The siege of the city of Thebes, and the description of the seven champions of the Theban and Argive armies, The deaths of the brothers Polynices and Eteocles, the mournings over them, by their sisters Antigone and Ismene, and the public refusal of burial to the ashes of Polynices, against which Antigone boldly protests, conclude the play. PERSONS REPRESENTED.
Scene. The Acropolis of Thebes.—Compare v. 227, ed. Blomf. Time. Early in the morning; the length of the action can scarcely be fixed with absolute certainty. It certainly did not exceed twelve hours. The expedition of "the Seven" against Thebes is fixed by Sir I. Newton, B.C. 928. Cf. of his Chronology, p. 27. Blair carries it as far back as B.C. 1225.—Old Translator. Eteocles. Citizens of Cadmus! it is fitting that he should speak things seasonable who has the care of affairs on the poop of a state, managing the helm, not lulling his eyelids in slumber. For if we succeed, the gods are the cause; but if, on the other hand (which heaven forbid), mischance should befall, Eteocles alone would be much bruited through the city by the townsmen in strains clamorous and in wailings, of which may Jove prove rightly called the Averter to But haste ye all, both to the battlements and the gates of the tower works; On! in full panoply throng the breastworks, and take your stations on the platforms of the towers, and, making stand at the outlets of the gates, be of good Messenger.—Most gallant Eteocles! sovereign of the CadmÆans, I have come bearing a clear account of the matters yonder, from the army; and I myself am eye-witness of the facts. For seven chieftains, impetuous leaders of battalions, cutting a bull's throat, [Exit Messenger. Et. O Jupiter! and earth! and ye tutelary deities! and thou Curse, the mighty Erinnys of my sire! do not, I pray, uproot with utter destruction from its very base, a prey to foemen, our city, which utters the language of Greece, and our native dwellings. [Exit Eteocles. Chorus. Re-enter Eteocles. Intolerable creatures! is this, I ask you, best and salutary for our city, and an encouragement to this beleagured force, for you to fall before the statues of our tutelary gods, to shriek, to yell—O ye abominations of the wise. Neither in woes nor in welcome prosperity may I be associated with womankind; for when woman prevails, her audacity is more than one can live with; and when she is affrighted, she is a still greater mischief to her home and city. Even now, having brought upon your countrymen this pell-mell flight, ye have, by your outcries, spread dastard cowardice, and ye are serving, as best ye may, the interests of those without, but we within our walls are suffering capture at our own hands; such blessings will you have if you live along with women. Wherefore if any one give not ear to my authority, be it man or woman, or other between [these names Ch. O dear son of Œdipus, I felt terror when I heard the din from the clatter of the cars, when the wheel-whirling naves rattled, and [the din] of the fire-wrought bits, the rudders Et. What then? does the mariner who flees from the stern to the prow Ch. No; but I came in haste to the ancient statues of the divinities, trusting in the gods, when there was a pattering at our gates of destructive sleet showering down, even then I was carried away by terror to offer my supplications to the Immortals, that they would extend their protection over the city. Et. Pray that our fortification may resist the hostile spear. Ch. Shall not this, then, be at the disposal of the gods? Et. Ay, but 'tis said that the gods of the captured city abandon it. Ch. At no time during my life may this conclave of gods abandon us: never may I behold our city overrun, and an army firing it with hostile flame. Et. Do not thou, invoking the gods, take ill counsel; for subordination, woman, is the mother of saving success; so the adage runs. Ch. But the gods have a power superior still, and oft in adversity does this raise the helpless out of severe calamity, when clouds are overhanging his brow. Et. It is the business of men, to present victims and offer Ch. 'Tis by the blessing of the gods that we inhabit a city unconquered, and that our fortification is proof against the multitude of our enemies. What Nemesis can feel offended at this? Et. I am not offended that ye should honor the race of the gods; but that thou mayest not render the citizens faint-hearted, keep quiet and yield not to excessive terrors. Ch. When I heard the sudden din, I came, on the very instant, in distracting panic to this Acropolis, a hallowed seat. Et. Do not now, if ye hear of the dying or the wounded, eagerly receive them with shrieks; for with this slaughter of mortals is Mars fed. Ch. And I do in truth hear the snortings of the horses. Et. Do not now, when thou hearest them, hear too distinctly. Ch. Our city groans from the ground, as though the foes were hemming her in. Et. Is it not then enough that I take measures for this? Ch. I fear! for the battering at the gates increases. Et. Wilt thou not be silent? Say nought of this kind in the city. Ch. O associate band [of gods], abandon not our towers. Et. Can not ye endure it in silence, and confusion to ye? Ch. Gods of my city! let me not meet with slavery. Et. Thou thyself art making a slave both of me, of thyself, and of the city. Ch. O all-potent Jove! turn the shaft against our foes. Et. O Jove! what a race hast thou made women! Ch. Just as wretched as men when their city is taken. Et. Again thou art yelping as thou claspest the statues! Ch. Yes, for in my panic terror hurries away my tongue. Et. Would to heaven that you would grant me a trifling favor on my requesting it. Ch. Tell me as quickly as you can, and I shall know at once. Et. Hold thy peace, wretched woman, alarm not thy friends. Ch. I hold my peace—with others I will suffer what is destined. Et. I prefer this expression of thine rather than thy former words; and moreover, coming forth from the statues, pray thou for the best—that the gods may be our allies. And after thou hast listened to my prayers, then do thou raise the sacred auspicious shout of the PÆan, the Grecian rite of sacrificial acclamation, an encouragement to thy friends that removes the fear of the foe. And I, to the tutelary gods of our land, both those who haunt the plains, and those who watch over the forum, and to the fountains of Dirce, and I speak not without those of the Ismenus, [Exit Eteocles. Ch. I attend, but through terror my heart sleeps not, and cares that press close upon my heart keep my dread alive, because of the host that hems our walls Semi-Ch. The scout, methinks, my friends, is bringing us some fresh tidings from the army, urging in haste the forwarding axles Semi-Ch. Ay, and in very truth, here comes our prince, son of Œdipus, very opportunely for learning the messenger's report—and haste does not allow him to make equal footsteps. [Re-enter Messenger and Eteocles from different sides. Mes. I would fain tell, for I know them well, the arrangements of our adversaries, and how each has obtained his lot at our gate. Tydeus now for some time has been raging hard by the gates of Proetus; but the seer allows him not to cross the stream of Ismenus, for the sacrifices are not auspicious. So Tydeus, raving and greedy for the fight, roars like a serpent in its hissings beneath the noontide heat, and he smites the sage seer, son of OÏcleus, with a taunt, [saying] that he Et. At no possible array of a man should I tremble; and blazonry has no power of inflicting wounds, and crests and bell bite not Ch. Now may the gods grant unto our champion to be successful, since with justice Mes. To him may the gods so grant success. But Capaneus has by lot obtained his station against the Electran gate. This is a giant, greater than the other aforementioned, and his vaunt savors not of humanity; but he threatens horrors against our towers, which may fortune not bring to pass! for he declares, that whether the god is willing or unwilling, he will make havoc of our city, and that not the Wrath Et. And in this case Ch. May he perish Mes. And verily I will mention him that hath next had Et. I will send this man forthwith, and may it be with good fortune; and verily he is sent, bearing his boast in deed, Ch. I pray that this side may succeed, O champion of my dwellings! and that with them it may go ill; and as they, with frenzied mind, utter exceedingly proud vaunts against our city, so may Jove the avenger regard them in his wrath. Mes. Another, the fourth, who occupies the adjoining gates of Onca Minerva, stands hard by with a shout, the Et. In the first place, this Onca Pallas, who dwells in our suburbs, living near the gates, detesting the insolence of the man, will drive him off, as a noxious serpent from her young. And Hyperbius, worthy son of Œnops, hath been chosen to oppose him, man to man, willing to essay his destiny in the crisis of fortune; he is open to censure neither in form, nor in spirit, nor in array of arm: but Mercury hath matched them fairly; for hostile is the man to the man with whom he will have to combat, and on their bucklers will they bring into conflict hostile gods; for the one hath fire-breathing Typhon, and on the buckler of Hyperbius father Jove is seated firm, flashing, with his bolt in his hand; and never yet did any one know of Jove being by any chance vanquished. Ch. I feel confident that he who hath upon his shield the adversary of Jove, the hateful form of the subterranean fiend, a semblance hateful both to mortals and the everliving gods, will have to leave his head before our gates. Mes. May such be the issue! But, farthermore, I mention the fifth, marshaled at the fifth gate, that of Boreas, by the very tomb of Jove-born Amphion. And he makes oath by the spear Et. O may they receive from the gods the things which they are purposing in those very unhallowed vaunts! Assuredly they would perish most miserably in utter destruction. But there is [provided] for this man also, the Arcadian of whom you speak, a man that is no braggart, but his hand discerns what should be done, Actor, brother of the one aforementioned, who will not allow either a tongue, without deeds, streaming within our gates, to aggravate mischiefs, nor him to make his way within who bears upon his hostile buckler the image of the wild beast, most odious monster, which from the outside shall find fault with him who bears it within, when it meets with a thick battering under the city. So, please the gods, may I be speaking the truth. Ch. The tale pierces my bosom, the locks of my hair stand erect, when I hear of the big words of these proudly Mes. I will tell of the sixth, a man most prudent, and in valor the best, the seer, the mighty Amphiaraus; for he, having been marshaled against the gate of HomolÖis, reviles mighty Tydeus full oft with reproaches, as the homicide, the troubler of the state, chief teacher of the mischiefs of Argos, the summoner of Erinnys, minister of slaughter, and adviser of these mischiefs to Adrastus. Then again going up And how can thy father-land, after having been taken by the spear through thy means, ever be an ally to thee? I, for my part, in very truth shall fatten this soil, seer as I am, buried beneath a hostile earth. Let us to the battle, I look not for a dishonorable fall." Thus spake the seer, wielding a fair-orbed shield, all of brass; but no device was on its circle—for he wishes not to seem but to be righteous, reaping fruit from a deep furrow in his mind, from which sprout forth his goodly counsels. Against this champion I advise that thou send antagonists, both wise and good. A dread adversary is he that reveres the gods. Et. Alas! for the omen Ch. O ye gods, give ear to our righteous supplications, and graciously bring it to pass that our city may be successful, while ye turn the horrors wrought by the spear upon the invaders of our country; and may Jove, having flung them [to a distance] from our towers, slay them with his thunder-bolt. Mes. Now will I mention this the seventh, against the seventh gate, thine own brother—what calamities too he imprecates and prays for against our city; that, he having scaled the towers, and been proclaimed Et. O heaven-frenzied, and great abomination of the gods! Oh! for our race of Œdipus, worthy of all mourning—Alas for me! now verily are the curses of my sire coming to an accomplishment. But it becomes me not to weep or wail, lest birth be given to a lament yet more intolerable. But to Polynices, that well deserves his name, I say, soon shall we know what issue his blazonry will have; whether letters wrought in gold, vainly vaunting on his buckler, along with frenzy of soul will restore him. If indeed Justice, the virgin daughter of Jove, attended on his actions or his thoughts, perchance this might be. But neither when he escape the darkness of the womb, nor in his infancy, nor ever in his boyhood, nor in the gathering of the hair on his chin, did Justice look on him, or deem him worthy her regards: nor truly do I suppose that she will now take her stand near to him, in his ill-omened possession of his father-land. Truly she would then in all reason be falsely called Justice, were she to consort with a man all-daring in his soul. Trusting in this I will go, and face him in person. Who else could do so with better right? Leader against leader, brother against brother, foeman with [Exit Messenger. Ch. Do not, O dearest of men, son of Œdipus, become in wrath like to him against whom thou hast most bitterly spoken. Enough it is that CadmÆans come to the encounter with Argives. For such bloodshed admits of expiation. But the death of own brothers thus mutually wrought by their own hands—of this pollution there is no decay. Et. If any one receives evil without disgrace, be it so; for the only advantage is among the dead: but of evil and disgraceful things, thou canst not tell me honor. Ch. Why art thou eager, my son? let not AtÈ, full of wrath, raging with the spear, hurry thee away—but banish the first impulse of [evil] passion. Et. Since the deity with all power urges on the matter, let the whole race of Laius, abhorred by Phoebus, having received for its portion the wave of Cocytus, drift down with the wind. Ch. So fierce a biting lust for unlawful blood hurries thee on to perpetrate the shedding of a man's blood, of which the fruit is bitter. Et. Ay, for the hateful curse of my dear father, consummated, sits hard beside me with dry tearless eyes, telling me that profit comes before my after doom. Ch. But do not accelerate it; thou wilt not be called dastardly if thou honorably preservest thy life—and Erinnys, Et. By the gods, indeed, we have now for some time been in a manner neglected, and the pleasure which arises from our destruction is welcomed by them; why should we any longer fawn Ch. Do so now, while it is in thy power; since the demon, that may alter with a distant shifting of his temper, will perchance come with a gentler air; but now he still rages. Et. Ay, for the curses of Œdipus have raged beyond all bounds; and too true were my visions of phantoms seen in my slumbers, dividers of my father's wealth. Ch. Yield thee to women, albeit that thou lovest them not. Et. Say ye then what one may allow you; but it must not be at length. Ch. Go not thou on in this way to the seventh gate. Et. Whetted as I am, thou wilt not blunt me by argument. Ch. Yet god, at all events, honors an inglorious victory. Et. It ill becomes a warrior to acquiesce in this advice. Ch. What! wilt thou shed the blood of thine own brother? Et. By heaven's leave, he shall not elude destruction. [Exit Eteocles. Ch. I shudder with dread that the power that lays waste this house, not like the gods, the all-true, the evil-boding Erinnys summoned by the curses of the father, is bringing Re-enter Messenger. Be of good cheer, maidens that have been nurtured by your mothers. Ch. And what new event is happening to our city? Mes. These men have fallen by hands that dealt mutual slaughter. Ch. Who? What is it thou sayest! I am distracted with terror at thy tidings. Mes. Now be calm and listen, the race of Œdipus— Ch. Alas for me wretched! I am a prophetess of horrors. Mes. Stretched in the dust are they beyond all dispute. Ch. Came they even to that? bitter then are thy tidings, yet speak them. Mes. Even thus [too surely] were they destroyed by brotherly hands. Ch. Even thus was the demon at once impartial to both. Mes. And he himself, to be sure of this, is cutting off the ill-fated race. Ch. Over such events one may both rejoice and weep—[rejoice] at the success of our city—but [mourn because] Mes. The city is rescued, but earth hath drank the blood of the brother princes through their slaughter of each other. [Exit Messenger. Ch. Oh mighty Jove! and tutelary divinities of our city! ye that do in very deed protect these towers of Cadmus, am I to rejoice and raise a joyous hymn to the savior of our city, the averter of mischief, or shall I bewail the miserable and ill-fated childless But [enough]! for here are coming to this bitter office both Antigone and Ismene. I am assured beyond all doubt that they will send forth a fitting wail from their lovely deep-cinctured bosoms. And right it is that we, before the Semi-Chorus. Alas! alas! ye frantic youths, distrustful of friends, and unsubdued by troubles, have wretched seized on your paternal dwelling with the spear. Semi-Ch. Wretched in sooth were they who found a wretched death to the bane of their houses. Semi-Ch. Alas! alas! ye that overthrew the walls of your palace, and having cast an eye on bitter monarchy, how have ye now settled your claims with the steel? Semi-Ch. And too truly hath awful Erinnys brought [the curses] of their father Œdipus to a consummation. Semi-Ch. Smitten through your left—Smitten in very truth, and through sides that sprung from a common womb. Semi-Ch. Alas for them, wretched! Alas! for the imprecations of death which avenged murder by murder. Semi-Ch. Thou speakest of the stroke that pierced through and through those that were smitten in their houses and in their persons with speechless rage, and the doom of discord brought upon them by the curses of their father. Semi-Ch. And moreover, sighing pervades the city, the towers sigh, the land that loved her heroes sighs; and for posterity remains the substance by reason of which, by reason of which, Semi-Ch. In the fierceness of their hearts they divided Semi-Ch. Smitten by the steel, here they lie; and smitten by the steel Semi-Ch. From the house the piercing groan sends forth its sound loudly over them, mourning with a sorrow sufferings as o'er its own, melancholy, a foe to mirth, sincerely weeping from the very soul, which is worn down while I wail for these two princes. Semi-Ch. We may say too of these happy men that they both wrought many mischiefs to their countrymen, and to the ranks of all the strangers, that perished in great numbers in battle. Semi-Ch. Ill-fated was she that bare them before all women, as many as are mothers of children. Having taken to herself her own son for a husband, she brought forth these, and they have ended their existence thus by fraternal hands that dealt mutual slaughter. Semi-Ch. Fraternal in very truth! and utterly undone were they by a severing in no wise amicable, by frenzied strife at the consummation of their feud. Semi-Ch. But their emnity is terminated; and in the reeking earth is their life-blood mingled, and truly are they of the same blood. A bitter arbiter of strife is the stranger from beyond the sea, the whetted steel that bounded forth from the fire; and bitter is the horrible distributer of their substance, Mars, who hath brought the curse of their father truly to its consummation. Semi-Ch. Hapless youths! They have obtained their portion of heaven-awarded woes, and beneath their bodies shall be a fathomless wealth of earth. Enter Antigone and Ismene. Ant. When wounded thou didst wound again. Ism. And thou, having dealt death, didst perish. Ant. With the spear thou didst slay. Ism. By the spear thou didst fall. Ant. Wretched in thy deeds! Ism. Wretched in thy sufferings! Ant. Let tears arise. Ism. Let groans resound. Ant. Having slain, he shall lie prostrate. Alas! alas! my soul is maddening with sighs. Ism. And my heart mourns within me. Ant. Alas! thou that art worthy of all lamentation! Ism. And thou again also utterly wretched. Ant. By a friend didst thou fall. Ism. And a friend didst thou slay. Ant. Double horrors to tell of. Ism. Double horrors to behold! Ant. These horrors are near akin to such sorrows. Ism. And we their sisters here are near to our brothers. Ch. Alas! thou Destiny, awarder of bitterness, wretched! and thou dread shade of Œdipus! and dark Erinnys! verily art thou great in might. Ant. Alas! alas! sufferings dismal to behold hath he shown to me after his exile. Ant. And he returned not when he had slain him. Ism. No—but after being saved he lost his life. Ant. In very truth he lost it. Ism. Ay, and he cut off his brother. Ant. Wretched family! Ism. That hath endured wretchedness. Woes that are wretched and of one name. Thoroughly steeped in three-fold sufferings. Ant. Deadly to tell— Ism. Deadly to look on. Ch. Alas! alas! thou Destiny, awarder of bitterness, wretched! and thou dread shade of Œdipus! and dark Erinnys! verily art thou great in might. Ant. Thou in sooth knowest this by passing through it. Ism. And so dost thou, having learned it just as soon as he. Ant. After that thou didst return to the city. Ism. An antagonist too to this man here in battle-fray. Ant. Deadly to tell. Ism. Deadly to look on. Ant. Alas! the trouble. Ism. Alas! the horrors upon our family and our land, and me above all. Ant. Alas! alas! and me, be sure, more than all. Ism. Alas! alas! for the wretched horrors! O sovereign Eteocles, our chieftain! Ant. Alas! ye most miserable of all men. Ism. Alas! ye possessed by AtÈ. Ant. Alas! alas! where in the land shall we place them both? Alas! in the spot that is most honorable. Alas! alas! a woe fit to sleep beside my father. Enter Herald. 'Tis my duty to announce the good pleasure and the decree of the senators of the people of this city of Cadmus. It is resolved to bury this body of Eteocles for his attachment to his country, with the dear interment in earth! for in repelling our foes he met death in the city, and being pure in respect to the sacred rites of his country, blameless hath he fallen where 'tis glorious for the young to fall; thus, indeed, hath it been commissioned me to announce concerning this corpse: But [it has been decreed] to cast out unburied, a prey for dogs, this the corpse of his brother Polynices, inasmuch as he would have been the overturner of the land of Cadmus, if some one of the gods had not stood in opposition to his spear: and even now that he is dead, he will lie under the guilt of pollution with the gods of his country, whom he having dishonored was for taking the city by bringing against it a foreign host. So it is resolved that he, having been buried dishonorably by winged fowls, should receive his recompense, and that neither piling up by hands of the mound over his tomb should follow, nor any one honor him with shrill-voiced wailings, but that he be ungraced with a funeral at the hands of his friends. Such is the decree of the magistracy of the CadmÆans. Ant. But I say to the rulers of the CadmÆans, if not another single person is willing to take part with me in burying him, I will bury him, and will expose myself Her. I bid thee not to act despite the state in this matter. Ant. I bid thee not announce to me superfluous things. Her. Yet stern is a people that has just escaped troubles. Ant. Ay, call it stern Her. What! wilt thou honor with a tomb him whom our state abhors? Ant. Heretofore he has not been honored by the gods. Her. Not so, at least before he put this realm in jeopardy. Ant. Having suffered injuriously he repaid with injury. Her. Ay, but this deed of his fell on all instead of one. Ant. Contention is the last of the gods to finish a dispute, Her. Well, take thine own way—yet I forbid thee. [Exit Herald. Ch. Alas! alas! O ye fatal Furies, proudly triumphant, and destructive to this race, ye that have ruined the family of Œdipus from its root. What will become of me? What shall I do? What can I devise? How shall I have the heart neither to bewail thee nor to escort thee to the tomb? But I dread and shrink from the terror of the citizens. Thou, at all events, shalt in sooth have many mourners; but he, wretched one, departs unsighed for, having the solitary-wailing dirge of his sister. Who will agree to this? Sem. Let the state do or not do aught to those who bewail Polynices. We, on this side will go and join to escort his funeral procession; for both this sorrow is common to the race, and the state at different times sanctions different maxims of justice. Sem. But we will go with this corpse, as both the city and justice join to sanction. For next to the Immortals and the might of Jove, this man prevented the city of the CadmÆans from being destroyed, and thoroughly overwhelmed by the surge of foreign enemies. FOOTNOTES Pyramus. I see a voice: now will I to the chink, To spy an I can hear my Thisby's face. Cheer'd with the grateful smell old Ocean smiles. Lord Byron (opening of the Giaour): There mildly dimpling Ocean's cheek Reflects the tints of many a peak, Caught by the laughing tides that lave Those Edens of the eastern wave. "The rudest habitation, ye might think That it had sprung from earth self-raised, or grown Out of the living rock."—Wordsworth's Excursion, Book vi. Compare a most picturesque description of Diana's cave, in Apul. Met. II. p. 116; Elm. Telemachus, Book I.; Undine, ch. viii.; Lane's Arabian Nights, vol. iii. p. 385. "Words well dispost, Have secrete powre t' appease inflamed rage." And Samson Agonistes: "Apt words have power to swage The tumors of a troubled mind." The reading of Plutarch, ????? appears to be a mere gloss. ta???f??? ?te p??t?? ?e??????? p??s?p?? e?? ?????? ???a???? ??a??et? s?????? ???. ?a? da???? ????p??? ????at? ??????? ??? p??????? ?p?a??ess? ?e?as???? ?????? ?p?pa?? ????? ?p?pe?t??a ????a???? ?e?a???. ????? ????t??? ?a? ?? ???? ??e ?????, ?f?a???? t?????sa p?????????? ?????. ??????? d? ??p? ?a?ass???? d?a? ??? ??????? [????] ??da ?at???afe f??t?d? ????. ???e ?a? e?? ????pt??— This writer, who constantly has the Athenian dramatists in view, pursues the narrative of Io's wanderings with an evident reference to Æschylus. See other illustrations from the poets in Stanley's notes. "968. B.C. Sesak, having carried on his victories to Mount Caucasus, leaves his nephew Prometheus there, to guard the pass, etc. "937. The Argonautic expedition. Prometheus leaves Mount Caucasus, being set at liberty by Hercules," etc.—Old Translator. ——pep?????? ?? f??te??? ????? [??] ??a?ta pat??? te?e?? And Apoll. Rhod. iv. 201. Also the words of Thetis herself in Nonnus, Dionys. xxxiii. 356. ?e?? e pat?? ?d???e ?a? ??e?e? ?? ???? ???e??, e? ? ?? p?????ta ????? ?????pte ?????e??, ?esp???? ????????? ??e???a pa?da f?te?sa?. ?? d? ?? ?e??, ?paf?e??? ???a ?e??? ?ee?? p??t??? ???a????. t?? ?ptap??? pa?? ?e??? ?? ??? e??e????? p???? et?e?e ???a??a. and Nonnus, III. p. 62, 20: ???? ?paf?? d?? t??te? ????as??? ?t? ???p?? ??a???? da???? ?paf?sat? ?e??? ????t?? ?e?s?? ???sa??ess?— ?a? ???f???? ??f?ess? s?d???f???? ?p? ???t??? ??se?a ????? ???a ?ate??ase ????? ????. "Sed timor, et pietas crudelibus obstitit ausis: Castaque mandatum dextra refugit opus." Dalilah. "I see thou art implacable, more deaf To prayers than winds or seas." Merchant of Venice, Act 4, sc. 1. "You may as well go stand upon the beach And bid the main flood bate his usual height." See Schrader on MusÆus, 320. des? f???? d????t?? ?a?t?se?e ?????e??, ?pat?? ????t?? ?fe?d?a da?t????a ???a???? ??as?? ????? ???? p?p?a ?e?e????. "Interea ad templum non ÆquÆ Palladis ibant Crinibus Iliades passis, peplumque ferebant Suppliciter tristes"— Statius, Theb. x. 50: ——"et ad patrias fusÆ Pelopeides aras SceptriferÆ Junonis opem, reditumque suorum Exposcunt, pictasque fores, et frigida vultu Saxa terunt, parvosque docent procumbere natos *** ** Peplum etiam dono, cujus mirabile textum," etc. ?a? desp?t?? ?? ?pp????? ?? ??es? p???? ???????? ??pas' ???a? ?e????, ???e? d? ??p?? ?ste ?a??t?? ????. "Marmion, like charger in the stall, That hears without the trumpet's call, Began to chafe and swear." Probably nothing more than the lightning is meant, as Blomfield supposes. Paley quotes Eur. Cycl. 328, p?p??? ????e?, ???? ???ta?s?? e?? ???? ?t?p??. And this agrees with the fate of Capaneus as described in Soph. Antig. 131, sqq.; Nonnus, XXVIII. p. 480; Eur. Phoen. 1187, sqq. a?t??e? d? ?? ??s?? p???? ????????, d???a ?????, t?de. Passer, deliciÆ meÆ puellÆ, Quem plus illa oculis suis amabat. And Vathek, p. 124 (of the English version), "Nouronihar loved her cousin more than her own beautiful eyes."—Old Translator. See Valcken. on Theocrit. xi. 53. No more the thirsty Erinnys of this soil Shall daub her lips with her own children's blood. Old Translator. That blood, which own'd the breadth of all this isle, Three foot of it doth hold. King Henry IV. part I. Act 5, sc. 5: Fare thee well, great heart! Ill-weav'd ambition, how much art thou shrunk! When that this body did contain a spirit, A kingdom for it was too small a bound; But now, two paces of the vilest earth Is room enough. This thou would'st say—Your son did thus and thus; Your brother, thus; so fought the noble Douglas; Stopping my greedy ear with their bold deeds; But in the end, to stop mine ear indeed, Thou hast a sigh to blow away this praise, Ending with—brother, son, and all are dead. —Old Transl. Horace's rule, "Nec quarta loqui persona laboret," seems to have been drawn from the practice of the Greek stage. Only three actors were allowed to each of the competitor-dramatists, and these were assigned to them by lot. (Hesychius, ???s?? ?p????t??.) Thus, for instance, as is remarked by a writer in the Quarterly Review, in the Œdipus at Colonus, v. 509, Ismene goes to offer sacrifice, and, after about forty lines, returns in the character of Theseus. Soon afterward, v. 847, Antigone is carried off by Creon's attendants, and returns as Theseus after about the same interval as before.—Old Translation. The translator had misquoted the gloss of Hesychius. "I have a faint cold fear thrills through my veins." The Hamilton, Locke and Clark |
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XENOPHON'S ANABASIS—By Hamilton and Clark. |
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