Monday 27 May 2013

Electra

Last night I read Electra by the great Greek tragedian, Euripides. While I love Greek mythology, I can't say I'm a huge fan of Greek drama. That said, I found more to enjoy in this play than most. I especially liked this line spoken by Electra to the corpse of the man who murdered her father:

You thought having great wealth made you a great man.
But money keeps you company a little while; 
What's firm and lasting is man's nature, not his wealth.
A noble nature is a lifelong friend, and lifts
Life's burdens; wealth makes unjust league with wickedness, 
And, flowering a brief season, soon flies out of doors.

From Medea and Other Plays by Euripides, trans. Philip Vellacott, Penguin Classics, first published in 1963.

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