§975εὐάγγελοι γένοισθε πράξαντες καλῶς.
May you be successful and bringers of good news.
Now there is no longer any hope for me of the children's lives, no longer; for they are already marching to slaughter.
§978δέξεται νύμφα χρυσέων ἀναδεσμῶν §979δέξεται δύστανος ἄταν· §980ξανθᾷ δ’ ἀμφὶ κόμᾳ θήσει τὸν Ἅιδα §981κόσμον αὐτὰ χεροῖν.
The bride will receive the golden headbands, the wretched woman will receive her ruin; and about her golden hair she will place, with her own hands, the adornment of Hades.
§983πείσει χάρις ἀμβρόσιός τ’ αὐγὰ πέπλων §984χρυσέων τευκτὸν στέφανον περιθέσθαι· §985νερτέροις δ’ ἤδη πάρα νυμφοκομήσει.
The grace and the immortal gleam of the robes will persuade her to put on the golden-wrought crown; and she will already be dressing as a bride among the dead.
Into such a snare will she fall, and into the fate of death; and ruin she will not escape.
§990σὺ δ’, ὦ τάλαν, ὦ κακόνυμφε κηδεμὼν τυράννων, §991παισὶν οὐ κατειδὼς §992ὄλεθρον βιοτᾷ προσάγεις ἀλόχῳ τε §993σᾷ στυγερὸν θάνατον.
And you, wretched man, unhappy bridegroom and kinsman of tyrants, unaware, to your children you bring destruction of life, and to your wife a loathsome death.
§995δύστανε μοίρας ὅσον παροίχῃ.
Wretched man, how far you have wandered from your destiny!
§996μεταστένομαι δὲ σὸν ἄλγος, ὦ τάλαινα παίδων §997μᾶτερ, ἃ φονεύσεις §998τέκνα νυμφιδίων ἕνεκεν λεχέων, ἅ §1000σοι προλιπὼν ἀνόμως §1001ἄλλᾳ ξυνοικεῖ πόσις συνεύνῳ.
And I bewail your grief, wretched mother of children, you who will murder your children for the sake of a bridal bed, which your husband has unlawfully abandoned and dwells with another bedfellow.
§1002δέσποιν’, ἀφεῖνται παῖδες οἵδε σοὶ φυγῆς, §1003καὶ δῶρα νύμφη βασιλὶς ἀσμένη χεροῖν §1004ἐδέξατ’· εἰρήνη δὲ τἀκεῖθεν τέκνοις.
Mistress, these children have been released from exile for you, and the royal bride gladly received the gifts with her hands; and there is peace for the children from that quarter.
§1005ἔα.
Ah!
§1005aτί συγχυθεῖσ’ ἕστηκας ἡνίκ’ εὐτυχεῖς;
Why do you stand confused when you are fortunate?
§1008αἰαῖ.
Alas!
§1008aτάδ’ οὐ ξυνῳδὰ τοῖσιν ἐξηγγελμένοις.
This is not in harmony with what has been announced.
§1009αἰαῖ μάλ’ αὖθις.
Alas indeed once more!
Can it be that I am announcing some misfortune, unaware of it, and have been mistaken in my hope of a good messenger?
§1011ἤγγειλας οἷ’ ἤγγειλας· οὐ σὲ μέμφομαι. ·
You announced what you announced; I do not blame you.
§1012τί δαὶ κατηφεῖς ὄμμα καὶ δακρυρροεῖς;
Why then do you cast down your eyes and shed tears?
There is great necessity for me, old man; for these things the gods and I, plotting evilly, have devised.
§1015θάρσει· κάτει τοι καὶ σὺ πρὸς τέκνων ἔτι.
Be of good courage; you too will yet be brought back home by your children.
§1016ἄλλους κατάξω πρόσθεν ἡ τάλαιν’ ἐγώ.
Before that, I, wretched woman, will bring others down.
You are certainly not the only one to be separated from your children; one who is mortal must bear misfortunes lightly.
§1019δράσω τάδ’.
I will do so.
ἀλλὰ βαῖνε δωμάτων ἔσω §1020καὶ παισὶ πόρσυν’ οἷα χρὴ καθ’ ἡμέραν.
But go inside the house, and prepare for the children what is necessary day by day.
§1021ὦ τέκνα τέκνα, σφῷν μὲν ἔστι δὴ πόλις §1022καὶ δῶμ’, ἐν ᾧ, λιπόντες ἀθλίαν ἐμέ, §1023οἰκήσετ’ αἰεὶ μητρὸς ἐστερημένοι· §1024ἐγὼ δ’ ἐς ἄλλην γαῖαν εἶμι δὴ φυγάς, §1025πρὶν σφῷν ὀνάσθαι κἀπιδεῖν εὐδαίμονας, §1026πρὶν λέκτρα καὶ γυναῖκα καὶ γαμηλίους §1027εὐνὰς ἀγῆλαι λαμπάδας τ’ ἀνασχεθεῖν.
Oh children, children, you indeed have a city and a home, in which, leaving wretched me behind, you will dwell forever, deprived of your mother; but I will go to another land indeed as an exile, before I can have joy of you or see you happy, before I can adorn your bridal beds and wives and bridal couches, or hold up the wedding torches.
§1028ὦ δυστάλαινα τῆς ἐμῆς αὐθαδίας.
Oh, how wretched I am because of my own stubbornness!
§1029ἄλλως ἄρ’ ὑμᾶς, ὦ τέκν’, ἐξεθρεψάμην, §1030ἄλλως δ’ ἐμόχθουν καὶ κατεξάνθην πόνοις, §1031στερρὰς ἐνεγκοῦσ’ ἐν τόκοις ἀλγηδόνας.
In vain then, oh children, did I rear you, in vain did I toil and was worn out with labors, having endured severe pangs in childbirth.
§1032ἦ μήν ποθ’ ἡ δύστηνος εἶχον ἐλπίδας §1033πολλὰς ἐν ὑμῖν, γηροβοσκήσειν τ’ ἐμὲ §1034καὶ κατθανοῦσαν χερσὶν εὖ περιστελεῖν, §1035ζηλωτὸν ἀνθρώποισι· νῦν δ’ ὄλωλε δὴ §1036γλυκεῖα φροντίς.
Surely once, wretched that I am, I had many hopes in you, both that you would nurse my old age and when I died would shroud me well with your hands, an object of envy for men; but now indeed is destroyed sweet concern.
σφῷν γὰρ ἐστερημένη §1037λυπρὸν διάξω βίοτον ἀλγεινόν τ’ ἐμοί.
For deprived of you two, I shall drag out a life painful and grievous to myself.
And you will no longer see your mother with your dear eyes, having departed to another form of life.
§1040φεῦ φεῦ·
Ah, ah!
τί προσδέρκεσθέ μ’ ὄμμασιν, τέκνα;
Why do you look at me with your eyes, children?
§1041τί προσγελᾶτε τὸν πανύστατον γέλων;
Why do you smile at me with this very last smile?
§1042αἰαῖ· τί δράσω;
Alas, what shall I do?
καρδία γὰρ οἴχεται, §1043γυναῖκες, ὄμμα φαιδρὸν ὡς εἶδον τέκνων.
For my heart is gone, women, when I see the bright eyes of my children.
I could not do it; farewell to my plans of before!
ἄξω παῖδας ἐκ γαίας ἐμούς.
I will lead my children out of this land.
Why must I, by hurting their father with these children's evils, gain twice as many evils for myself?
§1048οὐ δῆτ’ ἔγωγε.
I certainly will not do it.
χαιρέτω βουλεύματα.
Farewell to my plans!
§1049καίτοι τί πάσχω;
And yet, what am I experiencing?
βούλομαι γέλωτ’ ὀφλεῖν §1050ἐχθροὺς μεθεῖσα τοὺς ἐμοὺς ἀζημίους;
Do I want to incur laughter by letting my enemies go unpunished?
§1051τολμητέον τάδ’.
This must be dared.
ἀλλὰ τῆς ἐμῆς κάκης, §1052τὸ καὶ προσέσθαι μαλθακοὺς λόγους φρενί.
But what cowardice of mine, even to admit soft words into my mind!
§1053χωρεῖτε, παῖδες, ἐς δόμους.
Go, children, into the house.
And whoever for whom it is not lawful to be present at my sacrifices, let him see to it; I will not weaken my hand.
§1056ἆ ἆ.
Ah, ah!
§1056aμὴ δῆτα, θυμέ, μὴ σύ γ’ ἐργάσῃ τάδε· §1057ἔασον αὐτούς, ὦ τάλαν, φεῖσαι τέκνων· §1058ἐκεῖ μεθ’ ἡμῶν ζῶντες εὐφρανοῦσί σε.
Do not indeed, my heart, do not you indeed commit this deed; let them go, wretched one, spare the children; living there with us, they will gladden you.
§1059μὰ τοὺς παρ’ Ἅιδῃ νερτέρους ἀλάστορας, §1060οὔτοι ποτ’ ἔσται τοῦθ’ ὅπως ἐχθροῖς ἐγὼ §1061παῖδας παρήσω τοὺς ἐμοὺς καθυβρίσαι.
No, by the under-world avenging deities in Hades, it shall never be that I will abandon my children to enemies to insult.
§1064πάντως πέπρακται ταῦτα κοὐκ ἐκφεύξεται.
In any case, this has been done, and she will not escape.