Philoktetes

by Sophocles

CHORUS

Sleep, stranger to pain and suffering, descend upon us kindly now. Cover his eyes with your radiance, come down, Healer, come down.

Boy, look now at where you stand, at where you are going, at what I hold for the future. Do you see him? He sleeps. Why are we waiting? The right moment decides everything and wins many sudden victories.

NEOPTOLEMOS

Yes, he hears nothing. But we have needlessly hunted, captured nothing if we take the bow, and sail without him. The crown of victory belongs to the one whom Zeus commanded that we bring back. A boast that cannot be carried out is a lie. That boast is a shameful disgrace.