The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries Volume I Part 32

Needs there persuasion when no choice is granted?

To save thyself, thy brother, and a friend, One path presents itself, and canst thou ask If we shall follow it?

IPHIGENIA

Still let me pause, For such injustice thou couldst not thyself Calmly return for benefits receiv'd.

PYLADES

If we should perish, bitter self-reproach, Forerunner of despair, will be thy portion.

It seems thou art not used to suffer much, when, to escape so great calamity, Thou canst refuse to utter one false word.

IPHIGENIA

Oh, that I bore within a manly heart!

Which, when it hath conceiv'd a bold resolve, 'Gainst every other voice doth close itself.

PYLADES

In vain thou dost refuse; with iron hand Necessity commands; her stern decree Is law supreme, to which the G.o.ds themselves Must yield submission. In dread silence rules The uncounsell'd sister of eternal fate.

What she appoints thee to endure,--endure; What to perform,--perform. The rest thou knowest.

Ere long I will return, and then receive The seal of safety from thy sacred hand.

SCENE V

IPHIGENIA (_alone_)

I must obey him, for I see my friends Beset with peril. Yet my own sad fate Doth with increasing anguish move my heart.

May I no longer feed the silent hope Which in my solitude I fondly cherish'd?

Shall the dire curse eternally endure?

And shall our fated race ne'er rise again With blessings crown'd?--All mortal things decay-- The n.o.blest powers, the purest joys of life At length subside: then wherefore not the curse?

And have I vainly hoped that, guarded here, Secluded from the fortunes of my race, I, with pure heart and hands, some future day Might cleanse the deep defilement of our house?

Scarce was my brother in my circling arms From raging madness suddenly restor'd, Scarce had the ship, long pray'd for, near'd the strand Once more to waft me to my native sh.o.r.es, When unrelenting Fate, with iron hand, A double crime enjoins; commanding me To steal the image, sacred and rever'd, Confided to my care, and him deceive To whom I owe my life and destiny.

Let not abhorrence spring within my heart!

Nor the old t.i.tan's hate, toward you, ye G.o.ds Infix its vulture talons in my breast!

Save me and save your image in my soul!

An ancient song comes back upon mine ear-- I had forgotten it, and willingly-- The Parcae's song, which horribly they sang, What time, hurl'd headlong from his golden seat, Fell Tantalus. They with their n.o.ble friend Keen anguish suffer'd; savage was their breast And horrible their song. In days gone by, When we were children, oft our ancient nurse Would sing it to us, and I mark'd it well.

Oh, fear the immortals, Ye children of men!

Eternal dominion They hold in their hands, And o'er their wide empire Wield absolute sway.

Whom they have exalted Let him fear them most!

Around golden tables, On cliffs and clouds resting The seats are prepar'd.

If contest ariseth, The guests are hurl'd headlong, Disgrac'd and dishonor'd, To gloomy abysses, And, fetter'd in darkness, Await the vain longing A juster decree.

But in feasts everlasting, Around the gold tables Still dwell the immortals.

From mountain to mountain They stride; while ascending From fathomless chasms The breath of the t.i.tans, Half-stifled with anguish, Like volumes of incense Fumes up to the skies.

From races ill-fated, Their-aspect joy-bringing, Oft turn the celestials, And shun in the children To gaze on the features Once lov'd and still speaking Of their mighty sire.

So chanted the Parcae; The banish'd one hearkens The song, the h.o.a.r captive Immur'd in his dungeon, His children's doom ponders, And boweth his head.

ACT V

SCENE I

THOAS, ARKAS

ARKAS

I own I am perplex'd and scarcely know 'Gainst whom to point the shaft of my suspicion, Whether the priestess aids the captives' flight, Or they themselves clandestinely contrive it.

'Tis rumor'd that the ship which brought them here Is lurking somewhere in a bay conceal'd.

This stranger's madness, these new l.u.s.tral rites, The specious pretext for delay, excite Mistrust, and call aloud for vigilance.

THOAS

Summon the priestess to attend me here!

Then go with speed, and strictly search the sh.o.r.e, From yonder headland to Diana's grove: Forbear to violate its sacred depths, A watchful ambush set, attack and seize, According to your wont, whome'er ye find.

[ARKAS _retires_.]

SCENE II

THOAS (_alone_)

Fierce anger rages in my riven breast, First against her, whom I esteemed so pure; Then 'gainst myself, whose foolish lenity Hath fashion'd her for treason. Man is soon Inur'd to slavery, and quickly learns Submission, when of freedom quite depriv'd.

If she had fallen in the savage hands Of my rude sires, and had their holy rage Forborne to slay her, grateful for her life, She would have recogniz'd her destiny, Have shed before the shrine the stranger's blood, And duty nam'd what was necessity.

Now my forbearance in her breast allures Audacious wishes. Vainly I had hoped To bind her to me; rather she contrives To shape an independent destiny.

She won my heart through flattery; and now That I oppose her, seeks to gain her ends By fraud and cunning, and my kindness deems A worthless and prescriptive property.

SCENE III

IPHIGENIA, THOAS

IPHIGENIA

Me hast thou summon'd? wherefore art thou here?

THOAS

Wherefore delay the sacrifice? inform me.

IPHIGENIA