Page:Tragedies of Seneca (1907) Miller.djvu/345

Rh Oh, come! For when mine eyes behold you here, Perchance this care will pass away.—But whence Those answering calls? Atreus [returning, with a covered platter in his hands]: Now spread thy loving arms. See, here they are.

Dost recognize thy sons? Thyestes: I recognize my brother! How, O Earth, Canst thou endure such monstrous crime as this? Why dost thou not to everlasting shade And Styx infernal cleave a yawning gulf, And sweep away to empty nothingness This guilty king with all his realm? And why Dost thou not raze, and utterly destroy The city of Mycenae? Both of us Should stand with Tantalus in punishment. If, far below the depths of Tartarus, There is a deeper hell, O Mother Earth, Thy strong foundations rend asunder wide, And send us thither to that lowest pit. There let us hide beneath all Acheron; Let damned shades above our guilty heads Go wandering; let fiery Phlegethon In raging torrent pour his burning sands Above our place of exile. But the earth Insensate lies, and utterly unmoved. The gods have fled. Atreus: Nay, come with thankful heart Receive thy sons whom thou hast long desired. Enjoy them, kiss them, share among the three Thy fond embraces. Thyestes: And is this thy bond? Is this thy grace, thy fond fraternal faith? So dost thou cease to hate? I do not ask That I may have my sons again unharmed; But what in crime and hatred may be given,