University of Virginia Library

SCENE THE SECOND.

Agamemnon, Electra, Ægisthus.
Ægis.
Can I, devoid of fear, present myself
Before the glorious conqueror of Troy,
The sublime king of kings? I contemplate
The majesty, the splendour of a god
On thy august and all-commanding brow ...
August, but at the same time merciful:
And from their thrones the gods oft bend their looks
On the unhappy. Such Ægisthus is.
Ægisthus, hitherto the sport of fortune,
Has common ancestors with thee: one blood
Runs in our veins, from whence I dare to seek,
Within these walls, if not relief, a shelter,
Which might avail, from my oppressive foes,
Who also are my brethren, to protect me.

Aga.
Thou mak'st me shudder, when thou thus recall'st
That we from one blood spring; 'twere surely better
For all of us to turn our thoughts from thence.
Thyestes' sons, by a decree of birth,
Are interchangeably condemn'd to hate;
But not condemn'd to chuse for an asylum
The court of Atreus. Hitherto, Ægisthus,
Thou wert, and still thou art, to me unknown;
I neither hate nor love thee; yet, though willing
To lay aside hereditary discord,
I cannot, without feeling in my breast,
I know not what, of strange and perplex'd feeling,
Behold the countenance, nor hear the voice,
Of one that is the offspring of Thyestes.

Ægis.
That the magnanimous Atrides cannot,
E'en knows not how, to hate without disclosure,
This I well knew: a heart sublime like thine
Is inaccessible to base designs.
The valour thou, and not the enmities
Of thy forefathers, hast inherited.
Thou knowest how to punish, ... or to pardon,
Who dares offend thee; but who, like myself,
Is wretched, and, to thee unknown, might claim
Thy pity, though he were a son of Troy.
Thee Greece selected, not by accident,
The leader of its lofty enterprise;
But deem'd thee monarch of all kings that were,
In courtesy, in valour, justice, faith.
Such I repute thee also, nor e'er deem'd
Myself more safe, than when beneath the shade
Of thy renown; nor did I recollect
That I was born the offspring of Thyestes,
But that I was the victim of misfortune.
It seem'd to me, that, in adversity,
My blood's defilement had been thoroughly cleansed:
And if thou shudderedst at Ægisthus name,
I hoped that afterwards thou wouldest feel,
Within thy royal and generous breast,
Profound compassion for me, at the names
Of exile, wretched, mendicant, oppress'd.

Aga.
And if I felt compassion, wouldest thou
From me endure it?

Ægis.
Who am I, to dare
Despise a gift of thine?

Aga.
Thou? Thou art sprung
From the most deadly enemy of my father:
Thou hatest me, and, more, art bound to hate me.
Nor can I blame thee for it; our forefathers
Eternally have separated us;
Not us alone; our sons, and our sons' sons,
To all posterity. Thou knowest well,
The impious Thyestes did defile,
Ravish'd the spouse of Atreus. My father,
When he had slain them, at a horrid banquet,
Gorged the adulterer with his children's flesh.
Why should I utter more? Legends of blood,
Ah, why recal thy dire vicissitudes?
The bare recital stiffens me with horror.
I see in thee Thyestes and his furies.
Canst thou with other eyes contemplate me?
Do not I represent to thee the image
Of sanguinary Atreus? 'Mid these walls,
Which thou dost see stain'd with thy brothers' blood,
Oh, canst thou linger, nor in every vein
Throb with the recollection of the past?

Ægis.
Horrid, 'tis true, was the revenge of Atreus,
But it was just: Those children that Thyestes
Saw at the execrable banquet placed
Were fruit of incest. He their father was.
Yes; but clandestinely the faithless spouse
Of the unavenged and too much injured Atreus
Bore them to him. The outrage was enormous,
But greater was the punishment. Brethren they were,
'Tis true, but, to forget this sacred tie
Thyestes was the first, Atreus the second.
It seems as if the anger of the heavens
'Gainst me had not yet ceased: thy race, less guilty,
Is crown'd with every blessing. Other brethren
Thyestes gave to me; and, not as I,
Are these from incest sprung; the wives of these
I never ravish'd from them; yet towards me,
Far more than Atreus was, are they incensed.
They have entirely driven me from the throne:
And, more, to injure me, from me have taken
My portion of hereditary wealth;
Nor that suffices: cruelly they seek,
Having depriv'd me of my heritage,
To take my life. Thou see'st, if, without cause,
I seek for an asylum.

Aga.
Thou hast cause
To seek one, but thy choice is ill directed.

Ægis.
Where'er I drag my feet, the infamy
Of my paternal name and of my birth
With me I drag; but where should I less blush,
When I give utterance to Thyestes' name,
Than in the presence of the son of Atreus?
Thou, wert thou less elated by success;
Thou, wert thou friendless as Ægisthus is,
The weight thou then would'st feel, feel all the horror
Which is annex'd no less to a descent
From Atreus than Thyestes. Do thou then
Participate in my calamities.
Atrides, act thou towards me, as thou would'st
That others should towards thee, wert thou Ægisthus.

Aga.
Ægisthus I? .. Know, whatso'er had been,
However adverse, desperate my fortune,
I never would have turn'd my feet, no, never,
To seek Thyestes' throne. I hear a voice,
And such a voice proclaiming in my heart,
That I should not place confidence in thee,
That 'tis to pity closed. Yet, since thou wilt
Solicit my compassion, which I am not
Accustomed to refuse, I will endeavour,
(Far as my name and power have influence
In Greece,) in thy hereditary rights
To re-instate thee. Meanwhile, go thou far
From Argos. Near to thee I should drag on
Days of anxiety, and restless nights.
The son of Atreus and Thyestes' son
One city cannot hold. Perhaps e'en within
The boundaries of Greece, we still should be
Too near each other.

Ægis.
Dost thou drive me hence?
What crime dost thou impute to me?

Aga.
Thy father.

Ægis.
Does that suffice?

Aga.
It is too much. Go hence;
Nor let to-morrow's dawn find thee in Argos.
The help solicited thou shalt obtain,
Provided that I hear thou hast obey'd me.