Orestes
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.
- Pylades who shared with me the bloody deed, my mother’s murder.
- You are sick from phantom shapes; what sort?
- I seemed to see three maidens, black as night.
- I know whom you mean, but I do not want to name them.
- Yes, for they are revered; you were well-informed, to avoid naming them.
- Are these the ones that drive you to frenzy, with the curse of kindred blood?
- Oh! the torment I endure from their pursuit!
- It is not strange, if those who have done dreadful things should suffer them.
- But I have a way to recover from these troubles.
- Do not speak of death; that is not wise.
- It is Phoebus, who commanded me to kill my mother.
- Showing a strange ignorance of what is fair and right.
- We are slaves to the gods, whatever those gods are.
- And does Loxias not help your affliction?
- He will in time; this is the nature of gods.
- How long is it since your mother breathed her last?
- This is the sixth day; her funeral pyre is still warm.
- How soon the goddesses arrived to avenge your mother’s blood!
- I am not clever, but I am by nature a true friend to my friends.
- Does your father give you any help at all, for your avenging him?