Theseus's Grief and the Gathering of Hippolytus's Body — Seneca the Younger, Phaedra, lines 1199–1280, Latin & English

1199

Quid facere rapto debeas gnato parens.¹

What you ought to do, father, for your snatched-away son,

1200

disce a noverca: condere² Acherontis plagis.

learn from your stepmother: hide yourself in the regions of Acheron.

Pallidi fauces Averni vosque, Taenarei specus,

Jaws of pale Avernus, and you, Taenarian caves,

unda miseris grata Lethes vosque, torpentes lacus,

wave of Lethe welcome to the wretched, and you, sluggish lakes,

impium rapite atque mersum premite perpetuis malis,

snatch away the impious one and press him down, submerged in eternal evils.

nunc adeste, saeva ponti monstra, nunc vastum mare,

Now be present, fierce monsters of the deep, now vast sea,

1205

ultimo quodcumque Proteus aequorum abscondit sinu,

whatever Proteus hides in the furthest bosom of the waters,

meque ovantem³ scelere tanto rapite in altos gurgites,

and snatch me, triumphing in so great a crime, into the deep abysses.

tuque semper, genitor, irae facilis assensor meae,

And you always, my father, easy assentor to my wrath,

morte facili dignus haud sum qui nova natum nece

I am not worthy of an easy death, I who scattered my son by a novel death

segregem sparsi per agros quique, dum falsum nefas

in pieces through the fields, and who, while I pursued false wickedness

1210

exsequor vindex severus, incidi in verum scelus.

as a severe avenger, fell into a true crime.

sidera et manes et undas scelere complevi meo:

I have filled the stars, the shades, and the waves with my crime:

amplius sors nulla restat; regna me norunt tria.

no further lot remains; three kingdoms know me.

In hoc redimus? patuit ad caelum via,

Did we return for this? Was the way to the heaven opened,

bina ut viderem funera et geminam necem,

that I might see two funerals and a double death,

1215

caelebs et orbus funebres una face

so that, unmarried and childless, I might burn the funeral pyres

ut concremarem prolis ac thalami rogos?

of my offspring and my marriage bed with a single torch?

donator atrae lucis,⁴ Alcide, tuum

Giver of the dark light, Alcides, send back your gift

Diti remitte munus; ereptos mihi

to Dis; restore to me the snatched-away

restitue manes, impius frustra invoco

shades. Impious, in vain I invoke

1220

mortem relictam— crudus et leti artifex,

the death I left behind—cruel and maker of death,

exitia machinatus insolita effera,

having devised unusual and wild destructions,

nunc tibimet ipse iusta supplicia irroga.

now impose just punishments upon yourself.

pinus coacto vertice attingens humum

Let the pine-tree, touching the ground with its forced top,

caelo remissum findat in geminas trabes,

split me into twin trunks when released to the sky,

1225

mittarve praeceps saxa per Scironia?

or shall I be cast headlong through the Scironian rocks?

graviora vidi, quae pati clausos iubet

I have seen worse things, which Phlegethon, girding the guilty with its fiery stream,

Phlegethon nocentes igneo cingens vado:

orders those enclosed to suffer:

quae poena memet maneat et sedes, scio.

what punishment and what seat awaits me, I know.

umbrae nocentes, cedite et cervicibus

Guilty shades, give way, and on my neck

1230

bis, his⁵ repositum degravet fessas manus

let the rock, placed here, here, weigh down my tired hands—

saxum, seni perennis Aeolio labor-,

the everlasting labor of the old Aeolian—

me ludat amnis ora vicina alluens;

let the river wash the neighboring lips and mock me;

vultur relicto transvolet Tityo ferus

let the fierce vulture fly hither, leaving Tityus,

meumque poenae semper accrescat iecur;

and let my liver always grow for the punishment;

1235

et tu mei requiesce Perithoi pater:

and you, father of my Pirithous, rest:

haec incitatis membra turbinibus ferat

let the wheel, never stopping, with its revolving orb,

numquam resistens orbe revoluto rota.

carry these limbs in swift whirlwinds.

dehisce tellus, recipe me dirum chaos,

Gape open, earth; receive me, dreadful chaos,

recipe, haec ad umbras iustior nobis via est:

receive me, this way to the shades is more just for us:

1240

gnatum sequor— ne metue qui manes regis:

I follow my son—fear not, you who rule the dead:

casti venimus; recipe me aeterna domo

we come chaste; receive me in your eternal home,

non exiturum, non movent divos preces;

never to exit. Prayers do not move the gods;

at si rogarem scelera, quam proni forent.

but if I were asking for crimes, how prone they would be!

Theseu, querelis tempus aeternum manet:

Theseus, eternal time remains for complaints:

1245

nunc iusta nato solve et absconde ocius

now pay the funeral rites to your son, and quickly hide

dispersa foede membra laniatu effero.

the limbs foully scattered by wild tearing.

Huc, huc reliquias vehite cari corporis

Hither, hither bring the remains of the dear body,

pondusque et artus temere congestos date.

and give the weight and the limbs gathered at random.

Hippolytus hic est? crimen agnosco meum:

Is this Hippolytus? I recognize my crime:

1250

ego te peremi; neu nocens tantum semel

I killed you; and lest I should become guilty only once

solusve fierem,⁶ facinus ausurus parens

or alone, as a father about to dare a crime,

patrem advocavi. munere en patrio fruor,

I called upon my father. Behold, I enjoy my father’s gift,

o triste fractis orbitas annis malum!

o sad evil of childlessness in broken years!

complectere artus, quodque de nato est super,

Embrace the limbs, and what is left of your son,

1255

miserande, maesto pectore incumbens fove.

wretched one, cherish, leaning upon him with mournful breast.

Disiecta genitor⁷ membra laceri corporis

Father, arrange in order the scattered limbs of the torn body,

in ordinem dispone et errantes loco

and restore the wandering parts to their place:

restitue partes: fortis hic dextrae locus,

here is the place for the strong right hand,

hic laeva frenis docta moderandis manus

here the left hand, skilled in controlling the reins,

1260

ponenda: laevi lateris agnosco notas.

must be placed: I recognize the marks of the left side.

quam magna lacrimis pars adhuc nostris abest!

How great a part is still missing for our tears!

Durate trepidae lugubri officio manus,

Endure, trembling hands, in this mournful duty,

fletusque largos sistite, arentes genae,

and stop your abundant weeping, dry cheeks,

dum membra nato genitor adnumerat suo

while the father counts the limbs to his son

1265

corpusque fingit, hoc quid est forma carens

and shapes the body. What is this, lacking shape

et turpe, multo vulnere abruptum undique?

and hideous, torn on all sides by many wounds?

quae pars tui sit dubito; sed pars est tui:

What part of you it is, I doubt; but it is a part of you:

hic, hic repone, non suo, at vacuo loco.

here, here put it back, not in its own, but in an empty place.

haecne illa facies igne sidereo nitens,

Is this that face, shining with starry fire,

1270

inimica flectens lumina? huc cecidit decor?

turning hostile eyes? Has beauty fallen hither?

o dira fata, numinum o saevus favor!

O dreadful fates, o cruel favor of the gods!

sic ad parentem natus ex voto redit?

Is it thus that the son returns to his parent according to the vow?

en haec suprema dona genitoris cape,

Behold, take these last gifts of your father,

saepe efferendus;⁸ interim haec ignes ferant.

you who must be carried out many times; meanwhile, let the fires bear these.

1275

Patefacite acerbam caede funesta domum:

Open the house, bitter with deadly slaughter:

Mopsopia claris tota lamentis sonet,

let all Mopsopia sound with loud lamentations,

vos apparate regii flammam rogi;

prepare the flame of the royal pyre;

at vos per agros corporis partes vagas

and you, search through the fields for the wandering parts

inquirite. istam terra defossam premat,

of the body. Let the dug-up earth press down that woman,

1280

gravisque tellus impio capiti incubet.

and let heavy earth lie upon her impious head.

Syntax notes8 items

1199Quid facere rapto debeas gnato parens
The perfect passive participle rapto (from rapio), meaning 'snatched away' or 'dead', modifies the dative gnato. The subjunctive debeas is used in an indirect question. The phrase expresses 'what you, as a parent, ought to do for your snatched-away son.'
1200condere
The second-person singular passive imperative of condo ('to hide, bury'). Here it functions as a reflexive command, 'hide yourself' or 'go bury yourself', acting as Phaedra's final urge to Theseus to commit suicide.
1206ovantem
The accusative singular present participle of ovo ('to triumph, rejoice'), modifying me. Theseus paradoxically describes himself as 'triumphing' or 'rejoicing' in his massive crime, highlighting his deep self-loathing.
1217donator atrae lucis
The phrase atrae lucis ('dark light') refers to the light of the upper world as viewed from the underworld, or the miserable life to which Theseus was returned. Hercules (Alcides), who brought Theseus back from Hades, is thus called the 'giver of dark light.'
1230bis, his
Some editions read his, his as a reduplicated demonstrative. The translation treats it as 'here, here,' indicating the location where Theseus desires Sisyphus's rock to be placed upon his own hands.
1250neu nocens tantum semel / solusve fierem
The subjunctive fierem with neu introduces a negative purpose or result clause: 'lest I should become guilty only once, or alone.' This reflects Theseus's bitter realization that by summoning Neptune's curse, he made his father an accomplice to his crime.
1256genitor
Either nominative or vocative. It marks the beginning of Theseus's tragic speech as he addresses or commands himself as 'father' to arrange the scattered, mangled limbs of his son back into their proper places.
1274saepe efferendus
The gerundive of effero, which means 'to carry out (a corpse for burial).' Since Hippolytus's body is shattered into numerous fragments, it refers with tragic irony to the physical reality that he must be 'carried out many times' for his funeral.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi1017.phi005.humanitext-lat2:1199-1280