So basely mixed? Then go the length of sin: O'erthrow all nature with thy shameful fires. Why should the monsters cease? Why empty stands Thy brother's labyrinth? Shall all the world 175 Be shocked with prodigies, shall nature's laws Be scorned, whene'er a Cretan woman loves? _Phaedra:_ I know that what thou say'st is true, dear nurse; But raging passion forces me to take The path of sin. Full consciously my soul Goes headlong on its downward way, ofttimes With backward glance, sane counsel seeking still, Without avail. So, when the mariner 180 Would sail his ship against the boisterous waves, His toil is all in vain, and, vanquished quite, The ship drifts onward with the hurrying tide. For what can reason do when passion rules, When love, almighty, dominates the soul? 185 The wingéd god is lord through all the earth, And with his flames unquenchable the heart Of Jove himself is burned. The god of war Has felt his fire; and Vulcan too, that god Who forges Jove's three-forkéd thunderbolts; Yea, he, who in the hold of Aetna huge 190 Is lord of ever-blazing furnaces, By this small spark is burned. Apollo, too, Who sends his arrows with unerring aim, Was pierced by Cupid's still more certain darts. For equally in heaven and earth the god Is powerful. _Nurse:_ The god! 'Tis vicious lust 195 That hath his godhead framed; and, that its ends More fully may be gained, it has assigned To its unbridled love the specious name, Divinity! 'Tis Venus' son, in sooth, Sent wandering through all the earth! He flies Through empty air and in his boyish hands 200 His deadly weapon bears! Though least of gods, He holds the widest sway! Such vain conceits The love-mad soul adopts, love's goddess feigns, And Cupid's bow. Whoe'er too much enjoys The smiles of fortune and in ease is lapped, Is ever seeking unaccustomed joys. 205 Then that dire comrade of a high estate, Inordinate desire, comes in. The feast Of yesterday no longer pleases; now A home of sane and simple living, food[19] Of humble sort, are odious. Oh, why Does this destructive pest so rarely come To lowly homes, but chooses rather homes 210 Of luxury? And why does modest love Beneath the humble roof abide, and bless With wholesome intercourse the common throng? Why do the poor restrain their appetites, Whereas the rich, on empire propped, desire More than is right. Who wields too much of power 215 Desires to gain what is beyond his power. What is befitting to thy high estate Thou knowest well. Then fitting reverence show To thy returning husband's sovereignty.