But since the ancient dread of thy spirit is an obstacle to thee, do thou, aged partner of my bed, high-born dame, cease from these wailings and groans of thine, and give me a clear account. Human calamities will befal mankind. For many ills arise to mortals by sea, and many by land, if their more lengthened life be far protracted.
ATOSSA
O thou who in thy prosperous lot didst excel all mortals, inasmuch as thou, so long as thou didst behold the rays of the sun, an object of envy, didst lead a continued life of happiness as a god to the Persians; now too do I envy thee dead, before thou didst witness this depth of ills. For in brief words thou shalt hear, Darius, the whole tale. In a word, the fortunes of the Persians have been utterly o'erthrown.
O thou who in thy prosperous lot didst excel all mortals, inasmuch as thou, so long as thou didst behold the rays of the sun, an object of envy, didst lead a continued life of happiness as a god to the Persians; now too do I envy thee dead, before thou didst witness this depth of ills. For in brief words thou shalt hear, Darius, the whole tale. In a word, the fortunes of the Persians have been utterly o'erthrown.
GHOST OF DARIUS
Persians. Aeschylus. Theodore Alois Buckley (Translator). London. 1849.
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