(ORESTES and HERMIONE depart.)
CHORUS (singing)

strophe 1
O Phoebus! who didst fence the hill of Ilium with a fair coronal

of towers, and thou, ocean-god! coursing o'er the main with thy dark
steeds, wherefore did ye hand over in dishonour your own handiwork

to the war-god, master of the spear, abandoning Troy to wretchedness?
antistrophe 1

Many a well-horsed car ye yoked on the banks of Simois, and many a
bloodytournament did ye ordain with never a prize to win; and Ilium's

princes are dead and gone; no longer in Troy is seen the blaze of fire
on altars of the gods with the smoke of incense.

strophe 2
The son of Atreus is no more, slain by the hand of his wife, and

she herself hath paid the debt of blood by death, and from her
children's hands received her doom. The god's own bidding from his

oracle was levelled against her, in the day that Agamemnon's son set
forth from Argos and visited his shrine; so he slew her, aye, spilt

his own mother's blood. O Phoebus, O thou power divine, how can I
believe the story?

antistrophe 2
Anon wherever Hellenes gather, was heard the voice of lamentation,

mothers weeping o'er their children's fate, as they left their homes
to mate with strangers. Ah! thou art not the only one, nor thy dear

ones either, on whom the cloud of grief hath fallen. Hellas had to
bear the visitation, and thence the scourge crossed to Phrygia's

fruitful fields, raining the bloody drops the death-god loves.
(PELEUS enters in haste.)

PELEUS
Ye dames of Phthia, answer my questions. I heard a vague rumour

that the daughter of Menelaus had left these halls and fled; so now
I am come in hot haste to learn if this be true; for it is the duty of

those who are at home to labour in the interests of their absent
friends.

LEADER OF THE CHORUS
Thou hast heard aright, O Peleus; ill would it become me to hide

the evil case in which I now find myself; our queen has fled and
left these halls.

PELEUS
What did she fear? explain that to me.

LEADER
She was afraid her lord would cast her out.

PELEUS
In return for plotting his child's death? surely not?

LEADER
Yea, and she was afraid of yon captive.

PELEUS
With whom did she leave the house? with her father?

LEADER
The son of Agamemnon came and took her hence.

PELEUS
What view hath he to further thereby? Will he marry her?

LEADER
Yes, and he is plotting thy grandson's death.

PELEUS
From an ambuscade, or meeting him fairly face to face?

LEADER
In the holy place of Loxias, leagued with Delphians.

PELEUS
God help us. This is a present danger. Hasten one of you with

all speed to the Pythian altar and tell our friends there what has
happened here, ere Achilles' son be slain by his enemies.

(A MESSENGER enters.)
MESSENGER

Woe worth the day! what evil tidings have I brought for thee,
old sire, and for all who love my master! woe is me!

PELEUS
Alas! my prophetic soul hath a presentiment.

MESSENGER
Aged Peleus, hearken! Thy grandson is no more; so grievously is he

smitten by the men of Delphi and the stranger from Mycenae.
LEADER

Ah! what wilt thou do, old man? Fall not; uplift thyself.
PELEUS

I am a thing of naught; death is come upon me. My voice is choked,
my limbs droop beneath me.

MESSENGER
Hearken; if thou art eager also to avenge thy friends, lift up

thyself and hear what happened.
PELEUS

Ah, destiny! how tightly hast thou caught me in thy toils, a
poor old man at life's extremest verge! But tell me how he was taken

from me, my one son's only child; welcome" target="_blank" title="a.不受欢迎的 n.冷淡">unwelcome as such news is, I fain
would hear it.

MESSENGER
As soon as we reached the famous soil of Phoebus, for three

whole days were we feasting our eyes with the sight. And this, it
seems, caused suspicion; for the folk, who dwell near the god's

shrine, began to collect in groups, while Agamemnon's son, going to
and fro through the town, would whisper in each man's ear malignant

hints: "Do ye see yon fellow, going in and out of the god's
treasure-chambers, which are full of the gold stored there by all

mankind? He is come hither a second time on the same mission as
before, eager to sack the temple of Phoebus." Thereon there ran an

angry murmur through the city, and the magistrates flocked to their
council-chamber, while those, who have charge of the god's

treasures, had a guard privately placed amongst the colonnades. But
we, knowingnaught as yet of this, took sheep fed in the pastures of

Parnassus, and went our way and stationed ourselves at the altars with
vouchers and Pythian seers. And one said: "What prayer, young warrior,

wouldst thou have us offer to the god? Wherefore art thou come?" And
he answered: "I wish to make atonement to Phoebus for my past

transgression; for once I claimed from him satisfaction for my
father's blood." Thereupon the rumour, spread by Orestes, proved to

have great weight, suggesting that my master was lying and had come on
a shamefulerrand. But he crosses the threshold of the temple to

pray to Phoebus before his oracle, and was busy with his
burnt-offering; when a body of men armed with swords set themselves in

ambush against him in the cover of the bay-trees, and Clytemnestra's
son, that had contrived the whole plot was one of them. There stood

the young man praying to the god in sight of all, when lo! with
their sharp swords they stabbed Achilles' unprotected son from behind.

But he stepped back, for it was not a mortal wound he had received,
and drew his sword, and snatching armour from the pegs where it hung

on a pillar, took his stand upon the altar-steps, the picture of a
warrior grim; then cried he to the sons of Delphi, and asked them:

"Why seek to slay me when I am come on a holy mission? What cause is
there why I should die? But of all that throng of bystanders, no man

answered him a word, but they set to hurling stones. Then he, though
bruised and battered by the showers of missiles from all sides,

covered himself behind his mail and tried to ward off the attack,
holding his shield first here, then there, at arm's length, but all of

no avail; for a storm of darts, arrows and javelins, hurtling spits
with double points, and butchers' knives for slaying steers, came

flying at his feet; and terrible was the war-dance thou hadst then
seen thy grandson dance to avoid their marksmanship. At last, when