Could to myself the means of life afford,

In this poor grotto. On my bow I lived:
The winged dove, which my sharp arrow slew,

With pain I brought into my little hut,
And feasted there; then from the broken ice

I slaked my thirst, or crept into the wood
For useful fuel; from the stricken flint

I drew the latent spark, that warms me still
And still revives. This with my humble roof

Preserve me, son. But, oh! my wounds remain.
Thou seest an island desolate and waste;

No friendly port nor hopes of gain to tempt,
Nor host to welcome in the traveller;

Few seek the wild inhospitable shore.
By adverse winds, sometimes th' unwilling guests,

As well thou mayst suppose, were hither driven;
But when they came, they only pitied me,

Gave me a little food, or better garb
To shield me from the cold; in vain I prayed

That they would bear me to my native soil,
For none would listen. Here for ten long years

Have I remained, whilstmisery and famine
Keep fresh my wounds, and double my misfortune.

This have th' Atreidae and Ulysses done,
And may the gods with equal woes repay them!

LEADER OF THE CHORUS
O, son of Poeas! well might those, who came

And saw thee thus, in kind compassion weep;
I too must pity thee- I can no more.

NEOPTOLEMUS
I can bear witness to thee, for I know

By sad experience what th' Atreidae are,
And what Ulysses.

PHILOCTETES
Hast thou suffered then?

And dost thou hate them too?
NEOPTOLEMUS

Oh! that these hands
Could vindicate my wrongs! Mycenae then

And Sparta should confess that Scyros boasts
Of sons as brave and valiant as their own.

PHILOCTETES
O noble youth! But wherefore cam'st thou hither?

Whence this resentment?
NEOPTOLEMUS

I will tell thee all,
If I can bear to tell it. Know then, soon

As great Achilles died-
PHILOCTETES

Oh, stay, my son!
Is then Achilles dead?

NEOPTOLEMUS
He is, and not

By mortal hand, but by Apollo's shaft
Fell glorious.

PHILOCTETES
Oh! most worthy of each other,

The slayer and the slain! Permit me, son,
To mourn his fate, ere I attend to thine.

NEOPTOLEMUS
Alas! thou needst not weep for others' woes,

Thou hast enough already of thy own.
PHILOCTETES

'Tis very true; and therefore to thy tale.
NEOPTOLEMUS

Thus then it was. Soon as Achilles died,
Phoenix, the guardian of his tender years,

Instant sailed forth, and sought me out at Scyros;
With him the wary chief Ulysses came.

They told me then (or true or false I know not),
My father dead, by me, and me alone

Proud Troy must fall. I yielded to their prayers;
I hoped to see at least the dear remains

Of him whom living I had long in vain
Wished to behold. Safe at Sigeum's port

Soon we arrived. In crowds the numerous host
Thronged to embrace me, called the gods to witness

In me once more they saw their loved Achilles
To life restored; but he, alas! was gone.

I shed the duteous tear, then sought my friends
Th' Atreidae friends I thought 'em!-claimed the arms

Of my dead father, and what else remained
His late possession: when- O cruel words!

And wretched" target="_blank" title="a.可怜的；倒霉的">wretched I to hear them- thus they answered:
"Son of Achilles, thou in vain demandst

Those arms already to Ulysses given;
The rest be thine." I wept. "And is it thus,"

Indignant I replied, "ye dare to give
My right away?" "Know, boy," Ulysses cried,

"That right was mine. and therefore they bestowed
The boon on me: me who preserved the arms,

And him who bore them too." With anger fired
At this proud speech, I threatened all that rage

Could dictate to me if he not returned them.
Stung with my words, yet calm, he answered me:

"Thou wert not with us; thou wert in a place
Where thou shouldst not have been; and since thou meanst

To brave us thus, know, thou shalt never bear
Those arms with thee to Scyros; 'tis resolved."

Thus injured, thus deprived of all I held
Most precious, by the worst of men, I left

The hateful place, and seek my native soil.
Nor do I blame so much the proud Ulysses

As his base masters- army, city, all
Depend on those who rule. When men grow vile

The guilt is theirs who taught them to be wicked.
I've told thee all, and him who hates the Atreidae

I hold a friend to me and to the gods.
CHORUS (singing)

O Earth! thou mother of great Jove,
Embracing all with universal love,

Author benign of every good,
Through whom Pactolus rolls his golden flood!

To thee, whom in thy rapid car
Fierce lions draw, I rose and made my prayer-

To thee I made my sorrows known,
When from Achilles' injured son

Th' Atreidae gave the prize, that fatal day
When proud Ulysses bore his arms away.

PHILOCTETES
I wonder not, my friend, to see you here,

And I believe the tale; for well I know
The man who wronged you, know the base Ulysses

Falsehood and fraud dwell on his lips, and nought
That's just or good can be expected from him.

But strange it is to me that, Ajax present,
He dare attempt it.

NEOPTOLEMUS
Ajax is no more;

Had he been living, I had ne'er been spoiled
Thus of my right.

PHILOCTETES
Is he then dead?

NEOPTOLEMUS
He is.

PHILOCTETES
Alas! the son of Tydeus, and that slave,

Sold by his father Sisyphus, they live,
Unworthy as they are.

NEOPTOLEMUS
Alas! they do,

And flourish still.
PHILOCTETES

My old and worthy friend
The Pylian sage, how is he? He could see

Their arts, and would have given them better counsels.
NEOPTOLEMUS

Weighed down with grief he lives, but most unhappy,
Weeps his lost son, his dear Antilochus.

PHILOCTETES
O double woe! whom I could most have wished

To live and to be happy, those to perish!
Ulysses to survive! It should not be.

NEOPTOLEMUS
Oh! 'tis a subtle foe; but deepest plans

May sometimes fail.
PHILOCTETES

Where was Patroclus then,
Thy father's dearest friend?

NEOPTOLEMUS
He too was dead.

In war, alas- so fate ordains it ever-
The coward 'scapes, the brave and virtuous fall.

PHILOCTETES
It is too true; and now thou talkst of cowards,

Where is that worthlesswretch, of readiest tongue,
Subtle and voluble?

NEOPTOLEMUS
Ulysses?

PHILOCTETES
No;

Thersites, ever talking, never heard.
NEOPTOLEMUS

I have not seen him, but I hear he lives.
PHILOCTETES

I did not doubt it: evil never dies;
The gods take care of that. If aught there be

Fraudful and vile, 'tis safe; the good and just
Perish unpitied by them. Wherefore is it?

When gods do ill, why should we worship them?
NEOPTOLEMUS

Since thus it is, since virtue is oppressed,
And vice triumphant, who deserve to live

Are doomed to perish, and the guilty reign.
Henceforth, O son of Poeas! far from Troy

And the Atreidae will I live remote.
I would not see the man I cannot love.

My barren Scyros shall afford me refuge,
And home- felt joys delight my future days.

So, fare thee well, and may th' indulgent gods
Heal thy sad wound, and grant thee every wish

Thy soul can form! Once more, farewell! I go,
The first propitious gale.

PHILOCTETES
What! now, my son?

So soon?
NEOPTOLEMUS

Immediately; the time demands
We should be near, and ready to depart.

PHILOCTETES
Now, by the memory of thy honoured sire,

• winged [´wiŋd] a.有翼的 (初中英语单词)
• thirst [θə:st] n.渴，口渴；渴望 (初中英语单词)
• humble [´hʌmbəl] a.谦卑的 vt.贬抑 (初中英语单词)
• welcome [´welkəm] a.受欢迎的；可喜的 (初中英语单词)
• hither [´hiðə] ad.到此处 (初中英语单词)
• shield [ʃi:ld] n.盾牌；防御 v.保护 (初中英语单词)
• misery [´mizəri] n.痛苦；悲惨；穷困 (初中英语单词)
• witness [´witnis] n.见证人 vt.目击 (初中英语单词)
• confess [kən´fes] vt.供认；坦白；承认 (初中英语单词)
• worthy [´wə:ði] a.有价值的；值得的 (初中英语单词)
• therefore [´ðeəfɔ:] ad.&conj.因此；所以 (初中英语单词)
• embrace [im´breis] vt.&n.拥抱；采纳；信奉 (初中英语单词)
• wretched [´retʃid] a.可怜的；倒霉的 (初中英语单词)
• universal [,ju:ni´və:səl] a.宇宙的；普遍的 (初中英语单词)
• flourish [´flʌriʃ] v.茂盛；挥动 n.挥舞 (初中英语单词)
• coward [´kauəd] n.胆怯者 a.胆小的 (初中英语单词)
• worship [´wə:ʃip] n.&v.崇拜；敬仰 (初中英语单词)
• virtue [´və:tʃu:] n.美德；贞操；长处 (初中英语单词)
• deserve [di´zə:v] v.应受；值得 (初中英语单词)
• perish [´periʃ] v.灭亡；消灭；(使)死去 (初中英语单词)
• guilty [´gilti] a.有罪的；心虚的 (初中英语单词)
• barren [´bærən] a.贫瘠的；不生育的 (初中英语单词)
• stricken [´strikən] strike的过去分词 (高中英语单词)
• desolate [´desəleit] a.荒凉的；孤独的 (高中英语单词)
• whilst [wailst] conj.当...时候；虽然 (高中英语单词)
• mortal [´mɔ:tl] a.致命的 n.凡人 (高中英语单词)
• guardian [´gɑ:diən] n.监护人；保护人 (高中英语单词)
• dictate [dik´teit] v.口授；指示，命令 (高中英语单词)
• theirs [ðeəz] pron.他们的 (高中英语单词)
• worthless [´wə:θləs] a.无价值的 (高中英语单词)
• adverse [´ædvə:s] a.不利的；反对的 (英语四级单词)
• unwilling [ʌn´wiliŋ] a.不愿意的；不情愿的 (英语四级单词)
• compassion [kəm´pæʃən] n.同情；怜悯 (英语四级单词)
• valiant [´væliənt] a.勇敢的，英勇的 (英语四级单词)
• wherefore [´weəfɔ:] ad.为什么；因此 (英语四级单词)
• hateful [´heitfəl] a.可恨的，可憎的 (英语四级单词)
• virtuous [´və:tjuəs] a.道德的；善良的 (英语四级单词)
• wretch [retʃ] n.不幸的人；卑鄙的人 (英语四级单词)
• triumphant [trai´ʌmfənt] a.胜利的；洋洋得意的 (英语四级单词)
• grotto [´grɔtəu] n.岩穴；洞室 (英语六级单词)
• latent [´leitənt] a.潜在的，潜伏的 (英语六级单词)