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Aegisthus
[1442] Which of you can tell me where those Phocian strangers are, who are said to have brought report for us that Orestes passed away amidst the shipwrecked chariots? [1445] You, you I ask, yes, you, who were in former days so bold. It seems to me that this concerns you most, so you must know best, and can best tell me. Electra
I do know. How could I not? Otherwise I would be an alien to the fortune of my nearest kinsmen. Aegisthus
[1450] Where, then, may the strangers be? Tell me. Electra
Inside. They have found a way to the heart of their hostess. Aegisthus
Have they in fact reported him truly dead? Electra
No, not reported only. They have shown him. Aegisthus
Then I can identify the corpse myself? Electra
[1455] You can, indeed, though it is no enviable sight. Aegisthus
You have indeed given me a joyful greeting, beyond your custom. Electra
May joy be yours, if joy is what you find in these things. Aegisthus
Silence, I say, and throw wide the gates for all Mycenaeans and Argives to see, [1460] so that, if any one of them were once buoyed by empty hopes in this man, now by seeing his corpse, he may welcome my bit in his mouth, instead of waiting until my punishment makes him grow wits by force! Electra
All will be done on my part. Time [1465] has given me the sense to comply with the stronger.
Sophocles. The Electra of Sophocles. Edited with introduction and notes by Sir Richard Jebb. Sir Richard Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1894.
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