Start: You must stop all unnecessary tal...

Start: You must stop all unnecessary talk. Do not tell me how bad our mother is or how Aegisthus squanders all the goods of our ancestral home—the wealth he wastes or throws away on things that have no use. The time you took to tell me all the details would cost the opportunity we have. Instead of that, you must describe for me the facts that suit our present purposes—how my arrival now enables us to bring our enemies’ laughter to an end, either openly or else by ambush. Once we two have gone inside the house, mother must not learn how you are feeling from your delighted face. You must lament, as if the story we made up was true. When we have triumphed, that will be the time to rejoice and glorify our freedom.

For full extended monologue, please refer to clips or the script edition cited here: Sophocles, Translated by Ian Johnston, Electra, Public domain.

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