ETEOCLES.
A MESSENGER.
CHORUS OF THEBAN VIRGINS.
ISMENE.
ANTIGONE.
A HERALD.
SCENE. The Acropolis of Thebes.--Compare v. 227, ed. Blomf.
TIME. Early in the morning; the length of the action can scarcely be
fixed with absolute certainty. It certainly did not exceed twelve hours.
The expedition of "the Seven" against Thebes is fixed by Sir I. Newton,
B.C. 928. Cf. of his Chronology, p. 27. Blair carries it as far back as
B.C. 1225.--OLD TRANSLATOR.
ETEOCLES. Citizens of Cadmus! it is fitting that he should speak things
seasonable who has the care of affairs on the poop of a state, managing
the helm, not lulling his eyelids in slumber. For if we succeed, the
gods are the cause; but if, on the other hand (which heaven forbid),
mischance should befall, Eteocles alone would be much bruited through
the city by the townsmen in strains clamorous and in wailings, of which
may Jove prove rightly called the Averter to the city of the
Cadmaeans.[83] And now it behooves you--both him who still falls short of
youth in its prime, and him who in point of age has passed his youth,
nurturing the ample vigor of his frame and each that is in his
prime,[84] as is best fitting--to succor the city, and the altars of
your country's gods, so that their honors may never be obliterated; your
children too, and your motherland, most beloved nurse; for she, taking
fully on herself the whole trouble of your rearing, nurtured you when
infants crawling on her kindly soil, for her trusty shield-bearing
citizens, that ye might be [trusty[85]] for this service. And, for the
present indeed, up to this day, the deity inclines in our favor; since
to us now all this time beleaguered the war for the most part, by divine
allotment, turns out well. But now, as saith the seer, the feeder[86] of
birds, revolving in ear and thoughts, without the use of fire, the
oracular birds with unerring art--he, lord of such divining powers,
declares that the main Achaean assault is this night proclaimed,[87] and
[that the Achaeans] attempt the city.
But haste ye all, both to the battlements and the gates of the tower
works; On! in full panoply throng the breastworks, and take your
stations on the platforms of the towers, and, making stand at the
outlets of the gates, be of good heart, nor be over-dismayed at the
rabble of the aliens; God will give a happy issue. Moreover, I have also
dispatched scouts and observers of the army, who will not, I feel
assured, loiter on their way; and when I have had intelligence from
these, I shall, in no point, be surprised by stratagem.
MESSENGER.--Most gallant Eteocles! sovereign of the Cadmaeans, I have
come bearing a clear account of the matters yonder, from the army; and I
myself am eye-witness of the facts. For seven chieftains, impetuous
leaders of battalions, cutting a bull's throat,[88] over an iron-rimmed
shield,[89] and touching with their hands the gore of the bull, by oath
have called to witness[90] Mars, Enyo, and Terror, that delights in
bloodshed, that either having wrought the demolition of our city they
will make havoc of the town of the Cadmaeans, or having fallen will steep
this land of ours in gore. Memorials too of themselves, to their parents
at home, were they with their hands hanging in festoons[91] at the car
of Adrastus, dropping a tear, but no sound of complaint passed their
lips.[92] For their iron-hearted spirit glowing with valor was panting,
as of lions that glare battle. And the report of these my tidings is not
retarded by sluggishness. But I left them in the very act of casting
lots, that so each of them, obtaining his post by lot, might lead on his
battalion to our gates. Wherefore do thou with all speed marshal at the
outlets of the gates the bravest men, the chosen of our city; for
already the host of Argives hard at hand armed cap-a-pie is in motion,
is speeding onward, and white foam is staining the plain with its
drippings from the lungs of their chargers. Do thou then, like the
clever helmsman of a vessel, fence[93] our city before the breath of
Mars burst like a hurricane upon it, for the main-land billow of their
host is roaring. And for these measures do thou seize the very earliest
opportunity; for the sequel I will keep my eye a faithful watch by day,
and thou, knowing from the clearness of my detail the movements of those
without, shalt be unscathed.
[_Exit_ MESSENGER.
ET. O Jupiter! and earth! and ye tutelary deities! and thou Curse, the
mighty Erinnys of my sire! do not, I pray, uproot with utter destruction
from its very base, a prey to foemen, our city, which utters the
language of Greece, and our native dwellings.[94] Grant that they may
never hold the free land and city of Cadmus in a yoke of slavery; but be
ye our strength--nay, I trust that I am urging our common interests, for
a state that is in prosperity honors the divinities.[95]
[_Exit_ ETEOCLES.
CHORUS.[96] I wail over our fearful, mighty woes! the army is let loose,
having quitted its camp, a mighty mounted host is streaming hitherward
in advance;[97] the dust appearing high in the air convinces me, a
voiceless, clear, true messenger; the noise of the clatter of their
hoofs upon the plain,[98] reaching even to our couches, approaches my
ears, is wafted on, and is rumbling like a resistless torrent lashing
the mountain-side. Alas! alas! oh gods and goddesses, avert the rising
horror; the white-bucklered[99] well-appointed host is rushing on with a
shout on the other side our walls, speeding its way to the city. Who
then will rescue us, who then of gods and goddesses will aid us? Shall I
then prostrate myself before the statues of the divinities? Oh ye
blessed beings, seated on your glorious thrones, 'tis high time for us
to cling to your statues--why do we deeply sighing delay? Hear ye, or
hear ye not, the clash of bucklers? When, if not now, shall we set
about the orison of the peplus[100] and chaplets? I perceive a din, a
crash of no single spear. What wilt thou do? wilt thou, O Mars, ancient
guardian of our soil, abandon thine own land? God of the golden helm,
look upon, look upon the city which once thou didst hold well-beloved.
Tutelary gods of our country, behold,[101] behold this train of virgins
suppliant to escape from slavery,[102] for around our city a surge of
men with waving crests is rippling, stirred by the blasts of Mars. But,
O Jove, sire all-perfect! avert thoroughly from us capture by the
foemen; for Argives are encircling the fortress of Cadmus; and I feel a
dread of martial arms, and the bits which are fastened through the jaws
of their horses are knelling slaughter. And seven leaders of the host,
conspicuous in their spear-proof harness, are taking their stand at our
seventh gate,[103] assigned their posts by lot. Do thou too, O Jove-born
power that delightest in battle, Pallas, become a savior to our city;
and thou, equestrian monarch, sovereign of the main, with thy
fish-smiting trident, O Neptune, grant a deliverance, a deliverance from
our terrors. Do thou too, O Mars, alas! alas! guard the city which is
named after Cadmus, and manifestly show thy care--and thou, Venus, the
original mother of our race, avert [these ills]--for from thy blood are
we sprung; calling on thee with heavenward orisons do we approach thee.
And thou, Lycaean king, be thou fierce as a wolf[104] to the hostile
army, [moved] by the voice of our sighs.[105] Thou too, virgin-daughter
of Latona, deftly adorn thyself with thy bow, O beloved Diana. Ah! ah!
ah! I hear the rumbling of cars around the city, O revered Juno, the
naves of the heavy-laden axles creak, the air is maddened with the
whizzing of javelins--what is our city undergoing? What will become of
it? To what point is the deity conducting the issue?[106] ah! ah! A
shower of stones too from their slingers is coming over our battlements.
O beloved Apollo! there is the clash of brass-rimmed shields at the
gates, and the just issue in battle must be decided by arms according to
the disposal of Jove.[107] And thou Onca,[108] immortal queen, that
dwellest in front of our city, rescue thy seven-gated seat. O gods,
all-potent to save, O ye gods and goddesses, perfect guardians of the
towers of this land, abandon not our war-wasted city to an army of
aliens. Listen to these virgins, listen to our all-just prayers, as is
most right, to the orisons of virgins which are offered with
out-stretched hands. O beloved divinities, hovering around our city as
its deliverers, show how ye love it; give heed to our public rituals,
and when ye give heed to them succor us, and be ye truly mindful, I
beseech ye, of the rites of our city which abound in sacrifices.
_Re-enter_ ETEOCLES.
Intolerable creatures! is this, I ask you, best and salutary for our
city, and an encouragement to this beleagured force, for you to fall
before the statues of our tutelary gods, to shriek, to yell--O ye
abominations of the wise. Neither in woes nor in welcome prosperity may
I be associated with womankind; for when woman prevails, her audacity is
more than one can live with; and when she is affrighted, she is a still
greater mischief to her home and city. Even now, having brought upon
your countrymen this pell-mell flight, ye have, by your outcries, spread
dastard cowardice, and ye are serving, as best ye may, the interests of
those without, but we within our walls are suffering capture at our own
hands; such blessings will you have if you live along with women.
Wherefore if any one give not ear to my authority, be it man or woman,
or other between [these names[109]], the fatal pebble shall decide
against him, and by no means shall he escape the doom of stoning at the
hand of the populace. For what passeth without is a man's concern, let
not woman offer advice--but remaining within do thou occasion no
mischief. Heard'st thou, or heard'st thou not, or am I speaking to a
deaf woman?
CH. O dear son of OEdipus, I felt terror when I heard the din from the
clatter of the cars, when the wheel-whirling naves rattled, and [the
din] of the fire-wrought bits, the rudders[110] of the horses, passing
through their mouths that know no rest.
ET. What then? does the mariner who flees from the stern to the
prow[111] find means of escape, when his bark is laboring against the
billow of the ocean?
CH. No; but I came in haste to the ancient statues of the divinities,
trusting in the gods, when there was a pattering at our gates of
destructive sleet showering down, even then I was carried away by terror
to offer my supplications to the Immortals, that they would extend their
protection over the city.
ET. Pray that our fortification may resist the hostile spear.
CH. Shall not this, then, be at the disposal of the gods?
ET. Ay, but 'tis said that the gods of the captured city abandon it.
CH. At no time during my life may this conclave of gods abandon us:
never may I behold our city overrun, and an army firing it with hostile
flame.
ET. Do not thou, invoking the gods, take ill counsel; for subordination,
woman, is the mother of saving success; so the adage runs.
CH. But the gods have a power superior still, and oft in adversity does
this raise the helpless out of severe calamity, when clouds are
overhanging his brow.
ET. It is the business of men, to present victims and offerings of
worship to the gods, when foemen are making an attempt: 'tis thine on
the other hand to hold thy peace and abide within doors.
CH. 'Tis by the blessing of the gods that we inhabit a city unconquered,
and that our fortification is proof against the multitude of our
enemies. What Nemesis can feel offended at this?
ET. I am not offended that ye should honor the race of the gods; but
that thou mayest not render the citizens faint-hearted, keep quiet and
yield not to excessive terrors.
CH. When I heard the sudden din, I came, on the very instant, in
distracting panic to this Acropolis, a hallowed seat.
ET. Do not now, if ye hear of the dying or the wounded, eagerly receive
them with shrieks; for with this slaughter of mortals is Mars fed.
CH. And I do in truth hear the snortings of the horses.
ET. Do not now, when thou hearest them, hear too distinctly.
CH. Our city groans from the ground, as though the foes were hemming her
in.
ET. Is it not then enough that I take measures for this?
CH. I fear! for the battering at the gates increases.
ET. Wilt thou not be silent? Say nought of this kind in the city.
CH. O associate band [of gods], abandon not our towers.
ET. Can not ye endure it in silence, and confusion to ye?
CH. Gods of my city! let me not meet with slavery.
ET. Thou thyself art making a slave both of me, of thyself, and of the
city.
CH. O all-potent Jove! turn the shaft against our foes.
ET. O Jove! what a race hast thou made women!
CH. Just as wretched as men when their city is taken.
ET. Again thou art yelping as thou claspest the statues!
CH. Yes, for in my panic terror hurries away my tongue.
ET. Would to heaven that you would grant me a trifling favor on my
requesting it.
CH. Tell me as quickly as you can, and I shall know at once.
ET. Hold thy peace, wretched woman, alarm not thy friends.
CH. I hold my peace--with others I will suffer what is destined.
ET. I prefer this expression of thine rather than thy former words; and
moreover, coming forth from the statues, pray thou for the best--that
the gods may be our allies. And after thou hast listened to my prayers,
then do thou raise the sacred auspicious shout of the Paean, the Grecian
rite of sacrificial acclamation, an encouragement to thy friends that
removes the fear of the foe. And I, to the tutelary gods of our land,
both those who haunt the plains, and those who watch over the forum, and
to the fountains of Dirce, and I speak not without those of the
Ismenus,[112] if things turn out well and our city is preserved, do thus
make my vows that we, dyeing the altars of the gods with the blood of
sheep, offering bulls to the gods, will deposit trophies, and vestments
of our enemies, spear-won spoils of the foe, in their hallowed abodes.
Offer thou prayers like these to the gods, not with a number of sighs,
nor with foolish and wild sobbings; for not one whit the more wilt thou
escape Destiny. But I too, forsooth,[113] will go and marshal at the
seven outlets of our walls, six men, with myself for a seventh,
antagonists to our foes in gallant plight, before both urgent messengers
and quickly-bruited tidings arrive, and inflame us by the crisis.
[_Exit_ ETEOCLES.
CH. I attend, but through terror my heart sleeps not, and cares that
press close upon my heart keep my dread alive, because of the host that
hems our walls[114] around; like as a dove, an all-attentive nurse,
fears, on behalf of her brood, serpents, evil intruders into her nest.
For some are advancing against the towers in all their numbers, in all
their array; (what will become of me?) and others are launching the vast
rugged stone at the citizens, who are assailed on all sides. By every
means, O ye Jove-descended gods! rescue the city and the army that
spring from Cadmus. What better plain of land will ye take in exchange
to yourselves than this, after ye have abandoned to our enemies the
fertile land, and Dirce's water best fed of all the streams that
earth-encircling Neptune sends forth, and the daughters of Tethys?
Wherefore, O tutelary gods of the city! having hurled on those without
the towers the calamity that slaughters men, and casts away shields,
achieve glory for these citizens, and be your statues placed on noble
sites, as deliverers of our city,[115] through our entreaties fraught
with shrill groanings. For sad it is to send prematurely to destruction
an ancient city, a prey of slavery to the spear, ingloriously overthrown
in crumbling ashes by an Achaean according to the will of heaven; and for
its women to be dragged away captives, alas! alas! both the young and
the aged, like horses by their hair, while their vestments are rent
about their persons. And the emptied city cries aloud, while its booty
is wasted amid confused clamors; verily I fearfully forbode heavy
calamities. And a mournful thing it is for [maidens] just
marriageable,[116] before the celebration of rites for culling the fresh
flower of their virginity, to have to traverse a hateful journey from
their homes. What? I pronounce that the dead fares better than these;
for full many are the calamities, alas! alas! which a city undergoes
when it has been reduced. One drags another,[117] slaughters, and to
parts he sets fire--the whole city is defiled with smoke, and raving
Mars that tramples down the nations, violating piety, inspires them.
Throughout the town are uproars, against the city rises the turreted
circumvallation,[118] and man is slain by man with the spear. And the
cries of children at the breast all bloody resound, and there is rapine
sister of pell-mell confusion. Pillager meets pillager, and the
empty-handed shouts to the empty-handed, wishing to have a partner,
greedy for a portion that shall be neither less nor equal. What of these
things can speech picture? Fruits of every possible kind strewn[119]
upon the ground occasion sorrow, and dismal is the face of the
stewards. And full many a gift of earth is swept along in the worthless
streams, in undistinguished medley. And young female slaves have new
sorrows, a foe being superior[120] and fortunate as to their wretched
captive couch, so that they hope for life's gloomy close to come, a
guardian against their all-mournful sorrows.
SEMI-CH. The scout, methinks, my friends, is bringing us some fresh
tidings from the army, urging in haste the forwarding axles[121] of his
feet.
SEMI-CH. Ay, and in very truth, here comes our prince, son of OEdipus,
very opportunely for learning the messenger's report--and haste does not
allow him to make equal footsteps.[122]
[_Re-enter_ MESSENGER _and_ ETEOCLES _from different sides_.
MES. I would fain tell, for I know them well, the arrangements of our
adversaries, and how each has obtained his lot at our gate. Tydeus now
for some time has been raging hard by the gates of Proetus; but the
seer allows him not to cross the stream of Ismenus, for the sacrifices
are not auspicious. So Tydeus, raving and greedy for the fight, roars
like a serpent in its hissings beneath the noontide heat, and he smites
the sage seer, son of Oicleus, with a taunt, [saying] that he is
crouching to both Death and Battle out of cowardice. Shouting out such
words as these, he shakes there shadowy crests, the hairy honors of his
helm, while beneath his buckler bells cast in brass are shrilly pealing
terror: on his buckler too he has this arrogant device--a gleaming sky
tricked out with stars, and in the centre of the shield a brilliant full
moon is conspicuous, most august of the heavenly bodies, the eye of
night. Chafing thus in his vaunting harness, he roars beside the bank of
the river, enamored of conflict, like a steed champing his bit with
rage, that rushes forth when he hears the voice of the trumpet.[123]
Whom wilt thou marshal against this [foe]? Who, when the fastenings give
way, is fit to be intrusted with the defense of the gate of Proetus?
ET. At no possible array of a man should I tremble; and blazonry has no
power of inflicting wounds, and crests and bell bite not[124] without
the spear. And for this night which thou tellest me is sparkling on his
buckler with the stars of heaven, it may perchance be a prophet in
conceit;[125] for if night shall settle on his eyes as he is dying,
verily this vaunting device would correctly and justly answer to its
name, and he himself will have the insolence ominous against himself.
But against Tydeus will I marshal this wary son of Astacus, as defender
of the portals, full nobly born, and one that reverences the throne of
Modesty, and detests too haughty language, for he is wont to be slow at
base acts, but no dastard. And from the sown heroes whom Mars spared is
Melanippus sprung a scion, and he is thoroughly a native. But the event
Mars with his dice will decide. And justice, his near kinswoman, makes
him her champion,[126] that he may ward off the foeman's spear from the
mother that bare him.
CH. Now may the gods grant unto our champion to be successful, since
with justice[127] does he speed forth in defense of the city; but I
shudder to behold the sanguinary fate of those who perish in behalf of
their friends.
MES. To him may the gods so grant success. But Capaneus has by lot
obtained his station against the Electran gate. This is a giant, greater
than the other aforementioned, and his vaunt savors not of humanity; but
he threatens horrors against our towers, which may fortune not bring to
pass! for he declares, that whether the god is willing or unwilling, he
will make havoc of our city, and that not the Wrath[128] of Jove,
dashing down upon the plain, should stop him. And he is wont to compare
both the lightnings and the thunder-bolts to the heat of noontide. He
has a bearing too, a naked man bearing fire, and there gleams a torch
with which his hands are armed;[129] and, in letters of gold, he is
uttering, I WILL BURN THE CITY. Against a man such as this do thou
send[130]----. Who will engage with him? Who will abide his vaunting and
not tremble?
ET. And in this case[131] also one advantage is gained upon another. Of
the vain conceits of man in sooth the tongue of truth becomes accuser.
But Capaneus is menacing, prepared for action, dishonoring the gods, and
practicing his tongue in vain exultation; mortal as he is, he is sending
loud-swelling words into heaven to the ears of Jove. But I trust that,
as he well deserves, the fire-bearing thunder-bolt will with justice
come upon him, in no wise likened to the noontide warmth of the sun. Yet
against him, albeit he is a very violent blusterer, is a hero marshaled,
fiery in his spirit, stout Polyphontes, a trusty guard by the favor of
Diana our protectress, and of the other gods. Mention another who hath
had his station fixed at another of our gates.
CH. May he perish[132] who proudly vaunts against our city, and may the
thunder-bolt check him before that he bursts into my abode, or ever,
with his insolent spear force us away from our maiden dwellings.
MES. And verily I will mention him that hath next had his post allotted
against our gates: for to Eteoclus, third in order, hath the third lot
leapt from the inverted helm of glittering brass, for him to advance his
battalion against the gates of Neis; and he is wheeling his steeds
fuming in their trappings, eager to dash forward against the gates. And
their snaffles ring, in barbarian fashion, filled with the breath of
their snorting nostrils. His buckler, too, hath been blazoned in no
paltry style, but a man in armor is treading the steps of a ladder to
his foemen's tower, seeking to storm it. And this man, in a combination
of letters, is shouting, how that not even Mars should force him from
the bulwarks. Do thou send also to this man a worthy champion to ward
off from this city the servile yoke.
ET. I will send this man forthwith, and may it be with good fortune; and
verily he is sent, bearing his boast in deed,[133] Megareus, the
offspring of Creon, of the race of the sown;[134] who will go forth from
the gates not a whit terrified at the noise of the mad snortings of the
horses; but, either by his fall will fully pay the debt of his nurture
to the land, or, having taken two men[135] and the city on the shield,
will garnish with the spoils the house of his father. Vaunt thee of
another, and spare me not the recital.
CH. I pray that this side may succeed, O champion of my dwellings! and
that with them it may go ill; and as they, with frenzied mind, utter
exceedingly proud vaunts against our city, so may Jove the avenger
regard them in his wrath.
MES. Another, the fourth, who occupies the adjoining gates of Onca
Minerva, stands hard by with a shout, the shape and mighty mould of
Hippomedon; and I shuddered at him as he whirled the immense orb, I mean
the circumference of his buckler--I will not deny it. And assuredly it
was not any mean artificer in heraldry who produced this work upon his
buckler, a Typhon, darting forth through his fire-breathing mouth dark
smoke, the quivering sister of fire, and the circular cavity of the
hollow-bellied shield hath been made farther solid with coils of
serpents. He himself, too, hath raised the war-cry; and, possessed by
Mars, raves for the onslaught, like a Thyiad,[136] glaring terror. Well
must we guard against the attack of such a man as this, for Terror is
already vaunting himself hard by our gates.
ET. In the first place, this Onca Pallas, who dwells in our suburbs,
living near the gates, detesting the insolence of the man, will drive
him off, as a noxious serpent from her young. And Hyperbius, worthy son
of OEnops, hath been chosen to oppose him, man to man, willing to
essay his destiny in the crisis of fortune; he is open to censure
neither in form, nor in spirit, nor in array of arm: but Mercury hath
matched them fairly; for hostile is the man to the man with whom he will
have to combat, and on their bucklers will they bring into conflict
hostile gods; for the one hath fire-breathing Typhon, and on the buckler
of Hyperbius father Jove is seated firm, flashing, with his bolt in his
hand; and never yet did any one know of Jove being by any chance
vanquished.[137] Such in good sooth is the friendship of the
divinities: we are on the side of the victors, but they on that of the
conquered, if at least Jove be mightier in battle than Typhon. Wherefore
'tis probable that the combatants will fare accordingly; and to
Hyperbius, in accordance with its blazonry, may Jove that is on his
shield become a savior.
CH. I feel confident that he who hath upon his shield the adversary of
Jove, the hateful form of the subterranean fiend, a semblance hateful
both to mortals and the everliving gods, will have to leave his head
before our gates.
MES. May such be the issue! But, farthermore, I mention the fifth,
marshaled at the fifth gate, that of Boreas, by the very tomb of
Jove-born Amphion. And he makes oath by the spear[138] which he grasps,
daring to revere it more than a god, and more dearly than his eyes,[139]
that verily he will make havoc of the city of the Cadmaeans in spite of
Jove: thus says the fair-faced scion of a mountain-dwelling mother, a
stripling hero, and the down is just making its way through his cheeks,
in the spring of his prime, thick sprouting hair. And he takes his post,
having a ruthless spirit, not answering to his maidenly name,[140] and a
savage aspect. Yet not without his vaunt does he take stand against our
gates, for on his brazen-forged shield the rounded bulwark of his body,
he was wielding the reproach of our city, the Sphinx of ruthless maw
affixed by means of studs, a gleaming embossed form; and under her she
holds a man, one of the Cadmaeans, so that against this man[141] most
shafts are hurled. And he, a youth, Parthenopaeus an Arcadian, seems to
have come to fight in no short measure,[142] and not to disgrace the
length of way that he has traversed; for this man, such as he is, is a
sojourner, and, by way of fully repaying Argos for the goodly nurture
she has given him, he utters against these towers menaces, which may the
deity not fulfill.
ET. O may they receive from the gods the things which they are purposing
in those very unhallowed vaunts! Assuredly they would perish most
miserably in utter destruction. But there is [provided] for this man
also, the Arcadian of whom you speak, a man that is no braggart, but his
hand discerns what should be done, Actor, brother of the one
aforementioned, who will not allow either a tongue, without deeds,
streaming within our gates, to aggravate mischiefs, nor him to make his
way within who bears upon his hostile buckler the image of the wild
beast, most odious monster, which from the outside shall find fault with
him who bears it within, when it meets with a thick battering under the
city. So, please the gods, may I be speaking the truth.
CH. The tale pierces my bosom, the locks of my hair stand erect, when I
hear of the big words of these proudly vaunting impious men. Oh!
would that the gods would destroy them in the land.
MES. I will tell of the sixth, a man most prudent, and in valor the
best, the seer, the mighty Amphiaraus; for he, having been marshaled
against the gate of Homoloeis, reviles mighty Tydeus full oft with
reproaches, as the homicide, the troubler of the state, chief teacher of
the mischiefs of Argos, the summoner of Erinnys, minister of slaughter,
and adviser of these mischiefs to Adrastus. Then again going up[143] to
thy brother, the mighty Polynices, he casts his eye aloft, and, at last,
reproachfully dividing his name [into syllables,[144]] he calls to him:
and through his mouth he gives utterance to this speech--"Verily such a
deed is well-pleasing to the gods, and glorious to hear of and to tell
in after times, that you are making havoc of your paternal city, and its
native gods, having brought into it a foreign armament. And what Justice
shall staunch the fountain of thy mother's tears?
"And how can thy father-land, after having been taken by the spear
through thy means, ever be an ally to thee? I, for my part, in very
truth shall fatten this soil, seer as I am, buried beneath a hostile
earth. Let us to the battle, I look not for a dishonorable fall." Thus
spake the seer, wielding a fair-orbed shield, all of brass; but no
device was on its circle--for he wishes not to seem but to be righteous,
reaping fruit from a deep furrow in his mind, from which sprout forth
his goodly counsels. Against this champion I advise that thou send
antagonists, both wise and good. A dread adversary is he that reveres
the gods.
ET. Alas! for the omen[145] that associates a righteous man with the
impious! Indeed in every matter, nothing is worse than evil
fellowship--the field of infatuation has death for its fruits.[146] For
whether it be that a pious man hath embarked in a vessel along with
violent sailors, and some villany, he perishes with the race of men
abhorred of heaven; or, being righteous, and having rightly fallen into
the same toils with his countrymen, violators of hospitality, and
unmindful of the gods, he is beaten down, smitten with the scourge of
the deity, which falls alike on all. Now this seer, I mean the son of
Oicleus, a moderate, just, good, and pious man, a mighty prophet,
associated with unholy bold-mouthed men, in spite of his [better]
judgment, when they made their long march, by the favor of Jove, shall
be drawn along with them to go to the distant city.[147] I fancy,
indeed, that he will not make an attack on our gates, not as wanting
spirit, nor from cowardice of disposition, but he knows that it is his
doom to fall in battle, if there is to be any fruit in the oracles of
Apollo: 'tis his wont too to hold his peace, or to speak what is
seasonable. Nevertheless against him we will marshal a man, mighty
Lasthenes, a porter surly to strangers, and who bears an aged mind, but
a youthful form; quick is his eye, and he is not slow of hand to snatch
his spear made naked from his left hand.[148] But for mortals to succeed
is a boon of the deity.
CH. O ye gods, give ear to our righteous supplications, and graciously
bring it to pass that our city may be successful, while ye turn the
horrors wrought by the spear upon the invaders of our country; and may
Jove, having flung them [to a distance] from our towers, slay them with
his thunder-bolt.
MES. Now will I mention this the seventh, against the seventh gate,
thine own brother--what calamities too he imprecates and prays for
against our city; that, he having scaled the towers, and been
proclaimed[149] to the land, after having shouted out the paean of
triumph at the capture, may engage with thee; and, having slain thee,
may die beside thee, or avenge himself on thee alive, that dishonored,
that banished him,[150] by exile after the very same manner. This does
mighty Polynices clamor, and he summons the gods of his race and
fatherland to regard his supplications. He has, moreover, a
newly-constructed shield, well suited [to his arm] and a double device
wrought upon it. For a woman is leading on a mailed warrior, forged out
of brass, conducting him decorously; and so she professes to be Justice,
as the inscription tells: I WILL BRING BACK THIS MAN, AND HE SHALL HAVE
THE CITY OF HIS FATHERS, AND A DWELLING IN THE PALACE. Such are their
devices; and do thou thyself now determine whom it is that thou thinkest
proper to send: since never at any time shalt thou censure me for my
tidings; but do thou thyself determine the management of the vessel of
the state.
ET. O heaven-frenzied, and great abomination of the gods! Oh! for our
race of OEdipus, worthy of all mourning--Alas for me! now verily are
the curses of my sire coming to an accomplishment. But it becomes me not
to weep or wail, lest birth be given to a lament yet more intolerable.
But to Polynices, that well deserves his name, I say, soon shall we know
what issue his blazonry will have; whether letters wrought in gold,
vainly vaunting on his buckler, along with frenzy of soul will restore
him. If indeed Justice, the virgin daughter of Jove, attended on his
actions or his thoughts, perchance this might be. But neither when he
escape the darkness of the womb, nor in his infancy, nor ever in his
boyhood, nor in the gathering of the hair on his chin, did Justice look
on him, or deem him worthy her regards: nor truly do I suppose that she
will now take her stand near to him, in his ill-omened possession of his
father-land. Truly she would then in all reason be falsely called
Justice, were she to consort with a man all-daring in his soul. Trusting
in this I will go, and face him in person. Who else could do so with
better right? Leader against leader, brother against brother, foeman
with foeman, shall I take my stand. Bring me with all speed my greaves,
my spear, and my armor of defense against the stones.
[_Exit_ MESSENGER.
CH. Do not, O dearest of men, son of OEdipus, become in wrath like to
him against whom thou hast most bitterly spoken. Enough it is that
Cadmaeans come to the encounter with Argives. For such bloodshed admits
of expiation. But the death of own brothers thus mutually wrought by
their own hands--of this pollution there is no decay.
ET. If any one receives evil without disgrace, be it so; for the only
advantage is among the dead: but of evil and disgraceful things, thou
canst not tell me honor.
CH. Why art thou eager, my son? let not Ate, full of wrath, raging with
the spear, hurry thee away--but banish the first impulse of [evil]
passion.
ET. Since the deity with all power urges on the matter, let the whole
race of Laius, abhorred by Phoebus, having received for its portion
the wave of Cocytus, drift down with the wind.
CH. So fierce a biting lust for unlawful blood hurries thee on to
perpetrate the shedding of a man's blood, of which the fruit is
bitter.[151]
ET. Ay, for the hateful curse of my dear father, consummated, sits hard
beside me with dry tearless eyes, telling me that profit comes before my
after doom.[152]
CH. But do not accelerate it; thou wilt not be called dastardly if thou
honorably preservest thy life--and Erinnys,[153] with her murky
tempest, enters not the dwelling where the gods receive a sacrifice from
the hands [of the inmates].
ET. By the gods, indeed, we have now for some time been in a manner
neglected, and the pleasure which arises from our destruction is
welcomed by them; why should we any longer fawn[154] upon our deadly
doom?
CH. Do so now, while it is in thy power; since the demon, that may alter
with a distant shifting of his temper, will perchance come with a
gentler air; but now he still rages.
ET. Ay, for the curses of OEdipus have raged beyond all bounds; and
too true were my visions of phantoms seen in my slumbers, dividers of my
father's wealth.[155]
CH. Yield thee to women, albeit that thou lovest them not.
ET. Say ye then what one may allow you; but it must not be at length.
CH. Go not thou on in this way to the seventh gate.
ET. Whetted as I am, thou wilt not blunt me by argument.
CH. Yet god, at all events, honors an inglorious victory.
ET. It ill becomes a warrior to acquiesce in this advice.
CH. What! wilt thou shed the blood of thine own brother?
ET. By heaven's leave, he shall not elude destruction.
[_Exit_ ETEOCLES.
CH. I shudder with dread that the power that lays waste this house, not
like the gods, the all-true, the evil-boding Erinnys summoned by the
curses of the father, is bringing to a consummation the wrathful curses
of distracted OEdipus.[156] 'Tis this quarrel, fatal to his sons, that
arouses her. And the Chalybian stranger, emigrant from Scythia, is
apportioning their shares, a fell divider of possessions, the
stern-hearted steel,[157] allotting them land to occupy, just as much
as it may be theirs to possess when dead, bereft of their large
domains.[158] When they shall have fallen, slain by each other's hands
in mutual slaughter, and the dust of the ground shall have drunk up the
black-clotted blood of murder, who will furnish expiation? who will
purify them? Alas for the fresh troubles mingled with the ancient
horrors of this family! for I speak of the ancient transgression with
its speedy punishment; yet it abides unto the third generation; since
Laius, in spite of Apollo, who had thrice declared, in the central
oracles of Pytho, that, dying without issue, he would save the
state,[159] did, notwithstanding, overcome by his friends, in his
infatuation beget his own destruction, the parricide OEdipus, who
dared to plant in an unhallowed field, where he had been reared, a
bloody root.--'Twas frenzy linked the distracted pair; and as it were, a
sea of troubles brings on one billow that subsides, and rears another
triply cloven, which too dashes about the stern of our state. But
between [it and us] there stretches a fence at a small interval, a tower
in width alone.[160] And I fear lest the city should be overcome along
with its princes. For the execrations, that were uttered long ago, are
finding their accomplishment: bitter is the settlement, and deadly
things in their consummation pass not away. The wealth of enterprising
merchants,[161] too thickly stowed, brings with it a casting overboard
from the stern. For whom of mortals did the gods, and his fellow-inmates
in the city, and the many lives of herding men,[162] admire so much as
they then honored OEdipus, who had banished from the realm the baneful
pest that made men her prey. But when he unhappy was apprised of his
wretched marriage, despairing in his sorrow, with frenzied heart, he
perpetrated a two-fold horror; he deprived himself with parricidal hand
of the eyes that were more precious than his children. And indignant
because of his scanty supply of food,[163] he sent upon his sons, alas!
alas! a curse horrible in utterance, even that they should some time or
other share his substance between them with sword-wielding hand; and now
I tremble lest the swift Erinnys should be on the point of fulfilling
that prayer.
_Re-enter_ MESSENGER.
Be of good cheer, maidens that have been nurtured by your mothers.[164]
This city hath escaped the yoke of servitude; the vauntings of our
mighty foes have fallen; and our city is calm, and hath not admitted a
leak from the many buffets of the surge; our fortification too stands
proof, and we have fenced our gates with champions fighting
single-handed, and bringing surety; for the most part, at six of our
gates, it is well; but the seventh, the revered lord of the seventh,
sovereign Apollo, chose for himself, bringing to a consummation the
ancient indiscretions of Laius.
CH. And what new event is happening to our city?