Why should thy son with foolish venture
Shake thy sure Empire to its centre?[n25]
And why must we deplore
The countless triremes on the sea-swept shore
Triremes no more?[n26]
The Shade of Darius rises from the Tomb.
Darius.
O faithfullest of my faithful friends, compeers
Of my fair youth, elders of Persia, say
With what sore labour labours now the state?