The Lament Of The Old Nurse

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

NURSE

Our mistress bids me with all speed to call

Aegisthus to the strangers, that he come

And hear more clearly, as a man from man,

This newly brought report. Before her slaves,

Under set eyes of melancholy cast,

She hid her inner chuckle at the events

That have been brought to pass–too well for her,

But for this house and hearth most miserably,–

As in the tale the strangers clearly told.

He, when he hears and learns the story’s gist,

Will joy, I trow, in heart. Ah, wretched me!

How those old troubles, of all sorts made up,

Most hard to bear, in Atreus’s palace-halls

Have made my heart full heavy in my breast!

But never have I known a woe like this.

For other ills I bore full patiently,

But as for dear Orestes, my sweet charge,

Whom from his mother I received and nursed . . .

And then the shrill cries rousing me o’ nights,

And many and unprofitable toils

For me who bore them. For one needs must rear

The heedless infant like an animal,

(How can it else be?) as his humor serve

For while a child is yet in swaddling clothes,

It speaketh not, if either hunger comes,

Or passing thirst, or lower calls of need;

And children’s stomach works its own content.

And I, though I foresaw this, call to mind,

How I was cheated, washing swaddling clothes,

And nurse and laundress did the selfsame work.

I then with these my double handicrafts,

Brought up Orestes for his father dear;

And now, woe’s me! I learn that he is dead,

And go to fetch the man that mars this house;

And gladly will he hear these words of mine.

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 

• Ольга Седакова – Земля by Поэзия На Русском
• Ольга Седакова – Я жизнь в порыве жить by Поэзия На Русском
• Ольга Седакова – Хильдегарда by Поэзия На Русском
• Ольга Седакова – Вьюга by Поэзия На Русском
• Ольга Седакова – Всё, и сразу by Поэзия На Русском
• Ольга Седакова – Все труды by Поэзия На Русском
• Ольга Седакова – Вода-крестьянка by Поэзия На Русском
• Ольга Седакова – Ветер прощанья by Поэзия На Русском
• Ольга Седакова – Вениамин by Поэзия На Русском
• Ольга Седакова – Вечерняя песня by Поэзия На Русском
• Ольга Седакова – В винном отделе by Поэзия На Русском
• Ольга Седакова – В незапамятных зимах by Поэзия На Русском
• Ольга Седакова – В это зыбкое скопленье by Поэзия На Русском
• Ольга Седакова – Успение by Поэзия На Русском
• Ольга Седакова – Три зеркала by Поэзия На Русском
• Ольга Седакова – Три богини by Поэзия На Русском
• Ольга Седакова – Только время доходит сюда by Поэзия На Русском
• Ольга Седакова – То в теплом золоте, в широких переплетах by Поэзия На Русском
• Ольга Седакова – Старый поэт (Постскриптум) by Поэзия На Русском
• Ольга Седакова – Стансы третьи (Вино и плавание) by Поэзия На Русском

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