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Cyclops
(Bellowing in the cave.) Oh! oh! my once bright eye is burnt to cinders now.
(Bellowing in the cave.) Oh! oh! my once bright eye is burnt to cinders now.
Chorus
Sweet indeed the triumph-song; pray sing it to us, Cyclops.
Sweet indeed the triumph-song; pray sing it to us, Cyclops.
Cyclops
(from within.) Oh! oh! once more; what outrage on me and what ruin! But never shall ye escape this rocky cave unpunished, ye worthless creatures; for I will stand in the entrance of the cleft and fit my hands into it thus.
[Staggering to the entrance.
665
(from within.) Oh! oh! once more; what outrage on me and what ruin! But never shall ye escape this rocky cave unpunished, ye worthless creatures; for I will stand in the entrance of the cleft and fit my hands into it thus.
[Staggering to the entrance.
665
Chorus
Why dost thou cry out, Cyclops?
Why dost thou cry out, Cyclops?
Cyclops
I am undone.
I am undone.
Chorus
Thou art indeed a sorry sight.
670
Thou art indeed a sorry sight.
670
Cyclops
Aye, and a sad one, too.
Aye, and a sad one, too.
Chorus
Didst fall among the coals in a drunken fit?
Didst fall among the coals in a drunken fit?
Cyclops
Noman has undone me.
Noman has undone me.
Chorus
Then there is no one hurting thee after all.
Then there is no one hurting thee after all.
Cyclops
Noman is blinding me.
Noman is blinding me.
Chorus
Then art thou not blind.
Then art thou not blind.
Cyclops
As blind as thou, forsooth.
1
As blind as thou, forsooth.
1
Chorus
How, pray, could no man have made thee blind?
How, pray, could no man have made thee blind?
Cyclops
Thou mockest me; but where is this Noman.
675
Thou mockest me; but where is this Noman.
675
Chorus
Nowhere, Cyclops.
Nowhere, Cyclops.
Cyclops
It was the stranger, vile wretch! who proved my ruin, that thou mayst understand rightly, by swilling me with the liquor he gave me.
It was the stranger, vile wretch! who proved my ruin, that thou mayst understand rightly, by swilling me with the liquor he gave me.
Chorus
Ah! wine is a terrible foe, hard to wrestle with.
Ah! wine is a terrible foe, hard to wrestle with.
Cyclops
Tell me, I adjure thee, have they escaped or are they still within?
Tell me, I adjure thee, have they escaped or are they still within?
Chorus
Here they are ranged in silence, taking the rock to screen them.
680
Here they are ranged in silence, taking the rock to screen them.
680
Cyclops
On which side?
On which side?
Chorus
On thy right.
On thy right.
Cyclops
Where?
Where?
Chorus
Close against the rock. Hast caught them?
Close against the rock. Hast caught them?
Cyclops
Trouble on trouble! I have run my skull against the rock and cracked it.
Trouble on trouble! I have run my skull against the rock and cracked it.
Chorus
Aye, and they are escaping thee.
Aye, and they are escaping thee.
Cyclops
This way, was it not? ’Twas this way thou saidst.
685
This way, was it not? ’Twas this way thou saidst.
685
Chorus
No, not this way.
No, not this way.
Cyclops
Which then?
Which then?
Chorus
They are getting round thee on the left.
They are getting round thee on the left.
Cyclops
Alas! I am being mocked; ye jeer me in my evil plight.
Alas! I am being mocked; ye jeer me in my evil plight.
Chorus
They are no longer there; but facing thee that stranger stands.
They are no longer there; but facing thee that stranger stands.
Cyclops
Master of villainy, where, oh! where art thou?
Master of villainy, where, oh! where art thou?
Odysseus
Some way from thee
I am keeping careful guard over the person of Odysseus.
690
Some way from thee
I am keeping careful guard over the person of Odysseus.
690
Cyclops
What, a new name! hast changed thine?
What, a new name! hast changed thine?
Odysseus
Yes, Odysseus the name my father gave me. But thou wert doomed to pay for thy unholy feast; for I should have seen Troy burned to but sorry purpose,
unless I had avenged on thee the slaughter of my comrades.
695
Yes, Odysseus the name my father gave me. But thou wert doomed to pay for thy unholy feast; for I should have seen Troy burned to but sorry purpose,
unless I had avenged on thee the slaughter of my comrades.
695
Cyclops
Woe is me! ’tis an old oracle coming true; yes, it said I should have my eye put out by thee on thy way home from Troy; but it likewise foretold that thou wouldst surely pay for this,
tossing on the sea for many a day.
700
Woe is me! ’tis an old oracle coming true; yes, it said I should have my eye put out by thee on thy way home from Troy; but it likewise foretold that thou wouldst surely pay for this,
tossing on the sea for many a day.
700
Odysseus
Go hang! E’en as I say,
2
so have I done. And now will I get me to the beach and start my hollow ship across the sea of Sicily to the land of my fathers.
Go hang! E’en as I say,
2
so have I done. And now will I get me to the beach and start my hollow ship across the sea of Sicily to the land of my fathers.
Cyclops
Thou shalt not; I will break a boulder off this rock
and crush thee, crew and all, beneath my throw. Blind though I be, I will climb the hill, mounting through yonder tunnel.
705
Thou shalt not; I will break a boulder off this rock
and crush thee, crew and all, beneath my throw. Blind though I be, I will climb the hill, mounting through yonder tunnel.
705
Chorus
As for us, henceforth will we be the servants of Bacchus, sharing the voyage of this hero Odysseus.
As for us, henceforth will we be the servants of Bacchus, sharing the voyage of this hero Odysseus.
Cyclops. Euripides. London. 1891.
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