NURSE

'Twas the work of her own mind and her own hand.



CHORUS

What dost thou tell us?



NURSE

The sure truth.



CHORUS

The first-born, the first-born of that new bride is a dread Erinys



for this house!

NURSE



Too true; and, hadst thou been an eye-witness of the action,

verily thy pity would have been yet deeper.



LEADER

And could a woman's hand dare to do such deeds?



NURSE

Yea, with dread daring; thou shalt hear, and then thou wilt bear



me witness.

When she came alone into the house, and saw her son preparing a



deep litter in the court, that he might go back with it to meet his

sire, then she hid herself where none might see; and, falling before



the altars, she wailed aloud that they were left desolate; and, when

she touched any-household thing that she had been wont to use, poor



lady, in the past, her tears would flow; or when, roaming hither and

thither through the house, she beheld the form of any well-loved



servant, she wept, hapless one, at that sight, crying aloud upon her

own fate, and that of the household which would thenceforth be in



the power of others.

But when she ceased from this, suddenly I beheld her rush into the



chamber of Heracles. From a secret place of espial, I watched her; and

saw her spreading coverings on the couch of her lord. When she had



done this, she sprang thereon, and sat in the middle of the bed; her

tears burst forth in burning streams, and thus she spake: 'Ah,



bridal bed and bridalchamber mine, farewell now and for ever; never

more shall ye receive me to rest upon this couch.' She said no more,



but with a vehement hand loosed her robe, where the gold-wrought

brooch lay above her breast, baring all her left side and arm. Then



I ran with all my strength, and warned her son of her intent. But

lo, in the space between my going and our return, she had driven a



two-edged sword through her side to the heart.

At that sight, her son uttered a great cry; for he knew, alas,



that in his anger he had driven her to that deed; and he had

learned, too late, from the servants in the house that she had acted



without knowledge, by the prompting of the Centaur. And now the youth,

in his misery, bewailed her with all passionatelament; he knelt,



and showered kisses on her lips; he threw himself at her side upon the

ground, bitterly crying that he had rashly smitten her with a



slander,- weeping that he must now live bereaved of both alike,- of

mother and of sire.



Such are the fortunes of this house. Rash indeed, is he who

reckons on the morrow, or haply on days beyond it; for to-morrow is



not, until to-day is safely past.

CHORUS (singing)



strophe 1

Which woe shall I bewail first, which misery is the greater? Alas,



'tis hard for me to tell.

antistrophe 1



One sorrow may be seen in the house; for one we wait with

foreboding: and suspense hath a kinship with pain.



strophe 2

Oh that some strong breeze might come with wafting power unto



our hearth, to bear me far from this land, lest I die of terror,

when look but once upon the mighty son of Zeus!



For they say that he is approaching the house in torments from

which there is no deliverance, a wonder of unutterable woe.



antistrophe 2

Ah, it was not far off, but close to us, that woe of which my



lament gave warning, like the nightingale's piercing note!

Men of an alien race are coming yonder. And how, then, are they



bringing him? In sorrow, as for some loved one, they move on their

mournful, noiseless march.



Alas, he is brought in silence! What are we to think; that he is

dead, or sleeping?



(Enter HYLLUS and an OLD MAN,

with attendants,bearing HERACLES upon a litter.)



HYLLUS

Woe is me for thee, my father, woe is me for thee, wretched that I

• deadly [´dedli] a.致命的 ad.死一般地 (初中英语单词)


• unhappy [ʌn´hæpi] a.不幸的；不快乐的 (初中英语单词)


• alliance [ə´laiəns] n.联盟；同盟 (初中英语单词)


• convey [kən´vei] vt.运送；传达；转让 (初中英语单词)


• presently [´prezəntli] ad.不久；目前 (初中英语单词)


• lately [´leitli] ad.近来，不久前 (初中英语单词)


• guilty [´gilti] a.有罪的；心虚的 (初中英语单词)


• unlike [,ʌn´laik] a.不同的 prep.不象… (初中英语单词)


• farewell [feə´wel] int.再见 n.&a.告别 (初中英语单词)


• divine [di´vain] a.神圣的 v.预言 (初中英语单词)


• wrought [rɔ:t] work 的过去式(分词) (初中英语单词)


• mischief [´mistʃif] n.伤害；故障；调皮 (初中英语单词)


• swiftly [´swiftli] ad.迅速地，敏捷地 (初中英语单词)


• suffering [´sʌfəriŋ] n.痛苦；灾害 (初中英语单词)


• goddess [´gɔdis] n.女神 (初中英语单词)


• uncertain [ʌn´sə:tn] a.不定的；不可靠的 (初中英语单词)


• weapon [´wepən] n.武器；斗争手段 (初中英语单词)


• violent [´vaiələnt] a.强暴的；猛烈的 (初中英语单词)


• helpless [´helpləs] a.无助的，无依靠的 (初中英语单词)


• standing [´stændiŋ] n.持续 a.直立的 (初中英语单词)


• hither [´hiðə] ad.到此处 (初中英语单词)


• beheld [bi´held] behold的过去式(分词) (初中英语单词)


• sprang [spræŋ] spring 的过去式 (初中英语单词)


• intent [in´tent] a.专心致志的 n.意图 (初中英语单词)


• driven [´driv(ə)n] drive 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)


• misery [´mizəri] n.痛苦；悲惨；穷困 (初中英语单词)


• bitterly [´bitəli] ad.悲痛地；憎恨地 (初中英语单词)


• safely [´seifli] ad.安全地；平安地 (初中英语单词)


• breeze [bri:z] n.微风；不费力的事 (初中英语单词)


• wretched [´retʃid] a.可怜的；倒霉的 (初中英语单词)


• devour [di´vauə] vt.吞食；毁坏 (高中英语单词)


• treason [´tri:zən] n.叛逆；不忠 (高中英语单词)


• anguish [´æŋgwiʃ] n.(极度的)痛苦；苦恼 (高中英语单词)


• saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)


• trample [´træmpəl] v.&n.践踏；蹂躏；踩坏 (高中英语单词)


• serpent [´sə:pənt] n.大毒蛇；阴险的人 (高中英语单词)


• remedy [´remidi] n.药品 vt.医治；减轻 (高中英语单词)


• lament [lə´ment] v.哀悼 n.哀悼；恸哭 (高中英语单词)


• misfortune [mis´fɔ:tʃən] n.不幸；灾祸 (高中英语单词)


• plague [pleig] n.瘟疫 vt.使…染疫 (高中英语单词)


• foremost [´fɔ:məust] a.最重要的；最先的 (高中英语单词)


• litter [´litə] n.杂乱 v.乱丢 (高中英语单词)


• desolate [´desəleit] a.荒凉的；孤独的 (高中英语单词)


• chamber [´tʃeimbə] n.房间；议院；会议室 (高中英语单词)


• passionate [´pæʃənit] a.易动情的；易怒的 (高中英语单词)


• hearth [hɑ:θ] n.炉边；家庭(生活) (高中英语单词)


• mighty [´maiti] a.强有力的 ad.很 (高中英语单词)


• semblance [´sembləns] n.外表；伪装；相似 (英语四级单词)


• appalling [ə´pɔ:liŋ] a.令人震惊的 (英语四级单词)


• murderous [´mə:dərəs] a.行凶的；势不可挡的 (英语四级单词)


• stirring [´stə:riŋ] a.活跃的；热闹的 (英语四级单词)


• frenzy [´frenzi] n.&vt.(使)狂乱 (英语四级单词)


• daring [´deəriŋ] a.&n.勇敢(的) (英语四级单词)


• bridal [´braidl] a.&n.婚礼(的) (英语四级单词)


• morrow [´mɔrəu] n.翌日 (英语四级单词)


• bewail [bi´weil] v.悲叹；痛哭；哀悼 (英语四级单词)


• deliverance [di´livərəns] n.援救；获释 (英语四级单词)


• warning [´wɔ:niŋ] n.警告；前兆 a.预告的 (英语四级单词)


• biting [´baitiŋ] a.刺痛的；尖利的 (英语六级单词)


• hapless [´hæpləs] a.不幸的；倒楣的 (英语六级单词)


• piercing [´piəsiŋ] a.刺(贯)穿的；尖刻的 (英语六级单词)


• socket [´sɔkit] n.窝，穴，孔；插座 (英语六级单词)


• weeping [´wi:piŋ] a.&n.哭泣(的) (英语六级单词)


• fulfilment [ful´filmənt] n.完成，成就 (英语六级单词)


• servitude [´sə:vitju:d] n.奴隶状态；苦役 (英语六级单词)


• applied [ə´plaid] a.实用的，应用的 (英语六级单词)


• departed [di´pɑ:tid] a.已往的；已故的 (英语六级单词)


• vehement [´viəmənt] a.猛烈的；热烈的 (英语六级单词)


• smitten [´smitn] smite的过去分词 (英语六级单词)


• suspense [sə´spens] n.悬挂；悬虑不安 (英语六级单词)