Phaedra's Confession of Falsehood and Suicide — Seneca the Younger, Phaedra, lines 1102–1198, Latin & English

1102

dominumque rumpunt,¹ inde semanimem secant

and they break their master, then the half-lifeless body

virgulta, acutis asperi vepres rubis

the brushwood cuts, and the rough briars with sharp brambles,

omnisque truncus corporis partem tulit.

and every tree-trunk carried away a part of his body.

1105

errant per agros funebris famuli manus,

The funeral band of servants wanders through the fields,

per illa qua distinctus Hippolytus loca

through those places where the torn Hippolytus

longum cruenta tramitem signat nota,

marks a long path with a bloody sign,

maestaeque domini membra vestigant canes.

and the sad dogs trace their master’s limbs.

necdum dolentum sedulus potuit labor

Nor yet could the diligent labor of the grieving ones

1110

explere corpus, hocine est formae decus?

complete his body. Is this the glory of his beauty?

qui modo paterni clarus imperii comes

He who but now as the bright companion of his father’s empire

et certus heres siderum² fulsit modo,

and certain heir of the stars shone but now,

passim ad supremos ille colligitur rogos

is collected from all sides for his final funeral pyre

et funeri confertur.

and brought together for his burial.

O nimium potens,

O too powerful,

1115

quanto parentes sanguinis vinclo tenes.

with how strong a bond of blood do you hold parents,

natura, quam te colimus inviti quoque:

Nature; how we worship you even against our will:

occidere volui noxium, amissum fleo.

I wished to kill him when guilty, now lost I weep for him.

Gaudere non est³ ipse quod voluit potens.

It is not possible for him who had the power to do what he wished to rejoice.

Equidem malorum maximum hunc cumulum reor,

Indeed, I think this is the greatest heap of evils,

1120

si abominanda casus optanda efficit.

if fate makes abominable things desirable.

Et si odia servas, cur madent fletu genae?

And if you still keep your hatred, why are your cheeks wet with weeping?

Quod interemi non, quod amisi fleo.

I weep not because I killed him, but because I lost him.

Quanti casus humana rotant!

How great the chances that rotate human affairs!

minor in parvis Fortuna furit

Fortune rages less against small things,

1125

leviusque ferit leviora deus;

and God strikes more lightly the lighter things;

servat placidos obscura quies

obscure quiet keeps people peaceful,

praebetque senes casa securos.

and a cottage provides secure old men.

Admota aetheriis culmina sedibus

Peaks moved close to heavenly seats

Euros excipiunt, excipiunt Notos,

receive the East winds, receive the South winds,

1130

insani Boreae minas

the threats of mad Boreas

imbriferumque Corum.

and the rainy Corus.

Raros patitur fulminis ictus

Seldom does the wet valley

umida vallis:

suffer the blows of lightning;

tremuit telo Iovis altisoni

huge Caucasus trembled with the weapon of high-thundering Jove

1135

Caucasus ingens Phrygiumque nemus

and the Phrygian grove of mother Cybele;

matris Cybeles: metuens caelo

fearing high heaven, Jupiter seeks

Iuppiter alto vicina petit;⁴

neighboring places; the plebeian house

non capit umquam magnos motus

of a humble roof never receives

humilis tecti plebeia domus.

great disturbances.

Volat ambiguis mobilis alis

The volatile hour flies on ambiguous wings,

hora, nec ulli praestat velox

nor does swift Fortune maintain her loyalty

Fortuna fidem,

to anyone.

hic qui clari⁵ sidera mundi

This man, leaving the stars of the bright world

1145

nitidumque diem morte relicta.

and the shining day by death,

luget maestos tristis reditus

laments his sad returns with sorrow,

ipsoque magis flebile Averno

and sees the hospitality of his father’s house

sedis patriae videt hospitium.

more mournful than Avernus itself.

Pallas Actaeae veneranda genti,

Pallas, to be revered by the Actaean nation,

1150

quod tuus caelum superosque Theseus

because your Theseus beholds the sky and the gods above

spectat et fugit Stygias paludes,

and escapes the Stygian marshes,

casta nil debes patruo rapaci:

chaste one, you owe nothing to your greedy uncle:

constat inferno numerus tyranno.⁶

the number remains constant for the infernal tyrant.

Quae vox ab altis flebilis tectis sonat

What mournful voice sounds from the high roofs,

1155

strictoque vaecors Phaedra quid ferro parat?

and what does frantic Phaedra prepare with drawn sword?

Quis te dolore percitam instigat furor?

What madness urges you on, stirred by grief?

quid ensis iste quidve vociferatio

What does that sword mean, or what do the crying out

planctusque supra corpus invisum volunt?

and the breast-striking lamentation over the hated body want?

Me, me, profundi saeve dominator freti,

Me, me, fierce ruler of the deep sea,

1160

invade et in me monstra caerulei maris

attack, and against me the monsters of the dark blue sea

emitte, quicquid intimo Tethys sinu

send forth, whatever Tethys in her deepest bosom

extrema gestat, quicquid Oceanus vagis

carries at the ends of the earth, whatever Ocean, embracing

complexus undis ultimo fluctu tegit,

with wandering waves, covers with his furthest billow.

o dure Theseu semper, o numquam ad tuos

O always harsh Theseus, o you who never returned

1165

tuto reverse: gnatus et genitor nece

safely to your own; son and father by their death

reditus tuos luere; pervertis domum

have paid for your return; you ruin your house,

amore semper coniugum aut odio nocens.

always guilty by your love for your wives or by your hatred.

Hippolyte, tales intuor vultus tuos

Hippolytus, do I look upon such features of yours,

talesque feci? membra quis saevus Sinis

and did I make them such? What cruel Sinis

1170

aut quis Procrustes sparsit aut quis Cresius,

or what Procrustes scattered your limbs, or what Cretan bull,

Daedalea vasto claustra mugitu replens,

filling the Daedalean enclosures with vast bellowing,

taurus biformis ore cornigero ferox

ferocious with horned face and double form,

divulsit? heu me. quo tuus fugit decor

tore you apart? Ah me, whither has your beauty fled,

oculique nostrum sidus? exanimis iaces?

and your eyes, our star? Do you lie lifeless?

1175

ades parumper verbaque exaudi mea—

Attend for a little while and hear my words—

nil turpe loquimur: hac manu poenas tibi

I speak nothing shameful: with this hand I will pay penalty to you

solvam et nefando pectori ferrum inseram

and insert the sword into my impious breast,

animaque Phaedram pariter ac scelere exuam,

and free Phaedra from life and crime alike,

et te per undas perque Tartareos lacus.

and you through the waves and through the Tartarean lakes,

1180

per Styga, per amnes igneos amens sequar.

through the Styx, through the fiery rivers frantic I will follow.

placemus umbras: capitis exuvias cape

Let us appease the shades: take the spoils of my head

laceraeque frontis accipe abscisam comam.

and receive the torn hair cut from my forehead.

non licuit animos iungere, at certe licet

It was not allowed to join our minds, but surely it is allowed

iunxisse fata. morere, si casta es, viro;

to have joined our fates. Die, if you are chaste, for your husband;

1185

si incesta, amori, coniugis thalamos petam

if unchaste, for your love. Shall I seek the marriage bed of my husband,

tanto impiatos facinore? hoc derat nefas,

defiled by so great a crime? This wickedness alone was lacking,

ut vindicato sancta fruereris toro.⁷

that you, a pure woman, should enjoy a vindicated bed.

o mors amoris una sedamen mali,

O death, the sole healer of an evil love,

o mors ^pudoris maximum laesi decus,

O death, the greatest honor of injured modesty,

1190

confugimus ad te: pande placatos sinus.

we flee to you: open your peaceful bosom.

Audite, Athenae, tuque, funesta pater

Hear, Athens, and you, father more deadly than

peior noverca: falsa memoravi et nefas,

a stepmother: I have spoken false things, and the crime

quod ipsa demens pectore insano hauseram,

which I myself, mad, had conceived in my insane breast,

mentita finxi. vana punisti pater,

lying I invented. You punished vain things, father,

1195

iuvenisque castus crimine incesto iacet,

and the chaste youth lies dead by the charge of incest,

pudicus, insons— recipe iam mores tuos.

pure, guiltless—receive now his true character.

mucrone pectus impium iusto patet

My impious breast lies open to the just blade,

cruorque sancto solvit inferias viro.

and my blood pays the funeral offering to the sacred man.

Syntax notes7 items

1102dominumque rumpunt
A highly styled zeugma where the main verb rumpunt takes both the abstract noun moram (delay) and the concrete noun dominum (master, i.e., Hippolytus) as objects. With the former, it means 'to break the delay' (to run without staying), and with the latter, 'to tear apart their master' (or the reins binding him).
1112siderum
The genitive siderum (of the stars) modifies the preceding heres (heir). 'Heir of the stars' is a metaphorical expression implying the celestial and noble lineage of Theseus' house. The second modo is an adverb meaning 'just now', corresponding to the qui modo of the previous line.
1118Gaudere non est
The phrase non est is an impersonal construction meaning 'it is not possible' or 'it is not allowed' (equivalent to non licet). potens (the one having power) functions as the substantive subject related to the relative clause quod voluit (what he wished).
1136metuens caelo alto vicina petit
The participle metuens (fearing, guarding against) takes caelo alto (high heaven) as its complement, while vicina (neighboring places near heaven) is the object of petit (seeks, strikes). This describes the natural phenomenon where Jove's thunderbolts strike higher places adjacent to the sky.
1144hic qui clari
Here hic (this man) refers to Theseus, who has returned from the underworld. The relative clause containing morte relicta (having left death behind) in lines 1144-1145 leads to the main verbs luget (laments) in line 1146 and videt (sees) in line 1148, presenting a slightly disrupted but decipherable syntax centered on Theseus as the subject.
1153constat inferno numerus tyranno
Here constat means 'remains constant' or 'is unchanged'. It expresses a grim irony: although Theseus escaped the underworld (reducing the count of the dead), Hippolytus has died and descended in his place, so the total tally of souls (numerus) remains constant for the infernal tyrant (Hades).
1187ut vindicato sancta fruereris toro
The ut-clause functions as an appositive or consecutive clause explaining the preceding hoc derat nefas (this wickedness alone was lacking). It represents Phaedra's self-mocking realization that her own suicide (nefas) was the final act needed to prove Hippolytus' innocence so that he, as a pure soul (sancta), might enjoy a vindicated marriage bed.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (3, latest 2026-09-22)

2026-09-22 AI review — source 1
2026-09-21 AI review — source 1
2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi1017.phi005.humanitext-lat2:1102-1198