Page:Tragedies of Euripides (Way 1896) v2.djvu/469

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THE MADNESS OF HERAKLES.

413

Nay then, leave Thebes, submissive to the law,
And unto Pallas' fortress come with me.
There will I cleanse thine hands from taint of blood,
Give thee a home,^[1] and of my substance half. 1325
The gifts my people gave for children saved
Twice seven, when I slew the Knossian bull,
These will I give thee. All throughout the land
Have I demesnes assigned me: these shall bear
Thy name henceforth with men while thou shalt live. 1330
And, when in death thou goest to Hades' halls,
With sacrifice and monuments of stone
Shall all the Athenians' Town exalt thy name:
For a fair crown to win from Greeks is this
For us, the glory of a hero helped. 1335
Yea, this requital will I render thee
For saving me; for now thou lackest friends.
When the Gods honour us, we need not friends:
God's help sufficeth, when he wills it so.

Herakles.

Ah, to mine ills this hath no pertinence! 1340
I deem not that the Gods for spousals crave
Unhallowed: tales of Gods' hands manacled
Ever I scorned, nor ever will believe,
Nor that one God is born another's lord.
For God hath need—if God indeed he be— 1345
Of nought: these be the minstrels' sorry tales.
Yet thus I have mused—how deep soe'er in ills—

↑ Paley prefers to translate, "Give to thee shrines," assuming that Euripides is thinking of the worship, before their death, rendered to Herakles and Theseus, as mentioned by Plutarch. What follows (especially 1331—3) is hardly consistent with this view.

[1] Paley prefers to translate, "Give to thee shrines," assuming that Euripides is thinking of the worship, before their death, rendered to Herakles and Theseus, as mentioned by Plutarch. What follows (especially 1331—3) is hardly consistent with this view.

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