Orestes--thou? Whom Clytemnestra bare? _Orestes._ To Atreus' firstborn son, thy sire and mine. _Iphigenia._ Thou sayest it: Oh, give me some proof, some sign! Old things of home are remembered between the two, and at length Iphigenia is convinced. _Iphigenia._ (_falling into his arms_) Beloved! Oh, no other, for indeed Beloved art thou! In mine arms at last, Orestes far away. Then follows a scene in which Iphigenia {257} gives herself up to one emotion after another, and when Orestes reminds her that they are not yet safe, she suggests one wild plan after another. _Iphigenia._ And now, what end cometh? Shall Chance yet comfort me, Finding a way for thee Back from the Friendless Strand, Back from the place of death-- Ere yet the slayers come And thy blood sink in the sand-- Home unto Argos, home? Hard heart so swift to slay Is there to life no way?-- No ship!--And how by land?-- A rush of feet Out to the waste alone. Nay: 'twere to meet Death, amid tribes unknown And trackless ways of the waste-- Surely the sea were best. Back by the narrow bar To the Dark Blue Gate!-- Ah God, too far, too far!-- Desolate! Desolate! What god or man, what unimagined flame, Can cleave this road where no road is, and bring To us last wrecks of Agamemnon's name Peace from long suffering? But Iphigenia has not yet learnt all, and at length Orestes tells her why he is there. He repeats the words of Apollo: {258} "Go seek the Taurian citadel: Seize there the carven Artemis that fell From heaven, and stablish it on Attic soil. So comes thy freedom," And he continues: "Sister, in this toil Help us!--If once that image I may win That day shall end my madness and my sin: And thou, to Argos o'er the sundering foam My many-oared barque shall bear thee home. O sister, loved and lost, O pitying face, Help my great peril; help our father's race. For lost am I and perished all the powers Of Pelops, save that heavenly thing be ours!" This news somewhat sobers Iphigenia. She is confronted now with a very different thing from saving her brother's life. That had just now seemed almost impossible, but compared to this new demand, it seemed almost easy. This is an act of madness; it will be considered a most fearful act of sacrilege to steal the image of Artemis, yet Orestes asks for her help to do it. And then there is herself and her own hopes! She might perhaps succeed in saving his life and fleeing with him, but to steal the statue and then go with him is a task beyond any hope of accomplishment. What shall {259} she do? She deliberately decides that she will save his life and give him the statue, and then she herself will confront the angry King and give her life for her brother. _Iphigenia._