ἔρως μὲν ἔσθ ̓ ὁ τόνδε κυρώσας λόγον,
εἰ καὶ παρ ̓ ἄλλοις ἀλογίαν ὀφλισκάνει.
ἔρως μὲν ἄκων πόλλ ̓ ἀπείργασται κακὰ,
ἀεὶ δ ̓ ἀθῷος ἐν βροτοῖσιν ἐκρίθη.
μή νυν σιδηρόφρων τε κἄκαμπτος μένει,
οἷές τ ̓ ἄρ ̓ οὔτις ἄλλος, ἐν ῥώμης λόγῳ
ἄθελκτος ἴσθι, μήδ', ἀριστεύων σθένος,
ὀργῆς ἀπηνοῦς ἆθλον ἐν θνητοῖς λάβῃς.
ΣΑΜΨΩΝ.
αὑτὴν μὲν ἥδ ̓ ἡ φαρμακὶς, πυκνῷ δόλῳ,
ἔμ ̓ ὡς ἀληθῶς κερτομοῦσ ̓, ἐμέμψατο.
κακὸν φρονοῦσα, κοὐ μεταλλαγεῖσα νοῦν,
ἥκεις τεκμήριον δέ· καὶ γὰρ αὐτὸς ἦ,
πικρὸν τόδ', ἀψευδὲς δὲ, λοιδορεῖς ἐμὲ,
ὁ πρῶτος εἰς ἐμαυτὸν ἀδικίας τύπον
τόσης προδείξας, πρὶν σὲ τολμῆσαί ποτε,
ὅσον μὲν οὖν ἔμοιγε συγγνώμης λαχεῖν
τῆς μωρίας ἔξεστι, σῆς πανουργίας
ἔχοις ἄν· ἐξ ἐμοῦ δὲ κατ ̓ ἐμαυτοῦ δίκας
ὀρθὰς ὁρῶσα κἀπαραιτήτους νόμους,
ἃ νῦν ματεύεις, πρόφασιν ὡς θηρωμένη,
τάχ ̓ ἂν μεθείης· τῶν φρενῶν ἀῤῥωστίαν
And I believe it,-weakness to resist
Philistian gold. If weakness may excuse,
What murderer, what traitor, parricide,
Incestuous, sacrilegious, but may plead it?
All wickedness is weakness; that plea therefore
With God or man will gain thee no remission.
But love constrained thee;-call it furious rage
To satisfy thy lust; love seeks to have love.
My love how could'st thou hope, who tookest the way
To raise in me inexpiable hate,
Knowing, as needs I must, by thee betrayed?
In vain thou striv'st to cover shame with shame,
Or by evasions thy crime uncoverest more.
Since thou determinest weakness for no plea
In man or woman, though to thy own condemning,
Hear what assaults I had, what snares besides,
What sieges girt me round, ere I consented;
σκῆψιν προτείνεις, οὐδ ̓ ἔγωγ ̓ ἀρνήσομαι,
τὸ μὴ σθένειν γε τοῖσι δελεάζουσί σε
χρύσῳ Φιλιστίνοισιν ἀντέχειν τότε·
οἷς εἴ τιν ̓ ἦν φεύγοντα νικῆσαι λόγοις,
τίς δήποθ' ἱερόσυλος ἢ πατροκτόνος,
προδότης τίς, αἰνόλεκτρος ἢ μιαίφονος,
ἐπὶ τοισίδ ̓ οὐκ ἄμεμπτος; ἀσθενεῖ γε πᾶς
ὃς ἂν πονηρὸς ᾖ· σὲ δ ̓ οὔποτ ̓ ἂν Θεὸς
ἢ θνητὸς ἀπολύσειε τοιούτων χάριν.
ἀλλ ̓ οὐδ ̓ ἔρωτος τοῦτ ̓ ἔδρας ἡσσημένη,
οἰστρηλατουμένη δὲ λαγνείας μένει.
ἔρωτ ̓ ἔρως γὰρ ἀνταμοιβὸν ἄρνυται,
οὗ γ ̓ οὔτιν ̓ ἐλπίδ ̓ εἶχες, ἡ σαυτῆς κάτα
τείνασα δυσκάθαρτον ἐξ ἐμοῦ στύγος
πρὸς σοῦ γὰρ ἤδη δεινὸν ἠπατημένος.
αὐτὴ μὲν ἥλως ἡ θέλουσ ̓ ὑπεκφυγεῖν,
αἴσχει ματαίῳ προσβαλοῦσ ̓ αἶσχος πόνῳ.
ἐπεὶ σὺ, καίπερ σαυτὸν αἰτιώμενος,
γυναιξὶν ἀνδράσιν τ ̓ ἀπεννέπεις τάδε, φαίην ἂν οἵας ἐμβολάς τε καὶ δόλων
τέχνας περιβληθεῖσα, πολιορκουμένων
Which might have awed the best resolved of men,
The constantest, to have yielded without blame.
It was not gold, as to my charge thou layest,
That wrought with me. Thou knowest the magistrates
And princes of my country came in person,
Solicited, commanded, threatened, urged,
Adjured by all the bonds of civil duty
And of religion; pressed how just it was,
How honourable, how glorious, to entrap
A common enemy, who had destroyed
Such numbers of our nation; and the priest
Was not behind, but ever at my ear,
Preaching how meritorious with the gods.
It would be to ensnare an irreligious
Dishonourer of Dagon.
To oppose against such powerful arguments?
Only my love of thee held long debate,
And combated in silence all these reasons
With hard contest. At length that grounded maxim,
So rife and celebrated in the mouths
Of wisest men, that to the public good
Private respects must yield, with grave authority
Took full possession of me and prevailed;
Virtue, as I thought, truth, duty, so enjoining.
δίκην, ἀπεῖπον, οἷσιν αὐθάδης μάλα ἐνέδωκεν ἄν τις, ἀψεγῶς φοβούμενος·
χρύσου γὰρ οὐκ ἦν ἔργον, ὥς με διέβαλες· τοὺς δ ̓ ἐν τέλει κάτοισθα, πρωτάρχους πόλεως, αὐτούς μ' ἀπειλαῖς ἐντολαῖς τε καὶ λιταῖς ἐπικαλέσαντας, πρὸς νόμου τε δημίου τοῦ τ ̓ ἐκ θεῶν σθένοντος, ὡς μάλ ̓ εὐπρεπῶς πεσοῖτο, καλλίσταισιν ἀγρευτὸς πάγαις, ὃ τῶν πολιτῶν μυρίους ἀποκτανών. οὐδ ̓ ὑστερεῖν ἔδοξαν οἱ τοὺς θεοὺς πέρι, θρυλοῦντες ὡς εὔνοιαν ἔκ γε δαιμόνων κτήσοιτο πᾶς τις ξυλλαβὼν τὸν δυσσεβῶς Δάγων ̓ ἀτιμάσαντα· τοιούτοις μὲν οὖν τίς ἢ λογισμοῖς ἀνταγωνιστὴς ἐγώ; ἕρως ὑπὲρ σοῦ χρόνιος ἀντιστὰς μόνος στεῤῥὸν σιωπῶν ἆθλον ἀθλεύειν ἔτλη. τέλος, τὸ περιβόητον ἐκ σοφωτάτων κηρυχθὲν ἀνδρῶν ῥῆμα καὶ παλαίφατον,
ΚΡΑΤΕΙΝ ΤΟ ΚΟΙΝΟΝ, τῶν φρενῶν ἐδέσποσεν αἰδὼς γὰρ ἦν, καὶ πίστις, ὡς δοκεῖν γ ̓ ἐμοὶ,
ἀρετή τε σεμνότιμος, οἷς ἠπειγόμην.
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