Leader: We see him, daughter; and for this happy fortune a tear of
joy trickles from our eyes. (The following lines between Orestes
and Electra are chanted responsively.)
Electra: (strophe)
Offspring of him whom I loved best, thou hast come even now, thou
hast come, and found and seen her whom thy heart desired!
Orestes: I am with thee;- but keep silence for a while.
Electra: What meanest thou?
Orestes: 'Tis better to be silent, lest some one within should hear.
Electra: Nay, by ever-virgin Artemis, I will never stoop to fear women,
stay-at-homes, vain burdens of the ground!
Orestes: Yet remember that in women, too, dwells the spirit of battle;
thou hast had good proof of that, I ween.
Electra: Alas! ah me! Thou hast reminded me of my sorrow, one which,
from its nature, cannot be veiled, cannot be done away with, cannot
forget!
Studies
