EURIPIDES
Build up once more the house of Agamemnon.
Go back, I say, and make my home your home.
You will be there in Hellas, on the shore
Where Argive horsemen ride. Give me your hand yoo
And swear to me that you will build my tomb,
Will set memorials in it and will ask
My sister for a lock of her long hair
To lay with them. Tell her that I was led
Before this altar by a gentle hand,
A woman's hand, a woman born in Argos, -705
And how at last my blood was purified.
O Pylades, be gentle to my sister!
And so goodbye, my best and closest friend.
When we were boys, we loved sharing our sports.
You rode the hills with me. And now in manhood
You are the one who has shared the heartache with me 7x0
When treacherous Phoebus through his oracle
First lied to me, then tricked me, luring me far
From home, lest watchful eyes in Hellas see
That Gods as well as men break promises.
I trusted Him, with all my faith and will,
Even, at His command, killing my mother,
And in return He has forsaken me. 71;
Pylades
I shall obey your will, though not my own;
Shall build your tomb in Hellas. Your heart knows
That I shall love your sister all my life.
And, close to you in your life, my heart knows
That it shall hold you closer in your death—
If death it be. Gods, in mysterious ways, 720
Never explaining, mask the face of life,
Behind what looks death, disguising life,
And then revealing it.
Orestes
The time is gone
When Gods might show that face. For she has come.
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