EURIPIDES
hid it, for he was noble and respected me.
Who in all Thessaly is a truer friend than this?
Who in all Greece? Therefore, he must not ever say
that, being noble, he befriended a worthless man. 860
(He goes out Presently Admetus comes on,
followed by the Chorus.)
Admetus
Hateful is this
return, hateful the sight of this house
widowed, empty. Where shall I go?
Where shall I stay? What shall I say?
How can I die?
My mother bore me to a heavy fate. 865
I envy the dead. I long for those
who are gone, to live in their houses, with them.
There is no pleasure in the sunshine
nor the feel of the hard earth under my feet.
Such was the hostage Death has taken 870
from me, and given to Hades.
(As they chant this, Admetus moans inarticulately.)
Chorus
Go on, go on. Plunge in the deep of the'house.
What you have suffered is enough for tears.
You have gone through pain, I know,
but you do no good to the woman who lies 875
below. Never again to look on the face
of the wife you loved hurts you.
Admetus
You have opened the wound torn in my heart.
What can be worse for a man than to lose
a faithful wife. I envy those 880
without wives, without children. I wish I had not
ever married her, lived with her in this house.
We have each one life. To grieve for this
is burden enough.