Page:Tragedies of Sophocles (Plumptre 1878).djvu/575



of Telamon,

Who hast thine home in sea-girt Salamis,

Where the waves plash and moan,

I joy when all with thee goes well and right;

But when the stroke of Zeus thy head doth smite,

Or from the Danai evil rumour flies,

Spread far by enemies,

Then am I filled with dread, and, like a dove,

In fear and trembling move,

And glance with shuddering eyes.

And now this very night, its end just come,

Great sorrows on us press,

Hearing ill news, that thou

Hast rushed upon the meadow where they roam,

Our good steeds numberless,

And there hast slain the Danai's treasured spoil,

All that was left us, won by war's sharp toil,

And dost destroy them now

With the keen, bright-edged sword.

Yea, such the gist of every whispered word

Odysseus now to each man's hearing brings,

And gains belief too well;

For lo! he tells of things

That now are found of thee too credible,

And every one that hears