Urged by no fear of other wrath and doom?
LEADER

What spur can rightly goad to matricide?
ATHENA

Two stand to plead-one only have I heard.
LEADER

He wiR not swear nor challenge us to oath.
ATHENA

The form of justice, not its deed, thou willest.
LEADER

Prove thou that word; thou art not scant of skill.
ATHENA

I say that oaths shall not enforce the wrong.
LEADER

Then test the cause, judge and award the right.
ATHENA

Will ye to me then this decision trust?
LEADER

Yea, reverencing true child of worthy sire.
ATHENA (to ORESTES)

O man unknown, make thou thy plea in turn.
Speak forth thy land, thy lineage, and thy woes;

Then, if thou canst, avert this bitter blame-
If, as I deem, in confidence of right

Thou sittest hard beside my holy place,
Clasping this statue, as Ixion sat,

A sacred suppliant for Zeus to cleanse,-
To all this answer me in words made plain.

ORESTES
O queen Athena, first from thy last words

Will I a great solicitude remove.
Not one blood-guilty am I; no foul stain

Clings to thine image from my clinging hand;
Whereof one potent proof I have to tell.

Lo, the law stands-The slayer shall not plead,
Till by the hand of him who cleanses blood

A suckling creature's blood besprinkle him.
Long since have I this expiation done,-

In many a home, slain beasts and running streams
Have cleansed me. Thus I speak away that fear.

Next, of my lineage quickly thou shalt learn:
An Argive am I, and right well thou know'st

My sire, that Agamemnon who arrayed
The fleet and them that went therein to war-

That chief with whom thy hand combined to crush
To an uncitied heap what once was Troy;

That Agamemnon, when he homeward came,
Was brought unto no honourable death,

Slain by the dark-souled wife who brought me forth
To him,-enwound and slain in wily nets,

Blazoned with blood that in the laver ran.
And I, returning from an exiled youth,

Slew her, my mother-lo, it stands avowed!
With blood for blood avenging my loved sire;

And in this deed doth Loxias bear part,
Decreeing agonies, to goad my will,

Unless by me the guilty found their doom.
Do thou decide if right or wrong were done-

Thy dooming, whatsoe'er it be, contents me.
ATHENA

Too mighty is this matter, whosoe'er
Of mortals claims to judge hereof aright.

Yea, me, even me, eternal Right forbids
To judge the issues of blood-guilt, and wrath

That follows swift behind. This too gives pause,
That thou as one with all due rites performed

Dost come, unsinning, pure, unto my shrine.
Whate'er thou art, in this my city's name,

As uncondemned, I take thee to my side.-
Yet have these foes of thine such dues by fate,

O'erthrown in judgment of the cause, forthwith
Their anger's poison shall infect the land-

A dropping plague-spot of eternal ill.
Thus stand we with a woe on either hand:

Stay they, or go at my commandment forth,
Perplexity or pain must needs befall.

Yet, as on me Fate hath imposed the cause,
I choose unto me judges that shall be

An ordinance for ever, set to rule
The dues of blood-guilt, upon oath declared.

But ye, call forth your witness and your proof,
Words strong for justice, fortified by oath;

And I, whoe'er are truest in my town,
Them will I choose and bring, and straitly charge,

Look on this cause, discriminating well,
And pledge your oath to utter nought of wrong.

(ATHENA withdraws.)
CHORUS (singing)

strophe 1
Now are they all undone, the ancient laws,

If here the slayer's cause
Prevail; new wrong for ancient right shall be

If matricide go free.
Henceforth a deed like his by all shall stand,

Too ready to the hand:
Too oft shall parents in the aftertime

Rue and lament this crime,-
Taught, not in false imagining, to feel

Their children's thrusting steel:
No more the wrath, that erst on murder fell

From us, the queens of Hell,
Shall fall, no more our watching gaze impend-

Death shall smite unrestrained.
antistrophe 1

Henceforth shall one unto another cry
Lo, they are stricken, lo, they fall and die

Around me! and that other answers him,
O thou that lookest that thy woes should cease,

Behold, with dark increase
They throng and press upon thee; yea, and dim

Is all the cure, and every comfort vain!
strophe 2

Let none henceforth cry out, when falls the blow
Of sudden-smiting woe,

Cry out in sad reiterated strain
O Justice, aid! aid, O ye thrones of Hell!

So though a father or a mother wail
New-smitten by a son, it shall no more avail,

Since, overthrown by wrong, the fane of justice fell!
antistrophe 2

Know, that a throne there is that may not pass away,
And one that sitteth on it-even Fear,

Searching with steadfast eyes man's inner soul:
Wisdom is child of pain, and born with many a tear;

But who henceforth,
What man of mortal men, what nation upon earth,

That holdeth nought in awe nor in the light
Of inner reverence" target="_blank" title="n.尊敬；敬畏；尊严">reverence, shall worship Right

As in the older day?
strophe 3

Praise not, O man, the life beyond control,
Nor that which bows unto a tyrant's sway.

Know that the middle way
Is dearest unto God, and they thereon who wend,

They shall achieve the end;
But they who wander or to left or right

Are sinners in his sight.
Take to thy heart this one, this soothfast word-

Of wantonness impiety is sire;
Only from calm control and sanity unstirred

Cometh true weal, the goal of every man's desire.
antistrophe 3

Yea, whatsoe'er befall, hold thou this word of mine:
Bow down at Justice' shrine,

Turn thou thine eyes away from earthly lure,
Nor witk a godless foot that altar spurn.

For as thou dost shall Fate do in return,
And the great doom is sure.

Therefore let each adore a parent's trust,
And each with loyaltyrevere the guest

That in his halls doth rest.
strophe 4

For whoso uncompelled doth follow what is just,
He ne'er shall be unblest;

Yea, never to the gulf of doom
That man shall come.

But he whose will is set against the gods,
Who treads beyond the law with foot impure,

Till o'er the wreck of Right confusion broods,-
Know that for him, though now he sail secure,

The day of storm shall be; then shall he strive and fail
Down from the shivered yard to furl the sail,

antistrophe 4
And call on Powers, that heed him nought, to save,

And vainlywrestle with the whirling wave.
Hot was his heart with pride-

I shall not fall, he cried.
But him with watching scorn

The god beholds, forlorn,
Tangled in toils of Fate beyond escape,

Hopeless of haven safe beyond the cape-
Till all his wealth and bliss of bygone day

Upon the reef of Rightful Doom is hurled,
And he is rapt away

Unwept, for ever, to the dead forgotten world.
(ATHENA enters, with TWELVE ATHENIAN CITIZENS. A large

crowd follows.)
ATHENA

O herald, make proclaim, bid all men come.
Then let the shrill blast of the Tyrrhene trump,

Fulfilled with mortalbreath, thro' the wide air
Peal a loud summons, bidding all men heed.

For, till my judges fill this judgment-seat,
Silence behoves,-that this whole city learn,

What for all time mine ordinance commands,
And these men, that the cause be judged aright.

(APOLLO enters.)
LEADER OF THE CHORUS

O king Apollo, rule what is thine own,
But in this thing what share pertains to thee?

APOLLO
First, as a witness come I, for this man

Is suppliant of mine by sacred right,
Guest of my holy hearth and cleansed by me

Of blood-guilt: then, to set me at his side
And in his cause bear part, as part I bore

Erst in his deed, whereby his mother fell.
Let whoso knoweth now announce the cause.

ATHENA (to the CHORUS)
'Tis I announce the cause-first speech be yours;

For rightfully shall they whose plaint is tried

• challenge [´tʃælindʒ] n.&vt.向....挑战；怀疑 (初中英语单词)
• enforce [in´fɔ:s] vt.执行；强迫；加强 (初中英语单词)
• worthy [´wə:ði] a.有价值的；值得的 (初中英语单词)
• statue [´stætʃu:] n.塑像，雕像 (初中英语单词)
• sacred [´seikrid] a.神圣的；庄严的 (初中英语单词)
• running [´rʌniŋ] a.奔跑的；流动的 (初中英语单词)
• honourable [´ɔnərəbəl] a.荣誉的；正直的 (初中英语单词)
• guilty [´gilti] a.有罪的；心虚的 (初中英语单词)
• contents [´kɔ:ntents] n.容纳物；要旨 (初中英语单词)
• eternal [i´tə:nəl] a.永远的；永恒的 (初中英语单词)
• poison [´pɔizən] n.毒物 v.毒害 a.有毒的 (初中英语单词)
• witness [´witnis] n.见证人 vt.目击 (初中英语单词)
• pledge [pledʒ] n.信物；誓约vt.使发誓 (初中英语单词)
• henceforth [´hens´fɔ:θ] ad.今后；从今以后 (初中英语单词)
• worship [´wə:ʃip] n.&v.崇拜；敬仰 (初中英语单词)
• achieve [ə´tʃi:v] vt.完成；达到；获得 (初中英语单词)
• wander [´wɔndə, ´wɑ:n:dər] v.徘徊；流浪 (初中英语单词)
• confusion [kən´fju:ʒən] n.混乱(状态)；骚乱 (初中英语单词)
• wealth [welθ] n.财富，财产 (初中英语单词)
• proclaim [prə´kleim] vt.宣布；公布；声明 (初中英语单词)
• breath [breθ] n.呼吸；气息 (初中英语单词)
• apollo [ə´pɔləu] n.阿波罗 (初中英语单词)
• therein [ðeə´rin] ad.在那里，在其中 (高中英语单词)
• homeward [´həumwəd] ad.&a.回家(的) (高中英语单词)
• mighty [´maiti] a.强有力的 ad.很 (高中英语单词)
• lament [lə´ment] v.哀悼 n.哀悼；恸哭 (高中英语单词)
• stricken [´strikən] strike的过去分词 (高中英语单词)
• throng [θrɔŋ] n.群众 v.拥挤；群集 (高中英语单词)
• overthrown [,əuvə´θrəun] overthrow的过去分词 (高中英语单词)
• throne [θrəun] n.宝座；王位 (高中英语单词)
• mortal [´mɔ:tl] a.致命的 n.凡人 (高中英语单词)
• reverence [´revərəns] n.尊敬；敬畏；尊严 (高中英语单词)
• befall [bi´fɔ:l] v.降临；发表(于) (高中英语单词)
• earthly [´ə:θli] a.地球的；世俗的 (高中英语单词)
• loyalty [´lɔiəlti] n.忠诚；忠心；忠实 (高中英语单词)
• strive [straiv] vi.争取；努力；奋斗 (高中英语单词)
• vainly [´veinli] ad.虚荣地；自负地 (高中英语单词)
• herald [´herəld] n.先驱；预兆 vt.预示 (高中英语单词)
• shrill [ʃril] a.(声音)尖锐的 (高中英语单词)
• hearth [hɑ:θ] n.炉边；家庭(生活) (高中英语单词)
• rightly [´raitli] ad.正义地；正确地 (英语四级单词)
• potent [´pəutənt] a.有(势)力的；烈性的 (英语四级单词)
• infect [in´fekt] vt.传染；使受影响 (英语四级单词)
• commandment [kə´mɑ:ndmənt] n.戒律；圣训 (英语四级单词)
• ordinance [´ɔ:dinəns] n.法令；条令；条例 (英语四级单词)
• nought [nɔ:t] n.=naught (英语四级单词)
• wrestle [´resəl] n.&v.摔交；搏斗；角力 (英语四级单词)
• whereby [weə´bai] ad.凭什么；靠那个 (英语四级单词)
• undone [,ʌn´dʌn] a.未完成的，没有做的 (英语六级单词)
• steadfast [´stedfɑ:st, -fæst] a.坚定的，不动摇的 (英语六级单词)
• revere [ri´viə] vt.尊敬；敬畏 (英语六级单词)
• rightful [´raitfəl] a.正义的；合法的 (英语六级单词)
• athenian [ə´θi:njən] a.雅典(人)的n.雅典人 (英语六级单词)