Neop. What shall I do then?
Phil. Do not in thy fear
Desert me, for it now is come, perchance,
*After long time, retreating when 'tis sated.
Neop. Ah! miserable one, most miserable,760
All worn with many woes, dost thou then wish
That I should hold thee, touch thee?
Phil. Nay, not so:
But take my bow and arrows, which but now
Thou asked'st for, and keep them till the force
Of the sharp pain be spent; yea, guard them well,
For slumber takes me, when this evil ends;
Nor can it cease before: but thou must leave me
To sleep in peace; and should they come meanwhile,
Of whom we heard, by all the Gods I charge thee,
Nor with thy will, nor yet against it, give770
These things to them, by any art entrapped,
Lest thou should'st deal destruction on thyself,
And me who am thy suppliant.
Neop. Take good heart,
If forethought can avail. To none but thee
And me shall they be given. Hand them me,
And good luck come with them!
Phil. [Giving his bow and arrows to Neoptolemos.]
Lo there, my son!
Receive thou them, but first adore the Power
Whose name is Jealousy, that they may prove
To thee less full of trouble than they were
To me, and him who owned them ere I owned.
Neop. So be it, Ο ye Gods, to both of us;
And may we have a fair and prosperous voyage780
Where God thinks right, and these our ships are bound.
Phil. I fear, Ο boy, lest all thy prayers be vain;
For now the dark blood, oozing from the depths,
