Page:Sophocles (Storr 1912) v1.djvu/275

 Cling to me, press me close on either side,

There rest ye from your dreary wayfaring.

Now tell me of your ventures, but in brief;

Brief speech suffices for young maids like you.

Here is our saviour; thou should’st hear the tale

From his own lips; so shall my part be brief.

I pray thee do not wonder if the sight

Of children, given o’er for lost, has made

My converse somewhat long and tedious.

Full well I know the joy I have of them

Is due to thee, to thee and no man else;

Thou wast their sole deliverer, none else.

The gods deal with thee after my desire,

With thee and with this land! for fear of heaven

I found above all peoples most with you,

And righteousness and lips that cannot lie.

I speak in gratitude of what I know,

For all I have I owe to thee alone.

Give me thy hand, O Prince, that I may touch it,

And if thou wilt permit me, kiss thy cheek.

What say I? Can I wish that thou should’st touch

One fallen like me to utter wretchedness,

Corrupt and tainted with a thousand ills?

Oh no, I would not let thee if thou would’st.

They only who have known calamity

Can share it. Let me greet thee where thou art,

And still befriend me as thou hast till now. 253