Page:Sophocles (Storr 1912) v1.djvu/213

 Thou urgest, as the saviour of our land,

Disposes me to counsel for thy weal.

Aid me, kind sirs; I will do all you bid.

First make atonement to the deities,

Whose grove by trespass thou didst first profane.

After what manner, stranger? Teach me, pray.

Make a libation first of water fetched

With undefiled hands from living spring.

And after I have gotten this pure draught?

Bowls thou wilt find, the carver’s handiwork;

Crown thou the rims and both the handles crown—

With olive shoots or flocks of wool, or how?

With wool from fleece of yearling freshly shorn.

What next? how must I end the ritual?

Pour thy libation, turning to the dawn.

Pouring it from the urns whereof ye spake?

Yea, in three streams; and be the last bowl drained

To the last drop. 191