§746ἀδύνατος, οὐδὲν ἄλλο πλὴν λέγειν μόνον.
[He is] powerless, and [can do] nothing else except only talk.
§747ἡγοῦ, τέκνον μοι, δεῦρ’ ὑπ’ ἀγκάλαις σταθείς, §748σύ τ’, ὦ τάλαινα· χείματος γὰρ ἀγρίου §749τυχοῦσα λιμένας ἦλθες εἰς εὐηνέμους.
Peleus: Lead on, my child, standing here under my arms, and you too, unhappy woman; for having met with a savage storm you have come into well-sheltered harbors.
Andromache: O old man, may the gods give well to you and to yours, who saved my child and me, the unhappy one.
§752ὅρα δὲ μὴ νῷν εἰς ἐρημίαν ὁδοῦ §753πτήξαντες οἵδε πρὸς βίαν ἄγωσί με, §754γέροντα μὲν σ’ ὁρῶντες, ἀσθενῆ δ’ ἐμὲ §755καὶ παῖδα τόνδε νήπιον· σκόπει τάδε, §756μὴ νῦν φυγόντες εἶθ’ ἁλῶμεν ὕστερον.
But see to it lest, having crouched in a lonely part of the road, they lead me away by force, seeing that you are an old man, and I am weak, and this child is an infant; consider these things, lest we flee now and then be captured later.
§757οὐ μὴ γυναικῶν δειλὸν εἰσοίσεις λόγον·
Peleus: Do not bring in the cowardly talk of women.
§758χώρει· τίς ὑμῶν ἅψεται;
Go; who will touch you?
κλαίων ἄρα §759ψαύσει.
He will touch you to his grief.
θεῶν γὰρ οὕνεχ’ ἱππικοῦ τ’ ὄχλου §760πολλῶν θ’ ὁπλιτῶν ἄρχομεν Φθίαν κάτα· §761ἡμεῖς δ’ ἔτ’ ὀρθοὶ κοὐ γέροντες, ὡς δοκεῖς, §762ἀλλ’ εἴς γε τοιόνδ’ ἄνδρ’ ἀποβλέψας μόνον §763τροπαῖον αὐτοῦ στήσομαι, πρέσβυς περ ὤν.
For by the favor of the gods we rule over many cavalry and heavy infantry throughout Phthia; and we are still upright and not old, as you think, but merely by looking at such a man, I, old though I am, will set up a trophy over him.
For a brave old man is better than many young men; for what need is there for a coward to be physically strong?
Chorus: May I not be born [of low birth], but may I be a partaker of good fathers and wealthy houses.
§770εἴ τι γὰρ πάσχοι τις ἀμήχανον, ἀλκᾶς §771οὐ σπάνις εὐγενέταις, §772κηρυσσομένοισι δ’ ἀπ’ ἐσθλῶν δωμάτων §773τιμὰ καὶ κλέος· οὔτοι λείψανα τῶν ἀγαθῶν §775ἀνδρῶν ἀφαιρεῖται χρόνος· ἁ δ’ ἀρετὰ §776καὶ θανοῦσι λάμπει.
For if anyone should suffer some helpless thing, there is no lack of defense for the well-born, and honor and fame are heralded from noble houses; time does not take away the remnants of good men, and virtue shines even for those who have died.
It is better not to have a dishonorable victory than to overthrow justice with power and envy.
§781ἡδὺ μὲν γὰρ αὐτίκα τοῦτο βροτοῖσιν, §782ἐν δὲ χρόνῳ τελέθει §784ξηρὸν καὶ ὀνείδεσιν ἔγκειται δόμων.
For this is sweet for mortals at the moment, but in time it becomes dry and lies as a reproach on the house.
§785ταύταν ᾔνεσα ταύταν καὶ φέρομαι βιοτάν, §787μηδὲν δίκας ἔξω κράτος ἐν θαλάμοις §788καὶ πόλει δύνασθαι.
This is the life I praise and pursue, that no power outside of justice should prevail in the chambers and in the city.
§789ὦ γέρον Αἰακίδα, §790πείθομαι καὶ σὺν Λαπίθαισί σε Κενταύ- §791ρων ὁμιλῆσαι δορὶ §792κλεινοτάτῳ· καὶ ἐπ’ Ἀργῴου δορὸς ἄξενον ὑγρὰν §794ἐκπερᾶσαι ποντιᾶν Ξυμπληγάδων §795κλεινὰν ἐπὶ ναυστολίαν, §796Ἰλιάδα τε πόλιν ὅτε πάρος §798εὐδόκιμον ὁ Διὸς ἶνις ἀμφέβαλε φόνῳ, §800κοινὰν τὰν εὔκλειαν ἔχοντ’ §801Εὐρώπαν ἀφικέσθαι.
O old Aeacid, I believe that you too battled with the Centaurs with the Lapiths with your most glorious spear; and on the ship Argo crossed the inhospitable wave of the sea's Symplegades in a glorious voyage, and when formerly the son of Zeus threw slaughter around the famous city of Ilium, you reached Europe having a common share in the glorious fame.
Nurse: O dearest women, how evil succeeds evil on this day.
§804δέσποινα γὰρ κατ’ οἶκον, Ἑρμιόνην λέγω, §805πατρός τ’ ἐρημωθεῖσα συννοίᾳ θ’ ἅμα, §806οἷον δέδρακεν ἔργον Ἀνδρομάχην κτανεῖν §807καὶ παῖδα βουλεύσασα, κατθανεῖν θέλει, §808πόσιν τρέμουσα, μὴ ἀντὶ τῶν δεδραμένων §809ἐκ τῶνδ’ ἀτίμως δωμάτων ἀποσταλῇ, §810ἢ κατθάνῃ κτείνουσα τοὺς οὐ χρὴ κτανεῖν.
For the mistress in the house, I mean Hermione, deserted by her father and at the same time in anxiety, because of what a deed she has done, having plotted to kill Andromache and her child, wants to die, fearing her husband, lest for her deeds she be sent away dishonorably from this house, or die having tried to kill those whom she ought not to kill.
§811μόλις δέ νιν θέλουσαν ἀρτῆσαι δέρην §812εἴργουσι φύλακες δμῶες ἔκ τε δεξιᾶς §813ξίφη καθαρπάζουσιν ἐξαιρούμενοι.
And with difficulty her guarding servants keep her from wishing to hang her neck, and snatch away swords from her right hand, taking them away.
Thus she deeply regrets and has realized that she did not do well in what she did before.
ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν §816δέσποιναν εἴργουσ’ ἀγχόνης κάμνω, φίλαι· §817ὑμεῖς δὲ βᾶσαι τῶνδε δωμάτων ἔσω §818θανάτου νιν ἐκλύσασθε· τῶν γὰρ ἠθάδων §819φίλων νέοι μολόντες εὐπιθέστεροι.
I then, my friends, am exhausted in keeping my mistress from hanging; but you, going inside this house, release her from death; for new friends, when they come, are more persuasive than accustomed ones.
Chorus: Indeed, we hear in the house the cry of the servants concerning what you came to report.
§822δείξειν δ’ ἔοικεν ἡ τάλαιν’ ὅσον στένει §823πράξασα δεινά· δωμάτων γὰρ ἐκπερᾷ §824φεύγουσα χεῖρας προσπόλων πόθῳ θανεῖν.
And the unhappy woman seems about to show how much she laments having done terrible things; for she is coming out of the house, fleeing the hands of her servants, in her desire to die.
§825ἰώ μοί μοι·
Hermione: Woe is me, me!
I will tear my hair and inflict destructive scratchings of my nails.
§828ὦ παῖ, τί δράσεις;
Nurse: O child, what will you do?
σῶμα σὸν καταικιῇ;
Will you mutilate your body?
§829αἰαῖ αἰαῖ·
Hermione: Alas, alas!
Away from my hair, into the air, fine-spun veil!
§832τέκνον, κάλυπτε στέρνα, σύνδησαι πέπλους.
Nurse: Child, cover your breast, bind your robes.
Clear and manifest and unconcealed are the things we have done to our husband.
§836ἀλγεῖς, φόνον ῥάψασα συγγάμῳ σέθεν;
Nurse: Are you grieving because you plotted murder against your husband's consort?
Hermione: Yes, indeed, I groan for my destructive daring, which I did.
§840συγγνώσεταί σοι τήνδ’ ἁμαρτίαν πόσις.
Nurse: Your husband will forgive you this error.
Give it back, O dear one, give it back, so that I may strike a mortal blow.
τί με βρόχων εἴργεις;
Why do you keep me from nooses?
§845ἀλλ’ εἴ σ’ ἀφείην μὴ φρονοῦσαν, ὡς θάνῃς;
Nurse: But should I let you go, when you are not in your right mind, so that you may die?
§846οἴμοι πότμου.
Hermione: Alas for my fate!
§847ποῦ μοι πυρὸς φίλα φλόξ;
Where is a friendly flame of fire for me?
§848ποῦ δ’ εἰς πέτρας ἀερθῶ,
Or where can I be raised to the rocks...?