Page:Tragedies of Sophocles (Plumptre 1878).djvu/464

366 Neop. Well, bring it out. What else desirest thou?

Phil. If from my quiver aught has chanced to drop

Through my neglect, that no man find it here.

Neop. Is this that thou dost bear the far-famed bow?

Phil. This, and none other hold I in my hands.

Neop. And may I have a nearer view of it,

And hold it, and salute it, as a God?

Phil. Thou shalt have this, my son, and if aught else

Of mine shall please thee, that too shall be thine.

Neop. I wish and long, and yet my wish stands thus;

I fain would, were it right; if not, refuse.

Phil. Thou askest but thy due, and it is right,

My son, who only giv'st me to behold

The light of day, and yon Œtæan shore,

My aged father, and my friends,—whose arm,

When I was trodden down, has raised me up

Above my foes. Take heart: it shall be thine

To touch them, yea, and give them back to me,

And boast that thou, alone of all that live,

Hast, for thy virtue's sake, laid hands on them:

For I too gained them by good deeds I did.

Neop. I grieve not now to see thee as a friend,

And take thee with me, for a man that knows,

Receiving good, to render good again,

Would be a friend worth more than land or goods;

Go thou within.

Phil. And I will take thee too:

My ailment makes me crave to have thy help.

[Exeunt into the cavern.

Chor. I know the tale, though these eyes saw it not,

Of him who came too near

The marriage-bed of Zeus,