Eksodos
Philoctetes
Son, whose voice was that? Do I hear Odysseus?
1295
Odysseus
Be sure of it, and you see him at your side, who will carry you to the plains of Troy by force, whether or not the son of Achilles is willing.
Philoctetes
But it will bring you no joy, if this arrow fly straight. Odysseus flees from the stage.
Neoptolemus
Wait—by the gods, no! Do not let it fly!
1300
Philoctetes
Let go of me, in the name of the gods, dear boy!
Philoctetes
Alas! Why did you take from me the chance to kill my hated enemy with my bow?
Neoptolemus
It would have been honorable neither for me, nor for you.
Philoctetes
Well, you may be sure of one thing, at least: the army’s chiefs, the lying heralds of the Greeks, though bold with words, are cowards in the fight.
1305
Neoptolemus
Good; the bow is yours, and you have no cause for anger or complaint against me.
Philoctetes
Agreed. You have revealed the true stock, my son, from which you spring. You are no child of Sisyphus, but of Achilles, whose fame was the fairest when he was among the living, as it is now with the dead.
1310
Neoptolemus
I delight at your praise of my father,
and of myself. But hear what I desire to gain from you. It is true that men are compelled to bear the fortunes given by the gods; but when they cling to self-inflicted miseries, as you do,
1315
no one can justly excuse or pity them. You have become savage: you welcome no counsellor, and if someone admonishes you, even if he speaks in all good will, you detest him and consider him an enemy who wishes you ill. All the same I will speak to you, calling Zeus who guards oaths to witness.
1320
And you remember these words and write them in your heart: you suffer this plague’s affliction in accordance with god-sent fate, because you came near to Chryse’s guardian, the serpent who secretly watches over her home and guards her roofless sanctuary. Know also that you will never gain relief from this grave sickness,
1325
as long as the sun still rises in the east and sets in the west, until of your own free will you come to the plains of Troy, find there the sons of Asclepius, our comrades, be relieved of this infection, and, with this bow’s
1330
aid and mine, be hailed as the sacker of Troy’s towers. How I know these things are so ordained, I will tell you. We have a Trojan prisoner, Helenus, foremost among seers, who says plainly that all this must come to pass, and further,
1335
that this very summer must see the complete capture of Troy. Otherwise he willingly gives himself over for execution, if these prophecies of his prove false. Therefore, now that you understand everything, give way graciously. It is a glorious addition to your gain to be singled out
1340
as best of the Greeks—first, for coming into healing hands, and then for taking Troy rich in tears, and so winning a matchless renown.
1345
Philoctetes
Hateful life, why, why do you keep me in the light of day, instead of letting me go to Hades’ domain?
