章节正文
Well, I will go; thy counsel is not amiss.
MESSENGER
And I, shall I wait here? Or what is thy pleasure?
DEIANEIRA
Remain;- here he comes from the house of his own accord, without
summons from me.
(Enter LICHAS)
LICHAS
Lady, what message shall I bear to Heracles? Give me thy commands,
for, as thou seest, I am going.
DEIANEIRA
How hastily thou art rushing away, when thy visit had been so long
delayed,- before we have had time for further talk.
LICHAS
Nay, if there be aught that thou would'st ask, I am at thy
service.
DEIANEIRA
Wilt thou indeed give me the honest truth?
LICHAS
Yes, be great Zeus my witness,- in anything that I know,
DEIANEIRA
Who is the woman, then, whom thou hast brought?
LICHAS
She is Euboean; but of what birth, I cannot say.
MESSENGER
Sirrah, look at me:- to whom art thou speaking, think'st thou?
LICHAS
And thou- what dost thou mean by such a question?
MESSENGER
Deign to answer me, if thou comprehendest.
LICHAS
To the royal Deianeira, unless mine eyes deceive me,- daughter
of Oeneus, wife of Heracles, and my queen.
MESSENGER
The very word that I wished to hear from thee:- thou sayest that
she is thy queen?
LICHAS
Yes, as in duty bound.
MESSENGER
Well, then, what art thou prepared to suffer, if found guilty of
failing in that duty?
LICHAS
Failing in duty? What dark saying is this?
MESSENGER
'Tis none; the darkest words are thine own.
LICHAS
I will go, I was foolish to hear thee so long.
MESSENGER
No, not till thou hast answered a brief question.
LICHAS
Ask what thou wilt; thou art not taciturn.
MESSENGER
That captive, whom thou hast brought home- thou knowest whom mean?
LICHAS
Yes; but why dost thou ask?
MESSENGER
Well, saidst thou not that thy prisoner- she, on whom thy gaze now
turns so vacantly- was Iole, daughter of Eurytus?
LICHAS
Said it to whom? Who and where is the man that will be thy witness
to hearing this from me?
MESSENGER
To many of our own folk thou saidst it: in the public gathering of
Trachinians, a great crowd heard thus much from thee.
LICHAS
Ay- said they heard-but 'tis one thing to report a fancy, and
another to make the story good.
MESSENGER
A fancy! Didst thou not say on thine oath that thou wast
bringing her us a bride for Heracles?
LICHAS
I? bringing a bride?- In the name of the gods, dear mistress, tell
me who this stranger may be?
MESSENGER
One who heard from thine own lips that the conquest of the whole
city was due to love for this girl: the Lydian woman was not its
destroyer, but the passion which this maid has kindled.
LICHAS
Lady, let this fellow withdraw: to prate with the brainsick befits
not sane man.
DEIANEIRA
Nay, I implore thee by Zeus whose lightnings go forth over the
high glens of Oeta, do not cheat me of the truth! For she to whom thou
wilt speak is not ungenerous, nor hath she yet to learn that the human
heart is inconstant to its joys. They are not wise, then, who stand
forth to buffet against Love; for Love rules the gods as he will,
and me; and why not another woman, such as I am? So I am mad indeed,
if I blame my husband, because that distemper hath seized him; or this
woman, his partner in a thing which is no shame to them, and no
wrong to me. Impossible! No; if he taught thee to speak falsely,
'tis not a noble lesson that thou art learning; or if thou art thine
own teacher in this, thou wilt be found cruel when it is thy wish to
prove kind. Nay, tell me the whole truth. To a free-born man, the name
of liar cleaves as a deadly brand. If thy hope is to escape detection,
that, too, is vain; there are many to whom thou hast spoken, who
will tell me.
And if thou art afraid, thy fear is mistaken. Not to learn the
truth,-that, indeed, would pain me; but to know it- what is there
terrible in that? Hath not Heracles wedded others ere now,- ay, more
than living man,- and no one of them hath bad harsh word or taunt from
me; nor shall this girl, though her whole being should be absorbed
in her passion; for indeed I felt a profound pity when I beheld her,
because her beauty hath wrecked her life, and she, hapless one, all
innocent, hath brought her fatherland to ruin and to bondage.
Well, those things must go with wind and stream.- To thee I
say,-deceive whom thou wilt, but ever speak the truth to me.
LEADER
Hearken to her good counsel, and hereafter thou shalt have no
cause to complain of this lady; our thanks, too, will be thine.
LICHAS
Nay, then, dear mistress,- since I see that thou thinkest as
mortals should think, and canst allow for weakness,- I will tell
thee the whole truth, and hide it not. Yes, it is even as yon man
saith. This girl inspired that overmastering love which long ago smote
through the soul of Heracles; for this girl's sake the desolate
Oechalia, her home, was made the prey of his spear. And he,- it is
just to him to say so,- never denied this,- never told me to conceal
it. But I, lady, fearing to wound thy heart by such tidings, have
sinned, if thou count this in any sort a sin.
Now, however, that thou knowest the whole story, for both your
sakes,- for his, and not less for thine own,- bear with the woman, and
be content that the words which thou hast spokenregarding her
should bind thee still. For he, whose strength is victorious in all
else, hath been utterly vanquished by his passion for this girl.
DEIANEIRA
Indeed, mine own thoughts move me to act thus. Trust me, I will
not add a new affliction to my burdens by waging a fruitless fight
against the gods.
But let us go into the house, that thou mayest receive my
messages; and, since gifts should be meetly recompensed with gifts,-
that thou mayest take these also. It is not right that thou
shouldest go back with empty hands, after coming with such a goodly
train.
(Exit MESSENGER, as LICHAS and DEIANEIRA go into the house.)
CHORUS (singing)
strophe
Great and mighty is the victory which the Cyprian queen ever bears
away. I stay not now to speak of the gods; I spare to tell how she
beguiled the son of Cronus, and Hades, the lord of darkness, or
Poseidon, shaker of the earth.
But, when this bride was to be won, who were the valiant rivals
that entered the contest for her hand? Who went forth to the ordeal of
battle, to the fierce blows and the blinding dust?
antistrophe
One was a mighty river-god, the dread form of a horned and
four-legged bull, Achelous, from Oeniadae: the other came from
Thebe, dear to Bacchus, with curved bow, and spears, and brandished
club, the son of Zeus: who then met in combat, fain to win a bride:
and the Cyprian goddess of nuptial joy was there with them, sole
umpire of their strife.
epode
Then was there clatter of fists and clang of bow, and the noise of
bull's horns therewith; then were there close-locked grapplings, and
deadly blows from the forehead, and loud deep cries from both.
Meanwhile, she, in her delicate beauty, sat on the side of a
hill that could be seen afar, awaiting the husband that should be
hers.
So the battle rages, as I have told; but the fair bride who is the
prize of the strife abides the end in piteous anguish. And suddenly
she is parted from her mother, as when a heifer is taken from its dam.
(DEIANEIRA enters from the house alone, carrying in her arms a
casket containing a robe.)
DEIANEIRA
Dear friends, while our visitor is saying his farewell to the
captive girls in the house, I have stolen forth to you,- partly to
tell you what these hands have devised, and partly to crave your
sympathy with my sorrow.
A maiden,- or, methinks, no longer a maiden, but a mistress,- hath
found her way into my house, as a freight comes to a mariner,- a
merchandise to make shipwreck of my peace. And now we twain are to
share the same marriage-bed, the same embrace. Such is the reward that
Heracles hath sent me,- he whom I called true and loyal,- for guarding
his home through all that weary time. I have no thought of anger
against him, often as he is vexed with this distemper. But then to
live with her, sharing the same union- what woman could endure it? For
I see that the flower of her age is blossoming, while mine is
fading; and the eyes of men love to cull the bloom of youth, but
they turn aside from the old. This, then, is my fear,- lest
Heracles, in name my spouse, should be the younger's mate.
But, as I said, anger ill beseems a woman of understanding. I will
tell you, friends, the way by which I hope to find deliverance and
relief. I had a gift, given to me long ago by a monster of olden time,
aid stored in an urn of bronze; a gift which, while yet a girl, I took
up from the shaggy-breasted Nessus,- from his life-blood, as he lay
dying; Nessus, who used to carry men in his arms across the deep
waters of the Evenus, using no oar to waft them, nor sail of ship.
I, too, was carried on his shoulders,- when, by my father's
sending, first went forth with Heracles as his wife; and when I was in
mid-stream, he touched me with wanton hands. I shrieked; the son of
Zeus turned quickly round, and shot a feathered arrow; it whizzed
through his breast to the lungs; and, in his mortal faintness, thus
much the Centaur spake:-
'Child of aged Oeneus, thou shalt have at least this profit of
my ferrying,- if thou wilt hearken,-because thou wast the last whom
I conveyed. If thou gatherest with thy hands the blood clotted round
my wound, at the place where the Hydra, Lerna's monstrous growth, hath
tinged the arrow with black gall,- this shall be to thee a charm for
the soul of Heracles, so that he shall never look upon any woman to
love her more than thee.'
I bethought me of this, my friends- for, after his death, I had
kept it carefully locked up in a secret place; and I have anointed
MESSENGER
And I, shall I wait here? Or what is thy pleasure?
DEIANEIRA
Remain;- here he comes from the house of his own accord, without
summons from me.
(Enter LICHAS)
LICHAS
Lady, what message shall I bear to Heracles? Give me thy commands,
for, as thou seest, I am going.
DEIANEIRA
How hastily thou art rushing away, when thy visit had been so long
delayed,- before we have had time for further talk.
LICHAS
Nay, if there be aught that thou would'st ask, I am at thy
service.
DEIANEIRA
Wilt thou indeed give me the honest truth?
LICHAS
Yes, be great Zeus my witness,- in anything that I know,
DEIANEIRA
Who is the woman, then, whom thou hast brought?
LICHAS
She is Euboean; but of what birth, I cannot say.
MESSENGER
Sirrah, look at me:- to whom art thou speaking, think'st thou?
LICHAS
And thou- what dost thou mean by such a question?
MESSENGER
Deign to answer me, if thou comprehendest.
LICHAS
To the royal Deianeira, unless mine eyes deceive me,- daughter
of Oeneus, wife of Heracles, and my queen.
MESSENGER
The very word that I wished to hear from thee:- thou sayest that
she is thy queen?
LICHAS
Yes, as in duty bound.
MESSENGER
Well, then, what art thou prepared to suffer, if found guilty of
failing in that duty?
LICHAS
Failing in duty? What dark saying is this?
MESSENGER
'Tis none; the darkest words are thine own.
LICHAS
I will go, I was foolish to hear thee so long.
MESSENGER
No, not till thou hast answered a brief question.
LICHAS
Ask what thou wilt; thou art not taciturn.
MESSENGER
That captive, whom thou hast brought home- thou knowest whom mean?
LICHAS
Yes; but why dost thou ask?
MESSENGER
Well, saidst thou not that thy prisoner- she, on whom thy gaze now
turns so vacantly- was Iole, daughter of Eurytus?
LICHAS
Said it to whom? Who and where is the man that will be thy witness
to hearing this from me?
MESSENGER
To many of our own folk thou saidst it: in the public gathering of
Trachinians, a great crowd heard thus much from thee.
LICHAS
Ay- said they heard-but 'tis one thing to report a fancy, and
another to make the story good.
MESSENGER
A fancy! Didst thou not say on thine oath that thou wast
bringing her us a bride for Heracles?
LICHAS
I? bringing a bride?- In the name of the gods, dear mistress, tell
me who this stranger may be?
MESSENGER
One who heard from thine own lips that the conquest of the whole
city was due to love for this girl: the Lydian woman was not its
destroyer, but the passion which this maid has kindled.
LICHAS
Lady, let this fellow withdraw: to prate with the brainsick befits
not sane man.
DEIANEIRA
Nay, I implore thee by Zeus whose lightnings go forth over the
high glens of Oeta, do not cheat me of the truth! For she to whom thou
wilt speak is not ungenerous, nor hath she yet to learn that the human
heart is inconstant to its joys. They are not wise, then, who stand
forth to buffet against Love; for Love rules the gods as he will,
and me; and why not another woman, such as I am? So I am mad indeed,
if I blame my husband, because that distemper hath seized him; or this
woman, his partner in a thing which is no shame to them, and no
wrong to me. Impossible! No; if he taught thee to speak falsely,
'tis not a noble lesson that thou art learning; or if thou art thine
own teacher in this, thou wilt be found cruel when it is thy wish to
prove kind. Nay, tell me the whole truth. To a free-born man, the name
of liar cleaves as a deadly brand. If thy hope is to escape detection,
that, too, is vain; there are many to whom thou hast spoken, who
will tell me.
And if thou art afraid, thy fear is mistaken. Not to learn the
truth,-that, indeed, would pain me; but to know it- what is there
terrible in that? Hath not Heracles wedded others ere now,- ay, more
than living man,- and no one of them hath bad harsh word or taunt from
me; nor shall this girl, though her whole being should be absorbed
in her passion; for indeed I felt a profound pity when I beheld her,
because her beauty hath wrecked her life, and she, hapless one, all
innocent, hath brought her fatherland to ruin and to bondage.
Well, those things must go with wind and stream.- To thee I
say,-deceive whom thou wilt, but ever speak the truth to me.
LEADER
Hearken to her good counsel, and hereafter thou shalt have no
cause to complain of this lady; our thanks, too, will be thine.
LICHAS
Nay, then, dear mistress,- since I see that thou thinkest as
mortals should think, and canst allow for weakness,- I will tell
thee the whole truth, and hide it not. Yes, it is even as yon man
saith. This girl inspired that overmastering love which long ago smote
through the soul of Heracles; for this girl's sake the desolate
Oechalia, her home, was made the prey of his spear. And he,- it is
just to him to say so,- never denied this,- never told me to conceal
it. But I, lady, fearing to wound thy heart by such tidings, have
sinned, if thou count this in any sort a sin.
Now, however, that thou knowest the whole story, for both your
sakes,- for his, and not less for thine own,- bear with the woman, and
be content that the words which thou hast spokenregarding her
should bind thee still. For he, whose strength is victorious in all
else, hath been utterly vanquished by his passion for this girl.
DEIANEIRA
Indeed, mine own thoughts move me to act thus. Trust me, I will
not add a new affliction to my burdens by waging a fruitless fight
against the gods.
But let us go into the house, that thou mayest receive my
messages; and, since gifts should be meetly recompensed with gifts,-
that thou mayest take these also. It is not right that thou
shouldest go back with empty hands, after coming with such a goodly
train.
(Exit MESSENGER, as LICHAS and DEIANEIRA go into the house.)
CHORUS (singing)
strophe
Great and mighty is the victory which the Cyprian queen ever bears
away. I stay not now to speak of the gods; I spare to tell how she
beguiled the son of Cronus, and Hades, the lord of darkness, or
Poseidon, shaker of the earth.
But, when this bride was to be won, who were the valiant rivals
that entered the contest for her hand? Who went forth to the ordeal of
battle, to the fierce blows and the blinding dust?
antistrophe
One was a mighty river-god, the dread form of a horned and
four-legged bull, Achelous, from Oeniadae: the other came from
Thebe, dear to Bacchus, with curved bow, and spears, and brandished
club, the son of Zeus: who then met in combat, fain to win a bride:
and the Cyprian goddess of nuptial joy was there with them, sole
umpire of their strife.
epode
Then was there clatter of fists and clang of bow, and the noise of
bull's horns therewith; then were there close-locked grapplings, and
deadly blows from the forehead, and loud deep cries from both.
Meanwhile, she, in her delicate beauty, sat on the side of a
hill that could be seen afar, awaiting the husband that should be
hers.
So the battle rages, as I have told; but the fair bride who is the
prize of the strife abides the end in piteous anguish. And suddenly
she is parted from her mother, as when a heifer is taken from its dam.
(DEIANEIRA enters from the house alone, carrying in her arms a
casket containing a robe.)
DEIANEIRA
Dear friends, while our visitor is saying his farewell to the
captive girls in the house, I have stolen forth to you,- partly to
tell you what these hands have devised, and partly to crave your
sympathy with my sorrow.
A maiden,- or, methinks, no longer a maiden, but a mistress,- hath
found her way into my house, as a freight comes to a mariner,- a
merchandise to make shipwreck of my peace. And now we twain are to
share the same marriage-bed, the same embrace. Such is the reward that
Heracles hath sent me,- he whom I called true and loyal,- for guarding
his home through all that weary time. I have no thought of anger
against him, often as he is vexed with this distemper. But then to
live with her, sharing the same union- what woman could endure it? For
I see that the flower of her age is blossoming, while mine is
fading; and the eyes of men love to cull the bloom of youth, but
they turn aside from the old. This, then, is my fear,- lest
Heracles, in name my spouse, should be the younger's mate.
But, as I said, anger ill beseems a woman of understanding. I will
tell you, friends, the way by which I hope to find deliverance and
relief. I had a gift, given to me long ago by a monster of olden time,
aid stored in an urn of bronze; a gift which, while yet a girl, I took
up from the shaggy-breasted Nessus,- from his life-blood, as he lay
dying; Nessus, who used to carry men in his arms across the deep
waters of the Evenus, using no oar to waft them, nor sail of ship.
I, too, was carried on his shoulders,- when, by my father's
sending, first went forth with Heracles as his wife; and when I was in
mid-stream, he touched me with wanton hands. I shrieked; the son of
Zeus turned quickly round, and shot a feathered arrow; it whizzed
through his breast to the lungs; and, in his mortal faintness, thus
much the Centaur spake:-
'Child of aged Oeneus, thou shalt have at least this profit of
my ferrying,- if thou wilt hearken,-because thou wast the last whom
I conveyed. If thou gatherest with thy hands the blood clotted round
my wound, at the place where the Hydra, Lerna's monstrous growth, hath
tinged the arrow with black gall,- this shall be to thee a charm for
the soul of Heracles, so that he shall never look upon any woman to
love her more than thee.'
I bethought me of this, my friends- for, after his death, I had
kept it carefully locked up in a secret place; and I have anointed
- counsel [´kaunsəl]
n.商议；劝告；律师 (初中英语单词) - accord [ə´kɔ:d] n.&vi.符合 vt.给与 (初中英语单词)
- hastily [´heistili] ad.急速地；草率地 (初中英语单词)
- deceive [di´si:v] vt.欺骗，欺诈 (初中英语单词)
- guilty [´gilti] a.有罪的；心虚的 (初中英语单词)
- captive [´kæptiv] n.俘虏；捕获物 (初中英语单词)
- mistress [´mistris] n.女主人；情妇；女能手 (初中英语单词)
- conquest [´kɔŋkwest] n.赢得；获得；占领地 (初中英语单词)
- passion [´pæʃən] n.激情；激怒；恋爱 (初中英语单词)
- withdraw [wið´drɔ:] v.收回；撤销；撤退 (初中英语单词)
- partner [´pɑ:tnə] n.伙伴 v.同....合作 (初中英语单词)
- learning [´lə:niŋ] n.学习；学问；知识 (初中英语单词)
- deadly [´dedli] a.致命的 ad.死一般地 (初中英语单词)
- spoken [´spəukən] speak的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- beheld [bi´held] behold的过去式(分词) (初中英语单词)
- complain [kəm´plein] vi.抱怨，叫屈；控诉 (初中英语单词)
- messenger [´mesindʒə] n.使者；送信人 (初中英语单词)
- victory [´viktəri] n.胜利，战胜 (初中英语单词)
- contest [kən´test, ´kɔntest] v.争辩 n.争夺；竞赛 (初中英语单词)
- fierce [fiəs] a.残忍的；强烈的 (初中英语单词)
- goddess [´gɔdis] n.女神 (初中英语单词)
- therewith [ðɛə´wið] ad.于是，随即 (初中英语单词)
- forehead [´fɔrid] n.额，前部 (初中英语单词)
- delicate [´delikət] a.精美的；微妙的 (初中英语单词)
- visitor [´vizitə] n.访问者；来宾；参观者 (初中英语单词)
- farewell [feə´wel] int.再见 n.&a.告别 (初中英语单词)
- stolen [´stəulən] steal 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- partly [´pɑ:tli] ad.部分地；不完全地 (初中英语单词)
- maiden [´meidn] n.少女 a.未婚的 (初中英语单词)
- freight [freit] n.运货 vt.运送；充满 (初中英语单词)
- embrace [im´breis] vt.&n.拥抱；采纳；信奉 (初中英语单词)
- reward [ri´wɔ:d] n.&v.报答；报酬；奖赏 (初中英语单词)
- endure [in´djuə] vt.忍耐，忍受；坚持 (初中英语单词)
- monster [´mɔnstə] n.怪物 a.大得异常的 (初中英语单词)
- feathered [´feðəd] a.有羽毛的；羽状的 (初中英语单词)
- saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)
- hearing [´hiəriŋ] n.听力；听证会；审讯 (高中英语单词)
- implore [im´plɔ:] vt.乞求，恳求 (高中英语单词)
- buffet [´bʌfit, bʌ´fət] n.食品小卖部 v.打击 (高中英语单词)
- mistaken [mis´teikən] mistake的过去分词 (高中英语单词)
- profound [prə´faund] a.深奥的；渊博的 (高中英语单词)
- hereafter [hiər´ɑ:ftə] ad.&n.将来；来世 (高中英语单词)
- tidings [´taidiŋz] n.消息，音信 (高中英语单词)
- regarding [ri´gɑ:diŋ] prep.关于 (高中英语单词)
- victorious [vik´tɔ:riəs] a.得胜的，胜利的 (高中英语单词)
- mighty [´maiti] a.强有力的 ad.很 (高中英语单词)
- combat [´kɔmbæt] v.&n.斗争；战斗；争斗 (高中英语单词)
- clatter [´klætə] n.&v.喧嚷；骚动 (高中英语单词)
- strife [straif] n.竞争；吵架；冲突 (高中英语单词)
- anguish [´æŋgwiʃ] n.(极度的)痛苦；苦恼 (高中英语单词)
- methinks [mi´θiŋks] vi.据我看来 (高中英语单词)
- bronze [brɔnz] n.青铜(器) (高中英语单词)
- mortal [´mɔ:tl] a.致命的 n.凡人 (高中英语单词)
- monstrous [´mɔnstrəs] a.怪异的；庞大的 (高中英语单词)
- gathering [´gæðəriŋ] n.集会，聚集 (英语四级单词)
- wedded [´wedid] a.(已)结婚的；献身的 (英语四级单词)
- valiant [´væliənt] a.勇敢的，英勇的 (英语四级单词)
- heifer [´hefə] n.小母牛 (英语四级单词)
- shipwreck [´ʃiprek] n.&v.(船)失事；毁灭 (英语四级单词)
- deliverance [di´livərəns] n.援救；获释 (英语四级单词)
- wanton [´wɔntən, ´wɑ:n-] a.顽皮的 n.&vi.荡妇 (英语四级单词)
- speaking [´spi:kiŋ] n.说话 a.发言的 (英语六级单词)
- distemper [di´stempə] n.犬热病；色粉颜料 (英语六级单词)
- hapless [´hæpləs] a.不幸的；倒楣的 (英语六级单词)
- affliction [ə´flikʃən] n.痛苦，苦恼；折磨 (英语六级单词)
- ordeal [ɔ:´di:l] n.严峻考验；折磨 (英语六级单词)
- nuptial [´nʌpʃəl] a.婚姻的 n.婚礼 (英语六级单词)
- spouse [spauz] n.配偶 (英语六级单词)
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