Dramatis Perfonæ.

ULYSSES, king of Ithaca.

NEOPTOLEMUS, fon of Achilles. PHILOCTETES, fon of Pæan and companion

of Hercules.

A SPY.

HERCULES.

CHORUS,

Compofed of the companions of ULYSSES and NEOPTOLEMUS.

SCENE Lemnos, near a grotto, in a rock by the fea-fide.

PHIL OC TETES.
LOCTET

ACT I.

SCENE I.

ULYSSES, NEOPTOLEMUS, ATTENDANT.
ULYSSE S.

A

T length, my noble friend, thou bravest son

Of a brave father, father of us all,

The great Achilles, we have reach'd the shore
Of fea-girt Lemnos, defart and forlorn,
Where never tread of human step is feef,
Or voice of mortal heard, fave his alone,
Poor Philoctetes, Pæan's wretched fon,

Whom

: Poor Philoctetes, &c. It is reported of Philoctetes, that Hercules, at his death on mount Hyllus, bequeath'd to him, as a testimony of his esteem, his bow and arrows; the extraordinary virtues of which we shall find frequeutly alluded to in this piece. Philoctetes after this, being in fearch of an altar dedicated to his deceased friend, in the island of Chryfa, was there bit by a ferpent; the wound fefter'd. and an incurable ulcer enfued, notwithstanding which he proceeded in his voyage to affift at the fiege of Troy; where the wound growing defperate, his continual cries and groans interrupted the motions of the war, and probably disheartened the foldiers; the Grecian chiefs therefore thought it adviseable to remove him from the army. A fuperftitious belief was inftilled into the multitude, that Philoctetes was ftruck by the hand of the gods with an incurable diftem

per;

Whom here I left; for fuch were my commands
From Grecia's chiefs, when by his fatal wound
Opprefs'd, his groans and execrations dreadful
Alarm'd our hofts, our facred rites profan'd,
And interrupted holy facrifice.

But why fhou'd I repeat the tale? the time
Admits not of delay, we muft not linger,
Left he discover our arrival here,

And all our purpos'd fraud to draw him hence
Be ineffectual; lend me then thy aid:
Surveying round thee, canft thou see a rock
With double entrance; to the fun's warm rays
In winter open, and in fummer's heat
Giving free paffage to the welcome breeze?
A little to the left, there is a fountain

Of

per; and Ulyffes was ordered to carry him to Lemnos, an uninhabited island in the gean fea, and leave him there to the care of providence. In this miferable fituation he remained for ten years; the Greeks in the mean time are informed by an oracle, that Troy could never be conquered without the arrows of Hercules, then in the poffeffion of Philoctetes. Ulyffes and Neoptolemus are dispatch'd with commands to bring him to the fiege. The manner in which this expedition was conducted, and the means made use of by the artful Ulyffes to gain the arrows of Hercules, constitute the subject of the tragedy; which, though extremely barren of dramatic incidents, and divefted of every theatrical ornament, abounds at the fame time in fuch amiable fimplicity, fuch ftrength of colouring; and propriety of character and manners, as may, perhaps, render it even more pleafing to the judicious and claffical reader, than those plays of Sophocles, where the fable is apparently more interesting, and the manners much more fimilar to our own. The celebrated archbishop of Cambray was fo ftruck with the story of Philoctetes, that he has taken the pains to weave it into his excellent work, where it forms a very beautiful epifode,

See Telemaque, b. 15.

Of living water, where, if yet he breathes

He flakes his thirft; if aught thou feeft of this,
Inform me; fo fhall each to each impart

Council moft fit, and ferve our common cause.
NEOPTOLEM U S.

[leaving Ulyffes a little behind him.

If I mistake not, I behold a cave,

Ev'n fuch as thou defcrib'ft.

ULYSSES.

Doft thou? which way?

NEOPTOLEM U S.

Yonder it is; but no path leading thither,

Or trace of human footstep.

ULYSSE S.

In his cell

A chance but he hath lain him down to reft;

Look if he hath not.

NEOPTO LE MU S

[advancing towards the cave.

Not a creature there.

ULYSSES.

Nor food, nor mark of houshold preparation?

NEOPTOLEMUS.

A ruftic bed of fcatter'd leaves."

ULYSSES.

What more?

NEOPTOLEM U S.

A wooden bowl, the work of fome rude hand,

With a few sticks for fuel.

ULYSSES.

This is all

His little treasure here.

NEOP

NEOPTOLEMU S.
Unhappy man!

Some linen for his wounds.

ULYSSE S.

.

This must be then

His place of habitation; far from hence
He cannot roam; diftemper'd as he is,
It were impoffible; he is but gone
A little way for needful food, or herb
Of pow'r to 'fwage and mitigate his pain.
Wherefore dispatch this fervant to some place
Of obfervation, whence he may espy
His ev'ry motion, left he rush upon us.
There's not a Grecian whom his foul fo much
Cou'd wish to crush beneath him as Ulyffes.

[Makes a fignal to the attendant, who retires.

SCENE II.

NEOPTOLEMUS,

ULYSSES.

NEOPTOLEM U S.

ན

He's gone to guard each avenue; and now,
If thou haft aught of moment to impart
Touching our purpose, fay it; I attend.
ULYSSES.

Son of Achilles, mark me well; remember,
What we are doing not on strength alone,
Or courage, but on conduct will depend;
Therefore if aught uncommon be propos'd,
Strange to thy ears, and adverse to thy nature,
Reflect that 'tis thy duty to comply,

And act conjunctive with me.

NEO P