me who left all men behind in purity, plunged thus into yawning Hades ’neath the earth, reft of life; in vain the toils I have endured through my piety towards mankind.

HippolytusAh me! ah me! O the thrill of anguish shooting through me! Set me down, poor wretch I am; come Death to set me free! Kill me, end my sufferings.Nauck’s comment on these closing lines of H.’s speech is, restitui vix poterunt. Any translation of them can only be tentative.