HERACLES
and make him kill his sons. Madden his feet;
drive him, goad him, shake out the sails of death
and speed his passage over Acheron,
where he must take his crown of lovely sons.
Let him learn what Hera's anger is,	840
and what is mine. For the gods are nothing,
and men prevail, if this one man escape.
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Madness
I was born of noble birth: my mother
is the Night, and my father, Uranus.
My functions make me loathsome to the gods,	845
nor do I gladly visit men I love.
And I advise both you and Hera now,
lest I see you stumble, to hear me out.
This man against whose house you drive me on
has won great fame on earth and with the gods.	850
He reclaimed the pathless earth and raging sea,
and he alone held up the honors of the gods
when they wilted at the hands of evil men.
I advise you: renounce these wicked plans.
Iris
Hera's scheme and mine need no advice from you,	855
Madness
I would place you on the better path: you choose the
worse.
Iris
Hera has not sent you down to show your sanity.
Madness
O Sun, be my witness: I act against my will.
But since I must perform the service you and Hera ask,
in full cry, like the hound that bays the huntsman,	860
go I will: to the heart of Heracles I run,
more fast, more wild than ocean's groaning breakers go,
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