- Source
- Seneca, Lucius Annaeus. Tragoediae. Peiper, Rudolf; Richter, Gustav, editors. Leipzig: Teubner, 1921.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi1017.phi005.humanitext-lat2:918-1013
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
Theseus curses his son Hippolytus and begs Neptune to fulfill his promise by destroying him. While the Chorus laments the injustice of human fortune in contrast with the order of nature, a messenger arrives and begins to recount the tragic departure and death of Hippolytus.
o vita fallax, abditos sensus geris
O deceitful life, you harbor hidden feelings
animisque pulchram turpibus faciem induis:
and put a beautiful face upon ugly souls:
pudor impudentem celat, audacem quies,
shame conceals the shameless, quiet the bold,
pietas nefandum; vera fallaces probant
piety the impious; deceitful men approve the truth
simulantque molles dura. silvarum incola
and soft men counterfeit hard things. That forest-dweller,
ille efferatus castus intactus rudis,
savage, chaste, untouched, rude,
mihi te reservas? a meo primum toro
did you reserve yourself for me? Was it your pleasure to begin manhood
et scelere tanto placuit ordiri virum?
from my bed and with so great a crime?
iam iam superno numini grates ago,
Now, now I give thanks to the heavenly divinity,
quod icta nostra cecidit Antiope manu,
because Antiope fell, struck by our hand,
quod non ad antra Stygia descendens tibi
and because, when descending to the Stygian caverns, I did not leave
matrem reliqui, profugus ignotas procul
her, your mother, alive. Flee as an exile far away
percurre gentes: te licet terra ultimo
traverse unknown nations: though land removed to the farthest edge
summota mundo dirimat1 Oceani plagis
of the world separate you with the tracts of Ocean,
orbemque nostris pedibus obversum colas,
and you dwell in a world opposite to our feet,
licet in recessu penitus extremo abditus
though hidden deep in the farthest recess
horrifera celsi regna transieris poli
you pass beyond the terrifying realms of the high pole
hiemesque supra positus et canas nives
and, placed above winters and hoary snows,
gelidi frementes liqueris Boreae ruinas
you leave behind you the howling ruin of cold Boreas
post te furentes, sceleribus poenas dabis.
raging after you, you shall pay the penalty for your crimes.
profugum per omnis pertinax latebras premam:
Persistently I shall pursue you in flight through all hiding places:
longinqua clausa abstrusa diversa invia
remote, closed, hidden, separate, pathless regions
emetiemur, nullus obstabit locus:
we shall traverse, no place shall stand in the way:
scis unde redeam, tela quo mitti haud queunt,
you know from where I return, a place to which weapons cannot be sent,
huc vota mittam, genitor aequoreus dedit
thither I shall send my prayers. My ocean father granted
ut vota prono terna concipiam deo.2
that I might make three prayers to a favorable god,
et invocata munus hoc sanxit Styge.
and by invoking Styx he ratified this gift.
En perage donum triste, regnator freti!
Lo, fulfill the grim gift, ruler of the sea!
non cernat ultra lucidum Hippolytum diem
Let Hippolytus no longer look upon the bright day,
adeatque manes iuvenis iratos patri,
and let the youth go to the spirits angry at his father.
fer abominandam nunc opem gnato, parens:
Bring now this abominable aid to your son, father:
numquam supremum numinis munus tui
we would never have used the ultimate gift of your divinity,
consumeremus. magna ni premerent mala:
unless great evils were pressing upon us:
inter profunda Tartara et Ditem horridum
amid deep Tartarus and grim Dis,
et imminentes regis inferni minas,
and the imminent threats of the underworld king,
voto peperci: redde nunc pactam fidem,
I spared the prayer: render now the pledged faith,
genitor, moraris? cur adhuc undae silent?
father, do you delay? Why do the waves still keep silent?
nunc atra ventis nubila impellentibus
Now, with pushing winds, weave dark clouds
subtexe noctem, sidera et caelum eripe,
under the night, snatch away the stars and the sky,
effunde pontum, vulgus aequoreum cie
pour out the sea, rouse the ocean host,
fluctusque ab imo tumidus Oceano voca.
and summon swelling waves from the bottom of Ocean.
O magna parens, Natura, deum
O great parent, Nature, of the gods,
tuque igniferi rector Olympi,
and you, ruler of fiery Olympus,
qui sparsa cito sidera mundo
who sweep along the scattered stars of the swift world
cursusque vagos rapis astrorum
and the wandering courses of the constellations,
celerique polos cardine versas,
and turn the poles on a swift hinge,
cur tanta tibi cura perennes
why do you take such great care to agitate the eternal
agitare vias3 aetheris alti,
paths of the high air,
ut nunc canae frigora brumae
so that now the cold of hoary winter
nudent silvas,
strips the forests,
nunc arbustis redeant umbrae,
now the shades return to the groves,
nunc aestivi colla leonis
now the neck of the summer Lion
Cererem magno fervore coquant
ripens the grain with great heat,
viresque suas temperet annus?
and the year tempers its own powers?
sed cur idem qui tanta regis,
But why do you, the same who rule so many things,
sub quo vasti pondera mundi
under whom the weights of the vast world
librata suos ducunt orbes,
balanced trace out their orbits,
hominum nimium securus abes,
remain far away, too uncaring of men,
non sollicitus
not anxious
prodesse bonis, nocuisse malis?
to benefit the good or harm the wicked?
res humanas ordine nullo
Fortune rules human affairs with no order
Fortuna regit sparsitque manu
and has scattered with a blind hand
munera caeca, peiora fovens;
her gifts, favoring the worse;
vincit sanctos dira libido,
dreadful lust conquers the holy,
fraus sublimi regnat in aula.
and deceit reigns in the lofty court.
tradere turpi fasces populus
The populace rejoices to hand over the fasces to the base,
gaudet, eosdem colit atque odit.
and they worship and hate the very same.
tristis virtus perversa tulit
Sad virtue has borne distorted rewards
praemia recti:
for righteousness:
castos sequitur mala paupertas
wretched poverty follows the chaste,
vitioque potens regnat adulter:
and the adulterer, powerful through vice, reigns:
o vane pudor falsumque decus!
o empty shame and false honor!
Sed quid citato nuntius properat gradu
But why does the messenger hasten with quickened step,
rigatque maestis lugubrem vultum genis?
and wet his mournful face with sad tears?
O sors acerba et dura, famulatus gravis,
O bitter and hard fate, heavy service of a servant,
cur me ad nefandum nuntium casus vocat?
why does chance call me to this unspeakable announcement?
Ne metue cladis fortiter fari asperas:
Do not fear to speak bravely of harsh disasters:
non imparatum pectus aerumnis fero.
I carry a heart not unprepared for miseries.
Vocem dolori lingua luctificam negat.
My tongue denies a mournful voice to my grief.
Proloquere quae sors aggravet quassam domum.
Speak out what fate oppresses our shaken house.
Hippolytus, heu me, flebili leto occubat.
Hippolytus, alas, lies dead by a lamentable death.
Gnatum parens obisse iam pridem scio:
That my son had perished, I, his parent, have known long since:
nunc raptor obiit, mortis effare ordinem.
now the ravisher has died; declare the manner of his death.
Vt profugus urbem liquit infesto gradu
As the exile left the city with hostile step,
celerem citatis passibus cursum explicans,
unfolding his swift course with hurried paces,
celso sonipedes ocius subigit iugo
he swiftly forces his horses under the high yoke
et ora frenis domita substrictis ligat.
and binds their tamed mouths with tightened reins.
tum multa secum effatus et patrium solum
Then, having spoken many things to himself and cursing
abominatus saepe genitorem ciet
his native soil, he frequently invokes his father
acerque habenis lora permissis quatit:
and fiercely shakes the reins, giving them free rein:
cum subito vastum tonuit ex alto mare
when suddenly the vast sea thundered from the deep
crevitque in astra, nullus inspirat salo
and swelled to the stars; no wind blew upon the brine,
ventus, quieti nulla pars caeli strepit
no part of the quiet sky resounded,
placidumque pelagus propria tempestas agit.
and its own tempest agitated the calm sea.
non tantus Auster Sicula disturbat freta
Not so great a South wind disturbs the Sicilian straits,
nec tam furens Ionius exsurgit sinus
nor does the raging Ionian gulf rise up so much
regnante Coro, saxa cum fluctu tremunt
under the rule of the Northwest wind, when the rocks tremble with the wave.
- 930te licet terra... dirimat
The beginning of a series of concessive clauses introduced by licet with the subjunctive verbs dirimat (931), colas (932), transieris (934), and liqueris (936). The pronoun te is placed at the head of the clause for emphasis as the direct object of dirimat.
- 943vota prono terna concipiam deo
A substantive clause of purpose/result ut... concipiam (present subjunctive) acting as the object of dedit. prono... deo is a dative of reference/direction ("to/before a favorable god") governed by concipiam.
- 964cur tanta tibi cura perennes agitare vias
A dative of possessor construction with the omitted verb est (tibi [est] cura, "you have care"). The infinitive agitare functions as an appositive to or explanatory completion of the noun cura.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (2, latest 2026-09-22)
- 2026-09-22 AI review — source 2