Iphigenia in Tauris E-Book

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Seitenzahl: 78

Beschreibung

SCENE I. A Grove before the Temple of Diana. IPHIGENIA. Beneath your leafy gloom, ye waving boughs Of this old, shady, consecrated grove, As in the goddess' silent sanctuary, With the same shudd'ring feeling forth I step, As when I trod it first, nor ever here Doth my unquiet spirit feel at home. Long as the mighty will, to which I bow, Hath kept me here conceal'd, still, as at first, I feel myself a stranger. For the sea Doth sever me, alas! from those I love, And day by day upon the shore I stand, My soul still seeking for the land of Greece. But to my sighs, the hollow-sounding waves Bring, save their own hoarse murmurs, no reply. Alas for him! who friendless and alone, Remote from parents and from brethren dwells; From him grief snatches every coming joy Ere it doth reach his lip. His restless thoughts Revert for ever to his father's halls, Where first to him the radiant sun unclos'd The gates of heav'n; where closer, day by day, Brothers and sisters, leagu'd in pastime sweet, Around each other twin'd the bonds of love. I will not judge the counsel of the gods;

Leseprobe

Iphigenia in Tauris

Iphigenia in Tauris PERSONS OF THE DRAMA.ACT THE FIRST.ACT THE SECOND.ACT THE THIRD.ACT THE FOURTH.ACT THE FIFTH.Copyright

Iphigenia in Tauris

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

PERSONS OF THE DRAMA.

IPHIGENIA. THOAS,King of the Taurians.ORESTES. PYLADES. ARKAS.

ACT THE FIRST.

SCENE I.A Grove before the Temple of Diana.IPHIGENIA.Beneath your leafy gloom, ye waving boughsOf this old, shady, consecrated grove,As in the goddess' silent sanctuary,With the same shudd'ring feeling forth I step,As when I trod it first, nor ever hereDoth my unquiet spirit feel at home.Long as the mighty will, to which I bow,Hath kept me here conceal'd, still, as at first,I feel myself a stranger. For the seaDoth sever me, alas! from those I love,And day by day upon the shore I stand,My soul still seeking for the land of Greece.But to my sighs, the hollow-sounding wavesBring, save their own hoarse murmurs, no reply.Alas for him! who friendless and alone,Remote from parents and from brethren dwells;From him grief snatches every coming joyEre it doth reach his lip. His restless thoughtsRevert for ever to his father's halls,Where first to him the radiant sun unclos'dThe gates of heav'n; where closer, day by day,Brothers and sisters, leagu'd in pastime sweet,Around each other twin'd the bonds of love.I will not judge the counsel of the gods;Yet, truly, woman's lot doth merit pity.Man rules alike at home and in the field,Nor is in foreign climes without resource;Possession gladdens him, him conquest crowns,And him an honourable death awaits.How circumscrib'd is woman's destiny!Obedience to a harsh, imperious lord,Her duty, and her comfort; sad her fate,Whom hostile fortune drives to lands remote:Thus I, by noble Thoas, am detain'd,Bound with a heavy, though a sacred chain.Oh! with what shame, Diana, I confessThat with repugnance I perform these ritesFor thee, divine protectress! unto whomI would in freedom dedicate my life.In thee, Diana, I have always hop'd,And still I hope in thee, who didst infoldWithin the holy shelter of thine armThe outcast daughter of the mighty king.Daughter of Jove! hast thou from ruin'd TroyLed back in triumph to his native landThe mighty man, whom thou didst sore afflict,His daughter's life in sacrifice demanding,—Hast thou for him, the godlike Agamemnon,Who to thine altar led his darling child,Preserv'd his wife, Electra, and his son.His dearest treasures?—then at length restoreThy suppliant also to her friends and home,And save her, as thou once from death didst save,So now, from living here, a second death.SCENE II.IPHIGENIA. ARKAS.ARKAS.The king hath sent me hither, and commandsTo hail Diana's priestess. This the day,On which for new and wonderful success,Tauris her goddess thanks. The king and hostDraw near,—I come to herald their approach.IPHIGENIA.We are prepar'd to give them worthy greeting;Our goddess doth behold with gracious eyeThe welcome sacrifice from Thoas' hand.ARKAS.Oh, priestess, that thine eye more mildly beam'd,—Thou much-rever'd one,—that I found thy glance,O consecrated maid, more calm, more bright,To all a happy omen! Still doth grief,With gloom mysterious, shroud thy inner mind;Still, still, through many a year we wait in vainFor one confiding utt'rance from thy breast.Long as I've known thee in this holy place,That look of thine hath ever made me shudder;And, as with iron bands, thy soul remainsLock'd in the deep recesses of thy breast.IPHIGENIA.As doth become the exile and the orphan.ARKAS.Dost thou then here seem exil'd and an orphan?IPHIGENIA.Can foreign scenes our fatherland replace?ARKAS.Thy fatherland is foreign now to thee.IPHIGENIA.Hence is it that my bleeding heart ne'er heals.In early youth, when first my soul, in love,Held father, mother, brethren fondly twin'd,A group of tender germs, in union sweet,We sprang in beauty from the parent stem,And heavenward grew. An unrelenting curseThen seiz'd and sever'd me from those I lov'd,And wrench'd with iron grasp the beauteous bands.It vanish'd then, the fairest charm of youth,The simple gladness of life's early dawn;Though sav'd, I was a shadow of myself,And life's fresh joyance bloom'd in me no more.ARKAS.If thus thou ever dost lament thy fate,I must accuse thee of ingratitude.IPHIGENIA.Thanks have you ever.ARKAS.Not the honest thanksWhich prompt the heart to offices of love;The joyous glance, revealing to the hostA grateful spirit, with its lot content.When thee a deep mysterious destinyBrought to this sacred fane, long years ago.To greet thee, as a treasure sent from heaven,With reverence and affection, Thoas came.Benign and friendly was this shore to thee,Which had before each stranger's heart appall'd,For, till thy coming, none e'er trod our realmBut fell, according to an ancient rite,A bloody victim at Diana's shrine.IPHIGENIA.Freely to breathe alone is not to live.Say, is it life, within this holy fane,Like a poor ghost around its sepulchreTo linger out my days? Or call you thatA life of conscious happiness and joy,When every hour, dream'd listlessly away,Leads to those dark and melancholy days,Which the sad troop of the departed spendIn self-forgetfulness on Lethe's shore?A useless life is but an early death;This, woman's lot, is eminently mine.ARKAS.I can forgive, though I must needs deplore,The noble pride which underrates itselfIt robs thee of the happiness of life.And hast thou, since thy coming here, done nought?Who cheer'd the gloomy temper of the king?Who hath with gentle eloquence annull'd,From year to year, the usage of our sires,By which, a victim at Diana's shrine,Each stranger perish'd, thus from certain deathSending so oft the rescued captive home?Hath not Diana, harbouring no revengeFor this suspension of her bloody rites,In richest measure heard thy gentle prayer?On joyous pinions o'er the advancing host,Doth not triumphant conquest proudly soar?And feels not every one a happier lot,Since Thoas, who so long hath guided usWith wisdom and with valour, sway'd by thee,The joy of mild benignity approves,Which leads him to relax the rigid claimsOf mute submission? Call thyself useless! Thou,Thou, from whose being o'er a thousand hearts,A healing balsam flows? when to a race.To whom a god consign'd thee, thou dost proveA fountain of perpetual happiness,And from this dire inhospitable shoreDost to the stranger grant a safe return?IPHIGENIA.The little done doth vanish to the mind,Which forward sees how much remains to do.ARKAS.Him dost thou praise, who underrates his deeds?IPHIGENIA.Who estimates his deeds is justly blam'd.ARKAS.We blame alike, who proudly disregardTheir genuine merit, and who vainly prizeTheir spurious worth too highly. Trust me, priestess,And hearken to the counsel of a manWith honest zeal devoted to thy service:When Thoas comes to-day to speak with thee,Lend to his purpos'd words a gracious ear.IPHIGENIA.The well-intention'd counsel troubles me:His offer studiously I've sought to shun.ARKAS.Thy duty and thy interest calmly weigh.Since the king lost his son, he trusts but few,Nor those as formerly. Each noble's sonHe views with jealous eye as his successor;He dreads a solitary, helpless age,Or rash rebellion, or untimely death.A Scythian studies not the rules of speech,And least of all the king. He who is usedTo act and to command, knows not the art,From far, with subtle tact, to guide discourseThrough many windings to its destin'd goal.Do not embarrass him with shy reserveAnd studied misconception: graciously,And with submission, meet the royal wish.IPHIGENIA.Shall I then speed the doom that threatens me?ARKAS.His gracious offer canst thou call a threat?IPHIGENIA.'Tis the most terrible of all to me.ARKAS.For his affection grant him confidence.IPHIGENIA.If he will first redeem my soul from fear.ARKAS.Why dost thou hide from him thy origin?IPHIGENIA.A priestess secrecy doth well become.ARKAS.Nought to our monarch should a secret be;And, though he doth not seek to fathom thine,His noble nature feels, ay, deeply feels,That studiously thou hid'st thyself from him.IPHIGENIA.Displeasure doth he harbour 'gainst me, then?ARKAS.Almost it seems so. True, he speaks not of thee.But casual words have taught me that the wishTo call thee his hath firmly seiz'd his soul;Oh, do not leave the monarch to himself!Lest his displeasure, rip'ning in his breast,Should work thee woe, so with repentance thouToo late my faithful counsel shalt recall.IPHIGENIA.How! doth the monarch purpose what no manOf noble mind, who loves his honest name,Whose bosom reverence for the gods restrains,Would ever think of? Will he force employTo tear me from this consecrated fane?Then will I call the gods, and chiefly thee,Diana, goddess resolute, to aid me;Thyself a virgin, thou'lt a virgin shield,And succour to thy priestess gladly yield.ARKAS.Be tranquil! Passion, and youth's fiery bloodImpel not Thoas rashly to commitA deed so lawless. In his present mood,I fear from him another harsh resolve,Which (for his soul is steadfast and unmov'd,)He then will execute without delay.