ut may not clash in strife;
For Zeus doth cast us from his fellowship,
"Blood-dropping, worthy of his utmost hate."
For leaping down as from the topmost height,
I on my victim bring
The crushing force of feet,
Limbs that o'erthrow e'en those that swiftly run,
An Ate hard to bear. {350}

_Strophe III_

And fame of men, though very lofty now
Beneath the clear, bright sky,
Below the earth grows dim and fades away
Before the attack of us, the black-robed ones,
And these our dancings wild,
Which all men loathe and hate.

_Antistrophe III_

Falling in frenzied guilt, he knows it not;
So thick the blinding cloud
That o'er him floats; and Rumour widely spread
With many a sigh reports the dreary doom,
A mist that o'er the house
In gathering darkness broods. {358}

_Strophe IV_

Fixed is the law, no lack of means find we;
We work out all our will,
We, the dread Powers, the registrars of crime,
Whom mortals fail to soothe,
Fulfilling tasks dishonoured, unrevered,
Apart from all the Gods,
In foul and sunless gloom,
Driving o'er rough steep road both those that see,
And those whose eyes are dark.

_Antistrophe IV_

What mortal man then doth not bow in awe
And fear before all this,
Hearing from me the destined ordinance
Assigned me by the Gods?
This task of mine is one of ancient days;
Nor meet I here with scorn,
Though 'neath the earth I dwell,
And live there in the darkness thick and dense,
Where never sunbeam falls. {374}

EPISODE I

_Enter in her Chariot [along the balcony of the permanent scene]
Athene._

_Athene_ has heard far off Orestes' cry, and has come in her swift
chariot. What is this strange presence in her own city, and who is
this suppliant? The _Chorus_, in parallel dialogue, explain who they
are, and seek to enlist Athene against the matricide; but _Athene_
answers she has only heard one side. _Chorus_ rejoin that the
adversary dares not rest his case on oath for oath [_political allusion
to procedure of ordinary Athenian Courts_]; Athene thinks th