didst thou bring her from the world below to this light of day?
Her. By encountering the god[1] who had her in his power.
Adm. Where didst thou engage with Death? tell me this.
Her. Just by the tomb I from my ambush sprang and caught him in my grip.
Adm. But why thus speechless stands my wife?
Her. 'Tis not lawful yet for thee to hear her speak, ere she be purified from the gods below and the third day be come. So lead her in; and hereafter, e'en as now, be just and kind to guests, Admetus. Now farewell! for I must go to perform my appointed task for the lordly son of Sthenelus.
Adm. Abide with us and be our welcome guest.
Her. Another time; now must I use all haste.
Adm. Good luck to thee! and mayst thou come again! To the citizens and all my realm I make this proclamation, that they institute dances in honour of the glad event, and make the altars steam with sacrifice, and offer prayers; for now have I moored my bark of life in a happier haven than before, and so will own myself a happy man.
Cho. Many are the shapes that fortune takes, and oft the gods bring things to pass beyond our expectation. That which we deemed so sure is not fulfilled, while for that we never thought would be, God finds out a way. And such hath been the issue in the present case.
- ↑ Reading δαιμόνων τῷ κυρίῳ. Nauck has κοιράνῳ—apparently regarding the Death-god as supreme over all deities, but surely this is incorrect. Jacobs, seeing the difficulty, conjectured νερτέρων. But the translation in the text seems a possible one, and makes the emendation unnecessary.
