§1196βροτὸς εἰς θεὸν ἀνάψαι.
for a mortal to fasten (blame) upon a god.
§1197ὀττοτοτοτοῖ, θανόντα δεσπόταν γόοις
Ototototoi!
I will begin the lamentation for my dead master with wailing, in the custom of the departed.
Ototototoi! In response, wretched, old, and unfortunate that I am, I weep.
§1203θεοῦ γὰρ αἶσα, θεὸς ἔκρανε συμφοράν.
For it is the dispensation of the god; a god has brought this disaster to pass.
O beloved, you have left your home desolate, alas for me, leaving me, a wretched old man, childless and reft.
§1208θανεῖν θανεῖν σε, πρέσβυ, χρῆν πάρος τέκνων.
Old man, you should have died, you should have died, before your children.
Shall I not tear my hair, shall I not strike upon my head the destructive blow of my hand?
O city, Phoebus has deprived me of two children.
O unfortunate old man, who have suffered and witnessed evils, what life will you have for the future?
Childless and desolate, with no end to my evils, I shall endure my labors to the end, until I reach Hades.
§1218μάτην δέ σ’ ἐν γάμοισιν ὤλβισαν θεοί.
And in vain did the gods bless you in your marriage.
Flown away, all is gone; it lies far from those lofty boasts.
§1221μόνος μόνοισιν ἐν δόμοις ἀναστρέφῃ.
Alone, you wander in a lonely house.
§1222οὐκέτ’ εἶ, πόλις, πόλις,
You are no more, city, city!
§1223σκῆπτρά τ’ ἐρρέτω τάδε
Let this scepter perish!
And you, O daughter of Nereus in your dark caves, shall see me falling in utter ruin!
§1226ἰὼ ἰώ·
Io, io!
§1226aτί κεκίνηται;
What is this motion?
τίνος αἰσθάνομαι §1227θείου;
What divine presence do I perceive?
κοῦραι, λεύσσετ’ ἀθρήσατε·
Maidens, look, behold!
Here some divinity, ferrying through the white upper air, steps upon the horse-pasturing plains of Phthia.
Peleus, because of our past marriage, I, Thetis, have come, leaving the halls of Nereus.
§1233καὶ πρῶτα μέν δὴ τοῖς παρεστῶσιν κακοῖς §1234μηδέν τι λίαν δυσφορεῖν παρῄνεσα· §1235κἀγὼ γάρ, ἣν ἄκλαυτα χρῆν τίκτειν τέκνα, §1236ἀπώλεσ’ ἐκ σοῦ παῖδα τὸν ταχὺν πόδας §1237Ἀχιλλέα τεκοῦσα πρῶτον Ἑλλάδος.
And first of all, I advise you not to bear too heavily your present evils; for I too, who ought to have borne children free from tears, lost the child I had by you, the swift-footed Achilles, the first of Greece.
§1238ὧν δ’ οὕνεκ’ ἦλθον σημανῶ, σὺ δ’ ἐνδέχου.
But I will reveal why I have come, and do you receive it.
§1239τὸν μὲν θανόντα τόνδ’ Ἀχιλλέως γόνον §1240θάψον πορεύσας Πυθικὴν πρὸς ἐσχάραν, §1241Δελφοῖς ὄνειδος, ὡς ἀπαγγέλλῃ τάφος §1242φόνον βίαιον τῆς Ὀρεστείας χερός·
Carry this dead son of Achilles to the Pythian hearth and bury him, a reproach to the Delphians, so that his tomb may proclaim the violent murder by the hand of Orestes.
§1243γυναῖκα δ’ αἰχμάλωτον, Ἀνδρομάχην λέγω, §1244Μολοσσίαν γῆν χρὴ κατοικῆσαι, γέρον, §1245Ἑλένῳ συναλλαχθεῖσαν εὐναίοις γάμοις, §1246καὶ παῖδα τόνδε, τῶν ἀπ’ Αἰακοῦ μόνον §1247λελειμμένον δή.
And the captive woman, I mean Andromache, must dwell in the Molossian land, old man, joined in marriage to Helenus, and this child with her, who is indeed the only one left of the race of Aeacus.
βασιλέα δ’ ἐκ τοῦδε χρὴ §1248ἄλλον δι’ ἄλλου διαπερᾶν Μολοσσίας §1249εὐδαιμονοῦντας· οὐ γὰρ ὧδ’ ἀνάστατον §1250γένος γενέσθαι δεῖ τὸ σὸν κἀμόν, γέρον, §1251Τροίας τε· καὶ γὰρ θεοῖσι κἀκείνης μέλει, §1252καίπερ πεσούσης Παλλάδος προθυμίᾳ.
And from him, king after king must pass in succession through Molossia, in prosperity; for it is not right that your race and mine, old man, and that of Troy, should be thus utterly destroyed; for Troy also is a care to the gods, although it fell through the zeal of Pallas.
§1253σὲ δ’, ὡς ἂν εἰδῇς τῆς ἐμῆς εὐνῆς χάριν, §1255κακῶν ἀπαλλάξασα τῶν βροτησίων §1256ἀθάνατον ἄφθιτόν τε ποιήσω θεόν.
And as for you, so that you may know the favor of my bed, I will rid you of mortal evils and make you an immortal and imperishable god.
And thereafter, in the halls of Nereus, you, a god, shall dwell with me, a goddess, for the rest of time.
§1259ἔνθεν κομίζων ξηρὸν ἐκ πόντου πόδα §1260τὸν φίλτατον σοὶ παῖδ’ ἐμοί τ’ Ἀχιλλέα §1261ὄψῃ δόμους ναίοντα νησιωτικοὺς §1262Λευκὴν κατ’ ἀκτὴν ἐντὸς Εὐξείνου πόρου.
From there, keeping your foot dry as you rise from the sea, you shall see your dearest son and mine, Achilles, dwelling in his island home on the White Strand within the Euxine Sea.
§1263ἀλλ’ ἕρπε Δελφῶν εἰς θεόδμητον πόλιν §1264νεκρὸν κομίζων τόνδε, καὶ κρύψας χθονὶ §1265ἐλθὼν παλαιᾶς χοιράδος κοῖλον μυχὸν §1266Σηπιάδος ἵζου· μίμνε δ’, ἔστ’ ἂν ἐξ ἁλὸς §1267λαβοῦσα πεντήκοντα Νηρῄδων χορὸν §1268ἔλθω κομιστήν σου·
But go to the god-built city of Delphi, carrying this dead body, and when you have buried him in the earth, go and seat yourself in the hollow nook of the ancient Sepian rock; and wait, until I come from the sea bringing the chorus of fifty Nereids to conduct you.
τὸ γὰρ πεπρωμένον §1269δεῖ σ’ ἐκκομίζειν· Ζηνὶ γὰρ δοκεῖ τάδε.
For you must fulfill what is fated; for this seems good to Zeus.
§1270παῦσαι δὲ λύπης τῶν τεθνηκότων ὕπερ· §1271πᾶσιν γὰρ ἀνθρώποισιν ἥδε πρὸς θεῶν §1272ψῆφος κέκρανται κατθανεῖν τ’ ὀφείλεται.
And cease from your grief for the dead; for this decree has been ratified by the gods for all mortals, and to die is a debt we owe.
O noble lady, O noble bedfellow, offspring of Nereus, farewell!
ταῦτα δ’ ἀξίως §1275σαυτῆς τε ποιεῖς καὶ τέκνων τῶν ἐκ σέθεν.
You act worthily of yourself and of the children born of you.
§1276παύω δὲ λύπην σοῦ κελευούσης, θεά, §1277καὶ τόνδε θάψας εἶμι Πηλίου πτυχάς, §1278οὗπερ σὸν εἷλον χερσὶ κάλλιστον δέμας.
And I will cease my grief at your command, goddess, and when I have buried this man I will go to the glens of Pelion, where I captured your most beautiful form in my hands.
§1279κᾆτ’ οὐ γαμεῖν δῆτ’ ἔκ τε γενναίων χρεὼν §1280δοῦναί τ’ ἐς ἐσθλούς, ὅστις εὖ βουλεύεται, §1281κακῶν δὲ λέκτρων μὴ’πιθυμίαν ἔχειν, §1282μηδ’ εἰ ζαπλούτους οἴσεται φερνὰς δόμοις;
And so, should not anyone who is wise marry from noble houses and give his daughters to the good, and not have a desire for low marriages, even if they bring immensely rich dowries to the house?
§1284πολλαὶ μορφαὶ τῶν δαιμονίων, §1285πολλὰ δ’ ἀέλπτως κραίνουσι θεοί· §1286καὶ τὰ δοκηθέντ’ οὐκ ἐτελέσθη, §1287τῶν δ’ ἀδοκήτων πόρον ηὗρε θεός.
Many are the forms of divine interventions, and many things the gods bring to pass unexpectedly; and what was expected is not fulfilled, but for the unexpected a god finds a way.
§1288τοιόνδ’ ἀπέβη τόδε πρᾶγμα.
Such was the end of this matter.