FIRST ANTISTROPHE.
So I see on the house of the Labdacidæ woe upon woe,
On the living fresh billows of sorrow from troubles of eld ever we flow;
And release there is none to the home of the child from the home of the father,
But some god overthrows the whole line, no soul
Obtaineth deliv’rance from dole;
For the last light of hope which was spread o’er the root, now another
Fell scythe from the gods infernal
Mows down by speech unrestrained;
For the house destruction eternal
The infatuate heart hath gained.
SECOND STROPHE.
Thy power, O Zeus, can the trespass of man control?
Even sleep that bends all to its will is unable,
And the unwearied months of the gods,—nay, stable
Is thy throne in Olympus, while countless ages roll,
And high
In the dazzling sheen of the sky
Thou dwellest forever.
This law holds good for the past,
It holds for to-day and to-morrow:
For a man in store there is sorrow,
If he gaineth too much,—nothing vast
Can come
Without a curse in the sum
Of man’s life and endeavor.
SECOND ANTISTROPHE.
For hope that wanders so wide encourageth those,
And to these it bringeth but gladness and cheer,
While to others disaster and many a tear,
Frustrated their foolish desires, which the fates oppose,
And they
Walk on unaware of the day
Till they step in the fire.
