σεμνῷ θυηπολοῦντες ὑμνοῦσιν χορῷ,
ἐπεὶ σὲ, τὸν Σάμψωνα, τὸν πολυκτόνον,
τυφλόν τε δέσμιόν τε τῶν ἐχθρῶν λόχοις
ἐγχειρίσας ἔδωκε, κἄσωσεν πόλιν.
ὄνομα μὲν οὖν Δάγωνος ἐξαρθήσεται
Θεοῦ δ ̓ ἀκοινώνητον αἰσχυνεῖ σέβας,
ταῖς χειροκμήτοις παραβαλών νιν εἰκόσιν,
οἰνοπλάνητος συρφετὸς θεοστυγής.
σὺ δ ̓ αὖ τοσούτων αἴτιος γεγὼς κακῶν,
σαὐτὸν μέγιστον ἴσθι πῆμ ̓ εἰργασμένος
ἡμᾶς τ ̓ ὄνειδος, ὧν ποτ ̓ ἂν τυχεῖν παρῆν.
ΣΑΜΨΩΝ.
πάτερ, ξυνήγορόν με τοῖς λόγοις ἔχεις,
αὐτὸν πορόντα τῷ Δάγωνι τιμίαν
δόξαν παρ ̓ ἀστοῖς, ἔν τε γείτοσιν κλέος
ἐμοῦ δ ̓ ἕκατι λοιδορούμενοι Θεῷ,
αὐτοὶ ματαίων ψευδοκήρυκες θεῶν,
γελῶσι· πρὸς δὲ τοῖσδε παγκακῶς κλύειν
καὶ τοὺς πολίτας, ὥστε διαβαλεῖν Θεὸν
τοὺς καὶ πάροιθε δειλίᾳ δεδμημένους,
ἀντ ̓ εὐσεβούντων δυσσεβοῦντας· οἷς ἐγὼ
αἰσχύνομαι μάλιστα, κἀποδύρομαι,
Mine eye to harbour sleep, or thoughts to rest.
This only hope relieves me, that the strife
With me hath end; all the contest is now
"Twixt God and Dagon. Dagon hath presumed,
Me overthrown, to enter lists with God,
His deity comparing and preferring
Before the God of Abraham: He, be sure,
Will not connive or linger, thus provoked,
But will arise, and his great name assert.
Dagon must stoop, and shall ere long receive
Such a discomfit, as shall quite despoil him
Of all these boasted trophies won on me,
And with confusion blank his worshippers.
With cause this hope relieves thee, and these words.
I as a prophecy receive, for God
Nothing more certain-will not long defer
To vindicate the glory of his name
Against all competition, nor will long
Endure it doubtful whether God be Lord,
Or Dagon, But for thee what shall be done?
νύκτωρ ἀΰπνος, φρενομανὴς καθ' ἡμέραν.
οὐδ ̓ ἐστὶν εἰ μὴ τοῦτο θέλγητρον κακῶν,
ἔμ ̓ ἐξαμιλληθέντα τῆς μάχης, μόνοιν
Θεῷ τε καὶ Δάγωνι παραδεδωκέναι.
τῷ Πατρίῳ γὰρ ἀνταγωνίστην Θεῷ
τλὰς οὗτος, ὡς ἔμουγε κειμένου σαφῶς,
αὑτὸν παρασχεῖν, θειότητος ἐξόχων
ὠρέξατ ̓ ἄθλων· τοῦτο δ ̓ ἔμπεδον λέγω,
τὸν Δαίμον ̓ οὔτε χρόνιον οὔτ ̓ ὤρας ἄτερ
δείξειν ἀναστάνθ ̓ οἷος ὑβρίσθη Θεός
κείνῳ δ ̓ ὑπεικτέον τε, χῶν ἀφήρπασε
πάντων τροπαίων γάνος ἀφαιρεθήσεται
φόβον δ ̓ ἀμείψουσ ̓ οἵ νιν ὕμνησαν τὸ πρίν.
ἀληθόμαντιν ἐλπίδ ̓, ἥ σ ̓ ἐκούφισεν,
ὦ παῖ, δέδεγμαι, διὰ τάχους πεπεισμένος
ἴδιον σέβας τηροῦντι καὶ κράτος Θεῷ,
ὅστις ποτ ̓ ἂν νῦν ἀνθαμιλλᾶσθαι θέλῃ·
οὐδ ̓ ἀμφιλέκτους, ὧν Δάγων ἀνθάπτεται,
θρόνους ἐάσει· σοῦ δ ̓ ὕπερ τί δεῖ ποιεῖν
ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ τῶνδ ̓, ἃ προὔγνωκας, χρόνῳ ;
Thou must not in the mean while, here forgot,
Lie in this miserable loathsome plight,
Neglected. I already have made way
To some Philistian lords, with whom to treat
About thy ransom: well they may by this
Have satisfied their utmost of revenge,
By pains and slaveries, worse than death, inflicted
On thee, who now no more canst do them harm.
Spare that proposal, father, spare the trouble
Of that solicitation: let me here,
As I deserve, pay on my punishment ;
And expiate, if possible, my crime,
Shameful garrulity. To have revealed
Secrets of men, the secrets of a friend,
How heinous had the fact been, how deserving
Contempt and scorn of all, to be excluded
All friendship, and avoided as a blab,
The mark of fool set on his front! But I
God's counsel have not kept, his holy secret
Presumptuously have published, impiously,
Weakly at least and shamefully—a sin
οὐ γὰρ θέμις, λαθόντα καὶ φίλων ἄτερ,
κεῖσθαι πινώδους ἐν δύαις ἀλγηδόνος.
πρὸς ταῦτ ̓ ἔγωγε τῶν Φιλιστίνων τισὶν
ἤδη ξυνῆλθον, τῶν λύτρων τῶν σῶν πέρι
σπονδὰς προτείνων· καὶ γὰρ οὖν αὐτοὺς πάλαι
δεῖ τῶν ἀπλήστων σῶν κορεσθῆναι κακῶν,
τοῦ μηκέτ ̓ ἀνθέξοντος, ἐν δεσμῶν πέδαις,
ἐχθρῶν ἐφορμαῖς.
μὴ σύ γ' ἐν τούτοις, πάτερ,
κάμῃς· ἀχρείων δεῖ σ ̓ ἀποσχέσθαι λιτῶν, ἐμοῦγε τὸν δίκαιον ἀντλοῦντος πόνον, ἀσχήμονός μοι ζημίαν γλωσσαλγίας.
καὶ γὰρ φίλου ποτ ̓ ἀνδρὸς ἄτλητον δοκεῖ
λόγους προδοῦναι τοὺς παρηγγυημένους,
τῶν δ ̓ οἵνεκ ̓ ἐκπίπτει τε καὶ πάντων ὕπο
ἀπαξιοῦται μὴ οὐχ ἑταιρείας τυχεῖν
ὁ ταῦτα δράσας, μωρίαν ἐστιγμένος,
καὶ φευκτός, ἀθυρόγλωσσος ὡς, ἐν ἀνδράσι
Θεοῦ δ ̓ ἐγὼ βούλευμα κἄῤῥητον γέρας
ἔῤῥιψ ̓ ἀναιδὴς, ἄθεος, εἰ δὲ μὴ, φρενῶν
ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ, καταγέλαστος ἐν πόλει.
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