In thee the royal house. Electra! Why,

When all is joyful here, dost thou lament?

Electra: My father lies within the palace, slain925

By Clytemnestra's hand. His son is doomed

To share his father's death. Aegisthus holds

The throne which he through guilty love has gained.

Strophius: Oh, happiness that never long endures!

Electra: By all thy kindly memories of my sire,

By his proud scepter, known to all the earth,930

And by the fickle gods, I pray thee take