ACT II

_Atreus_ [_in soliloquy_]: O soul, so sluggish, spiritless, and weak, And (what in kings I deem the last reproach) Still unavenged, after so many crimes, Thy brother's treacheries, and every law Of nature set at naught, canst vent thy wrath In vain and meaningless complaints? By now The whole wide world should be astir with arms, 180 Thy arms, and on both seas thy ships of war Should swarm; the fields and town's should be ablaze, And gleaming swords should everywhere be seen. Beneath our charging squadrons' thundering tread Let Greece resound; let this my enemy Within no forest's depths a hiding find. 185 No citadel upon the mountain heights Shall shelter him. Let all the citizens, Mycenae leaving, sound the trump of war. Whoe'er grants refuge to that curséd head, Shall die a dreadful death. This noble pile, The home of our illustrious Pelops' line, 190 I would might fall on me, if only thus It might destroy my hated brother too. But come, my soul, do what no coming age Shall e'er approve--or e'er forget; some deed Must be attempted, impious, bloody, dire, Such as my brother's self might claim as his. No crime's avenged save by a greater crime. 195 But where the crime that can surpass his deeds? Is he yet crushed in spirit? Does he show In prosperous circumstances self-control, Contentment in defeat? Full well I know His tameless spirit; it can ne'er be bent-- But can be broken. Then, before his force 200 He strengthens and opposing powers prepares, We must the attack begin, lest, while we wait, He strike us unprepared. For well I know That he must either slay me or be slain By me. There lies the crime between us two: Who leaps to grasp it first, the crime shall do.

_Attendant:_ But does the evil fame of such a deed Deter you not?

_Atreus:_ The greatest blessing this Of royal power, that men are forced to praise 205 Their monarchs' deeds as well as bear them.

_Attendant:_ Yea, But they whose praise is forced by fear become By that same fear in turn the bitterest foes. But he who seeks the people's heartfelt praise, Will wish their hearts and not their tongues to speak. 210

_Atreus:_ True praise may often fall to humble men, But false alone to kings. Let subjects learn To want what they would not.

_Attendant:_ Let monarchs learn To choose the right; then all will choose the same.

_Atreus:_ When kings are forced to choose the right alone, Their rule is insecure.

_Attendant:_ Where is no shame, No thought of righteousness, no piety, 215 No faith, no purity, Oh, then indeed That rule is insecure.

_Atreus:_ But purity, Faith, piety, are private virtues all; With kings, their will is law.

_Attendant:_ Oh, count it wrong To harm thy brother, though he basest be.

_Atreus:_ Whatever may not lawfully be done 220 To brothers, may with perfect right be done To him. What is there left me now unstained By crime of his? Where has he failed to sin? My wife has he debauched, my kingdom stolen, The ancient emblem of our dynasty By fraud obtained, and all our royal house By that same fraud in dire confusion plunged. There is a flock within our royal stalls, 225 Rich fleeced and nobly bred, and with the flock A ram, their leader, wondrous, magical; For from his body thickly hangs a fleece Of fine-spun gold, with which the new-crowned kings Of Pelops' line are wont t' adorn their scepters. Who owns the ram is king, for with his fate 230 The fortunes of our noble house are linked. This sacred ram in safety feeds apart Within a mead whose fateful bounds are fenced By stony walls, and kept with gate of stone. Him, greatly daring, did my brother steal, Perfidious, with my wife in secret league 235 Of crime. And this has been the fountain spring Of all my woes; throughout my kingdom's length Have I a trembling exile wandered long, And found no place of safety from his snares; My wife has he defiled, my subjects' faith And loyalty destroyed, my house o'erthrown, All ties of kinship broken, and nothing left 240 Of which I may be sure save only this-- My brother's enmity. Why do I stand In stupid inactivity? At length Bestir thyself, and gird thy courage up. Think thou on Pelops and on Tantalus; Such deeds as theirs must by my hands be done.

[_To_ Attendant.]

Tell thou me then how vengeance may be won.

_Attendant:_ Drive out his hostile spirit with the sword. 245

_Atreus:_ Thou speakest of the end of punishment, But I the punishment itself desire. Let easy-going rulers slay their foes; In my domain death is a longed-for boon.

_Attendant:_ Do pious motives stir thee not at all?

_Atreus:_ Away, O Piety, if ever thou Didst dwell within my house, and in thy stead Let come dire furies' cohorts, fiends at war, 250 Megaera holding high in either hand Her flaming torch; for with a mighty rage 'Tis not enough my heart should be inflamed: I fain would be by greater horrors filled.

_Attendant:_ What new design does thy mad soul conceive?

_Atreus:_ No deed within the accustomed bounds of grief. 255 I'll leave no crime undone; and yet no crime Is bad enough for me.

_Attendant:_ Wilt use the sword?

_Atreus:_ 'Tis not enough.

_Attendant:_ The flames?

_Atreus:_ Still not enough.

_Attendant:_ What weapon then will thy mad passion use?

_Atreus:_ Thyestes' self.

_Attendant:_ Far worse than madness this.

_Atreus:_ I do confess it. Deep within my heart, 260 A fearful tumult rages unrestrained, And I am hurried on, I know not where; I only know that I am hurried on. From lowest depths a moaning sound is heard, And thunders rumble in the cloudless skies; A crashing noise resounds throughout the house As though 'twere rent in twain; upon my hearth The frightened Lares turn their gaze from me. 265 Yet this shall be, this awful thing shall be, Ye gods, which ye do fear to think upon.

_Attendant:_ What then is this which thou dost meditate?

_Atreus:_ Some greater evil lurks within my soul, And, monstrous, swells beyond all human bounds, My sluggish hands impelling to the deed. I know not what it is; but this I know, That 'tis some monstrous deed. So let it be. 270 Haste thee and do this deed, O soul of mine! 'Tis worthy of Thyestes--and of me. Let both perform it then. The Odrysian house Was wont to look on feasts unspeakable-- monstrous thing, 'tis true, but long ago Performed. This grief of mine some greater sin 275 Must find to feed upon. Do thou inspire My heart, O Daulian Procne, who didst know A mother's and a sister's feelings too. Our cause is similar. Assist thou then, And nerve my hand to act. Let once again A sire with joyous greed his children rend, And hungrily devour their flesh. 'Tis good, 'Tis quite enough. This mode of punishment So far doth please me well. But where is he? 280 Why do the hands of Atreus rest so long Inactive? Even now before mine eyes The perfect image of the slaughter comes; I seem to see the murdered children heaped Before their father's face. O timid soul, Why dost thou fear? Why droops thy courage now Before the deed is done? Then up, and dare. Of this mad crime the most revolting part 285 Thyestes' self shall do.

_Attendant:_ But by what wiles Shall we unto our snares entice his feet? For he doth count us all his enemies.

_Atreus:_ He never could be taken, were his will Not bent on taking too. E'en now he hopes To take my kingdom from me. In this hope, He'll rush against the bolts of threat'ning Jove; 290 This hope will make him brave the whirlpools' wrath, And sail within the treacherous Libyan shoals; On this hope stayed, the greatest ill of all Will he have strength to bear--the sight of me.

_Attendant:_ But who will give him confidence in peace? To whom will he such weighty credence give? 295

_Atreus:_ His wicked hope is ready to believe. Yet shall my sons this message bear from me: Now let the wretched exile roam no more, But leave his homeless state for royal halls, And rule at Argos, sharer of my throne. But if Thyestes harshly spurn my prayer, His guileless children, overspent with woes 300 And easily beguiled, will bend his will Unto their prayers. His ancient thirst for power, Together with his present poverty, And harsh demands of toil will move the man, However stubborn, by their weight of woes.

_Attendant:_ But time by now has made his troubles light. 305

_Atreus:_ Nay; sense of wrong increases day by day. 'Tis easy to bear hardship for a time; But to endure it long, an irksome task.

_Attendant:_ Choose other servants of thy grim design.

_Atreus:_ Young men lend ready ear to base commands.

_Attendant:_ Beware, lest what against their uncle now 310 Thou teachest them, they turn against their sire In time to come. Full oft do crimes recoil Upon the man who instigated them.

_Atreus:_ Though none should teach them fraud and ways of crime, The throne itself would teach them. Dost thou fear Lest they grow evil? Evil were they born. What thou dost savage, cruel call in me, Dost deem impossible and impious, 315 Perchance my brother even now doth plot Against myself.

_Attendant:_ Shall then thy children know What crime they do?

_Atreus:_ Not so, for youthful years Cannot keep silent faith. They might perchance Betray the trick. The art of secrecy Is mastered only by the ills of life.

_Attendant:_ And wilt thou then deceive the very ones 320 Through whom thou plann'st another to deceive?

_Atreus:_ That so they may themselves be free from guilt. For what the need of implicating them In crimes of mine? Nay, through my acts alone My hate shall work its ends. But hold, my soul, Thou doest ill, thou shrinkest from the task. If thou dost spare thine own, thou sparest his 325 As well. So then let Agamemnon be The conscious minister of my designs, And wittingly let Menelaüs help His father's plans. And by this test of crime, Let their uncertain birth be put to proof: If they refuse to wage this deadly war, And will not serve my hatred; if they plead He is their uncle--then is he their sire. So let them go. But no! a look of fear 330 Has oft revealed the heart. And weighty plans, E'en 'gainst the stoutest will, betray themselves. They shall not know of how great consequence Their mission is. [_To_ Attendant.] And do thou hide it too.

_Attendant:_ No warning do I need, for in my breast It shall be hid by fear and loyalty. But more shall loyalty prevail with me. 335

* * * * *

_Chorus:_ At last our royal family, The race of ancient Inachus, Hath quelled the brothers' deadly strife What fatal madness drives you on To shed by turns each other's blood, 340 And gain the throne through paths of crime? O ye who lust for regal state, Ye know not where true power is found; For riches cannot make a king, Nor Tyrian garments richly dyed, 345 Nor royal crowns upon the brow, Nor portals glittering with gold. But he is king who knows no fear, Whose heart is free from mad desires; Whom vain ambition moveth not, 350 Nor fickle favor of the mob. The hidden treasures of the west Move not his heart, nor sands of gold Which Tagus' waters sweep along Within their shining bed; 355 Nor yet the garnered wealth of grain Trod out on Libyan threshing-floors. He fears no hurtling thunderbolt In zig-zag course athwart the sky; No Eurus ruffling up the sea, 360 Nor the heaving Adriatic's waves, Windswept and mad before the blast; No hostile spear, nor keen, bare sword Can master him; but, set on high, In calm serenity he sees 365 All things of earth beneath his feet. And so with joy he goes to meet His fate, and welcomes death. In vain 'gainst him would kings contend, Though from all lands they congregate-- They who the scattered Dacians lead; 370 Who dwell upon the red sea's marge Whose depths are set with gleaming pearls; Or who, secure on Caspian heights, Leave all unclosed their mountain ways Against the bold Sarmatians; 375 They who through Danube's swelling waves Dare make their way with fearless feet, And, wheresoe'er they dwell, despoil The famed and far-off Serians: In vain all these, for 'tis the soul 380 That makes the king. He needs no arms, No steeds, no ineffectual darts Such as the Parthian hurls from far In simulated flight; for him No engines huge with far-hurled rocks 385 Lay waste the hostile city's walls. But he is king who knows no fear, And he is king who has no lust; And on his throne secure he sits Who is self-crowned by conscious worth. 390 Let him who will, in pride of power, Upon the brink of empire stand: For me, be sweet repose enough; In humble station fixed, would I My life in gentle leisure spend, 395 In silence, all unknown to fame. So when my days have passed away From noisy, restless tumult free, May I, in meek obscurity 400 And full of years, decline in death. But death lies heavily on him Who, though to all the world well known, Is stranger to himself alone.