The Defiance Of Eteocles

A poem by Aeschylus (c. 525 – c. 456 Before Christ )

MESSENGER

Now at the Seventh Gate the seventh chief,

Thy proper mother’s son, I will announce,

What fortune for this city, for himself,

With curses he invoketh:–on the walls

Ascending, heralded as king, to stand,

With paeans for their capture; then with thee

To fight, and either slaying near thee die,

Or thee, who wronged him, chasing forth alive,

Requite in kind his proper banishment.

Such words he shouts, and calls upon the gods

Who o’er his race preside and Fatherland,

With gracious eye to look upon his prayers.

A well-wrought buckler, newly forged, he bears,

With twofold blazon riveted thereon,

For there a woman leads, with sober mien,

A mailed warrior, enchased in gold;

Justice her style, and thus the legend speaks:–

“This man I will restore, and he shall hold

The city and his father’s palace homes.”

Such the devices of the hostile chiefs.

‘Tis for thyself to choose whom thou wilt send;

But never shalt thou blame my herald-words.

To guide the rudder of the State be thine!

ETEOCLES

O heaven-demented race of Oedipus,

My race, tear-fraught, detested of the gods!

Alas, our father’s curses now bear fruit.

But it beseems not to lament or weep,

Lest lamentations sadder still be born.

For him, too truly Polyneikes named,–

What his device will work we soon shall know;

Whether his braggart words, with madness fraught,

Gold-blazoned on his shield, shall lead him back.

Hath Justice communed with, or claimed him hers,

Guided his deeds and thoughts, this might have been;

But neither when he fled the darksome womb,

Or in his childhood, or in youth’s fair prime,

Or when the hair thick gathered on his chin,

Hath Justice communed with, or claimed him hers,

Nor in this outrage on his Fatherland

Deem I she now beside him deigns to stand.

For Justice would in sooth belie her name,

Did she with this all-daring man consort.

In these regards confiding will I go,

Myself will meet him. Who with better right?

Brother to brother, chieftain against chief,

Foeman to foe, I’ll stand. Quick, bring my spear,

My greaves, and armor, bulwark against stones.

Poetry Monster – Home

A few random poems:

External links

Bat’s Poetry Page – more poetry by Fledermaus

Talking Writing Monster’s Page –

Batty Writing – the bat’s idle chatter, thoughts, ideas and observations, all original, all fresh

Poems in English 

• The Seven Sisters by William Wordsworth by William Wordsworth
• The Sailor’s Mother by William Wordsworth by William Wordsworth
• The Russian Fugitive by William Wordsworth by William Wordsworth
• The Reverie of Poor Susan by William Wordsworth by William Wordsworth
• The Redbreast Chasing The Butterfly by William Wordsworth by William Wordsworth
• The Prioress’s Tale [from Chaucer] by William Wordsworth by William Wordsworth
• The Primrose of the Rock by William Wordsworth by William Wordsworth
• The Power of Armies is a Visible Thing by William Wordsworth by William Wordsworth
• The Pet-Lamb by William Wordsworth by William Wordsworth
• The Passing of the Elder Bards by William Wordsworth by William Wordsworth
• The Old Cumberland Beggar by William Wordsworth by William Wordsworth
• The Oak Of Guernica Supposed Address To The Same by William Wordsworth by William Wordsworth
• The Morning Of The Day Appointed For A General Thanksgiving. January 18, 1816 by William Wordsworth by William Wordsworth
• The King Of Sweden by William Wordsworth by William Wordsworth
• The Idle Shepherd Boys by William Wordsworth by William Wordsworth
• The Horn Of Egremont Castle by William Wordsworth by William Wordsworth
• The Highland Broach by William Wordsworth by William Wordsworth
• The Happy Warrior by William Wordsworth by William Wordsworth
• The Green Linnet by William Wordsworth by William Wordsworth
• The Germans On The Heighs Of Hochheim by William Wordsworth by William Wordsworth

More external links (open in a new tab):

Russian Commerce Agency

Dealing Monster

Doska or the Board – write anything

Search engines:

Yandex – the best search engine for searches in Russian (and the best overall image search engine, in any language, anywhere)

Qwant – the best search engine for searches in French, German as well as Romance and Germanic languages.

Ecosia – a search engine that supposedly… plants trees

Duckduckgo – the real alternative and a search engine that actually works. Without much censorship or partisan politics.

Yahoo– yes, it’s still around, amazingly, miraculously, incredibly, but now it seems to be powered by Bing.

 

Parallel Translations of Poetry

Poems by Author and Category

The Poetry Repository – an online library of poems, poetry, verse and poetic works