back safe from Troy. The Trojan men, They say, are brave in war, expert to cast The spear and wing the arrow, skilled to rein The rapid steeds by which the bloody strife Of battlefields is hurried to its close; And therefore whether God will bring me back, Or I shall fall in Troy, I cannot know. Take charge of all things here. I leave with thee My father and my mother in these halls. Be kind to them as now, nay, more than now, Since I shall not be here. When thou shalt see My son a bearded man, take to thyself A husband, whom thou wilt, and leave thy
Such were his words, and they have been fulfilled. The night will come in which I must endure This hateful marriage, wretched that I am, To whom the will of Jupiter forbids All consolation, and this bitter thought Weighs evermore upon my heart and soul.