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

The gods shower blessings on thee, Pylades!And from those lips which breathe such welcome newsBe the sad note of anguish never heard!

PYLADES

I bring yet more,—for Fortune, like a prince,Comes not alone, but well accompanied.Our friends and comrades we have also found.Within a bay they had conceal'd the ship,And mournful sat expectant. They beheldThy brother, and a joyous shout uprais'd,Imploring him to haste the parting hour.Each hand impatient long'd to grasp the oar,While from the shore a gently murmuring breeze,Perceiv'd by all, unfurl'd its wing auspicious.Let us then hasten; guide me to the fane,That I may tread the sanctuary, and winWith sacred awe the goal of our desires.I can unaided on my shoulder bearThe goddess' image: how I long to feelThe precious burden!

(While speaking the last words, he approaches the Temple, without perceiving that he is not followed by IPHIGENIA: at length he turns around.)

                   Why thus lingering stand?Why art thou silent? wherefore thus confus'd?Doth some new obstacle oppose our bliss?Inform me, hast thou to the king announc'dThe prudent message we agreed upon?

IPHIGENIA

I have, dear Pylades; yet wilt thou chide.Thy very aspect is a mute reproach.The royal messenger arriv'd, and I,According to thy counsel, fram'd my speech.He seem'd surpris'd, and urgently besought,That to the monarch I should first announceThe rite unusual, and attend his will.I now await the messenger's return.

PYLADES

Danger again doth hover o'er our heads!Alas! Why hast thou failed to shroud thyselfWithin the veil of sacerdotal rites?

IPHIGENIA

I never have employ'd them as a veil.

PYLADES

Pure soul! thy scruples will destroy alikeThyself and us. Why did I not forseeSuch an emergency, and tutor theeThis counsel also wisely to elude?

IPHIGENIA

Chide only me, for mine alone the blame.Yet other answer could I not returnTo him, who strongly and with reason urgedWhat my own heart acknowledg'd to be right.

PYLADES

The danger thickens; but let us be firm.Nor with incautious haste betray ourselves;Calmly await the messenger's return,And then stand fast, whatever his reply:For the appointment of such sacred ritesDoth to the priestess, not the king, belong.Should he demand the stranger to behold,Who is by madness heavily oppress'd,Evasively pretend, that in the fane,Well guarded, thou retainest him and me.Thus you secure us time to fly with speed,Bearing the sacred treasure from this race,Unworthy its possession. Phoebus sendsAuspicious omens, and fulfils his word,Ere we the first conditions have perform'd.Free is Orestes, from the curse absolv'd!Oh, with the freed one, to the rocky isleWhere dwells the god, waft us, propitious gales.Thence to Mycene, that she may revive;That from the ashes of the extinguish'd hearth,The household gods may joyously arise,And beauteous fire illumine their abode!Thy hand from golden censers first shall strewThe fragrant incense. O'er that threshold thouShalt life and blessing once again dispense,The curse atone, and all thy kindred graceWith the fresh bloom of renovated life.

IPHIGENIA

As doth the flower revolve to meet the sun,Once more my spirit to sweet comfort turns,Struck by thy words' invigorating ray.How dear the counsel of a present friend,Lacking whose godlike power, the lonely oneIn silence droops! for, lock'd within his breast,Slowly are ripen'd purpose and resolve,Which friendship's genial warmth had soon matur'd.

PYLADES

Farewell! I haste to re-assure our friends,Who anxiously await us: then with speedI will return, and, hid within the brake,Attend thy signal.—Wherefore, all at once,Doth anxious thought o'ercloud thy brow serene?

IPHIGENIA

Forgive me! As light clouds athwart the sun,So cares and fears float darkling o'er my soul.

PYLADES

Oh, banish fear! With danger it hath form'dA close alliance,—they are constant friends.

IPHIGENIA

It is an honest scruple, which forbidsThat I should cunningly deceive the king,And plunder him who was my second father.

PYLADES

Him thou dost fly, who would have slain thy brother.

IPHIGENIA

To me, at least, he hath been ever kind.

PYLADES

What Fate commands is not ingratitude.IPHIGENIAAlas! it still remains ingratitude;Necessity alone can justify it.

PYLADES

Thee, before gods and men, it justifies.

IPHIGENIA

But my own heart is still unsatisfied.

PYLADES

Scruples too rigid are a cloak for pride.

IPHIGENIA

I cannot argue, I can only feel.

PYLADES

Conscious of right, thou shouldst respect thyself.

IPHIGENIA

Then only doth the heart know perfect ease.When not a stain pollutes it.

PYLADES

                              In this fanePure hast thou kept thy heart. Life teaches usTo be less strict with others and ourselves;Thou'lt learn the lesson too. So wonderfulIs human nature, and its varied tiesAre so involv'd and complicate, that noneMay hope to keep his inmost spirit pure,And walk without perplexity through life.Nor are we call'd upon to judge ourselves;With circumspection to pursue his path,Is the immediate duty of a man;For seldom can he rightly estimate,Of his past conduct or his present deeds.

IPHIGENIA

Almost thou dost persuade me to consent.

PYLADES

Needs there persuasion when no choice is granted?To save thyself, thy brother, and a friend,One path presents itself, and canst thou askIf we shall follow it?

IPHIGENIA

                   Still let me pause,For such injustice thou couldst not thyselfCalmly return for benefits receiv'd.

PYLADES

If we should perish, bitter self-reproach,Forerunner of despair, will be thy portion.It seems thou art not used to suffer much,when, to escape so great calamity,Thou canst refuse to utter one false word.

IPHIGENIA

Oh, that I bore within a manly heart!Which, when it hath conceiv'd a bold resolve,'Gainst every other voice doth close itself.

PYLADES

In vain thou dost refuse; with iron handNecessity commands; her stern decreeIs law supreme, to which the gods themselvesMust yield submission. In dread silence rulesThe uncounsell'd sister of eternal fate.What she appoints thee to endure,—endure;What to perform,—perform. The rest thou knowest.Ere long I will return, and then receiveThe seal of safety from thy sacred hand.

SCENE V

IPHIGENIA (alone)

I must obey him, for I see my friendsBeset with peril. Yet my own sad fateDoth with increasing anguish move my heart.May I no longer feed the silent hopeWhich in my solitude I fondly cherish'd?Shall the dire curse eternally endure?And shall our fated race ne'er rise againWith blessings crown'd?—All mortal things decay—The noblest powers, the purest joys of lifeAt length subside: then wherefore not the curse?And have I vainly hoped that, guarded here,Secluded from the fortunes of my race,I, with pure heart and hands, some future dayMight cleanse the deep defilement of our house?Scarce was my brother in my circling armsFrom raging madness suddenly restor'd,Scarce had the ship, long pray'd for, near'd the strandOnce more to waft me to my native shores,When unrelenting Fate, with iron hand,A double crime enjoins; commanding meTo steal the image, sacred and rever'd,Confided to my care, and him deceiveTo whom I owe my life and destiny.Let not abhorrence spring within my heart!Nor the old Titan's hate, toward you, ye godsInfix its vulture talons in my breast!Save me and save your image in my soul!An ancient song comes back upon mine ear—I had forgotten it, and willingly—The Parcæ's song, which horribly they sang,What time, hurl'd headlong from his golden seat,Fell Tantalus. They with their noble friendKeen anguish suffer'd; savage was their breastAnd horrible their song. In days gone by,When we were children, oft our ancient nurseWould sing it to us, and I mark'd it well.  Oh, fear the immortals,  Ye children of men!  Eternal dominion  They hold in their hands,  And o'er their wide empire  Wield absolute sway.  Whom they have exalted  Let him fear them most!  Around golden tables,  On cliffs and clouds resting  The seats are prepar'd.  If contest ariseth,  The guests are hurl'd headlong,  Disgrac'd and dishonor'd,  To gloomy abysses,  And, fetter'd in darkness,  Await the vain longing  A juster decree.  But in feasts everlasting,  Around the gold tables  Still dwell the immortals.  From mountain to mountain  They stride; while ascending  From fathomless chasms  The breath of the Titans,  Half-stifled with anguish,  Like volumes of incense  Fumes up to the skies.  From races ill-fated,  Their-aspect joy-bringing,  Oft turn the celestials,  And shun in the children  To gaze on the features  Once lov'd and still speaking  Of their mighty sire.  So chanted the Parcae;  The banish'd one hearkens  The song, the hoar captive  Immur'd in his dungeon,  His children's doom ponders,  And boweth his head.

ACT V

SCENE I

THOAS, ARKAS

ARKAS

I own I am perplex'd and scarcely know'Gainst whom to point the shaft of my suspicion,Whether the priestess aids the captives' flight,Or they themselves clandestinely contrive it.'Tis rumor'd that the ship which brought them hereIs lurking somewhere in a bay conceal'd.This stranger's madness, these new lustral rites,The specious pretext for delay, exciteMistrust, and call aloud for vigilance.

THOAS

Summon the priestess to attend me here!Then go with speed, and strictly search the shore,From yonder headland to Diana's grove:Forbear to violate its sacred depths,A watchful ambush set, attack and seize,According to your wont, whome'er ye find.

[ARKAS retires.]

SCENE II

THOAS (alone)

Fierce anger rages in my riven breast,First against her, whom I esteemed so pure;Then 'gainst myself, whose foolish lenityHath fashion'd her for treason. Man is soonInur'd to slavery, and quickly learnsSubmission, when of freedom quite depriv'd.If she had fallen in the savage handsOf my rude sires, and had their holy rageForborne to slay her, grateful for her life,She would have recogniz'd her destiny,Have shed before the shrine the stranger's blood,And duty nam'd what was necessity.Now my forbearance in her breast alluresAudacious wishes. Vainly I had hopedTo bind her to me; rather she contrivesTo shape an independent destiny.She won my heart through flattery; and nowThat I oppose her, seeks to gain her endsBy fraud and cunning, and my kindness deemsA worthless and prescriptive property.

SCENE III

IPHIGENIA, THOAS

IPHIGENIA

Me hast thou summon'd? wherefore art thou here?

THOAS

Wherefore delay the sacrifice? inform me.

IPHIGENIA

I have acquainted Arkas with the reasons.

THOAS

From thee I wish to hear them more at large.

IPHIGENIA

The goddess for reflection grants thee time.

THOAS

To thee this time seems also opportune.

IPHIGENIA

If to this cruel deed thy heart is steel'd,Thou shouldst not come! A king who meditatesA deed inhuman, may find slaves enow,Willing for hire to bear one-half the curse,And leave the monarch's presence undefil'd.Enrapt in gloomy clouds he forges death,Flaming destruction then his ministersHurl down upon his wretched victim's head,While he abideth high above the storm,Calm and untroubled, an impassive god.

THOAS

A wild song, priestess, issued from thy lips.

IPHIGENIA

No priestess, king! but Agamemnon's daughter;While yet unknown, thou didst respect my wordsA princess now,—and think'st thou to command me?From youth I have been tutor'd to obey,My parents first and then the deity;And thus obeying, ever hath my soulKnown sweetest freedom. But nor then nor nowHave I been taught compliance with the voiceAnd savage mandates of a man.

THOAS

                         Not I,An ancient law doth thy obedience claim.

IPHIGENIA

Our passions eagerly catch hold of lawsWhich they can wield as weapons. But to meAnother law, one far more ancient, speaksAnd doth command me to withstand thee, king!That law declaring sacred every stranger.

THOAS

These men, methinks, lie very near thy heart,When sympathy with them can lead thee thusTo violate discretion's primal law,That those in power should never be provok'd.

IPHIGENIA

Speaking or silent, thou canst always knowWhat is, and ever must be, in my heart.Doth not remembrance of a common doom,To soft compassion melt the hardest heart?How much more mine! in them I see myself.I trembling kneel'd before the altar once,And solemnly the shade of early deathEnviron'd me. Aloft the knife was rais'dTo pierce my bosom, throbbing with warm life;A dizzy horror overwhelm'd my soul;My eyes grew dim; I found myself in safety.Are we not bound to render the distress'dThe gracious kindness from the gods receiv'd?Thou know'st we are, and yet wilt thou compel me?

THOAS

Obey thine office, priestess, not the king.

IPHIGENIA

Cease! nor thus seek to cloak the savage forceWhich triumphs o'er a woman's feebleness.Though woman, I am born as free as man.Did Agamemnon's son before thee stand,And thou requiredst what became him not,His arm and trusty weapon would defendHis bosom's freedom. I have only words;But it becomes a noble-minded manTo treat with due respect the words of woman.

THOAS

I more respect them than a brother's sword.

IPHIGENIA

Uncertain ever is the chance of arms,No prudent warrior doth despise his foe;Nor yet defenceless 'gainst severityHath nature left the weak; she gives him craftAnd, willy, cunning; artful he delays,Evades, eludes, and finally escapes.Such arms are justified by violence.

THOAS

But circumspection countervails deceit.

IPHIGENIA

Which a pure spirit doth abhor to use.

THOAS

Do not incautiously condemn thyself.

IPHIGENIA

Oh, couldst thou see the struggle of my soul,Courageously to ward the first attackOf an unhappy doom, which threatens me!Do I then stand before thee weaponless?Prayer, lovely prayer, fair branch in woman's hand,More potent far than instruments of war,Thou dost thrust back. What now remains for meWherewith my inborn freedom to defend?Must I implore a miracle from heaven?Is there no power within my spirit's depths?

THOAS

Extravagant thy interest in the fateOf these two strangers. Tell me who they areFor whom thy heart is thus so deeply mov'd.

IPHIGENIA

They are—they seem at least—I think them Greeks.

THOAS

Thy countrymen; no doubt they have renew'dThe pleasing picture of return.

IPHIGENIA (after a pause)

 Doth manLay undisputed claim to noble deeds?Doth he alone to his heroic breastClasp the impossible? What call we great?What deeds, though oft narrated, still upliftwith shuddering horror the narrator's soul,But those which, with improbable success,The valiant have attempted? Shall the manWho all alone steals on his foes by night,And raging like an unexpected fire,Destroys the slumbering host, and press'd at lengthBy rous'd opponents on his foeman's steeds,Retreats with booty—be alone extoll'd?Or he who, scorning safety, boldly roamsThrough woods and dreary wilds, to scour the landOf thieves and robbers? Is naught left for us?Must gentle woman quite forego her nature,Force against force employ, like AmazonsUsurp the sword from man, and bloodilyRevenge oppression? In my heart I feelThe stirrings of a noble enterprize;But if I fail—severe reproach, alas!And bitter misery will be my doom.Thus on my knees I supplicate the gods!Oh, are ye truthful, as men say ye are,Now prove it by your countenance and aid;Honor the truth in me! Attend, O kingA secret plot deceitfully is laid;Touching the captives thou dost ask in vain;They have departed hence and seek their friends,Who, with the ship, await them on the shore.The eldest,—whom dire madness lately seiz'd,And hath abandon'd now,—he is Orestes,My brother, and the other Pylades,His early friend and faithful confidant.From Delphi, Phoebus sent them to this shoreWith a divine command to steal awayThe image of Diana, and to himBear back the sister thither, and for thisHe promised to the blood-stained matricide,The Fury-haunted son, deliverance.I have surrender'd now into thy handsThe remnants of the house of Tantalus.Destroy us—if thou canst.

THOAS

                     And dost thou thinkThat the uncultured Scythian will attendThe voice of truth and of humanityWhich Atreus, the Greek, heard not?

IPHIGENIA

                                'Tis heardBy every one, born 'neath whatever clime,Within whose bosom flows the stream of life,Pure and unhinder'd.—What thy thought? O king,What silent purpose broods in thy deep soul?Is it destruction? Let me perish first!For now, deliv'rance hopeless, I perceiveThe dreadful peril into which I haveWith rash precipitancy plung'd my friends.Alas! I soon shall see them bound before me!How to my brother shall I say farewell?I, the unhappy author of his death.Ne'er can I gaze again in his dear eyes!

THOAS

The traitors have contrived a cunning web,And cast it round thee, who, secluded long,Giv'st willing credence to thine own desires.

IPHIGENIA

No, no! I'd pledge my life these men are true.And shouldst thou find them otherwise, O king,Then let them perish both, and cast me forth,That on some rock-girt island's dreary shoreI may atone my folly. Are they true,And is this man indeed my dear Orestes,My brother, long implor'd,—release us both,And o'er us stretch the kind protecting armWhich long hath shelter'd me. My noble sireFell through his consort's guilt,—she by her son;On him alone the hope of Atreus' raceDoth now repose. Oh, with pure heart, pure hand,Let me depart to purify our house.Yes, thou wilt keep thy promise; thou didst swear,That were a safe return provided me,I should be free to go. The hour is come.A king doth never grant like common men,Merely to gain a respite from petition;Nor promise what he hopes will ne'er be claim'd.Then first he feels his dignity supremeWhen he can make the long-expecting happy.

THOAS

As fire opposes water, and doth seekWith hissing rage to overcome its foe,So doth my anger strive against thy words.

IPHIGENIA

Let mercy, like the consecrated flameOf silent sacrifice, encircled roundWith songs of gratitude, and joy, and praise,Above the tumult gently rise to heaven.

THOAS

How often hath this voice assuag'd my soul!

IPHIGENIA

Extend thy hand to me in sign of peace.

THOAS

Large thy demand within so short a time.

IPHIGENIA

Beneficence doth no reflection need.

THOAS

'Tis needed oft, for evil springs from good.

IPHIGENIA

'Tis doubt which good doth oft to evil turn.Consider not; act as thy feelings prompt thee.

SCENE IV

ORESTES (armed), IPHIGENIA, THOAS

ORESTES (addressing his followers)

Redouble your exertions! hold them back!Few moments will suffice; maintain your ground,And keep a passage open to the shipFor me and for my sister.

(To IPHIGENIA, without perceiving THOAS.)

                          Come with speed!We are betray'd,—brief time remains for flight.

(He perceives the king.)

THOAS (laying his hand on his sword)

None in my presence with impunityHis naked weapon wears.

IPHIGENIA

                     Do not profaneDiana's sanctuary with rage and blood.Command your people to forbear awhile,And listen to the priestess, to the sister.

ORESTES

Say, who is he that threatens us?IPHIGENIA                               In himRevere the king, who was my second father.Forgive me, brother, that my childlike heartHath plac'd our fate thus wholly in his hands.I have betray'd your meditated flight,And thus from treachery redeem'd my soul.

ORESTES

Will he permit our peaceable return?

IPHIGENIA

Thy gleaming sword forbids me to reply.

ORESTES (sheathing his sword)

Then speak! thou seest I listen to thy words.

SCENE V

ORESTES, IPHIGENIA, THOAS

Enter PYLADES, soon after him ARKAS both with drawn swords.

PYLADES

Do not delay! our friends are putting forthTheir final strength, and, yielding step by step,Are slowly driven backward to the sea.—A conference of princes find I here?Is this the sacred person of the king?

ARKAS

Calmly, as doth become thee, thou dost stand,O king, surrounded by thine enemies.Soon their temerity shall be chastiz'd;Their yielding followers fly,—their ship is ours,Speak but the word and it is wrapt in flames.

THOAS

Go, and command my people to forbear!Let none annoy the foe while we confer.

[ARKAS retires.]

ORESTES

I willingly consent. Go, Pylades!Collect the remnant of our friends, and waitThe appointed issue of our enterprize.

[PYLADES retires.]

SCENE VI

IPHIGENIA, THOAS, ORESTES

IPHIGENIA

Relieve my cares ere ye begin to speak.I fear contention, if thou wilt not hearThe voice of equity, O king,—if thouWilt not, my brother, curb thy headstrong youth.

THOAS

I, as becomes the elder, check my rage.Now answer me: how dost thou prove thyselfThe priestess' brother, Agamemnon's son?

ORESTES

Behold the sword with which the hero slewThe valiant Trojans. From his murdererI took the weapon, and implor'd the GodsTo grant me Agamemnon's mighty arm,Success, and valor, with a death more noble.Select one of the leaders of thy host,And place the best as my opponent here.Where'er on earth the sons of heroes dwell,This boon is to the stranger ne'er refus'd.

THOAS

This privilege hath ancient custom hereTo strangers ne'er accorded.

ORESTES

                       Then from usCommence the novel custom! A whole raceIn imitation soon will consecrateIts monarch's noble action into law.Nor let me only for our liberty,—Let me, a stranger, for all strangers fight.If I should fall, my doom be also theirs;But if kind fortune crown me with success,Let none e'er tread this shore, and fail to meetThe beaming eye of sympathy and love,Or unconsoled depart!

THOAS

                  Thou dost not seemUnworthy of thy boasted ancestry.Great is the number of the valiant menWho wait upon me; but I will myself,Although advanc'd in years, oppose the foe,And am prepar'd to try the chance of arms.

IPHIGENIA

No, no! such bloody proofs are not requir'd.Unhand thy weapon, king! my lot consider;Rash combat oft immortalizes man;If he should fall, he is renown'd in song;But after ages reckon not the tearsWhich ceaseless the forsaken woman sheds;And poets tell not of the thousand nightsConsum'd in weeping, and the dreary days,Wherein her anguish'd soul, a prey to grief,Doth vainly yearn to call her lov'd one back.Fear warn'd me to beware lest robbers' wilesMight lure me from this sanctuary, and thenBetray me into bondage. AnxiouslyI question'd them, each circumstance explor'd,Demanded proofs, now is my heart assur'd.See here, the mark on his right hand impress'dAs of three stars, which on his natal dayWere by the priest declar'd to indicateSome dreadful deed therewith to be perform'd.And then this scar, which doth his eyebrow cleave,Redoubles my conviction. When a child,Electra, rash and inconsiderate,Such was her nature, loos'd him from her arms,He fell against a tripos. Oh, 'tis he!—Shall I adduce the likeness to his sire,Or the deep rapture of my inmost heart,In further token of assurance, king?

THOAS

E'en though thy words had banish'd every doubt,And I had curb'd the anger in my breast,Still must our arms decide. I see no peace.Their purpose, as thou didst thyself confess,Was to deprive me of Diana's image.And think ye I will look contented on?The Greeks are wont to cast a longing eyeUpon the treasures of barbarians,A golden fleece, good steeds, or daughters fair;But force and guile not always have avail'dTo lead them, with their booty, safely home.

ORESTES