See how thou best may'st work.
Thou know'st well whom I serve;
And if thy measures be the same as his,
*Then men of judgment look for troubles sore.
Epode.
The time is come, my son, the time is come.
All sightless, void of help,
The man in darkness lies,
(Right sound is sleep beneath the burning sun,)
And stirs nor hand, nor foot, nor any limb,860
But seems like one in Hades stretched full length.
Look to it well, and think if thou dost speak
The things that suit the time.
Far as my mind can grasp,
The toil that brings no fear holds highest place.
Neop. I bid you hush, nor lose your wits in fear;
The man has oped his eyes, and lifts his head.
Phil. [Waking.] Ο light that follow'st sleep! Ο help,
my thoughts
Had never dared to hope for from these strangers!
For never had I dreamt, Ο boy, that thou
With such true pity would'st endure to bear
All these my sorrows, and remain, and help.870
The Atreidæ ne'er had heart to bear with them,
As well as thou hast borne. Brave generals they!
But thou, my son, who art of noble heart,
And sprung from noble-hearted ones, hast made
But light of all, though every sense be filled
With stench and shrieks. And now, since respite seems
At hand, and some refreshment after pain,
Do thou, my son, upraise me, steady me,
That when the pain shall leave me, we may make880
Straight for the ship, and tarry not to sail.
