§718οὔτοι πρὸς ἡμῶν γ’ ὤλετʼ· οὐκ ἐρεῖς τόδε.
She certainly did not die by my hand; you will not say this.
§719φεῦ·
Ah!
εἴθ’ ἀνδρὸς ἔλθοις τοῦδέ γ’ ἐς χρείαν ποτέ.
If only you might some day come into need of this man!
§720μνήστευε πολλάς, ὡς θάνωσι πλείονες.
Woo many women, so that more may die!
§721σοὶ τοῦτ’ ὄνειδος· οὐ γὰρ ἤθελες θανεῖν.
That is a reproach to you; for you were not willing to die.
§722φίλον τὸ φέγγος τοῦτο τοῦ θεοῦ, φίλον.
Dear is this light of the god, dear indeed.
§723κακὸν τὸ λῆμα κοὐκ ἐν ἀνδράσιν τὸ σόν.
Your spirit is base, and not to be numbered among men.
§724οὐκ ἐγγελᾷς γέροντα βαστάζων νεκρόν.
You will not mock me as you carry out an old man's corpse.
§725θανῇ γε μέντοι δυσκλεής, ὅταν θάνῃς.
You will die, however, inglorious when you die.
§726κακῶς ἀκούειν οὐ μέλει θανόντι μοι.
I do not care about hearing ill when I am dead.
§727φεῦ φεῦ·
Alas!
τὸ γῆρας ὡς ἀναιδείας πλέων.
How full of shamelessness is old age!
§728ἥδ’ οὐκ ἀναιδής· τήνδ’ ἐφηῦρες ἄφρονα.
She was not shameless; you found her to be foolish.
§729ἄπελθε κἀμὲ τόνδ’ ἔα θάψαι νεκρόν.
Go away, and let me bury this corpse.
I shall go; but you will bury her, being yourself her murderer, and you will still pay the penalty to your marriage-kin.
Indeed, Acastus is no longer among men, if he does not avenge his sister's blood upon you.
Go to ruin now, you yourself and she who dwells with you, childless though your child lives, as you deserve; grow old!
οὐ γὰρ τῷδ’ ἔτ’ ἐς ταὐτὸν στέγος §737νεῖσθʼ· εἰ δ’ ἀπειπεῖν χρῆν με κηρύκων ὕπο §738τὴν σὴν πατρῴαν ἑστίαν, ἀπεῖπον ἄν.
For you shall no longer go to the same roof with me; and if it were necessary for me to renounce through heralds your ancestral hearth, I would have renounced it.
But we—for we must bear the evil before our feet— let us go, so that we may place the corpse on the pyre.
§741ἰὼ ἰώ.
Alas, alas!
σχετλία τόλμης, §742ὦ γενναία καὶ μέγ’ ἀρίστη, §743χαῖρε· πρόφρων σὲ χθόνιός θ’ Ἑρμῆς §744Ἅιδης τε δέχοιτʼ.
Cruel in your daring, o noble and greatly best of women, farewell; may both earthly Hermes and Hades receive you kindly.
And if even there there is something more for the good, sharing in this, may you sit beside the bride of Hades.
§747πολλοὺς μὲν ἤδη κἀπὸ παντοίας χθονὸς §748ξένους μολόντας οἶδ’ ἐς Ἀδμήτου δόμους, §749οἷς δεῖπνα προύθηκʼ· ἀλλὰ τοῦδ’ οὔπω ξένου §750κακίον’ ἐς τήνδ’ ἑστίαν ἐδεξάμην.
Many guests indeed, and from all kinds of land, who have come to the house of Admetus, I know, to whom I have set dinners; but never yet have I received a worse guest than this one at this hearth.
Who, first indeed, seeing our master mourning, entered and dared to cross the gates.
§753ἔπειτα δ’ οὔτι σωφρόνως ἐδέξατο §754τὰ προστυχόντα ξένια, συμφορὰν μαθών, §755ἀλλʼ, εἴ τι μὴ φέροιμεν, ὤτρυνεν φέρειν.
And then, by no means soberly did he accept the hospitality that came to hand, though he had learned of our misfortune, but if we did not bring something, he urged us to bring it.
§756ποτῆρα δ’ ἐν χείρεσσι κίσσινον λαβὼν §757πίνει μελαίνης μητρὸς εὔζωρον μέθυ, §758ἕως ἐθέρμην’ αὐτὸν ἀμφιβᾶσα φλὸξ §759οἴνου· στέφει δὲ κρᾶτα μυρσίνης κλάδοις §760ἄμουσ’ ὑλακτῶν· δισσὰ δ’ ἦν μέλη κλύειν· §761ὃ μὲν γὰρ ᾖδε, τῶν ἐν Ἀδμήτου κακῶν §762οὐδὲν προτιμῶν, οἰκέται δ’ ἐκλαίομεν §763δέσποιναν· ὄμμα δ’ οὐκ ἐδείκνυμεν ξένῳ §764τέγγοντες· Ἄδμητος γὰρ ὧδ’ ἐφίετο.
And taking a cup of ivy-wood in his hands, he drinks the unmixed wine of the dark mother, until the flame of the wine surrounded and warmed him; and he crowns his head with branches of myrtle, howling discordant songs; and there were two songs to be heard: for he sang on the one hand, caring nothing for the evils in the house of Admetus, while we servants wept for our mistress; but we did not show our weeping eyes to the guest, wetting them; for Admetus had so commanded.
§765καὶ νῦν ἐγὼ μὲν ἐν δόμοισιν ἑστιῶ §766ξένον, πανοῦργον κλῶπα καὶ λῃστήν τινα, §767ἣ δ’ ἐκ δόμων βέβηκεν, οὐδ’ ἐφεσπόμην §768οὐδ’ ἐξέτεινα χεῖρʼ, ἀποιμώζων ἐμὴν §769δέσποιναν, ἣ’μοὶ πᾶσί τ’ οἰκέταισιν ἦν §770μήτηρ· κακῶν γὰρ μυρίων ἐρρύετο, §771ὀργὰς μαλάσσουσ’ ἀνδρός.
And now, indeed, I am entertaining in the house a guest who is a cunning thief and some sort of robber, while she has gone from the house, and I did not follow nor stretch out my hand, lamenting my mistress, who was to me and to all the servants a mother; for she saved us from countless evils, softening the angers of her husband.
ἆρα τὸν ξένον §772στυγῶ δικαίως, ἐν κακοῖς ἀφιγμένον;
Do I then hate this guest justly, who has arrived in the midst of evils?
§773οὗτος, τί σεμνὸν καὶ πεφροντικὸς βλέπεις;
You there! Why do you look so solemn and thoughtful?
A servant ought not to be sullen to guests, but should receive them with an affable mind.
§776σὺ δ’ ἄνδρ’ ἑταῖρον δεσπότου παρόνθ’ ὁρῶν, §777στυγνῷ προσώπῳ καὶ συνωφρυωμένῳ §778δέχῃ, θυραίου πήματος σπουδὴν ἔχων.
But you, seeing a man who is a companion of your master present, receive him with a gloomy and frowning face, having your concern for a misfortune outside the house.
§779δεῦρ’ ἔλθʼ, ὅπως ἂν καὶ σοφώτερος γένῃ.
Come here, so that you may also become wiser.
§780τὰ θνητὰ πράγματ’ οἶδας ἣν ἔχει φύσιν;
Do you know what kind of nature mortal affairs have?
§781οἶμαι μὲν οὔ· πόθεν γάρ;
I think not; for how could you?
ἀλλ’ ἄκουέ μου.
But listen to me.
§782βροτοῖς ἅπασι κατθανεῖν ὀφείλεται, §783κοὐκ ἔστι θνητῶν ὅστις ἐξεπίσταται §784τὴν αὔριον μέλλουσαν εἰ βιώσεται·
To all mortals, to die is a debt owed, and there is no mortal who knows for certain whether he will live through the coming tomorrow.
For the course of fortune is unseen where it will go, and it is not to be taught, nor is it captured by skill.
§787ταῦτ’ οὖν ἀκούσας καὶ μαθὼν ἐμοῦ πάρα, §788εὔφραινε σαυτόν, πῖνε, τὸν καθ’ ἡμέραν §789βίον λογίζου σόν, τὰ δ’ ἄλλα τῆς τύχης.
Therefore, having heard and learned these things from me, cheer yourself, drink, and reckon the life of each day as your own, and the rest as belonging to fortune.
And honor also Cyprus, the sweetest of the gods to mortals; for the goddess is gracious.
Dismiss those other things, and obey my words, if indeed I seem to you to speak correctly?
§794οἶμαι μέν.
I think so indeed.
Will you not then, letting go of excessive grief, drink with us, rising above these misfortunes, crowned with wreaths?