cxxiv
CHORUS
Kadmus, I grieve for you.
Your grandson deserved his punishment.
But for you it is cruel.
AGAVE
Father, where is my son? Where is
His beloved body?
KADMUS
Here. I have brought it back after long search.
AGAVE
You needn't hide it from me. Father,
I know it is in pieces. I remember.
Is it decently composed? Can I see it?
KADMUS
Help her.
AGAVE
Father, and you people of this land,
You see how, in one stroke, my whole life
Is changed.
My son is dead;
What was my pride has turned into shame
And anguish unspeakable.
My hands are polluted
With my own blood. The gods goaded me
To this crime against my own flesh,
And yet I know that I'm guilty in their eyes,
And yours.
The laws of heaven the the holy
Respect we owe to the dead, forbid the killer
To bury his victim.
But this flesh grew
In my womb. It is mine, mine.
I do not want to live.
I only want to compose my son's body
For the world of the dead, so that my kind
Receives the tribute due to his beauty
When he gets there.
Then, I want to crawl away
From this town,
And die.
I was once queen of this land. Grant me this favor.
KADMUS
My daughter, the cloud of pollution
Is on us, all. The whole town was guilty
Of scorning a god. You and your sisters,
And me. And this boy. Nobody has the right
To keep you away from him.
But I warn you
Do not ask for more than mortal eyes
Can survive.
Help her.
She kneels to the body of Pentheus
AGAVE
Ah.
Who is this dead man?
How can I embrace
Him? How can I weep for him and kiss a stranger?
Oh, my son, your skin used to smell so sweetly
When you were a boy,
My little boy, my king.
Father, help me. Bring here his beloved head.
Place it here. We must make everything look
Exact.
Oh, I gave you life once,
What law forbids me to do it again?
Oh, dearest face,
Oh, soft young cheek,
Help me.
My boy, see, with this veil I cover you,
Your head, that I shall never see again,
Your bloodstained limbs I myself
Have torn to these unseemly pieces.
What law?
My king.
The dead are dead forever.
She covers the body with her veil.
| Previous page on path | The Bacchae, page 124 of 127 | Next page on path |
Discussion of "cxxiv"
Add your voice to this discussion.
Checking your signed in status ...