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Heracles

Perseus Greek · Perseus Greek · 537 sections

1. 1389

   O land of Cadmus, and all you people of Thebes!

2. 1390

   cut off your hair, and mourn with me; go to my children’s burial, and with one dirge lament us all, the dead and me; for on all of us has Hera inflicted the same cruel blow of destruction.

3. 1394

   Rise, unhappy man! you have had your fill of tears.

4. 1395

   I cannot rise; my limbs are rooted here.

5. 1396

   Yes, even the strong are overthrown by misfortunes.

6. 1397

   Ah! Would I could become a stone upon this spot, oblivious of trouble.

7. 1398

   Peace! give your hand to a friend and helper.

8. 1399

   No, let me not wipe off the blood upon your robe.

9. 1400

   Wipe it off and spare not; I will not refuse you.

10. 1401

    Bereft of my own sons, I find you as a son to me.

11. 1402

    Throw your arm about my neck; I will be your guide.

12. 1403

    A pair of friends indeed, but one a man of sorrows. Ah! aged father, this is the kind of man to make a friend.

13. 1405

    Blessed in her sons, the country that gave him birth!

14. 1406

    Theseus, turn me back again to see my children.

15. 1407

    What for? Do you think to find a drug in this to soothe your soul?

16. 1408

    I long to do so, and would embrace my father.

17. 1409

    Here am I, my son; your wish is no less dear to me.

18. 1410

    Have you so short a memory for your troubles?

19. 1411

    All that I endured before was easier to bear than this.

20. 1412

    If anyone sees you play the woman, they will scoff.

21. 1413

    Have I by living grown so abject in your sight? It was not so once, I think.

22. 1414

    Yes, too much so; in your sickness you are not the glorious Heracles.

23. 1415

    What about you? What kind of hero were you when in trouble in the world below?

24. 1416

    I was worse than anyone as far as courage went.

25. 1417

    How then can you say of me, that I am abased by my troubles?

26. 1418

    Forward!

27. 1418b

    Farewell, my aged father!

28. 1418c

    Farewell to you, my son!

29. 1419

    Bury my children as I said.

30. 1419b

    But who will bury me, my son?

31. 1420

    I will.

32. 1420b

    When wil you come?

33. 1420c

    After you have buried my children.

34. 1421

    How?

35. 1421b

    I will fetch you from Thebes to Athens. But carry my children within, a grievous burden to the earth. And I, after ruining my house by deeds of shame, will follow as a little boat in the wake of Theseus, a total wreck.

36. 1425

    Whoever prefers wealth or might to the possession of good friends, thinks wrongly.

37. 1427

    With grief and many a bitter tear we go our way, robbed of all we prized most dearly.

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Perseus Greek. CTS URN tlg0006.tlg009.perseus-eng2. Via the Perseus Digital Library / Open Greek and Latin TEI corpora. Licence: Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Source.