The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Volume 01

                         If social bondsOr ties more close connect thee with this house,As this thy rapturous joy betrayeth to me,O then rein in thy heart and hold it fast!For insupportable the sudden plungeFrom happiness to sorrow's gloomy depth.Thou knowest only Agamemnon's death.

IPHIGENIA

And is not this intelligence enough?

ORESTES

Half of the horror only hast thou heard.

IPHIGENIA

What should I fear'? Orestes, Electra lives.

ORESTES

And fearest thou for Clytemnestra naught?

IPHIGENIA

Her, neither hope nor fear have power to save.

ORESTES

She to the land of hope hath bid farewell.

IPHIGENIA

Did her repentant hand shed her own blood?

ORESTES

Not so; yet her own blood inflicted death.

IPHIGENIA

More plainly speak, nor leave me in suspense.Uncertainty around my anxious headHer dusky, thousand-folded pinion waves.

ORESTES

Have then the powers above selected meTo be the herald of a dreadful deed,Which in the drear and soundless realms of nightI fain would hide for ever? 'Gainst my willThy gentle voice constrains me; it demands,And shall receive, a tale of direst woe.Electra, on the day when fell her sire,Her brother from impending doom conceal'd;Him Strophius, his father's relative,Receiv'd with kindest care, and rear'd him upWith his own son, named Pylades, who soonAround the stranger twin'd love's fairest bonds.And as they grew, within their inmost soulsThere sprang the burning longing to revengeThe monarch's death. Unlook'd for, and disguis'd,They reach Mycene, feigning to have broughtThe mournful tidings of Orestes' death,Together with his ashes. Them the queenGladly receives. Within the house they enter;Orestes to Electra shows himself:She fans the fires of vengeance into flame,Which in the sacred presence of a motherHad burn'd more dimly. Silently she leadsHer brother to the spot where fell their sire;Where lurid blood-marks, on the oft-wash'd floor,With pallid streaks, anticipate revenge.With fiery eloquence she pictured forthEach circumstance of that atrocious deed,Her own oppress'd and miserable life,The prosperous traitor's insolent demeanor,The perils threat'ning Agamemnon's raceFrom her who had become their stepmother,Then in his hand the ancient dagger thrust,Which often in the house of TantalusWith savage fury rag'd,—and by her sonWas Clytemnestra slain.

IPHIGENIA

                    Immortal powers!Whose pure and blest existence glides away'Mid ever shifting clouds, me have ye keptSo many years secluded from the world,Retain'd me near yourselves, consign'd to meThe childlike task to feed the sacred fire,And taught my spirit, like the hallow'd flame,With never-clouded brightness to aspireTo your pure mansions,—but at length to feelWith keener woe the horror of my house?O tell me of the poor unfortunate!Speak of Orestes!

ORESTES

O could I speak to tell thee of his death!Forth from the slain one's spouting blood aroseHis mother's ghost;And to the ancient daughters of the nightCries,—"Let him not escape,—the matricide!Pursue the victim, dedicate to you!"They hear, and glare around with hollow eyes,Like greedy eagles. In their murky densThey stir themselves, and from the corners creepTheir comrades, dire Remorse and pallid Fear;Before them fumes a mist of Acheron;Perplexingly around the murderer's browThe eternal contemplation of the pastRolls in its cloudy circles. Once againThe grisly band, commission'd to destroy,Pollute earth's beautiful and heaven-sown fields,From which an ancient curse had banish'd them.Their rapid feet the fugitive pursue;They only pause to start a wilder fear.

IPHIGENIA

Unhappy one; thy lot resembles his,Thou feel'st what he, poor fugitive, must suffer.

ORESTES

What say'st thou? why presume my fate like his?

IPHIGENIA

A brother's murder weighs upon thy soul;Thy younger brother told the mournful tale.

ORESTES

I cannot suffer that thy noble soulShould by a word of falsehood be deceived.In cunning rich and practised in deceitA web ensnaring let the stranger weaveTo snare the stranger's feet; between us twainBe truth!I am Orestes! and this guilty headIs stooping to the tomb, and covets death;It will be welcome now in any shape.Whoe'er thou art, for thee and for my friendI wish deliverance—I desire it not.Thou seem'st to linger here against thy will;Contrive some means of flight, and leave me hereMy lifeless corpse hurl'd headlong from the rock,My blood shall mingle with the dashing waves,And bring a curse upon this barbarous shore!Return together home to lovely Greece,With joy a new existence to commence.

[ORESTES retires.]

IPHIGENIA

At length Fulfilment, fairest child of Jove,Thou dost descend upon me from on high!How vast thine image! Scarce my straining eyeCan reach thy hands, which, fill'd with golden fruitAnd wreaths of blessing, from Olympus' heightShower treasures down. As by his bounteous giftsWe recognize the monarch (for what seemsTo thousands opulence, is naught to him),So you, ye heavenly Powers, are also knownBy bounty long withheld, and wisely plann'd.Ye only know what things are good for us;Ye view the future's wide-extended realm,While from our eye a dim or starry veil The prospect shrouds. Calmly ye hear our prayers,When we like children sue for greater speed.Not immature ye pluck heaven's golden fruit;And woe to him, who with impatient hand,His date of joy forestalling, gathers death.Let not this long-awaited happiness,Which yet my heart hath scarcely realiz'd,Like to the shadow of departed friends,Glide vainly by with triple sorrow fraught!

ORESTES (returning)

Dost thou for Pylades and for thyselfImplore the gods, blend not my name with yours;Thou wilt not save the wretch whom thou wouldst join,But will participate his curse and woe.

IPHIGENIA

My destiny is firmly bound to thine.

ORESTES

No; say not so: alone and unattendedLet me descend to Hades. Though thou shouldstIn thine own veil enwrap the guilty one,Thou couldst not shroud him from his wakeful foes;And e'en thy sacred presence, heavenly maid,But driveth them aside and scares them not.With brazen, impious feet they dare not treadWithin the precincts of this sacred groveYet in the distance, ever and anon,I hear their horrid laughter, like the howlOf famish'd wolves, beneath the tree whereinThe traveler hides. Without, encamp'd they lie,And should I quit this consecrated grove,Shaking their serpent locks, they would arise,And, raising clouds of dust on every side,Ceaseless pursue their miserable prey.

IPHIGENIA

Orestes, canst thou hear a friendly word

ORESTES

Reserve it for one favor'd by the gods.

IPHIGENIA

To thee they give anew the light of hope.

ORESTES

Through clouds and smoke I see the feeble gleamOf the death-stream which lights me down to hell.

IPHIGENIA

Hast thou one sister only, thy Electra?

ORESTES

I knew but one: yet her kind destiny,Which seemed to us so terrible, betimesRemoved an elder sister from the woeWhich o'er the house of Pelops aye impends.O cease thy questions, nor thus league thyselfWith the Erinnys; still they blow away,With fiendish joy, the ashes from my soul,Lest the last embers of the fiery brandThe fatal heritage of Pelops' house,Should there be quenched. Must then the fire for aye,Deliberately kindled and suppliedWith hellish sulphur, sear my tortured soul!

IPHIGENIA

I scatter fragrant incense in the flame.O let the pure, the gentle breath of love,Low murmuring, cool thy bosom's fiery glow.Orestes, fondly lov'd,—canst thou not hear me?Hath the terrific Furies' grisly bandDried up the blood of life within thy veins?Creeps there, as from the Gorgon's direful head,A petrifying charm through all thy limbs?With hollow accents from a mother's blood,If voices call thee to the shades below,May not a sister's word with blessing rifeCall from Olympus' height help-rendering gods?

ORESTES

She calls! she calls!—Dost thou desire my doom?Is there a Fury shrouded in thy form?Who art thou, that thy voice thus horriblyCan harrow up my bosom's inmost depths!

IPHIGENIA

Thine inmost heart reveals it. I am she,—Iphigenia,—look on me, Orestes!

ORESTES

Thou!

IPHIGENIA

My own brother!

ORESTES

                       Hence, away, begone!I counsel thee, touch not these fatal locks!As from Creusa's bridal robe, from meAn inextinguishable fire is kindled.Leave me! Like Hercules, a death of shame,Unworthy wretch, locked in myself, I'll die!

IPHIGENIA

Thou shalt not perish! Would that I might hearOne quiet word from thee! dispel my doubts,Make sure the bliss I have implored so long.A wheel of joy and sorrow in my heart,Ceaseless revolves. I from a man unknownWith horror turn; but with resistless mightMy inmost heart impels me to my brother.

ORESTES

Is this Lyæus' temple? Doth the glowOf holy rage unbridled thus possessThe sacred priestess?

IPHIGENIA

                        Hear me, oh, look up!See how my heart, which hath been closed so longDoth open to the bliss of seeing thee,The dearest treasure that the world contains,—Of falling on thy neck, and folding theeWithin my longing arms, which have till nowMet the embraces of the empty wind.Do not repulse me,—the eternal spring,Whose crystal waters from Parnassus flow,Bounds not more gaily on from rock to rock,Down to the golden vale, than from my heartThe waters of affection freely gush,And round me form a circling sea of bliss.Orestes! O my brother!

ORESTES

                         Lovely nymph!Nor thy caresses, nor thyself I trust;Diana claims attendants more severe,And doth avenge her desecrated fane.Remove thy circling arm! Wilt thou indeedSafety and love upon a youth bestow,And fondly tender him earth's fairest joyUnto my friend, more worthy than myself,Impart thy favors; 'mong yon rocks he roves.Go, seek him; guide him hence, and heed not me.

IPHIGENIA

Brother, command thyself, and better knowThy sister, newly found! Misconstrue notHer pure and heavenly rapture, blaming itAs lustful heat unbridled. O ye gods,Remove delusion from his rigid gaze,Lest that this moment, fraught with bliss supreme,Should make us trebly wretched! She is here,Thine own, thy long-lost sister! From the altarThe goddess rescued me, and placed me here,Secure within her consecrated fane—A captive thou, prepared for sacrifice,And findest here a sister in the priestess.

ORESTES

Unblessèd one! So may the radiant sunThe final horror of our house behold!Is not Electra here? That she with usMay also perish, nor her life prolongFor heavier destiny and direr woe.'Tis well,—I follow, priestess! FratricideIs an old custom of our ancient house;And you, ye gods, I thank, that ye resolveChildless to root me hence. Thee let me counselTo view too fondly neither sun nor stars.Come, follow to the gloomy realms below!As dragons, gender'd in the sulphur pool,Swallow each other with voracious rage,So our accursed race destroys itself.Childless and guiltless come below with me!There's pity in thy look! oh, gaze not so,—'Twas with such looks that Clytemnestra soughtAn entrance to her son Orestes' heart,And yet his uprais'd arm her bosom pierc'd.His mother fell!—Appear, indignant shade!Within the circle step, ye fiends of hell,Be present at the welcome spectacle,The last, most horrible that ye prepare!Nor hate, nor vengeance whets the poniard now;A loving sister is constrain'd to dealThe fatal blow. Weep not! Thou hast no guilt.From earliest infancy I naught have lov'd,As thee I could have lov'd, my sister. Come,The weapon raise, spare not, this bosom rend,And make an outlet for its boiling streams!

[He sinks exhausted.]

IPHIGENIA

Alone I cannot bear this bliss and woe.Where art thou, Pylades? Thine aid I need.

[IPHIGENIA retires.]

SCENE II

ORESTES (recovering from his swoon and standing up)

Give yet another! reach from Lethe's streamThe last reviving draught of cool refreshment!Soon shall its waters in my bosom stillLife's fitful fever; and my spirit thenAdown oblivion's stream shall glide to you,Ye spirits shrouded in eternal mist.With tranquil pleasure in your deep reposeA weary son of earth may lave his soul!—What whisp'ring sounds pervade the dreary grove?What hollow murmurs haunt its twilight gloom?—They gather round to view the stranger guest!Who are you troop in high communion met,Like an assembled family of princes?They mingle peacefully, of every age,Of either sex; godlike, of kindred mould,Appear the gliding figures. Yes, 'tis they,The fathers of my race! With Atreus,In friendly converse glides Thyestes' shade,And children playfully around them sport.Is there no enmity among you now?And is revenge extinguish'd with the sunSo am I also welcome, and may hopeTo mingle in your solemn company.Welcome, my sires! Orestes bids you hail!The seed that ye have sow'd, that hath he reap'd.Laden with curses he descends to you.But burdens here are lighter far to bear.Receive him, oh, receive him in your circle!Thee, Atreus, I revere, and thee, ThyestesHere all are free from enmity and hate.—Show me my father, whom I only onceIn life beheld.—Art thou my father, thou,My mother leading thus familiarly?Dares Clytemnestra reach her hand to theeThen may Orestes also draw near her,And say, Behold thy son!—My ancestors,Behold your son, and bid him welcome here.Among the sons of ancient Tantalus,A kind salute on earth was murder's watchword,And all their joys commence beyond the grave.Ye welcome me! Ye bid me join your circle!Oh, lead me to my honor'd ancestor!Where is our aged sire? Let me beholdThe dear, the venerable head of himWho with the immortal gods in council sat.Ye seem to shudder and to turn away!What may this mean? Suffers the godlike man?Alas! the mighty gods, with ruthless hate,To his heroic breast, with brazen chains,Have cruel pangs indissolubly bound.

SCENE III

ORESTES, IPHIGENIA, PYLADES

ORESTES

How! Are ye come already here below?Welcome, my sister! Still Electra fails;O that some kindly god, with gentle arrow,Her too, full speedily, would downward send!Thee, hapless friend, I must compassionate!Come with me! Come! To Pluto's gloomy throne,There to salute our hosts like stranger guests.

IPHIGENIA

Celestial pair, who from the realms aboveBy night and day shed down the beauteous lightTo cheer mankind, but who may not illumeDeparted spirits, save a mortal pair!A brother's and a sister's anguish pity!For thou, Diana, lov'st thy gentle brotherBeyond what earth and heaven can offer thee;And dost, with quiet yearning, ever turnThy virgin face to his eternal light.Let not my only brother, found so late,Rave in the darkness of insanity!And is thy will, when 'thou didst here conceal me,At length fulfill'd,—wouldst thou to me through himTo him through me, thy gracious aid extend,—Oh, free him from the fetters of this curse,Lest vainly pass the precious hours of safety.

PYLADES

Dost thou not know us, and this sacred grove,And this blest light, which shines not on the dead?Dost thou not feel thy sister and thy friend,Who hold thee living in their firm embrace?Us firmly grasp; we are not empty shades.Mark well my words! Collect thy scatter'd thoughts!Attend! Each moment is of priceless worth,And our return hangs on a slender thread,Which, as it seems, some gracious fate doth spin.

ORESTES (to IPHIGENIA)

My sister, let me for the first time taste,With open hearts pure joy within thine arms!Ye gods, who charge the heavy clouds with dread,And sternly gracious send the long-sought rainWith thunder and the rush of mighty winds,A horrid deluge on the trembling earth;Yet dissipate at length man's dread suspense,Exchanging timid wonder's anxious gazeFor grateful looks and joyous songs of praise,When in each sparkling drop which gems the leaves,Apollo, thousand-fold, reflects his beam,And Iris colors with a magic handThe dusty texture of the parting clouds;Oh, let me also in my sister's arms,And on the bosom of my friend, enjoyWith grateful thanks the bliss ye now bestow;My heart assures me that your curses cease.The dread Eumenides at length retire,The brazen gates of Tartarus I hearBehind them closing with a thunderous clang.A quick'ning odor from the earth ascends,Inviting me to chase, upon its plains,The joys of life and deeds of high emprize.

PYLADES

Lose not the moments which are limited!The favoring gale, which swells our parting sail,Must to Olympus waft our perfect joy.Quick counsel and resolve the time demands.

ACT IV

SCENE I

IPHIGENIA

When the Powers on high decreeFor a feeble child of earthDire perplexity and woe,And his spirit doom to passWith tumult wild from joy to grief,And back again from grief to joy,In fearful alternation;They in mercy then provide,In the precincts of his home,Or upon the distant shore,That to him may never failReady help in hours of need,A tranquil, faithful friend.Oh, bless, ye heavenly powers, our Pylades,And whatsoever he may undertake!He is in fight the vigorous arm of youth,And his the thoughtful eye of age in counsel;For tranquil is his soul; he guardeth thereOf calm a sacred and exhaustless dower,And from its depths, in rich supply, outpoursComfort and counsel for the sore distressed.He tore me from my brother, upon whom,With fond amaze, I gaz'd and gaz'd again;I could not realize my happiness,Nor loose him from my arms, and heeded notThe danger's near approach that threatens us.To execute their project of escape,They hasten to the sea, where in a bayTheir comrades in the vessel lie conceal'dWaiting a signal. Me they have suppliedWith artful answers, should the monarch sendTo urge the sacrifice. Alas! I seeI must consent to follow like a child,I have not learn'd deception, nor the artTo gain with crafty wiles my purposes.Detested falsehood! it doth not relieveThe breast like words of truth: it comforts not,But is a torment in the forger's heart,And, like an arrow which a god directs,Flies back and wounds the archer. Through my heartOne fear doth chase another; perhaps with rage,Again on the unconsecrated shore,The Furies' grisly band my brother seize.Perchance they are surpris'd! Methinks, I hearThe tread of armèd men. A messengerIs coming from the king, with hasty steps.How throbs my heart, how troubled is my soul,Now that I gaze upon the face of one,Whom with a word untrue I must encounter!

SCENE II

IPHIGENIA, ARKAS

ARKAS

Priestess, with speed conclude the sacrifice!Impatiently the king and people wait.

IPHIGENIA

I had perform'd my duty and thy will,Had not an unforeseen impedimentThe execution of my purpose thwarted.

ARKAS

What is it that obstructs the king's commands?

IPHIGENIA

Chance, which from mortals will not brook control.

ARKAS

Possess me with the reason, that with speedI may inform the king, who hath decreedThe death of both.

IPHIGENIA

            The gods have not decreed it.The elder of these men doth bear the guiltOf kindred murder; on his steps attendThe dread Erinnys. In the inner faneThey seized upon their prey, polluting thusThe holy sanctuary. I hasten now,Together with my virgin-train, to batheThe goddess' image in the sea, and thereWith solemn rites its purity restore.Let none presume our silent march to follow!

ARKAS

This hindrance to the monarch I'll announceCommence not thou the rite till he permit.

IPHIGENIA

The priestess interferes alone in this.

ARKAS

An incident so strange the king should know.

IPHIGENIA

Here, nor his counsel nor command avails.

ARKAS

Oft are the great consulted out of form.

IPHIGENIA

Do not insist on what I must refuse.

ARKAS

A needful and a just demand refuse not.

IPHIGENIA

I yield, if thou delay not.

ARKAS

                               I with speedWill bear these tidings to the camp, and soonAcquaint thee, priestess, with the king's reply.There is a message I would gladly bear him;'Twould quickly banish all perplexityThou didst not heed thy faithful friend's advice.

IPHIGENIA

I willingly have done whate'er I could.

ARKAS

E'en now 'tis not too late to change thy purpose.

IPHIGENIA

To do so is, alas, beyond our power.

ARKAS

What thou wouldst shun, thou deem'st impossible.

IPHIGENIA

Thy wish doth make thee deem it possible.

ARKAS

Wilt thou so calmly venture everything?

IPHIGENIA

My fate I have committed to the gods.

ARKAS

The gods are wont to save by human means.

IPHIGENIA

By their appointment everything is done.

ARKAS

Believe me, all doth now depend on thee.The irritated temper of the kingAlone condemns these men to bitter death.The soldiers from the cruel sacrificeAnd bloody service long have been disused;Nay, many, whom their adverse fortunes castIn foreign regions, there themselves have feltHow godlike to the exil'd wandererThe friendly countenance of man appears.Do not deprive us of thy gentle aid!With ease thou canst thy sacred task fulfil;For nowhere doth benignity, which comesIn human form from heaven, so quickly gainAn empire o'er the heart, as where a race,Gloomy and savage, full of life and power,Without external guidance, and oppress'dWith vague forebodings, bear life's heavy load.

IPHIGENIA

Shake not my spirit, which thou canst not bendAccording to thy will.

ARKAS

                    While there is timeNor labor nor persuasion shall be spar'd.

IPHIGENIA

Thy labor but occasions pain to me;Both are in vain; therefore, I pray, depart.

ARKAS

I summon pain to aid me, 'tis a friendWho counsels wisely.

IPHIGENIA

                  Though it shakes my soul,It doth not banish thence my strong repugnance.

ARKAS

Can then a gentle soul repugnance feelFor benefits bestow'd by one so noble?

IPHIGENIA

Yes, when the donor, for those benefits,Instead of gratitude, demands myself.

ARKAS

Who no affection feels doth never wantExcuses. To the king I will relateWhat hath befallen. O that in thy soulThou wouldst revolve his noble conduct to theeSince thy arrival to the present day!

SCENE III

IPHIGENIA (alone)

These words at an unseasonable hourProduce a strong revulsion in my breast;I am alarm'd!—For as the rushing tideIn rapid currents eddies o'er the rocksWhich lie among the sand upon the shore;E'en so a stream of joy o'erwhelm'd my soul.I grasp'd what had appear'd impossible.It was as though another gentle cloudAround me lay, to raise me from the earth,And rock my spirit in the same sweet sleepWhich the kind goddess shed around my brow,What time her circling arm from danger snatched me.My brother forcibly engross'd my heart;I listen'd only to his friend's advice;My soul rush'd eagerly to rescue them,And as the mariner with joy surveysThe less'ning breakers of a desert isle,So Tauris lay behind me. But the voiceOf faithful Arkas wakes me from my dream,Reminding me that those whom I forsakeAre also men. Deceit doth now becomeDoubly detested. O my soul, be still!Beginn'st thou now to tremble and to doubt?Thy lonely shelter on the firm-set earthMust thou abandon? and, embark'd once more,At random drift upon tumultuous waves,A stranger to thyself and to the world?

SCENE IV

IPHIGENIA, PYLADES

PYLADES

Where is she? that my words with speed may tellThe joyful tidings of our near escape!

IPHIGENIA

Oppress'd with gloomy care, I much requireThe certain comfort thou dost promise me.

PYLADES

Thy brother is restor'd! The rocky pathsOf this unconsecrated shore we trodIn friendly converse, while behind us lay,Unmark'd by us, the consecrated grove;And ever with increasing glory shoneThe fire of youth around his noble brow.Courage and hope his glowing eye inspir'd;And his exultant heart resigned itselfTo the delight, the joy, of rescuingThee, his deliverer, also me, his friend.

IPHIGENIA