ELEC. _Oh mother! Oh enemy! Oh hard soul! Like a foe, unhonoured by funeral bowl, Though a prince, unfollowed by mean or high, Thou didst bury thy husband without one sigh._
ORES. _Ah! ah! every word there hath stung. But shall she not pay For each shame she then flung On my sire?_
ELEC. _Thou hearest our father’s death; but I was driven To grieve apart beneath the dews of heaven; Chased from the chambers like a thievish hound, To pour my grief in tears upon the ground, They came more readily than smiles.... Write this in thy soul ..._
ORES. _Father, assist thy children in their deed!_
ELEC. _Thy daughter’s tears implore thee in deep need!..._
ORES. _The cause is set. The battle doth begin!_
ELEC. _Oh gods, be just; and make the righteous win!_[16]
The resolution is taken at last. It remains now only to ask their father’s blessing, before putting it into effect. Orestes begs for power to rule well in Agamemnon’s stead, and promises rich sacrifices to his shade.
ELEC. _And I will bring Choice offerings from all my patrimony In day of marriage, and will honour first My father’s tomb from the paternal hall...._
ORES. _Either send justice fighting on our side, If thou wouldst gain requital for thy fall, Or grant us to catch them as they caught thee._
ELEC. _Hear this last cry, my father! Look with pity On these thy young ones sitting at thy grave, And feel for both, the maiden and the man._[16]
The real crisis of the tragedy is in this wonderful ode, although the action has all to follow. Doubts and fears are now subdued: Orestes and Electra have risen to a height of stern conviction which will carry them to the fulfilment of their purpose, although neither it nor the sanction of Apollo will save them from remorse. The action moves rapidly now, as though the revenge must be accomplished at once, in the heat of this terrible purpose. Orestes is told of Clytemnestra’s dream—that she had borne a serpent which had turned and rent her breast. He welcomes it gladly, as an auspicious omen for him; and forms a hasty plan of action. He and Pylades will apply for entrance at the palace gates, with a feigned story of Orestes’ death. Electra must make ready for them within, and secure their admittance. They will kill Egisthus first, and afterward complete the revenge by the murder of Clytemnestra.