Leader: 'Tis a venial sin, when a man, suffering from evils too heavy
to bear, rids himself of a wretched existence. (Agamemnon and his
retinue enter.)
Agamemnon: Hearing a cry I am come hither; for Echo, child of the
mountain-rock, hath sent her voice loud-ringing through the host,
causing a tumult. Had I not known that Troy's towers were levelled
by the might of Hellas, this uproar had caused no slight terror.
Polymestor: Best of friends! for by thy voice I know thee, Agamemnon,
dost see my piteous state?
Agamemnon: What! hapless Polymestor, who hath stricken thee? who hath
reft thine eves of sight, staining the pupils with blood? who hath
slain these children? whoe'er he was, fierce must have been his wrath
against thee and thy children.
Polymestor: Hecuba, helped by the captive women, hath destroyed me;
no! not destroyed, far worse than that.
Agamemnon: (addressing Hecuba) What hast thou to say? Was it thou
that didst this deed, as he avers? thou, Hecuba, that hast ventured
on this inconceivable daring?
Studies
