Page:Eumenides (Murray 1925).djvu/24

Rh The ragers sleep: the Virgins without love,

So grey, so old, whom never god above

Hath kissed, nor man, nor from the wilderness

One wild beast. They were born for wickedness

And sorrow; for in evil night they dwell,

And feed on the great darkness that is Hell,

Most hated by the Gods and human thought.

But none the less, fly thou and falter not.

For these shall hunt thee, ever on through earth

Unwandered, through the vast lands of the North,

The sea-ways and the cities ringed with sea.

But faint not. Clasp thy travail unto thee;

On till thou come to Pallas' Rock, and fold

Thine arms in prayer about her image old.

In Athens there be hearts to judge, there be

Words that bring peace; and I shall set thee free

At last from all this woe.—If thou didst kill

Thy mother, was it not my word and will?

Not to betray thou knowest. Oh, ponder yet

One other lesson, Lord—not to forget!

Thy strength in doing can be trusted well. [ departs.

Remember! Let no fear thy spirit quell!

Do thou, O Hermes, brother of my blood,

Watch over him. Thou guide of man, make good

The name thou bearest, shepherding again