ALC. Whence with your voice resounds this echoing dome,
O Iolaus, is another herald
From Argos come, who forcibly assails you?
My strength indeed is small, yet be assured
Of this, presumptuous stranger, while I live
Thou shalt not bear them hence. May I no more
Be deemed the mother of that godlike son,
When I submit to this. But if thou dare
To touch the children, with two aged foes
Ignobly wilt thou strive.
IOL. Be of good cheer,
Thou hoary matron, banish these alarms;
No herald with a hostile message comes
From Argos.
ALC. Why then raised you that loud voice,
The harbinger of fear?
IOL. That from the temple
Thou might’st come forth, and join us.
ALC. What you mean
I comprehend not. Who is this?
IOL. He tells us
Thy grandson marches hither.
ALC. Hail, O thou
Who bear’st these welcome tidings? but what brings him
To these domains? Where is he? What affairs
Prevented him from coming hither with thee,
To fill my soul with transport?
SER. He now marshals
The forces which attend him.
ALC. In this conference
Am I no longer then allowed to join?
IOL. Thou art: but ’tis my business to inquire
Into these matters.
SER. Which of his transactions
Say art thou most solicitous to know?
IOL. The number of the troops he leads?
SER. Is great,
I cannot count them.
IOL. The Athenian chiefs
Are sure apprized of this.
SER. They are apprized,
And the left wing is formed.
IOL. Then the whole host
Arrayed in arms is ready for the battle.
SER. The victims to a distance from the ranks
Already are removed.
IOL. But at what distance
Is the encampment of the Argive warriors?
SER. So near that we their leader can distinguish.
IOL. What is he doing; marshalling our foes?
SER. This we conjecture: for I could not hear
His voice: but I must go; for I my lord
Will not abandon when he nobly braves
The dangers of the field.
IOL. I too with thee
Will join him; for the same are our intentions,
As honour bids us, to assist our friends.
SER. Unwisely hast thou spoken.
IOL. With my friends
Shall not I then the stubborn conflict share?
SER. That strength which erst was thine is now no more.
IOL. Can I not pierce their shields?
SER. Thou may’st: but first,
More likely, fall thyself.
IOL. No foe will dare
To meet me face to face.
SER. By thy mere looks,
With that debilitated arm, no wound
Canst thou inflict.
IOL. My presence in the field
Will to our troops give courage, and augment
Their number.
SER. Of small service to thy friends
Will thy appearance prove.
IOL. Detain me not:
I for some glorious action am prepared.
SER. Thou hast the will to act, but not the power.
IOL. I will not be reproached for loitering here,
Say what thou wilt beside.
SER. But without arms
How wilt thou face yon warriors sheathed in mail?
IOL. The various implements of war are lodged
Beneath these roofs; with freedom will I use,
And if I live, return them; if I die,
The god will not demand them back again.
Go then into the temple, and reach down
Those martial trappings from the golden nails
On which they hang, and bring them to me swiftly.
For this were infamous, while some are fighting,
If others loiter slothfully behind.
[_Exit_ SERVANT.
CHOR. Time hath not yet debased that lofty soul
’Tis vigorous, though thy body be decayed.
Why should’st thou enter on these fruitless toils,
Which only injure thee, and to our city
Can be of little service? on thy age
Should’st thou reflect, and lay aside attempts
That are impossible, for by no arts
The long-lost force of youth canst thou regain.
ALC. What schemes are these? distempered in your mind,
Me and my children mean you to abandon?
IOL. The battle is man’s province: to thy care
Them I consign.
ALC. But if you die, what means
Have I of being saved?
IOL. The tender care
Of the surviving children of thy son.
ALC. Should they too meet with some severe mishap,
Which may the gods forbid.
IOL. These generous strangers
Will not betray thee; banish every fear.
ALC. In them I trust: I have no other friend.
IOL. Jove too, I know, is mindful of thy toils.
ALC. I will not speak in disrespectful terms
Of Jove: but whether he his plighted troth
Have kept, full well he knows.
SER. [_returning._] Thou here behold’st
The brazen panoply, now haste to sheathe
Thy limbs in mail; the battle is at hand,
And Mars detests a loiterer: if thou fear
Accoutrements so ponderous, to the field
Advance disarmed, nor till thou join the ranks
Wear these unwieldy trappings; for meantime
I in my hands their burden will sustain.
IOL. Well hast thou spoken; with those arms attend me
Ready for the encounter, place a spear
In my right hand, and under my left arm
Hold me, and guide my steps.
SER. Shall I conduct
A warrior like a child?
IOL. I must tread sure,
Else ’twere an evil omen.
SER. Would thy power
Equalled thy zeal.
IOL. Haste: greatly ’twill afflict me
If, left behind, I cannot join the fray.
SER. Slow are thy steps, and hence thou deem’st I move not.
IOL. Behold’st thou not the swiftness of my pace?
SER. Thou to thyself I see appear’st to hasten,
Although thou gain’st no ground.
IOL. When in the field
Thou seest me, thou wilt own I speak the truth.
SER. What great exploit achieving? I could wish
That thou might’st prove victorious.
IOL. Through his shield
Some foe transfixing.
SER. We at length may reach
Th’ embattled plain, but this I greatly fear.
IOL. Ah, would to heaven, that thou, my withered arm,
Again wert vigorous, as in former days
Thee I remember, when thou didst lay waste
The Spartan realms with Hercules; thus fight
My battles now, and singly will I triumph
Over Eurystheus, for that dastard fears
To face the dangers of th’ embattled field:
Too apt in our ideas to unite
Valour with wealth, yet to the prosperous man
Superior wisdom falsely we ascribe.
[_Exeunt_ IOLAUS _and_ SERVANT.