Philoctetes (Sophocles)
(from the Perseus website, www.perseus.tufts.edu)
Scene:
the island of
Lemnos, in front of
Philoctetes' cave.
Enter
Odysseus and
Neoptolemus followed by the sailor who will
return later as
Odysseus' Spy.
Odysseus
This is the shore of the sea-encircled isle
of
Lemnos, uninhabited and forlorn.
Here long ago, great
Neoptolemus,
son of
Achilles, noblest of the
Greeks,
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under strict orders from my two commanders
I left the Malian archer
Philoctetes.
His swollen foot groaned with a festering ulcer,
and we could not so much as sacrifice
in peace of mind, when all our camp was filled
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with savage, sacrilegious screams of pain,
moaning and wailing. But, why speak of that?
Now is no time for lengthy words, for he
may learn that I am here, and I may ruin
the scheme by which I hope to snare the man.
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Listen: in what
remains you must assist me.
Go forth and seek a twin-mouthed rock: a cave
such that in winter each of the entrance-ways
faces the sun, but in the summertime
a gentle breeze sends sleep through both the chambers.
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Down to the left
a little you will find,
I think, a stream - unless its source has failed.
Approach it silently, and signal me
whether he still lives there, or someplace else.
Then you must listen to the plan which I
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will tell you, and we'll carry out together.
Neoptolemus
Look, prince
Odysseus - what you ask is easy;
I think I see the cave you just described.
Odysseus
Far up, or further down? I cannot see it.
Neoptolemus
Up high - and I can hear no sound of footsteps.
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Make sure that no
one lies asleep inside.
Neoptolemus
I see an empty chamber - no one near.
Odysseus
And are there no provisions there for living?
Neoptolemus
A pile of leaves pressed down for a man to sleep on.
Odysseus
Is all the rest of the cave deserted then?
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All but a cup
carved from a piece of wood
by a clumsy workman's efforts - and some kindling.
Odysseus
This treasure-house which you describe is his.
Neoptolemus
And over here - ugh! - filthy
rags are lying,
set out to dry, and full of hideous pus.
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Clearly this
dwelling place belongs to him;
he must be somewhere near: a man whose leg
was maimed so long ago will not walk far.
Either he's gone to look for food, or else
to find a soothing medicine for his wound.
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Send this man
here to spy, and to prevent him
from coming suddenly; for he would rather
take me than all the other
Greeks combined.
Neoptolemus
Done - be assured the path will be well guarded.
Spy withdraws.
Now, if you will, speak further of your plan.
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Son of
Achilles, now is the time to show
your true nobility, not with strength alone,
but, if you hear some unexpected plan,
yet serve me - for you came as my assistant.
Neoptolemus
What are you asking?
Odysseus
-- This: you must beguile
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the mind of
Philoctetes with your words.
When he inquires about your name and country,
tell him the truth: you are
Achilles' son.
Then say you're
sailing home, leaving the fleet,
leaving the army of those hated
Greeks
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who summoned you
from home with earnest prayers -
since only thus could
Troy at last be captured -
yet, when you came, cheated you of the arms
of great
Achilles, which you rightly claimed,
and gave them to
Odysseus. Slander me
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in terms as harsh and bitter as you wish:
you won't hurt me at all. But if you fail
in this, you bring disaster on the
Greeks.
For if his bow cannot be taken, you
will never capture Priam's ancient city.
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Now, let me tell
you why this undertaking
is safe for you, but perilous for me.
You were not one of those who first set sail
to
Troy, constrained by great and solemn oaths,
yet none of this can I disclaim. And so
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if he once sees me, with that bow in hand,
I die - and you, as my accomplice, with me.
No, we must plan this deed more cleverly:
steal his resistless weapon like a thief!
I know, my son, you were not meant by nature
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to speak, or to contrive, such evil acts;
but what we gain by victory is sweet,
so do it - later on we will seem just.
Now, but for one day's brief and shameless time
give yourself to me - and forever after
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you shall be called most reverent of men.
Neoptolemus
Son of
Laertes, when I hear a plan
which pains me, I recoil from acting on it.
I was not born to act on false contrivance,
nor, so they tell me, was my father. I
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will freely lend myself to take the man
by force, not guile: he has one foot: he cannot
by force defeat such men as we. . . . And yet
I came to help, and would not willingly
be called a traitor. Prince, I would prefer
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to fail with honor than to win by evil.
Odysseus
Son of a valiant sire, I once was young;
my tongue, like yours, was slow; my hand was active.
But now, by long experience, I see
the tongue, not deeds, is ruler in all things.
Neoptolemus
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What are you
asking but that I should lie?
]
Odysseus
I say, snare
Philoctetes by deception.
Neoptolemus
But why deceive him rather than persuade him?
Odysseus
He will not listen - nor be caught by force.
Neoptolemus
What dreadful strength could make a man so bold?
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Arrows which bring inevitable death.
Neoptolemus
Then do we not so much as dare approach him?
Odysseus
Only if by deception - as I said.
Neoptolemus
Do you not think that telling lies is shameful?
Odysseus
No - not, at least, if lies lead on to safety.
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How can a man
face speaking words like these?
Odysseus
None should recoil when what he does brings profit.
Neoptolemus
How will I profit if he comes to
Troy?
Odysseus
Troy will be captured only by his bow.
Neoptolemus
Then will I not sack
Troy, as it was promised?
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Not without it,
nor it apart from you.
Neoptolemus
It must be taken then, if that is true.
Odysseus
When you accomplish this, two gifts are yours.
Neoptolemus
What? Tell me, and I will no longer scruple.
Odysseus
To be proclaimed at once both wise and good.
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I'll do it then -
and lay all shame aside.
Odysseus
Do you remember all that I have told you?
Neoptolemus
Be sure of it - for now I have consented.
Odysseus
Then stay here by the cave and wait for him.
I will depart - he must not see me here -
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and take our spy back to the ship again.
Later, if you should seem procrastinating
or spending too much time, then I will send
this very man to you again, disguised
as a ship's captain: his secrecy will help you.
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Listen, my son,
to him, and when he speaks
artfully, benefit from what he says.
Now I must go: this task is in your hands.
May guileful
Hermes guide us on our way,
and
Nike, and
Athena - my protectress!
Odysseus and the spy leave.
The Chorus enter.
chorus
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O master, how must I, a stranger in a strange land,
speak or dissemble before this wary man?
Tell me: for that man
surpasses other men
in wisdom and in skill who rules
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with the sanction of God.
To you, my son, has come now
all of that ancient power: tell me,
how may I assist you?
Neoptolemus
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As for now you may wish to view the land
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he inhabits here by the
farthest shore:
survey it boldly, but when the dreadful
traveller stumbles home again,
come when I beckon you, and try
to serve as the moment requires.
chorus
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For long, O prince, my chief concern has been
watching for your best interest over all.
Tell me now: what chamber
does this man inhabit,
and what land is his? for I
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must learn, lest suddenly
he fall upon me here.
Where is his dwelling? where is he,
at home or far away?
Neoptolemus
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Here you behold the rocky entrance-way
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of his twin-mouthed lair.
chorus
But where has this miserable man gone now?
Neoptolemus
I would surmise that he is dragging
his foot nearby in search of food.
They say it is thus he gains a living,
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hunting wild beasts with
winged arrows,
leading a hateful, hateful life. And no one
comes near to him
to heal his heavy hardships.
chorus
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How I pity this lonely man!
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No one living will care for him,
no companion is by his side,
wretched, always alone,
afflicted with a savage wound,
and lost when need arises.
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How can he live?
How can he bear such insufferable pain?
O inscrutable plan of God!
O most miserable race of men,
never is destiny mild.
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He was born of an ancient race,
yielding never to any man;
now, bereft of the gifts of life,
he lives apart from all others
along with spotted and shaggy beasts,
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piteous, hungry, in pain,
bearing incurable ills -
and afar in the mountains
she of the babbling voice,
Echo, responds to his cries of pain,
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wailing sadly around him.
Neoptolemus
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None of these things surprise me at all
they come from heaven, and, if I may judge,
the first of his troubles was sent on him
long since by
Chryse with savage intention;
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and now, though he suffers
with none to help him,
surely some god is watching his course
to hold him back from aiming at
Troy
his god-given arrows, until the time
shall come when, the oracles say, she is destined
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to fall and be vanquished
by them.
Philoctetes screams offstage.
chorus
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Be silent, my son!
Neoptolemus
What is it?
chorus
-- A cry has arisen
as if from a man worn down by pain -
from there - or over there - it came.
Surely I hear the voice of someone
helplessly creeping along;
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I cannot ignore
that grievously wearying voice from afar -
it comes too distinctly.
chorus
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Then change, my son.
Neoptolemus
Change what?
chorus
. your plan of action;
for he must be close, cannot be far,
and not to the sound of the flute
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does he come, like a pasturing shepherd,
but, stumbling helplessly near,
he wails from afar,
beholding the harbor all barren of ships -
his moaning is dreadful!
Enter
Philoctetes.
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Strangers!
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Who are you, and what country are you from,
who sail to this ill-harbored, homeless land?
What city do you come from? How may I
address you? The appearance of your clothing
is Greek - and oh, how sweet it seems to me! -
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but let me hear your
voices; and do not
recoil in terror at my wild appearance,
but pity me, a wretched man, alone,
deserted on this island, friendless, wronged:
speak to me! . . . if, indeed, you come as friends.
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Oh, answer! It would not be right if you
refused to hear my words and speak to me.
Neoptolemus
Stranger, be certain, first of all, that we,
as you most wish to learn, are
Greeks indeed.
Philoctetes
Oh, sweet, sweet voice! How strange it seems, to be
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greeted by such a man
after so long!
What purpose made you come, my child, and led you
so far? What impulse was it? what fair wind?
Answer me all - and tell who you are.
Neoptolemus
My country is the sea-encircled isle
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of
Skyros; I am sailing home; my name,
Neoptolemus, son of
Achilles. That is all.
Philoctetes
O son of a dear father! O sweet island!
Foster-child of the aged
Lycomedes,
why did you sail to this land - and from where?
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In truth, I am sailing on my way from
Troy.
Philoctetes
What arc you saying? You were not one of those
who came with us when we set out for
Troy.
Neoptolemus
Then did you, too, share in this enterprise?
Philoctetes
My child, can you be ignorant who I am?
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How should I know a man I never saw?
Philoctetes
Have you not heard my name, or learned the story
of all the suffering that has been my ruin?
Neoptolemus
Be certain I know nothing that you ask me.
Philoctetes
Oh, how I suffer - how the gods must hate me!
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No tale of how I live has reached my home
or found its way to any part of
Greece;
but those ungodly men who left me here
conceal their deed, and laugh, while my disease
continues, flourishes, grows even greater.
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O child, son of
Achilles, I am he
whom you perhaps have heard of, he who wields
the bow of
Heracles: I am the son
of
Poeas,
Philoctetes. Long ago
the king of
Ithaca and his commanders
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deserted me unjustly on
this island,
to rot with savage plagues inflicted by
the noxious poison of a deadly viper.
With only this, my son, they left me here
alone, and sailed away. At first they brought me
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from
Chryse to this island in their ships;
then, overjoyed to see me fast asleep
here in this rocky cave, they sailed away
and left me nothing but a few soiled rags
such as a beggar wears, and a small pittance,
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of food. May such a fate
soon crush them too!
But you, my child - perhaps you can imagine
the awakening I had when they were gone.
Oh how I wept and cursed my evil fortune
when I beheld the ships which I had sailed in
all vanished. Not a man remained behind:
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no one to help me live,
and none to soothe
my wearying disease. I searched all over
and soon discovered only grief was there,
but that in plentiful supply, my son.
Time in its unremitting course went on,
and I, within this narrow cave alone,
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provided for myself; my bow supplied
my stomach's needs by striking down the doves
that flew above me; and when my swift arrow
sped from the string and struck one, I would crawl
in pain and drag my throbbing foot behind me
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toward it; and when I
needed drinking-water
or firewood, even when the frosts of winter
were hard upon me, I crept forth in pain,
and somehow managed. Yet, I had no fire:
I ground two stones together till, at last,
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a spark appeared from
nowhere - and preserved me.
And now a home to live in and a fire
suffice - except to free me from this illness.
Let me, my child, describe this island to you.
No sailor, of his own free will, comes near it;
there is no harbor here, no place to land
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and sell his goods with
profit, or be welcomed:
no one with any sense would anchor here!
But if one did, against his will (for often
in the long life of man these things occur),
he, when he came, my son, would speak to me
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with pity, and would give me, from compassion,
some portion of his food or of his clothing;
yet none, when I would mention it, was willing
to take me home, and I have wasted here
for ten long years in hunger and in pain,
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feeding the ravenous maw
of my disease.
The sons of
Atreus and the strong
Odysseus
have done this to me, child: and may the gods
in heaven grant me vengeance for my wrongs!
chorus
I think that I must pity you as greatly
as they who came before me, son of
Poeas.
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And I bear witness to your words: I know
how true they are. I too have felt the hand
of
Atreus' evil sons and strong
Odysseus.
Philoctetes
What? do you also bear a grudge against
these cursed sons of
Atreus? Do you hate them?
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Would that this hand could satisfy my hatred!
Then would
Mycenae and
Sparta come to know
that
Skyros too has fathered valiant men.
Philoctetes
Good, child! But what foul crime have you endured
to come with such a mighty wrath against them?
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Ah, son of
Poeas, it is hard, but I
will tell you how I suffered at their hands.
After
Achilles met his destined end . . .
Philoctetes
Oh wait! say nothing more until you tell me,
has he, the glorious son of
Peleus, died?
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He has - not killed by any man, but struck (so they
say) by the arrow of
Apollo.
Philoctetes
Well, both the slayer and the slain were noble.
My child, I cannot say if I should first
ask of your suffering or mourn for him.
Neoptolemus
Unhappy man! your own misfortunes are
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enough - you need not
mourn for any other.
Philoctetes
Yes, you are right. Go on, then, with your story
of how these violent men have done you wrong.
Neoptolemus
Mighty
Odysseus and old Phoenix came
to fetch me in a painted ship, and said -
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either sincerely or with
false intent -
that, since my father died, it was decreed
that
Troy be taken by no hand but mine.
Stranger, when they had spoken thus, believe me
it was not long before I sailed. I yearned
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above all else to see my
father's body
before his burial - I had never seen him -
but also there was magic in their pledge
that I alone should take the towers of
Troy.
After we sailed two days, a friendly breeze
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advanced us on our way,
and soon we reached
the port of cruel
Sigeum. When I landed
all of the army welcomed me, and swore
that they beheld their dead
Achilles living.
But he was dead: and after I had wept
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for him and my misfortune, I approached
the sons of
Atreus, thinking them my friends,
and asked them for the arms and all the rest
my father owned; but they in turn replied
presumptuously: "Achilles'
son, choose freely
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among your Father's other goods, but now
Laertes' son is master of those arms."
I sprang to my feet immediately, in tears,
and, in a towering passion at my wrong,
I cried: "Wretch, have you dared to give my arms
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to another man without
first asking me?"
Odysseus was standing near, and said:
"Yes, child, these men have justly allocated:
I saved your father in his time of need."
But I immediately assailed him then
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with every bitter insult I
could think of,
enraged that he should steal my arms from me.
He was a man not quickly angered, but,
stung by the words he heard me speak, he answered:
"You were not here with us, but shirked your duty.
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Now, since you dare to boast so, you will never
sail back to
Skyros with these arms again."
I listened to his taunts and insults: now
I am sailing home, deprived of what is mine
by that most evil of evil men,
Odysseus.
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Yet I would blame his leaders even more:
a city's welfare, like an army's, lies
with those who rule, and many who do wrong
are led astray by what their leaders tell them.
That is my story - and may the man who hates
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these sons of
Atreus be my friend and God's.
chorus
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All-fertile guardian of the mountains, Earth,
mother of God,
thou who rulest the
golden stream
Pactolus:
there once I called upon thee, sacred mother,
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when this man
felt the wrath of
Atreus' sons,
when they were giving the arms of his father,
unequaled in splendor,
to the son of
Laertes, O blessèd
one,
thou who ridest bull-slaughtering lions.
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You and your comrades, stranger, as it seems,
have sailed to me with signs of suffering
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so similar to mine, that I
am sure
they come from
Atreus' sons and from
Odysseus.
I know full well that he would lend his tongue
to any evil word or wicked deed
by which he might accomplish some injustice.
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Nothing surprises me in that - except
that
Ajax could endure to see it done.
Neoptolemus
He was not living, stranger: I would never
have been despoiled if he had been alive.
Philoctetes
What? are you telling me he too is dead?
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Be certain he will see the light no more.
Philoctetes
Oh wretched that I am! but
Tydeus' son
and the bastard child that
Sisyphus sold
Laertes,
they will live on - for they deserve to die.
Neoptolemus
They do, most surely: but they are still living
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and prospering in the army
of the
Greeks.
Philoctetes
But is my old and faithful friend alive,
Nestor of
Pylos? He, at least, could sometimes
restrain their evil deeds with his wise counsels.
Neoptolemus
Yes, but he lives in sorrows, for his son
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Antilochus is dead, who once stood by him.
Philoctetes
Oh, you have mentioned the two men whose death
I wanted least to hear you tell me of!
What must we look for when such men as these
have died, and yet
Odysseus lives, though he
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deserves to be a corpse
instead of them!
Neoptolemus
He is a shrewd contestant,
Philoctetes;
but even shrewd plans often trip themselves.
Philoctetes
Tell me, I pray you, where
Patroclus was -
he whom your father loved beyond all others.
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He was dead too - and I, in short, will tell you
that war, of its own choice, will take no man
who is evil, but will always take the good.
Philoctetes
I will bear witness there! and on these grounds
will ask about a paltry, worthless man
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I knew, whose tongue was clever: how is he?
Neoptolemus
Who else besides
Odysseus can you mean?
Philoctetes
Not him - there was a man,
Thersites, there,
who always spoke so long that all the others
refused to listen: is he still alive?
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I never saw him, but I heard he lives.
Philoctetes
He would - for nothing bad has ever died!
The gods themselves take special care of that,
and somehow seem delighted to allow
the evil and villainous to live; but always
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banish whatever things are
right and good.
How can I praise the deeds these gods have done
when I discover they themselves are evil?
Neoptolemus
Son of Oetean
Poeas, as for me,
I in the future will beware of
Troy
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and watch the sons of
Atreus from afar;
and where the worse is stronger than the better,
and what is good dies out, and villains rule -
never will I make friends with such as they.
No, it will satisfy me after this
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460 |
to find my happiness in
rocky
Skyros.
Now to my ship: farewell, a long farewell,
great son of
Poeas! May the gods release you
from this disease, as you yourself desire.
We must be going so that, when the gods
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grant us to sail, we may
set forth at once.
Philoctetes
Child, are you leaving me?
Neoptolemus
The time commands:
we must keep closer watch upon our ships.
Philoctetes
Child, in your father's and your mother's name,
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470 |
by everything you value
most, I beg you,
do not abandon me to live alone
with all these many hardships you yourself
have seen, and others you have only heard of.
Give me a passing thought: I know this burden
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is great, and will perhaps
offend you, yet
bear with it; for the truly noble man
will hate a shameful act, and prize a good one.
If you forsake me, only shame is yours,
but if you take me safely home to
Oeta,
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480 |
my son, a rich reward of
fame awaits you.
Come: I will trouble you for just one day;
make the endeavor - place me where you will,
down in the hold, or in the prow, the stern,
wherever I will be least in the way.
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Consent - by the god of suppliants, child, I pray,
listen: I fall upon my knees, though I
am weak and lame and wretched: do not leave me
forlorn, and far from human footsteps, here.
Save me, and take me to your home, or else
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490 |
farther, to prince Chalcodon's
land,
Euboea:
then we will not have far to go to
Oeta,
the Trachinian hills and the fair-flowing river
Spercheius, and you may take me to my father -
though I have been afraid long since that he
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495 |
has passed away: for I
have often sent
prayers with my visitors, and summoned him
to come for me and take me home again.
But either he is dead, or else, more likely,
my messengers neglected what I asked them,
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and, in their haste,
sailed on their homeward way.
But now I have found in you both messenger
and escort: have compassion, and preserve me!
The life of man is full of dread and danger;
its happiness is fleeting; and the man
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who dwells apart from grief must watch that danger,
and when he lives at ease must be most careful
lest suddenly his life slip by in ruin.
chorus
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Have pity, prince, for he has told of pains
many and hard,
such, I pray, as my friends will never suffer.
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Prince, if you hate the cruel sons of
Atreus,
turn their evil deeds to his advantage:
come, let us take him and carry him now
in our swift-flying ship
to his home, to the land where he yearns to go,
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|
fleeing far from the wrath of the gods.
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Beware lest you be ready now, but later,
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when you have come in
contact with his illness
and tire of it, you change to other plans.
chorus
No, never fear, for you will never have
just cause to utter that reproach against me.
Neoptolemus
I would account it shameful to be slower
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525 |
than you to serve this
stranger in his need.
Come, let us sail and leave at once, for surely
our ship will not refuse to carry him.
And may the gods convey us from this land
safely, wherever we may wish to sail.
|
530 |
Oh sweetest day of days, oh kindest man!
Sailors, my friends, I wish that I could show you
truly how dear you have become to me!
Son, let us go - but first we must salute
this home which is no home, for you must learn
|
535 |
how I sustained myself
with patient heart.
I think no other man than I could even
look for a moment on this sight and bear it;
but destiny has taught me to endure.
chorus
Wait, let us listen, for two men are coming -
|
540 |
one from our ship, the
other man a stranger.
Listen to what they say before you enter.
Enter spy, with another
sailor.
spy
Son of
Achilles, I asked this sailor here,
who, with two other men, was standing guard
over your ship, to tell me where you were.
|
545 |
I met you when I least expected to,
for only chance has brought me to this island.
I was sailing as a merchant back from
Troy
with a small crew to my grape-clustered home
Peparethus. When I learned that all these
sailors
|
550 |
were members of your crew,
why, I decided
not to sail on my way in silence, but
to speak with you - and take my due reward.
You see, you don't know anything at all
about the new plans which the
Greeks are making
|
555 |
concerning you - not only
plans, but deeds,
and deeds in progress, not just thought about.
Neoptolemus
Stranger, if I have any seed of virtue
I will remember your concern for me.
Now, tell me what you mean, for I must learn
|
560 |
about whatever plan the
Greeks have made.
spy
The aged Phoenix and the sons of
Theseus
have launched an expedition to pursue you.
Neoptolemus
To take me back by force or by persuasion?
spy
I only know what I have heard from others,
|
565 |
Are Phoenix and his fellow-sailors really
so anxious to appease the sons of
Atreus?
spy
Be certain they are doing so - and now.
Neoptolemus
Why did
Odysseus not set forth with them
and tell me this himself? Was he afraid?
spy
|
570 |
He and the son of
Tydeus were sailing
after another man when I left port.
Neoptolemus
Who is it that
Odysseus is seeking?
spy
There was a certain man - but tell me first
who he is; and speak softly when you say it.
|
575 |
This is the famous
Philoctetes, stranger.
spy
Ask me no more, but sail from here as quickly
as possibly you can, and leave this island.
Philoctetes
What is he saying, child? what
shadowy bargain
is this man making with you about me?
|
580 |
I am not certain yet; but he must speak
openly, to my sailors, and to you.
spy
Son of
Achilles, do not charge me here
with saying what I should not: I am poor,
and these men are the means of my subsistence.
|
585 |
I hate the sons of
Atreus, and he
is my best friend, because he hates them too.
You, if you come in friendship for me, must
not hide from us whatever you have heard.
spy
Watch yourself, son.
Neoptolemus
-- I know what I am doing.
spy
You are responsible.
Neoptolemus
-- I am: speak on.
spy
I will. The men I told you of before,
|
590 |
the son of
Tydeus and the strong
Odysseus,
are sailing under oath to bring this man
back - by persuasive words, or by brute force.
It was
Odysseus who informed the
Greeks
about this plan: he was more confident
|
595 |
than his companion that he
would succeed.
Neoptolemus
Why did the sons of
Atreus turn their thoughts
again, when so much time had passed, to him
whom they deserted here so long ago?
What passion came upon them? what constraint
|
600 |
or vengeance from the
gods, who punish evil?
spy
I will explain these matters, for it seems
you have not heard about them.
Helenus,
a noble prophet and the son of
Priam,
was captured one night by this guileful man
|
605 |
Odysseus, who is known for
shameful acts
and insults: he was taken then in chains
and shown to the
Achaeans as a prize.
He prophesied to them of many things,
and said the towers of
Troy would never fall
|
610 |
unless they could persuade
this man to come
back from the island he inhabits now.
And when
Laertes' son had heard the seer
thus prophesy, immediately he promised
the
Greeks would see the man brought back to them.
|
615 |
He hoped he would come willingly, but said,
willing or not, that he would come; and then
offered his head if he should fail to bring him.
Now you have heard me, son: I would advise
haste for yourself and any man you care for.
|
620 |
Oh oh, has he, that
universal plague,
sworn that he will persuade me to return?
I shall as soon come back from hell to see
the light, when I have died, as be persuaded
spy
I cannot vouch for that; but I am going
|
625 |
back to my ship - and may
the gods be with you!
Spy and sailor leave.
Philoctetes
Is it not strange indeed, my child, that this
son of
Laertes hoped by soothing words
to bring me back among the
Greeks again?
No, I would rather listen to the hateful
|
630 |
serpent that crippled me
than hear this man!
He would say anything to serve his end;
but now, at least, I know that he is coming.
Then, child, let us be going: let us place
wide tracts of sea between us and
Odysseus.
|
635 |
Come, let us hasten; timely speed will bring
sleep and repose for us when toil is over.
Neoptolemus
As soon as favoring breezes fill our sails,
then we will go; but now they are adverse.
Philoctetes
Those who flee evil always have fair sailing.
|
640 |
These winds are adverse to our enemies, too.
Philoctetes
No wind will ever blow against those pirates
when they have any chance to steal or plunder!
Neoptolemus
Well, let us sail then: but first go inside
and fetch whatever things you have most need of.
|
645 |
I do need some things, though I have but few.
Neoptolemus
What can you need that my ship does not have?
Philoctetes
A certain medicine I own, with which
I soothe my wound until the pain dies down.
Neoptolemus
Take it then: what else do you wish to bring?
|
650 |
The arrows I have overlooked and left
behind me: no one else must find them here.
Neoptolemus
Is that the famous bow you have there? Tell me.
Philoctetes
This which my hands are holding, and no other.
Neoptolemus
Will you allow me to behold it closer,
|
655 |
and take it, and revere it
as a god?
Philoctetes
Child, I will grant this favor to you, and
whatever else is in my power to help you.
Neoptolemus
I long to hold it - but my desire is such
that, if it were not right, I would not wish it.
|
660 |
Child, do not doubt your wish is right and holy.
You and you only have allowed my heart
to hope once more to see my native land,
my agèd father and friends: you have restored me
and saved me from the snares of evil men!
|
665 |
Take heart, for I will let you hold it, and,
when you return it, you may boast that you
alone of men were good enough to touch it.
I won this bow myself through my good deeds.
Neoptolemus
I am glad I found you and acquired a friend.
|
670 |
He who repays one
good deed with another
is such a friend as riches cannot buy.
Now go inside.
Philoctetes
-- I will, and you must follow:
I need someone to help me in my illness.
Philoctetes and
Neoptolemus withdraw into the cave.
chorus
|
676 |
Such suffering my eyes have never seen: they say
Ixion once went near to the sacred bed
of
Zeus, and was cast by the god to the depths on a wheel of fire;
but I have never beheld or heard of another
|
680 |
whose fate was harder than
this man's.
He did no wrong to any man alive,
but lived at peace with all: yet now
he wastes away unjustly.
I cannot understand how he
|
685 |
ever was able to live all
alone
and hear the waves around him,
enduring a life so full of tears.
|
691 |
He had no neighbor but himself, he could not walk,
and none was near to share in his suffering
or listen when he would lament of his cruel, devouring pain,
or soothe the burning-hot blood that would ooze from the wound
|
695 |
in his poisonous foot, or
gather
soft herbs from the fruitful earth, whenever
the agony would fall upon him.
He crept from place to place
and crawled with slowly painful steps
|
700 |
(just like a child who has
lost his nurse)
wherever he might hope to find
the means to live when the pain died down.
|
707 |
He found no food on all of the sacred earth,
nor anything which laboring men enjoy,
except when he could limit his hunger
|
710 |
with arrows shot from his
swift-striking bow.
How black his life was,
he who never for ten long years
rejoiced in the taste of wine,
but searched to find a place where he
|
715 |
might but drink of stagnant water.
|
718 |
Yet soon at last he will become great and happy,
for he has met the son of a noble race,
|
720 |
who, now that many months
have departed,
will carry him in his ship to his country,
land of sea-nymphs,
near Spercheius's banks where once
the bronze-armored
Heracles
|
725 |
approached the gods all
splendid with fire
atop Oeta's craggy mountain.
Neoptolemus comes out from the cave, followed
by
Philoctetes.
Neoptolemus
|
730 |
Come now - why are you suddenly so silent?
Why do you stand dumfounded without cause?
Philoctetes
Ah ah ah
ah!
Neoptolemus
What is it?
Nothing much, my son: go on.
|
735 |
Are you in pain from your habitual illness?
Philoctetes
No - I am certain it is better now.
O gods!
Neoptolemus
Why do you call the gods with such loud moans?
Philoctetes
To come to me and soothe me and preserve me-
|
740 |
ah ah
ah ah!
Neoptolemus
What are you suffering from? Come, speak: do not
be silent - you are clearly in great pain.
Philoctetes
Child, it is killing me: I can no longer
hide my distress from you - oh oh! -
it comes,
|
745 |
it comes!
wretch that I am! the
pain, the pain!
Child, it is killing me: child, it devours me!
Ah oh ah oh ah oh ah oh ah oh!
Child, if you have a sword at hand, I pray you,
in God's name, take it, strike this foot of mine,
|
750 |
now, cut it off, now -
never mind my life -
come child!
Neoptolemus
But what has happened now to cause this outburst
of sudden screaming and groaning that I hear?
Philoctetes
You know, my son.
Neoptolemus
|
755 |
What is it?
Philoctetes
Child, you know.
Neoptolemus
I do not know.
Philoctetes
How can you not know? Oh!
Neoptolemus
Frightful must be the burden of your illness!
Philoctetes
|
760 |
Frightful beyond the power of speech: have pity!
Neoptolemus
What can I do?
Philoctetes
Do not forsake me in fear:
this comes upon me at times, when it has finished
wandering elsewhere.
Neoptolemus
|
765 |
Oh unhappy man,
truly unhappy with these many pains!
Shall I take hold of you and give my hand?
Philoctetes
No, no - but take this bow of mine, and hold it
just as you asked before, until the pangs
|
770 |
from the disease which
pains me now die down,
Preserve it for me; guard it well - for sleep
will take me when this agony has passed,
and only then will free me: you must let me
slumber in peace. But if in the meantime
|
775 |
these men should come, I pray you, by the gods,
do not by any means, willing or not,
give them the bow, or you will kill yourself
and me, who am your suppliant, together,
Neoptolemus
Trust my discretion, for no hands will touch it
|
780 |
but yours and mine: so
give it in good faith.
Philoctetes
Take it, my son, and pray it may not bring
such pain and suffering to you as it
brought me, and him who wielded it before me.
Neoptolemus
Grant this, O gods, to both of us, and grant
|
785 |
fair sailing to us and a
prosperous voyage
wherever God and our intentions take us.
Philoctetes
My child, I fear your prayers are said in vain:
the bloody gore drops oozing from the depths
of my wound, and yet the worst is still to come.
|
790 |
The pain, the pain!
O my foot, how great will be the pain you cause me!
It is creeping,
it is coming nearer, wretched that I am!
You know it now; but do not flee from me!
|
795 |
Ah ah
ah ah!
O king of
Ithaca, would this anguish might
pierce through your breast: ah ah
ah ah
ah ah!
Oh oh oh
oh!
Agamemnon,
Menelaus,
you captains of the
Greeks, would that you might
|
800 |
suffer instead of me this
lifelong pain!
Oh oh!
Death, Death, why, when I always call upon you,
day in, day out, can you not ever come?
O child, my noble friend, come, take me now
|
805 |
and burn me in the famed volcanic fire
of
Lemnos' mountain: I myself once dared
to do this for the son of
Zeus to gain
that bow which you are now preserving for me.
Say something, child.
|
810 |
Speak; break your silence - child, what are you
thinking?
Neoptolemus
I have long now been grieving for your hardships.
Philoctetes
But, O my child, take heart: it comes to me
grievously, but it quickly goes away.
I only pray, do not leave me alone.
Neoptolemus
|
815 |
Take heart: we will remain.
Philoctetes
Will you?
Neoptolemus
Be certain sir.
Philoctetes
I will not place you under oath, my son.
Neoptolemus
It is not right that I should go without you.
Philoctetes
|
820 |
Give me your hand as pledge.
Neoptolemus
Here: I will stay.
Philoctetes
Now take me there.
Neoptolemus
Where do you mean?
Philoctetes
Up there.
Neoptolemus
|
825 |
Why do you rave and look up at the sky?
Philoctetes
Let me go, let me go!
Neoptolemus
Where?
Philoctetes
Let me go!
Neoptolemus
I will not.
Philoctetes
|
830 |
You will kill me if you touch me!
Neoptolemus
I will let you go if you are in your senses.
Philoctetes
Earth, take me here to die now in your arms:
I can no longer stand erect for pain.
Neoptolemus
I think that sleep will come upon this man
|
835 |
soon now: his head already is bent back;
the sweat is pouring over his whole body;
a thin black stream of blood has broken from
his wounded foot. Friends, let us leave him here
in peace, and hope that sleep may come upon him.
chorus
|
827 |
Sleep who art stranger to sorrow and suffering,
come to him gently, gently,
and grant him, lord, thy blessing now;
|
830 |
let him behold this light
which now spreads over his lustrous eyes:
come, Healer, I pray.
Child, you must make your decision now
what to do and how to think,
|
835 |
seeing how these matters
stand.
Why should we be slow to act?
The moment is judge over every deed,
and often allows unexpected achievements.
Neoptolemus
|
839 |
I know he cannot hear me but I see that we must fail
|
840 |
if we should take the bow
alone without the man and sail:
the crown is his and he it was the god meant for our prize -
it is a shameful thing to boast of futile deeds and lies.
chorus
|
843 |
Child, be assured that the gods will attend to that.
When you reply to me next,
|
845 |
speak softly, softly, O my
child,
the tone of the words you utter:
the sleep of men who are ill is light
and quick to perceive.
Now be especially careful to
|
850 |
take no possible chances
here:
do it, do it secretly,
You know what I am speaking of
But if you follow some other plan,
a man of discretion can see only danger.
|
855 |
Child, the wind is with us now:
the man cannot see us: he lies
defenseless, in darkness,
fearlessly sleeping,
without the use of his hands or feet
|
860 |
like a man who lies in the kingdom of death.
Be sure the plan you choose
is best: in my opinion, child,
the wisest counsel is that
which involves the minimum danger.
|
865 |
Silence, I say, and keep your wits about you:
he is lifting up his head with open eyes.
Philoctetes
O light of heaven, how little I expected,
on waking, to behold these strangers here!
Never, my child, could I have hoped that you
|
870 |
would wait upon my
suffering with such pity,
and stay beside me and help me in my need.
The sons of
Atreus - those noble captains! -
were not so patient as you to bear with me.
But you are good by birth, my child, and come
|
875 |
from noble parents; you
have lightly done
all this, and borne with my screams and foul smell.
And now, since some oblivion and release
from my disease has come to me, my child,
raise me yourself, and lift me up, my child,
|
880 |
so that when pain releases
me we may
set forth in our ship and not delay to sail.
Neoptolemus
How glad I am to see you living still,
and breathing without pain, beyond my hopes!
I almost might have thought, as I was watching
|
885 |
your agony, that you were
dying. Come,
raise yourself up now, or, if you prefer,
I will command these men to carry you;
for you and I are of the same intention.
Philoctetes
Thank you, my child: now help me rise again,
|
890 |
and leave these men alone.
They should not suffer
this smell before they need to. On the ship
they will have pain enough from living with me.
Neoptolemus
So let it be - now take my hand and rise.
Philoctetes
Fear not - my ingrained habit will restore me.
Neoptolemus
|
895 |
Ah me, what course of action must I take?
Philoctetes
What is the matter, child? Why do you waver?
Neoptolemus
I find myself unable to reply.
Philoctetes
Unable? Child, do not say such a thing.
Neoptolemus
Yet even so is the turmoil I am in.
Philoctetes
|
900 |
Has my disease become offensive to you,
and will you not now take me in your ship?
Neoptolemus
Everything is offensive when a man
departs from his own nature and does wrong.
Philoctetes
Surely your words and actions will be like
|
905 |
your father's if you help
a worthy man.
Neoptolemus
I will seem base, and that thought tortures me.
Philoctetes
Not if you help me - yet I fear your words.
Neoptolemus
O God, what shall I do? Must I be guilty
again of hiding truth and spreading lies?
Philoctetes
|
910 |
Unless my judgment fails it seems that he
is falsely leaving me, to sail away.
Neoptolemus
I am not leaving you, but I may bring you
to greater pain - and that thought tortures me.
Philoctetes
My child, I cannot understand your words.
Neoptolemus
|
915 |
I will hide nothing: you must sail to
Troy,
to the Greek army of the sons of
Atreus.
Philoctetes
What are you saying?
Neoptolemus
Wait, until you learn . . .
Philoctetes
Learn what? What do you mean to do with me?
Neoptolemus
|
920 |
To save you from this suffering,
and then
to go along with you and capture
Troy.
Philoctetes
Can you really mean this?
Neoptolemus
Yes: a strong compulsion
necessitates it: do not be enraged.
Philoctetes
|
925 |
Oh, you have killed me and betrayed me! Stranger,
what have you done to me? Give back my bow.
Neoptolemus
That is not possible. My duty and
expedience both make me obey my rulers.
Philoctetes
You monstrous plague, you hateful instrument
|
930 |
of craft and cunning,
think what you have done,
how you have tricked me! Are you not ashamed
even to look at me, who trusted you?
You took my bow, and with it took my life:
give it back I pray, give it back I beg, my child;
|
935 |
by all your father's gods,
do not destroy me! ...
Oh wretched that I am, he will not speak,
but looks away and keeps it for himself.
Harbors and promontories - fellow-creatures
who roam the Mountainside - steep-rising cliffs
I have no one but you whom I may speak to
|
940 |
(for you have heard me often) and lament
the wrongs
Achilles' son has done to me.
He swore to take me home, yet sails for
Troy;
he gave me his right hand, yet now he holds
the sacred bow of
Zeus' son
Heracles,
|
945 |
and plans to show it off
before the
Greeks.
He uses force, as if I could oppose him:
I who am but a corpse, a smoky shadow,
a vision! He would not have captured me
before - or even now, except by guile.
|
950 |
Yet he has tricked me now: what must I do?
Oh give it back and be yourself again!
What do you say? Nothing? Then I am lost!
My twin-mouthed cave, I come to you again,
naked now, and deprived of my subsistence.
I shall soon waste away within this chamber,
|
955 |
killing no
wingèd birds or mountain beasts
now with my arrows; I will perish here
in pain providing food for those who fed me:
they whom I hunted once will track me down.
I must pay for the blood that I have shed
|
960 |
because of one who seemed
to know no evil.
Curses - yet not until I learn if you
will change your mind: if not, may you be damned!
chorus
What shall we do? Prince, you must tell us now
whether to sail or yield to this man's words.
Neoptolemus
|
965 |
A strange compassion for him comes upon me,
which I first felt, not now, but long before.
Philoctetes
Have pity, child, in God's name: do not give
men cause to blame you for deceiving me.
Neoptolemus
What shall I do? I wish that I had never
|
970 |
left
Skyros to be burdened by these troubles!
Philoctetes
You are not evil - yet it seems that you
have learned from men who are: leave that to them,
but sail away, and give me back my weapon.
Neoptolemus
What shall we do?
Odysseus, who has entered
unnoticed, steps forward.
Odysseus
|
975 |
Rash man, what are you doing?
Step back, I tell you: give the bow to me.
Philoctetes
Who is it? Do I hear
Odysseus speak?
Odysseus
Odysseus, yes! Now you may see me clearly.
Philoctetes
Oh, I am ruined, lost! then it was you
|
980 |
who snared me and deprived
me of my weapon!
Odysseus
I and no other - I confess it freely.
Philoctetes
Child, give me back my bow.
Odysseus
No, he will never
do that, not even if he wishes: you
|
985 |
must come with us, or
they will force you to it.
Philoctetes
Boldest and evilest of wicked men,
will they use force on me?
Odysseus
Yes, if you struggle.
Philoctetes
Lemnos, my island, whose almighty flame
|
990 |
the
god of fire engendered, can you bear
to see this man force me away from you?
Odysseus
Zeus, let me tell you,
Zeus rules in this land;
Zeus has done this - and I am but his servant.
Philoctetes
Villain, what pretext will you think of next?
|
995 |
By crediting the gods you make them liars!
Odysseus
No, they are true. And now we must set forth.
Philoctetes
I will not.
Odysseus
But you will: you cannot help it.
Philoctetes
Wretch that I am! was I my father's son
|
1000 |
to be a slave and never
live in freedom?
Odysseus
Not so, but equal to our noblest men,
with whom you will take
Troy and bring it low.
Philoctetes
No, never! I would suffer any evil
to keep this rocky land beneath my feet.
Odysseus
|
1005 |
What can you do about it?
Philoctetes
Throw myself
down on those rocks and dash my brains upon them!
Odysseus
Two of you, seize him: this must not take place.
Two Chorus members seize
Philoctetes and bind his hands.
Philoctetes
My hands, oh how you suffer now without
|
1010 |
your bowstring, bound
together by this man!
But you, whose thoughts are foul and servile, you
stole on me, hunted me, and took this boy
whom I had never seen to be your shield -
My equal, but too good for you! - who only
|
1015 |
tried to perform what you
had ordered, though
clearly he is remorseful now for what
he did in error and for what I suffered.
But your base soul, peeping from hidden comers,
trained him against his nature and his will
|
1020 |
to be a shrewd contriver of evil deeds;
and now, O wretch, you bind me and intend
to take me from this shore where once you left me,
a friendless, lonely, homeless, living corpse.
Oh!
|
1025 |
May you be cursed, as I have often prayed!
Yet no . . . the gods grant nothing sweet to me,
and you will live in happiness while I
drag on my wretched life with further pains,
laughed at by you and by your twin commanders,
|
1030 |
the sons of
Atreus, whom you serve so well.
And yet when we first sailed for
Troy, you were
deceived and forced, while I, who suffer now,
came willingly, with seven ships, until
you cast me off - or they, if you prefer!
|
1035 |
Why will you take me? what
can you intend?
I am a worthless nothing, long since dead!
Why do I seem, god-hated man, no longer
crippled and putrid to you? How will you
sacrifice if I sail with you? for that
|
1040 |
was your excuse for
leaving me before.
May you be damned! - you will be damned for all
the wrongs I suffered, if the gods are just.
I know they are, for you would not have sailed
on such a trip after a man like me
|
1045 |
unless some god had
spurred you on your way.
O fatherland of mine, O gods who watch me,
avenge, avenge, however late, my wrongs
on all these men, if you have pity for me.
I live most piteously, but if I saw
|
1050 |
them perish, I would think
my illness cured.
chorus
This stranger's words are strong, and strongly spoken,
Odysseus: he will not submit to hardships.
Odysseus
If I had time I could reply to him
at leisure; now I will say one thing only:
|
1055 |
where any man is needed, I
am there.
If you will speak of just and noble men,
you will find none more reverent than I.
By nature I want victory everywhere
except from you, to whom I freely yield.
|
1060 |
Release him; do not touch him any longer;
Chorus members release
Philoctetes.
let him remain. We have no need of you
now that we have your bow, for
Teucer lives
among us still, and knows his craft, and I
believe that I myself can handle it
|
1065 |
no worse than you, and aim
it just as well.
What need for you? Take pleasure in your island,
for we must go. Perhaps this prize will bring
to me the honor which you might have had.
Philoctetes
What shall I do in my unhappiness?
|
1070 |
Will you display my weapon to the
Greeks?
Odysseus
Talk to me now no longer - I am going.
Philoctetes
Seed of
Achilles, will you not address me
now, but depart from me without a word?
Odysseus
Come with me - do not look at him - for you
|
1075 |
are noble, and you may yet
spoil our fortunes.
Philoctetes
Strangers, will you too leave me here alone,
and not have pity on my solitude?
chorus
This boy is our commander, and whatever
he says to you, we must agree with him.
Neoptolemus
|
1080 |
He will say that my nature is too full
of pity; but, if this man wishes, stay
until the others have prepared the ship
and we have made our offering to the gods.
Meanwhile perhaps his attitude toward us
|
1085 |
will soften. Now the two of us must go:
as soon as we send word, be prompt to follow.
Neoptolemus follows
Odysseus out.
|
1081 |
O my hollow cavern of stone,
now hot, now icy cold, was I
never again to leave you then,
unhappy that I am, but die
|
1085 |
with no one near but you?
Ah ah ah
ah!
O my chamber, so full of grief
brought upon you by me alone,
how can I now survive here
|
1090 |
day by day, and where will
I find
hope to provide me with food in my pain?
The tremulous doves will
fly on their way through the piercing air
above my head, unhindered.
chorus
|
1095 |
You have caused this, you alone,
harsh-fated man, and no one
is forcing this fortune
upon you but you.
You had your chance to choose
|
1100 |
a better fate, but chose
instead
one which is harder for you.
Philoctetes
|
1101 |
Oh unhappy man that I am,
dishonored in my suffering:
I will never, never behold
another man to share my grief,
|
1105 |
but soon will perish here
-
oh oh oh
oh! -
bringing food to my home no more
such as once, with my wingèd shafts
held in my mighty hands, I
|
1110 |
caught; but now the
deceitful words
born of a treacherous mind have snared me.
Oh how I wish that he,
he who has brought all this evil on me,
could feel my never-ending pain.
chorus
|
1115 |
Only fate has done this to you.
As for me I have not lent
my hand to any guile: so speak your
dreadful ill-fated curse on others.
My only wish is that you will
|
1120 |
not now reject my
friendship.
Philoctetes
|
1123 |
Ah ah
ah! he is sitting now
down by the shore of the white-waved sea
|
1125 |
laughing at me and
brandishing
the only prop of my wretched life,
which no one before had ever taken.
O my bow, my only friend,
torn away from loving hands,
|
1130 |
surely if you have a heart
you are looking with pity on me,
the comrade of
Heracles.
Never again will I hold you hereafter:
you will be wielded now by the hands
|
1135 |
of another, a man of deceitful guile,
and watch his shameful tricks, and see
that hateful man, my wicked foe,
bringing his evil plans to fulfillment
with thousandfold shames for me, my God!
chorus
|
1140 |
Man should always attempt to speak with justice;
but his tongue should not ever say
galling words which derive from envy
The man you speak of was ordered
by many other men, and he
|
1145 |
has done a great service
for all his friends.
Philoctetes
|
1146 |
O birds of the air, O bright-eyed tribes
of wandering beasts who inhabit
this rocky, mountainous pasture-land:
no longer need you flee from your lairs,
|
1150 |
for I will never hold in
my hands
the arrows which used to protect me.
Oh how miserable am I now!
Roam wherever you wish: the land
no longer is dangerous for you;
|
1155 |
now it is only just that
you
should take my blood in return for yours
and sate yourselves on my yellowed flesh.
Soon I shall leave this life of mine.
How can I find myself a living?
|
1160 |
How can a man with none of the gifts
the nourishing earth supplies to others
feed himself on the winds of the air?
chorus
In God's name, if you respect a friendly stranger,
come to me as I come to you.
|
1165 |
Pray consider, consider well
how you may flee from this plague.
It eats without remorse, and no one
ever could learn to endure such pain.
Philoctetes
|
1170 |
Again, again you have brought
to my mind my ancient pain,
O kindest of men to visit me:
why will you kill me, what have you done?
chorus
What can you mean?
Philoctetes
|
1175 |
You wished to take me
back to that hated land of
Troy.
chorus
I think it is best.
Philoctetes
Then leave me alone!
chorus
What you have spoken is welcome to me
|
1180 |
and joyfully will I
perform it!
Let us go, let us go,
each to his place on our ship.
Philoctetes
By
Zeus who is god of curses, I pray you, stay!
chorus
Be calm!
|
1185 |
Strangers, remain for God's sake!
chorus
Why do you scream?
Philoctetes
Ah ah ah
ah!
O God, I am dying, wretchedly dying!
My foot, my foot, how will I ever
|
1190 |
take care of you in the
time to come?
Strangers, come back to me now again!
chorus
But what can we do for you now
more than what you have told us before?
Philoctetes
You must not blame me, for I
|
1195 |
am distraught with
tempestuous pain,
and my screams are beyond my control.
chorus
Come with us then, poor man, as we bid you.
Never, oh never: be certain of that!
Not though the god of the fiery lightning
|
1200 |
came to envelop me in his
flame!
May
Troy soon perish with all of those
who cast me off because of my foot!
But strangers, grant me, I beg you, one prayer.
chorus
What are you asking?
|
1205 |
Give me a sword,
or an axe or whatever weapon you have.
chorus
What will you do? what terrible thing?
Philoctetes
I will cut up my flesh and my limbs with my hands,
for all of my thoughts are of blood!
chorus
|
1210 |
What?
Philoctetes
I will go to seek my father.
chorus
Where?
Philoctetes
In the land of the dead,
for he is no longer alive!
|
1215 |
O my country,
home of my fathers,
would that I might behold you: how foolish I was
to leave your sacred river and go
to assist those hated
Greeks.
And now I am nothing, nothing at all.
Philoctetes withdraws into his cave.
chorus
|
1218 |
I would have left you long ago and gone
down to my ship, if I had not beheld
|
1220 |
Odysseus approaching us; and with him
Achilles' son is also coming toward us.
Neoptolemus enters rapidly, followed immediately by Odysseus.
Odysseus
Will you not tell me why you are returning
along this pathway with such earnest speed?
Neoptolemus
To undo the error which I made before.
|
1225 |
Your words are strange: what "error" do you mean?
Neoptolemus
Obeying you and yielding to my sailors.
Odysseus
What have you done that was not proper for you?
Neoptolemus
I have snared a man by shamefulness and guile.
Odysseus
But whom? Oh, what new plan are you now making?
|
1230 |
No new plan: I will give the son of Poeas . . .
Odysseus
What do you mean? I am suddenly afraid.
Neoptolemus
. . . his bow, which I took from him, back again.
Odysseus
O God! what are you saying? Give it back?
Neoptolemus
I took it shamefully, and not with justice.
|
1235 |
In God's name, are you saying this to mock me?
Neoptolemus
Only if telling truth is mockery.
Odysseus
Son of
Achilles, tell me what you mean.
Neoptolemus
How many times must I repeat my words?
Odysseus
I wish I had never heard them even once!
|
1240 |
Now you may rest assured you have heard all.
Odysseus
There is, I say, there is a way to stop you!
Neoptolemus
What are you saying? Who can stop me now?
Odysseus
The army of the
Greeks - and I among them.
Neoptolemus
Shrewd though you are, your words are far from shrewd.
|
1245 |
Surely your speech and deeds are not so shrewd!
Neoptolemus
If they are right they do no need your shrewdness.
Odysseus
How is it right to give back what you took
on my advice?
Neoptolemus
-- I made a shameful error,
and I must now endeavor to retrieve it.
Odysseus
Do you not fear the army of the
Greeks?
|
1250 |
With justice on my side I have no fears;
and I will not submit to do your bidding.
Odysseus
Then must I fight with you instead of
Troy?
Neoptolemus
If you so wish.
Odysseus
-- Look: do you see my hand
upon my sword-hilt?
Neoptolemus
-- Yes. And do you wish
to see my hand on mine - without delay?
Odysseus
Well, I will let you be. But I am going
|
1255 |
to tell the army: they
will punish you.
Odysseus withdraws.
|
1260 |
Now you are showing wisdom; and if you
continue thus, you may stay clear of trouble.
Philoctetes,
Poeas' son, I call upon you
to leave your rocky chamber and come forth.
Philoctetes emerges from the cave.
Philoctetes
What is this sound of shouting near my cave?
|
1265 |
Why do you call? what can
you want from me?
There must be something wrong: have you come to me
bringing new hardships to add to my others?
Neoptolemus
Take heart and listen to the words I speak.
Philoctetes
I am afraid. I suffered bitterly
|
1270 |
from your fair words before, because I listened.
Neoptolemus
Is it not possible to change one's mind?
Philoctetes
Your words seemed just as true when you were
stealing my bow from me, and yet they were deceptive.
Neoptolemus
They are not now: I wish to learn from you
|
1275 |
whether you will remain
here and endure,
or sail with us
Philoctetes
-- Wait, say nothing more!
Every word that you speak will be in vain.
Neoptolemus
Are you resolved?
Philoctetes
-- Much more than I can say.
Neoptolemus
I wish you had been persuaded by my words;
but if I speak to no avail, then I will cease.
Philoctetes
All that you say will be in vain,
|
1280 |
for you will never make my
mind your friend.
You robbed me of my life and took my bow,
yet now you come to me to bring advice,
most hateful son of a most noble father!
Damn all of you - the sons of
Atreus first,
|
1285 |
and then Laertes' son: then you!
Neoptolemus
Do not curse me, but take your bow back from my
hand.
Philoctetes
What do you mean? is
this another trick?
Neoptolemus
No, by the sacred majesty of God!
Philoctetes
How sweet your words are if your words are true!
|
1290 |
My deed will show how true they are: reach out
your hand and take your weapon once again.
Odysseus steps forward.
Odysseus
But I forbid it, calling God to witness,
in the name of
Atreus' sons and all the army!
|
1295 |
My child, whose voice is that? did I not hear Odysseus?
Odysseus
Yes, you did: and now you see him,
him who will take you back to
Troy by force
whether
Achilles' son approves or not.
Philoctetes
Not without paying, if my aim is true!
Odysseus turns and leaves.
|
1300 |
Wait! for the sake of God put down your arrow.
Philoctetes
For God's sake take your hand off mine, dear child.
Neoptolemus
No, I will not.
Philoctetes
Oh, why have you not let me
kill my hated enemy with my bow?
|
1305 |
That would be right for neither you nor me.
Philoctetes
Well, this much is certain: the false-hearted
commanders of the army of the
Greeks
are cowards in fight, however bold in words!
Neoptolemus
So be it: now you have your bow, and you
|
1310 |
have no cause to be angry, or to blame me.
Philoctetes
Yes, you are right, my child; and you have shown
what nature you were born with.
Sisyphus
was not your father, but
Achilles, who
was most renowned when living, as when dead.
|
1315 |
I am truly glad to hear you praise my father
and me; now listen to the benefit
I hope to win from you. Men must endure
the fortunes which are given them by God;
but when they willingly persist in pain,
|
1320 |
like you, it is not right
for anyone
to pardon them or have compassion on them.
You are too harsh, and will not hear advice;
and if one counsels you with good intentions
you hate him and consider him your foe.
|
1325 |
Yet I will speak, and call God as my witness:
so hear my words and write them in your heart.
This suffering is sent on you from heaven
because you once went near to
Chryse's serpent,
the secret guardian of her roofless home.
|
1330 |
Be certain you will never find relief
from your hard illness while the sun continues
to rise and set again, until you come
of your own will to
Troy, where you will find
the children of
Asclepius among us,
|
1335 |
and they will soothe your
illness; then, with me,
and with our bow, you will demolish
Troy.
Now I will tell you how I know all this.
We have a Trojan prisoner among us,
Helenus, best of prophets, who declares
|
1340 |
that these things shall
occur, and furthermore
he says it is ordained that
Troy shall fall
this very summer: he will give his life
willingly if his prophecy proves false.
Now that you are aware of this, yield freely.
|
1345 |
It is a fair reward to be acclaimed
|
1345 |
the noblest of the
Greeks, and find your way
to healing hands, and then, when you have captured
sorrowful
Troy, to win immortal glory.
Philoctetes
My hateful life, why do you keep me here
instead of letting me go down to
Hades?
|
1350 |
What shall I do? how can I
disobey
his words, when he has counseled me in friendship?
Shall I submit? But then, in my misfortune,
how could I face the light? whom could I speak to?
My eyes, who have beheld my many wrongs,
|
1355 |
how could you ever bear to
see me with
the sons of
Atreus, who have ruined me,
or with that villainous son of
Laertes?
Resentment for the past is not what hurts me,
but thinking on the pains that I must suffer
|
1360 |
hereafter: for when men
have given birth
to evil thoughts once, they will soon learn others.
Your actions, too, surprise me: you should never
have thought of going back to
Troy or taking
my bow: for these men have insulted you
|
1365 |
and robbed your father's
arms. Can you intend
to go and fight for them, and force me also?
No, child, not that! You must fulfill your promise
to take me home; and you must stay in
Skyros
and let those evil men die and be damned.
|
1370 |
Thus you will win a double gratitude,
mine and my father's; and though you have served
bad men, your nature will not seem like theirs.
Neoptolemus
You speak with reason; yet I hope that you
will put your trust in God and in my words,
|
1375 |
and sail from here with me, who am your friend.
Philoctetes
What, sail to
Troy and to the hated son
of
Atreus with this cursèd
foot of mine?
Neoptolemus
To those who will relieve your pus-filled limb
from suffering, and cure you of your illness.
Philoctetes
|
1380 |
These are strange words indeed: what are you saying?
Neoptolemus
What will be best for you as well as me.
Philoctetes
When you speak thus, do you not fear the gods?
Neoptolemus
Why should I be afraid to help my friend?
Philoctetes
But will you help me or the sons of
Atreus?
|
1385 |
You - for I am your friend, and speak in friendship.
Philoctetes
Yet you would give me to my enemies!
Neoptolemus
My friend, be less defiant in misfortune.
Philoctetes
Surely you will destroy me with your words.
Neoptolemus
Not I . . . but you will not know what I mean.
|
1390 |
I know the sons of Atreus left me here.
They did; and yet they may restore you also.
Philoctetes
Not if I must consent to go to
Troy.
Neoptolemus
|
1393 |
What must I do then, if my words cannot
persuade you to do anything I ask?
|
1395 |
The easiest course for me is to be silent
and let you live without help, as before.
Philoctetes
Yes, let me suffer what I have to suffer.
But you, my child, must now fulfill the promise
made when you touched my hand, and send me home.
|
1400 |
Do not delay, or speak again of
Troy,
for I have had my fill of lamentation.
Neoptolemus
If you wish, then let us go.
Philoctetes
O nobly spoken word!
Neoptolemus
Plant our footsteps firmly now.
|
1405 |
With all the strength I have.
Neoptolemus
How can I escape the anger of the
Greeks?
Philoctetes
Fear not.
Neoptolemus
What if they destroy my country?
Philoctetes
I shall be at hand.
|
1410 |
How can you assist me?
Philoctetes
With the bow of
Heracles.
Neoptolemus
How?
Philoctetes
I will prevent them.
Neoptolemus
Bless this land, then, and depart.
Heracles appears above.
|
1408 |
Not yet, until you have heard the words
which I will speak to you, son of
Poeas.
|
1410 |
Be certain that you are hearing the voice
and beholding the presence of
Heracles.
For your sake I have departed from
my heavenly home,
to tell you the counsels of
Zeus on high,
|
1415 |
and prevent you from
making this journey.
Now hear my words, and obey them.
First I will say that in my varied fortunes
I have passed through many sufferings and toils,
and won, as you may see, eternal glory;
and now it is ordained for you as well
|
1420 |
to build from suffering a
noble life.
First you will travel with this man to
Troy
and there will find release from your disease;
and then, foremost among the ranks in courage,
you will slay
Paris with that bow of mine,
|
1425 |
Paris, who was the cause of all these hardships,
and conquer
Troy, and choose the prize of valor
from all the army's spoils, and take them to
your father
Poeas by the plains of
Oeta.
But when you bring these spoils home from the army,
|
1430 |
take some, in gratitude
for my bow, to
my funeral pyre. You too, son of
Achilles,
must listen: for without him you cannot
take
Troy, nor he apart from you. Like lions
you roam together, and together guard
|
1435 |
each other's lives. And I
will send to
Troy
Asclepius to cure you of your illness;
for it is fated
Troy shall be once more
captured by my bow. When you spoil the land,
remember this: to reverence the gods;
|
1440 |
for of all things that is
the most important
to father
Zeus. Such reverence will not die
with men, but go with them in life and death.
Philoctetes
O voice which I long have yearned to hear,
revealed to me now,
|
1445 |
I will not disobey your words.
Neoptolemus
And I will also grant assent.
Heracles
Do not delay your action long;
occasion is calling,
and the wind at your stern is urging you on.
Heracles withdraws.
|
1450 |
Now as I leave I will call on my island.
Farewell to the chamber that shared in my vigil,
and the nymphs of the meadows, nymphs of the streams,
and the masculine roar of the sea-swept coast.
Often my head has been damp with the blowing
|
1455 |
of southerly winds, though
deep in my cave;
and often the distant mountain of
Hermes
has heard my voice and answered to me
with echoing groans in my tempest of sorrow.
But O my streams and my Lycian spring,
|
1460 |
I am leaving you now, I am leaving at last,
though I had thought I would never depart.
O land of sea-circled
Lemnos, farewell!
Do not begrudge me a fair voyage now
to whatever place great Destiny calls,
|
1465 |
and my friends' advice,
and the almighty god
who has brought these things to fulfillment.
chorus
Come let us go now all together,
|
1470 |
and pray to the nymphs of
the sea
to grant us a prosperous voyage.