Mr. Garrod, who played the part of Hyllus, spoke his lines exceedingly well. Perhaps the chorus was a little too classical—that is to say, too stiff and lackadaisical; but the phrasing was always pretty and sometimes unexpected, and the lovely strophe beginning,
ὁν αἱὁλα νὑξ ἑναριζομἑνα [Greek: hon aiola nux enarizomena;]
seemed to gain a new enchantment from the delicately concerted voices.
Scholars will have to bring strong arguments to justify what is an obvious literary blemish in the distribution of the concluding lines. Somehow or other, between Hyllus and the chorus, the sombre intensity of the complaint was allowed to evaporate. The words,
τἁ δἑ νὑν ἑστὡτ οικτρἁ μἑν ἡμἱν,
αἱσχρἁ
[Greek: ta de nun hestôt' oiktra men hêmin,
aischra]
and