But hark! he calls her plainly the pander of wickedness, the betrayer
of her master's bed.

CHOR. Alas me for thy miseries! Thou art betrayed, dear mistress. What
shall I counsel thee? for hidden things are come to light, and thou art
utterly destroyed----

PHAE. O! O!

CHOR. Betrayed by thy friends.

PHAE. She hath destroyed me by speaking of my unhappy state, kindly but not
honorably endeavoring to heal this disease.

CHOR. How then? what wilt thou do, O thou that hast suffered things
incurable?

PHAE. I know not, save one thing; to die as soon as possible is the only
cure of my present sufferings.

HIPPOLYTUS, PHAEDRA, NURSE, CHORUS.

HIPP. O mother earth, and ye disclosing rays of the sun, of what words have
I heard the dreadful sound!

NUR. Be silent, my son, before any one hears thy voice.

HIPP. It is not possible for me to be silent, when I have heard such
dreadful things.

NUR. Nay, I implore thee by thy beauteous hand.

HIPP. Wilt not desist from bringing thy hand near me, and from touching my
garments?

NUR. O! by thy knees, I implore thee, do not utterly destroy me.

HIPP. But wherefore this? since, thou sayest, thou hast spoken nothing
evil.

NUR. This word, my son, is by no means to be divulged.

HIPP. It is more fair to speak fair things to many.

NUR. O my child, by no means dishonor your oath.

HIPP. My tongue hath sworn--my mind is still unsworn.[17]

NUR. O my son, what wilt thou do? wilt thou destroy thy friends?

HIPP. _Friends!_ I reject the word: no unjust person is my friend.

NUR. Pardon, my child: that men should err is but to be expected.

HIPP. O Jove, wherefore in the name of heaven didst thou place in the light
of the sun that specious[18] evil to men, women? for if thou didst will to
propagate the race of mortals, there was no necessity for this to be done
by women, but men might, having placed an equivalent in thy temples, either
in brass, or iron, or the weighty gold, buy a race of children, each for
the consideration of the value paid, and thus might dwell in unmolested
houses, without females. But now, first of all, when we prepare to bring
this evil to our homes, we squander away the wealth of our houses. By this
too it is evident, that woman is a great evil; for the father, who begat
her and brought her up, having given her a dowry sends her away in order to
be rid of the evil. But the husband, on the other hand, when he has
received the baneful evil[19]