Poly.  But thou wilt not soon, when the liquid wave—­

Hec.  Shall bear me, dost thou mean, to the confines of the Grecian land?

POLY. —­shall cover thee, having fallen from the shrouds.

HEC.  From whom meeting with this violent leap?

POLY.  Thyself shalt climb with thy feet up the ship’s mast.

HEC.  Having wings on my back, or in what way?

POLY.  Thou shalt become a dog with a fiery aspect.

HEC.  But how dost thou know of this my metamorphose?

POLY.  Dionysius the Thracian prophet told it me.

HEC.  But did he not declare to thee any of the evils which thou sufferest?

POLY.  No:  for, if he had, thou never wouldst thus treacherously have taken me.

HEC. [22]Thence shall I conclude my life in death, or still live on?

POLY.  Thou shalt die.  But the name of thy tomb shall be—­

HEC.  Dost thou speak of it as in any way correspondent to my shape?

POLY. [23]The tomb of the wretched dog, a mark to mariners.

HEC.  I heed it not, since thou at least hast felt my vengeance.

POLY.  And it is fated too for thy daughter Cassandra to die.

HEC.  I renounce these prophecies; I give them for thyself to bear.

POLY.  Him shall his wife slay, a cruel guardian of his house.

HEC.  Never yet may the daughter of Tyndarus have arrived at such madness.

POLY.  Even this man himself, having lifted up the axe.

AGA.  What ho! thou art mad, and art desirous of obtaining greater ills.

POLY.  Kill me, for the murderous bath at Argos awaits thee.

AGA.  Will ye not, slaves, forcibly drag him from my presence?

POLY.  Thou art galled at what thou hearest.

AGA.  Will ye not stop his mouth?

POLY.  Stop it:  for the word is spoken.

AGA.  Will ye not as quick as possible cast him out on some desert island, since he is thus, and past endurance insolent?  But do thou, wretched Hecuba, go and bury thy two dead:  and you, O Trojan dames, must approach your masters’ tents, for I perceive that the gales are favorable for wafting us to our homes.  And may we sail in safety to our native country, and behold our household and families in prosperity, having found rest from these toils.

CHOR.  Come, my friends, to the harbor, and the tents, to undergo the tasks imposed by our masters.  For necessity is relentless.

* * * * *