US. Well! Well! Come to the point. Which did you choose?

PARIS [smiling]. Well, you see I'd been in the hills for a long while,
so I picked the girl.

ANALYTIKOS. It would have been better for you if you had chosen wisdom.

PARIS. I knew you'd say that.

ANALYTIKOS. I have spoken truly. In a moment you will die.

PARIS. It is because the old have forgotten life that they preach
wisdom.

MENELAUS. So you chose the girl? Well, go on.

PARIS. This made the other cronies angry, and when I tossed her the
apple one of the others yelped at me: "You may as well seek the Queen of
Sparta: she is the fairest of women." And as I turned away I heard their
laughter, but the words had set my heart aflame and though it costs me
my life, I'll follow the adventure.

ANALYTIKOS [scandalized]. Haven't we heard enough of this?

MENELAUS [deeply]. No! I want to hear how the story ends. It may amuse
the King. [He makes a sign to ANALYTIKOS.]

PARIS. And on the ship at night I looked long at the stars and dreamed
of possessing Helen. [ANALYTIKOS makes an involuntary movement toward
the balcony but MENELAUS stops him.] Desire has been my guiding Mercury;
the Fates are with me, and here I am!

ANALYTIKOS. The wrath of the King will show you no mercy.

PARIS [nonchalantly]. I'm not afraid of the King. He's fat, and--a fool.

ANALYTIKOS. Shall I call the guards? [MENELAUS stops him.]

MENELAUS [very significantly]. So you would give your life for a glimpse
of the Queen?

PARIS [swiftly]. Yes! My immortal soul, and if the fables tell the
truth, the sight will be worth the forfeit.

MENELAUS [suddenly jumping up]. It shall be as you wish!

PARIS [buoyantly]. Venus has smiled on me.

MENELAUS. In there beyond the library you will find a room with a bath.
Wait there till I call you.

PARIS. Is this some trick to catch me?

MENELAUS. A Spartan cannot lie.

PARIS. What will happen to you if the King hears of this?

MENELAUS. I will answer for the king. Go.

[PARIS exits into the library.]

ANALYTIKOS [rubbing his hands]. Shall I order the boiling oil?

MENELAUS [surprised]. Oil?

ANALYTIKOS. Now that he is being cleaned for the sacrifice.

MENELAUS. His torture will be greater than being boiled alive.

ANALYTIKOS [eagerly]. You'll have him hurled from the walls of the
palace to a forest of waiting spears below?

MENELAUS. None is so blind as he who sees too much.

ANALYTIKOS. Your Majesty is subtle in his cruelty.