§889—τύχα τύχα δυσπάλαιστος ἥκει·
Chorus: Fortune, a fortune hard to wrestle with, has come.
§889bαἰαῖ.
Admetus: Alas!
§890—πέρας δέ γ’ οὐδὲν ἀλγέων τίθης.
Chorus: And yet you place no end to your grief.
§890bἒ ἔ.
Admetus: Ah, ah!
§891—βαρέα μὲν φέρειν, ὅμως δὲ. . .
Chorus: Heavy to bear, but still...
§891bφεῦ φεῦ.
Admetus: Alas, alas!
§892—τλᾶθʼ· οὐ σὺ πρῶτος ὤλεσας. . .
Chorus: Endure; you are not the first to lose...
§892bἰώ μοί μοι.
Admetus: Ah me, ah me!
§893—γυναῖκα·
Chorus:...a wife.
συμφορὰ δ’ ἑτέρους ἑτέρα §894πιέζει φανεῖσα θνατῶν.
One misfortune after another presses upon and crushes mortal men.
Admetus: O long mournings and griefs for loved ones under the earth!
§897τί μ’ ἐκώλυσας ῥῖψαι τύμβου §898τάφρον ἐς κοίλην καὶ μετ’ ἐκείνης §899τῆς μέγ’ ἀρίστης κεῖσθαι φθίμενον;
Why did you prevent me from throwing myself into the hollow trench of the tomb, and lying dead with her, who was by far the best?
Hades would have held two most faithful souls instead of one, crossing together the subterranean lake.
Chorus: There was a certain man of my kin, whose only son, worthy of lamentation, perished in his house, an only child.
ἀλλ’ ἔμπας §907ἔφερε κακὸν ἅλις, ἄτεκνος ὤν, §908πολιὰς ἐπὶ χαίτας §909ἤδη προπετὴς ὢν §910βιότου τε πόρσω.
But nevertheless he bore the evil with moderation, being childless, though he had gray hair, and was already leaning toward the end, and far advanced in life.
§912ὦ σχῆμα δόμων, πῶς εἰσέλθω;
Admetus: O form of the house, how shall I enter?
How shall I dwell in it, now that my fortune is changing?
οἴμοι.
Alas!
πολὺ γὰρ τὸ μέσον·
For the difference is great.
§915τότε μὲν πεύκαις σὺν Πηλιάσιν §916σύν θ’ ὑμεναίοις ἔστειχον ἔσω, §917φιλίας ἀλόχου χέρα βαστάζων, §918πολυάχητος δ’ εἵπετο κῶμος, §919τήν τε θανοῦσαν κἄμ’ ὀλβίζων, §920ὡς εὐπατρίδαι καὶ ἀπ’ ἀμφοτέρων §921ὄντες ἀρίστων σύζυγες εἶμεν· §922νῦν δ’ ὑμεναίων γόος ἀντίπαλος §923λευκῶν τε πέπλων μέλανες στολμοὶ §924πέμπουσί μ’ ἔσω §925λέκτρων κοίτας ἐς ἐρήμους.
Then, indeed, with Pelian torches and bridal songs I entered within, holding the hand of my beloved wife, and a loud-sounding revelry followed, blessing both the deceased and me, saying that we, being noble and from best parents on both sides, were united as spouses; but now, instead of bridal songs, a hostile wailing, and instead of white garments, black robes send me within to the empty couches of my bed.
Chorus: Alongside a happy fate, this grief came to you who had been inexperienced in evil.
ἀλλ’ ἔσωσας §929βίοτον καὶ ψυχάν.
But you saved your life and soul.
§930ἔθανε δάμαρ, ἔλιπε φιλίαν·
Your wife died, she left her love behind.
§931τί νέον τόδε;
What is new in this?
Already for many men has death loosed their wives from them.
Admetus: Friends, I consider the fate of my wife more fortunate than my own, although it does not seem so.
For no pain will ever touch her, and she has ceased from many labors with glory.
But I, who ought not to live, having escaped my destiny, shall drag out a painful life; now at last I understand.
§941πῶς γὰρ δόμων τῶνδ’ εἰσόδους ἀνέξομαι;
For how shall I endure the entrances of this house?
Whom should I address, and by whom addressed, might I find a pleasant entry?
ποῖ τρέψομαι;
Whither shall I turn?
§944ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἔνδον ἐξελᾷ μ’ ἐρημία, §945γυναικὸς εὐνὰς εὖτ’ ἂν εἰσίδω κενὰς §946θρόνους τ’ ἐν οἷσιν ἷζε, καὶ κατὰ στέγας §947αὐχμηρὸν οὖδας, τέκνα δ’ ἀμφὶ γούνασι §948πίπτοντα κλαίῃ μητέρʼ, οἳ δὲ δεσπότιν §949στένωσιν οἵαν ἐκ δόμων ἀπώλεσαν.
For the desolation within will drive me out, whenever I see the bed of my wife empty, and the chairs on which she sat, and throughout the house the dusty floor, and the children falling at my knees weeping for their mother, and the servants lamenting what a mistress they have lost from the house.
§950τὰ μὲν κατ’ οἴκους τοιάδʼ· ἔξωθεν δέ με §951γάμοι τ’ ἐλῶσι Θεσσαλῶν καὶ ξύλλογοι §952γυναικοπληθεῖς· οὐ γὰρ ἐξανέξομαι §953λεύσσων δάμαρτος τῆς ἐμῆς ὁμήλικας.
Such are the things within the house; but from without, the marriages of Thessalians and the assemblies thronged with women will drive me away; for I shall not endure looking at the age-mates of my wife.
§954ἐρεῖ δέ μ’ ὅστις ἐχθρὸς ὢν κυρεῖ τάδε· §955Ἰδοῦ τὸν αἰσχρῶς ζῶνθʼ, ὃς οὐκ ἔτλη θανεῖν, §956ἀλλ’ ἣν ἔγημεν ἀντιδοὺς ἀψυχίᾳ §957πέφευγεν Ἅιδην·
And whoever happens to be my enemy will say this: 'Look at him living shamefully, who did not dare to die, but escaped Hades by giving in exchange the woman he married, through cowardice.
εἶτ’ ἀνὴρ εἶναι δοκεῖ;
And then does he seem to be a man?
He hates his parents, though he himself is unwilling to die.' Such a reputation, in addition to my evils, I shall have.
τί μοι ζῆν δῆτα κέρδιον, φίλοι, §961κακῶς κλύοντι καὶ κακῶς πεπραγότι;
Why then is it better for me to live, friends, hearing evil of myself and having fared evilly?
§962ἐγὼ καὶ διὰ μούσας §963καὶ μετάρσιος ᾖξα, καὶ §964πλείστων ἁψάμενος λόγων §965κρεῖσσον οὐδὲν Ἀνάγκας §966ηὗρον, οὐδέ τι φάρμακον §967Θρῄσσαις ἐν σανίσιν, τὰς §968Ὀρφεία κατέγραψεν §970γῆρυς, οὐδ’ ὅσα Φοῖβος Ἀσκληπιάδαις ἔδωκε §971φάρμακα πολυπόνοις ἀντιτεμὼν βροτοῖσιν.
Chorus: I too have flown through the Muses and soared aloft, and having touched upon very many doctrines, I found nothing stronger than Necessity (Ananke), nor any remedy on the Thracian tablets, which the voice of Orpheus wrote down, nor any remedies which Phoebus gave to the sons of Asclepius, prescribing them for weary mortals.
She alone has no altars nor image of a goddess to approach, nor does she listen to sacrifices.
Do not, O mistress, come upon me more heavily than in my past life.
For whatever Zeus nods to, with your help he accomplishes this.
You subdue even the iron among the Chalybes by force, nor is there any pity in your severe resolve.
§984καὶ σ’ ἐν ἀφύκτοισι χερῶν εἷλε θεὰ δεσμοῖς.
And you, too, the goddess has seized in the inescapable bonds of her hands.
But endure; for you will never bring up by weeping those who have died below.
Even the dark children of the gods fade away in death.
§991φίλα μὲν ὅτ’ ἦν μεθ’ ἡμῶν, §992φίλα δὲ καὶ θανοῦσ’ ἔσται, §994γενναιοτάταν δὲ πασᾶν ἐζεύξω κλισίαις ἄκοιτιν.
Beloved she was when she was with us, and beloved she will be even in death, and you yoked to your bed the most noble wife of all.