Rejoicing; but methinks shall cast away
All, with much haste and trembling, on the day
When sails are stript by the edge of wind and sea
And yard-arm breaketh.
He yearns, he strives, amid the whirling sea,
But none shall hear;
And loud his Daemon laughs, saying "This is he
Who vaunted him these things should never be!"
Who now is weeping, weak in the endless foam,
And sees the foreland where beyond is home,
But shall not pass it: on the rocks of Right
Wrecked is his life's long glory; and the night
Falls, and there lives from all his agony
No word nor tear.
The scene is now set with seats for the Council of the Areopagus. Enter Athena, the Judges, a Herald, a crowd of Citizens, the Furies, Orestes.
Athena.
Herald, thine office! See that yonder crowds
Hold back, and let this piercer of the clouds,
Filled with man's breath, the Tuscan trumpet, blow
His fiery summons to the host below.
Then all be silence, while the people fill
This Council Hall. Thus shall my sovran will
And ordinance to this people, great and small,
Be known for ever, and upheld by all
Within our gates; and thus my wardens do
Justice this day, discerning false from true.
27
