Page:Tragedies of Seneca (1907) Miller.djvu/257

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Hercules Oetaeus
239

Who love the king, and not his power.
For 'tis the glitter of the throne
That fires most hearts to loyally.
Now one is eager next the king
To walk before the gaze of men,
And so gain luster for himself;
For greed of glory burns his heart. 620
Another from the royal stores
Seeks to supply his own desires;
And yet not all the precious sands
Of Hister's streams could satisfy,
Nor Lydia sate his thirst for gold;
Nor that far land where Zephyr blows,
Which looks in wonder on the gleam 625
Of Tagus' golden sands.
Were all the wealth of Hebrus his;
If rich Hydaspes were his own;
If through his fields, with all its stream,
He saw the Ganges flowing: still 630
For greed, base greed 'twould not suffice.
One honors kings and courts of kings,
Not that his careful husbandmen
Forever stooping o'er the plow
May never cease their toil for him;
Or that his peasantry may till 635
His thousand fields: but wealth alone,
Which he may hoard away, he seeks.
Another worships kings, that so
All other men he may oppress,
May ruin many, none assist;
And with this sole aim covets power,
That he may use it ill.
How few live out their fated span! 640
Whom yesternight saw radiant
With joy, the newborn day beholds
In wretched case. How rare it is
To find old age and happiness
Combined. More soft than Tyrian couch,
The greensward soothes to fearless sleep; 645