Chorus on Fleeting Beauty and the Return of Theseus — Seneca the Younger, Phaedra, lines 731–832, Latin & English

731

recreate, crinis tractus et lacerae comaeut sunt remaneant, facinoris tanti notae,

Take courage. Let the pulled hair and torn locks remain as they are, as signs of such a great crime.

perferte in urbem,¹ recipe iam sensus, era.

Carry them into the city. Princess, recover your senses now.

quid te ipsa lacerans omnium adspectus fugis?

Why do you lacerate yourself and flee the sight of all?

735

mens inpudicam facere, non casus solet.²

It is the mind that is wont to make one unchaste, not chance.

Fugit insanae similis procellae,

He flees like a mad tempest,

ocior nubes glomerante Coro,

swifter than the wind Caurus as it gathers the clouds,

ocior cursum rapiente flamma,

swifter than the lightning snatching its course,

stella cum ventis agitata longos

when a star, driven by the winds,

740

porrigit ignes.

stretches out its long fires.

Conferat tecum decus omne priscum

Let all ancient beauty compare itself with you,

fama miratrix senioris aevi:

the admiring rumor of an older age:

pulchrior tanto tua forma lucet,

your beauty shines so much more brightly,

clarior quanto micat orbe pleno

as much as the full moon gleams with its rounded orb

745

cum suos ignes coeunte cornu

when, with horns meeting, she has joined her fires

iunxit et curru properante pernox

and, through the night with her hurrying chariot,

exerit vultus rubicunda Phoebe

the rosy Phoebe shows her face,

nec tenent stellae faciem minores;

nor do the lesser stars hold their brightness;

talis est. primas referens tenebras,

such is, bringing back the first shadows,

750

nuntius noctis, modo lotus undis

the messenger of night, Hesperus newly bathed in the waves,

Hesperus, pulsis iterum tenebris

and again, when the darkness is dispelled,

Lucifer idem.

the very same Lucifer.

Et tu. thyrsigera Liber ab India.

And you, Liber, brought from thyrsus-bearing India,

intonsa iuvenis perpetuum coma,

a youth with everlasting unshorn hair,

755

tigres pampinea cuspide territans

terrifying tigers with your vine-clad spear

ac mitra cohibens cornigerum caput,

and binding your horned head with a turban,

non vinces rigidas Hippolyti comas.

you will not surpass the unkempt hair of Hippolytus.

ne vultus nimium suspicias tuos:

Do not look too much upon your own face:

omnis per populos fabula distulit,

the story has spread through all peoples

760

Phaedrae quem Bromio praetulerit soror.³

whom Phaedra’s sister preferred to Bromius.

Anceps forma bonum mortalibus,"

Beauty is an uncertain good for mortals,

exigui donum breve temporis,

a brief gift of a short time,

ut velox celeri pede laberis!

how quickly it glides away with swift foot!

Non sic prata novo vere decentia

Not so does the heat of warm summer despoil

765

aestatis calidae despoliat vapor,

the meadows adorned in new spring,

saevit solstitio cum medius dies

when the midday sun rages at the solstice

et noctes brevibus praecipitant rotis

and the nights hasten with brief wheels,

languescunt folio et lilia pallido:

and the lilies wither with pale leaf:

ut gratae capiti deficiunt comae

as the pleasing hair fails the head

770

et fulgor teneris qui radiat genis

and the brightness that radiates from tender cheeks

momento rapitur nullaque non dies

is snatched in a moment, and no day passes

formonsi spolium corporis abstulit.

without taking some spoil from the beautiful body.

res est forma fugax: quis sapiens bono

Beauty is a fleeting thing: what wise man would trust

confidat fragili? dum licet, utere.

a fragile good? While you may, enjoy it.

775

tempus te tacitum subruit. horaque

Time silently undermines you, and an hour

semper praeterita deterior subit.

always worse than the last succeeds.

Quid deserta petis? tutior aviis

Why do you seek desert places? Beauty is no safer

non est forma locis: te nemore abdito,

in trackless spots: in the hidden grove,

cum Titan medium constituit diem,

when Titan has positioned the midday sun,

780

cingent turba licens Naides improbae,

the wanton crowd of wicked Naids will surround you,

formonsos solitae claudere fontibus,

accustomed to enclose beautiful youths in their springs,

et somnis facient insidias tuis

and they will lay snares for your sleep;

Panas quae Dryades montivagos petunt,

and the Dryads who pursue the mountain-wandering Pans;

785

aut te stellifero despiciens polo

or looking down at you from the starry sky,

sidus post veteres Arcadas editum

the star born after the ancient Arcadians

currus non poterit flectere candidos.

will not be able to turn her white chariot.

et nuper rubuit, nullaque lucidis

And recently she blushed, and no dirty cloud

nubes sordidior vultibus obstitit:

obstructed her shining countenance:

790

at nos solliciti numine turbido,

but we, anxious at the troubled divinity,

tractari Thessalicis carminibus rati,⁴

thinking she was being manipulated by Thessalian spells,

tinnitus dedimus: tu fueras labor

made our brass ring: you had been her labor

et tu causa morae, te dea noctium

and you the cause of her delay; while the goddess of the night

dum spectat celeres sustinuit vias.

gazes at you, she halted her swift course.

795

Vexent hanc faciem frigora parcius,

May the frosts trouble this face more sparingly,

haec solem facies rarius appetat:

may this face seek the sun more rarely:

lucebit Pario marmore clarius,

it will shine more brightly than Parian marble.

quam grata est facies torva viriliter

How pleasing is a face manly in its sternness,

et pondus veteris triste supercili!

and the grim weight of an ancient brow!

800

Phoebo colla licet splendida compares:

You may compare your splendid neck to Phoebus:

illum caesaries nescia colligi

his hair, which knows not how to be bound,

perfundens umeros ornat et integit;

flowing over his shoulders, adorns and covers him;

te frons hirta decet, te brevior coma

a rough forehead suits you, and a shorter hair

nulla lege iacens; tu licet asperos

lying without rule; though you should dare to surpass

805

pugnacesque deos viribus audeas

the harsh and combative gods in strength,

et vasti spatio vincere corporis:

and in the space of your vast body:

aequas. Herculeos nam iuvenis toros,

for you, a youth, equal the muscles of Hercules,

Martis belligeri pectore latior,

broader in chest than warlike Mars;

si dorso libeat cornipedis vehi,

if it should please you to ride on the back of a horse,

810

frenis Castorea mobilior manu

more agile than Castor’s hand in the reins

Spartanum poteris flectere Cyllaron.

you will be able to guide the Spartan Cyllaros.

ammentum digitis tende prioribus

Stretch the thong with your foremost fingers

et totis iaculum dirige viribus:

and direct the javelin with all your strength:

tam longe, dociles spicula figere,

the Cretans, though skilled at fixing arrows,

815

non mittent gracilem Cretes harundinem.

will not send their slender reed so far.

aut si tela modo spargere Parthico

Or if it pleases you to scatter weapons into the sky

in caelum placeat, nulla sine alite

after the Parthian fashion, none will descend

descendent, tepido viscere condita

without a bird, and lodged in the warm entrails

praedam de mediis nubibus afferent.

they will bring back prey from the midst of the clouds.

820

Raris forma viris (saecula perspice)

Beauty has been unpunished for few men (look through the ages).

inpunita fuit. te melior deus

May a better god pass you by

tutum praetereat formaque nobilis

in safety, and may your noble beauty

deformis senii monstret imaginem.

show the image of deformed old age.

Quid sinat inausum feminae praeceps furor?

What would the headlong madness of a woman leave undared?

825

nefanda iuveni crimina insonti apparat.

She prepares unspeakable charges against an innocent youth.

en scelera! quaerit crine lacerato fidem,

Behold the crime! She seeks belief with torn hair,

decus omne turbat capitis, umectat genas:

she disturbs all the beauty of her head, she wets her cheeks:

instruitur omni fraude feminea dolus.

deceit is prepared with every feminine fraud.

Sed iste quisnam est, regium in vultu decus

But who is that, bearing royal dignity in his face

830

gerens et alto vertice attollens caput?

and raising his head high?

ut ora iuveni paria Perithoo gerit,

How he bears a face equal to the youth Pirithous,

ni languido pallore canderent genae

were his cheeks not white with a languid paleness.

Syntax notes4 items

733perferte in urbem
An imperative addressed to the servants. It means to carry or report the evidence of the crime (the sword and Phaedra's disheveled state) into the city to make it known to the people.
735mens inpudicam facere, non casus solet
A moral statement indicating that it is the mind or inner will (mens), not external circumstance or misfortune (casus), that makes a person unchaste (inpudicam).
760Phaedrae quem Bromio praetulerit soror
The antecedent of the relative pronoun "quem" is Theseus from the previous line. It refers to the myth where Phaedra's sister (Ariadne) preferred Theseus over the wine god Bromius (Bacchus).
791tractari Thessalicis carminibus rati
The participle "rati" (perfect participle of "reor", nominative plural referring to the Chorus) governs the passive infinitive "tractari" in an accusative and infinitive construction, meaning "thinking that the moon was being manipulated by Thessalian spells."

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (2, latest 2026-09-22)

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

urn:cts:latinLit:phi1017.phi005.humanitext-lat2:731-832