 | Tiresias |  |
My gift of gazing thus on pictured doom,
Is but a doubtful boon, O Chariclo!
However crime corrupt our rulers' blood,
However basely are their wills obeyed,
However dire the vengeance justly due,
Alas, the speeding thunderbolts, that burst
Among the guilty, likewise overwhelm
With woe, or crush the guiltless into ruin!
Stern, unrelenting are the Gods, and mark
That man accursed; mark him for ever cursed
Who lifts a knave to high authority,
And drives the hero from his sacred trust.
Is but a doubtful boon, O Chariclo!
However crime corrupt our rulers' blood,
However basely are their wills obeyed,
However dire the vengeance justly due,
27
Among the guilty, likewise overwhelm
With woe, or crush the guiltless into ruin!
Stern, unrelenting are the Gods, and mark
That man accursed; mark him for ever cursed
Who lifts a knave to high authority,
And drives the hero from his sacred trust.
| Tiresias | |