The Persians [3]
not, royal lady, sink thy soul
With fear in the excess, nor raise it high
With confidence. Go then, address the gods;
If thou hast seen aught ill, entreat their power
To avert that ill, and perfect ev'ry good
To thee, thy sons, the state, and all thy friends.
Then to the earth, and to the mighty dead
Behooves thee pour libations; gently cal
Him that was once thy husband, whom thou saw'st
In visions of the night; entreat his shade
From the deep realms beneath to send to light
Triumph to thee and to thy son; whate'er
Bears other import, to inwrap, to hide it
Close in the covering earth's profoundest gloom.
This, in the presage of my thoughts that flow
Benevolent to thee, have I proposed;
And all, we trust, shall be successful to thee.
ATOSSA
Thy friendly judgment first hath placed these dreams
In a fair light, confirming the event
Benevolent to my son and to my house.
May all the good be ratified! These rites
Shall, at thy bidding, to the powers of heaven,
And to the manes of our friends, be paid
In order meet, when I return; meanwhile
Indulge me, friends, who wish to be inform'd
Where, in what clime, the towers of Athens rise.
LEADER
Far in the west, where sets the imperial sun.
ATOSSA
Yet my son will'd the conquest of this town.
LEADER
May Greece through all her states bend to his power!
ATOSSA
Send they embattled numbers to the field?
LEADER
A force that to the Medes hath wrought much wo.
ATOSSA
Have they sufficient treasures in their houses?
LEADER
Their rich earth yields a copious fount of silver.
ATOSSA
From the strong bow wing they the barbed shaft?
LEADER
They grasp the stout spear, and the massy shield.
ATOSSA
What monarch reigns, whose power commands their ranks?
LEADER
Slaves to no lord, they own no kingly power.
ATOSSA
How can they then resist the invading foe?
LEADER
As to spread havoc through the numerous host,
That round Darius form'd their glitt'ring files.
ATOSSA
Thy words strike deep, and wound the parent's breast
Whose sons are march'd to such a dangerous field.
LEADER
But, if I judge aright, thou soon shalt hear
Each circumstance; for this way, mark him, speeds
A Persian messenger; he bears, be sure,
Tidings of high import, or good or ill.
(A MESSENGER enters.)
MESSENGER
Wo to the towns through Asia's peopled realms!
Wo to the land of Persia, once the port
Of boundless wealth, how is thy glorious state
Vanish'd at once, and all thy spreading honours
Fall'n, lost! Ah me! unhappy is his task
That bears unhappy tidings: but constraint
Compels me to relate this tale of wo.
Persians, the whole barbaric host is fall'n.
CHORUS (chanting)
O horror, horror! What a baleful train
Of recent ills! Ah, Persians, as he speaks
Of ruin, let your tears stream to the earth.
MESSENGER
It is ev'n so, all ruin; and myself,
Beyond all hope returning, view this light.
CHORUS (chanting)
How tedious and oppressive is the weight
Of age, reserved to hear these hopeless ills!
MESSENGER
I speak not from report; but these mine eyes
Beheld the ruin which my tongue would utter.
CHORUS (chanting)
Wo, wo is me! Then has the iron storm,
That darken'd from the realms of Asia, pour'd
In vain its arrowy shower on sacred Greece.
MESSENGER
In heaps the unhappy dead lie on the strand
Of Salamis, and all the neighbouring shores.
CHORUS (chanting)
Unhappy friends, sunk, perish'd in the sea;
Their bodies, mid the wreck of shatter'd ships,
Mangled, and rolling on the encumber'd waves!
MESSENGER
Naught did their bows avail, but all the troops
In the first conflict of the ships were
With fear in the excess, nor raise it high
With confidence. Go then, address the gods;
If thou hast seen aught ill, entreat their power
To avert that ill, and perfect ev'ry good
To thee, thy sons, the state, and all thy friends.
Then to the earth, and to the mighty dead
Behooves thee pour libations; gently cal
Him that was once thy husband, whom thou saw'st
In visions of the night; entreat his shade
From the deep realms beneath to send to light
Triumph to thee and to thy son; whate'er
Bears other import, to inwrap, to hide it
Close in the covering earth's profoundest gloom.
This, in the presage of my thoughts that flow
Benevolent to thee, have I proposed;
And all, we trust, shall be successful to thee.
ATOSSA
Thy friendly judgment first hath placed these dreams
In a fair light, confirming the event
Benevolent to my son and to my house.
May all the good be ratified! These rites
Shall, at thy bidding, to the powers of heaven,
And to the manes of our friends, be paid
In order meet, when I return; meanwhile
Indulge me, friends, who wish to be inform'd
Where, in what clime, the towers of Athens rise.
LEADER
Far in the west, where sets the imperial sun.
ATOSSA
Yet my son will'd the conquest of this town.
LEADER
May Greece through all her states bend to his power!
ATOSSA
Send they embattled numbers to the field?
LEADER
A force that to the Medes hath wrought much wo.
ATOSSA
Have they sufficient treasures in their houses?
LEADER
Their rich earth yields a copious fount of silver.
ATOSSA
From the strong bow wing they the barbed shaft?
LEADER
They grasp the stout spear, and the massy shield.
ATOSSA
What monarch reigns, whose power commands their ranks?
LEADER
Slaves to no lord, they own no kingly power.
ATOSSA
How can they then resist the invading foe?
LEADER
As to spread havoc through the numerous host,
That round Darius form'd their glitt'ring files.
ATOSSA
Thy words strike deep, and wound the parent's breast
Whose sons are march'd to such a dangerous field.
LEADER
But, if I judge aright, thou soon shalt hear
Each circumstance; for this way, mark him, speeds
A Persian messenger; he bears, be sure,
Tidings of high import, or good or ill.
(A MESSENGER enters.)
MESSENGER
Wo to the towns through Asia's peopled realms!
Wo to the land of Persia, once the port
Of boundless wealth, how is thy glorious state
Vanish'd at once, and all thy spreading honours
Fall'n, lost! Ah me! unhappy is his task
That bears unhappy tidings: but constraint
Compels me to relate this tale of wo.
Persians, the whole barbaric host is fall'n.
CHORUS (chanting)
O horror, horror! What a baleful train
Of recent ills! Ah, Persians, as he speaks
Of ruin, let your tears stream to the earth.
MESSENGER
It is ev'n so, all ruin; and myself,
Beyond all hope returning, view this light.
CHORUS (chanting)
How tedious and oppressive is the weight
Of age, reserved to hear these hopeless ills!
MESSENGER
I speak not from report; but these mine eyes
Beheld the ruin which my tongue would utter.
CHORUS (chanting)
Wo, wo is me! Then has the iron storm,
That darken'd from the realms of Asia, pour'd
In vain its arrowy shower on sacred Greece.
MESSENGER
In heaps the unhappy dead lie on the strand
Of Salamis, and all the neighbouring shores.
CHORUS (chanting)
Unhappy friends, sunk, perish'd in the sea;
Their bodies, mid the wreck of shatter'd ships,
Mangled, and rolling on the encumber'd waves!
MESSENGER
Naught did their bows avail, but all the troops
In the first conflict of the ships were