Phaedra [12]
ran to save her. To me alone you owe it that she lives; And, in my pity both for her and you, Have I against my will interpreted Her tears.
THESEUS The traitor! He might well turn pale. 'Twas fear that made him tremble when he saw me. I was astonish'd that he show'd no pleasure; His frigid greeting chill'd my tenderness. But was this guilty passion that devours him Declared already ere I banish'd him From Athens?
OENONE Sire, remember how the Queen Urged you. Illicit love caused all her hatred.
THESEUS And then this fire broke out again at Troezen?
OENONE Sire, I have told you all. Too long the Queen Has been allow'd to bear her grief alone Let me now leave you and attend to her.
Scene II THESEUS, HIPPOLYTUS
THESEUS Ah! There he is. Great gods! That noble mien Might well deceive an eye less fond than mine! Why should the sacred stamp of virtue gleam Upon the forehead of an impious wretch? Ought not the blackness of a traitor's heart To show itself by sure and certain signs?
HIPPOLYTUS My father, may I ask what fatal cloud Has troubled your majestic countenance? Dare you not trust this secret to your son?
THESEUS Traitor, how dare you show yourself before me? Monster, whom Heaven's bolts have spared too long! Survivor of that robber crew whereof I cleansed the earth. After your brutal lust Scorn'd even to respect my marriage bed, You venture--you, my hated foe--to come Into my presence, here, where all is full Of your foul infamy, instead of seeking Some unknown land that never heard my name. Fly, traitor, fly! Stay not to tempt the wrath That I can scarce restrain, nor brave my hatred. Disgrace enough have I incurr'd for ever In being father of so vile a son, Without your death staining indelibly The glorious record of my noble deeds. Fly, and unless you wish quick punishment To add you to the criminals cut off By me, take heed this sun that lights us now Ne'er sees you more set foot upon this soil. I tell you once again,--fly, haste, return not, Rid all my realms of your atrocious presence. To thee, to thee, great Neptune, I appeal If erst I clear'd thy shores of foul assassins Recall thy promise to reward those efforts, Crown'd with success, by granting my first pray'r. Confined for long in close captivity, I have not yet call'd on thy pow'rful aid, Sparing to use the valued privilege Till at mine utmost need. The time is come I ask thee now. Avenge a wretched father! I leave this traitor to thy wrath; in blood Quench his outrageous fires, and by thy fury Theseus will estimate thy favour tow'rds him.
HIPPOLYTUS Phaedra accuses me of lawless passion! This crowning horror all my soul confounds; Such unexpected blows, falling at once, O'erwhelm me, choke my utterance, strike me dumb.
THESEUS Traitor, you reckon'd that in timid silence Phaedra would bury your brutality. You should not have abandon'd in your flight The sword that in her hands helps to condemn you; Or rather, to complete your perfidy, You should have robb'd her both of speech and life.
HIPPOLYTUS Justly indignant at a lie so black I might be pardon'd if I told the truth; But it concerns your honour to conceal it. Approve the reverence that shuts my mouth; And, without wishing to increase your woes, Examine closely what my life has been. Great crimes are never single, they are link'd To former faults. He who has once transgress'd May violate at last all that men hold Most sacred; vice, like virtue, has degrees Of progress; innocence was never seen To sink at once into the lowest depths Of guilt. No virtuous man can in a day Turn traitor, murderer, an incestuous wretch. The nursling of a chaste, heroic mother, I have not proved unworthy of my birth. Pittheus, whose wisdom is by all esteem'd, Deign'd to instruct me when I left her hands. It is no wish of mine to vaunt my merits, But, if I may lay claim to any virtue, I think beyond all else I have display'd Abhorrence of those sins with which I'm charged. For this Hippolytus is known in Greece, So continent that he is deem'd austere. All know my abstinence inflexible: The
THESEUS The traitor! He might well turn pale. 'Twas fear that made him tremble when he saw me. I was astonish'd that he show'd no pleasure; His frigid greeting chill'd my tenderness. But was this guilty passion that devours him Declared already ere I banish'd him From Athens?
OENONE Sire, remember how the Queen Urged you. Illicit love caused all her hatred.
THESEUS And then this fire broke out again at Troezen?
OENONE Sire, I have told you all. Too long the Queen Has been allow'd to bear her grief alone Let me now leave you and attend to her.
Scene II THESEUS, HIPPOLYTUS
THESEUS Ah! There he is. Great gods! That noble mien Might well deceive an eye less fond than mine! Why should the sacred stamp of virtue gleam Upon the forehead of an impious wretch? Ought not the blackness of a traitor's heart To show itself by sure and certain signs?
HIPPOLYTUS My father, may I ask what fatal cloud Has troubled your majestic countenance? Dare you not trust this secret to your son?
THESEUS Traitor, how dare you show yourself before me? Monster, whom Heaven's bolts have spared too long! Survivor of that robber crew whereof I cleansed the earth. After your brutal lust Scorn'd even to respect my marriage bed, You venture--you, my hated foe--to come Into my presence, here, where all is full Of your foul infamy, instead of seeking Some unknown land that never heard my name. Fly, traitor, fly! Stay not to tempt the wrath That I can scarce restrain, nor brave my hatred. Disgrace enough have I incurr'd for ever In being father of so vile a son, Without your death staining indelibly The glorious record of my noble deeds. Fly, and unless you wish quick punishment To add you to the criminals cut off By me, take heed this sun that lights us now Ne'er sees you more set foot upon this soil. I tell you once again,--fly, haste, return not, Rid all my realms of your atrocious presence. To thee, to thee, great Neptune, I appeal If erst I clear'd thy shores of foul assassins Recall thy promise to reward those efforts, Crown'd with success, by granting my first pray'r. Confined for long in close captivity, I have not yet call'd on thy pow'rful aid, Sparing to use the valued privilege Till at mine utmost need. The time is come I ask thee now. Avenge a wretched father! I leave this traitor to thy wrath; in blood Quench his outrageous fires, and by thy fury Theseus will estimate thy favour tow'rds him.
HIPPOLYTUS Phaedra accuses me of lawless passion! This crowning horror all my soul confounds; Such unexpected blows, falling at once, O'erwhelm me, choke my utterance, strike me dumb.
THESEUS Traitor, you reckon'd that in timid silence Phaedra would bury your brutality. You should not have abandon'd in your flight The sword that in her hands helps to condemn you; Or rather, to complete your perfidy, You should have robb'd her both of speech and life.
HIPPOLYTUS Justly indignant at a lie so black I might be pardon'd if I told the truth; But it concerns your honour to conceal it. Approve the reverence that shuts my mouth; And, without wishing to increase your woes, Examine closely what my life has been. Great crimes are never single, they are link'd To former faults. He who has once transgress'd May violate at last all that men hold Most sacred; vice, like virtue, has degrees Of progress; innocence was never seen To sink at once into the lowest depths Of guilt. No virtuous man can in a day Turn traitor, murderer, an incestuous wretch. The nursling of a chaste, heroic mother, I have not proved unworthy of my birth. Pittheus, whose wisdom is by all esteem'd, Deign'd to instruct me when I left her hands. It is no wish of mine to vaunt my merits, But, if I may lay claim to any virtue, I think beyond all else I have display'd Abhorrence of those sins with which I'm charged. For this Hippolytus is known in Greece, So continent that he is deem'd austere. All know my abstinence inflexible: The