Not any whit less wretched than art thou,
And brides of noblest bridegrooms left forlorn,
Whose corpses yonder dust of Ida shrouds.325
Endure this: we, if err we do to honour
The brave, content will stand convict of folly.
But ye barbarians, neither count as friends
Your friends, nor render your heroic dead
Homage, that Hellas so may prosperous rise,330
And your reward may match your policy.
Chorus.
Woe! What a curse is thraldom's nature, aye
Enduring wrong by strong constraint o'erborne!
Hecuba.
My daughter, wasted are my words in air,
Flung vainly forth my pleadings for thy life.335
If thou canst aught prevail beyond thy mother,
Be instant; as with nightingale's sad throat
Moan, moan, that thou be not bereft of life.
Fall piteously at this Odysseus' knee:
Melt him. A plea thou hast—he too hath babes;340
Well may he so compassionate thy lot.
Polyxena.
I see, Odysseus, how thou hid'st thine hand
Beneath thy vesture, how thou turn'st away
Thy face, lest I should touch thy beard. Fear not:
From Zeus safe art thou, from the Suppliant's Champion.345
I will go with thee, both for that I must,
And that I long to die. And, were I loth,
A coward girl life-craving were I proved.
For, wherefore should I live, whose sire was king
Of all the Phrygians? Such was my life's dawn:350
