turn Now here now there her anxious steps she bears My words receiveth at her Careful Ears She fears more than she Mourns Here 's work for wit To Andromach again That parents ease to parents give 't is fit Thou may'st rejoyce that thou dost want thy Son Whom a most Cruel Death did waite upon For from the Tower that which remains alone Of Troy he should have been cast headlong downe Andromach My feeble limbs do shake my Spirit 's lost My blood grows stiffe bound with a frigid frost Aside Vlysses See how she trembles This is the way to do 't Fear has detected her Now I 'le renew't Aside To the Souldiers they seek about Go Go make hast bring forth where e're he 's hid The Greeks last plague hid by his mothers fraud 7 So so he 's Caught Go to Make hast He'r lead To Andromach Why look'st thou back and fear'st Thy Son is dead Andro. Would I might fear This is accustom'd fear What we learn long we cannot soon forbear Vlysses Since that the youth a purging Sacrum may Not be nor we our Prophet thus obey He being snatch'd by a more gentle Fate 8 Thus Calchas saith Our ships may remigrate If Seas to please we Hector's ashes spread About and 's Tomb with th' Earth be equal made Since he escap'd has the appointed fate Our hand this Sacred Seat must violate aside Andro. What shall I do my mind a double fear Distracts My Son the ashes of my dear Husband O Hector I to witness Call The Cruel Gods the True thy 9 Ghosts an all Nought but thy self in my Son pleaseth me May he live then for to be like to thee Shall 's ashes merged be his Tomb pull'd down Shall I let 's bones into the Sea be thrown First let * * Astyanax him die But Can'st thou see him sent To death hurl'd down from the high battlement I will I 'le suffer 't I will indure 't that the Dead by the victor's hand mayn't dammag'd be He may be sensible of pain at rest The Fates have placed him Why waverest Determine which thou'lt save Do'st doubt ingrate This is thy Hector Both are Hecters yet This is alive revenge perhaps he may His dead Father Both cann't be sav'd Delay Why dost save him the Greeks do fear Vlysses I will Distroy this Tomb and th' Oracle fulfill Andromach 10 That which ye sold Vlysses I will the Sepulchre Rase to the Ground Andromach The help of Gods deter Achilles Faith I Call O Pyrrhus thy Sire's gift desend Vlysses This Tomb shall by and by O're all the field be spread Andromach Such villanies The Greeks yet have not dar'd 11 of Deities Your friends you violated have the Fain Your Rage yet spar'd the Tombs I 'le you restrain My naked hands yours arm'd shall set upon Wrath Strength will Give As the fierce 12 Amazon Beat down the Grecian Troops As 13 Menas strook By Bacchick fury all the forrests shook With her Enthean rage and furnished With 14 Thyrsus mad ne'r felt the wounds she made So in the midst I 'le rush a Mate become To 's Ashes in defending of his tombe Ulysses Cease ye what doth a simple womans do to the soldiers And fury move Obey and quickly too Andr. O slay me first foil hell break Fates delay Hector remove the Earth So that you may Ulysses tame Thy Ghost can do 't See see He shakes the weapons Hurleth fires do yee See Hector or do onely I Ulysses Down down With 't to the Ground Andromach What do'st shall overthrown Aside Thy Son and Husband be together pray The Greeks perhaps you pacifie them may The massy ruines of the Tomb will strait Crush th' hidden wretch O rather let his Fate Be some where else lest that the Father kill The Son the Son the Father's ashes spill I suppliant at thy feet do fall although To Ulysses My hands did ne'r such humble postures know I lay them at thy Feet Ulysses hear My pious prayers gently patient bear Pity a Mother And the higher thou By th' Gods art rais'd unto the fallen shew Less rigor who the needy helps doth gain So may'st thou thy 15 chast wife's bed see again So may thy sight extend thy Fathers years Thy Son receive thee May thy voteful prayers In thy Son's virtues more then answer'd be His grand-sires age thy ingenuitie May he surpass The Mother pity save My onely Joy Ulysses Bring forth thy Son and Crave Act the III. Scene the III. Andromach Vlysses Astyanax MIserable wretch Come from thy Den Andromach calls Astyanax from the Tomb he comes out See here The Child Ulysses who your Ships doth fear Submit thy self fall prostrate on thy face At thy Lord's feet intreat Nor think that base Which fortune to the wretched hath assign'd Thy Kingly Grand-fathers put from thy mind And famous Priamus's mighty Power Hector forget and like a Captive bear Thy Self with bended knees If tho' art not sensible as yet of Death Yet imitate thy mothers Tears Troy hath Once seen the 1 tears of her young Princely heir The fierce 3 Alcides threats removed were By little Priamus That fierce one who 4 Did monsters by his mighty Strength subdue Who broke hell's gates returned thence yet he Was by the tears of 's little Enemie O'recome Take here said he the reins possesse Thy Father's seat and Throne more 2 faith express In ruling now His Captives not repent We should By Hercules learn to relent Must onely Hercules's 5 arrows please As good as Priamus here suppliant lies Before thy feet his life he begs as for The Realm he that to Fortune doth refer Ulys The Mourning of this ' frighted mother sore Aside Moves me but yet the Grecian dames move more To whom this Child great Sorrow once may yield Andromach Shall he this ruin'd City e're rebuild Shall these hands Troy erect No hopes Troy has If such as these we ruin'd are alass Not so that we to any fear may Cause Doth's Father Cause this rigor 6 True the place Hector himself after Troys downfall would Have left his Courage by such great Ills Cool'd If punishments you seek worse can you lack Than to the yoak to use his noble neck Sure he may serve who ' le this a King deny Ulysses 'T is Calchas this denies to you not I. Andromach Author of Fraudes worker of Cruelty None in the wars did by thy valour die By the Sly fraudes of thy infected minde 7 Greeks too have fallen Why dost thou pretend The Prophet and the Guiltless Gods when this Night Champion of thy own devising is Tho' art valiant to slay a Child 'T is now Alone by day thou any thing dar'st doe Ulysses Ulysses valour to the Greeks is known Enough too much to you I may n't in vain Words Spend the day Our Anchors way'd will be Andr. Grant some short stay whilst that I render the Last duties of a Parent to my Childe And have my griefs by my last Clippings fill'd
Seneca TROADES A Tragedie writen in Latine by LANNAEus SENECA translated into English by S P. with Comments annexed Splendebat Ante omnes tanquam m•••• Sol aureus a•tris 1660 TROADES ENGLISHED By S. P. LONDON Printed by W. G. for Henry Marsh at the Princes Arms in Chancery-Lane and Peter Dring at the Sun in the Poultrey neer the Counter 1660. To the Reader Reader I Had rather be wanting in an Epithet then at an adventure to impose one upon thee which may not be Consonant to Truth A whole Regiment of them would not be enough to Equalize the divers humours of those into whose hands this small piece may come I am not igrant how dangerous a task I have undertaken in the Edition of this translation or rather Paraphrase A man whilst he is recluse is safe and unknown but if once he steps abroad in this nature he must expect to run the hazard of being soundly whipt with the venomous lash of the tongue That you may see I am very willing to bear the burthen of my own faults I have neither got a forlorn Hope of precursorie verses nor offer'd to gain any to patronize them by a Dedication I am more chary of my Friends than of my self for if I have Committed any errors in this version it is fit that I bear the censures my selfe without exposing them to that trouble whose charity might o'repasse what a strict and censorious eye will bitingly examine By this you may see that I already plead guilty to my faults and am very willing to submit to the judgement of the learned At their bar I stand and have nothing to say for my self but that it is my first Essay and confequently my first fault and may be the last I shall commit in this nature If they then absolve me I shall not regard the tumid words of carping Zoilians who make it their whole work to detract others and invalidate all but the issue of their own braines I assure you I am not Pigmalion to be in Love with the work of my own hands if I were I should rather have kept this in my deske then thus freely offer it to a Common prostitution If thou ask'st why I have offer'd it in publique view I will not answer thee with that trivial and palliating Come-off that the intreaties of Friends have forc'd me contrary to my will to tumble into the presse where after so desperate a Squeeze I appeare so mishapen and besmear'd with black blood No truly I freely jump'd in and have indured the wrack only to pleasure the mere English Reader and that I might add the more lustre to and set off with my distorts the beauties of Medea and Hippolitus so well translated by severall Hands I Confesse I had begun this e're I had a view of either which when I had seen I finish'd it with reluctancy as knowing how short I came of their eligancy and skill For to speake any thing in prayse of that noble Philosopher my Author were to hold a Candle against the Sun for indeed Splendebat Ante omnes tanquam Mediis Sol aureus astris Therefore I shall wave it as a thing needlesse being so esteemed by and well known to all learned men As for the work it is with Medea and Hippolitus according to the Judgment of learned Lipsius and Scaliger to be preferr'd to all the rest of the Tragedies as being both the onely Legitimates of the Philosopher and excelling the rest in Stile and Elegancy As all his works are full of wise grave and wholesome Councells bating him where he is altogether Stoicall so although he hath put on the Buskins and plaid the Tragedaean even in this Cothurn•ll stile he has many profitable and morall sentences This has induc'd me to what I have done and therefore I shall say no more but be Candid and Farewell Bradfieldiae Cal. Novembris S. P. Dramatis Personae HEcuba Queen of Troy Agamemnon General of the Greeks Pyrrhus The Son of Achilles Andromache Hectors Wife Helena The Wife of Menelaus stolen and married by Paris the cause of Troys destruction Vlysses A Subtle Grecian Astyanax The Son of Hector Calcas A Grecian Southsayer Talthybius A Grecian Polyxena Mute Senex Nuncius And Chorus Of Trojan Women The SCENE Troy The Argument TROY had now withstood ten years Seige and with incomparable valour resisted the Greeks when at last her Champion Hector being taken through the Treachery of a Stratagem she was sack'd fir'd and brought to ruine and destruction The Greeks intending now to depart to their long left homes were by a contrary wind stayed when the Ghost of Achilles appearing commands them not to stir thence till they had immolated the Princess Polyxena under the pretext of a marriage to his Ghost Chalcas their Prophet being consulted he gives judgement that not only the Princely Virgin must dye but that also Astyanax the Son of Hector must be flung from the Top of a high Tower in Troy Which Tragedies being accordingly acted the Greeks hoist Sails and depart loaden with Captives Riches and Glory TROADES A TRAGEDY Written in Latine BY Lucius Annaeus Seneca TRANSLATED Into our Vernacular Tongue The first Act Enter Hecuba alone WHo trusts in Kingdomes and who puissant bears Rule over mighty Monarchies nor fears 1 Th' inconstant Gods Who on Prosperitie Relies too much Let him consider me And thee ô Troy For Fortune never bore Of great mens slip'ry state such Proofs before The Head of Pollent Asia The great work O' th' 2 Gods above doth in its ruines Lurk To whose 3 assistance came both those that drink At seven mouth'd 4 Tanais frigid brink And those 5 that nere first see the springing day In the warm East Those too where with the Sea 6 Tigris doth mixe And 7 she that neighboured To the wandring Scythes her band of Widdowes led Unto the Pontick bank Destroyed thus In her own ashes lyeth Pergamus See the Walls pride her lofty Turrets lie Huddl'd in their burnt ruines flames on high Compasse the Pallace round All Ilium Smoaks yet the Victors greedy hands the flame Prohibits not The prey from flames is took Nor may the Heav'n be seen for waving Smoak The dark day wrapped in a thick'ned cloud Doth in Troys ashes as in mourning shroud It self The proud and greedy victor stays And wrath bow'd Ilium with his eyes surveys At length he holds excus'd his ten years wars And Troy's sad affliction abhors Although he sees she 's overcome yet he His eyes scarce credits knows not how 't may be The robber though Dardanian spoyls away Snatches A 8 thousand ships w'ont hold the prey The power of the Gods adverse to me My Country's ashes Phrygian King O thee Whom Troy hides with the whole Kingdome and Thy Manes Hector by whom Troy did stand Whilst that thou stood'st And ye great flocks of my Own Children and the lesser Umbrae I Call all to witnesse what somever ill Hath hap'ned to us I beleived
prisoner but having flain Laomedon he sets Priamus at liberty to enjoy his fathers Realm Thus Ovid Met. 11. Apollo Cumque Tridentigero tumidi genetore profundi Mortalem induitur formam Phrygiaeque Tyranne Aedificat muros pacto pro moenibus auro c. By Sands Translated thus Apollo Who with the father of the tumid main Indues a mortal shape and entertain Themselves for unregarded Gold to build The Phrygian Tyrants walls That work fulfill'd The King their promised reward denies c. 3 To whose assistance Came Rhesus King of Thrace whose horses had they drunk of the River Xanthe by Troy as the Oracle delivered Troy had been invincible but he was slain and his horses taken before they came thither by Ulysses and Dromedes 4 Tanais put for Ister which falls like Nile into the Sea at 7 mouths 5 And those that neer first see Memnon with his Eastern Troops the Son of Tithon and Aurora Priamus's Nephew slain by Achilles whose ashes were converted to fowles Ovid Met. 13. Cum Memnonis arduus alto Corruit igne rogus Atra favilla volat glomerataque Corpus in unum Densatur saciemque Capit c. Sands translat. When greedy flame devour'd the funeral pile The flying dying Sparkles joyntly grow Into one body Colour form life spring To it from fire which levity doth wing First like a fowl forthwith a Fowl indeed c. 6 Those too where with the Sea Tigris The Troops that came with Memnon about the Perfic Gulfe where the swift river Tigris disimbokes it self 7 And she that neighboured Penthesilea Queen of the Amazons slain by Achilles See note third upon the 5 Act 8 A Thousand Ships the number of the Grecian Fleet when they first set out for Troy 9 Cassandra Priamus's daughter whom Phoebus loving Sued for her maidenhead which she promised him on Condition that he would indue her with the gift of Prophesie or foretelling things to come which having granted her She would no 〈…〉 to her promiss which the deceived God seeing ad 〈…〉 his former gift that whatsoever she foretold though never so true should not be Credited Nor did the Trojans believe what she predicted till afterwards they found it true to their sorrow Virg. Aen. 2. Tunc etiam fatis aperit Cassandra suturis Ora dei jussu non unquam Credita Teucris Cassandra then these future fates foretold Whom Trojans ne're believ'd so Phoebus would Ogleby interpret 10 With Child I this 11 T is by my fire brand Hecuba when she was with-Child of Paris dreamed that she was delivered of a fire-brand which proved true in that he was the Cause of Troys destruction 12 Dromedes King of Aetolia the Constant Companion of Ulysses in all his exploites In stealing the horses of Rhesus and the Palladium of Troy which could not be Conquer'd whilst that remained there 13 False Sinon He by whose Craft the wooden horse was admitted into Troy out of whose belly came the hidden Greeks who surpriz'd the City by that Stratagem 14 The murther of the King Priamus slain by Pyrrhus at the Altar of Jupiter Hercius which was in the Court between the Entrance and the Hall where the Kings use to be Crowned 15 Helenus's wife Andromach who after Pyrrhus had taken Hermione from Orestes was given to Helenus who was Priamus's Son and a great Prophet So that the time is here anticipated by the Author 16 Another doth Antenors Crave Theano Antenor was a Trojan Prince who after Troys overthrow fled to the Venetians he built Padua 17 In Imitation of mourners as the manner of the Preficae was to knock their breasts tear their dishevell'd tresses and lam 〈…〉 groans and ejulations 18 Ida's direful King Paris whose residence was on mount Ida where whilst he kept sheep the three Goddesses Juno Pallas Venus presented themselves to him making him the arbitrator of their strife for the Golden Ball which he despising the proser'd wisdom of Pallas the Riches of Juno adjudged to Venus who had promis'd him the fairest Beauty in the world which was Helena whom she gave him in reward for his arbitration Upon the Chorus 1 To Amyclas A City in Laconia where the Brothers of Helena Castor and Pollux were born 2 With mother Cybeles Sacred Pines The Ship in which Paris went being made of the Pines that grew on Mount Ida a Mountain Sacred to Cybele and where she was chiefly worshipped from whence her Priests where Call'd Idaei dactyli 3 In the Sigean fields The fields adjoyning to Troy denominated from the promontorie Sigeum by which was the Sepulchre of Achilles 4 O Queen lift up thy hand after the manner of the Praeficae which was the sign to begin their lamentations 5 Your hair untye Here is described the custome of those women hired to lament at funerals they wore their hair disshevel'd their necks and breasts bare and striking their hands against them made a fearful ejulation and howling Hae la crymis sparsêre deos hae pectora duro Af flixêre solo lacerasq in limine sacro Attonitae fudere Comas votisque vocari Assuetas crebris feriunt ululatibus aures Una madentes Scissa genas planctu liventes atra lacertos Nunc ait ô miserae contundite pectora matres Nunc laniate Comas c. Lucan lib. 2. May English One weeps before the Gods one her torn locks Throws in the Sacred porch another knocks Her breast against the ground the God whose ears Were us'd to prayers now only howlings hears But one there Her plaint-bruis`d armes and moysten'd cheeks did tear Now now quoth she oh Mothers teare your hair Now beat your breasts Such was the manner of the ancients mourning fully described in his Chorus 6 Make all the Rhaetian Shores A promontory of Troy in which was the Sepulcher of Ajax Telamonius 7 The Eccho found In Mounts and Caves Is the repercussion of the air against some rock or hill or some obvious body which repears the dilated sound by reflection But the Poets have feign`d it the effect of Love whose Metamorphosis you may read in Ovid lib. 3. She was a Nymph of the river Cephissus who falling in Love with Narcissus and being by him rejected pined her self with grief to a stone her voyce onely remaining c. In aere succus Corporis omnis abit vox tantum atque ossa supersunt Vox manet ossa ferunt lapidis traxisse figuram Inde latet sylvis nulloque in monte videtur Omnibus auditur sonus est qui vivit in illa Her blood converts to air Nothing was left her but her voyce and bones The voyce remaines the other turn'd to stones Conceal'd in words in mountaines never found She 's heard of all and all is but a sound Sands Here 't is said she is never found in Mountains and that is because there is no obstacle to strike back the air but if you stand at a Convenient distance from the mountain especially if there be any Caverns you