Phèdre Read online

  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. 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 husb
and 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.

  ACT V

  SCENE I

  HIPPOLYTUS, ARICIA ARICIA

  Can you keep silent in this mortal peril? Your father loves you. Will you leave him thus Deceived? If in your cruel heart you scorn My tears, content to see me nevermore, Go, part from poor Aricia; but at least, Going, secure the safety of your life. Defend your honor from a shameful stain, And force your father to recall his pray'rs. There yet is time. Why out of mere caprice Leave the field free to Phaedra's calumnies? Let Theseus know the truth.

  HIPPOLYTUS

  Could I say more,

  Without exposing him to dire disgrace? How should I venture, by revealing all, To make a father's brow grow red with shame? The odious mystery to you alone

  Is known. My heart has been outpour'd to none Save you and Heav'n. I could not hide from you (Judge if I love you), all I fain would hide E'en from myself. But think under what seal I spoke. Forget my words, if that may be; And never let so pure a mouth disclose

  This dreadful secret. Let us trust to Heav'n My vindication, for the gods are just;

  For their own honour will they clear the guiltless; Sooner or later punish'd for her crime,

  Phaedra will not escape the shame she merits. I ask no other favour than your silence;

  In all besides I give my wrath free scope. Make your escape from this captivity,

  Be bold to bear me company in flight;

  Linger not here on this accursed soil,

  Where virtue breathes a pestilential air. To cover your departure take advantage

  Of this confusion, caused by my disgrace. The means of flight are ready, be assured; You have as yet no other guards than mine. Pow'rful defenders will maintain our quarrel; Argos spreads open arms, and Sparta calls us. Let us appeal for justice to our friends, Nor suffer Phaedra, in a common ruin

  Joining us both, to hunt us from the throne, And aggrandise her son by robbing us.

  Embrace this happy opportunity:

  What fear restrains? You seem to hesitate. Your interest alone prompts me to urge

  Boldness. When I am all on fire, how comes it That you are ice? Fear you to follow then A banish'd man?

  ARICIA

  Ah, dear to me would be

  Such exile! With what joy, my fate to yours United, could I live, by all the world

  Forgotten! but not yet has that sweet tie Bound us together. How then can I steal

  Away with you? I know the strictest honour Forbids me not out of your father's hands To free myself; this is no parent's home, And flight is lawful when one flies from tyrants. But you, Sir, love me; and my virtue shrinks—

  HIPPOLYTUS

  No, no, your reputation is to me

  As dear as to yourself. A nobler purpose

  Brings me to you. Fly from your foes, and follow A husband. Heav'n, that sends us these misfortunes, Sets free from human instruments the pledge Between us. Torches do not always light

  The face of Hymen.

  At the gates of Troezen,

  'Mid ancient tombs where princes of my race Lie buried, stands a temple, ne'er approach'd By perjurers, where mortals dare not make False oaths, for instant punishment befalls The guilty. Falsehood knows no stronger check Than what is present there—the fear of death That cannot be avoided. Thither then

  We'll go, if you consent, and swear to love For ever, take the guardian god to witness Our solemn vows, and his paternal care Entreat. I will invoke the name of all The holiest Pow'rs; chaste Dian, and the Queen Of Heav'n, yea all the gods who know my heart Will guarantee my sacred promises.

  ARICIA

  The King draws near. Depart,—make no delay. To mask my flight, I linger yet one moment. Go you; and leave with me some trusty guide, To lead my timid footsteps to your side.

  SCENE II

  THESEUS, ARICIA, ISMENE THESEUS

  Ye gods, throw light upon my troubled mind, Show me the truth which I am seeking here.

  ARICIA (aside to ISMENE)

  Get ready, dear Ismene, for our flight.

  SCENE III

  THESEUS, ARICIA THESEUS

  Your colour comes and goes, you seem confused, Madame! What business had my son with you?

  ARICIA

  Sire, he was bidding me farewell for ever. THESEUS

  Your eyes, it seems, can tame that stubborn pride; And the first sighs he breathes are paid to you.

  ARICIA

  I can't deny the truth; he has not, Sire, Inherited your hatred and injustice; He did not treat me like a criminal.

  THESEUS

  That is to say, he swore eternal love. Do not rely on that inconstant heart; To others has he sworn as much before.

  ARICIA

  He, Sire? THESEUS You ought to check his roving taste. How could you bear a partnership so vile?

  ARICIA

  And how can you endure that vilest slanders Should make a life so pure as black as pitch? Have you so little knowledge of his heart? Do you so ill distinguish between guilt

  And innocence? What mist before your eyes Blinds them to virtue so conspicuous?

  Ah! 'tis too much to let false tongues defame him. Repent; call back your murderous wishes, Sir
e; Fear, fear lest Heav'n in its severity

  Hate you enough to hear and grant your pray'rs. Oft in their wrath the gods accept our victims, And oftentimes chastise us with their gifts.

  THESEUS

  No, vainly would you cover up his guilt.

  Your love is blind to his depravity.

  But I have witness irreproachable:

  Tears have I seen, true tears, that may be trusted.

  ARICIA

  Take heed, my lord. Your hands invincible Have rid the world of monsters numberless; But all are not destroy'd, one you have left Alive—Your son forbids me to say more. Knowing with what respect he still regards you, I should too much distress him if I dared Complete my sentence. I will imitate

  His reverence, and, to keep silence, leave you.

  SCENE IV THESEUS (alone)

  What is there in her mind? What meaning lurks In speech begun but to be broken short? Would both deceive me with a vain pretence? Have they conspired to put me to the torture? And yet, despite my stern severity,

  What plaintive voice cries deep within my heart? A secret pity troubles and alarms me.

  Oenone shall be questioned once again,

  I must have clearer light upon this crime. Guards, bid Oenone come, and come alone.

  SCENE V

  THESEUS, PANOPE PANOPE

  I know not what the Queen intends to do, But from her agitation dread the worst. Fatal despair is painted on her features; Death's pallor is already in her face. Oenone, shamed and driven from her sight, Has cast herself into the ocean depths. None knows what prompted her to deed so rash; And now the waves hide her from us for ever.

  THESEUS

  What say you? PANOPE

  Her sad fate seems to have added

  Fresh trouble to the Queen's tempestuous soul. Sometimes, to soothe her secret pain, she clasps Her children close, and bathes them with her tears; Then suddenly, the mother's love forgotten, She thrusts them from her with a look of horror, She wanders to and fro with doubtful steps; Her vacant eye no longer knows us. Thrice She wrote, and thrice did she, changing her mind, Destroy the letter ere 'twas well begun.

  Vouchsafe to see her, Sire: vouchsafe to help her.

  THESEUS

  Heav'ns! Is Oenone dead, and Phaedra bent On dying too? Oh, call me back my son!