Chor. Have pity, Ο my prince, for he hath told
Of sorrows which, I pray
No friend of mine may know.
But if, Ο prince, the Atreidæ, rough and fierce,510
Thou hatest in thy soul,
I, reckoning on the profit-side for him
The evil they have done, would take him home,
And on my good ship swift
Make for the haven which his heart desires,
Escaping thus the righteous wrath of Gods.
Neop. Take heed lest thou be very pliant now,
But when thou hast thy fill of that foul pest,520
Should'st shew no more at one with these thy words.
Chor. Far be that from me! Thou shalt ne'er have cause
With that reproach to vilify my name.
Neop. Right shameful were it I more loth should seem
Than thou to help a stranger in his need:
But, if it please you, let us sail at once.
And let him too be quick to start with us;
Our ship will take him, will not say him nay.
This only pray I, that the Gods may bring us
From this land safe to where we seek to sail.
Phil. Ο day best loved by me, and man most dear,530
And ye, my sailor friends, how best may I
Show in my acts the grateful love I feel?
Come, let us go, my son, and bid farewell
To that my homeless home, that thou may'st learn
What way I lived, and how I was by nature
Full stout of heart. Another man, I trow,
Would hardly even bear, with glance of eye,
To look on such a sight. But I have learnt,
Through sheer constraint, to acquiesce in ills.
