, [and]
having ordained-an annual tribute [for them] to bring to my
house, I am come, having passed through the mouth of the Pon-
tus in ships; but, for the rest, passing on foot over the bound-
aries of the land; not, as” thou proudly vauntest of my was-
sailings, nor resting in all-golden abodes, but sleepless in this
clasped cloak I have known and felt such ice-congealing blasts
as come violently upon the Thracian Sea and the Peonians.
And I have come late indeed, but yet opportunely; for thou
hast already been fighting for ten years, and hast accom-
plished nothing ; but from day to day art hazarding the dice-
throws of war against the Greeks. But for me one sun’s light
shall suffice to destroy their bulwarks, and fall upon their
ship-stations, and to slay the Greeks; and on the next [day]
I will return home, having cut short thy labours. And let
none of you raise a shield with his hand; for I will restrain

2 On the duvoric see my note on Cycl, 417.

* Cf. isch. Choeph. 266, drac ig’ rap Ospudy. Theocrit. xx. 17,
eae épydv. Nonnus, x. 287, droxdpdtov iby, xv. 243, droKdpdioy
EAKOg.

a “isch, Pers. 816, méXavog aivarocrayic—Ilvaray. See also

Vater. :
25 | prefer Vater’s correction, ody Ag ov, with Dindorf.
452—495, me RHESUS. 821

the Greeks who vaunt greatly in the spear, subduing them,
although I have arrived late.

Cuo. Io! Io! thou utterest pleasant things; thou art a
friend from Jove, only let the supreme Jove be willing to
avert unconquerable envy at thy words. But the fleet of
ships from Greece neither before, nor now, has ever conveyed
any man more mighty than thou. How, I pray, shall Achil-
les, how shall Ajax be able to endure thy spear? I wish I
could see this day, O king, that thou mightest with the spear
reap the fruits of thy many-slaughtering hand.

Rue. I will make thee to do such things after my long ab-
sence—but I speak it with Adrastia—and when we render
this city free from the enemy, and thou obtainest the spoils, I
am willing with thee to lead an army against the land of the
Argives; and coming there, to lay waste the whole of Greece
with the spear, that they in turn may learn how to suffer evilly.

Hec. If, released from this present evil, I shall inhabit the
city secure as before, in truth I shall acknowledge great grati-
tude to the Gods. But in respect to Argos, and the district
of Greece, it is not so easy to ravage it, as thou sayest.

Rue. Do they not say that these who have come are the
best of the Greeks ?

Hec. Ay, and I do not find fault with them; but we have
sufficiently repelled them.

Rar. Shall we not, having slain these, have done the whole
work?

Hec. Do not consider things far off, letting go what is near
at hand.

Rue. It seems enough for thee to suffer, but not to do.

Hec. For I, being here, rule a large dominion. But either
on the left or the right wing, or among the allies in the mid-
dle, thou mayest plant and post thy army with light shields.

Rue. Hector, I desire to fight with the enemy alone; but
if thou thinkest it base not to join in burning the sterns of
the ships, having laboured during the long time already passed,
place me in front against Achilles and his army.

Hec. It is not possible to place the hostile spear against
him.

Ruz. And yet there was a report that he sailed to Troy.

Hec. He sailed, and is present; but being full of wrath
against the generals, he raises not his spear with them.

Y
822 RHESUS, 496—536,

Rug, Who then after him is second in glory of the army?
_ Hec. Ajax and the son of Tydeus seem to me to be nought
inferior; but there is that most crafty rattler Ulysses, a man
sufficiently bold in spirit, and who has most insulted this land.
He, having come by night into the shrine of Minerva, stole
away the statue [of the Goddess],”6 and carries it off to the
ships of the Greeks. And then as a wanderer, having a beg-
gar’s garb," he entered the fortifications; and invoked many
evils upon the Argives, being sent asa spy over Troy. And
having slain the guards and keepers of the gates, he went off;
but he is always found in ambuscades, sitting around the
Thymbrzean altar near the city; and we contend with a mis-
chievous plotter.

Rue. Noman of high soul deigns to kill his enemy privily ;
but going face to face. But for this fellow, who, thou sayest, sits
in ambush, and contrives devices, I, having taken him alive,
will impale his spine, and place him at the outlets of the gates,
a banquet for winged vultures. For being a thief, and having
pillaged the temples of the Gods, it behoves him to perish by
this fate.

Hec. Now indeed pitch your tents; for it is night. And
I will show you a place where your army may pass the night
apart from the ranks. And “Phoebus” is the watchword, if
there be any need; remember, having heard it, and tell it to
the Thracian host. But it behoves you, going a little before
the ranks, to keep guard on the alert, and to receive Dolon the
spy of the ships. For truly, if indeed he is safe, he is already
approaching the Trojan camp.

Cuo. Whose is the guard? Who takes my turn? The first
signs-are setting, and the seven Pleiades” are in the sky, and
the Eagle glides midway through heaven. Awake! Why
do ye delay ? awake from your beds to watch. See ye not
the brilliancy of the moon? Morn, morn indeed is approach-
ing, and hither is one of the forerunning 9 stars.

% In company with Diomede. Cf. Virg. Ain. ii. 164 sqq. On the
image in question see Electr, 1254. Iph. Taur. 87 sqq. Callimach. in
Pallad. 39, .

27 Cf. Hecub. 239, Ola6’ jvix’ HrOeeINlov xardoxorog, Avoydawvig 7’
Gpopgog, dupdrwy r’ dro Sévov oradaypol ay Karéistaloy yévur;
‘There is a poetical anachronism in the mention of these circumstances,
as they took place after the death of Rhesus.

% Cf, Iph, Aul. 7 sqq, . * I read mpodpépwy, with Musgr. Dind.
537—572. RHESUS, 323

Sem. Who has been appointed to the first watch ?

Sem. They say Corcebus, the son of Mygdon.

Sem. And who after him?

Sem. The Peonian troop awake up the Cilician.

Sem. But the Mysians us.3

Sem. Is it not then time for us to go and awake up the Ly-
cians to the fifth watch, according to the falling of the lot? °

Cuo. And truly I hear [how] the tuneful nightingale, de-
stroyer of her children, sits near Simois®! hymning, with a voice
like a many-stringed lyre, the bloody cares of her bed. And
still do the flocks browse on Ida: I hear the sound of a night-
wandering .pipe. But sleep softens the seat of mine eyes;
for most sweetly does it come upon the eyes at dawn.??

Sem. Why does not the scout draw nigh, whom Hector
urged on as a spy of the ships?

Sem. I fear, for he is a long time absent.

Sem. But has he fallen in with a hidden ambushment?
{ This would perchance be fearful. ¢ %

Sem. I proclaim that we rouse the Lycians to the fifth
watch, according to the turn of their lot. (Zit CHorvs.)

[Enter Utysses and DiomEDE. ]

Utys. Diomede, didst thou not hear—or is it an empty
noise that drops on my ears—a certain sound of arms?

Dios. No, but the iron traces hanging by the horse-chariots
rattle; and fear indeed possessed me, until I perceived that
it was the clang of horse traces.

Utys. Beware, lest in the gloom you encounter the guards.

Drom. I will take care of this, making my way through
darkness. :

Utrs. But if however thou shouldst stir [any one], dost
thou know the watchword of the army ?

30 See Dindorf. : :

31 I have followed the Scholiast and Heath. There is no difficulty
except in the government of tudevroc, with which the Scholiast would
understand ézi. Dindorf denies this, and joins jpéva xoirac, (cf. Annot.
on Soph, Ged. Tyr. 2,) reading pedovrody—pépypvay. Perhaps no alter-
ation whatever is needed, if we translate 1. x. ¢. “ sitting on the blood-
stained banks of Simois.” Cf. Virg, Ain. i. 104. ; .

22 Cf. Moschus ii., éyyOe 8 ywe “Yavog Bre yAuniwy pédtroc-BrEga-
porow Epélwv, ae ; .

33 But ray’ dv 0’ etn pavepdv, Hermann, with the approbation of Din-
dorf. I am by no means satisfied. .

¥
324 RHESUS. 673-612.

Drom. I know that “ Phoebus” is the watchword, hearing
it from Dolon.

Unys. Ha! I perceive these tents deserted by the enemy.

Diom. And yet Dolon said that these were the tents of
Hector, against whom this sword is drawn out.

Uxys. What can it be then? Has the troop gone away?

Diom. Perhaps in order to set up some device against us.

Utys. For Hector now is bold, bold, since he is victorious.

Diom. What then shall we do, Ulysses? for we do not find
the man in his tent, but we have failed of our expectations.

Utys. Let us go with all haste nigh to the ship-stations ;
for some one of the Gods who renders him fortunate, preserves
him; but we cannot compel fortune.

Diom. Must we not then go against A®neas, or Paris, the
most hateful of the Phrygians, and behead them with the
sword.

Utys. And how, searching amid the gloom through the army
of the enemy, wilt thou be able to slay these without risk ?

Diom. Yet it is base at least to return to the ships of the
Argives, having done no new deed against the enemy.

Utys. How hast thou done nothing? Do we not preserve
these spoils, having slain Dolon, the spy of the ship-stations ?
Do you think to destroy the whole army? Be persuaded ; let
us return. And may fortune be well.

MINERVA. (appearing.) Whither *4 indeed do ye go from the
Trojan ranks, leaving [them], being bitten at heart, because
the deity grants not for you to slay Hector or Paris? And
have ye not learnt that a warrior ally, Rhesus, has come to
Troy in no trivial guise? Whom, if he lives out this night till
dawn, the spear of neither Achilles or Ajax will restrain from
ravaging all the ship-stations of the Argives, having under-
mined their walls, and made a wide passage through the gates
with his spear. Him having slain, thou wilt possess all. But
let alone the tents of Hector, and the cutting off of bis head;
for death will befall him at ‘another’s hand.

Uys. Minerva, my mistress, for I perceived the accus-
tomed sound of thy voice; for being present in my toils, thou
ever aidest me. But tell us where is the man resting, and
where in the barbarian army is he stationed.

™ The construction is, zrot 37) ywp. Tp, &e ra&. Aux. abrdg. Dino.
613—657. RHESUS. ; 825

Min. Here he rests near at hand, and is not mingled with
the army; but Hector has given him a resting-place without
the ranks, until the night shall be changed into day. And
close by, his white steeds are fastened to the Thracian chariot,
conspicuous in the gloom; and they shine like the wing of a
river swan. Having slain their master, bear these away to
your house, a most glorious spoil; for there is no place where
the earth contains such a yoke of steeds.

Uys. Diomede, do you either slay the Thracian people;
or let me do so, and be it thy task to take care of the steeds.

Diom. I will slay him, and thou shalt subdue the steeds ;
for thou art skilful in clever tricks, and wise to think; and it
behoves one to place a man where he can be of most avail.

Min. And truly I see coming hither towards us Alexander,
having heard from some scout an uncertain report about the
enemy having arrived.

Diom. Goes he alone, or with others?

Min. Alone, and, as it seems, he is going to the tents of
Hector, to announce that spies over the army are come.

Diom. Must not this man die, then?

Min. Thou canst not do more than fate; and it is not law-
ful for this man to die by thine hand. But haste against him
to whom thou bearest fatal slaughter. And I, seeming, as
his ally, Venus, to stand by this man in trouble, will give an-
swers to your enemy with insincere words. And this indeed
I have spoken; but he, whom it behoves to suffer, neither
knows nor has heard my words, although near. ‘

Paris. Thee, Hector, I address, the general, and my bro-
ther. Art thou asleep? Is it not thy duty to be awake? Since
an enemy draws nigh to our army, either thieves or spies.

Min. Be of good cheer; I, benignant Venus, guard thee;
and thy war is a care to me, nor do I forget the honour [I re-
ceived from thee], and I commend thee, having been treated
well at thine hands. And now I am come to the prosperous
Trojan army, escorting a man, who is a great friend to thee,
the Thracian son of the'poetic Goddess Muse, and he is called
[the son] of his father Strymon.

Par. Ever-indeed art thou well-disposed towards the city
and myself, and in thee I judge and say that I have procured
for this city the greatest treasure in life. But I am come,
not having distinctly heard; but a certain report has fallen
“326 RHESUS. 658—689.

amongst the guards, that scouts are come from the Greeks.
But he who knows them not, says so; and he, who saw them
come, cannot say [for certain]; on which account I have come
to the tents of Hector.

Mun. Fear nothing; there is nothing new in the army, and
Hector has gone away to arrange the Thracian troops.

Par. Thou indeed persuadest me, and trusting to thy words,
I, freed from apprehension, will go to guard my ranks.

Min. Go; for consider that all thine affairs are my charge,
so as to see my allies successful ; and thou too shalt know my
good will. (Exit Paris.) But you I bid, my very hearty
friend, O son of Laertes, to put up your sharpened swords.
For the Thracian general lies [dead ], and his steeds are taken,
and the enemy, having perceived it, are coming against you.
But you must with all haste fly to the stations of the ships.
Why do ye delay to save your life from the descending bolt
of the enemy? (Cuo. re-enters.)

Cuo. Ha! ha! strike, strike, strike, strike; smite, smite ;
who is this man? Behold, I mean this one. The thieves,
who in the gloom are rousing this army. Hither, hither,
-every one. These I have, and these I have seized. What is
thy speech? whence comest thou? of what country ?

Urys. It is not for thee to know; for this day® shalt thou
die, if thou doest [me] harm.

Sem, Wilt thou not speak the watchword, before the spear
passes through thy breast ?

Uys. Stop ;®° be of good cheer.

Sem. Draw nigh. Strike, strike.

Sem. Didst thou then slay Rhesus?

Utys. No, [I slew] him who would have slain thee.

Sem. Stop, every one.

Sem. I will not tarry.

Sem. Ha! smite not a friendly man.

Sem, What then is the watchword ?

Uxys. Phebus!

Sem, I take it, Restrain each man his spear.

Sem. Knowest thou whither the men have gone?

Sem. I saw them hereabouts,

% Implying a threat, as in Virg. Ain. ii. 670, “ nunquam omnes hodie
moriemur inulti.” Cf. Plaut. Cure. v. 3, 11. Ter. Andr. i. 2, 25.
% | read toxe, with Reiske.
690—727, RHESUS, 327

Sem. Go each one after their footsteps, or a ery must be
raised.

Sem. But it is dreadful to disturb one’s allies in the terror
of the night.

Cao. What man has gone? What [man], who, having
escaped my hand, vaunts his great courage? Where shall I
meet with him? To whom shall I liken him? who indeed has
penetrated through the gloom with intrepid foot, and through
the ranks and the stations of the guards. Was he a Thracian,
or one inhabiting the sea-coast city of the Locrians? Or
does he possess a wandering life on the islands? Who,
whence was he? Of what country? What supreme power
of the Gods does he worship? *

Sem. Is this the deed of Ulysses, or of whom ?

Sem. Why not, if one may judge by previous acts ?

Sem. What, dost thou think so? ‘

Sem. Why not, indeed ?

Sem. At least [he was] bold towards us.

Sem. Whose courage, [and] whom dost thou commend ?

Sem. Ulysses.

Sem. Do not praise the crafty spear of a thief.

Cuo. He came likewise before, having his eyes obscured,®”
arrayed in tattered garments, secretly armed with a sword in
his garments. And craving sustenance, he wandered as some

-beggar-slave, having his head close shorn and squalid with
filth. And as though an enemy to the general, he uttered
many evil imprecations against the royal house of the Atride.
May he perish, perish with all justice, before he plants his
foot-print on the land of the Phrygians.

Sem. Whether it were Ulysses, or not, fear possesses me.

Sem. For Hector will find fault®* with us guards.

Sem. Saying what?

Sem. Suspecting—

Sem. That we have done what? Why art thou afraid?

Sem. That he passed by us.

Sem. What man?

Sem. They who this night came into the army of the
Phrygians.

 Yragpoc 6 py pavepdc, te peragopac ray dx’ ddpoy yNXopévu, i
riv tpddwy Terpar, ale travOei dgpdc. ScHoriast.
38 Correct Dindorf’s typographical error to péperat.
328 RHESUS. 728—769.

[Enter the CuartoTger of Ruzsvs. |

Cuan. Alas! alas heavy mischance of fortune! Alas!
alas!

Cuo. Ah! Be silent all. Sit down; for perchance some
one falls into the net..

Cuar. Alas! alas! heavy calamity of the Thracian allies.

Cxo. Groaning at what?

Cuar. Alas! alas! Wretched I, and thou too, king of the
Thracians,.O thou who hast seen most hateful Troy; what
an end of life has seized thee !

Cxo. Who art thou of our allies ; amid the gloom our
night is obscure, and I do not perceive you clearly.

Cuar. Where shall I find some one of the Trojan chiefs?
Where then does Hector enjoy sleep under his shield? - To
which of the inspectors of the army shall I make it known?
Alas! alas! what things have we suffered, what obscure deeds
some one has done to us, and disappeared, having placed as in
a coil the manifest grief for the Thracians!

Cuo. Some evil is like to have befallen the Thracian army,
as fat as I learn by hearing from this man.

Cuar. The army has perished, the king has perished by a
stealthy blow. . Alas! alas! what pain of a deadly wound
within is wasting me, Would that I might perish; for it
was fated for me and Rhesus to die ingloriously, having come
as allies to Troy.

Cuo. These ills he shows forth not in riddles; for he
clearly proclaims that our allies are undone.

Cuar. It is ill done, and besides ill, most basely ; and in
truth this a two-fold evil. For to die with glory, if one
needs must die, I think is painful indeed to the dying; for
how not? But to the living it is a pride and a fair renown
for one’s house. But we have perished without a plan or re-
nown., For when the hand of Hector had sent us to rest,
having given the pass-word, we slept lying on the ground,
overcome with fatigue; nor was the army guarded by nightly
watches, nor were our arms laid ready in the ranks, and the
bells®9 were not fastened to the yokes of the horses, since our
king had heard that you were victorious, and sitting down
before the sterns of the ships; and we had carelessly fallen

® See Barnes.
770—809. RHESUS. 829 .

asleep. But I, ceasing from sleep, was, through my anxious
heart, measuring out corn for the horses with unsparing hand,
expecting that I should yoke them for the morning’s engage-
ment. And I saw two men traversing around our army
through the dense gloom; but when I was on the move, they
crouched down, and retired back. And I gave them warning
not to approach the army, thinking that some thieves of our
own allies were at hand. But they [answered] nothing; nor
do I know aught more; and I retired, and went to, rest again.
But during my sleep, a certain vision appeared to me. For on
the mares which I, standing by Rhesus, was wont to tend and
drive, I saw wolves jump on the stout backs of the animals,
and lashing with their tails the hair of the horse-hides, they
(the wolves) drove them (the horses) on; who snorted,
breathing wrath from their nostrils,“° and shook their manes
with terror. And I was roused up, driving off: the wild
beasts from the steeds; for night-terror excited [me]. And
raising my head, I hear the groan of dying persons; and a
warm stream from the slaughter of my master besprinkles
me with the young blood of him as he lay dying sadly.
And I leap up on my feet with my hand empty of a spear;
and, as I seek and hunt after my sword, some strong
man standing by strikes me under the ribs; and I felt! I
had received the deep furrow of a wound. And I fall pros-
trate; but they, seizing the chariot and horses, turned away
their feet in flight. Alas! alas! pain wears me, and no
longer can I wretched stand. And the calamity indeed I
know by having seen it; but in what manner they who are
fallen have perished, I cannot say, nor by whose hand. But
yet I can conjecture that we suffered these sad things at the
hands of our friends.

Cxo. Thou charioteer of the Thracian who has fared thus
ill, do not suspect that it was not the enemy who did these
things. But Hector himself, having heard the calamity, is
coming; and, as it seems, grieves at your troubles.

’ Hxc. How, O ye who have done most dreadful ills, did spies
coming from the enemy thus shamefully escape your notice,

40 The Vatican Scholiast explains dyrypiéwy (lit. “ windows’) by
puerjpwy. Vater remarks, that Oaddpat is applied to the nostrils by a
similar metaphor. - :

4. Would not repos» be more correct ?
_ 3830 RHESUS, 810—855.

and how has the army been destroyed ; and ye neither repelled
those entering the camp, nor going out? Who but thyself
shall pay the penalty of this? For thee indeed I appointed
to be a watch over the army. But they are gone off unscathed,
laughing heartily at the cowardice of the Phrygians and at
me the general. Know then this well, and father Jove is my
witness, that either the scourge or the death by beheading
shall await thee, having done such things as these; or think
that Hector is nothing and a coward.

Cuo, Alas! alas! a great contest, O thou city-ruling power,
then came to me, when I came to thee as messenger, that the
army of the Argives had kindled fires around their ships ;
for I have neither closed my sleepless eye, nor gone to sleep
during the night; no, by the streams of Simois. Be not
thou wrath with me, O king, for I am guiltless of the whole
matter. But if in time thou learnest aught of offence in
deed or word, send me alive beneath the earth: I ask no
mercy. i

CHar. Why dost thou threaten these men, and being a
barbarian, seek to deceive the senses of me a barbarian,
weaving mere words? Thou hast done this thing; we would
receive no other account, we who have suffered, and they
who are wounded. There is a need, indeed, of a long and
clever harangue, by which thou wilt persuade me that thou
didst not slay my friends, being in love with the steeds, for
the sake of which thou murderest thine allies, having enjoined
them much to come. They came; they are dead. With better
seeming did Paris violate hospitality, than dost thou murder
thine allies. For do not say that some one of the Argives
came and destroyed us; for who, having passed by the de-
tachments of the Trojans, could have come to us, so as to
escape notice? Thou and the Trojan army were stationed
before us. Who then is wounded, who is dead of thy allies,
when the enemy came, as thou sayest? But both we are
wounded, and they, who have suffered worse, behold not the
light of the sun. In a word, I lay no charge against any of
the Greeks. For who of the enemies coming by night could
have found out the tent of Rhesus, except some one of the
Gods had informed his murderers? They did not even know
that he was come; but these matters thou hast contrived b
stratagem. :
856—900. RHESUS. 331

Hec. For all the time the Grecian host has been in this
land, we have made use of allies; and I know I have not
heard any complaint from them; and should we begin from
thee? Never may such a love of steeds seize on me, so as to
lead me to murder friends. But this Ulysses has done; for
what other man of the Argives could ever have done or plotted
it? But I dread him; and something disturbs my mind, lest
he shall have met with Dolon, and slain him; for having been
already a long time absent, he does not appear.

Cuar. I know not these Ulysses of whom thou speakest
but we were stricken by no one of the enemy. .

Hec. Then think thou so, since it seems good to thee.

Cuar. O lend of my country, would that I might die in

thee.

i a Die not; for enough is the crowd of those who have
ied.

Cuar. Whither then shall I turn, bereft of my master?

Hec. My house shall hide and heal thee.

Cuar. And how shall the hands of the murderers care
for me?

Herc. This man will not cease repeating the same story.

Cuar. May the doer perish! for my tongue tends not to-
wards thee, as thou boastest, but justice knows. :

Hec. Take hold [of him], and lead him into my house;
and take care that he has no cause of complaint. But it be-
hoves you to go to those within the walls, to Priam and his
elders, and command that they bury the dead at the turnings
of the public ways.

Cuo. Why does a changed power lead Troy back from its
great good fortune to mourning? What is it designing? Alas!
alas! oh! oh! what deity above our heads, O king, is bearing
funeral-wise in her arms a fresh corse? I dread as I behold
this ill. ROS

Muse. It is for you to perceive, O Trojans; for I, being
one of my sister Muses, having honour among the wise, am
present, beholding this my dear son piteously dying at the
hands of the enemy, whom crafty Ulysses having slain, shall
in time hereafter pay the fit penalty. With a lament pro-
ceeding from myself, I bewail thee, O child, thou grief to
thy mother. What a journey didst thou make to Troy, ill-
fortuned and wretched, setting out in despite of myself, who
332 RHESUS. 901—941.

refused [thy going], and of thy sire who begged thee. Woe
is me, for thee, O darling, darling head, my child, alas!

Cuno, As far as befits one, who not sharing in the family,
I with grief commiserate thy son.

Muse. Perish the grandson of Oeneus,* and perish the son
of Laertes, who has made me childless of a most noble-born
offspring ; and Helen, who left her home, and sailed away,
having approached a Phrygian bed. Beneath Troy she de-
stroyed thee indeed fat Troyf,** O dearest one, and emptied
innumerable cities of brave men.

Ah! much didst thou pain my soul, both living, and de-
scending into Hades, thou son of Philammon. For the insult
which caused thee to stumble, and thy strife with the Muses,
has made me to bring forth this unhappy son. For as I
passed through the river stream, I approached the genial
couch of Strymon ; when we Muses came to the golden-grained
crag of Pangeum, equipped with instruments for a mighty
contest of melody with the too clever Thracian bard, and we
deprived Thamyris‘4 of sight, who had much reviled our art.
And when I brought thee forth, being ashamed of my sisters
and mine own virginity, I sent thee to the eddies of thy
watery sire; and Strymon gives thee not to a mortal hearth
to educate, but tothe fountain nymphs. There being most
excellently brought up by the virgins, thou wast as the first
of men, king over Thrace, my child. And I feared not that
thou wouldst fall, while marshalling blood-loving valour in
defence of thy country-land; but I forbad thee ever to ap-
proach the city of Troy, foreseeing thy fate; but the embas-
sies of Hector and innumerable meetings of old counsellors
persuaded thee to come and assist thy friends. And of all
this death Minerva is the cause, and nought did4 Ulysses, nor
the son of Tydeus, when they did this. Think not that this
is unknown to me. And yet we sister Muses honour thy city

* Diomede, the son of Tydeus.

‘8 An absurd and hopeless interpolation. See Dindorf.

“+ “ Of the punishment of Thamyris there are different accounts among
the ancients; for Homer states that he was blinded by the Muses, but the
later poets feigned that he paid the penalty of his offence in Hades.
Plato, on the contrary, asserts that he chose the life of a nightingale in
the shades." Vater.

‘Si, e. what they did was not by their own design, but by the sugges-
tion of the Goddess.
942—975. RHESUS. 333

chiefly, and frequent thy land, and Orpheus, kinsman‘® of
this unhappy youth, whom thou hast slain, showed forth the
rites of the hidden mysteries ; and Phebus, and we his sisters,
have trained up Museus, thy venerable citizen, and one above
all advanced [in art]. Yet, as a reward for these. things, I
mourn, holding my son in mine arms; and I will charge no
other contriver [than Minerva] with the blame.‘

Cuo. In vain indeed has the Thracian charioteer*® re-
buked thee, Hector, as having plotted death against this man:

Herc. I knew this; there was no need of seers to tell one
that he had perished by the devices of Ulysses. But perceiving
the army of the Greeks stationed against my country, how
could I hesitate to send heralds to my friends, to come and aid
this land? I sent, and [he], as was due, came to toil with me.
Yet I am in no wise happy at his death; and now I am ready
both to erect a tomb for him, and to burn with him the splen-
dour of ten thousand robes; for having come as a friend, he
has departed by an unlucky chance.

Muse. He shall not go beneath the dark-vested plain of
the earth, so earnestly will I beseech the nymph beneath, the
daughter of the fruitful Goddess Ceres, to give up his soul.
For she is a debtor to me, so as to wish to seem to honour the
friends of Orpheus. And for me, indeed, he will hereafter be
as one dead, and not beholding the light ; for he will never come
into the same place, nor see his mother’s form; but hidden in
the caves of this silver-mined earth, he will lie as a man-
demon,‘? beholding the light, like as the interpreter of Bac-
chus®® inhabits the Pangan rock, a venerable deity to
those who are wise. But I will bear with ease®! the grief of
the marine Goddess; for it behoves him also to die, whe

4° For Orpheus was the son of the sister of Rhesus’ mother, i. e. o!
Calliope. Barnes.

47 This is the right interpretation, established by Dindorf. The com-
mentators usually understood “ no other minstrel,” as Woodhull has ren-
dered it.

48 So Dind. in Not.

© So Hesychius has Bporodaipwy, pifeoc. Rhesus would be wor-
shipped as a hero, perhaps as something greater, on account of his divine
origin.

a Lycurgus is probably meant. See Musgrave. .

81 édov for Badv. Muscr. Dinp. The sense is: ‘I shall bear with
ease the calamity of Thetis in losing her son Achilles, since I have myself
suffered the same misfortune.”
334 : RHESUS. 976—996.

is sprung from her, But first indeed we sisters will cele-

brate thee with lamentations, and then hereafter with grief

Achilles, the son of Thetis. Pallas, who slew thee, shall not

deliver him; such a dart does the quiver of Apollo preserve.

O calamities of child-bearing, labours of mortals, since, who-

ever does not correctly sum you up will live childless, and
will not beget children and bury them.*?

Cuo. He then is now the care of his mother to inter ; but
if, Hector, thou desirest to do any of the matters placed before
thee, there is the power; for the light of day dawns.

Hec. Go, and command our allies to be quickly armed,
harness the necks of the coupled steeds. But it behoves
them, having firebrands, to await the sound of the Tyrrhe-
nian*3 trumpet, since, having passed the army and fortresses
of the Greeks, I have good hope that I shall hurl fire against
their ships, and that the coming rays of the sun will bring
the day of freedom to the Trojans.

Cuo. Obey the king; let us go forth, clad in arms, and let
us proclaim these commands to our allies ; and perchance the
deity who is on our side may grant victory.

SENee Qui. vos novit, sine liberis vivet, neque ut ti, guibus liberi sunt, eos
sepeliet, ob Odwe fere est quod feliz erit, carens funere liberorum.”

VATER.
53 Cf. Lobeck on Soph. Aj. 17.

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