|
Protect: for thou hast raised me, thou alone!... | |
| Her. | By wrestling with the power that rules herein. |
| Adm. | A bout with Death! Where didst thou close with him? |
| Her. | At the tomb. I lay in wait, rushed out, and gripped.... |
| Adm. | Why stands, oh why, the woman speechless thus? |
| Her. | To hear her salutation is not yet Permitted thee. First to the nether gods She must acquit her, and the third day dawn. Now lead her in; and deal, as thou art bound, Henceforth, Admetus, piously with thy guests. Farewell! For me, I go to execute For King Eurystheus the appointed task. |
| Adm. | Remain with us, a partner of the feast[1]. |
| Her. | Another time; the present bids me speed. |
| Adm. | Good fortune then be thine, and safe return.[Exit Heracles. In Pherae and in all the Marches Four For this good hap be dances set afoot And worshipped altars steam with sacrifice. This hour transforms us to a better life, Being fortunate, as I shall not deny.[Exeunt. |
| Chorus. | Many a guise hath deity, Doth surprises oft decree, Cunning for the expected end Unexpected close to send, By such way as this doth wend.[Exeunt. |
'Quite unexpected! And is that all?, must have been the comment of those in the Athenian audience (and there were probably not a few) who had followed the play so far with the desire to see in it a bona fide version of the sacred legend. 'If it is unexpected, why then it is all!' might have been the reply of those (and even as early as the date of the Alcestis they must have been a large majority) who understood the attitude of Euripides, and sympathized with him sufficiently to desire that he should be allowed, so far as might be, the means of public expression. The conclusion of the piece, from the moment when Heracles is asked for a narrative of his enterprise, is on the face of it a mere ironical mystification, representing no conceivable reality, felt to be incredible even by readers who have not been
- ↑ συνέστιος: see Eur. El. 784. As this example shows, partner of the hearth, though literally right, implies in English far too much, and the remarks of Browning are unfounded. What Admetus gives is simply an invitation to the feast (see v. 1156) which would naturally follow.
