Page:Tragedies of Seneca (1907) Miller.djvu/286

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And the realm of spirits, is reserved for thee."
Now will we grieve no more; such end is meet;
Thus shall no conqueror of Hercules 1480
Survive to tell the tale. Now shall my death
Be glorious, illustrious, renowned,
And worthy of myself. This final day
Will I make famous in the ears of men.
Go, cut down all the woods, and Oeta's groves
Bring hither, that a mighty funeral pyre
May hold great Hercules before he dies.
And thee, dear son of Poeas, thee I ask 1485
To do this last, sad office for thy friend,
And all the sky illumine with the flames
Of Hercules. And now to thee this prayer,
This last request, Hyllus, my son, I make:
Among my captives is a beauteous maid,
Of noble breeding and of royal birth.
'Tis Iole, the child of Eurytus. 1490
Her would I have thee to thy chamber lead
With fitting marriage rites; for, stained with blood,
Victorious, I robbed her of her home
And fatherland; and in return, poor girl,
Naught save Alcides have I given her;
And he is gone. Then let her soothe her woes
In the embrace of him who boasts the blood 1495
Of Jove and Hercules. Whatever seed
She has conceived of me let her to thee
Bring forth.
[To Alcmena.]
And do thou cease thy plaints, I pray,
For me, great mother; thy Alcides lives;
And by my might have I my stepdame made
To seem but as the concubine of Jove. 1500
Whether the story of the night prolonged
At Hercules' begetting be the truth,
Or whether I was got of mortal sire—
Though I be falsely called the son of Jove,
I have indeed deserved to be his son;
For I have honored him, and to his praise 1505