Page:Tragedies of Seneca (1907) Miller.djvu/297

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What hiding-place conceal thy mother now,
Since she is known through thee in every land?
Shall I return unto my native shores,
My wretched lares? There Eurystheus reigns. 1800
Shall I seek out my husband's city, Thebes,
Ismenus' stream, and my own bridal bed
Where once, beloved, I saw great Jupiter?
Oh, happy, far too happy had I been,
If I myself, like Semele, had felt
The blasting presence of the thundering Jove!
Oh, would that from my womb Alcides, too, 1805
Untimely had been torn! But now 'tis given,
'Tis given to see my son with mighty Jove
Vying in praise; would that this might be given,
To know from what fate he could rescue me.
What people now will live remembering thee,
O son? Ungrateful are they all alike. 1810
Cleonae shall I seek? the Arcadians,
And the lands ennobled by thy mighty deeds?
Here fell the serpent dire, here monstrous birds,
Here fell the bloody king; and here, subdued
By thy right hand, the lion, who in heaven
Is given a place, whilst thou in earth remain'st. 1815
If earth is grateful, then let every race
Defend Alcmena for thy sake. Shall I
To Thracian peoples go, to Hebrus' tribes?
For this land, too, was by thy mighty works
Defended. Low the bloody stables lie,
And low the kingdom; peace was granted it, 1820
What time the cruel king was overthrown.
What land, indeed, has not gained peace through thee?
Where shall I seek for thee a sepulcher,
Unhappy, aged woman that I am?
Let all the world contend for these remains
Collected from the pyre of Hercules.
What race, what temples, or what nations ask
For them? Who asks to have Alcmena's load? 1825
What sepulcher, O son, what tomb for thee
Is great enough? Naught save the world itself;