Chapter XI: Act V: THOAS alone

THOAS: Fierce anger rages in my riven breast,
First against her whom I esteem'd so pure;
Then 'gainst myself, whose foolish lenity
Hath fashion'd her for treason. Vain my hope
To bind her to me. Now that I oppose
Her wish, she seeks to gain her ends by fraud.

[_Enter_ IPHIGENIA.

Wherefore delay the sacrifice; inform me!

IPHIGENIA: The goddess for reflection grants thee time.

THOAS: To thee this time seems also opportune.

IPHIGENIA: Are we not bound to render the distress'd
The gracious kindness from the gods received?
Thou know'st we are, and yet wilt thou compel me?

THOAS: Obey thine office, not the king.

IPHIGENIA: Oh, couldst thou see the struggle of my soul,
Courageously toward the first attack
Of an unhappy doom which threatens me;
Must I implore a miracle from heaven?

THOAS: Extravagant thy interest in the fate
Of these two strangers. Tell me who they are.

IPHIGENIA: They are--they seem, at least--I think them Greeks.

THOAS: Thy countrymen; no doubt they have renewed
The pleasing picture of return.

IPHIGENIA (_after a pause_): Attend,
O king, and honour truth in me. A plot
Deceitfully and secretly is laid
Touching the captives thou dost ask in vain.
They have escaped. The eldest is Orestes,
Whom madness seized, my brother; Pylades,
His early friend and confidant, the other.
From Delphi, Phoebus sent them to this shore,
To steal away the image of Diana,
And to him bear back the sister thither.
And for this, deliverance promised he
The Fury-haunted son.

THOAS: The traitors have contrived a cunning web,
And cast it round thee, who, secluded long,
Giv'st willing credence to thine own desire.

IPHIGENIA: No, no! I'd pledge my life these men are true;
And shouldst thou find them otherwise, O king,
Then let them perish both, and cast me forth.

[_Enter_ ORESTES, _armed_.

ORESTES (_addressing his followers_): Redouble your
exertions! Hold them back!
And keep a passage open to the ship!
(_To_ IPHIGENIA) We are betray'd; brief time remains
for flight! [_He perceives the king_.

THOAS: None in my presence with impunity
His naked weapon wears!

IPHIGENIA: Do not profane
Diana's sanctuary with rage and blood.
In him revere the king, my second father!

ORESTES: Will he permit our peaceable return?

IPHIGENIA: Thy gleaming sword forbids me to reply.

[_Enter_ PYLADES, _followed by_ ARKAS,
_with drawn swords_

PYLADES: Do not delay, our friends are putting forth
Their final strength!

ARKAS: They yield; their ship is ours!

THOAS: Let none annoy the foe while we confer.

[ARKAS _retires_.

THOAS: Now, answer me; how dost thou prove thyself
The priestess' brother, Agamemnon's son?

IPHIGENIA: See here, the mark on his right hand impress'd
As of three stars, which on his natal day
Were by the priest declar'd to indicate
Some dreadful deed therewith to be perform'd!

THOAS: E'en though thy words had banish'd every doubt,
Still must our arms decide. I see no peace;
Their purpose, as thou didst thyself confess,
Was to deprive me of Diana's image!

ORESTES: The image shall not be the cause of strife!
We now perceive the error which the god
Threw o'er our minds. His counsel I implor'd;
He answer'd, "Back to Greece the sister bring,
Who in the Tauris sanctuary abides."
To Phoebus' sister we applied the words,
And she referred to thee.

IPHIGENIA: Oh, let thy heart
Be moved by what an honest tongue has spoken.
Look on us, king; an opportunity
For such a noble deed not oft occurs!

THOAS: Then go!

IPHIGENIA: Not so, my king! I cannot part
Without thy blessing, or in anger from thee.

THOAS (_extending his hand_): Fare thee well!

FOOTNOTES:

[B] Goethe's fascinating and noble drama, "Iphigenia in Tauris," was first written in prose, and recast into verse in 1786. Inspired partly by his feelings towards Frau von Stein, whom Goethe "credited with knowing every trait of his being," and partly by the "Iphigenia in Tauris" of Euripides, the play is totally different from anything that had as yet come from his pen. Although it lacks some of the pomp and circumstance of the best Greek tragedy, it is written with great dignity in the strictest classical form, admirably suggesting the best in French classical drama. The prominent motive of the piece is the struggle between truth and falsehood. "It is," one critic has remarked, "a poetic drama of the soul." On its production at Weimar, the German public received it indifferently.

GOGOL[C]

The Inspector-General

_Persons in the Play_

ANTON ANTONOVITCH, _governor of a small town_
ANNA ANDREYEVNA, _his wife_
MARYA, _their daughter_
LUKA, _director of schools_
KHELSTAKOV, _a St. Petersburg official_
OSIP, _his servant-man_
BOBCHINSKI _and_ DOBCHINSKI, _independent gentlemen_
A JUDGE, A CHARITY COMMISSIONER, A POSTMASTER
POLICE SUPERINTENDENT and CONSTABLES
A WAITER AT THE INN