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Phaedra

<h2> ACT IV </h2> Scene I THESEUS, OENONE THESEUS Ah! What is this I hear? Presumptuous traitor! And would he have disgraced his father's honour? With what relentless footsteps Fate pursues me! Whither I go I know not, nor where know I am. O kind affection ill repaid! Audacious scheme! Abominable thought! To reach the object of his foul desire The wretch disdain'd not to use violence. I know this sword that served him in his fury, The sword I gave him for a nobler use. Could not the sacred ties of blood restrain him? And Phaedra,—was she loath to have him punish'd? She held her tongue. Was that to spare the culprit? OENONE Nay, but to spare a most unhappy father. O'erwhelm'd with shame that her eyes should have kindled So infamous a flame and prompted him To crime so heinous, Phaedra would have died. I saw her raise her arm, and 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 daylight is not purer than my heart. How, then, could I, burning with fire profane— THESEUS Yes, dastard, 'tis that very pride condemns you. I see the odious reason of your coldness Phaedra alone bewitch'd your shameless eyes; Your soul, to others' charms indifferent, Disdain'd the blameless fires of lawful love. HIPPOLYTUS No, father, I have hidden it too long, This heart has not disdain'd a sacred flame. Here at your feet I own my real offence: I love, and love in truth where you forbid me; Bound to Aricia by my heart's devotion, The child of Pallas has subdued your son. A rebel to your laws, her I adore, And breathe forth ardent sighs for her alone. THESEUS You love her? Heav'ns! But no, I see the trick. You feign a crime to justify yourself. HIPPOLYTUS Sir, I have shunn'd her for six months, and still Love her. To you yourself I came to tell it, Trembling the while. Can nothing clear your mind Of your mistake? What oath can reassure you? By heav'n and earth and all the pow'rs of nature— THESEUS The wicked never shrink from perjury. Cease, cease, and spare me irksome protestations, If your false virtue has no other aid. HIPPOLYTUS Tho' it to you seem false and insincere, Phaedra has secret cause to know it true. THESEUS Ah! how your shamelessness excites my wrath! HIPPOLYTUS What is my term and place of banishment? THESEUS Were you beyond the Pillars of Alcides, Your perjured presence were too near me yet. HIPPOLYTUS What friends will pity me, when you forsake And think me guilty of a crime so vile? THESEUS Go, look you out for friends who hold in honour Adultery and clap their hands at incest, Low, lawless traitors, steep'd in infamy, The fit protectors of a knave like you. HIPPOLYTUS Are incest and adultery the words You cast at me? I hold my tongue. Yet think What mother Phaedra had; too well you know Her blood, not mine, is tainted with those horrors. THESEUS What! Does your rage before my eyes lose all Restraint? For the last time,—out of my sight! Hence, traitor! Wait not till a father's wrath Force thee away 'mid general execration. Scene III THESEUS (alone) Wretch! Thou must meet inevitable ruin. Neptune has sworn by Styx—to gods themselves A dreadful oath,—and he will execute His promise. Thou canst not escape his vengeance. I loved thee; and, in spite of thine offence, My heart is troubled by anticipation For thee. But thou hast earn'd thy doom too well. Had father ever greater cause for rage? Just gods, who see the grief that overwhelms me, Why was I cursed with such a wicked son? SCENE IV PHAEDRA, THESEUS PHAEDRA My lord, I come to you, fill'd with just dread. Your voice raised high in anger reach'd mine ears, And much I fear that deeds have follow'd threats. Oh, if there yet is time, spare your own offspring. Respect your race and blood, I do beseech you. Let me not hear that blood cry from the ground; Save me the horror and perpetual pain Of having caused his father's hand to shed it. THESEUS No, Madam, from that stain my hand is free. But, for all that, the wretch has not escaped me. The hand of an Immortal now is charged With his destruction. 'Tis a debt that Neptune Owes me, and you shall be avenged. PHAEDRA A debt Owed you? Pray'rs made in anger— THESEUS Never fear That they will fail. Rather join yours to mine In all their blackness paint for me his crimes, And fan my tardy passion to white heat. But yet you know not all his infamy; His rage against you overflows in slanders; Your mouth, he says, is full of all deceit, He says Aricia has his heart and soul, That her alone he loves. PHAEDRA Aricia? THESEUS Aye, He said it to my face! an idle pretext! A trick that gulls me not! Let us hope Neptune Will do him speedy justice. To his altars I go, to urge performance of his oaths. SCENE V PHAEDRA (alone) Ah, he is gone! What tidings struck mine ears? What fire, half smother'd, in my heart revives? What fatal stroke falls like a thunderbolt? Stung by remorse that would not let me rest, I tore myself out of Oenone's arms, And flew to help Hippolytus with all My soul and strength. Who knows if that repentance Might not have moved me to accuse myself? And, if my voice had not been choked with shame, Perhaps I had confess'd the frightful truth. Hippolytus can feel, but not for me! Aricia has his heart, his plighted troth. Ye gods, when, deaf to all my sighs and tears, He arm'd his eye with scorn, his brow with threats, I deem'd his heart, impregnable to love, Was fortified 'gainst all my sex alike. And yet another has prevail'd to tame His pride, another has secured his favour. Perhaps he has a heart easily melted; I am the only one he cannot bear! And shall I charge myself with his defence? SCENE VI PHAEDRA, OENONE PHAEDRA Know you, dear Nurse, what I have learn'd just now? OENONE No; but I come in truth with trembling limbs. I dreaded with what purpose you went forth, The fear of fatal madness made me pale. PHAEDRA Who would have thought it, Nurse? I had a rival. OENONE A rival? PHAEDRA Yes, he loves. I cannot doubt it. This wild untamable Hippolytus, Who scorn'd to be admired, whom lovers' sighs Wearied, this tiger, whom I fear'd to rouse, Fawns on a hand that has subdued his pride: Aricia has found entrance to his heart. OENONE Aricia? PHAEDRA Ah! anguish as yet untried! For what new tortures am I still reserved? All I have undergone, transports of passion, Longings and fears, the horrors of remorse, The shame of being spurn'd with contumely, Were feeble foretastes of my present torments. They love each other! By what secret charm Have they deceived me? Where, and when, and how Met they? You knew it all. Why was I cozen'd? You never told me of those stolen hours Of amorous converse. Have they oft been seen Talking together? Did they seek the shades Of thickest woods? Alas! full freedom had they To see each other. Heav'n approved their sighs; They loved without the consciousness of guilt; And every morning's sun for them shone clear, While I, an outcast from the face of Nature, Shunn'd the bright day, and sought to hide myself. Death was the only god whose aid I dared To ask: I waited for the grave's release. Water'd with tears, nourish'd with gall, my woe Was all too closely watch'd; I did not dare To weep without restraint. In mortal dread Tasting this dangerous solace, I disguised My terror 'neath a tranquil countenance, And oft had I to check my tears, and smile. OENONE What fruit will they enjoy of their vain love? They will not see each other more. PHAEDRA That love Will last for ever. Even while I speak, Ah, fatal thought, they laugh to scorn the madness Of my distracted heart. In spite of exile That soon must part them, with a thousand oaths They seal yet closer union. Can I suffer A happiness, Oenone, which insults me? I crave your pity. She must be destroy'd. My husband's wrath against a hateful stock Shall be revived, nor must the punishment Be light: the sister's guilt passes the brothers'. I will entreat him in my jealous rage. What am I saying? Have I lost my senses? Is Phaedra jealous, and will she implore Theseus for help? My husband lives, and yet I burn. For whom? Whose heart is this I claim As mine? At every word I say, my hair Stands up with horror. Guilt henceforth has pass'd All bounds. Hypocrisy and incest breathe At once thro' all. My murderous hands are ready To spill the blood of guileless innocence. Do I yet live, wretch that I am, and dare To face this holy Sun from whom I spring? My father's sire was king of all the gods; My ancestors fill all the universe. Where can I hide? In the dark realms of Pluto? But there my father holds the fatal urn; His hand awards th' irrevocable doom: Minos is judge of all the ghosts in hell. Ah! how his awful shade will start and shudder When he shall see his daughter brought before him, Forced to confess sins of such varied dye, Crimes it may be unknown to hell itself! What wilt thou say, my father, at a sight So dire? I think I see thee drop the urn, And, seeking some unheard-of punishment, Thyself become my executioner. Spare me! A cruel goddess has destroy'd Thy race; and in my madness recognize Her wrath. Alas! My aching heart has reap'd No fruit of pleasure from the frightful crime The shame of which pursues me to the grave, And ends in torment life-long misery. OENONE Ah, Madam, pray dismiss a groundless dread: Look less severely on a venial error. You love. We cannot conquer destiny. You were drawn on as by a fatal charm. Is that a marvel without precedent Among us? Has love triumph'd over you, And o'er none else? Weakness is natural To man. A mortal, to a mortal's lot Submit. You chafe against a yoke that others Have long since borne. The dwellers in Olympus, The gods themselves, who terrify with threats The sins of men, have burn'd with lawless fires. PHAEDRA What words are these I hear? What counsel this You dare to give me? Will you to the end Pour poison in mine ears? You have destroy'd me. You brought me back when I should else have quitted The light of day, made me forget my duty And see Hippolytus, till then avoided. What hast thou done? Why did your wicked mouth With blackest lies slander his blameless life? Perhaps you've slain him, and the impious pray'r Of an unfeeling father has been answer'd. No, not another word! Go, hateful monster; Away, and leave me to my piteous fate. May Heav'n with justice pay you your deserts! And may your punishment for ever be A terror to all those who would, like you, Nourish with artful wiles the weaknesses Of princes, push them to the brink of ruin To which their heart inclines, and smooth the path Of guilt. Such flatterers doth the wrath of Heav'n Bestow on kings as its most fatal gift. OENONE (alone) O gods! to serve her what have I not done? This is the due reward that I have won. <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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