t j i m ^ ^ "^/sa^AiNnawv ^^ ^OFCAllfO/?4^ <: ^^ > ^vWSANCElfj^ /A ^lOSANCElfj}> -s^UIBRARYOc. ^/yji3AINa3WV^ ^ o ^ iT ±: so 3> %ii3AINn3WV^ >j,OFCAllF0% ^ .^;OFCAllFOff^ '"^omuw^ O/- -i^^lllBRARYO^ CS- *- I r^^r T o Q — i ■h CONTENTS. The Crowned Hippolytus . Theocbitus : Idyl I. Thyrsis n. The Enchantress III. Amaryllis IV. The Shepherds VII. The Walk in Spring XI. Cyclops XII. The Beloved XIII. Hylas XV. The Adoniazusaj XX. Eunica XXI. The Fishers XXII. The Dioscuri XXIV. The Little Hercules XXV. The Lion of Nemea XXIX. The Lover's Complaint MOSCHUS : Idyl I. The Runaway II. Europa Biox : Idyl I. The Dirge for Adonis Alcman : Frag. 21, 53 Arion Anacreon : Frag. 4, 44, 7."., !i4 PAGE I 77 85 93 96 lOI 108 112 "5 119 130 133 137 149 JS7 170 '75 177 187 197 198 199 VI CONTENTS. ALGOUS '. PAGE Frag. 15, 18, 84 zoi Ibycus : Frag. ], 2 203 Pindar : Frag. 106 204 Plato : Frag. 14, 15, 23, 30 205 Sappho : Frag. 1, 2, 3, 93 207 SiMMIAS THEBANUS : Frag. 2 210 SiMONIDES : Frag. 4, 27, 39, 40, 57 211 Stesichortjs : Frag. 8 214 Aripheon 215 Bacchylides : Frag. 28, 49 216 Lycophronides : Frag. 1, 2 217 TiMOTHEUS : Frag. 10 ........ 218 Meleager : 87,92,103,105,111,112 221 Paul the Silentiary : 8 227 EVENITS : 3, 13, 14, 15 228 Euripides : Cresphontes, Frag. 15 ; Erechtheus, Frag. 13 .231 Philostratus : The Island of Achilles ...... 252 HIPPOLYTUS. THE ARGUMENT. Theseus was son of .^thra and Poseidon, and king of Athens. He married Hippolyta, one of the Amazons, and had by her Hippolytus, who was remarkable for beauty and continence. And when she died he took for second wife Phaedra, a native of Crete, daughter of Minos king of Crete, and of Pasiphae. And because he had slain Pallas, one of his kinsfolk, Theseus fled with his wife to Troezen, where it happened that Hippolytus was being educated in the house of Pittheus. And so soon as Phtedra beheld the youth she fell headlong into hot desire for him ; and not to escape scot-free therefrom, but rather to fulfil to the utmost the WTath of Aphrodite, who, having determined to destroy Hippolytus for his chastity, planned the accom- plishment of her purpose by exciting a raging love for him in Phwdra's heart. And after concealing her malady for a long time she was constrained to reveal it to her nurse, who had promised to be her helper. And the nurse, doing as she thought best, informed the young man. And when Phanh-a learned of his rage and exasperation, she reproached the nurse angrily for what she had done, and went and hanged herself. And Theseus arrived about the same time, and hastened to take down her that was hanged, and found attached to her person a writing-tablet, in which Hippolytus was accused of treachery and of having brought her to destruction. And Theseus be- lieved what was written, and ordered Hippolytus into exile, and cur.sed him, and prayed against him to Poseidon his father ; and the god hearkened to his prayer, and destroyed Hippolytus. But Artemis appeared, and explained to Theseus severally the things that had bapjiened, and made them clear to him ; and she excused Phadra from blame, and she comforted Theseus, now that he was bereft of his wife and of his son, and she ]iromiHed thut national honours should be paid to lliitpolytus. £ APHRODITE. HIPPOLYTUS. ATTENDANTS. CHORUS OF TRCEZENIAN WOMEN. NURSE. PHiEDEA. MESSENGER, THESEUS. SECOND MESSENGER. ARTEMIS. HIPPOLYTUS. APHRODITE. I AM no nameless deity, for men At many a shrine lift hands, and hail me Cypris, — And hosts of heaven, and peoples of the sea, And whosoever house witMn the bounds Of Atlas-shouldered earth, and see the sun : AndJh£iae_that-re3C^ence my pow er I favour , But I confound aUjghn thinV ofioni.ofme. Foreven divmity is fashioned thus — It joys in mortal honours. I will show Briefly my word's true ineaning. For see here, This son of Theseus, this Hippoljiius, This off"spring of the Amazon, this fruit Of holy Pittheus' lessons, this sole one C>s=, , Of all the dwellers on Trazenian soil Calls me most hateful, most detestable Of deities ;^_alao. he doth reiiuse ThcTnamage-ljcd, and spurns the nuptial knot, 4 HIPPOLYTUS. Honouring Apollo's sister Artemis, The first of heavenly ones in liis esteem ; And ever roams he in her virgin train, In intercourse too close for mortal man, Through the pale yeUow woods, with fleetest hounds Scaring the wild beasts that infest the land. Yet this I grudge him not : it harms not me ; But what has harmed me I will visit on him This very day, and without much ado, My plans long since provided to this end. For once when he had travelled from the house Of Pittheus, in the holy mysteries Of Attica to he initiate, PhEedra, his father's high-horn consort, saw him ; Forthwith terrible love possessed her heart, Fgr_§G XjTOskeiiJt : and before she came To Troezen, close beside Athene's cliff That overlooks this land, she raised a fane To Cypris, love-struck with an absent love, And named, in honour of Hippolytus, Unto all future times the goddess-shrine. But after Theseus fled the taint of blood And curse of the Pallantidse, and left Cecropian soil, and voyaged to this land. Vowing a twelvemonth's exile for his crime, And she, his wife, voyaged with him ; then, alas ! Thenceforth a tiling of grief, love-pierced to the heart, Piteously in silence she wastes away. And none of her attendants know the cause; HIPPOLYTUS. 5 But not in tliis "way must this love fall through : I Tvill teU the tale to Theseus ; — every jot Shall he revealed, and him, my enemy^ The curses of his_fo.ther shaU_ de,stroy, According to the power by ocean-king Poseidon given, that Theseus unto him Three times might pray, thrice pray for nought in vain. And she, all high-born as she is, she dies, Phaedra must die ( I reck not of her death In face of paying such vengeance on my foes As may appease my wTonged di^-inity.' Xow, for I see advancing hitherwards This son of Theseus, lately from the chase, ■\ViU I move off. ^Much people follows him : Shouts his attendant band, and lifts the hymn To Artemis. 5ut littlfi_ilQfis_he_know Thtrgates-Xilthegrave are open, and the sun He looks on he shall^hrever look on more. HIPPOLYTUS. Follow, foUow me ; Eaise the choral melody To our heavenly mistress, Zeus-descended Artemis, "V^^lose care are we ! ATTENDANTS. Maiden of stateliness, maiden of might. Hail, hail ! Zeus' and Latona's daughter bright, Hail, hail ! 6 HIPrOLYTUS. Fairest by far of the virgin-band That in heaven above In the wide-spreading halls doth stand Of the golden dome of Jove. Artemis, Artemis ! HIPPOLYTUS. Hail, maiden fairest, Hail, maiden rarest Of all the Olympian band. Artemis, Artemis ! Mistress, this flower-crown have I wreathed for thee, The enwoven blossoms of an unmown meadow, Where neither shepherd dares to lead his flocks To pasture, nor a scythe hath ever come ; But always in the springtime flits the bee O'er the untrodden herbage, and with streams Of freshening dew Aurora feeds its growth. If ot those trained to be chaste, but those whose nature In all alike has reached to chastity. May pluck these flowers, denied to the impure. Then, mistress loved, from a most reverent hand Accept this garland for thy golden hair. This is my bliss, alone of humankind To live with thee, to mix my words with thine, To hear thy voice, although thy face is hid. Thus has my life begun, thus may it end. ATTENDANT. Prince, — for the gods alone we own as lords, — Wouldst take from me a word of timely counsel 1 HIPPOLYTUS. 7 HIPPOLYTUS. "With right good will — else were Tve scantly wise. ATTENDANT. Know'st thou what rule is laid on mortal men 1 HIPPOLYTUS. know not — nor the piu-port of thy question. ATTENDANT. JPride to det est, anxL partiality. . HIPPOLYTUS. \Eight ; but where is the proud who is not hated 1 ATTENDANT. Stop : — is there any grace in courtesy ? HIPPOLYTUS. !Much, much ; and profit too at little cost. ATTENDANT. Tliink'st thou that with the gods the same holds good ? HIPPOLYTUS. Yes, if we mortals use the laws of gods. ATTENDANT. "Why then in prayer pass over one dread power 1 HIPPOLYTUS. What poyverl take heed, for fear thy tongue go gripping. ATTENDANT. The power that stands Ijefore thy threshold — Cypris. HIPPOLYTUS. 1 am spotless. I salute her from afar. 8 HIPPOLYTUS. ATTENDANT. Yet she is honoured, and in much esteem. HIPPOLYTUS. Some with tins god and some with that have dealings. ATTENDANT. May'st thou be hlest with a right-thinking mind ! HIPPOLYTUS. No god for me that asks a midnight worship. ATTENDANT. Young man, each power must have its chosen honours. HIPPOLYTUS. Hence now, attendants ; see the feast he set Within the palace : when the chase is done Welcome the well-spread board ; also take care To groom my coursers, that, the banquet ended, Unto my chariot I may harness them And exercise them fitly. For thy Cypris Thou talkest of, I bid her a good day. ATTENDANT. But we, no imitators of the young. In prudent language as befits our station. Will lift the voice of prayer, mighty Cypris, Before thy image ; and thou wilt forgive The foolish babbhng of intemperateTOuth, And what thou hearest thou wilt set aside As if thou heard'st it not ; ^eeds must great gods Be wise above the foolishness of men) HIPPOLYTUS. CHORUS. They tell me of a cliff that Ocean washes, "Whence sweet streams do^Tiwards pour ; And many an um-refreshing fountain flashes From rift and craggy scaur : There a loved friend of mine was wont to lave Her crimson vestments in the beaded wave, And spread them where the torrid glow Flames on a rib of rock below. Thence the first rumour reached me that my queen, Her fair hair hghtly veiled. Lies on her palace-bed alone, unseen, By wasting pains assaUed : Three days hath Ceres' bounty been withstood, Three days her fair lips have been pure from food ; From some dark sorrow fain to die. She hastes to a bourne of misery. 0, surely by some god thou art inspired, Or Pan, or Hecate, Or by the awful Corybantes fired. Or the mighty Mother's mountain company. Or, for some votive rites tliou didst not pay, The goddess-huntress bids thee pine away ; For she flits across the mainland and the mere. Where the salt waves curl in eddies she is near ! 10 HIPPOLYTUS. Or does some stealthy rival of thy bed Corrupt the Erechthid chief, Thy noble spouse ; or has some sailor sped From the Cretan shore, a messenger of grief, And to the welcome shelter of this bay Voyaged, perchance, with tidings of dismay, And does she with her sorrow sore opprest Lie prisoned to the pillows of unrest 1 Ah ! surely in these wayward female natures Lives harmony of inharmonious features ; The helpless years of child-bearing distress, The helpless years of foolishness ! I mind the day this blast of fate Swept through my womb distemperate. But then to her that soothes the matron's pain, To Artemis, the heavenly archeress, I cried, nor cried in vain. And ever walks she in the heavenly train, And ever wiU I worship at her fane. But see the ancient nurse before the door Has led her from her chamber-floor. And look upon her dismal brow How the cloud of grief doth grow. My heart beats fast to hear the tale Of all my queen's sad woes ; Wherefore her cheeks have lost the rose, Have faded, and have turned to deathly pale. HIPPOLTTUS. 11 NURSE. Alas for mortal woes ! Alas for fell disease ! "What shall I do for thee, what leave undone ? See here the bright Kght of the sun, Feel here the open breeze, The pillows of thy sick-couch spread "Without the gates iuAdte repose. Ever thy speech had this refrain, " Hither, 0, hither let me be led 1" jbid now thou wilt hasten soon again Back to thy weary bed ! So quickly is thy frame upset, At everything so sure to fret, All that thou hast thou dost detest, And all thou hast not ever seeros the best. Better be sick than be the sick one's nurse ', Sickness is sickness, nothing worse ; Xursing is sorrow in double kind, Sorrow of toihng hands, sorroAV of troubled mind. Our Hfe is blasted all with soitow's curse, Our troubles know no healing. But if in lands beyond Is something better than this hfe, it lies In folded shroud of darkness all-concealing ; Therefore of this are we so madly fond, Because its glitter doth allure our eyes, iW of that other are we all in doubt, 12 HIPPOLYTUS. Of realms "beneath the earth is no revealing : Eut mth much fables are "vve tossed about. PHiEDRA. Lift up my body, Straighten my head, Hold up the hands And arms of the dead ; The joints of my limbs are loosened, the veil on my brow is like lead. Take it off, take it off, let the clustering curls on my shoulders be spread ! NURSE, 0, courage, child ; 0, yield not so Thy Hfe to unremitting woe : A quiet frame, a loigh-born will, Will likeliest stem the flood of ill ; For trouble is the doom of men below. PH^DRA. Ay me ! could I drink The pure lymph issuing From the dewy brink Of a crystal spring ! Could I lie in the poplar shadow. Could I stretch my limbs in repose, and rest ia the verdurous meadow ! NURSE. 'Nay, sweet one, mourn not so aloud, Such language must not reach the crowd : HIPPOLTTUS. 13 Thy heedless speech is borne along, And frenzy lords it o'er thy tongue. PH^DRA. Send me, send me to the mountain ; I will wander to the wood, Where the dogs amid the pine-copse track and tear the wild-beast's brood ; I will hang upon his traces where the dappled roe-buck bounds ; I yearn, by all the gods I yearn to halloa to the hoimds, To poise the lance of Thessaly above my yellow hair. And to loose my hand and lightly launch the barbed point through air ! NURSE. Why trouble, child, for things like this 1 The chase is nought to thee, I wis : Why crave the fountain's plash 1 Eises above these towers a hill Where never-ceasing torrents dash : Tliere may'st thou drink at wilL PH.EDRA. Queen of the ocean-lake. Queen of the gymnast-courses, Where the earth doth shake Witli the thunder of horses. ArtemLs, if I could riile with thee, and rein The Adrian coursers bounding o'er the plain ! 14 HIPPOLYTUS. NURSE. Another wish to folly leaning ! Another utterance without meaniag ! First on the mountain wouldst thou stand, For hunting aU afire, And now fleet steeds are thy desire Upon the unrippled sand. This needs much gift of seer to say ^yiiat god is leading thee astray, And scaring reason from her throne away. PHiEDRA. misery ! What have I done 1 Where have my hetter senses gone 1 I am mad ; some vengeful god presses me sore. Ah ! woe is me ! Good mother, cover up my head once more : I hlush for aU that I have said. Hide, hide my head. The hot tears trickle from my eyes. My eyehds droop for shame : 'Tis when the hetter mind returns The bitter grief begins ; 0, madness is an awful name, And he is happier far who dies In ignorance, before he learns His sorrows and his sins ! HIPPOLTTUS. 15 NUESE. I hide tliee. Aye ; but when -n-ill death come liide My weary limbs 1 for how much length of days Makes me see life in many diverse ways. The bonds of human friendslaip should be tied Xot tightly, not to chain the inmost soul, The heart's affections held in light control, Xow closelier drawn, now coldly set aside. But for one heart to bear the grief of two, As I bear hers and mine, is heavy measure. Such nice attention to steer safely through The sea of life brings shipwreck more than treasure, And storms the bulwarks of a healthy frame ; Therefore excess to me less worthy seeuis Than strength that never struggles to extremes ; iVnd wisdom of the sages speaks the same. CHORDS. Time-honoured trusty servant of our queen, "We see her piteous plight, but of the cause 'Wq wot not, for there is no evidence ; Tliis would we ask, and fain would learn from thee. NURSE. I knoM' not. I have a.sked. She will not answer. CHORUS. JNor liow came a beginning of lier sorrows ? NURSE. 'Tis all the same. Slie hides it all in silence. 16 HIPPOLYTUS. CHORUS. How pale she looks, and wasted all to nothing ! NURSE. Could she look else after a three-days fast 1 CHORUS. Fasts she from misery, or desii-e to die 1 NURSE. To die. To he rid of life she tastes not food. CHORUS. Marvellous, were her lord with this content ! NURSE. She hides her griefs ; she vows she has no harm. CHORUS. Infers he not from tokens of her face 1 NURSE. He would, hut now is absent from the land. CHORUS. Dost thou not urge and press her, ia attempt To learn the malady of her distraught mind ? NURSE. I have striven in every way with none effect. JS^or even now will 1 relax my zeal. And ye yourselves shall hear me present witness Of what I am towards my unhappy queen. Come now, sweet child, forget our former talk, Let each forget, and he of better cheer, Unknit that gloomy brow, and turn aside HIPPOLTTUS. 17 The current of thy thought, and, as for me, If I said aught before that was not well, I do renounce it, and Avill cast about For fitter speech. Look now, if thy disease Is such that thou dost shame to mention it, These women here will find a remedy. But if it may be spoken of to men, call the leech, and let him hear the whole. "Well : — silent stiU 1 — sUence hath no place here : Either correct me, if I speak not true. Or add consent, if I have spoken well. Say something : — look towards me : — woe is me ! Good women, aU this labour is in vain ! "We are just as far as ever from the truth. "No words of mine coxild soften her before, Kg words of mine can make her listen now. Elnow this at least, — although the sea itself Is not so stubborn, — that if thou wilt die, iVnd leave thy children, they will have no place "Witliin their father's haUs ; and this I swear By that horse-taming queen, that Amazon \Vho bore one that will lord it o'er thy race, — Base-bom, but noble-souled ; thou knowest him well, — llippolytiLS. PHiEDRA. Ah, woe's me ! NURSE. Touches thee this ] 18 HIPPOLTTUS. PHiEDRA. motlier, thou hast crushed me : by the gods 1 pray thee speak not of that man again. NURSE. Look now : thy sense is soiind, yet moves thee not To save thy life and be thy children's helper. PHiEDRA. I love them ; I am tossed by other fates. NURSE. Surely thy hands are undeliled by blood 1 PH^DRA. ■""-^J^ hands are pure : the taint is in my heart. NURSE. Did an enemy work the wrong and plant it there ? PHa:DRA. A friend ; — ^unwilling foe, unwilling victim ! NURSE. Is it Theseus then has sinned a sin against thee ? PH^DRA. Fra y I be found not sinning against him ! NURSE. What this strange woe, that makes thee long for death 1 PHiEDRA. Let me go sin, — -I sin not against thee. NURSE. N'ot with my will : — I vnH die with thee rather. HIPPOLYTUS. 19 PHiEDRA- How now ? -with force dost fasten to my hands 1 NURSE. Aye, from thy knees too I will not give hold. PH^DRA. 'Twere woe to thee, poor friend, heard'st thou my woe. NURSE. Could I have greater woe than loss of thee? Ptt3;DRA. 'Twere death. Therefore my action brings me honour. NURSE. Yet hid'st thou things of honour from my prayer ? PH^DRA. -^*Ui.of evil I am working to bring good. NURSE. And so by open speech would prove thy honour. PHiEDRA. Get hence ; by the gods, I charge thee drop my hand. NURSE. Xo, for thou dost refuse a proper boon. PHiEDRA. I grant it ; I revere thy suppliant hand. NURSE. Xow am I dumb : henceforth thou lead'st the speech. PHiEDRA. Alas, poor mother, what a love inflamed thee ! 20 HIPPOLYTUS. NURSE, Love for the bull niean'st tliou, or what heside ? PH^DRA. Thou too, poor sister, bride of Dionysus ! NURSE. What ails thee, child, so to defame thy kindred ? PH^DRA. And I the third, how piteously I perish ! NURSE. ]S^ow do I shudder. Whither will these words tend 1 PHiEDRA. Thence springs my misery — from no later source. NURSE. I Tmn-yg- no more of what I wish to know. PH^DRA. Alas! Thyself must speak the words that I should speak. NURSE. I am no seer to read these riddles right. PH^DRA. What is this called by men the being in love ? NURSE. The sweetest joy, the bitterest grief in one. PH^DRA. 1 have felt them both, — the bitter and the sweet. NURSE. How now 1 — thou lovest : whom then dost thou love ? HIPPOLYTUS. 21 paa:DRA. Him, — whosoe'er he be, — the Amazon's son — NURSE. Hippoljtus, say'st thou ? PaEDRA, Thou sayest it, not L NURSE. "V\"oe, woe ! what will come next 1 child, thou hast killed me : "Women, this is unbearable : to Hve Is hateful : hateful is the day, the sun I look upon is hateful. I will hurl My body to destruction ; I will die, I will be rid of life ; farewell, farewell, Ko more will I be seen. K'ot even the chaste 'Scape evil loves, albeit they seek them not. So then this Cypris is no deity, But something greater than a deity. That ruins her and me and the whole house. CHORUS. Hast heard, ay me ! Hast heard our mistress wail unheard-of woe, Unheard-of misery ? Sooner to Hades let me go Tlian that thou wreak the purpose of thy mind. O woe, woe, woe ! grief thou common nurse of humankind ! pitiful in thy distress ! 22 HIPPOLYTUS. Lost ! lost ! thou hast broiight dark ills to light of day ! What have these passing hours in store ? What new woes heavily on us press The fates will soon complete. Eut as for thee, hapless child of Crete, No need to question more 'Gainst whom the Cyprian power "vvill waste itself away ! PHiEDRA. Women of Troezen, that do dwell around This extreme threshold of Pelopian soil, Oft have I mused and pondered heretofore In the long hours of night, how human Hfe Is wrecked and ruined ; for it seems to me r-^en do not sin because their nature bids them, ^(For the right path is clearly seen by many) But we must face the question in this wise : We know the good, we can distinguish it, But will not strive to do it ; some from sloth. And some from preference before the good Of lower pleasures ; for there are in life Pleasui'es diverse : pleasure of idle talk ; And quiet ease, a vice most fascinating ; And shame, which is twofold — one unfraught with ill, The other filling homes with heavy grief. Nor, were for each the moment clearly shewn, Would selfsame letters fold a double meaning. Therefore I deemed, after much forethought given, There was no witchery that could corrupt HIPPOLYTUS. 23 And overturn my mind from its firm base ; And I will show the tenor of my thought. When love first pierced me, I looked all around How best to bear it, and thenceforth began To muffle up my malady in silence. For who would trust his tongue, which can reprove The wandering thoughts of others, but itself Inherits from itself a thousand ills 1 !N'ext I bethought me I might bear the frenzy, If that by chastity I vanquished it. And last, if none of these would aught avail To master passion, I resolved on death As best of aU. ^N'one can dispute my counsel. K I do good, I would not wish to hide it ; If I do ill, I want not witnesses. I knew the cause, the act, were each disgraceful ; I knew, from promptings of my woman-"svit, The common voice would loathe them. Perish she, Perish a thousand times, who first began To stain the marriage-bed with alien loves. Alas, the daughters of a noble house First sinned this sin ! And when the better sort Take evil for their good, be sure the base Will cling to it as supreme excellence. Also I loathe who prate of chastity, But slily joy in ventures of no fame ; Who look, — sea-bom Cypris, can it bo 1 — Into the faces of their sleeping lords, Nor tremble lest the darkness, their accomplice, 24 HIPPOLYTUS. Or the remotest chambers of the house, Should waken into utterance of their crime. This, friends, would he my death, if I were found ("Which may the gods avert !) dishonouring My hushand, and my children whom I bore. in our noble Athens may they dwell. Free men, exulting in free confidence. And honoured for an honoured mother's sake ! /'Tor knowledge of a parent's evil deeds \Enslaves a man, strong-hearted though he be. This, this alone is victor over life, — Clear conscience, and possession of uprightness. But for the wicked the day comes when time, Like a young virgin, holds the mirror up, "VYherein they are glassed. — Let me not be of them ! CHORUS. Yes, chastity is everywhere becoming. And among mortals bears a good report. %, NURSE. ! j\Iistress, at first the news of thy mischance , Affiicted me with strange and sudden fear. I Now I perceive my error ; and somehow / T he second thoughts of mortals prove the wiser. For thou hast suffered nothing out of bounds, Nothing unheard of; but the goddess-fires Have flamed upon thee. Sayest thou, thou lovest 1 What wonder 1 many a mortal does the same. Then for the cause of love wilt lose thy life 1 HIPPOLYTUS. 25 Xo profit then for any folk •who love, Or now or after, if tliey needs must die. For Cypris, in the torrent of her strength, Cannot be home ; whoso submits to her She gently sways ^nl, hitir^vtihr) pridpsjiinisfilf, And bids defiance, look you, she enthrals, And, as she pleases, makes a mock of him. For Cypris roams through aether, and her foot Falls on the ocean-billow ; and from her Spring aU things ; she it is who sows, she gives That sweet desire whence we Avho live on earth Derive our beiug. Those who ponder o'er The writings of old time, and with the Muse Hold frequent converse, know well long ago How Zeus wooed Semel6 ; for love's sweet sake How radiant Eos snatched young Cephalus To consort -with the gods ; yet still in heaven They dwell, nor fly the presences divine, "WTio yield, I ween, to fate, and likewise love. But thou, thou wilt not yield 1 yet must thy siro Have got thee by fixed laws, or by the wiU Of other gods, if these laws please thee not. How many, think'st thou, with much store of sense. Seeing their beds defiled, seem not to see ? How many fathers aid their children's slips. And second Cypris ? — for this saying holds Among the wise — 'Faults sliould be covered up.* Men must not make an endless toil of life. The roof, with which this house is vaulted o'er 26 HIPPOLYTUS. "Need not "be sjiick and span ; and thinkest thou Froni such, a sea of fate to swim dryshod 1 Know, mortal as thou art, that if thy blessings Outnumher thy ill-fates, thou art thrice blest. So, daughter dear, curb thy distempered mind, X And stay thy impious wish ; for nothing less xThan impious is the aim of mortal man To set himself above the immortal gods. / Endure thy love ; the gods have wiUed it so ; / And in thy weakness cast about how best / To bear it to its ending ; there are charms, 3iid there are spells of melting blandishment. Be sure some remedy wiU. come to light. For if we women failed to find the means, 'Twere long indeed ere men discovered them. CHORUS. Phoedra, her words do meet the present case More fitly, though my praise is left for thine. Albeit this praise is harder far to bear. And sadder far to hear, than all her sophisms. PH^DRA. This is it, this too fine-spun arguing That roots up populous cities, and destroys Whole houses ; for we want not flattering words To please the ear, but speech whose quahty May lead to noble action in the hearers. NURSE. "Wliy this high moral phrasing 1 'tis no time HIPPOLTTUS. 27 For seemly talk ; a mau, a man's tlie stake ; And we must cast about who shall convey The plain straightforward message of thy passion. If this mischance had not befallen thee, Thee a chaste wife by nature, do not think, To gi'atify thy lust for alien loves, I would have helped thee hitherwards ; but now It is a mighty struggle for thy life, And who saves life commits no injury. PH^DRA. close thy lips to such strange dreadful words, And spare renewal of such shameful counsel ! NURSE. Shameful perhaps, but better far for thee Than all thy virtue ; and this deed is nobler, So be it save thy life, than any name In which thou prid'st thyself, that brings thee death. PH^DRA. Shameful thy words, but true ; so, by the gods, Say not thy say ; my soul is crushed by love. But if thou do make evO. into good, _ Tho snare I fain would flee from will entrap me. NURSE. Since so thou deem'st^Jhc-sm-^wftS-aig, in t hought ; If not, listen, and grant a second favour. 1 have at home pliUtres and soft love-spells ; Just now the thought flashed tlirough me, one of these, "SVith no inducement to unrighteous action, 28 HIPPOLYTUS. And no offence to conscience, miglit allay jt: X. This fever, so thou prove not still perverse. ^ — Only there needs from him, from the beloved, Some sign, a word, a fragment of his dress, And from thyself the selfsame, like for like. So shall the two together work one grace. PH^DRA. Is it an ointment, or a drinking potion 1 NURSE. I know not : seek a cure, and not its nature. PHiEDRA. I fear thou wilt turn out too wise for me. NURSE. Thou fearest everything. Wliat alarm here % PH^DRA. Lest thou say aught of this to Theseus' son. NURSE. Let be, dear child : I will set these things right ; Thou only help me, Cypris of the sea. Thou work with me ! what else I meditate, Enough, to speak it to our friends within. CHORUS. Love, Love, that, where thou wiliest, From the loved one's eyes Eain of soft desire distillest. And the hearts of lovers fillest "With sweet auguries ; HIPPOLYTTJS. 29 Be no power for ill to me, Break not up life's harmony. Fiercest fires are fainter far, Paler is the brightest star. Than the darts that Love bids fly From Aphrodite's armoury. Vainly by Alpheiis' water, Vainly on each Pythian shrine, Thick through Hellas steams the slaughter, Bleed the lowing kine : If we fear not And revere not Love the lord and Love the master. Love whose keys unlock at j^leasure Aiihrodite's fondest treasure, Love who follows fast and faster Everywhere on men below, Death — where he will — or woe ! Thus Cypris wiled the fair CEchalian maid, A filly heedless of the yoke, Untouched by man, unwed : Forth from her father's house she strayed, Like some fierce bacchanal she fled : Through blood, through smoke, Tlirough a bridal field of gore, Alcmena's son the prize of victory bore. Woe for sucli wedlock, avoc ! City of sacred Ijattlements, Thebes, and tliou source of Dircc's silver flow, 30 HIPPOLYTUS. Ye, had ye voice, could say with what intents Cypris moves siihtly slow. "With cruel fate she hushed the Kfe Of Zeus' bride, the wedded wife Of the thunder-bolt and the lightning-flame, Whence Dionysus came. She breathes upon all a wasting breath : Like a bee where are sweets she hovereth. PH^DRA. Silence, ye women ; I am lost, undone. CHORUS. Is aught amiss then, Phaedra, in the house 1 PH^DRA. Hush ! I would catch the speech of those within. CHORUS. I am stUl ; sure this is prelude to some woe. PH^DRA. Alas, alas ! ay me ! most pitiable, Most pitiable for all my sufferings ! CHORUS. What means this cry, what means this dole 1 Speak, speak ; say what, say where The voice that storm-like stirs thy soul And drives thee to despair 1 PHiEDRA. Lost — I am lost. Stand here beside these gates, And listen to the clamour from within. HIPPOLYTUS. 31 CHORUS. Thou, thou stand there : for thee is meant The news from thence, alas ! Speak, speak, and say what new event Of ill has come to pass. phj;dra. The Amazon's son, HijDpolj^tus, shouts aloud, And heaps fiercest reproaches on the nurse. CHORUS. I hear a sound ; I hear it well ; But whose and what I cannot teU. A voice through the gates doth riag, For thee, for thee is it echoing ! PHiEDRA. He calls her by plain proof a procuress, A traitress to her master's marriage-bed. CHORUS. Alas, alas ! they have betrayed thee. Loved one, what can I do to aid thee ? For hidden things have come to light, And thou art left La piteous plight. PHiEDRA, Ay me ! ay me ! CHORUS. Thy friends have ruined thee. PHJEDRA. (^'^She has lost me by di\'T.ilging aU my sorrow, \ Trying to cure it, kindly, but not wisely. 32 HIPPOLYTUS. CHORUS, What wilt tliou do, poor lieli:)less sufferer ? PH.EDRA. I know not; saving this, forthwith to die: Death is the sole help for such miseries. HIPPOLYTUS. mother earth ! splendours of the sun ! "What have I heard ! what words unutterable ! NURSE. Hush, hush, dear son, before thy voice is known. HIPPOLYTUS. 1 cannot hear such horrors, and keep silence. NURSE. Yes, by thy fair young arm and hand I pray thee. HIPPOLYTUS. Avaunt ; let go my hand, touch not my robe. NURSE. By thy knees I pray thee bring me not to ruin. HIPPOLYTUS. Ruin 1 — thou say'st thou hast spoken nothing evil. NURSE. No ; still not suited for the public ear. HIPPOLYTUS. If words are good, the more who hear the better. NURSE. Child, thou vnlt never break thy plighted word 1 HIPPOLYTUS. 33 HIPPOLYTUS. If the lips swore, theheart_abides-«B6woHi. NURSE. Think Avhat thou doest ; wilt thou destroy thy friends ? HIPPOLYTUS. I_spum_tljera. — XajYTongdoer is my friend. NURSE. Forgive them ; faults are natural to mortals. HIPPOLYTUS. Zeus, why broiight'st thou this adulterate metal, _-Ihis-4iurse called woman into light of day? "Were it thy wiU to breed the human race, Tliou shouldst not have made women the suppliers ; But let such men as offered at thy fanes Iron, or gold, or heavy store of brass. Purchase the seed of children, each for each, ^According to-hi& value and hisrafik, And people homes of freedom, without help Of womankind. For see now, first of all. When we would bring this curse into our house We drain our homes of treasure : and 'tis clear From this that woman is a monstrous evil, For even her sire, that got and nurtured her, Sends her away from home, and adds besides A doAvry, to be rid of such a plague. While he who tiikes this miscliief to his bosom Exults, and heaps as on some foidest statue Fair ornaments, and decks witli finery : 34 HIPPOLYTUS. ___Poor fool, exhausting his ancestral riches. And here's his fate : either he gains alliance "With a good father, in requite for whom He keeps a hateful wife ; or else the wife Is good, the father profitless, and so Ill-fortune presses on the heels of luck. He is bes t off with neither, with a "wife "SYho sits aT^TT niB in Ij teiiS'simplicity. I hate a learned Avoman. Kone of mine Be she who knows more than befits a woman. 'Tis in a clever soil that Cypris sows ■ — /The seeds of evil ; for a witless wife (By her scant wits is kept out of harm's way. Therefore no servant should attend our women, But monster mutes should bear them company. So they might converse hold with none, and none Might answer them in turn ; but now, alas, Vile women in their homes plot villanies, And hirelings carry their designs abroad. Thus hast thou done, Q_wickedjwicked Jiead, Coming to t empt me to unhallowed commerce /AVith^yoTNii father's wife ; coming with words VjSiich I "will wash -away with flowiag-^fater, Purging my very ears. Could I be base, I, who from only hearing of such crime, Do almost doubt my chastity 1 Know this, jVTark^ well, my pious revere nce sayesjhee, woman. For hadst thou not, in an unguarded moment. Entrapped me with an oath, I had not held HIPPOLYTUS. 35 From telling the whole history to my sire. !Now from this roof, so long as from his land Theseus ahides, will I be absent too ; And I will close my lips ; but when time comes For turning hither in my father's track, Then shall I see with what face thou wUt meet hitn, Thou and thy mistress : then shall I discern K thy effront'ry lasts thee Hke this sample. ]\Iy curse upon you. Hate I you e'er so much, jS'o feast of hate can satisfy my greed, I^ot if men cast my hatings in my teeth As endless iteration, — seeing that ye >ome way or other endlessly are vile. So, either some one teach them to be chaste, i^Or let me trample on them endlessly. CHORUS. The fortunes of women are bad. The fates of women are sad. Is there any art we can learn, Can any words be supplied, That defeat may to victory turn, And the knot of doom be untied ? PHiEDRA. eai-th, blessed sun. The time of vengeance has begun ! Where can I wander from my fate? HoAV can I hide my Avretched state 1 ^^AVliat god will hclj), what man wiU be my friend, 86 HIPPOLYTUS. To give me counsel, or assistance lend In godless deeds ? alas, for this distress, While this life lasts, there can be no redress ! Ay me, of women most unfortunate ! CHORUS. Alas^ 'tis done ; the nurse with all her arts Has no success, but everything goes wrong. PHiEDRA. Avretch, utter ruin to thy friends, "V\niat hast thou done for me ? I pray that Zeus, The author of my race, may blot thee out. That root and branch he may annihilate thee, And scar thee with his thunder. Said I not. Gave I not warning thou shouldst keep strict silence On all the matter of my present sorrows ? But thou wouldst not : therefore I cannot die — There is no chance for it — with a fair name. So must I look about for new devices. For now this man, his mind sharp-edged with wrath, Will tell in my disfavour all thy errors. Will tell his sire, will tell the aged Pittheus, Will fill with vilest rumours the whole land. Perish both thou, and all like thee officious CIn proffering to unwilling friends advice Helpful in seeming, but in substance base. NURSE. Mistress, thou hast some cause to blame my fault. Because the wound that eats into thy life HIPPOLYTUS. 87 Passes all reasoning. Yet, if thou wouldst hear, I too have somewhat to reply to this. I nursed thee, I do love thee ; and I sought A cure for thy disease ; but what I sought I found not : see now, if my plans had prospered, I had been straightway held among the wise ; For we weigh wisdom in the scales of chance. PH-EDRA. Is this then right, — will this make me amends, — That first thou shouldst inflict a grievous hurt, Then make it up by bandying arguments 1 NURSE. We talk too much. I know I was unwise ; But, child, even now there may be help for thee. PH/EDRA. Havedoii0-^fh words. There was no good before In thy advice, and all thou didst Avas ill. Get hence, begone ; plot plottings for thyself : I will arrange my matters as I please. But, noble daugliters of Troezenian birth. Grant thus much to my prayers, and bury up In silence all that ye have this day heard. CHORUS. We swear by Artemis, the child of Zeus, ^"^'ought of thy woes shall be by us revealed. PH.'KDRA. 'Tls nobly said. But after anxious search I have but one help left for my disasters, 38 HIPPOLYTUS. If I would have my cliildren live in honour, And aid myself in face of present failures ; Eor never, for the sake of life alone, Will I cast shame upon my Cretan home, Or come into the presence of my lord Stained with the consciousness of evil deeds. CHORUS. Mean'st thou to work thyself some desperate harm ? PH^DRA. To die : — ^but how, I will myseK devise. CHORUS. Speak not ill words. PH^DRA. Give me not ill advice. I shall give joy to Cypris, my destroyer, In that I leave this hfe this very day, And yield my vanquished self to love the victor. Yet shall my death bring trouble on that other, r^Tat he may know he shall not soar aloft / On my misfortune ; he shall share my curse /Along with me, and learn too late forbearance. CHORUS. that I were hid from sight In the abysmal vaults of night. And some god who saw me there, Up among the flocks of air Winged for flight would raise me high. To join the sweet birds' company ! HIPPOLYTUS. 39 O'er tlie sea-waves would I soar Foaming upon Adria's shore ; O'er tlie champaign Avould I go Where Eridanus doth flow, And the sun-god's hapless daughters Drop into his dark-blue waters Amber tears, bright like the sun, AVept for their lost Phaethon. Then far wandering over seas I should reach the Hesperides, All along whose bHssful shore Flowers and fi-uits bloom evermore : Still they chaunt a solemn strain, And the monarch of the main Watches o'er the awful goal Of the Atlas-shouldered pole, And no mariner steers tlii'ough The silence of those waters blue, Where are springs of nectar welling Upwards towards Zeus's dwelling. And the bounteous earth supplies Ambrosia for the deities. Cretan bark of snowy wing. Thou from happy home didst bring To a nuptial bed of woe Her, my queen ; and thou didst go O'er the billows lightly bounding, O'er the great Avaves solemn-sounding. 40 HIPPOLYTUS. Came the cui'se from Crete alone, Or from sire and dame in one, Under Athens haughty-crested Fraught with ill the shaUop rested, To Munychia's rugged ground T\visted cable ends were bound All for ill ; and on dry land For ill the voyagers did stand. Quickly then no pure desire Aphrodite did inspire, And her heart was broken, broken By this fell disease unspoken : So, with sorrow overborne, In her bridal room forlorn, Round about her neck of snow She the halter-noose will throw, For she fears this hateful power. And, with fair fame for her dower. Fain she would from love be free, — Love that is but misery. MESSENGER. What ho ! Within there ; run for help ; shout, all of ye \ Our lady, Theseus' wife, hangs in the noose. CHORUS. Alas, then, all is over ; and our queen Is queen no more, held fastly in the halter ! HIPPOLYTUS. 41 MESSENGER. I*Iake haste. Kot one of ye to bring a knife Two-edged, to sever from her neck the knot ? SEMI-CHORUS I. What must we do, friends 1 should we go within, And free the queen out of the tight-drawn noose 1 SEMI-CHORUS II. Stay. Why come not the young men of the house- hold ? ^luch meddling does not make life all the safer. "^ MESSENGER. straighten her limhs ; lay out her hapless corpse. Truly a woful mistress for our master. CHORUS. She is dead, then, as I hear, unhappy lady! Already as a corpse they lay her out. THESEUS. Know ye what means this cry within the house. Good women 1 — for there comes a mournful sound Of household voices ; and none take the pains To hail me travelled from the oracle. To ope the door or bid a kindly welcome. Has aught, then, happened to the aged Pittheus ? He has gone very far in life ; but still 'Twere a sad grief to see my home without him. CHORUS. Theseus, this fortune aims not at the aged ; The young, the young are dead, and claim thy sorrow. 42 HIPPOLYTUS. THESEUS. Alas, one of my children rotbed of life ? CHORUS. They live ; their mother has died dismally. THESEUS. Dead, say'st thou 1 JMy wife dead 1 Say when, say how. CHORUS. She tied herself fast to the noosed halter. THESEUS. Had grief, then, palsied her, or what mischance 1 CHORUS. WeJaLaw.no more : we are but just arrived In time to sorrow, Theseus,~IbrTEy sorrows. THESEUS. Ay me ! — ^for what, then, is my forehead wreathed With woven garlands, since the oracle Brings me but woe ? What ho there, slaves within, Unbar the doors, undo the fastenings. That I may look upon my wife's sad end. And see the death that is as death to me. CHORUS. Alas for thy sorrows ! alas for thy fate ! The suffering undergone, The sad deed thou hast done, Would make the whole house desolate. the will unbending ! the forceful ending ! HIPPOLTTUS. 43 the hand that with unholy grasp To thy throat the fatal rope did clasp ! Tell me, tell what power of might Hath quenched thy life in endless night 1 THESEUS. Pity me also, most unfortunate ! Lline are the greatest sufferings. fate, Thou weighest heavy on my house and me, — A plague-spot from some vengeful deity, That no one looked for, — to such ruin growing That life's not worth the Kving ; for I see JAn ocean wide of iUs so overfloAving Eat I can never hope to swim to land, r stem the wave of such calamity. Can any words, can any tongue express The heavy, heavy weight of thy distress ? For, like a hird, thou hast escaped my hand. And winged thy sudden flight far, far away, To gloomy Hades. this luckless day ! To some far-distant source this woe I trace ; For sins of sires oppress their latest race. CHORUS. ^ot to thee only, king, is sent this sorrow ; Full many another mourns a precious wife. THESEUS. were I sunk in suLterraneous gloom ! That everlasting darkness were my doom, Xow I have lost thy sweet society ! 44 HirPOLYTUS. Killing thyself, thou hast more than killed me. Where shall I hear how such death-bearing fate Pierced thy sad heart ? who wiU the tale relate ? Or do my palace-roofs shelter in vain A hirehng troop ? I weep, I weep thy pain, No heart could bear, no tongue could say The sorrows I have seen to-day. In ruin I am left, My children are bereft. My house is left unto me desolate. CHORUS. Dearest lady, thou art gone, Best the sun e'er looked upon, Or the moon that walks the night Girt with many a starry light. Alas, poor lord, what ills this house doth know ! 0, when I think upon thy present woe, Down from my eyes in streams the hot tears pour ; But yet I shudder most at that which is in store. THESEUS. look, look, what means this waiting-tablet 1 See, it is fastened to her tender hand, And, of a surety, it hath news for me. She writes, perhaps, some fond petitionings About her children or our wedding-bond. — Take heart, poor sliade ; there is no living woman Shall reign in Theseus' halls, or share his bed. — HIPPOLYTUS. 45 And yet the impress of her golden seal (Her that is now no more) looks like a -welcome. Haste, haste, undo the sealed fastenings, And let me read what she would say to me. CHORUS. Alas, alas, the god heaps woe on woe, One on another comes in dread succession ! Fain would I every joy in life forego, If of my friends such fates must hold possession. For now I look on this whole family As things that are not, not as things that are. If it may be, ye powers, in pity spare This house, and listen to my suppliant cry. For somehow, Hke an augur, I descry Far off the bodings of calamity. THESEUS. what a sorrow added to my sorrows, Unbearable, unspeakable : woe's me ! CHORUS. "\Miat, what 1 speak, if I may share the news. THESEUS. Tliis writing has a voice, a shriek To shriek a tale most damnable ; where can I seek A hiding-place from such hell-host? 0, I am lost, lost, lost ! wliat a wretched woe these letters speak ! "What •\VTetched eyes behold ! 4G HIPPOLYTUS. CHORUS. Thy "words movo, in tlio van of many woes. THESEUS. This hellish wrong I will no longer keep Imprisoned by my lips ; it shall not sleep, In that there is no help for it, untold. city, listen to me, — I say, city, — ~^~"iIip^polytus has dared to assail my hed, Eegardless of the holy eye of Zeus. But, father mine, Poseidon of the sea, Take one of those three wishes that erewhile Thou gavest me ; and kill this son of mine. And, so thou gav'st them me not bootlessly, Let not tlais day go by and leave him living. CHORUS. King, by the gods, pray back that prayer again. Trust me, in time thou wilt find out thy error. THESEUS. It cannot be. Also from this my land 1 wiU expel him ; so that of two fates, Ey one or other he must be o'erwhelmed. Either Poseidon, honouring my curse, To Hades wiU dismiss his lifeless body, Or, exiled from this land, he shall exhaust On alien soO. a wretched wandering life. CHORUS. Look, on the instant comes into thy presence Hippolytus, thy son. pray thee, king, HIPPOLYTUS. 47 Pielas thy ill-spent wrath, and of thy house liethink thee, what may best be done for it. HIPPOLYTUS. Father, I heard the clamour of thy voice, And hasten to thy presence ; but of that M^iich moves thee to such mourning knowing nought. Fain would I hear it from thyself. mercy ! "Wliat do I see 1 Father, is this thy wife, — rA corpse 1 — this is most wonderful of wonders. She whom I lately left, — she who beheld But a few moments past the light of day ! "What fate befel her 1 how came she to perish 1 father, I am anxious for thy words. "Why art thou silent 1 silence helps not grief. The heart that longs for all intelligence Hungers the more to share in news of sorrow ; And thou, my father, dost not right to hide Thy woe from friends, — from something more than friends, THESEUS. men that walk in paths of endless error, "What boot your thousand arts, your sciences, The compass of invention, if one thing. One little thing, ye know not, hunt not out, How to teach sense to those that have it not ? HIPPOLYTUS. In faith, he were a sage of passing wit That could turn idiots into reasoning men, 48 HIPPOLYTUS. But, — for it never was thy custom, father, In time of need to play with quibbling words, — I fear thy tongue is overborne by sorrow. THESEUS. Yes, we should have some certain evidence, Some clear discrimination of our friends. To tell us who is false and who is true. Men should have two tongues all ; one for the truth, And one to suit the time : so should the false, Tliat plotted Hes, be by the true convicted, And we ourselves be rid of all deception. HIPPOLYTUS. If some maligning fiend has stol'n thy ear, Then must I suffer from no fault of mine ; I am struck dumb ; thy words are terrible. Wild wandering words, without a show of reason. THESEUS. 0, whither will this human nature tend ? Shall nothing limit its audacity, Its darmg know no bounds 1 for if it grow "With increase of our race commensurate. So that the son be baser than his sire, And each descendant add a thousandfold To sins of those before him, then, in faith, The gods must add another earth to this, That there be room for traitors and for knaves. Look here now on this man, sprung from my loins ; He has disgraced my bed : the dead herself HIPPOLYITS. 49 Proves him most clearly vilest of the vile. Yet showest thou thy face hefore thy father, After attempt of such a heinous crime. Thou keepest company with gods, forsooth, As better than thy fellows 1 thou art chaste. And spotless ? — let me not beheve thy vaunts. And charge the gods with ignorance of evil. Boast if thou wilt, then ; trick men in thy eating ; Choose bloodless food ; take Orpheus for thy king ; Dance, shout i' the orgies ; hold in much esteem A misty fog of scribbUngs ; — thou art caught, Thou art caught in the act; and thee, and such as thee, I bid all men stand far from ; for they hunt. They compass round their prey with j^ious phrases, DevLsing villanous plots. Thy prey is dead ; She is dead. Thmk'st thou her death will make thee safe? wretch, it is thy very certain ruin. "\^^^at oaths, what words can overbear this witness, And of this charge acquit thee 1 Wilt thou say She hated thee 1 that thou, a bastard child. Wast odious to my seed legitimate 1 Thou mak'st her in the merchandise of life But a poor trader, i£-f&f-hat*t ©ftliee She gave up all that was most dear to her. Thou say'st perchance that sucli foolhardy passion Is foreign to a man, albeit it thrives A part of woman's nature ; yet I know. When Cypris stirs the springtide of the heart, 50 niproLYTUs. Youths are no more secure than ■womankind, — Their sex too gives them shelter. Now away ! Why wrestle I with sophisms of thine ? She who Kes dead is plainest evidence. Begone thou from this land in instant flight, And rest not under Athens' god-built towers, Nor on the outskirts of what land soe'er ]\Iy arms compel ; no, if I suffered this, And yielded to it, let that Isthmus thief, That Sinis, never bear me witness more I killed him, but gave tongue to empty vaunts ; Nor those Scironides, sea-skirting rocks. Confess that I fell heavy on the wicked. CHORUS. I cannot say that any man is happy ; I All that seemed good at first is changed to evil. HIPPOLTTUS. Father, thy wrath, the fixture of thy mind. Is fearful ; yet could one unfold this tale. That on the face of it thou readest right. There were no fair ground for accusing me. I am not gifted to address a crowd. But in the presence'oT a few, my equals, Mj speech is counted wise : and this is reason ; 1 For they whose talk is nothing to the wise, l^heir words go do-sva like music with the mob. Yet must I, in the face of present fates. Unlock my tongue ; and I will launch my speech HIPPOLYTUS. 51 Where thou assail'dst me first, and struck me do'mi, "\Mielmed, as thou thought' st, and powerless to reply. Seest thou this light of day 1 seest thou this earth ] There, livftft najcoaiLjgho s hares th is light, this earth, Deny it asJhau-wdlt^-zaQia.cha ste than m g. For I have learned first to revere the gods, Next to have Mends that tempt not godlessness. But men who shrink from giving place to evil, And hack not up wrongdoers in their "wrong. I am no scoffer at my comrades, father ; Absent or present to my friends the same. And of one thing thou now Avouldst fix on me I am spotless ; even to this very moment 7 There has no^ove-stain rested. anjuy life, ^Nor know I of love's practice, save from taUc That I have heard, and pictures I have seen, '\\Tiich I was never forward to behold, I Seeing that I have kept a virgin heart. Yet, if my chastity obtains no credence — Haply it does not — thou at least must show AMien and by what means it became corrupted. Did, then, this form so far surpass in beauty All other women ? or did I expect To get thy wife, thy palace, and a do'vvry 1 r'ere a fool then, with no gleam of sense. y>nt power is sweet 1 — far from it to the wise, Save where delight of sovereignty has spoiled The better judgment : where I woidd be first Is in the Hellene games ; but in the state 52 HIPPOLYTUS. Hold second place, among my chosen friends Sharing good fortune, that in life like this May be attained, while absence of all peril Makes us more happy far than joys of empire. I have one thing else to say; the rest is said. Had I one witness like unto myself, And coidd she, to the light of day restored, Abide the contest, then wouldst thou discern "WTio was the wicked one ; but now I swear By Zeus the inviolable and by mother Earth, 1 1 never touched thy wife, nor wished, nor dreamed ISuch thing. 0, may I die in infamy, Nameless, without a city or a home, A roaming fugitive from land to land. And let not sea or earth receive my bones SVTien I am dead, if I have acted basely, l^ow, if she took her life in sudden terror, I know not. I am sealed from saying more. She is held chaste that had no chastity, i And I that have it make poor profit by it. CHORUS. Thou hast made full rebutment of this charge, Calling the gods to witness, no slight warrant. THESEUS. Have we not here some cheat, some conjuror, That trusts, after dishonouring his father, To win his heart back with smooth blandishments 1 HIPPOLTTUS. 53 HIPPOLYTUS. Tatlier, I am amazed at thee in this : For hadst thou been my son, and I thy father, I "would have slain thee, and not exiled thee, If thou hadst ventured to attempt my wife. L THESEUS. T?ightjiDrthy nf thrf tin's ' thou diest not so. ^ot at thy own arranging ; for smft death Ts p nnishm e a t to o 1i< H [ Mf ir) r ^w4fik^d men. Thou, wandering far from thine own fatherland, /On alien soil shalt wearily drag out A bitter hfe ; this is the wage of siu. HIPPOLYTUS. M-las, what mean'st tliou ? wilt not wait awhile ►Till time shall bring to light my innocence 1 Iwnt drive me on the instant from the land] THESEUS. Aye, and beyond the sea, and, if I could, Beyond the threshold of this universe. With such abhorrence do I look upon thee. HIPPOLYTUS. And wilt thou, tlion, regard no oath, no pledge 1 And wilt thou question no diviner's art, IJut cast me from the landjjjii lif d^^injiulgi^d:^ TIIRSEUS. This letter — this — from no diviner's liami, Comes and accuses thee ; and 1 believe it. • 54 HIPPOLYTUS. But for the birds that flit over my head, I bid them and their auguries good-day. HIPPOLYTUS. Ye gods, why do I not unloose my tongue, — 1, who must perish through my reverence And worship of you 1 Yet it cannot be. I could not whom I would the more convince, And for no good should break the vow I vowed. THESEUS. heavejia . . iil i i s , piety of thine will kill me ! Wilt thou not get thee gone out of the land ? HIPPOLYTUS. And whither shall I turn, ay me ! what friend Will harbour me, an exile on such charge ? THESEUS. Whoever takes delight to entertain Corrupters of men's wives, or aids in crime. HIPPOLYTUS. This cuts me to the heart ; this comes nigh weeping. To appear base to others and to thee. THESEUS. Then was the time for moans and presagings, When thou didst dare insult thy father's wife. HIPPOLYTUS. roof, would thou hadst voice to speak for me, And witness whether villain be my name ! HIPPOLTTUS. 00 THESEUS. Thou fliest to diiinb -witnesses ? — but know It is rint_^ ynrf1s, hnt dfift flR^hat stamp thee villain. HIPPOLYTUS. Ah, could I take another shape, and stand And see myself, — how should I weep my woes ! THESEUS. Thou art much more Avont, like many holy men, To love thyself t han to respect thy parents. HIPPOLYTUS. hapless mother ! imhappy offspring ! May never a one of my friends be base-born ! THESEUS. Will ye not drag him, slaves 1 — did yo not hear That long ago I told him to be gone 1 HIPPOLYTUS. If one of them but touch me, he shall rue it : Drive me out thou thyself, if such thy will. THESEUS. And so I wUl, if thou obeyest me not ; There is no place for pity in my heart. HIPPOLYTUS. It_see iu8 my doom is fi xed, then. Woe is me ! 1 know it now ; I know not M'hat to say. () best-beloved of tlie Olympian host, ^Fy partner, my companion in tlic cliase, Artemis, I am condemned to fly 56 HIPPOLTTUS. From glorious Athens. Farewell, then, city ; Farewell, Erechtheus' land ; and thou, farewell, Thou shore of Troezen, where all joys abound That make a young life happy, — 0, farewell. This is the last word I shall speak to thee ; This is the last time I shall look on thee. Come, then, my comrades, flower of the land. Bid me god-speed, and give me friendly escort ; For never will ye see a purer man, 'lliough 1 am^ther^m^ifiy ■fether's' eyes. CHORUS. Oft, when I think what care the gods bestow, I cease from grieving as I grieved before ; Till sight of sins and sorrows here below Makes judgment totter, and hope die once more. For this and that thing changes, And human life still ranges Through wildering maze of varied joy and woe. 0, would some god in answer to my prayer Grant me a share of fortune and success ; A name not passing great nor falsely fair ; A quiet heart unfurrowed by distress ! Then should I wile away From day to happy day A long unbroken life of blissfulness. Now am I ill at ease ; my hopes are spent ; For I have seen our Athens' brightest star Dimmed by a father's wrath ; have seen him sent Alone on alien soil to wander far. nippoLYTUS. 57 ripi^lecl sands upon my country's shore, thick oak-coppice on the mountain grey, Where with Dictynna thou didst chase the boar, And urge thy fleet hounds on her destined prey ; K'o more shalt thou see yoked thy Adrian steeds. Or curb their flying course round Limna's meads ; The muse that slept not on the tuneful strings, Through the old halls shall cease her echoings ; In the lush grass what time she lays her head, Latona's child must rest ungarlanded ; And all the rival maids that sighed for thee !Must mourn unwedded thy calamity. Yet in thy luckless luck will I have share ; My tears shall weep thy pain. Alas, hapless mother that didst bear Cliild-bearing pangs in vain ! gods, I am wroth with ye ; sweet-linked band Of Graces, wherefore send this innocent Far from his father's land, Far from his home to dreary banishment] And look, I do behold one of his servants Hasting with downcast eyes towards the palace. SECOND MESSENGER. Where shall I find the monarch of this land, King Theseus 1 If ye know, good women, show me. Perhaps he is within the palace walls. CHORUS. This Ls the king himself who issues forth. 58 HIPPOLYTUS. SECOND MESSENGER. Theseus, I bring a message of great burden To thee and all the citizens who dwell In Athens or by Troezen's extreme shore. THESEUS. What now 1 Has any fresh calamity Fall'n unawares on the twin neighbour cities ? SECOND MESSENGER. To speak it short — Hippolytus is no more ; Still seeing the light, but on the verge of death, THESEUS. Death at whose hands? whoso wrath has he in- cuiTed ? "Whose wife has he assaulted, like his father's 1 SECOND MESSENGER. The wheels of his own chariot are his death — They, and the prayers that to thy sea-king sire Thine own lips uttered against thine own son. THESEUS. gods ! — thou Poseidon, without doubt Thou hast proved thyself my father, having heard My curse, and answered it. Thou now, speak out The manner of his death, and by what means The trap of justice fell on him that shamed me. HIPPOLTTUS. 59 SECOND MESSENGER. We by the margin of the wave- washed shore Were smoothing out with combs our coursers' manes In sore distress : because a message came Hippolytus should no more rest his foot Upon the soil, having been doomed by thee To hopeless exile ; and anon himself Came laden with the selfsame dirge of tears, And all along the shore a myriad host Of friends and comrades followed in his track. But when the wailing ceased, and he found tongue — " Why am I thus distraught 1 my father's words Must be obeyed," he said ; " therefore, ye slaves. Harness my steeds, and yoke them to my car ; For now this city is no more for me" — Then straightway every man bestirred himself. And, almost ere his tongue could speak his wHl, The bridled steeds were ready for our lord. He from the chariot-rail unloosed the reins, Took them, and on the foot-board set his feet ; And first with outspread hands the gods invoked : " Zeus, let me die the death, if I be base ; But whether dead, or whether I yet see The ble.ssed light, may my father know How he has wronged me for no wrong of mine !" So saying, with the whip he urged his steeds, And all the throng that hung about his rems Followed our lord along the road direct To Argos through tlie Epidaurian land. 60 HIPPOLYTUS. But when we came unto a barren tract, Beyond the frontier of this reahn, a shore That stretches down to the Saronic sea, There came a sound, as if some bolt from Zeus Made thunder from the bowels of the earth, A heavy hollow boom, hideous to hear ; At which the coursers lifted up their heads To heaven, and pricked their ears ; and as for us, A sudden fear fell on our youthful hearts. Whence came this a^ful voice ; till with fixed gaze Watching the sea-beat ridges, we beheld A mighty billow lifted to the skies, That robbed my sight of the Scironian rocks, And shrouded all the Isthmus, and the peak Of ^sculapius, and with seething gurge And wliite environment of hissing foam Gasped by the raging water, shoreward moved, Where by the sea- beach stood the four-horsed car. And with the billow,_aithe third great sweep Of mountain-surge, n»e,,^sea^ve up a bull, Monster of aspect fierce, T^ose bellowings Filled all the earth, that echoed back the roar In tones that made us shudder ; and who saw, Saw what appeared too awful to be seen. But, when the steeds were seized with sudden fright, Our lord, in all their ways long conversant, Grasped at the reins, and throwing back his weight. Pulled hard, as pulls a sailor at the oar ; They with set jaws gripping the tempered bits, HIPPOLYTUS. Gl TThirl along heedless of the master's hand, And of the reins, and of the carven car ; And if at times he steered them towards smooth ground, Loomed in their front the bull, and drove them back, Arirtinzied ttiatil ; buflvEen towards the cliffs They swept in madness, he kept close beside In silence, striding by the chariot-wheels, Till 'gainst a rugged crag he jammed the axle, And tripped the chariot up, and overturned it. Then all was whelmed in ruin ; the wheel-naves "Were tost above the wheels, and from the axles Tlie linchpins started. He, poor helpless one, J^esheil in the tangled harness, an And keeps good watch on me. ' BATTUS. \ And he, our shepherd, "Whither away has he fled 1 IDYL IV. 97 CORTDOX. Hast not heard ? !Milo has taken him to Alpheus' banks. BATTUS. When then did his eyes chance to light on oil 1 CORYDON. They say his thews were match for Heracles, BATTUS. My mother said / could heat Polydeuces. CORYDON. He took his hoe, and twenty of these sheep. BATTUS. Milo forsooth wUl set the wolves on raging, CORYDON. Hear how those heifers low and long for him ! BATTUS. Poor things, a wretched shepherd have they found ! CORYDON. Poor things indeed, they care not even to eat ! BATTUS. Look at that cow ; there's nothing left of her But bones ! pray does she chance to dine off dew, Like a cicada ? CORYDON. No, by mother Earth ! Sometimes I pasture her near yEsarus, H 98 THEOCRITUS. And give her a good wisp of tender hay ; At other times she gambols in the shade Around Latymnus. BATTUS. Then there's the roan bull, How lean he looks ! — please Heaven the Lampriads Have such a victim, when they sacrifice To Here ! for they are a noxious lot. CORYDON. He too is driven to the estuary, And to the parts of Physcus and N'esethus Where grows the best of herbage, segipyre, Flea-bane, and odorous baulm. BATTUS. Ah, well-a-day ! Poor -(Egon, that thy precious herds must go To Hades, while thou aim'st at victory — A losing victory ; and this poor pipe. Made long ago by thee, is specked with mould. CORYDON. iNot it, by the Nymphs ! for, when he left for Pisa, He gave it me ; and I am musical, And I can strike up famously the songs Of Glauca and of Pyrrhus. Croton town I celebrate ; Zacynthus too is fair; So is Lacinium's promontory. That faces morning, where our athlete ^gon For a single meal ate eighty barley-cakes. IDYL IV. 99 And from the mountain there he dragged a bull, Hoof-held, for Amaryllis ; from afar Shouted the women, and the herdsman laughed. BATTUS. Yes, charming Amaryllis, thou alone. Though dead, art not forgotten. Dear to me As are my goats is thy loved memory. Alas ! the hard hard fate that is my lot. CORTDON. Cheer up, friend Battus, and to-morrow's sun "Will bring thee, by good chance, some better luck. While there is life, there's hope ; the dead alone Are hopeless. Zeus sends sunshine when he wUls, And when he wills he rains. BATTUS. Kight. I'll cheer up. Send off those calves down there. Curse them ! they gnaw The olive-branches. Whish ! be off, white-skin ! CORYDON. Off there, Cymsetha, to the mound ! What now ! Hearest thou not 1 then will I come, by Pan, And make thee suffer, if thou get not hence. Look, here she comes again. 0, if I had A good stout cudgel, trust me I would whack thee ! CATTUS. Quick, Corj'don ! in the name of Zeus ; a thorn Has just pierced near my ancle. Gods, how dense 100 THEOCRITUS. These brambles are ! The heifer go to hell ! Through looking after her I got this hurt. Seest thou the thorn 1 CORYDON. Yes, yes ; I hold it now Between my nails. Look at it, here it is. BATTUS. A little harm ; but what a man it maims ! CORYDON. Friend Battus, when thou walkest mountain-wards, Don't go barefooted ; for upon the hill Briers and prickly shrubs abound. BATTUS. Tell me, Corydon, does the old man still adore That girl with the dark eyebrows, his old flame ? CORYDON. As much as ever, knave. The other day 1 chanced to pass the cave, and there they were; I caught him in the act. BATTUS. Bravo, old man ! A lecherous dog indeed ; in blood forsooth Akin to Satyrs or the rough-legged Fauns. IDYL VII. oT^e ©blk in Spring. Time was that I strolled forth with Eucritus To Haleus, from the town, and with us came A third, Amyntas, when Antigenes And Phrasidamus, sons of Lycopeiis, Kept first-fruit feast to Ceres ; noble they, If noble sires e'er yet got noble sons, From Clytia sprung and Chalcon, who erewhile Strove with bent knee against the rugged rock, And bade the fountain of Burinna rise. There elms and poplars make a shady bower, And waving green leaves are its vaulted roof. And not yet half accomplished was the way, Not yet in sight the tomb of Brasihis, When, by the ISIuses' grace, we chanced to meet A riglit good traveller, Lycidas by name, A Cretan, and a goatherd ; none could fail To tell his calling, for from top to toe 102 THEOCRITUS. He looked a goatherd ; on his back he wore A shaggy bristly he-goat's tawny skin, Strong of fresh rennet, and an ancient cloak Buckled across his chest ; his right hand grasped A gnarled wild-olive crook, and looking up With quiet humour twinkling in his eye He spoke, while laughter played upon his lip. " Siniicliidas, where drag thy noontide steps? For now the lizard sleeps upon the wall, The crested lark flits not from brow to brow. Dost hurry to some board, a bidden guest? Or to the trampling of some neighbour's grapes ? For sure thy booted feet so spurn the earth, The very stones ring echo to thy tramp." And I made answer : " Thou, friend Lycidas, Canst pipe, as all men say, like none beside, Shepherd or reaper ; this I hear with joy. Yet, if I know aright, I may aspire To be thy equal. See now ; we are bound For the Thalysia ; for friends of ours To fair-robed Ceres offer sacrifice. The first-fruits of their store, because for them The goddess has filled floors and granaries With bounteous yield of harvest. Come, my friend. The road, the day's our own ; let song be ours. One can support the other, and my tongue Is fervid with the Muse ; the common voice Calls me a prince of bards ; but I, in sooth, I trust not that same voice too readily, IDYL YII. 103 By mother Earth, not I ; for I know well I could not beat Sicelidas in song, The Samian, nor Philetas ; I should be A frog against cicadas." Of design I spoke : he 'ndth a pleasant smile rejoined : " This crook shaU be thy guerdon, seeing Zeus Hath fashioned thee in all things truth itself. Odious to me the builder who desu-es To raise a house high as Oromedon. And so the Muses' warblers toil in vain Who crow defiance to the Chian bard. ** But come, Simichidas, haste to awake The rural Muse ; I pray thee, give good heed, So haply thou mayst like this melody I wrought of late upon the mountain-side. * Fair be the voyage for Ageanax, I pray, To l^Iitylene, though the rainy south Press on the billows, when the Goats are low, And old Orion rests his foot i' the sea. If fate would snatch from Aphrodite's fires The wasted Lycidas ; fierce love for him Consumes me ; halcyons shall lay the waves, Shall still the sea, the south-wind, and the east That stirs the furthest sea-wrack — halcyons Beyond all birds by grey-green Nereids The best beloved, and peoples of the sea. May all be fair and well for Ageanax, And waft him sweetly to the wished-for port. And I tliat day will wear upon my head 104 THEOCEITUS. Wreath of anetliuin, or a garland-crown Of roses or wliite violets, and quaff From a deep flagon wine of Ptelea, And by the fireside stretch myself to rest. And one shall roast me beans amid the flame, And one shall pile my bed a cubit high "With twining parsley and with asphodel And flea-bane ; I the while will drink at ease. And toast Ageanax till to the cup My lips cling fast and drain the very dregs. And I will have two shepherds flute for me ; The one from Attica, ^tolian one ; And Tityrus shall stand beside, and sing How Daphnis burned for Xenia long ago. And how he roamed the mountain, and the oaks Sighed dirges for him by the river-banks Of Hitnera, what time he died away. As dies a snow-flake upon Haemus' top, Athos, or Ehodope, or on the steeps Of extreme Caucasus. And he shall sing How a wide cage received a shepherd once. Yet living, through the vile scorn of his lord. And how into the odorous cedarn wood Came, with soft blossoms out of flowery fields, The honey-hiving bees, and nourished him. Because the Muse poured nectar from his tongue. Happy Comatas ! happy was thy lot, Prisoned within a cage, to wile away The summer months, and feed on honeycomb ! IDYL VII. 105 O, wert thou numbered with the living now ! How would I tend fair she-goats on the hills For thee ! how would I listen for thy voice ! And thou, divine Comatas, wouldst repose In shade of oaks or pines, and sweetly sing.' " With this he ceased, and I in turn replied : " Full many a melody, friend Lycidas, The Nymphs have taught me as I watched my herds Among the moiintain-valleys ; songs so rare Their fame has borne them to the throne of Zeus. But this is far the first, which I -wall sing To do thee honour, and surpasses aU ; So listen, for thou art the Muses' friend. * Ill-luck the Loves sneeze for Simichidas, Who longs for blooming Myrto, woe is him ! As she-goats for the spring. His dearest friend, Aratus, his most trusted, in his heart Yearns for the boy. The good Aristis knows. That best of men, whom singing to his lyre Not Phoebus' self would from his tripods spurn, What fierce love burns Aratus to the core. But, king of the fair realm of Homol6, I pray thee, Pan, let his arms clasp his love, Albeit unsought for, whosoe'er he is, Philinus or another ; for which boon. Kind Pan, no vengeful boys of Arcady Shall scourge thy back and shoulders with reed-rods, When flesh is scarce on the altar. This refused. May sharp nails tear and scratch thee head to foot, 106 THEOCRITUS. And nettles he thy ted ; and Thracian hills Thy home in the mid-winter, near the stream Of Hebrus, with thy face towards the Bear ; And in the summer mayst thou feed thy flocks Far off in Ethiopia, underneath The Blemyan rocks, where none can see the Nile. But ye, bright apple-rosy Loves, that haunt Dione's lofty shrine, come away. Leave the sweet fountains Byblis, Hyetis, And pierce adored Philinus with your shafts, pierce him, for he pities not my friend. The cruel scorner ; yet is he full ripe. And waxing softer than a mellow pear. ' Ah, for Philinus,' all the women say, ' The blossom of thy beauty fades away !' No more, Aratus, let us watch his door, Pace no more weary journeys ; but at dawn Crow chanticleer, and send some other wight To dreary chills, and only one beside, But Molon only suffer in this strife. But peaceful rest for us, and some old witch To spit at spells, and keep us clear of harm.' " I ended ; with a sweet smile, as before. He gave the crook, the guerdon of the Muse. Then, bending to the left, he took the road To Pyxae ; we to Phrasidamus' house, The fair Amyntas, I, and Eucritus, Wended oiu- way. There on a couch profuse Of odorous mastich, and the fresh-cut shoots IDYL VII, 107 Of vines, we lay in joy ; and overhead Tall elms and pojolars rustled iii the breeze, And bubbling upward from the Muses' grot Murmured a sacred fountain at our side. And chattering liigh amid the shady boughs The Sim-burnt cicales toiled their ceaseless song. Far in the thickness of the briery bush Harsh croaked the frog ; carolled the crested larks, Carolled the linnets, and the wood-dove moaned. And yeUow bees around the fountains hummed. All had a scent of bounteous summer, all Savoured of rich ripe fruit-time. At our feet Pears in profusion rolled, and by our side Fell store of apples ; heavy-laden boughs Bent do-\vn to earth with burden of their plums, And from the cask the four-year seal was loosed. Castalian njTiiphs, queens of Parnassus' height, Did ever yet in Pholus' stony cave Old Chiron place such cup for Heracles 1 "Was e'er the shepherd of Anapus' banks. The stalwart Polyphemus, Avho uptore ^lountains and hurled them against flying sliips, Moved by such nectar to lead out the dance, And foot it through his sheepfolds, as tliat day Ye caused to flow for us beside the shrine Of Ceres, harvest-