Euripides Hippolytus 1283

Artemis

Hearken, I bid thee, noble son of Aegeus:

lo! ’tis I Latona’s child, that speak, I, Artemis. Why, Theseus, to thy sorrow dost thou rejoice at these tidings, seeing that thou hast slain thy son most impiously, listening to a charge not clearly proved, but falsely sworn to by thy wife? though clearly has the curse therefrom upon thee fallen.

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Why dost thou not for very shame hide beneath the dark places of the earth, or change thy human life and soar on wings to escape this tribulation? ’Mongst men of honour thou hast

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now no share in life.

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Hearken, Theseus; I will put thy wretched case. Yet will it naught avail thee, if I do, but vex thy heart; still with this intent I came, to show thy son’s pure heart,—that he may die with honour,—

as well the frenzy, and, in a sense, the nobleness of thy wife; for she was cruelly stung with a passion for thy son by that goddess whom all we, that joy in virgin purity, detest. And though she strove to conquer love by resolution,

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yet by no fault of hers she fell, thanks to her nurse’s strategy, who did reveal her malady unto thy son under oath. But he would none of her counsels, as indeed was right, nor yet, when thou didst revile him, would he break the oath he swore, from piety.

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She meantime, fearful of being found out, wrote a lying letter, destroying by guile thy son, but yet persuading thee.

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Theseus

Woe is me!

Artemis

Doth my story wound thee, Theseus? Be still awhile; hear what follows, so wilt thou have more cause to groan.

Dost remember those three prayers thy father granted thee, fraught with certain issue? ’Tis one of these thou hast misused, unnatural wretch, against thy son, instead of aiming it at an enemy. Thy sea-god sire, ’tis true, for all his kind intent, hath granted that boon he was compelled, by reason of his promise, to grant.

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But thou alike in his eyes and in mine hast shewn thy evil heart, in that thou hast forestalled all proof or voice prophetic, hast made no inquiry, nor taken time for consideration, but with undue haste cursed thy son even to the death.

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Theseus

Perdition seize me! Queen revered!

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Artemis

An awful deed was thine, but still even for this thou mayest obtain pardon; for it was Cypris that would have it so, sating the fury of her soul. For this is law amongst us gods; none of us will thwart

his neighbour’s will, but ever we stand aloof. For be well assured, did I not fear Zeus, never would I have incurred the bitter shame of handing over to death a man of all his kind to me most dear. As for thy sin,

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first thy ignorance absolves thee from its villainy, next thy wife, who is dead, was lavish in her use of convincing arguments to influence thy mind.

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On thee in chief this storm of woe hath burst, yet is it some grief to me as well; for when the righteous die, there is no joy in heaven,

albeit we try to destroy the wicked, house and home.

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Chorus

Lo! where he comes, this hapless youth, his fair young flesh and auburn locks most shamefully handled. Unhappy house!

what twofold sorrow doth o’ertake its halls, through heaven’s ordinance!

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Hippolytus

Ah! ah! woe is me! foully undone by an impious father’s impious imprecation!

Undone, undone! woe is me! Through my head shoot fearful pains; my brain throbs convulsively. Stop, let me rest my worn-out frame.Oh, oh!

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Accursed steeds, that mine own hand did feed, ye have been my ruin and my death. O by the gods, good sirs, I beseech ye, softly touch my wounded limbs.

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Who stands there at my right side? Lift me tenderly; with slow and even step conduct a poor wretch cursed by his mistaken sire. Great Zeus, dost thou see this? Me thy reverent worshipper,

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me who left all men behind in purity, plunged thus into yawning Hades ’neath the earth, reft of life; in vain the toils I have endured through my piety towards mankind.

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Hippolytus

Ah me! ah me! O the thrill of anguish shooting through me! Set me down, poor wretch I am; come Death to set me free! Kill me, end my sufferings. ¹

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O for a sword two-edged to hack my flesh, and close this mortal life! Ill-fated curse of my father! the crimes of bloody kinsmen. ² ancestors of old,

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now pass their boundaries and tarry not, and upon me are they come all guiltless as I am; ah! why? Alas, alas!

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what can I say? How from my life get rid of this relentless agony? O that the stern Death-god, night’s black visitant, would give my sufferings rest!

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Artemis

Poor sufferer! cruel the fate that links thee to it!

Thy noble soul hath been thy ruin.

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Hippolytus

Ah! the fragrance from my goddess wafted! Even in my agony I feel thee near and find relief; she is here in this very place, my goddess Artemis.

Artemis

She is, poor sufferer! the goddess thou hast loved the best.

Hippolytus

Dost see me, mistress mine? dost see my present suffering?

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Artemis

I see thee, but mine eyes no tear may weep.

Hippolytus

Thou hast none now to lead the hunt or tend thy fane.

Artemis

None now; yet e’en in death I love thee still.

Hippolytus

None to groom thy steeds, or guard thy shrines.

Artemis

Twas Cypris, mistress of iniquity, devised this evil.

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Hippolytus

Ah me! now know I the goddess who destroyed me.

Artemis

She was jealous of her slighted honour, vexed at thy chaste life.

Hippolytus

Ah! then I see her single hand hath struck down three of us.

Artemis

Thy sire and thee, and last thy father’s wife.

Hippolytus

My sire’s ill-luck as well as mine I mourn.

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Art

He was deceived by a goddess’s design.

Hippolytus

Woe is thee, my father, in this sad mischance!

Theseus

My son, I am a ruined man; life has no joys for me.

Hippolytus

For this mistake I mourn thee rather than myself.

Theseus

O that I had died for thee, my son!

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Hippolytus

Ah! those fatal gifts thy sire Poseidon gave.

Theseus

Would God these lips had never uttered that prayer!

Hippolytus

Why not? thou wouldst in any case have slain me in thy fury then.

Theseus

Yes; Heaven had perverted my power to think.

Hippolytus

O that the race of men could bring a curse upon the gods!

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Artemis

Enough! for though thou pass to gloom beneath the earth, the wrath of Cypris shall not, at her will, fall on thee unrequited, because thou hadst a noble righteous soul. ³

For I with mine own hand will with these unerring shafts avenge me on another, ⁴ who is her votary, dearest to her of all the sons of men. And to thee, poor sufferer, for thy anguish now will I grant high honours in the city of Troezen;

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for thee shall maids unwed before their marriage cut off their hair, thy harvest through the long roll of time of countless bitter tears. Yea, and for ever shall the virgin choir hymn thy sad memory,

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nor shall Phaedra’s love for thee fall into oblivion and pass away unnoticed.

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But thou, O son of old Aegeus, take thy son in thine arms, draw him close to thee, for unwittingly thou slewest him, and men may well commit an error when gods put it in their way.

And thee Hippolytus, I admonish; hate not thy sire, for in this death thou dost but meet thy destined fate.

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And now farewell! ’tis not for me to gaze upon the dead, or pollute my sight with death-scenes, and e’en now I see thee nigh that evil moment. ⁵ [Exit Artemis.

Hippolytus

Farewell, blest virgin queen! leave me now! How easily ⁶ thou resignest our long friendship! I am reconciled with my father at thy desire, yea, for ever before I would obey thy bidding.

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Ah me! the darkness is settling even now upon my eyes.

Take me, father, in thy arms, lift me up.

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Theseus

Woe is me, my son! what art thou doing to me thy hapless sire!

Hippolytus

I am a broken man; yes, I see the gates that close upon the dead.

Theseus

Canst leave me thus with murder on my soul!

Hippolytus

No, no; I set thee free from this bloodguiltiness.

Theseus

What sayest thou? dost absolve me from bloodshed?

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Hippolytus

Artemis, the archer-queen, is my witness that I do.

Theseus

My own dear child, how generous dost thou show thyself to thy father!

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Hippolytus

Pray to have children such as me bom in lawful wedlock.

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Theseus

O that holy, noble soul of thine!

Hippolytus

Farewell, dear father! a long farewell to thee!

Theseus

O leave me not, my son; endure awhile.

Hippolytus

’Tis finished, my endurance; I die, father; quickly cover my face with a mantle.

Theseus

O glorious Athens, realm of Pallas,

what a splendid hero ye have lost! Ah me, ah me! How oft shall I remember thy evil work, O Cypris!

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Chorus

On all our citizens hath come this universal sorrow, unforeseen. Now shall the copious tear gush forth,

for sad news about great men takes more than usual hold upon the heart.

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