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Admetus
Men of Pherae, kindly gathered here, lo! even now my servants are bearing the corpse with all its trappings shoulder-high to the funeral pyre for burial; do ye, as custom bids,
salute the dead on her last journey starting.
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Men of Pherae, kindly gathered here, lo! even now my servants are bearing the corpse with all its trappings shoulder-high to the funeral pyre for burial; do ye, as custom bids,
salute the dead on her last journey starting.
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Chorus
Look! I see thy father advancing with aged step, and servants too bearing in their arms adornment for thy wife, offerings for the dead.
Look! I see thy father advancing with aged step, and servants too bearing in their arms adornment for thy wife, offerings for the dead.
Pheres
My son, I come to share thy sorrow,
for thou hast lost a noble, peerless wife; that no man will deny. Yet must thou needs bear this blow, hard though it be. Accept this garniture, and let it go beneath the earth, for rightly is her body honoured,
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since she died to save thy life, my son, and gave me back my child, suffering me not to lose thee and pine away in an old age of sorrow. Thus by the generous deed she dared, hath she made her life a noble example for all her sex.
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Farewell to thee, who hast saved this son of mine and raised me up when falling; be thine a happy lot even in Hades’ halls! Such marriages I declare are gain to man, else to wed is not worth while.
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My son, I come to share thy sorrow,
for thou hast lost a noble, peerless wife; that no man will deny. Yet must thou needs bear this blow, hard though it be. Accept this garniture, and let it go beneath the earth, for rightly is her body honoured,
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since she died to save thy life, my son, and gave me back my child, suffering me not to lose thee and pine away in an old age of sorrow. Thus by the generous deed she dared, hath she made her life a noble example for all her sex.
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Farewell to thee, who hast saved this son of mine and raised me up when falling; be thine a happy lot even in Hades’ halls! Such marriages I declare are gain to man, else to wed is not worth while.
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Admetus
Thou hast come uncalled by me to this burial,
nor do I count thy presence as a friendly act. Never shall she be clad in any garniture of thine, nor
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in her burial will she need aught of thine. Thou shouldst have shewn thy sympathy at the time my doom was sealed. But thou didst stand aloof and let another die,
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though thou wert old, the victim young; shalt thou then mourn the dead? Methinks thou wert no real sire of mine nor was she my true mother who calls herself and is called so, but
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I was sprung of slave’s blood and privily substituted at thy wife’s breast.
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Brought to the test thou hast shewn thy nature; I cannot think I am thy child by birth.
By heaven, thou art the very pattern of cowards, who at thy age, on the borderland of life, wouldst not, nay! couldst not find the heart to die
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for thy own son; but ye, my parents, left to this stranger, whom I henceforth shall justly hold e’en as mother and as father too, and none but her. And yet ’twas a noble exploit to achieve, to die to save thy son, and in any case the
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remnant of thy time to live was but short; and
3
I and she would have lived the days that were to be, nor had I lost my wife and mourned my evil fate. Moreover thou hast had all treatment that a happy man should have; in princely pomp thy youth was spent,
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thou hadst a son, myself, to be the heir of this thy home, so thou hadst no fear of dying childless and leaving thy house desolate, for strangers to pillage. Nor yet canst thou say I did dishonour thy old age and give thee up to die, seeing I have ever been
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to thee most dutiful, and for this thou, my sire, and she, my mother, have made me this return. Go then, get other sons to tend thy closing years, prepare thy body for the grave, and lay out thy corpse.
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For I will never bury thee with hand of mine; for I am dead for all thou didst for me; but if I found a saviour in another and still live, his son I say I am, and his fond nurse in old age will be. ’Tis vain, I see, the old man’s prayer for death,
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his plaints at age and life’s long weariness. For if death do but draw near, not one doth wish to die; old age no more they count so burdensome.
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Thou hast come uncalled by me to this burial,
nor do I count thy presence as a friendly act. Never shall she be clad in any garniture of thine, nor
1
in her burial will she need aught of thine. Thou shouldst have shewn thy sympathy at the time my doom was sealed. But thou didst stand aloof and let another die,
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though thou wert old, the victim young; shalt thou then mourn the dead? Methinks thou wert no real sire of mine nor was she my true mother who calls herself and is called so, but
2
I was sprung of slave’s blood and privily substituted at thy wife’s breast.
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Brought to the test thou hast shewn thy nature; I cannot think I am thy child by birth.
By heaven, thou art the very pattern of cowards, who at thy age, on the borderland of life, wouldst not, nay! couldst not find the heart to die
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By heaven, thou art the very pattern of cowards, who at thy age, on the borderland of life, wouldst not, nay! couldst not find the heart to die
for thy own son; but ye, my parents, left to this stranger, whom I henceforth shall justly hold e’en as mother and as father too, and none but her. And yet ’twas a noble exploit to achieve, to die to save thy son, and in any case the
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remnant of thy time to live was but short; and
3
I and she would have lived the days that were to be, nor had I lost my wife and mourned my evil fate. Moreover thou hast had all treatment that a happy man should have; in princely pomp thy youth was spent,
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thou hadst a son, myself, to be the heir of this thy home, so thou hadst no fear of dying childless and leaving thy house desolate, for strangers to pillage. Nor yet canst thou say I did dishonour thy old age and give thee up to die, seeing I have ever been
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to thee most dutiful, and for this thou, my sire, and she, my mother, have made me this return. Go then, get other sons to tend thy closing years, prepare thy body for the grave, and lay out thy corpse.
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For I will never bury thee with hand of mine; for I am dead for all thou didst for me; but if I found a saviour in another and still live, his son I say I am, and his fond nurse in old age will be. ’Tis vain, I see, the old man’s prayer for death,
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his plaints at age and life’s long weariness. For if death do but draw near, not one doth wish to die; old age no more they count so burdensome.
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Chorus
Peace! enough the present sorrow, O my son; goad not thy father’s soul to fury.
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Peace! enough the present sorrow, O my son; goad not thy father’s soul to fury.
Pheres
Child, whom think’st thou art reviling? some Lydian or Phrygian bought with thy money? Art not aware I am a freebom Thessalian, son of a Thessalian sire? Thou art too insolent; yet from hence thou shalt not go as thou earnest,
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after shooting out thy braggart tongue at me. To rule my house I begat and bred thee up; I own no debt of dying in thy stead; this is not the law that I received from my ancestors that fathers should die for children, nor is it a custom in Hellas.
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For weal or woe, thy life must be thine own; whate’er was due from me to thee, thou hast. Dominion wide is thine, and acres broad I will leave to thee, for from my father did I inherit them. How, pray, have I wronged thee? of what am I robbing thee?
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Die not thou for me, nor I for thee. Thy joy is in the light; think’st thou thy sire’s is not? By Heaven! ’tis a weary while, I trow, that time beneath the earth, and life, though short, is sweet. Thou at least didst struggle hard to ’scape thy death,
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lost to shame, and by her death dost live beyond thy destined term. Dost thou then speak of cowardice in me, thou craven heart! no match for thy wife, who hath died for thee, her fine young lord? A clever scheme hast thou devised to stave off death for ever,
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if thou canst persuade each new wife to die instead of thee; and dost thou then taunt thy friends, who will not do the like, coward as thou art thyself? Hold thy peace; reflect, if thou dost love thy life so well, this love by all is shared; yet if thou wilt speak ill of me,
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thyself shalt hear a full and truthful list of thy own crimes.
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Child, whom think’st thou art reviling? some Lydian or Phrygian bought with thy money? Art not aware I am a freebom Thessalian, son of a Thessalian sire? Thou art too insolent; yet from hence thou shalt not go as thou earnest,
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after shooting out thy braggart tongue at me. To rule my house I begat and bred thee up; I own no debt of dying in thy stead; this is not the law that I received from my ancestors that fathers should die for children, nor is it a custom in Hellas.
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For weal or woe, thy life must be thine own; whate’er was due from me to thee, thou hast. Dominion wide is thine, and acres broad I will leave to thee, for from my father did I inherit them. How, pray, have I wronged thee? of what am I robbing thee?
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Die not thou for me, nor I for thee. Thy joy is in the light; think’st thou thy sire’s is not? By Heaven! ’tis a weary while, I trow, that time beneath the earth, and life, though short, is sweet. Thou at least didst struggle hard to ’scape thy death,
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lost to shame, and by her death dost live beyond thy destined term. Dost thou then speak of cowardice in me, thou craven heart! no match for thy wife, who hath died for thee, her fine young lord? A clever scheme hast thou devised to stave off death for ever,
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if thou canst persuade each new wife to die instead of thee; and dost thou then taunt thy friends, who will not do the like, coward as thou art thyself? Hold thy peace; reflect, if thou dost love thy life so well, this love by all is shared; yet if thou wilt speak ill of me,
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thyself shalt hear a full and truthful list of thy own crimes.
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Chorus
Too long that list both now and heretofore; cease, father, to revile thy son.
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Too long that list both now and heretofore; cease, father, to revile thy son.
Admetus
Say on, for I have said my say; but if it vexes thee to hear the truth, thou shouldst not have sinned against me.
Say on, for I have said my say; but if it vexes thee to hear the truth, thou shouldst not have sinned against me.
Pheres
My sin had been the deeper, had I died for thee.
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My sin had been the deeper, had I died for thee.
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Admetus
What! is it all one for young or old to die?
What! is it all one for young or old to die?
Pheres
To live one life, not twain, is all our due.
To live one life, not twain, is all our due.
Admetus
Outlive then Zeus himself!
Outlive then Zeus himself!
Pheres
Dost curse thy parents, though unharmed by them?
Dost curse thy parents, though unharmed by them?
Admetus
Yea, for I see thy heart is set on length of days.
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Yea, for I see thy heart is set on length of days.
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Pheres
Is it not to save thyself thou art carrying to the tomb this corpse?
Is it not to save thyself thou art carrying to the tomb this corpse?
Admetus
A proof of thy cowardice, thou craven heart!
A proof of thy cowardice, thou craven heart!
Pheres
At any rate her death was not due to me; this thou canst not say.
At any rate her death was not due to me; this thou canst not say.
Admetus
Ah! mayst thou some day come to need my aid!
Ah! mayst thou some day come to need my aid!
Pheres
Woo many wives, that there may be the more to die.
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Woo many wives, that there may be the more to die.
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Admetus
That is thy reproach, for thou didst refuse to die.
That is thy reproach, for thou didst refuse to die.
Pheres
Dear is the light of the sun-god, dear to all.
Dear is the light of the sun-god, dear to all.
Admetus
A coward soul is thine, not to be reckoned among men.
A coward soul is thine, not to be reckoned among men.
Pheres
No laughing now for thee at bearing forth my aged corpse.
No laughing now for thee at bearing forth my aged corpse.
Admetus
Thy death will surely be a death of shame, come when it will.
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Thy death will surely be a death of shame, come when it will.
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Pheres
Once dead I little reck of foul report.
Once dead I little reck of foul report.
Admetus
Alas! how void of shame the old can be!
Alas! how void of shame the old can be!
Pheres
Hers was no want of shame; ’twas want of sense in her that thou didst find.
Hers was no want of shame; ’twas want of sense in her that thou didst find.
Admetus
Begone! and leave me to bury my dead.
Begone! and leave me to bury my dead.
Pheres
I go; bury thy victim, thyself her murderer. Her kinsmen yet will call for an account. Else surely has Acastus ceased to be a man, if he avenge not on thee his sister’s blood.
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I go; bury thy victim, thyself her murderer. Her kinsmen yet will call for an account. Else surely has Acastus ceased to be a man, if he avenge not on thee his sister’s blood.
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Admetus
Perdition seize thee and that wife of thine!
grow old, as ye deserve, childless, though your son yet lives, for ye shall never enter the same abode with me; nay! were it needful I should disown thy paternal hearth by heralds’ voice, I had disowned it.
(Exit PHERES). Now, since we must bear our present woe,
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let us go and lay the dead upon the pyre.
[Exit ADMETUS.
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Perdition seize thee and that wife of thine!
grow old, as ye deserve, childless, though your son yet lives, for ye shall never enter the same abode with me; nay! were it needful I should disown thy paternal hearth by heralds’ voice, I had disowned it.
(Exit PHERES). Now, since we must bear our present woe,
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let us go and lay the dead upon the pyre.
[Exit ADMETUS.
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Chorus
Woe, woe for thee! Alas, for thy hardihood! Noble spirit, good beyond compare, farewell! May Hermes in the nether world, and Hades, too, give thee a kindly welcome! and if even in that other life
the good are rewarded, mayst thou have thy share therein and take thy seat by Hades’ bride!
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Woe, woe for thee! Alas, for thy hardihood! Noble spirit, good beyond compare, farewell! May Hermes in the nether world, and Hades, too, give thee a kindly welcome! and if even in that other life
the good are rewarded, mayst thou have thy share therein and take thy seat by Hades’ bride!
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Attendant
Many the guests ere now from every comer of the world I have seen come to the halls of Admetus, for whom I have spread the board, but never yet
have I welcomed to this hearth a guest so shameless as this; a man who, in the first place, though he saw my master’s grief, yet entered and presumed to pass the gates, then took what cheer we had in no sober spirit, though he knew our sorrow;
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no! was there aught we failed to bring? he called for it. Next in his hands he took a goblet of ivy-wood and drank the pure juice of the black grape, till the mounting fumes of wine heated him, and he crowned his head with myrtle-sprays,
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howling discordantly, while two-fold strains were there to hear, for he would sing without a thought for the troubles in Admetus’ halls, while we servants mourned our mistress, though we did not let the stranger see our streaming eyes, for such was the bidding of Admetus.
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So now here am I entertaining as a guest some miscreant thief maybe, or robber, while she is gone forth from the house, nor did I follow her nor stretch my hand towards her bier, in mourning for my lady, who, to me, and all her servants,
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was a mother, for she would save us from countless trouble, appeasing her husband’s angry mood. Have I not good cause then to loathe this guest who cometh in our hour of woe?
770
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Many the guests ere now from every comer of the world I have seen come to the halls of Admetus, for whom I have spread the board, but never yet
have I welcomed to this hearth a guest so shameless as this; a man who, in the first place, though he saw my master’s grief, yet entered and presumed to pass the gates, then took what cheer we had in no sober spirit, though he knew our sorrow;
750
no! was there aught we failed to bring? he called for it. Next in his hands he took a goblet of ivy-wood and drank the pure juice of the black grape, till the mounting fumes of wine heated him, and he crowned his head with myrtle-sprays,
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howling discordantly, while two-fold strains were there to hear, for he would sing without a thought for the troubles in Admetus’ halls, while we servants mourned our mistress, though we did not let the stranger see our streaming eyes, for such was the bidding of Admetus.
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So now here am I entertaining as a guest some miscreant thief maybe, or robber, while she is gone forth from the house, nor did I follow her nor stretch my hand towards her bier, in mourning for my lady, who, to me, and all her servants,
765
was a mother, for she would save us from countless trouble, appeasing her husband’s angry mood. Have I not good cause then to loathe this guest who cometh in our hour of woe?
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Heracles
Ho! sirrah, why that solemn, thoughtful look? ’Tis not the way for servants to scowl on guests,
but with courteous soul to welcome them. But thou, seeing a friend of thy master arrive, receivest him with sullen, lowering brow, though ’tis but a stranger that is the object of thy mourning. Come hither, that thou too mayst learn more wisdom.
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Dost know the nature of this mortal state? I trow not; how shouldst thou? Well, lend an ear to me. Death is the common debt of man; no mortal really knows if he will live to see the morrow’s light;
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for Fortune’s issues are not in our ken, beyond the teacher’s rule they lie, no art can master them. Hearken then to this and learn of me, be merry, drink thy cup, and count the present day thine own, the rest to Fortune yield.
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And to Cypris too, sweetest of the gods by far to man, thy tribute pay, for kindly is her mood. Let be those other cares, and heed my counsel if thou think’st I speak aright; methinks I do. Come, banish this excessive grief,
790
and drink a cup with me when thou hast passed beyond these doors and wreathed thy brow; and I feel sure the plash of wine within the cup will bring thee to a better haven from this crabbed mood, this cabined state of mind.
4
Mortals we are, and mortals’ thoughts should have;
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for all they who frown and scowl do miss,—leastways I think so,—the true life and get themselves misfortune.
800
Ho! sirrah, why that solemn, thoughtful look? ’Tis not the way for servants to scowl on guests,
but with courteous soul to welcome them. But thou, seeing a friend of thy master arrive, receivest him with sullen, lowering brow, though ’tis but a stranger that is the object of thy mourning. Come hither, that thou too mayst learn more wisdom.
775
Dost know the nature of this mortal state? I trow not; how shouldst thou? Well, lend an ear to me. Death is the common debt of man; no mortal really knows if he will live to see the morrow’s light;
780
for Fortune’s issues are not in our ken, beyond the teacher’s rule they lie, no art can master them. Hearken then to this and learn of me, be merry, drink thy cup, and count the present day thine own, the rest to Fortune yield.
785
And to Cypris too, sweetest of the gods by far to man, thy tribute pay, for kindly is her mood. Let be those other cares, and heed my counsel if thou think’st I speak aright; methinks I do. Come, banish this excessive grief,
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and drink a cup with me when thou hast passed beyond these doors and wreathed thy brow; and I feel sure the plash of wine within the cup will bring thee to a better haven from this crabbed mood, this cabined state of mind.
4
Mortals we are, and mortals’ thoughts should have;
795
for all they who frown and scowl do miss,—leastways I think so,—the true life and get themselves misfortune.
800
Attendant
I know all that, but our present state has little claim on revelry or laughter.
I know all that, but our present state has little claim on revelry or laughter.
Heracles
The dead was a stranger woman; grieve not to excess; for the rulers of thy house are living.
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The dead was a stranger woman; grieve not to excess; for the rulers of thy house are living.
805
Attendant
How, living? Thou knowest not the trouble in the house.
How, living? Thou knowest not the trouble in the house.
Heracles
I do, unless thy master did in aught deceive me.
I do, unless thy master did in aught deceive me.
Attendant
Too hospitable is he.
Too hospitable is he.
Heracles
Was I to miss good cheer because a stranger had died?
810
Was I to miss good cheer because a stranger had died?
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Attendant
A stranger surely! quite a stranger she!
A stranger surely! quite a stranger she!
Heracles
Is there some trouble that he withheld from me?
Is there some trouble that he withheld from me?
Attendant
Farewell, go thy way! my master’s troubles are my care.
Farewell, go thy way! my master’s troubles are my care.
Heracles
This word of thine heralds not a grief for strangers felt.
This word of thine heralds not a grief for strangers felt.
Attendant
Had it been, the sight of thy merriment had not grieved me so.
815
816
Had it been, the sight of thy merriment had not grieved me so.
815
Heracles
Can
5
it be mine host hath strangely wronged me?
Can
5
it be mine host hath strangely wronged me?
Attendant
Thou earnest at no proper time for our house to welcome thee, for sorrow is come upon us; lo! thou seest our shorn heads and robes of sable hue.
Thou earnest at no proper time for our house to welcome thee, for sorrow is come upon us; lo! thou seest our shorn heads and robes of sable hue.
Heracles
Who is it that is dead?
Is it a child or his aged sire that hat hath passed away?
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Who is it that is dead?
Is it a child or his aged sire that hat hath passed away?
820
Attendant
Nay, sir guest, ’tis Admetus’ wife that is no more.
Nay, sir guest, ’tis Admetus’ wife that is no more.
Heracles
What sayest thou? and did ye then in spite of that admit me to your cheer?
What sayest thou? and did ye then in spite of that admit me to your cheer?
Attendant
Yes, for his regard would not let him send thee from his door.
Yes, for his regard would not let him send thee from his door.
Heracles
Unhappy husband, what a wife hast thou lost!
Unhappy husband, what a wife hast thou lost!
Attendant
We are all undone, not she alone.
825
We are all undone, not she alone.
825
Heracles
I knew it when I saw his streaming eye, shorn head and downcast look, yet did he persuade me, saying it was a stranger he was bearing to burial. So I did constrain myself and passed his gates
and sat drinking in his hospitable halls, when he was suffering thus. And have I wreathed my head and do I revel still? But—thou to hold thy peace when such a crushing sorrow lay upon the house! Where is he burying her? Whither shall I go to find her?
830
I knew it when I saw his streaming eye, shorn head and downcast look, yet did he persuade me, saying it was a stranger he was bearing to burial. So I did constrain myself and passed his gates
and sat drinking in his hospitable halls, when he was suffering thus. And have I wreathed my head and do I revel still? But—thou to hold thy peace when such a crushing sorrow lay upon the house! Where is he burying her? Whither shall I go to find her?
830
Attendant
Beside the road that leadeth straight to Larissa, shalt thou see her carved tomb outside the suburb.
835
Beside the road that leadeth straight to Larissa, shalt thou see her carved tomb outside the suburb.
835
Heracles
O heart, O soul, both sufferers oft, now show the mettle of that son Tirynthian Alcmena, daughter of Electryon, bare to Zeus.
For I must save this woman, dead but now, setting Alcestis once again within this house, and to Admetus this kind service render. So I will go and watch for death the black-robed monarch of the dead, and him methinks I shall find
840
as he drinks of the blood-offering near the tomb. And if, from ambush rushing, once I catch and fold him in my arms’ embrace, none shall ever wrest him thence with smarting ribs, ere he give up the woman unto me.
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But should I fail to find my prey and he come not to the clotted blood, I will go to the sunless home of those beneath the earth, to Persephone and her king, and make to them my prayer, sure that I shall bring Alcestis up again, to place her in the hands of him, my host,
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who welcomed me to his house nor drove me thence, though fortune smote him hard, but this his noble spirit strove to hide out of regard for me. What host more kind than him in Thessaly? or in in the homes of Hellas? Wherefore shall he never say
855
his generous deeds were lavished on a worthless wretch.
[Exeunt HERACLES and Servant.
860
O heart, O soul, both sufferers oft, now show the mettle of that son Tirynthian Alcmena, daughter of Electryon, bare to Zeus.
For I must save this woman, dead but now, setting Alcestis once again within this house, and to Admetus this kind service render. So I will go and watch for death the black-robed monarch of the dead, and him methinks I shall find
840
as he drinks of the blood-offering near the tomb. And if, from ambush rushing, once I catch and fold him in my arms’ embrace, none shall ever wrest him thence with smarting ribs, ere he give up the woman unto me.
845
But should I fail to find my prey and he come not to the clotted blood, I will go to the sunless home of those beneath the earth, to Persephone and her king, and make to them my prayer, sure that I shall bring Alcestis up again, to place her in the hands of him, my host,
850
who welcomed me to his house nor drove me thence, though fortune smote him hard, but this his noble spirit strove to hide out of regard for me. What host more kind than him in Thessaly? or in in the homes of Hellas? Wherefore shall he never say
855
his generous deeds were lavished on a worthless wretch.
[Exeunt HERACLES and Servant.
860
Alcestis. Euripides. Edward P. Coleridge (Translator). London. 1906.
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