, and I claim thee to be my
son." And when Ion would know how this might be, the King said that in
days past, before he had married the Princess Creuesa, being young and
foolish, he had taken to wife a maiden of low degree in this very city
of Delphi, and that if she had borne him a son--for that he knew not,
having left her long since--the child would bear such age as Ion. And
when Ion heard this he was glad, for he had feared lest haply he should
be found to be the son of some slave. Only he said to himself, "O my
dear mother, shall I ever see thee? For now do I long more than ever to
look upon thee; but haply thou art dead and this may never be."

And the maidens of Athens standing by heard the talk between the two,
and said, "It is well for the people that the royal house should
prosper. Yet it had pleased us well that our lady the Queen should have
hope of offspring, and that the house of Erechtheus should not be left
without an heir."

Then said the King to Ion, "My son, it is well both with thee and me,
for I have found that which I most desired and thou also. And as to that
which thou now sayest about thy mother, haply, if only we have patience,
this also shall be as thou wouldst have it. But now I would have thee
leave the temple of Apollo and this thy subsistence of alms, and come
with me to the great city of Athens, where thou shalt have great wealth,
and in due time this sceptre that I hold. But why art thou silent and
castest thine eyes to the ground? Suddenly art thou changed from joy to
sorrow, and the heart of thy father misgiveth him."

Then spoke Ion, saying, "My father, the aspect of many things changeth
according as a man seeth them, whether it be near or afar off. Right
glad was I to find a father in thee; but as to what else thou sayest,
hearken to me. Men say that the Athenians are a people that have dwelt
in the land from the beginning. Wherefore I shall have among them a
double reproach, being both basely born and also a foreigner. And if I
come to high place in the state, they that are beneath me shall hate me,
seeing that men love not those that are above them. Also those that are
of high account among the citizens shall have much jealousy against me,
for such men have ever great enmity against their rivals. Think also of
thy house, how matters shall stand there. For before, thy wife the Queen
shared with thee this reproach of childlessness, but now will she stand
alone and bear her sorrow b