| ἐγὼ σὲ καὶ σὸν παῖδα καὶ τύχας σέθεν | Hecuba, I feel compassion for you and your son and your ill-fortune, as well as for your suppliant gesture, and I would gladly see that impious host pay you this forfeit for the sake of heaven and justice, if I could only find some way to help you |
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| ̔Εκάβη, δι' οἴκτου χεῖρά θ' ἱκεσίαν ἔχω | Hecuba, I feel compassion for you and your son and your ill-fortune, as well as for your suppliant gesture, and I would gladly see that impious host pay you this forfeit for the sake of heaven and justice, if I could only find some way to help you |
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| καὶ βούλομαι θεῶν θ' οὕνεκ' ἀνόσιον ξένον | Hecuba, I feel compassion for you and your son and your ill-fortune, as well as for your suppliant gesture, and I would gladly see that impious host pay you this forfeit for the sake of heaven and justice, if I could only find some way to help you |
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| καὶ τοῦ δικαίου τήνδε σοι δοῦναι δίκην | Hecuba, I feel compassion for you and your son and your ill-fortune, as well as for your suppliant gesture, and I would gladly see that impious host pay you this forfeit for the sake of heaven and justice, if I could only find some way to help you |
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| εἴ πως φανείη γ' ὥστε σοί τ' ἔχειν καλῶς | Hecuba, I feel compassion for you and your son and your ill-fortune, as well as for your suppliant gesture, and I would gladly see that impious host pay you this forfeit for the sake of heaven and justice, if I could only find some way to help you |
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| στρατῷ τε μὴ δόξαιμι Κασάνδρας χάριν | without appearing to the army to have plotted the death of the Thracian king for Cassandra’s sake. For on one point I am assailed by perplexity: the army count this man their friend, the dead their foe; that he is dear to you |
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| Θρῄκης ἄνακτι τόνδε βουλεῦσαι φόνον. | without appearing to the army to have plotted the death of the Thracian king for Cassandra’s sake. For on one point I am assailed by perplexity: the army count this man their friend, the dead their foe; that he is dear to you |
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| ἔστιν γὰρ ᾗ ταραγμὸς ἐμπέπτωκέ μοι: | without appearing to the army to have plotted the death of the Thracian king for Cassandra’s sake. For on one point I am assailed by perplexity: the army count this man their friend, the dead their foe; that he is dear to you |
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| — Τὸν ἄνδρα τοῦτον φίλιον ἡγεῖται στρατός | without appearing to the army to have plotted the death of the Thracian king for Cassandra’s sake. For on one point I am assailed by perplexity: the army count this man their friend, the dead their foe; that he is dear to you |
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| τὸν κατθανόντα δ' ἐχθρόν: εἰ δὲ σοὶ φίλος | without appearing to the army to have plotted the death of the Thracian king for Cassandra’s sake. For on one point I am assailed by perplexity: the army count this man their friend, the dead their foe; that he is dear to you |
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| ὅδ' ἐστί, χωρὶς τοῦτο κοὐ κοινὸν στρατῷ. — | is a matter apart, in which the army has no share. Reflect on this; for though you find me ready to share your toil and quick to lend my aid, yet the risk of being reproached by the Achaeans makes me hesitate. Hecuba |
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| πρὸς ταῦτα φρόντιζ': ὡς θέλοντα μέν μ' ἔχεις | is a matter apart, in which the army has no share. Reflect on this; for though you find me ready to share your toil and quick to lend my aid, yet the risk of being reproached by the Achaeans makes me hesitate. Hecuba |
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| σοὶ ξυμπονῆσαι καὶ ταχὺν προσαρκέσαι | is a matter apart, in which the army has no share. Reflect on this; for though you find me ready to share your toil and quick to lend my aid, yet the risk of being reproached by the Achaeans makes me hesitate. Hecuba |
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| βραδὺν δ', ̓Αχαιοῖς εἰ διαβληθήσομαι. | is a matter apart, in which the army has no share. Reflect on this; for though you find me ready to share your toil and quick to lend my aid, yet the risk of being reproached by the Achaeans makes me hesitate. Hecuba |
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| φεῦ. | Ah! there is not in the world a single man free; |
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| οὐκ ἔστι θνητῶν ὅστις ἔστ' ἐλεύθερος: | for he is a slave either to money or to fortune, or else the people in their thousands or the fear of public prosecution prevents him from following the dictates of his heart. |
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| ἢ χρημάτων γὰρ δοῦλός ἐστιν ἢ τύχης | for he is a slave either to money or to fortune, or else the people in their thousands or the fear of public prosecution prevents him from following the dictates of his heart. |
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| ἢ πλῆθος αὐτὸν πόλεος ἢ νόμων γραφαὶ | for he is a slave either to money or to fortune, or else the people in their thousands or the fear of public prosecution prevents him from following the dictates of his heart. |
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| εἴργουσι χρῆσθαι μὴ κατὰ γνώμην τρόποις. | for he is a slave either to money or to fortune, or else the people in their thousands or the fear of public prosecution prevents him from following the dictates of his heart. |
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| ἐπεὶ δὲ ταρβεῖς τῷ τ' ὄχλῳ πλέον νέμεις | But since you are afraid, deferring too much to the rabble, I will rid you of that fear. |
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| ἐγώ σε θήσω τοῦδ' ἐλεύθερον φόβου. | But since you are afraid, deferring too much to the rabble, I will rid you of that fear. |
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| σύνισθι μὲν γάρ, ἤν τι βουλεύσω κακὸν | Thus: be aware of my plot if I devise mischief against this murderer, but refrain from any share in it. And if any uproar or attempt at rescue breaks out among the Achaeans, when the Thracian is suffering his doom, check it without seeming to do so on my account. |
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| τῷ τόνδ' ἀποκτείναντι, συνδράσῃς δὲ μή. | Thus: be aware of my plot if I devise mischief against this murderer, but refrain from any share in it. And if any uproar or attempt at rescue breaks out among the Achaeans, when the Thracian is suffering his doom, check it without seeming to do so on my account. |
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| ἢν δ' ἐξ ̓Αχαιῶν θόρυβος ἢ 'πικουρία | Thus: be aware of my plot if I devise mischief against this murderer, but refrain from any share in it. And if any uproar or attempt at rescue breaks out among the Achaeans, when the Thracian is suffering his doom, check it without seeming to do so on my account. |
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| πάσχοντος ἀνδρὸς Θρῃκὸς οἷα πείσεται | Thus: be aware of my plot if I devise mischief against this murderer, but refrain from any share in it. And if any uproar or attempt at rescue breaks out among the Achaeans, when the Thracian is suffering his doom, check it without seeming to do so on my account. |
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| φανῇ τις, εἶργε μὴ δοκῶν ἐμὴν χάριν. | Thus: be aware of my plot if I devise mischief against this murderer, but refrain from any share in it. And if any uproar or attempt at rescue breaks out among the Achaeans, when the Thracian is suffering his doom, check it without seeming to do so on my account. |
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| τὰ δ' ἄλλα — θάρσει — πάντ' ἐγὼ θήσω καλῶς. | For what remains—take heart—I will arrange everything well. Agamemnon |
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| πῶς οὖν; τί δράσεις; πότερα φάσγανον χερὶ | How? what will you do? will you take a sword in your old hand and slay the barbarian, or do you have drugs or some means to aid you? Who will take your part? Where will you procure friends? Hecuba |
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| λαβοῦσα γραίᾳ φῶτα βάρβαρον κτενεῖς | How? what will you do? will you take a sword in your old hand and slay the barbarian, or do you have drugs or some means to aid you? Who will take your part? Where will you procure friends? Hecuba |
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| ἢ φαρμάκοισιν ἢ 'πικουρίᾳ τινί; | How? what will you do? will you take a sword in your old hand and slay the barbarian, or do you have drugs or some means to aid you? Who will take your part? Where will you procure friends? Hecuba |
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| τίς σοι ξυνέσται χείρ; πόθεν κτήσῃ φίλους; | How? what will you do? will you take a sword in your old hand and slay the barbarian, or do you have drugs or some means to aid you? Who will take your part? Where will you procure friends? Hecuba |
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| στέγαι κεκεύθας' αἵδε Τρῳάδων ὄχλον. | Sheltered beneath these tents is a crowd of Trojan women. Agamemnon |
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| τὰς αἰχμαλώτους εἶπας, ̔Ελλήνων ἄγραν; | AGA. Meanest thou the captives, the booty of the Greeks? HEC. With these will I avenge me of my murderer. AGA. And how shall the victory over men be to women? HEC. Numbers are powerful, with stratagem invincible. AGA. Powerful, I grant; I mistrust however the race of women. HEC. And why? Did not women slay the sons of Egyptus, and utterly extirpated the race of men from Lemnos? But thus let it be. Give up this discussion. But grant this woman to pass in safety through the army. And do thou go to the Thracian host and tell him, "Hecuba, once queen of Troy, sends for you on business of no less importance to yourself than to her, and your sons likewise, since it is of consequence that your children also should hear her words." — And do thou, O Agamemnon, as yet forbear to raise the tomb over the newly-sacrificed Polyxena, that these two, the brother and the sister, the divided care of their mother, may, when reduced to ashes by one and the same flame, be interred side by side. AGA. Thus shall it be. And yet, if the army could sail, I should not have it in my power to grant thy request: but now, for the deity breathes not prosperous gales, we must wait, watching for a calm voyage. But may things turn out well some way or other: for this is a general principle among all, both individuals in private and states, That the wicked man should feel vengeance, but the good man enjoy prosperity. |
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| τὰς αἰχμαλώτους εἶπας, ̔Ελλήνων ἄγραν; | Do you mean the captives, the booty of the Hellenes? Hecuba |
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| σὺν ταῖσδε τὸν ἐμὸν φονέα τιμωρήσομαι. | With their help I will punish my murderous foe. Agamemnon |
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| καὶ πῶς γυναιξὶν ἀρσένων ἔσται κράτος; | How are women to master men? Hecuba |
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| δεινὸν τὸ πλῆθος σὺν δόλῳ τε δύσμαχον. | Numbers are a fearful thing, and joined to craft a desperate foe. Agamemnon |
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| δεινόν: τὸ μέντοι θῆλυ μέμφομαι γένος. | True; still I have a mean opinion of the female race. Hecuba |
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| τί δ'; οὐ γυναῖκες εἷλον Αἰγύπτου τέκνα | What? did not women slay the sons of Aegyptus , and utterly clear Lemnos of men? But let it be thus; put an end to our conference, and send this woman for me safely through the army. |
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| καὶ Λῆμνον ἄρδην ἀρσένων ἐξῴκισαν; | What? did not women slay the sons of Aegyptus , and utterly clear Lemnos of men? But let it be thus; put an end to our conference, and send this woman for me safely through the army. |
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| ἀλλ' ὣς γενέσθω: τόνδε μὲν μέθες λόγον | What? did not women slay the sons of Aegyptus , and utterly clear Lemnos of men? But let it be thus; put an end to our conference, and send this woman for me safely through the army. |
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| πέμψον δέ μοι τήνδ' ἀσφαλῶς διὰ στρατοῦ | What? did not women slay the sons of Aegyptus , and utterly clear Lemnos of men? But let it be thus; put an end to our conference, and send this woman for me safely through the army. |
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| γυναῖκα. — καὶ σὺ Θρῃκὶ πλαθεῖσα ξένῳ | To a servant And you are to draw near my Thracian friend and say, Hecuba, once queen of Ilium , summons you, on your own business no less than hers, your children too, for they also must hear what she has to say. The servant goes out. Defer awhile, Agamemnon |
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| λέξον: Καλεῖ ς' ἄνασσα δή ποτ' ̓Ιλίου | To a servant And you are to draw near my Thracian friend and say, Hecuba, once queen of Ilium , summons you, on your own business no less than hers, your children too, for they also must hear what she has to say. The servant goes out. Defer awhile, Agamemnon |
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| ̔Εκάβη, σὸν οὐκ ἔλασσον ἢ κείνης χρέος | To a servant And you are to draw near my Thracian friend and say, Hecuba, once queen of Ilium , summons you, on your own business no less than hers, your children too, for they also must hear what she has to say. The servant goes out. Defer awhile, Agamemnon |
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| καὶ παῖδας: ὡς δεῖ καὶ τέκν' εἰδέναι λόγους | To a servant And you are to draw near my Thracian friend and say, Hecuba, once queen of Ilium , summons you, on your own business no less than hers, your children too, for they also must hear what she has to say. The servant goes out. Defer awhile, Agamemnon |
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| τοὺς ἐξ ἐκείνης. — τὸν δὲ τῆς νεοσφαγοῦς | To a servant And you are to draw near my Thracian friend and say, Hecuba, once queen of Ilium , summons you, on your own business no less than hers, your children too, for they also must hear what she has to say. The servant goes out. Defer awhile, Agamemnon |
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| Πολυξένης ἐπίσχες, ̓Αγάμεμνον, τάφον | the burial of Polyxena lately slain, so that brother and sister may be laid on the same pyre and buried side by side, a double cause of sorrow to their mother. Agamemnon |
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| ὡς τώδ' ἀδελφὼ πλησίον μιᾷ φλογί | the burial of Polyxena lately slain, so that brother and sister may be laid on the same pyre and buried side by side, a double cause of sorrow to their mother. Agamemnon |
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| δισσὴ μέριμνα μητρί, κρυφθῆτον χθονί. | the burial of Polyxena lately slain, so that brother and sister may be laid on the same pyre and buried side by side, a double cause of sorrow to their mother. Agamemnon |
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| ἔσται τάδ' οὕτω: καὶ γὰρ εἰ μὲν ἦν στρατῷ | So shall it be; yet if the army were able to sail, I could not have granted you this favor; |
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| πλοῦς, οὐκ ἂν εἶχον τήνδε σοι δοῦναι χάριν: | So shall it be; yet if the army were able to sail, I could not have granted you this favor; |
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| νῦν δ', οὐ γὰρ ἵης' οὐρίους πνοὰς θεός | but as it is, for the god sends forth no favoring breeze, the army must wait and look for a calm voyage. Good luck to you, for this is the interest alike of individual and state, that the wrong-doer be punished and the good man prosper. Agamemnon departs as Hecuba withdraws into the tent. Choru |
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| μένειν ἀνάγκη πλοῦν ὁρῶντ' ἐς ἥσυχον. | but as it is, for the god sends forth no favoring breeze, the army must wait and look for a calm voyage. Good luck to you, for this is the interest alike of individual and state, that the wrong-doer be punished and the good man prosper. Agamemnon departs as Hecuba withdraws into the tent. Choru |
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| γένοιτο δ' εὖ πως: πᾶσι γὰρ κοινὸν τόδε | but as it is, for the god sends forth no favoring breeze, the army must wait and look for a calm voyage. Good luck to you, for this is the interest alike of individual and state, that the wrong-doer be punished and the good man prosper. Agamemnon departs as Hecuba withdraws into the tent. Choru |
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| ἰδίᾳ θ' ἑκάστῳ καὶ πόλει, τὸν μὲν κακὸν | but as it is, for the god sends forth no favoring breeze, the army must wait and look for a calm voyage. Good luck to you, for this is the interest alike of individual and state, that the wrong-doer be punished and the good man prosper. Agamemnon departs as Hecuba withdraws into the tent. Choru |
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| κακόν τι πάσχειν, τὸν δὲ χρηστὸν εὐτυχεῖν. | but as it is, for the god sends forth no favoring breeze, the army must wait and look for a calm voyage. Good luck to you, for this is the interest alike of individual and state, that the wrong-doer be punished and the good man prosper. Agamemnon departs as Hecuba withdraws into the tent. Choru |
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