Racine: Phaedra

MEDEA lOS
In thee to court another for thy bride.
But vanished is the faith which oaths erst bore.
Nor can I judge whether thou think'st the gods
Who ruled the world have lost their ancient power
Or that fresh laws at present are in force
Among mankind, because thou to thyself
Art conscious, thou thy plighted faith hast broken.
O my right hand, which thou didst oft embrace,
vainly
Oft to these knees a suppliant cling ! How
Did I my virgin purity yield up
To a perfidious husband, led astray
By flattering hopes ! Yet I to thee will speak
As if thou wert a friend, and I expected
From thee some mighty favor to obtain
Yet thou, if strictly questioned, must appear
More odious. Whither shall I turn me now ?
To those deserted mansions of my father.
Which, with my country, I to thee betrayed,
And hither came ; or to the wretched daughters
Of Pelias? They forsooth, whose sire I slew.
Beneath their roofs with kindness would receive me.
*Tis even thus : by those of my own house
Am I detested, and, to serve thy cause.
Those very friends, whom least of all I ought
To have unkindly treated, have I made
My enemies. But eager to reap
Such favors, 'mongst unnumbered Grecian dames,
On me superior bliss hast thou bestowed.
And I, unhappy woman, find in thee
A husband who deserves to be admired
For his fidelity. But from this realm
When I am exiled, and by every friend
Deserted, with my children left forlorn,
A glorious triumph, in thy bridal hour.
To thee will it afford, if those thy sons.
And I who saved thee, should like vagrants roam.
Wherefore, O Jove, didst thou instruct mankind
How to distinguish by undoubted marks
Counterfeit gold, yet in the front of vice
Impress no brand to show the tainted heart?