Nurse: Deianeira, my mistress, many a time have I marked thy bitter
tears and lamentations, as thou bewailedst the going forth of Heracles;
but now,- if it be meet to school the free-born with the counsels
of a slave, and if I must say what behoves thee,- why, when thou art
so rich in sons, dost thou send no one of them to seek thy lord;-
Hyllus, before all, who might well go on that errand, if he cared
that there should be tidings of his father's welfare? Lo! there he
comes, speeding towards the house with timely step; if, then, thou
deemest that I speak in season, thou canst use at once my counsel,
and the man. (Hyllus comes in from the side.)
Deianeira: My child, my son, wise words may fall, it seems, from humble
lips; this woman is a slave, but hath spoken in the spirit of the
free.
Hyllus: How, mother? Tell me, if it may be told.
Deianeira: It brings thee shame, she saith, that, when thy father
hath been so long a stranger, thou hast not sought to learn where
he is.
Studies
