EXJRIPIDE S

I gave you life, and made you master of my house,

and raised you. I am not obliged to die for you.

I do not acknowledge any tradition among us

that fathers should die for their sons. That is not Greek.

Your natural right is to find your own happiness 685

or unhappiness. All you deserve from me7 you have.

You are lord of many. I have wide estates of land

to leave you, just as my father left them to me.

What harm have I done you then? What am I taking

away

from you? Do not die for me, I will not die for you. 690

You like the sunlight. Don't you think your father does?
I count the time I have to spend down there as long,
and the time to live is little, but that little is sweet.
You fought shamelessly for a way to escape death,
and passed your proper moment, and are still alive 695

because you killed her. Then, you wretch, you dare to call
me coward, when you let your woman outdare you,
and die for her magnificent young man? I see.
You have found a clever scheme by which you never will

die.

You will always persuade the wife you have at the time 700
to die for you instead. And you, so low, then dare
blame your own people for not wanting to do this.
Silence. I tell you, as you cherish your own life,
all other people cherish theirs. And if you call
us names, you will be called names, and the names are

true. 705

Chorus

Too much evil has been said in this speech and in
that spoken before. Old sir, stop cursing your own son.

Admetus

No, speak, and I will speak too. If it hurts to hear
the truth, you should not have made a mistake with me.

I should have made a mistake if I had died for you. 710
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