Come, old man—often by my shieldyou have had your full share of trouble and hard work—now also have a share in my success, and go tell the friends I left behind the state of matters here, as you found them, and how my fortune stands; and bid them wait at the beach and watch eagerly for thestruggle which I expect awaits me; and if we should be able somehow to steal this woman away from the land, tell them to keep good watch so that we may share the luck and escape, if we can, from the barbarians.MessengerIt shall be done, lord. Now indeed I see how worthlessthe seers’ doings are, and how full of falsehood; there was no health in the blaze of sacrifice after all, or in the cry of winged birds; even to think that birds can help mankind is certainly foolish. For Calchas gave no word or sign to the army,when he saw his friends dying on behalf of a cloud, nor did Helenos; but the city was taken by storm in vain. You might say: because the god did not want them to? Then why do we consult prophets? We ought to sacrifice to the gods and ask a blessing, but leave divination alone;for this was invented otherwise, as a bait for a livelihood, and no man grows rich by sacrifices if he is idle. But sound judgment and discernment are the best of seers. Exit Messenger.Chorus LeaderMy views about seers coincide exactly with this old man’s; whoever has the gods as friendswould have the best prophecy at home.HelenAll right; so far all is well. But how you were saved, my poor husband, from Troy, there is no gain in knowing, yet friends have a desire to learn what their friends have suffered.MenelaosTruly you have asked a great deal all at once. Why should I tell you about our losses in the Aegean, and Nauplios’ beacons on Euboia, and my visits to Crete and the cities of Libya, and the mountain-peaks of Perseus? For I would not satisfy you with the tale,and by telling you these evils I would suffer still, as I did when I experienced them; and so my grief would be doubled.HelenYour answer is better than my question. Leave out the rest, and tell me only this: how long were you a weary wanderer over the surface of the sea?MenelaosBesides those ten years in Troy, I went through seven cycles of years on board ship.HelenAlas, poor man, you have spoken of a long time; and, saved from there, you have come here to the slaughter.