Ask the huntress Artemis what sin she punished when she stayed the frequent winds at Aulis;or I will tell thee;for we may not learn from her.My father-so I have heard-was once disporting himself in the grove of the goddess,when his footfall startled a dappled and antlered stag;he shot it,and chanced to utter a certain boast concerning its slaughter.Wroth thereat,the daughter of Leto detained the Greeks,that,in quittance for the wild creature's life,my father should yield up the life of his own child.Thus it befell that she was sacrificed;since the fleet had no other release,homeward or to Troy;and for that cause,under sore constraint and with sore reluctance,at last he slew her-not for the sake of Menelaus.
But grant-for I will take thine own plea-grant that the motive of his deed was to benefit his brother;-was that a reason for his dying by thy hand?Under what law?See that,in ****** such a law for men,thou make not trouble and remorse for thyself;for,if we are to take blood for blood,thou wouldst be the first to die,didst thou meet with thy desert.
But look if thy pretext is not false.For tell me,if thou wilt,wherefore thou art now doing the most shameless deeds of all,-dwelling as wife with that blood-guilty one,who first helped thee to slay my sire,and bearing children to him,while thou hast cast out the earlier-born,the stainless offspring of a stainless marriage.How can I praise these things?Or wilt thou say that this,too,is thy vengeance for thy daughter?Nay,shameful plea,if so thou plead;'tis not well to wed an enemy for a daughter's sake.
But indeed I may not even counsel thee,-who shriekest that Irevile my mother;and truly I think that to me thou art less a mother than mistress;so wretched is the life that I live,ever beset with miseries by thee and by thy partner.And that other,who scarce escaped thy hand,the hapless Orestes,is wearing out his ill-starred days in exile.Often hast thou charged me with rearing him to punish thy crime;and I would have done so,if I could,thou mayst be sure:-for that matter,denounce me to all,as disloyal,if thou wilt,or petulant,or impudent;for if I am accomplished in such ways,methinks I am no unworthy child of thee.
LEADER OF THE CHORUS
I see that she breathes forth anger;but whether justice be with her,for this she seems to care no longer.
CLYTEMNESTRA (to the CHORUS)
And what manner of care do I need to use against her,who hath thus insulted a mother,and this at her ripe age?Thinkest thou not that she would go forward to any deed,without shame?
ELECTRA
Now be assured that I do feel shame for this,though thou believe it not;I know that my behaviour is unseemly,and becomes me ill.But then the enmity on thy part,and thy treatment,compel me in mine own despite to do thus;for base deeds are taught by base.
CLYTEMNESTRA
Thou brazen one!Truly I and my sayings and my deeds give thee too much matter for words.
ELECTRA
The words are thine,not mine;for thine is the action;and the acts find the utterance.
CLYTEMNESTRA
Now by our lady Artemis,thou shalt not fail to pay for this boldness,so soon as Aegisthus returns.
ELECTRA
Lo,thou art transported by anger,after granting me free speech,aid hast no patience to listen.
CLYTEMNESTRA
Now wilt thou not hush thy clamour,or even suffer me to sacrifice,when I have permitted thee to speak unchecked?
ELECTRA
I hinder not,-begin thy rites,I pray thee;and blame not my voice,for I shall say no more.
CLYTEMNESTRA
Raise then,my handmaid,the offerings of many fruits,that Imay uplift my prayers to this our king,for deliverance from my present fears.Lend now a gracious ear,O Phoebus our defender,to my words,though they be dark;for I speak not among friends,nor is it meet to unfold my whole thought to the light,while she stands near me,lest with her malice and her garrulous cry she spread some rash rumour throughout the town:but hear me thus,since on this wise Imust speak.
That vision which I saw last night in doubtful dreams-if it hath come for my good,grant,Lycean king,that it be fulfilled;but if for harm,then let it recoil upon my foes.And if any are plotting to hurl me by treachery from the high estate which now is mine,permit them not;rather vouch.safe that,still living thus unscathed,I may bear sway over the house of the Atreidae and this realm,sharing prosperous days with the friends who share them now,and with those of my children from whom no enmity or bitterness pursues me.
O Lycean Apollo,graciously hear these prayers,and grant them to us all,even as we ask!For the rest,though I be silent,I deem that thou,a god,must know it;all things,surely,are seen by the sons of Zeus.
(The PAEDAGOGUS enters.)
PAEDAGOGUS
Ladies,might a stranger crave to know if this be the palace of the king Aegisthus?
LEADER
It is,sir;thou thyself hast guessed aright.
PAEDAGOGUS
And am I right in surmising that this lady is his consort?She is of queenly aspect.
LEADER
Assuredly;thou art in the presence of the queen.
PAEDAGOGUS
Hail,royal lady!I bring glad tidings to thee and to Aegisthus,from friend.
CLYTEMNESTRA
I welcome the omen;but I would fain know from thee,first,who may have sent thee.
PAEDAGOGUS
Phanoteus the Phocian,on a weighty mission.
CLYTEMNESTRA
What is it,sir?Tell me:coming from a friend,thou wilt bring,Iknow;a kindly message.
PAEDAGOGUS
Orestes is dead;that is the sum.
ELECTRA
Oh,miserable that I am!I am lost this day!
CLYTEMNESTRA
What sayest thou,friend,what sayest thou?-listen not to her!
PAEDAGOGUS
I said,and say again-Orestes is dead.
ELECTRA
I am lost,hapless one,I am undone!
CLYTEMNESTRA (to ELECTRA)
See thou to thine own concerns.-But do thou,sir,tell me exactly,-how did he perish?
PAEDAGOGUS
I was sent for that purpose,and will tell thee all.Having gone to the renowned festival,the pride of Greece,for the Delphian games,when he heard the loud summons to the foot-race which was first to be decided,he entered the lists,a brilliant form,a wonder in the eyes of all there;and,having finished his course at the point where it began,he went out with the glorious meed of victory.To speak briefly,where there is much to tell,I know not the man whose deeds and triumphs have matched his;but one thing thou must know;in all the contests that the judges announced,he bore away the prize;and men deemed him happy,as oft as the herald proclaimed him an Argive,by name Orestes,son of Agamemnon,who once gathered the famous armament of Greece.
Thus far,'twas well;but,when a god sends harm,not even the strong man can escape.For,on another day,when chariots were to try their speed at sunrise,he entered,with many charioteers.One was an Achaean,one from Sparta,two masters of yoked cars were Libyans;Orestes,driving Thessalian mares,came fifth among them;the sixth from Aetolia,with chestnut colts;a Magnesian was the seventh;the eighth,with white horses,was of Aenian stock;the ninth,from Athens,built of gods;there was a Boeotian too,****** the tenth chariot.
They took their stations where the appointed umpires placed them by lot and ranged the cars;then,at the sound of the brazen trump,they started.All shouted to their horses,and shook the reins in their hands;the whole course was filled with the noise of rattling chariots;the dust flew upward;and all,in a confused throng,plied their goads unsparingly,each of them striving to pass the wheels and the snorting steeds of his rivals;for alike at their backs and at their rolling wheels the breath of the horses foamed and smote.
Orestes,driving close to the pillar at either end of the course,almost grazed it with his wheel each time,and,giving rein to the trace-horse on the right,checked the horse on the inner side.
Hitherto,all the chariots had escaped overthrow;but presently the Aenian's hard-mouthed colts ran away,and,swerving,as they passed from the sixth into the seventh round,dashed their foreheads against the team of the Barcaean.Other mishaps followed the first,shock on shock and crash on crash,till the whole race-ground of Crisa was strewn with the wreck of the chariots.
Seeing this,the wary charioteer from Athens drew aside and paused,allowing the billow of chariots,surging in mid course,to go by.Orestes was driving last,keeping his horses behind,-for his trust was in the end;but when he saw that the Athenian was alone left in,he sent a shrill cry ringing through the ears of his swift colts,and gave chase.Team was brought level with team,and so they raced,-first one man,then the other.showing his head in front of the chariots.
Hitherto the ill-fated Orestes had passed safely through every round,steadfast in his steadfast car;at last,slackening his left rein while the horse was turning,unawares he struck the edge of the pillar;he broke the axle-box in twain;he was thrown over the chariot-rail;he was caught in the shapely reins;and,as he fell on the ground,his colts were scattered into the middle of the course.
But when the people saw him fallen from the car,a cry of pity went up for the youth,who had done such deeds and was meeting such a doom,-now dashed to earth,now tossed feet uppermost to the sky,-till the charioteers,with difficulty checking the career of his horses,loosed him,so covered with blood that no friend who saw it would have known the hapless corpse.Straightway they burned it on a pyre;and chosen men of Phocis are bringing in a small urn of bronze the sad dust of that mighty form,to find due burial in his fatherland.
Such is my story,-grievous to hear,if words can grieve;but for us,who beheld,the greatest of sorrows that these eyes have seen.
LEADER
Alas,alas Now,methinks,the stock of our ancient masters hath utterly perished,root and branch.
CLYTEMNESTRA
O Zeus,what shall I call these tidings,-glad tidings?Or dire,but gainful?'Tis a bitter lot,when mine own calamities make the safety of my life.
PAEDAGOGUS
Why art thou so downcast,lady,at this news?
CLYTEMNESTRA
There is a strange power in motherhood;a mother may be wronged,but she never learns to hate her child.
PAEDAGOGUS
Then it seems that we have come in vain.
CLYTEMNESTRA
Nay,not in vain;how canst thou say 'in vain,'when thou hast brought an sure proofs of his death?-His,who sprang from mine own life,yet,forsaking me who had suckled and reared him,became an exile and an alien;and,after he went out of this land,he saw me no more;but,charging me with the murder of his sire,he uttered dread threats against me;so that neither by night nor by day could sweet sleep cover mine eyes,but from moment to moment I lived in fear of death.Now,however-since this day I am rid of terror from him,and from this girl,-that worse plague who shared my home,while still she drained my very life-blood,-now,methinks,for aught that she can threaten,I shall pass my days in peace.
ELECTRA
Ah,woe is me!Now,indeed,Orestes,thy fortune may be lamented,when it is thus with thee,and thou art mocked by this thy mother!Is it not well?
CLYTEMNESTRA
Not with thee;but his state is well.
ELECTRA
Hear,Nemesis of him who hath lately died!
CLYTEMNESTRA
She hath heard who should be heard,and hath ordained well.
ELECTRA
Insult us,for this is the time of thy triumph.
CLYTEMNESTRA
Then will not Orestes and thou silence me?
ELECTRA
We are silenced;much less should we silence thee.
CLYTEMNESTRA
Thy coming,sir,would deserve large recompense,if thou hast hushed her clamorous tongue.
PAEDAGOGUS
Then I may take my leave,if all is well.
CLYTEMNESTRA
Not so;thy welcome would then be unworthy of me,and of the ally who sent thee.Nay,come thou in;and leave her without,to make loud lament for herself and for her friends.
(CLYTEMNESTRA and the PAEDAGOGUS enter the palace.)ELECTRA
How think ye?Was there not grief and anguish there,wondrous weeping and wailing of that miserable mother,for the son who perished by such a fate?Nay,she left us with a laugh!Ah,woe is me!
Dearest Orestes,how is my life quenched by thy death!Thou hast torn away with the from my heart the only hopes which still were mine,-that thou wouldst live to return some day,an avenger of thy sire,and of me unhappy.But now-whither shall I turn?I am alone,bereft of thee,as of my father.
Henceforth I must be a slave again among those whom most I hate,my father's murderers.Is it not well with me?But never,at least,henceforward,will I enter the house to dwell with them;nay,at these gates I will lay me down,and here,without a friend,my days shall wither.Therefore,if any in the house be wroth,let them slay me;for 'tis a grace,if I die,but if I live,a pain;I desire life no more.
(The following lines between ELECTRA
and the CHORUS are chanted responsively.)CHORUS
strophe 1
Where are the thunderbolts of Zeus,or where is the bright Sun,if they look upon these things,and brand them not,but rest?
ELECTRA
Woe,woe,ah me,ah me!
CHORUS
O daughter,why weepest thou?
ELECTRA (with hands outstretched to heaven)Alas!
CHORUS
Utter no rash cry!
ELECTRA
Thou wilt break my heart!
CHORUS
How meanest thou?
ELECTRA
If thou suggest a hope concerning those who have surely passed to the realm below,thou wilt trample yet more upon my misery.
CHORUS
antistrophe 1
Nay,I know how,ensnared by a woman for a chain of gold,the prince Amphiaraus found a grave;and now beneath the earth-ELECTRA
Ah me,ah me!
CHORUS
-he reigns in fulness of force.
ELECTRA
Alas!
CHORUS
Alas indeed!for the murderess-
ELECTRA
Was slain.
CHORUS
Yea.
ELECTRA
I know it,I know it;for a champion arose to avenge the mourning dead;but to me no champion remains;for he who yet was left hath been snatched away.
CHORUS
strophe 2
Hapless art thou,and hapless is thy lot!
ELECTRA
Well know I that,too well,-I,whose life is a torrent of woes dread and dark,a torrent that surges through all the months!
CHORUS
We have seen the course of thy sorrow.
ELECTRA
Cease,then,to divert me from it,when no more-CHORUS
How sayest thou?
ELECTRA
-when no more can I have the comfort of hope from a brother,the seed of the same noble sire.
CHORUS
antistrophe 2
For all men it is appointed to die.
ELECTRA
What,to die as that ill-starred one died,amid the tramp of racing steeds,entangled in the reins that dragged him?
CHORUS
Cruel was his doom,beyond thought!
ELECTRA
Yea,surely;when in foreign soil,without ministry of my hands,-CHORUS
Alas!
ELECTRA
-he is buried,ungraced by me with sepulture or with tears.
(CHRYSOTHEMIS enters in excitement.)
CHRYSOTHEMIS
Joy wings my feet,dear sister,not careful of seemliness,if Icome with speed;for I bring joyful news,to relieve thy long sufferings and sorrows.
ELECTRA
And whence couldst thou find help for my woes,whereof no cure can be imagined?
CHRYSOTHEMIS
Orestes is with us,-know this from my lips,in living presence,as surely as thou seest me here.
ELECTRA
What,art thou mad,poor girl?Art thou laughing at my sorrows,and thine own?
CHRYSOTHEMIS
Nay,by our father's hearth,I speak not in mockery;I tell thee that he is with us indeed.
ELECTRA
Ah,woe is me!And from whom hast thou heard this tale,which thou believest so lightly?
CHRYSOTHEMIS
I believe it on mine own knowledge,not on hearsay;I have seen clear proofs.
ELECTRA
What hast thou seen,poor girl,to warrant thy belief?Whither,wonder hast thou turned thine eyes,that thou art fevered with this baneful fire?
CHRYSOTHEMIS
Then,for the gods'love,listen,that thou mayest know my story,before deciding whether I am sane or foolish.
ELECTRA
Speak on,then,if thou findest pleasure in speaking.
CHRYSOTHEMIS
Well,thou shalt hear all that I have seen.When I came to our father's ancient tomb,I saw that streams of milk had lately flowed from the top of the mound,and that his sepulchre was encircled with garlands of all flowers that blow.I was astonished at the sight,and peered about,lest haply some one should be close to my side.
But when I perceived that all the place was in stillness,I crept nearer to the tomb;and on the mound's edge I saw a lock of hair,freshly severed.
And the moment that I saw it,ah me,a familiar image rushed upon my soul,telling me that there I beheld a token of him whom most I love,Orestes.Then I took it in my hands,and uttered no ill-omened word,but the tears of joy straightway filled mine eyes.
And I know well,as knew then,that this fair tribute has come from none but him.Whose part else was that,save mine and thine?And I did it not,I know,-nor thou;how shouldst thou?-when thou canst not leave this house,even to worship the gods,but at thy peril.Nor,again,does our mother's heart incline to do such deeds,nor could she have so done without our knowledge.
No,these offerings are from Orestes!Come,dear sister,courage!No mortal life is attended by a changeless fortune.Ours was once gloomy;but this day,perchance,will seal the promise of much good.
ELECTRA
Alas for thy folly!How I have been pitying thee!
CHRYSOTHEMIS
What,are not my tidings welcome?
ELECTRA
Thou knowest not whither or into what dreams thou wanderest.
CHRYSOTHEMIS
Should I not know what mine own eyes have seen?
ELECTRA
He is dead,poor girl;and thy hopes in that deliverer are gone:
look not to him.
CHRYSOTHEMIS
Woe,woe is me!From whom hast thou heard this?
ELECTRA
From the man who was present when he perished.
CHRYSOTHEMIS
And where is he?Wonder steals over my mind.
ELECTRA
He is within,a guest not unpleasing to our mother.
CHRYSOTHEMIS
Ah,woe is me!Whose,then,can have been those ample offerings to our father's tomb?
ELECTRA
Most likely,I think,some one brought those gifts in memory of the dead Orestes.
CHRYSOTHEMIS
Oh,hapless that I am!And I was bringing such news in joyous haste,ignorant,it seems,how dire was our plight;but now that Ihave come,I find fresh sorrows added to the old!
ELECTRA
So stands thy case;yet,if thou wilt hearken to me,thou wilt lighten the load of our present trouble.
CHRYSOTHEMIS
Can I ever raise the dead to life?
ELECTRA
I meant not that;I am not so foolish.
CHRYSOTHEMIS
What biddest thou,then,for which my strength avails?
ELECTRA
That thou be brave in doing what I enjoin.
CHRYSOTHEMIS
Nay,if any good can be done,I will not refuse,ELECTRARemember,nothing succeeds without toil.
CHRYSOTHEMIS
I know it,and will share thy burden with all my power.
ELECTRA
Hear,then,how I am resolved to act.As for the support of friends,thou thyself must know that we have none;Hades hath taken our friends away.and we two are left alone.I,so long as I heard that my brother still lived and prospered,had hopes that he would yet come to avenge the murder of our sire.But now that he is no more,Ilook next to thee,not to flinch from aiding me thy sister to slay our father's murderer,Aegisthus:-I must have no secret from thee more.
How long art thou to wait inactive?What hope is left standing,to which thine eyes can turn?Thou hast to complain that thou art robbed of thy father's heritage;thou hast to mourn that thus far thy life is fading without nuptial song or wedded love.Nay,and do not hope that such joys will ever be thine;Aegisthus is not so ill-advised as ever to permit that children should spring from thee or me for his own sure destruction.But if thou wilt follow my counsels,first thou wilt win praise of piety from our dead sire below,and from our brother too;next,thou shalt be called free henceforth,as thou wert born,and shalt find worthy bridals;for noble natures draw the gaze of all.
Then seest thou not what fair fame thou wilt win for thyself and for me,by hearkening to my word?What citizen or stranger,when he sees us,will not greet us with praises such as these?-'Behold these two sisters,my friends,who saved their father's house;who,when their foes were firmly planted of yore,took their lives in their hands and stood forth as avengers of blood!Worthy of love are these twain,worthy of reverence from all;at festivals,and wherever the folk are assembled,let these be honoured of all men for their prowess.'Thus will every one speak of us,so that in life and in death our glory shall not fail.
Come,dear sister,hearken!Work with thy sire,share the burden of thy brother,win rest from woes for me and for thyself,-mindful of this,that an ignoble life brings shame upon the noble.
LEADER OF THE CHORUS
In such case as this,forethought is helpful for those who speak and those who hear.
CHRYSOTHEMIS
Yea,and before she spake,my friends,were she blest with a sound mind,she would have remembered caution,as she doth not remember it.
Now whither canst thou have turned thine eyes,that thou art arming thyself with such rashness,and calling me to aid thee?Seest thou not,thou art a woman,not a man,and no match for thine adversaries in strength?And their fortune prospers day by day,while ours is ebbing and coming to nought.Who,then,plotting to vanquish a foe so strong,shall escape without suffering deadly scathe?See that we change not our evil plight to worse,if any one hears these words.It brings us no relief or benefit,if,after winning fair fame,we die an ignominious death;for mere death is not the bitterest,but rather when one who wants to die cannot obtain even that boon.
Nay,I beseech thee,before we are utterly destroyed,and leave our house desolate,restrain thy rage!I will take care that thy words remain secret and harmless;and learn thou the prudence,at last though late,of yielding,when so helpless,to thy rulers.
LEADER
Hearken;there is no better gain for mortals to win than foresight and a prudent mind.
ELECTRA
Thou hast said nothing unlooked-for;I well knew that thou wouldst reject what I proffered.Well!I must do this deed with mine own hand,and alone;for assuredly I will not leave it void.
CHRYSOTHEMIS
Alas!Would thou hadst been so purposed on the day of our father's death!What mightst thou not have wrought?
ELECTRA
My nature was the same then,but my mind less ripe.
CHRYSOTHEMIS
Strive to keep such a mind through all thy life.
ELECTRA
These counsels mean that thou wilt not share my deed.
CHRYSOTHEMIS
No;for the venture is likely to bring disaster.
ELECTRA
I admire thy prudence;thy cowardice I hate.
CHRYSOTHEMIS
I will listen not less calmly when thou praise me.
ELECTRA
Never fear to suffer that from me.
CHRYSOTHEMIS
Time enough in the future to decide that.
ELECTRA
Begone;there is no power to help in thee.
CHRYSOTHEMIS
Not so;but in thee,no mind to learn.
ELECTRA
Go,declare all this to thy mother!
CHRYSOTHEMIS
But,again,I do not hate thee with such a hate.
ELECTRA
Yet know at least to what dishonour thou bringest me.
CHRYSOTHEMIS
Dishonour,no!I am only thinking of thy good.
ELECTRA
Am I bound,then,to follow thy rule of right?
CHRYSOTHEMIS
When thou art wise,then thou shalt be our guide.
ELECTRA
Sad,that one who speaks so well should speak amiss!
CHRYSOTHEMIS
Thou hast well described the fault to which thou cleavest.
ELECTRA
How?Dost thou not think that I speak with justice?
CHRYSOTHEMIS
But sometimes justice itself is fraught with harm.
ELECTRA
I care not to live by such a law.
CHRYSOTHEMIS
Well,if thou must do this,thou wilt praise me yet.
ELECTRA
And do it I will,no whit dismayed by thee.
CHRYSOTHEMIS
Is this so indeed?Wilt thou not change thy counsels?
ELECTRA
No,for nothing is more hateful than bad counsel.
CHRYSOTHEMIS
Thou seemest to agree with nothing that I urge.
ELECTRA
My resolve is not new,but long since fixed.
CHRYSOTHEMIS
Then I will go;thou canst not be brought to approve my words,nor to commend thy conduct.
ELECTRA
Nay,go within;never will I follow thee,however much thou mayst desire it;it were great folly even to attempt an idle quest.
