Page:The Dramas of Aeschylus (Swanwick).djvu/251

Rh

I will not weary to entreat thee fair;

For ne'er with justice shalt thou urge the plaint,

That thou, the elder deity, by me

The younger, and these city-guarding men,

Wert, like an outcast, banished from the land.

But if Persuasion's power ye hold in awe,—

The charm and honeyed sweetness of my tongue,

Tarry thou must; but if thou wilt not tarry,

Not justly wouldst thou on this city hurl

Revenge, or wrath, or do my people wrong;

For thine it is to share with me this land,

In aye-enduring honour justly held.

Athena, queen, what seat dost offer me?

One where no sorrow scathes. Receive it thou!

If I consent, what honour waiteth me?

No house unblest by thee shall henceforth thrive.

This wilt thou do? endow me with such might?

Ay, and will prosper him who worships thee.