Just answer then this question that I ask:
If one should seek to slay thee here and now,
Thee, the famed just one, would'st thou stay to ask
If 'twere thy father's hand that aimed the blow,
Or would'st thou straightway parry it? I think,
As thou lov'st life, thou would'st requite thy foe,
And would'st not look so narrowly at right;
Such ills, at any rate, were those I fell on,
The Gods still leading me; nor can I think
My father's soul, if it returned to life,
Would plead against me here. But thou think'st fit,—
Since just thou'rt not, as one who deems it right1000
To speak of all things, whether fit for speech
Or things which none may utter,—before these
To heap reproach on me. And Theseus' name
It suits thee well to flatter, and to speak
Of Athens, and her goodly polity;
And yet thus praising, thou forgettest this,
That she, if any land reveres the Gods,
In this excels; and yet from her thou dar'st
To steal a suppliant, grey and hoar with age,
And those two maidens hast already taken.
And for these deeds, these Goddess-Powers I call1010
And supplicate, and weary with my prayers,
To come as helpers and allies, that thou
May'st learn their mettle who this land defend.
Chor. The man, Ο king, speaks nobly, and his woes
Are grievous, and they call us to assist him.
Thes. Enough of words, for they who snatched their prey
Haste on, while we who suffer wrong stand still.
Creon. What orders giv'st thou to a man defenceless?
Thes. That thou should'st lead the way, and I should go
Thy escort, so that if thou hast his girls1020
