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

Aegisthus: Thou mad and foolish girl, restrain thy tongue,

For such wild words offend thy mother's ears.

Electra: Thou arch contriver of most impious crime,

Wilt thou admonish me? Thou base-born wretch,

Thou sister's son, and grandson of thy sire!985

Clytemnestra: Aegisthus, how canst thou restrain thy hand

From smiting off her head? But hear my word:

Let her give up her brother or her life.

Aegisthus: Nay, rather, in some dark and stony cell

Let her be straight confined; and there, perchance,