my own fortunes for the best arrange.

(The NURSE goes into the palace.)



Ye noble daughters of Troezen, grant me the only boon I crave;

in silence bury what ye here have heard.



LEADER

By majestic Artemis, child of Zeus, I swear I will never divulge



aught of thy sorrows.

PHAEDRA



'Tis well. But I, with all my thought, can but one way discover

out of this calamity, that so I may secure my children's honour, and



find myself some help as matters stand. For never, never will I

bring shame upon my Cretan home, nor will I, to save one poor life,



face Theseus after my disgrace.

LEADER



Art thou bent then on some cureless woe?

PHAEDRA



On death; the means thereto must I devise myself.

LEADER



Hush!

PHAEDRA



Do thou at least advise me well. For this very day shall I gladden

Cypris, my destroyer, by yielding up my life, and shall own myself



vanquished by cruel love. Yet shall my dying be another's curse,

that he may learn not to exult at my misfortunes; but when he comes to



share the self-same plague with me, he will take a lesson in wisdom.

(PHAEDRA enters the palace.)



CHORUS (chanting)

strophe 1



O to be nestling 'neath some pathless cavern, there by god's

creating hand to grow into a bird amid the winged tribes! Away would I



soar to Adria's wave-beat shore and to the waters of Eridanus; where a

father's hapless daughters in their grief for Phaethon distil into the



glooming flood the amber brilliance of their tears.

antistrophe 1



And to the apple-bearing strand of those minstrels in the west

then would come, where ocean's lord no more to sailors grants



passage o'er the deep dark main, finding there the heaven's holy

bound, upheld by Atlas, where water from ambrosial founts wells up



beside the couch of Zeus inside his halls, and holy earth, the

bounteous mother, causes joy to spring in heavenly breasts.



strophe 2

O white-winged bark, that o'er the booming ocean-wave didst



bring my royal mistress from her happy home, to crown her queen

'mongst sorrow's brides! Surely evil omens from either port, at



least from Crete, were with that ship, what time to glorious Athens it

sped its way, and the crew made fast its twisted cable-ends upon the



beach of Munychus, and on the land stept out.

antistrophe 2



Whence comes it that her heart is crushed, cruelly afflicted by

Aphrodite with unholy love; so she by bitter grief o'erwhelmed will



tie a noose within her bridal bower to fit it to her fair white neck,

to modest for this hateful lot in life, prizing o'er all her name and



fame, and striving thus to rid her soul of passion's sting.

(The NURSE rushes out of the palace.)



NURSE

Help! ho! To the rescue all who near the palace stand! She hath



hung herself, our queen, the wife of Theseus.

LEADER OF THE CHORUS



Woe worth the day! the deed is done; our royal mistress is no

more, dead she hangs in the dangling noose.



NURSE

Haste! some one bring a two-edged knife wherewith to cut the



knot about her neck.

FIRST SEMI-CHORUS



Friends, what shall we do? think you we should enter the house,

and loose the queen from the tight-drawn noose?



SECOND SEMI-CHORUS

Why should we? Are there not young servants here? To do too much



is not a safe course in life.

NURSE



Lay out the haplesscorpse, straighten the limbs. This was a

bitter way to sit at home and keep my master's house!



(She goes in.)

LEADER OF THE CHORUS



She is dead, poor lady; 'tis this I hear. Already are they

• wicked [´wikid] a.邪恶的；不道德的 (初中英语单词)


• pardon [´pɑ:dən] n.&vt.原谅；饶恕；赦免 (初中英语单词)


• multiply [´mʌltiplai] v.增加；倍增；繁殖 (初中英语单词)


• independence [,indi´pendəns] n.独立，自主，自立 (初中英语单词)


• mischief [´mistʃif] n.伤害；故障；调皮 (初中英语单词)


• unhappy [ʌn´hæpi] a.不幸的；不快乐的 (初中英语单词)


• wealth [welθ] n.财富，财产 (初中英语单词)


• knowing [´nəuiŋ] a.会意的，心照不宣的 (初中英语单词)


• shallow [´ʃæləu] a.肤浅的；表面的 (初中英语单词)


• abroad [ə´brɔ:d] ad.海外；到处；广泛 (初中英语单词)


• running [´rʌniŋ] a.奔跑的；流动的 (初中英语单词)


• commit [kə´mit] vt.犯(罪)；把…判处 (初中英语单词)


• maintain [mein´tein] vt.维持；保持；继续 (初中英语单词)


• mistress [´mistris] n.女主人；情妇；女能手 (初中英语单词)


• extent [ik´stent] n.长度；程度；范围 (初中英语单词)


• conceal [kən´si:l] vt.藏；隐瞒 (初中英语单词)


• ancestor [´ænsəstə] n.祖宗，祖先 (初中英语单词)


• scheme [ski:m] n.计划；阴谋，诡计 (初中英语单词)


• condemn [kən´dem] vt.谴责；定罪，判处 (初中英语单词)


• sickness [´siknis] n.生病；呕吐，恶心 (初中英语单词)


• wisdom [´wizdəm] n.智慧，聪明，才智 (初中英语单词)


• satisfaction [,sætis´fækʃən] n.满意；满足 (初中英语单词)


• henceforth [´hens´fɔ:θ] ad.今后；从今以后 (初中英语单词)


• advise [əd´vaiz] vt.忠告；建议；通知 (初中英语单词)


• winged [´wiŋd] a.有翼的 (初中英语单词)


• glorious [´glɔ:riəs] a.光荣的；辉煌的 (初中英语单词)


• modest [´mɔdist] a.谦虚的；朴素的 (初中英语单词)


• rescue [´reskju:] vt.&n.救援；挽救 (初中英语单词)


• misfortune [mis´fɔ:tʃən] n.不幸；灾祸 (高中英语单词)


• implore [im´plɔ:] vt.乞求，恳求 (高中英语单词)


• bronze [brɔnz] n.青铜(器) (高中英语单词)


• offering [´ɔfəriŋ] n.提供；礼物；捐献 (高中英语单词)


• plague [pleig] n.瘟疫 vt.使…染疫 (高中英语单词)


• stifle [´staifəl] vt.(使)窒息，闷死 (高中英语单词)


• simplicity [sim´plisiti] n.简单；朴素 (高中英语单词)


• access [´ækses] n.接近；通路；进入 (高中英语单词)


• outrage [´aut,reidʒ] n.残暴 vt.虐待；伤害 (高中英语单词)


• strict [strikt] a.严厉的；精确的 (高中英语单词)


• trample [´træmpəl] v.&n.践踏；蹂躏；踩坏 (高中英语单词)


• mortal [´mɔ:tl] a.致命的 n.凡人 (高中英语单词)


• devise [di´vaiz] vt.设计，发明 (高中英语单词)


• majestic [mə´dʒestik] a.雄伟的；崇高的 (高中英语单词)


• cavern [´kævən] n.大山洞；大岩洞 (高中英语单词)


• finding [´faindiŋ] n.发现物；判断；结果 (高中英语单词)


• heavenly [´hevənli] a.天的，天空的 (高中英语单词)


• athens [´æθinz] n.雅典 (高中英语单词)


• straighten [´streitn] v.弄直；矫正；整理 (高中英语单词)


• virtuous [´və:tjuəs] a.道德的；善良的 (英语四级单词)


• fondly [´fɔndli] ad.喜爱地；愚蠢地 (英语四级单词)


• raiment [´reimənt] n.衣饰 (英语四级单词)


• wretch [retʃ] n.不幸的人；卑鄙的人 (英语四级单词)


• wherefore [´weəfɔ:] ad.为什么；因此 (英语四级单词)


• audacity [ɔ:´dæsiti] n.大胆；卤莽；无礼 (英语四级单词)


• chaste [tʃeist] a.贞洁的；高雅的 (英语四级单词)


• calamity [kə´læmiti] n.灾害，大灾难 (英语四级单词)


• foresee [fɔ:´si:] vt.预见，预知 (英语四级单词)


• unwilling [ʌn´wiliŋ] a.不愿意的；不情愿的 (英语四级单词)


• cruelly [´kruəli] ad.残酷地；极，非常 (英语四级单词)


• bridal [´braidl] a.&n.婚礼(的) (英语四级单词)


• hateful [´heitfəl] a.可恨的，可憎的 (英语四级单词)


• corpse [kɔ:ps] n.尸体 (英语四级单词)


• speaking [´spi:kiŋ] n.说话 a.发言的 (英语六级单词)


• minded [´maindid] a.有…心的 (英语六级单词)


• ponderous [´pɔndərəs] a.沉重的；冗长的 (英语六级单词)


• dashing [´dæʃiŋ] a.勇猛的；生气勃勃的 (英语六级单词)


• assured [ə´ʃuəd] a.确实的 n.被保险人 (英语六级单词)


• hapless [´hæpləs] a.不幸的；倒楣的 (英语六级单词)


• dishonest [dis´ɔnist] a.不诚实的 (英语六级单词)


• thereto [ðeə´tu:] ad.到那里；另外 (英语六级单词)


• distil [dis´til] v.蒸馏；精选；提取 (英语六级单词)


• brilliance [´briljəns] n.光辉，辉煌 (英语六级单词)


• wherewith [wɛə´wiθ] ad.用什么；用以 (英语六级单词)