Phaedon

“ A year or so after this was written, I read some of the Dialogues of Plato, and found in the Phædon, (I think,) a passage, which might be supposed to have suggested this whole strophe.
Such as ye ken through the telescope.
Strophe lxvii.
The appearance here described may be observed through a telescope in an inverted order, when the moon is nearly full and rises about sunset.
Green Earth is all around reviving.
Strophe lxxxii.
The reader is referred to a sweet description of Easter, in the charming book entitled “Scenes in Our Parish.” ”

“ All the favours
The gods have granted me I mourn and hate,
Nor will I importune them with vain pray'rs
Henceforth for ever. Give me what they may,
What they have taken will all else outweigh.
PHAEDRA
Theseus, I cannot hear you and keep silence:
I must repair the wrong that he has suffer'd--
Your son was innocent.
THESEUS
Unhappy father!
And it was on your word that I condemn'd him!
Think you such cruelty can be excused--
PHAEDRA
Moments to me are precious; hear me, Theseus.
'Twas I who cast an eye of lawless passion
On chaste and dutiful Hippolytus. ”

“ Perchance, while we are trembling for his life, The hero calmly plots some fresh intrigue, And only waits till the deluded fair— HIPPOLYTUS Cease, dear Theramenes, respect the name Of Theseus. Youthful errors have been left Behind, and no unworthy obstacle Detains him. Phaedra long has fix'd a heart Inconstant once, nor need she fear a rival. ”

“ How hateful then appear'd his savage pride!
Why did not Phaedra see him then as I
Beheld him?
PHAEDRA
This proud mood that you resent
May yield to time. The rudeness of the forests
Where he was bred, inured to rigorous laws,
Clings to him still; love is a word he ne'er
Had heard before. It may be his surprise
Stunn'd him, and too much vehemence was shown
In all I said.
OENONE
Remember that his mother
Was a barbarian.
PHAEDRA
Scythian tho' she was,
She learned to love.
OENONE
He has for all the sex
Hatred intense.
PHAEDRA
Then in his heart no rival
Shall ever reign. ”

“ The queen has almost touch'd the gates of death. Vainly close watch I keep by day and night, E'en in my arms a secret malady Slays her, and all her senses are disorder'd. Weary yet restless from her couch she rises, Pants for the outer air, but bids me see That no one on her misery intrudes. She comes. HIPPOLYTUS Enough. She shall not be disturb'd, Nor be confronted with a face she hates. SCENE III PHAEDRA, OENONE PHAEDRA We have gone far enough. Stay, dear Oenone; Strength fails me, and I needs must rest awhile. ”

“ Attack an enemy more contumacious: Hippolytus neglects thee, braves thy wrath, Nor ever at thine altars bow'd the knee. Thy name offends his proud, disdainful ears. Our interests are alike: avenge thyself, Force him to love— But what is this? Oenone Return'd already? He detests me then, And will not hear you. SCENE III PHAEDRA, OENONE OENONE Madam, you must stifle A fruitless love. Recall your former virtue: The king who was thought dead will soon appear Before your eyes, Theseus has just arrived, Theseus is here. The people flock to see him With eager haste. ”

“ Go not too high or too low, for the sake of heavens and earth; else men and gods will suffer. The Fates alone know whether evil is to come of this. Yet if your heart fails you, as I hope, abide here and I will make the journey, as I am wont to do."
But Phaethon held to his choice and bade his father farewell. He took his place in the chariot, gathered up the reins, and the horses sprang away, eager for the road. ”

“ Why did he gather The flow'r of Greece, and leave Hippolytus? Oh, why were you too young to have embark'd On board the ship that brought thy sire to Crete? At your hands would the monster then have perish'd, Despite the windings of his vast retreat. To guide your doubtful steps within the maze My sister would have arm'd you with the clue. But no, therein would Phaedra have forestall'd her, Love would have first inspired me with the thought; And I it would have been whose timely aid Had taught you all the labyrinth's crooked ways. What anxious care a life so dear had cost me! ”

“ PHAEDRA
He who has seen the mansions of the dead
Returns not thence. Since to those gloomy shores
Theseus is gone, 'tis vain to hope that Heav'n
May send him back. Prince, there is no release
From Acheron's greedy maw. And yet, methinks,
He lives, and breathes in you. I see him still
Before me, and to him I seem to speak;
My heart--
Oh! I am mad; do what I will,
I cannot hide my passion.
HIPPOLYTUS
Yes, I see
The strange effects of love. Theseus, tho' dead,
Seems present to your eyes, for in your soul
There burns a constant flame. ”

“ One day when Phaethon was telling his companions about his father, the sky king, they laughed and said, “How do you know that Helios is your father? You have never seen him. If, as you say, he cannot safely come nearer to the earth, why do you not sometimes go to his land.”
Phaethon answered, “My father’s throne is far away from this valley. My mother has promised that when I am stronger, I shall go to my father’s palace. I often watch his golden chariot roll by in its path and think perhaps some day I shall drive the glorious horses of the sun. ”

“ 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. ”

“ When, prince, did you begin to dread These peaceful haunts, so dear to happy childhood, Where I have seen you oft prefer to stay, Rather than meet the tumult and the pomp Of Athens and the court? What danger shun you, Or shall I say what grief? HIPPOLYTUS That happy time Is gone, and all is changed, since to these shores The gods sent Phaedra. THERAMENES I perceive the cause Of your distress. It is the queen whose sight Offends you. With a step-dame's spite she schemed Your exile soon as she set eyes on you. But if her hatred is not wholly vanish'd, It has at least taken a milder aspect. ”

“ The virtues of his sire, without his faults.
I love, as I must own, that generous pride
Which ne'er has stoop'd beneath the amorous yoke.
Phaedra reaps little glory from a lover
So lavish of his sighs; I am too proud
To share devotion with a thousand others,
Or enter where the door is always open.
But to make one who ne'er has stoop'd before
Bend his proud neck, to pierce a heart of stone,
To bind a captive whom his chains astonish,
Who vainly 'gainst a pleasing yoke rebels,--
That piques my ardour, and I long for that. ”

“ Is Oenone dead, and Phaedra bent
On dying too? Oh, call me back my son!
Let him defend himself, and I am ready
To hear him. Be not hasty to bestow
Thy fatal bounty, Neptune; let my pray'rs
Rather remain ever unheard. Too soon
I lifted cruel hands, believing lips
That may have lied! Ah! What despair may follow!
SCENE VI
THESEUS, THERAMENES
THESEUS
Theramenes, is't thou? Where is my son?
I gave him to thy charge from tenderest childhood.
But whence these tears that overflow thine eyes?
How is it with my son?
THERAMENES
Concern too late!
Affection vain! Hippolytus is dead. ”

“ In Troezen, where my grandsire Pittheus reign'd
Of yore and I am now acknowledged King,
I leave you free, free as myself,--and more.
ARICIA
Your kindness is too great, 'tis overwhelming.
Such generosity, that pays disgrace
With honour, lends more force than you can think
To those harsh laws from which you would release me.
HIPPOLYTUS
Athens, uncertain how to fill the throne
Of Theseus, speaks of you, anon of me,
And then of Phaedra's son.
ARICIA
Of me, my lord?
HIPPOLYTUS
I know myself excluded by strict law:
Greece turns to my reproach a foreign mother. ”

“ 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? ”

“ A fiery and high-spirited youth, Phaeton could not brook the taunts of his playmate Epaphus, who claimed divine descent from Isis. When Phaeton boasted that his father was Ph [oe] bus the Sun-god, Epaphus only laughed and called him a base-born pretender. So one day Phaeton, stung to madness by these taunts, went boldly to his mother Clymené and demanded that she should give him some clear proof that he was indeed, as she averred, the very son of Phœbus. ”

“ 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! ”

“ One day he turned upon Phaeton and spoke in fierce scorn:
"Dost say thou art son of a god? A shameless boaster and a liar art thou! Hast ever spoken to thy divine sire? Give us some proof of thy sonship! No more child of the glorious Apollo art thou than are the vermin his children, that the sun breeds in the dust at my feet."
For a moment, before the cruel taunt, the lad was stricken into silence, and then, his pride aflame, his young voice shaking with rage and with bitter shame, he cried aloud: "Thou, Epaphos, art the liar. ”

“ HIPPOLYTUS Gods! What is this I hear? Have you forgotten That Theseus is my father and your husband? PHAEDRA Why should you fancy I have lost remembrance Thereof, and am regardless of mine honour? HIPPOLYTUS Forgive me, Madam. With a blush I own That I misconstrued words of innocence. For very shame I cannot bear your sight Longer. I go— PHAEDRA Ah! cruel Prince, too well You understood me. I have said enough To save you from mistake. I love. But think not That at the moment when I love you most I do not feel my guilt; no weak compliance Has fed the poison that infects my brain. ”

“ He was only partly a god, and he was very, very young. In impotent horror he tugged at the reins to try to check the horses' descent, then, forgetful of Apollo's warning, he smote them angrily. But anger met anger, and the fury of the immortal steeds had scorn for the wrath of a mortal boy. With a great toss of their mighty heads they had torn the guiding reins from his grasp, and as he stood, giddily swaying from side to side, Phaeton knew that the boon he had craved from his father must in truth be death for him. ”

“ Live, suffer not this son of Scythia, Crushing your children 'neath his odious sway, To rule the noble offspring of the gods, The purest blood of Greece. Make no delay; Each moment threatens death; quickly restore Your shatter'd strength, while yet the torch of life Holds out, and can be fann'd into a flame. PHAEDRA Too long have I endured its guilt and shame! OENONE Why? What remorse gnaws at your heart? What crime Can have disturb'd you thus? Your hands are not Polluted with the blood of innocence? PHAEDRA Thanks be to Heav'n, my hands are free from stain. ”

“ Here we have the burning of the world involved in the myth of Phaëton, son of Phœbus--Apollo--the Sun--who drives the chariot of his father; he can not control the horses of the Sun, they run away with him; they come so near the earth as to set it on fire, and Phaëton is at last killed by Jove, as he killed Typhon in the Greek legends, to save heaven and earth from complete and common ruin. ”

“ PHAEDRA, OENONE
OENONE
Dear lady, I had almost ceased to urge
The wish that you should live, thinking to follow
My mistress to the tomb, from which my voice
Had fail'd to turn you; but this new misfortune
Alters the aspect of affairs, and prompts
Fresh measures. Madam, Theseus is no more,
You must supply his place. He leaves a son,
A slave, if you should die, but, if you live,
A King. On whom has he to lean but you?
No hand but yours will dry his tears. Then live
For him, or else the tears of innocence
Will move the gods, his ancestors, to wrath
Against his mother. ”

“ ARICIA
Shall I believe that ere his destined hour
A mortal may descend into the gulf
Of Hades? What attraction could o'ercome
Its terrors?
ISMENE
He is dead, and you alone
Doubt it. The men of Athens mourn his loss.
Troezen already hails Hippolytus
As King. And Phaedra, fearing for her son,
Asks counsel of the friends who share her trouble,
Here in this palace.
ARICIA
Will Hippolytus,
Think you, prove kinder than his sire, make light
My chains, and pity my misfortunes? ”