Electra

Euripides

Euripides. The Plays of Euripides, Translated into English Prose from the Text of Paley. Vol. II. Coleridge, Edward P., translator. London: George Bell and Sons, 1891.

  1. And look, I see him, I mean your husband,
  2. on his way home, his day’s work done.
Peasant
  1. Oh! who are these strangers I see at my door? Why have they come here to my rustic gate? Do they want something from me? For it is shameful for a woman to be standing with young men.
Electra
  1. Dearest, do not be suspicious of me; you shall hear the truth; for these strangers have come to me as messengers of news from Orestes. But, strangers, pardon him for what he said.
Peasant
  1. What do they say? The man is alive and sees the light of day?
Electra
  1. He is, at least in their report, and I believe them.
Peasant
  1. Surely then he remembers something of your father’s wrongs and your own?
Electra
  1. These are things to hope for; a man in exile is powerless.
Peasant
  1. What message from Orestes have they come to declare?