Page:Tragedies of Seneca (1907) Miller.djvu/418

400 High o'er this spot a frowning crag projects, Which views on either side the spreading sea. There distant lie thine own Pelopian shores, And there the curving Isthmus, deep withdrawn, Shielding the broad Aegean from the west There blood-stained Lemnos looms; here Chalcis lies; And yonder wind-locked Aulis' peaceful port. This lofty cliff old Nauplius occupied, With hate inspired for Palamedes' sake. There his accurséd hand a beacon raised And lured us onward to the fatal spot. Now hang our barks by jagged rocks transfixed, Or founder, wrecked and wrecking in the shoals; And where but now our vessels sought to land, They flee the land and choose the angry waves. With dawn the sea's destructive rage was spent, And full atonement had been made to Troy. Then came the sun again; and brightening day Revealed the awful havoc of the night. Clytemnestra: I know not which were better, grief or joy. I do rejoice to see my lord again, And yet my kingdom's losses counsel tears. O father Jove, at whose august command The sounding heavens quake, regard our race, And bid the angry gods be merciful. Let every head be decked with festal wreath, The flute resound, and at the stately shrine Let snowy victims fall in sacrifice. But lo, a grieving throng, with locks unkempt, The Trojan women come; and at their head, With step majestic, queenly, heaven inspired, Apollo's bride, with his own laurel tired.

Band of Trojan women: Alas, how bitter, yet how sweet a thing, This love of life we mortals cherish so! What madness, when the door stands open wide That frees us from our ills, and death calls loud And welcomes us to everlasting rest!