Page:The Plays of Euripides Vol. 1- Edward P. Coleridge (1910).djvu/142

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114
EURIPIDES.

Hip. I am a broken man; yes, I see the gates that close upon the dead.

The. Canst leave me thus with murder on my soul!

Hip. No, no; I set thee free from this bloodguiltiness.

The. What sayest thou? dost absolve me from bloodshed?

Hip. Artemis, the archer-queen, is my witness that I do.

The. My own dear child, how generous dost thou show thyself to thy father!

Hip. Farewell, dear father! a long farewell to thee!

The. O that holy, noble soul of thine!

Hip. Pray to have children such as me born in lawful wedlock.

The. O leave me not, my son; endure awhile.

Hip. 'Tis finished, my endurance; I die, father; quickly cover my face with a mantle.

The. O glorious Athens, realm of Pallas, what a splendid hero ye have lost! Ah me, ah me! How oft shall I remember thy evil work, O Cypris!

Cho. On all our citizens hath come this universal sorrow, unforeseen. Now shall the copious tear gush forth, for sad news about great men takes more than usual hold upon the heart.