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ELECTRA

Orestes

It may not be.

Electra

Ah! woe for thee, Orestes, woe is me,
If I am not to give thee burial.

Orestes

Guard well thy lips; thou hast no right to mourn.

Electra

No right to mourn a brother who is dead!

Orestes

To speak of him in this wise is not meet.

Electra

What, am I so dishonoured of the dead?

Orestes

Of none dishonoured: this is not thy part.

Electra

Not if Orestes’ ashes here I hold?

Orestes

They are not his, though feigned to pass for his.

Electra

Where then is my unhappy brother’s grave?

Orestes

There is no grave; we bury not the quick.

Electra

What sayst thou, boy?

Orestes

Nothing that is not true.

Electra

He lives?

Orestes

As surely as I am alive.

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