Page:Tragedies of Seneca (1907) Miller.djvu/301

Rh Because of stolen Cerberus, And in the outer court of Dis Do jealous fates detain thee still? Oh, what a rout among the shades And frightened manes must there be! Does Charon flee in his ghostly skiff? With flying hoofs do the Centaurs rush Through the wandering shades? Does the hydra seek In fear to plunge his snaky heads 'Neath the murky waves? Do all thy tasks Hold thee in fear? Ah me! Ah me! What foolish, raving madness this! I am mistaken quite. I know The shades and manes fear thee not; For neither does the tawny skin Stripped from the fierce Argolic beast Protect thy left with its streaming mane, Nor do its savage teeth surround Thy head. Thy quiver with its darts Thou hast given away, and a weaker hand Will aim thy bow. Alas, my son, Unarmed through the shades thou tak'st thy way; And with the shades shalt thou dwell for aye. The Voice of Hercules [sounding from heaven]: Why, since I hold the starry realms of sky, And have at last attained a heavenly seat, Dost thou by wailing bid me feel again Mortality? Give o'er, since valor now Has made for me a passage to the gods. Alcmena [bewildered]: Whence fall upon my startled ears These sounds? Whence come these thunder tones That bid me check my tears? Ah, now I know that chaos is o'ercome. From Styx art thou once more returned, O son? And hast thou once again Vanquished the grizzly power of death? Hast thou escaped the grim abode Of death once more, the gloomy pools