Appear upon the earth, Oh, give,
We pray, another champion.
But what is this? The heavens resound. 1595
Behold Alcides' father mourns,
He mourns his son. Or is't the sound
Of grieving gods, or the cry of fear
Of the timid stepdame? Can it be
That at the sight of Hercules
Great Juno flees the stars? Perchance
Beneath the added weight of heaven
Tall Atlas reels. Or do the shades 1600
Cry out in fear of Hercules,
While Cerberus with broken chains
In panic flees the sight? Not so:
Behold, 'tis Poeas' son, who comes
With looks of gladness. See, he bears
The well-known quiver and the shafts 1605
Of Hercules.
ACT V
[Enter Philoctetes.]
Nurse: Speak out, good youth, and tell the end, I pray,
Of Hercules. How did he meet his death?
Philoctetes: More gladly than another meets his life.
Nurse: What? Did he then rejoice him in the fire?
Philoctetes: He showed that burning flames were naught to him. 1610
What is there in the world which Hercules
Has left unconquered? He has vanquished all.
Nurse: What chance for glory on the funeral pyre?
Philoctetes: One evil thing remained upon the earth
Which he had not o'ercome—the power of fire. 1615
But this has now been added to the beasts,
And fire is one of great Alcides' toils.
Nurse: But tell us in what way he conquered fire.
Philoctetes: When all his sorrowing friends began to fell
The trees on Oeta's slopes, beneath one hand
The beech-tree lost its foliage and lay,
Its mighty trunk prone on the ground. One hand
With deadly stroke attacked the towering pine, 1620
