Page:Tragedies of Seneca (1907) Miller.djvu/267

Rh Hyllus: If I know Hercules, he soon will come Victorious over all his deadly woe; And agony, o'ercome, will yield to him. Deianira: The hydra's venom preys upon his frame; A boundless pestilence consumes his limbs. Hyllus: Think'st thou the poison of that serpent, slain, Cannot be overcome by that brave man Who met the living foe and conquered it? He slew the hydra, and victorious stood, Though in his flesh the poisonous fangs were fixed, And o'er his limbs the deadly venom flowed. Shall he, who overcame dread Nessus' self, By this same Nessus' blood be overcome? Deianira: 'Tis vain to stay one who is bent on death. It is my will at once to flee the light. Who dies with Hercules has lived enough. Nurse: Now by these hoary locks, as suppliant, And by these breasts which suckled thee, I beg: Abate thy wounded heart's wild threatenings, Give o'er thy dread resolve for cruel death. Deianira: Whoe'er persuades the wretched not to die Is cruel. Death is sometimes punishment, But oft a boon, and brings forgiveness oft. Nurse: Restrain at least thy hand, unhappy child, That he may know the deed was born of fraud, And was not purposed by his wife's design. Deianira: I'll plead my cause before the bar of hell, Whose gods, I think, will free me from my guilt, Though I am self-condemned; these guilty hands Will Pluto cleanse for me. Then, on thy banks, O Lethe, with my memory clean I'll stand, A grieving shade, awaiting him I love. But thou, who rulest o'er the world of gloom, Prepare some toil for me, some dreadful toil; For this my fault outweighs all other sins That heart of man has ever dared to do. Nay, Juno's self was never bold enough To rob the grieving world of Hercules. Let Sisyphus from his hard labor cease,