Nurse:What means this solemn speech? No need of rounded phrases; but at once must we sound the prince, telling him frankly how it is with thee. Had not thy life to such a crisis come, or wert thou with self-control endowed,ne’er would I to gratify thy passions have urged thee to this course; but now ’tis a struggle fierce to save thy life, and therefore less to blame.
Τροφός:τί σεμνομυθεῖς; οὐ λόγων εὐσχημόνωνδεῖ σ’, ἀλλὰ τἀνδρός. — ὡς τάχος διοιστέον,τὸν εὐθὺν ἐξειπόντας ἀμφὶ σοῦ λόγον.εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἦν σοι μὴ ’πὶ συμφοραῖς βίοςτοιαῖσδε, σώφρων δ’ οὖσ’ ἐτύγχανες γυνή,οὐκ ἄν ποτ’ εὐνῆς οὕνεχ’ ἡδονῆς τε σῆςπροσῆγον ἄν σε δεῦρο· νῦν δ’ ἀγὼν μέγαςσῶσαι βίον σόν, κοὐκ ἐπίφθονον τόδε.
Phaedra:Accursed proposal! peace, woman! never utter those shameful words again!
Φαίδρα:ὦ δεινὰ λέξασ’, οὐχὶ συγκλῄσεις στόμακαὶ μὴ μεθήσεις αὖθις αἰσχίστους λόγους;
Nurse:Shameful, maybe, yet for thee better than honour’s code. Better this deed, if it shall save thy life, than that name thy pride will kill thee to retain.
Τροφός:αἴσχρ’, ἀλλ’ ἀμείνω τῶν καλῶν τάδ’ ἐστί σοι.κρεῖσσον δὲ τοὔργον, εἴπερ ἐκσώσει γέ σε,ἢ τοὔνομ’, ᾧ σὺ κατθανῇ γαυρουμένη.
Phaedra:I conjure thee, go no further! for thy words are plausible but infamous; for though as yetlove has not undermined my soul, yet, if in specious words thou dress thy foul suggestion, I shall be beguiled into the snare from which I am now escaping.
Φαίδρα:καὶ μή σε πρὸς θεῶν — εὖ λέγεις γάρ, αἰσχρὰ δέ —πέρα προβῇς τῶνδ’· ὡς ὑπείργασμαι μὲν εὖψυχὴν ἔρωτι, τᾀσχρὰ δ’ ἢν λέγῃς καλῶς,ἐς τοῦθ’ ὃ φεύγω νῦν ἀναλωθήσομαι.
Nurse:If thou art of this mind,’twere well thou ne’er hadst sinned; but as it is, hear me; for that is the next best course; I in my house have charmsto soothe thy love,—’twas but now I thought of them;—these shall cure thee of thy sickness on no disgraceful terms, thy mind unhurt, if thou wilt be but brave.
Τροφός:εἴ τοι δοκεῖ σοι, χρῆν μὲν οὔ σ’ ἁμαρτάνειν·εἰ δ’ οὖν, πιθοῦ μοι· δευτέρα γὰρ ἡ χάρις.ἔστιν κατ’ οἴκους φίλτρα μοι θελκτήριαἔρωτος, ἦλθε δ’ ἄρτι μοι γνώμης ἔσω,ἅ σ’ οὔτ’ ἐπ’ αἰσχροῖς οὔτ’ ἐπὶ βλάβῃ φρενῶνπαύσει νόσου τῆσδ’, ἢν σὺ μὴ γένῃ κακή.
[But from him thou lovest we must get some token, a word or fragment of his robe,][and thereby unite in one love’s twofold stream.]
δεῖ δ’ ἐξ ἐκείνου δή τι τοῦ ποθουμένουσημεῖον, ἢ λόγον τιν’ ἢ πέπλων ἄπολαβεῖν, συνάψαι τ’ ἐκ δυοῖν μίαν χάριν.
Phaedra:Is thy drug a salve or potion?
Φαίδρα:πότερα δὲ χριστὸν ἢ ποτὸν τὸ φάρμακον;
Nurse:I cannot tell; be content, my child, to profit by it and ask no questions.
Τροφός:οὐκ οἶδ’· ὀνάσθαι, μὴ μαθεῖν βούλου, τέκνον.
Phaedra:I fear me thou wilt prove too wise for me.
Φαίδρα:δέδοιχ’ ὅπως μοι μὴ λίαν φανῇς σοφή.
Nurse:If thou fear this, confess thyself afraid of all; but why thy terror?
Τροφός:πάντ’ ἂν φοβηθεῖσ’ ἴσθι· δειμαίνεις δὲ τί;
Phaedra:Lest thou shouldst breathe a word of this to Theseus’ son.
Φαίδρα:μή μοί τι Θησέως τῶνδε μηνύσῃς τόκῳ.
Nurse:Peace, my child! I will do all things well; only be thou, queen Cypris, ocean’s child, my partner in the work! And for the rest of my purpose, it will be enough for me to tell it to Our friends within the house. [Exit Nurse.
Τροφός:ἔασον, ὦ παῖ· ταῦτ’ ἐγὼ θήσω καλῶς.μόνον σύ μοι, δέσποινα ποντία Κύπρι,συνεργὸς εἴης. τἄλλα δ’ οἷ’ ἐγὼ φρονῶτοῖς ἔνδον ἡμῖν ἀρκέσει λέξαι φίλοις.
Chorus:O Love, Love, that from the eyes diffusest soft desire, bringing on the souls of those, whom thou dost camp against, sweet grace, O never in evil mood appear to me, nor out of time and tune approach!
Χορός:Ἔρως Ἔρως, ὃ κατ’ ὀμμάτωνστάζεις πόθον, εἰσάγων γλυκεῖανψυχᾷ χάριν οὓς ἐπιστρατεύσῃ,μή μοί ποτε σὺν κακῷ φανείηςμηδ’ ἄρρυθμος ἔλθοις.
Nor fire nor meteor hurls a mightier bolt than Aphrodite’s shaft shot by the hands of Love, the child of Zeus.
οὔτε γὰρ πυρὸς οὔτ’ ἄστρων ὑπέρτερον βέλος,οἷον τὸ τᾶς Ἀφροδίταςἵησιν ἐκ χερῶνἜρως, ὁ Διὸς παῖς.
Chorus:Idly, idly by the streams of Alpheus and in the Pythian shrines of Phoebus, Hellas heaps the slaughtered steers; while Love we worship not, Love, the king of men, who holds the key to Aphrodite’ssweetest bower,—worship not him who, when he comes, lays waste and marks his path to mortal hearts by wide-spread woe.
Χορός:ἄλλως ἄλλως παρά τ’ ἈλφεῷΦοίβου τ’ ἐπὶ Πυθίοις τεράμνοιςβούταν φόνον Ἑλλὰς ⟨αἶ’⟩ ἀέξει·Ἔρωτα δέ, τὸν τύραννον ἀνδρῶν,τὸν τᾶς Ἀφροδίταςφιλτάτων θαλάμων κλῃδοῦχον, οὐ σεβίζομεν,πέρθοντα καὶ διὰ πάσαςἰόντα συμφορᾶςθνατοῖς, ὅταν ἔλθῃ.
Chorus:There was that maiden in Oechalia, a girl unwed, that knew no wooer yet nor married joys; her did the queen of Love snatch from her home across the seaand gave unto Alcmena’s son, mid blood and smoke and murderous marriage-hymns, to be to him a frantic fiend of hell; woe! woe for his wooing!
Χορός:τὰν μὲν Οἰχαλίᾳπῶλον ἄζυγα λέκτρων, ἄναν-δρον τὸ πρὶν καὶ ἄνυμφον, οἴ-κων ζεύξασ’ ἀπ’ Εὐρυτίωνδρομάδα Ναΐδ’ ὅπως τε Βάκ-χαν σὺν αἵματι, σὺν καπνῷφονίοις θ’ ὑμεναίοιςἈλκμήνας τόκῳ Κύπρις ἐξέδωκεν·ὦ τλάμων ὑμεναίων.
Chorus:Ah! holy walls of Thebes, ah! fount of Dirce, ye could testify what course the love-queen follows. For with the blazing levin-boltdid she cut short the fatal marriage of Semele, mother of Zeus-bom Bacchus. All things she doth inspire, dread goddess, winging her flight hither and thither like a bee.
Χορός:ὦ Θήβας ἱερὸντεῖχος, ὦ στόμα Δίρκας, συνεί-ποιτ’ ἂν ἁ Κύπρις οἷον ἕρ-πει. βροντᾷ γὰρ ἀμφιπύρῳτοκάδα τὰν διγόνοιο Βάκ-χου νυμφευσαμένα πότμῳφονίῳ κατηύνασεν.δεινὰ γὰρ παντᾷ ποτιπνεῖ, μέλισσα δ’οἵα τις πεπόταται.
Phaedra:Peace, ladies, peace! I am undone.
Φαίδρα:σιγήσατ’, ὦ γυναῖκες· ἐξειργάσμεθα.
Chorus:What, Phaedra, is this dread event within thy house?
Χορός:τί δ’ ἔστι, Φαίδρα, δεινὸν ἐν δόμοισί σοι;
Phaedra:Hush! let me hear what those within are saying.
Φαίδρα:ἐπίσχετ’, αὐδὴν τῶν ἔσωθεν ἐκμάθω.
Chorus:I am silent; this is surely the prelude to mischief.
Χορός:σιγῶ· τὸ μέντοι φροίμιον κακὸν τόδε.
Phaedra:Great gods!
Φαίδρα:ἰώ μοι, αἰαῖ·
how awful are my sufferings!
ὦ δυστάλαινα τῶν ἐμῶν παθημάτων.
Chorus:What a cry was there! what loud alarm! say what sudden terror, lady, doth thy soul dismay.
Χορός:τίνα θροεῖς αὐδάν; τίνα βοᾷς λόγον;ἔνεπε, τίς φοβεῖ σε φήμα, γύναι,φρένας ἐπίσσυτος;
Phaedra:I am undone. Stand here at the door and hear the noise arising in the house.
Φαίδρα:ἀπωλόμεσθα. ταῖσδ’ ἐπιστᾶσαι πύλαιςἀκούσαθ’ οἷος κέλαδος ἐν δόμοις πίτνει.
Chorus:Thou art already by the bolted door;’tis for thee to note the sounds that issue from within. And tell me, O tell me what mischief can be on foot.
Χορός:σὺ παρὰ κλῇθρα, σοὶ μέλει πομπίμαφάτις δωμάτων.ἔνεπε δ’ ἔνεπέ μοι, τί ποτ’ ἔβα κακόν;
Phaedra:’Tis the son of the horse-loving Amazon who calls, Hippolytus, uttering foul curses on my servant.
Φαίδρα:ὁ τῆς φιλίππου παῖς Ἀμαζόνος βοᾷἹππόλυτος, αὐδῶν δεινὰ πρόσπολον κακά.
Chorus:I hear a noise, but cannot clearly tell which way it comes. Ah!’tis through the door the sound reached thee.
Χορός:ἀχὰν μὲν κλύω, σαφὲς δ’ οὐκ ἔχω·γεγωνεῖ δ’ ὅπᾳδιὰ πύλας ἔμολεν ἔμολε σοὶ βοά.
Phaedra:Yes, yes, he is calling her plainly enough a go-between in vice,traitress to her master’s honour.
Φαίδρα:καὶ μὴν σαφῶς γε τὴν κακῶν προμνήστριαν,τὴν δεσπότου προδοῦσαν ἐξαυδᾷ λέχος.
Chorus:Woe, woe is me! thou art betrayed, dear mistress! What counsel shall I give thee? thy secret is out; thou art utterly undone.
Χορός:ὤμοι ἐγὼ κακῶν· προδέδοσαι, φίλα.τί σοι μήσομαι;τὰ κρυπτὰ γὰρ πέφηνε, διὰ δ’ ὄλλυσαι —
Phaedra:Ah me! ah me!
Φαίδρα:αἰαῖ, ἒ ἔ.
Chorus:Betrayed by friends!
Χορός:πρόδοτος ἐκ φίλων.
Phaedra:She hath ruined me by speaking of my misfortune;’twas kindly meant, but an ill way to cure my malady.
Φαίδρα:ἀπώλεσέν μ’ εἰποῦσα συμφορὰς ἐμάς,φίλως, καλῶς δ’ οὐ τήνδ’ ἰωμένη νόσον.
Chorus:O what wilt thou do now in thy cruel dilemma?
Χορός:πῶς οὖν; τί δράσεις, ὦ παθοῦσ’ ἀμήχανα;
Phaedra:I only know one way,one cure for these my woes and that is instant death.
Φαίδρα:οὐκ οἶδα πλὴν ἕν· κατθανεῖν ὅσον τάχος,τῶν νῦν παρόντων πημάτων ἄκος μόνον.
Hippolytus:O mother earth! O sun’s unclouded orb! What words, unfit for any lips, have reached my ears!
Ἱππόλυτος:ὦ γαῖα μῆτερ ἡλίου τ’ ἀναπτυχαί,οἵων λόγων ἄρρητον εἰσήκουσ’ ὄπα.
Nurse:Peace, my son, lest some one hear thy outcry.
Τροφός:σίγησον, ὦ παῖ, πρίν τιν’ αἰσθέσθαι βοῆς.
Hippolytus:I cannot hear such awful words and hold my peace.
Ἱππόλυτος:οὐκ ἔστ’ ἀκούσας δείν’ ὅπως σιγήσομαι.
Nurse:I do implore thee by thy fair right hand.
Τροφός:ναὶ πρός σε τῆς σῆς δεξιᾶς εὐωλένου.
Hippolytus:Let go my hand, touch not my robe.
Ἱππόλυτος:οὐ μὴ προσοίσεις χεῖρα μηδ’ ἅψῃ πέπλων.
Nurse:O by thy knees I pray, destroy me not utterly.
Τροφός:ὦ πρός σε γονάτων, μηδαμῶς μ’ ἐξεργάσῃ.
Hippolytus:Why say this, if, as thou pretendest, thy lips are free from blame?
Ἱππόλυτος:τί δ’, εἴπερ, ὡς φῄς, μηδὲν εἴρηκας κακόν;
Nurse:My son, this is no story to be noised abroad.
Τροφός:ὁ μῦθος, ὦ παῖ, κοινὸς οὐδαμῶς ὅδε.
Hippolytus:A virtuous tale grows fairer told to many.
Ἱππόλυτος:τά τοι κάλ’ ἐν πολλοῖσι κάλλιον λέγειν.
Nurse:Never dishonour thy oath, thy son.
Τροφός:ὦ τέκνον, ὅρκους μηδαμῶς ἀτιμάσῃς.
Hippolytus:My tongue an oath did take, but not my heart.
Ἱππόλυτος:ἡ γλῶσσ’ ὀμώμοχ’, ἡ δὲ φρὴν ἀνώμοτος.
Nurse:My son, what wilt thou do? destroy thy friends?
Τροφός:ὦ παῖ, τί δράσεις; σοὺς φίλους διεργάσῃ;
Hippolytus:Friends indeed! the wicked are no friends of mine.
Ἱππόλυτος:ἀπέπτυσ’· οὐδεὶς ἄδικός ἐστί μοι φίλος.
Nurse:O pardon me; to err is only human, child.
Τροφός:σύγγνωθ’· ἁμαρτεῖν εἰκὸς ἀνθρώπους, τέκνον.
Hippolytus:Great Zeus, why didst thou, to man’s sorrow, put woman, evil counterfeit, to dwell where shines the sun? If thou wert minded that the human race should multiply, it was not from women they should have drawn their stock,but in thy temples they should have paid gold or iron or ponderous bronze and bought a family, each man proportioned to his offering, and so in independence dwelt, from women free.
Ἱππόλυτος:ὦ Ζεῦ, τί δὴ κίβδηλον ἀνθρώποις κακὸνγυναῖκας ἐς φῶς ἡλίου κατῴκισας;εἰ γὰρ βρότειον ἤθελες σπεῖραι γένος,οὐκ ἐκ γυναικῶν χρῆν παρασχέσθαι τόδε,ἀλλ’ ἀντιθέντας σοῖσιν ἐν ναοῖς βροτοὺςἢ χρυσὸν ἢ σίδηρον ἢ χαλκοῦ βάροςπαίδων πρίασθαι σπέρμα, τοῦ τιμήματοςτῆς ἀξίας ἕκαστον, ἐν δὲ δώμασινναίειν ἐλευθέροισι θηλειῶν ἄτερ.
[But now as soon as ever we would bring this plague into our home we bring its fortune to the ground.]1 ’Tis clear from this how great a curse a woman is; the very father, that begot and nurtured her, to rid him of the mischief gives her a dower and packs her off;
[νῦν δ’ ἐς δόμους μὲν πρῶτον ἄξεσθαι κακὸν][μέλλοντες ὄλβον δωμάτων ἐκπίνομεν.]τούτῳ δὲ δῆλον ὡς γυνὴ κακὸν μέγα·προσθεὶς γὰρ ὁ σπείρας τε καὶ θρέψας πατὴρφερνὰς ἀπῴκισ’, ὡς ἀπαλλαχθῇ κακοῦ.
while the husband, who takes the noxious weed into his home, fondly decks his sorry idol in fine raiment and tricks her out in robes, squandering by degrees, unhappy wight! his house’s wealth. For he is in this dilemma;say his marriage has brought him good connections, he is glad then to keep the wife he loathes; or, if he gets a good wife but useless relations, he tries to stifle the bad luck with the good. But it is easiest for him who has settled in his house as wife a mere nobody, incapable from simplicity.
ὁ δ’ αὖ λαβὼν ἀτηρὸν ἐς δόμους φυτὸνγέγηθε κόσμον προστιθεὶς ἀγάλματικαλὸν κακίστῳ καὶ πέπλοισιν ἐκπονεῖδύστηνος, ὄλβον δωμάτων ὑπεξελών.[ἔχει δ’ ἀνάγκην, ὥστε κηδεύσας καλοῖς][γαμβροῖσι χαίρων σῴζεται πικρὸν λέχος,][ἢ χρηστὰ λέκτρα, πενθεροὺς δ’ ἀνωφελεῖς][λαβὼν πιέζει τἀγαθῷ τὸ δυστυχές.]ῥᾷστον δ’ ὅτῳ τὸ μηδέν, ἀλλ’ ἀνωφελὴςεὐηθίᾳ κατ’ οἶκον ἵδρυται γυνή.
I hate a clever woman; never may she set foot in my house who aims at knowing more than women need; for in these clever women Cypris implants a larger store of villainy, while the artless woman is by her shallow wit from levity debarred.
σοφὴν δὲ μισῶ· μὴ γὰρ ἔν γ’ ἐμοῖς δόμοιςεἴη φρονοῦσα πλείον’ ἢ γυναῖκα χρή.τὸ γὰρ κακοῦργον μᾶλλον ἐντίκτει Κύπριςἐν ταῖς σοφαῖσιν· ἡ δ’ ἀμήχανος γυνὴγνώμῃ βραχείᾳ μωρίαν ἀφῃρέθη.
No servant should ever have had access to a wife, but men should put to live with them beasts, which bite, not talk, in which case they could not speak to any one nor be answered back by them. But, as it is, the wicked in their chambers plot wickedness,and their servants carry it abroad.
χρῆν δ’ ἐς γυναῖκα πρόσπολον μὲν οὐ περᾶν,ἄφθογγα δ’ αὐταῖς συγκατοικίζειν δάκηθηρῶν, ἵν’ εἶχον μήτε προσφωνεῖν τιναμήτ’ ἐξ ἐκείνων φθέγμα δέξασθαι πάλιν.νῦν δ’ αἳ μὲν ἔνδον δρῶσιν αἱ κακαὶ κακὰβουλεύματ’, ἔξω δ’ ἐκφέρουσι πρόσπολοι.
Even thus, vile wretch, thou cam’st to make me partner in an outrage on my father’s honour; wherefore I must wash that stain away in running streams, dashing the water into my ears. How could I commit so foul a crimewhen by the very mention of it I feel myself polluted? Be well assured, woman,’tis only my religious scruple saves thee. For had not I unawares been caught by an oath,’fore heaven! I would not have refrained from telling all unto my father. But now I will from the house away, so long asTheseus is abroad, and will maintain strict silence. But, when my father comes, I will return and see how thou and thy mistress face him, and so shall I learn by experience the extent of thy audacity.
ὡς καὶ σύ γ’ ἡμῖν πατρός, ὦ κακὸν κάρα,λέκτρων ἀθίκτων ἦλθες ἐς συναλλαγάς·ἁγὼ ῥυτοῖς νασμοῖσιν ἐξομόρξομαι,ἐς ὦτα κλύζων. πῶς ἂν οὖν εἴην κακός,ὃς οὐδ’ ἀκούσας τοιάδ’ ἁγνεύειν δοκῶ;εὖ δ’ ἴσθι, τοὐμόν σ’ εὐσεβὲς σῴζει, γύναι·εἰ μὴ γὰρ ὅρκοις θεῶν ἄφαρκτος ᾑρέθην,οὐκ ἄν ποτ’ ἔσχον μὴ οὐ τάδ’ ἐξειπεῖν πατρί.νῦν δ’ ἐκ δόμων μέν, ἔστ’ ἂν ἔκδημος χθονὸςΘησεύς, ἄπειμι· σῖγα δ’ ἕξομεν στόμα.θεάσομαι δὲ σὺν πατρὸς μολὼν ποδὶπῶς νιν προσόψῃ καὶ σὺ καὶ δέσποινα σή·τῆς σῆς δὲ τόλμης εἴσομαι γεγευμένος.
Perdition seize you both! (To the audience). I can never satisfy my hate forwomen, no! not even though some say this is ever my theme, for of a truth they always are evil. So either let some one prove them chaste, or let me still trample on them for ever.
ὄλοισθε. μισῶν δ’ οὔποτ’ ἐμπλησθήσομαιγυναῖκας, οὐδ’ εἴ φησί τίς μ’ ἀεὶ λέγειν·ἀεὶ γὰρ οὖν πώς εἰσι κἀκεῖναι κακαί.ἤ νύν τις αὐτὰς σωφρονεῖν διδαξάτω,ἢ κἄμ’ ἐάτω ταῖσδ’ ἐπεμβαίνειν ἀεί.
Phaedra:O the cruel, unhappy fate of women!
Φαίδρα:τάλανες ὦ κακοτυχεῖςγυναικῶν πότμοι.
What arts, what arguments have we, once we have made a slip, to loose by craft the tight-drawn knot? I have met my deserts. O earth, O light of day! How can I escape the stroke of fate? How my pangs conceal, kind friends?
τίνα νῦν ἢ τέχναν ἔχομεν ἢ ⟨τίνας⟩σφαλεῖσαι κάθαμμα λύειν λόγους;ἐτύχομεν δίκας· ἰὼ γᾶ καὶ φῶς.πᾷ ποτ’ ἐξαλύξω τύχας;πῶς δὲ πῆμα κρύψω, φίλαι;
What god will appear to help me, what mortal to take my part or help me in unrighteousness? The present calamity of my life admits of no escape. Most hapless I of all my sex!
τίς ἂν θεῶν ἀρωγὸς ἢ τίς ἂν βροτῶνπάρεδρος ἢ ξυνεργὸς ἀδίκων ἔργωνφανείη; τὸ γὰρ παρ’ ἡμῖν πάθοςπέραν δυσεκπέρατον ἔρχεται βίου.κακοτυχεστάτα γυναικῶν ἐγώ.
Chorus:Alas, alas! the deed is done, thy servant’s schemes have gone awry, my queen, and all is lost.
Χορός:φεῦ φεῦ· πέπρακται, κοὐ κατώρθωνται τέχναι,δέσποινα, τῆς σῆς προσπόλου, κακῶς δ’ ἔχει.
Phaedra:Accursed woman! traitress to thy friends! How hast thou ruined me! May Zeus, my ancestor, smite thee with his fiery bolt and uproot thee from thy place.
Φαίδρα:ὦ παγκακίστη καὶ φίλων διαφθορεῦ,οἷ’ εἰργάσω με. Ζεύς σε γεννήτωρ ἐμὸςπρόρριζον ἐκτρίψειεν οὐτάσας πυρί.
Did I not foresee thy purpose, did I not bid thee keep silence on the very matter which is now my shame? But thou wouldst not be still; wherefore my fair name will not go with me to the tomb. But now I must another scheme devise. Yon youth, in the keenness of his fury,will tell his father of my sin, and the aged Pittheus of my state, and fill the world with stories to my shame. Perdition seize thee and every meddling fool who by dishonest means would serve unwilling friends!
οὐκ εἶπον — οὐ σῆς προυνοησάμην φρενός; —σιγᾶν ἐφ’ οἷσι νῦν ἐγὼ κακύνομαι;σὺ δ’ οὐκ ἀνέσχου· τοιγὰρ οὐκέτ’ εὐκλεεῖςθανούμεθ’. ἀλλὰ δεῖ με δὴ καινῶν λόγων.οὗτος γὰρ ὀργῇ συντεθηγμένος φρέναςἐρεῖ καθ’ ἡμῶν πατρὶ σὰς ἁμαρτίας,ἐρεῖ δὲ Πιτθεῖ τῷ γέροντι συμφοράς,πλήσει τε πᾶσαν γαῖαν αἰσχίστων λόγων.ὄλοιο καὶ σὺ χὥστις ἄκοντας φίλουςπρόθυμός ἐστι μὴ καλῶς εὐεργετεῖν.
Nurse:Mistress, thou may’st condemn the mischief I have done, for sorrow’s sting o’ermasters thy judgment; yet can I answer thee in face of this, if thou wilt hear.’Twas I who nurtured thee; I love thee still; but in my search for medicine to cure thy sickness I found what least I sought.
Τροφός:δέσποιν’, ἔχεις μὲν τἀμὰ μέμψασθαι κακά·τὸ γὰρ δάκνον σου τὴν διάγνωσιν κρατεῖ·ἔχω δὲ κἀγὼ πρὸς τάδ’, εἰ δέξῃ, λέγειν.ἔθρεψά σ’ εὔνους τ’ εἰμί· τῆς νόσου δέ σοιζητοῦσα φάρμαχ’ ηὗρον οὐχ ἁβουλόμην.
Had I but succeeded, I had been counted wise, for the credit we get for wisdom is measured by our success.
εἰ δ’ εὖ γ’ ἔπραξα, κάρτ’ ἂν ἐν σοφοῖσιν ἦ·πρὸς τὰς τύχας γὰρ τὰς φρένας κεκτήμεθα.
Phaedra:Is it just, is it any satisfaction to me, that thou shouldst wound me first, then bandy words with me?
Φαίδρα:ἦ γὰρ δίκαια ταῦτα κἀξαρκοῦντά μοι,τρώσασαν ἡμᾶς εἶτα συγχωρεῖν λόγοις;
Nurse:We dwell on this too long; I was not wise, I own;
Τροφός:μακρηγοροῦμεν· οὐκ ἐσωφρόνουν ἐγώ.
but there are yet ways of escape from the trouble, my child.
ἀλλ’ ἔστι κἀκ τῶνδ’ ὥστε σωθῆναι, τέκνον.
Phaedra:Be dumb henceforth; evil was thy first advice to me, evil too thy attempted scheme. Begone and leave me, look to thyself; I will my own fortunes for the best arrange. (Exit Nurse).
Φαίδρα:παῦσαι λέγουσα· καὶ τὰ πρὶν γὰρ οὐ καλῶςπαρῄνεσάς μοι κἀπεχείρησας κακά.ἀλλ’ ἐκποδὼν ἄπελθε καὶ σαυτῆς πέριφρόντιζ’· ἐγὼ γὰρ τἀμὰ θήσομαι καλῶς.
Ye noble daughters of Troezen, grant me the only boon I crave; in silence bury what ye here have heard.
ὑμεῖς δέ, παῖδες εὐγενεῖς Τροζήνιαι,τοσόνδε μοι παράσχετ’ ἐξαιτουμένῃ,σιγῇ καλύπτειν ἁνθάδ’ εἰσηκούσατε.
Chorus:By majestic Artemis, child of Zeus, I swear I will never divulge aught of thy sorrows.
Χορός:ὄμνυμι σεμνὴν Ἄρτεμιν, Διὸς κόρην,μηδὲν κακῶν σῶν ἐς φάος δείξειν ποτέ.
Phaedra:’Tis well. But I, with all my thought, can but one way discover out of this calamity, that so I may secure my children’s honour, and find myself some help as matters stand. For never, never will I bring shame upon my Cretan home,nor will I, to save one poor life, face Theseus after my disgrace.
Φαίδρα:καλῶς ἔλεξας· ἓν δὲ προτρέπουσ’ ἐγὼεὕρημα δῆτα τῆσδε συμφορᾶς ἔχω,ὥστ’ εὐκλεᾶ μὲν παισὶ προσθεῖναι βίον,αὐτή τ’ ὀνάσθαι πρὸς τὰ νῦν πεπτωκότα.οὐ γάρ ποτ’ αἰσχυνῶ γε Κρησίους δόμους,οὐδ’ ἐς πρόσωπον Θησέως ἀφίξομαιαἰσχροῖς ἐπ’ ἔργοις οὕνεκα ψυχῆς μιᾶς.
Chorus:Art thou bent then on some cureless woe?
Χορός:μέλλεις δὲ δὴ τί δρᾶν ἀνήκεστον κακόν;
Phaedra:On death; the means thereto must I devise myself.
Φαίδρα:θανεῖν· ὅπως δέ, τοῦτ’ ἐγὼ βουλεύσομαι.
Chorus:Hush!
Χορός:εὔφημος ἴσθι.
Phaedra:Do thou at least advise me well.
Φαίδρα:καὶ σύ γ’ εὖ με νουθέτει.
For this very day shall I gladden Cypris, my destroyer, by yielding up my life, and shall own myself vanquished by cruel love. Yet shall my dying be another’s curse, that he may learn not to exult at my misfortunes;but when he comes to share the self-same plague with me, he will take a lesson in wisdom.
ἐγὼ δὲ Κύπριν, ἥπερ ἐξόλλυσί με,ψυχῆς ἀπαλλαχθεῖσα τῇδ’ ἐν ἡμέρᾳτέρψω· πικροῦ δ’ ἔρωτος ἡσσηθήσομαι.ἀτὰρ κακόν γε χἁτέρῳ γενήσομαιθανοῦσ’, ἵν’ εἰδῇ μὴ ’πὶ τοῖς ἐμοῖς κακοῖςὑψηλὸς εἶναι· τῆς νόσου δὲ τῆσδέ μοικοινῇ μετασχὼν σωφρονεῖν μαθήσεται.
Chorus:O to be nestling ’neath some pathless cavern, there by god’s creating hand to grow into a bird amid the winged tribes!
Χορός:Ἠλιβάτοις ὑπὸ κευθμῶσι γενοίμαν,ἵνα με πτεροῦσσαν ὄρνιν ἀγέλῃσιποταναῖς θεὸς ἐνθείη·
Away would I soar to Adrians wave-beat shore and to the waters of Eridanus; where a father’s hapless daughters in their grief for Phaethondistil into the glooming flood the amber brilliance of their tears.
ἀρθείην δ’ ἐπὶ πόντιονκῦμα τᾶς Ἀδριηνᾶςἀκτᾶς Ἠριδανοῦ θ’ ὕδωρ·ἔνθα πορφύρεον σταλάσ-σουσιν ἐς οἶδμα πατρὸς τάλαι-ναι κόραι Φαέθοντος οἴ-κτῳ δακρύωντὰς ἠλεκτροφαεῖς αὐγάς.
Chorus:And to the apple-bearing strand of those minstrels in the west I then would come, where ocean’s lordno more to sailors grants a passage o’er the deep dark main, finding there the heaven’s holy bound, upheld by Atlas, where water from ambrosial founts wells up beside the couch of Zeus inside his halls,and holy earth, the bounteous mother, causes joy to spring in heavenly breasts.
Χορός:Ἑσπερίδων δ’ ἐπὶ μηλόσπορον ἀκτὰνἀνύσαιμι τᾶν ἀοιδῶν, ἵν’ ὁ ποντο-μέδων πορφυρέας λίμναςναύταις οὐκέθ’ ὁδὸν νέμει,σεμνὸν τέρμονα κυρῶνοὐρανοῦ, τὸν Ἄτλας ἔχει·κρῆναί τ’ ἀμβρόσιαι χέον-ται Ζηνὸς μελάθρων παρὰ κοί-ταις, ἵν’ ἁ βιόδωρος αὔ-ξει ζαθέαχθὼν εὐδαιμονίαν θεοῖς.
Chorus:O white-winged bark, that o’er the booming ocean-wave didst bringmy royal mistress from her happy home, to crown her queen ’mongst sorrow’s brides! Surely evil omens from either port, at least from Crete, were with that ship, what time to glorious Athens it sped its way,and the crew made fast its twisted cable-ends upon the beach of
Munychus, and on the land stept out.
Χορός:ὦ λευκόπτερε Κρησίαπορθμίς, ἃ διὰ πόντιονκῦμ’ ἁλίκτυπον ἅλμαςἐπόρευσας ἐμὰν ἄνασσαν ὀλβίων ἀπ’ οἴκων,κακονυμφοτάταν ὄνασιν. ἦ γὰρ ἀπ’ ἀμφοτέρωνἁ Κρησίας ἐκ γᾶς δύσορ-νις ἔπτατο κλεινὰς Ἀθή-νας· Μουνίχου δ’ ἀκταῖσιν ἐκ-δήσαντο πλεκτὰς πεισμάτωνἀρχάς, ἐπ’ ἀ-πείρου τε γᾶς ἔβασαν.
Chorus:Whence comes it that her heartis crushed, cruelly afflicted by Aphrodite with unholy love; so she by bitter grief o’erwhelmed will tie a noose within her bridal bower to fit it to her fair white neck,too modest for this hateful lot in life, prizing o’er all her name and fame, and striving thus to rid her soul of passion’s sting.Messenger:Help! ho! To the rescue all who near the palace stand! She hath hung herself, our queen, the wife of Theseus.
Χορός:ἀνθ’ ὧν, οὐχ ὁσίων ἐρώ-των δεινᾷ φρένας Ἀφροδί-τας νόσῳ κατεκλάσθη·χαλεπᾷ δ’ ὑπέραντλος οὖσα συμφορᾷ τεράμνωνἀπὸ νυμφιδίων κρεμαστὸν ἅψεται ἀμφὶ βρόχονλευκᾷ καθαρμόζουσα δεί-ρᾳ, δαίμονα στυγνὸν καται-δεσθεῖσα, τὰν δ’ εὔδοξον ἀνθ-αιρουμένα φήμαν, ἀπαλ-λάσσουσά τ’ ἀλ-γεινὸν φρενῶν ἔρωτα.Τροφός: ἔσωθενἰοὺ ἰού·βοηδρομεῖτε πάντες οἱ πέλας δόμων·ἐν ἀγχόναις δέσποινα, Θησέως δάμαρ.
Chorus:Woe worth the day! the deed is done; our royal mistress is no more, dead she hangs in the dangling noose.
Χορός:— φεῦ φεῦ, πέπρακται· βασιλὶς οὐκέτ’ ἔστι δὴγυνή, κρεμαστοῖς ἐν βρόχοις ἠρτημένη.
Messenger:Haste! some one bring a two-edged knife wherewith to cut the knot about her neck!
Τροφός:οὐ σπεύσετ’; οὐκ οἴσει τις ἀμφιδέξιονσίδηρον, ᾧ τόδ’ ἅμμα λύσομεν δέρης;
1st Half Chorus:Friends, what shall we do? think you we should enter the house, and loose the queen from the tight-drawn noose?
Χορός:— φίλαι, τί δρῶμεν; ἢ δοκεῖ περᾶν δόμουςλῦσαί τ’ ἄνασσαν ἐξ ἐπισπαστῶν βρόχων;
2nd Half Chorus:Why should we? Are there not young servants here?
— τί δ’; οὐ πάρεισι πρόσπολοι νεανίαι;
To do too much is not a safe course in life.
τὸ πολλὰ πράσσειν οὐκ ἐν ἀσφαλεῖ βίου.
Messenger:Lay out the hapless corpse, straighten the limbs. This was a bitter way to sit at home and keep my master’s house! [Exit Messenger.
Τροφός:ὀρθώσατ’ ἐκτείνοντες ἄθλιον νέκυν·πικρὸν τόδ’ οἰκούρημα δεσπόταις ἐμοῖς.
Chorus:She is dead, poor lady, so I hear. Already are they laying out the corpse.
Χορός:— ὄλωλεν ἡ δύστηνος, ὡς κλύω, γυνή·ἤδη γὰρ ὡς νεκρόν νιν ἐκτείνουσι δή.
Theseus:Ladies, can ye tell me what the uproar in the palace means? There came the sound of servants weeping bitterly to mine ear. None of my household deign to open wide the gates and give me glad welcome as a traveller from prophetic shrines.
Θησεύς:γυναῖκες, ἴστε τίς ποτ’ ἐν δόμοις βοή;ἠχὼ βαρεῖα προσπόλων ἀφίκετο.οὐ γάρ τί μ’ ὡς θεωρὸν ἀξιοῖ δόμοςπύλας ἀνοίξας εὐφρόνως προσεννέπειν.
Hath aught befallen old Pittheus?
μῶν Πιτθέως τι γῆρας εἴργασται νέον;
No. Though he be well advanced in years, yet should I mourn, were he to quit this house.
πρόσω μὲν ἤδη βίοτος, ἀλλ’ ὅμως ἔτ’ ἂνλυπηρὸς ἡμῖν τούσδ’ ἂν ἐκλίποι δόμους.
Chorus:’Tis not against the old, Theseus, that fate, to strike thee, aims this blow; prepare thy sorrow for a younger corpse.
Χορός:οὐκ ἐς γέροντας ἥδε σοι τείνει τύχη,Θησεῦ· νέοι θανόντες ἀλγυνοῦσί σε.
Theseus:Woe is me! is it a child’s life death robs me of?
Θησεύς:οἴμοι· τέκνων μοι μή τι συλᾶται βίος;
Chorus:They live; but, cruellest news of all for thee, their mother is no more.
Χορός:ζῶσιν, θανούσης μητρὸς ὡς ἄλγιστά σοι.
Theseus:What! my wife dead? By what cruel mischance?
Θησεύς:τί φῄς; ὄλωλεν ἄλοχος; ἐκ τίνος τύχης;
Chorus:About her neck she tied the hangman’s knot.
Χορός:βρόχον κρεμαστὸν ἀγχόνης ἀνήψατο.
Theseus:Had grief so chilled her blood? or what had befallen her?
Θησεύς:λύπῃ παχνωθεῖσ’, ἢ ἀπὸ συμφορᾶς τινος;
Chorus:I know but this, for I am myself but now arrived at the houseto mourn thy sorrows, O Theseus.
Χορός:τοσοῦτον ἴσμεν· ἄρτι γὰρ κἀγὼ δόμοις,Θησεῦ, πάρειμι σῶν κακῶν πενθήτρια.
Theseus:Woe is me! why have I crowned my head with woven garlands, when misfortune greets my embassage? Unbolt the doors, servants,loose their fastenings, that I may see the piteous sight,my wife, whose death is death to me. [The palace opens, disclosing the corpse.
Θησεύς:αἰαῖ· τί δῆτα τοῖσδ’ ἀνέστεμμαι κάραπλεκτοῖσι φύλλοις, δυστυχὴς θεωρὸς ὤν;χαλᾶτε κλῇθρα, πρόσπολοι, πυλωμάτων,ἐκλύεθ’ ἁρμούς, ὡς ἴδω πικρὰν θέανγυναικός, ἥ με κατθανοῦσ’ ἀπώλεσεν.
Chorus:Woe! woe is thee for thy piteous lot! thou hast done thyself a hurt deep enough to overthrow this family. Ah! ah! the daring of it! done to death by violence and unnatural means, the desperate effortof thy own poor hand! Who cast the shadow o’er thy life, poor lady?
Χορός:— ἰὼ ἰὼ τάλαινα μελέων κακῶν·ἔπαθες, εἰργάσωτοσοῦτον ὥστε τούσδε συγχέαι δόμους.— αἰαῖ τόλμας, ὦ βιαίως θανοῦσ’ἀνοσίῳ τε συμφορᾷ, σᾶς χερὸςπάλαισμα μελέας.— τίς ἄρα σάν, τάλαιν’, ἀμαυροῖ ζόαν;
Theseus:Ah me, my cruel lot! sorrow hath done her worst on me. O fortune, how heavily hast thou set thy foot on me and on my house,by fiendish hands inflicting an unexpected stain? Nay,’tis complete effacement of my life, making it impossible; for I see, alas! so wide an ocean of grief that I can never swim to shore again, nor breast the tide of this calamity.
Θησεύς:ὤμοι ἐγὼ πόνων· ἔπαθον, ὦ πόλις,τὰ μάκιστ’ ἐμῶν κακῶν. ὦ τύχα,ὥς μοι βαρεῖα καὶ δόμοις ἐπεστάθης,κηλὶς ἄφραστος ἐξ ἀλαστόρων τινός.κατακονὰ μὲν οὖν ἀβίοτος βίου·κακῶν δ’, ὢ τάλας, πέλαγος εἰσορῶτοσοῦτον ὥστε μήποτ’ ἐκνεῦσαι πάλιν,μηδ’ ἐκπερᾶσαι κῦμα τῆσδε συμφορᾶς.
How shall I speak of thee, my poor wife, what tale of direst suffering tell? Thou art vanished like a bird from the covert of my hand, taking one headlong leap from me to Hades’ halls.
τίνα λόγον τάλας, τίνα τύχαν σέθενβαρύποτμον, γύναι, προσαυδῶν τύχω;ὄρνις γὰρ ὥς τις ἐκ χερῶν ἄφαντος εἶ,πήδημ’ ἐς Ἅιδου κραιπνὸν ὁρμήσασά μοι.
Alas, and woe! this is a bitter, bitter sight! This must be a judgment sent by God for the sins of an ancestor, which from some far source I am bringing on myself.
αἰαῖ αἰαῖ, μέλεα μέλεα τάδε πάθη.πρόσωθεν δέ ποθεν ἀνακομίζομαιτύχαν δαιμόνωνἀμπλακίαισι τῶν πάροιθέν τινος.
Chorus:My prince,’tis not to thee alone such sorrows come;thou hast lost a noble wife, but so have many others.
Χορός:οὐ σοὶ τάδ’, ὦναξ, ἦλθε δὴ μόνῳ κακά,πολλῶν μετ’ ἄλλων δ’ ὤλεσας κεδνὸν λέχος.
Theseus:Fain would I go hide me ’neath earth’s blackest depth, to dwell in darkness with the dead in misery, now that I am reft of thy dear presence! for thou hast slain me than thyself e’en more.
Θησεύς:τὸ κατὰ γᾶς θέλω, τὸ κατὰ γᾶς κνέφαςμετοικεῖν σκότῳ θανὼν ὁ τλάμων,τῆς σῆς στερηθεὶς φιλτάτης ὁμιλίας·ἀπώλεσας γὰρ μᾶλλον ἢ κατέφθισο.
Who can tell me what caused the fatal stroke that reached thy heart, dear wife? Will no one tell me what befell?doth my palace all in vain give shelter to a herd of menials? Woe, woe for thee, my wife! sorrows past speech, past bearing, I behold within my house; myself a ruined man, my home a solitude, my children orphans!
τίνος κλύω; πόθεν θανάσιμος τύχα,γύναι, σὰν ἔβα, τάλαινα, καρδίαν;εἴποι τις ἂν τὸ πραχθέν, ἢ μάτην ὄχλονστέγει τύραννον δῶμα προσπόλων ἐμῶν;ὤμοι μοι σέθεν, …μέλεος, οἷον εἶδον ἄλγος δόμων,οὐ τλητὸν οὐδὲ ῥητόν. ἀλλ’ ἀπωλόμην·ἔρημος οἶκος, καὶ τέκν’ ὀρφανεύεται.
Chorus:Gone and left us hast thou, fondest wife and noblest of all women’neath the sun’s bright eye or night’s star-lit radiance.
ἔλιπες ⟨οὓς ἔτεκες,⟩ ἔλιπες, ὦ φίλαγυναικῶν ἀρίστα θ’ ὁπόσας ὁρᾷφέγγος ἀελίουτε καὶ νυκτὸς ἀστερωπὸν σέλας.
Chorus:Poor house, what sorrows are thy portion now! My eyes are wet with streams of tears to see thy fate;
Χορός:ἰὼ τάλας· ὦ τάλας· ὅσον κακὸν ἔχει δόμος.δάκρυσί μου βλέφαρακαταχυθέντα τέγγεται σᾷ τύχᾳ·
but the sequel to this tragedy has long with terror filled me.
τὸ δ’ ἐπὶ τῷδε πῆμα φρίσσω πάλαι.
Theseus:Ha! what means this letter? clasped in her dear hand it hath some strange tale to tell. Hath she, poor lady, as a last request, written her bidding as to my marriage and her children?
Θησεύς:ἔα ἔα·τί δή ποθ’ ἥδε δέλτος ἐκ φίλης χερὸςἠρτημένη; θέλει τι σημῆναι νέον;ἀλλ’ ἦ λέχους μοι καὶ τέκνων ἐπιστολὰςἔγραψεν ἡ δύστηνος, ἐξαιτουμένη;
Take heart, poor ghost; no wife henceforth shall wed thy Theseus or invade his house. Ah! how yon seal of my dead wife stamped with her golden ring affects my sight! Come, I will unfold the sealed packetand read her letter’s message to me.
θάρσει, τάλαινα· λέκτρα γὰρ τὰ Θησέωςοὐκ ἔστι δῶμά θ’ ἥτις εἴσεισιν γυνή.καὶ μὴν τύποι γε σφενδόνης χρυσηλάτουτῆς οὐκέτ’ οὔσης τῆσδε προσσαίνουσί με.φέρ’, ἐξελίξας περιβολὰς σφραγισμάτωνἴδω τί λέξαι δέλτος ἥδε μοι θέλει.
Chorus:Woe unto us! Here is yet another evil in the train by heaven sent. Looking to what has happened, I should count my lot in life no longer worth one’s while to gain. My master’s house,alas! is ruined, brought to naught, I say. Spare it, O Heaven, if it may be. Hearken to my prayer, for I see, as with prophetic eye, an omen boding
mischief.
Χορός:— φεῦ φεῦ· τόδ’ αὖ νεοχμὸν ἐκδοχαῖςἐπιφέρει θεὸς κακόν. ἐμοὶ μὲν οὖνἀβίοτος βίου τύχα πρὸς τὸ κρανθέν· εἴη τυχεῖν.— ὀλομένους γάρ, οὐκέτ’ ὄντας λέγω,φεῦ φεῦ, τῶν ἐμῶν τυράννων δόμους.— ὦ δαῖμον, εἴ πως ἔστι, μὴ σφήλῃς δόμους,αἰτουμένης δὲ κλῦθί μου· πρὸς γάρ τινοςοἰωνὸν ὥστε μάντις εἰσορῶ κακοῦ.
Theseus:O horror! woe on woe!and still they come, too deep for words, too heavy to bear. Ah me!
Θησεύς:οἴμοι· τόδ’ οἷον ἄλλο πρὸς κακῷ κακόν,οὐ τλητὸν οὐδὲ λεκτόν. ὦ τάλας ἐγώ.
Chorus:What is it? speak, if I may share in it.
Χορός:τί χρῆμα; λέξον, εἴ τί μοι λόγου μέτα.
Theseus:This letter loudly tells a hideous tale! where can I escape my load of woe? For I am ruined and undone, so awful are the words I find here written clearas if she cried them to me; woe is me!
Θησεύς:βοᾷ βοᾷ δέλτος ἄλαστα. πᾷ φύγωβάρος κακῶν; ἀπὸ γὰρ ὀλόμενος οἴχομαι,οἷον οἷον εἶδον [ἐν] γραφαῖς μέλοςφθεγγόμενον τλάμων.
Chorus:Alas! thy words declare themselves the harbingers of woe.
Χορός:αἰαῖ, κακῶν ἀρχηγὸν ἐκφαίνεις λόγον.
Theseus:I can no longer keep the cursed tale within the portal of my lips, cruel though its utterance be. Ah me!
Θησεύς:τόδε μὲν οὐκέτι στόματος ἐν πύλαιςκαθέξω δυσεκπέρατον, ὀλοὸνκακόν· ἰὼ πόλις.
Hippolytus hath dared by brutal force to violate my honour, recking naught of Zeus, whose awful eye is over all. O father Poseidon, once didst thou promise to fulfil three prayers of mine; answer one of these and slay my son, let him not escape this single day,if the prayers thou gavest me were indeed with issue fraught.
Ἱππόλυτος εὐνῆς τῆς ἐμῆς ἔτλη θιγεῖνβίᾳ, τὸ σεμνὸν Ζηνὸς ὄμμ’ ἀτιμάσας.ἀλλ’, ὦ πάτερ Πόσειδον, ἃς ἐμοί ποτεἀρὰς ὑπέσχου τρεῖς, μιᾷ κατέργασαιτούτων ἐμὸν παῖδ’, ἡμέραν δὲ μὴ φύγοιτήνδ’, εἴπερ ἡμῖν ὤπασας σαφεῖς ἀράς.
Chorus:O king, I do conjure thee, call back that prayer; hereafter thou wilt know thy error. Hear, I pray.
Χορός:ἄναξ, ἀπεύχου ταῦτα πρὸς θεῶν πάλιν·γνώσῃ γὰρ αὖθις ἀμπλακών. ἐμοὶ πιθοῦ.
Theseus:Impossible! Moreover I will banish him from this land, and by one of two fates shall he be struck down;
Θησεύς:οὐκ ἔστι· καὶ πρός γ’ ἐξελῶ σφε τῆσδε γῆς,δυοῖν δὲ μοίραιν θατέρᾳ πεπλήξεται·
either Poseidon, out of respect to my prayer, will cast his dead body into the house of Hades; or exiled from this land, a wanderer to some foreign shore, shall he eke out a life of misery.
ἢ γὰρ Ποσειδῶν αὐτὸν εἰς Ἅιδου δόμουςθανόντα πέμψει τὰς ἐμὰς ἀρὰς σέβων,ἢ τῆσδε χώρας ἐκπεσὼν ἀλώμενοςξένην ἐπ’ αἶαν λυπρὸν ἀντλήσει βίον.
Chorus:Lo! where himself doth come, thy son Hippolytus, in good time;dismiss thy hurtful rage, King Theseus, and bethink thee what is best for thy family.
Χορός:καὶ μὴν ὅδ’ αὐτὸς παῖς σὸς ἐς καιρὸν πάρα,Ἱππόλυτος· ὀργῆς δ’ ἐξανεὶς κακῆς, ἄναξΘησεῦ, τὸ λῷστον σοῖσι βούλευσαι δόμοις.
Hippolytus:I heard thy voice, father, and hasted to come hither; yet know I not the cause of thy present sorrow, but would fain learn of thee.
Ἱππόλυτος:κραυγῆς ἀκούσας σῆς ἀφικόμην, πάτερ,σπουδῇ· τὸ μέντοι πρᾶγμ’ ἐφ’ ᾧτινι στένειςοὐκ οἶδα, βουλοίμην δ’ ἂν ἐκ σέθεν κλύειν.
Ha! what is this? thy wife a corpse I see; this is passing strange;’twas but now I left her; a moment since she looked upon the light.
ἔα, τί χρῆμα; σὴν δάμαρθ’ ὁρῶ, πάτερ,νεκρόν· μεγίστου θαύματος τόδ’ ἄξιον·ἣν ἀρτίως ἔλειπον, ἣ φάος τόδεοὔπω χρόνον παλαιὸν εἰσεδέρκετο.
How came she thus? the manner of her death?
τί χρῆμα πάσχει; τῷ τρόπῳ διόλλυται;
this would I learn of thee, father. Art dumb? silence availeth not in trouble; nay, for the heart that fain would know all must show its curiosity even in sorrow’s hour. Be sure it is not right, father,to hide misfortunes from those who love, ay, more than love thee.
πάτερ, πυθέσθαι βούλομαι σέθεν πάρα.σιγᾷς· σιωπῆς δ’ οὐδὲν ἔργον ἐν κακοῖς·ἡ γὰρ ποθοῦσα πάντα καρδία κλύεινκἀν τοῖς κακοῖσι λίχνος οὖσ’ ἁλίσκεται.οὐ μὴν φίλους γε κἄτι μᾶλλον ἢ φίλουςκρύπτειν δίκαιον σάς, πάτερ, δυσπραξίας.
Theseus:O ye sons of men, victims of a thousand idle errors, why teach your countless crafts, why scheme and seek to find a way for everything, while one thing ye know not nor ever yet have made your prize,a way to teach them wisdom whose souls are void of sense?
Θησεύς:ὦ πόλλ’ ἁμαρτάνοντες ἄνθρωποι μάτην,τί δὴ τέχνας μὲν μυρίας διδάσκετεκαὶ πάντα μηχανᾶσθε κἀξευρίσκετε,ἓν δ’ οὐκ ἐπίστασθ’ οὐδ’ ἐθηράσασθέ πω,φρονεῖν διδάσκειν οἷσιν οὐκ ἔνεστι νοῦς;
Hippolytus:A very master in his craft the man, who can force fools to be wise! But these ill-timed subtleties of thine, father, make me fear thy tongue is running riot through trouble.
Ἱππόλυτος:δεινὸν σοφιστὴν εἶπας, ὅστις εὖ φρονεῖντοὺς μὴ φρονοῦντας δυνατός ἐστ’ ἀναγκάσαι.ἀλλ’ οὐ γὰρ ἐν δέοντι λεπτουργεῖς, πάτερ,δέδοικα μή σου γλῶσσ’ ὑπερβάλῃ κακοῖς.
Theseus:Fie upon thee! man needs should have some certain test set up to try his friends, some touchstone of their hearts, to know each friend whether he be true or false; all men should have two voices, one the voice of honesty, expediency’s the other,so would honesty confute its knavish opposite, and then we could not be deceived.
Θησεύς:φεῦ, χρῆν βροτοῖσι τῶν φίλων τεκμήριονσαφές τι κεῖσθαι καὶ διάγνωσιν φρενῶν,ὅστις τ’ ἀληθής ἐστιν ὅς τε μὴ φίλος,δισσάς τε φωνὰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους ἔχειν,τὴν μὲν δικαίαν, τὴν δ’ ὅπως ἐτύγχανεν,ὡς ἡ φρονοῦσα τἄδικ’ ἐξηλέγχετοπρὸς τῆς δικαίας, κοὐκ ἂν ἠπατώμεθα.
Hippolytus:Say, hath some friend been slandering me and hath he still thine ear? am I, though guiltless, banned? I am amazed indeed;thy random, frantic words fill me with wild alarm.
Ἱππόλυτος:ἀλλ’ ἦ τις ἐς σὸν οὖς με διαβαλὼν ἔχειφίλων, νοσοῦμεν δ’ οὐδὲν ὄντες αἴτιοι;ἔκ τοι πέπληγμαι· σοὶ γὰρ ἐκπλήσσουσί μελόγοι παραλλάσσοντες ἔξεδροι φρενῶν.
Theseus:O the mind of mortal man! to what lengths will it proceed? What limit will its bold assurance have? for if it goes on growing as man’s life advances, and each successor outdo the man before himin villainy, the gods will have to add another sphere unto the world, which shall take in the knaves and villains.
Θησεύς:φεῦ τῆς βροτείας· ποῖ προβήσεται; φρενός.τί τέρμα τόλμης καὶ θράσους γενήσεται;εἰ γὰρ κατ’ ἀνδρὸς βίοτον ἐξογκώσεται,ὁ δ’ ὕστερος τοῦ πρόσθεν εἰς ὑπερβολὴνπανοῦργος ἔσται, θεοῖσι προσβαλεῖν χθονὶἄλλην δεήσει γαῖαν, ἣ χωρήσεταιτοὺς μὴ δικαίους καὶ κακοὺς πεφυκότας.
Behold this man; he, my own son, hath outraged mine honour, his guilt most clearly provedby my dead wife. Now, since thou hast dared this loathly crime, come, look thy father in the face. Art thou the man who dost with gods consort, as one above the vulgar herd? art thou the chaste and sinless saint?
σκέψασθε δ’ ἐς τόνδ’, ὅστις ἐξ ἐμοῦ γεγὼςᾔσχυνε τἀμὰ λέκτρα κἀξελέγχεταιπρὸς τῆς θανούσης ἐμφανῶς κάκιστος ὤν.δεῖξον δ’, ἐπειδή γ’ ἐς μίασμ’ ἐλήλυθας,τὸ σὸν πρόσωπον δεῦρ’ ἐναντίον πατρί.σὺ δὴ θεοῖσιν ὡς περισσὸς ὢν ἀνὴρξύνει; σὺ σώφρων καὶ κακῶν ἀκήρατος;
Thy boasts will never persuade me to be guilty of attributing ignorance to gods. Go then, vaunt thyself, and drive1 thy petty trade in viands formed of lifeless food; take Orpheus for thy chief and go a-revelling, with all honour for the vapourings of many a written scroll,seeing thou now art caught. Let all beware, I say, of such hypocrites! who hunt their prey with fine words, and all the while are scheming villainy. She is dead; dost think that this will save thee? Why this convicts thee more than all, abandoned wretch!
οὐκ ἂν πιθοίμην τοῖσι σοῖς κόμποις ἐγὼθεοῖσι προσθεὶς ἀμαθίαν φρονεῖν κακῶς.ἤδη νυν αὔχει καὶ δι’ ἀψύχου βορᾶςσίτοις καπήλευ’, Ὀρφέα τ’ ἄνακτ’ ἔχωνβάκχευε πολλῶν γραμμάτων τιμῶν καπνούς·ἐπεί γ’ ἐλήφθης. τοὺς δὲ τοιούτους ἐγὼφεύγειν προφωνῶ πᾶσι· θηρεύουσι γὰρσεμνοῖς λόγοισιν, αἰσχρὰ μηχανώμενοι.τέθνηκεν ἥδε· τοῦτό σ’ ἐκσώσειν δοκεῖς;ἐν τῷδ’ ἁλίσκῃ πλεῖστον, ὦ κάκιστε σύ·
What oaths, what pleas can outweigh this letter, so that thou shouldst ’scape thy doom? Thou wilt assert she hated thee, that ’twixt the bastard and the true-born child nature has herself put war; it seems then by thy showing she made a sorry bargain with her life,if to gratify her hate of thee she lost what most she prized.’Tis said, no doubt, that frailty finds no place in man but is innate in woman; my experience is, young men are no more secure than women, whenso the Queen of Love excites a youthful breast;
ποῖοι γὰρ ὅρκοι κρείσσονες, τίνες λόγοιτῆσδ’ ἂν γένοιντ’ ἄν, ὥστε σ’ αἰτίαν φυγεῖν;μισεῖν σε φήσεις τήνδε καὶ τὸ δὴ νόθοντοῖς γνησίοισι πολέμιον πεφυκέναι·κακὴν ἄρ’ αὐτὴν ἔμπορον βίου λέγεις,εἰ δυσμενείᾳ σῇ τὰ φίλτατ’ ὤλεσεν.ἀλλ’ ὡς τὸ μῶρον ἀνδράσιν μὲν οὐκ ἔνι,γυναιξὶ δ’ ἐμπέφυκεν; οἶδ’ ἐγὼ νέους,οὐδὲν γυναικῶν ὄντας ἀσφαλεστέρους,ὅταν ταράξῃ Κύπρις ἡβῶσαν φρένα·
although their sex comes in to help them. Yet why do I thus bandy words with thee, when before me lies the corpse, to be the clearest witness? Begone at once, an exile from this land, and ne’er set foot again in god-built Athensnor in the confines of my dominion. For if I am tamely to submit to this treatment from such as thee, no more will Sinis, robber of the Isthmus, bear me witness how I slew him, but say my boasts are idle, nor will those rocks Scironian, that fringe the sea,call me the miscreants’ scourge.
τὸ δ’ ἄρσεν αὐτοὺς ὠφελεῖ προσκείμενον.νῦν οὖν — τί ταῦτα σοῖς ἁμιλλῶμαι λόγοιςνεκροῦ παρόντος μάρτυρος σαφεστάτου;ἔξερρε γαίας τῆσδ’ ὅσον τάχος φυγάς,καὶ μήτ’ Ἀθήνας τὰς θεοδμήτους μόλῃς,μήτ’ εἰς ὅρους γῆς ἧς ἐμὸν κρατεῖ δόρυ.εἰ γὰρ παθών γε σοῦ τάδ’ ἡσσηθήσομαι,οὐ μαρτυρήσει μ’ Ἴσθμιος Σίνις ποτὲκτανεῖν ἑαυτόν, ἀλλὰ κομπάζειν μάτην,οὐδ’ αἱ θαλάσσῃ σύννομοι Σκιρωνίδεςφήσουσι πέτραι τοῖς κακοῖς μ’ εἶναι βαρύν.
Chorus:I know not how to call happy any child of man; for that which was first has turned and now is last.
Χορός:οὐκ οἶδ’ ὅπως εἴποιμ’ ἂν εὐτυχεῖν τιναθνητῶν· τὰ γὰρ δὴ πρῶτ’ ἀνέστραπται πάλιν.