Philoctetes
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Original / primary: Perseus Eng2
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Odysseus
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This is the headland of sea-washed Lemnos, land untrodden by men and desolate. It was here, child bred of the man who was the noblest of the Greeks, Neoptolemus son of Achilles, that I exposed
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long ago the native of Malis, Poeas’ son, on the express command of the two chieftains to do so, because his foot was all running with a gnawing disease. Neither libation nor burnt sacrifice could be attempted by us in peace, but with his wild, ill-omened cries
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he filled the whole camp continually with shrieking, moaning. But what need is there to speak of that? The time is not ripe for too many words, lest he even learn that I am here, and I so waste the whole ruse whereby I think soon to take him.
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Come, it is your task to serve as my ally in what remains, and to seek where in this region there is a cave with two mouths. During cold weather it provides two seats facing the sun, while in summer a breeze wafts sleep through the tunnelled chamber.
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And a little below, on the left hand, perhaps, you will see water rising from a spring, if it has not failed. Go there silently, and signal to me whether he still dwells in this same place, or is to be found elsewhere, so that the rest of my plan may be explained by me, heard by you,
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and sped by the joint effort of us both.
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Neoptolemus
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King Odysseus, the completion of the task that you set me is not far off, for I believe I see a cave like that which you have described.
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Odysseus
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Above you, or below? I do not see it.
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Neoptolemus
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Here, high up—and of footfalls there is not a sound.
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Odysseus
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See that he is not sheltered there asleep.
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Neoptolemus
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I see an empty dwelling, without occupants.
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Odysseus
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And is there no provision inside for human habitation?
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Neoptolemus
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There is—a bed of leaves, as if for some one who makes his lodging here.
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Odysseus
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And all else is bare? There is nothing else beneath the roof?
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Neoptolemus
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Just a cup of bare wood, the masterpiece of a sorry craftsman, and with it these tools for kindling.
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Odysseus
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His is the store that you describe.
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Neoptolemus
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Ha! Yes, and here besides are some rags drying in the sun, stained by some severe infection.
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Odysseus
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The man inhabits these regions, clearly, and is somewhere not far off. How could he go far afield when his foot is maimed by that old plague? No, he has gone out in quest of food, or of some soothing herb that he may have noted somewhere.
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Send your attendant, therefore, to keep watch, lest he come upon me unawares, since he would rather take me than all the Greeks together.
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Neoptolemus
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The man is going, and the path will be watched. And now, if you need anything else, say so. Exit Attendant, on the spectators’ left.
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Odysseus
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Son of Achilles, you must be loyal to the goals of your mission—and not with your body alone. Should you hear some new plan unknown to you till now, you must serve it, since it is to serve that you are here.
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Neoptolemus
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Then what are your orders?
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told as you converse with him. When he asks you who and from where you are, say that you are the son of Achilles—it is not in that detail that you will cheat him. But tell him you are sailing homeward, and have left the fleet of the Achaean warriors, after coming to hate them with unbounded hatred.
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Give him this reason: when, with no other hope of taking Ilium, they had summoned you by their prayers to come from home, they judged you not worthy of the arms of Achilles, not worthy to receive them—even though you had come and were claiming them by right—but instead handed them over to Odysseus. Say what you
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will of me—even the vilest of vile insults. You will not harm me at all by that. But if you fail to do as I say, you will inflict pain on all the Argives, for if that man’s bow is not seized, you can never sack the realm of Dardanus.
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And learn why your intercourse with him may be free from mistrust and danger, while mine cannot. You have sailed to Troy under no oath to any man, nor under any constraint. Neither did you have any part in the earlier expedition. I, however, can deny none of these things. Accordingly, if he
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perceives me while he is still master of his bow, I am dead, and you, as my comrade, will share my doom. No, the thing for which we must devise a ruse is just this: how you may steal his invincible weapons. Well I know, my son, that by nature you are not apt
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to utter or contrive such treachery. Yet knowing that victory is a sweet prize to gain, steel yourself to do it. Our honesty shall be displayed another time. Now, however, give yourself to me for one brief, shameless day, and then for the rest of time
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may you be called the most righteous of all humankind.
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Neoptolemus
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I abhor acting on advice, son of Laertes, which causes pain in the hearing. It is not in my nature to achieve anything by means of evil cunning, nor was it, as I hear, in my father’s.
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But I am ready to take the man by force and without treachery, since with the use of one foot only, he will not overcome so many of us in a struggle. And yet I was sent to assist you and am reluctant to be called traitor. Still I prefer, my king,
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to fail when doing what is honorable than to be victorious in a dishonorable manner.
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Odysseus
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Son of a father so noble, I, too, in my youth once had a slow tongue and an active hand. But now that I have come forth to the test, I see that the tongue, not action, is what masters everything among men.
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Neoptolemus
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What, then, are your orders—apart from my lying?
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Odysseus
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I command you to take Philoctetes by deceit.
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Neoptolemus
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And why by deceit rather than by persuasion?
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Odysseus
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He will never listen; and by force you cannot take him.
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Neoptolemus
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Has he strength so terrific to make him bold?
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Odysseus
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Yes, shafts inevitable, escorts of death.
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Neoptolemus
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Then one does not dare even approach him?
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Odysseus
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No, unless he takes the man by deceit, as I prescribe.
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Neoptolemus
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Then you think it brings no shame to speak what is false?
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Odysseus
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No, not if the falsehood yields deliverance.
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Neoptolemus
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And with what expression on his face will anyone dare mouth those lies?
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Odysseus
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When what you do promises gain, it is wrong to shrink back.
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Neoptolemus
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And what gain is it for me that he should come to Troy?
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Odysseus
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His arrows alone will capture Troy.
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Neoptolemus
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Then I am not to be the conqueror, as you said?
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Odysseus
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Neither will you be without them, nor they without you.
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Neoptolemus
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It would seem, then, that we must track them down, if things stand as you say.
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Odysseus
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Know that by doing this task, you win two rewards.
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Neoptolemus
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What are they? If I knew, I would not refuse the deed.
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Odysseus
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You will be celebrated in the same breath as clever and as noble.
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Neoptolemus
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So be it! I will do it, and cast off all shame.
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Odysseus
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Do you remember, then, the story that I recommended?
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Neoptolemus
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Be sure of it, since once and for all I have consented.
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Odysseus
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You stay here, then, to wait for him. Meanwhile I will go away, so as not to be observed here with you,
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and I will send our lookout back to your ship. And, if in my view you seem to linger at all beyond the due time, I will send that same man back again, after disguising him as the captain of a merchant-ship, so that secrecy may be on our side.
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Then, son, as he tells his artful story, take whatever in his tale is from time to time helpful to you. Now I will go to the ship, leaving matters here to you. May escorting Hermes the Deceiver, lead us on, and divine Victory, Athena Polias, who saves me always! Exit Odysseus, on the spectators’ left.
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Chorus
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I am a stranger in a strange land, Master. What must I hide, what must I reveal to a man who will be swift to suspicion? Show me the way! His skill excels all other skill, his wisdom has no equal, whose hands govern the godlike
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scepter given by Zeus. To you, my son, that sovereign power has descended from the dawn of time. Therefore tell me how I must serve you.
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Neoptolemus
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For the present—since perhaps you wish to see the place
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on the island’s edge where he resides—survey it without fear. But when the dread traveler, who has left this dwelling, returns, step forward at my signal from time to time, and try to help as the moment may require.
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Chorus
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Long have I been careful of this care, my prince: that my eyes should be watchful for your good above all else. And now tell me, in what manner of shelter does he keep his dwelling? In what region is he now? It is not inopportune for
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me to learn so that he may not come upon me unawares from somewhere. In what place does he wander, or rest? Does he plant his steps within his shelter, or abroad?
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Neoptolemus
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Well, here you see his home with its two portals,
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his rocky cell.
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Chorus
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And its wretched occupant, where is he gone to?
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Neoptolemus
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It seems clear to me, anyway, that he is plowing his way along somewhere near here in search of food. For I know of a report that
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this is his means of sustenance—a wretch wretchedly shooting prey with his feathered shafts—and that no one comes near to him to heal his misery.
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Neoptolemus
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No part of this is a marvel to me. God-sent—if a man such as I may judge—are both those sufferings which attacked him from savage Chryse,
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and those with which he now toils untended. Surely he toils by the plan of some god so that he may not bend against Troy the invincible arrows divine, until the time be fulfilled at which, men say,
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by those arrows Troy is fated to fall.
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Philoctetes
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O strangers!
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Who can you be, and from what country, that you have put into this harborless and desolate land? What would I rightly say is your city or your ancestry? The fashion of your equipment is Greek, and most welcome to my
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sight; but it would please me to hear your voices. And do not shrink from me in fear, or be frightened by my savage looks. No, pity one so wretched and so lonely, a castaway, so friendless and so miserable. Speak to me, if indeed you have come as friends.
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Oh, answer! It is not right that I be disappointed by you in this request, at least, nor you by me.
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Neoptolemus
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Well, know first, stranger, that we are Greeks, since you desire to learn this.
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Philoctetes
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O cherished sound! Ah, that I should truly be
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greeted by such a man, after so long a time! What need, young man, has made you land here and brought you to this spot? What business? What wind so kind? Speak, tell me all, so that I may know who you are.
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Neoptolemus
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My birthplace is the island Scyros, and I am sailing
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homeward. I am the son of Achilles, by name Neoptolemus. Now you know everything.
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Philoctetes
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O son of a father I loved, and of soil I cherished! Ward of aged Lycomedes, on what mission have you touched this shore? From where are you sailing?
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Neoptolemus
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Well, since you ask, it is from Ilium that I am now guiding my ship.
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Philoctetes
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What? You were certainly not our shipmate at the beginning of the expedition there.
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Neoptolemus
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And did you have a part in that toil?
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Philoctetes
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Then you do not know who I am?
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Neoptolemus
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How should I know one whom I have never seen before?
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Philoctetes
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Then you have not even heard my name, or any rumor of those sufferings under which I have been perishing?
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Neoptolemus
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Be sure that I know nothing of what you ask.
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Philoctetes
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How cursed I must be, how abhorred by the gods,
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if not a word of my miserable condition has reached my homeland, or any Greek land at all! Instead those men, who against the gods’ laws cast me away, keep their secret and laugh, while my plague has ever flourished and grows worse!
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O my son, boy whose father was Achilles, here I am before you, the man of whom you have perhaps heard as lord of the bow of Heracles, Philoctetes the son of Poeas. I am he whom the two marshalls and the Cephallenian king
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shamelessly hurled to this solitude which you see, when I was wasting with a fierce disease, stricken by the savage bite of the murderous serpent. With that plague for my sole companion, boy, those men put me out
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here alone and left, after they landed here with their fleet from sea-washed Chryse. Delighted they were then, when they saw me asleep after much tossing on the waves, in the shelter of a cave upon the shore, and they abandoned me, first setting out a few rags, as though for an unfortunate beggar, and a bit of food, too—
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a small work of charity. But may they get what they gave me! Can you imagine, boy, what kind of awakening I had when they had gone, and I rose from sleep that day?—what stinging tears I wept, and what miseries I bewailed when I saw that the ships with which I had sailed
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were all gone, and that there was no man in the place, not one to help me, not one to ease the sickness that afflicted me, when looking all around me, I could find nothing at hand, save agony—but of that a ready store?
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So time passed for me, season by season, and alone in this narrow house, I had to attend to all my wants by my own resources. For my stomach’s needs this bow provided, bringing down doves on the wing. And whatever my string-sped arrow might strike,
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in pain I would crawl to it myself, dragging my wretched foot behind me. Or, again, if water had to be fetched, or, if when the frost had spread, as often happens in winter, a bit of firewood had to be broken, I would creep out in pain and
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manage it. Then fire would be lacking; but by rubbing stone hard on stone I would at last reveal the hidden spark which preserves me from day to day. Indeed, a roof over my head and a fire inside provides all that I want—except release from my disease.