Hyllus: Lo, there it is: thou shalt not be gainsaid.
Heracles: Now, swear by the head of Zeus my sire!
Hyllus: To do what deed? May this also be told?
Heracles: To perform for me the task that I shall enjoin.
Hyllus: I swear it, with Zeus for witness of the oath.
Heracles: And pray that, if thou break this oath, thou mayest suffer.
Hyllus: I shall not suffer, for I shall keep it:- yet so I pray.
Heracles: Well, thou knowest the summit of Oeta, sacred to Zeus?
Hyllus: Ay; I have often stood at his altar on that height.
Heracles: Thither, then, thou must carry me up with thine own hands,
aided by what friends thou wilt; thou shalt lop many a branch from
the deep-rooted oak, and hew many a faggot also from the sturdy stock
of the wild-olive; thou shalt lay my body thereupon, and kindle it
with flaming pine-torch.
And let no tear of mourning be seen there; no, do this without lament
and without weeping, if thou art indeed my son. But if thou do it
not, even from the world below my curse and my wrath shall wait on
thee for ever.
Studies
