Hera. No godless deed, if so thou glad my heart.
Hyllos. And dost thou bid me do it in full earnest?
Hera. Yea, even so; I call the Gods to witness.
Hyllos. Then will I do, as in the sight of God,
What thou dost ask, and will refuse no more;
I shall not shew as base, obeying thee.1250
Hera. Thou endest well; and add, my son, this boon,
And quickly, ere some fresh convulsive throb
Or dart of pain comes on me, place me there,
Upon the pyre. Come quick, and lift me up.
This is his rest who lies before you here,
His last, last end.
Hyllos. Nay, nothing hinders now
Our doing this, since thou, my father, bidd'st,
And so constrainest us to do thy will.
Hera. Come then, ere once again
The evil stirs in its might.
Come, heart strong to restrain,
Putting a curb on thy lips,
Wrought of the steel and the stone.1260
Cease from thy wailing, as one
About to accomplish a task
Unwelcome, yet fruitful in joy.
Farewell, friends, faithful and true,
*Grant me your pardon for this;
*But the Gods . . . oh pardon them not,
*For the deeds that are ever being done,
Who, being and bearing the name
Of Fathers, look on such wrong.
Chor. What cometh no man may know,1270
What is is piteous for us,
Base and shameful for Them,
And for him who endureth this woe,
Above all that live hard to bear.
