aeschylus - Conscious Evolution TV

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Or. Alive he is, unhappy wretch, and wandering
without a home.
Ip. Begone, ye lying dreams, proved worthless
after alll
Or. Even the gods, who at least bear the title of
wise, prove no less false than flitting dreams; in
things divine as well as human, confusion reigns;
and 'tis only one cause of grief, when a man, through
no folly of his own but from obeying the dictates of
prophets, is ruined, as ruined he is in the judgment
of those who know.
Ch. Ah, well-a-day! and what is the fate of our
dear fathers? are they still alive, or dead? who can
tell ?
Ip. Listen, sirs, for I have hit upon a plan, I think,
to further your interests and my own at the same
time; and this is the best guarantee of success, if all
approve the same object. Wouldst thou, were I to
spare thee, return to Argos for me with a message to
my friends there, and carry them a letter, written
by a captive out of pity for me; for he regarded not
mine as the hand that slew him, but held our custom
answerable for his death, such being the view our
goddess takes of justice? For I had no one to return
to Argos with my message and convey my letter to
some friend of mine, if spared; but as thou seemest
to be a man of no mean breeding and knowest Mycenre
and the persons I mean, accept thyself the
means of rescue, earning a noble wage-thy safety
for a scrap of writing; but thy friend must be parted
from thee and offered to the goddess, for this is our
city's stern decree.
Or. A fair proposal, lady stranger, save in one respect.
That he should have to bleed is a heavy weight
upon my heart; for 'tis I who steer this troubled
craft; he but sails with me to save my toil. Wherefore
it is not right that I should pleasure thee on terms
that seal his doom, while I escape myself from trouble.
No! be this the way; give him the letter; for he
will convey it to Argos, and so thy end is· served;
but let who will slay me. Foul shame were it for a
man to plunge his friends into trouble and escape
himself; and this man is a friend, whose life I prize
as highly as my own.
Ip. Heroic spirit! what a noble stock was thine!
how true thou art to friends! Oh, mav the last survivor
of my race prove such another! for I, too, sirs,
am not left brotherless; only I see him not.
This being thy wish, I will send him to carry the
letter, and thou shalt die; but thy goodwill towards
him must be something great!
Or. But who will offer me and dare that awful
deed?
Ip. Myself; for this is the office I hold of the goddess.
Or. A sad unenviable task, fair maid.
Ip. But I am the slave of necessity, whose law I
must observe.
Or. Is this the hand-this woman's hand-that
draws the knife on men?
Ip. Not that, but round thy brow I shall sprinkle
lustral water.
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Or. Who gives the fatal blow? if I may ask thee
this.
Ip. Inside this building are men, whose office this is.
Or. What kind of tomb will await me, when I am
dead?
Ip. The sacred fire within and a gaping chasm in
the rock.
Or. Ah! would that a sister's hand could lay me
out!
Ip. An idle prayer, poor wretch! whoever thou
art, for her home lies far from this savage shore. Still,
as thou art an Argive, I will not let thee want for
aught that is in my power; I will place in thy grave
good store of ornament and quench thy charred remains
with yellow olive oil and will pour upon thy
pyre the nectar sucked from many a flower by russet
mountain bees.
I go now to fetch my letter from the goddess's
temple; yet regard not this ill-will as mine.
Watch them, guards, without binding them. It
may be I shall send unlooked-for tidings to a friend
in Argos, even to him whom most I love, and the
letter announcing that they live, whom he thinks
dead, will confirm the message of joy.
Exit 11'HIGllNIA.
Ch. (To ORESTES) I weep for thee, the victim of
her fatal sprinkling.
Or. Nay, there is nothing here for tears; rather
rejoice, ye lady strangers.
Ch. (To PYLADES) I give thee joy, young sir, on
thy happy fortune, in that thou wilt tread thy native
soil.
Py. No cause surely to envy a man, when his
friends are dying!
Ch. Alas, cruel mission!
Woe is thee! thy doom is sealed. Ah! which of the
pair is the more undone? My mind is still distraught
with two-fold doubt whether to mourn for thee or
thee the more.
Or. Prithee, Pylades, art thou in like case with
myself?
·Py. I know not; thy question finds me with no
answer ready.
Or. Who is this maid? How like a daughter of
Hellas she questioned us of the toils at Troy and the
Achreans' return, of C'.alchas the clever augur and
famous Achilles! what pity she expressed for Agamemnon's
fate, and how she pressed me about his
wife and children! This stranger maid is haply an
Argive by descent; else would she never have been
sending a letter and inquiring so straitly about these
matters, as if she shared herself in the welfare of
Argos.
Py. Thou hast forestalled me slightly, but for all
that thy conclusions are the same, except on one
point; a\l of course who have ever had dealings with
others hear about the misfortunes of kings. But there
was quite another theme she discussed.
Or. What was that? divulge it to me and thou
rna yest understand it better.
Py. It is shameful that I should live and thou be
slain; as I shared thy voyage, so ought I to share thy