Stasimon 5
[Episode]
and she starts from her seat in a blaze and seeks to fly, shaking her hair and head this way and that, to cast the crown therefrom; but the gold held firm to its fastenings, and the flame, as she shook her locks, blazed forth the more with double fury.
1190
Messenger
Then to the earth she sinks, by the cruel blow o’ercome, past all recognition now save to a father’s eye; for her eyes had lost their tranquil gaze, her face no more its natural look preserved, and from the crown of her head blood and fire in mingled stream ran down;
1195
and from her bones the flesh kept peeling off beneath the gnawing of those secret drugs, e’en as when the pine-tree weeps its tears of pitch, a fearsome sight to see. And all were afraid to touch the corpse, for we were warned by what had chanced. Anon came her hapless father
1200
unto the house, all unwitting of her doom, and stumbles o’er the dead, and loud he cried, and folding his arms about her kissed her, with words like these the while, O my poor, poor child, which of the gods hath destroyed thee thus foully? Who is robbing me of thee, old as I am and
1205
ripe for death? O my child, alas! would I could die with thee! He ceased his sad lament, and would have raised his aged frame, but found himself held fast by the finespun robe as ivy that clings to the branches of the bay, and then ensued a fearful struggle.
1210
He strove to rise, but she still held him back; and if ever he pulled with all his might, from off his bones his aged flesh he tore. At last he gave it up, and breathed forth his soul in awful suffering; for he could no longer master the pain.
1215
So there they lie, daughter and aged sire, dead side by side, a grievous sight that calls for tears. And as for thee, I leave thee out of my consideration, for thyself must discover a means to escape punishment. Not now for the first time I think this human life a shadow;
1220
yea, and without shrinking I will say that they amongst men who pretend to wisdom and expend deep thought on words do incur a serious charge of folly; for amongst mortals no man is happy; wealth may pour in and make
1225
one luckier than another, but none can happy be.
1230
Chorus
This day the deity, it seems, will mass on Jason, as he well deserves, a heavy load of evils. Woe is thee, daughter of Creon! We pity thy sad fate, gone as thou art to Hades’ halls
as the price of thy marriage with Jason.
1235
Medea
My friends, I am resolved upon the deed; at once will I slay my children and then leave this land, without delaying long enough to hand them over to some more savage hand to butcher.
Needs must they die in any case; and since they must, I will slay them—I, the mother that bare them. O heart of mine, steel thyself! Why do I hesitate to do the awful deed that must be done? Come, take the sword, thou wretched hand of mine!
1240
Take it, and advance to the post whence starts thy life of sorrow! Away with cowardice! Give not one thought to thy babes, how dear they are or how thou art their mother This one brief day forget thy children dear, and after that lament; for though thou wilt slay them yet
1245
they were thy darlings still, andThe construction is intentionally irregular. Her emotion prevents a grammatical completion of the sentence. am a lady of sorrows.
1250
[Choral 1]
O earth, O sun whose beam illumines all, look, look upon this lost woman, ere she stretch forth, her murderous hand upon her sons for blood;
Chorus
for lo! these are scions of thy own golden seed, and the blood of gods is in danger of being shed by man. O light, from Zeus proceeding, stay her, hold her hand, forth from the house
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chase this fell bloody fiend by demons led.
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Vainly wasted were the throes thy children cost thee; vainly hast thou born, it seems, sweet babes, O thou who hast left behind thee that passage through the blue Symplegades, that strangers justly hate.
Ah! hapless one, why doth fierce anger thy soul assail? WhyThis use of ἀμείβεται is so unusual that the passage is open to grave suspicion. The three following lines are extremely confused and probably corrupt. Weil proposes ἐπέγειρεν for ἐπὶ γαῖαν; var. lect. for ξυνῳδὰ is ξύνοιδα. in its place is fell murder growing up? For grievous unto mortal men are pollutions that come of kindred blood poured on the earth,
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woes to suit each crime hurled from heaven on the murderer’s house.
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[Choral]
Ah!This is bracketed in the Greek and not found in the Coleridge edition. It has been added here for clarity.
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[Choral 2]
Didst hear, didst hear the children’s cry? O lady, born to sorrow, victim of an evil fate!
1st Son
(within). Ah, me; what can I do? Whither fly to escape my mother’s blows?
2nd Son
(within). I know not, sweet brother mine; we are undone.
Chorus
Shall I enter the house? For the children’s sake I am resolved to ward off the murder.
1275
1st Son
(within). Yea, by heaven I adjure you; help, your aid is needed.
2nd Son
(within). Even now the toils of the sword are closing round us.
Chorus
O hapless mother, surely thou hast a heart of stone or steel
to slay the offspring of thy womb by such a murderous doom.
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