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.

  1. No, for he was not born a warrior, though strong among women!
Pylades
  1. Your case is desperate, it seems, and you must die.
Orestes
  1. The citizens must give their vote about us on the murder.
Pylades
  1. And what is that to decide? Tell me, for I am alarmed.
Orestes
  1. Our life or death; a brief speech on a large subject.
Pylades
  1. Leave the palace with your sister now and try to escape.
Orestes
  1. Don’t you see? We are being watched by guards on every side.
Pylades
  1. I saw that the streets of the city were secured with armed men.
Orestes
  1. We are as closely beleaguered as a city by its foes.
Pylades
  1. Ask me now of my state; for I too am ruined.
Orestes
  1. By whom? This would be a further trouble to add to mine.
Pylades
  1. Strophius, my father, in a fit of anger, has banished me from his house.
Orestes
  1. Bringing against you a private charge, or one in which the citizens share?
Pylades
  1. He says it is an unholy crime to have helped you slay your mother.
Orestes
  1. Alas! It seems my troubles will cause you grief as well.
Pylades
  1. I am not like Menelaus in character; this must be endured.
Orestes
  1. Are you not afraid that Argos will desire your death as well as mine?
Pylades
  1. I am not theirs to punish; I belong to Phocis.
Orestes
  1. A terrible thing is the mob, whenever it has villains to lead it.
Pylades
  1. But with honest leaders its counsels are always honest.