Page:Tragedies of Seneca (1907) Miller.djvu/379

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That thou mayst stay Ulysses' lawless hand.
Thy spirit will suffice.— Behold he comes!
His arms he brandishes, and firebrands hurls.
Ye Greeks, do ye behold him, or do I,
With solitary sight, alone behold? 685
Ulysses: ⁠This tomb and all it holds will I destroy.
Andromache [aside, while the attendants begin to demolish the tomb]: Ah
⁠me, can I permit the son and sire
To be in common ruin overwhelmed?
Perchance I may prevail upon the Greeks
By prayer.—But even now those massive stones
Will crush my hidden child.—Oh, let him die,
In any other way, and anywhere, 690
If only father crush not son, and son
No desecration bring to father's dust.
⁠[Casts herself at the feet of Ulysses.]
⁠A humble suppliant at thy knees I fall,
Ulysses; I, who never yet to man
Have bent the knee in prayer, thy feet embrace.
By all the gods, have pity on my woes,
And with a calm and patient heart receive
My pious prayers. And as the heavenly powers 695
Have high exalted thee in pride and might,
The greater mercy show thy fallen foes.
Whate'er is given to wretched suppliant
Is loaned to fate. So mayst thou see again
Thy faithful wife; so may Laërtes live
To greet thee yet again; so may thy son
Behold thy face, and, more than that thou canst pray, 700
Excel his father's valor and the years
Of old Laërtes. Pity my distress:
The only comfort left me in my woe,
Is this my son.
Ulysses: ⁠Produce the boy—and pray.
Andromache [goes to the tomb and calls to Astyanax]: Come forth,
⁠my son, from the place of thy hiding 705
Where thy mother bestowed thee with weeping and fear.
[Astyanax appears from the tomb. Andromache presents him to
⁠Ulysses.]