Pylades

“ O thou most base in avenging thy friends, dost thou fly, turning away from me? But all Agamemnon's services are gone: thou wert then without friends, O my father, in thy affliction. Alas me! I am betrayed, and there no longer are any hopes, whither turning I may escape death from the Argives. For he was the refuge of my safety. But I see this most dear of men, Pylades, coming with hasty step from the Phocians, a pleasing sight, a man faithful in adversity, more grateful to behold than the calm to the mariners. ”

“ PHRY. With a clamor having burst by means of bars the doors and cells where we were waiting, we run to her assistance, each to different parts of the house, one bringing stones, another spears, another having a long-handled sword in his hand. But Pylades came against us, impetuous, like as the Phrygian Hector or Ajax in his triple-crested helmet, whom I saw, I saw at the gates of Priam: but we clashed together the points of our swords: then indeed, then did the Phrygians give clear proof how inferior we were in the force of Mars to the spear of Greece. ”

“ Pylades.
That I helped thee slay thy mother, this he names an impious thing.
Orestes.
Woe is me! the anguish of mine anguish unto thee must cling!
Pylades.
I am not a Menelaus: these afflictions must I bear.
Orestes.
Fear'st thou not lest Argos doom thee with my deed my death to share?⁠770
Pylades.
I belong not unto them to punish, but to Phocis-land.
Orestes.
Fearful is the people's rage, when evil men its course command.
Pylades.
Nay, but when they take them honest chiefs, they counsel honest rede.
Orestes.
Come, let thou and I commune— [22]
Pylades. ”

“ And the sailors being strong and skilful, the King's men were driven back sorely bruised and wounded. And when they fled to a bank that was hard by and cast stones at the ship, the archers standing on the stern shot at them with arrows. Then—for his sister feared to come further—Orestes leapt into the sea, and raised her upon his shoulder and so lifted her into the ship, and the image of the goddess with her. And Pylades cried, "Lay hold of your oars, ye sailors, and smite the sea, for we have that for the which we came to this land." ”

“ It is the proposal that he shall escape, and abandon Pylades, which brings him back to his only remaining hold on life—his affection for Pylades. His voluntary resigning of his life [2] to save a friend is a rate instance of this virtue in the heroes of Euripides, and this touching scene has not lost its hold upon the imagination of modern dramatists.
82. There remains but one more hero to be discussed, who appears in two plays, once as a hero of circumstance, once again as a hero of character—I mean the Heracles of the Raging Heracles and of the Alcestis. ”

“ The shadow of madness and guilt hanging over Orestes makes a difference. At his first entrance, when danger is still far off, he is a mass of broken nerves; he depends absolutely on Pylades. In the later scenes, when they are face to face with death, the underlying strength of the son of the Great King asserts itself and makes one understand why, for all his madness, Orestes is the chief, and Pylades only the devoted follower. ”

“ So also Achilles in the Aulid Iphigenia—a perfect gentleman, courteous, chivalrous, and sympathetic—does not play the chief or even a tragic part in the action. Such again is Pylades, always a secondary character, the affectionate friend of Orestes, the devoted supporter of his house, ever ready to help and to encourage, but in no sense a figure of real importance in the Euripidean drama, though the mutual affection of the friends has made their relation more interesting and suggestive than the characters themselves. ”

“ Exeunt Orestes and Pylades, forcing Clytaemnestra through the Central Door, their attendants remaining to guard the door. Chorus, after a word of pity for even this 'twain mischance,' break into
CHORAL INTERLUDE III in three interwoven Strophes and Antistrophes.
Late came vengeance on Troy, late now has it blest this heaven-sent exile, and our Master's house is freed. On a lover of the war of guile has Revenge come subtle-souled, Vengeance who
Is guileful without guile,
Halting of foot and tarrying over-long;
The will of Gods is strangely over-ruled,
It may not help the vile. ”

“ Alas! must perish altogether.
↑ Where every girl ——.— [MS. Newstead.] ↑ It is hardly necessary to add, that Pylades was the companion of Orestes, and a partner in one of those friendships which, with those of Achilles and Patroclus, Nisus and Euryalus, Damon and Pythias, have been handed down to posterity as remarkable instances of attachments, which in all probability never existed beyond the imagination of the poet, or the page of an historian, or modern novelist. ”

“ It is true that Pylades was absent from the actual slaying of Clytaemnestra, but a short time previously he was present at the death of Aegisthus, [31] although he took no actual part in the slaying. From the standpoint of historical Attic law, he was therefore as guilty (or as innocent) as Orestes and Electra were. Hence this decree of Castor and Pollux must be interpreted prophetically; they are speaking of the future, which, as gods, they foresee. Therefore they regard the exile of Electra as temporary and her guilt as that of extenuated matricide. ”

“ Since the three actors are already occupied in this scene it is evident that Iole is played by a mute and cannot speak. This illustrates principles (5) and (7) .
Still again, up to vs. 1245 of Euripides’ Orestes, when he enters the palace, Pylades speaks freely. At vs. 1554 Menelaus, Orestes, Hermione, and Pylades enter the scene. The last two are now played by mutes, the third actor appearing as Apollo at vs. 1625. Orestes threatens to kill Hermione; and after vainly striving to deter him Menelaus turns to Pylades with the query (vs. 1591) : “Do you, also, share in this murder, Pylades?” ”

“ This argument, which was very common and popular with the Athenian democracy, is now hardly yet re-established in our modern culture, and may well be noted as one of the most modern traits in Euripides. The entry of Pylades, who comes to support the tottering Orestes to the assembly where his case is tried, is very affecting, and full of dramatic force, but in the vivid description of the debate, there is a good deal of satire, and it is not unlikely that the poet was drawing pictures of leading Athenians in describing his speakers. ”

“ Re-enters temple. Enter Orestes and Pylades.
Orestes.
Look thou—take heed that none be in the path.
Pylades.
I look, I watch, all ways I turn mine eyes.
Orestes.
Pylades, deem'st thou this the Goddess' fane
Whither from Argos we steered oversea?⁠70
Pylades. ”

“ As he turns, he sees the Libation-Bearers approaching.
Ha!
What sight is this? What stricken multitude
Of women here in raiment sable-hued
Far-gleameth? How shall I interpret it?
Hath some new death upon my lineage lit?
Or is it to my father's grave they go
With offerings, to appease the wrath below?
It must be. Surely 'tis Electra there,
My sister, moves alone, none like to her
In sorrow. Zeus, Oh, grant to me this day
My vengeance, and be near me in the fray!
Come, Pylades, stand further, till we know
More sure, what means this embassy of woe. ”

“ Hold all the world thy foe rather than Heaven
[vss. 900-903, Warr’s translation] , is as effective as if uttered by the god in person, and urges Orestes on to the deadly deed. These are the only words that Pylades utters in the whole tragedy. In another play belonging to the [171] same trilogy, the Eumenides, Aeschylus rose to the full possibilities of his histrionic resources—Orestes, the coryphaeus, Apollo, and Athena all participating in the conversation between vss. ”

“ Pretending to sorrow, but inwardly exulting, as having her in our power. ↑ Paley takes πρόσθεν of time—"First, of her thralls what slaughter shall there be?" then Pylades' answer implies, not necessarily any. Wedd interprets, "But, ere her thralls die, etc." ↑ Following Nauck's punctuation, and reading τ ̓ for δ ̓ in 1135. ↑ Reading ἢν . . . . σπασώμεθα. ↑ Paley understands, "Thou mean'st God's providence—why talk of this?" i.e. we cannot expect divine intervention. Wedd interprets, "Some plan by God inspired thou mean'st. ”

“ Electra returns to Stage, her whole manner changed: as if the prayer had already begun to be fulfilled, she has found the mysterious locks which, she bit by bit lets out, must be those of Orestes—the Chorus, like sailors in a storm, can only invoke the gods: if the day has come, from a small seed a mighty trunk may grow—Electra then discovers foot-prints [as if leading from the Side Stage-door to the Orchestra-staircase] of two travellers; one foot-print agrees with her brother's: {203}
Orestes and Pylades come forward: recognition and joy, Electra hardly believing. ”

“ The granules are so minute and so close that they form a sort of plush on the pileus, more dense on the disk and radiating wrinkles than elsewhere. The clothing of the stem is finer, and has a velvety-pubescent appearance, but in some instances it breaks up into small scales or squamules. The color of the pileus and stem is usually some shade of yellow or brown, but occasionally a grayish hue predominates. The darker color of the granules imparts a dingy or smoky tinge to the general color. The disk is often darker than the rest of the pileus. ”

“ Phyllidas called the head jailer out and said: ‘Archias and Philippus order you to bring Amphitheus to them at once.’ He, remarking the strangeness of the hour, and that Phyllidas did not seem composed as he spoke to him, but hot from the struggle and excited, saw through our artifice: ‘When did the Polemarchs send for a prisoner at such an hour, |B| Phyllidas,’ he asked, ‘and when by you? ”

“ Such a trama is said to be vesiculose to distinguish it from the ordinary or floccose trama. The threads on the outer surface of the pileus constitute the cortex or cuticle. They are thick walled and often contain coloring matter which gives the plants their characteristic color. In many species their walls become gelatinized, covering the outside of the pileus with a viscid, slimy, or glutinous layer, often called pellicle. In other instances the corticle layer ceases to grow with the pileus. ”

“ The account of the Elements given by Philalethes differs from that of Basil Valentine.
Philalethes enumerates three Elements only: Air, Water, and Earth. Things are not formed by the mixture of these Elements, for "dissimilar things can never really unite." By analysing the properties of the three Elements, Philalethes reduced them finally to one, namely, Water. "Water," he says, "is the first principle of all things." "Earth is the fundamental Element in which all bodies grow and are preserved. ”

“ The pileus thin and fleshy, entirely dry, at first clothed with silky down, becoming smooth in mature plants. The gills are changeable in color. The stem is equal or tapering downward, stuffed, sometimes hollow, smooth.
V. Telamonia, meaning a bandage or lint. The pileus is moist, watery, smooth or sprinkled with whitish superficial fibres, the remnants of the web-like veil. The flesh is thin, somewhat thicker at the center. The stem is ringed and frequently scaly from the universal veil, slightly veiled at the apex, hence almost with a double veil. The plants are usually quite large. ”

“ The genus Pylozonium is the most highly developed form of the Pylonida, as all three systems of concentric girdles here become fully developed, each system with three perfect girdles. In this genus only among all the Pylonida we find nine complete latticed girdles, and in each of the three dimensive planes three concentric elliptical girdles. The first system forms the medullary shell, the second system the inner cortical shell, and the third system the outer cortical shell. ”

“ Pileus without a viscid pellicle, absolutely dry, rigid, the cuticle commonly breaking up into flocci or granules. Flesh thick, compact, firm, vanishing away short of the margin which is straight (never involute) , soon spreading, and always without striæ. Stem solid, at first hard, then softer and spongy. Gills, a few dimidiate, others divided, rigid, dilated in front and running out with a very broad, rounded apex, whence the margin of the pileus becomes obtuse and is not inflexed. Exceedingly handsome, but rather rare. ”

“ Pileus indeterminate, conic-acuminate, perforate at the apex. Spores elliptic-oblong, 4–5×2μ.
Plant 4–7 in. in height, the stem 3⁄4 of an in. in thickness, the volva not much thicker and 1–11⁄2 in. in height; the pileus occupies 1–2 in. of the pointed apex, but is not definitely limited below. This plant has the strong disagreeable odor of other Phalloids.
Growing in rich soil in cultivated grounds and in woods. Morgan.
Common in mixed woods, West Virginia, Pennsylvania. Smell strong, but not so offensive as P. impudicus. Edible in the egg-shape. ”

“ I have already shown that the pygidium is proportionately larger in the protaspis in the Mesonacidæ, Solenopleuridæ, and Olenidæ, and a glance at Barrande's figures of "Hydrocephalus" carens and "H." saturnoides, both young of Paradoxides will show that the same process of development goes on in that genus as in Sao. There is first an enlargement of the pygidium to a maximum, a rise from 20 per cent to 33 per cent in the case of H. carens and then, with the introduction of thoracic segments, a very rapid falling off. ”