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 Seneca 
 
 Hercules Fur ens 
 
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 THE LIBRARY 
 
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 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 Mrs. Elmer T. Merrill
 
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 -OF 
 
 ELMER T. MERRILL. 
 
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 HERCULES WRENS: 
 
 A TKAGEDY OF SENECA. 
 
 TRANSLATED BY 
 
 ^Z>_AMIDES 
 
 JAM CyERULEIS EVECTUS EQNIS— Seneca 
 
 MIDDLETOWN : 
 
 AUGUSTUS PUTNAM, PUBLISHER 
 
 1857.
 
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress in the year 1857, 
 
 By Augustus Putnam, 
 in the Clerks Office of the District Court of Connecticut.
 
 Jf5'7 
 
 HERCULES FUBEN8. 
 
 PERSONS REPRESENTED. 
 
 Juno, Wife to Jupiter. 
 
 Hercules, Son to Jupiter, a Theban Hero. 
 
 Megara, Wife to Hercules. 
 
 Lycus, a Theban Usurper. 
 
 Amphitryon, Reputed Father to Hercules. 
 
 Theseus, Companion to Hercules. 
 
 Chorus of Thebans. 
 
 SCENE IN THEBES. 
 
 ACT FIRST. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 Juno. 
 
 I, an abandoned sister of the Thunderer, (this name alone is 
 left me now,) have left Jove, always alienated from me, and the 
 temples of the sky, and driven from heaven, have given up my 
 place to mistresses. I must propitiate the earth, for mistresses 
 hold heaven. Here, from a lofty station in the northern sky, the 
 Bear, a lustrous constellation, guides the Grecian fleets ; and 
 here, where, as the spring advances, day is lengthened, Taurus 
 shines, who bore Europa through the Tyrian waves; and here, the 
 wandering Pleiades look with foreboding aspect on the ships and 
 sea ; and here Orion with his threatening club affrights the gods : 
 here Perseus has his stars : here the twin sons of Tyndarus, a bril- 
 liant constellation, shine, and those, for whose delivery the float- 
 ing island rested. Nor are Semele and Bacchus all, who have 
 been numbered with the gods : that no spot may be free from 
 shame, the heavens bear the Crown of Ariadne. But I am com- 
 plaining of too old affronts. How often has that hateful land of 
 

 
 
 Thebes alone, profuse of shameless women, borne :ny husband 
 6ons ! Alcmene is allowed to go aloft and hold my place, my 
 victor ; and her son too, for whose birth the world gave up a day, 
 and Phoebus, ordered to retain his brightness sunk beneath the 
 Ocean, late illumed the Eastern sea, Alcides, has a promised seat 
 in heaven. My wrath shall not thus die away : my raging soul 
 shall cherish lasting hatred, and my cruel grief shall rupture peace 
 and wage eternal war. What war? Whatever mouster hateful 
 Earth has fathered, Hercules hasconqucred; and whatever frightful, 
 dreadful, loathesome, fierce and savage thing the sea or air affords, 
 has been subdued and tamed ; and yet he lives and strengthens by 
 his evils, and enjoys my rage : he makes my very hate his praise : 
 by my too harsh commands I have made known his father : I have 
 been the cause of his renown : his valor unsubdued is worshipped 
 where the sun brings back the morning, and where he renews the 
 evening, and where Ethiopia's coasts are scorched by his near 
 torch : throu gh all the worl d he is declared a god. Already 
 monsters fail me ; and it is less difficult for Hercules (o execute my 
 orders, than for me to find commands. He gladly undertakes what- 
 ever I impose on him. What harsh commands of Eurystheus can 
 harm the eager youth ? He even bears for weapons what he once 
 has feared and overcome : he comes armed with the Lion and the 
 Hydra. Earth is too contracted for him : he has even burst the 
 gates of hell, and bears his booty from its conquered king up to 
 the world. That it has been returned is not enough : the 
 eompact of the shades has perished. I myself have seen him scat- 
 tering the gloom of the infernal deep, and hurling to his father 
 plunder from his vanquished brother god. Why did he not drag 
 out the king himself, of equal power with Jove, subdued and 
 bound with chains, and seizing captured Erebus unbar the Styx ? 
 An exit for the shades has been laid open from the deepest cavern, 
 and the secrets of dread Death arc brought to light. And now, 
 the prison of the shades unbarred, he fiercely triumphs over 
 me, and with a haughty hand he drags the dismal dog through 
 Grecian cities. I have seen the clay retire, and the sun shake with 
 fear at sight of Cerberus : a trembling has comeovermc, and look- 
 ing on the conquered monster's triple necks, I scarce have dared im- 
 pose my orders. But I make too light complaints ; for heaven 
 ■ias cause to fear, that he, who has subdued the lower world, will 
 also gel possession of the upper. He will not ascend to heaven.
 
 5 
 
 like Bacchus, in a quiet way, but he will strew his path with ruin 
 and will wish to rule an empty world. He boasts of his tried 
 strength ; and by supporting heaven he has learned his power to 
 wage successful war against it ; he has placed his head beneath 
 its pillars, and the weight of the enormous mass bent not his 
 shoulders : heaven's center rested on the neck of Hercules. 
 He bore the burden, which the stars, and heaven, and I 
 heaped on him, unsubdued. He seeks a way to heaven. Go, 
 Revenge, go, thwart his monstrous plots 1 Rush upon him ! 
 Tear him in pieces with thy hands 1 [To herself.'] Why 
 vent such hate ? Let wild beasts go, and let Eurystheus, 
 wearied with commanding, rest. Release the Titans, daring to 
 oppose the power of Jove. Open the cave of the Sicilian peak 
 and let the Doric island, quaking with the outstretched giant, 
 loose the neck of the terrific monster, bound beneath it. Let the 
 lofty Moon bring forth new beasts. But he has conquered these. 
 Seekest Alcides' equal ? There is none besides himself. Let him 
 now fight against himself. Let Furies, summoned from the low- 
 est depths of Tartarus, attend him : let their blazing locks strew 
 fire upon him : let their savage hands inflict the snaky blows. 
 [ To Hercules.] Now g o, tho u boaster : seek the temples of the 
 sky ! Despise the things of earth ! Dost thou believe, Inso- 
 lence, that thou hast even now escaped the Styx and the abode of 
 Death ? I'll here show the infernals to thee. I'll call up the 
 goddess Discord, hid in darkness dense beyond the place of 
 exile of the wicked shades, whom a huge cavern in the mountain 
 opposite protects. I'll bring her forth, and what remains behind 
 I'll bring from Pluto's lowest realm. Let hateful Crime come up, 
 and fierce Impiety licking his blood, and Madness, and wild Phren- 
 zy, always armed against himself. This, this accomplice shall 
 my vengeance use. Begin, ye slaves of Pluto ! Rouse, and shake 
 the burning pine, aud let Megaera lead the troop equipped with 
 frightful scorpions, and with cruel hand snatch from the blazing 
 pile the wasted beam ! Do it ! Have vengeance for the profanation 
 of the Styx ! Let fiercer fires than rage in ^Etna's caverns burn 
 his soul ! That Hercules delirious may be driven on with frantic 
 violence, I first must rave. Juno, why dost thou not now rave ? 
 O look on me, ye Fates, on me first maddened! Tell me if I am con- 
 triving plots unworthy of his father's wife ! Now let my hate be 
 •hanged to rage ! Let him returning see his children safe, I pray,
 
 and may he come with lusty arm ! I've found a day, in which the 
 hated strength of Hercules shall be my pleasure : let him be his 
 own, as he has been my victor: let him long to die, though just 
 returned from the infernal pit ! Here let it profit me that he is 
 son of Jove ! I'll stand near by, and that his arrows go from an 
 unerring string I'll stay his hand. I'll guide the darts of raging 
 Hercules, and now at last I'll favor him in battle. When the 
 deed is done, his father may admit those hands to heaven. Now 
 the contest shall begin : the day dawns, and the bright sun rises 
 in the saffron East, [licit.] 
 
 SCENE SECOND- 
 chorus. 
 
 Now, only here and there, the stars shine dimly in the western 
 sky. Night, driven back by the returning Day, withdraws her ro- 
 ving fires. Lucifer chases off the twinkling host : the seven-star- 
 red Arcadian Bear, a lofty constellation in the northern heavens, 
 greets the morning with the Wain reversed. Already Titan, borne 
 aloft by his celestial steeds, looks down on (Eta's bights ; and now 
 the thickets, famed by the Cadmean Bacchants, sparkle, sprinkled 
 with the light ; and Phoebus' sister vanishes but to return again. 
 Hard toil begins and wakes the cares of men, and opes their homes. 
 The herdsmen graze their flocks, turned out upon the pasture white 
 with the cold frost. The hornless calf sports freely in the open 
 meadow, and his dam replenishes her just drained teats. The 
 wanton kid strolls on the tender grass capriciously. The nightin- 
 gale sits warbling on the topmost branch, and joys, surrounded by 
 her chirping young, to spread her plumage to the rising sun ; and 
 the surrounding birdlings greet the day with their united voices. 
 The precarious sailor spreads the sails before the winds, which fill 
 the dangling folds : the angler, sitting on a beetling rock, prepares 
 his tempting hook, or leaning forward eyes his prey with his right 
 hand pulled down : he feels the jerking fish upon the line. Such 
 is the peaceful life of those, who live in calm retirement, and enjoy 
 a home contented with its little portion and a prospect of subsis- 
 tence from their fields. But anxious cares and trembling fears
 
 roam through the city in an endless throng. One, sleepless, watches 
 at the haughty gates and portals inaccessible of royal palaces. 
 Another heaps up treasure, gazing on his wealth with infinite de- 
 light, and yet is poor among his hoarded gold : the favor of the 
 people takes another by surprise, and the rude populace, inconstant 
 as the wave, raise him inflated as with empty air : another meanly 
 bargains for the noisy Forum's brawls, and lets his angry threats 
 for hire. But few know calm repose, who, mindful of the swift- 
 winged years, enjoy returnless scenes. Be joyful while the 
 Fates permit : life hastens in its rapid course, and with the 
 flying day," the rapid year revolves. The stubborn Sisters do their 
 work, and roll not back their threads. The family of man 
 are borne to meet the unrelenting Fates, uncertain of their 
 destiny ; and of our own accord we seek the Stygian waves. With 
 too brave soul, Hercules, thou dost make haste to see the joy- 
 less world. The Fates exact their strict demands : if they com- 
 mand to go, no one has power to stay, nor can a man put off the 
 day decreed. The urn receives the summoned nations. Let_r_e^ 
 nown bear one through every land, and bubbling fame resound 
 his praise in every city, and exalt him to the starry skies : another 
 go aloft in his triumphal chariot : let my own land conceal me in 
 a safe and secret home. Hoary old age creeps on the slothful ; 
 and the safe but meager fortune of a little house awaits them in a 
 humble place : aspiring valor falls from lofty hights. But Megara 
 approaches, sad, and with dishevelled hair, attended by a few com- 
 panions, and the sire of Hercules walks slow with age. [Exeuni.}. 
 
 
 
 ACT SECOND. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 
 Megara, Amphitryon. 
 Meg. — thou great ruler of Olympus, judge of heaven, now' 
 at length grant respite from his grievous troubles, and an end to 
 slaughter ! No day ever shone upon me but beset with care : 
 the end of one calamity is the beginning of the next : another ene- 
 my's forthwith prepared for his return : before he reaches his re- 
 joicing home, he goes commanded to another war. Nor is there
 
 8 
 
 \nv other time for rest allowed, than while he is receiving his com- 
 mands. Juno has chased him from his very birth : was even in- 
 fancy exempt ? He conquered monsters ere he knew their names : 
 the crested snakes approached him with their double mouths, the 
 infant crept to meet them : looking on the serpents' fiery eyes 
 with calm and placid countenance, endured their pressing coils 
 with careless air, and crushing with his tender hand their swelling 
 throats, he practiced for the Hydra. The swift Hind of Mamalus, 
 with golden horns, was overtaken in the chase. jNeniea's greatest 
 dread, the Lion, groaned beneath the stifling grasp of Hercules. 
 Why need I cite the filthy stables of the herd of Diomedes, and 
 the king he gave the royal steeds for feed ; and why the bristly 
 Boar of Mamalus, in the dense woods of Erymanthus, wont to 
 shake Arcadia's groves ; and why the Bull, the terror of a hundred 
 tribes ? Among the distant flocks of the Hesperian nation, Ger- 
 yon, the triple-bodied herdsman of the Spanish shore, was slain : 
 his herd, as booty, driven from the farthest West. Cithseron fed 
 the herd, he grazed upon the Ocean's shore. When bade to pen- 
 etrate the regions of the torrid sun. and those parched realms, 
 which noon-day burns, he thrust to either side the mountains, tore 
 away the barrier, and made a passage for the rushing ocean. 
 Afterward he made a sally on the Gardens of the fruitful grove, 
 and bore away the booty from the serpent guardian. Aye, and 
 did he not at last by fire defeat the fierce Lernean beast of many 
 heads, and teach him how to die ? Did he not drag the dire 
 Stymphalian birds, which often shut the light of day out with their 
 spreading wings, down from the very clouds ? The maiden queen, 
 who rules the Thermodoutian race, subdued him not, who never 
 stained his virtuous bed ; nor did the labor of the famed Augean 
 stables shun his hands prepared for every bold attempt. Of what 
 avail have these things been ? He's gone from the defended world. 
 Earth feels the absence of the author of her peace. Successful 
 crime is deemed but righteousness : the good are subject to the 
 wicked : justice yields to force, and fear suppresses law. I have 
 seen sons, the rightful claimants of a father's throne, struck down 
 with murderous hand before my eyes, and noble Cadmus' very last 
 descendant slain. I've seen the head and kingly crown togeth- 
 er crushed. O, who has tears enough for Thebes ? Thebes, 
 birth-place of many gods, what tyrant dost thou fear ? The land 
 from whose rich glebe and fruitful bosom sprang a band of youth,
 
 with sword up-drawn, whose walls Amphion, Jove-begotten built, 
 of rocks led thither by melodious music : to whose city Jove 
 has come from heaven, which has entertained the gods and borne 
 them sons, and (may the thought b? right,) perchance will bear 
 them more, is held in slavish bonds. race of Cadmus, Amphi- 
 on's state how hast thou fallen ! Dost thou crouch before a coward 
 exile, who escaping from his banishment afflicts thee with his pre- 
 sence ? He, who chases monsters over land and sea, and breaks 
 in pieces cruel sceptres with a righteous hand, now absent is a 
 slave and he himself endures what he has rescued others from; 
 and banished Lycus holds the sway of Thebes, the land of Her- 
 cules. He shall not hold it long : he'll rise and seek revenge, and 
 quick will make his borne among the stars : he'll find, or make a 
 way. Come safely, and return, I pray, and come at length, a 
 victor, to thy conquered home. Come forth, my husband, and 
 break through the darkness scattered by thy hand 1 If there 
 is no returning passage, and the way is shut, now rend the 
 earth, and come, and bring with thee whatever lies enshrouded in 
 the gloom of night. As once between the sundered mountains 
 thou didst make a headlong passage for the rapid stream, when 
 Tempe cleft by the strong blow lay open : smitten by thy might the 
 mountains here and there fell down, and the opposing piles were 
 thrust aside, Peneus ran in an unwonted course ; so now burst 
 forth and seek thy parents and thy children and thy native land, 
 and bring the guard of the infernal gate with thee ; and bring to 
 light what greedy time has hid so long from view ; and drive the 
 nations long forgetful of themselves and unaccustomed to the light 
 of day before thee. If thou bringest only what has been command- 
 ed thee, the booty is unworthy thee. But I, uncertain of my fate, 
 demand too great exploits, When shall I see that day, in which 
 I shall embrace thee, and when shall I clasp thy hand ? when will 
 my long complaints persuade thy slow return unmindful of me? Ru- 
 ler of the gods, to thee a hundred bulls shall bring their unyoked 
 necks : to thee I will perform the secrets rites, goddess of the 
 harvest ; and to thee with silent faith mysterious Eleusin shall 
 send up high-reaching flames. Then I'll believe my brothers' life 
 is given back, and that my father lives again and rules his former 
 realm. If any greater power than thine retains thee bound below, 
 we follow. Either do thou safely save us all by thy return, or take 
 us all to thee ! Thou shalt receive us, and no other god shall lift 
 again the broken down. 2
 
 10 
 
 Amph. — My daughter, who dost keep with chaste fidelity the 
 bed and sons of the great-minded Hercules, turn now thy mind to 
 better thoughts, aud rouse thy courage. He will soon be present 
 nobler, as he always is from his exploits. 
 
 Meg. — What mortals too unhappy wish, they readily believe 
 will come to pass. 
 
 Amph. — True, what they fear too greatly, they believe can never 
 be averted nor endured. An expectation of misfortune always 
 leads to fear. 
 Meg. — Submerged and buried and weighed down by all the earth 
 upon him, how can he ascend to us ? 
 
 Amph. — As well as then, when through the burning regions, 
 and the desert sands, which billow like the rolling sea, he crossed 
 the twice receding and returning flood ; and when from his aban- 
 doned ship, stuck fast with grounded keel upon the shoals of Syr- 
 tis, made his way on fe ot across the sea. 
 
 Meg. — A hostile Fate spares not the greatest virtue. No one 
 safely can expose himself to dangers so incessant long. Misfortune 
 will at some time find the victim, which she often has passed by. 
 But see ! that savage Lycus comes with threats upon his coun- 
 tenance, and waving in his hand another's sceptre, walks with such 
 a gait as best befits his guilty soul, [Exuent.'j 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 
 Lycus, Megara, Amphitryon. 
 
 Lyc. — [alone.] I am king of the opulent land of Thebes and all, 
 that the winding boundary of Phocis surrounds with luxuriant soil, 
 and Ismenus laves, and Cithaeron can see from his loftiest peak, 
 and the narrow Isthmus dividing the seas overlooks: not a lazy heir, 
 do I hold the old titles, a father has left me : I have not my birth 
 from a royal line, nor a family known by a name of renown, but il- 
 lustrious valor is mine. He, who boasts his descent, gives another 
 the praise. But a sceptre usurped is retained with a tremulous 
 hand : every hope of prosperity lies in the sword : what thou know- 
 est thou holdest against the popular will, the fear of thy sword 
 maintains. A seat on another's throne is insecure ; bat Megara,
 
 11 
 
 joined in royal marriage with me, alone can establish my power. 
 My humble rank shall derive support from her illustrious line. In 
 truth, I do not think she will reject and^spurn my bed ; but, if s he 
 should with headstrong will refuse, I am resolved to wholly crush 
 the~h~6us?7)f Hercules. Will hatred and my subjects tongues re- 
 pay the deed ? Power to withstand such hatred is the ruler's high- 
 est art. I then will try : chance gives me opportunity ; for now 
 she stands before the shrine of the protecting gods, her head in- 
 vested with mourning veil, and Hercules' true father clinging at 
 her side. [Advances towards them.] 
 
 Meg. — What new device does he, the pest and bane of Thebes, 
 prepare ? What does he plot ? 
 
 Lyc. — [Approaching: to Megara.] C thou, who drawest an il- 
 lustrious name from royal line, receive my words awhile with pa- 
 tient ear. If hate unending always harass us, and if hostility begun 
 will never cease, but conquerors retain their arms, the conquered 
 still revolt, then nothing will survive the feud : the earth will lie 
 in wasted fields : the ashes of our burning homes will cover deep 
 the buried nations. It is for the victor's interest to seek return of 
 peace : the vanquished must. Come, share my throne : be thou 
 my queen : receive this pledge of faith : accept my hand. Why 
 art thou silent with that sullen look ? 
 
 Meg. — I touch the hand polluted by my father's slaughter and 
 the blood of brothers ? Sooner shall the East withdraw the day, 
 the West proclaim the morning : sooner shall there be a 'Arm al- 
 liance of the snows and flames, and Scylla join the shore of Sicily 
 to the Italian coast ; and sooner shall the swift Euripus, with its 
 heavy sweeping tide, stand still in the Eubceaa ^gulf. Thou hast 
 bereaved me of my father, kingdom, brothers, home, and native 
 land: what more have I? One thing I have, more dear than father, 
 brother, realm and home, the hate of thee, which I am grieved 
 to share with all our state. How small a part of it is mine ! Rule 
 now, thou boaster ! Bear a haughty spirit ! The avenging god- 
 dess fast pursues the proud. I know the spirit of the Theban 
 realm. Why need I name those mothers, what they suffered, or 
 what crimes they dared commit I Why tell the two-fold tragedy, 
 the mingled name of husband, father, son ; or why recall the two 
 opposing armies of the rival brothers, and the pyres of equal num- 
 ber ? Niobe, the boasting mother, stiffened in her anguish weeps, a 
 mournful rock in Phrygian Sipylus. And Cadmus too himself,
 
 12 
 
 with horrid crest upon his head, passed throngh Illyria in fight and 
 left behind long traces of his trailing body. These examples are be- 
 fore thee. Rule, thou tyant, as thou wilt, until the wonted for- 
 tunes of our state shall call thee to account. 
 
 Lyc. — Come, madcap, lay aside those angry words, and learn 
 from Hercules to hear what kings command. Although I wield 
 a stolen sceptre with victorious hand, and rule the state without 
 restraint of law, which arms supplant, I'll speak a word in my de- 
 fense. Thy father fell in bloody war ? And are thy brothers slain? 
 Remember, arms do not preserve their moderation ; and the ven- 
 geance of the once drawn sword can not be easily restrained ; and 
 war delights in blood. It's true he fought to shield his kingdom, I 
 impelled by wicked envy ; but we seek the issue, not the cause of 
 war : let all remembrance of it perish. When the victor lays his 
 arms aside, the conqucrer ought to banish animosity. I do not 
 ask that thou, with bended knee, shouldst worship me, thy king - r 
 but this I ask, that thou endure thy fall with noble spirit. Thou 
 art worthy of a royal husband : be my queen. 
 
 Meg. — A thrill runs through my bloodless limbs. What deed 
 has fallen on my car ? When peace was ruptured, and the din of 
 war resounded round the walls, I did not fear : I bore it all with- 
 out alarm: the thought of marriage makes me quake. I seem a 
 slave. Let chains weigh down my body, and let craving hunger 
 lengthen out my weary life : no power shall subdue my faithful- 
 ness to thee : I die, but thine, Hercules. 
 
 Lyc. — And does thy husband, buried in the depths of the in- 
 fernal regions, make thee brave ? 
 
 Meg — He touched infernal depths that he might reach supernal 
 hights 
 
 Lyc. — The weight of all the giant earth subdues his strength. 
 
 Meg. — No burden can subdue that power, which has upborne 
 the sky. 
 
 Lyc. — Thou wilt be forced. 
 
 Meg. — He knows not how to die, who yields to force. 
 
 Lyc. — But speak, what better royal gift than marriage can I 
 offer thee ? 
 
 Meg. — Thy death or mine. 
 
 Lyc — In haste to die, thou silly thing ? 
 
 Meg. — I'll go to meet my husband. 
 
 Lyc. — Is that slave of thine a better portion than my throne ?
 
 13 
 
 Meg. — How many tyrants hits "that slave" consigned to death ? 
 
 Ltc. — Why then does he obey a tyrant, and endure a yoke? 
 
 Meg — Take harsh commands, away, and what will valor be ? 
 
 Lyc. — Dost t hou suppose it valor to withstand wild beasts and 
 monsters ? 
 ~~Meg.— It's the part of vdor to subdue what all men fear. 
 
 Ltc. — The night of Tartarus immures him boasting of his great 
 exploits. 
 
 Meg. — From earth there is no easy passage to the stars. 
 
 Lyc. — Begotten by what father, does he hope to reach the pala- 
 ces of heaven ? 
 
 Amph. — Unhappy wife of noble Hercules, say not : to me be- 
 longs the task to show bis parentage and true descent. [ To Lycus] 
 When he has done so many deeds of never-dying fame, and all, the 
 rising and the setting sun surveys, has been reduced to peace by 
 his right hand, so many monsters vanquished, Phlegra drenched 
 with impious blood, and gods defended from their foes, is not his 
 father proved ? Do we feign Jove ? Trust Juno's hate. 
 
 Lyc. — Why wrong t he king of heaven ? The mortal race cannot 
 be linked with Jove. 
 
 Amph. — But this has been the common origin of many other gods. 
 
 Lyc. — Had they been slaves, and after, gods ? 
 
 Amph. — The Delian shepherd grazed the flocks of Pheras. 
 
 Lyc. — But he did not wander over all the earth in banishment. 
 
 Amph. — His fleeing mother gave him birth upon a floating is- 
 land. 
 
 Lyc. — But Apollo feared not monsters, neither savage beasts. 
 
 Amph. — The serpent Python was the first, to stain Apollo's darts. 
 
 Lyc. — Dost thou not know how grievous ills befell the infant 
 Hercules ? 
 
 Amph — A thunderbolt hurled Bacchus from his mother's womb, 
 and soon he stood inferior only to his thundering father. What ? 
 And did not he, who guides the stars, and puts the clouds to flight, 
 lie hid, an infant, in the cave on Ida's steeps? The benefit of so il- 
 lustrious descent is thick beset with anxious cares, but it is always 
 thonght to be of greatest worth, to be by birth a god. 
 
 Lyc — Thou knowest him a man, whom thou hast seen unfortu- 
 nate. 
 
 Amph — Thou knowest he is not unfortunate, whom thou hast 
 seen courageous
 
 14 
 
 Ltc— Can we call that man courageous, from whose shoulders 
 lion-skin and club have fallen, and been made a present to his mis- 
 tress, and whose body glitters with Sidonian robes ? Is that mau 
 brave, whose shaggy hair is soft with nard, and who has moved 
 his hands, so often praised, to the unmanly music of the timbrel, and 
 adorned his fearless brow with the barbarian turban ? 
 
 Amph. — Youthful Bacchus doss not blush to loose his flowing 
 hair and wave the slender Thyrsus, when with giddy step he trails 
 his robe adorned with foreign gold. And after many weary labors 
 valor is accustomed to relax. 
 
 Ltc. — The desolated house of Teuthras and the band of virgins, 
 driven like a herd, confess thy truthfulness. No Juno, nor Eurys- 
 theus ordered this ; but this he did alone. 
 
 Amph — Thou dost not know of all his deeds. 3y his own weap- 
 ons Eryx was defeated : next to him Antaeus fell, the Libyan 
 giant, and the hearths, which clotted with the gore of strangers, 
 justly drank Busiris' blood. And Cygnus met his sword and, 
 though of vigorous strength, succumbed to death, and triple Ger- 
 yon was conquered by his single hand ; and thou wilt be among 
 the number, but thou'lt be of those, whose beds defilement hath 
 not stained. 
 
 Lyc. — That is allowed a king, which Jove may have : thou 
 gavest him a wife : thou wilt allow a king the same. And let thy 
 daughter learn this well-established truth of thee, and from her 
 husband, who has proved it so, that it is better to obey a king. 
 But, if she still with headstrong pertinacity refuse, I'll force her, 
 and beget a noble heir. 
 
 Meg. — shade of Creon, O ye gods of Labdacus, and nuptial tor 
 che sof the impious (Edipus, grant to me your wonted fates! Now, 
 now, ye fiendish daughters of Egyptian Danaus, come hither with 
 your blood-stained hands 1 One daughter'! wanting to the num- 
 ber : I'll complete the tragedy. 
 
 Lyc. — Since thou so wilfully dost scorn my bed, and threat thy 
 king, thou soon shalt know what sceptres can perform. Em- 
 brace the altars : now no god shall snatch thee from me : not if 
 Hercules could be uplifted from the ruptured earth among the gods 
 above. [ To slaves.] Heap up the forests, let the temples burn, and 
 fall upon their suppliants, and let one blazing pile consume that 
 wife and all her train. 
 
 Amph. — I ask this boon of thee, which it is fitting that the sire 
 of Hercules should ask, let me be first to die.
 
 15 
 
 Lyc. — Who orders all the expiate their crimes by death, known 
 not the tyrant's art. Make different requests : bid the unhappy 
 live, command the fortunate to death. But while the pile is swel- 
 ling with the trees, which wait the flai aes, I will propitiate the sea- 
 god with the promised offering. 
 Asiph. — highest power of heaven, l'uler and progenitcr of gods, 
 whose weapons shake the earth, restrain this savage king's nefa- 
 rious hand I why do I entreat the gods in vain ? Wherever, O 
 my son, thou art, hear ! Why do the temples totter, heaving 
 with a sudden violence ? Why groans the earth ? A heavy 
 crash resounds from out the lowest depths. We're heard : it is, 
 it is the thundering tread of Hercules. [Exeunt.] 
 
 SCENE II! I CD. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Fortune unpropitious to the brave, how mean rewards thou 
 dost bestow upon the good 1 Eurystheus is allowed to reign in 
 easy luxury : Alcmene's son must raise his heaven-supporting 
 hand in constant war with savage beasts, and cut the serpent's 
 fertile necks, and bear away the Apples from the cheated Sisters, 
 while the dragon, guardian of the golden fruit, has given his ever- 
 watchful eyelids sleep. He has explored the roving homes of 
 Scythia, and visited the nations, strangers in their own ancestral 
 Beats ; and he has trod the stiffened surface of the deep, and walk- 
 ed the noisleess sea with silent shore. There the cold waters are 
 devoid of waves ; and where before the ships unfurled their swel- 
 ling sails, unshorn Sarmatians tread. The yearly alternations 
 fit the sea to float the ship and bear the horseman's weight. 
 There she, who, binding round her loins the golden girdle, rules 
 the maiden nation, from her body stripped the royal spoil, and 
 shield, and bands from off her snowy breast, with bended knee 
 submitting to her conqueror. By what hope urged adown the 
 steeps of the infernal regions, durst thou venture on the road, 
 which offers no return, and haste to see the realms of Sicily's 
 Proserpine ? No South or West win d there lifts up the seas in 
 swelling waves : the twin Tyndaridae not there assist the timid 
 6hips : the sluggish waters stand in gloomy caves ; and when pale
 
 16 
 
 Death with greedy jaws be?frs on the countless nations to the 
 shades, one oarsman ferries them across. Would that thou mightst 
 resist the laws of the relentless Stvn, and break the sure decrees 
 of Fate. The king, who rules so many nations, when thou didst 
 attack old Nestor's realm, qpposed his baneful hands to thee with 
 triple-pointed spear, but wounded fled, and he, the god of death, 
 was sore afraid to die. By thy right hand break down the bars 
 of Fate, and let the light of day shine through upon the gloomy 
 regions of the shades, and let the guarded gates afford an easy 
 access to the upper world. Orpheus appeased the unrelenting mas- 
 ters of the shacks with music and with suppliant prayer, while he 
 regained his lost Eurydice. The art, which had before drawn 
 trees and birds and stones along, had given rivers rest, and at the 
 sound of which wild beast's had stood in wonder, now beguiles the 
 shades with its unwonted music, and resounds more loudly in those 
 silent caves. The Thracian women weep Eurydice, the tearless 
 gods bewail her fate, and judges, who with sternest brow examine 
 charges and inspect old criminals, lament Eurydice. At length 
 the arbiter of death exclaims "I yield : go to the upper world ; but 
 this condition I impose : go thou, a follower, at thy husband's 
 back : look thon not back upon thy wife, until the light of day 
 discloses heaven to thee, and thou art at the gates of Spartan 
 Tsenarus." True love dislikes, nor will endure delay. His haste 
 to see his gift deprived him of it. Force can conquer kingdoms, 
 music hath subdaed. [Exeunt.'] 
 
 ACT THIRD. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 
 Hercules. 
 
 genial god of light, a nd glory of the sky, who in thy beaming 
 chariot coursing the alternate spaces dost reveal thy lustrous head 
 to the rejoicing earth, OP'hcebus, pardon, if thine eyes have aught 
 of ill beheld : obedient to command, I brought the secret things of 
 hell to light. ; and thou, 0» arbiter, and father of the gods, with- 
 draw thy face by interposing thunderbolts; and thou, who reignest
 
 17 
 
 on the sea with power next to Jove, dive to its lowest depths! Who- 
 ever from on high looks down upon the earth and fears defilement 
 from the strange appearances, let him avert bis sight and lift his 
 eyes to heaven and look not on these monstrous deeds. Let her, 
 who gave command, and him, who consummated it, alone behold 
 the crime. The earth is too contracted for my punishments and 
 labors : driven by Juno's hate, I have explored the regions hither- 
 to unseen by man, unknown to Phoebus, and those gloomy spaces, 
 which the lower world assigned to Pluto ; and I might j tjuta- had 
 the— tl4pd?aIl Q,tted emja kar-haa it becu my choice. The chaos of 
 eternal night and something far more dread than night and hell's 
 stern masters I have concjuered and returned in scorn of death. 
 What more remains ? I have beheld, and shown the shades. If 
 there is more, command. Why dost thou let my hands so lone be 
 unemployed ? What victory dost thou enjoin ? Why do these 
 hostile soldiers hold the temples, and the dread of arms invest the 
 sacred porch ? 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 Amphitryon, Megara, Hercules, Theseus. 
 
 Amph. — Does my desire delude my sight, or has that brave sub- 
 duer of the world and pride of Greece ascended from the silent 
 place of dismal gloom ? Is this my son ? My limbs are numb 
 with joy. My son, thou art our sure defence, and Thebes' last 
 refuge! Do Isee him lifted to the earth, or do I, cheated, feast my 
 eyes upon an empty shade ? And art thou he ? I know thy arms 
 and shoulders and thy noble hand, that wields thy heavy club. 
 
 Herc. — My father, whence this mourning ? Wherefore has my 
 wife put on a mourning garb ? Why are my sons bedaubed with 
 filth so foul? What grief weighs down my house? 
 
 Amph. — Creon is slain; and Lycus has usurped the throne : thy 
 sons, thy father and thy wife he seeks for death. 
 
 Herc. — Ungrateful earth ! Has no one come, assistance- to the 
 
 house of Hercules ? Has the defended world beheld the monstrous 
 
 crime ? Why waste the day with my complaints ? The villain 
 
 must be slain! 
 
 3
 
 18 
 
 Thes. — Must virtue bear this brand, and Lycus be the strong- 
 est foe of Hercules ? I go to spill his hostile blood. 
 
 Herc— Hold, Theseus, lest some sudden power oppress thee I 
 Fighting calls for me. Put off thy greetings, father : hence with 
 thy embrace, my wife : Lycus must bear to Pluto news of my re- 
 turn. [Exit Here] 
 
 Thes. — Put off thy weeping countenance, O queen, and thou, 
 Amphitryon, repress thy falling tears : thy son is safe. It I know 
 Hercules, that Lycus will give due redress for Creon's death. Will 
 give is slow : he gives : this too is slow : he has already paid the 
 penalty. 
 
 Amph. — And may whatever god has power assist our prayer 
 and aid our falling state. O brave companion of my noble son, 
 recount the hue of his exploits, how long a way leads to the joy- 
 less shades, how the Tartarean dog endured his grievous chains. 
 
 Thes. — Thou urgest me to tell of deeds, which even oae of quiet 
 mind would shudder at. I hitherto have scarcely had assurance of 
 the vital air : my sight is dim and hardly can my heavy eyes en- 
 dure the unaccustomed light of day. 
 
 Amph. — What fear is treasured in thy noble soul subdue, The- 
 seus, nor deny thyself the best enjoyment of thy toils. The mem- 
 ory is sweet of what was hard to bear : relate the dread events. 
 
 Thes. — I pray all gods of hell, both thee, who rulest iu the broad 
 domain, and thee, for whom thy mother vainly sought through all 
 the woods of iEtna, that I may without offense unfold the secret 
 laws concealed beneath the earth. The Spartan land lifts up a 
 lofty mountain where the crowded woods of Taenarus approach 
 and overhang the sea : the home of hated Pluto hear unfolds its 
 mouth and a deep cavern yawns and a huge chasm with mon- 
 strous gulf reveals its vast abyss and gives a broad descent to all 
 mankind. The way begins at first not dark with gloom : the 
 brightness of the day just left behind and the uncertain glimmer 
 of the disappearing sun falls on and cheats the sight : thus day 
 with night commingled sheds its morning and its evening light. 
 The roomy entrance here expands in wide and vacant chambers, 
 lost in which the race of man entire might disappear. Nor is it 
 difficult to go ; the very path impels its victims down. As often 
 tides drag on unwilling ships, so here the headlong wind and 
 greedy chaos push along, nor ever does the greedy realm per- 
 mit a mortal to retrace his steps. Within, along its placid bed of
 
 19 
 
 'ast extent, the quiet Lethe glides and soothes their anxious cares j 
 ind, lest there be a better chance of exit, bends its sluggish stream 
 in many windings : as the wandering Maeander sports with its in- 
 constant current aud rests back upon itself and stands in doubt, 
 which way to flow, or onward to the sea, or backward to its source. 
 The slow Cocytus rests in marshy filth. The vulture here, and 
 there the mournful owl and the foreboding screech-owl cry. Dark 
 foliage frowns with dismal look upon an overhanging yew-tree: 
 where sit sluggish Sleep, and doleful Famine prostrate and with 
 wasted jaw; and Shame too late conceals her conscious face ; and 
 Fear and Terror, Death and gnashing Pain and dark Despair 
 and tottering Disease and War with sword begirded follow in 
 the train ; and hidden in the farthest recess weary Age sup- 
 ports his steps upon his staff. 
 
 Amph. — Is there no land producing grain and wine ? 
 
 Thes. — No joyful meadows grow with verdant breast, no full 
 grown corn-fields wave with gentle breezes, nor has any tree a 
 fruitful branch : the barren waste of heavy soil lies in neglect, 
 and the uncared-for land is rigid with eternal fallowness : the far- 
 thest mournful boundary of earthly things is here. The air 
 stands still, and gloomy night broods over all the sluggish world. 
 All things are dark with gloom, and worse than death itself is the 
 abode of death. 
 
 Amph. — On what throne seated does the king of those dark 
 places rule the shades ? 
 
 Thes — Within a dark recess of Tartarus there is a^ place, 
 which heavy clouds invest with thickened darkness: here two 
 streams flow from a single source: the sacred Styx, by which the 
 gods take oath, a quiet river, glides with noiseless motion : Ach- 
 eron with current irresistible is hurried madly on with rapid vio- 
 lence, and with its flood drags rocks along. By these two streams 
 the realm of Pluto opposite is circled, and the roomy home is 
 sheltered by a shady grove : here, in a cave of vast extent, the 
 threshold of the tyrant lies : this is the way the shades must go: 
 this is the entrance of the kingdom, which a plain surrounds, 
 where sitting wfth a haughty look he separates the souls, as they 
 arrive. An awe-inspiring majesty and frowning aspect mark the 
 god, which notwithstanding bears resemblance to his brother's, 
 and reveals his high descent : he has the face of Jove, but of the 
 Thunderer. No little part of the stern kingdom is the king him-
 
 20 
 
 self, by whose appearance even horrid shades are struck with 
 terror. 
 
 Amph.— Is the story trne that justice is so late awarded and 
 that wicked souls forgetful of their crimes receive due punish- 
 rneut ? Who is this judge of right and arbiter of justice ? 
 
 Thes — More than one examiner sit on their lofty seats allotting 
 to the trembling criminals their late awards : in one court-room 
 they come before the Cretan Minos, in another Rhadamantus : in 
 another ^Eacus examines them. What each has done he suffers 
 for : the crime seeks out its perpetrator, who is punished as his 
 acts demand. I have seen cruel rulers shut in prison, and the 
 backs of helpless tyrants flogged by subjects' hands ; but he, who 
 gently uses power, and having power of life and death preserves 
 his hands unstained and mildly rules his bloodless realm and 
 wastes not life, a long time travels through the lingering spaces 
 of a blest existence, and is borne to heaven, or rejoicing to the 
 happy homes of the Elysian grove, and there is made a judge. 
 ye, who rule refrain from blood: your crimes are punished 
 with severer penalties. 
 
 Amph. — Does a sure place euclose the wicked souls Confined and, 
 as the story says, do cruel torments vex them in perpetual bonds? 
 Thes — Ixion, tortured on a swiftly turning wheel, is dragged 
 around: a heavy rock rests on the neck of Sisyphus: the old man, 
 Tantalus, stands in the river and with thirsty jaws pursues the 
 waves: they wash his chin; and now when it has roused his oft- 
 deluded hope the water vanishes, when in his mouth: the fruits elude 
 his hunger: Tityos affordsithe vulture constant food: the daugh- 
 ters of Egyptian Danaus bear vessels filled in vain ; and Cadmus' 
 wicked daughters wander raving ; and the greedy Harpy spoils 
 the food of Phineas. 
 
 Amph. — Relate the famous battle of my son. Does he bear 
 back a gift his willing uncle gave, or spoil ? 
 
 Thes. — A gloomy rock impends above the quiet river, where 
 the surges stiffen, and the sluggish waters lie in torpid sleep : a 
 foul old man of horrid dress and aspect here waits at the stream 
 and bears the trembling shades across : his beard hangs down un- 
 combed, a knot confines his robe in ugly folds, his sunken eyes 
 glare with a lurid look. With a long pole this ferryman; tirects 
 his boat. He binds his bark late emptied of its burden to the 
 whore and seeks another load of shades ; but Hercules demand *
 
 21 
 
 passage and the crowd give way. Dread Charon cries out 
 " Whither dost thou go, audacious mortal;? Stay thy hasty stepl" 
 Alcmene's son enduring no delay subdued the boatman, beat 
 him with his pole and leaped upon the stern. The over-laden 
 boat for nations ample sunk beneath the weight of one, and drank 
 on either hand the Lethe in with dipping sides. The conquered 
 monsters quake with fear, the savage Centaurs and the Lapithae 
 aroused to battle by excess of wine. Then crouching in the far- 
 thest corner of the Stygian pool the savage beast of Ltrne hides 
 his reproducing heads Beyond the home of greedy Pluto lies : 
 here the ferocious Stygian dog affrights the shades, which clap- 
 ping his three heads together with terrific noise keeps guard be- 
 fore the realm : snakes lick his head besmeared with gore, his mane 
 is terrible with serpents, and the long-drawn dragon hisses with 
 his twirling tail: his rage is like his form. When he perceives 
 the moving of the feet of Hercules, he lifts his foretop bristling 
 with the shaken serpents and receives the sound with eager ear, 
 accustomed to detect the motions even of the shades. But when 
 the son of Jove came nearer, scarcely knowing where to turn, the 
 dog crouched in a cave, and both were filled with fear. But lol he 
 rouses up those silent places with his boisterous barking and the 
 serpents hiss on all his shoulders and the roaring of his dreadful 
 voice sent from his triple mouth makes even happy souls afraid. 
 Then Hercules unloosed the lion skin from his left hand, held 
 the Nemsean head before himself, and screened himself behind 
 the strong defense : in his victorious hand he wields the heavy 
 club, now here, now there, "with tireless strength repeats his 
 blows : the conquered dog suppressed his threats, and wearied 
 out hung down his heads and yielded all the cave. Both rulers 
 sitting on their thrones were terror-strnck and ordered him an en- 
 trance ; and wdien Hercules required a gift, they gave me up 
 to him. Then stroking with his hand the monster's massive necks 
 lie bound him with an adamantine chain. The dog, the ever- 
 watchful guardian of the gloomy realm, forgetful of his wonted 
 fierceness, fearful dropped his ears and let himself be dragged 
 along, and owning him his master followed with submissive look,, 
 and lashed his body with his snaky tail. But when we reached 
 ' the mouth at Tgenarus, and when the gleaming of the unaccus- 
 tomed light fell on his eyes, the prisoner took new courage and 
 with raging shook his ponderous chains: he pushed his victor from
 
 22 
 
 his footing, threw him reeling back and almost carried him away. 
 Then Hercules besonght my aid, and we compelled the dog drag- 
 ged out by our united strength and mad with rage aud trying 
 vain resistance to the open world; and when he saw the shining 
 heavens and the lucid spaces of the brilliant sky, he closed his 
 eyes, shut out the hateful light and struggled toward the ground 
 with all his necks, theu thrust his head beneath the shadow of Al- 
 cides' form. But a close crowd approach with joyful clamor 
 bearing laurel on their brows and sing the well-won praises of the 
 noble Hercules. 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 
 CHOKCS. 
 
 Eurystheus, born by hastened birth, bad ordered him to penetrate 
 the depth of the infernal regions : this alone was wanting to the 
 number of his labors, to despoil the third-allotted empire's king. 
 He dared go in the gloomy entrance, where the weary way and 
 horrid with its blackening groves, but crowded with a thronging 
 multitude, leads to the distant regions of the dead. As great a 
 crowd as rush through cities, eager for the sports of a new theatre: 
 as great as hasten to the shrine of the Olympic Thunderer, as great 
 as throng the secret festival of Ceres, when the Attic priesthood 
 summoned leave their homes and haste to celebrate the night, and 
 when the season of long nights approaching, even-balanced Libra 
 hastening to lengthen out the quiet hours of sleep holds Phoebus' 
 chariot: so great a multitude are driven through those silent plains: 
 some come advancing with a feeble step, weary and sated with pro- 
 ed life ; and some as yet cf stronger years come hither, virgins 
 yet unmarried, youths with hair uncut, and infants scarcely taught 
 the name of mother : these are suffered, that they may not fear, 
 to bear a torch and thus relieve the darkness. Others grope on 
 mournful through those gloomy places with such feeling as we have 
 in darkness, when we sadly feel as if the weight of all the earth 
 were pressing on our heads. A wide chaos and filthy darkness 
 and the dismal gloom of night and solitude of the still world are 
 there. May age conduct us thither late ! No one can reach that 
 )lace too late, whence, when he once has come, he never can re»
 
 23 
 
 turu. Why haste, inexorable Fate ? All this vast multitude, 
 who roam ou earth, shall thither go and spread their sails upou the 
 slow Coeytus. All things grow lor thee, O Death, whatever ris- 
 ing Phoebus, or his setting beams behold ; but spare the coming 
 souls ! We are prepared for thee : though thou art slow, still we 
 are hurried on. The earliest hour of life begins the work of death, 
 A day of rejoicing is present to Thebes : let suppliants come to 
 the altars : fat victims be slain ; and the brides and the bride- 
 grooms together awaken the festival dance: let the tillers of the 
 grain -covered helds lay aside their hard labor and rest. From the 
 East to the West and where Phoebus looks down from his loftiest 
 hight and refuses our bodies a shadow a peace is established by 
 Hercules' baud ; and the land the long winding of ocean enconi' 
 passes Hercules' power has subdued. He has traversed Tarta- 
 rean depths, and returned from the conquered infernal domain. 
 Now no terror remains. There is nothing beyond the Tartarean 
 realm. On thy bristling locks, O priest, let delectable poplar be 
 bound. [Exeinit.] 
 
 ACT FOURTH. 
 
 SCENE FEttST. 
 
 Hercules, Theseus, Amphitryon, Megara. 
 Herc. — Lycus, by my avenging right hand slain, has struck the 
 earth with downward face : then, who had been accomplice of the 
 tyrant, fell, companion of his punishment. Now will I bring a sac- 
 rifice to Jove and to the other gods, and worship at the altars 
 worthy of the victims slain. Thee, thee, companion and assistant 
 of my labors, I invoke war-loving Pallas, in whose hand the JEgis 
 with its petrifying image sends forth savage threats ; and may 
 Lycurgus' victor and the Red Sea's conqueror be present with 
 his spear entwined with verdant vine and ivy ; and the twin di- 
 vinities, Apollo and Diana, skilled, Diana more with arrows 
 and Apollo with the lyre ; and may whatever brother dwells in 
 heaven, but Juno's sons, be present. Call the fattened flocks I 
 What India's corn-fields bear and what the Arabs gather from 
 their fragrant trees pile on the altars : let luxurious incense rise. 
 Let poplar branches deck my hair : the olive sacred in thy native
 
 / 
 
 '24 
 
 "and adorn thee, Theseus. My hand shall adore the Thunderer ; 
 and thou the founders of city and the woody caves of Zethus 
 and the fountain Dirce of delightful water and the Tyrian lares 
 of the stranger king. Give incense to the flames. 
 
 Amph. — My sou, first purify thy hands all dripping from the 
 bloody slaughter of the enemy. 
 
 Heru — Would that I might pour to the gods the hateful ty- 
 tant's blood. No more acceptable libation could have touched 
 the altars : no more pleasing sacrifice and richer can be offered 
 Jove than unjust kings. 
 
 Amph. — Pray that thy father end thy labors : let repose be 
 sometime given to the wearied. 
 
 Herc. — I will offer prayers becoming Jove and me. Let heaven 
 and earth and air stand in their wonted places : let the stars 
 pursue their unobstructed courses : let a peace profound refresh 
 the nations: let the labor of the peaceful country all the steel en- 
 gross : let swords be sheathed: let no tempestuous storms disturb 
 the sea: no fire leap forth from angry Jove: no river swollen 
 with the wintry snow lay waste the deluged fields: may poisons 
 cease: may no weed grow with noxious sap: may no unjust and 
 cruel tyrant reign. If Earth will sometime bring forth any mon- 
 ster, may it hasten; and if any is preparing, be it mine. [Be- 
 comes mad.] But what is this? The noon-day is shut in with 
 darkness. Phoebus goes with darkened face without a cloud ! 
 Who is it driving back the day, and who pursues it to the rising? 
 Wherefore does strange night thrust out her darkling head ? 
 Whence do so many stars fill up the mid-day sky? Behold 1 in a 
 -conspicuous part of heaven Leo, my first labor, shines and glows 
 all over in his raging and prepares to bite: he'll seize some con- 
 stellation: threatening with his monstrous mouth he stands and 
 blows out fire and tosses round the mane upon his yellow neck: 
 whatever fruitful Autumn bears and Winter with its icy spaces 
 he'll leap over, at a bound and fall upon and crush the neck of 
 vernal Taurus. 
 
 Amph. — O, what sudden evil's this? Why dost thou turn thy 
 staring face about ? Dost thou behold a false sky with a turbid 
 sight ? 
 
 Herc. — The earth has been subdued, the swelling floods have 
 given way aud the infernal regions felt my power: heaven is ex- 
 empt, a labor worthy Hercules. Let me be borne aloft among
 
 25 
 
 the distant regions of the sky ! Let me direct my course to 
 heaven ! My father promises a seat in heaven: what if he refuse ? 
 The earth canuot bind Hercules, and now at length returns him 
 to the gods above. Behold the whole assemblage of the gods, 
 but Juno, call me thither of their own accord and willingly unfold 
 the doors. Dost thou receive me and unfold the gates, or must 
 I force an entrance to the stubborn heaven? Is there hesitation? 
 I will take the chains from Saturn, and will let him loose against 
 the helpless kingdom of my impious father. Let the furious Ti- 
 tans wage their war, and I will lead them on. I'll carry rocks 
 and trees, and with my strong right hand I'll seize the mountains 
 full of Centaurs. Now upon the heaped-up mountains I will make 
 my way to heaven. Let Chiron see his Pelion under Ossa ! And 
 Olympus, lifted to the third degree, shall reach the sky, or shall 
 be thither hurled. 
 
 Amph. — Turn far away those dreadful sights : restrain the ra- 
 ging fury of thy maddened, yet majestic, soul. 
 
 IIerc. — What's this ? The baleful giants have begun their war. 
 Lo ! Tityos has fled the shades and with his torn and empty breast 
 how near the sky he stands! Cithseron totters, high Pallene 
 quakes, and Macedonian Tempe trembles. One has seized thu 
 hights of Piudus, and another CEta : Mimas rages horribly. The 
 fiery-haired Erinnys sounds with heavy blows and holds the fire- 
 brands blazing from the pyres nearer and nearer to their faces : 
 stern Tisiphone, with serpent-guarded head, since Cerberus was 
 dragged away, now keeps the open gate with threatening torch. [He 
 sees his son.] But see ! the hated tyrant's offspring's hidden there, 
 the execrable seed cf Lycus ! This right hand shall send thee to 
 thy impious father ! May my bowstring hurl swift arrows. 
 Thus to go becomes the darts of Hercules. 
 
 Amph. — How far has blinded fury hurled itself ? He bent his 
 massive bow, and when the ends were brought together, let his 
 arrow fly : it whizzes, hurled with force, and passing through 
 the middle of the victim's neck, it leaves the wound behind. 
 
 Herc. — I'll root out all the remnant of the race, and all their 
 hiding places. Why delay? A greater war awaits me at Mycense : 
 let the Cyclopean rocks, demolished by my hand, fall down and 
 let the walls be laid in ruins, and the bolts be broken, and the 
 door swing to and fro, the door-posts break, and let the roof be 
 hurled upon the ground. The palace is laid open to my sight : 
 I seea son of the accursed father hidden there. [Sees another son.} 
 
 4
 
 2(5 
 
 Amph. — Behold! he clasps thy knees with supplicating hand, en- 
 treating with a piteous voice ! O horrid crime, and sad and ter- 
 rible to look upon ! He seized him by his suppliant hand, 
 and raging, whirled him six times round : his head resounds : the 
 roof is sprinkled with his scattered brain. But now unhappy Meg- 
 ara conceals a litte son within her bosom and, distracted, flees 
 her hiding-place. 
 
 Herc. — [To Megara.] Although thou flee, and hide thyself 
 in Jove's embrace, from whatesover lurking place this hand shall 
 seek and drag thee forth. 
 
 Amph. — wretched woman, whither dost thou flee ? What 
 flight or what concealment dost thou seek ? There is no safe re- 
 treat from Hercules enraged. But rather clasp his knees, and 
 try to soothe him with caressing prayer. 
 
 Meg. — spare me now I pray, my husband ! Know thy Meg- 
 ara ! This son reflects thy face and aspect. Dost thou see him 
 stretch his hands to thee? 
 
 Hf.rc. — [Supposing she is Juno.'] I have my father's wife. Go, 
 satisfy my vengeance, and release Jove bound by a disgraceful 
 marriage bond. But let this little mouster die before his mother. 
 
 Meg. — Whither wilt thou madly go ? Wilt thou pour out thy 
 
 blood? 
 
 Amph. — The infant, frightened by his father's fiery visage, died 
 
 before the wound: fright snatched his breath away. And now the 
 heavy club is hurled against his wife, and breaks her bones : her 
 head is shattered from her mangled body, nor can any where be 
 found. [ To himself. .] Durst thou, too long-lived old man, be- 
 hold this crime? If grief is hard to bear, thou hast a ready death. 
 [ To Hercules.] Turn now thy darts against my breast; or turn 
 on me that club, which thou hast spattered with the blood of 
 monsters. Put away thy father, false and shameful to thy name, 
 lest he impede thy praise. 
 
 Thes. — Why rush, old man, to slaughter? Whither dost thou 
 madly go ? Flee, hide thyself, and from the hands of Hercules 
 remove one crime. 
 
 Herc. — I am content: the shameless tyrant's house is over- 
 thrown. I have destroyed this household consecrate to thee, O 
 wife of highest Jove. I willingly have offered prayers becoming 
 thee, Jupiter; and Argos shall bring other victims. 
 
 Amph. — Thou hast not yet satisfied the gods: complete the sacri-
 
 \ 
 
 27 
 
 fice. Behold ! the victim stands before the altars: he awaits thy 
 hand with bended neck: I give myself, I run to meet thee, I pur- 
 sue thee: slay mel What is this? His eyesight wanders, sadness 
 dims his vision. Do I see Alcides quake ? His face hangs 
 down in sleep: his weary neck inclines with lolling head: his knees 
 give way and his whole body falls upon the ground: as ash-trees 
 in the forest felled, or mountain masses fall to form a harbor in the 
 fioa. Dnst thou still live, or has that rage, which has destroyed 
 thy family, devoted thee to death? 'Tis sleep: his breathing 
 heaves his body with alternate motions. Give him time to rest, 
 in order that his furious violence, subdued by heavy sleep, may 
 t ase his wearied breast. Remove his arms, ye slaves, lest in his 
 rage he get them back. [Exeunt all, but Here] 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 
 CHOKUS. 
 
 Let heaven mourn, and lofty heaven's exalted father, and the 
 fruitful earth, and the inconstant wave upon the fluctuating sea; 
 and do thou mourn before all others, glowing Titan, who through 
 all the earth and regions of the Ocean scatterest thy beams, and 
 with thy shining face dost put the uight to flight. As well as 
 thou, has Hercules beheld the places of thy rising and thy setting, 
 and has traversed both thy homes. Release his mind from such 
 calamity, release it, ye gods! Avert his mind to better thoughts! 
 And thou, sleep, subduer of our labors, and refresher of the 
 mind, the better part of human life, swift-winged, Astrsea's off- 
 spring, languid brother of unyielding death, who minglest truth 
 and lies together, sure, though most ill-boding, prophet of the fu- 
 ture, father of all things, haven of life, refresher of the day, com- 
 panion of the night, who comest to the king and slave alike, 
 calm and gentle sleep, refresh the wearied Hercules! Thou dost 
 compel the race of man afraid to die to know a lingering death. 
 Oppress him bound in deep unconsciousness! Let torpor rest on 
 his unconquered limbs, nor let it leave his cruel breast, until his 
 former mind resumes its wonted course. Behold he lies upon the 
 ground, revolving savage dreams in his ferocious breast, (the fierce-
 
 26 * 
 
 ness of his madness has not yet subsided,) and accustomed to re-^ 
 cline bis weary bead upon his heavy weapon, seeks his club with 
 empty hand, and tosses rouud his arms with useless violence. 
 The angry tumult is not yet subdued, but like the sea, when rous- 
 ed by furious Notus, long continues raging, and although the 
 wind has ceased, it surges still. Quell the wild billows of his soul: 
 let piety and bravery return; or rather let his mind be roused by 
 the insane commotion. Let blind fury cease as it began. Insan- 
 ity alone can prove thee innoceut. The nearest state to inno- 
 cence is an unconsciousness of crime. Now let his breast resound 
 with blows inflicted by the hand of Hercules: let blows be struck 
 upon those shoulders wont to bear the skies: let heaven hear his 
 heavy groanings, and the queen of the infernal regions, and that 
 Cerberus, whose necks are bound with heavy chains, which 
 crouches in the deepest cave. Let chaos, and the broad expanse 
 of Ocean, and the air, which would more righteously have felt thy 
 darts, reverberate the mournful sound. The breast, beset with 
 sins so grievous, must be struck by no light blow: let the three 
 realms resound his groans. And thou, strong arrow, which hast 
 hung so long, a glory and protection, on his neck, and loaded 
 quiver, beat his savage back with cruel blows; and let the oak 
 bruise his brave shoulders, and the heavy club oppress his breast 
 with cruel knots: his arms must drive away so cruel grief. Ye 
 boys, who, though not sharers of your father's praise, by impious 
 violence have fallen, expiation for the death of kings, not taught to. 
 bend your limbs in Grecian wrestling schools, unskilled to use the 
 caestus and the fist, but who have learned to send the flying ar- 
 row from the Scythian quiver, hurled with an unerring hand, to. 
 pierce the bounding stag, and to transfix the backs of young 
 wild beasts, go to thj havens of the Styx, go shades, go, inno- 
 cents, whom murder and paternal fury crushed on life's first thresh- 
 holdl Go, unhappy children, through the gloomy place of the 
 renowned exploit! Go, seek the angry gods! — [Exeunt.]
 
 29 
 .ACT FIFTH. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 
 Hercules, Amphitryon, Theseus. 
 
 Herc. — Wliat place is this, what region, quarter of the world? 
 
 Where ami? Near the rising of the sun, or under where the 
 Bear revolves around the frozen pole? Or docs the farthest shore 
 of the Hesperian sea impose this limit to the Ocean? What air 
 supplies my breath? What ground's beneath my weary feet? I've 
 certainly returned. Whence do I see these bloody bodies strewn 
 before my house? Or do infernal images still linger in my mind? 
 A ghostly throng hover before my eyes even after my return. I 
 am ashamed of the confession, but I fear I know not what: my 
 mind presages some calamity. Where is my father? Where is 
 is my brave wife, and band of children ? Why is my left 
 side uncovered by the lion's spoil? Whither has gone my cover- 
 ing, which was the easy couch for Hercules' repose? Where is 
 my bow? Where are my arrows? Who could take from me alive 
 my arms? Who has borne off such spoil? Who has not feared 
 the very sleep of Hercules? Show me my conqueror! Come forth 
 thou brave one, whom thy father coming late from heaven begot, 
 and for whose birth a longer night was given than for mine! 
 What crime do I behold? My sons cut down in bloody slaugh- 
 ter lie around: my wife is slain. What Lycus holds the scepter? 
 Who has dared to plot such crimes at Thebes on Hercules' return? 
 Ye, who dwell upon the banks of the Ismenus, and the Attic 
 plains, and realms of the Dardanian Pelops lashed by seas on 
 either side, assist! Reveal the author of the cruel slaughter ! 
 Let my anger rush on all: he is my enemy, who will not show 
 my enemy? Dost thou, conqueror of Hercules, lie hid? Come 
 forth! Whether then comest an avenger of the savage Thracian's 
 bloody chariots, or of the herd of Geryon, or of the Libyan kings 
 do not delay the battle. See, I stand unarmed: with my arms 
 even, I permit thee, to attack me stripped of all defence. Where- 
 fore do Theseus and my father flee my sight? Why hide their 
 faces? Wipe away thy tears! O tell me, who consigned my 
 house to death? Why art thou silent, my father? But do thou, 
 O Theseus, tell me with thy wonted faithfulness ! Both hide their
 
 30 
 
 fares, and in secret weep. What calls for shame in such calami- 
 ties? What! have that head-strong conqueror ot Thebes, and Lycus' 
 hateful troop destroyed my household with such bloody violence? 
 I pray thee, by the glory of my deeds and by thy name's authori- 
 ty propitious always to me, who has killed my family? Whose 
 spoil am 1? 
 
 Amph. — Let these misfortunes pass in silence thus. 
 
 Hkrc — Shall 1 be unavenged? 
 
 Amph. — Vengeance is often injury. 
 
 Herc. — But who has ever quietly endured so great calamities? 
 
 Amph — He, who has dreaded greater. 
 
 Hekc. — What, my father, greater or severer can lie feared? 
 
 Amph. — How little part thou knowest of thy loss! 
 
 Herc. — My father pity me! I stretch my supplicating hands 
 to thee: but why is this? He flees my touch ! [Looking upon 
 his hands.] Here lies the crime. Whence came this blood! Why 
 drips that arrow with their youthful blood? I see my weapons 
 stained with the Lernaean gore: I clo not ask, what hand has 
 hurled them. Who could bend my bow, or what right hand could 
 draw the string, which scarcely yields to me? I turn again to 
 thee, my father, is this crime my deed? They speak not: it is mine. 
 
 Amph. — The grief is thine, the crime belongs to Juno: this dis- 
 aster lacks a fault. 
 
 Herc. — Forgetful of me, my father, hurl thy angry thunder- 
 bolts from all the sky: avenge thy grandsons with at least a tardy 
 hand : let the star-burdened heavens resound and lightnings 
 flash athwart the sky; and let the Caspian rocks stretch out my 
 body bound upon them, and the hungry vulture tear my breast ! 
 Why are Prometheus' cliffs unoccupied? Let the precipitous and 
 treeless side of Caucasus, which feeds wild beasts and vultures on 
 its spacious summit, be prepared for me. Let the Symplegades, 
 which narrow down the Scythian Sea, extend upon the deep my 
 hands bound here and there, and when with alternating motion 
 they approaching strike together, dash the intervening water to 
 the sky, there let me lie, a restless barrier between. Why do 
 I not heap up a pile from the collected grove, and burn my body 
 stained with impious blood? Thus, thus I will do: Hercules 
 shall seek the shades. 
 
 Amph. — His mind has not recovered from the wild commotion: 
 he has turned his anger, and as phrenzy is accustomed, rages now 
 against himself.
 
 3i 
 
 Herc. — If tliere exist dread haunts of Furies and a prison of 
 mferuals and a habitation for the wicked multitude, and any place 
 tf banishment beyond the lower world, unknown to Cerberus and 
 me, conceal me there, Earth ! The farthest bound of Tartarus 
 shall be my dwelling place. O too unfeeling breast ! O who, 
 my sons, shall worthily lament you strewn through all my home? 
 My eyes inured to evils know not how to weep. Give me my 
 sword, give me my arrows, bring my heavy club. To you I'll 
 break my weapons: I will break my bow to you, my sons, and to 
 you shades my heavy club shall burn: my very quiver filled with 
 the Lerngean arrows shall be placed upon your funeral piles: my 
 arms must suffer for their deeds ; and I will burn your wretched 
 bodies also with my darts. cruel hands! 
 
 Thes.— Has ever any one applied the name of crime to madness? 
 
 Herc.— Often grievous madness has obtained the place of crime. 
 
 Thes. — There now is need of Hercules r endure this great cala- 
 mity. 
 
 Herc. — My shame has not so ended with my phrensy, that I 
 wish to put to flight all nations with my impious face. My arms, 
 my arms, Theseus, taken from me, I demand that they be quick 
 returned. If I am sane, return my weapons to my hands : if mad- 
 ness yet remains, my father, leave me : I will find a way of death. 
 
 Amph. — By the religion of our race, by the authority of both 
 my names, whether thou callest me thy foster-father, or thy parent, 
 and by my gray hairs respected by the pious, I beseech thee, 
 spare my lonely age and weary years ! Preserve thyself, the only 
 pillar of our fallen house, the only light to me afflicted with ca- 
 lamities ! No fruit has come from thy exploits : precarious seas 
 or monstrous beasts have been my constant fear : whatever cruel 
 tyrants, noxious with their hands or altars, rage in all the earth 
 I fear. Thy father asks for the enjoyment and companionship of 
 thee, my always absent son. 
 
 Herc. — There is no reason, why I longer should detain my 
 spirit in this light, and still delay : I have already lost my every 
 good : my arms, my reputation, wife and sons, my hands : even 
 my madness : none can cleanse my tainted soul : the stain must 
 be removed by death. 
 
 Amph. — And wilt thou kill thy father too ? 
 
 Herc. — That I may not, I die. 
 
 Amph. — Before thy father's eyes ?
 
 32 
 
 Herc. — 1 have taught him to look on crime. 
 Amph. — Look rather on thy memorable deeds, and ask forgive- 
 ness of thyself for this one fault. 
 
 Hf.rc. — Shall he, who never pardoned others, now forgive him- 
 self ? Commanded, I have done praise-worthy deeds ; but this 
 alone is mine. Help me, my father, whether piety, or stubborn 
 Fate, or injured virtue's honor move thee : bring my arms : let 
 Fortune be subdued by my right hand. 
 
 Thes. — A father's prayers are surely efficacious, but be moved 
 by my entreaty. Rouse thyself and crush these sad misfortunes with 
 thy wonted force ! Resume thy mind unequal to no fate ! Now 
 thou must act with greatest courage : let not Hercules be furious. 
 
 Herc. — If I remain alive, I have committed crimes ; but if I 
 
 ; die, I have endured. I haste to purge the earth. Just now an 
 
 impious monster cruel, fierce, and savage hovers in my sight: come 
 
 tin, right hand, begin the monstrous labor more immense than 
 
 ■ any of thy twelve ! Thou coward, art thou brave alone with 
 
 'boys and trembling mothers? If my arms are not returned to 
 
 me, I will uproot the woods of Thracian Pindus, and the sacred 
 
 groves of Bacchus, and drag down Cithseron's bights, and burn 
 
 them with myself ; or drag down all the roofs and houses with 
 
 their masters, and the Theban temples with their gods upon my 
 
 body, and lie hid beneath the ruins of the city : if the walls cast 
 
 down should fall, an' easy burden, on my stubborn shoulders, and 
 
 I be too feebly pressed beneath the seven gates, I'll drag upon my 
 
 •head the ponderous mass, which holds the center of the universe 
 
 and separates the upper from the nether gods. 
 
 Amph. — I will return thy arms. 
 
 Herc. — That word is worthy of the sire of Hercules. Behold! 
 this arrow slew my son. 
 
 Amph. — But Juno sent that arrow from thy hand. 
 
 Herc. — But I will use it now. 
 
 Herc. — See how my heart in dreadful apprehension throbs and 
 beats against my anxious breast ! 
 
 Herc. — The arrow's chosen, 
 | Amph. — Now, remember, thou wilt perpetrate a voluntary crime. 
 
 Herc. — Speak, what dost thou command ? 
 
 Amph. — Nothing : my grief is safe. Thou only canst preserve 
 a son to me, but thou canst not bereave me. I have passed my 
 greatest fear. Thou canst not render me unhappy ; happy though
 
 33 
 
 thou canst. Determine what thou dost determine so, that thou may 
 know that thy position and thy reputation stand upon a narrow 
 and unsafe foundation. Either thou wilt live, or kill me too : 
 my spirit, light and weary with old age and broken by misfor- 
 tune hangs upon thy first reply. Can any one so hesitate to give 
 a father life ? I will endure no more delay : the sword shall pierce 
 my fated breast. Here, here will lie the crime of conscious Her- 
 cules. 
 
 Herc. — Now spare, my father, spare ! Now stay thy hand ! 
 {To himself.) valor yield ! Obey thy father's voice ! Let this 
 be reckoned also with the deeds of Hercules ! We'll live ! 
 Theseus, lift my father's limbs bent down upon the ground : my 
 impious hand shrinks from his pious touch. 
 Amph. — [Taking the hand of Here.'] I willingly embrace this 
 hand ; and leaning on it will I go away ; and pressing it upon 
 my weary breast will drive away my grief. 
 
 Herc. — What place shall I, an exile, seek ? Where shall I 
 hide myself ? What Tanais, or Nile, or Tigris furious with its 
 Persian wave, impetuous Rhine, or Tagus flowing turbidly with 
 Spanish treasure can make clean my hands ? Although the cold 
 Mteotis should discharge the Northern Sea upon me, and the Ocean 
 flow across my hands, the crime will still adhere. [To himself.] 
 Into what lands wilt thou, 'impious one, retire? Hast thou 
 the rising or the setting sun for thy retreat ? Known every where, 
 no place of banishment remains. The world avoids me : star3 
 shoot from their wonted courses : Titan looks on Cerberus with 
 more benignant face. faithful friend, O Theseus, seek some 
 far-off secret hiding-place ; and since so long a judge of others' 
 crimes thou lovest criminals, grant me in turn this favor well-de- 
 served : return me to the shades below, I pray, and bind me with 
 thy chains ! I'll hide me there. But even that has known me. 
 
 Thes. — Our land waits thee. There shall Mars restore thy hand 
 to arms, acquitted of the crime. That land, Hercules, which 
 makes gods innocent, invites thee home. [Exeunt omnes.]
 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
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