Читать книгу The Greatest German Classics (Vol. 1-14) - Various - Страница 354

The image shall not be a cause of strife!

We now perceive the error which the god,

Our journey here commanding, like a veil,

Threw o'er our minds. His counsel I implor'd,

To free me from the Furies' grisly band.

He answer'd, "Back to Greece the sister bring,

Who in the sanctuary on Tauris' shore

Unwillingly abides; so ends the curse!"

To Phoebus' sister we applied the words,

And he referr'd to thee! The bonds severe,

Which held thee from us, holy one, are rent,

And thou art ours once more. At thy blest touch,

I felt myself restor'd. Within thine arms,

Madness once more around me coil'd its folds,

Crushing the marrow in my frame, and then

Forever, like a serpent, fled to hell.

Through thee, the daylight gladdens me anew,

The counsel of the goddess now shines forth

In all its beauty and beneficence.

Like to a sacred image, unto which

An oracle immutably hath bound

A city's welfare, thee she bore away,

Protectress of our house, and guarded here

Within this holy stillness, to become

A blessing to thy brother and thy race.

Now when each passage to escape seems clos'd,

And safety hopeless, thou dost give us all.

O king, incline thine heart to thoughts of peace!

Let her fulfil her mission, and complete

The consecration of our father's house,

Me to their purified abode restore,

And place upon my brow the ancient crown!

Requite the blessing which her presence brought thee,

And let me now my nearer right enjoy!

Cunning and force, the proudest boast of man,

Fade in the lustre of her perfect truth;

Nor unrequited will a noble mind

Leave confidence, so childlike and so pure.