Max.I would from Berenice's bonds be free;This yoke of marriage from us both remove,Where two are bound to draw, though neither love.Por.Neither the gods nor man will give consentTo put in practice your unjust intent.
Max.I would from Berenice's bonds be free;This yoke of marriage from us both remove,Where two are bound to draw, though neither love.
Por.Neither the gods nor man will give consentTo put in practice your unjust intent.
Max.Both must consent to that which I decree.
Por.The soldiers love her brother's memory;And for her sake some mutiny will stir.Max.Our parting, therefore, shall be sought by her.Go, bid her sue for a divorce, or die;I'll cut the knot, if she will not untie:Haste to prepare her, and thyself return;Thy Hymen's torch this day with mine shall burn.[Exit.Por.Rather my funeral-torch; for, though I knowValeria's fair, and that she loves me too,'Gainst her my soul is armed on every part:Yet there are secret rivets to my heart,Where Berenice's charms have found the way;Subtle as lightnings, but more fierce than they.How shall I this avoid, or gain that love!So near the rock, I to the port must move.
Por.The soldiers love her brother's memory;And for her sake some mutiny will stir.
Max.Our parting, therefore, shall be sought by her.Go, bid her sue for a divorce, or die;I'll cut the knot, if she will not untie:Haste to prepare her, and thyself return;Thy Hymen's torch this day with mine shall burn.[Exit.
Por.Rather my funeral-torch; for, though I knowValeria's fair, and that she loves me too,'Gainst her my soul is armed on every part:Yet there are secret rivets to my heart,Where Berenice's charms have found the way;Subtle as lightnings, but more fierce than they.How shall I this avoid, or gain that love!So near the rock, I to the port must move.
To himValeriaattended.
Val.Porphyrius, now my joy I may express,Nor longer hide the love I must possess.Should I have staid till marriage made us one,You might have thought it was by duty done;But of my heart I now a present make;And give it you, ere it be yours to take.Accept it as when early fruit we send;And let the rareness the small gift commend.Por.Great monarchs, like your father, often giveWhat is above a subject to receive.But faithful officers should countermandAnd stop the gift, that passes through their hand;And to their prince that mass of wealth restore,Which, lavished thus, would make whole nations poor.Val.But to this gift a double right you have:My father gives but what before I gave.Por.In vain you such unequal presents make,Which I still want capacity to take.Such fatal bounty once the Gauls did show;They threw their rings, but threw their targets too.Bounty, so placed, does more like ruin look;You pour the ocean on a narrow brook.Val.Yet, if your love before prepares a boat,The stream so poured, drowns not, but makes it float.Por.But when the vessel is on quicksands cast,The flowing tide does more the sinking haste.Val.And on what quicksands can your heart be thrown?Can you a love besides Valeria's own?Por.If he who at your feet his heart would lay,Be met with first, and robbed upon the way,You may indeed the robber's strength accuse,But pardon him, who did the present lose.Val.Who is this thief, that does my right possess?Name her, and then we of her strength may guess.—From whence does your unwonted silence come?
Val.Porphyrius, now my joy I may express,Nor longer hide the love I must possess.Should I have staid till marriage made us one,You might have thought it was by duty done;But of my heart I now a present make;And give it you, ere it be yours to take.Accept it as when early fruit we send;And let the rareness the small gift commend.
Por.Great monarchs, like your father, often giveWhat is above a subject to receive.But faithful officers should countermandAnd stop the gift, that passes through their hand;And to their prince that mass of wealth restore,Which, lavished thus, would make whole nations poor.
Val.But to this gift a double right you have:My father gives but what before I gave.
Por.In vain you such unequal presents make,Which I still want capacity to take.Such fatal bounty once the Gauls did show;They threw their rings, but threw their targets too.Bounty, so placed, does more like ruin look;You pour the ocean on a narrow brook.
Val.Yet, if your love before prepares a boat,The stream so poured, drowns not, but makes it float.
Por.But when the vessel is on quicksands cast,The flowing tide does more the sinking haste.
Val.And on what quicksands can your heart be thrown?Can you a love besides Valeria's own?
Por.If he who at your feet his heart would lay,Be met with first, and robbed upon the way,You may indeed the robber's strength accuse,But pardon him, who did the present lose.
Val.Who is this thief, that does my right possess?Name her, and then we of her strength may guess.—From whence does your unwonted silence come?
Por.She bound and gagged me, and has left me dumb.
Val.But of my wrongs I will aloud complain.False man, thou wouldst excuse thyself in vain;For thee I did a maiden's blush forsake;And owned a love thou hast refused to take.Por.Refused it!—like a miser, midst his store,Who grasps and grasps, till he can hold no more;And when his strength is wanting to his mind,Looks back, and sighs on what he left behind.Val.No, I resume that heart thou didst possess;My father shall my injuries redress:With me thou losest his imperial crown,And speedy death attends upon his frown.Por.You may revenge your wrongs a nobler way;Command my death, and I will soon obey.Val.No, live! for, on thy life my cure depends:In debtors' deaths all obligation ends:'Twill be some ease ungrateful thee to call;And, bankrupt-like, say, trusting him lost all.Por.Upbraided thus, what generous man would live!But fortune will revenge what you forgive.When I refuse, (as in few hours I must)This offered grace, your father will be just.Val.Be just! say rather he will cruel prove,To kill that only person I can love.Yet so it is!——Your interest in the army is so high,That he must make you his, or you must die.It is resolved! whoe'er my rival be,[Aside, after a pause.I'll show that I deserve him more than she;And if, at last, he does ungrateful prove,My constancy itself rewards my love.[Exit.Por.She's gone, and, gazing round about, I seeNothing but death, or glorious misery;Here empire stands, if I could love displace;There, hopeless love, with more imperial grace;Thus, as a sinking hero, compassed round.Beckons his bravest foe for his last wound,And him into his part of fame does call,I'll turn my face to love, and there I'll fall.
Val.But of my wrongs I will aloud complain.False man, thou wouldst excuse thyself in vain;For thee I did a maiden's blush forsake;And owned a love thou hast refused to take.
Por.Refused it!—like a miser, midst his store,Who grasps and grasps, till he can hold no more;And when his strength is wanting to his mind,Looks back, and sighs on what he left behind.
Val.No, I resume that heart thou didst possess;My father shall my injuries redress:With me thou losest his imperial crown,And speedy death attends upon his frown.
Por.You may revenge your wrongs a nobler way;Command my death, and I will soon obey.
Val.No, live! for, on thy life my cure depends:In debtors' deaths all obligation ends:'Twill be some ease ungrateful thee to call;And, bankrupt-like, say, trusting him lost all.
Por.Upbraided thus, what generous man would live!But fortune will revenge what you forgive.When I refuse, (as in few hours I must)This offered grace, your father will be just.
Val.Be just! say rather he will cruel prove,To kill that only person I can love.Yet so it is!——Your interest in the army is so high,That he must make you his, or you must die.It is resolved! whoe'er my rival be,[Aside, after a pause.
I'll show that I deserve him more than she;And if, at last, he does ungrateful prove,My constancy itself rewards my love.[Exit.
Por.She's gone, and, gazing round about, I seeNothing but death, or glorious misery;Here empire stands, if I could love displace;There, hopeless love, with more imperial grace;Thus, as a sinking hero, compassed round.Beckons his bravest foe for his last wound,And him into his part of fame does call,I'll turn my face to love, and there I'll fall.
To himBerenice,andErotion.
Ber.I come, Porphyrius, to congratulateThis happy change of your exalted fate:You to the empire are, I hear, designed;And fair Valeria must the alliance bind.Por.Would heaven had my succession so decreed,That I in all might Maximin succeed!He offers me the imperial crown, 'tis true:I would succeed him, but it is in you.Ber.In me! I never did accept your love:But you, I see, would handsomely remove;And I can give you leave, without a frown:I always thought you merited a crown.Por.I never sought that crown but on your brow;But you with such indifference would allowMy change, that you have killed me with that breath;I feel your scorn cold as the hand of death.Ber.You'll come to life in your Valeria's arms.'Tis true, I cannot boast of equal charms;Or, if I could, I never did admitYour love to me, but only suffered it.I am a wife, and can make no return;And 'twere but vain in hopeless fires to burn.Por.Unkind! can you, whom only I adore,Set open to your slave the prison-door?You use my heart just as you would affordA fatal freedom to some harmless bird,Whom, breeding, you ne'er taught to seek its food;And now let fly to perish in the wood.Ber.Then, if you will love on, and disobey,And lose an empire for my sake, you may.Will a kind look from me pay all this score,For you well know you must expect no more?Por.All I deserve it will, not all I wish:But I will brave the tyrant's rage for this.If I refuse, my death must needs ensue;But you shall see that I dare die for you.Ber.Would you, for me,A beauty, and an empire too deny?I love you now so well—that you shall die.Die mine! 'tis all I can, with honour, give:Nor should you die, if after, I would live.But when your marriage and your death I view,That, makes you false, but this will keep you true.Por.Unbind thy brows, and look abroad to see,O mighty love, thy mightiest victory!Ber.And yet——is there no other way to try?'Tis hard to say I love, and let you die.Por.Yes, there remains some help which you might give,If you, as I would die for love, would live.Ber.If death for love be sweet, sure life is more:Teach me the means your safety to restore.Por.Your tyrant the Egyptian princess loves;And to that height his swelling passion moves,That, fearing in your death the soldiers' force,He from your bed does study a divorce.Ber.The Egyptian princess I disputing heard,And as a miracle her mind regard.But yet I wish that this divorce be true.[Gives her hand.Por.'Tis, madam, but it must be sought by you.By this he will all mutinies prevent;And this as well secures your own content.Ber.I hate this tyrant, and his bed I loath;But, once submitting, I am tied to both:Tied to that honour, which all women owe,Though not their husband's person, yet their vow.Something so sacred in that bond there is,That none should think there could be aught amiss:And if there be, we should in silence hideThose faults, which blame our choice, when they are spied.Por.But, since to all the world his crimes are known.And by himself the civil war's begun,Would you the advantage of the fight delay,If, striking first, you were to win the day?Ber.I would, like Jews upon their sabbath, fall;And, rather than strike first, not strike at all.Por.Against yourself you sadly prophecy:You either this divorce must seek, or die.
Ber.I come, Porphyrius, to congratulateThis happy change of your exalted fate:You to the empire are, I hear, designed;And fair Valeria must the alliance bind.
Por.Would heaven had my succession so decreed,That I in all might Maximin succeed!He offers me the imperial crown, 'tis true:I would succeed him, but it is in you.
Ber.In me! I never did accept your love:But you, I see, would handsomely remove;And I can give you leave, without a frown:I always thought you merited a crown.
Por.I never sought that crown but on your brow;But you with such indifference would allowMy change, that you have killed me with that breath;I feel your scorn cold as the hand of death.
Ber.You'll come to life in your Valeria's arms.'Tis true, I cannot boast of equal charms;Or, if I could, I never did admitYour love to me, but only suffered it.I am a wife, and can make no return;And 'twere but vain in hopeless fires to burn.
Por.Unkind! can you, whom only I adore,Set open to your slave the prison-door?You use my heart just as you would affordA fatal freedom to some harmless bird,Whom, breeding, you ne'er taught to seek its food;And now let fly to perish in the wood.
Ber.Then, if you will love on, and disobey,And lose an empire for my sake, you may.Will a kind look from me pay all this score,For you well know you must expect no more?
Por.All I deserve it will, not all I wish:But I will brave the tyrant's rage for this.If I refuse, my death must needs ensue;But you shall see that I dare die for you.
Ber.Would you, for me,A beauty, and an empire too deny?I love you now so well—that you shall die.Die mine! 'tis all I can, with honour, give:Nor should you die, if after, I would live.But when your marriage and your death I view,That, makes you false, but this will keep you true.
Por.Unbind thy brows, and look abroad to see,O mighty love, thy mightiest victory!
Ber.And yet——is there no other way to try?'Tis hard to say I love, and let you die.
Por.Yes, there remains some help which you might give,If you, as I would die for love, would live.
Ber.If death for love be sweet, sure life is more:Teach me the means your safety to restore.
Por.Your tyrant the Egyptian princess loves;And to that height his swelling passion moves,That, fearing in your death the soldiers' force,He from your bed does study a divorce.
Ber.The Egyptian princess I disputing heard,And as a miracle her mind regard.But yet I wish that this divorce be true.[Gives her hand.
Por.'Tis, madam, but it must be sought by you.By this he will all mutinies prevent;And this as well secures your own content.
Ber.I hate this tyrant, and his bed I loath;But, once submitting, I am tied to both:Tied to that honour, which all women owe,Though not their husband's person, yet their vow.Something so sacred in that bond there is,That none should think there could be aught amiss:And if there be, we should in silence hideThose faults, which blame our choice, when they are spied.
Por.But, since to all the world his crimes are known.And by himself the civil war's begun,Would you the advantage of the fight delay,If, striking first, you were to win the day?
Ber.I would, like Jews upon their sabbath, fall;And, rather than strike first, not strike at all.
Por.Against yourself you sadly prophecy:You either this divorce must seek, or die.
Ber.Then death from all my griefs shall set me free.
Por.And would you rather chuse your death, than me?
Ber.My earthly part——Which is my tyrant's right, death will remove;I'll come all soul and spirit to your love.With silent steps I'll follow you all day,Or else before you, in the sun beams, play:I'll lead you thence to melancholy groves,And there repeat the scenes of our past loves:At night, I will within your curtains peep;With empty arms embrace you while you sleep:In gentle dreams I often will be by,And sweep along before your closing eye:All dangers from your bed I will remove;But guard it most from any future love:And when, at last, in pity, you will die,I'll watch your birth of immortality:Then, turtle-like, I'll to my mate repair,And teach you your first flight in open air.[ExitBereniceandEration.Por.She has but done what honour did require;Nor can I blame that love, which I admire.But then her death!I'll stand betwixt, it first shall pierce my heart:We will be stuck together on his dart.But yet the danger not so high does grow:I'll charge death first, perhaps repulse him too.But if, o'erpowered, I must be overcome,Forced back, I'll fight each inch into my tomb.[Exit.
Ber.My earthly part——Which is my tyrant's right, death will remove;I'll come all soul and spirit to your love.With silent steps I'll follow you all day,Or else before you, in the sun beams, play:I'll lead you thence to melancholy groves,And there repeat the scenes of our past loves:At night, I will within your curtains peep;With empty arms embrace you while you sleep:In gentle dreams I often will be by,And sweep along before your closing eye:All dangers from your bed I will remove;But guard it most from any future love:And when, at last, in pity, you will die,I'll watch your birth of immortality:Then, turtle-like, I'll to my mate repair,And teach you your first flight in open air.[ExitBereniceandEration.
Por.She has but done what honour did require;Nor can I blame that love, which I admire.But then her death!I'll stand betwixt, it first shall pierce my heart:We will be stuck together on his dart.But yet the danger not so high does grow:I'll charge death first, perhaps repulse him too.But if, o'erpowered, I must be overcome,Forced back, I'll fight each inch into my tomb.[Exit.
SCENE I.—An Indian cave.
EnterPlacidiusandNigrinus.Nigrinus,with two drawn swords, held upward in his hands.
Plac.All other means have failed to move her heart;Our last resource is, therefore, to your art.Nig.Of wars, and bloodshed, and of dire events,Of fates, and fighting kings, their instruments,I could with greater certainty foretell;Love only does in doubts and darkness dwell.For, like a wind, it in no quarter stays,But points and veers each hour a thousand ways.On women love depends, and they on will;Chance turns their orb, while destiny sits still.Plac.Leave nothing unattempted in your power:Remember you oblige an emperor.Nig.An earthy fiend by compact me obeys;But him to light intents I must not raise.Some astral forms I must invoke by prayer,Framed all of purest atoms of the air;Not in their natures simply good or ill;But most subservient to bad spirits' will,Nakar of these does lead the mighty band,For eighty legions move at his command:Gentle to all, but, far above the rest,Mild Nakar loves his soft Damilcar best.In airy chariots they together ride,And sip the dew as through the clouds they glide:These are the spirits, which in love have power.
Plac.All other means have failed to move her heart;Our last resource is, therefore, to your art.
Nig.Of wars, and bloodshed, and of dire events,Of fates, and fighting kings, their instruments,I could with greater certainty foretell;Love only does in doubts and darkness dwell.For, like a wind, it in no quarter stays,But points and veers each hour a thousand ways.On women love depends, and they on will;Chance turns their orb, while destiny sits still.
Plac.Leave nothing unattempted in your power:Remember you oblige an emperor.
Nig.An earthy fiend by compact me obeys;But him to light intents I must not raise.Some astral forms I must invoke by prayer,Framed all of purest atoms of the air;Not in their natures simply good or ill;But most subservient to bad spirits' will,Nakar of these does lead the mighty band,For eighty legions move at his command:Gentle to all, but, far above the rest,Mild Nakar loves his soft Damilcar best.In airy chariots they together ride,And sip the dew as through the clouds they glide:These are the spirits, which in love have power.
Plac.Haste, and invoke them in a happy hour.
Nig.And so it proves: For, counting seven from noon,'Tis Venus' hour, and in the waxing moon,With chalk I first describe a circle here,Where these etherial spirits must appear.Come in, come in; for here they will be strait:Around, around, the place I fumigate:My fumigation is to Venus just:The souls of roses, and red coral's dust;A lump of Sperma Ceti; and to theseThe stalks and chips of Lignum Aloes;And, last, to make my fumigation good,'Tis mixt with sparrows' brains, and pigeons' blood.[Nigrinustakes up the swords.They come, they come, they come! I hear them now.Plac.A death-like damp sits cold upon my brow,And misty vapours swim before my sight.
Nig.And so it proves: For, counting seven from noon,'Tis Venus' hour, and in the waxing moon,With chalk I first describe a circle here,Where these etherial spirits must appear.Come in, come in; for here they will be strait:Around, around, the place I fumigate:My fumigation is to Venus just:The souls of roses, and red coral's dust;A lump of Sperma Ceti; and to theseThe stalks and chips of Lignum Aloes;And, last, to make my fumigation good,'Tis mixt with sparrows' brains, and pigeons' blood.[Nigrinustakes up the swords.
They come, they come, they come! I hear them now.
Plac.A death-like damp sits cold upon my brow,And misty vapours swim before my sight.
Nig.They come not in a shape to cause your fright.
NakarandDamilcardescend in clouds, and sing,
Nakar.Hark, my Damilcar, we are called below!
Dam.Let us go, let us go!Go to relieve the careOf longing lovers in despair!Nakar.Merry, merry, merry, we sail from the east,Half tippled at a rainbow feast.Dam.In the bright moonshine while winds whistle loud,Tivy, tivy, tivy, we mount and we fly,All racking along in a downy white cloud:And lest our leap from the sky should prove too far,We slide on the back of a new-falling star.Nakar.And drop from aboveIn a jelly of love!Dam.But now the sun's down, and the element's red,The spirits of fire against us make head!Nakar.They muster, they muster, like gnats in the air:Alas! I must leave thee, my fair;And to my light horse-men repair.Dam.O stay, for you need not to fear them to-night;The wind is for us, and blows full in their sight:And o'er the wide ocean we fight!Like leaves in the autumn our foes will fall down;And hiss in the water.
Dam.Let us go, let us go!Go to relieve the careOf longing lovers in despair!
Nakar.Merry, merry, merry, we sail from the east,Half tippled at a rainbow feast.
Dam.In the bright moonshine while winds whistle loud,Tivy, tivy, tivy, we mount and we fly,All racking along in a downy white cloud:And lest our leap from the sky should prove too far,We slide on the back of a new-falling star.
Nakar.And drop from aboveIn a jelly of love!
Dam.But now the sun's down, and the element's red,The spirits of fire against us make head!
Nakar.They muster, they muster, like gnats in the air:Alas! I must leave thee, my fair;And to my light horse-men repair.
Dam.O stay, for you need not to fear them to-night;The wind is for us, and blows full in their sight:And o'er the wide ocean we fight!Like leaves in the autumn our foes will fall down;And hiss in the water.
Both.And hiss in the water, and drown!
Nakar.But their men lie securely intrenched in a cloud,And a trumpeter-hornet to battle sounds loud.Dam.Now mortals that spyHow we tilt in the sky,With wonder will gaze;And fear such events as will ne'er come to pass.
Nakar.But their men lie securely intrenched in a cloud,And a trumpeter-hornet to battle sounds loud.
Dam.Now mortals that spyHow we tilt in the sky,With wonder will gaze;And fear such events as will ne'er come to pass.
Nakar.Stay you to perform what the men will have done.
Dam.Then call me again when the battle is won.
Both.So ready and quick is a spirit of airTo pity the lover, and succour the fair,That, silent and swift, the little soft godIs here with a wish, and is gone with a nod.[The clouds part,Nakarflies up, andDamilcardown.Nig.I charge thee, spirit, stay; and by the power[ToDamilcar.
Both.So ready and quick is a spirit of airTo pity the lover, and succour the fair,That, silent and swift, the little soft godIs here with a wish, and is gone with a nod.[The clouds part,Nakarflies up, andDamilcardown.
Nig.I charge thee, spirit, stay; and by the power[ToDamilcar.
Of Nakar's love, and of this holy wand,On the north quarter of my circle stand,(Seven foot around for my defence I take.)To all my questions faithful answers make!So mayest thou live thy thousand years in peace,And see thy airy progeny increase:So mayest thou still continue young and fair,Fed by the blast of pure ætherial air,And, thy full term expired, without all pain,Dissolve into thy astral source again.Dam.Name not my hated rival Gemory,And I'll speak true whate'er thy questions be.Nig.Thy rival's hated name I will refrain:Speak, shall the emperor his love obtain?Dam.Few hours shall pass before your emperor shall bePossessed of that he loves, or from that love be free.
Of Nakar's love, and of this holy wand,On the north quarter of my circle stand,(Seven foot around for my defence I take.)To all my questions faithful answers make!So mayest thou live thy thousand years in peace,And see thy airy progeny increase:So mayest thou still continue young and fair,Fed by the blast of pure ætherial air,And, thy full term expired, without all pain,Dissolve into thy astral source again.
Dam.Name not my hated rival Gemory,And I'll speak true whate'er thy questions be.
Nig.Thy rival's hated name I will refrain:Speak, shall the emperor his love obtain?
Dam.Few hours shall pass before your emperor shall bePossessed of that he loves, or from that love be free.
Plac.Shall I enjoy that beauty I adore?
Dam.She, suppliant-like, ere long, thy succour shall implore:And thou with her thou lovest in happiness may'st live,If she not dies before, who all thy joys can give.
Dam.She, suppliant-like, ere long, thy succour shall implore:And thou with her thou lovest in happiness may'st live,If she not dies before, who all thy joys can give.
Nig.Say, what does the Egyptian princess now?
Dam.A gentle slumber sits upon her brow.
Nig.Go, stand before her in a golden dream:Set all the pleasures of the world to shew,And in vain joys let her loose spirit flow.Dam.Twice fifty tents remove her from your sight,But I'll cut through them all with rays of light;And covering other objects to your eyes,Shew where entranced in silent sleep she lies.
Nig.Go, stand before her in a golden dream:Set all the pleasures of the world to shew,And in vain joys let her loose spirit flow.
Dam.Twice fifty tents remove her from your sight,But I'll cut through them all with rays of light;And covering other objects to your eyes,Shew where entranced in silent sleep she lies.
Damilcarstamps, and the bed arises with StCatharinein it.
Damilcarsinging.
You pleasing dreams of love and sweet delight,Appear before this slumbering virgins sight:Soft visions set her freeFrom mournful piety.Let her sad thoughts from heaven retire;And let the melancholy loveOf those remoter joys aboveGive place to your more sprightly fire.Let purling streams be in her fancy seen;And flowery meads, and vales of chearful green:And in the midst of deathless grovesSoft sighing wishes lie,And smiling hopes fast by,And just beyond them ever-laughing loves.
You pleasing dreams of love and sweet delight,Appear before this slumbering virgins sight:Soft visions set her freeFrom mournful piety.Let her sad thoughts from heaven retire;And let the melancholy loveOf those remoter joys aboveGive place to your more sprightly fire.Let purling streams be in her fancy seen;And flowery meads, and vales of chearful green:And in the midst of deathless grovesSoft sighing wishes lie,And smiling hopes fast by,And just beyond them ever-laughing loves.
ASceneof a Paradise is discovered.
Plac.Some pleasing objects do her mind employ;For on her face I read a wandering joy.
Plac.Some pleasing objects do her mind employ;For on her face I read a wandering joy.
SONG.
Dam.Ah how sweet it is to love!Ah how gay is young desire!And what pleasing pains we proveWhen we first approach love's fire!Pains of love be sweeter farThan all other pleasures are.Sighs, which are from lovers blown,Do but gently heave the heart:Even the tears they shed alone,Cure, like trickling balm, their smart.Lovers when they lose their breath,Bleed away in easy death.Love and time with reverence use,Treat them like a parting friend:Nor the golden gifts refuse,Which in youth sincere they send:For each year their price is more,And they less simple than before.Love, like spring-tides full and high,Swells in every youthful vein;But each tide does less supply,Till they quite shrink in again:If a flow in age appear,'Tis but rain, and runs not clear.
Dam.Ah how sweet it is to love!Ah how gay is young desire!And what pleasing pains we proveWhen we first approach love's fire!Pains of love be sweeter farThan all other pleasures are.
Sighs, which are from lovers blown,Do but gently heave the heart:Even the tears they shed alone,Cure, like trickling balm, their smart.Lovers when they lose their breath,Bleed away in easy death.
Love and time with reverence use,Treat them like a parting friend:Nor the golden gifts refuse,Which in youth sincere they send:For each year their price is more,And they less simple than before.
Love, like spring-tides full and high,Swells in every youthful vein;But each tide does less supply,Till they quite shrink in again:If a flow in age appear,'Tis but rain, and runs not clear.
At the end of the Song a Dance of Spirits. After whichAmariel,the Guardian-Angel of StCatharine,descends to soft music, with a flaming sword. The spirits crawl off the stage amazedly, andDamilcarruns to a corner of it.
At the end of the Song a Dance of Spirits. After whichAmariel,the Guardian-Angel of StCatharine,descends to soft music, with a flaming sword. The spirits crawl off the stage amazedly, andDamilcarruns to a corner of it.
Amar.From the bright empire of eternal day,Where waiting minds for heaven's commission stay,Amariel flies: A darted mandate cameFrom that great will which moves this mighty frame;Bid me to thee, my royal charge, repair,To guard thee from the dæmons of the air;My flaming sword above them to display,(All keen, and ground upon the edge of day;)The flat to sweep the visions from thy mind,The edge to cut them through that stay behind.Vain spirits, you, that, shunning heaven's high noon,Swarm here beneath the concave of the moon,What folly, or what rage, your duty blinds,To violate the sleep of holy minds?Hence, to the task assigned you here below!Upon the ocean make loud tempests blow;Into the wombs of hollow clouds repair,And crush out thunder from the bladdered air;From pointed sun-beams take the mists they drew,And scatter them again in pearly dew;And of the bigger drops they drain below,Some mould in hail, and others stamp in snow.Dam.Mercy, bright spirit! I already feelThe piercing edge of thy immortal steel:Thou, prince of day, from elements art free;And I all body when compared to thee.Thou tread'st the abyss of light,And where it streams with open eyes canst go:We wander in the fields of air below,Changelings and fools of heaven; and thence shut out,Wildly we roam in discontent about:Gross heavy-fed, next man in ignorance and sin,And spotted all without, and dusky all within.Without thy sword I perish by thy sight;I reel, and stagger, and am drunk with light.Amar.If e'er again thou on this place art found,Full fifty years I'll chain thee under ground;The damps of earth shall be thy daily food,All swoln and bloated like a dungeon toad:And when thou shalt be freed, yet thou shalt lieGasping upon the ground, too faint to fly,And lag below thy fellows in the sky.Dam.O pardon, pardon this accursed deed,And I no more on magic fumes will feed,Which drew me hither by their powerful steams.Amar.Go expiate thy guilt in holy dreams.[ExitDam.But thou, sweet saint, henceforth disturb no more[ToS. Cath.With dreams not thine, thy thoughts to heaven restore.[The Angel ascends, and the scene shuts.Nig.Some holy being does invade this place,And from their duty does my spirits chase.I dare no longer near it make abode:No charms prevail against the Christians' God.[Exit.Plac.How doubtfully these spectres fate foretell!In double sense, and twilight truth they dwell:Like fawning courtiers for success they wait,And then come smiling, and declare for fate.
Amar.From the bright empire of eternal day,Where waiting minds for heaven's commission stay,Amariel flies: A darted mandate cameFrom that great will which moves this mighty frame;Bid me to thee, my royal charge, repair,To guard thee from the dæmons of the air;My flaming sword above them to display,(All keen, and ground upon the edge of day;)The flat to sweep the visions from thy mind,The edge to cut them through that stay behind.Vain spirits, you, that, shunning heaven's high noon,Swarm here beneath the concave of the moon,What folly, or what rage, your duty blinds,To violate the sleep of holy minds?Hence, to the task assigned you here below!Upon the ocean make loud tempests blow;Into the wombs of hollow clouds repair,And crush out thunder from the bladdered air;From pointed sun-beams take the mists they drew,And scatter them again in pearly dew;And of the bigger drops they drain below,Some mould in hail, and others stamp in snow.
Dam.Mercy, bright spirit! I already feelThe piercing edge of thy immortal steel:Thou, prince of day, from elements art free;And I all body when compared to thee.Thou tread'st the abyss of light,And where it streams with open eyes canst go:We wander in the fields of air below,Changelings and fools of heaven; and thence shut out,Wildly we roam in discontent about:Gross heavy-fed, next man in ignorance and sin,And spotted all without, and dusky all within.Without thy sword I perish by thy sight;I reel, and stagger, and am drunk with light.
Amar.If e'er again thou on this place art found,Full fifty years I'll chain thee under ground;The damps of earth shall be thy daily food,All swoln and bloated like a dungeon toad:And when thou shalt be freed, yet thou shalt lieGasping upon the ground, too faint to fly,And lag below thy fellows in the sky.
Dam.O pardon, pardon this accursed deed,And I no more on magic fumes will feed,Which drew me hither by their powerful steams.
Amar.Go expiate thy guilt in holy dreams.[ExitDam.
But thou, sweet saint, henceforth disturb no more[ToS. Cath.
With dreams not thine, thy thoughts to heaven restore.[The Angel ascends, and the scene shuts.
Nig.Some holy being does invade this place,And from their duty does my spirits chase.I dare no longer near it make abode:No charms prevail against the Christians' God.[Exit.
Plac.How doubtfully these spectres fate foretell!In double sense, and twilight truth they dwell:Like fawning courtiers for success they wait,And then come smiling, and declare for fate.
EnterMaximinandPorphyrius,attended byValeriusand guards.
But see, the tyrant and my rival come:I, like the fiends, will flatter in his doom:None but a fool distasteful truth will tell,So it be new and please, 'tis full as well.[Plac.whispers with the Emperor, who seems pleased.Max.You charm me with your news, which I'll reward;By hopes we are for coming joys prepared:Possess her love, or from that love be free;—Heaven speaks me fair: If she as kind can prove,I shall possess, but never quit my love.Go, tell me when she wakes.[ExitPlac.
But see, the tyrant and my rival come:I, like the fiends, will flatter in his doom:None but a fool distasteful truth will tell,So it be new and please, 'tis full as well.[Plac.whispers with the Emperor, who seems pleased.
Max.You charm me with your news, which I'll reward;By hopes we are for coming joys prepared:Possess her love, or from that love be free;—Heaven speaks me fair: If she as kind can prove,I shall possess, but never quit my love.Go, tell me when she wakes.[ExitPlac.
[Porphyriusseems to beg something of him.
—Porphyrius, no;She has refused, and I will keep my vow.Por.For your own sake your cruel vow defer;The time's unsafe, your enemies are near,And to displease your men when they should fight—Max.My looks alone my enemies will fright;And o'er my men I'll set my careful spies,To watch rebellion in their very eyes.To watch rebellion in their very eyes.No more, I cannot bear the least reply.Por.Yet, tyrant, thou shalt perish ere she die.[Aside.
—Porphyrius, no;She has refused, and I will keep my vow.
Por.For your own sake your cruel vow defer;The time's unsafe, your enemies are near,And to displease your men when they should fight—
Max.My looks alone my enemies will fright;And o'er my men I'll set my careful spies,To watch rebellion in their very eyes.To watch rebellion in their very eyes.No more, I cannot bear the least reply.
Por.Yet, tyrant, thou shalt perish ere she die.[Aside.
EnterValeria.
Valeria here! how fortune treats me stillWith various harms, magnificently ill!Max. Valeria, I was sending to your tent,[ToVal.But my commands your presence does prevent.This is the hour, wherein the priest shall joinYour holy loves, and make Porphyrius mine.Val.Now hold, my heart! and Venus I implore,Be judge if she he loves deserves him more.[Aside.Por.Past hope! and all in vain I would preserveMy life, not for myself, but her I serve.[Aside.Val.I come, great sir, your justice to demand.[To the Emperor.
Valeria here! how fortune treats me stillWith various harms, magnificently ill!
Max. Valeria, I was sending to your tent,[ToVal.
But my commands your presence does prevent.This is the hour, wherein the priest shall joinYour holy loves, and make Porphyrius mine.
Val.Now hold, my heart! and Venus I implore,Be judge if she he loves deserves him more.[Aside.
Por.Past hope! and all in vain I would preserveMy life, not for myself, but her I serve.[Aside.
Val.I come, great sir, your justice to demand.[To the Emperor.
Max.You cannot doubt it from a father's hand.
Por.Sir, I confess, before her suit be known;And by myself condemned, my crime I own.I have refused.Val.Peace, peace, while I confessI have refused thee for unworthiness.
Por.Sir, I confess, before her suit be known;And by myself condemned, my crime I own.I have refused.
Val.Peace, peace, while I confessI have refused thee for unworthiness.
Por.I am amazed.
Max.What riddles do you use?Dare either of you my commands refuse?Val.Yes, I dare own, howe'er 'twas wisely doneTo adopt so mean a person for your son,So low you should not for your daughter chuse;And, therefore, sir, this marriage I refuse.
Max.What riddles do you use?Dare either of you my commands refuse?
Val.Yes, I dare own, howe'er 'twas wisely doneTo adopt so mean a person for your son,So low you should not for your daughter chuse;And, therefore, sir, this marriage I refuse.
Max.You liked the choice when first I thought, it fit.
Val.I had not then enough considered it.
Max.And you have now considered it too much:Secrets of empire are not safe to touch.Por.Let not your mighty anger rise too high;'Tis not Valeria merits it, but I:My own unworthiness so well I knew,That from her love I consciously withdrew.Val.Thus rather than endure the little shameTo be refused, you blast a virgin's name.You to refuse, and I to be denied!Learn more discretion, or be taught less pride.Por.O heaven, in what a labyrinth am I led!I could get out, but she detains the thread.Now must I wander on, till I can see,Whether her pity or revenge it be.[Aside.Max.With what child's anger do you think you play?I'll punish both, if either disobey.Val.Since all the fault was mine, I am content,Porphyrius should not share the punishment.Por.Blind that I was till now, that could not see'Twas all the effect of generosity!She loves me, even to suffer for my sake;And on herself would my refusal take.[Aside.Max.Children to serve their parents int'rest live;Take heed what doom against yourself you give.[ToVal.Por.Since she must suffer, if I do not speak,'Tis time the laws of decency to break.She told me, sir, that she your choice approved,And (though I blush to own it) said she loved;Loved me desertless, who, with shame, confestAnother flame had seized upon my breast;Which when, too late, the generous princess knew,And feared your justice would my crime pursue,Upon herself she makes the tempest fall,And my refusal her contempt would call.Val.He raves, sir, and, to cover my disdain,Unhandsomely would his denial feign:And, all means failing him, at last would tryTo usurp the credit of a scorn, and die.But, let him live: His punishment shall beThe grief his pride will bring for losing me.Max.You both obnoxious to my justice are;And, daughter, you have not deserved my care.'Tis my command you strictly guarded be,Till your fantastic quarrel you agree.
Max.And you have now considered it too much:Secrets of empire are not safe to touch.
Por.Let not your mighty anger rise too high;'Tis not Valeria merits it, but I:My own unworthiness so well I knew,That from her love I consciously withdrew.
Val.Thus rather than endure the little shameTo be refused, you blast a virgin's name.You to refuse, and I to be denied!Learn more discretion, or be taught less pride.
Por.O heaven, in what a labyrinth am I led!I could get out, but she detains the thread.Now must I wander on, till I can see,Whether her pity or revenge it be.[Aside.
Max.With what child's anger do you think you play?I'll punish both, if either disobey.
Val.Since all the fault was mine, I am content,Porphyrius should not share the punishment.
Por.Blind that I was till now, that could not see'Twas all the effect of generosity!She loves me, even to suffer for my sake;And on herself would my refusal take.[Aside.
Max.Children to serve their parents int'rest live;Take heed what doom against yourself you give.[ToVal.
Por.Since she must suffer, if I do not speak,'Tis time the laws of decency to break.She told me, sir, that she your choice approved,And (though I blush to own it) said she loved;Loved me desertless, who, with shame, confestAnother flame had seized upon my breast;Which when, too late, the generous princess knew,And feared your justice would my crime pursue,Upon herself she makes the tempest fall,And my refusal her contempt would call.
Val.He raves, sir, and, to cover my disdain,Unhandsomely would his denial feign:And, all means failing him, at last would tryTo usurp the credit of a scorn, and die.But, let him live: His punishment shall beThe grief his pride will bring for losing me.
Max.You both obnoxious to my justice are;And, daughter, you have not deserved my care.'Tis my command you strictly guarded be,Till your fantastic quarrel you agree.
Por.Sir—
Max.I'll not hear you speak, her crime is plain;She owns her pride, which you perhaps may feign.She shall be prisoner till she bend her mindTo that, which is for both of you designed.
Max.I'll not hear you speak, her crime is plain;She owns her pride, which you perhaps may feign.She shall be prisoner till she bend her mindTo that, which is for both of you designed.
Val.You'll find it hard my free-born will to bound.
Max.I'll find that power o'er wills, which heaven ne'er found.Free-will's a cheat in any one but me;In all but kings, 'tis willing slavery;An unseen fate which forces the desire;The will of puppets danced upon a wire.A monarch isThe spirit of the world in every mind;He may match wolves to lambs, and make it kind.Mine is the business of your little fates;And though you war, like petty wrangling states,You're in my hand; and, when I bid you cease,You shall be crushed together into peace.Val.Thus by the world my courage will be prized;[Aside.Seeming to scorn, who am, alas, despised:Dying for love's, fulfilling honour's laws;A secret martyr, while I own no cause.[ExitVal.Max.Porphyrius, stay; there's some thing I would hear:You said you loved, and you must tell me where.Por.All heaven is to my sole destruction bent.[Aside.
Max.I'll find that power o'er wills, which heaven ne'er found.Free-will's a cheat in any one but me;In all but kings, 'tis willing slavery;An unseen fate which forces the desire;The will of puppets danced upon a wire.A monarch isThe spirit of the world in every mind;He may match wolves to lambs, and make it kind.Mine is the business of your little fates;And though you war, like petty wrangling states,You're in my hand; and, when I bid you cease,You shall be crushed together into peace.
Val.Thus by the world my courage will be prized;[Aside.
Seeming to scorn, who am, alas, despised:Dying for love's, fulfilling honour's laws;A secret martyr, while I own no cause.[ExitVal.
Max.Porphyrius, stay; there's some thing I would hear:You said you loved, and you must tell me where.
Por.All heaven is to my sole destruction bent.[Aside.
Max.You would, it seems, have leisure to invent.
Por.Her name in pity, sir, I must forbear,Lest my offences you revenge on her.
Por.Her name in pity, sir, I must forbear,Lest my offences you revenge on her.
Max.My promise for her life I do engage.
Por.Will that, sir, be remembered in your rage?
Max.Speak, or your silence more my rage will move;'Twill argue that you rival me in love.Por.Can you believe that my ambitious flameShould mount so high as Berenice's name?Max.Your guilt dares not approach what it would hide;But draws me off, and (lapwing-like) flies wide.'Tis not my wife, but mistress, you adore:Though that affront, yet this offends me more.Who courts my wife,Does to my honour more injurious prove;But he, who courts my mistress, wrongs my love.
Max.Speak, or your silence more my rage will move;'Twill argue that you rival me in love.
Por.Can you believe that my ambitious flameShould mount so high as Berenice's name?
Max.Your guilt dares not approach what it would hide;But draws me off, and (lapwing-like) flies wide.'Tis not my wife, but mistress, you adore:Though that affront, yet this offends me more.Who courts my wife,Does to my honour more injurious prove;But he, who courts my mistress, wrongs my love.
Por.The Egyptian princess ne'er could move my heart.
Max.You could not perish by a nobler dart.
Por.Sir, I presume not beauties to compare;But in my eyes my princess is as fair.Max.Your princess! then it seems, though you denyHer name you love, you own her quality.Por.Though not by birth or title so, yet she,Who rules my heart, a princess is to me.Max.No, no;'Tis plain that word you unawares did use,And told a truth which now you would excuse.Besides my wife and mistress, here are none,Who can the title of a princess own.Por.There is one more,Your daughter, sir: Let that your doubt remove.Max.But she is not that princess whom you love.Por.I named not love, though it might doubtful seem:She's fair, and is that princess I esteem.Max.Go, and to passion your esteem improve,While I command her to receive your love.[ExitPor.
Por.Sir, I presume not beauties to compare;But in my eyes my princess is as fair.
Max.Your princess! then it seems, though you denyHer name you love, you own her quality.
Por.Though not by birth or title so, yet she,Who rules my heart, a princess is to me.
Max.No, no;'Tis plain that word you unawares did use,And told a truth which now you would excuse.Besides my wife and mistress, here are none,Who can the title of a princess own.
Por.There is one more,Your daughter, sir: Let that your doubt remove.
Max.But she is not that princess whom you love.
Por.I named not love, though it might doubtful seem:She's fair, and is that princess I esteem.
Max.Go, and to passion your esteem improve,While I command her to receive your love.[ExitPor.
EnterSt Catharine.
S. Cath.I come not now, as captive to your power,To beg; but as high heaven's ambassador,The laws of my religion to fulfil:Heaven sends me to return you good for ill.Your empress to your love I would restore,And to your mind the peace it had before.Max.While in another's name you peace declare,Princess, you in your own proclaim a war.Your too great power does your design oppose;You make those breaches which you strive to close.S. Cath.That little beauty, which too much you prize,Seeks not to move your heart, or draw your eyes:Your love to Berenice is due alone;Love, like that power which I adore, is one.When fixed to one, it safe at anchor rides,And dares the fury of the winds and tides;But losing once that hold, to the wide ocean borne.It drives away at will, to every wave a scorn.Max.If to new persons I my love apply,The stars and nature are in fault, not I:My loves are like my old prætorian bands,Whose arbitrary power their prince commands:I can no more make passion come or go,Than you can bid your Nilus ebb or flow.'Tis lawless, and will love, and where it list;And that's no sin, which no man can resist:Those who impute it to me as a crime,Would make a god of me before my time.S. Cath.A god indeed, after the Roman stile,An eagle mounting from a kindled pile:But you may make yourself a god below;For kings, who rule their own desires, are so.You roam about, and never are at rest,By new desires, that is, new torments, still possest;Qualmish and loathing all you had before,Yet with a sickly appetite to more:As in a feverish dream you still drink on,And wonder why your thirst is never gone;Love, like a ghostly vision, haunts your mind,'Tis still before you what you left behind.Max.How can I help those faults which nature made?My appetite is sickly and decayed,And you forbid me change, the sick man's ease!Who cannot cure, must humour his disease.S. Cath.Your mind should first the remedy begin;You seek without the cure that is within.The vain experiments you make each day,To find content, still finding it decay,Without attempting more, should let you see,That you have sought it where it ne'er could be.But when you place your joys on things above,You fix the wandering planet of your love:Thence you may seePoor human kind, all dazed in open day,Err after bliss, and blindly miss their way:The greatest happiness a prince can know,Is to love heaven above, do good below.
S. Cath.I come not now, as captive to your power,To beg; but as high heaven's ambassador,The laws of my religion to fulfil:Heaven sends me to return you good for ill.Your empress to your love I would restore,And to your mind the peace it had before.
Max.While in another's name you peace declare,Princess, you in your own proclaim a war.Your too great power does your design oppose;You make those breaches which you strive to close.
S. Cath.That little beauty, which too much you prize,Seeks not to move your heart, or draw your eyes:Your love to Berenice is due alone;Love, like that power which I adore, is one.When fixed to one, it safe at anchor rides,And dares the fury of the winds and tides;But losing once that hold, to the wide ocean borne.It drives away at will, to every wave a scorn.
Max.If to new persons I my love apply,The stars and nature are in fault, not I:My loves are like my old prætorian bands,Whose arbitrary power their prince commands:I can no more make passion come or go,Than you can bid your Nilus ebb or flow.'Tis lawless, and will love, and where it list;And that's no sin, which no man can resist:Those who impute it to me as a crime,Would make a god of me before my time.
S. Cath.A god indeed, after the Roman stile,An eagle mounting from a kindled pile:But you may make yourself a god below;For kings, who rule their own desires, are so.You roam about, and never are at rest,By new desires, that is, new torments, still possest;Qualmish and loathing all you had before,Yet with a sickly appetite to more:As in a feverish dream you still drink on,And wonder why your thirst is never gone;Love, like a ghostly vision, haunts your mind,'Tis still before you what you left behind.
Max.How can I help those faults which nature made?My appetite is sickly and decayed,And you forbid me change, the sick man's ease!Who cannot cure, must humour his disease.
S. Cath.Your mind should first the remedy begin;You seek without the cure that is within.The vain experiments you make each day,To find content, still finding it decay,Without attempting more, should let you see,That you have sought it where it ne'er could be.But when you place your joys on things above,You fix the wandering planet of your love:Thence you may seePoor human kind, all dazed in open day,Err after bliss, and blindly miss their way:The greatest happiness a prince can know,Is to love heaven above, do good below.
To themBereniceand Attendants.