Electra: Ah me! alas! and whither can I go? What share have I henceforth
in dance or marriage rite? What husband will accept me as his bride?
Orestes: Again thy fancy changes with the wind; for now thou thinkest
aright, though not so formerly; an awful deed didst thou urge thy
brother against his will to commit, dear sister. Oh! didst thou see
how the poor victim threw open her robe and showed her bosom as smote
her, sinking on her knees, poor wretch? And her hair I-
Electra: Full well I know the agony through which thou didst pass
at hearing thy own mother's bitter cry.
Orestes: Ah yes! she laid her band upon my chin, and cried aloud,
"My child, I entreat thee!" and she clung about my neck, so that I
let fall the sword.
Electra: O my poor mother! How didst thou endure to see her breathe
her last before thy eyes?
Orestes: I threw my mantle o'er them and began the sacrifice by plunging
the sword into my mother's throat.
Studies
