Phaedra's Accusation and Theseus's Fury at the Sword — Seneca the Younger, Phaedra, lines 833–917, Latin & English

833

staretque recta squalor incultus coma.¹

and if his unkempt hair were not standing straight up.

en ipse Theseus redditus terris adest.

Behold, Theseus himself, returned to earth, is present.

835

Tandem profugi noctis aeternae plagam

At last I have escaped the region of eternal night

vastoque manes carcere umbrantem polum,

and the sky that overshadows the spirits in their vast prison,

et vix cupitum sufferunt oculi diem.

and my eyes can scarcely endure the longed-for light of day.

iam quarta Eleusin dona Triptolemi² secat

Already the fourth time Eleusis reaps the gifts of Triptolemus,

paremque totiens libra composuit diem,

and as many times the Libra has made the day equal to the night,

840

ambiguus ut me sortis ignotae labor

since an uncertain toil of unknown destiny

detinuit inter mortis et vitae mala.

detained me between the evils of death and life.

pars una vitae mansit extincto mihi:

Only one part of life remained to me when I was dead:

sensus malorum; finis Alcides fuit,

the awareness of evils. Alcides was my end,

qui cum revulsum Tartaro abstraheret canem,

who, when he dragged the torn dog away from Tartarus,

845

me quoque supernas pariter ad sedes tulit.

also carried me along with him to the upper regions.

sed fessa virtus robore antiquo caret

But my exhausted strength lacks its old vigor,

trepidantque gressus, heu, labor quantus fuit

and my steps tremble; alas, how great a toil it was

Phlegethonte ab imo petere longinquum aethera

to seek the distant upper air from lowest Phlegethon,

pariterque mortem fugere et Alciden sequi.

and at once to flee death and follow Alcides.

850

Quis fremitus aures flebilis pepulit meas?

What sorrowful clamor has struck my ears?

expromat aliquis, luctus et lacrimae et dolor,

Let someone speak: is there mourning, tears, grief,

in limine ipso maesta lamentatio?

and sad lamentation on the very threshold?

auspicia digna prorsus inferno hospite.

An omen indeed worthy of a guest from the underworld.

Tenet obstinatum Phaedra consilium necis

Phaedra holds to her obstinate plan of death

855

fletusque nostros spernit ac morti imminet.

and scorns our tears, she is on the brink of dying.

Quae causa leti? reduce cur moritur viro?

What is the cause of death? Why does she die when her husband is returned?

Haec ipsa letum causa maturum attulit.

This very return has brought her early death.

Perplexa magnum verba nescio quid tegunt.

Perplexed words conceal I know not what great secret.

effare aperte quis gravet mentem dolor.

Speak openly: what grief oppresses your mind?

860

Haut pandit ulli; maesta secretum occulit

She reveals it to none; in sorrow she conceals her secret

statuitque secum ferre quo moritur malum.

and has resolved to carry with her the evil for which she dies.

iam perge, quaeso, perge: properato est opus.

Go now, I pray, go: there is need of haste.

Reserate clausos regii postes laris.

Unbar the closed gates of the royal house.

0 socia thalami, sicine adventum viri

O partner of my bed, is it thus you receive the return of your husband

865

et expetiti coniugis vultum excipis?

and look upon the face of your long-sought spouse?

quin ense viduas³ dexteram atque animum mihi

Why do you not rid your right hand of the sword, restore my spirit

restituis et te quicquid e vita fugatexpromis?

and reveal whatever drives you from life?

Eheu, per tui sceptrum imperi,

Alas, by the scepter of your empire,

magnanime Theseu, perque natorum indolem

magnanimous Theseus, and by the nature of our children,

870

tuosque reditus perque iam cineres meos,

by your return, and by my ashes now,

permitte mortem,

allow me death.

Causa quae cogit mori?

What cause forces you to die?

Si causa leti dicitur, fructus perit.

If the cause of death is told, its fruit is lost.

Nemo istud alius, me quidem excepto, audiet.

No one else, myself indeed excluded, shall hear it.

Aures pudica coniugis solas timet.

The chaste wife fears only the ears of her husband.

875

Effare: fido pectore arcana occulam.

Speak: I shall hide your secrets in a faithful breast.

Alium silere quod voles, primus sile.⁴

What you wish another to keep silent, be the first to keep silent.

Leti facultas nulla continget tibi.

No opportunity for death shall be granted to you.

Mori volenti desse mors numquam potest.

Death can never be lacking to one who wishes to die.

Quod sit luendum morte delictum indica.

Declare what crime must be expiated by death.

880

Quod vivo.

That I live.

Lacrimae nonne te nostrae movent?

Do our tears not move you?

Mors optima est perire lacrimandum suis.⁵

It is the best death to die lamented by one’s own.

Silere pergit, verbere ac vinclis opus;

She persists in silence; there is need of whip and chains;

altrixque prodet quicquid haec fari abnuit.

and the nurse will betray whatever she refuses to speak.

vincite ferro, verberum vis extrahat

Bind her in iron, let the force of blows extract

885

secreta mentis,

the secrets of her mind.

Ipsa iam fabor. mane.

I myself will speak now. Wait.

Quidnam ora maesta avertis et lacrimas genis

Why do you turn away your sad face and cover your tears,

subito coortas veste praetenta optegis?

which have suddenly welled up on your cheeks, with your garment?

Te, te, creator caelitum, testem invoco

You, you, creator of the heavenly ones, I call to witness,

et te, coruscum lucis aetheriae iubar,

and you, glittering beam of ethereal light,

890

t ex cuius ortu nostra dependet domus:

from whose rising our house depends:

temptata precibus restiti; ferro ac minis

though tempted by prayers, I resisted; my mind did not yield

non cessit animus: vim tamen corpus tulit.

to sword or threats: yet my body suffered violence.

labem hanc pudoris eluet noster cruor.

Our blood will wash away this stain of honor.

Quis, ede, nostri decoris eversor fuit?

Who, speak, was the destroyer of our honor?

895

Quem rere minime,

The one you would least think.

Quis sit audire expeto.

Who is it? I demand to hear.

Hic dicet ensis quem tumultu territus

This sword will tell, which the violator, terrified by the uproar

liquit stuprator civium accursum timens.

and fearing the gathering of the citizens, left behind.

Quod facinus, heu me, cerno? quod monstrum intuor?

What crime, alas, do I see? What monster do I look upon?

regale patris asperum signis ebur

The royal ivory of my father, carved with symbols,

900

capulo refulget, gentis Actaeae decus.

gleams on the hilt, the glory of the Actaean nation.

sed ipse quonam evasit?

But where has he himself escaped?

Hi trepidum fuga

These servants saw him trembling

videre famuli concitum celeri pede.

in flight, driven with swift foot.

Pro sancta Pietas, pro gubernator poli

O holy Piety, o ruler of the heavens,

et qui secundum fluctibus regnum moves,

and you who move the second kingdom with your waves,

905

unde ista venit generis infandi lues?

whence came this plague of an unspeakable race?

hunc Graia tellus aluit an Taurus Scythes

Did the Greek land nourish him, or the Scythian Taurus

Colchusque Phasis? redit ad auctores genus

and the Colchian Phasis? The breed returns to its authors

stirpemque primam degener sanguis refert.

and the degenerate blood recalls its first stock.

est prorsus iste gentis armiferae furor,

This is truly the madness of that warlike race,

910

odisse Veneris foedera et castum diu

to hate the laws of Venus and, having long kept

vulgare populis corpus, o tetrum genus

the body chaste, to prostitute it to the public, o loathsome race,

nullaque victum lege melioris soli!

vanquished by no law of a better land!

ferae quoque ipsae Veneris evitant nefas,

Even the wild beasts themselves avoid the crime of Venus,

generisque leges inscius servat pudor.

and an unconscious shame preserves the laws of the species.

915

ubi vultus ille et ficta maiestas viri

Where is that countenance and the feigned majesty of the man,

atque habitus horrens, prisca et antiqua appetens,

and the rough habit, seeking the ancient and primitive ways,

morumque senium triste et affectus graves?

and that grim austerity of morals and heavy passions?

Syntax notes5 items

833staretque recta squalor incultus coma
The imperfect subjunctive staret with the conjunction que is coordinated with the conditional clause ni... canderent in the previous verse (§832), indicating a continuation of the contrary-to-fact condition: 'and if his unkempt hair were not standing straight up.'
838dona Triptolemi
'The gifts of Triptolemus' is a metonymy for grain or wheat, expressing the passage of four years through the agricultural action of reaping (secat). Eleusin functions here as the subject (nominative of Greek origin).
866quin ense viduas
quin (why not) introduces a rhetorical question functioning as an urgent command. viduas is not an adjective but the second-person singular present indicative of the verb viduo (to deprive, to free from), meaning 'to free your right hand from the sword.'
876Alium silere quod voles, primus sile
quod is a relative pronoun whose antecedent is omitted. It functions substantively as the object of sile: 'What you wish another to keep silent about, be the first to keep silent about yourself.'
881perire lacrimandum suis
lacrimandum is a gerundive used in an impersonal passive construction representing 'having to be wept for,' with suis (one's own people) as the dative of agent. The phrase means 'to die while being lamented by one's own kin.'

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-22)

2026-09-22 AI review — source 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi1017.phi005.humanitext-lat2:833-917