To live a life half dead, a living death,

IOO

And buried; but O, yet more miserable !
Myself my sepulchre, a moving grave;
Buried, yet not exempt,
By privilege of death and burial,
From worst of other evils, pains and wrongs ;
But made hereby obnoxious more
To all the miseries of life,

Life in captivity

Among inhuman foes.

IIO

But who are these? for with joint pace I hear
The tread of many feet steering this way;
Perhaps my enemies, who come to stare
At my affliction, and perhaps to insult,
Their daily practice to afflict me more.

CHORUS.

This, this is he; softly a while,

Let us not break in upon him.

O change beyond report, thoughts or belief!

ΙΙΟ

κάτι κάκιον, θήκην παρέχων αυτός έμαυτώ σωματοειδή,

βίον εκτρίβων αβίωτον των δε θανόντων, οιά τε νεκρός, γέρας ούκ έλαβον, των πικροτάτης

λύμης άτης τε λυθέντων: όν γ' έτι μάλλον των πριν κατέχει πάντα τα θνητούς αλγεινότατα,

στερραί τε πέδαι, παρά τ' εχθρούς θυμόν αθέλκτους.

ά, α, έα, έα, τίνων τούτο κoίνω πελάζει βαδισμό το πλήθος, ως κλύοντά η έστ’ επεικάσαι;

αρ' εχθρών στόλος ακμήτων, σκοπoυμένων με, και γέλωτος oύνεκα, το σφιν ξύνηθες, τώνδ' επ' αυξήσει κακών;

ΧΟΡΟΣ.

120

όδ' έσθ' ανήρ ίχνος δε λεπτών

τιθώμεν, ήκα προσμoλόντες: φεύ τας παρ' ελπίδα φθοράς απείρου

See how he lies at random, carelessly diffused,

Or do my eyes misrepresent? Can this be he?

That heroic, that renowned,

Irresistible Samson, whom unarmed

No strength of man, or fiercest wild beast could withstand;
Who tore the lion, as the lion tears the kid;
Ran .on embattled armies clad in iron,

And, weaponless himself,

130

Made arms ridiculous, useless the forgery
Of brazen shield and spear, the hammered cuirass,

Chalybean tempered steel, and frock of mail

Adamantean proof;

But safest he who stood aloof,

When insupportably his foot advanced,

δράτε δ' εική χύδην κείμενον,

κάρα τε νεύον αμένη-
νον, άφιλος άλλως δυσέλ.
πιδ' αυτόγνωτον όντ’:

αεικεί δουλία
στολά τ' αλλοτρία δυσείδης

εμούς γούν όμμασιν πέφανται: όδ' ουν ο Σάμψων, και δη παγκρατής,

130 αντίτιμος ηρώων, ός θ' υπερέσχ’ άοπλος

ανδρών των υπεράλλων θηρών τ' άγριοθύμων, ος λέοντ’ έκαν', ως λέων αβρόν έκτανε μόσχον

στρατών γυμνός σιδηροχαρμών

άμαχος επέσσυτο στίχοισι, έθετο παρ' ουδέν όπλα χαλκότευκτα,

θώρακα, ραιστήρος έργον, σάκη,
χαλυβδίκ' έγχέων στόματο,

140 αδαμαντίνοις θ' άμμασι

χιτώνας συμπαγείς.

απελθών δ' άσφαλής, τουδ' ιλαδόν έχθρα δυσπαλαίστου

C

In scorn of their proud arms and warlike tools,
Spurned them to death by troops. The bold Ascalonite
Fled from his lion ramp-old warriors turned
Their plated backs under his heel,

140
Or grovelling soiled their crested helmets in the dust.
Then with what trivial weapon came to hand,
The jaw of a dead ass, his sword of bone,
A thousand foreskins fell, the flower of Palestine,
In Ramath-lechi, famous to this day.
Then by main force pulled up, and on his shoulders bore,
The gates of Azza, post and massy bar,
Up to the hill by Hebron, seat of giants old,
No journey of a sabbath-day, and loaded so;
Like whom the Gentiles feign to bear up heaven: 150
Which shall I first bewall,
Thy bondage or lost sight?
Prison within prison
Inseparably dark.
Thou art become-0 worst imprisonment !
The dungeon of thyself; thy soul
-Which men enjoying sight oft without cause complain-