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NEO
It gladdens me that thou shouldst speak in praise
Both of my sire and me. But hear me tell
The boon for which I sue thee.—Mortal men
Must bear such evils as high Heaven ordains;
But those afflicted by self-chosen ills,
Like thine to-day, receive not from just men
Or kind indulgence or compassionate thought.
And thou art restive grown, and wilt not hearken,
But though one counsel thee with kind’st intent,
Wilt take him for a dark malignant foe.
Yet, calling Zeus to witness for my soul,
Once more I will speak. Know this, and mark it well:
1375
Thou bear’st this sickness by a heavenly doom,
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Through coming near to Chrysa’s sentinel,
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The lurking snake, that guards the sky-roofed fold.
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And from this plague thou ne’er shall find reprieve
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While the same Sun god rears him from the east
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And droops to west again, till thou be come
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Of thine own willing mind to Troia’s plain,
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Where our physicians, sons of Phoebus’ child,
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Shall soothe thee from thy sore, and thou with me
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And with this bow shalt take Troy’s citadel.
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How do I know this? I will tell thee straight
We have a Trojan captive, Helenus,
Both prince and prophet, who hath clearly told
This must be so, yea, and ere harvest time
This year, great Troy must fall, else if his words
Be falsified, who will may slay the seer.
Now, since thou know’st of this, yield thy consent;
For glorious is the gain, being singled forth
From all the Greeks as noblest, first to come
To healing hands, and then to win renown
Unrivalled, vanquishing all tearful Troy.
It gladdens me that thou shouldst speak in praise
Both of my sire and me. But hear me tell
The boon for which I sue thee.—Mortal men
Must bear such evils as high Heaven ordains;
But those afflicted by self-chosen ills,
Like thine to-day, receive not from just men
Or kind indulgence or compassionate thought.
And thou art restive grown, and wilt not hearken,
But though one counsel thee with kind’st intent,
Wilt take him for a dark malignant foe.
Yet, calling Zeus to witness for my soul,
Once more I will speak. Know this, and mark it well:
1375
Thou bear’st this sickness by a heavenly doom,
1375
Through coming near to Chrysa’s sentinel,
1375
The lurking snake, that guards the sky-roofed fold.
1375
And from this plague thou ne’er shall find reprieve
1375
While the same Sun god rears him from the east
1375
And droops to west again, till thou be come
1375
Of thine own willing mind to Troia’s plain,
1375
Where our physicians, sons of Phoebus’ child,
1375
Shall soothe thee from thy sore, and thou with me
1375
And with this bow shalt take Troy’s citadel.
1375
How do I know this? I will tell thee straight
We have a Trojan captive, Helenus,
Both prince and prophet, who hath clearly told
This must be so, yea, and ere harvest time
This year, great Troy must fall, else if his words
Be falsified, who will may slay the seer.
Now, since thou know’st of this, yield thy consent;
For glorious is the gain, being singled forth
From all the Greeks as noblest, first to come
To healing hands, and then to win renown
Unrivalled, vanquishing all tearful Troy.
Philoctetes. Sophocles. Lewis Campbell (Translator). London, New York and Toronto. 1906.