Ion

Euripides

Euripides. The Plays of Euripides, Translated into English Prose from the Text of Paley. Vol. I. Coleridge, Edward P., translator. London: George Bell and Sons, 1906.

  1. A gift, but mine for all that.
Ion
  1. Am I the first that thou didst meet?
Xuthus
  1. I have met no other, my son.
Ion
  1. Whence came this piece of luck?
Xuthus
  1. To both of us alike it causes surprise.
Ion
  1. Ah I but who was my mother?
Xuthus
  1. I cannot tell.
Ion
  1. Did not Phoebus tell thee that?
Xuthus
  1. I was so pleased with this, I did not ask him that.
Ion
  1. I must have sprung from mother earth.
Xuthus
  1. The ground brings forth no children.
Ion
  1. How can I be thine?
Xuthus
  1. I know not; I refer it to the god.
Ion
  1. Come, let us try another theme.
Xuthus
  1. Better hold to this, my son.
Ion
  1. Didst thou e’er indulge in illicit amours?
Xuthus
  1. Yes, in the folly of youth.
Ion
  1. Ere thou didst win Erechtheus’ daughter?
Xuthus
  1. Never since.
Ion
  1. Could it be, then, thou didst beget me?