(3.645-673) She spake, and rising from her bed opened the door of her chamber, bare-footed, clad in one robe; and verily she desired to go to her sister, and crossed the threshold. And for long she stayed there at the entrance of her chamber, held back by shame; and she turned back once more; and again she came forth from within, and again stole back; and idly did her feet bear her this way and that; yea, as oft as she went straight on, shame held her within the chamber, and though held back by shame, bold desire kept urging her on. Thrice she made the attempt and thrice she checked herself, the fourth time she fell on her bed face downward, writhing in pain. And as when a bride in her chamber bewails her youthful husband, to whom her brothers and parents have given her, nor yet does she hold converse with all her attendants for shame and for thinking of him; but she sits apart in her grief; and some doom has destroyed him, before they have had pleasure of each other's charms; and she with heart on fire silently weeps, beholding her widowed couch, in fear lest the women should mock and revile her; like to her did Medea lament. And suddenly as she was in the midst of her tears, one of the handmaids came forth and noticed her, one who was her youthful attendant; and straightway she told Chalciope, who sat in the midst of her sons devising how to win over her sister. And when Chalciope heard the strange tale from the handmaid, not even so did she disregard it. And she rushed in dismay from her chamber right on to the chamber where the maiden lay in her anguish, having torn her cheeks on each side; and when Chalciope saw her eyes all dimmed with tears, she thus addressed her:
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645 ̂Ἠ ῥα, καὶ ὀρθωθεῖσα θύρας ὤιξε δόμοιο,
646 νήλιπος, οἰέανος: καὶ δὴ λελίητο νέεσθαι
647 αὐτοκασιγνήτηνδε, καὶ ἕρκεος οὐδὸν ἄμειψεν.
648 δὴν δὲ καταυτόθι μίμνεν ἐνὶ προδόμῳ θαλάμοιο,
649 αἰδοῖ ἐεργομένη: μετὰ δ' ἐτράπετ' αὖτις ὀπίσσω
650 στρεφθεῖσ': ἐκ δὲ πάλιν κίεν ἔνδοθεν, ἄψ τ' ἀλέεινεν
651 εἴσω: τηΰσιοι δὲ πόδες φέρον ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα:
652 ἤτοι ὅτ' ἰθύσειεν, ἔρυκέ μιν ἔνδοθεν αἰδώς:
653 αἰδοῖ δ' ἐργομένην θρασὺς ἵμερος ὀτρύνεσκεν.
654 τρὶς μὲν ἐπειρήθη, τρὶς δ' ἔσχετο, τέτρατον αὖτις
655 λέκτροισιν πρηνὴς ἐνικάππεσεν εἱλιχθεῖσα.
656 ὡς δ' ὅτε τις νύμφη θαλερὸν πόσιν ἐν θαλάμοισιν
657 μύρεται, ᾧ μιν ὄπασσαν ἀδελφεοὶ ἠδὲ τοκῆες,
658 οὐδέ τί πω πάσαις ἐπιμίσγεται ἀμφιπόλοισιν
659 αἰδοῖ ἐπιφροσύνῃ τε: μυχῷ δ' ἀχέουσα θαάσσει:
660 τὸν δέ τις ὤλεσε μοῖρα, πάρος ταρπήμεναι ἄμφω
661 δήνεσιν ἀλλήλων: ἡ δ' ἔνδοθι δαιομένη περ
662 σῖγα μάλα κλαίει χῆρον λέχος εἰσορόωσα,
663 μή μιν κερτομέουσαι ἐπιστοβέωσι γυναῖκες:
664 τῇ ἰκέλη Μήδεια κινύρετο. τὴν δέ τις ἄφνω
665 μυρομένην μεσσηγὺς ἐπιπρομολοῦσ' ἐνόησεν
666 δμωάων, ἥ οἱ ἑπέτις πέλε κουρίζουσα:
667 Χαλκιόπῃ δ' ἤγγειλε παρασχεδόν: ἡ δ' ἐνὶ παισὶν
668 ἧστ' ἐπιμητιόωσα κασιγνήτην ἀρέσασθαι.
669 ἀλλ' οὐδ' ὧς ἀπίθησεν, ὅτ' ἔκλυεν ἀμφιπόλοιο
670 μῦθον ἀνώιστον: διὰ δ' ἔσσυτο θαμβήσασα
671 ἐκ θαλάμου θάλαμόνδε διαμπερές, ᾧ ἔνι κούρη
672 κέκλιτ' ἀκηχεμένη, δρύψεν δ' ἑκάτερθε παρειάς:
673 ὡς δ' ἴδε δάκρυσιν ὄσσε πεφυρμένα, φώνησέν μιν:
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