All Things, Do Not Touch Me. Take My Bow Instead, As You Asked A While Ago, Until My Pain Diminishes. Keep The Bow, Keep It Safe, My Boy. Sleep Overtakes Me When The Spell Has Passed; Until Then I'll Have Pain. You Must Let Me Sleep For A While. If My Enemies Come While I Lie Sleeping, I Beg You, By The Gods, Do Not Give Up My Bow, Willingly Or Unwillingly, By Force Or Some Trick. If You Do, Boy, You'll Be A Murderer, Your Own And Mine, Your Suppliant. Neoptolemos Do Not Worry. I Will Be On My Guard. No One But We Will Touch Your Bow. Give It To Me Now, And May The Gods' Fortune Go With It. Philoktetes Take It, Boy. Pray To The Gods, Lest They Be Jealous, And The Bow Become Your Sorrow, As It Has Been Mine And Its Former Master'S. Neoptolemos O Gods, Grant What He Asks, And Grant Us Also A Swift Journey Home On A Sheltering Wind, Home, Where Zeus Bids Us To Go. Philoktetes Your Prayer, I'm Afraid, Will Be In Vain. The Murderous Blood Is Running Now From Its Deep Well. I Expect A New Attack. It Comes. Aaaah! Aaaah! It Comes! O, Foot, You Do Me Evil! You Have The Bow, Boy. You Know What Is Happening. Do Not Leave Me! Aaaah! Aaaah! O, Odysseus, I Wish It Were You, I Wish It Were Your Spirit That These Pains Now Gripped! Aaaah! Agamemnon, Menelaus, I Hope It Is You, Your Two Bodies, Generals, That This Savage Pain Holds For As Many Years. Death, Black Death, How Can I Call On You Again, And You Not Come To Take Me Away? Boy, Take My Body And Burn It Away On A Lemnian Pyre, In The Volcano'S Heart. I Did This For A Man, A Child Of Zeus, And Won The Weapons You Now Keep Safe. Will You Do It, Boy? Why Don't You Speak? Where Are You, Boy? Neoptolemos I Grieve For You, Sir. Your Pain Is Mine. Philoktetes No, Boy, Be Brave. The Disease Comes Quickly And Leaves Me With Equal Speed. I Beg You, Do Not Leave Me Here. Neoptolemos Don't Worry. We Will Stay Here With You. Philoktetes You'll Stay? Neoptolemos Surely. Philoktetes I Find It Unfitting To Make You Swear To It. Neoptolemos I Cannot Leave This Place Without You. Philoktetes Give Me Your Hand On That. Neoptolemos I Give It To You, And With You It Stays. Philoktetes Now Take Me Away. Neoptolemos What Do You Mean? Philoktetes Up There... Neoptolemos What Madness Is Now Upon You? Why Do You Look At The Summit Above Us? Philoktetes Let Me Go! Neoptolemos Where? Philoktetes Let Me Go. Neoptolemos I Cannot Allow It. Philoktetes Touch Me, And You Kill Me. Neoptolemos I Am Letting Go. You Are Saner Now. Philoktetes O Earth, Take My Body From Me Now. The Illness No Longer Allows Me To Stand. Neoptolemos Soon, I Think, Sleep Will Overcome Him. He Nods His Head. Sweat Drenches His Body, And A Black Bitter Flood Of Pus And Blood Has Broken And Runs From His Foot. Let Us Leave Him To Sleep, Friends. Let Us Leave Him Quietly. Chorus Sleep, Stranger To Pain And Suffering, Descend Upon Us Kindly Now. Cover His Eyes With Your Radiance, Come Down, Healer, Come Down. Boy, Look Now At Where You Stand, At Where You Are Going, At What I Hold For The Future. Do You See Him? He Sleeps. Why Are We Waiting? The Right Moment Decides Everything And Wins Many Sudden Victories. Neoptolemos Yes, He Hears Nothing. But We Have Needlessly Hunted, Captured Nothing If We Take The Bow, And Sail Without Him. The Crown Of Victory Belongs To The One Whom Zeus Commanded That We Bring Back. A Boast That Cannot Be Carried Out Is A Lie. That Boast Is A Shameful Disgrace. Chorus Zeus Will Attend To Such Things, My Boy. Answer Me Now; Whisper Softly. The Sleep Of A Sick Man, Aware Of All Things, Sees All. It Is A Sleep That Is No Sleep. Think As Far Ahead As You Can Of How You Might Secretly Do As I Say. You Know Of Whom I Am Thinking Now. If Your Decision Is The Same As His, Then Anyone With Eyes Can See Trouble Ahead. A Fair Wind Is Rising. The Man Is Blind And Helpless Now, Stretched Out In The Darkness--- He Is Master Not Of Hand, Not Of Foot, Not Of Anything. He Is One Lying Down In Hades'S Chambers. Look To See If The Time Is Right For What You Intend: The Best Work Is That Which Causes No Fear. Neoptolemos Quiet, Now! Have You Lost Your Senses? The Man'S Eyes Are Opening. He Raises His Head. Philoktetes Blessed Is The Light That Follows Sleep, Blessed Is A Friend'S Protection. These Things Are Beyond My Wildest Hopes, That You Would Pity Me And Care For My Sorrows, That You Would Remain By Me And Endure My Woes. The Atreids, The Noble Generals, Would Not Do This. They Would Have No Tolerance For My Distress. Your Nature Is Truly Noble, For It Comes From Noble Parents. You Took This Burden Easily, A Burden Heavy With Howls And Foul Smells. Now I Can Put Aside This Illness. I Can Rest. Raise Me Up In Your Arms, My Boy, Put Me On My Feet, And Let Me Gather My Strength, So That We Can Go To Your Ship And Sail Off Immediately. Neoptolemos I Am Glad To See You With Open Eyes, Unpained, Alive. Your Symptoms Seemed Those Of A Dead Man, When Taken With Your Sufferings. Arise Now. If You Wish, These Men Will Lift You. They Will Do All They Can For You Now That You And I Are Shipmates. Philoktetes Thank You. But Lift Me Up Yourself, As You Once Suggested. Do Not Trouble The Men. Let The Stench Not Disturb Them So Early On--- My Being Aboard Will Be Bother Enough. Neoptolemos Stand Up, Then. Hold On To Me. Philoktetes No Need. I Am Used To It. Once I Am Up, I Can Manage. Neoptolemos It Is Time. What Must I Do? Philoktetes Your Words Stray Off Course. What Is It, Boy? Neoptolemos I Do Not Know Where To Turn My Powerless Words. Philoktetes Powerless? Do Not Say Such Things. Neoptolemos But I Am Mired In Powerless Thoughts. Philoktetes Does This Come From Nausea At The Sight Of My Illness? Does This Push You Not To Take Me? Neoptolemos Everything Is Nauseating To One Who Casts Off His Nature To Do Things That Are Out Of Character. Philoktetes It Would Not Have Been Out Of Character For Your Father, The Man Who Gave You Your Nature, To Help A Good Man, Both In Word And In Deed. Neoptolemos I Will Be Shown To Be Evil. The Very Thought Of It Frightens Me. Philoktetes The Things You Do Now Are Not Ignoble. The Words You Speak, Though, Give Me Pause. Neoptolemos Zeus, What Will I Do? Will I Twice Be Proven Evil, Hiding What I Should Not, Saying The Worst? Philoktetes If I Am Not A Poor Judge, It Seems To Me That This Man Will Abandon Me, And Sail Away. Neoptolemos I Will Not Abandon You. It's The Trip You'll Be Making That Will Be Ample Cause For Grief. Philoktetes I Do Not Follow You. What Are You Saying? Neoptolemos I Won't Keep It From You Any Longer. You Must Sail To Troy, To The Achaeans, To The Armies Of The Atreids. Philoktetes Ah! What Are You Saying? Neoptolemos Do Not Groan Until You Learn. Philoktetes What Must I Learn? What Are You Planning To Do With Me? Neoptolemos First, To Cure You Of This Misery. Then You And I Will Destroy The Trojan Nation. Philoktetes Is This The Truth? Is This What You Wanted? Neoptolemos A Great Need Forces These Things Upon Us. Quell Your Anger. Philoktetes I Am Destroyed. I Am Betrayed. Why, Stranger, Have You Done These Things? Give Me Back My Bow. Neoptolemos I Cannot. Duty And My Own Ambition Force Me To Obey Those Men Who Command Me. Philoktetes O Fire, O Utter Terror, O Terrible Craftsman Of All Wickedness, The Things You Have Done To Me! How You Have Betrayed Me! Are You Not Ashamed To Look Down On Me, Who Have Kneeled To You, The Suppliant, You Bitter Ones? You Have Taken Away My Life With My Bow. Return It. I Beg You, Boy, Return It Now. By Your Ancestral Gods, Do Not Take My Life. He Does Not Speak. He Merely Turns Away, As Though He Will Never Give It Back. Caves, Promontories, Hordes Of Wild Beasts, Rocky Headlands, I Speak To You Now, For There Is No One Else To Whom I Can Speak. You Have Always Been At My Side And Heard Me. Hear What Achilles'S Son Has Done! He Promised To Take Me Home. Instead He Will Take Me To Troy. He Gave Me His Hand And Then Robbed Me Of My Holy Bow, Herakles'S Bow, The Son Of Zeus'S, To Hold It Up To The Greeks And Boast That He Had Taken It From A Strong Opponent, That He Had Taken It From His Prisoner. He Is Killing Someone Who Is Already Dead, A Corpse, A Smoky Shadow, A Ghost. Were I Strong He Would Not Have Won. Even So, He Had To Trick Me To Get It Away. I Have Been Tricked, And I Am Destroyed. What Is Left For Me To Do? Return My Bow. Recall Your Nature. No? You Are Silent, And I Am Nothing. Double-Doored Rock, I Come Back To You Unarmed, Unable To Capture My Sustenance. Within That Cave I Will Wither, Unable To Bring Down Birds Or Beasts From The Mountains With My Bow. Now I Will Be The Food Of Those Who Fed Me. Those I Hunted Once Will Hunt Me Now. I Will Repay With My Life The Lives I Took Because Of The Hypocrite I Took Into My Trust, A Boy Who Seemed To Know No Evil. A Curse Upon You. No, Not Until I Know If You'll Change Your Mind. If You Will Not, May You Die In All Misery. Chorus What Will We Do Now? Shall We Sail Away, Or Do What He Asks Us? It Is In Your Hands. Neoptolemos A Terrible Pity Comes Over Me. I Have Felt It All Along. Philoktetes By The Gods, Do Take Pity. Do Not Put On The Mantle Of Infamy For Having Deceived Me. Neoptolemos What Will I Do? I Wish I Had Never Left Skyros. I Hate The Things That Are Happening Here. Philoktetes You Are Not A Bad Man. By Watching Others Who Are Bad You Have Learned These Terrible Tricks. Leave Evil To Them. Let Us Sail Away. Return My Weapons To Me, Boy. Neoptolemos What Will We Do Now? Odysseus You Coward, What Are You Thinking Of Doing? Are You Not Going To Give Me The Bow? Philoktetes Who Is That? Is That Odysseus'S Voice I Hear? Odysseus Odysseus'S, Yes. Now You Can See Me Clearly. Philoktetes I Am Truly Betrayed, Truly Destroyed. It Is All Becoming Clear To Me: It Was He Who Tricked Me And Robbed Me Of My Weapons. Odysseus None Other. I Proclaim It To You Now. Philoktetes Give Me My Bow. Give It To Me Now, Boy. Odysseus He Could Not Do That Even If He Wanted To. You Must Come With The Bow, Too, Or These Men Will Take You. Philoktetes Your Evil Nature Is Beyond Belief. Will They Take Me Off Against My Will? Odysseus If You Don't Crawl Along On Your Own, They Will. Philoktetes O Land Of Lemnos And The All-Powerful Fire, Created By Hephaistos In The Great Volcano, Must I Submit To This? Must I Let Him Force Me To Go With Them? Odysseus Zeus Rules This Island. Zeus Has Ordered This. I Am His Servant. I Obey His Commands. Philoktetes O Despicable Man, The Lies You Spin! You Call On The Gods And You Make The Gods Liars. Odysseus The Gods Speak Truly. This Course Must Be Followed. Philoktetes I Say No. Odysseus And I Say Yes. You Must Obey. Philoktetes Clearly We Are Slaves, And Not Freeborn Men. This Is What Our Fathers Brought Us Up To Be. Odysseus No, As Equals Of The Noblest Men, With Whom You Must Storm Troy'S Walls And Demolish The City, As Destiny Proclaims. Philoktetes No, I'll Do Anything But That, Odysseus. I Still Have My Seacliff. Odysseus What Did You Have In Mind? Philoktetes To Throw Myself From The Rocks Above And Break Myself On The Rocks Below. Odysseus Take Him! Keep Him From Jumping! Philoktetes O Hands, What You Suffer For Lack Of A Bowstring, The Prey Of That Man! You Whose Thoughts Are Sick And Slavelike, How You Have Hunted Me! How You Tricked Me, How You Stole Up With This Boy As A Shield, Unknown To Me. He Deserved A Better Master Than You. He Is At A Loss To Do Anything But What He'S Told, And He Suffers Now For His Mischief And The Things He Has Brought Upon My Head. Your Evil, Harmful Soul Has Taught Him To Be A Wily Criminal, Unwilling And Unsuited Though He Was For That. Now You Have Bound Me And Plan To Take Me Off From This Place Where You Had Cast Me Away, Friendless, Homeless, A Living Corpse. I Curse You. I Have Cursed You Many Times Before, But The Gods Have Granted Me Nothing I Want, And So You Live Happily, While I Live In This Pain, And You And The Atreids Mock My Anguish, Those Two Generals, For Whom You Perform This Deed. You Were Yoked To The Cause By Deceit And Force, While I Willingly Went With My Seven Ships, Willingly To Dishonor And My Own Destruction, To Being Cast Away On This Lonely Shore. You Say They Did It, And They Blame You. Why Must You Take Me? I Am Nothing. For You, I'Ve Been Dead For Years. Blasphemous Man, Could It Be I Don't Stink Now; Am I No Longer A Cripple? If I Sail With You, How Can You Offer Burnt Sacrifices? How Can You Pour Your Libations To The Gods? That Was Your Reason For Abandoning Me. May A Horrible Death Overtake You. It Will For Your Crimes Against Me, If The Gods Still Care For Justice. I Know They Do, For You Would Not Have Come For My Sake Alone; The Gods' Urging Must Have Brought You Here. Ancestral Land And You Gods Who Look On Mortal Crimes, Take Vengeance On These Men When The Time Is Right, Take Vengeance On Them All, If You Pity Me. If I Could See Them Die, Then I Could Also Dream That The Sickness Within Me Has Fled My Body. Chorus He Is Bitter, This Stranger; His Words Are, Too, For They Do Not Bend To Suffering. Odysseus There Is No Time To Say The Things I Should, And There Are Many Things I Could Say To Him. Just This: I Am A Man Who Responds To Occasion And Adapts Himself To The Situation. In Times Of Crisis Among Good And Just Men, I Can Be The Noblest-Minded Of All. To Win Is My Overarching Wish--- Except Against You. For You I Will Stand Aside. Let Him Go. We Don't Need Him. Let Him Stay In This Place. We Have His Bow. Teuker Is With Us, And He Is Skillful, And I Can Master Those Weapons Too. I Aim Straight As Well. Why Would We Need You? Goodbye. Goodbye To Lemnos. Let'S Go. Perhaps Soon I'll Win The Prize And Fame That Belong To You. Philoktetes Oh, What Will I Do? Will You Stand Before The Greeks Cloaked In The Glory Of My Weapons? Odysseus Don't Speak To Me. We Are Leaving Now. Philoktetes You Have Nothing To Say To Me, Son Of Achilles? Will You Leave Without A Word? Odysseus Come Along Now, Boy. Don't Look At Him, Even Though Your Spirit Prompts You To. That May Destroy The Advantage We Have Won. Philoktetes You Sailors, Will You Leave Me? Do You Have No Pity? Chorus The Young Lord Is Our Master. His Words Are Ours. Neoptolemos Odysseus Will Chide Me For Pitying Him. You Men Stay Here Until The Other Sailors Make Ready And We Have Prayed To The Gods Of This Place. Philoktetes May Think Better Of Us. Let Us Go, Odysseus. You Men, Come Quickly As Soon As We Call For You. Philoktetes Rock Hollow, Cave, Sunny, Icy, It Is True That I Was Not Meant To Leave You. You Will Be A Witness To My Life And Death. Rock Walls, Filled With My Cries Of Anguish, What Will My Daily Ration Be Now? What Hope Have I Of Dealing With My Fate, Now That The Birds That Fled From Me Above Will Come Down Through The Winds To Destroy Me? I Have No Strength Left. Chorus You Brought This On Yourself, Unbending Man. You Could Have Found A Way Out When It Was Possible To Make A Sensible Choice, But You Took The Worse Over The Better Fate. Philoktetes Sorrow And Sadness Are Mine. I Am Broken By Suffering, And Now I Must Live Alone; I Will Live And Die In This Place. I Cannot Feed Myself By My Winged Arrows Or My Strong Hands. Unexpectedly, His Tricky Words Overtook My Judgment. I Wish The One Who Set This Trap Were Given Pains To Match My Own. Chorus The Gods' Will Brought You Down, Not Guile, Not Tricks In Which I Have Had A Hand. Let Loose Your Hatred, Set Aside Your Curses. I Have Only The Fear That You'll Refuse My Friendship. Philoktetes He Sits Laughing On The Shores Of The Wine-Dark Sea. He Holds In His Hands The Bow That Sustained Me, Which No Mortal But I Had Ever Touched. Beloved Bow, Made By Caring Hands, The Prize Of Herakles, Who'll Never Use You Again, If You Could See, You Would Pity Me. You Have A New Master, A Guileful Man. He Will Bend You Now. You Will Know Treachery, Know My Hated Enemy, And Know Countless Evils Rising From His Deceit. Chorus One Should Take Care To Say What Is Just, And Having Said It, Keep His Tongue From Ire. Odysseus Follows The Orders Of Many, And He Has Done This In Obedience To His Friends. Philoktetes O Birds, O Beasts That Feed Upon The Hills, You No Longer Need Run Away From My Cave. I No Longer Have My Killing Weapons. Come Down. The Time Is Right For You To Feed On My Ravaged, Quivering Body; I Will Soon Die. How Can I Keep Myself Alive? Who Can Live On Breezes And Not Earthly Food? Chorus By The Gods, If You Still Hold The Gods In Respect, Come To A Stranger Who Approaches With Good Heart. Think Closely Of What You Are Doing. It Is Up To You To Flee Your Destruction. To Feed Fate With Your Flesh Is Pitiful. Your Body Will Never Learn To Endure The Pains, The Ten Thousand Pains Of The Sickness Possessing You. Philoktetes You Pour Salt On Old Wounds. Still, You Are Better Than Any Of Those Who Came To Me Before. Why Have You Also Wounded Me? Chorus What Do You Mean? Philoktetes You Wanted To Take Me To Hateful Troy. Chorus I Think That Is Best. Philoktetes Then Leave Me, And Now. Chorus That Is Good News Indeed. I'll Willingly Obey Your Command. Let Us Go, Men, Back To Our Stations. Philoktetes No, Strangers, By The Gods, Stay Here! I Beg You! Chorus Be Still. Philoktetes I Beg You, Stay With Me. Chorus Why Do You Beseech Us Now? Philoktetes I Am Destroyed. My Foot, What Will I Do With You For What Remains Of My Life? Come Back To Me, Friends. Chorus Come Back To Do What? Have You Changed Your Mind? Philoktetes It Is Not Just To Be Angry When A Man Driven Mad By Stormy Anguish Speaks Thoughtlessly. Chorus Come With Us, Poor Man, As We Have Asked. Philoktetes Never. Not Even If The Lord Of Lightning Devours Me In Thunderous Fire! Let Troy Be Ruined And All Those Before Its Walls Who Cast Me Away Here In My Lameness! Friends, Grant Me One Last Request. Chorus What Is It? Philoktetes If You Have A Sword, Or An Axe, Or A Knife, Then Bring It To Me. Chorus What Will You Do With It? Philoktetes I Will Cut Off My Head, Cut Off My Foot, Cut Myself Apart With My Own Hand. My Mind Wants Nothing But Death. Chorus Why? Philoktetes I Want To Find My Father. Chorus Where? Philoktetes In Hades. Surely He No Longer Stands In Light. Ancestral City, I Wish I Could See You, I Who Deserted Your Holy Waters To Help The Greeks, My Enemies. I Am Nothing Now. Chorus I Should Have Been Back To The Ship By Now. Here Comes Odysseus With The Son Of Achilles. Odysseus Why Are You Returning So Quickly, Boy? Neoptolemos I Hurry To Undo The Evil I Have Done. Odysseus You Speak Strangely. What Evil Is That? Neoptolemos I Was Wrong To Obey You And The Generals. Odysseus What Did We Order You To Do That Was Wrong? Neoptolemos I Worked Guile And Deceit, And Successfully. Odysseus What More Do You Want Now? Neoptolemos Nothing New. I Have Philoktetes'S Bow. Odysseus And What Will You Do With It? I Am Afraid To Ask. Neoptolemos I Am Giving It Back To Its Rightful Owner. Odysseus You Mean You'll Return It? Neoptolemos Yes. I Got It By Shameful Tricks. Odysseus Do You Really Mean It? Neoptolemos I Am Telling The Truth. Odysseus What Are You Saying, Son Of Achilles? Neoptolemos Must We Go Over The Same Ground Twice? Odysseus I Wish We Had Not Gone Over It The First Time. Neoptolemos You Have Heard Everything Now. Odysseus Someone Will Keep You From Doing It. Neoptolemos Who? Odysseus The Whole Greek Army, And I Among Them. Neoptolemos You Are Clever, Odysseus, But What You Say Is Not. Odysseus Neither Your Words Nor Your Acts Are Clever. Neoptolemos But They Are Just. That Is Better. Odysseus How Can It Be Just To Give Away What You Have Won With My Counsel? Neoptolemos I Have Committed Injustice And Strayed Off Course. I Must Undo All That. Odysseus And You Have No Fear Of What The Greeks Will Do? Neoptolemos I Am Not Afraid Of Any Of You, Since I Act With Justice. You Will Not Force Me. Odysseus Then We Will Fight Not Troy, But You. Neoptolemos So Be It. Odysseus Do You See My Hand Drawing Out This Sword? Neoptolemos You'll See Me Do The Same, And Right Away. Odysseus I Will Leave You To It, Then. I'll Return To Troy And Tell The Greeks, And They Will Come Here To Punish You. Neoptolemos It Is A Cautious Thing You Do. Remain As Cautious, And Perhaps You'll Keep Clear Of Future Danger. Philoktetes, Son Of Poias, Come Out Of Your Cave. I Call On You. Philoktetes What Do You Want? Why Do You Call Me? It Bodes Ill. Some New Trouble Is At Hand, Some New Grief To Heap On My Miseries. Neoptolemos Be Calm. I Simply Ask That You Listen. Philoktetes I Listened To You Once, And You Spoke Well Then. My Troubles Came From Sweet Words, When I Believed Them. Neoptolemos Is It Not Possible, Then, To Apologize? Philoktetes You Spoke As Smoothly As You Do Now When You Stole My Bow, Trustworthy On The Surface, But Treacherous Below. Neoptolemos That Is Not The Case Now. Are You Resolved To Stay Here As Before, Or Will You Come With Us? Philoktetes Stop. Your Words Will Be Wasted On Me. Neoptolemos Are You Resolved? Philoktetes More Resolved Than Words Can Say. Neoptolemos I Wish That I Could Make You Change Your Mind. But If My Words Are Pointless, Then I Am Finished. Philoktetes Your Words Are Useless. You Will Never Win Me With Words To Your Friendship. You Have Destroyed Me With Deceitful Talk, And Then You Come To Make Speeches, Bastard Son Of A Noble Father. A Curse On You, On The Atreids And Odysseus, But Especially On You. Neoptolemos Curse No More. Take Your Bow. I Give It Back To You Now, Philoktetes. Philoktetes Is This Yet Another Of Your Tricks? Neoptolemos No. I Swear It By Almighty Zeus. Philoktetes Your Words Are Good, If They Are True. Neoptolemos They Are. Reach Out, And Take The Bow. Odysseus I Forbid You, As The Gods Are My Witnesses, In The Name Of The Atreids And All Their Armies. Philoktetes Boy, Whose Voice Is That? Odysseus'S? Odysseus None Other, And Very Near You Now. I Will Bring You To Wide Troy Myself, Against Your Will, Whether Or Not The Boy Approves. Philoktetes You Will Suffer For Your Words If This Arrow Flies True. Neoptolemos Don't Shoot, By The Gods! Philoktetes Let Go Of My Hand Now, Boy. Neoptolemos No. I Will Not Let Go. Philoktetes Why Do You Keep Me From Killing My Enemy? Neoptolemos It Would Not Be A Brave Act For You Or Me. Philoktetes The Lords Of The Army, The False Heralds Of The Greeks, Are Cowards In Battle, However Brave Their Words. Neoptolemos That May Well Be. You Have Your Bow. You Have No Further Cause To Be Angry With Me. Philoktetes No. You Have Shown Your True, Nobly Bred Nature. You Are The Son Of Achilles, Not Sisyphos. Your Father, When He Lived, Was The Most Famous Man Of All, And Now He Is Most The Famous Of The Dead. Neoptolemos It Pleases Me To Hear You Speak Kindly Of My Father, And Of Me. Now Listen To What I Want From You. The Gods' Will Is Given To Us Mortals, And We Must Bear That Will Of Necessity. And Those Who Choose To Clutch Their Miseries And Not Release Them Deserve No Pity. You Have Become A Savage Through Your Anger; You Refuse Good Advice And Hate Him Who Offers It, As Though He Were Your Enemy. I Will Speak Freely. May Zeus, God Of Vows, Be My Witness. Listen To Me; Let My Words Be Engraved In Your Mind: You Are Diseased, And Your Pain Has Been Sent By The Gods Because You Came Close To The Guardian Of Chryse, The Viper Who Silently Watches Over Her Roofless Temple To Keep Invaders Out. Your Pain Will Have No Relief In This Place, Where This Sun Rises, And This Sun Sets: You Must First Go Willingly With Us To Troy And There Be Taken By The Asklepiades, Who Will Relieve Your Disease. And Then, Beside Me, You Must Take Your Bow And Conquer Troy. I Know That It Must Be This Way. A Trojan Man Was Taken Prisoner. His Name Is Helenos, And He Is A Trustworthy Prophet. He Told Us Of How This Year It Would Pass, How It Was Fated That Troy Would Fall To The Greeks. If He Was Wrong, He Said, Then We Should Kill Him. You Know It All Now. Yield, And Obey. You Will Get Much More Than You Asked For: You Will Be Healed By Knowing Hands, And Then You Will Gain The Greatest Glory Of Our People, Becoming The Most Famous Of Us All, Conquering Troy, The City That Has Drained Us Of Blood And Tears. Philoktetes Hateful Life, Why Should I Still Live And See? Why Have I Not Descended Into Darkness? What Will I Do? How Can I Mistrust The One Who Gives Me This Kindly Advice? Must I Give In? If I Do, How Shall I Go Into The Light? An Outcast, Mistreated, To Whom Should I Talk? My Eyes, Can You Bear To See Me Living Alongside Those Who Tried To Kill Me, The Atreids And That Bastard Odysseus? I Worry Not About The Evils They Have Done, But The Evils They Will Do As These Things Unfold. Once Men Have Learned To Hatch Evil Crimes, They Cannot Help But Be Criminals Again. I Wonder, And I Keep On Wondering. You Should Not Be Going Off To Troy, And You Should Keep Me From Going There. Those Men Have Wronged You, Robbed You Of Your Father'S Weapons. Will You Still Help Them, And Make Me Do The Same? No. Take Me Home As You Have Promised, And Then Stay In Skyros. Let These Men Die Badly, As They Deserve. Your Father And I Will Be Grateful To You, For By Helping The Wicked You Become Like Them. Neoptolemos Your Words Have Merit. Still, You Must Trust The Gods, And My Word, And Come As My Friend. Philoktetes Come To The Bitter Plains Of Troy, To The Accursed Atreids With My Foot Like This? Neoptolemos No, Not To Enemies, But To Those Who Can Help, Who Can Save You And Your Foot From This Savage Disease. Philoktetes What You Urge Is Terrible. Can I Believe What You Tell Me? Neoptolemos It Will Be To Our Mutual Benefit. Philoktetes Are You Not Ashamed To Talk So, In Full Sight Of The Gods? Neoptolemos Why Should I Feel Shame To Do Acts Of Good? Philoktetes Acts Of Good For Me, Or The Atreids? Neoptolemos I Am Your Friend. My Words Are Of Friendship. Philoktetes How Will You Betray Me To My Enemies? Neoptolemos You Must Learn To Extract Yourself From This Anguish. Philoktetes Your Words Are Clear. You Intend To Destroy Me. Neoptolemos No. You Have Not Understood. Philoktetes Is It Not True That The Atreids Marooned Me Here? Neoptolemos Once They Marooned You. Let Us See If They'll Save You. Philoktetes Not If Salvation Means Going To Troy. Neoptolemos What Will We Do, Then, Since I Cannot Convince You? It Is Better, It Seems, That I Stop Talking, And You Go On Living Without Hope Of A Cure. Philoktetes Let Me Suffer The Things I Must. But What You Promised, Touching My Hand, You Must Do. Take Me Home Without Delay. Forget Troy. I Am Tired Of Lamenting Here. Neoptolemos All Right. Let Us Sail. Philoktetes You Speak Nobly. Neoptolemos Plant Your Feet Firmly, And Arise. Philoktetes I Will Do So, As Firmly As I Am Able. Neoptolemos How Will I Avoid The Scorn Of The Greeks? Philoktetes Pay It No Mind. Neoptolemos And What If They Come In War Against My Country? Philoktetes I Will Be With You. Neoptolemos What Kind Of Help Could You Give Me? Philoktetes The Help Of Herakles'S Bow. Neoptolemos What Do You Mean? Philoktetes I Will Drive Them Out Of Your Fatherland. Neoptolemos If You Will Do This, Then Come And Kiss This Ground, And We Will Go. Herakles Not Yet. Not Until You Have Heard Me, Philoktetes. Know That I Am The Voice Of Herakles; You Hear It With Your Ears And You See My Body. I Have Come From The Dead To Give You My Help. I Come To Reveal Zeus'S Plans To You, And To Stop The Journey Which You Now Intend. Listen To Me. Let Me Tell You First Of My Own Fate, Tell You Of The Hardships And Sufferings That Were Mine, And Of The Undying Fame That I Later Won. I Gained Immortality, As You Can See. So Will You, After All This Misery You Will Have Endless Glory. Go With This Child To The Plains Of Troy. There You Will Have A Cure For Your Disease, And Win Fame As The Best Of The Greek Warriors. You Will Kill Paris Alexander, Who Started It All; You Will Kill Him With Your Bow, Once Mine. You Will Conquer Troy. You Will Win The Prize Of Glory From The Armies And Spoils Of War That You Will Take Home To Poias Your Father, And Oeta Your Country. Take Some Of Those Spoils And Make An Offering On A Pyre In Commemoration Of My Bow. Son Of Achilles, Hear Me Too. You Alone Are Not Strong Enough To Conquer Troy, Not Without This Man, Nor He Without You. You Must Act Like Two Lions In A Pride, Guarding Each Other As You Hunt. I Will Send Asklepios To Troy To Heal His Disease. Troy Will Fall Twice Before My Bow. Remember This, Though: When You Go To Sack Troy, Stay Holy. Zeus Puts Everything Else Below That. Piety Does Not Die With Men; Whether They Live Or Die, Piety Remains. Philoktetes Voice That Moves Me, Long-Gone Body, I Will Not Disobey You. Neoptolemos Nor Will I. Herakles Do Not Delay, Then. The Time Is Right, And The Tides Are Calling. Philoktetes Hear Me, Hated Lemnos. Farewell, Cave That Shared My Watch, Nymphs Of The Water-Meadows, Farewell, Thundering Beat Of Waves On The Headland, That Wetted My Head With Spray On The Cliffs, And The Volcano That Groaned In Echo To My Voice When I Was Tossed By Storms. Springs And The Well Of Lykeios, I Leave You. I Had Lost All Hope Of Doing So. Farewell, Lemnos, Bound By Waves, Give Me No Further Cause To Mourn, But Send Me Off On Fair Seas To Win My Glory Where Fate Now Carries Me, To The Judgment Of Friends And The All-Governing Spirit That Rules These Events. Chorus Let Us All Go Now, After We Have Prayed To The Nymphs Of The Sea To Grant Us Safe Passage Over The Waters.