The Tragedies of Seneca / Translated into English Verse, to Which Have Been Appended Comparative Analyses of the Corresponding Greek and Roman Plays, and a Mythological Index

by Lucius Annaeus Seneca

To choose the right; then all will choose the same.

Atreus: When kings are forced to choose the right alone,

Their rule is insecure.

Attendant: Where is no shame,

No thought of righteousness, no piety,215

No faith, no purity, Oh, then indeed

That rule is insecure.

Atreus: But purity,

Faith, piety, are private virtues all;

With kings, their will is law.