T HE

BA C C HA E

E UR I PI DE S

T R A NSL AT E D I N T O E N G L I SH RHYM I N G V ERSE

WI T H E ! PL A N AT ORY NO T ES BY

GI L BE R T M U R R AY , M A . .
,
LL D . .

E M ER I T U S PR O F E SS O R OF GREE K I N T H E UN I V ER S I T Y
OF G L A S GO W ; S O M E T I M E F E LLO W O F
NE W C O LL E GE O ! F O R D
,

S E C O ND E DI TI O N

L O N DO N

G E O R GE A LLE N, 1 5 6, C H AR I N G C R O S S R O AD

O ne S h il l in g N e t .
 C HAR AC TE R S I N THE PL AY

DI O NY S US , THE GO D ; s on o f ! eus a n d of the Thebtm p r in ces s

CAD M U S, for mer ly K in g o

f Thebes fa ther of S emelé
, .

P E N T H E US , M n g of Thebes , gr a n ds on d Ca d m us
'

AGRV Q , da ughter of Ca d m us , m other f P en thous

o .

TE I RE S I AS aged Th b
, an p ph t e an ro e .

A S O L D I ER o r P a ur u n o s GUA RD
’
.

Two M E SS E N GERS .

A C H O R U S o r I NS P I RED DAMS E LS , fol l ow ing Diony s us

fr om the E as t .

The p lay wa s fir s t p r oduced after the dea th f E u r ip ides

o by his

s on ,
w ho bor e the s a m e n a m e, toget er h w it h th e
‘
l p higen ta in A ss/is
‘

A l cma eon , p r oba b ly in the y ea r 405

’
the ‘
and
 THE BA C CH AE

the Ca stl e
ba ckgr oun d p
r e r esen ts the f r on t
f
o
f
o

PEN T HEUS ,
King f
o Thebes . dt on e s ide is v s i ibl e
"
the sa cr e d Tomb f
o S emele a
,
l ittl e l
enc os ur e ofv er

g r ow n w ith w ild win es, w ith a f

cl e t in the yfl
r och oor

i r om w hich ther e issues a t times

o
f f
t stea m or smok e.

The God D I ONYSUS is discov er ed l

a on e.

D I ONYSUS .

Behold God s Son is come unto this land

’
,

O f Thebes, even I Dionysus whom the bra n d

, ,
’
O f he a ven s hot splendour lit to li fe when she ,

W ho bore me Ca dm u s dau ghter Sem el é

,
’

fi ,

Di ed here So c hanged i n sh a pe from G od to

.
,

man ,

I wa lk a ga in by Dirc e s stre a ms a nd sc a n
’
8 E U RIPI D ES
Ismenus shore There by t he castle side
’
.

I see her place the Tomb of t he Lightning s B ride

,
’

The wrec k of smouldering chambers and the great

Fai n t wreaths of fi re undyi n g—as t he hate
,

Dies no t that H era held for Sem el é

, .

Aye Cadmus ha t h done well in purity

,

H e k eeps t his place apart inviolate , ,

H is daugh t er s sa nc t uary and I have set

’

M y green and clustered vines to robe i t round .

Far now b ehi nd me lies t he ggldgn ground ‘

O f Lydian and of Ph rygian fa r away

The wide hot plai ns where Persian sunbeams play ,

The Bac t rian war holds and the s t orm oppressed

-
,
-

Clime o f the M ede and Araby t he Blest,

,

A n d Asia all t hat by the sal t sea lies

,

I n p roud emba tt led cities motley wise ,

-

O f H ellene and Barbarian in t erwrought

And now I come to H ellas—havin g taught
All the world else my dances and my rite
O f mysteri es to show me in men s sight
,
’

M a ni fest G od .

And first of H ellene lands

I cry th i s Thebes to wa k en se t her hands
To cl asp my wand mine iv ied jav eli n
, ,

And round her shoulders hang my wild fawn skin -

.

F or they have scorned me whom it least beseemed ,

Sem elé s sisters ; mocked my bir t h nor deemed

’

That D ionysus sprang from D i a n seed .

M y mo t her sin ned said t hey ; and in her need

, ,

With C a dmus plot t ing cloaked h er human shame

,

W i th the dread name of Zeus ; for t hat the flame

F rom heaven consumed her see i ng she lied to God ,
.

T hus must t hey vaunt ; a nd t herefore ha t h my rod

 T HE BACCHAE
‘

O n them fi rst fa llen and stung them forth wild eyed

,
-

From empty cham b ers the bare mountain side

Is made t heir home and all thei r hear t s a re fl a me
,
.

Y ea, I have bound upon the necks o f them

The harness o f my rites And wi t h them a l l .

The seed of woman k ind from b ut and hall

O f Thebes, hath this my magic goaded out .

And there, with the old King s daughters i n a rou t ’

Confused they m ake their dwelling place between

,
-

The roofless roc k s and shadowy pine trees green .

Thus shall this T hebes, ho w sore so e er it smart, ’

Learn and for get not till she crav e her part
,

In mine ado ring t hus must I spe ak clear

’
To save my mother s fame and crown me here ,

As true God born by Sem elé to Zeus

, .

N ow C a dmus yieldeth up h is throne a nd use

’
O f ro y a l honour to h i s daughter s son
Pentheus w ho on my body hath begun
A war with God H e thruste t h me aw ay
.

From due drink o fler in g, and , w hen men pray,

-

M y name en t rea t s n o t Therefore on his o w n

.

H ead and his pe e ple s shall my power be sho w n

’
.

Then to another land , when all things here

Are well mus t I fa re onward m aking clear
, ,

M y godhead s might But should this Theb a n town

’
.

E ssa y w i th wrath and b at t le to dr a g down

M y maids,lo i n their path myself shall be,
,

And mani a c armies b attled aft er me

For t his I veil my godhead w ith the wan
Form of the thin gs t hat die, and walk as Ma n .

O B rood o f T m o l us o er the wi de world flo wn,’

O Lydi a n ha n d, my c hosen and mine o w n ,

IO EU R I P I D E S
’
Damsels upli fted o er the orient deep
T o wander where I wander and to sleep ,

Where I sleep up a n d wa k e t he old sweet sound

, ,

The clang t ha t I and mys t ic R hea fo und ,

The Timbrel o f the M o untain l Gather all

Thebes to your s o n g round Pentheus ro yal hall ’
.

I seek my new made worshippers to guide

-
,

T heir dances up K itha ero n s pine clad side

’
-
.

[ As he dep a r ts ther e com es stea l in

, g i n
fr om the l e t
f
een E a s ter n Wom en
a ba n d o
ffi ft the l i ht
g ,

f
o the sun r ise str ea m in
g upon their l on
g w hite

r obes a n d iv
y boun d ha ir
-
T he w ea r
y fawn .

shin s ov er the r obes a n d ca r r

y som e of them
,

tim br els s ome p ipes a n d other in str um en ts

, .

M a ny bea r y the th r sus

, ,
or sa cr e d Wa n d
ma de of r eed r inged w ith iv y They en ter .

stea l thil til l the see tha t the p l a ce is emp t

y y y,
a n d then be in their m stic son o w or ship
g y g f .

CHORUS .

A M a iden .

From Asi a from the dayspring tha t uprises

, ,

To B romios ever glorying we came .

We laboured for our Lord in many guises ;

W e toiled bu t the toil is as t he prize is ;
,

T hou M ystery, w e hail thee by thy name !

An other
W ho lingers in the road ? Who espies us ?
H e sh a ll hide him in his house nor be bold .

Let the he a rt k ee p silence that defies us ;

For I sing this day to D ionysus
T he song that i s a ppointed from of old .
 T HE BACCHAE 1 1

fi ll the M a idens .

O h bless e d he i n all wise

, ,

W ho hath drunk the Li v ing Fountai n,

Whose li fe no folly s ta in eth,
And his soul is near to G od ;
W hose sins are l i fted pall wise ,
,
-

As he worshi ps on the M oun tain,

And where Cybel e ordaineth,
O ur M ot her, he h as tro d
H is head w ith iv y laden
A nd his thyrsus tossing h ig h,
For our G od he li fts his cry
“ U p O Bacch a e w i fe and maiden
, , ,

Come , O ye Bacchae com e ; ,

O h , bring the Joy b estower

-
,

G od seed o f God the Sower,

-

Bring B romios in his p ower

’
From Phrygia s mountai n dom e ;
To street a nd town a nd tower,
O h bring y e Brom i os home I
,

W hom erst i n anguish lying

For a n unborn li fe s desi re
’
,

As a dead t hing in the Thunde r

H is mother cast to e ar t h
Fo r her he a rt wa s dying, dy i ng,
In the white he a rt of the fire
Till Zeus, the Lord of Wonder,
Devi sed ne w lairs o f birth
Y e a his o w n flesh tor e to h i de h i m,
,

And w ith cl asps of b itter g old fi

Did a secret son en fold,

1 2 E U RIPI D ES
And the Queen k new not beside h im ;
Till the perfect hour was there ;
Then a horn e d God was found ,

And a God wi t h serpents cr o wned

And for that are serpents wound
In t he w a nds h is ma i dens bear,
And the songs of serpents s o und
In the m a zes of their h a ir .

Some M a iden s .

All hail O Thebes t hou nurse of Sem el é l

, ,

Wi t h Sem el é s wild ivy crown t hy towers ;

’

O h burst i n bloom of w rea t hing b ryony,

,

B erries and leaves a nd flowers

U plift t he dark divine wand ,

The oa k w and and t he pine w a nd

- -
,

And don thy fawn skin fringed in purity

-
,

W it h fleec y white like ours , .

O h , cleanse thee i n the wands waving pride I ’

Y ea all men shall dance with us and pray,

,

W hen B romios his compani es shall guide

H illward ever h illward where they stay
, , ,

The flock of the B elie v ing ,

The maids from loom and w ea v irig

By the magic of his brea th borne away .

O ther s .

H ail thou 0 N urse of Zeus, O Cavern ed

,

Where fierce arms clanged to guard

cradle rare,
Fo r thee o f old some crested Corybant
F irst wo k e i n Cretan a ir
 T H E B A C C H AE 1 3

T he w ild orb o f our org i es,

O ur Timbrel and thy gorges
Ra ng w ith this str a i n an d blended P hryg i an c hant
And s weet keen pipes were th ere .

But the Timbrel the T i mbrel was a not her s,

,
’

And away to M other R hea it must w end

And to our holy sing i ng from the M ot her s ’

The m a d Satyrs c a rri ed it to blend

,

In the d a ncing a nd the cheer

O f our thi rd and p er fect Y ear ;
And it serv es D ionysus in the en d !
A M a iden .

O gl a d , glad o n the mount a ins

To swoon i n the rac e outworn ,
W hen the ho ly fa w n skin cl i ngs, -

And a ll else sweeps awa y,

T o the jo y of the red quick fountain s,
The blood o f the h i ll goa t torn,
-

The glory of w i ld beast r av eni n gs,

-

W here the hill tops c a tch the d a y ;

-

T o the Ph rygian , Lydi a n , mountains

T is B romios l eads the w a y
’
.

An other M a iden .

T hen stre a ms the ea rth w ith milk, ye a stre a ms ,

Wit h w i ne a nd nec tar o f the b ee ,

And through the air d i m perfume steam s

O f Syrian fran ki ncense ; a nd H e ,

O ur leader from h i s thyrsus s p ray

,

A torchlight tosses hi g h and h igher,

A torchlight l i ke a beacon fir e -
,

T o w aken a ll t ha t fa int a n d st ra y ;
I 4 EU RIPIDES
And se ts them leaping as he si ng s ,

H is tresses ri ppling to the sky ,

And deep beneath the M aenad c ry

H is proud voice rings
”
C ome O ye Bacchae come , ,
I

Al l the M a iden s .

H ither O fragra nt of T m olus the Golden ,

,

Come with the voice of tim b rel and drum

Let the cry of your j oy a nce upli ft and embolden
The G od of t he j oy cry O Bacchanals come ! -
,

Wi t h pealing of pipes and wi th Phrygian c l amour ,

O n where the v ision of holiness thrills,

,

An d t he music climbs and the m a ddening glamour ,

With t he wild W hite M aids, to the hills to t he ,

h ills l
O h then li k e a colt as he runs by a river
, , ,

A colt by his dam whe n t he heart o f him sings , ,

W i t h the k een limbs drawn a nd the fleet foot

a quiver -
,

Away the B acch a n al S p ri n gs 1

En ter T E I RES I AS . H e is ld ma n
an o an d blin d,
p
u on a sto r a n d
p mov ing w ith slow sta te l in ess, though
w ea r ing the I vy and the B a cchic f a w n- shin .

TE I RES IA S .

H o there who keeps the ga te t—Go summ o n

, , ,

Cadmus Ag e nor s son w ho c rossed the se a

,
’
,

From S idon and upreared this Theban hold .

Go w hos oe er thou art See he be t o ld

’
.
,

Teiresi as see k eth him H imself w i ll gauge .

M ine err a nd a nd the comp a ct age w it h a ge

, , ,
 T HE BACCHAE
I v owed w i th him grey hair wi th sno w w hi te hai r
,
-
,

To deck the ne w G od s thyrsus and to w ear ’

,

H is fa wn ski n and with iv y crown our bro ws

-
,
.

E n ter C AD MUS fr om the Ca stle H e is ev en older . tha n

T E I RES I A S a n d w ea r s the sa me a ttir e

, .

C AD MUS .

T rue fr i endl I kne w tha t v o rce of t hi ne that flows ,

Like mell o w w isdom from a fountain wise .

And 10 I come prepared in a ll the guise

, , ,

And harness of this God Are w e not tol d .

H is is the soul of that dead l i fe of old

That sprang from min e own daugh t er ? Surely t hen
M ust thou an d I with all the strength of men
E xalt him .

Where then shall I sta nd w here tre ad ,

The dance and toss t his bowed a nd hoary he ad

O friend in thee is w isdom ; guide my grey
A nd eld w orn steps eld worn T e i resi as —Na y ;
,

- -
, .

I am not weak .

[ At the
fi r st m ov em en t
qf w or ship his ma n ner

begin s to cha nge ; a my ster ious str ength a n d

exa l ta t on en ter
i in to him .

this arm could sm i te

Surely
The w i ld ea rth with i ts thyrsus day and night , ,

And faint not Sw eetl y a nd forget fully

r
The dim y ea rs fall from ofl m e

TE IRES IAS .

As w it h the e ,
’
W it h me tis like w ise Light am I and young.
,

And w ill essay the d a ncing a nd the song .

1 6 EU RIPIDES

C AD MUS .

Qu i ck, then our chario t s to the mountain roa d

, .

T E I R Es rA s .

N ay ; to t ake steeds were to mist rus t the God .

C AD MUS .

So be it . M ine old arm shall guide thee there .

TE I RES IA S .

G od himsel f shall guide H ave thou no care .

C AD MUS .

And in all Thebes shall no m an d a nce bu t w e ?

T E I R EsrA s .

A y e, Th ebes is blind ed . Thou a nd I can see .

C AD MUS .

’
T is weary wa i t i ng hold my hand friend ,
s o.

TE I RES IA S .

Lo th ere is mine So link e d let us go

, . .

CA D MUS .

Shall things of dust the Gods dark wa ys d esp i se ?

’

T E I R EsrA s .

O r prove our w it on H eaven s h igh mysteries ’

N o t t hou and I That heri tage sublime

O ur sires have left u s wisdom old as time,
,

No word of man how deep s oe er his thou ght

’

And won of su b tlest toil may bring to na ught

, .
 T HE BACCHAE 1
7
Aye, men w ill ra il that I forget my years ,

To dance and wreathe w ith i vy t hese w hite hairs ;

What recks it ? Seeing the God no line hath t o ld
To m a rk what m a n shall dance or young or old ,

But cr aves his honours from mort al ity

All no man m a rked a par t ; and gre a t sh all be 1
,

C AD MUS (after look ing a w ay tow a r d the M oun ta in ) .

Teiresi as since th i s light thou canst not read

, ,

I must be seer for thee H ere comes i n speed

‘

Pentheus E chion s son w hom I have raised

’

To rule my peo p le in my stead —A mazed

, ,

He seems S tand close and m a r k wh a t w e shall hear

.
,
.

[ Th e tw o sta n d ba ch p a r tia l
ly con cea l ed
, ,
w hil e
ther e en ter s in hot ha ste PEN T HEUS
fi l l ow ed ,

by a bodygua r d H e is spea k ing to the

.

S O L D I ER in comma n d .

PEN T HEUS .

Scarce had I crossed our b orders when m i ne c a r ,

Wa s caught by this strange rumour t hat our o w n , .

W iv es our own sisters from their heart hs a re flown

, ,

To w ild an d secret rites and cluster there

H igh on the shadowy hills with dance a nd pr ay er
,

To adore this new made God this Dio n yse

-
, ,

Whate er he b e
’
And i n their companies
-

Deep w i ne jars stand and ever a nd a non

-
,

Away i nto the loneli n ess no w one

S teals forth and now a second maid or dam e
, , ,

Where lov e lies w aiting not of God ,

The flame ,

They sa y o f B a c c hios wraps them Bac c hios ! N ay,

, .

T is more to A p hrodite that they pray

’
.
I 8 E U R I PI D ES
H o wbeit, all t ha t I have found my men ,

H old b ound and shackled in our du n geon den

The rest I will go hunt t hem
,
Aye and snare ,

M y birds wi t h nets o f i ro n to quell thei r prayer

,

And moun t ain so ng and rites of rascaldom 1

The y t ell me to o there is a stranger com e,
, ,

A man o f charm and spell from Lydian se as, ,

A head all gold and cloudy frag r ancies ,

A wi n e red cheek and eyes that hold the light

-
,

O f t he very C yp r ian Day and livelong night

.

H e haun t s amid the damsels o er each lip ,

’

Dangli ng his cup of j oyance l—Let me grip

H im o nce , b ut once wi t hin these walls rig ht
, ,

swift
Tha t wand shall ce ase its music and tha t dri ft ,

O f t ossing curls li e still—when my rude sword

Falls be t ween nec k a nd t run k Tis all his word ’
,

This t ale o f D ionysus how that same

Ba b e t hat w as blasted by t he lightn i ng flam e
Wi th his dead mo t her for that mother s lie ’

Was r e—
, ,

conceived b orn perfect from the thigh

,

O f Zeus and now is Go d

,
What c all ye t hese
Dre a ms ? Gibes of the un k n o w n wanderer ? Bl as
phemi es
T h a t crave the very gib b e t
S tay 1 God wot,
H ere is another marv el S ee I not
In motley fawn— s k ins robed the vision seer -

’
Teiresias ? A nd my mother s father here
O depth of scorn l—adoring w ith the wand
O f B ac c hio s —Father N ay min e eyes are fon d
-
,

I t is no t y o ur whi t e heads so fancy flo w n I -

I t c a nnot b e C ast o ff t hat ivy cro w n ,

20 EU RIPIDES
H er work to perfec t, second is the Power ,

From Sem elé b orn H e found t he liqui d shower .

H id in the grape H e rests man s Spi rit dim

.
’

Fr o m gri eving when the vine e xal t e t h him

, .

H e giveth sleep to sin k the fre t fu l day

I n co o l forge tt ing Is there any way .

Wi t h man s sore heart save only to forget ?

’

Y ea being God the blood of him is set

, ,

Before the Gods i n sacrifice tha t we , “

For h is sak e may be b lest And so t o thee ,

!
.
-
,

Tha t fable shames him how th is God was k nit ,

In t o God s flesh ? N ay learn t he truth of I t

’

Cleared fro m the false —When fr o m tha t deadly

, ,

light
Zeus saved the babe, and up t o O l v m p us height ’

R aised him and H era s wrath would cas t h im t hence

,
’

Then Zeus devised him a divine defence .

A fragment of the world encircling fire -

H e ren t apar t, and wrought to h is desire

O f shape and hue in the image of the child, ,

And gave to H era s rage And so beguiled ’

.
,

By change and passing time this t ale w as born ,

H ow the babe god was hidden i n the t o rn

-

Flesh of his sire H e hath no Shame thereby

. .

A prophet is he l i k ewise Prophecy .

Cleaves t o all frenzy but bey o nd all else ,

To fr enzy of prayer Then in us verily dwells .

The God himself and speaks the thing to be ,

.

Y ea, and of A r es realm a par t hath he ’

.

When mortal armies mail e d and arrayed , ,

H ave in strange fear or ever b lade met b lade , ,

Fled madde n ed tis t his Go d ha t h palsied them

,
’
.

’
Aye over D elphi s rock built diadem
,
-
 THE BACCHAE 21

Thou yet sh alt see him leaping wit h his train

O f fire across the tw i n peaked mountain plain , - -

Fl aming the darkness with his mystic w a nd ,

And great i n H ellas List and understand .

-
,

King Pentheus D ream not thou that force i s power

N or i f thou hast a tho ught and that tho ught sour
And sick oh dream not thought is w isdom l—U p ,
, ,

, ,

R ecei v e this God to T hebes pour fort h the cup

O f Sacr i fice and pray and wreathe thy brow
, ,
.

Thou fearest for the dams els ? T hink thee no w

H ow toucheth this the part of Dio n y se
To hold maids pure per force ? In them it lies ,

And their own hear ts and i n the W ildest rite

Cometh no stain to her w hose heart 1 5 white J .

N ay ma rk me
,
Thou h ast thy j oy w hen the Gate ,
’
S t a nds thr onged and Pent heus name is li fted great
,

And high by The b es in cl a mour ; sh all not H e

R ej oice i n his due meed of maj esty ?
H o wbeit this Cadmus whom t hou sc or n s t and I
,
’

W ill we a r HiS c r o w n and tread H is dances

'

,
A ye ,
O ur hai rs are w h ite yet Shall that dance b e trod
,

I w ill not li ft mine arm to war with God

For thee nor a ll thy words M a dn ess most fell .
o

Is on thee madness wrought by som e dread spell ,

,
?

But not by spell nor leechcraft to b e cured

CHORUS .

Grey pro p het worthy of Phoebus is thy w ord

, ,

And wise i n honouring B romios our gre a t G o d , .

C AD MUS .

M y son right w ell Teiresias points thy ro a d

, .

O h m ak e thine h a b i ta tion here wi th us

, ,
’
N ot lonely, aga i nst men s uses H aza rdous .
22 E U R I PI D E S
Is this quick bird li k e b ea t ing of thy though t
-

Where no thought dwells — Grant that this God be

.

naught ,

Y et let t ha t N aught be Somewha t i n thy mouth ;

Lie b o ldly and say H e Is
, SO nor t h and sou t h
Shall marvel how there sprang a thing divi ne
,

F rom Sem elé s flesh and honour a ll our line

’
.
,

[ Dr a w in
g n ea r er to PE N T HEUS .

Is there no t blood before thi ne eyes even now ?

O ur los t Actaeon s blo o d whom long ago
’
,

H is own red hounds through yonder forest dim

Tore unto dea t h because he vaun t ed him
,

Against most holy A r t emis ? O h beware , ,

And let me wreathe t hy temples M ake thy prayer .

W i t h us and walk thee humbly in God s sight

,
’
.

[ H e m a hes a s
f
i to set the w r ea th on PEN T HEUS hea d
’
.

PE N T HEUS
Down w i th that hand Aroint thee t o thy rite ,

N or smea r on me t hy foul contagion

[ Tur n in
g upon TE I RES I A S .

This
’
Thy folly s h ea d an d prompter shall not miss
The j us t ice that he needs — GO hal f my guard , ,

Forth to the roc k seat where he dwells in ward

-

O er birds and wonders ; rend the stone wi t h crow

’

And trident ma k e o n e wreck o f high and low ,

And toss his bands to all the W i nds of air

Ha have I found the w ay to sting thee t here ?
, ,

T he rest forth through the town

,
And seek amai n
T his girl fa ced stranger that hath w rought such bane
-
,

To all Thebes, preying on our m a ids and wi v es .

Seek t i ll ye find ; a nd le a d him h ere in gyv es,

 T HE BACCHAE 23

T illhe be j udged and sto ned and w eep in blood ,

T he day he troubled Pentheus w ith his God i

[ The gua r ds set for th in tw o bodies PEN T HEUS
goes in to the Ca stle .

TE I RES IA S .

H ard heart ho w little dost t hou k n o w w hat se ed

,

Thou sowest Blind before and now indeed ,

M ost mad — C o me Cadmus let us go our way,

, ,

And pray for this our perse c ut o r pray ,

For this poor city that the righte o us God

,

M ove not in a nger — Ta k e th i n e i vy rod

.

And help my s t eps as I help thine

,
Twere ill .
’

,
"
I f two O l d m en should fall by the roadway Still , .

Come wha t come may our serv ice shall be done

,
’
T o B ac c hios the All Father s mystic son
,
-
.

O Pentheus named o f sorrow

,
Shall he cla i m
From all thy house fulfilment of his name ,

O ld Cadmus —N ay I spe a k not from m ine a rt

But a s I see—blind words and a blind heart
, ,

Th e tw o O l d M en go o ow a r ds the M oun ta in
[ f t .

CHORUS .

Some M a iden s .

T hou Immaculate on hig h

T hou R ec o r din g Purity
k

Thou that sto o p est GOl de n Wing,

'

‘ '

E arthward m a n w ard pitying

, , ,

H earest thou this angry King ?

H earest thou the rage and scorn
Gainst the Lord of M any V oices,
’

H im of mortal mother born ,

H im i n whom man s heart rej o i c es, ’

24 E U R I PI D E S
Girt with garlands and with gle e,
F irs t in H eaven s sovranty
’

For his k i n gdom i t is there , ,

In the danci n g and the prayer,

In t he music and t he laughter,
In t he vanishing o f ca r e ,

And of all b efore and aft er ;

In the Gods high b anquet when
’
,

Gleams the grape blood flashed to -

,

heaven
Y ea and in the feas t s o f men
,

Comes h is crown e d slum b er ; t hen

Pain is dead and hate forgiven l

O ther s .

Loose t hy lips from out the rein ;

Li ft thy wisdom to disda in
Whatso l a w thou canst not see,
Scorning ; so t he end shall be
U tt ermost calami ty I
’
Tis the life of quie t brea t h ,

Tis the simple a n d the t rue

’

Storm nor earthquak e s ha tter eth ,

N or shall aught the house undo

Where t hey dwell For far away, .
,

H idden from t he eyes of da y ,

W a t che r s are there i n the skies ,

That c a n see m a n s li fe and prize ’

,

Deeds well done by t hings of clay .

But t he w orld s Wise are not wise

’
,

Claiming more t han mortal may .

Life is such a little thing ;

L O their present is departed,
,
 THE B ACCHAE
And the drea ms to wh ich they cl i ng
Come not M a d i maginin g
.

T heirs I w een and empty he a rted l

, ,
-

Div er s M a iden s .

W here is the H ome for me ?

O Cyprus, set in the sea,
’
A phrodite s home In the soft sea foam , -

W ould I could w end to thee

Where the wings of the Lov es are furle d ,

And fa int the heart of the world .

Aye un t o Paphos isle

,
’

Where the rainless meadows smil e

Wi t h riches rolled From the hundred fol d -

M ouths of the far o ff N ile

-
,

S treaming b ene a t h the w a ves

T o the roots o f the seawa rd c a v es .

But a b e t ter land is there

Where O lympus cleav es the air ,

T he high still dell W here the M uses dwell ,

Fair est of all things fair

O there is Gra ce and there is the H ea rt s Desire
,
’
.

And peace to adore thee t hou S pir i t of Gu i din g

,

Fire

A God O f H eav en is b e ,

And born in maj esty ;

Y e t hath he mirth In the j oy of t he
A nd he lo v e t h cons t an tly
H er w ho brings i ncrea se ,

The Feeder o f Ch i ldren P eac e , .

26 EU R I PI DES
N o grudge hath he O f t he great
N o scorn of the mean estat e
But to a ll that liveth H is wine he giveth ,

Gr iefles s immacula t e ;
,

O nly on t hem that Spurn

Jy
o ,
may his a nger burn .

Love thou t he Da y and the N ight ;

Be glad o f t he Dark and the Ligh t
And avert t hine eyes From the lore of t he wi se ,
’
That have h o nour i n proud men s sight .

The simple nameless herd of H umanity

H a t h deeds and faith that a re tru t h enough for me !
[ A s the Chor us cea ses a pa r t
y fo
,
the
g u a r ds

n the m ids t o them D I ONYSUS,

r etur n l ea din
g,
i f
boun d The SO L D IE R in com ma n d sta n ds
.

the tr a mp o
f or th a s PE N T HEUS
, ,
hea r in
g f
eet, com es out r om the Ca stl e
f f .

SO L D I ER .

O ur quest is fin ished an d t hy prey O K ing,

, ,

Caught for t he ch ase w as swi ft and t his wild t hing ,

M ost tame yet never flin c hed nor t hought to flee, ,

But held both hands ou t unresistingly

N o ch a nge no blanching of the W i ne red cheek
,
- .

H e wai t ed while we came a nd bade us wreak ,

All thy decree ; ye a laughed a nd made my b est

, ,

Easy, till I for very shame confessed

And said O s t ranger not o f mine own will
,

I bind thee, but his bidding to fulfil

W ho sent me .
’

And those prisoned M a i ds w ithal

W hom thou d i dst seize and bi nd within t he wal l
28 E U R IPI D ES

PEN T HEUS
And whence these re v ela t ions t hat thy band
,

S preadeth i n H ell as
D I O NYSUS .

Their intent and

Dionysus oped to me the Child of Zeus
, .

PEN T HEUS (br uta l ly ) .

Is there a Zeus t here t ha t can s t ill beget

,

Y oung Gods ?
D I ONYSUS .

N ay only H e whose seal w as

, set

Here i n thy Thebes on Sem elé .

PEN T HEUS
W hat w ay
D escended b e upon thee ? In full day
O r v ision of night ?
D I O NYSUS .

M ost clear he stood and scanned ,

M y soul and gav e his emblems to min e hand

, .

PB NT HE U&
W hat l i ke be they, these emblems ?
D I ONYSUS .

That may none

R e v e al nor know sa ve his E lect a lone
, ,
.

PEN T HEUS .

An d what good bring they to the worshipper ?

D I ONYSUS .

G ood beyond price but not for thee to hear

, .
 T HE B A CC HA E 29

PENT HEUS .

Thou tri ckster 3 Thou wouldst pric k me on the more

To see k them out
D I ONYSUS .

H is mysteries a bhor
The touc h O f si n lov ers -
.

PEN T HEUS .

An d so t hine eyes
Sa w this God plain ; w hat guise had he ?

DI ONYSUS .

W hat gui se
’
It liked him . T was not I ord a ined his s hape .

PE N T H EUS .

Aye de ftly turned a gain An idle j a p e,

, .

And noth i ng answered

D I ONYSUS .

W ise words being broug ht

To bl i nded eyes will seem as th i ngs of noug ht
’

PEN T HEUS .

And comest thou fi rst to Thebes to have , thy G od

E stablished
D I ONYSUS .

N ay all Barbary hath trod

H is d a nce ere t his .

PEN T HEUS .

i
A low blind fol k I , w een ,
Bes i de our H ellenes
30 E U R I PI DES

D I ONYSUS .

H igher and more keen

In this t hi ng thoug h their ways are not thy way
,
.

PE N T HEUS
H ow is thy worshi p held by n igh t or day ?
,

D I ONYSUS .

M o st by nig ht
oft
’
t is a maj estic thing ,

The darkness .

PE N T HEUS
H a ! with women wors hi pping ?
’
Tis cra ft a nd rottenness l

D I ONYSUS .

By day no l ess,
W hoso wi ll seek may fi nd unhol i ness .

PEN T HEUS
E nough T hy doom is fixed fo r fa lse pretenc e
,

Corrupt i ng T hebes .

DI ONYSUS .

N ot m i ne but thine fo r dense ,

Blindness of he art a nd for bl aspheming God 1

,

PE N T HEUS
A ready kn av e it is, and brazen bre wed, -

This mystery priest

-

D I ONYSUS .

Come say wha t i t s hall be,

,

My doom w ha t dire t hing w il t thou do to me ?

 T HE BACCHAE 3 1

PEN T HEUS .

F i rst , s hea r t hat delicate curl th a t dangles t here .

[ H e bechon s to the sol dier s w ho app r oa ch D I ONYSUS

, .

D I ONYSUS .

I hav e v o w ed i t to my Go d
’
tis holy hair .

[ The sol dier s cut o

f the tr ess.

PE N T HEUS .

N ext, yield me up thy sta ff

D I ONYSUS .

Rai se t hi n e o w n ha nd
To take i t T h i s is D i onysus wand
’
. .

[ PE N T HEUS ta kes the staff

PE NT H EU &
Last I w ill hold thee prisoned her e
, .

D IONYSUS .

M y Lor d
G od wi ll unloose me, when I spe a k the w ord .

PE N T HEUS .

He may i f e er a gain amid h i s ha n ds

’
,

O f sai nts he he a rs thy voice

D I ONYSUS .

Ev en no w he st a n d s
Clos e here, and sees a ll that I suffer .

PEN T HEUS .

W h at
W here i s be ? Fo r m i ne eyes disc ern him n ot.
3 2 EU RI PIDES

D I ONYSUS .

Where I am Tis thine o w n impur i ty

’

Tha t veils him from thee .

PEN T HEU S
The dog j eers at me l
At me a nd Thebes B ind him
[ The soldier s begin to bin d him .

D I ONYSUS .

I charge ye bind ,

M e not ! I ha ving v ision and ye bli n d l

PEN T HEUS
And I w it h better right say bind the more !
, ,

[ The sol dier s obe

y .

D I ONYSUS .

T hou knowest no t wha t end thou see k est, nor

Wha t deed t hou doest nor what man thou art
,

PEN T HEUS (mock ing) .

Agav é s son and on t he father s p a rt

’
,
’

E ch ion s, high t Pentheus

’

D I ONYSUS .

So let it b e,
A n a me fore written to c alami t y
-

PE NT HE U &
Away a nd tie him where the steeds are t i ed ;
Aye le t him lie in t he manger l—There abide
,

And sta re i n t o the dar k ness —And this rout

O f wom a nkind th at clusters thee a bou t,
 T HE BACCHAE 33

Thy m i n i sters of worshi p a re my sl av es ,

It may be I will sell them o er the w av es ’

H ither and thither else they sh all be set

'

To labour a t my dis ta fl s and forget ,

T heir t i mbrel and their songs of d a wning

D I ONYSUS .

I go ; for that which may not be I m ay ,

N ot su ffer Y et fo r this thy sin 10 H e , ,

Whom thou den ies t cometh after t hee

For recompense Y ea i n thy w rong to us,
.
,

T hou has t cast H i m into thy prison house -

D I ONYS S ithout his w a n d his ha ir shor n , a n d

[ U ,
w ,

his a r ms tightly boun d is l ed o

f b y the ua r ds
g ,

to his dungeon PEN T HEUS r etur n s in to the

.

CHORUS .

Some M a iden s .

Achelo us ro a ming daughte r,

’

H oly Dir c é v irgi n w a ter

, ,

Bathed he not of old in thee ,

The B a be of God the M ystery ?,

W hen fr om out the fire immorta l

To himself h is God did take h i m
To his own flesh a nd bespa k e him,

E nter now li fe s second portal

’

M otherless M ystery ; 10 I b re ak ,

M ine own body for thy s ake ,

Thou of the Tw o fold Door and se a l t hee ,

M ine 0 B romios —
,
”
thus he sp ak e
,
“
And to this thy la nd reve al thee .
34 EU RIPIDES

my p r ayer t o ward thee qu iv ers,

Still
Dir c é s t ill t o thee I hie me ;
,

Why 0 Bless e d among R ivers

, ,

Wil t thou fly me and deny me ?

By H is o w n jo y I vow ,

By t he grape upon the bough ,

Thou shalt see k H im in t he m idn ight thou ,

H im even n o w 1
,

O ther M a iden s .

Dark and of t he dar k impassioned

’
Is this Pentheus bl oo d y ea fashioned ,

O f t he D ra gon and his bir t h ,

From E ch ion child of E ar t h

, .

H e is no m a n b ut a w o nder ; ,

Did t he E ar t h Child no t beget him -

,

As a red Gia n t to set him ,

Agai nst Go d against t he Thunder ?

,

H e will bind me for his prize ,

M e the B ride of Dio n y se

,

And my priest my friend is taken , ,

Ev en now and b uried lies ;

,

In t he dar k he lies fo rsaken 1

Lo we ra ce with death we per i sh

, , ,

Dionysus here b efore thee

,

D o s t t hou mark us not nor cherish , ,

Who implore t hee an d adore thee ,

H i t her down O lympus side ’

Come O H oly O ne defied

, ,

Be thy golden wand u p li ft ed o er the t yrant i n h i s p r id e ! ’

36 E U R I PI DE S

A M AID EN .

W ho spe aketh O h what echo es t hus ?

,

A NO T HER .

A V oice a ,
V oice , t ha t calle t h us

T H E V O I CE .

Be of good cheer I Lo i t is I , ,

The Child of Zeus a n d Sem el é .

A M AID EN .

0 M aster, M as t er , it is Thou i

ANO T HER .

O H oly V oice , b e wi t h us no w

T HE V O I CE .

of t he Chain ed E arthquak e,
S pirit
H ear my word a wa k e awa k e ,

[ An E a r th ua he sudden l
q y sha hes the p ill a r s
Ca stl e .

A M AID EN .

H a what is coming ? S hall t he h all

O f Pentheus racked i n ru in fal l ?

LE AD ER .

O ur G od i s i n t he house Y e m a ids adore H im

CH ORUS .

W e adore Hi m all i
 T HE BACCHAE 37

T HE V O I CE .

U n v eil the Lightning s eye arouse ’

T he fire that sleeps a gainst this house ,

F ir e l eaps u on the Tomb o Sein e/é

[ p f .

A M AID EN .

Ah sa w ye marked ye there the flame

, ,
’
From Sem el é s en hallo w ed sod
Awakened ? Y ea the De a th t ha t c am e
,

A blaze from heav en of old the s ame ,

H ot Splendour of the sh a ft o f God ?

LE AD ER .

O h cast ye cast ye to the earth

, , , T he Lord
Cometh a gainst th i s house O h c ast ye do wn , ,

Y e trembling damsels H e our own adored , ,

G od s Child hath come and a ll is o v ert hrown

’
,

The M a iden s ca st themsel v es up on the

[ gr oun d,
their ey es ea r thw a r d D I ONYSUS, a lon e a n d .

un boun d en ter s r om the Ca stle

f , .

D I ONYSUS .

Ye Damsels of the M orn ing H ills w hy l ie y e t hus ,

dismayed
Y e marked him then our M aster a nd the m i g hty
, , ,

hand he laid
O n t ower and rock shaking the house of Pentheus ?
,

—But ar i se ,

And cast the trembling from your flesh and l i ft un ,

troubled eyes .
3s E U RIPI D ES

LE AD ER .

O Light in Dark ness is it t hou ? O Priest is this

, ,

t hy fac e ?
M y heart leaps ou t to gree t t hee from the deep o f
loneliness .

D I ONYSUS .

Fell ye so quic k despai ring when bene a th ,

I p ass ed
S hould the gates of Pentheus quell me or ,

ness make me fas t

LE AD ER .

O h what w as left i f thou wer t gone ? What could I

,

but despai r
H ow hast t hou scaped the man of sin ? W ho freed
’

thee from the sn a re ?

D I ONYSUS .

I had no pain nor peril ; twas mine o w n hand set me

’

free .

LE AD ER .

T hine arms were gyv e d

D I ONYSUS .

’
N ay no gy v e n o t ouch was laid on me I
, , ,

Twas there I m o c k ed him in his gyv es and gave him

’
, ,

dreams for food .

For when he led me down behold b efore the stall , ,

there s t ood
A Bull of O ffering And t his King he bit his lips
.
, ,

and straight
Fell on and b o und i t hoof and limb wi t h gasping
, ,

wra t h and swe a t .

 T HE BACCHAE 39

And I sat watching —Then a V oice ; a nd 10 our ,

Lord w as come ,
’
And the house shook and a great flame stood o er his
,
’
mother s tom b .

And Pentheus h i ed this w ay and th a t and called h i s ,

thralls amain
For w ater lest his roo f tree burn ; and all toiled all
,
-
,

i n v ain.

Then deemed a sudden I was gone and left his fi re

-
,

a nd sped
Back to the prison portals and h is lifted sword shone red
But there methinks the God had wrought—I speak
.
,

, , L

but as I guess
So m e dream shape in mine image ; for he smote a t
i

em p tiness,
S ta b bed i n the air and stro v e i n wrath as though
, ,
’
twere me he slew .

Then mid his d reams God smote him yet a gain H e

’

overthrew
All th a t h igh house And there i n w reck fo r e v er
.

more it lies ,

Th a t the day of this my bond age may be sore i n

Pentheus eyes ’

And no w his s word is fa llen and he lies outworn ,

and wan
W ho dared to rise a gainst his God in w rath being ,

bu t man .

And I uprose and left him and in all peace took my ,

path
Forth t o my Chosen recking li ght of Pentheus an d
,

his wrath .

But soft methinks a foots t ep sounds even no w

,

W i t h i n the hall
40 E U R I PI D E S
’
Tis he how thin k ye he will s t and and what words ,

Speak wi t hal
I will endure h i m gently t hough he come in fury hot
,
.

For still are the w ays of Wisdom and her tempe r ,

trembleth not l
E n ter PEN T HEUS in f
ur
y .

PE NT H EUR
I t is too muc h i This E as t e r n knave ha t h slipped
H is prison whom I held but now hard gri pped
, ,

In b ondage — Ha . Tis he l —W h a t sirrah how

’

, ,

S ho w s t thou before my por t als

’

[ H e a dv a n ces ur iousl
f y up on him .

D I ONYSUS .

Soft ly thou l
And set a quiet c a rriage t o thy rage .

PEN T HEUS
H ow comest thou here ? H o w didst
cage ?
S pe a k !
D I ONYSUS .

Said I no t or dids t t hou mark not me ,

,

There was O ne living t hat should set me free ?

PE NT H E Us
Who ? E ver Wi lder a re these t ales of thine .

D I ONYSUS .

He w ho fi rst m ade for man the clus ter ed v in e .

PE NT HE Ua
I scorn him a nd his v in es
 T HE BACCHAE 41

D I ONYSUS .

For Dion y se
’
T is well ; fo r in thy scorn his glory lie s .

PEN T HEUS (to his gua r d) .

GO sw i ft to all the to w ers a nd bar w i t ha l

,

Ea ch ga te 1
D I ONYSUS .

’
W ha t cannot God o er l eap a w a ll
,

PEN T HEUS .

O h, wi t t hou hast, sav e where thou n eedest i t I

D I ONYSUS .

W hereso i t most imports there is my wit,

N ay, peace Abide till he w ho h as t eth from

The mounta in side wi th ne w s for thee, be com e .

We w ill not fly but w ai t on thy command

, .

E n ter sudden l a n d in ha ste a M essen er

[ y g
the M oun ta in .

M ESSE N G ER .

G reat Pentheus Lord of all this Theban l a nd,

,

I come from high K ithaer on , W here the frore

Snow S pa ngles gle a m a nd ce a se not e v ermore .

PE N T HEUS .

And w hat o f import may thy coming br i ng ?

M ESSE N G ER .

I hav e seen the W ild W hite Women there O K i ng, ,

W hose fleet limbs darted arrow like but no w -

From Thebes away, and come to tell thee ho w

4 2 E U R I PI DE S

They work strange deeds and p ass m g marvel .

I fi rst would lear n thy pleasure S hall I set .

M y whole t ale for t h or veil the stranger part ?

,

Y e a Lord I fear t he swi ft ness of thy heart

, , ,

Thine edg e d wrat h a nd more t han royal soul .

PE NT H EU&

Thy tale shall not h ing scathe thee — Tell the whole . .

It sk ills n o t to be wro t h wi t h hones t y .

N ay i f thy news of t hem b e dar k t is he

, ,
’

S h all pay i t w ho bewi t ched and led them on

, .

M ESSEN G ER .

O ur herded k ine were moving i n t he dawn

U p to the pea ks the greyest coldest t ime ,
, ,

When the first rays s t eal ea r t hward , and the rime

Y ields when I saw three bands of them The
, .

one
Au to n o é led , one Ino one t hine o w n,

M o t her, A gziv é There beneath t he trees

‘
.

S leeping they lay, li k e wild things flung a t cas e

In the fores t one half sin k ing on a bed
O f deep pine greenery o n e with c a reless he ad
Amid the fallen oak leaves all most cold
In pur i t y—not as thy t ale was t old
O f wine cups and wild music and the chase
-

F o r love a mid t he forest s l o neliness

’
.

Then rose t he Queen Agfiv é suddenly

Amid her b and and gave t he God s wild cry,
,
’

Aw ake , ye Ba c chanals I hear the sound

”
O f ho r n éd k ine Awak e ye l
. Then all round, -
,

Alert, t he warm sleep fallen from t heir eyes,

A m a rv el of sw i ft r a nks I sa w them rise ,
44 E U R I PI D ES
And win us royal thanks —And this seemed good
T O all and through t he b ranching under w ood
We hid us cowering m t he leaves A nd there
,
.

Through the appoi n ted hour t hey made thei r prayer

And worship of the Wand wi t h one accord ,

O f heart and cry Iacchos Bromios Lord , , ,

G od of God born —And a ll the mountain felt ,

And worshipped with them and the wild thi ngs knelt
And ramped and gloried and t he wilderness ,

W as filled with mov i ng voices and dim stress .

Soon as it c hanced beside my thic k et close

, ,
-

T he Queen herself passed dancing a n d I rose ,

And sprang t o seize her But she turned her face

.

U pon me H o my ro v ers of the ch ase

, ,

M y w ild Whi t e H ounds we are hunted ! U p e ach

, ,

rod
And follow, follow for our Lord a nd God
,

Thereat for fear t hey t ear us all we fled

, ,

Amazed ; and on wi t h hand un weapon e d

,

They swept t oward our herds t hat browsed the green

H ill grass Great uddered k ine then hadst t hou seen
.

Bellowing i n sword li k e hands t ha t cleave a nd tear,

-

A live steer riven asunder and t he ai r ,

T ossed with re nt ribs or limbs of cloven tre ad ,

And flesh upon t he br a nches and a red ,

Ra i n from the deep green pines Y e a bulls o f pr i d e, .

,

H orns swi ft to rage, were fronted and aside

Flung stumbling by those multitudinous hands
,

D ragged pitilessly And swift er were the b a nds

.

O f garb e d flesh and bone unbound withal

Than on thy royal eyes the lids may fall .

Then on like b i rds by their own speed upborne ,

,

T hey s w ept toward the plains of wav ing corn

 TH E B A C C H A E 45

T ha t lie beside Asopus banks and br i ng

’
,

T o Thebes the rich fru i t o f her h a rv esting .

O n Hy s iae and E r y thr ae that lie nursed

Am i d K ithaero n s bowering rocks they burst
’
,

Destroying as a foeman s a rmy comes

,
’
.

They c aught up little children from the i r hom es ,

H igh on the i r shoulders babes unheld th a t swaye d

, ,

And laughed a nd fell not all a wreck they m ade

Y e a, bronze and i ron d i d shatter and i n play ,

S truck hither and thither yet no wound had they ; ,

Caught fire from ou t t he heart hs yea c a rried hot , ,

Flames i n thei r tresses a nd were scorch e d not

The v illage fol k i n wrath took spe a r a nd sword ,
And turned upon the Bacchae Then dread Lord .
, ,

The w onder was For spear nor b a r b éd brand

.

Could sca the nor touch the d amsels but the W and ,

T he soft and w r ea théd wand thei r w hite hands sped ,

Bl asted t hose men and quelled them and they fled ,

D izzily Sure some Go d w as i n these t hings

.

And the holy women b ack to those strange spr i ngs

R eturned that G od had sent them when the day
,

Dawned on the upper heights a nd w as hed away

,

The sta i n of battle And those girdlin g sn akes

.

H issed out to lap the w a terdr o p s from cheeks

And h ai r a nd bre ast .

T herefore I counsel the e,

’
0 K i ng recei v e this S pi rit w hoe er he be
, , ,

T o Thebes in glory Gre a tness mani fold

.

Is all about him a nd the tale is told

That this is he w ho fi rst to m a n did g iv e
T he gr i ef assuaging vine
-
O h let h i m l ive
.
,

For i f he die then L o v e herself is slain ,

,

And nothing j oyous i n the w orld aga i n

4s EU RIPI DES

LE AD ER .

Albeit I trem b le and scarce may speak my thought

,

To a king s face ye t will I hide i t n o t

’

, .

Dio n y s e is God no God more true nor higher

,

PEN T H EUS
It bursts hard by us li k e a smothered fi re
, ,

This frenzy of Bacchic women All my land

Is made thei r mock —This needs an i ron hand
.

HO Cap t ain
,
Quick to the E lec tra n Gate
Bid gather all my men a t arms therea t- -

Call all tha t Spur the c harger all who k n ow ,

T o wield t he orb e d t arge or bend the bow

We march to war —F ore Go d shall women dare
’

S uch deeds aga ins t us ? Tis to o much t o bear

’

D I ONYSUS .

Thou m a rk s t me not O Ki n g and holdes t light

’
, ,

M y solemn words yet in thine own despi t e, ,

I warn thee still Li ft thou not up t hy Spear

.

Against a God bu t hold t hy peace and fear

, ,

H is wra t h H e will no t b rook it i f t hou frigh t ,

H is Chosen from t he hills of their delight .

PE NT H E U&
Peace thou
,
And i f for once t hou h as t slipped
chain ,

Give thanks — O r sh all I knot th i ne arms aga in

D I ONYSUS .

Better to y i eld him prayer and sa crifice

Than k ick a ga i nst the pricks Since Dio n yse ,

Is God , and thou but morta l .

 T HE BA CCHAE 47

PEN T HE US .

That will I
Ye a, sa cr i fice of w dm en s blood to cry
’
,

H is n ame through a ll K ithaer on

D I ONYSUS .

Y e shall fly ,

All a nd a b ase your sh i elds o f bronzen rim

,

Before the i r wa nds .

PEN T HEUS .

There is no w ay with h i m ,

Th is stranger that so dogs us Well or ill

I may entreat him he must ba b ble s t ill
,

D I ONYSUS .

W a i t, good my friend These crooke d matters m a y

E ven yet be straightened .

PEN T HEUS ha s sta r ted a s thou h to seeh his a r m

[ g y
at the ga te .

PE N T HE US .

Aye i f I Obey ,

M i n e o w n slav es wi ll ; how else ?

’

D I ONYSUS .

M ysel f wi ll le ad
The d amsels h i t her w ithout s w ord or steed
, .

PEN T HEUS .

H o w no w —T his is some plot against me

D I ONYSUS .

Wh at
Dost fear ? O nly to sa ve thee do I p lot .
4s EU RIPIDES

PEN T HEUS .

It is some c o mpact ye ha v e made w hereby ,

T O dance these hills for ever l

D I ONYSUS .

V erily,
Tha t is my compact, p lighted w ith my Lord
PE N T HEUS (tur n ing fr om him) .

HO a rmourers
,
B r i ng forth my shield a nd s word
And thou b e silent ,

D I ONYSUS
a ter r e a r din
(f g g him x
fi y edl sp ea k s w i th r esi n a tion
, g ) .

A h l—H ave then thy will

[ H e
fi x es his e es up on PE N T HEUS a a in
y g w hile ,

the a r mour er s br ing out his a r m our then

s ea hs
p fin a ton e o com ma n d .

M a n thou wouldst fai n behold them on t he h i l l

,

Praying
PE N T HEUS
ho dur in the r est o this scen e w ith a ew excep tion s
(w g f f , ,

simp l s ea hs the thou hts tha t D I ONYSUS p uts in to

y p g
him l osing p ow er ov er his ow n m in d)
,
.

That would I though it cost me a ll ,

T he gold o f Thebes
D I ONYS US .

So much Thou art qu i ck to fall

such gre a t longing .

PE N T HEUS
(
somew ha t bew il der ed at w ha t he ha s ) sa id .

Aye ; ’
t wo uld gr i e v e me muc h
see t hem flown wi th w in e .
 T HE BACCHAE 49

D I ONYSUS .

Y e t c rav es t t hou such

A sig ht as would much grie v e thee ?

PEN T HEUS
Y es ; I fain
W ould watch ambushed among t he pines
,
.

D I ONYSUS .

’
Twere va i n
T o hi d e . They soon will track thee ou t .

PEN T HEU S
W ell sa id
T w ere
’
best done openly .

D I ONYSUS .

Wil t
By me and try the v enture
,

PE N T HEUS
Aye indeed , 1
Lead on . W hy Should we ta rry ?
D I ONYSUS .

F irs t we ne ed
A r i c h an d tra i ling robe of fin e li nen
-

To gird thee .

PE N T HEUS .

N ay ; am I a wom a n then , ,

And no man more ?

D I ONYSUS .

W ouldst hav e them Slay t hee d e ad

N o man m a y see their mysteries .
50 E U R I PI DE S

PE N T HEUS
Well sa id
I mar k ed thy sub t le temper long ere now .

D I O NY S US .

’
Tis Dio n y se t ha t p r o m p teth me .

PEN T HEUS
And how
M ea n ’
st t hou t he fur t her plan ?

D I ON Y SUS .

First t a k e thy way

Wi t hin . I w il l array thee .

PE NT H EU&
What array ?
The wo man s ? ’
N ay I will
,
n o t.

D I ONY SUS .

Do t h it change
SO soon all ,
thy desire to see t his Strange
Ad o ring
PEN T HEUS
Wai t Wha t garb wilt t hou bes t ow
A b o ut me
D I ONYSUS .

First a long t ress dangling lo w

Bene at h thy shoulders .

PE NT HEua

Aye, and next ?

5 2 E U R I PI D ES

D I ONYSUS .

’
i t 0 Ki ng
So b e ,
Tis mine to obey t hine hest ,

Whate er it b e
’
.

PE N T HEUS
(fi
a er hesita ting on ce mor e a nd w a iting) .

Well I will gO —perchance ,

To march and sca t ter them with serried lance ,

Perch ance to take thy plan I know not yet . .

[ E x it PEN T HEUS in to the Ca stle .

D I ONYSUS .

D amsels t he lion walketh t o t he net

,

H e finds his Bacchae now and sees and d i es , ,

And pays for all his sin l— O Dio n yse ,

This is thine hour a nd t hou not far away

Gran t us o ur vengeance —First O M aster S t ay
.

, ,

The course of re ason in him and insti l ,

A foam of mad n ess Let his seeing will .

,

Which ne er had stooped t o pu t thy vesture on

’

Be da rkened till the deed is lightly done

, .

G rant likewise that he fi nd t hrough all his streets

Loud scorn t his man of wra t h and bitter threa t s
,

Tha t made T hebes tremble led i n woman s gu i se ,

’
.

I go to fold th a t robe o f sa crifice

O n Pentheus that shall deck him t o the d a rk
, ,

H is mother s gift —So sh all he learn and m a rk

’

G od s true So n Dion y se i n fulness G od

’
, , ,

M ost fear ful yet to m an most soft of mood

,
.

[ E x it D I ONYSUS, f
oll ow in
g PE N T HEUS in to the
 T HE BACCHAE 53
CHORUS .

Some M a iden s .

Wi ll they e v er come to me, ever a gai n ,

The long long dances,
O n through the d a rk till the dim stars w ane
S h a ll I feel the de w on my throat, and the stream
O f w ind i n my hair ? S hall our w h i te feet gle am
In the d i m e x panses
O h , feet of a fa wn t o the greenwood fled ,
Alone in the gr ass and the lo v eli ness
Le a p of the hun t ed, no more in dread ,
B eyond the snares a nd the deadly press
Y et a v oice S t ill i n the distance sounds ,

A v oice and a fear and a haste of hounds

O w ildly labouring, fiercely fleet ,

O nw ard yet b y river and glen

Is i t j oy or terror ye storm swi ft feet ?
,
-

To the dear lone lands untroubled of men ,

W here no v oice sounds, a nd amid the shado wy green

The little things of the woodland l iv e unseen .

’
Wh a t else i s Wisdom Wh a t o f man s endeavour
O r God s high grace so lo v ely and so great
’
,

To stand from fear set free to bre a the a nd wa it ;

,

T o hold a h a nd upli fted o v er H a te

And shall not Lov eliness be lo v ed fo r e v er ?
O ther s .

0 S trength of Go d, slo w a rt thou a nd st i ll ,

Y et fa iles t ne v er
O n th em that worshi p the R uthless Wi ll ,
O n t hem that dre a m , doth H is j udgment wai t .

Dream s of the p roud m a n , m aking gre a t

And gre at er ever,
54 E U R I P I DE S
Things which are no t of God In wide .

And dev ro us cover ts hun t er wise

,
-
,

H e cou c he t h Time s unhasti ng s t ride

’

F o llowi n g following him whose eyes

, ,

Loo k n o t to H eaven For all is vai n

.
,

The pulse of the hear t t he plot o f t he brain

, ,

That s t rive t h beyond t he laws t ha t live .

A n d is thy Fai t h so much t o give ,

I S i t so hard a thing t o see ,

That t he S pirit of God wha t e er i t b e

,
’

The Law t ha t a b ides and changes not ages long , ,

The E t ernal and N a t ure born — these thi n gs be S t ro n g ?

-

Wha t else is W isdom What O f man s endeavour ’

O r G od s high grace so lovely a n d so great ?

’

To s t a n d from fear set free t o b reathe and wa i t

,

To hold a hand uplift ed over H ate ;

And shall not Loveliness be loved fo r e v er ?

LE AD ER .

H appy he o n t he weary sea

,

Who hath fled the t empest and won t he haven .

H appy W hoso hath risen free , ,

Above his striving For strangely grave n

.

Is the orb of li fe, t hat one and ano t her

In gold and p o wer may outpass his br o t her .

And men in thei r mi llions float and flo w

A nd see t he with a million hopes as leaven
And they wi n t heir Will or t hey miss thei r Will
, ,

And the hO p es are dead or are pined for s t ill

’
But w hoe er ca n know ,

As the long days go ,

T ha t To Live is ha ppy, h a th found his H eav en
 T HE BACCHAE 55

—
R e en ter D I ONYSUS fr om the Ca stl e.

D I ONYSUS .

0 eye that c rav es t sigh t s t hou must no t see ,

O heart a t hirs t fo r that which Slak es not Thee ,

Pentheus I call ; forth and be seen i n guise

, ,

O f woman M aenad saint of Dio n y se

, , ,

To S p y upon H is Chosen and thine own

M other
[ E n ter PEN T HEUS cla d l ihe a B a ccha n a l a n d
, ,

excited a sp ir it o B
str a ngel
y , f a cchic m a dn ess

ov er s ah dow ing him .

Thy shape methinks i s like to one

, ,

O f C a dmus royal maids

’

PE N T HEUS .

Y ea and mine eye

I S bright Y on sun shines twofold in the s k y ,

Thebes tw o fold and the Wall o f Se v en Gates . a

And is i t a Wild Bull this that wal k s and waits

,

Before me ? There are horns upon thy b row

What art thou man or be ast ? For surely now
,

The Bull is on thee

D I ONYSUS .

H e who erst w as wrath ,

Goes with us now i n gentleness H e hath .

U nsealed thine eyes to see what thou shouldst see .

PE N T HEUS
Say ;
stand I n o t as Ino stands or she ,

Who bore me ?
5 6 EU RIPI DES

D I ONYSUS .

When I look on t hee it seems

I see t heir very selves l—But stay why streams
,

T hat lo c k abroad not where I la i d it crossed

, ,

U nder the coi f

PE N T HEUS
I did i t as I tossed
,

M y he ad i n danc i ng to and fr o and cried

, ,

H is holy music

D I ONYSUS (ten ding him ) .

It shall soon be t ied

Aright Tis mine to tend thee
.
’
N ay but sta nd
.
,

Wi th he ad stra ight .

PE N T HEU S
In the hollow of thy hand
I lay me . Deck me as thou w i lt .

D I ONYSUS .

Thy zone
Is loosened li k ewise and the folded gown
N ot e v enly fa lling to the feet .

PE N T HEUS .

Tis so ’

By the righ t foo t Bu t here methin k s they flow

.
, ,

In one straight line to the heel .

D I ONYSUS (w hile ten ding him) .

And i f thou prove

T heir madness true aye more than true w ha t lo v e
, , ,

And thanks hast thou fo r me ?

 T HE BACCHAE 57

PEN T HEUS (n ot l isten ing to him) .

In my right hand
Is i t or thus, that I Should be a r the w and,
,

To be most like to them

D I ONYSUS .

U p let it
In the right hand timed with the ,

s p r i ng .

T is w ell thy heart is changed

’

PEN T HEUS (mor e w ildly ) .

W hat strength i s this

K ithaeron s steeps and all that i n them is
’

H o w say st t hou —Could my shoulders l i ft the w hole 3

’ ’

D I ONYSUS .

Surely thou c a nst a nd i f thou wilt

,
Thy soul ,

Being once so sick n ow stands as it should stand

,
.

PE N T HEUS
S hall i t be bars O f iron O r this bare hand
An d s houlder to the crags to w rench them do w n
,

D I ONYSUS .

W ouldst w reck the N ymphs wild temples a nd ’

,
the

brown
R ocks, w here Pan pipes at no o nday ?
PE N T HEUS
N ay not I
Force i s not w ell w ith w omen . I w ill lie
H i d i n the p ine brake
-
.
58 E U R I PI DE S

D I ONYSUS .

E ven as fits a spy

O n holy an d fearfu l t hings so shalt thou lie
,

PE N T HEUS (w ith a la ugh) .

They lie there now methinks —the wild b i rds

, ,

By love among the leaves and fluttering not

,

D I ONYSUS .

I t may be That is what t hou goes t to see

Aye and to trap t hem—so they tra p not thee
.
,

PE NT H EU&
For t h t hrough the The b ans town I am their
’

Aye thei r one M a n seeing I dare this thing

, ,

D I ONYSUS .

Y ea t hou shal t bear t heir b urden thou alone ;

, ,

Therefore t hy t rial a w a iteth t hee But on -

Wi t h me irito t hine ambush shal t thou c o me

U nsca t hed then le t ano t her bear t hee home
PEN T HEUS
The Queen my mo t her
, .

D I ONYSUS .

M ar k ed of every eye .

PEN T HEU S
For that I go
D I ONYSUS .

Thou shal t be borne on high !

PEN T HEUS .

Tha t were li k e pride

60 EU RI PI DES
A B a ccha n a l .

W ho shall be firs t t o mark ,

E yes in the rock that S p y,

E y es in t he pine tree dark -

Is it his mother —and cry

L O wha t is this tha t comes
, ,

H aun t ing t roubling still

, ,

Ev en i n our heights our homes, ,

The wild M aids of the H ill ?

Wha t flesh bare t his c hild
N ever on woman s b re ast ’

Changeling so ev il smiled
M a n is he not bu t Be ast l ,

Lion shape of t he wild,

-

G orgon breed o f the was t e 1

-

All theChor us .

H ither, fo r doom and deed

H i t her wi t h li fted sword ,

J us t ice ,
Wrath o f the Lord ,

Come in our v isible need

Smi t e till the throat shall bleed ,
Smi t e t ill t he he a r t shall bleed ,
’
H i m the tyrannous, lawless G o dless, E ch ion s eart h
,

born seed
O ther M a iden s .

T yrannously ha t h he trod
M arched him i n Law s despi t e
’

, ,

Agains t t hy Light O God , ,

Y ea and thy M other s Light ;

,
’

Girded h im falsely b old

, ,

Blinded in craft to quell ,

And by m a n s violence hold’

T hings unconquerabl e .
 T HE BACC HAE 61

A B a ccha n a l .

A strai t pitiless mind

Is death unto godliness ;
And to feel i n human kind
Li fe and a pain the less
, .

Knowledge we are not foes ,

I seek thee diligently ;

But the w orld with a great w i nd blows,
S h i n ing a nd no t from thee ;
,

Blowing to beauti ful things ,

O n amid dark a nd light

, ,

T ill Li fe through the trammellings

,

O f Laws that are not the R ight,

Break s cle a n and pure and sings
, ,

G lorying to God i n the height

Al l the
Chor us .

H ither for doom and deed

H ither with li fted sword ,

Justice ,
Wr a th o f the Lord ,

Come in our visible need

S mite t ill the throat sh al l bleed ,
S mite till the heart shall bleed ,
’
H i m the tyrannous lawless Godless, E c hion s eart h
, ,

born seed
LE AD ER .

A p pear appear, whatso thy sh a pe or n am e

,

O M ount a in Bull S n ake of the H undred H eads

,

Lion of Burn i ng Flame

O G od Be ast M ystery come T hy mystic maids
Are hunt ed l—Blast their hunter with thy bre at h ,
, , ,

C ast o er h i s he ad thy snare

’

And l augh aloud and drag him to his death ,

W ho stalks thy herded m adness i n its l ai r
62 EU RIPID ES

E n ter ha stily a M ESSEN G ER fr om the M oun ta in ,

pa l e a n d distr a ught .

M ESSE N G ER .

W o e to t he house on c e b les t in H ellas Woe

To thee old Ki ng Sido n ian w ho didst sow
, ,

The dragon seed on A res b l o o dy lea

-
’

Alas eve n t hy slaves m u s t weep fo r t hee !

,

LE AD ER .

N ews fr o m t he moun t ain —S pea k ! Ho w ha t h it

sped ?
M ESSEN G ER .

Pen t he us my k ing E ch ion s so n is de ad

, ,
’
,

LE AD ER .

All hail God of t he V oice

, ,

M a n i fes t ever m o r e

M ESSE N G ER .

Wha t say s t t h o u —
’
And how s t range thy t one ,
as

though
In jo y at this my m as t er s over t h r o w
’

LE AD ER .

With fierce jo y I rej o ice,

Child of a savage shore
For t he c hai n s of my prison are b ro k en a nd t he drea d ,

where I cowered of yore

M ESSEN G ER .

And deem st t hou Theb es so beggared so forlorn

’
,

O f m a nhood as to sit be nea t h thy scorn ?

,
 T HE BACCHAE 63

LE AD ER .

Thebes ha t h o er m e no s w ay
’

N one save H im I Obey ,

Dionysus Child of the H ighes t H im I Obey and adore

, ,

M ESSE N G ER .

O n e can fo rgive thee l— Y et tis no fair thing,

’

M aids to rej oice i n a man s sufier in g

'
’
.
,

LE AD ER .

S peak of t he moun t ain side

Tell us the doom he died ,

sinner smitt en to dea t h even where

,
was
sore
M ESSEN G ER .

We climbed beyond the u t most hab itin gs

O f Theb a n shepherds passed Aso pus springs
,
’

And struck in t o the l a nd of roc k o n dim

K ithaer o n —Pentheus rin d attending him
, , ,

I and the S tranger w ho should guide our w ay

, .

Then first i n a green dell we stopped and lay , ,

Li ps dumb and feet unmov ing warily ,

W atchi ng to be unseen and yet to see

,
.

’
A narrow glen it w as by crags o er to w er ed
, ,

Torn through b y tossi ng waters and there lowered ,

A shadow of great pines over it And there .

The M aenad maidens sate in toil t hey w ere ,

Busily glad Some with an ivy chai n

.

Tric k ed a worn wand to toss i t s locks again

Some wild i n j oyance like young s t eeds set free ,
, ,

M ade answering songs of mystic melody .

But my poor mas t er saw not the great band

” “
Be for e him S t ran ger, cried he , where w e stan d
.
 64 E U RI PI DE S
M i ne eyes can reac h no t t hese false sa i n t s of t hine .

M ount we the ban k or some high shouldered pi n e ,

,
-

And I Shall see their follies clear At tha t

T here came a marvel For the Stra n ger s t raight
.

Touched a grea t pine tree s h igh and heavenward -

’

crown ,

And lower lower lower urged it down

, , ,

To the herbless floor R ound li k e a bending bow,

.

O r slow wheel s rim a j oi ner forces to

’

So i n t hose hands t ha t tough and m o untain stem

Bowed slow —O h s t reng t h not mortal dwelt i n them !
,

To the v ery ear t h And there he set the King

.
,

And slowly lest it c ast him in its Spring

, ,

Let bac k the young and straining tree till high ,

I t towered aga in amid t he towering s k y

And Pen t heus i n t he branches Well I ween , ,

H e sa w t he M aenads then a nd well was seen ,

For scarce w as he aloft w hen suddenly ,

There was no Stranger a n y more wi t h me ,

But out of H eaven a V oice —oh what v o ice else ,

’
Tw as H e t hat called Behold O damosels , ,

I b ring ye h i m w ho t urne t h to d espite

Both me an d ye and dar k ene t h my great Light
,
.

Tis yours to av enge So sp ak e he and there came

’
,

T wixt e a rth and s k y a p i llar of high flame

’
.

And silence too k the air and no leaf stirred ,

In all t he fo res t dell Thou hadst no t heard

.

In that vas t silence any W ild thing s cry ’

.

[ And up they spr a ng but wi t h bewildered eye ,

Agaze and lis t ening scarce yet hearing true

,
.

Then came the V oice aga in And when they knew .

’
Their God s clear call old Cadmus roya l brood,
’
,

U p like wild pigeons s ta rtled i n a wood

, ,
 T HE BACCHAE 65

O n flying feet they cam e his mother blind , ,

A gfiv é and her sisters and beh i nd

, ,

All the w i ld crowd more deeply maddened then , ,

Thro ugh the angry rocks and torrent tossi ng glen -

,

U ntil they spied him i n the dar k pine tree -

Then climbed a crag h ar d by a nd furiously

Some sought to stone him, some their wands w ould fling
L a nce wise aloft, i n cru el targeting
- .

’
But none could strike The height o er to p p ed their .

rage ,

And there he clung unscathed as i n a cage , ,

C a u ght And of a ll their str i fe no end was found

a .

“ ” “
Then H ither , cried Agav é
,
sta nd w e round
And grip the stem my Wild O nes till w e t ake , ,
’
This climbing cat o the mount H e shall not m ake
- - -

l ”
’
A tale of God s high dances O ut then shone
Arm upon arm past count, and closed upon ,

The pine, a nd gripped a nd the ground gave and d o w n ,

It reeled And th a t high sitter from the crown

.

O f the green pine top with a shrie k ing cry -

,

F ell as his mind grew clear and there hard by

, ,

Was horror v isible Tw as his mother stood .

’

O er him, fi rst pr i estess O f t hose rites of blo od

’
.

H e tore the coif and from his he ad a way ,

F lung it, that S he might k now him and not sl a y ,

T o her own misery H e touched the W ild .

Cheek, crying : M other, i t is I thy child, ,

Thy Pentheus born thee i n E chion s hall

,
’

H ave mercy M other Let i t not befall

,

Thro ugh sin of mine that thou shoul dst slay thy son ,

But she with lips a fo am and eyes tha t run

,
-

’
Like le aping fi re with thoughts that ne er Should be
,

O n e arth po ssessed by B a c c hios utterly,

,
66 E U R I PI D ES
Sta y S not nor hears R ound his left arm S he put .

Both hands, set h ard aga i nst his side her foot ,

Drew and t he shoulder severed N ot by might -

O f arm but easily as t he God made l i gh t

, ,
’
H er hand s essay And a t t he o t her side
.

Was Ino rending ; and the to rn flesh cried ,

And on Au to n o é pressed and all t he cr o wd ,

O f ravening arms Y ea all the air w as loud .

,

Wi t h groans t ha t faded into sob b ing brea t h ,

Dim shrieks and j oy and triumph cries of death

, ,
-
.

And here w as borne a severed arm and t here ,

A hunter s b oo t ed foo t ; white bones lay b are

’

W ith r en dm g ; and swi ft hands en sa n gu in éd

Tossed as in spor t t he flesh of Pen t heus dead .

H is body lies afar The precipice .

H a t h par t and par t s i n many an in t ers t ice

,

Lurk of the ta ngled woodland —no ligh t ques t

To find And ah the head
.
,
O f all t he res t
, ,

H is mother hath i t pierced upon a wand , ,

As one might pierce a lion s and through the lan d , ’

,

Leav ing her Sisters i n t hei r da n ci ng place ,

Bears i t on high Y e a to these walls her face ,

W as set exulti n g i n her deed of bl o od

, ,

Calling upon her Bromios her Go d , ,

H er Comrade Fellow R ender of the Prey

,
-
,

H er All V ictorious to whom t his day

-
,

She b ears i n triumph her own b ro k en heart !

For me aft er t ha t sight I wi l l depar t
, ,

Before Agfiv é comes — O h to fulfil .

,

God s laws and have no t hough t bey o nd H is will

’
, ,

Is man s best t re asure Aye and W i sdom t rue

’
.
, ,

M ethin ks, for things o f dust to cleave un t o

T e M ESSE N G ER dep a r ts in to the Ca stl e
[ h .
68 E U R I P I DE S

A GA VE .

Y e from the lands of M o m I

LE AD ER .

Call me no t ; I give praise !

A GA VE .

Lo from the trunk

, new shorn
-

H i t her a M ountain Thor n

Bear we O Asia -
b orn
Bacchanals b less , t his chase l
LE AD ER .

I see Y ea ; I see
. .

H ave I no t welcomed t hee ?

A GA VE (v ery ca l m ly a n d pea ceful ly ) .

H e was young in the wildwood

Wi t hout nets I caugh t him
N ay ; look wi t hou t fear on
’
The Lion I h a ve ta en h i m l

LE A D ER .

Where i n the wildwood ?

Whence have ye b roug ht him

A GA VE .

K ithaer o n .

LE AD ER .

K ithaer o n
A GA VE .

T he M ount ai n h a th sl a i n him
 T HE B A C C H A E 69

LE AD ER .

W ho first c a me nigh him ?

A GA VE .

I I tis c o n fess éd
, ,
’

And they n amed me there by

Agfiv é the B l esséd

LE AD ER .

W ho was next in the b a nd on him ?

A GA VE .

T he d aughters .

LEA D ER .

T he d aug hters ?
A GA VE .

O f Cadmus laid h a nd on him .

But the swi ft hand that sl aughters

Is mine mine is the pra ise l
Bless ye this day of d a ys
[ The LE AD ER tr ies to sp ea h but ts n ot ,

A GA VE begin s gen tly str obing the hea d .

A GA VE.

G a ther y e now to the feast !

LE AD ER .

Feast —O miserable
A GA VE .

S ee, I t falls to his b reast,

Curl i ng and gen t ly t ressed,
’
T he hair o f the Wild Bull s crest
T he young steer o f the fe l l !
70 E U RI PIDES

LE A D ER .

M ost li k e a beas t of the wild

T hat head those locks de fi led
, .

A G AVE (l ifting up the hea d m or e excitedly )

, .

H e w akened his M ad O nes ,

A Ch ase God a wise God l

-
,

H e sprang them to seize this

H e preys where his ba n d p reys .

LE AD ER (br ooding w ith hor r or )

, .

In t he t ra il o f thy M ad O n es
T hou tea r es t thy prize God 1 ,

A GA VE .

Dost p raise it

LE AD ER .

I pra i se t his ?
A GA VE .

Ah soon sh all the land p raise

,
l

LE AD ER .

An d Pentheus, 0 M oth er,

Thy child
A GA VE .

H e shall cry on
M y name as n one other ,

Bless the s p oils of t he Lion l

 T HE BACCHAE
7 ,

LE AD ER .

Aye , stra nge is thy tre asure

A GA VE .

And str a nge was the taking l

LE AD ER .

Thou art gla d

A GA VE .

B eyond me asure ;
Y e a, gl ad i n the breaking
O f dawn upon all this land ,

By the p rize the prize of my han d l

,

LE AD ER .

Sho w t hen to all the land un happy one , ,

The trophy of t his deed that thou h ast done l

A GA VE .

H o all ye men tha t r o und the c itadel

,

And shi ning towers of ancient Th e b e dwell ,

Come Look upon this pr i ze this l i on s spoil ,

’
,

That we hav e taken—yea with our o w n t oil

‘

, ,

W e Cadmus daughters
,
’
N ot with leathern se t -

’
Thessalian j avelins not with hun t er s net
, ,

O nly white arms and swift hands bladed tall ’

.

Why m ake ye much ado and boast w ithal

,

Yo ur a rmourers engines ? See these p alms w ere

’

b are
T ha t c aught t he angry beast and hel d and ta re
, ,

T he limbs of him Father l Go bring ,

to me
M y father Ay e and Pentheus where is he
, , ,
 E U RIPIDES
M y son H e sh all se t up a ladder stai r -

Aga ins t t his house a nd i n the t riglyphs t here

,

N ail me this lion s head tha t gloriously

’

I bring ye h a ving slain him—I , even I

,

She goes thr ough the cr ow d tow a r ds the Ca stl e

[ ,

show ing the hea d a n d l ook ing or a p l a ce to

f
ha ng it E n ter fr om the M oun ta in C A D
.

M U S w ith a tten da n ts, bea r ing the body of

,

PEN T HEUS on a bier .

C AD MUS .

O n , w ith your aw ful b urden Follow me .

,

Th ralls to his house whose body grievously

, ,

W i t h many a weary search a t last i n dim

K ithaer o n s glens I fo und torn limb fro m limb
’
, ,

And t hrough t he in t erweav ing fores t weed

Sca tt ered —M en t old me of my daugh t ers deed
’
.
,

When I w as j ust re t urned wi t hin these walls,

W ith grey Teiresias , from the Bacchanals .

And back I hied me to t he hills agai n

To see k my murdered son There saw I pla in .

Actaeon s mother ranging where he died

’
, ,

Au t ono e ; and I n c by her side ,

Wandering gh as t ly in the pine copses -

.

Agfiv é w as no t t here The rumour is .

She come t h fleet foo t hither —

’
Ah
- Tis true 5 .

A sight I sca rce can b end mine eyes unto .

A GA VE
( f
tur n ing r om the P a la ce a n d see ng i him).

M y father a great bo as t is thine this hour

,
.

Thou hast begotten d aughters, high in p ower

 T HE BACCHAE 73
A nd v aliant a b o v e all man k ind —yea, all
Va li a nt, though none li k e me I hav e let fall
The shuttle by the loom, and raised my h a nd
For higher th i ngs to slay from out thy la nd
,

Wild be asts See, in mine arms I bear the prize ,

That nailed above these portals it may rise
To show wha t things thy daughters did ! Do
thou
Take it, and call a fe ast Proud ar t thou no w
.

And highly fav oured in our v al ia n c y l

C AD MUS .

O depth of gr i ef, how can I fa t hom the e

O r loo k upon t hee l—Poor, poor bloodstain ed ,

hand !
Poor sis t ers l—A fa i r sacrifice to sta nd
’
Be fore God s alta rs daughter ; yea and call
, ,

M e and my citizens to feast withal

N ay let me weep — for thine affl icti o n most,
,

T hen for mine own All all of us are lost,

.
,

N ot wrongfully yet is i t hard from one

W ho might h a ve lo v ed —our Bromios, our o w n l
, ,

A G A VE .

H ow crabb e d and ho w scowling in the eyes

Is man s old age —Would tha t my son like w ise
’

Were happy o f his hunting i n my w ay , ,

When with his warrior bands he will essay

The wild beast l—N ay his v aliance is to fight
,

W ith God s will I Father thou shouldst set him

’
,

right .

W ill no one brin g him hither t hat min e eyes ,

M ay look on his a nd sho w him t his my prize !

,
74 E U R I P I DE S

C AD MUS .

Alas i f ever ye can kno w again

,

The truth of wha t ye did wh a t pai n of pa i n

,

That tru th shall b ring O r were i t b es t to wa i t

Dar k ened for evermore and deem your s t a t e
,

N ot misery though ye know no happiness ?

,

A G A VE .

W hat sees t t hou here t o ch i de or not t o bless ?

,

C AD MUS (after hesita tion , l

r eso v in
g him self)
.

Ra ise me thine eyes to yon blue dome of a ir l

A GA VE .

’
T i s done . W h a t dos t t hou b i d me seek for there ?
C A DM Us .

Is it the same or chang e d i n thy sight ?

,

A GA VE .

M ore shining than before more hea venly ,

C AD MUS .

And th a t wi ld tremor is it with thee sti ll ?

,

A G A VE (tr oubled) .

I know no t wh a t t hou sayest but my will

Cle ars, a nd some c ha nge cometh I know not ,
ho w .

CA D MUS .

C a nst hearken then being changed and ans w er no w ?

, , ,

A GA V E .

I ha v e forgotten some t hing else I could .

76 E U R I P I D ES

A GA VE .

N o ; tis ’
the head — O God —o f Pentheus this ! ,

C AD MUS .

Blood drenched ere thou wouldst k now him ! Aye

-
,
’
tis his .

A G A VE .

Who slew him — H ow came I to hold th i s t hing ?

C AD MUS .

O c ruel Truth is this th ine home coming ?

,
-

A GA VE .

Answer M y hea rt is hang i ng on thy breat h

C AD MUS
T w as thou —T hou and thy sisters wrought
.

’
. his deat h
.

A G A VE .

In wh at p l ace w as it ? H is own house or wh ere ? ,

C AD MUS .

W here the dogs t ore A c t aeon even there ,

.

A GA VE .

Why went he to K ithaero n ? What soug ht he ?

C A DM Us .

To mock the G od a nd thine own ecstas y .

A G A VE .

But ho w should we be on the hills t his day ?

C AD MUS .

B eing mad A Spirit drov e all the l and tha t way .

 T HE BACCHAE 77

A GA V E .

T is Dio n y se
’
h a t h done it N o w I see .

CAD MUS (ea r n estly) .

Ye w ronged H im Y e denied his deity

A G AVE (tur n ingfr om him) .

S ho w me the body of the son I lov e

C AD MUS (lea ding her to the bier ) .

’
Tis here my child H ard was the quest thereo f
,
. .

A GA VE .

L a id in due sta te
[ I s ther e is n o a n sw er , h l ifts the v eil
s e
f
o the bier ,
a n d sees.

O h if I wrought a sin ,
,
’
T was m i n e W h a t port i on had my child therein
C AD MUS .

H e m ade him like to you a doring not ,

T he G od w ho therefore to one bane h a t h brought

Y ou a nd t hi s body wrecking a ll our line
, ,

And me Aye no man child w as ev e r m i n e

.
,
-

And now this first fruit o f the flesh of t hee

-
,

Sad w oman foully here and frightfully

,

L i es murdered W hom the house lo o ked up unto,

[ Kn eel ing by the body .

0 Child my daughter s ch i ld w ho hel des t tru e

’
,

M y c astle walls a nd to the folk a n a me

O f fear thou w ast and no man sought to s ham e
M y grey beard when they kne w t ha t thou wast
,

t here
E lse had they sw i ft reward —And no w I fare
,
78 EU RIPI D ES

Forth i n dishonour outc as t I the gre a t , , ,

C admus, w ho sowed the seed rows of t hi s stat e -

O f Thebes and reaped the harv est wonderful

, .

O my b elo v éd though thy hear t is dull

,

In dea t h O s t ill belov e d and alway

, ,

B el ov éd N ever more t hen sha l t thou lay , ,

Thine hand to t his white b eard and spea k t o m e ,

Thy M o t her s Father ; as k Who wrongeth thee ?

“ ” ’“

Who s t ints t hine honour or with malice st i rs ,

Thi n e heart Spea k and I smi t e t hi n e inj urers l

,

Bu t now— woe woe to me and t hee also

, , ,

Woe t o t hy mother and her sisters woe ,

Alway O h W hoso wal k eth not in dread

,

O f God s le t h im but l o ok on this man dead l

,

LE AD ER .

Lo I weep w ith thee

,
Twas but due reward .
’

”
God sen t on Pen t heus ; but for thee Tis hard .

A GA VE .

M y fa t her thou canst see the ch ange in me ,

,

A p a e or m or e ha s her e been tor n out o the M S

[ g
”
f fr om .

w hich a ll our cop ies of The B a ccha e a r e der iv ed It .

ev iden tly con ta n ed

f
i (f
a p
s eech o p r esa m Agdv é c
oll ow ed

the Chor us) a n d a n app ea r a n ce o

a bl b
y y some w or ds o
f f ,

D I ONYSUS upon a cloud H e m ust ha v e p r on oun ced j udg

.

men t up on the Theba n s in gen er a l a n d esp ecia l ly up on the ,

da ughter s of C A D MUS, ha v e j ustified his ow n a ction a n d ,

decl a r ed his deter m in a tion to esta bl ish his godhea d . Wher e

the MS . begin s aga in , w e fin d him a ddr essing C AD MUS ] .

it i G Q
 T HE BACCHAE 79

D I ONYSUS .

a as an
»
at

And tell of Time what gi fts for thee he bears,

,

W hat gr i e fs and w onders i n the winding years .

F br thou must change and be a S erpent Thing

S trange a nd beside thee she whom thou didst bring
,

O f old to b e thy bride from H eaven a far ,

H armonia daughter of the Lord o f War

, .

Y e a, and a chariot of kine—so sp ake

The word of Zeus—thee and thy Queen s hall take
Through many l ands Lord of a wild array ,

O f orient spe a rs And m a ny towns shall they

.

Destroy beneath t hee tha t v ast horde until

, ,

They touch Apollo s dwelling a nd ful fil

’

Their doom back dri v en on stormy ways a nd stee p

, .

Thee only and thy spouse shall Ares k eep ,

And save alive to the Islands of the Blest .

.

Thus speaketh D ionysus Son con fessed

O f no m a n but of Zeus l—Ah had ye seen
,

Truth in the hour ye would not all h ad been ,

Well with ye and the Child of Go d your frien d l

,

A G AV E .

Dionysus w e beseech thee

, We hav e sinned
D I ONYSUS .

Too late When t here was time ye kne w me not ,

A GA VE .

We have con fessed . Y et is thine hand too hot .

D I ONYSUS .

Ye mocke d m e, being God this i s your wage .

80 E U RI PID ES
A G A VE .

S hould God be li k e a proud man in his rage ?

D I ONYSUS .

’
Tis as my s i re Zeus willed it lo n g ago
, , .

A G A VE (tur n ing fr om him a l m ost w ith disda in ) .

O ld M a n t he w o rd is spoken we must go
, .

D I ONYSUS .

And seeing ye must w ha t is it that ye wait ?

,

C AD MUS .

Child we are come in t o a deadly strai t

, ,

All t hou poor su fferer and thy sis t ers twain

, , ,

And my sad s elf Far o ff t o barbarous men

.
,

A grey haired wanderer I must tak e my road

-
, .

And t hen t he oracle the doom of G od , ,

That I mus t lead a raging horde fa r flo w n -

To prey o n H ellas ; lead my spouse min e own ,

H armoni a Ares child discorpor a te

,
’
,

And hau n t ing forms dragon and dragon mate

,
-
,

Aga inst the tombs and al t ar s t ones o f Greece -

,

Lance u pon lance behind us ; and not c ease

From t oils li k e other men nor dream nor p as t
, , ,

The foam of Acheron fi nd my peace at last .

A G A VE .

Father And I must w ander far fr o m thee

C AD MUS .

0 Child w hy wilt thou reach th i ne arms to me

, , 7

As yearns the milk white swan when old swans die ?

-
,

A GA VE .

W here sh all I turn me else i N o home hav e I .

 T HE B A C C H AE 81

C AD MUS .

I kno w not I ca n help the e not .

A GA VE .

Farewell 0 home O a nc i ent to wer l

, ,

Lo I a m outc ast from my bo w er,

,

And le av e ye for a worser lot .

C AD MUS .

G o forth go forth to misery

, ,
’
The w ay Actaeon s father went l
A GAVE .

Father for t he e my tears a re spe nt

, .

C AD MUS .

’
N ay Child tis I must weep fo r thee ;
, ,

For thee and for thy sisters t wai n

A GA VE .

O n all this house in bi t ter w i se,

,

O ur Lord a nd M aster Dio n yse , ,

H a th p oured the utter dregs o f pai n !

D I ONYSUS .

I n bitter wi se fo r bi tter w as the shame

,

Ye did me w hen Thebes honoured not my n a me

, .

A GA VE .

T hen lead me where my sis t ers be ;

Together let our tea rs be shed ,

O ur ways be wa ndered where

K itha er o n w a i ts to gaze on me ;
82 EU RIPI D ES
N or I gaz e back no t hyrsus s t em ,

N or so n g nor memory i n the air

, .

O h o t her Bacchanals b e there

, ,

N o t I no t I , to dr eam of t hem
,

[ A GA VE w ith h er
g r oup o a tten da n ts
f goes out on

the side a w ay fr om the M oun ta in D i o n y sus

.

r ises upon the C loud a n d disapp ea r s .

C HORUS .

[ There be many shapes mys t ery

of

And ma n y t hi ngs God m akes to b e

.

Pas t h o pe or fea r.

And t he end men looked for cometh not ,

A n d a pa t h is there where no m a n thought .

So ha t h i t fallen here .
[ E xeun h
84 E U RIPIDES
Greece H e becomes specially the God of the V i ne
. .

O riginally a god of the common fol k despised a nd un ,

authorised he is eventually so strong as t o be adopted

,
“ ”
i nto t he O lympian hier a rchy as the youngest o f
“ ”
the Gods so n of Zeus H is O lympi a n name so
,
.
,

to spea k is D ionysus but in h i s worsh i p he is ad

, ,

dressed by numbers o f n a mes more or less mystic ,

a nd secret— Bromios Ba c c hios or Ba c c heus Ia cchos

, , ,

E l eu thereu s Zagreus Sabazios &c

, , Some of these , .

may be t he n ames of old spirits whom he has dis

placed ; some are his o w n Thracian n am es Bromos .

and Sa b aja for ins t ance seem to hav e been Thraci a n

, ,

names fo r two ki nds o f intoxic a ting drin k B a cc hos .

“ ”
means a wand Toge t her w i th his many names
.
,

he has many shapes especi ally appea ring as a Bull and

,

a S erpent .

()
b This religion v ery pr i mi t
,
i v e a nd barb a rous ,

bu t possessing a s t rong hold o v er the emo t ions o f

the common p eople w as sei z ed upon and t ransfi gured
,

b y the gre a t wave of religious reform known under ,

the name of O rphism which swept o v er Greece and ,

South I taly i n the si x th century B C , and influenced . .

the teachings o f such philosophers as Pythagor as ,

Ar i ste as E mpedocles, and the many wri ters on pur i

,

fic a tio n and the world after death O rphism may .

v ery possibly represent a n ancient Cretan relig i on in

cl as h or fusion with one from Thra ce At any rate it .
,

was grafted str a ight u pon the D ionysus worship and -

, ,

w ithout ra t i onalis i ng spiritualised and reformed i t

, .

Ascetic myst i cal rit ualistic a nd emo t ional O rphism

, , , ,

e asily exci ted both enthusi asm a nd ridicule It lent .

i tsel f bot h to i nspired sa i ntlines s a nd to impos tu r e In .

doctrine i t la id es pec i al stress u p on s i n a nd the ,

 N OTES 85

sa cerdotal puri fi cation o f sin ; o n the eternal reward

due b eyond the grave to the pure a nd the impure the ,

p ure living in an eternal ecstasy perpetual in toxi

ca tion as Plato satir i c ally c alls it— the impure toiling
,
”

through long ages to wash out their sta ins It rec ast .

i n v ar i o us ways the myth of Dionysu s an d especially

,

the s t ory of his Second B i rth All true worshippers

.

become in a mystical sense one with the God ; t hey

“ ”
are born again a nd a re Bac c ho i . D ionysus being the
G od w ithin the per fectly pure soul is possessed by the
,

G od w holly and becomes nothing but the God

, .

Based on v ery primit iv e rites and feelings on the ,

rel igion of men w ho made their gods in the i mage

of sna k es and bulls a nd fa wns because they hardly
,

felt a ny di f ference o f kind between themsel v es and

the a nim als t he worsh i p of Dionysus kept always this
,

feeling o f k ins hip wi th w ild t hi ngs . The beauti ful

side of this feeling i s v i v idly cons pi cuous in The
B a ccha e . And the horri ble side i s not i n the least
concea led .

A cur i ous relic o f pr i mit i ve superstition and cruelty

remained firmly imbedded i n O rph i sm—a doctrine
irra t ion al a nd un i ntelligi bl e, a nd for that very re as on
w rapped i n the deepest a nd most s acred mystery : a
belief in the sa crifice o f Dionysus h i mself and the ,

p urification o f man by his blo od .

It seems possible th a t the sav age T hrac i ans in the ,

fury o f the i r w orsh i p on the mountains when they

,

were possesse d by the G od a nd became wild beasts ,

actually tor e w it h the i r tee th and hands any hares ,

goats faw ns or the like that they c am e across Ther e

, , .

surv iv es a consta nt tradition o f inspired Bacc ha n als i n

t hei r m i rac u lous str en gth te aring ev en bulls asun d er
86 E U RI PI D ES
— fe a t happily b eyond the bounds of human possi
a , ,

bil ity The wild be ast t hat tore w as of course the

.
, ,

sav age G od himsel f And by one of those cur i ous

.

con fusions of t hought which seem so inconceivable to

,

us and so absolutely na tural a nd obvious to primi t ive

men the be ast torn was also the God
,
The O rp hic
congrega t i ons o f la t er t imes i n their most holy,

ga t herings solemnly par t ook of the blood o f a bul l,

,

which w as by a mystery the blood o f Dionysus

, ,
”
Zagreus himself t he Bull of God slain in sa crifice
, ,

for the puri fica t ion o f man A nd the M aenads o f

.

poetry and myth among more beau t i ful proofs of their

,

su pe rhuman or in fra h uman charac t er have always to

-
,

tea r bulls i n pieces and t aste o f the blood It is .

notewor t hy and throws much ligh t on t he Spi rit

,

of O rphism tha t apar t from th i s sacramental tas t ing

,

of t he blood the O rphic worshipper held it a n a b o m i

,

nat i on to eat the flesh of animals a t all The sa me .

religious ferv our and zeal fo r purity which made h im

rej ect the pollution o f anim al food made him a t the ,

sa me time cling to a ceremoni al which w ould utterly

disgus t t he ordinary hardened flesh eater It fascina t ed -
.

him j ust because it was so i ncredibly primi ti ve a nd

uncanny because i t w as a mys t ery which tr a nscended
r eason
It will be obser v ed t hat E ur i pides t hough certai nly ,

fa miliar with O rphism—w hich he men t ions i n The

H ippoly tus and treated at leng t h i n The C r eta n s
see Appendi x — h as i n The B a ccha e gone back behi nd
( )
O rphism to the more primitive stuff from wh i ch it
was made H e has l i ttle re ference to a ny s p eci al ly
.

O r p hic doctrine ; not a w ord for i nstance about , ,

the i mmortality of the soul And his ide alisa t i on or

.
 N OTES 87

Spiri t ual isa tion of D ionysus wo rshi p proceeds along t he -

l i nes o f his own thought not on those alre ady fixed by ,

the O rphic te achers .

P . 8 0,
l 1 7 Asia all that by the sa lt se a lies
.
, ,

zl e
. the coasts o f Asia M inor inhab i ted by G reeks,
Ioni a, Aeolis and D o r i s
P 8 0 l 2 7 From D i a n seed ] —Dian = b elon gin g
.
,

. . .
, ,

to Zeus T he n a me D ionysus seemed to be deri v ed

.

“ ”
from Ache the gen iti v e of Zeus , .

P .
5 0 S hould this Theban town essa y w ith
,

wrath and battle &c ] Th i s suggestion of a possi , .

-

b il ity w hich is ne v er realised or a ppro ached is perhaps

a mark of the unrevised condition of the pl ay The .

same may be said of the repeti t ions i n the Prologue .

Pp 8 2 86 11 64—1 69 —This first song of the Chorus

.
-
, . .

co v ers a great de al of Bacchic doctrine and myt h .

“ ”
T he fi rst strophe O h blessed he i n a ll w ise , ,

&c des cri bes the bliss of Bacchic purity ; the anti
.
,

strop he gives the two births o f D ionysus from ,

Sem elé an d from the body of Zeus mentioning his ,

mystic epiphanies as Bull a nd as Serpent The next .

strophe is an appeal to Thebes the birthplace or ,

“
nurse of the G o d s mother Sem el é ; the anti ’

strophe an appeal to t he c avern in Crete the birthplace

, ,

of Zeus the God s father and the original h o me of

,
’

the myst i c T i mbrel The E pode or cl o sing song i s .

, ,

full not of doctrine but of the pure poetry of the

, ,

w orshi p .

Pp 86 9 5 ll 1 70—3 69 Teiresias and C admus ]

.
-
, .
,

Teiresi as seems to be not a spokesman of the p oet s o w n ’

vi e ws — far from it — but a ty p e o f the more culture d

88 E U RI PI D ES
so rt o f D ionysiac pri est no t very enlightened bu t, ,

ready to a bate some o f t he extreme dogm as of his creed

i f he may keep the rest Cadmus quite a di fferent .
,

c haracter t akes a v ery human and earthly point o f

,

v iew : the God is prob a bly a true God ; but even

if he is false, t here is no great harm done and the ,

w orship w ill bring renown to Thebes and t he royal

fam ily . It is notewor t hy how full of pi t y Cadmus i s
-
the sympa t he t ic kindlines s of the sons o f this world
as contrast ed with the pi t ilessness o f gods and their
devotees See especially t he las t scenes o f the pla y
. .

E ven his final ou t burst of despa i r a t no t dying li k e

o t her men (p sho ws the same sympathetic
.

humani t y
Pp 8 9 fi 11 2 1 5 —2 62 —Pen t heus though his case
.

,
. .
.
,
.

aga i nst the new worshi p is so good and he migh t so ,

ea sily have been made into a fine martyr li k e H ippo ,

l y tus, is le ft harsh a nd unpleasant and v ery close i n ,

“ ”
type to the ordinary tyrant of G reek t ragedy (c f .

p. It 1 5 also note w orthy I think, t ha t he is as , ,

i t wer e out of tone with the other characters H e

,
.

belongs to a difier en t atmosphere like to t ake a recent , ,

ins ta nce Gola n d i n P ellea s et M elisa n de

' '

.
,

P 9 1 l 2 63 Inj urious Ki ng &c ]

.
, .
,
It is a mark ,
.

of a certa i n yieldi ng to sta ge conven t ion i n E uripides ’

la t er s t yle that he allows t he Chorus Lea der to make

,
”
remar k s which are not asides but are yet not heard ,

or noticed by anybody .

P 9 1 , l 2 64 S ower o f t he Giants sod ] — Cadm us,

. .
,
’
.

by div i ne guidance slew a dragon and sowed t he teet h

,
“ ”
o f it like seed i n the Field of Ares From the .

”
tee th r ose a harv est o f Ea rth born, or G iant -

warriors, o f w hom E c h ion was one .

 N OTES 89

P 9 2 l 2 8 7 Learn the truth of it cle a red from

. .

the false ] —
, , ,

Th i s timid essay in rationalism reminds

.

one of similar e fforts in Pindar (e g 01 It is . . .

the product of a religious a nd unspecula ti v e mind ,

not feeling di fficulti es i tself but trou b led by ot her ,

people s ques t ion s a nd obj ections

’

(See a b o v e on .

Teiresias ) .

P 9 2 l 2 9 2 The w orld enci rcling Fi re ]

.
, . T his
,
-
.

fire or et her w as the ordinary ma t er ial of whic h

, ,

phantoms or a pparitions w ere m ade

—
.

Pp 93 —9 5 11 3 3 0 —
. 6
3 9 These three
,
speeches
. a r e .

very clea rly contr a sted C admus thoroughly hum an , .

,

t hi nk i ng o f sympathy a nd e x pediency a nd v i v idly r e ,

m em b er in g the fate o f h i s other grandson Act a eon ; ,

Pentheus angry a nd tyrannical

,
Teiresi as spe ak i ng
like a Christi a n priest of the M iddle Ages a lmost ,

like Tennyson s Becket ’

—
.

‘
P
.
37 0 The goddess O a la Pur it y seems
.
, ,

to be one o f the many a bstra ctions w hich w ere half

personified by philosophy a nd by O rphism It is pos .

“
sible that the word is really adj ectival Imm acul ate ,
”
O ne and originally a n epithet of some more definite
,

goddess e g as M iss H a rrison suggests o f N emesis

,
. .
, .

In this and other choruses i t is v ery uncertain how

t he lines should be distributed between the w hole
chorus, the t w o sem i cho ruses a nd the var ious i ndi -
,

v idua l c ho r eutae .

Pp 9 7—9 8 11 402 —43 0 — For the meaning o f these

,

. . .
,

lines see Introduction pp lxi l x ii

P 1 00 l 47 1 These emblems ] —There were gene
. .
, , ,

,
. . .
,

rally associated w ith mysteries o r speci al forms o f ,

wors hip cert ai n rel i cs or sa cred implements w ithou t

, ,

w h i ch the rites could not be perform ed C f Hdt . . .

9 0 EU RIPI DES
v 1 1. 1 where T el in es of Gela s t ole t he sacred im
5 3,
p l em en ts or emblems of the nether gods so that no
,

worshi p could be performed and t he town w as as it , ,

were e x communica t ed
, .

P 1 03 ll 49 3 if The soldier s cut of the tr ess ] —The

.
, .
, .

s t age directions here are d i fficult It is conceiva b le .

t ha t none of Pen t heus threa t s are carried out at all ; ’

tha t t he God mys t eriously paralyses the hand that is

lift ed to ta k e his rod wi t hout Pentheus himself k nowing
it But I t hink it more likely t hat the humiliation
.

of D ionysus is made as far as ex t ernals go co m plete , , ,

and t hat i t i s no t till l a ter tha t he begins to show

his Superhuman powers
P 1 04 l 5 08 So let i t b e ] —
.

.
,
. The name Pentheus
,
.

suggests mourner from p en thos mourn ing ,

’
,
‘
.
’

P 1 0 5 l 5 1 9 Ac helo tl s roaming daughter ]

.
,
.
,
’
.

Achelo us was the Fa t her o f all R ivers

P 1 07 l 5 5 6 In thine own N ysa ] —
.

.
,
.
,
A n unknown .

divine mou n t ain formed a pparently to a ccount fo r

,

the second part of the name D ionysus .

P 1 0 7 l 5 7 1 Cross the Lydi as &c ] —These are

.
,
.
, ,
.

r i vers of Thra ce which D ionysus mus t cross i n h i s

passage from t he E ast t he Lydias the A xios and some , , ,

other per haps the Ha l ia c m on , which is called the

,
“

”
father s t ream o f story
-
.

P 1 08 l 5 79 A V oice, a V oice ] — Brom i os the

.
,
.
,
.
,

God o f M any V oices— for wha t ever the real deriv a ,

tion the fifth century Greeks certa inly associated the

-

nam e with Bp é/c w to roar —manifests himself as a

,
‘
,

v oice here a nd b elow (p .

Pp 1 09 1 . 602 —-
O4 l Y e D a msels o fthe M orning ,

H ills &c ] —This scene i n longer metre always strikes

,
.

me as a little unlike the style o f E ur ip ides, a nd in fer i or .

92 E U R I P I DE S
the idealised Bacchic religion of E uri pides which is ,

so strongly expressed in the rest of this wonder ful

lyric .

P 1 2 7 l 9 20 Is i t a Wild Bull this —Pentheus

.
, .
, , ,

i n his Bacchic possession sees fit fully t he mystic shapes ,

of t he God benea t h the human disguise This second .

sigh t t he e x al t a t ion O f spiri t a nd the feeling of super

, ,

natural s t rength c o me to Pen t heu s as t hey came to

t he t wo O ld M en But to t hem t he change ca me .

pea ce fully and for good ; to Pentheus it c omes by

force s t ormily and for evil because his w ill was aga inst
, ,

the God
P 1 3 1 l 9 76 O hounds raging and blind ] —i e
.

. . .
.
, .
,

S pi ri t s of M adnes s T his lyric prepares us for what

.

’
follows especially fo r Ag av é s delusion which other
, ,

wise migh t have been hard t o understa nd I have .

tri ed to k eep t he peculiar metre o f t he original the ,

dochmiac with a few simple licences The scheme

,
.

i s b ased on J or the lat ter be ing much

‘
v
‘ ‘
w
1

commoner .

P 1 3 3 l l 9 9 7—1 0 1 1 —Th e grea t er p a rt O fthis chorus

.
,
. .

i s generally abandoned as unintelligible and corrupt .

”
The l as t ten lines Knowledge w e are no t foes , ,

&c ) will I t hin k, ma k e se n se if we accept a very

.
,
“
slight conj ecture of my own ccev r mv let t hem blow ,
’ '
— , ,

ins t ea d of t he impossi b le cl el 7 6 m The four l ines . .

“ ”
be fo re th at ( A s t rait pitiless mind St e ) a re a n ,
.

almos t li t eral tra nsla t ion of the M S reading which, .

,

howev er is i ncorrect in metre and the r efore cannot

, ,

be e x ac t ly wh a t E uri pides wrote .

P 1 3 4 l 1 03 6 A nd deem s t t hou Thebes so beg

, .
,
’

ga red ] —The couplet is incomplete in the M S But

.

. .

the sense needed is obvious .

 N OT ES 93

P 1 3 7, l 1 1 20, Let i t not be fall t hrough s m o f

. .

mine &c ] —This note o f unselfish fee ling o f p ity an d

, .
,

hum a nity becomes i ncreasingly m a rked i n all the

,

v ict i ms of D ionysus tow a rds the end o f the play and ,

c ontrasts the more vividly with the God s pitilessne ss

’
.

Cadmus is always gentle and al w ays think i ng O f the ,

su fferings o f others a nd i ndeed so is A gav e after her

, , ,

return to reas on though with more resentment a ga i nst

,

the oppressor
Pp 1 3 9—
.

. 1 43 11 1 1 65 —1 2 00
, . This marvellous scen e
.
-

defies comment B ut I may be excused for remarking

.

1 t hat the psychological change of the chorus is to my

() ,

mind pro v ed by the w ords of the origin a l and does not

, ,

in the least depend on my interpolated s t age directions

()2 the extraordinary exultat i on of A gav e i s part o f

her B a cchic possession It is not to be supp o sed that,

.

if she had really killed a l ion such j oy w ould be the ,

na t ural thing .

P 1 4 1 after 1 1 1 8 3 The L ea der tr ies to sp ea k &c ]

.
, .
, , .

It is also possi ble that by some error of a scri be tw o

lines hav e b een omitted i n the M S But I think the .

explan at i on gi v en i n the text more probable a nd more

dramat i c .

P 1 42 , l 1 1 9 5 , A nd Pentheus O M ot her —The

. .
,

Le a der mentions Pentheus, I suppose i n order de ,

’
l ib era tely to test Agav é s delu sion t o see if s he is ,

indeed utterly uncon s c i ous of the truth .

.P 1 46 l 1 2 6 7 M ore shining than before &c ]

, .
, , .

The sight o f the pure heaven b r i ngs back light to her

mi nd— that is clear But do es she mean that the s k y
.

i s b righter because of her madness wh i ch still remains ,

or that it i s brighter n o w , after ha vi ng b een darken ed

in her madn ess ?
94 E U R I P I D ES
P 1 49 13 1 3 1 3 And n ow I fare fort h in dis honour
.
, ,

H e h a s not yet been sentenced to exile though he ,

might well j udge t hat a ft er such p ollution all his family

would be banished . But proba b ly this i s a no t h er
.

mark of the unrevised st at e of the play .

P 1 5 1 l 1 3 3 0 For thou must change and b e a

.
, .
,

S erpent Thing &c ] —A prophecy li k e this is a very

, .

common occurrence i n t he last scenes of E uripides ’

“
tragedies . The su bj ect of the play is r eally a long
chain of events The poe t fixes on some portion o f
.

it—the a c t ion of one day generally spea k ing—a nd ,

t reats it as a piece of vivid concrete li fe led u p to b y ,

a merely narrative introduction (t he Prologue ) and ,

melti n g away i n t o a merely narra t ive close The .

method is to our t aste undramatic but it is e x plica ble ,

enough It falls i n with the tendency of Greek art

.

to fi nish not with a climax but with a lessening of

, ,

strai n (Gr eek Liter a tur e p , .

The prophecy w as tha t Cadmus a nd Ha rmonia

sho uld b e changed i nto serpents and should lead a
hos t o f barbarian invaders—iden tified with an Illyrian
tribe, the E n c hel eis—agains t H ell as ; they should
prosper until they la id hands on the tre a su res of
Delphi and then be destro yed H erodotus says t h a t
,
.

t he Persians were influenced by t his prophecy when

they re fra ined from a tta cking Delphi (Hdt i x . .

P r in ted b y B A LL A NTYN E ,
H SOAN N 69 ° C 0.
E di n b ur gh 67° L o n do n
 THE S AM E A UTHO R
”
B?

HI S T O R Y O F A NC I E NT GR E E K L IT E R A TUR E .

A ND R O M A CHE : A P LAY .

CA R L Y ON S A H l B : A P L AY .

T HE E! PL O ITATI O N O F INF E R I O R R A CE S ,

I N A N C I E NT A ND M O DE R N T I M E S AN :

E A N
SS Y 1 L ERA SM AN D T
“
IB EM RLI HE PI E .

E UR I P IDI S F A B U L A E : B REV I A DN O TATtO N E CRI I I CA

’ ‘

I N STR U CTAE , V O L S. I . A ND 11 .

EU R IPIDE S : T HE T R JAN O WO M EN .

E L E T RA
C .

Tr a n s l a ted in to E ngl is h Ver s e .