Enter Apollo.
Leader.
Apollo, thou! Go, reign where thou art king!
What portion hast thou in this doom-saying?
Apollo.
I come to bear my witness. This is one
Who in great anguish came to me alone
For refuge, and knelt suppliant at my shrine.
Therefore the cleansing of his stain is mine.
Likewise I share his plea, and on me take
What guilt he bears for that dead mother's sake.
Ope thou the court, O Pallas, and, as well
Thou canst, establish justice durable.
Athena.
Ho! Opened is the Court; and yours the speech.
(To the Furies)
He who pursueth, speaking first, can teach
Best his whole grief, and how the evil grew.
Leader.
Many are we, yet shall our words be few.
Make answer thou, point against point. And say
First this one thing: thy mother didst thou slay?
Orestes.
I slew her, . . . Aye. Denied it cannot be.
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