Page:Tragedies of Seneca (1907) Miller.djvu/154

136 And Hercules victorious come again Unto the upper world. [To slaves.] Heap high the logs, And let the sacred temple blazing fall Upon its suppliants. Now let the wife And all her brood upon the funeral pyre Be burned to ashes in the kindling flames. Amiphitr.: This boon Alcides' father asks of thee, Which fits me well, that I be first to die. Lycus: Who bids all men meet punishment with death Knows not the ruler's art. Seek varied pains; Forbid the wretch to die, the happy slay. Now, while the pyre is growing for the flames, I'll pay my vows unto the ocean's god. [Exit.] Amiphitr.: O god of gods, O ruler of the skies, Whose hurtling bolts make mortals quake with fear, Check thou the impious hand of this dire king. Why do I vainly importune the gods? Where'er thou art, hear thou and answer, son. But why this sudden rocking of the shrine? Why groans the earth? Far in her lowest hold A crashing deep resounds. Our prayer is heard! It is, it is the step of Hercules!

Chorus: O Fortune, envious of the brave, Unjustly are thy prizes given! Behold Eurystheus reigns at ease, While our Alcmena's noble son, With hands which could the heavens uplift, Must endless wars with monsters wage; Must sever the hydra's teeming necks, And from the cheated sisters bear The apples, when the dragon huge, The guardian of the golden fruit, Had given to sleep his watchful eyes. To the wandering homes of Scythia, Where tribes in their ancestral seats