Alcestis text Flashcards
Ἄδμηθ᾽, ὁρᾷς γὰρ τἀμὰ πράγμαθ᾽ ὡς ἔχει,
λέξαι θέλω σοι πρὶν θανεῖν ἃ βούλομαι.
ἐγώ σε πρεσβεύουσα κἀντὶ τῆς ἐμῆς
ψυχῆς καταστήσασα φῶς τόδ᾽ εἰσορᾶν
θνῄσκω, παρόν μοι μὴ θανεῖν ὑπὲρ σέθεν,
ἀλλ᾽ ἄνδρα τε σχεῖν Θεσσαλῶν ὃν ἤθελον
καὶ δῶμα ναίειν ὄλβιον τυραννίδι.
Admetus, you see my affairs holding in this way,
I want to tell you, before I die, the thing I wish.
Having honoured you as an elder and arranged for you to go on living instead of my life, I die. It is possible for me to not die on your behalf but
but to have a man of Thess, whoever I wanted,
and to dwell in a happy house in royal power.
φως τοδ’ εισοραν- lit. see this light.
κοὐκ ἠθέλησα ζῆν ἀποσπασθεῖσα σοῦ
σὺν παισὶν ὀρφανοῖσιν, οὐδ᾽ ἐφεισάμην
ἥβης, ἔχουσ᾽ ἐν οἷς ἐτερπόμην ἐγώ.
καίτοι σ᾽ ὁ φύσας χἠ τεκοῦσα προύδοσαν,
καλῶς μὲν αὐτοῖς κατθανεῖν ἧκον βίου,
καλῶς δὲ σῶσαι παῖδα κεὐκλεῶς θανεῖν.
But I did not wish to live, torn from you, with our children fatherless, I didn’t spare them, having the gifts of youth in which I took pleasure. and your father and mother betrayed you, being present of a fine life to die, and could have saved their son by dying gloriously.
ἀποσπασθεῖσα σοῦ- gen. of seperation
οὐδ᾽ ἐφεισάμην- (them) is implied, as in the gifts of youth
χη- και + ἡ (def. article)
καλως….κατθανειν- go together
μόνος γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἦσθα, κοὔτις ἐλπὶς ἦν
σοῦ κατθανόντος ἄλλα φιτύσειν τέκνα.
κἀγώ τ᾽ ἂν ἔζων καὶ σὺ τὸν λοιπὸν χρόνον,
κοὐκ ἂν μονωθεὶς σῆς δάμαρτος ἔστενες
καὶ παῖδας ὠρφάνευες. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν
θεῶν τις ἐξέπραξεν ὥσθ᾽ οὕτως ἔχειν.
For you were their only child, there being no hope to have another child when you died. Both you and I could have lived the rest of our time together, and not you sighing, having been made alone by your wife, and looking after our orphaned children. But a certain god held it to be brought about in this way.
εἶεν: σύ νύν μοι τῶνδ᾽ ἀπόμνησαι χάριν:
αἰτήσομαι γάρ σ᾽ ἀξίαν μὲν οὔποτε
（ψυχῆς γὰρ οὐδέν ἐστι τιμιώτερον）,
δίκαια δ᾽, ὡς φήσεις σύ: τούσδε γὰρ φιλεῖς
οὐχ ἧσσον ἢ ‘γὼ παῖδας, εἴπερ εὖ φρονεῖς:
Oh well, now be mindful to be greatful to me of these things.
For I don’t ask you for gratitude of equal worth- for nothing is more valuable than life- I will ask for just things, as you will admit. For you love our children no less than I do, if you indeed have good sense.
αξιαν- worthy of (picks up χαριν)
τούτους ἀνάσχου δεσπότας ἐμῶν δόμων
καὶ μὴ ‘πιγήμῃς τοῖσδε μητρυιὰν τέκνοις,
ἥτις κακίων οὖσ᾽ ἐμοῦ γυνὴ φθόνῳ
τοῖς σοῖσι κἀμοῖς παισὶ χεῖρα προσβαλεῖ.
μὴ δῆτα δράσῃς ταῦτά γ᾽, αἰτοῦμαί σ᾽ ἐγώ.
Hold them up as masters of my house and don’t marry a stepmother for these children, she a wrose wife than me and
