§799ἀλλʼ οἱ θεοὶ σθένουσι χὡ κείνων κρατῶν §800Νόμος· νόμῳ γὰρ τοὺς θεοὺς ἡγούμεθα §801καὶ ζῶμεν ἄδικα καὶ δίκαιʼ ὡρισμένοι· §802ὃς ἐς σʼ ἀνελθὼν εἰ διαφθαρήσεται, §803καὶ μὴ δίκην δώσουσιν οἵτινες ξένους §804κτείνουσιν ἢ θεῶν ἱερὰ τολμῶσιν φέρειν, §805οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδὲν τῶν ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἴσον. §806ταῦτʼ οὖν ἐν αἰσχρῷ θέμενος αἰδέσθητί με· §807οἴκτιρον ἡμᾶς, ὡς γραφεύς τʼ ἀποσταθεὶς §808ἰδοῦ με κἀνάθρησον οἷʼ ἔχω κακά. §809τύραννος ἦ ποτʼ, ἀλλὰ νῦν δούλη σέθεν, §810εὔπαις ποτʼ οὖσα, νῦν δὲ γραῦς ἄπαις θʼ ἅμα, §811ἄπολις ἔρημος, ἀθλιωτάτη βροτῶν §812οἴμοι τάλαινα, ποῖ μʼ ὑπεξάγεις πόδα; §813ἔοικα πράξειν οὐδέν· ὦ τάλαινʼ ἐγώ. §814τί δῆτα θνητοὶ τἄλλα μὲν μαθήματα §815μοχθοῦμεν ὡς χρὴ πάντα καὶ ματεύομεν, §816Πειθὼ δὲ τὴν τύραννον ἀνθρώποις μόνην §817οὐδέν τι μᾶλλον ἐς τέλος σπουδάζομεν §818μισθοὺς διδόντες μανθάνειν, ἵνʼ ἦν ποτε §819πείθειν ἅ τις βούλοιτο τυγχάνειν θʼ ἅμα; §820πῶς οὖν ἔτʼ ἄν τις ἐλπίσαι πράξειν καλῶς; §821οἱ μὲν γὰρ ὄντες παῖδες οὐκέτʼ εἰσί μοι, §822αὕτη δʼ ἐπʼ αἰσχροῖς αἰχμάλωτος.
But the gods are strong, and Law which rules over them. For by law we believe in the gods, and live, having defined injustice and justice. If this law, having come up to you, shall be destroyed, and those who kill guest-friends or dare to plunder the temples of the gods shall not pay the penalty, there is no longer any justice among men. Therefore, regarding these things as shameful, respect me. Pity us; and standing back like a painter, look at me and observe what evils I have. Once I was a queen, but now I am your slave; once blessed with children, but now an childless old woman, cityless, desolate, the most wretched of mortals. Alas, wretched me! Whither do you withdraw your foot from me? I seem destined to achieve nothing; oh, wretched me! Why indeed do we mortals labor at all other branches of learning, and search them out as is necessary, but regarding Persuasion, the sole sovereign over men, do we not at all the more strive to master it to the end, paying rewards to learn, so that one might sometimes persuade what one wishes and obtain it at the same time? How then could anyone still hope to fare well? For my children who once existed are no more, and this girl is a captive under shameful conditions.
οἴχομαι· §823καπνὸν δὲ πόλεως τόνδʼ ὑπερθρῴσκονθʼ ὁρῶ. §824καὶ μήν — ἴσως μὲν τοῦ λόγου κενὸν τόδε, §825Κύπριν προβάλλειν· ἀλλʼ ὅμως εἰρήσεται· §826πρὸς σοῖσι πλευροῖς παῖς ἐμὴ κοιμίζεται §827ἡ φοιβάς, ἣν καλοῦσι Κασάνδραν Φρύγες. §828ποῦ τὰς φίλας δῆτʼ εὐφρόνας δείξεις, ἄναξ, §829ἢ τῶν ἐν εὐνῇ φιλτάτων ἀσπασμάτων §830χάριν τίνʼ ἕξει παῖς ἐμή, κείνης δʼ ἐγώ; §833ἄκουε δή νυν· τὸν θανόντα τόνδʼ ὁρᾷς; §834τοῦτον καλῶς δρῶν ὄντα κηδεστὴν σέθεν §835δράσεις.
I am ruined; and I see this smoke of the city rising above. And yet — perhaps this is empty in my speech, to put forward Cypris; but nevertheless it shall be said. At your side my daughter sleeps, the inspired maid, whom the Phrygians call Cassandra. Where indeed will you show favor for those dear nights, lord, or what gratitude will my child have for those dearest embraces in bed, and I through her, in return for them? Listen then now; do you see this dead boy? By doing well to him, you will be doing well to him who is your kinsman.
ἑνός μοι μῦθος ἐνδεὴς ἔτι. §836εἴ μοι γένοιτο φθόγγος ἐν βραχίοσι §837καὶ χερσὶ καὶ κόμαισι καὶ ποδῶν βάσει §838ἢ Δαιδάλου τέχναισιν ἢ θεῶν τινος, §839ὡς πάνθʼ ὁμαρτῇ σῶν ἔχοιντο γουνάτων §840κλαίοντʼ, ἐπισκήπτοντα παντοίους λόγους. §841ὦ δέσποτʼ, ὦ μέγιστον Ἕλλησιν φάος, §842πιθοῦ, παράσχες χεῖρα τῇ πρεσβύτιδι §843τιμωρόν, εἰ καὶ μηδέν ἐστιν, ἀλλʼ ὅμως. §844ἐσθλοῦ γὰρ ἀνδρὸς τῇ δίκῃ θʼ ὑπηρετεῖν §845καὶ τοὺς κακοὺς δρᾶν πανταχοῦ κακῶς ἀεί. §846δεινόν γε, θνητοῖς ὡς ἅπαντα συμπίτνει, §847καὶ τὰς ἀνάγκας οἱ νόμοι διώρισαν, §848φίλους τιθέντες τούς γε πολεμιωτάτους §849ἐχθρούς τε τοὺς πρὶν εὐμενεῖς ποιούμενοι. §850ἐγὼ σὲ καὶ σὸν παῖδα καὶ τύχας σέθεν, §851Ἑκάβη, διʼ οἴκτου χεῖρά θʼ ἱκεσίαν ἔχω, §852καὶ βούλομαι θεῶν θʼ οὕνεκʼ ἀνόσιον ξένον §853καὶ τοῦ δικαίου τήνδε σοι δοῦναι δίκην, §854εἴ πως φανείη γʼ ὥστε σοί τʼ ἔχειν καλῶς, §855στρατῷ τε μὴ δόξαιμι Κασάνδρας χάριν §856Θρῄκης ἄνακτι τόνδε βουλεῦσαι φόνον. §857ἔστιν γὰρ ᾗ ταραγμὸς ἐμπέπτωκέ μοι· §858— Τὸν ἄνδρα τοῦτον φίλιον ἡγεῖται στρατός, §859τὸν κατθανόντα δʼ ἐχθρόν·
One word is still lacking to my speech. If only I could have a voice in my arms, and hands, and hair, and the tread of my feet, either by the arts of Daedalus or of some god, so that they all might together cling to your knees, weeping, urging speech of every kind. Oh master, oh greatest light to the Greeks, be persuaded, stretch out a helping hand to this old woman, even if she is nothing, yet nevertheless. For it is the part of a noble man both to serve justice and to treat the wicked badly always and everywhere. Agamemnon: It is strange how everything happens to mortals, and laws have defined the necessities, making those who are most hostile to be friends, and making those who were formerly friendly to be enemies. Hecuba, I hold you, your child, and your fortunes in pity, and I receive your suppliant hand; and I wish, both for the sake of the gods and of justice, to grant you this vengeance against the unholy guest-friend, if somehow it might appear so as to be well for you, and I might not seem to the army, for Cassandra's sake, to have plotted this murder against the king of Thrace. For there is a point in which confusion has fallen upon me; the army considers this man to be friendly, and the dead boy to be an enemy.
εἰ δὲ σοὶ φίλος §860ὅδʼ ἐστί, χωρὶς τοῦτο κοὐ κοινὸν στρατῷ. — §861πρὸς ταῦτα φρόντιζʼ· ὡς θέλοντα μέν μʼ ἔχεις §862σοὶ ξυμπονῆσαι καὶ ταχὺν προσαρκέσαι, §863βραδὺν δʼ, Ἀχαιοῖς εἰ διαβληθήσομαι. §864φεῦ. §864aοὐκ ἔστι θνητῶν ὅστις ἔστʼ ἐλεύθερος· §865ἢ χρημάτων γὰρ δοῦλός ἐστιν ἢ τύχης, §866ἢ πλῆθος αὐτὸν πόλεος ἢ νόμων γραφαὶ §867εἴργουσι χρῆσθαι μὴ κατὰ γνώμην τρόποις. §868ἐπεὶ δὲ ταρβεῖς τῷ τʼ ὄχλῳ πλέον νέμεις, §869ἐγώ σε θήσω τοῦδʼ ἐλεύθερον φόβου. §870σύνισθι μὲν γάρ, ἤν τι βουλεύσω κακὸν §871τῷ τόνδʼ ἀποκτείναντι, συνδράσῃς δὲ μή. §872ἢν δʼ ἐξ Ἀχαιῶν θόρυβος ἢ ʼπικουρία §873πάσχοντος ἀνδρὸς Θρῃκὸς οἷα πείσεται §874φανῇ τις, εἶργε μὴ δοκῶν ἐμὴν χάριν.
If this boy is dear to you, this is separate and not shared by the army. Consider these things; for you have me willing to labor with you and to give swift assistance, but slow, if I am to be accused among the Achaeans. Hecuba: Alas! There is no mortal who is free; for he is either a slave to wealth or to fortune, or the multitude of the city or the written laws prevent him from acting according to his judgment. But since you are afraid and attribute too much to the crowd, I will make you free from this fear. For share in the knowledge, if I plot some evil against him who killed this boy, but do not join in the deed. And if some uproar or assistance from the Achaeans should appear when the Thracian man suffers what he will suffer, restrain them, without appearing to do so for my sake.