"Hear ye my statute, men of Attica,—
Ye who of bloodshed judge this primal cause;
Nay, and in future aye shall Ægeus' host
Revere this great tribunal. This the hill
Of Ares, seat of Amazons, their tent,
What time 'gainst Theseus, breathing hate, they came,
Waging fierce battle, and their towers upreared,
A counter-fortress to Acropolis;—
To Ares they did sacrifice, and hence
This rock is titled Areopagus.
Here then shall sacred Awe, to Fear allied,
By day and night my lieges hold from wrong,
Save if themselves do innovate my laws.
If thou with mud, or influx base, bedim
The sparkling water, nought thou'lt find to drink.
Nor Anarchy, nor Tyrant's lawless rule
Commend I to my people's reverence;—
Nor let them banish from their city Fear;
For who 'mong men, uncurbed by Fear, is just?
Thus holding Awe in seemly reverence,
A bulwark for your state shall ye possess,
A safeguard to protect your city-walls,
Such as no mortals otherwhere can boast,
Neither in Scythia nor in Pelops' realm.
Behold! This court august, untouched by bribes,
Sharp to avenge, wakeful for those who sleep,
Establish I, a bulwark to this land.
These warnings to my lieges I address,
To unborn ages reaching. Judges, rise,
Assume the pebbles, and decide the cause,
Your oath revering. All hath now been said."
Now one by one the judges rise and drop their votes alternately into each urn, while between each Apollo and the Chorus utter in turn two lines of warning and
