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Chorus
O wretched Greece, what sorrow I foresee
coming upon you if you lose this man.
Hyllus
Since you are silent, father, I will answer:
listen to what I say, sick though you are.
I will request no more than justice bids,
so hear me freely: do not yield to passion
goaded by wrath, or you will never learn
how empty is the vengeful joy you seek.
Heracles
1120Say what you mean, no more; for in my illness
I cannot understand your riddling words.
Hyllus
I only mean to tell you how my mother
fares now, and how unwillingly she sinned.
Heracles
O villain! do you dare to name the woman
who has destroyed your father in my presence?
Hyllus
The circumstance will not permit my silence.
Heracles
Nor will the dreadful deed she has committed!
Hyllus
Hear what she did today before you judge her.
Heracles
Then speak - but do not prove yourself a traitor.
Hyllus
1130Hear me - she has just now died, newly slain.
Heracles
By whom? What marvels your dire words make known!
Hyllus
She died by her own hand, not by another's.
Heracles
Ah, has she fled her just death at my hands?
Hyllus
Even your wrath would change if you knew all.
Heracles
You start off strangely: tell me what you mean.
Hyllus
The truth is this: she erred, yet she meant good.
Heracles
Base villain! was it good to kill your father?
Hyllus
When she beheld your new bride she endeavored
to win you with a love charm, but she erred.
Heracles
1140What man of Trachis deals in drugs so strong?
Hyllus
The Centaur Nessus long ago convinced her
to use this potion to inflame your passion.
The Women of Trachis and Philoctetes. A new translation in verse by Robert Torrance. Houghton Mifflin. 1966.
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