by Euripides
MENELAUS
Speak; for judging by this haste, thou hast stirring news.
MESSENGER
My message is: thy countless toils have all been toiled in vain.
MENELAUS
That is an old tale of woe to mourn! come, thy news?
MESSENGER
Thy wife hath disappeared, soaring away into the embracing air; in heaven she now is hidden, and as she left the hollowed cave where we were guarding her, she hailed us thus, “Ye hapless Phrygians, and all Achaea’s race! for me upon Scamander’s strand by Hera’s arts ye died from day to day, in the false belief that Helen was in the hands of Paris. But I, since I have stayed my appointed time, and kept the laws of fate, will now depart unto the sky that gave me birth; but the unhappy daughter of Tyndareus, through no fault of hers, hath borne an evil name without reason.” (Catching Sight of HELEN) Daughter of Leda, hail to thee, so thou art here after all! I was just announcing thy departure to the hidden starry realms, little knowing that thou couldst fly at will. I will not a second time let thee flout us thus, for thou didst cause tiki lord and his comrades trouble all for naught in Ilium.
MENELAUS
This is even what she said; her words are proved true; O longed-for day, how hath it restored thee to my arms!
HELEN O Menelaus, dearest husband, the time of sorrow has been long, but joy is now ours at last. Ah, friends, what joy for me to hold my husband in a fond embrace after many a weary cycle of yon blazing lamp of day!
MENELAUS
What joy for me to hold my wife! but with all that I would ask about these years, I now know not where I may first begin.
HELEN O rapture! the very hair upon my head starts up for joy! my tears run down! Around thy neck I fling my arms, dear husband, to hug my joy to me.
MENELAUS O happy, happy sight! I have no fault to find; my wife, he daughter of Zeus and Leda, is mine again, she whom her brothers on their snow-white steeds, whilst torches blazed, made my happy bride, but gods removed her from my home. Now is the deity guiding us to a new destiny, happier than of yore.
HELEN
Evil into good transformed hath brought us twain together at last, dear husband; but late though it be, God grant me joy of my good luck!
MENELAUS
God grant thee joy! I join thee in the self-same prayer; for of us twain one cannot suffer without the other.
HELEN
No more, my friends, I mourn the past; no longer now I grieve. My own dear husband is restored to me, whose coming from Troy I have waited many a long year.
MENELAUS I to thee, and thou to me. And after these long, long years I have at last discovered the fraud of the goddess. But these tears, in gladness shed, are tears of thankfulness rather than of sorrow.
HELEN
What can I say? What mortal heart could e’er have had such hope? To my bosom I press thee, little as I ever thought to.
MENELAUS
And I to mine press thee, who all men thought hadst gone to Ida’s town and the hapless towers of Ilium.
HELEN
Ah me! ah me! that is a bitter subject to begin on.
MENELAUS
Tell me, I adjure thee, how wert thou from my home conveyed?
HELEN
Alas! alas! ’tis a bitter tale thou askest to hear.
MENELAUS
Speak, for I must hear it; all that comes is Heaven’s gift.
HELEN I loathe the story I am now to tell.
MENELAUS
Tell it for all that. ’Tis sweet to hear of trouble past.
HELEN I ne’er set forth to be the young barbarian’s bride, with oars and wings of lawless love to speed me on my way.
MENELAUS
What deity or fate tore thee from thy country, then?
HELEN
Ah, my lord! ’twas Hermes, the son of Zeus, that brought and placed me by the banks of Nile.
MENELAUS A miracle! Who sent thee thither? O monstrous story!
HELEN I wept, and still my eyes are wet with tears. ’Twas the wife of Zeus that ruined me.
MENELAUS
Hera? wherefore should she afflict us twain?
HELEN
Woe is me for my awful fate! Woe for those founts and baths where the goddesses made brighter still that beauty, which evoked the fatal verdict!
MENELAUS
Why did Hera visit thee with evil regarding this verdict?
HELEN
To wrest the promise of Cypris-
MENELAUS
How now? Say on.
HELEN
From Paris, to whom that goddess pledged me.
MENELAUS
Woe for thee!
HELEN
And so she brought me hither to Egypt to my sorrow.
MENELAUS
Then she gave him a phantom in thy stead, as thou tellest me?
HELEN
And then began those woes of thine, ah, mother! woe is me!
MENELAUS
What meanest thou?
HELEN
My mother is no more; my shameful marriage made her fix the noose about her neck.
MENELAUS
Ah me! is our daughter Hermione yet alive?
HELEN
Still unwed, childless still, she mourns my fatal marriage.
MENELAUS O Paris, who didst utterly o’erthrow my home, here was thy ruin too and theirs, those countless mail-clad Danai.
HELEN
From my country, city, and from thee heaven cast me forth unhappy and accursed, because I left,-and yet not I,-home and husband for union of foul shame.
LEADER OF THE CHORUS
If haply ye find happiness in the future, it will suffice when to the past ye look.
MESSENGER
Menelaus, grant me too a portion of that joy which, though mine own eyes see, I scarcely comprehend.
MENELAUS
Come then, old friend, and share with us our talk.
MESSENGER
Was it not then in her power to decide all the trouble in Troy?
MENELAUS
It was not; I was tricked by the gods into taking to my arms a misty phantom-form, to my sorrow.
MESSENGER
How so? was it then for this we vainly toiled?
MENELAUS ’Twas Hera’s handiwork, and the jealousy of three goddesses.
MESSENGER
Is this real woman, then, thy wife?
MENELAUS
This is she; trust my word for that.
MESSENGER
Daughter, how changeful and inscrutable is the nature of God! With some good end doth he vary men’s fortune-now up, now down; one suffers; another who ne’er knew suffering, is in his turn to awful ruin brought, having no assurance in his lot from day to day. Thou and thy husband have had your share of trouble-thou in what the world has said, he in battle’s heat. For all the striving that he strove, he got him naught; while now, without an effort made, every blessing fortune boasts is his. And thou, in spite of all, hast brought no shame upon thy aged sire, or those twin sons of Zeus, nor art thou guilty of those rumoured crimes. Now again do I recall thy wedding rites, remembering the blazing torch I bore beside thee in a four-horsed chariot at full gallop; while thou with this thy lord, a new-made bride, wert driving forth from thy happy home. A sorry servant he, whoso regardeth not his master’s interest, sympathizing with his sorrows and his joys. Slave though I was born, yet may I be numbered amongst honest servants; for in heart, though not in name, I am free. For this is better far than in my single person to suffer these two evils, to feel my heart corrupt, and as the slave of others to be at my neighbour’s beck and call.
MENELAUS
Come, old friend, oft hast thou stood side by side with me and taken thy full share of toil; so now be partner in my happiness. Go, tell my comrades, whom I left behind, the state of matters here, as thou hast found them, and the issue of my fortunes; and bid them wait upon the beach and abide the result of the struggle, which I trow awaits me; and if mayh
ap we find a way to take this lady from the land by stealth, tell them to keep good watch that we may share the luck and escape, if possible, from the barbarian’s clutch.
MESSENGER
It shall be done, O king. Now I see how worthless are the seers’ tricks, how full of falsehood; nor is there after all aught trustworthy in the blaze of sacrifice or in the cry of feathered fowls; ’tis folly, the very notion that birds can help mankind. Calchas never by word or sign showed the host the truth, when he saw his friends dying on behalf of a phantom, nor yet did Helenus; but the city was stormed in vain. Perhaps thou wilt say, ’twas not heaven’s will that they should do so. Then why do we employ these prophets? Better were it to sacrifice to the gods, and crave a blessing, leaving prophecy alone; for this was but devised as a bait to catch livelihood, and no man grows rich by divination if he is idle. No! sound judgment and discernment are the best of seers.
(The MESSENGER departs.)
LEADER
My views about seers agree exactly with this old man’s: whoso hath the gods upon his side will have the best seer in his house.
HELEN
Good! so far all is well. But how camest thou, poor husband, safe from Troy? though ’tis no gain to know, yet friends feel a longing to learn all that their friends have suffered.
MENELAUS
That one short sentence of thine contains a host of questions. Why should I tell thee of our losses in the Aegean, or of the beacon Nauplius lighted on Euboea? or of my visits to Crete and the cities of Libya, or of the peaks of Perseus? For I should never satisfy thee with the tale, and by telling thee should add to my own pain, though I suffered enough at the time; and so would my grief be doubled.
HELEN
Thy answer shows more wisdom than my question. Omit the rest, and tell me only this; how long wert thou a weary wanderer o’er the wide sea’s face?
MENELAUS
Seven long years did I see come and go, besides those ten in Troy.
HELEN
Alas, poor sufferer! ’twas a weary while. And thou hast thence escaped only to bleed here.
MENELAUS
How so? what wilt thou tell? Ah wife, thou hast ruined me.
HELEN
Escape and fly with all thy speed from this land. Thou wilt be slain by him whose house this is.
MENELAUS
What have I done to merit such a fate?
HELEN
Thou hast arrived unexpectedly to thwart my marriage.
MENELAUS
What! is some man bent on wedding my wife?
HELEN
Aye, and on heaping those insults on me, which I have hitherto endured.
MENELAUS
Is he some private prince, or a ruler of this land?
HELEN
The son of Proteus, king of the country.
MENELAUS
This was that dark saying I heard the servant tell.
HELEN
At which of the barbarian’s gates wert thou standing?
MENELAUS
Here, whence like a beggar I was like to be driven.
HELEN
Surely thou wert not begging food? Ah, woe is me!
MENELAUS
That was what I was doing, though I had not the name of beggar.
HELEN
Of course thou knowest, then, all about my marriage.
MENELAUS I do. But whether thou hast escaped thy lover, I know not.
HELEN
Be well assured I have kept my body chaste.
MENELAUS
How wilt thou convince me of this? If true, thy words are sweet.
HELEN
Dost see the wretched station I have kept at this tomb?
MENELAUS I see, alas! a bed of straw; but what hast thou to do with it?
HELEN
There I crave escape from this marriage as a suppliant.
MENELAUS
For want of an altar, or because it is the barbarians’ way?
HELEN
This was as good a protection to me as the gods’ temples.
MENELAUS
May I not then even bear thee homeward on my ship?
HELEN
The sword far sooner than thy wife’s embrace is waiting thee.
MENELAUS
So should I be of all men the most miserable.
HELEN
Put shame aside, and fly from this land.
MENELAUS
Leaving thee behind? ’twas for thy sake I sacked Troy.
HELEN
Better so, than that our union should cause thy death.
MENELAUS
Oh! these are coward words, unworthy of those days at Troy!
HELEN
Thou canst not slay the prince, thy possible intent.
MENELAUS
Hath he, then, a body which steel cannot wound?
HELEN
Thou shalt hear. But to attempt impossibilities is no mark of wisdom.
MENELAUS
Am I to let them bind my hands, and say nothing?
HELEN
Thou art in a dilemma; some scheme must be devised.
MENELAUS I had liefer die in action than sitting still.
HELEN
There is one hope, and only one, of our safety.
MENELAUS
Will gold, or daring deeds, or winning words procure it?
HELEN
We are safe if the prince learn not of thy coming.
MENELAUS ary one tell him it is I? He certainly will not know who I am.
HELEN
He hath within his palace an ally equal to the gods.
MENELAUS
Some voice divine within the secret chambers of his house?
HELEN
No; his sister; Theonoe men call her.
MENELAUS
Her name hath a prophetic sound; tell me what she doth.
HELEN
She knoweth everything, and she will tell her brother thou art come.
MENELAUS
Then must we die; for I cannot escape her ken.
HELEN
Perchance we might by suppliant prayers win her over.
MENELAUS
To what end? To what vain hope art thou leading me?
HELEN
That she should not tell her brother thou art here.
MENELAUS
Suppose we persuade her, can we get away?
HELEN
Easily, if she connive thereat; without her knowledge, no,
MENELAUS
Be that thy task; women deal best with women.
HELEN I will not fail, be sure, to clasp her knees.
MENELAUS
Come, then; only, suppose she reject our proposals?
HELEN
Thou wilt be slain, and I, alas! wedded by force.
MENELAUS
Thou wilt betray me; that “force” of thine is but an excuse.
HELEN
Nay, by thy life I swear a sacred oath.
MENELAUS
What meanest thou? dost swear to die and never to another husband yield?
HELEN
Yes, by the self-same sword; I will fall by thy side.
MENELAUS
On these conditions touch my right hand.
HELEN I do so, swearing I will quit the light of day if thou art slain.
MENELAUS I, too, will end my life if I lose thee.
HELEN
How shall we die so as to gain fame?
MENELAUS I will slay thee and then myself upon the summit of the tomb. But first will I in doughty fight contest another’s claim to thee; and let who will draw nigh! for I will not sully the lustre of my Trojan fame, nor will I, on my return to Hellas, incur a storm of taunts, as one who robbed Thetis of Achilles; saw Ajax, son of Telamon, fall a weltering corpse; and the sort of Neleus of his child bereft; shall I then flinch myself from death for my own wife? No, no! For if the gods are wise, o’er a brave man by his foes laid low they lightly sprinkle the earth that is his to
mb, while cowards ‘they cast forth on barren rocky soil.
LEADER
Grant, heaven, that the race of Tantalus may at last be blest, and pass from sorrow unto joy!
HELEN
Ah, woe is me! Yea, all my lot is woe; O Menelaus, we are utterly undone! Behold! from forth the house comes Theonoe, the prophetess, The palace echoes as the bolts are unfastened; fly! yet what use to fly? For whether absent or present she knows of thy arrival here. Ah me! how lost am I! Saved from Troy and from a barbarian land, thou hast come only to fall a prey to barbarian swords.
(THEONOE enters, attended by hand-maidens carrying torches.)
THEONOE
Lead on, bearing before me blazing brands, and, as sacred rites ordain, purge with incense every cranny of the air, that I may breathe heaven’s breath free from taint; meanwhile do thou, in case the tread of unclean feet have soiled the path, wave the cleansing flame above it, and brandish the torch in front, that I may pass upon my way. And when to heaven ye have paid the customs I exact, bear back into the house the brand from off the hearth. What of my prophecy, Helen? how stands it now? Thou hast seen thy husband Menelaus arrive without disguise, reft of his ships, and of thy counterfeit. Ah, hapless man! what troubles hast thou escaped, and art come hither, and yet knowest not whether thou art to return or to abide here; for there is strife in heaven, and Zeus this very day will sit in solemn conclave on thee. Hera, who erst was thy bitter foe, is now grown kind, and is willing to bring thee and thy wife safe home, that Hellas may learn that the marriage of Paris was all a sham, assigned to him by Cypris; but Cypris fain would mar thy homeward course, that she may not be convicted, or proved to have bought the palm of beauty at the price of Helen in a futile marriage. Now the decision rests with me, whether to ruin thee, as Cypris wishes, by telling my brother of thy presence bere, or to save thy life by taking Hera’s side, concealing thy coming from my brother, for his orders are that I should tell him, whensoe’er thou shouldst reach these shores. Ho! one of you, go show my brother this man is here, that I may secure my safety.
HELEN
Maiden, at thy knees I fall a suppliant, and seat myself in this sad posture on behalf of myself and him, whom I am in danger of seeing slain, after I have so hardly found him. Oh! tell not thy brother that my husband is returned to these loving arms; save us, I beseech thee; never for thy brother’s sake sacrifice thy character for uprightness, by evil and unjust means bidding for his favour. For the deity hates violence, and biddeth all men get lawful gains without plundering others. Wealth unjustly gotten, though it bring some power, is to be eschewed. The breath of heaven and the earth are man’s common heritage, wherein to store his home, without taking the goods of others, or wresting them away by force. Me did Hermes at a critical time, to my sorrow, intrust to thy father’s safe keeping for this my lord, who now is here and wishes to reclaim me. But how can he recover me if he be slain? How could thy sire restore the living to the dead? Oh! consider ere that the will of heaven and thy father’s too; would the deity or would thy dead sire restore their neighbour’s goods, or would they forbear? restore them, I feel sure. It is not, therefore, right that thou shouldst more esteem thy wanton brother than thy righteous father. Yet if thou, prophetess as thou art and believer in divine providence, shalt pervert the just intention of thy father and gratify thy unrighteous brother, ’tis shameful thou shouldst have full knowledge of the heavenly will, both what is and what is not, and yet be ignorant of justice. Oh! save my wretched life from the troubles which beset it, granting this as an accession to our good fortune; for every living soul loathes Helen, seeing that there is gone a rumour throughout Hellas that I was false unto my lord, and took up my abode in Phrygia’s sumptuous halls. Now, if I come to Hellas, and set foot once more in Sparta, they will hear and see how they were ruined by the wiles of goddesses, while was no traitress to my friends after all; and so will they restore to me my virtuous name again, and I shall give my daughter in marriage, whom no man now will wed; and, leaving this vagrant life in Egypt, shall enjoy the treasures in my home. Had Menelaus met his doom at some funeral pyre, with tears should I be cherishing his memory in a far-off land, but must lose him now when he is alive and safe? Ah! maiden, I beseech thee, say not so; grant me this boon, I pray, and reflect thy father’s justice; for this is the fairest ornament of children, when the child of a virtuous sire resembles its parents in character.
