ELECTRA [15]
this sight hath stirred my pity!
ELECTRA
Know, then, that thou art the first who ever pitied me.
ORESTES
No other visitor hath ever shared thy pain.
ELECTRA
Surely thou art not some unknown kinsman?
ORESTES
I would answer, if these were friends who hear us.
ELECTRA
Oh, they are friends; thou canst speak without mistrust.
ORESTES
Give up this urn, then, and thou shalt be told all.
ELECTRA
Nay, I beseech thee be not so cruel to me, sir!
ORESTES
Do as I say, and never fear to do amiss.
ELECTRA
I conjure thee, rob me not of my chief treasure!
ORESTES
Thou must not keep it.
ELECTRA
Ah woe is me for thee, Orestes, if I am not to give thee burial
ORESTES
Hush!-no such word!-Thou hast no right to lament.
ELECTRA
No right to lament for my dead brother?
ORESTES
It is not meet for thee to speak of him thus.
ELECTRA
Am I so dishonoured of the dead?
ORESTES
Dishonoured of none:- but this is not thy part.
ELECTRA
Yes, if these are the ashes of Orestes that I hold.
ORESTES
They are not; a fiction dothed them with his name.
(He gently takes the urn from her.)
ELECTRA
And where is that unhappy one's tomb?
ORESTES
There is none; the living have no tomb.
ELECTRA
What sayest thou, boy?
ORESTES
Nothing that is not true.
ELECTRA
The man is alive?
ORESTES
If there be life in me.
ELECTRA
What? Art thou he?
ORESTES
Look at this signet, once our father's, and judge if I speak
truth.
ELECTRA
O blissful day!
ORESTES
Blissful, in very deed!
ELECTRA
Is this thy voice?
ORESTES
Let no other voice reply.
ELECTRA
Do I hold thee in my arms?
ORESTES
As mayest thou hold me always!
ELECTRA
Ah, dear friends and fellow-citizens, behold Orestes here, who was
feigned dead, and now, by that feigning hath come safely home!
LEADER
We see him, daughter; and for this happy fortune a tear of joy
trickles from our eyes.
(The following lines between ORESTES
and ELECTRA are chanted responsively.)
ELECTRA
strophe
Offspring of him whom I loved best, thou hast come even now,
thou hast come, and found and seen her whom thy heart desired!
ORESTES
I am with thee;- but keep silence for a while.
ELECTRA
What meanest thou?
ORESTES
'Tis better to be silent, lest some one within should hear.
ELECTRA
Nay, by ever-virgin Artemis, I will never stoop to fear women,
stay-at-homes, vain burdens of the ground!
ORESTES
Yet remember that in women, too, dwells the spirit of battle; thou
hast had good proof of that, I ween.
ELECTRA
Alas! ah me! Thou hast reminded me of my sorrow, one which, from
its nature, cannot be veiled, cannot be done away with, cannot forget!
ORESTES
I know this also; but when occasion prompts, then will be the
moment to recall those deeds.
ELECTRA
antistrophe
Each moment of all time, as it comes, would be meet occasion for
these my just complaints; scarcely now have I had my lips set free.
ORESTES
I grant it; therefore guard thy freedom.
ELECTRA
What must I do?
ORESTES
When the season serves not, do not wish to speak too much.
ELECTRA
Nay, who could fitly exchange speech for such silence, when thou
hast appeared? For now I have seen thy face, beyond all thought and
hope!
ORESTES
Thou sawest it, when the gods moved me to come....
ELECTRA
Thou hast told me of a grace above the first, if a god hath indeed
brought thee to our house; I acknowledge therein the work of heaven.
ORESTES
I am loth, indeed, to curb thy gladness, but yet this excess of
joy moves my fear.
ELECTRA
epode
O thou who,
ELECTRA
Know, then, that thou art the first who ever pitied me.
ORESTES
No other visitor hath ever shared thy pain.
ELECTRA
Surely thou art not some unknown kinsman?
ORESTES
I would answer, if these were friends who hear us.
ELECTRA
Oh, they are friends; thou canst speak without mistrust.
ORESTES
Give up this urn, then, and thou shalt be told all.
ELECTRA
Nay, I beseech thee be not so cruel to me, sir!
ORESTES
Do as I say, and never fear to do amiss.
ELECTRA
I conjure thee, rob me not of my chief treasure!
ORESTES
Thou must not keep it.
ELECTRA
Ah woe is me for thee, Orestes, if I am not to give thee burial
ORESTES
Hush!-no such word!-Thou hast no right to lament.
ELECTRA
No right to lament for my dead brother?
ORESTES
It is not meet for thee to speak of him thus.
ELECTRA
Am I so dishonoured of the dead?
ORESTES
Dishonoured of none:- but this is not thy part.
ELECTRA
Yes, if these are the ashes of Orestes that I hold.
ORESTES
They are not; a fiction dothed them with his name.
(He gently takes the urn from her.)
ELECTRA
And where is that unhappy one's tomb?
ORESTES
There is none; the living have no tomb.
ELECTRA
What sayest thou, boy?
ORESTES
Nothing that is not true.
ELECTRA
The man is alive?
ORESTES
If there be life in me.
ELECTRA
What? Art thou he?
ORESTES
Look at this signet, once our father's, and judge if I speak
truth.
ELECTRA
O blissful day!
ORESTES
Blissful, in very deed!
ELECTRA
Is this thy voice?
ORESTES
Let no other voice reply.
ELECTRA
Do I hold thee in my arms?
ORESTES
As mayest thou hold me always!
ELECTRA
Ah, dear friends and fellow-citizens, behold Orestes here, who was
feigned dead, and now, by that feigning hath come safely home!
LEADER
We see him, daughter; and for this happy fortune a tear of joy
trickles from our eyes.
(The following lines between ORESTES
and ELECTRA are chanted responsively.)
ELECTRA
strophe
Offspring of him whom I loved best, thou hast come even now,
thou hast come, and found and seen her whom thy heart desired!
ORESTES
I am with thee;- but keep silence for a while.
ELECTRA
What meanest thou?
ORESTES
'Tis better to be silent, lest some one within should hear.
ELECTRA
Nay, by ever-virgin Artemis, I will never stoop to fear women,
stay-at-homes, vain burdens of the ground!
ORESTES
Yet remember that in women, too, dwells the spirit of battle; thou
hast had good proof of that, I ween.
ELECTRA
Alas! ah me! Thou hast reminded me of my sorrow, one which, from
its nature, cannot be veiled, cannot be done away with, cannot forget!
ORESTES
I know this also; but when occasion prompts, then will be the
moment to recall those deeds.
ELECTRA
antistrophe
Each moment of all time, as it comes, would be meet occasion for
these my just complaints; scarcely now have I had my lips set free.
ORESTES
I grant it; therefore guard thy freedom.
ELECTRA
What must I do?
ORESTES
When the season serves not, do not wish to speak too much.
ELECTRA
Nay, who could fitly exchange speech for such silence, when thou
hast appeared? For now I have seen thy face, beyond all thought and
hope!
ORESTES
Thou sawest it, when the gods moved me to come....
ELECTRA
Thou hast told me of a grace above the first, if a god hath indeed
brought thee to our house; I acknowledge therein the work of heaven.
ORESTES
I am loth, indeed, to curb thy gladness, but yet this excess of
joy moves my fear.
ELECTRA
epode
O thou who,