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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9ef8463 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #55294 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55294) diff --git a/old/55294-0.txt b/old/55294-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index e671850..0000000 --- a/old/55294-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8997 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Poetical Works of Robert Bridges (Volume 3), by -Robert Bridges - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Poetical Works of Robert Bridges (Volume 3) - -Author: Robert Bridges - -Release Date: August 7, 2017 [EBook #55294] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POETICAL WORKS--ROBERT BRIDGES, VOL 3 *** - - - - -Produced by Larry B. Harrison, Les Galloway and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - POETICAL WORKS - - of - - ROBERT BRIDGES - - Volume III - - [Colophon] - - London Smith, Elder & Co 15 Waterloo Place 1898 - - - - - OXFORD: HORACE HART PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY - - - - - _POETICAL WORKS OF ROBERT BRIDGES_ - - - _VOLUME THE THIRD CONTAINING_ - - -_THE FIRST PART OF NERO_ _p._ 1 - -_ACHILLES IN SCYROS_ 179 - -_NOTES_ 261 - - - - -LIST OF PREVIOUS EDITIONS - - -_THE FIRST PART OF NERO._ - -1. _NERO. An historical Tragedy of the first part of the reign of the -emperor Nero. Published by Ewd. Bumpus. London, 1885. 4to._ - - -_ACHILLES IN SCYROS._ - -1. _ACHILLES IN SCYROS. A drama in a mixed manner. Published by Ewd. -Bumpus. London, 1890. 4to._ - -2. _ACHILLES IN SCYROS._ _Uniform with_ Shorter Poems (I). _George Bell -& Sons, 1892._ - - - - -THE FIRST PART OF THE HISTORY OF NERO - - -A HISTORICAL TRAGEDY - - - - -DRAMATIS PERSONÆ - - - _NERO_. - - _BRITANNICUS_ _stepson to Agrippina_. - - _BURRUS_ _praetorian prefect_. - - _SENECA_ _tutor to Nero_. - - _LUCAN, the poet, nephew to Seneca_ } - _OTHO_ } } _friends of Nero_. - _PETRONIUS_} _gentlemen of Rome_ } - - _PALLAS_ _master of the imperial household_. - - _TIGELLINUS_ _successor to Pallas_. - - _THRASEA, a Stoic_ } _honest senators_. - _PRISCUS_ } - - _ANICETUS_ _an admiral_. - - _PARIS_ _a player, favourite of Nero_. - - _SELEUCUS_ _an astrologer_. - - _Messengers, Servants, &c._ - - _AGRIPPINA AUGUSTA_ _mother to Nero_. - - _OCTAVIA_ _wife to Nero, sister to Britannicus_. - - _POPPÆA_ _wife to Otho, loved of Nero_. - - _DOMITIA_ _sister-in-law to Agrippina_. - - _FULVIA_ _attendant on Agrippina_. - - _Maids, &c._ - - -_Scene. The first four acts are laid in ROME; the fifth is at BAIÆ._ - - - - - NERO - - - - - ACT · I - - - SCENE · 1 - -_On the Palatine. THRASEA & PRISCUS._ - - -_THRASEA._ - -IF you ask my advice then, it is silence. You are -yet new to the senate, and must learn to give -your opinion with least offence. - -_PRISCUS._ - -Can you mean this? - - _Thr._ Yes—it is my serious advice. - - _Pr._ Now, unless it were the silence of Brutus ... - - _Thr._ Hush, hush! Were this repeated, there is no -greater peril than that word of yours. - - _Pr._ But to you I know I may speak freely. - - _Thr._ What know you of me? 10 - - _Pr._ I know Thrasea is brave, and resents his country’s -wrongs; that he has insight to see that liberty -was never more outraged than now. - - _Thr._ Believe me, sir, this tale of things being at their -worst is common to all times. Your judgment has gone -astray upon a contempt for Cæsar’s follies, or a hatred -of his mother’s crimes. Measure Nero but by what he -has already done, and you may even find cause for -congratulation. 19 - - _Pr._ We shall be ruled like the Britons by a Queen. - - _Thr._ O nay. It is not possible that Nero will suffer -Agrippina’s ambition to take such a place. ’Tis already -a quarrel between them, and Seneca declares for him. - - _Pr._ Then, I ask you, may there not be found in this -quarrel an opportunity to bring in Britannicus? Now -he is of age, he can no longer be held disqualified. - - _Thr._ There is no question of qualification or of -claim. 28 - - _Pr._ How so? The late emperor Claudius in his will -mentioned Britannicus for his successor, as being his -own son.... - - _Thr._ May be. But then, sir, his empress made away -with both him and his will; and the Roman people chose -for Cæsar the son of the murderess, rather than the heir -of the idiot they were glad to be rid of. Since which -day Nero is as truly our Cæsar as Britannicus could -ever have been. Those who swore to Nero will remain -by him; as ’tis well they should, else were no stability. - - _Pr._ Shall we then do nothing? 39 - - _Thr._ You take things by the wrong handle. Let us -make the best of what we have. Our Cæsar is the pupil -of a philosopher and guided in everything by his -master’s counsels. - - _Pr._ You are very tolerant and hopeful. - - _Thr._ Try and be so too, and I shall wish to see -more of you. If you will visit my house, you will indeed -be most welcome and may find congenial company. -Only no more of Brutus. - - _Pr._ Thank you for your kindness, if it is an earnest -of your confidence—On another occasion... 50 - - _Thr._ O we will find many. (_Shouts heard._) What is -that? (_More shouts._) It must be Cæsar: he is coming -this way. Be not seen talking with me: go you that -way: I will remain. Farewell. - - _Pr._ Farewell, Thrasea. [_Exit._ - - _Thr._ Young blood, hot blood and true: - Yet is his energetic patriotism - Useless,—nay, like a weapon out of date, - Looks not to be a warlike weapon more. - I think in me it had been truer wisdom, 60 - Knowing the forces of this drowning time, - To have said outright—Good, honest Priscus, - Be good no longer, let thine honesty - Rot, it can stead thee nothing; there’s no man - Will be the better for it; there’s no field - Where thou canst exercise it, not a place - In all the world where in secure possession - Thou mayst retire with it: cast it away; - For ’tis a burden far beyond thy freight. - If thou wilt swim at all, swim with the times, 70 - An empty bottom on a shallow tide: - Be that thy seamanship—No; I am bold to say - Our virtue hath the topmost vaunt of honour; - Seeing we are true to it in spite of shame, - When its incompetence before the world - Gives it the lie; nor can the fawning curs, - That bask in Cæsar’s sunshine, when they mock us, - Dream that we wish them other than they are. - I give them joy. See here is folly’s king, - The hare-brained boy to whom injurious fortune 80 - Has given the throne and grandeur of the world: - Now if I bow my head ’tis in thy game, - Ridiculous fate; and my soul laughs at thee. - - [_Retires aside._ - - _Enter Nero, Otho, Lucan, Tigellinus, and Paris._ - - _NERO._ - - This is the place: enlarge it on this side - To take in all the hill. That house of Rufus - That blocks the way must down, and all the piles - On the south slope. Now say, is’t fine or no? - - _LUCAN._ - - Magnificent. - - _OTHO._ - - It shows the mind of Cæsar. - - _TIGELLINUS._ - - Splendid. - - _Ner._ At least the best: we still regret - A better than the best; and I can see 90 - These possibilities. Think if the hill - Were raised some hundred feet, till it o’ertopped - The Capitol—eh! lords. And so ’twere best; - But still ’twill pass for good. - - _Luc._ ’Twill be a palace - For site and size the first in all the world. - - _Ner._ To kill the Jews’ brag of Jerusalem? - - _Oth._ I think it. - - _Ner._ You, my friends, who know my scheme, - May mete and judge my general scope in this, - A sample of my temper coined and uttered 99 - For the world’s model, that all men’s endeavours - May rise with mine to have all things at best, - Not only for myself but for the world; - Riches and joy and heart’s content for all. - It may be done, and who should do it but I? - See now my years at best, my youth and strength - With form and gifts agreeing, and my power,.... - Know’st thou my power?—Oh! Otho, I tell thee - The Cæsars which have been have never known - What ’tis to be full Cæsar. Dost thou think? - There’s nothing good on earth but may be won 110 - With power and money; and I have them both; - Ay, and the will. - - _Oth._ Much may be done, no doubt. - - _Ner._ Much! Why there’s nothing, man, may not be done. - The curse of life is of our own devising, - Born of man’s ignorance and selfishness. - He wounds his happiness against a cage - Of his own make, and only waits the word - For one to set his door open,—and look, - Having his liberty is he not glad - As heaven’s birds are?—Now when fate’s ordinance - Sends him a liberator, ay, and one 121 - Not to cajole or preach, but, will or nill, - Who’ll force him forth and crush up his old cage, - With all who would hang back and skulk therein, - How shall he not be happy? - - _Luc._ This shall be - The world’s last crown, by man with utmost power - Endowed to drive him to the good he shuns. - - _Ner._ Ay. Be all human hopes summed up in mine - And reach their goal. I say there shall be peace, - There shall be plenty, pleasure, and content: 130 - The god on earth shall work the good whereof - The folly of man hath baulked the gods in heaven: - And good that men desire shall be as common - As ills they now repine at. When I say - There shall be justice, see, even at my word - Injustice is no more. - - _PARIS._ - - The house of Rufus, - Standing on justice there, will mar thy palace. - - _Ner._ Fool. Why, I say to Rufus—I am Cæsar, - And need thy house.—Says he—It cost my sire - Ten million sesterces.—A trifle that, 140 - Say I, and give him twenty: and down it goes. - Is not this more than justice? - - _Par._ Ay, ’tis power. - - _Ner._ Thou quibbling meddler, learn this point of wit, - To keep thy sphere; answer in that: last night - Sang I divinely? Wert thou envious - When I put on the lion’s skin, and did - The choice of Hercules? - - _Par._ Most mighty Cæsar, - I wished that I had asses ears to hear; - Mine are not long enough. - - _Ner._ Plague on thy jesting. - See static virtue stalks with folded arm 150 - To set thee down. [_Thrasea comes forward._ - - _Thr._ Hail, Cæsar! - - _Ner._ Thy opinion, - Thrasea, come, thy opinion. What dost thou think - If I extend my palace to take in - The hill whereon we stand? - - _Thr._ The plan no doubt - Is worthy of the site, and for the site, - Why, ’tis the darling spot of Rome. - - _Ner._ Well said. - Stay. I would ask my fellow senator - Wherefore he left the house three days ago - Without his voice or vote. - - _Thr._ I judged the time 159 - Unmeet to speak; and, for my vote, the senate - Was of one mind: a vote was of no count. - - _Ner._ Thou show’dst a sense against us in not voting. - - _Thr._ That must thou look for, Cæsar, in the senate. - - _Ner._ Well, I would have thee speak. We are not full - Without thy voice: nay more, such conduct makes - The senate but a name; for times have been - When silence was well justified by fear. - Now we court criticism, ay, and look ill - On those that grudge their approbation. 169 - - _Thr._ Cæsar commands my service and my praise; - I shall not lack. - - _Ner._ We look for much from thee. - - _Thr._ Long live your majesty. [_Exit._ - - _Ner._ There’s something good - In that man, Otho; spite of his dry mien - And Stoic fashion. - - _Oth._ Nay, I like him not. - He’s hardly flesh and blood. Old Seneca - Is stiff and prosy enough; but if you pinch him, - You find he yields, shows softness here and there. - This man is merely stone, foursquare by rule. - - _Ner._ Do you despise divine philosophy? - - _Oth._ Well, as I take it, all philosophy 180 - Is questionable guessing, but the sense - A man grows up with bears the stamp of nature. - - _Ner._ How mean you that? - - _Oth._ At best this fine-spun system - Is but a part of man’s experience - Drawn out to contradiction of the rest. - ’Tis a fool’s wisdom. - - _Luc._ ’Tis a form of pleasure. - - _Oth._ True. Though there be no theory of life - That’s worth a button, yet the search for one - Seems to content some men better than life. - - _Ner._ Call him not fool, Otho! - - _Oth._ Unless I wrong him, - I speak as well of him as he of me. 191 - Or if he say nothing, his guarded manner - Covers, be sure, a more unkind contempt. - - _Par._ (_apeing Thr._). That must thou look for, Cæsar, in the - senate. - - _Tig._ Ha! ha! Excellent! - - _Ner._ Paris would make a senator. - - _Oth._ Well, give me life. - - _Ner._ Ay, that is wisdom. Live. - Enjoy the hour; which minds me, for to-night - I have time well disposed: we sup with Actè; - She will inaugurate the new pavilion, - And after, there are masks and clubs provided. 200 - Thou’lt join us, eh! - - _Oth._ With all my heart. - - _Ner._ (_to Tig. and Luc._). And you. - And you. And, Paris, see Petronius comes, - And Anicetus. Hence, and bid them now. - - [_Exit Paris._ - - Good news for them I think; pleasure in store. - We’ll make a merry night. Now tell me, Otho, - You’re a good judge, have you ever seen a woman - Fit to compare with Actè? - - _Oth._ I say no. - - _Ner._ I mean not, man, for what our grandsires praised, - Who knew no better; I mean the perfect art 209 - Which makes each moment feverous. - - _Oth._ I know none. - - _Ner._ ’Tis spoke as if thy judgment or thy envy - Grudged me the word. - - _Oth._ Nay, Cæsar. - - _Ner._ O, I know - Thou’rt a good husband, thy good wife commands thee. - - _Oth._ Say, my good fortune, Cæsar. - - _Ner._ Now if thy boast - Be true as it is rare, thy lady’s presence - Would add much spirit to our gaieties. - I have never seen Poppæa, say that to-night - Thou bring her. - - _Oth._ In this thing, for friendship’s sake, - Hold me excused. - - _Ner._ Nay, no constraint; thy wish - Is all in all. Wrong me not; I would not have, 220 - And least to thee, my pleasures a command; - But my commands are pleasures. Let us go. - - [_Exeunt._ - - -SCENE · 2 - -_A room in the palace. Enter OCTAVIA and BRITANNICUS._ - - _BRITANNICUS._ - - Why art thou weeping, dearest? Has Nero been - Again unkind? - - _OCTAVIA._ - - Most unkind. - - _Br._ Weep not so. - Octavia, weep not so. - Count but my tears as thine, so shall my pity - Comfort thy wrongs. Nay, wert thou not my sister, - How must I feel to see so base a rival - Honoured before thyself in Cæsar’s palace! - Why even his mother could not grant him that 230 - Unmoved, but wept with rage: while he himself, - I saw, was touched with shame. - - _Oct._ Hush, hush! nay, ’tis not that; - I mind not that: at least they tell me now - I must not mind; and since he never loved me - It matters little. ’Tis not that at all. - - _Br._ Then something fresh; what more? - - _Oct._ I scarce dare tell. - What hast thou said or done, Britannicus, - That so could anger him? - - _Br._ Ah! is’t with me then - He is angry? Dost thou weep for me? - - _Oct._ For both. - - _Br._ Now tell me all, sister. - - _Oct._ O, ’tis the worst. 240 - Here as I sat this morning strode he in, - More fired with rage than ever I have seen him, - More like his wicked mother, when her fury - Has made me tremble. All he said I heard not, - But this, that I, his wife, had turned against him - To plot with thee, and led thee on to boast - That being of age thou wert the rightful heir, - And more: what is his meaning? - - _Br._ ’Tis his spite - To seek my fault in thee. - - _Oct._ Nay, that were nothing. - Brother, I fear thou wilt be sent from Rome. 250 - He dare not face the truth. He cannot brook - Thy title: thou must go, ay, thou wilt go - And leave me in my prison. - - _Br._ ’Twas last night - I vexed him suddenly in his cups, but thought - ’Twould be as soon forgotten. - - _Oct._ Say, how was it? - - _Br_. It was the feast of Saturn,—and as it chanced - (Or rather, I should say, ’twas so arranged - To please him, at his own desire) he drew - The lot of king of the feast, and when the company - Were drunk he used his silly privilege 260 - To have me be their fool. - - _Oct._ Didst thou rebuke him? - - _Br._ It happened thus. When all the guests in turn - Had answered to their forfeit, as his humour - Prescribed to each, he turned on me, and bade me - Show them a tragic scene, foreseeing how - The incongruence of time and place, the audience - Of drunken sots would turn my best to worst, - And smother passion in a sea of laughter. - But, for the wine I had been constrained to taste - Had mounted to my head, I felt at heart 270 - A force to wither up their sottish jeers, - And ere I knew my purpose I was sitting - Upright upon the couch, and with full passion - Singing the old Greek song thou saidst so well - Suited our fortunes. - - _Oct._ O, would I had been there! - They could not laugh at thee. - - _Br._ They did not laugh. - The sadness and the sweetness of the music, - After their low hoarse songs, startled to sense - Their sodden, maudlin brains: they listened all - To the end, and then with daunted appetite 280 - Sat in constraint and silence. - - _Oct._ Oh! well done! - And what said Nero? - - _Br._ He but smiled until - The tale tells how the poor child disinherited - Was put to death by his usurping brother; - Then his eye sank; and last, when Paris rose - At the end and praised my acting, he grew wild, - And said the feast was o’er, and bade us go. - - _Oct._ Alas! ’twas done too well. - - _Br._ I mind it not: - I wear no mask: and manifold occasion - Will oft surprise our closest guard, provoking 290 - Unbidden motions that betray the heart: - ’Twere vain to seek to quell them: they are like our shadows, - Which, if the sun shine forth, appear and show - Our form and figure. Such haps cannot be helped. - - _Enter Agrippina and attendants._ - - _ATTENDANT._ - - The Augusta, your royal mother. - - _AGRIPPINA._ - - Good day, my son. - - _Br._ Good morrow, mother. - - _Agr._ Octavia still here! Child, why, know you not - ’Tis long past noon, and Dionysius - Waits in the library? Begone, begone! - What! crying? Here’s a picture to recover 300 - A husband’s favour!—Fulvia, attend my daughter - Into my tiring-room, and treat her eyes - To hide these scalded rings: and then, Octavia, - Go to the library, talk thy full hour; - Thy Greek is shameful. The rest go. - - [_Exeunt Octavia and attendants._ - - My son, - I’d speak with thee. - - _Br._ My mother’s pleasure? - - _Agr._ Thou art my pleasure, child. - Fear me no more. I can be kinder to thee - Than ever I have been to my own true son. 309 - - _Br._ I thank your majesty. - - _Agr._ Nay, now ’tis spoilt. - Best call me mother. Thou hast need of me. - I have heard all; what happed last night at supper. - Thou hast offended Cæsar. - - _Br._ He does wrong - To use the freedom of the feast to insult me, - And then resent my freedom in repelling - His right-aimed insult. - - _Agr._ True; the liberty - Should cover it: but in thy veins there runs - That which outcries thy speech; which, wert thou dumb, - Would speak thee guilty, and being tongued proclaims - Thy needful sentence. ’Twas done bitterly. 320 - I know thy song. Dost thou believe, Britannicus, - That I could give the tale another ending?— - —Suppose, I say, I read it in some book - Writ differently: how that the proud usurper, - Owing all to his mother—dost thou follow me?— - How, when he came to power, instead of sharing - With her who had toiled for him, and in her love - Had parted from all praise, looking to reap - In him the fuller recompense of glory, - How he, when time came he should make return, - Denied her even the common duty owed 331 - By son to mother, set her will aside, - Laughed at her, added to her shames, reproached her, - Mocked her with presents taken openly - Out of her treasures,—as to say outright, - All now is mine, thou hast no claim at all; - See what I choose to give, thank me for these— - Held her as nothing, hated her, brought in - His strumpet to her chamber,—that was the sum— - And she then, when she saw her love derided, 340 - I say, repented, came to the boy she had wronged.... - - _Br._ I know, I know. - - _Agr._ Then, if thou knowest, say; - What said he, when she told him she would turn - Her love on him, would set him in the place - Whence she had thrust him out? What said he? - - _Br._ Nothing. - - _Agr._ Nothing! - - _Br._ Nay, I remember he said thus: - Wronged have I been by all, and none can right me; - All hath been false to me save sorrow only; - Justice and truth forsworn: There is no word 349 - That I dare speak; yet if thou stoop to insult me - My tongue will show my wrongs are not forgotten. - - _Agr._ My dearest boy, believe me. - - _Br._ The last time - Thou call’dst me thus ’twas when my father died. - I thought then ’twas in kindness, afterwards - I found the meaning. - - _Agr._ Yea, I confess I wronged thee; - That is my meaning now: had I not wronged thee, - My speech would have no sense at all: ’tis this - I come to urge: in this thou must believe me. - Canst thou not see, had I no pity in me, - No true remorseful pangs, yet still my wrongs 360 - Would move me thus? Though thou trust not my love, - Read in these tears of anger and despair - The depth of my set purpose, my revenge. - - _Br._ I partly do believe thee. - - _Agr._ Believe me wholly, - And my revenge is thine. - - _Br._ Nay, think not so. - There’s blood in thy revenge; I’ll none of it. - What are my private wrongs to Rome? If Cæsar - Stablish the empire, where’s the citizen - Will take exception that he hath wronged his brother? - Since were I Cæsar I would vail my rights 370 - To theirs, I still will act as I were Cæsar. - - _Agr._ O could’st thou see this offer as thy last - And only safety thou would’st not refuse me. - - _Br._ I rather hope to be forgiven the thing - I never thought, than win by doing it. - - _Agr._ Thou wilt not join with me? - - _Br._ There’s nought to join, - Save to thy will to right me I might join - A hope of justice, to vain will vain hope. - - _Agr._ Think for thy sister, boy. She cannot long - Be Cæsar’s wife. Then, were her brother Cæsar, - She might be matched with any excellence. 381 - Octavia’s happiness lies on thy word. - - _Br._ Octavia, dear Octavia—Now if thou’rt true - There is a way. This matter’s full presentment - Hath not been strange to me, though I have barred the thought - And held no purpose in it; there’s one way: - Those that have wronged can right. If thou would’st speak - With Burrus, he is plain and honourable, - And if he think there’s gain in the exchange, - And his heart goes with it, he has the guards,—my name, 390 - The sense of right, the promise of a largess, - Will win them to a man. The senate follows: - In a day, an hour, without a drop of blood - My wrongs are righted. Wilt thou speak with Burrus? - - _Agr._ I dare not. - - _Br._ Then do nothing. Or if thou canst, - Assure thy son that from my helpless state - And suffering spirit he has nought to fear. - - _Agr._ Nay, thou wert right: and though ’tis difficult, - I’ll speak with Burrus. ’Tis a most bold stroke, - But I can dare it. Good Burrus owes me much. [_Exit._ - - _Br._ Strange, strange indeed. I have heard it said that murder 401 - Falls on itself: that in the guilty breast - The implacable crime ploughs up with rooting tusk - The bleeding strings of nature: and in this woman - Of no remorse hath fated vengeance stirred - Her heart to hate her son. O, I did wrong - Yielding a little. Yet, since Burrus loves me, - That he should rule my fate is my best safety. - For her, if she’s my foe, he may work on her.— - These days have brought much change and food for fear. 410 - - - - - ACT · II - - - SCENE · I - -_A room in Seneca’s house, SENECA and BURRUS._ - - _SENECA._ - - The Armenian papers came through me last evening; - I sent them on at once. - - _BURRUS (refusing a seat)._ - - Nay, thank ye, Seneca: - I have been two hours in the saddle. - - _Sen._ ’Tis a matter - Of heavy import. - - _Bur._ I demanded audience. - - _Sen._ Well? - - _Bur._ All is settled. - - _Sen._ And who has the commission - To undertake the Parthian? - - _Bur._ Corbulo. - - _Sen._ ’Tis good. I like the choice. And what said Nero? - - _Bur._ He told me well and wisely what to do, - When I had shown him all that must be done. - - _Sen._ I wish his judgment were as tractable 420 - With me. Took he your word? - - _Bur._ The affair went pat. - What luck for Corbulo! - - _Sen._ Pray sit, good Burrus, - And let us talk: my thought is most at ease - When I am sitting. - - _Bur._ I pray you then be seated. - - _Sen._ (_sitting_). Burrus, my difficulties day by day - Increase. The cares of empire are as nothing - To managing an emperor. - - _Bur._ Why, what’s the matter? - - _Sen._ Give but attention to me. - - _Bur._ I attend. - - _Sen._ Do so most carefully: ’tis not a business - That may be brushed aside. - - _Bur._ I am all attention. 430 - - _Sen._ Nero has broken with Britannicus: - Heard you of that? - - _Bur._ Heard of it? I was there. - - _Sen._ Well, that has brought to head the jealous difference - ’Twixt Cæsar and his mother. Since he first, - At our advice, as was most fit, denied her - A place in power, she has striven to force a title - Out of her power for mischief: this you have seen: - But now to hear how she hath edged her practice; - She overskins her old accustomed hate - Of young Britannicus, speaks kindly of him, 440 - Hints of his right; nay, even hath dared upbraid - Cæsar with usurpation. This was matched - With words from him, which she no sooner heard - Than in her rage disordered flew she hither - To win me to her part; when seeing that I - Stood firm, she fled in furious passion, saying - That I should learn what temper she was of. - - _Bur._ I would that all the gods and goddesses - Might burn them up to cinders. - - _Sen._ Peace, I say. - Cannot you sit? I need your best advice. 450 - - _Bur._ Except the lad.—Advice concerning what? - - _Sen_. Why this new phase of court affairs. See you, - - [_Takes a paper._ - - ’Twas my just counterpoise of warring forces - Ensured stability. Here Agrippina, - Saved from her own ambition in the splendour - Of her son’s estate, serves in his interest - To guard Britannicus, whom else he had feared. - The boy, in favour of his sister’s title, - Sinks his own right. Then Nero’s youthful passions, - Growing to hatred of Octavia’s bed, 460 - Are stayed at equilibrium, as my judgment - And knowledge of the world enables me; - And all goes well, when an important factor, - The empress, rounds, and plays me false to her motive, - As here assumed, and vitiates with that flaw - The nice adjustment of each several item.— - I go to expound you this; you scarce attend, - Or answer with an oath. - - _Bur._ A pious prayer - To extricate you from a world of trouble. - - _Sen._ O, I can do it, Burrus, trust to me. 470 - I place them all as chessmen, and I find - Delight in difficulty: but ’tis hard, - When one has chosen, strengthened a position, - To change the value of a piece. I think - Much of your judgment, and I ask you now - What you would do. I must decide to-day. - - _Bur._ Why must? - - _Sen._ As if you knew not. - - _Bur._ If your art - Be to adapt yourself to every change.... - - _Sen._ You know ’tis not. I say, should Nero now - Banish his mother? - - _Bur._ Hark ye, Seneca, 480 - If you remember, I foresaw this trouble. - I know no remedy, nor is’t my office - To arrange the affairs of the palace, gods be praised. - But this is clear to me, that our three friends - Will never live together: what I urge - Is, separate them: if you cannot that, - We must not stick in balance when they break. - Whene’er that happens, our pre-eminent duty - Lies in our oath to Cæsar, and our second 489 - May be his mother’s pleasure, to whose schemes - We owe our place. [_Knocking heard._ - - _Sen._ Who’s there? come in. - - _Enter Servant._ - - _SERVANT._ - - The Augusta - Has come in private, and desires an audience. - - _Sen._ Again, you see, the Augusta. - - _Bur._ Eh! I’ll be off. - - _Sen._ One moment, pray. (_To Servt._) Beg her be - pleased to enter. [_Exit Servt._ - - Burrus, I adjure you not to go, your presence - May moderate her passion: or, if not, - ’Twere best you saw it. - - _Bur._ Well, all’s one to me. - - _Enter Agrippina._ - - _AGRIPPINA._ - - Be not surprised that I so soon return: - I have repented. Ha! the general here! - Thou seest me, Burrus, on a woman’s errand. 500 - Nay, no apology; thou hast o’erheard - My merit, not my fault. - - _Bur._ I thank your majesty. - I will withdraw. - - _Agr._ Nay, I desire thee stay. - I came not here to find thee; but thy presence - Mends my intention. Let us hold a council. - ’Tis not the first time our triumvirate, - Secretly gathered in the nick of time, - Hath preordained the changes which should fall - Upon the earth like fate. To-day’s decree, - If we combine, will be as big with action 510 - As any we have uttered. - - _Bur._ I fear I stand - In ignorance of the question. - - _Sen._ I will explain. - - _Agr._ Listen to me. We three who here are met - Stand in such place, that, if we but unite, - There’s none can say us nay. I do not ask - Who raised thee, Burrus, or thee, Seneca, - To where ye are: nay, if I asked you that - I’d look for no more answer than if asking - What two and two make; ’tis self-evident, - Unquestioned; it was I; and if you owe 520 - Allegiance to another, ’tis to one - Whom I made more than I made you; ay, one - Who has nothing but what was mine, and is mine: - His body mine, his life and being mine, - His power, his place, his honour mine, my son, - My Nero, who, when my husband late deceased, - The honest Claudius, passed to join the gods, - Was raised and set by me under your guidance, - To share with me the empire of the world. - Now what it may be that hath warped his heart 530 - Is from the matter: enough that so it is. - I might blame one of you, sure not myself, - Who have ever held in love and kindness towards him - The same intention; nay, and from my kindness - I swerve not now, though for a wholesome end - I mask that kindness in severity. - There’s but this choice, I must withdraw my favour, - Or suffer my disgrace: ay, and for you, - Burrus and Seneca, be sure, the same. - If I fall, ye will fall. Therefore being one 540 - In interest with me, I look to find you ready - To stand by me in any scheme of action - Which may preserve our station, while we may. - - _Sen._ Your majesty says well. We have hitherto - All held one purpose, and if now we are foiled - Or thwarted, none is thwarted more than I. - And since it is my pride, in the high place - Whereto your judgment called me, to exceed - The measure which might justify your choice, - I shall not fail. In these new difficulties 550 - I would make no display of fresh resource; - Full means there will be, yet what means it is - I am not ripe to say. - - _Agr._ What say’st thou, Burrus? - The matter Seneca avoids is this: - Shall I be driven to exile, or will ye - Join with me to forbid it? - - _Bur._ Hath your majesty, - In urging opposition, any scheme - That might give life to policy? - - _Agr._ Ay, something. - I would protect Britannicus: his claim - And popularity being pressed, must drive 560 - Nero upon my side. - - _Bur._ Such act were merely - The boy’s destruction, were’t not done in earnest - And backed by force. - - _Agr._ Then, since the case demands - All earnestness, and since we lack not force..... - - _Bur._ Between your son’s rule and your stepson’s claim - There lies no middle way. - - _Agr._ I never held - That a stout purpose chose a middle way. - - _Sen._ What, what! Consider, madam, what you urge - Is to dethrone your son. - - _Agr._ I am desperate. - - _Sen._ Indeed, indeed! 570 - - _Agr._ What say’st thou, Burrus? Hast thou not a hope - The rightful heir might prove the better Cæsar? - - _Bur._ Were this in earnest, yet my oath to Cæsar - Forbids me even to think the thing you say. - - _Agr._ Thy oath to him! Rather to me ’twas sworn; - Who raised thee up to swear, and made the Cæsar - For thee to swear to? I can dispense your oaths: - Or rather, since they were unjustly sworn, - Justice dispenses them. ’Twould be a deed - Truer than oaths to break the oaths ye swore. 580 - - _Bur._ Justice is still against you. ’Twas unjust - To burn the will of Claudius; ’twas unjust - To hide Britannicus, and to bring forth - Your own son in his place: these things were wrongs, - And these old wrongs would you redub with new. - For when upon your wrongs Rome set her seal, - Her choice made right of wrong, and we that swore, - Swore not to Nero or Britannicus, - But unto Rome and to her chosen Cæsar. 589 - - _Agr._ Nay, Seneca, I think, will scarce say thus. - - _Sen._ Burrus is right; and were he wrong, your scheme - But complicates the mischief. - - _Agr._ Then ye desert me? - - _Sen._ Nay, nay, in other ways I may do much. - I may win Nero back. - - _Agr._ The thought is folly; - We fight against him. - - _Sen._ Oh! ’tis open treason. - - _Agr._ Eh! Why, I think my son’s ingratitude - Is nought to this; he had the right to expect - My favours: but for you, whom I chose out - And set above the rest because I chose, - Made you my friends because I chose, for you 600 - There is no excuse. Had ye no motive, yet - To see a woman in distress like mine, - Wronged by her son, and injured as no woman - Has ever been, should rouse a manly spirit, - Ay, make a coward burn to do me right. - But ye stand there aloof, and not a word. - O good Seneca, - Rememberest thou thy days in Corsica? - The stoic letters of thine exile, writ - With Naso’s pang, and that exuberant page 610 - To me, at the first tidings of recall. - I have it still, the letter, superscribed - _Your most devoted slave._ Was not that felt? - Had’st thou not cause? Now is the opportunity - Of my distress, now I stand to lose all, - All that those hard times strove for, all they won. - The faith thou owest me, still may make all mine; - Wilt thou deny it me? - - _Sen._ Alas, good lady! - - _Agr._ Alas! - Is this the vein? Think you I come to hear - Your lamentations? Ah! ye dare, I see, 620 - Pity me while ye wrong me: but the truth - Ye dare not say. Ye dare not say, Lo, we, - Raised by your clemency, sworn to your service, - Seeing your fair wind is changed, and there’s no hope - Left to your following, do as all knaves do, - Leave you to perish. Ah, all’s lost, all’s lost! [_Weeps._ - - _Bur._ (_to Sen._). Business attending me at home, I go. [_Going._ - - _Agr._ Thou goest! Then go, thou wooden counterfeit. - Nay, I’ll be with thee yet. (_Exit Bur._) Pooh! let him go, - An ugly, one-armed, upstart, sneaking knave: 630 - A title seeker, a subservient villain. - And thou, - Philosopher! come, teach me thy philosophy. - Tell me how I may be a dauntless Stoic - And a most pitiful ass. Show me thy method - Of magnanimity and self-denial, - Which makes of slaves the richest men in Rome. - Philosopher! Ay, thou that teachest youth - Dishonesty, and coinest honied speeches - To gloss iniquity, sand without lime. 640 - Out, out upon thee! - Thou miserable, painful, hackney-themed - Botcher of tragedies, that deem’st thyself - A new Euripides, a second Cato: - A pedant rather, pander and murderer. - I’ll let Rome know how pumpkin Claudius died; - I’ll not be ashamed to say, ’twas I that spiced - His fatal mushroom. Honest Seneca - Stood by and smiled. True, true! I’ll be true yet; - I’ll right Britannicus. I’ll tell the soldiers 650 - What they should look for. Hear’st thou not their shouts? - Seneca to the Tiber! the philosopher, - The murderer to the Tiber! Fulvia, Fulvia!— - Fulvia, I go. Come, I will leave; lead on. [_Exit._ - - _Sen._ And I to train the cub of such a dam! [_Exit._ - - - SCENE · 2 - - _Room in Domitia’s house. Enter DOMITIA - and SELEUCUS._ - - _DOMITIA._ - - ’Tis a most shrewd surmise, but nothing more; - I cannot listen to it. Though I hate - My sister, and would take some risk to crush her, - Yet must I set my foot on surer ground. - My better engine is Poppæa’s dream, 660 - Of which thou’st told me: I can build on that. - Thou should’st be there, I think, to-night. - - _SELEUCUS._ - - Ay, madam. - I go at once. - - _Dom._ Speak nothing waveringly. - - _Sel._ Nay, madam. - - _Dom._ ’Tis her fate to marry Cæsar. - - _Sel._ My art needs no instruction. - - _Dom._ It must be so. - - _Sel._ It is so, madam. - - _Dom._ See, thy prophecy - Is that which should determine it. Go now. [_To door._ - Her purse will satisfy thee well. - - _Sel._ Yet once - Ere I be gone, madam, I’ll make a stand - To win thy credit. 670 - - _Dom._ Thou must show me cause. - Thou say’st the Augusta plots against her son, - Supports Britannicus, tampers with Burrus. - How know’st thou this? - - _Sel._ Why should I lie? - - _Dom._ I think - There may be some who make it worth thy while. - - _Sel._ I would not meddle in this thing for money. - - _Dom._ Why tell me then at all? - - _Sel._ To win thy help. - - _Dom._ To what? - - _Sel._ To save the prince. - - _Dom._ If thou’rt in earnest, - Where is thy confidence? Assure me first, - At least, of what thou say’st. Whence know’st thou this? 680 - - _Sel._ Fulvia, thy sister’s maid, rewards my love - With many trifles: what she overhears - I piece together. - - _Dom._ What of this was heard, - And how much pieced? - - _Sel._ The Augusta sent all out, - And spake long time in private with the prince. - What passed I guess from this; that ere she left, - Being risen to go, as Fulvia at the door - Stood just without, she heard her voice most plainly - Angrily entreating, saying, that though he doubted, - Yet she would still with him regain her power: 690 - If he held off yet he so far was right, - As that ’twas best to speak with Burrus first. - - _Dom._ And has she since seen Burrus? - - _Sel._ I think she hath. - He lately came from Seneca’s, and there - The Augusta must have met with him. - - _Dom._ What passed? - - _Sel._ I know not yet. Fulvia will know and tell me. - - _Dom._ But can’st thou trust her? - - _Sel._ Ay, she hath no purpose. - Whate’er she hears is mine. - - _Dom._ Then make this thine. - Her tampering with Britannicus is nought: - But if she speak with Burrus, there is matter 700 - That I can work on. Ay, if that should be— - Make sure of that, and bring me word at once. - To-night thou hast thy business; go and do it. - Poppæa marries Cæsar. - - _Sel._ Madam, I go. [_Exit._ - - _Dom._ Now, my good sister, if this tale is true, - Thy fortune turns: I trample on thee now. - Ay, if she have spoke with Burrus, then one word - To Nero, and she is doomed. Patience and time - Bring us all opportunities: we need - But watch and wait. The way I least expected 710 - She runs within the reach of my revenge. [_Exit._ - - - SCENE · 3 - - _Room in Otho’s house. Enter POPPÆA._ - - _POPPÆA._ - - My dream was strange: but why of all strange dreams - Stands forth this dream, to say it hath a meaning? - There lies the mystery: the dream were nothing. - ’Tis such a dream as I have prayed to dream. - ’Tis such a dream as an astrologer - Must love to interpret. Nay, there’s but one way - Seleucus can explain it. - - _Enter Seleucus._ - - I looked for thee - An hour ago: thou’rt late. - - _SELEUCUS._ - - The seasons, lady, 720 - Of divination are determinate - By stars and special omens: ’tis our skill - To observe their presage. The hour is favourable. - Thy dream ... - - _Pop._ Is’t good? - - _Sel._ Beyond thy hope. - - _Pop._ Then tell it. - - _Sel._ Two thousand sesterces.... - - _Pop._ I have it here. - See! I was ready for thee. [_Gives him a purse._ - - _Sel._ I thank thee, lady. - - _Pop._ Now for thy message. - - _Sel._ I have sought out thy dream - By every means our art.... - - _Pop._ Mind not the means. - - _Sel._ There is one interpretation clear throughout.... - - _Pop._ And that? 730 - - _Sel._ Thou shalt be wife unto two Cæsars. - - _Pop._ Two! Now be Isis praised. Two! O, Seleucus, - Thou’rt an astrologer. Two! this is life, - Seleucus; this is life as well as fortune. - What are the names? - - _Sel._ There ends my message, lady. - - _Pop._ ’Tis good so far, but stays unkindly. Search, - I must know more. Above all things, the affair - Is secret. (_Knocking heard._) I will send my servant to thee. - Thou must be gone: our business will not suffer - My husband stumbling on thee here. This way. - - [_Exit Seleucus, being put out._ - - My dream was true: my hopes and schemes inspired - Of heaven; yet this is far beyond them all. 741 - Wife to two Cæsars; maybe, mother of Cæsars. - - [_Noise at door._ - - To sit upon their rare, successive thrones, - A manifold Augusta! Here’s my husband. - What would he say? Two Cæsars, ay, two Cæsars! - - [_Laughing heard without._ - - _Enter Otho._ - - _OTHO._ - - Good evening, love. - - _Pop._ Who laughed with thee without? - - _Oth._ Lucan. He walked with me from Cæsar’s supper. - - _Pop._ Was Cæsar riotous? - - _Oth._ Beyond all bounds. - - _Pop._ See what you husbands are. You go abroad - For pleasure, and when met among yourselves 750 - Push all to excess, and never think how patiently - Your wives must mope at home, and wait your coming. - And when you do return, up to the door - You bring your merriment; but at the door - ’Tis left, and in you come, in solemn glumness, - To vent the sour reaction of your revels - Upon your housekeeper. - - _Oth._ Enough, Poppæa; - I would be cheered. - - _Pop._ Then I will cheer thee, love. - But what’s the matter? - - _Oth._ Listen. Thou hast reproached me - With going forth alone. What else could be? 760 - Would’st thou consent to sit there at my side, - Where I, a man, am oft ashamed to sit? - Would’st thou, could’st thou be one among the women - Of Cæsar’s fancy? - - _Pop._ I spake not seriously. - - _Oth._ See, but I do. I tell thee, love, this night - Thou wert invited. - - _Pop._ I! - - _Oth._ He would have pressed it. - - _Pop._ Who would have pressed it? - - _Oth._ Cæsar. - - _Pop._ What dost thou say? - - (_Aside._) He treads on prophecy. - - _Oth._ Knowing thy mind, - And mine, I begged him for our friendship’s sake - Urge me no further. - - _Pop._ Thou did’st well, and he? 770 - - _Oth._ Again to-night he asked for thee. ’Twas this - Which made me sad and thoughtful. - - _Pop._ Why be sad? - - _Oth._ The meaning, love, the meaning: thou must guess it. - - _Pop._ The very reason, Otho, which thou urgest - Against my going, is in truth the reason - Why such as I should go. As Cæsar’s friend, - Thou would’st do well to save him from the slough - He daily sinks in. - - _Oth._ Nay, but such a stake - For such a flimsy hope. - - _Pop._ I see a hope - In the invitation. Otho, let us see 780 - What may be done among his friends. - - _Oth._ Poppæa, - ’Tis generously thought, but ’tis a thing - Must not be thought. Trust to my judgment, love. - ’Tis Cæsar’s love of power that threats us here; - He would have nought held from him. Thee I hold, - And most because I know thou would’st be mine. - - _Pop._ Then thou must trust me, Otho. - - _Oth._ And so I do. - - _Pop._ Why, I were well his match. Let us go in. - - [_Exeunt._ - - - SCENE · 4 - - _Room in the Palace. Enter AGRIPPINA and - PALLAS._ - - _AGRIPPINA._ - - Pallas, thy date is out: thou art dismissed; - Thou goest from the court: yet what thou takest 790 - May soften thy regrets. Thy shiny days - Were not misspent, and thou may’st live like Cæsar. - Farewell, we still are friends: the debt I owe - I shall remember: ’twas thy power that first - Gave root to mine: for thee, I think my favours - Were once thy pleasure. If those days are gone, - We can look time in the face; we have not wasted - The days that flew: ’tis now with what remain - Still to be careful. Friends and firm allies. - - _Pal._ Ay, firm as ever. - - _Agr._ Nay, though thou goest first, - That is not much: even that I cannot save thee 801 - Is sign that I am fallen ere thou could’st fall: - A deeper, deadlier fall, unless indeed - My wit can save me still. - - _Pal._ Alas, dear queen, - Fear makes this parting sad. But if there’s hope, - ’Tis this, to gain thy son. - - _Agr._ Ay, till our schemes be ripe; - And even though Seneca betray me,—and that - Is sure,—I fear not him. I know my son - Better than he, and I shall win him yet. - My plan is now to seem resigned to all: 810 - I will pretend my purpose is to leave him, - And fly from Rome to voluntary exile. - ’Twill work upon his fear and duty both, - To cut himself quite off from me, and all - That goes with me. He will entreat me stay; - And if I stay— - - _Pal._ Ay, if this storm go by, - The turns of time may offer us reprisals. - At present use all means to gain thy son. - - _Agr._ I shall. Farewell. - - _Pal._ Be bold. The gods protect you. - Farewell. 820 - - _Agr._ Farewell. [_Exeunt severally._ - - _Enter Tigellinus and Paris._ - - _TIGELLINUS._ - - Look from the window: thou wilt see ’tis true; - He takes all with him. - - _PARIS._ - - Nay, if this is all. - - _Tig._ This much were all: and yet this caravan - Is but the least of six; His monstrous Grace - Brings up the rear. - - _Par._ ’Tis nobly done of Cæsar. - - _Tig._ ’Tis noble, say you, that the thief go quit - With all his plunder from the house he plundered? - - _Par._ Hark how the weasel can upbraid the fox! - Good Tigellinus, there’s no need to grudge - Pallas his scrapings; the sea is full of fish: 830 - Rather thou should’st rejoice because thou seest - Thy probable hap. Pray that as many mules, - Litters and bags and bales, women and slaves - May comfort thee. - - _Enter Nero with Domitia._ - - _NERO._ - - Paris, what do you here? - - _Par._ I comfort Tigellinus on the fate - Of his predecessor. - - Ner._ (_at window_). Gods! see what a train - _Drags out the very bowels of the palace. - No wonder my good mother’s man resigns - With resignation. - - _Tig._ Ha! ha! - - _Ner._ I seek the Augusta. - She late was here; go find her; say I wait her. 840 - - [_Exeunt Tigellinus and Paris._ - - _DOMITIA._ - - Through my discovery, Nero, thy good fortune - Lifts thee a corner of the veil whereunder - Thy mother plots. Be not thou now deceived - To further trust. She is bent upon thy ruin. - - _Ner._ Though it be true she urged Britannicus - Even in those words, we lack the surety yet - She spoke them in good faith. - - _Dom._ O, there’s no doubt. - - _Ner._ My mother is very deep, and often looks - Far from her meaning. She will use this way - To worm a confidence. 850 - - _Dom._ She did not then. - - Ner. Yet must the boy have thought so, for you said - That what she urged he took not all in kindness. - - _Dom._ He bade her speak with Burrus. - - _Ner._ The villainous brat! - - _Dom._ Drive not the fault on him. Did Burrus waver, - Nothing could save thee. And it seems thy mother - Had hope to win him. She comes; now be thou firm. - I will be gone. _[Exit._ - - _Ner._ (_solus_). Now she cannot deceive me. - - _Enter Agrippina._ - - _Agr._ My son, thy mother comes at thy command. - - _Ner._ O excellent mother! - - _Agr._ What would’st thou with me, son? - I come to hear, and yet I scarce am fit 860 - For banter or abuse. I am ill to-day. - - _Ner._ No wonder; ’tis you do too much. ’Twere better - You spared yourself. Go rest; my business - Will not cure headaches. - - _Agr._ Speak whate’er it be. - - _Ner._ Nay, if you’re ill— - - _Agr._ My sickness will not pass. - To-morrow I shall leave thee; that last grief - Will soon engulph the rest: speak while thou may’st. - - _Ner._ What’s this! leave me to-morrow? - - _Agr._ I would spare thee - That worst disgrace of sending me away. - I go of myself. 870 - - _Ner._ What now? - - _Agr._ ’Tis well resolved. - I have been foolish; ’twas a mother’s fault, - A tender fault: forget it, and hereafter - Know my love better. If my presence bred - Dislike, thy kinder mind may yet return - When I am gone. - - _Ner._ Why, what has happed, I pray? - - _Agr._ Nothing. I have only come to see my error. - I thought, ’twas I that gave him all.... - - _Ner._ Tut! tut! - ’Tis the old story told a thousand times. - - _Agr._ Ay, and forgot as oft. Thy constant wrongs, - I think, have dug my grave. Dost thou remember - What answer once I made the sorcerer 881 - Who prophesied thy fortune? Thy son, he said, - Shall reign, and kill his mother. Let him kill me, - So that he reign, I cried. He spake the truth, - But ’tis by grief thou slay’st me. - - _Ner._ That old rubbish - Were best forgotten. - - _Agr._ Indeed, I had forgot it: - But yesternight I dreamed it all again; - A frightful dream: plain as I see thee now - Stood’st thou before me thus, with angry words - - [_She acts._ - - Mocking, until I wept for shame; but thou 890 - Did’st only laugh the more. Then ran I to thee, - And bared my breast, and cried, Kill me, O son! - And thou fastened’st thy snaky eyes upon me, - So that I could not see what thy hand did. - But, oh! I knew. I heard thy weapon grate - Leaving the scabbard, and a fiery pang - Pierced through my heart. Ah! - - _Ner._ (_aside_). Heavens, is she mad?— - Mother, good mother, mother! 899 - - _Agr._ ’Twas nothing. Nay, where am I? I was come - To hear thy speech. What is’t thou hast to say? - - _Ner._ (_aside_). If this were trickery? Let the fact try.— - ’Twas this: what speech you held the other morning - With young Britannicus. - - _Agr._ (_aside_). Ah! knows he that?— - Thy spies are most alert. This time, at least, - I praise their zeal: though thou art slow to thank me - For my kind service done to thee and him. - - _Ner._ Whether is it kinder, say you, to him to urge him - To embrace the desperate plot, of which already - He stood suspected, or more kind to me 910 - To water this rebellion with the tears - Of your insidious passion? - - _Agr._ Your man’s a fool: I heard - Your quarrel, and took pains to sound the boy. - - _Ner._ Next you saw Burrus. - - _Agr._ Well, and what said he? - - _Ner._ Nay, that’s for you to tell. - - _Agr._ ’Twas this: Britannicus - Most truly said that nought could help his claim, - Except the guards and Burrus: at which word - I flew to Burrus, offered him the bait; - And when he showed the scruple of his oath, - Three words from me confirmed him. 920 - - _Ner._ If this were true! - - _Agr._ How much you need me, Nero, will be plain - When I am gone. Who has deceived you now? - Who works this madness in you, to conceive - That your disaster could be gain to me? - Have you believed what angry words I spoke - Were born of purpose, that my threats against you - Were aught but passion? You count not the tears, - The bitter, secret tears, for every pang - Your wrongs have wrought in me; and bitterer far, - The sharp remorse for each retaliation 930 - Of speech provoked in anger. Let it end; - ’Tis best I go. - - _Ner._ See! if you had gone before - We had never quarrelled; now there’s nought to lose - By going, ’tis a quarrel that you go. - - _Agr._ No quarrel, nay. ’Tis only this: I thought - That in your love I held perpetual office. - ’Tis not so. Now my time is out: I go - As Pallas goes. - - _Ner._ The sleek, extortionate Pallas, - Dost thou defend the despicable Pallas? - - _Agr._ I would be kind to friends; none will stand by you, 940 - If you cast off those to whom most you owe. - ’Twas first through him I came to seize the power - That made you Cæsar. Look! you have lost a friend. - Be wiser when I am gone. - - _Ner._ I have good friends, - Burrus and Seneca: I trust them both. - - _Agr._ Cannot you read the cause why still they urge you - To cast me off? - - _Ner._ ’Tis the disgrace they feel - To see the empire managed by a woman. - - _Agr._ ’Tis the constraint they feel in all their actions - Being overruled by me. Do you not see 950 - They are my ministers, and you are ruled - By them in all they counsel? Rid of me, - They rule the world. Think you, when they have cast - What was above them underneath their feet, - They will have care to exalt what was below? - - _Ner._ They both are honest men; you chose them well. - - _Agr._ You are too trustful, Nero. As you love - Your life, I say, be jealous of these men; - These men that now would rule thee but to take - The empire from thy hands. They may speak ill 960 - Of me,—believe that if thou list,—but oh! - If once they seem to encroach, delay not then; - Hear no excuse nor explanation; strike, - Kill them, I say, before they murder thee. - - _Ner._ But, mother, Seneca loves me. - - _Agr._ As a master - Will love a pupil while he takes instruction. - He’ll love you while you let him reign. Alas! - I scarce dare leave you to him. You are too kind; - Will shrink to use the sword as it is needful - For one who rules to wield. - - _Ner._ You cannot think 970 - These men would serve me so. - - _Agr._ What is my purpose? - My life’s one object, my supreme ambition? - Was’t not to raise thee where thou art, and now - Is’t not to keep thee there? - - _Ner._ So once I thought. - - _Agr._ O think it yet. Look! there is none can love you, - Nero, as I must love you; there’s not one - Can guard you as I can. Have I not proved - My power? While I am by you, it is yours. - - _Ner._ Stay then. - - _Agr._ O that it might be! - - _Ner._ Thou shalt not go. - Resign thy outward power; be in all else 980 - As heretofore. Forget what I suspected. - Be still my mother. - - _Agr._ Alas! - - _Ner._ Yea, I will have it. - - _Agr._ It cannot be. - - _Ner._ Why not? - - _Agr._ Seneca, my son, - Will not permit it. - - _Ner._ Who is Seneca - To say me nay? - - _Agr._ Unless you join with me - He will o’errule you. - - _Ner._ He shall not o’errule me. - - _Agr._ For that I’d stay. I would give up all else - To stand by you: ay, and be happy so. - - _Ner._ And so it shall be. Have thy private fortune, - Remain in Rome. - - _Agr._ But can you trust me, Nero? 990 - - _Ner._ Nay, I will never more suspect thee. Kiss me. - - _Agr._ O, now you are good and kind. Tell me, who was it - Did me this wrong? - - _Ner._ It was Domitia told me. - She spied on thee. - - _Agr._ My sister! ha! you know not - The grudge between us? - - _Ner._ Yes, I know of that. - - _Agr._ And not suspect her slander? Did she also - Commit Britannicus? - - _Ner._ She cast all blame - On thee. - - _Agr._ I feared she might have wronged the boy. - - _Ner._ Is he, then, innocent? - - _Agr._ I went so far - In sounding him as even to risk my credit. 1000 - Let not unjust suspicion add a weight - To the just blame we bear. You must protect him. - Promise me that. - - _Ner._ I will ask Seneca. - - _Agr._ Forgive, at least, his foolish indiscretion. - He begged me make his peace. Now have I made it? - - _Ner._ I’ll think no more of that. - - _Agr._ My dearest son, - The joy of a good action will be yours - As well as mine. O, I am happy now— - Indeed, most happy now. - - _Ner._ Come then, dear mother. - - [_Exeunt._ - - - - - ACT · III - - - SCENE · 1 - -_The same. SENECA._ - - _SENECA._ - - Burrus was right. The more I think of it, - The time has come that one or both must go; - So the more dangerous first, then are we quit - At once of all our mischief and disgrace. 1013 - ’Tis past belief that she who plunged in crime - To enthrone her son should now plot to dethrone him. - There is no bridle for a wicked woman. - Men may despise the venerable path - Of virtue, and refuse the wholesome laws - Of plain philosophy, but still they lean - Towards reason, even in their wickedness. 1020 - There’s an accountable consistency - Found in their actions; but if once a woman - Throw off, as men soon do, the first restraints - Of credulous childhood; if her nature lack - Tenderness, modesty, and that respect - To self which sees in self a thing to guard - From passion and caprice, and in the pleasure - Of fitness finds a law,—if she lack that - Or overpass it,—there’s no further bound: - All things are mixed together; virtue, crime, 1030 - Wisdom and folly. For they have a spirit - Of infinite wrong genius. Rule, I say, - Such women if you can; rule them with iron. - - _Enter Nero._ - - _NERO._ - - Good-morrow, Seneca. Thou comest in time; - I need thy counsel. - - _Sen._ I am here to give it. - - _Ner._ Then tell me: Where I have been lately threatened, - Am I in danger? I will use thy judgment. - Is’t needful for my safety to remove - Britannicus? - - _Sen._ I have well considered all. - You must dismiss your mother. 1040 - - _Ner._ Not so, Seneca. - She now resigns all power and sign of empire, - And is content to live in quiet, retired - With few attendants and contracted state. - - _Sen._ She offered terms? - - _Ner._ See, since she now concedes - All reasonable claims, my duty towards her - Patches our quarrel. - - _Sen._ Whence this newborn trust? - - _Ner._ She must remain. What of Britannicus? - - _Sen._ He need not trouble you. - - _Ner._ So said my mother. - I had thought differently, and even had made - Full preparation for his going hence. 1050 - Would’st thou too bid me think there is no danger? - - _Sen._ None, if your mother goes. - - _Ner._ But nay, she stays. - - _Sen._ That makes him dangerous. - - _Ner._ Thy reason, Seneca? - - _Sen._ I well can guess, Nero, your mother’s vein - With you in private: but ’twould much divert - Your inclination from it, could you know - Her latest way with me. - - _Ner._ What hath she said? - - _Sen._ Will you now think she hath urged Burrus and me - To set our honoured oaths and firm allegiance - To you aside, as being unjustly sworn; 1060 - To undo all she has done, and bring Britannicus - Back to the people as Rome’s rightful heir? - - _Ner._ I knew this, Seneca; and if ’twere meant, - Where lies the danger? - - _Sen._ True; but then she vows - Plainly that, rather than resign her power, - She will make known her crimes, nor spare herself, - If in the implication of her ruin - She may involve us too. Know you of that? - - _Ner._ She could not mean it. - - _Sen._ Certainly ’twas in passion - Spoken, and fury: but ’tis such a thing 1070 - As might be done in passion. - - _Ner._ And what says Burrus? - - _Sen._ He too would urge, as I, the Augusta’s exile. - - _Ner._ Yet must she stay. - - _Sen._ Nay, Nero, she must go. - - _Ner._ I bade thee, Seneca, to counsel me: - Call’st thou this counsel? ’Tis in the exigence - Of such affairs that their necessity - Precludes the true decision: this thou’st taught me: - And that the man of counsel is but he - Who handles best the circumstance, most gently - Resolves the knot, not cuts it. In this difficulty - Is there no course? 1081 - - _Sen._ I go not back from this; - If both remain there’s none. - - _Ner._ Is my life threatened? - - _Sen._ Ay. - - _Ner._ Then Britannicus must go, and shall go, - As first I purposed. - - _Sen._ Whither will you send him? - - _Ner._ Far out of hearing of his claim. ’Tis not - A trifling matter. - - _Sen._ See now to the other extreme - How you o’erleap the mean from wrong to wrong! - - _Ner._ Such wrongs the title of my power condones. - Shall I at the outset of a world-wide policy - Stick at a household scruple, and for fear 1090 - To do a private wrong forfeit the power - Which makes me Cæsar? See my glory trip - At a little ill because I will not level - My safety with the welfare of the world? - - _Sen._ But what you must not, that you cannot do. - - _Ner._ Rather what Cæsar must do, that he may. - Rome understands not empire yet: we learned - Something of Herod. - - _Sen._ O the injustice, Nero! - The wrong! How! Will you sooner spill a life - So innocent, your creditor in kindness, 1100 - Than do disgrace to another, one so guilty - As to deserve, sinking all exigency, - The fearful penalty you now misplace? - Think twice. - - _Ner._ Why, if I think of it again, - Is not thy error fourfold more than mine? - This need is granted to all tyrannies, - To slay pretenders, ay, and most of all - Those of the family: but for a mother, - The very Persian or the unrivalled Jew - Would shrink from her dishonour. 1110 - - _Sen._ (_aside_). What to say? - Being out of kinship ’twere the lesser blot— - Yet there’s his innocence. Necessity - Cannot suborn morality so far - As such confusion,—nor the alternative - May yet be shunned,—and when the best is wrong... - - _Ner._ What thinkest thou? - - _Sen._ Wait: it shall be my office - To find some better means. - - _Ner._ ’Twill be thine office - To show in such a speech as I may make - After his death, that, howsoe’er he died,— - Which you shall know no more than shall my hearers,— - ’Twas for the general good. 1121 - - _Sen._ Be counselled, Nero. - This is not my advice. - - _Ner._ Thou offerest none - Which can be taken. - - _Sen._ See, I have brought your speech - Touching the Parthian war. - - _Ner._ ’Tis long. - - _Sen._ The matter - Being very weighty, ’twill be looked for from you - To say thus much: but if it seem too long, - ’Tis so composed that with these brackets here, - Skipped as you list, the speech is any length. - - _Ner._ I thank thee. I shall need that other speech. - - _Sen._ I pray you may not need it. My advice 1130 - Is wait. - - _Ner._ Is it? Stay—Seneca, dost thou think - My mother was in earnest when she urged - Treason on thee and Burrus? And dost thou think - She fooled me in saying that she made proposal - To Burrus but to sound his honesty? - - _Sen._ Eh! with that tale she took you? - - _Ner._ Is’t not true? - - _Sen._ That true! - - _Ner._ She was in earnest though in passion? - Answer me. - - _Sen._ Ay, she was. - - _Ner._ I pray thee leave me. - I shall not wait. [_Exit Seneca._ - I stand alone. Such officers as share 1140 - The functions of tyrannic government - Cannot be looked to for a policy - Of personal security; they lack - The motive that abates the fear of crime. - Britannicus must go, and ’tis my hand - Must aim his death. I have a medicine - Which he must drink for me, to save my life. - To-night shall do it. But for my other enemy, - My mother, who with such dissimulation - Won me, spite of foreknowledge of her deeds, 1150 - And judgment of her purpose—Ha! indeed; - Seneca’s laughing-stock! Now, what I do - Will much surprise her. If it kill her hope - And prove my temper towards her, ’twill be well. - - [_Exit._ - - - SCENE · 2 - - _Room in Domitia’s house. Enter DOMITIA - and PARIS._ - - _DOMITIA._ - - Come hither, Paris! - Thou art my freedman. - - _PARIS._ - - Ay, madam. - - _Dom._ Hitherto - Thou hast served me well. - - _Par._ Ay, madam. - - _Dom._ Would’st thou now - Retrieve thy purchase money? - - _Par._ Dost thou say - Thou wilt restore me that for any service - I can perform? - - _Dom._ I do. - - _Par._ But name the deed. 1160 - - _Dom._ Dost thou remember Crispus Passienus? - - _Par._ Could I forget thy honoured husband, madam, - That was my master? - - _Dom._ Paris, thou hast a wife, - And thy wife hath a sister.. - - _Par._ Ay. - - _Dom._ How think’st thou - Thy wife would love her sister, if that sister - Supplanted her with thee, sowed seeds of hate, - Contrived divorce, and when thou wert divorced - Should marry thee herself? - - _Par._ Madam, I know - Thy wrong, and share thy hate. - - _Dom._ That was not all. - - _Par._ Not all? - - _Dom._ Nay, listen, Paris: if I forget 1170 - My kinship in my hatred, I have cause. - I loved him, and have now no thought in life - But to avenge his murder. - - _Par._ Why! can’st thou think?... - - _Dom._ Think! do I think? I cannot speak of it. - If ’tis suspicion, be it so—and yet... - Well, thou hast seen my heart—even were my sister - Kind I should not forgive: but seeing she works - Against me still to drive me from the court, - I put my strength with Cæsar, to disbarrass - The palace of this plague. Say wilt thou aid me? 1180 - - _Par._ The favour Cæsar shows me binds me, lady, - To have no thought but his; and if his mother - Misses his love, ’tis not made up by mine. - - _Dom._ I’d have thee on my side whate’er I do. - I have now contrived a scheme which hangs on thee - To bring it home. - - _Par._ I will do anything - That will not touch my life. - - _Dom._ She is hard to catch. - Late, when she plotted with Britannicus, - Though ’twas as clear as day, when brought to question - She quite out-faced us all. - - _Enter Servant._ - - _SERVANT._ - - Madam, Seleucus 1190 - The astrologer would speak with you. - - _Dom._ Admit him. [_Exit Servt._ - Paris, I’ll tell thee later of my plans. - Meanwhile keep close with Nero: let me hear - Aught he lets fall that might advance our matter: - Seleucus’ visit is a part of it; - I’ll speak with him alone. - - _Par._ Madam, I go. [_Exit._ - - _Enter Seleucus._ - - _Dom._ How now, Seleucus? Foiled! - - _SELEUCUS._ - - I warned you, lady, - How impotent and vain an arm hath truth - Unhelped by art. - - _Dom._ Thou did’st but well, and now - I shall lean more on thee. Hast thou persuaded 1200 - Poppæa of her fortune? - - _Sel._ Ay, my lady, - I promised her two Cæsars. - - _Dom._ Two! how two? - - _Sel._ A secret that of art; our divination - Hath many such. The gods are favourable. - - _Dom._ Talk not to me of gods. One was enough; - Yet the other matters not. Two Cæsars indeed! - Most favourable gods!—See, here I give you - Two hundred sesterces: but for that sum - Require another service. - - _Sel._ I thank you, madam. - - _Dom._ Locusta hath been seen with Nero. - - _Sel._ Ah, 1210 - How knew you that? - - _Dom._ Attend to what I say. - I fear ’tis for Britannicus: the Empress, - Ridding herself, cannot have quitted him. - If ’tis his death is aimed at—and ’tis for thee - To probe and reach the truth—then if ’tis possible - Thou must prevent it. Go, give him a message, - He must not sup with Cæsar if he is bid. - Find you the probabilities, and lay - The warning where is need. - - _Sel._ ’Twere a good office, lady. - - _Dom._ Go quickly then. If thou do well in this, - I will reward thee well. 1221 - - _Sel._ I will deserve it. [_Exeunt._ - - - SCENE · 3 - - _The room in Otho’s house. Enter POPPÆA - and MAID._ - - _MAID._ - - Madam, the litter waits. - - _POPPÆA._ - - Give me my mirror, miss. - Why, see how slovenly thou’st done my hair; - ’Tis out already. - - _Maid._ With your pardon, madam, - ’Tis very well. Nay, ’tis as firm as a rock. - You look your best to-night. - - _Pop._ Where is the flower - I gave thee? - - _Maid._ Here, my lady. - - _Pop._ Put it in. - There, there. Ay, that will do. Now where’s my cloak? [_Exit Maid._ - - _Enter Otho._ - - _OTHO._ - - So then you are going? - - _Pop._ Yes, I go alone, 1230 - Since you will not come with me. - - _Oth._ You are always free - To have your way; but when your wish is mine, - It is twice yours. This time you know ’tis not: - And were I used to set constraint upon you, - Could it be said Otho e’er crossed his wife - With a command, it should be now: I’d say - This I forbid. - - _Pop._ And why? - - _Oth._ I entreat you, dearest. - - _Pop._ I am pledged to go. - - _Oth._ Go not. - - _Pop._ There’s now no choice. - - _Oth._ A light excuse would serve: a sudden sickness, - A cold, a headache. Do not go. - - _Pop._ Why, look! 1240 - If you are not jealous, Otho! jealous, jealous. - You see not straight. - - _Oth._ I see you smile on Cæsar. - - _Pop._ And think you, then, I must have turned my love - Where I have smiled? that I would play you false - For the pleasure of it? - - _Oth._ Why then sup with Cæsar? - - _Pop._ A trifle hangs upon him I would wear,— - The world. - - _Oth._ So dazzled by the imperial splendour! - Think: to be Cæsar’s mistress for a year - Is not to rule the world. - - _Pop._ I will be Cæsar’s wife. - - _Oth._ Ah! look you then so high? 1250 - - _Pop._ Who shall be called my rival? - - _Oth._ Cæsar’s wife. - - _Pop._ She hinders not. - - _Oth._ Oh, thou would’st never dare it, - Did’st thou not love him. - - _Pop._ What should I not dare? - - _Oth._ Hast thou considered well the ambiguous style - Thou goest to take, and yet determined? - - _Pop._ Ay. - - _Oth._ ’Tis death, ’tis death. I speak now but for thee: - Not for myself. The cup Octavia drinks - To quit thy place thou too wilt come to taste. - - _Pop._ That is my risk. The sport were tame without it: - The game can boast a sting. 1260 - - _Oth._ Weigh well the danger: - Think of it thus; to live on a caprice - Whose jealousy is death; where for the reason - One seems to love thee will be ten to hate thee; - Where not to be beforehand with a treachery - Is to be victim. - - _Pop._ I can steer my way. - - _Oth._ And for this desperate venture wilt cast off - My love, our love? - - _Pop._ What is love? - - _Oth._ Art thou Poppæa? - Wer’t any else but thou that questioned thus, - My answer then were ready: I should say - Ask of Poppæa, ’tis the thing she knows; 1270 - Ask Otho’s wife what love is, she can tell. - And thou to ask! as if ’twere some strange matter - Wide of experience, and to ask of me - Who won thee for my teacher! - - _Pop._ ’Tis true the impeachment - I make of love is that he hath exhausted - His treasure rather than denied us aught. - - _Oth._ Exhausted love! how mean you? - - _Pop._ See! I am made - Of other stuff and passions besides love. - You cannot wish that all my life should move - Pent in this narrow circle, day by day 1280 - Keeping the pretty game up which I learned - When I was green: that I should ne’er do else - Than this one thing, and that so constantly - That even the habit and the practice of it - Are scarce employment; that I should grow grey, - And see the wide and seasonable field - Of life’s exertion and excitement fallow - With this one weed of love? - - _Oth._ A weed, you say! - - _Pop._ I have other motions in me. I’ve an itch - Men call ambition, and I see a prize 1290 - Looks worth the having. - - _Oth._ ’Tis not worth the having. - - _Pop._ Why, what were I to thee, could’st thou be Cæsar? - - _Oth._ Even all thou art; I have no itch to rule - Merely to see that game played out, and cry - At the end—what is ambition? - - _Pop._ It hath no end. - - _Oth._ ’Tis plain love hath an end. - - _Pop._ Nay, as I love thee, - I still shall love thee. Only, Otho.... - - _Oth._ What? - - _Pop._ I thought your eye was open to perceive - The grandeur of my scheme. - - _Oth._ Thou wert mistaken. - - _Pop._ Upon what falls to-night, let us decide. 1300 - I have no secrets from you: if I prosper, - Desert me if you will, but blame me not: - For dared I combat Cæsar’s inclination - There were as much to lose. The thing I do - Will be your safety. - - _Oth._ Rather would I die, - Ay, rather far that thou should’st die than do - This baseness willingly. - - _Pop._ Nay, speak not so. - I shall do nothing base. - - _Oth._ Thou must succeed. - Only before thou goest I’ll kiss thee once. [_Kisses Pop._ - Otho’s last kiss. Farewell. 1310 - - _Pop._ Good night. I go. - Lesbia, my cloak! I shall have news ere morn. [_Exit._ - - _Oth._ Gone! With a grace - As firm, as pleasant, gay and self-possessed - As that with which she hath come a thousand times - To meet me, kiss me, and call me hers, she goes - To change her husband .. gone! and not a sign - To show that leaving me was losing aught! - Fool that I was! To the soul I knew her vain, - Self-seeking, light, petulant at the breath - Of contradiction, and yet I trusted. What, 1320 - Asks she, is love. Ay, what? I love my dog; - He is devoted beyond reason, pitiful - In his dependence; he will scarce reproach me - With some short wondering sorrow, if I strike him— - I love my horse; he bears me willingly, - Answering spiritedly; with all his strength - Generous and gentle. But woman, if man love her,— - Seeing she is less devoted than the hound, - Less noble than the horse,—’tis that we deem, - That being human she can gauge the worth 1330 - Of our intensity, and in kind somewhat - Repay it: ’tis a delusion; spite of shew, - She hath not in her heart that which her eyes - Fondly declare. There is no passion possible - Which beauty can interpret or soft speech - Express, which was not mine; ay, by that title - O’er and o’er; yet I think no dog in Rome - Would leave the meanest slave that fed him once, - As hath this woman left the man that loved her. - - [_Knocking._ - - _Enter Lucan and Petronius._ - - _LUCAN._ - - Ha! here he is. We have come to fetch you, Otho. - - _Oth._ I do not go to-night. 1341 - - _PETRONIUS._ - - Not go! What is’t, man?—ill? - - _Oth._ My wife has gone, therefore I do not go:— - You see the matter, maybe have foreseen it; - I was too blind. Spare me your condolence; - I do not wish even sympathy. You know - I loved her, but ’tis over. Let me give you - Such knowledge as I wish my friends to have, - Else might they mistake somewhat. See! she is gone - To-night against my wish: ’tis nothing more: 1350 - But this will lead to much. I let my house; - Sell you my wine, Petronius, if you wish it, - And take—I shall not want for interest— - The Lusitanian proconsulate. - - _Luc._ You go from Rome? - - _Oth._ I do. - - _Petr._ Break not with Cæsar. - - _Oth._ I’ll take employment. - - _Petr._ Jove! I think you’re wise, - Otho; you’re wise. I’ve half a mind myself - To give my friends the slip. But as it is, - Well .. come, I’ll take the wine; what is your price? - - _Oth._ The price I gave. 1360 - - _Petr._ A bargain. I shall send for it. - - _Luc._ (_to Otho_). Otho, I will not go. Although thy wrong - Cannot be stayed, yet would I rather die - Than sit and smile on it. - - _Oth._ I thank thee, Lucan. - I’d ask thee rather look upon the matter - As on a thing of course: I think it is. - Go, take no note of it. - - _Luc._ If ’tis thy wish. - - _Oth._ It is. Good night. - - _Luc. and Petr._ Good night. [_Exeunt._ - - - SCENE · 4 - - _A room in the Palace. Enter AGRIPPINA._ - - _AGRIPPINA._ - - Thus must it be then. I must be cast out, - Turned from the palace, lodged in a private house, - Retired, reduced, forgotten, like any relic 1370 - Of barbarous royalty, caged out of reach - Of good or ill; my state just so much show - As has no meaning. Now may some god of mischief - Dare set me in the roll of puny spirits. - Ah!—Hath this my seal, seemeth it? O may my foes - Be fooled so far to think that guile will stay - First in catastrophe. Nay, if I crouch, - ’Tis but to plant a foot whence I may bound - With braver spring.—I am clear; the right’s my hope. - Right against blood hath still been honourable. 1380 - Men love the name of Brutus. The first Brutus - Slew his own son; the last his Cæsar. Ha! - ’Tis madness; nay, that’s not my thought, not that. - ’Twould fright the world that there should be a woman - Who could slay Cæsar and son in one. Nay, nay, - That lies beyond all fate. Yet, short of that,— - O blood, thou sacrament and bond of nature, - Look to the strain: summon thy best allies, - Thy yearnings and thy shudderings, thy terrors - And dreams of dread; marshal the myriad fingers - Of scorn and hate: else, O thy rottenness 1391 - Will out. Indeed I think thou’rt a weak thing, - Bred of opinion; when I would have trusted thee, - Hath not that other rivet of thy chain - Snapped at the mutual end? Thy boasted anchor - Drags on the bottom, and my ship drifts on - To the rocks, to the rocks: missing that hold, the sense - Is dizzy with madness; ay, and whither I go - Is hidden; nor aught I know, save that the future, - Whate’er it be, I shall do much to make. 1400 - - _Enter Britannicus._ - - Ah! ah! ’tis thee. - Speak softly, for these walls have ears. - - _BRITANNICUS._ - - Thou thinkest - That Cæsar watches me. - - _Agr._ To-day thy spies - Are mine, but must not hear. - - _Br._ Hast thou seen Burrus? - - _Agr._ He is thine enemy: no hope from him. - - _Br._ I would not have this spoken of as my hope. - - _Agr._ True, boy. I mentioned not thy name, and Nero, - Being now persuaded thou art innocent, - Forgives thee. Let the risk I ran for thee - Be earnest of more good. 1410 - - _Br._ I thank thee for it. - - _Agr._ ’Tis nothing, this. Thou yet shalt reign. - - _Br._ I pray thee - Draw me not into thy deep-plotted schemes - That rush on guilt. If I have hope or wish, - ’Tis but to live till the divorce be writ - ’Twixt Cæsar and my sister: that is not long - To wait; and then her exile, which must follow, - If I may share, I think some days of peace - May be in store for both. That is my hope, - Not Rome, nor empire, but some tranquil spot - Where innocence may dwell, and be allowed 1420 - To be its own protection. - - _Agr._ Are you that fool? - - _Br._ I would none doubted it. - - _Agr._ Can it be possible - That thou, who in thy veins hast the best blood - Of Rome, should’st own so beggarly a spirit, - And being the heir of all the world should’st wish - Only to hide thy claim, so thou may’st live - The life which broken-hearted slaves, and men - Diseased and aged scarce prize? - - _Br._ I hear, I hear, - And am not shamed. - - _Agr._ Nay, then I have more to say. - - _Br._ I too might say somewhat. Is it not strange, - Thou being a lady, should’st possess a heart 1431 - So fond of wrong, and blood, and wrathful deeds? - - _Agr._ Ah, ah! Thou thinkest that thou know’st me rightly, - And yet would’st dare to taunt me, and to thwart - My stablished purpose? Child, I say, remember - The deeds thou castest in my teeth, and think - Whether it were not much better now at last - To side with me, and take the help I proffer. - I have sworn to set thee on the throne; think twice - Ere thou oppose my will. - - _Br._ Did’st thou not say 1440 - Thou had’st persuaded Nero of my innocence? - - _Agr._ Say I was wrong. - - _Br._ Nay, thou wert right in that, - Wrong now returning on disclaimed ambition. - - _Agr._ Art thou content to see thyself deposed, - Thy sister thus dishonoured.... - - _Br._ Say no more. - - _Agr._ Consider! - - _Br._ Nay, I’ll not consider. - - _Agr._ Now - This once again I bid thee, child, consider. - Doubt not my power. - - _Br._ No more. I will not join thee. - - _Agr._ Then hear me, child. Whether thou join or not, - Whether thou wilt be Cæsar, or refusest, 1450 - Thou shalt be Cæsar. If thou wilt not plot, - It shall be plotted for thee: in my hands - I hold thy life, and guard it but for this, - To make thee Cæsar. Ay, and if thou shrinkest - When the day comes, I’ll have a doll made like thee; - My men shall carry it about, and style it - Britannicus, and shout to it as to Cæsar. - I say thou shalt be Cæsar, think it o’er. - Dare not refuse me: ’tis not yet too late; - To-morrow I will speak with thee again. 1460 - Now to thy better thought. [_Exit._ - - _Br._ O murderess! - And for this last turn must I thank my folly, - That partly trusted her. Now would to heaven, - If live I must, that I might change my lot - With any man soe’er, though he be chosen - And picked for misery. Surely there’s none - In all the empire can show cause to stand - And weigh his woe with mine. Find me the man, - If such there be, that hath an only sister - ’Spoused to a murderer and adulterer, 1470 - Who hates her virtue, since it shames pretext - To cast her off: or, if such man be found, - Hath he for mother one that slew his father, - And threats him with like death? or if all this - Be matched in one, hath he no remedy? - Is his speech treason? Is his silence treason? - Is he quite friendless, helpless? - Forbidden to budge a foot from the dread focus - Of crime and anguish? ’Mongst his lesser wrongs - Hath he this brag, that he hath been robbed, as I, - Of the empire of the world? O happy hinds, 1481 - Who toil under clear skies, and for complaint - Discuss long hours, low wages, meagre food, - Hard beds and scanty covering: ye who trail - A pike in German swamps, or shield your heads - On Asian sands, I’d welcome all your griefs - So I might taste the common nameless joys - Which ye light-heartedly so lightly prize, - And know not what a text for happiness - Lies in a thoughtless laugh: what long, impassable, - Unmeasured gulfs of joy sunder it off 1491 - From my heart-stifling woe. - - _Enter Octavia._ - - Thou art welcome, sister. - - _OCTAVIA._ - - Brother, a request you must grant. - - _Br._ Anything, - Dearest, to thee. - - _Oct._ Sup not to-night with Cæsar. - - _Br._ I must. Yet what’s thy reason? Thou art moved - Strangely beyond the matter. - - _Oct._ Read this paper. - - _Br._ (_reads_). _Britannicus, sup not to-day with Cæsar._ - How came you by it? - - _Oct._ ’Tis from Fulvia, - The maid that loves Seleucus; whence ’tis his. - - _Br._ Most like; I know the turbaned mountebank - Keeps an old kindness for me. Yet nay, nay— 1500 - If this should now be found—nay, he’s too shrewd - To put himself in writing. - - _Oct._ He might dare - With Fulvia. - - _Br._ Nay. I cannot think ’tis his. - And were it, what’s his credit? I do not trust - These fellows far. They trade in mystery, - And love to thicken water,—and if there be - A plot to poison me, to-day’s occasion - Offers no easier vantage than to-morrow’s. - My safety lies elsewhere. - - _Oct._ O do not go. - - _Br._ Fear not, Octavia, I am very careful, 1510 - And eat but sparingly of any dish, - Nor aught but what goes round. To stay away - Might show suspicion, and could serve no end. - - _Oct._ Brother, be warned, go not to-night; to-morrow - We may learn more. I beg... - - _Br._ Nay, urge me not, - Since with this warning I am doubly safe. - - _Oct._ Oh, I dread Nero’s anger; ’tis most certain - That ill will come of it. - - _Br._ Nay, fear him not. - Let us go sup. I will use all precaution, 1519 - Thou may’st be sure, since for thy sake I do it: - And while thou livest I shall have both reason - And wish to live. Have care, too, for thyself; - I think thy peril is no less than mine. [_Exeunt._ - - - SCENE · 5 - - _Supper-room in the Palace. All are reclined at two - tables, thus_: - - _Agrippina_, _Nero_, _Poppæa_.| _A gentm._, _Octavia_, _A lady_. - _Tigellinus_, _A gentm._ | _Britannicus_, _Paris_. - _A lady_, _Domitia._ | - _Petronius_, _Lucan._ | - - _Waiters, tasters, etc. Some are talking._ - - - _NERO._ - - I will propose a question to the table: - Which of the arts is greatest? Lucan, these sausages - Are something new: try them. - - _POPPÆA._ - - You question, Cæsar, - Which of the arts is greatest? I would answer - The one which Cæsar honours. - - _TIGELLINUS._ - - But if Cæsar - Should honour more than one? - - _PETRONIUS._ - - The sausages 1529 - Are good enough. As for the arts, here’s Lucan - Can speak for poetry. - - _Ner._ If any man - Could prove one art beyond contention first, - I would reward him excellently. With me - To know the best and follow it are one: - Success being easy in all, my difficulty - Lies in distraction: show me then the best, - I’ll perfect that. - - _Pop._ What! Cæsar give up singing? - - _Ner._ For better things. - - _Tig._ Which be the arts? - - _Petr._ (_to servants_). Here, vermin, - This wine’s half-way to vinegar. - - _Ner._ Who will name - The arts? There’s sculpture, painting, poetry, 1540 - Singing.. - - _PARIS._ - - And acting. - - _Ner._ Well, what more? - - _Tig._ Horse-racing. - - _Pop._ (_across_). Ruling I think’s an art. - - _AGRIPPINA_ (_across_). - - And making love. - - _Ner._ ’Tis of the fine arts we would speak. - (_To servants_) Ho! fellows, - Pour out the wine! Ah, here’s a lovely mullet. - Has this been tasted? - - _TASTER._ - - Ay, Cæsar. ’Tis stuffed with truffles. - - _Ner_. A mullet stuffed with truffles. Now, Poppæa, - Will not this please? - - _Pop._ I thank you.—(_aside_) Prithee, bid - Lucan to speak for poetry. - - _BRITANNICUS_ (_to servant_). - - Nay, the mullet. - - _Ner._ Lucan, what say you for your art? - - _LUCAN._ - - I claim - The first place for it, and I say ’tis proved 1550 - Nobler than any plastic art in this; - It needs not tools nor gross material, - And hath twin doors to the mind, both eye and ear. - Nay, even of drama Aristotle held, - Though a good play must act well, that ’tis perfect - Without the stage: which shows that poetry - Stains not her excellence by being kind - To those encumbrances, which, in my judgment, - Are pushed to fetter fancy.—Then hath our art - Such strong and universal mastery 1560 - O’er heart and mind, that here ’tis only music - Competes, and she is second far in scope, - Directness, and distinction. - - _Ner._ You think that? - - _Luc._ Ay, Cæsar. - - _Ner._ Do you! you who have ever been - More gracious to my voice than to my pen! - Am I a better singer then than poet, - Think you? - - _Luc._ Nay, Cæsar; but.... - - _Ner._ Ha! then you are envious. - You would not have me write because, forsooth, - You write yourself. Now, by the god, I swear - Thou shalt not publish nor recite a verse 1570 - Within my empire till I give thee leave. - One man to keep the muses to himself! - Monstrous! - - _Pop._ And serve him right. - - _Luc._ (_aside_). Monstrous indeed! - - _Ner._ (_to servants_). Heat me some wine. - Come, lords, ye drink not. Eh! what have we here? - - _Servant._ Cherubim, Cæsar. - - _Ner._ What is Cherubim? - - _Petr._ The gods of the Jews. - - _Ner._ Hoo! let us eat their gods. - They are much like pheasants. - - _Servt._ ’Tis a pheasant, Cæsar, - And stuffed with woodcock. - - _Petr._ Cæsar, there’s one art - Has not been mentioned; though I think at table - It should not be passed o’er. 1581 - - _Ner._ What art is that? - - _Petr._ I shall contend it is the first of all. - - _Ner._ Name it. - - _Petr._ It hath no name. It scarce exists. - I think the goddess never walked the earth. - - _Par._ Ranks she with poetry? - - _Petr._ I avouch above. - - _Par._ Cæsar, if this be proved, thou must rescind - Thy poet’s sentence. - - _Ner._ Let him prove it first. - - _Petr._ I see in other arts some wit or fancy - Extrinsical to nature. I can find - No ground of need in any, save maybe 1590 - In architecture,—which ranks not so well - As to be mentioned by you.—Now, if I - Show you an art whose matter every day - Is life’s necessity, which gives more scope - To skill than any other, which delights - Among the senses one which the other arts - Wholly neglect, would you not say this art - Hath the first claim? See, I could live without - The joys of harmony, colour, or form, - But without this it were impossible 1600 - To outlast the week. - - _Par._ Oh! Cookery. - - _Several._ Cookery, cookery! - - _Petr._ There’s the mistake I gird at. None of you - But thinks this art I speak of, which includes - Pleasures of entertainment, ease and elegance, - The mind’s best recreation, the satisfaction - Of the body’s nearest needs, the preservation - Of health, and with all this, the gratifying - Of that one sense, which above all the senses - Is subtle, difficult, discerning, ticklish, - And most importunate,—that this great art 1610 - Is a cook’s province. - - _Ner._ True, Petronius, true; - There’s room for bettering these things. - - _Petr._ Why, wine— - Just think of wine. A hundred vintages - Lie in my cellar; by my taste I tell - Each one; are eye or ear so delicate? - - _Par._ Here’s half a case already. - - _Petr._ Then again, - Look on this side. You bid your friends to supper: - That is a promise; and hath all your life - An hour more suitable for skilful kindness? 1619 - They come perturbed, fatigued, hungry and thirsty; - Nature exhausts them for you, drains them empty - To take all kinds of pleasure; their grated nerves - Ask music, their wearied limbs soft cushioned couches, - Their harassed mind wise cheerful conversation, - Their body’s appetites fawn at the word - Of food and wine: and yet we see these things, - Which should be studied, ordered, suited, measured, - All jumbled in confusion, till a feast, - Instead of relaxation and renewal, - Becomes, I say, for body and for mind 1630 - The worst discomfort and the stiffest trial - That life can show. - - _Par._ Bravo! bravo! - - _Ner._ For one, - I am converted. Thou shalt be henceforth - Arbiter of my table. - - _Br._ (_to servt._) ’Tis boiling hot; - Taste it. - - _Ner._ (_to Petron._) Accept you the office? - - _Petr._ This would make me - A Cæsar above Cæsar. - - _Ner._ In the province - Of imperial æsthetics. - - _Servt. to Brit._ Pardon, your highness, - I will add water to it: ’tis yet unmixed. - - [_They pour in the poison._ - - _Petr._ ’Twill be a tyranny. For look, I hold - Man’s stomach is not to be trifled with. 1640 - Not only should your table give delight - Even to the ravishment of every palate, - But since the end and final cause of food - Is not to breed diseases in the flesh, - Nor heat the spirits more than they can bear, - But rather to build up and comfort health, - I’d order first that there be served at table - Nothing but what is wholesome. - - _Br._ (_after drinking nubile Petr. speaks_). Ah! - - [_Falls back._ - - _Oct._ The wine, the wine! - - _Br._ Ah! [_Dies._ - - _Oct._ He is dead. O dead! O dead! 1650 - - _Lucan, Petronius and Paris go to Britannicus. - Domitia follows.—All rising._ - - _Agr._ What is this? - - _Ner._ He hath a fit. - - _Petr._ He doth not breathe. - - _Oct._ (_has come round to front_). Alas, alas! my brother; he is - dead. - - _Ner._ Nay, sit you down; look not aghast, I say. - He hath the falling sickness, and will oft - Faint on a sudden, as ye see. He lies - An hour as dead, and then awakes again - With nought amiss. Best take him out in quiet. - (_To servants._) Carry him from the room. - - _Luc._ Lift you his feet, Petronius. - We two will take him. - - _Ner._ Let him be, I say. 1660 - His servants will attend him. Return to table: - We cannot spare you. - - _Par._ (_to Oct._) Honoured lady, be hopeful: - For hath your noble brother e’er been taken - Like this, he may recover. - - _Oct._ (_to Par._) Never— - Never! O never! he is dead! I knew it! [_Going._ - - _Ner._ (_to Oct._) Heh, sit you down. What could you do, I pray? - He will come round. - - _Oct._ Oh! I will follow him. - - [_Exit with servants who are carrying Brit._ - - _Petr._ (_to Par._) How happened it? - - _Par._ (_to Petr._) He drank a draught of wine - Fresh mixed, and then fell back just as you saw. - What think you? - - _Petr._ (_to Par._) Think you ’twas aught? 1670 - - _Par._ (_to Luc._) What think you? - - _Luc._ Impossible. - - _Dom._ (_aside_). He is poisoned. Yet my sister - Was nothing privy to it. She is pale. - - _Ner._ Come, sit you down, aunt: come, Petronius, - Lucan, be seated. Let not the horrid sight - Unwhet your appetites. - - _Petr._ (_to Luc._) That was no fit. [_To Par._ - He is dead. What if ’twere poison? Where’s the drink? - - _Par._ ’Twas hurried out. - - _Luc._ O God! - - _Ner._ (_to servts._) Serve out the wine. - We all must need a bumper; ’tis most natural. - I have known the mere revulsion to provoke - In a strong man a seizure similar 1680 - To that which frighted him. - - _Par._ (_aside_). ’Twould not amaze me, - Had he such drink to cheer him. [_All refuse drink._ - - _Pop._ (_to Nero_). I will not drink. - - _Ner._ From my cup. - - _Pop._ Well, from thine. [_Drinks._ - - _Luc._ (_aside_). He is self-betrayed. - - _Ner._ Where were we? - - _Petr._ At the point where Cæsar made me - Arbiter of his table. I shall ask - To inaugurate my office. - - _Ner._ Do so, Petronius. - - _Petr._ Then know you are all dismissed. Let all go home, - And for the prince’s safety offer up [_All rise._ - What vows ye may unto the gods. Myself, - I set the example, and go first. Come, Lucan. [_Going._ - - _Ner._ Eh! eh! yet thus ’tis best. Good night, Petronius, 1691 - Thou hast spoken well; may the gods hear thy prayers. - I wish you all good night. - - _In disorder of going curtain falls._ - - - - - ACT · IV - - - SCENE · 1 - -_The same. A public place. THRASEA and PRISCUS meeting._ - - _PRISCUS._ - - I was coming to your house. - - _THRASEA._ - - ’Tis well we meet. - How went it in the senate? - - _Pr._ As you said. - A message read from Nero. - - _Thr._ Seneca? - - _Pr._ No doubt. - - _Thr._ And in what terms touched he the murder? - - _Pr._ With double tongue, as being an ill which none, - And Cæsar least, could have desired; and yet - A good none should lament. - - _Thr._ He is very prompt. 1700 - What glozing for the hasty burial? - - _Pr._ The speech was thus; that ’twas the better custom - Of simple times to shun all vain parade: - That private grief was mocked by frigid pomp, - And public business and quiet thereby - Idly disturbed;—_Then for myself_, it ran, - _To have lost the aid and comfort of a brother - Demands your sympathy. Of your goodwill - I make no doubt; the more that my misfortune - Throws me upon it, seeing that all my hopes 1710 - Now anchor wholly on the commonwealth. - Wherefore to you, my lords, and to the people, - I look so much the more for maintenance - And favour, since I now am left alone - Of all my family, to bear the cares - Your empire throws upon me._ - - _Thr._ This was well. - - _Pr._ Then were there gifts decreed to all his friends. - - _Thr._ Hush-money. Did none murmur? - - _Pr._ There were none - So much as frowned. - - _Thr._ See, Lucan! let us speak with him. - - _Enter Lucan._ - - If now he be not shaken, I mistake 1720 - His temper. - - _LUCAN._ - - Good day, Thrasea. - - _Thr._ A dull morning. - - _Luc._ Comest thou from the house? - - _Thr._ Nay, more’s the pity. - There was a distribution, as I hear, - To friends of order. Say, how didst thou fare? - - _Luc._ In many things, Thrasea, I hold not with thee, - Nor will pretend that I can see in virtue - A self-sufficiency invulnerable - Against the crime of others. I believe - The world is wronged, and burn to avenge the wrong. - But, as an honest man, I take thy hand. 1730 - - _Thr._ I looked for this, Lucan, and take thy hand. - Frivolity and crime are most unworthy - Of thy companionship. - - _Luc._ My uncle’s hope - Tainted my judgment. I have been blind, and wronged thee. - - _Thr._ Where I am misconceived I blame myself. - - _Luc._ Hear me abjure. - - _Thr._ Spare words. There’s no more fear - Thou wilt be duped. Cæsar, in slaying his brother, - Has doffed the mask. - - _Luc._ The heart of Rome must swell - To put the monster down. - - _Thr._ We have our part: - But in the sorry tragedy he makes 1740 - We can be but spectators. On his stage - There’s nought but folly. Come thou home with me: - I’ll show thee how we may regard this play, - Take note of all the actors, and watch the end. - - [_Exeunt._ - - - SCENE · 2 - - _The room in Domitia’s house, Enter DOMITIA and - PARIS._ - - _DOMITIA._ - - ’Twas a most shameful deed; we take upon us - A just revenge. - - _PARIS._ - - But ’tis the general thought - That Nero killed his brother; that his mother - Had no hand in it, rather would have saved him. - - _Dom._ ’Twas her intrigues determined him, and they - Who egg on others are the real movers. 1750 - Now will he hate her more a thousand-fold - For driving him to crime. She will not ’scape: - Our plot will stand. - - _Par._ Is it thy scheme to push - Silana’s accusation? - - _Dom._ Ay, ’tis that. - We shall accuse the Augusta of intent - To marry Plautus, to assert his claim, - And thus assail the throne. - - _Par._ How wilt thou broach it? - - _Dom._ We have fixed to-night. Cæsar will dine at home, - And with convenient company. ’Tis agreed - When he’s well drunk, you enter, announce the plot - As freshly hatched, and so unmask the affair 1761 - That he shall be persuaded. - - _Par._ How glibly, madam, - Speech can glide o’er the hitch; I must feel flattered - That just in the awkward place I am shovelled in - To carry it through, who have no heart in the matter. - - _Dom._ No heart! had you no ear then to my promise? - - _Par._ ’Tis little for the risk. But what of Burrus? - - _Dom._ Seeing that without his name the plot were weak, - And that to avouch his treason would discredit it, - We say he is suspected. - - _Par._ ’Twill not stand. 1770 - We lack confederates. - - _Dom._ You forget Poppæa. - I have sent for her to try her. If I mistake not, - ’Tis she that knocks. Get you behind the door, - And watch what passes. There! [_Paris hides._ - - _Enter Poppæa._ - - Now this is kind. - - _POPPÆA._ - - I am bounden, lady, to wait on Cæsar’s aunt. - - _Dom._ I count the days, Poppæa, when you yourself - Will call me aunt: and in that happy hope - I’ll stand thy friend. - - _Pop._ I shall have full need, madam, - Of all good offices. - - _Dom._ Maybe: my sister - Is an unscrupulous enemy. Beware! 1780 - She stole from me a husband, and will now - Keep you from winning one. - - _Pop._ She doth not hide - Her disapproval of my love to Cæsar, - And thus appears my foe; but in truth, madam, - Half of my heart sides with her, and the fear - Lest the full passion which I bear your nephew - May shame his rank, conquers my love so far - That oft I doubt if I have a heart to bear - The honour I have dreamed of, or a love - Worthy of him, since it so much can fear. 1790 - - _Dom._ Tut, tut! if you’re the woman that I think - You’re just what I would wish his wife to be. - Wronged in his marriage, he since hath wronged himself: - Octavia is a ninny, but his low - And last intrigues have scandalized the court: - Our family is hurt. You are his equal - In wit and manners, and can hold your place; - Nor in opposing you is it his good - His mother weighs: rather it suits her schemes - To have his wife a fool. ’Tis not unknown 1800 - What lately she had dared to keep her place, - But that Britannicus’ so sudden death - Blasted her plots: now in her constant project - Your marriage threatens her. - - _Pop._ The more I see - It blackens more. May I dare ask you, madam, - To tell your sister that I willingly - Retire, if she prevail upon her son - Quite to forget his love and put me by? - - _Dom._ Which side to take? that must you first determine; - ’Tis Cæsar or his mother. I supposed 1810 - ’Twas him you loved, not her. Now should I tell you - That she is deeply pledged to take his life, - And seize the empire... - - _Pop._ Oh! what wicked crimes! - Impossible! - - _Dom._ But if I prove it to you? - - _Pop._ I could not hear it. - - _Dom._ Nay, but if ’tis true, - Side you with us who hinder it, or her - Who pushes it? - - _Pop._ O madam, ’tis incredible. - - _Dom._ Ay, and to-night, as Nero sits at supper, - When Paris brings the news he’ll not believe it. - But then a word from you might turn the scale, 1820 - And rouse his better judgment. - - _Pop._ The very thought - That her destruction were my safety, madam, - Would hold my tongue. Indeed you have wronged me much, - Telling me this. - - _Dom._ Why, such things you will hear. - - _Pop._ Nay, let me go. - - _Dom._ Ay, go, but think upon it. - - _Pop._ Farewell. [_Exit._ - - _Dom._ (_sola_). Was I mistaken? - - _Par._ (_re-entering_). My mind is changed. - - _Dom._ How now! what say you? - - _Par._ Madam, the plot will stand. - - _Dom._ Did you hear all? - - _Par._ And saw. - - _Dom._ All that compunction... - - _Par._ Ay, be sure of it. - Why she and I could carry anything. 1830 - She’s a born actress: we must keep good friends - With her. - - _Dom._ Then this is well; go learn your part. - - [_Exeunt._ - - - SCENE · 3 - - _At the tomb of Britannicus, Enter OCTAVIA and - ATTENDANTS._ - - _OCTAVIA._ - - Hang there, sweet roses, while your blooms are wet, - Hang there and weep unblamed; ay, weep one hour, - While yet your tender, fleshly hues remember - His fair young prime; then wither, droop, and die, - And with your changèd tissues paint my grief. - Nay, let those old wreaths lie, the shrivelled petals - Speak feelingly of sorrow; strew them down - About the steps: we mock death being trim. 1840 - Now here another. Ah! see, set it you: - I cannot reach. Have you not thought these roses - Weave a fit emblem—how they wait for noon - That comes to kill their promise, and the crown - Is but a mock one? - - _ATTENDANT._ - - ’Tis a good custom, lady, - To honour thus the tombs of those we love. - - _Oct._ Custom! Is this a custom? Then I think - I wrong my sorrow in such common shows. - - _Att._ Nay, it doth ease affliction to be busy; - And grief, that cannot reckon with a mystery, 1850 - Is comforted by trifles. - - _Oct._ Why, thou’rt wrong; - It brings no comfort. - - _Att._ And ’tis kindly done - To hide the fresh-cut stone. Death is hard featured - In a new-built tomb. - - _Oct._ O, hold thy peace! I see - Thou canst not be my comforter. Alas, - I blame thee not. But yet, whate’er be said, - Think not our gracious deed finds its account - In the honour done: the wreaths I bring were woven - More for myself; the tears I shed, I shed - The more abundantly that they are crimes 1860 - In the sight of him that slew him. - - _Att._ Speak not so, - Lady; thou’rt o’er-distraught. - - _Oct._ What would’st thou have me? - Knowing my sorrow thou should’st rather wonder, - And think it well that I speak sense at all. - - _Att._ Let not such passion kill thy courage, lady; - The greatest die. There stands the tomb of Julius, - Whose mighty march was no less foully stayed - At noon of power: there is Augustus’ tomb, - Wherein so many lie... - - _Oct._ Why, what are they - To me? Is’t not my brother that is dead? 1870 - Whose life was mine, as needful to my day - As is the sun; as natural, old a want - To very life as is the bathing air - That my blood battens on. Take these away - And give him back; it then were likelier - I should not gasp, fret, pale, nor starve, nor pine. - He is gone! O miserably, suddenly, - For ever; alas! alas!—See, who comes hither? - - _Att._ ’Tis Agrippina, lady; and she carries - Wreaths such as ours. 1880 - - _Oct._ Let us begone in haste. - - _Att._ Alas! she hath seen us, lady: ’tis too late. - - _Oct._ I’ll but salute her. I pray you all keep back, - Nor speak with her attendants. - - _Enter Agrippina, Fulvia, and Attendants._ - - _AGRIPPINA._ - - My dearest daughter, - I have longed for this embrace. Where else but here - Beside this sacred tomb should we have met? - I should have been much with thee in thy sorrow, - But am forbidden the palace. - - _Oct._ I must thank thee - Doing this grace to my unhappy brother. - The gods grant thee kind messages. Farewell. - - _Agr._ Nay, go not thus. See how I hang these garlands. - - _Oct._ Not there, nay, not on mine; not there! thy grief 1891 - Must own a lower place; mix not its show - With mine. He was my brother. - - _Agr._ Thou art right. - Set them here, Fulvia. If my heart is wronged, - ’Tis done unwittingly; thou canst not know. - - _Oct._ I leave thee. - - _Agr._ Grant one word. - - _Oct._ Would’st thou be kind - ’Twill be but one. - - _Agr._ ’Tis this then: I am kind. - In sum ’twas this I came to say. - - _Oct._ If hither - Thou didst but come to seek me, know I had chosen - The hour to be alone. - - _Agr._ My dearest child, 1900 - My injured child! See, I would have thee trust - My friendship. ’Twas my constant, loving wish - To right thy brother’s wrongs, and now my heart - Is wholly turned on thee. - - _Oct._ Think not of me. - Am I not past all help? nor do I crave - The help that leads to death. - - _Agr._ O never dream - That I had hand in that accursèd deed. - The terror of it rather hath possessed - My purpose with the justice of revenge. 1909 - - _Oct._ I cannot thank thee, and from thy messengers - Have gathered all. There’s nought to say. Farewell. - - _Agr._ Thou dost not know Poppæa marries Cæsar. - - _Oct._ Ay. - - _Agr._ Thou consentest? - - _Oct._ Say, would my refusal - Or my consent be counted? - - _Agr._ It shall not be. - - _Oct._ It matters not. - - _Agr._ Thou lookest for divorce? - - _Oct._ Can I remain his wife who killed my brother? - - _Agr._ Thou art the last branch of the house of Claudius, - And if thou wilt forget the hurt now done thee, - May’st yet retrieve thy blood; but being too proud, - Wilt more dishonour what thou seemest to honour. - If now thou’rt brave, and wilt join hands with me... - - _Oct._ O never, never! was it not that hand - That.... O my brother, with thy trait’rous foe - Make peace, and at thy tomb! Ask clemency - Of him that murdered thee! O never.— - Thou most dear shade, who wast too mild and kind, - If death seal not thy spiritual sense - To my loud sorrow, hear me! O thou my joy, - By whom the bitterness of life, my lot - Of horror, was quite sweetened,—cruelly, 1930 - Most cruelly slain. Ay, I will all forget - When he who wrought this thing can bring again - Out of thy cold unmotionable ashes - The well-compacted body and grace of life. - Ay, if he make one smile of thine, although - It last no time, I will forget: but else, - I say, the thing he hath done, since so ’tis done - That he cannot undo it, he must o’er-do - Ere I forget. - - _Agr._ I will be yet thy friend— - - [_Exit Oct. with Attendants._ - - There comes no help from her. Maybe her grief - Is yet too fresh. Come, Fulvia, let us go. 1941 - She would not speak with me. Now on all hands - Thou seest I am set aside, and count for nought. - Yet not for this am I a whit discouraged; - I shall rise yet. Am I not Agrippina? [_Exeunt._ - - - SCENE · 4 - - _A room in the Palace. Enter through a door from the - supper-room NERO and POPPÆA._ - - _NERO._ - - Now ere they follow, Poppæa, ease my heart, - And tell me thy request. - - _POPPÆA._ - - Thou’lt grant it me? - - _Ner._ Whate’er it be, if thou wilt come to Baiæ. - - _Pop._ I’ll have it without bargain or not at all. - - _Ner._ I grant it: ask. 1950 - - _Pop._ ’Tis that you give my husband - The post in Lusitania which he begs. - - _Ner._ ’Tis his. Would he were there. - - _Pop._ My thanks. - - _Ner._ I prithee - Call him not husband. - - _Pop._ Ah, now I pierce this veil - Of generosity: why, when he goes - I must go with him. - - _Ner._ Eh! if that’s the case - I grant not his commission. - - _Pop._ ’Tis a promise. - - _Ner._ I had a promise once. - - _Pop._ That was conditioned. - - _Ner._ And what condition have I not fulfilled? - - _Pop._ Heavens! is’t forgotten? - - _Ner._ Say, what have I lacked in? - - _Pop._ Or did I dream ’twas promised me? ’Twas this; 1960 - Marriage. - - _Ner._ By Juno, I will marry thee. - But come to Baiæ. - - _Pop._ Nay; thine oath is vain - Upon the point of honour. There are things - Idle and ceremonial, and that count - In love as nought, but which alone can make - Divorce from Otho honourable, nay, - To me, I say, possible. Till the day - Octavia is divorced I am Otho’s wife, - Ay, and am well content to be: he loves me, - And lacks in nothing that a gentlema. 1970 - And lover should observe. I sometimes think - That you mistake... - - _Ner._ Ah! - - _Pop._ But to mistake in that! - Seem to forget! I fly. - - _Ner._ O most impatient! - I have yet no pretext. - - _Pop._ Nay, nor ever will. - Besides, your mother rules: she would not suffer it. - I have no desire to taste her dishes. - - _Ner._ Hush! - They come. - - _Enter through the door Petronius, Tigellinus and - Anicetus._ - - Where be the others? - - _TIGELLINUS._ - - They have taken - Cæsar’s gracious permission, and gone home. - ’Tis late. - - _Ner._ Why, who art thou to say ’tis late? - Be seated, be seated. I’ll tell thee, Anicetus, 1980 - More of my scheme anon; but for the present - We keep Minerva’s feast at Baiæ; thither - Must thou convey the court. Combine high pomp - With masterly dispatch; our games shall reach - The limit of invention, and ourselves - Take part. To thee I say, come not behind. - - _ANICETUS._ - - Grant me the means to be great Cæsar’s herald, - I’ll make a wonder that shall fetch the nymphs - From their blue depths in ravishment to see - His ships upon the waters. 1990 - - _Ner._ I shall be liberal, - And give thee full instruction. (_To Pop._) Think, my love, - What could be pleasanter, now spring is come, - Than to confide our vexed and careful spirits - To nature’s flush; to leave our memories - With the din and smoke of Rome, and force a pageant - Upon the lazy mirror of the bay,— - One to make Venus jealous, and confound - The richness of the season. Thou dost not guess - What I can do. Say, would’st thou miss the seeing - Of my magnificence? 2000 - - _Enter Paris._ - - _Pop._ See, here is Paris. - - _Ner._ He comes to make us merry. The gods defend us! - He has seen a ghost. - - _Pop._ He has something to deliver. - - _Ner._ Patience! I know his mood: he will be tragic; - And you shall see the severe and tearful muse - Outstride her dignity, and fall along. - (_To Paris_) Begin! - - _PARIS._ - - Most mighty and most honoured Cæsar, - I cannot speak for shame. - - _Petr._ Why, man, thou’st spoken. - - _Ner._ He opens well. - - _Petr._ Like the nurse in Seneca’s tragedy. - - _Par._ The tale I bring, my lords, is little suited - To make your sport. - - _Petr._ No? - - _Ner._ This is excellent. 2011 - - _Pop._ I think he is in earnest. - - _Ner._ ’Tis his art. - - _Par._ I am a messenger now, and no actor, - Sent by your royal aunt Domitia - To unmask a thing, which, though the gods be praised - That in discovery have wrought prevention, - Is yet a damnèd plot.... - - _Ner._ (_rising_). A plot, a plot! [_All rise._ - Stand off; stand off! a plot, thou say’st? a plot? - - _Pop._ (_aside to Nero_). Pray heaven this prove not now - some fresh contrivance - Of the empress. 2020 - - _Ner._ Stand all aside. Art thou in earnest? - - _Par._ Pardon me, Cæsar. Did this plot concern - Less than thy life... - - _Ner._ My life! by all the gods, - Speak but his name who dares. - - _Par._ Will Cæsar’s ear - Grant me indulgence? - - _Ner._ Speak, fool, or thou diest. - - _Par._ The matter is disclosed by certain freedmen - Engaged by the empress. - - _Ner._ Ah! - - _Pop._ (_to Nero_). Said I not so? - - _Ner._ Be this proved, ’tis the last. - - _Pop._ (_to Nero_). Ay, till the next. - - _Ner._ Paris, as thou would’st live another moment, - Speak now but truth. - - _Par._ (_shows a paper_). See here the evidence. - If Cæsar read this, ’twill give certain colour 2030 - To worst suspicion. Here are writ the names. - - _Ner._ Read me the names. - - _Par._ Rubellius Plautus. - - _Ner._ Ha! - Enough. I know ’tis true the villain’s blood - Hath from Augustus equal claim with mine. - Who else? - - _Par._ Balbillus and Arruntius Stella, - With Fænius Rufus, and your royal mother, - And some who ’scape the crime disclosing it. - - _Ner._ I’ll have their lives to-night. - - _Tig._ I pray now, Cæsar, - Grant me this order. - - _Anic._ Or me. - - _Ner._ Nay, who are ye? - Go, Tigellinus, fetch me Burrus hither. 2040 - - _Par._ I have his name set down with the conspiracy. - - _Ner._ Burrus? - - _Par._ ’Tis question of him, nothing certain. - - _Ner._ Escort him here unarmed; I’ll speak with him. - - _Tig._ Cæsar, I go. [_Exit._ - - _Ner._ Give me thy paper, sirrah. - - What have we here? [_Reads._ - - _Petr._ (_to Servt._) Call me my servant there. - - _Anic._ Wilt thou go? - - _Petr._ Ay, ’tis sadly out of place, - This business at this time. Look, Anicetus, - Thou’rt new to Cæsar’s suppers; let me tell thee - There’s ever something wrong. See how he takes it! - Mad, mad! 2050 - - _Ner._ (_aside_). I see. Plautus. This hits my life: - Britannicus being dead, that hope cut off, - She looks to Plautus’ claim: and I to be - Poisoned or what appears not: yet I doubt not - Poisoned. ’Tis found in time. Now ’tis plain war; - The strongest wins. Poison! ’Tis life for life. - Nay, maybe already I have swallowed down - Some death-steeped morsel; ay, this very night - Have tasted of it, and the subtle drug - Runs in my veins concocting: my spirit sickens, - I faint and tremble. What is it? - - _Anic._ (_advancing_). Cæsar, a word. 2060 - - _Ner._ What would’st thou say? - - _Anic._ (_to Ner._) ’Tis I can do this thing. - None that be here lack will: I have the means. - ’Twere easy, would you give me the command. - - _Ner._ What would be easy? - - _Anic._ Why, this thing that hangs, - Which you for Rome so wisely, and for you - Rome and your friends have wished. If but your foe - Step on a ship of mine, I’ll beg my death - If it touch land again. We go to Baiæ, - And there upon the hazard of the sea - May this disorder sleep. - - _Enter Burrus with Tigellinus._ - - _Ner._ (_to Anic._) I thank thy zeal; 2070 - - There is no need; give way.—Burrus, thou’rt called - Upon a stern occasion. Is’t not death - To any man or woman whosoe’er - That plots to murder Cæsar? - - _BURRUS._ - - Death deserved. - - _Ner._ Here be the names of some who thus offend. - Thine is amongst them: of thine honesty - I am too well persuaded to demand - More proof than this, that thou do execute - All these conspirators to-night. - - _Bur._ —Cæsar - Is not mistaken in me. Let me see 2080 - The names. [_Takes paper and reads._ - - _Par._ (_aside_). Now may Jove blast the general’s wits, - Else we be lost. - - _Petr._ (_to Anic._) Take my advice. (_going_). - - _Anic._ (_to Petr._) Nay, nay, - I’ll see it out. [_Exit Petronius._ - - _Bur._ (_aside_). What’s this? Why, ’tis mere nonsense.— - What evidence hath Cæsar of this plot? - - _Ner._ Confession of the traitors. Paris brings it - Fresh from Domitia. - - _Bur._ Now, with your permission, - I’ll question Paris. - - _Ner._ Question! why, is’t not plain? - Question is treasonous; and thou to question, - Whose name the black suspicion pricks! wilt thou - Question?—who hast the deepest cause of all 2090 - For sure conviction? Is’t not horrible - That I, to whose security the empire - Looks for stability, should most of all - Live an uneasy and precarious life, - And find no remedy because my ministers, - Who should be over-zealous to protect me - Even from imagined danger, shut their eyes - And ears to plots and perils which I hear - My slaves and women prate of? - - _Bur._ Cæsar, the matter - Demands inquiry. That you have been much wronged - Is clear: by whom is doubtful. Let me pray 2101 - You save your judgment from reproach of haste, - And hear what I advise. - - _Ner._ Speak; I will hear. - Speak. - - _Bur._ First dismiss the company: ’tis ill - To have had this audience. - - _Ner._ Friends, you are all dismissed. - Begone without a word: this business presses. - - _Pop._ (_to Nero_). Have some one with you, Nero; are you advised? - Keep a guard while you can. - - _Ner._ (_to Pop._) Nay, have no fear. - - _Pop._ I would not trust him. Did not Paris say - His name was with the rest? - - _Ner._ (_to Pop._) Be not afraid.— 2110 - Good night, my lords. (_To Bur._) Shall Paris stay? - - _Bur._ No, none. - - _Ner._ Paris, await without; the rest go home. - - [_Anic. Tig. and Par. go out: Poppæa tarries._ - - _Pop._ (_to Nero_). Oh, do not trust this man! - - _Ner._ (_to Pop._) He’s not my enemy. - - _Pop._ I fear to leave thee with him. - - _Ner._ Have no fear. - - _Pop._ Could he not kill thee? - - _Ner._ Nay, nay. - - _Pop._ Oh, he will. - Alas! alas! Oh! oh! [_Faints._ - - _Ner._ Why, thou must go. - - [_Exit Nero carrying out Poppæa._ - - _Bur._ (_solus_). Be hanged! the fool’s gone too. - - _Re-enter Nero._ - - _Ner._ Now, Burrus, now. - Art thou my friend? - - _Bur._ —We are alone, and while - There’s none to hear, you must excuse a soldier - If he speak plainly, Cæsar. - - _Ner._ Indeed, Burrus, 2120 - Thou art my only friend; speak as a friend. - - _Bur._ I have heard it said the German warriors, - Meet o’er their cups, and, hot with wine, resolve - Matters of state; but ere they put in act - Their midnight policy, they meet again - In morning hours to see if sober sense - Approve what frenzied zeal inspired. The custom - Has been applauded. Chance has given to you - The one half of the method: use the other. - - _Ner._ I am not drunk. 2130 - - _Bur._ Such wandering judgment, Cæsar, - Asks such excuse. - - _Ner._ My judgment wanders not. - I am cool. My face is flushed?... - - _Bur._ How will this look - If, sitting here at table, at a breath - Of hearsay you commit to instant death - Your mother and four noble citizens, - With others of less note? - - _Ner._ Choose I the time? - Shall the conspirators be pardoned then - ’Cause Cæsar sups? or say Cæsar must fast - And touch no wine, lest when his blood be warm - Some treasonous practice creep into his ears, 2140 - And they who would befriend conspiracy - May point suspicion on his judgment! Now - Is a good hour for treason; Cæsar sups, - And must not credit it. - - _Bur._ I do not blame - Your feast. - - _Ner._ No more then: let it be to-night. - - _Bur._ What! on a charge unproven? - - _Ner._ Thou may’st prove it. - - _Bur._ See, you acquit me; why not then the rest? - - _Ner._ Acquit my mother! would’st thou persuade me, Burrus, - She can be acquitted? - - _Bur._ Of the deeds she has done - She is guilty; for this action charged against her, - It is not hers. - - _Ner._ Oh, more, much more is hers 2151 - Than thou dost dream. The crime men charge on me, - My brother’s death, Burrus, indeed, I swear, - Though thou believe me not, yet if my part - In that were separate and weighed ’gainst hers ... - I would not tell thee... Oh, I had been happy had I - But heard thee then. - - _Bur._ Your peace even now as much - Hangs on good counsel. You are hot: be guided, Cæsar. - - _Ner._ Nay, now thou’rt changed, thou’rt wrong: thou goest round - To the other side. If thou would’st give the advice - I need, I’d take it gladly. Listen, Burrus: 2161 - I have another secret; if I tell thee - Thou may’st befriend me. I will tell thee. Hark! - ’Tis this: I fear my mother; I cannot sound - Her heartlessness; my terror shames the shows - And feeble efforts of my trust and love. - I have read her eyes— - Oh, there’s no tenderness, no pious scruple - Writ in my favour there; nothing but hate. - To think that I am her son but whets to fierceness - Her fury, and her hellish plots are laid 2171 - More recklessly and safely that she deems - I am not knit of that obdurate nerve - To sear the tender place of natural love. - I would not do it, Burrus, though I fear her - And hate her, as I must; but let it end - Ere it be worse. I pray thee do it, Burrus. - - _Bur._ The cause of fear is magnified by terror: - The present circumstance were amply met - By Agrippina’s exile, which I urge, 2180 - As ever, now. But let such sentence rest - On proven crime. - - _Ner._ Oh, thus were ne’er an end. - Done, we stand clear. - - _Bur._ Thus done, ’twere a foul crime: - And if you have found remorse in what before - Was schemed in fear and haste, consider, Cæsar, - If you would thank me for subserviency - Did I obey; for your sake I refuse. - - _Ner._ Eh! - - _Bur._ I refuse. - - _Ner._ I have other friends. - - _Bur._ So be it. - Take my demission. But remember, Cæsar, - That he who fills my place, handles the power 2190 - That holds you up; he that hath strength to help - May find the will to hurt you. - - _Ner._ I meant not that. - I trust thee, Burrus: I’ll be guided by thee. - What wilt thou do? - - _Bur._ The wisest course is thus: - To-morrow Seneca and I will go - With chosen witnesses to Agrippina, - And lay the charge. If she draw quit of it, - Well; but if not, I promise that her place - Shall not win favour of me. - - _Ner._ Dost thou promise? - - _Bur._ I promise that. - - _Ner._ And if there be a doubt, 2200 - Thou’lt wrest it to my side? - - _Bur._ I promise that. - - _Ner._ ’Tis death. - - _Bur._ Ay, death. - - _Ner._ If that be thy last word - I am free. I would I had more such friends as thou. - But bring it not back; take all my power. Thou saidst - I had no cause for fear? - - _Bur._ What should you fear? - - _Ner._ I think thou’rt right. - - _Bur._ Now, Cæsar, I will leave you. - Your spirits are much moved. - - _Ner._ Indeed I swear - I am not moved. There was no need to blame - My supper, Burrus. - - _Bur._ Nay, I blamed it not. - - _Ner._ I am not sensible to wine as others. 2210 - Of all I meet there’s none, no, not the best, - Can eat and drink as I. There’s something, Burrus, - In that. I think if I, who rule the world, - Could not enjoy my wine, that were a blemish - Which scorn might hit. - - _Bur._ I never blamed your supper. - - _Ner._ Hadst thou been there, thou would’st have praised it well. - I have learned much lately in these things. Petronius, - Ay, he’s the man—I’m blessed in this Petronius. - Thou know’st him? - - _Bur._ Ay, and would not keep his hours. - ’Tis late, to bed. - - _Ner._ Well, Burrus, I’ll to bed. 2220 - But thou must sup with me. I’d gladly have thee - One of our party. I shall tell Petronius. - - _Bur._ Cæsar, good night. - - _Ner._ By heaven, I had forgot; - Where did I leave Poppæa? I remember. - Good night, Burrus, good night. [_Exit._ - - _Bur._ Now may brave Bacchus - Reclaim the field; for me, I’ll gather up - This quenched brand, and be off. What must men think - Of Cæsar, who would fetch him with such trash? - The Augusta marry Plautus! Master Paris - For this will need his wit to save his skin. [_Exit._ - - - SCENE · 5 - - _A small room in Agrippina’s house. Enter AGRIPPINA - and FULVIA._ - - _AGRIPPINA._ - - My days are weary, Fulvia. Know you not 2231 - Some art to make time fly? another month - Of prison and neglect would kill me quite. - - _FULVIA._ - - Is’t not the change more than the solitude - Vexes your majesty? - - _Agr._ Nay, I was never made - For isolation, and even by my friends - I am utterly forsaken. - - _Ful._ Junia Silana - Was very constant, tho’ we have not seen her - Now for four days. - - _Agr._ Bah! she’s my foe. I wronged her - That way a woman ne’er forgives. ’Twas I 2240 - Broke off her match with Sextius, you remember. - - _Ful._ Your true friends dare not come: they stand aloof, - Watching the time to do you service, madam. - - _Agr._ You speak of Pallas: there’s none else. - - _Ful._ The lot - Of late befallen your majesty is such - As all our sex have borne, who have not raised - Nor much demeaned themselves beyond the rest. - - _Agr._ True; but ’twas never mine; I made escape. - They that would lock us up in idleness, - Shut us from all affairs, treat us as dolls 2250 - Appointed for their pleasure; these but make it - The easier for a woman with a will - To have her way. Life lacks machinery - To thwart us. Had I been a man, methinks - I had done as well, but never with the means - I have used. Nay, nay, ’tis easy for a woman, - Be she but quick and brave, to have her will. - - _Enter Servant, who speaks to Fulvia, and she to - Agrippina._ - - Burrus and Seneca you say! Admit them. - Fulvia, here’s one apiece: make your own choice; - I’ve none, and can be generous. Pray come in. 2260 - - _Enter Burrus and Seneca with two others._ - - Come in, my lords, come in. You are very welcome. - Look, Fulvia, now if Mercury have not heard - Our prayers and sent us noble visitors! - Pray you be seated. Alas, in this poor house - I fear I cannot show you the reception - You and your gallant followers deserve. - ’Tis not what thou’rt accustomed to at home, - Seneca, I know: pardon it. Thou lookest cold. - Come near the fire: pray heaven this bitter weather - May not have touched thy chest. A Gallic winter! - I can remember no such fall of snow 2271 - In March these twenty years; but looking back, - I find one noted in my journal then. - How goes your health, my lords? - - _SENECA._ - - Well, thank you, madam. - - _Agr._ I am very glad: your visit is well meant; - It cheers me much. - - _BURRUS._ - - The truth is, madam, we come - At Nero’s order. - - _Agr._ Ha! then I strike you off [_Rising._ - My list of friends again. I thought as much; - I wondered how you dared me this affront - In my last poor retreat, here where I sit 2280 - Alone and friendless, in the worst disgrace - Woman can suffer;—ay, and caused by you. - But learn that, if nought else, this house is mine; - If ’tis so small that it can welcome little, - It can exclude the more. At Cæsar’s order - Ye have forgot your manners, now at mine - Resume them. Ye have done his hest, begone! - Begone! - - _Sen._ I pray you, madam, hear the message; - We may not leave without delivering it. - Burrus will speak it. - - _Agr._ Oh—Burrus speak it. 2290 - If Burrus speak, the affair is mighty black. - There’s none like him to break an ugly business. - - [_Sitting._ - - Hey! Well, we have nought to do, so let us hear - The last of the court. Octavia’s divorce? - - _Sen._ Believe me, lady, I feel much aggrieved - In all that hurts you here. - - _Agr._ Stranger than fiction. - Now what’s the matter? - - _Bur._ There has been information - To Cæsar of plots against his life, the which - The informers charge on you. This the chief item, - That you have entered with Rubellius Plautus 2300 - Into conspiracy to set him up - In Nero’s place, and to dethrone your son. - I come with Seneca and these witnesses - To hear the answer, which your majesty - No doubt hath very ready, and accordingly - To acquit you of the charge. - - _Agr._ —Excellent! - Now, Seneca, ’s thy turn; or will these gentlemen? - Fulvia, we have depositions to be made: - Fetch pens and paper; all shall be in order. - - _Sen._ Madam, remember on what past occasions - Cæsar hath shown suspicion, and believe, 2311 - Whate’er your innocency, there is cause - To make it clear. - - _Agr._ Thy prudence, Seneca, - Is vanity, not kindness; spare it, pray. - Here is your paper, gentlemen: I’ll give you - Matter for Cæsar’s reading. Tell me first - Who’s my accuser? - - _Bur._ There are two—the first - Junia Silana, the other is your sister - Domitia: they bring forth as evidence - The informers, certain freedmen, Atimetus, 2320 - Iturius, and Calvisius, who affirm - That you have lately been on terms with Plautus, - Stirring him up to make an enterprise - Against the state; that you, by marrying him - (Who by the mother’s side may claim a line - As rightly from Augustus as doth Nero), - Might reinstate yourself, dethrone your son, - And bring disaster to the commonwealth. - That is the charge, of which we are come to hear - The refutation, not to press the count. 2330 - - _Agr._ Pah! You’re a brace of idiots, if ye think - This needs refuting. Who’s Silana, pray, - That if she speak, the very bonds of nature - And heaven must be repealed to give her credit, - Saying a mother plots to kill her son? - I marvel not that she, being childless, dares - Avouch such madness, never having known - How near the affections of all mothers are, - Nor that a mother cannot shift her love - Like an adulteress;—nay, nor do I wonder 2340 - That she should find among her freedmen those, - Who, having in luxury spent all their substance, - Will for the promise of the old lady’s purse - Sustain the accusation: but that for this - I should be seriously held suspect - Of the infamy of parricide, or Cæsar - Of giving ear to it, this I marvel at. - As for Domitia, I would thank my sister - Even for her jealousy, were but the strife 2349 - One of good will and kindness towards my Nero. - But now she wastes her time with her man Paris, - Composing as ’twere fables for the stage. - Let her go back to Baiæ and her fishpools; - They kept her trifling spirit well employed, - When by my efforts Nero’s first adoption, - Proconsular authority, consulate, - And other steps to empire were procured. - Are ye now answered?— - Or is there any can be brought to show - That I have practised with the city cohorts, 2360 - Corrupted the loyalty of the provinces, - Solicited the freedmen to rebellion? - Or to what purpose think ye? Had Britannicus - Been Cæsar, then I grant I might have lived; - But if ’tis Plautus, or whoever else - Should get the power, how should I lack accusers - To charge me, not with words escaped in passion, - But deeds and crimes—crimes—ay, Seneca, crimes, - Of which I could not hope to be acquitted - Save as a mother by her son? And ye 2370 - Think I shall here defend myself to you! - Send Cæsar to me. By the gods I swear - I’ll be revenged on all who have had a hand - In this most cowardly and senseless plot. - I wait him here: tell him that to none other - Will I resolve this matter. - - _Bur._ Be content - To say so much in form, that our report - Suffice for your acquittal. - - _Agr._ I bid you go. - - _Bur._ Cæsar shall hear your message. - - _Sen._ Madam, we go. - - _Agr._ Ay, go, good fellows; though ye have roused my passion, 2380 - Your coming here hath cheered me wondrously. - Nay, if ye have ever such another matter, - Bring it again; be not abashed, but come; - Or send your wives, and those two gentlemen, - Whose names I know not. My lords, your humble servant. - - [_Exeunt Burrus and Seneca and two Gentlemen._ - - Plautus! now is it possible I was wrong - Not to have thought of Plautus? No, I laugh, - ’Tis merely laughable. At forty-five - To marry a pretender; and Plautus too! - He would not have me. Fulvia, do you think 2390 - That Plautus wants to marry me? Ha! ha! - Is it my beauty, think you, or my virtue, - Or my good fortune tempts the stoic? Oh, - Domitia, oh, you are dull. I cannot fear - This plot. We shall retire with more than honour. - ’Twas strange, I think, that Pallas was not struck; - His name escaped. - - _Ful._ There is ample reason, madam. - They say that in his house he holds such caution - As not to speak before his slaves. His orders - Are given by nod and sign, or if there’s need 2400 - He writes: there’s none can say they have heard him speak. - - _Agr._ May good come of it. ’Twould be hard indeed - If they should exile Plautus for a fear - Lest I should marry him. That were a fate - Of irony. Why, give the man his choice - Of marrying me and exile, would he not - Fly to the pole? Poor Plautus! marry Plautus! - - _Both._ Ha! ha! ha! he! he! - - _Enter Nero. Agrippina is seated._ - - _NERO._ - - I find you merry, mother; the gods be praised - That you deny the impeachment. - - _Agr._ Really, Nero, - Burrus’ memory is getting very short - If he said I denied it. I did not. - - _Ner._ You did not? - - _Agr._ Nay, I’d not be at the pains. - - _Ner._ Called you me hither? - - _Agr._ Ay, you seem misled. - I guess who ’tis. But let that pass. I hoped - I might advise you privately; I knew - You would not wish it known. Now, was I wrong? - - _Ner._ Do you deny what is affirmed against you? - - _Agr._ No, son: for if you wished to take my life, - Why should I rob you of this grand pretence? 2420 - Yet since you cannot, and the charge itself - But moves my laughter, as you overheard, - My only wish is you should now retire - With dignity, and act as Cæsar ought. - - _Ner._ (_aside_). This then is added to my shames. - - _Agr._ What say you? - Fulvia, await without. [_Exit Fulvia._] Who brought this to thee? - - _Ner._ Paris. - - _Agr._ The player! when? - - _Ner._ Last night at supper. - - _Agr._ Tell me, didst thou believe it? is it possible? - Thou didst! Whence gottest thou thy wits I wonder; - Certain they are not mine, no, nor thy father’s: - I think they came of Claudius by adoption. 2431 - Dost thou believe it still? - - _Ner._ Whate’er I have done - Was on advice. - - _Agr._ A pious caution truly. - Is this thy trust? Yet, yet I must forgive thee. - See, I was angered. Nay, ’twas not thy judgment: - I know who leads. But for these foolish women - I sentence exile. - - _Ner._ Sentence whom to exile? - - _Agr._ The two devisers. Yet I think my sister - Is harmless; but the other, that Silana— - - _Ner._ Silana must be banished? 2440 - - _Agr._ Judge her, Nero, - When thou hast heard. She and thy aunt Domitia - Have been the two who, in my sad retirement, - Have visited me most. Day after day - They have made a show of kindness, finding joy - In my disgrace, to view it; and have but left me - To try this trick. - - _Ner._ (_aside_). ’Tis plain I have been fooled. - - _Agr._ For those that brought the tale, thou knowest that they - Must taste the penalties they sought to inflict; - That thou must know; but ’tis not all. The acquittal - Of those accused will not be full without 2450 - Some honour shown them. Best among the names - Stand Fænius Rufus and Arruntius Stella, - Who may have city posts: gentle Balbillus, - Who has long deserved it, must be paid at last - With a proconsulate. For myself, thou knowest - I have taken all disgrace so patiently - That I expect some boon, though yet I fear - To ask; but when I have seen my slandered friends - Honoured, I’ll write it thee. - - _Ner._ I shall be quick - To punish and to make amends. ’Tis just 2460 - Towards Burrus, I should tell you from the first - He took your part. - - _Agr._ What could he else? Now, Nero, - I have done: go home, and there resolve the matter - With common sense; take Burrus into counsel - As to what penalties and what promotions - Shall be distributed. Before the people - Remember that some feeling must be shown, - And anger for effronteries attempted - Against your majesty. Now go, the affair - Has somewhat tired me.—Nay, touch me not; farewell. 2470 - - _Ner._ I see you are right; farewell. - - _Agr._ I have more advice, - Which I will write to thee. [_Exit Nero._ - Excellent this—I have not had my way - Thus for a long long while: ay, now is my time - To strike. I’ll venture with a letter to him - And claim my boon, that he dismiss Poppæa. - There’s much to say on that which may seem aimed - More at his good than mine; and if she have plunged - In this false step, his vanity being touched 2479 - May shake his liking. I will do it at once. [_Exit._ - - - SCENE · 6 - - _A room in the Palace. Enter NERO and POPPÆA._ - - _NERO._ - - All for thy sake was planned, and now my pleasure - In scheming thine is fled; for what is Baiæ, - And what Minerva’s feast, blue skies and seas, - Or games, or mirth, or wine, or the soft season, - If thou deny me? Prithee say thou’lt come. - - _POPPÆA._ - - Nay, I’ll not go. - - _Ner._ Thou wilt not? - - _Pop._ Nay, I cannot. - - _Ner._ Cannot to Cæsar? - - _Pop._ Prove me then thou’rt Cæsar, - And not a ward. - - _Ner._ A ward! - - _Pop._ I said a ward. - May I not see thee vexed? ’Tis what men whisper, - Who dare not vex thee. Well, thy mother’s child, - So much that at her beck thou forfeitest 2491 - Empire and liberty. - - _Ner._ Wouldst thou enrage me! - What dost thou mean, Poppæa? - - _Pop._ Deny not that: - If ’tis not that hinders our marriage, then - The case, I fear, blackens. I, who can smile - At that, must weep another cause. I’ll think - Thou’rt tired of me. - - _Ner._ Now by what sign? - - _Pop._ Maybe - Thou hast seen a better beauty, and repented - The promise given to me. - - _Ner._ O treason, treason! - - _Pop._ Thinkest my blood unworthy of alliance 2500 - With thine—tho’, truth, my ancestors have triumphed. - - _Ner._ Who dares that lie shall bleed. - - _Pop._ Or that our bed - Is not like to be blest. - - _Ner._ The fruitful gods - With all their oracles avert the omen. - - _Pop._ Or that I urge my marriage for advancement; - And thou, doubting my love, pressest denial - To proof of faith. - - _Ner._ Ay, that is it; thou’st hit it. - - _Pop._ Or that I, once thy wife, would cross thy mother, - Divulge her crimes, the hate the senate bear her, - And last, though that’s well known, how she hates thee. - - _Ner._ Speak of this once for all, then let the jest - Be dead. - - _Pop._ Nay, ’tis no jest, for Agrippina 2512 - Will never love a daughter who loves thee. - Restore me to my husband. I were happier - In any place, howe’er remote from Rome, - Where thy disgrace and wrongs can but be spoken, - Not seen and felt as here. See why I go. - - _Ner._ Poppæa, since I have never hid from thee - My quarrel with my mother, thou mayst know - It draws to end. - - _Pop._ Oh, is’t the turn for kindness? 2520 - Hath she been kind again? Why, ’tis deception. - When her plot failed she cast it off, and now - Exults: ’tis her fresh confidence seems kind. - - _Ner._ ’Twas not her plot. Or else I’d rather think - She put the snare to catch my foolish aunt, - Who blindly took the bait. - - _Pop._ Then she pretended - Treason, that she might better hurt her sister: - And yet can win thy trust! - - _Ner._ Nay, heaven forbid; - I trust her not. - - _Pop._ She hates me. - - _Ner._ Nay, her kinship - Is jealous for Octavia; but... - - _Pop._ Ah, true! 2530 - To kill one’s husband, plot against one’s son, - Should leave unsatisfied some tender feelings - To spend upon a step-child. Why, she knows - Those arts which manage you would not gull me, - A woman not her child. Her whole design - Is bent to thwart our marriage; and she will. - I know it. - - _Ner._ I swear that were this proved against her, - Came it to a question ’twixt herself and thee, - Which to take, which to lose, then not a moment - Would I delay: the blow I have often sworn 2540 - To strike should fall. - - _Enter Messenger._ - - _MESSENGER._ - - A letter from the Augusta. [_Exit._ - - _Pop._ Now, as she loves me, this is mine. - - _Ner._ Not so. - - _Pop._ Then as thou lovest me. - - _Ner._ Well. - - _Pop._ (_reading_). Ho! ho! ho! ho! - Now shines the sun at noon. - - _Ner._ What is’t? - - _Pop._ I read? - - _Ner._ Read then. - - _Pop._ (_reads_). _To her dearest son. Ha! ha! ha! - When last we met thou wilt remember to have confessed - some shame for wrong done to me. The wrong I forgive, - but eagerly seize on thy sorrow to ask of thee, in regard - for thine own happiness, this only favour. ’Tis my earnest - prayer and advice that thou dismiss Poppæa._ 2551 - - _Ner._ Ha! writes she so? - - _Pop._ Attend, the reasons follow. - (_Reading._) _Beware of her: nor think that I grudge thee - the happiness which thou now findest in her. Marriage - with her can lead only to thy misery. I know her well._ - Now hear my character. - - _Ner._ Give me the letter. - - _Pop._ _She is vain, deceitful, self-seeking, and, being by - nature cold, hath the art to assume the mask of passion; - and ’neath the show of virtue designedly conceals her - wickedness and mischief. She loves thee no better than - she loves Otho._ 2561 - - _Ner._ Give me the letter. - - _Pop._ Nay, one sentence more. - _Believe a woman sees further than a man, since to her eyes - beauty is no veil._ - She grants me beauty then. [_Gives letter to Nero._ - - _Ner._ (_reading_). ’Tis so, ’tis so. Ye gods! and thou - wert right. - Poppæa, this is the end. Come not to Baiæ. - Wait my return. - - _Pop._ What’s now to do, I pray? - - _Ner._ Ask not: when I return I shall be free. - We will be married. - - _Pop._ Will you banish her? 2570 - - _Ner._ Ask nothing. - - _Pop._ From her exile still her plottings - Will reach to Rome. - - _Ner._ Not so, for she shall go - Whence nothing reaches Rome. - - _Pop._ Oh, now I fear - I have said too much; let not my love o’ercome thee. - Maybe she meant not this. - - _Ner._ Thou meddle not! - - _Pop._ Oh, but at least no crimes, Nero, no crimes! - Promise me that; rather I’ll fly to-night. - - _Ner._ Poppæa, in earnest of the happy day - When thou wilt be my wife, I bid thee now - Depart. 2580 - - _Pop._ (_kissing him_). Husband, I go. [_Exit._ - - _Ner._ What ho! what ho! - - _Enter a Servant._ - - Is Anicetus in the palace? - - _SERVANT._ - - Ay, Cæsar. - - _Ner._ Go, bid him hither straight. [_Exit Servant._ - It shall be done. - Ay, now it shall be done. Let me consider; - I must be cool, lest I be foiled once more. - Where lies my hindrance? not in her; she has twice - Deceived me and escaped: now in my turn - I steal her weapon, and can use it better, - Having been plain before. Then Seneca... - He shall not know, so are his scruples quiet. - For mine, they are hushed already; but ’twere best - Recount the terms which reason can oppose 2591 - To too rebellious nature: first there’s my motive, - Huge as the earth; liberty, happiness, - Empire: that cannot slide, I fear not that. - Then there’s the ground of justice; Claudius’ death, - O’er which the executive too long hath slept - In Cæsar’s piety: the sentence now - O’ertakes the murderess with a double score, - Since she by her conspiracy contrived - Britannicus should die ... ay, for his death 2600 - The heavy penalty hangs o’er some head; - Now let it fall on hers,—so I am quit. - All this condemns her, long-expected justice - Cries, and occasion hurries on the hand. - Ay, ay, I am clear. Poppæa being my stake, - I cannot shrink nor swerve. What was’t she wrote? - Why here is more. [_Reads._ - _Be with me in this matter, - But if thou should’st refuse, we are worse foes._ - She dares the threat. - - _Enter Anicetus._ - - _ANICETUS._ - - Cæsar hath summoned me. - - _Ner._ Good Anicetus, tell me, is there none 2610 - Greater than Cæsar? - - _Anic._ Nay, Cæsar, there is none. - - _Ner._ But were there one to whom it might be said - Cæsar owed life and fortune—dost thou take me? - - _Anic._ Cæsar would say the Augusta. - - _Ner._ Nay, thou’rt dull: - ’Twas thee I meant. - - _Anic._ Me, Cæsar! - - _Ner._ Dost remember - Boasting to me that thou hadst sailor means - To do a certain thing? - - _Anic._ Ay. - - _Ner._ Do it now. - I’ll owe thee life and fortune. Canst thou be trusted? - - _Anic._ My love for Cæsar follows hand in hand - With his command in this. - - _Ner._ Then do it, I say; 2620 - No words, no explanation. Agrippina - Will come to Baiæ: there have thou thy ship. - - _Anic._ I will have one at Bauli, one at Baiæ: - If she take either it shall serve the turn. - - _Ner._ Go now contrive thy means; let nothing ’scape thee - To me or any other: when ’tis done - Hold thy head high. - - _Anic._ Cæsar, I go to do it. [_Exit._ - - _Ner._ Now comes my part: ay, though it vex my soul - To stoop; tho’ this be Cæsar’s greatest wrong, - That he must patch his faultless power with guile, - And having all command, miss of his will 2631 - But for a subterfuge .... yet for this once - I’ll do it—’tis little; but to write a letter, - Feign to discard Poppæa, as mistrusting - Her love and character; and from that vantage - I surely win my mother to come forth - And join the court at Baiæ—she will come. - - - - - ACT · V - - - SCENE · 1 - - _Baiæ. A room in Agrippina’s villa; the back gives out - on the sea, where a galley is seen moored to quay of - villa. AGRIPPINA and FULVIA._ - - _AGRIPPINA._ - - Is not this charming, Fulvia? what a day! - I feel I have never breathed spring air before. - And how the people cheered! it did me good. 2640 - Here’s my old seat. The villa’s looking well. - Could but Domitia see us now! How smoothly - Her little plot went off! My first suspicions, - Fulvia, I am sure were wrong: this invitation - Was most well meant; and see the tenderness - Has even called up my tears. You cannot know - What fond associations make this house - A home indeed. I wish I had not refused - To take the yacht at Bauli: ’twas an error, - Over-precaution. - - _FULVIA._ - - Madam, I but told you 2650 - The very words Seleucus.... [_A noise without._ - - _Agr._ What is that noise? - - _Ful._ ’Tis Cæsar coming with a company. - - _Agr._ Oh, I will see. (_Looking forth._) And there is - Seneca - And Burrus. There’s much meaning in this visit. - How grand he looks with all his lords about him! - There never was a Cæsar like him: others - Have been but Cæsars; he’s an emperor, - And wears the full magnificence of state - In beardless boyhood.—Fulvia, I do love splendour. - To be so young and rule the world! 2660 - - _Enter Nero, Seneca, and Burrus._ - - Now, welcome, - Welcome, my son! - - _NERO._ - - Welcome to Baiæ, mother. - We are come the first day of the feast to pay you - The season’s compliments. - - _Agr._ A prompt return. - What pleasure ’tis, Nero, I cannot say. - Welcome, my lords. - - _SENECA._ - - My loving service, lady. - - _Ner._ Crossed you the bay from Bauli? - - _Agr._ Nay, you’ll laugh; - ’Twas foolish; but I wished the folk to see - My joy and reconcilement, and in the thought - To please so many friends I kept my litter. - - _Ner._ You’ll all sup with us? 2670 - - _Agr._ I look for nothing better. - - _Ner._ Whom will you bring? - - _Agr._ I have no one with me here - But Polla Acerronia. - - _Ner._ And where is she? - - _Agr._ She took the yacht, and so arrived before us, - But has not left it: like the child she is, - The new toy quite distracts her: she is there. - - _Ner._ Row you this afternoon upon the bay? - - _Agr._ I had thought of it; and now, if you would come - That were a double pleasure. - - _Ner._ I am sorry, I must go - Order to-morrow’s games. - - _Agr._ Your lords mayhap - Will join me. I can take them to your villa. 2680 - - _Sen._ I’ll gladly come: the dust the crowd treads up - Has filled my throat and set me coughing shrewdly. - - _Ner._ Nay, I shall want you both. - - _Agr._ Some other time - I hope, my lords. - - _BURRUS._ - - I thank your majesty. - - _Ner._ Farewell till supper. - - _Agr._ Why! so short a visit! - - _Ner._ We shall meet soon. - - _Agr._ Well, I will sail alone - With Polla; ’tis her wish. Escort me, Nero? - - _Ner._ Ay. - - _Agr._ For the sake of that I’ll go at once. - I love the sea. - - [_Exeunt Nero with Agr. and Fulv. down the quay, - where they are still seen._ - - _Sen._ Burrus, what say you now! - Has not the thing I looked for come to pass? 2690 - - _Bur._ There’s as you say a most astounding change; - Can you explain it? - - _Sen._ Well, you see it, Burrus. - - _Bur._ How came it all about? - - _Sen._ See now how tenderly - They both embrace. - - _Bur._ Who would have thought it? - - _Sen._ I; - I should have thought it: and I point to this - To justify my words those many times - Our speech has come to difference. - - _Re-enter Nero. Fulvia goes into house._ - - _Ner._ Now, lords, - I go. - - _Bur. and Sen._ We follow, Cæsar. - - _Ner._ I have changed my mind; - I want you not. [_Going._ - - _Bur._ Will Cæsar name the hour - When we shall wait on him? 2700 - - _Ner._ Why, come at once. - I cannot tell what hour I may not want you. - Attend me at my villa. [_Exit._ - - _Bur._ Of a sudden - He is changed again. - - _Sen._ You see how easily - He is overcome with kindness. Would you know - The noble sacrifice he has made? - - _Bur._ What’s that? - - _Sen._ Why, he has renounced Poppæa. - - _Bur._ Nay! - - _Sen._ Ay. - - _Bur._ Who told you? - - _Sen._ I saw the letter. - - _Bur._ How! Poppæa shows it? - - _Sen._ ’Twas writ his mother. - - _Bur._ Then he has deceived her. - - _Sen._ Can you think that? - - _Bur._ The letter makes all plain. - Why did he write it? - - _Sen._ Why? - - _Bur._ Well, well. - - _Sen._ Oh, Burrus, 2710 - I have every cause for hope; and here to-day - The meeting in this house more than assures me - He must redeem the promise of his youth. - ’Twas in this very room, ten years ago, - I first saw Nero—Ay, ’tis now ten years— - I was arrived from Corsica at Rome, - And there found summons to attend the Augusta - At Baiæ: hither in all haste I came. - The yearnings and the miseries of exile - Would make a mean deliverer seem a god, 2720 - And my return drave me half mad with joy. - I entered: in that chair sat Agrippina, - My kind deliverer, my friend, the empress. - Time had not marred her beauty, and as she spake - Impatience flushed her cheek—she shared my joy. - I knelt in tears there, nor ashamed of tears, - Though at her side I was aware was standing - A boy of some twelve years; whom, when I rose, - She then presented as her son, and bade me - Take him for pupil. As I saw him then 2730 - In fullest grace of boyhood, apt in all - Boys should be manly in, and gifted further - Than boys are wont with insight, and the touch - Of human sympathy and learned taste, - Proficient in some arts and dull in none, - But coy withal and generous, ’twas no wonder - If ere that evening passed I had admitted - The schemes his mother had laid, which in short time - Were brought to pass. - - _Bur._ ’Twas a black day. - - _Sen._ And yet, - Burrus, if after you had seen how kindly 2740 - He took instruction, how he came to love me, - You would not wonder—nay, I can remember - Claudius himself was shamed if his Britannicus, - Being younger but by some two years, were by - Where Nero was: and had I been the father - I might have wished, I think, to have done as he, - And called the best my son. - - _Bur._ He killed Britannicus. - - _Sen._ Burrus, if as it seems you quite distrust him, - Why hold you still the office which establishes - His power? - - _Bur._ Because it is an office, Seneca, 2750 - The top of my profession: yet, by the gods, - Find you a better man, and I’ll be gone. - But, as a soldier, I’ll not see the guards - Commanded by some brute like Tigellinus. - - _Sen._ Nay, be not angry. - - _Bur._ Would not you be angry - Thus to be questioned? - - _Sen._ Nay, indeed, by habit - I question oft myself. - - _Bur._ Then, for one question - I’ll be appeased. I know you, Seneca, - For a man of many parts, a scholar, poet, - Lawyer, and politician, what you will; 2760 - A courtier too besides, a man of business, - A money-maker; in short, a man of the world, - That like a ship lifting to every wave, - Heeling to every blast, makes good her way - And leaves no track. Now what I ask is this: - How ride so lightly with the times, and yet - Be the unbending stoic, the philosopher, - The rock, I say, that planted in the deep - Moves not a hair, but sees the buffeting breakers - Boil and withdraw? Which is the matter, Seneca? - Nay, ’tis a pertinent and friendly question— 2771 - I’ll take your answer as we go along. - - [_Exeunt Burrus and Seneca._ - - _Re-enter Fulvia._ - - _Ful._ Of all delights I think that liberty - Is the prime element: nothing is pleasant - Joined with a must. Why, even this journey hither - That has so cheered my mistress, all the talk - Of sky and fields and trees, tired me to death. - I’m sick of servitude, with ’time for this’ - And ’time for that’: I’d give my ears for freedom; - - [_She sits in Agrippina’s chair._ - - To have my servants, and say—Prithee, Fulvia, - What is o’clock?—Fetch me the little kerchief - I left upon my bed—Come, Fulvia, quick; 2782 - I want you—Fulvia, go, order my litter— - Fulvia, be gone; we’ve business—Fulvia, stay, - Amuse me for a while.—I would to heaven - I were in Rome again! (_Shouts heard._) Hey, what a noise! - Cheering my lady! here’s a change indeed. - Well, I shan’t lose by that. Gods, how they cheer! - She might have taken me with her. I know well - I shan’t see the outside of these villa walls 2790 - Till bound for home. And here no visitors, - At least for me. Cheer on, my lads! and yet - If I should get the chance I’d like to see - These famous Neapolitans: I’m told - They’re wondrous saucy, and ingenious singers. - What’s that? a boat! my lady! gracious heavens! - - [_A boat rows up to quay._ - - My lady, O my lady, what’s the matter? - - _Enter Agrippina up from the quay, clothes dripping; the - boat remains._ - - _Agr._ An accident, and I am escaped by swimming: - Yet thou must know, Fulvia, ’twas a contrivance - To take my life—the kindness was all hollow— - A dastardly contrivance: ’twas the ship 2801 - Seleucus spoke of. Look, I am hurt in the shoulder, - Yet ’tis not much. - - _Ful._ Alack, alack, my lady! - - _Agr._ I am cold and faint. I must at once go shift - These dripping habits. When I am rested somewhat - Thou shalt hear all: meanwhile, call in the sailors - Who rowed me hither: get from them whate’er - They saw or know, and promise a reward - Worthy of my deliverance. [_Going._ - - _Ful._ Praised be the gods, - My lady, that thou’rt safe. - - _ Agr._ (_turning_). Polla is killed. [_Exit._ - - _Ful._ What, Polla! Killed! she said killed. Polla killed!2811 - Ho! fellows, come within, nay, come within. - - _Sailors enter._ - - _SAILOR._ - - We are not fit, my lady. By thy leave, - We are poor fishermen. - - _Ful._ Come, fellows, come. - Which is the captain? - - _Sail._ Me, so please thee, lady. - - _Ful._ Ye have brought the empress safe, and for that service - Shall have a good reward. But, tell me now, - How came she in your boat? - - _Sail._ ’Twas thus, my lady. - It being the feast, we smartened up the boat - And pulled her close along the shore, to find 2820 - A party of landsmen, such as love to visit - Misenum, or be rowed across the bay - To Pausilypum, lady, and Virgil’s villa. - When, as we lay, the Augusta’s galley passed, - Not half a cable’s length, and then we cheered, - And after took no note of her, till Gripus, - He cries, Look! see the galley. And there she was - Laid on her beam-ends in the offing. Ho! - We cried, and gave the alarm, and led the chase - To reach her first: when presently she righted, 2830 - Steadied, and trimmed her oars, and drew away. - While we were wondering and talking of it - I spied a something floating, and again - Putting about, saw ’twas a swimmer’s head. - Four other boats with ours made for it too; - But we gave way with a will and held our own, - And coming alongside, found ’twas the Augusta. - I reached her out an oar, and I and my mate - Lifted her in handsomely. Then she bad us - Straight row her hither. She’s a most brave lady, - Ay, and can swim. 2841 - - _Ful._ Know you no more? - - _Sail._ No, lady. - We looked, but saw naught else, not even a spar. - The Augusta told us there was none but she. - - _Ful._ What was the reason why the galley heeled? - - _Sail._ I cannot tell. - - _Ful._ What could it be? - - _Sail._ D’ye see, - My lady, ’tis the Admiral’s boat, this galley. - It’s not for me.... - - _Ful._ There’s not a breath of wind. - - _Sail._ The mischief was aboard. - - _Ful._ You know no more? - - _Sail._ Nothing, my lady. - - _Ful._ Then begone; to-morrow - Come for your recompense. I know not yet 2850 - The Augusta’s pleasure. - - _The Sailors._ Thank thee, thank thee, my lady. - - [_Exeunt Sailors._ - - _Ful._ ’Tis plain the men know nothing. - - _Sailor_ (_returning_). Please thee, lady, - If not too bold, we’ll ask thee if the Augusta - Has taken harm from being so long in the water. - - _Ful._ Thank you, my men. I pray she’s none the worse. - - _Sail._ ’Tis bitter cold, indeed. But I can tell - She’s of good stuff; ay, and can swim. - - _Ful._ Be sure - You are fortunate to have done her this good service. - - _Sail._ I make my humble duties. [_Exit._ - - _Ful._ Alas, alas! - What can this mystery mean? I die to hear. 2860 - I must now go attend her; ah! here she comes. - - _Enter Agrippina._ - - _Agr._ Fetch me some wine and a warm coverlet; - The fur one from my bed. - - _Ful._ Ay, madam, quickly. [_Exit._ - - _Agr._ I have no friend here but her and the few servants - Upon the place: ’tis plotted well indeed - To catch me thus alone: Mistress Poppæa - Is seen in this. Yet being escaped, I think - I yet will prove her match. - - _Re-enter Fulvia._ - - Ah, thank you, so. - - _Ful._ Are you recovered, madam, from the shock? - - _Agr._ I am warm again. I think too that my hurt - Is very little: but I am somewhat shaken. 2871 - - _Ful._ What is it that hath happed? The sailors knew - Nothing but that they found you. - - _Agr._ Did they see - Nothing? - - _Ful._ They saw the galley lurch, and say - The Admiral must know. - - _Agr._ ’Tis likely enough - ’Twas his contrivance. Now I’ll tell thee all, - Fulvia, and thou must help me all thou canst - When thou hast heard: indeed I tell thee partly - To clear my judgment.—We had rowed about a mile, - Polla and I, and sat upon the poop, 2880 - Taking our pleasure, when, all on a sudden, - Darkness; the awning fell, with such a crash - As took away my spirits, and Polla and I - Were thrown down from our couches by the weight - Of falling cloth and spars: one heavy beam - Grazed my left shoulder, and we lay crushed down - Upon the deck. Then I heard Polla laugh, - Finding we were not hurt, and she crept forth - Forward, beneath the curtains; the oars stopped: - I heard a rush of feet, and presently 2890 - Came Polla’s voice, ’Hold, slay me not, ye villains, - I am Agrippina.’ Then, ’Ah me, I am slain!’ - And one long deathly groan. This, when I heard, - Taught me my part, and towards the other side, - Crawling, I came to the window o’er the stern, - Where lay my only escape; and silently, - Feet foremost, I crept out, and by the ladder - Slipped down without a sound into the sea. - The galley still held way, and in few strokes - I saw that I was left and unperceived; 2900 - And so swam on until the fishermen - Hailed me by name, and took me in their boat. - - _Ful._ Who can have laid this plot to kill you, madam? - - _Agr._ ’Tis Nero, Fulvia, he who seemed but late - So kind and dutiful: ’twas all hollowness, - Part of the plot, to bring me here alone, - Away from friends: ay, and perceive this too, - To lay my death to charge of an accident, - And hide, maybe, even my dead body, drowned - And lost in the depths of the sea. Now, being alone, - I shall need thee to aid me. - - _Ful._ Dearest madam, 2911 - What can I do? - - _Agr._ Thou must be faithful to me - Whatever happens. Hearken, I said ’twas Nero - Had done this: ’tis not so; my real enemy, - The mover, is Poppæa. I blame not Nero: - I bade him to discard her: he was driven - To choose between us: she hath carried it. - But being escaped, and she not here, I yet - Can right myself with him. ’Tis not too late; - Nay, I can amply trust those broad affections, 2920 - Which ’twixt a mother and her son remain - At bottom, spite of all. Ay, they remain. - The common knowledge of this guilty attempt - Will clear the way: and when I show the path, - He will be glad to escape. I have writ a letter, - Which, if he read, will work. ’Tis pure submission. - Remember, we must ever speak of this - But as an accident. Here is the letter; - Send Agerinus with it straight to Cæsar; - Of all my servants he’s the one must bear it: 2930 - Nero has known him from a child, will trust him; - Nay, he hath rid so oft upon his shoulders - That he is half a brother, half a father. - Send him at once: I have bidden him await: - He should be here. - - _Ful._ Alas, this is a day - Of sorrow indeed. I pray Minerva guard - Her feast from ill. [_Exit with letter._ - - _Agr._ Indeed I have little fear, - If he but read. Yet now, after this warning, - I must beware. ’Tis plain the people love me; 2939 - They cheered me so. My escape will add to favour. - - _Ful._ (_re-entering_). He waited at the gate, and with full speed - Runs with the letter. - - _Agr._ Come; one business - Must now be not neglected; there’s poor Polla. - Bring pens and ink and wax: we will seal up - All her effects, and make an inventory - In proper form, and do whate’er we may - While we have time. Let us go see to it. [_Exeunt._ - - - SCENE · 2 - - _A room in Nero’s villa. A table with papers. Enter - NERO, SENECA, BURRUS, and TIGELLINUS._ - - - _NERO._ - - We have an hour: sit down, my lords, we’ll hold - A privy council. I have in my mind a matter - Touching the subsidies. - - _BURRUS._ - - The day is good 2950 - For market matters, ’tis Minerva’s peace: - The sword is sheathed. - - _Ner._ (_to Servants_). Set light upon the table. - - _SENECA._ - - To talk of subsidies hurts no man’s conscience. - What is the business, Cæsar? - - _Ner._ I am vexed - By the complaints against the imperial household - In the gathering of tolls.—Here in these papers - Are weighty charges ’gainst Pomponius - Silvanus, and Sulpicius Camerinus: - Read them at leisure. But I ask you first - Whether there be not cause for discontent 2960 - In present management? - - _Sen._ ’Tis a deep evil. - But never was the empire better governed; - Nor is there more extortion now, I think, - Than ever was. - - _Ner._ And were there no extortion? - - _Sen._ Nay, while you farm the taxes there will be - Extortion still. - - _Ner._ You all think that, my lords? - - _Sen._ Ay, ay. - - _Ner._ And so say I. You have my grounds. - Now hear my scheme, by which for once and all - I rid the empire of this blot. ’Tis this. - I will have no more tolls or tallages, 2970 - Customs or duties levied: nay, not one - Through all the empire. I will make this present - To the human race: I say, their old vexation - And burden shall away. - - _TIGELLINUS._ - - Magnificent. - - _Sen._ ’Tis generously meant, most generously. - But is it possible? - - _Ner._ Why not? - - _Sen._ The treasury, - Eased of this sum, must fill the deficit - By other means. If you cut off the customs, - You must increase the tributes, rates, and rents. - If one shoe pinches, ’tis no remedy 2980 - To stuff both feet in the other. - - _Ner._ But my scheme - Has precedent; there was no tallage taken - Throughout all Italy for some six years - Ere Julius. - - _Sen._ Ay, but he restored the customs - As needful. - - _Ner._ Whence they seemed the price of empire. - - _Sen._ Unjustly. In the times of greatest liberty - Consuls and tribunes have ordained new customs, - Which yet remain. - - _Tig._ I praise the scheme. - - _Ner._ (_to Bur._) And you? - - _Bur._ Where look you then for revenue? - - _Ner._ The rents, - We’ll have the rents. The land.... 2990 - - _Enter Messenger with Officer of the Guard._ - - Why, who is this? - Whence come you, man? - - _MESSENGER._ - - Cæsar, from Anicetus. - He asks great Cæsar’s pardon ere I tell. - - _Ner._ Thou’rt free to speak. - - _Mess._ There has an accident - Befallen the Augusta’s yacht. - - _Ner._ Hey! what was that? - - _Mess._ At a lurch of the ship the awning fell and dragged - The Augusta overboard. - - _Ner._ Speak, man, speak on. - - _Mess._ We thought her drowned. - - _Ner._ Ha! - - _Mess._ But by the grace of the gods - She is escaped. - - _Ner._ Escaped! - - _Mess._ She swam to shore unharmed. - - _Ner._ Thou wretch, - And comest thou here in thy master’s place 2999 - To bate mine anger? Forth and send him hither. - Fly, or I kill thee. - - _Mess._ Pardon, great Cæsar, pardon. - The Admiral follows and will straight be here. - - [_Runs out._ - - _Ner._ (_aside_). Escaped! after such boast, escaped! I am lost.— - To have done this thing had tried me; to have attempted it - And failed is ruin. - - _Sen._ (_aside from Nero_). What is this? - - _Bur._ (_to Sen._) ’Tis clear - Cæsar knows what: and her escape not being - His pleasure tells us that ’twas not his purpose. - - _Sen._ (_aloud_). Alas, alas! - - _Ner._ What friend there cries Alas? - Who now stands by me? who will aid me now? - - _Tig._ If Cæsar make his will but known... - - _Ner._ Thou dullard! - I need the brains of them that know my will. 3011 - Now is no time for parley. Seneca, - Speak what thou thinkest. - - _Sen._ Cæsar, I am so much grieved that... - - _Ner._ What’s thy pain - To mine? Speak, man! - - _Sen._ Alas, what shall I say? - - _Ner._ How hast thou guessed this thing without a word, - And yet hast not foreseen it? - - _Sen._ Oh, is’t then true? - The letter false; the Augusta hither brought - But to be drowned! - - _Ner._ See if ye know it not. - - _Sen._ Let her escape belie thy guilty purpose. 3020 - - _Ner._ Why, nay, the failure damns a thousand-fold - More than her death—I am henceforth the man - Who would have killed his mother, and could not. - - _Sen._ Alas, alas! - - _Ner._ Hast thou no word but that? - Thou that hast ever warned me, ay, and gone - So far upon this path that thou hast sought - To dull the natural feeling which so long - Held off my hand, hast argued ’gainst repugnance, - Crying, ’tis she that is the guilty one, 3029 - The dangerous one, there is no peace with her: - And now the day the thing thou hast foreseen, - Ay, and hast led me to, is done, thou’rt silent. - Hast thou no word?—Thou that wast ever ready, - Hast thou no word?—What strikes thee on a sudden - Dumb? Be my counsellor now that I need thee. - Speak now! Why, thou dost weep! surely thou weepest! - Burrus, what sayest thou? - - _Bur._ This mischief, Cæsar, - Being thus arisen is the Augusta’s death. - Though I bewail the occasion, yet I say - ’Twere most untimely justice to endanger 3040 - The public peace for her whose life hath been - So long the shame of justice. Since the sentence - We know is just, and that necessity - O’errides the common forms, the less delay - The better. Let her die. - - _Ner._ I thank thee, Burrus. - How were this best performed? - - _Tig._ Now, if none speak, - I’ll say that Burrus, being the advocate - Of what is planned, and as pretorian prefect - Possessed of means, is fittest for the work. - - _Bur._ Look not on me, Seneca, as if to say 3050 - ’Tis well; as if ’twere thy thought that my office - Covered this deed. I pardon Tigellinus, - That, unacquainted with a soldier’s honour, - He thinks it passable in time of peace, - Entering in private houses there to slay - Defenceless citizens. But that the guards - Would thus lay hands on one that bears the name - Of Agrippina, that they could forget - Their loved Germanicus, who would think this? - To such a deed they would not follow me, 3060 - Far less another; and if Cæsar now - Look for it from me, lo, I here throw down - My prefecture to any man soe’er - Who durst with this condition take it up. - - _Ner._ Nay, Burrus, I’ll not ask thee that. Thou’rt right. - And yet, if thou could’st do it— See here the man. - - _Enter Anicetus in haste, Paris following._ - - Thou hast been my ruin! - - _ANICETUS._ - - Pardon, Cæsar, pardon. - I am strangely foiled. Give me one hour, and yet - I’ll make amends. - - _Ner._ If thou canst make amends, - Come hither, speak with me. [_They go aside to front._ - - _Bur._ Is the thing known? - - _PARIS._ - - Ay ay. - - _Ner._ (_to Anic._) What canst thou do? - - _Ani._ I have set a guard 3071 - Around her villa, fearing lest the people - Should force their way within, or she escape. - Give me the word and I will slay her there. - - _Ner._ Fool, I can give no word. Think when ’tis done, - If I should punish thee less for that deed - Than for thy late misdoing. What is this? - - _Enter Officer of the Guard. Petronius follows._ - - _OFFICER._ - - The Augusta, Cæsar, sends a freedman hither, - One Agerinus, with a letter. - - _Ner._ (_to Anic._) Now - What to do? - - _Ani._ Bid him enter: when he comes 3080 - I am prepared. Lend me thy dagger, friend (_to Tig._). - - [_Takes Tigellinus’ dagger._ - - _Enter Agerinus, who runs to Cæsar._ - - _AGERINUS._ - - Lo, Cæsar, I am sent... - - _Ani._ Ha! where’s thy hand? - Ay, as I thought, a dagger well concealed - Under his cloak. - - _Age._ Indeed, indeed, good sir, - I have no dagger. - - _Ani._ How no dagger? See! - Had I not caught thee! Ho! the guard, the guard! - Take him to prison till he can be questioned. - - _Age._ You do force treason on me. Cæsar! Cæsar! - - [_He is borne off by Guards._ - - _Ani._ This villain having come, as he confessed, - From the empress armed, will Cæsar leave the enquiry - Now in my hands? - - _Ner._ I do. - - _Ani._ With me who will! 3091 - - _Tig._ I follow, lead the way. - - [_Exeunt Anicetus and Tigellinus. Paris follows - them. Exit Nero within doors._ - - _PETRONIUS._ - - What will they go to do? - - _Bur._ ’Tis thus: the Admiral - Has gone to kill the Augusta. - - _Petr._ Gods forbid! - His orders? - - _Bur._ Humph! - - _Petr._ Why, men, what thing ye do! - He is shamed for ever. - - _Bur._ Ay, and were’t not done - Were shamed no less. - - _Sen._ Alas! ’tis true, ’tis true. - And thou wert right, Burrus; but dost thou well - Permitting this? - - _Bur._ I see ’tis necessary, - And am not shamed to say I think the thing 3100 - Itself is good. As for the motives, Seneca, - Ay, and the manner of it, to defend them - I shall not meddle. - - _Petr._ (_to Sen._) And thou wilt take thy share? - - _Sen._ ’Tis not my counsel. - - _Petr._ ’Twill be held as thine, - And rightly, seeing that thou let it not. - I could have stayed it. - - _Bur._ Nay, be not so sure. - And if thou could’st have let it, could’st thou too - Prevent the consequences? - - _Petr._ But remember, - She is his mother. Oh, I thought him better. - Is it too late now think you, if I ran... 3110 - - _Bur._ They are there by now. Believe ’tis for the best. - If she should live but till to-morrow morn, - ’Tis civil war. Consider what a party - Would stir upon the tale of Claudius’ death, - Or to revenge Britannicus. I say - There’s nought to gain. - - _Petr._ Why, ’tis his mother, Burrus, - His mother. I’ll be sworn he had not dared - Thus to commit himself had I been by. - He that should be a model to the world, - The mirror of good manners, to offend 3120 - Thus against taste! - - _Bur._ If ’twere no worse... - - _Petr._ Why, see, - There are a hundred subtle ways by which, - Had Cæsar done the thing, he had not been blamed. - This vulgar butchery displays to all - The motive, which so hurts your sense of right - That ye neglect the manner. Why, I say, - A just attention to the circumstance - Would hide the doing; but thus done, the doing - Proclaims the deed. And is’t not plain that ye - Must share the guilt? Seneca, look for that. 3130 - - _Sen._ ’Tis very well for you, Petronius, - To take upon yourself the criticism - And ordering of appearances, and say - ’If aught goes ill, blame me.’ You lay your hand - On any object you mislike, remove it, - Replace it as you will, can please yourself: - Nay, you can blame their taste who are not pleased. - But he who deals with men, and seeks to mould - A character to that high rule of right - Which so few can attain, he works, I say, 3140 - With different matter, nor can he be blamed - By any measure of his ill success. - His best endeavours are like little dams - Built ’gainst the ocean, on a sinking shore. - Nature asserts her force—and the wise man - Blames not himself for his defeat. For me, - Much as my soul is grieved, ay, and my pride - Wounded—tho’ yet, I thank philosophy, - I can be glad for that,—my hopes—for this - I mourn—my hopes blasted; yet, hear me say, - I take unto myself no self-reproach, 3151 - Nay, not a tittle of the part of mischief - A vulgar mind might credit to my score. - I have done my best, and that’s the utmost good - A man can do; and if a better man - Had in my place done more, ’tis perverse Fortune - That placed me ill. Thus far I argue with you, - Who look on me askance, and think my heart - Is tainted; as if I would in such case - Do such thing, as—poison my brother at table, - Contrive to kill my mother: ’Tis so far 3161 - From possible, that to my ears the words - Carry no sense: nay, and I think such crimes - May seem more horrible to other men, - Whose passions make them fear them, than to me - Who cannot think them mine. As for the rest, - I stand with you, and never from this hour - Shall mix with Cæsar more with any hope - Of good. Indeed I have hoped too long, and yet - The end has come too soon. 3170 - - _Re-enter Anicetus, Tigellinus, and Paris._ - - _Tig._ ’Tis done, ’tis done. - - _Ani._ Where is Cæsar? - - _Bur._ Within. - - [_Anicetus and Tigellinus hurry within._ - - _Petr._ Paris, is it true? - - _Par._ The Augusta lives no longer, - Most brutally and miserably slain: - Yet died she bravely. - - _Petr._ And why wentest thou - To soil thy hand? - - _Par._ I went not to take part: - But Fortune holding nature’s ruffians up, - I took their pattern. - - _Sen._ Say, who did the deed? - - _Par._ I’ll tell thee what I saw. As forth we went, - The coward Tigellinus, pale as death, - In needless haste foremost where was no danger, - Hurried us on so fast, that thro’ the street 3181 - We scarce kept pace, but when he reached the wall - Of the garden, and saw there the soldiers placed - By Anicetus, knowing not their purpose, - He shrank behind. These men being bidden seized - The servants; then we entered, and with us - Came the centurion. Within the room - Sat Agrippina with a single maid, - Who seeing the Admiral’s sword fled past us out: - At which the Augusta called to her, ’Dost thou, - Fulvia, desert me too?’ Then to the Admiral 3191 - She spoke. ’If here thou comest to enquire - From Cæsar of my health, know I am well, - Recovered from my shock, and little hurt. - But if, as your men’s looks would mean, ye are come - Deeming that Cæsar wills that I should suffer - The like I late escaped, know you mistake. - ’Twas not of his contrivance, and my foe - In this is his.’ None answered, and awhile - Was such delay as makes the indivisible 3200 - And smallest point of time various and broad; - For Agrippina, when she saw her lie - Fail of its aim, ventured no more, as knowing - There was no wiser plea; but let her eyes - Indifferently wander round her foes, - Counting their strength. Then looked I to have seen - Her spring, for her cheek swelled, and ’neath her robe - Her foot moved; ay, and had she been but armed, - One would have fallen. But if she had the thought - She set it by, choosing to take her death 3210 - With dignity. Then Anicetus raised - His sword, and I fled out beyond the door - To see no more. First Tigellinus’ voice, - ’To death, thou wretch!’ then blows, but not a groan; - Only she showed her spirit to the last, - And made some choice of death, offering her body, - ’That bare the monster,’ crying with that curse, - ’Strike here, strike here!’ - - _Sen._ Alas, poor lady, - Was that the end of thy unscrupulous, 3219 - Towering ambition? Thou didst win indeed - The best and worst of Fortune. - - _Bur._ Give her her due, - Such courage as deserved the best, such crimes - As make her death seem gentler than deserved. - - _Enter Nero between Anicetus and Tigellinus._ - - _Ner._ My lords, ’tis done. Nay, look not grieved. There’s none - Suffers as much as I; all share the good. - And think not that to keep the world at peace - I grudge this sacrifice: the general care - I set before my own, and therefore bid - There be no public mourning, nay, to-morrow - We shall attend the spectacles and games, 3230 - Appear as usual before the people: - Ay, and I partly look, my lords, to you - That I be well received. Good night to all! - - - - - ACHILLES IN SCYROS - - - - -DRAMATIS PERSONÆ - - _THETIS_ _Mother of Achilles_. - _ACHILLES_ _disguised as PYRRHA_. - _LYCOMEDES_ _King of Scyros_. - _ULYSSES_ _Prince of Ithaca_. - _DIOMEDE_ _compassion of Ulysses_. - _ABAS_ _servant to Ulysses_. - _DEIDAMIA_ _daughter of Lycomedes_. - _CHORUS of SCYRIAN MAIDENS._ - -_The scene is on the Island of Scyros, in the gardens of the palace._ - -_Thetis prologises._ - - - - - ACHILLES - - - _THETIS._ - - The deep recesses of this rocky isle, - That far from undersea riseth to crown - Its flowery head above the circling waves, - A home for men with groves and gardens green, - I chose not ill to be the hiding-place - Of my loved son. Alas, I could not take him - To live in my blue caverns, where the nymphs - Own me for queen: and hateful is the earth - To me, and all remembrance, since that morn, - When, in the train of May wandering too far, 10 - I trafficked with my shells and pearls to buy - Her fragrant roses and fresh lilies white. - Accurst the day and thou, ah, wretched Peleus, - Who forcedst me to learn the fears that women - Have for their mortal offspring: who but I, - Thetis, Poseidon’s daughter, who alone - But I of all the immortals have known this, - To bear and love a son in human kind? - And yet not wholly ill is the constraint, - Nor do I pity mortals to be born 20 - Heirs of desire and death, and the rich thought - Denied to easy pleasure in the days - That neither bring nor take; tho’ more to me - Embittered with foreknowledge of a doom - Threatened by fate, and labour how to avert. - For to me, questioning the high decrees - By which the sweetly tyrannous stars allot - Their lives and deaths to men, answer was given - That for my son Achilles there was ruled - One of two things, and neither good; the better 30 - A long and easy life, the worse a death - Untimely-glorious, which should set his name - First of the Greeks;—for so must seem to me - Better and worse, so even an earthly mother - Had for him chosen, tho’ for the right he died, - And conquered all the gods that succour Troy.— - But when I, thinking he must share my fear, - Showed him the choice, he made a mortal plunge - For glorious death, and would have straight gone forth - To seek it; but in tenderness for me,— 40 - Whom without shame he honours, and in this - My love repays,—he to my tears consented - To hide him from his fate; and here he dwells - Disguised among the maidens like a maiden;— - For so his beauty and youth permit,—to serve - The daughter of the king of this fair isle, - Who calls him Pyrrha for his golden hair, - And knowing not prefers him o’er the rest. - But I with frequent visitings assure me - That he obeys; and,—for I have the power 50 - To change my semblance,—I will sometimes run - In likeness of a young and timorous fawn - Before the maiden train, that give me chase - Far in the woods, till he outstrip them all; - Then turn I quick at bay with loved surprise, - And bid him hail: or like a snake I glide - Under the flowers, where they sit at play, - And showing suddenly my gleaming eyes, - All fly but he, and we may speak alone. - Thus oft my love will lead me, but to-day 60 - More special need hath brought: for on the seas - I met at dawn a royal ship of Greece - Slow stemming toward this isle. What that might bode, - And who might sail thereon, I guessed; and taking - A dolphin’s shape, that thro’ the heavy waters - Tumbles in sport, around the labouring prow - I gambolled, till her idle crew stood by - To watch me from the wooden battlements. - And surely among them there full soon I saw, - Even as I feared, the man I feared, agaze 70 - With hypocrite eyes, the prince of Ithaca, - That searcheth for Achilles: of all the Greeks - Whom most I dread, for his own endless wiles, - And for Athena’s aid. Him when I saw, - Lest I should be too late, I hither sped - To warn my son, and here shall meet him soon,— - Tho’ yet he hath not come,—for on these lawns - The damsels of the court are wont to play, - And he with them. Hark! see! even now. Nay, nay. - Alas! who cometh thus? Ah, by that gait 80 - Crouching along, it is my persecutor, - Ulysses. Woe is me! I must fly hence. - Tho’ he should know me not, I fear to face him, - My hated foe, alert, invincible - Of will, full of self-love and mortal guile. [_Exit._ - - _Enter Ulysses from the bushes, followed by Diomede, who - wears a Lion’s skin._ - - _DIOMEDE._ - - We have made the circuit of the hill, and here - Into the gardens are come round again. - What now? - - _ULYSSES._ - - Hush thou! Look there! Some one hath seen us. - He flies. - - _Dio._ I see not. - - _Ul._ Where the myrtle tops - Stir each in turn. He goeth toward the shore. 90 - I must see him that seeth me. Bide thou. - - [_Exit among the bushes._ - - _Dio._ Were I a dog, now, I might learn. Heigh ho! - Two hours and more we have wandered on this mountain, - Round and round, up and down, and round again, - Gardens, and lawns, meadows, and groves, and walks, - Thickets, and woods, the windings of the glades, - I have them all by rote. Each petty rill - We have tracked by rocky steps and paths about, - And peeped into its dank and mossy caves. - What sort of game should this Achilles be, 100 - That we should seek him thus? Ah! back so soon? - What sport? - - _Ul._ (_re-entering_). Well hit. ’Twas but a milk-white doe, - Some petted plaything of the young princess, - That fled our stranger steps. - - _Dio._ And whither now - Turn we to seek Achilles? - - _Ul._ Hark, Diomede: - My plot is laid and ready for thine ears. - Thou madest offer of thine aid; be patient, - And hear me. - - _Dio._ I will hearken. - - _Ul._ First, thou knowest - How since the day the Danaan kings took oath - To avenge the wrong done by the Trojan Paris 110 - Against his host, the Spartan Menelaus, - One oracle hath thwarted us, which said - Our purpose should not prosper with the gods - Unless Achilles the young son of Thetis - Should lead our armies. - - _Dio._ Certainly, so far - I am with you. - - _Ul._ Next, when he was sought in vain, - Men looked to me; ay, and to me it fell - To learn that he was lurking in this isle - Of Scyros, in the court of Lycomedes. 119 - The king denied the charge, adding in challenge, - That I might come and make what search I pleased; - Now mark... - - _Dio_. I listen, but thou tellest nothing. - Why search we not the court if he be there, - Instead of this old hill? - - _Ul._ ’Tis that I come to. - King Lycomedes hath been one of those - Who have held their arms aloof from our alliance, - On the main plea of this Achilles’ absence. - What if he play the game here for his friends, - And hide the lad lest they be forced to fight? - - _Dio._ That well might be. And if the king would hide him, 130 - Thy hope would hit upon him thus at hazard? - - _Ul._ Call me not fool. Attend and hear my plot: - Nor marvel, Diomede, to learn that he, - Whom the high gods name champion of the Greeks, - Lurks in the habit of a girl disguised - Amid the maidens of this island court. - - _Dio._ That were too strange. How guess you that? - - _Ul._ My spies, - Who have searched the isle, say there’s no youth thereon, - Having Achilles’ age of sixteen years, - But is well known of native parentage. 140 - Now Thetis’ son must be of wondrous beauty, - That could not scape inquiry; we therefore look - For what is hid, and not to be disguised - Save as I guess. - - _Dio._ If this be so, thy purpose - Is darker still. - - _Ul._ I lead thee by the steps - I came myself to take, slowly and surely... - And next this, that ’twere dull to ask the king - To help to find the thing he goes to hide: - Therefore the search must be without his knowledge. - ’Twas thus I sent up Abas to the court, 150 - Idly to engage him in preliminaries, - The while I work; my only hope being this, - To come myself to parley with the maidens; - Which to procure I brought with me aboard - A pedlar’s gear, and with such gawds and trinkets - As tickle girlish fancies, I shall steal - Upon them at their play; my hoary beard - And rags will set them at their ease; and while - They come about me, and turn o’er my pack, - I spy. If then Achilles be among them, 160 - The lad’s indifference soon will mark him out; - When, watching my occasion, I’ll exhibit - Something that should provoke his eye and tongue. - If he betray himself, thou being at hand.... - - _Dio._ Why, ’tis a dirty trick. - - _Ul._ Not if it wins. - - _Dio._ Fie! fie! - In rags and a white beard? - - _Ul._ No better way. - - _Dio._ The better way were not to lose the hour - Hearkening to oracles, while our good ships - Rot, and our men grow stale. Why, you may see - Imperial Agamemnon in the eyes 171 - Of all his armament walk daily forth - To take fresh note of sparrows and of snakes: - And if he spy an eagle, ’twill make talk - For twenty days. Would you have oracles, - Give me the whipping of the priests. Zeus help me! - If half the chiefs knew but their minds as I, - There’d be no parleying. I’ll to war alone - And with my eighty ships do what I may - ’Gainst gods and men. Ay, and the greater odds - The better fighting. - - _Ul._ Now ’tis thou that talkest. 181 - - _Dio._ Tell me then why we are prowling on this hill. - - _Ul._ Excellent reasons. First that when I come - I may know how to come, and where to hide - From them I would not meet: and thereto this, - That if Achilles fly, he should not take us - At too great disadvantage: thou mayst head him, - Knowing the ground about, while I pursue. - He must not scape. But hark, ’tis time the plot - Were put to proof; already it must be noon; 190 - And I hear steps and voices. Let us return - To the ship. If they that come be those we seek, ... - Hark, and ’tis they,—we can look back upon them. - I’ll be amongst them soon. - - _Dio._ ’Tis a girl’s game. - - [_Exeunt into the bushes._ - - _Enter Deidamia, Achilles as Pyrrha, with the chorus of - maidens._ - - _DEIDAMIA_ (_without_). - - Follow me, follow. I lead the race. [_Enters._ - - _CHORUS._ - - Follow, we follow, we give thee chase. [_Entering._ - - _Deid._ Follow me, follow. - - _Ch._ We come, we come. - - _Deid._ Here is my home; - I choose this tree: this is the ground 200 - Where we will make our play. Stand all around, - And let us beg the dwellers in this glade - To bear us company. Be not afraid, - (I will begin) sweet birds, whose flowery songs - Sprinkle with joy the budding boughs above, - The airy city where your light folk throngs, - Each with his special exquisite of love,— - Red-throat and white-throat, finch and golden-crest, - Deep-murmuring pigeon, and soft-cooing dove,— - Unto his mate addrest, that close in nest 210 - Sits on the dun and dappled eggs all day. - Come red-throat, white-throat, finch and golden-crest, - Let not our merry play drive you away. - - _Ch._ And ye brown squirrels, up the rugged bark - That fly, and leap from bending spray to spray, - And bite the luscious shoots, if I should mark, - Slip not behind the trunks, nor hide away.— - Ye earthy moles, that burrowing in the dark - Your glossy velvet coats so much abuse;— 219 - Ye watchful dormice, and small skipping shrews, - Stay not from foraging; dive not from sight.— - Come moles and mice, squirrels and skipping shrews, - Come all, come forth, and join in our delight. - - _Deid._ Enough. Now while the Dryads of the hill - Interpret to the creatures our good will, - Listen, and I will tell you a new game - That we can play together.—As hither I came, - I marked that in the hazel copse below, - Where we so oft have hidden and loved to go - To hear the night-bird, or to take unseen 230 - Our noontide walks beneath the tangled screen, - The woodcutter hath been with cruel blade, - And of the tasselled plumes his strewage made: - And by the mossy moots the covert shorn - Now lieth low in swathe like autumn corn. - These ere he lop and into bundles bind, - Let us go choose the fairest we may find, - And of their feathered orphan saplings weave - A bowery dome, until the birds believe - We build a nest, and are come here to dwell. 240 - Hie forth, ye Scyrian maids; do as I tell: - And having built our bower amid the green, - We will choose one among us for a queen, - And be the Amazons, whose maiden clan - By broad Thermodon dwells, apart from man; - Who rule themselves, from his dominion free, - And do all things he doth, better than he. - First, Amazons, your queen: to choose her now: - Who shall she be? - - _Ch._ Thyself, thou. Who but thou? - Deidamia. - - _Deid._ Where then were the play, 250 - If I should still command, and ye obey? - - _Ch._ Choose thou for all. - - _Deid._ Nor will I name her, lest - Ye say my favour sets one o’er the rest. - - _Ch._ Thy choice is ours. - - _Deid._ If then I gave my voice - For Pyrrha? - - _Ch._ Pyrrha, Pyrrha is our choice. - Hail, Pyrrha, hail! Queen of the Amazons! - - _Deid._ (_To Ach._). To thee I abdicate my place, and give - My wreath for crown. Long, my queen, mayst thou live! - Now, fellow-subjects, hie we off at once. - - _ACHILLES._ - - Stay, stay! Is this the privilege of the throne? 260 - Am I preferred but to be left alone? - No guard, no counsellor, no company! - Deidamia, stay! - - _Deid._ Thy word must be - My law, O queen: I will abide. But ye - Forth quickly, as I said; ye know the place. - - _Ch._ Follow me, follow: I lead the race. - Follow, we follow, we give thee chase. - Follow me, follow. - We come, we come. [_Exeunt Chor._ - - _Ach._ I could not bear that thou shouldst strain thy hands270 - Dragging those branches up the sunny hill; - Nor for a thousand honours thou shouldst do me, - Making me here thy queen, would I consent - To lose thy company, even for an hour. - See, while the maids warm in their busy play, - We may enjoy in quiet the sweet air, - And thro’ the quivering golden green look up - To the deep sky, and have high thoughts as idle - And bright, as are the small white clouds becalmed - In disappointed voyage to the noon: 280 - There is no better pastime. - - _Deid._ I will sit with thee - In idleness, while idleness can please. - - _Ach._ It is not idleness to steep the soul - In nature’s beauty: rather every day - We are idle letting beauteous things go by - Unheld, or scarce perceived. We cannot dream - Too deeply, nor o’erprize the mood of love, - When it comes on us strongly, and the hour - Is ripe for thought. - - _Deid._ I have a thought, a dream; - If thou canst keep it secret. - - _Ach._ I am thy slave. 290 - - _Deid._ Suppose—’tis more than that, yet I’ll but say - Suppose—we played this game of Amazons - In earnest. What an isle this Scyros were; - Rich and wellplanted, and its rocky coast - Easy of defence: the women now upon it - Could hold it. Nay, I have often thought it out: - The king my sire is threescore years and more, - And hath no heir: suppose that when he dies,— - The gods defer it long, but when he dies, - If thou and I should plan to seize this isle, 300 - Drive out the men, and rule it for our own ... - Wouldst thou work with me, Pyrrha, the thing could be. - Why shouldst thou smile? I do not say that I - Would rate my strength with men; but on the farms - Women are thicker sinewed; and in thee - I see what all might be. I am sure for speed - No man could match thee, and thou hast an arm - To tug an oar or hurl the heaviest spear, - Or wrestle with the best. Why dost thou smile? - - _Ach._ When thou art queen, I’ll be thy general. - - _Deid._ That was my thought. What dost thou think? - - _Ach._ I think - That Fate hath marked me for a general. 312 - - _Deid._ Nay, but I jest not. - - _Ach._ Then shall I forecast - And weigh impediments against thee? as men - Will in like case, who think no scheme mature - Till counsel hath forestalled all obstacles. - - _Deid._ If thou canst think of any. - - _Ach._ First is this, - Whence shall we get our subjects when our isle - Is peopled but by women? - - _Deid._ Fairly asked, - Had I not thought of it. We shall import them 320 - From other isles. Girl children everywhere - Are held of small account: these we will buy, - Bartering for them our fruits and tapestries, - And chiefly from the country whence thou comest; - For there I think the women must be taller - And stronger than with us. - - _Ach._ And who will act - Persuader to the maidens of the isle - To banish all their lovers? - - _Deid._ O Pyrrha, shame! - Man’s love is nothing; what knowst thou of it - To magnify its folly? ’Tis a mischief 330 - To thwart our good: therefore I banish it. - A woman’s love may be as much to woman - As a man’s love can be. ’Tis reasonable - This, and no dream. ’Tis my experience. - When I am with thee, Pyrrha, I want nothing. - No woman sitting by her silly lover - Could take such pleasure from his flatteries - As I from thy speech. When thou lookest on me - I am all joy; and if ’tis so with thee, - Why need we argue? Tell me, when I am with thee - Dost thou lack aught, or wish I were a man? 341 - - _Ach._ In truth nay, but... - - _Deid._ A wretched but: I know - What that would say; this thing cannot be done - Because ’twas never done. But that’s with me - The reason why it should be done. - - _Ach._ I see. - Yet novelty hath no wear. Remember too - We must grow old. The spirit of such adventure - Tires as the body ages. - - _Deid._ For that I think - I make the best provision. Nay, I have seen - Full many an old dame left in last neglect, 350 - Whose keen gray eye, peaked face, and silver hair - Were god-like set beneath a helm of brass. - - _Ach._ Here be the maids: ask them their mind at once. - - _Deid._ Nay, for the world no word. - - _Enter Chorus, with flowers._ - - Why run they breathlessly in merry fear? - What have ye seen? What now? - - _Ch._ The king. Fly, fly! - - _Ach._ Why should we fly the king? - - _Ch._ A man is with him, and they come this way. - - _Deid._ Who is it? - - _Ch._ Nay, we know not. - - _Deid._ What hath happed? - - _Ch._ We went forth as ye bade, and all together - Ran down the hill, the straightest way we might, - Into the copse, and lo! ’twas as thou saidst; 362 - The hazels are all felled, but on the ground, - That ’neath the straight trunks of the airy trees - Lies in the spotted sunlight, are upsprung - Countless anemones, white, red, and blue, - In the bright glade. Forgetting why we came, - We fell to gathering these. I chose the blue, - As ye may see, loving blue blossoms best, - That are content with heaven. - - _2nd Speaker._ And I the red, 370 - Love’s passionate colour; and the love in these - Is mixed with heavenly to a royal purple. - - _3rd._ And I the white: whose praise I will not tell, - Lest it should blush. - - _4th._ And I have mixed together - The red and white. - - _5th._ And I the red and blue. - - _6th._ And I the blue and white. - - _Deid._ Well, but the matter. - What happened next, tell me? - - _Ch._ (_1st._) Still at this game, - Like to a hungry herd that stops and feeds, - Snatching what tempts it on, we made advance - To the entrance of the combe; and then one cried, - Look up! Look there! And from the open brow, - Whence we looked down upon the sea, we saw 382 - A great war-ship in the harbour: and one said, - She comes from Athens; and another, nay, - Her build is Rhodian: when as there we gazed, - Counting her ports, and wondering of her name,— - We heard men’s voices and beheld the king - Mounting the hill-side, with a stranger clad - In short Greek robes. Then ran we back to thee, - Ere we were seen, in haste; that we may hide, 390 - And not be called within to attend the guests. - - _Deid._ So did ye well, whoe’er it be, and best - If ’tis the prince of Melos, as I fear: - Who late my father said would come to woo me: - But he must find me first. [_Going._ - - _Ach._ I’ll be thine eyes - And take his measure. Let me lurk behind, - I’ll learn his height, the colour of his beard, - And bring thee word. - - _Deid._ I pray, no beards for me. - Those that love beards remain. The rest with me. - Follow me, follow: I lead the race. [_Exit._ - - _Ch._ Follow, we follow. We give thee chase— - Follow me, follow— 402 - —We come, we come. [_Exeunt Chor._ - - _Ach._ I wish I had had Apollo for my sire; - Or that old Cheiron, when he taught me arms, - Hunting the beasts on bushy Pelion, - Had led and trained me rather, as well he knew, - In that fair park of fancy and delight, - Where but the Graces and the Muses come. - For he could sing: and oft took down at eve 410 - From the high pillar of his rocky cave - The lyre or pipe, and whiled the darksome hours. - Which would I had learned, to touch the stops and strings, - Nor only harked thereto: for nought he sang, - Whether of gods or men, of peace or war, - Had any theme of sweetness to compare - With my new world, here, where I am king, and rule - The sweetest thing in nature. Had I skill - To give translation to my joy, I think - I could make music that should charm the world. - O Deidamia, thou Queen of my heart, 421 - I would enchant thee and thine isle. Alas! - How wilt thou learn thou art mine? How can I tell - And with the word not lose thee? Now this suitor - Threats my betrayal... He comes. I’ll watch. Yet not - With jealous eyes, but heedful of my fate. - - [_Hides in bushes._ - - _Enter Lycomedes and Abas._ - - _LYCOMEDES._ - - ’Tis folly and impertinence. I say it - With due respect unto the prince, thy master, - Who am as much his elder as the king - His father is. He ne’er would so have wronged me,— - The mild and good Laertes.—In this isle 431 - Think’st thou ’twere possible a man should hide, - And I not know it? - - _ABAS._ - - My Lord Ulysses, sire, - Bade me assure your majesty he came - More with the purpose to acquit your honour,— - Which suffers greatly in the common tongue,— - Than with a hope to find what he pretends - He comes to seek. - - _Lyc._ Why should he come at all? - - _Ab._ Taking your invitation in the sense - That I have spoken... - - _Lyc._ Thinks he, if I chose 440 - To hide the man in Scyros, that a stranger - From Ithaca could find him? - - _Ab._ Nay... - - _Lyc._ It follows - Your search can never quit my honesty, - Where I am held accomplice; but no less - Must put a slight upon my wits, implying - Me the deceived. - - _Ab._ Your invitation, sire, - Covers that charge. - - _Lyc._ My invitation, sir, - Was but my seal of full denial, a challenge - For honour’s eye, not to be taken up. - Your master hath slipped in manners: yet fear not - But I will meet and treat him as his birth 451 - And name require. Speak we no more of this. - What think’st thou of our isle? - - _Ab._ The famed Ægean - Hath not a finer jewel on her breast. - - _Lyc._ Come, come! you overpraise us: there’s no need. - We Scyrians are contented.—Now we are climbed - Above the town to the east; and you may see - The western seaboard, and our other port. - The island narrows here to twenty stades, - Cut like a wasp; the shoulder where we stand 460 - Is its best natured spot: It falls to the sun, - And at this time of the year takes not too much. - - _Ab._ ’Tis strange how in all points the lie of the land - Is like our Ithaca, but better clothed. - - _Lyc._ And larger, is’t not? - - _Ab._ Past comparison.— - - _Lyc._ What navy bring ye to the war? - - _Ab._ Ah, sire! - We have no ships to boast of—with our own - Zakynthus, Cephallenia, and the rest, - Joining their numbers, raise but ten or twelve. - - _Lyc._ And these your prince commands? 470 - - _Ab._ Such as they be. - - _Lyc._ Tidings come slowly to us here. I pray you - Tell me the latest of your preparations. - The thing must drag: there was some talk awhile - Of coldness ’twixt the chiefs: ’twould be no wonder. - They that combine upon one private grudge - May split upon another. - - _Ab._ Still their zeal - Increases: ’tis as fire spread from a spark. - - _Lyc._ A spark? well—Menelaus. At this time - What numbers hath he drawn, and whence? - - _Ab._ The ships - Number above a thousand: a tenth of these 480 - Are sent by Corinth, Sicyon and Mycenæ; - Sixty are Spartan, and king Agamemnon - Provides as many as these all told together. - Then from Ægina, Epidaurus, Argos, - And Tiryns Diomede brings eighty: Nestor - Ninety from Pylos; from Bœotia - Come eighty; Phocis and Phthiotis each - Send forty; Athens fifty; and Eubœa - Forty; from Salamis Ajax brings twelve; - Oilean Ajax with the Locrians 490 - Forty more; from our neighbours in the west, - Dulichium and Ætolia, eighty sail; - Again as many from hundred-citied Crete - Under the king Idomeneus, and nine - From Rhodes: All these, with others that escape - My hasty summing, lie drawn up at Aulis. - ’Tis such a sight as, I am bold to say, - If but your majesty could see it, would move you - To make a part of the splendour. - - _Lyc._ Nay, I have seen them. - - _Ab._ Your majesty hath been at Aulis? - - _Lyc._ Nay, 500 - Nor yet at Aulis: but the tale thou tellest - Coming unto my ears a month ago, - Some of my lords and I one idle morn - Crossed to Eubœa,—’tis a pleasure trip, - On a clear day scarce out of sight of home— - We landed ’neath Œchalia by noon, - And, crossing o’er the isle on mules, were lodged - That night at Chalcis. The next day at dawn - I played the spy. ’Twas such a breathless morning - When all the sound and motion of the sea 510 - Is short and sullen, like a dreaming beast: - Or as ’twere mixed of heavier elements - Than the bright water, that obeys the wind. - Hiring a fishing-boat we bade the sailors - Row us to Aulis; when midway the straits, - The morning mist lifted, and lo, a sight - Unpicturable.—High upon our left - Where we supposed was nothing, suddenly - A tall and shadowy figure loomed: then two, - And three, and four, and more towering above us: - But whether poised upon the leaden sea 521 - They stood, or floated in the misty air, - That baffling our best vision held entangled - The silver of the half-awakened sun, - Or whether near or far, we could not tell, - Nor what: at first I thought them rocks, but ere - That error could be told, they were upon us - Bearing down swiftly athwart our course; and all - Saw ’twas a fleet of ships, not three or four - Now, but unnumber’d: like a floating city, 530 - If such could be, with walls and battlements - Spread on the wondering water: and now the sun - Broke thro’ the haze, and from the shields outhung - Blazed back his dazzling beams, and round their prows - On the divided water played; as still - They rode the tide in silence, all their oars - Stretched out aloft, as are the balanced wings - Of storm-fowl, which returned from battling flight - Across the sea, steady their aching plumes - And skim along the shuddering cliffs at ease: 540 - So came they gliding on the sullen plain, - Out of the dark, in silent state, by force - Yet unexpended of their nightlong speed. - Those were the Cretan ships, who when they saw us - Hailed for a pilot, and of our native sailors - Took one aboard, and dipping all their oars - Passed on, and we with them, into the bay. - Then from all round, where the dark hulls were moored - Against the shore, and from the tents above - A shout of joy went up, re-echoing 550 - From point to point; and we too cheered and caught - The zeal of that great gathering.—Where man is met - The gods will come; or shall I say man’s spirit - Hath operative faculties to mix - And make his gods at will? Howe’er that be, - Soon a swift galley shot out from the rest - To meet the comers. That was Agamemnon’s, - They told me; and I doubt not he was in it, - And gave his welcome to Idomeneus, - And took him to his tent. On such a day 560 - Our little boat rowed where we would unmarked: - We were but Chalcian pilots. So I saw - Whate’er I wished to see, and came away - Across the strait that night, and the next day - Was home by sundown. - - _Ab._ All this could you see - Without the wish to join? - - _Lyc._ I say not that; - For wish I did that I was young again. - Then, sir, I would have left whate’er I had, - My kingdom to another, for the pride, - Of high place in such war; now I am old. 570 - - _Ab._ But older men than thou have joined us, sire. - War needs experience. - - _Lyc._ Concerning war - I am divided in opinion, Abas: - But lean to think it hath a wholesome root - Supportive to our earthly habit. I see - The noblest beasts will love to fight, and man - Is body as well as spirit: his mind that’s set - In judgment o’er those twain must oft admit - The grosser part hath a preponderant claim. - But I regret this, and my discontent 580 - Puts me this question, Shall man never come - To a better state with his desire? What think you? - What if our race yet young should with the time - Throw off the baser passions, as I find - Myself by age affected? I know not... - I have a little statue in my house, - Which, if you look on’t long, begets belief - Of absolute perfectionment; the artist - Should have been present when man’s clay was mixed. - Prometheus, or whoever ’twas that made us, 590 - Had his head turned with natural history: - All excellent contrivance, but betraying - Commonness and complexity. Well! well! - No need of my philosophies in Scyros— - War must have motive, and the men I rule - Are simple and contented with their lot. - None in my land would wish an atom changed: - Were even Achilles here ’twould be no wonder - If he had caught our temper. - - _Ab._ All men witness - To thy good rule, O king: but in the wars 600 - Fame may be won. - - _Lyc._ Nor do I ask for fame. - Come that to whom it will; to Agamemnon, - To Ajax or Ulysses or Achilles. - - _Ab._ To Achilles no: ’tis not in the gods’ grace - To succour pigritude. To him, a lad, - The prize of honour above all the Greeks - Was offered: by the poor effeminacy - With which he hath rejected it, he is judged - Meanest of all. But since we cannot win - Without him, we must have him. Little glory 610 - To him, except to be Fate’s dullest tool. - - _Lyc._ Maybe. Now come we on. I had thought to find - My daughter and her train. I’ll take thee round - Another way to the palace: thither no doubt - She is now returned. [_Exeunt._ - - _Enter Achilles from the bushes._ - - _Ach._ Villain, I thank the gods that sent thee hither. - But thou wast near thy death. Walk off secure, - Not knowing that I heard. _Effeminate! - The meanest of the Greeks!_ were he the best, - I’d slay him in this garment. Yet he is but 620 - A tongue to troll opinion of me, a slave, - Fetcher and carrier of others’ tales, and doth - The drudgery honestly; for that I’ll thank him - And profit by his slander. Ay, so I’ll do— - Now in good time—I’ll get me a man’s dress - And meet them here, ere they suspect me:—or, stay! - I can outwit them better. I’ll take a boat, - Cross o’er to Aulis, like good Lycomede, - This very night, and there to Agamemnon - Declare myself; and men shall never know 630 - How I was hid, nor whence I came. - - _Enter Thetis._ - - _Th._ My son! - - _Ach._ My goddess mother, welcome! yet I am shamed - That thou shouldst find me thus. - - _Th._ How art thou shamed? - - _Ach._ This dress. O thou canst help me: thou art ready - At every need. And here hath been a man - Who, thinking not I heard, spake to the king - Of thy Achilles with such scorn, that I - Should have leaped forth upon him in my rage, - And strangled him, but that he seemed to be - Another’s servant. 640 - - _Th._ Then thou hast seen them, son? - - _Ach._ Who are they? - - _Th._ Those I came to warn thee of; - Ulysses and his friends. Knowst thou ’tis they - Are come unto the isle to seek thee? - - _Ach._ Ay. - But thou art ready to outwit their wile. - As thou didst bring me hither on that night - When all thy nymphs, assembling ’neath the moon - Upon the Achæan shore, bore me away - Across the sea, even so to Aulis now - Convey me secretly, and set me there, - Ere men know whence I come. - - _Th._ What hear I, son? 650 - To Aulis? to thy foes? - - _Ach._ A thousand ships - Moored idle in the bay wait but for me: - And round the shore the captains of the Greeks - Impatient in their tents but call for me. - Be they my foes to speak or wish me ill, - ’Tis only that I come not. I must go. - - _Th._ There let them tarry till the sea-worm bore - Their ships to rottenness; or, sail they forth, - Let them be butchered by the sword of Hector, - Ere thou be snared to serve their empty pride. 660 - - _Ach._ But louder than their need my honour calls: - Hast thou no thought of this in all thy love? - - _Th._ Who then is honoured more or more desired - Than thou art now? but they, if once they had thee, - Would slight thee, and pretend they were the men. - - _Ach._ But those are honoured best that hear their praise. - - _Th._ Is not high Zeus himself, holding aloof, - Worshipped the more? Let the world say of thee, - When these have perished, that they went their way - Because the son of Thetis would not aid them. 670 - - _Ach._ But if ’twere said because he feared to die? - - _Th._ Fearst thou reproach of fear that fearst not death? - - _Ach._ I fear not, but by proof would shun reproach. - - _Th._ Men, son, are what they are; and thou art brave. - ’Tis asked of poor and questionable spirits - To prove their worth. - - _Ach._ I prove myself a coward. - - _Th._ How! when it needed heavenly prayers and tears, - The force of duty and a goddess’ will - To keep thee back from death! when all the joys - That I have set about thee, and a love 680 - More beautiful than Helen’s cannot hold thee! - - _Ach._ Fate, that from men hideth her pitiless face, - Offered to me this kindness, that my will - Should be of force in predetermined deeds: - Allowing me to take which life I would - Of two incomparable lots; I ever - Leaned one way, the other thou; and still at heart - I hold to my first choice. - - _Th._ O child of man, - Though child of mine, wouldst thou know wisdom’s way, - Learn it of me. If I had said to thee 690 - Thou being a mortal shouldst love death and darkness; - For in the brief date of thy heedless term - ’Tis vain to strive with evil: and since the end - Cometh the same, and at the latest cometh - So soon, that there’s no difference to be told - ’Twixt early and late, ’tis wisdom to despair: - Then would thy tongue have boldly answered me, - And said, Man hath his life; that it must end - Condemns it not for nought. Are rivers salt - Because they travel to the bitter sea? 700 - Is the day dark because the gorgeous west - Must fade in gloom, when the ungazeable sun - Is fallen beneath the waves? Or hath the spring - No charm in her pavilions, are her floors - Not starred, for that we see her birth is slow - Of niggard winter, and her blossoms smirched - By summer’s tyranny? Hadst thou said this, - And that Earth’s changeful pride, the life of man, - Is exquisite in such a quality - To make the high gods envious could they guess: - Then had I found no answer: but when I 711 - Told thee of joy, and set thee in the midst, - That thou shouldst argue with me that ’tis best - To die at once, and for an empty name - Pass to the trivial shades; then must I fear - I have as thankless and unwise a son, - As disobedient.—Yet when first I taught thee - Thou gav’st me promise to be wise. - - _Ach._ But never - Wilt thou then free me from my promise given? - - _Th._ Not to thy hurt. 720 - - _Ach._ See now what shame I bear! - - _Th._ Why make so much of shame? If thou despise - The pleasure of the earth, why not the shame? - - _Ach._ I wrong, too, this old king. - - _Th._ His daughter more, - If thou desert her. - - _Ach._ But ’twould hurt her less - To lose me now than know me when disgraced. - - _Th._ I plead not in her name, nor charge thee, son, - With loving her in my contempt. A dream - Of mortal fancy or honour may becloud - Thy mind awhile, but ne’er canst thou forget - Thy bond to me; the care that never left thee 730 - Till thou wert out of hand; the love that dared - To send thee from my sight when thou wast able, - And to strange lands; my secret visitings - There, and revisitings; the dreams I sent thee, - Warnings of ill, and ecstasies of pride; - The thousand miracles I wrought to save thee, - And guard thee to thy prime;—and now men say - Thou art the first of the Greeks: their homaged kings - The gods condemn to death if thou withhold 739 - Thy single arm. Why so? What hast thou done? - Where have men seen thee? Hast thou ruled like Nestor? - Conquered like Agamemnon, fought like Ajax? - What is thy prowess, what thy skill but this, - That thou art son of Thetis? Disobey not, - Nor question now my bidding. Must I kneel, - Embrace thy knees, or melt before thy face - In supplicating tears? O if thy birth - Did cost the tenderest tears that god e’er shed, - Make not those bitter drops to have flowed in vain. - Whate’er fate portion thee my joy is this— 750 - That thou dost love me. Dost thou cease to love, - I am most miserable. - - _Ach._ O fear not that, - Mother and goddess! Pardon me, weep not. - Let all men curse me, be my name abhorred, - Rather than thou be grieved. ’Twas anger moved me: - I will forget this, and obey thee. Say - What I must do, how best avoid these men: - And how refuse their call if I be found. - - _Th._ Kiss me, my son. By the gods’ life, I love thee: - My grief is to deny thee. But there’s need 760 - Of counsel, for the day is critical - And glides apace. And first if they should find thee, - Then ’tis thy fate to go: I cannot stay thee. - And since to bear thee hence were sure betrayal, - I urge thee to be true to thy disguise. - And better to escape thy foes, learn now - Whom most to dread. Of all the Argives shun - Ulysses; come not near him in the halls; - And should he speak to thee, answer no word. - Him thou wilt know by his preëminence: 770 - In person he is beardless yet, and smooth - Of face and tongue, alluring, gentle in voice - But sturdy of body, and ’neath his helm his locks - O’er a wide brow and restless eye curl forth - In ruddy brown; nor less for his attire - Notable is he, wearing the best of all, - His linen broidered, and broad jewels to hold - A robe of gray and purple. - - _Ach._ He shall not spy me. - But if by any warning from the gods - He know and call to me, how then to escape 780 - The shame of this Ionian skirt? - - _Th._ That chance - I can provide for, and shall give thee now - A magic garment fitting to thy body, - Which worn beneath thy robe will seem as weft - Of linen thread, but if it meet the light - ’Twill be a gilded armour, and serve well - In proof as show. Come, I will set it on thee. - - [_Exeunt._ - - _Enter Deidamia and Chorus._ - - _Deid._ The ground is clear, we have deceived them mightily, - Running around. - - _Ch._ Where is our queen? - - (_2_) Not here. - - _Deid._ I’ll call her. Pyrrha!—Call all together. - - _Ch._ Pyrrha! - - _Deid._ She will come presently.—Did ye not mark - How resonant this glade is? that our voices 792 - Neither return nor fly, but stay about us? - It is the trunks of the trees that cage the sound; - As in an open temple, where the pillars - Enrich the music. In my father’s hall - The echo of each note burdens the next. - ’Twould be well done to cut a theatre - Deep in some wooded dale. Till Pyrrha come, - Alexia, sing thou here. - - _Ch._ What shall I sing? 800 - - _Deid._ There is a Lydian chant I call to mind - In honour of music-makers: it beginneth - With praise of the soft spring, and heavenly love— - ’Twill suit our mood, if thou remember it. - - _Chorus._ - - The earth loveth the spring, - Nor of her coming despaireth, - Withheld by nightly sting, - Snow, and icy fling, - The snarl of the North: - But nevertheless she prepareth 810 - And setteth in order her nurselings to bring them forth, - The jewels of her delight, - What shall be blue, what yellow or white; - What softest above the rest, - The primrose, that loveth best - Woodland skirts and the copses shorn. - - - 2. - - And on the day of relenting she suddenly weareth - Her budding crowns. O then, in the early morn, - Is any song that compareth - With the gaiety of birds, that thrill the gladdened air - In inexhaustible chorus 821 - To awake the sons of the soil - With music more than in brilliant halls sonorous - (—It cannot compare—) - Is fed to the ears of kings - From the reeds and hirèd strings? - For love maketh them glad; - And if a soul be sad, - Or a heart oracle dumb, - Here may it taste the promise of joy to come. 830 - - - 3. - - For the Earth knoweth the love which made her, - The omnipotent one desire, - Which burns at her heart like fire, - And hath in gladness arrayed her. - And man with the Maker shareth, - Him also to rival throughout the lands, - To make a work with his hands - And have his children adore it: - The Creator smileth on him who is wise and dareth - In understanding with pride: 840 - For God, where’er he hath builded, dwelleth wide,— - And he careth,— - To set a task to the smallest atom, - The law-abiding grains, - That hearken each and rejoice: - For he guideth the world as a horse with reins; - It obeyeth his voice, - And lo! he hath set a beautiful end before it: - - - 4. - - Whereto it leapeth and striveth continually, - And pitieth nought, nor spareth: 850 - The mother’s wail for her children slain, - The stain of disease, - The darts of pain, - The waste of the fruits of trees, - The slaughter of cattle, - Unbrotherly lust, the war - Of hunger, blood, and the yells of battle, - It heedeth no more - Than a carver regardeth the wood that he cutteth away: - The grainèd shavings fall at his feet, 860 - But that which his tool hath spared shall stand - For men to praise the work of his hand; - For he cutteth so far, and there it lay, - And his work is complete. - - - 5. - - But I will praise ’mong men the masters of mind - In music and song, - Who follow the love of God to bless their kind: - And I pray they find - A marriage of mirth— - And a life long 870 - With the gaiety of the Earth. - - _Ch._ There stands an old man down beneath the bank, - Gazing, and beckoning to us. - - _Deid._ He is a stranger, - That burdened with some package to the palace - Hath missed his way about, and fears to intrude. - Go some and show him. [_Some run out._ - Meanwhile what do we? - We have no sport when Pyrrha is away. - Our game is broken. Come, a thought, a thought! - Hath none a thought? - - _Ch._ We have never built the bower. - - _Deid._ Ye idled gathering flowers. Now ’tis too late. - - _Ch._ Let us play ball. - - _Deid._ The sun is still so high. 881 - I shall go feed my doves. - - (_Re-enter one of Chorus._) - - _Ch._ The old man saith - That he is a pedlar, and hath wares to sell - If he may show them. Shall he come? - - _Deid._ Now Hermes, - The father of device and jugglery, - Be thanked for this; ’tis he hath sent him.—Call him. - His tales may be good hearing, tho’ his pack - Repay not search. But be advised: beware, - Lest he bear off more than he bring: these fellows - Have fingers to unclasp a brooch or pin 890 - While the eye winks that watches. There was one - Who as he ran a race would steal the shoes - Of any that ran with him. The prince of all - Was merry Autolycus. - - _Enter, with those who had gone out, Ulysses as a pedlar._ - - Good day, old man. - Come, let us see thy wares. - - _Ul._ I have no breath left, - Wherewith to thank you, ladies; the little hill - Has ta’en it from me. - - _Deid._ Rest awhile, and tell us - Whence thou art come. - - _Ul._ In a Greek ship this morn. - I pray you, that I lack not courtesy, - Art thou the princess of this isle? - - _Deid._ I am. 900 - - _Ul._ My true and humble service to your highness. - - _Deid._ In turn say who art thou, and whence thy ship. - - _Ul._ Fair, honoured daughter of a famous king, - I have no story worthy of thine ear, - Being but a poor artificer of Smyrna, - Where many years I wrought, and ye shall see - Not without skill, in silver and in gold. - But happiness hath wrecked me, and I say - ’Tis ill to marry young; for from that joy - I gat a son, who as the time went on, 910 - Grew to be old and gray and wise as I; - And bettering much the art which I had taught him - Longed to be master in my place, for which - He grew unkind, and his sons hated me: - And when one day he wished me dead, I feared - Lest I should kill myself; and so that night - I made me up a pack of little things - He should not grieve for, and took ship for Greece. - There have I trafficked, lady, a year and more, - And kept myself alive hawking small ware 920 - From place to place, and on occasion found - A market for my jewels, and be come here - Making the round of the isles in any ship - That chances: and this last I came aboard - At Andros, where I was: but whence she hailed - I have even forgot. May it please thee see my wares? - - _Deid._ Thy tale is very sad. I am sorry for thee. - Why would thy son, being as thou sayst so skilled, - Not ply his trade apart? - - _Ul._ My house in Smyrna - Was head of all the goldsmiths: ’twas for that, 930 - Lady, he envied me. See now my wares. - - _Deid._ What beauteous work! I’m glad thou’rt come. I’ll buy - A trinket for myself, and let my maids - Choose each what she may fancy. Hear ye, girls? - I’ll make a gift to each. - - _Ch._ O thanks.—To all?— - And may we choose? - - _Deid._ Yes. - - _Ch._ Anything we please? - - _Deid._ Why, that is choosing. - - _Ch._ O we thank thee. - - _Ul._ Now - I see, princess, thou’rt of a bounteous blood, - To make all round thee happy. - - _Deid._ What is this brooch? - - _Ul._ If for thyself thou fancy a brooch, I’ll show thee - The best jewel in my box, and not be shamed 941 - To say I have no better. - - _Ch._ See, oh, see! - What lovely things!—A rare old man! - - _Ul._ Here ’tis. - What thinkest thou? - - _Deid._ Is’t not a ruby? - - _Ul._ And fine! - - _Deid._ I think thy son will have missed this. - - _Ul._ Nay, lady: - I had it of a sailor, who, poor fool, - Knew not its worth; and thou mayst buy it of me - For half its value. - - _Deid._ May I take these two - To view them nearly? - - _Ul._ All take as ye will. - Ye do me honour, ladies. - - _Deid._ Hear ye, girls, 950 - Make each her choice. I will o’erlook your taste - When all is done. - - _Ul._ Come, buy my wares: come buy. - Come, come buy; I’ve wares for all, - Were ye each and all princesses. - Clasps and brooches, large and small, - Handy for holding your flowing dresses. - - _Ch._ What is this little box for? - - _Ul._ Open it. - - _Ch._ What is this vial? - - _Ul._ Smell it. Buy, come buy! - Charms for lovers, charms to break, - Charms to bind them to you wholly. 960 - Medicines fit for every ache, - Fever and fanciful melancholy. - - _Ch._ O smell this scent.—Here be fine pins.—See this! - - _Ul._ (_aside_). I spy none here to match my notion yet. - - _Ch._ I have found amber beads.—What is it is tied - In little packets? - - _Ul._ Toilet secrets those, - Perfumes, and rare cosmetics ’gainst decay. - - _Deid._ (_to one apart_). Alexia, see. I will buy this for Pyrrha. - ’Tis pity she is not here. What thinkest thou of it? - He said it was his best. This other one 970 - I’ll give to thee if thou find nothing better. - Go see. I will seek Pyrrha. [_Exit._ - - _Ul._ Buy, come buy! - Tassels, fringes, silken strings, - Girdles, ties, and Asian pockets, - Armlets, necklaces and rings, - Images, amulets, lovers’ lockets. - - _Ch._ Pray, what are these, good man? - - _Ul._ Of soft doe-skin - These gilded thongs are made for dancers’ wear, - To tie their sandals. - - _Ch._ And is this a pin, - This golden grasshopper? - - _Ul._ Ay, for the hair. 980 - The Athenian ladies use nought else. See here - This little cup. - - _Ch._ Didst thou make that? - - _Ul._ Nay, ladies. - - _Ch._ Show us some work of thine which thou didst make - Thy very self. - - _Ul._ See then this silver snake. - Fear not. Come near and mark him well: my trade is, - Or was, I should say, in such nice devices. - ’Twill coil and curl, uncoil, dart and recoil. [_Showing._ - - _The Chorus crowd about him, when enter unperceived - by him Achilles and Deidamia._ - - _Deid._ Come, come, there never hath been one like him here. - Hark! see the girls: they crowd and chatter round - As greedily as birds being fed. I bade them choose - Each one a present, but I took the best, 991 - This ruby brooch. Look at it: ’tis for thee. - Let me now put it on thee. I’ll unclasp - Thy robe and set it in the place of the other. - - _Ach._ Nay, Deidamia, unfasten not my robe! - - _Deid._ Why, ’twould not matter if he looked this way. - - _Ach._ Nay, prithee.— - - _Deid._ Well, thou must take my gift. - - _Ach._ Then must I give thee somewhat in return. - - _Deid._ But ’tis my will to-day to give to all. - - _Ach._ Then let me take my choice, some smaller thing. 1000 - - _Deid._ Come then ere all is ransacked. - - _Ach._ (_aside_). I scarce escaped - The uncovering of my magic coat.—[_They go to Ulysses._ - - _Ul._ Come buy, - Needles for your broideries rare, - Dainty bodkins silver-hafted. - Pins to fix your plaited hair, - Ivory-headed and golden-shafted. - - _Ach._ What hast thou in thy pack for me, old man? - - _Ul._ There’s nought but trifles left me, lady, now, - As dice and dolls; the very dregs of the box. - - _Deid._ Athenian owls. And who’s this red-baked lady - Clothed in a net? - - _Ul._ Princess, ’tis Britomartis, 1011 - The Cretan goddess worshipped at Ægina. - - _Deid._ This little serpent too? - - _Ul._ Nothing to thee: - But the Erechtheidæ use to fasten such - About their children’s necks. Nay, not a babe - Is born but they must don him one of these, - Or ever he be swaddled or have suck. - - _Deid._ This blinking pygmy here, with a man’s body - And a dog’s head, squatting upon a button... - What’s he? - - _Ul._ ’Tis an Egyptian charm, to ban 1020 - The evil spirits bred of Nilus’ slime. - - _Deid._ And this? - - _Ul._ That. See, ’tis a Medusa, lady, - Cut in an oyster-shell, with flaming snakes. - - _Deid._ These are all nothings. Thou must have the brooch. - See, now ’tis thine; thou hast it. (_Pins it upon Achilles’ robe._) - (_To Ul._) What is its price? - (_To Ach._) Nay, be content. - - _Ul._ To thee I’ll sell it, lady, - For a tenfold weight of gold. - - _Ach._ Oh! ’tis too much. - Spend not such store on me. And for the ruby, - ’Tis dark and small. - - _Ul._ The purple is its merit: - Were it three times the size and half the tint, 1030 - ’Twere of slight cost. - - _Ach._ So might I like it better. - And that—what’s that, which thou dost put aside? - Is that a toy? - - _Ul._ Nay, lady; that is no toy. - ’Tis a sharp sword. But I will show it thee - For its strange quality: the which methinks - Might pass for magic, were’t not that an Arian, - Late come to Sardis, knows the art to make it. - Tho’ wrought of iron, look ye, ’tis blue as flint, - And if I bend it, it springs back like a bow: - ’Tis sharper too than flint; but the edge is straight, - And will not chip. Nay, touch it not; have care! - - _Ach._ Pray, let me see it, and take it in my hand. - - [_Takes it and comes to front._ - - _Ul._ (_aside_). This should be he. - - _Ach._ (_aside_). My arm writhes at the touch. - - _Ul._ There is a hunter, with his game, a lion, - Inlaid upon it: and on the other side 1045 - Two men that fight to death. - - _Ach._ ’Tis light in the hand. - - _Deid._ (_to Ach._). Canst thou imagine any use for this? - - _Ach._ (_to Deid._). Not when thy father dies? - - _Ul._ Ladies, have care. - For if the sword should wound you, I were blamed. - - _Ach._ Why, thinkest thou ’tis only bearded men - Can wield a sword? The queen of the Amazons - Could teach thee something maugre thy white hair. - - _Ul._ (_aside_). The game hath run into the snare; - He is mine. - - _Ach._ See, Deidamia, here’s my choice; buy this - If thou wilt give me something; thou dost like 1055 - The ruby; if thou wilt let me give thee that, - Thou in return buy me this little sword. - - _Deid._ Such presents are ill-omened, and ’tis said - Will shrewdly cut in twain the love they pledge. - - _Ach._ But we may make a bond of this divider. - - _Deid._ Wilt thou in earnest take it for thy choice? - - _Ach._ If thou wert late in earnest, thou couldst do - No better than arm all thy girls with these. - The weapon wins the battle, and I think - With such advantage women might be feared. - (_To Ul._) Old man, I like thy blade; and I will have it. - I see ’twould thrust well: tell me if ’tis mettle - To give a stroke. Suppose I were thy foe, - And standing o’er thee thus to cut thee down - Should choose to cleave thy pate. Would this sword do it? 1070 - - _Ul._ (_aside_). He knows me! - - [_Pulling off his beard and head-dress and leaping up._ - - Achilles! - - _Deid. and Ch._ Help! help! treachery! - - [_They fly._ - - _Diomede comes out of bushes where he stands unseen - by Achilles._ - - _Ach._ Beardless—and smooth of face as tongue: - In voice - Gentle, but sturdy of body: ruddy locks, - And restless eye .. Ulysses! - - _Ul._ Thou hast it. - - _Ach._ I knew that thou wert here, but looked to meet thee1075 - Without disguises, as an honest man. - - _Ul._ Thou needest a mirror, lady, for thyself. - - _Ach._ (_suddenly casts off his long robe and appears in - shining armour, still holding the sword_). - - Behold!.... Be thou my mirror! - - _Ul._ If I be not, - ’Tis shame to thee, the cause of my disguise. - - _Ach._ I own thee not. I knew thee for a prince, - But seeing thee so vilely disfigured... - - _Ul._ Stay! 1081 - We both have used disguise: I call for judgment - Upon the motive. Mine I donned for valour, - And care for thy renown; thine was for fear. - - _Ach._ Fear! By the gods: take up thy beard again, - And thy mock dotage shield thee. - - _Ul._ Nay, Achilles; - If I spake wrong I will recall the word. - - _Ach._ Thou didst unutterably lie. Recall it. - - _Ul._ Wilt thou then sail to Aulis in my ship? - - _Ach._ I can sail thither and not sail with thee. - - _Ul._ But wilt thou come? - - _Ach._ I answer not to thee - Because thou questionest me: but since I know - What will be, and hear thee in ignorance - Slander fair names, I tell thee that Achilles - Will come to Aulis. - - _Ul._ Wherefore now so long 1095 - Hast thou denied thyself to thy renown? - - _Ach._ Thou saidst for fear; nor hast recalled the word. - - _Ul._ ’Twas first thy taunt which drew my mind from me: - But, if it wrong thee, I recall the word. - - _Ach._ I think thou hast judged me by thyself, Ulysses. - When thou wast summoned to the war,—who wert - Not free to choose as I, but bound by oath - To Menelaus to help him,—what didst thou? - Why thou didst feign; and looking for disguise - Thy wit persuaded thee that they who knew thee - Would never deem that thou wouldst willingly - Make mock of that: so thou didst put on madness, - Babbling and scrabbling even before thy friends: - And hadst been slavering on thy native rocks - Unto this day, had not one fellow there 1110 - Lightly unravelled thee, and in the furrow, - Which thou with dumb delusion, morn and eve, - Didst plough in the sea sand (that was thy trick), - He placed thy new-born babe. That thou brok’st down - Then in thine acting, that thou drav’st not on - The share thro’ thine own flesh, is the best praise - I have to give thee. - - _Ul._ Distinguish! if I feigned, - ’Twas that I had a child and wife, whose ties - Of tenderness I am not ashamed to own. - - _Ach._ I say thou wentest not unto this war 1120 - But by compulsion, thou, that chargest me - With fear. ’Tis thou that art the stay-at-home, - Not I; my heart was ever for the war, - And ’gainst my will I have been withheld: that thou - Mistakest in this my duty for my leaning, - Is more impeachment of thy boasted wits, - Than was thy empty husbandry. Are not - The Argive chiefs more subject, one and all, - To this reproach of fear? Why need they me - A boy of sixteen years to lead them on? 1130 - Did they lack ships or men, what are my people - In number? who am I in strength? what rank - Have I in Hellas? Where’s the burly Ajax? - Where is the son of Herakles? and Nestor - The aged? Teucer and Idomeneus? - Menestheus, Menelaus? and not least - Where’s Diomede? - - _Dio._ (_coming forward_). By chance he’s here. - - _Ach._ Ah! now - I hear a soldier’s voice. Brave Diomede, - I give thee welcome, tho’ thou comest behind. - - _Dio._ Hail, son of Thetis, champion of the Greeks! - - _Ach._ Anon, anon. What dost thou here? Wert thou 1141 - Sat in an ambush or arrived by chance, - As thou didst say? - - _Dio._ By heaven I cannot tell. - I serve Ulysses, and he serves the gods: - If thou’rt displeased with them, gibe not at me. - - _Ach._ I see the plan—The pedlar here in front, - The lion behind. And so ye thought to seize me. - - _Ul._ Have we not done it? - - _Ach._ Nay. - - _Ul._ Thou canst not scape. - - _Ach._ I give that back to thee. - - _Ul._ What wilt thou now? - - _Ach._ Diomede and I have swords: thou mayst stand by 1150 - Until ’tis time thou show me how to escape. - I’ll drive you to your ship. - - _Ul._ (_aside to Dio._). - Answer him not. He cannot leave the isle: - When the king learns of our discovery - He must deliver him up. Let’s to the palace. - - _Dio._ (_to Ul._). Nay, I must speak— - - _Ul._ Thou wilt but anger him. - He will yield better if we cross him not. - - _Dio._ (_to Ach._). Brave son of Thetis, I’d not yield - to thee - In any trial of strength, tho’ thou be clad - In heavenly armour; but I came not here 1160 - To fight, and least with thee: put up thy sword. - And since I heard thee say thou wilt to Aulis, - Our mission is accomplished, nought remains - But to renounce our acting, and atone - For what we have ventured. First I speak thee free - To follow thine own way. Unless the king - Or other here be in thy secrecy, - None know but we, nor shall know: be it thy will, - My lips are sealed, and in whatever else - Thou wilt command me, I shall be glad to obey. - - _Ach._ Thank thee, good Diomede. What saith Ulysses? 1171 - - _Ul._ I’ll do whate’er will knit thee to our cause. - (_Aside._) Yet shall men hear I found thee. - - _Ach._ Return then to your ship; and when Ulysses - Is there restored proceed ye to the court. - But what in the surprise and consequence - Of my discovery to the king, as well - As to some others may arise, I know not; - Nor can instruct your good behaviours further. - Time grants me but short counsel for myself. 1180 - - _Ul._ We too should study how to meet the king. - - _Ach._ Stay yet, Ulysses. Thou hast parted here - With goods appraised to them that meant to buy. - I have a full purse with me. Be content, - Take it. I’d give as much for the little sword. - Now let me do this favour to the ladies. - - _Ul._ (_taking_). ’Tis fit, and fairly done. I did not think - To go off robbed. The sword is worth the gold. - We part in honest dealing. Fare thee well. 1189 - - _Dio._ (_aside_). Thrashed like a witless cur! - (_To Ach._) Farewell, Achilles. - An hour hence we will meet thee at the palace. - - [_Exeunt Ul. and Dio._ - - _Ach._ In spite of warning taken in a silly trap, - By the common plotter! Thus to be known Achilles— - To have my wish forced on me against my will - Hath rudely cleared my sight. Where lies the gain? - The dancing ship on which I sailed is wrecked - On an unlovely shore, and I must climb - Out of the wreck upon a loveless shore, - Saving what best I love. ’Tis so. I see - I shall command these men, and in their service - Find little solace. I have a harder task 1201 - Than chieftainship, and how to wear my arms - With as much nature as yon girlish robe: - To pass from that to this without reproach - Of honour, and beneath my breastplate keep - With the high generalship of all the Greeks - My tenderest love. ’Tis now to unmask that, - And hold uninjured. I’ll make no excuse - To the old king but my necessity, - And boldly appease him. Here by chance he comes. - - _Enter hurriedly Lycomedes and Abas._ - - _Lyc._ Was it not here, they said? 1211 - An insolent ruffian: Let me come across him! - By heav’n, still here! And armed from head to foot! - (_To Ach._) Young man,—as now thou’lt not deny to be— - Thou’st done—ay, tho’ thou seem of princely make— - Dishonour and offence to me the king - In venturing here to parley with the princess - In mock disguise, for whatsoever cause, - Strangely put on and suddenly cast off, - I am amazed to think. I bid thee tell me 1220 - What was thy purpose hither. - - _Ach._ O honoured king, - Tho’ I came here disguised I am not he - Thou thinkest. - - _Lyc._ Nay I think not who thou art. - All wonders that I have seen are lost in thee. - - _Ach._ Thou takest me for Ulysses. - - _Lyc._ Nay, not I. - - _Ach._ I am Achilles, sire, the son of Thetis. - - _Lyc._ Achilles! Ah! Thou sayst at least a name - That fits thy starlike presence, my rebuke - Not knowing who thou wert. But now I see thee - I need no witness, and forget my wonder 1230 - Wherefore the Argives tarry on the shore - And the gods speak thy praise. Welcome then hither, - Achilles, son of Thetis; welcome hither! - And be I first to honour thee, who was - Most blamèd in thine absence. - - _Ach._ Gracious sire, - Thy welcome is all kingly, if it bear - Forgiveness of offence. - - _Lyc._ To speak of that, - Another might have wronged me, but not thou. - Tho’ much I crave to learn both how and why 1239 - Thou camest hither. Was’t in the Argive ship? - - _Ach._ Nay, king, I came not in the Argive ship: - Nor am I that false trespasser thou seekest. - - _Lyc._ Whether then hast thou mounted from the deep, - Where the sea nymphs till now have loved and held thee - From men’s desire; or whether from the sky - Hath some god wrapt thee in a morning cloud, - And laid thee with the sunlight on this isle, - Where they that seek should find thee? - - _Ach._ A god it was - Brought me, but not to-day: seven times the moon - Hath lost her lamp with loitering, since the night - She shone upon my passage; and so long 1251 - I have served thee in disguise, and won thy love. - - _Lyc._ So long hast thou been here! And I unknowing - Have pledged my kingly oath—The gods forbid— - - _Ach._ Yet was I here because a goddess bade. - - _Lyc._ Have I then ever seen thee? - - _Ach._ Every hour - Thou hast seen me, and sheltered me beneath thy roof. - But since thou knewest me not, thy royal word - Was hurt not by denial. - - _Lyc._ Who wert thou? Say. - - _Ach._ I was called Pyrrha. 1260 - - _Lyc._ O shame. - - _Ach._ Yet hearken, sire! - - _Lyc._ Wast thou the close attendant of my daughter, - Her favoured comrade, and she held it hid - ’Neath a familiar countenance before me, - So false unto her modesty and me? - Alas! alas! - - _Ach._ O sire, she hath known me but as thou, and loved - Not knowing whom. - - _Lyc._ Thou sayst she hath not known? - - _Ach._ For ’twas a goddess framed me this disguise. - - _Lyc._ And never guessed? - - _Ach._ Nay, sire. Nor blame the goddess - Whom I obeyed: nor where I have done no wrong, - Make my necessity a crime against thee. 1271 - - _Lyc._ Can I believe? - - _Ach._ ’Tis true I have loved her, sire: - And by strange wooing if I have won her love, - And now in the discovery can but offer - A soldier’s lot,—she is free to choose: but thee - First I implore, be gracious to my suit, - Nor scorn me for thy son. - - _Lyc._ My son! Achilles! - This day shall be the feast-day of my year, - Tho’ I be made to all men a rebuke - For being thy shelter, when I swore to all 1280 - Thou wert not here. Now I rejoice thou wert. - Come to my palace as thyself: be now - My guest in earnest: we will seal at once - This happy contract. - - _Ach._ Let me first be known - Unto the princess and bespeak her will. - - _Lyc._ She is thine, I say she is thine. Stay yet; that pedlar, - Was he Ulysses? - - _Ach._ So he stole upon us; - And when I bought this sword he marked me out. - - _Lyc._ I cannot brook his mastery in deceit. - Where is he now? - - _Ach._ I sent him to the ship, 1290 - To find a fit apparel for thy sight. - - _Lyc._ Would I had caught him in his mean disguise! - - _Ach._ So mayst thou yet. Come with me the short way - And we will intercept him. - - _Lyc._ Abas, follow. - Thou too hast played a part I cannot like. - - _Ab._ My liege, I have but unwittingly obeyed. - I have no higher trust. - - _Lyc._ Now obey me. [_Exeunt._ - - _Enter Deidamia and Chorus._ - - _Deid._ Pyrrha, where art thou, Pyrrha? - - _Ch._ She turned not back.— - They are not here.—She would not fly.— - - _Deid._ Pyrrha, Pyrrha! 1300 - - _Ch._ She hath driven the ugly pedlar and his pack - Home to his ship—would we had all been by! - Would we had joined the chase! - - _Deid._ He was no pedlar: I could see his face - When he pulled off his beard. - - _Ch._ There as she stood, - Waving the sword, I feared - To see a mortal stroke— - He hath fled into the wood— - Had he no sword too, did none spy, 1310 - Beneath his ragged cloke? - - _Deid._ Alas, alas! - - _Ch._ What hast thou found? - - _Deid._ Woe, woe! alas, alas! - Pyrrha’s robe torn, and trampled on the ground. - See! see! O misery! - - _Ch._ ’Tis hers—’tis true—we see. - - _Deid._ Misery, misery! help who can. - - _Ch._ I have no help to give.— - I have no word to say. 1320 - - _Deid._ Gods! do I live - To see this woe? The man - Like some wild beast hath dragged her body away, - And left her robe. Ah, see the gift she spurned, - My ruby jewel to my hand returned; - When forcing my accord - She chose the fatal sword. - The fool hath quite mistook her play. - - _Ch._ He will have harmed her, if she be not slain. - Ah, Pyrrha, Pyrrha! 1330 - Why ran we away? - - _Deid._ Why stand we here? - To the rescue: follow me. - - _Ch._ Whither—our cries are vain. - Maybe she lieth now close by - And hears but cannot make reply. - ’Tis told how men have bound - The mouths of them they bore away, - Lest by their cry - They should be found.— 1340 - Spread our company into the woods around, - And shouting as we go keep within hail.— - Or banding in parties search the paths about: - If many together shout - The sound is of more avail. - Once more, together call her name once more. - (_Calling._) Pyrrha—Pyrrha! - - _Thetis_ (_within_). Ha! - - _Deid._ An answer. Heard ye not? - - _Ch._ ’Twas but the nymph, that from her hidden grot - Mocks men with the repeated syllables 1350 - Of their own voice, and nothing tells. - Such sound the answer bore. - - _Deid._ Nay, nay. - Hark, for if ’twere but echo as ye say - ’Twill answer if I call again. - (_Calls._) Pyrrha, come! Pyrrha, come! - - _Thetis_ (_within_). I come, I come. - - _Deid._ Heard ye not then? - - _Ch._ I heard the selfsame sound. - - _Deid._ ’Twas Pyrrha. Why she is found. - I know her voice. I hear her footing stir. 1360 - - _Ch._ True, some one comes. - - _Deid._ ’Tis she. - - _Enter Thetis._ - - Pyrrha! O joy. - - _Th._ Why call ye her? - - _Deid._ Pyrrha! Nay. - And yet so like. Alas, beseech thee, lady - Or goddess, for I think that such thou art, - Who answering from the wood our sorrowing call - Now to our sight appearest,—hast thou regard - For her, whom thou so much resemblest, speak - And tell us of thy pity if yet she lives 1368 - Safe and unhurt, whom we have lost and mourn. - - _Th._ ’Tis vain to weep her, as ’twere vain to seek. - Whom think ye that ye have lost? - - _Deid._ Pyrrha, my Pyrrha. - As late we all fled frighted by a man, - Who stole on us disguised, she stayed behind: - For when we were got safe, she was not with us. - So we returned to seek her; but alas! - Our fear is turned to terror. Lady, see! - This is her garment trampled on the ground. - - _Th._ And so ye have found her. There was never more - Of her ye have callèd Pyrrha than that robe. - The golden-headed maiden, the enchantress, 1380 - And laughter-loving idol of your hearts - Had in your empty thought her only being. - When ye have played with her, chosen her for queen, - And leader of your games, or when ye have sat - Rapt by the music of her voice, that sang - Heroic songs and histories of the gods, - Or at brisk morn, or long-delaying eve, - Have paced the shores of sunlight hand in hand, - ’Twas but a robe ye held: ye were deceived; - There was no Pyrrha. 1390 - - _Ch._ What strange speech is this? - Was there no Pyrrha? What shall we believe! - - _Deid._ Lady, thy speech troubles mine ear in vain. - - _Th._ ’Tis then thine ear is vain; and not my speech. - - _Deid._ My ears and eyes and hands have I believed, - But not thy words. A moment since I held her. - What wilt thou say? - - _Th._ That eyes and hands and ears - Deceived thy trust, but now thou hearest truth. - - _Deid._ Have we then dreamed, deluded by a shade - Fashioned of air or cloud, and as it seems - Made in thy likeness, or hath some god chosen - To dwell awhile with us in privity 1401 - And mutual share of all our petty deeds? - Say what thy dark words hint and who thou art. - - _Th._ I Thetis am, daughter of that old god, - Whose wisdom buried in the deep hath made - The unfathomed water solemn, and I rule - The ocean-nymphs, who for their pastime play - In the blue glooms, and darting here and there - Checquer the dark and widespread melancholy - With everlasting laughter and bright smiles. 1410 - Of me thou hast heard, and of my son Achilles, - By prescient fame renowned first of the Greeks: - He is on this island: for ’twas here I set him - To hide him from his foes, and he was safe - Till thou betray’dst him—for unwittingly - That hast thou done to-day. The seeming pedlar, - To whom thou leddest Pyrrha, was Ulysses, - Who spied to find Achilles, and thro’ thee - Found him, alas! Thy Pyrrha was Achilles. - - _Chorus._ - - O daughter of Nereus old, 1420 - Queen of the nymphs that swim - By day in gleams of gold, - By night in the silver dim, - Forgive in pity, we pray, - Forgive the ill we have done. - Why didst thou hide this thing from us? - For if we had known thy son - We had guarded him well to-day, - Nor ever betrayed him thus. - - For though we may not ride 1430 - Thy tall sea-horses nor play - In the rainbow-tinted spray, - Nor dive down under the tide - To the secret caves of the main, - Among thy laughing train; - Yet had we served thee well as they, - Had we thy secret shared: - Nor ever had lost from garden and hall - Pyrrha the golden-haired, - Pyrrha beloved of all. 1440 - - _Th._ (_to Deid._). Dost thou say nought? - - _Deid._ Alas, alas! my Pyrrha. - - _Th._ Art thou lamenting still to have lost thy maid? - - _Deid._ I need no tongue to cry my shame; and yet - Thy mockery doth not grieve me like my loss. - - _Th._ I came not here to mock thee, and forbid - Thy grief, that doth dishonour to my son. - - _Deid._ Nay, nay, that word is mine: speak it no more. - - _Th._ Weepest thou at comfort? Is deceit so dear - To mortals, that to know good cannot match - The joy of a delusion whatsoe’er? 1450 - - _Deid._ What joy was mine shame must forbid to tell. - - _Th._ Gods count it shame to be deceived: but men - Are shamed not by delusion of the gods. - - _Deid._ Then ye know nothing or do not respect. - - _Th._ Why what is this thou makest? the more ye have loved - The more have ye delighted, and the joy - I never grudged thee; tho’ there was not one - In all my company of sea-born nymphs, - Who did not daily pray me, with white arms - Raised in the blue, to let her guard my son. 1460 - And for his birthright he might well have taken - The service of their sportive train, and lived - On some fair desert isle away from men - Like a young god in worship and gay love. - But since he is mortal, for his mortal mate - I chose out thee; to whom now were he lost, - I would not blame thy well-deservèd tears: - But lo, I am come to give thee joy, to call - Thee daughter, and prepare thee for the sight - Of such a lover, as no lady yet 1470 - Hath sat to await in chamber or in bower - On any wallèd hill or isle of Greece; - Nor yet in Asian cities, whose dark queens - Look from the latticed casements over seas - Of hanging gardens; nor doth all the world - Hold a memorial; not where Ægypt mirrors - The great smile of her kings and sunsmit fanes - In timeless silence: none hath been like him; - And all the giant stones, which men have piled - Upon the illustrious dead, shall crumble and join - The desert dust, ere his high dirging Muse 1481 - Be dispossessèd of the throne of song. - Await him here. While I thy willing maids - Will lead apart, that they may learn what share - To take in thy rejoicing. Follow me! - - _Ch._ Come, come—we follow—we obey thee gladly— - We long to learn, goddess, what thou canst teach. - - [_Exeunt Th. and Chor._ - - _Deid._ Rejoice, she bids me. Ah me, tho’ all heaven spake, - I should weep bitterly. My tears, my shame - Will never leave me. Never now, nevermore 1490 - Can I find credit of grace, nor as a rock - Stand ’twixt my maids and evil; even not deserving - My father’s smile. Why honour we the gods, - Who reck not of our honour? How hath she, - Self-styled a goddess, mocked me, not respecting - Maidenly modesty; but in the path - Of grace, wherein I thought to walk enstated - High as my rank without reproach, she hath set - A snare for every step; that day by day, - From morn to night, I might do nothing well; 1500 - But by most innocent seeming be betrayed - To what most wounds a shamefast life, yielding - To a man’s unfeignèd feigning; nay nor stayed - Until I had given,—alas, how oft!— - My cheek to his lips, my body to his arms; - And thinking him a maid as I myself, - Have loved, kissed, and embraced him as a maid. - O wretched, not to have seen what was so plain! - Here on this bank no later than this morn - Was I beguiled. There is no cure, no cure. 1510 - I’ll close my eyes for ever, nor see again - The things I have seen, nor be what I have been. - - [_Covers her face weeping._ - - _Enter Achilles._ - - _Ach._ The voices that were here have ceased. Ah, there! - Not gone. ’Tis she, and by my cast-off robe - Sitting alone. I must speak comfort to her, - Whoe’er I seem. O Deidamia, see! - Pyrrha is found. Weep not for her. I tell thee - Thy Pyrrha is safe. Despair not. Nay, look up. - Dost thou not know my voice? ’Tis I myself. 1519 - Look up, I am Pyrrha.—Ah, now what prayer or plea - Made on my knees can aid me—If thou knowst all - And wilt not look on me? Yet if thou hearest - Thou wilt forgive. Nay, if thou lovedst me not, - Or if I had wronged thee, thou wouldst scorn me now. - Thou dost not look. I am not changed. I loved thee - As like a maiden as I knew: if more - Was that a fault? Now as I am Achilles - Revealed to-day to lead the Greeks to Troy, - I count that nothing and bow down to thee - Who hast made me fear,— 1530 - Let me unveil thy eyes: tho’ thou wouldst hide me, - Hide not thyself from me. If gentle force - Should show me that ’tis love that thou wouldst hide ... - And love I see. Look on me. - - _Deid._ (_embracing_). Ah Pyrrha, Pyrrha! - - _Ach._ Thou dost forgive. - - _Deid._ I never dreamed the truth. - - _Ach._ And wilt not now look on me! - - _Deid._ I dare not look. - - _Ach._ What dost thou fear? A monster! I am not changed - Save but my dress, and that an Amazon - Might wear. - - _Deid._ O, I see all. - - _Ach._ But who hath told thee? - - _Deid._ There came one here much like thee when we called,1540 - Who said she was a goddess and thy mother. - - _Ach._ ’Twas she that hid me in my strange disguise, - Fearing the oracle. - - _Deid._ She praised thee well, - And said that thou wouldst come... - - _Ach._ What didst thou fear, - Hiding thine eyes? - - _Deid._ I cannot speak the name. - Be Pyrrha still. - - _Ach._ Be that my name with thee. - Yet hath thy father called me son Achilles. - - _Deid._ He knows? - - _Ach._ There’s nought to hide: but let us hence. - He is coming hither, and with him my foe. - Let them not find us thus, and thee in tears. 1550 - - [_Exeunt._ - - _Enter Lycomedes, Ulysses, Diomede, and Abas._ - - _Lyc._ It may be so, or it may not be so: - You have done me an honest service ’gainst your will, - And must not wrest it to a false conclusion. - I bid you be my guests, and with your presence - Honour the marriage, which ye have brought about. - Ye need not tarry long. - - _Ul._ Each hour is long - Which holds the Argive ships chained to the shore. - This is no time for marriage. - - _Lyc._ There’s time for all; - A time for wooing and a time for warring: - And such a feast of joy as offers now 1560 - Ye shall not often see. Scyros shall show you - What memory may delight in ’twixt the frays - Of bloody battle. - - _Dio._ I am not made for feasts. - I join the cry to arms. But make your bridal - To-night, and I’ll abide it. - - _Lyc._ I’ll have’t to-night. - So shall Achilles’ finding and his wedding - Be on one day. And hark! there’s music tells me - That others guess my mind. - - _Enter Chorus with Ach. and Deid. following._ - - _Chorus._ - - Now the glorious sun is sunk in the west, - And night with shadowy step advances: 1570 - As we,—to the newly betrothed our song addrest, - With musical verse and dances, - In the order of them who established rites of old - For maidens to sing this song,— - Pray the gifts of heaven to gifts of gold, - Joy and a life long. - - _Ach._ Good king and father, see thy daughter come - To hear thee call me son. - - _Lyc._ Son if I call thee, - I understand not yet, and scarce believe 1579 - The wonders of this day. And thou, my daughter, - Ever my pride and prayer, hast far outrun - My hope of thy good fortune. Blessed be ye both: - The gods have made your marriage; let the feast - Be solemnized to-night; our good guests here - Whose zeal hath caused our joy, I have bid to share it. - - _Chorus._ - - We live well-ruled by an honoured king, - Beloved of the gods, in a happy isle; - Where merry winds of the gay sea bring - No foe to our shore, and the heavens smile - On a peaceful folk secure from fear, 1590 - Who gather the fruits of the earth at will, - And hymn their thanks to the gods, and rear - Their laughing babes unmindful of ill. - And ever we keep a feast of delight, - The betrothal of hearts, when spirits unite, - Creating an offspring of joy, a treasure - Unknown to the bad, for whom - The gods foredoom - The glitter of pleasure, - And a dark tomb. 1600 - - Blessèd therefore O newly betrothed are ye, - Tho’ happy to-day ye be, - Your happier times ye yet shall see. - We make our prayer to the gods. - - The sun shall prosper the seasons’ yield - With fuller crops for the wains to bear, - And feed our flocks in fold and field - With wholesome water and sweetest air. - Plenty shall empty her golden horn, - And grace shall dwell on the brows of youth, - And love shall come as the joy of morn, 1611 - To waken the eyes of pride and truth. - - Blessèd therefore thy happy folk are we. - Tho’ happy to-day we be, - Our happier times are yet to see. - We render praise to the gods; - - But chiefest of all in the highest height - To Love that sitteth in timeless might, - That tameth evil, and sorrow ceaseth. - And now we wish you again, 1620 - Again and again, - His joy that encreaseth, - And a long reign. - - _Ach._ Stay, stay! and thou, good king, and all here, hear me. - I would be measured by my best desire, - And that’s for peace and love, and the delights - Your song hath augured: but to all men fate - Apportions a mixed lot, and ’twas for me - Foreshown that peace and honour lay apart, - Wherever pleasure: and to-day’s event 1630 - Questions your hope. I was for this revealed, - To lead the Argive battle against Troy: - Thither I go; whence to return or not - Is out of sight, but yet my marriage-making - Enters with better promise on my life - Thus hand in hand with glorious enterprise. - After some days among you I must away, - Tho’ ’tis not far. - - _Ul._ Well said! So art thou bound. - - _Dio._ The war that hung so long will now begin. - - _Lye._ I ask one month, Achilles: grant one moon: - They that could wait so long may longer wait. 1641 - - _Chorus._ - - - 1. - - Go not, go not, Achilles; is all in vain? - Is this the fulfilment of long delight, - The promise of favouring heaven, - The praise of our song, - The choice of Thetis for thee, - Thy merry disguise, - And happy betrothal? - We pray thee, O we beseech thee, all, - Son of Thetis, we counsel well, 1650 - Do not thy bride this wrong. - - - 2. - - For if to-day thou goest, thou wilt go far, - Alas, from us thy comrades away, - To a camp of revengeful men, - The accursed war - By warning fate forbidden, - To angry disdain, - A death unworthy. - We pray thee, O we beseech thee, all, - Son of Peleus, we counsel well, 1660 - This doom the oracle told. - - _Lyc._ What said the oracle? - - _Ach._ It darkly boded - That glory should be death. - - _Lyc._ And so may be: - Nay, very like. Yet men who would live well, - Weigh not these riddles, but unfold their life - From day to day. Do thou as seemeth best, - Nor fear mysterious warnings of the powers. - But, if my voice can reckon with thee at all, - I’ll tell thee what myself I have grown to think: - That the best life is oft inglorious. 1670 - Since the perfecting of ourselves, which seems - Our noblest task, may closelier be pursued - Away from camps and cities and the mart - Of men, where fame, as it is called, is won, - By strife, ambition, competition, fashion, - Ay, and the prattle of wit, the deadliest foe - To sober holiness, which, as I think, - Loves quiet homes, where nature laps us round - With musical silence and the happy sights - That never fret; and day by day the spirit 1680 - Pastures in liberty, with a wide range - Of peaceful meditation, undisturbed. - All which can Scyros offer if thou wilt.— - - _Ul._ This speech is idle, thou art bound to me. - - _Ach._ I hear you all: and lest it should be said - I once was harsh and heedless, where such wrong - Were worse than cowardice, I now recall - Whate’er I have said. I will not forth to Troy: - I will abide in Scyros, and o’erlook - The farms and vineyards, and be lessoned well 1690 - In government of arts, and spend my life - In love and ease, and whatsoever else - Our good king here hath praised—I will do this - If my bride bid me. Let her choose for me; - Her word shall rule me. If she set our pleasure - Above my honour, I will call that duty, - And make it honourable, and so do well. - But, as I know her, if she bid me go - Where fate and danger call, then I will go, - And so do better: and very sure it is, 1700 - Pleasure is not for him who pleasure serves. - - _Deid._ Achilles, son of Thetis! As I love thee, - I say, go forth to Troy. - - _Ach._ Praised be the Gods, - Who have made my long desire my love’s command! - - _Ch._ Alas! We have no further plea. Alas! - Her ever-venturous spirit forecasts no ill. - - _Lyc._ Go, win thy fame, my son; I would not stay thee. - Thou art a soldier born. But circumstance - Demands delay, which thou wilt grant. - - _Ach._ And thus - To-night may be the feast. To-morrow morn 1710 - Do thou, Ulysses, sail to Aulis, there - Prepare them for my coming. If, Diomede, - Thou wilt to Achaia to collect my men, - The time thou usest I can fitly spend, - And for some days banish the thought of war. - - _Dio._ I will go for thee, prince. - - _Lyc._ ’Tis settled so. - Stand we no longer here: night falls apace. - Come to the palace, we will end this day, - As it deserves, never to be forgot. - - - - -NOTES - - -THE FIRST PART OF NERO - - -This play was not intended for the stage, as the rest of my plays are. -It was written as an exercise in dramatic qualities other than scenic; -and had its publication been contemplated, I should have been more -careful not to deserve censure in one or two places: these however -I have not thought it worth while to erase or correct. Owing to its -inordinate length I have found it necessary, so that the volumes of -this series might be of uniform size, to couple with it the shortest of -the other plays. Hence - - -ACHILLES IN SCYROS - -is here out of order. Instead of standing second it should come fifth, -that is after _The Christian Captives_. The following note is taken -from the first edition. - -_Note to_ Achilles in Scyros.—After I had begun this play I came by -chance on _Calderon’s_ play on the same subject, _El Monstruo de los -Jardines_. The monster is _Achilles_; the gardens the same. Excepting -an expression or two I found nothing that it suited me to use, and -I should not have recorded the circumstance, if it were not that -_Calderon’s_ play seemed to me to contain strong evidence that he had -read _The Tempest_. This observation cannot be new, but I have never -met with it; so I offer it to my readers, thinking it will interest -them as it did me. - -_El Monstruo de los Jardines_ opens with a storm at sea, and shipwreck -of royal persons, similar as it is inferior to _Shakespeare’s_ (but -compare also the Devil’s shipwreck in the second act of _El magicio -prodigioso_, which may be read in _Shelley’s_ translation). _Stephano_ -has his counterpart, - -_Un cofrade de Baco, que ha salido, Por no hacerle traicion, del mar á -nado Pues el no beber agua le ha escapado,_ - -and the whole play is then on a supposed desert island, which turns -out to be strangely peopled. There is the monster _Achilles_, who in -many respects remembers _Caliban_, and is even addressed as _Señor -monstruo_: ’_Monsieur Monster_.’ There is _Thetis_, who is to her -nymphs as _Prospero_ to his spirits; with musical enchantments, and -voices in the air, and even a _fantastico bajél_. _Calderon_ has -moreover hit upon the same device of imitative fancy as tempted -_Dryden_ in like sad case, and pictured a man who had never seen a -woman. The island is wandered on by the prince and his suite, and one -of them says of it _Republica es entera_, &c. A curious reader might -find more than I have here noticed: but _Calderon_ is as far from -sympathy with _Shakespeare_, as he is from the Greek story, with his -drums and trumpets and _El gran Sofí_. - -There is a passage in my _Achilles_ (_l. 518 and foll._) which is -copied from _Calderon_: but this is after _Muley’s_ well-known speech -in the _Principe Constante_ (see note to _The Christian Captives_); -which is quoted in most books on _Calderon_. In my short play, which -runs on without change of scene or necessary pause, I have had the -act and scene divisions indicated by greater and lesser spaces in the -printing.[A] - -R. B., 1890. - -[A] Not followed in this edition. 1901. - - - * * * * * - - -Transcriber’s Notes - -Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. All other -spelling and punctuation remains unchanged. - -Italics are represented thus _italic_. - -Line 1374/5 of The First Part of Nero “Now may some god of mischief -Dare set me in the roll of puny spirits.” Roll could be a misprint for -role but has not been changed. - -The varied ellipses remain unchanged. - -The titles have various decorative borders. These have not been shown. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Poetical Works of Robert Bridges -(Volume 3), by Robert Bridges - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POETICAL WORKS--ROBERT BRIDGES, VOL 3 *** - -***** This file should be named 55294-0.txt or 55294-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/5/2/9/55294/ - -Produced by Larry B. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Poetical Works of Robert Bridges (Volume 3) - -Author: Robert Bridges - -Release Date: August 7, 2017 [EBook #55294] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POETICAL WORKS--ROBERT BRIDGES, VOL 3 *** - - - - -Produced by Larry B. Harrison, Les Galloway and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="content"> -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_title.jpg" alt="Title Page" /> -</div> - -<h1> -<span class="smcap"><small>Poetical Works</small></span><br /> - -<small>of</small><br /> - -ROBERT BRIDGES</h1> - -<p class="center">Volume III</p> - - -<p class="center space-below">London<br /> -Smith, Elder & Co<br /> -15 Waterloo Place<br /> -1898</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - - - -<p class="center spaced xs"> -OXFORD: HORACE HART<br /> -PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY -</p> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_iii.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - -<p class="half-title"><i>POETICAL WORKS OF<br /> -ROBERT BRIDGES</i></p> - -<hr class="spec" /> -<p class="half-title"><i>VOLUME THE THIRD<br /> -CONTAINING</i></p> -<hr class="spec" /> - -<div class="center"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr> - <td align="left"><i>THE FIRST PART OF NERO</i> </td> - <td align="right"> <i>p.</i> <a href="#p1">1</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left"><i>ACHILLES IN SCYROS</i></td> - <td align="right"><a href="#p179">179</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left"><i>NOTES</i></td> - <td align="right"><a href="#NOTES">261</a></td> -</tr> -</table></div> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_iii.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 4]</span></p> - - -<p class="center space-above">LIST OF PREVIOUS EDITIONS</p> - - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_iv.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> -<div class="blocktext"> -<p><i>THE FIRST PART OF NERO.</i></p> - -<p class="hang1">1. <i>NERO. An historical Tragedy of the first part -of the reign of the emperor Nero. Published by -Ewd. Bumpus. London, 1885. 4to.</i></p> - - -<p><i>ACHILLES IN SCYROS.</i></p> - -<p class="hang1">1. <i>ACHILLES IN SCYROS. A drama in a mixed -manner. Published by Ewd. Bumpus. London, -1890. 4to.</i></p> - -<p class="hang1">2. <i>ACHILLES IN SCYROS.</i> <i>Uniform with</i> Shorter -Poems (I). <i>George Bell & Sons, 1892.</i></p></div> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_iv.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> -<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 5]</span></p> - - - - -<h2><a id="p1"></a> -<small>THE FIRST PART</small><br /> -<span class="xs">OF THE</span><br /> -HISTORY<br /> -<span class="xs">OF</span><br /> -NERO</h2> -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_001a.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - -<p class="center"> -A HISTORICAL<br /> -TRAGEDY</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_001b.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 6]</span></p> - - - -<div class="figcenter" > -<img src="images/i_006.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<h3>DRAMATIS PERSONÆ</h3> - - -<div class="center small"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>NERO</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>BRITANNICUS</i></td> - <td align="right"><i>stepson to Agrippina</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>BURRUS</i></td> - <td align="right"><i>praetorian prefect</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>SENECA</i></td> - <td align="right"><i>tutor to Nero</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>LUCAN, the poet, nephew to Seneca</i></td> - <td align="right" rowspan="3"><span class="brace3">}</span><i>friends of Nero</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left"><i>OTHO</i></td> - <td align="left" rowspan="2"><span class="brace2">}</span><i>gentlemen of Rome</i></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left"><i>PETRONIUS</i></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>PALLAS</i></td> - <td align="right"><i>master of the imperial household</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>TIGELLINUS</i></td> - <td align="right"><i>successor to Pallas</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>THRASEA, a Stoic</i></td> - <td align="right" rowspan="2"><span class="brace2">}</span><i>honest senators</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>PRISCUS</i></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>ANICETUS</i></td> - <td align="right"><i>an admiral</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>PARIS</i></td> - <td align="right"><i>a player, favourite of Nero</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>SELEUCUS</i></td> - <td align="right"><i>an astrologer</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"> <i>Messengers, Servants, &c.</i></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>AGRIPPINA AUGUSTA</i></td> - <td align="right"><i>mother to Nero</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>OCTAVIA</i></td> - <td align="right"><i>wife to Nero, sister to Britannicus</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>POPPÆA</i></td> - <td align="right"><i>wife to Otho, loved of Nero</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>DOMITIA</i></td> - <td align="right"><i>sister-in-law to Agrippina</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>FULVIA</i></td> - <td align="right"><i>attendant on Agrippina</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"> <i>Maids, &c.</i></td> -</tr> -</table> -</div> - - -<p class="center"><i>Scene. The first four acts are laid in ROME; the fifth -is at BAIÆ.</i></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> -<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 7]</span></p> - - - - - - -<div class="center"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr> - <td colspan="3"><div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/i_003a.jpg" alt="Decoration" /></div></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><div class="figcenter" ><img src="images/i_003b.jpg" alt="" /> -</div></td> -<td><span class="xxl">NERO</span></td> -<td><div class="figcenter" ><img src="images/i_003b.jpg" alt="" /> -</div></td> -</tr> -<tr><td colspan="3"><div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_003c.jpg" alt="" /></div></td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="3"><span class="xl">ACT · I</span></td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="3"><div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_003d.jpg" alt="" /></div></td></tr> -</table></div> - -<div class="prose"> -<h4>SCENE · 1</h4> - -<p class="center"><i>On the Palatine. THRASEA & PRISCUS.</i></p> - -<p class="heading1"><i>THRASEA.</i></p> - -<p><span class="drop-cap">I</span>F you ask my advice then, it is silence. You are -yet new to the senate, and must learn to give -your opinion with least offence.</p> - -<p class="heading1"><i>PRISCUS.</i></p> - -<p>Can you mean this?</p> - -<p><i>Thr.</i> Yes—it is my serious advice.</p> - -<p><i>Pr.</i> Now, unless it were the silence of Brutus ...</p> - -<p><i>Thr.</i> Hush, hush! Were this repeated, there is no -greater peril than that word of yours.</p> - -<p><i>Pr.</i> But to you I know I may speak freely.</p> - -<p><span class="prlinenum">10</span><i>Thr.</i> What know you of me?</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span></p> - -<p><i>Pr.</i> I know Thrasea is brave, and resents his country’s -wrongs; that he has insight to see that liberty -was never more outraged than now.</p> - -<p><i>Thr.</i> Believe me, sir, this tale of things being at their -worst is common to all times. Your judgment has gone -astray upon a contempt for Cæsar’s follies, or a hatred -of his mother’s crimes. Measure Nero but by what he -has already done, and you may even find cause for -congratulation.</p> <span class="prlinenum">19</span> - -<p><i>Pr.</i> We shall be ruled like the Britons by a Queen.</p> - -<p><i>Thr.</i> O nay. It is not possible that Nero will suffer -Agrippina’s ambition to take such a place. ’Tis already -a quarrel between them, and Seneca declares for him.</p> - -<p><i>Pr.</i> Then, I ask you, may there not be found in this -quarrel an opportunity to bring in Britannicus? Now -he is of age, he can no longer be held disqualified.</p> - -<p><span class="prlinenum">28</span><i>Thr.</i> There is no question of qualification or of claim. </p> - -<p><i>Pr.</i> How so? The late emperor Claudius in his will -mentioned Britannicus for his successor, as being his -own son ....</p> - -<p><i>Thr.</i> May be. But then, sir, his empress made away -with both him and his will; and the Roman people chose -for Cæsar the son of the murderess, rather than the heir -of the idiot they were glad to be rid of. Since which -day Nero is as truly our Cæsar as Britannicus could<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> -ever have been. Those who swore to Nero will remain -by him; as ’tis well they should, else were no stability.</p> - -<p><span class="prlinenum">39</span><i>Pr.</i> Shall we then do nothing? </p> - -<p><i>Thr.</i> You take things by the wrong handle. Let us -make the best of what we have. Our Cæsar is the pupil -of a philosopher and guided in everything by his -master’s counsels.</p> - -<p><i>Pr.</i> You are very tolerant and hopeful.</p> - -<p><i>Thr.</i> Try and be so too, and I shall wish to see -more of you. If you will visit my house, you will indeed -be most welcome and may find congenial company. -Only no more of Brutus.</p> - -<p><i>Pr.</i> Thank you for your kindness, if it is an earnest -of your confidence—On another occasion ... <span class="prlinenum">50</span></p> - -<p><i>Thr.</i> O we will find many. (<i>Shouts heard.</i>) What is -that? (<i>More shouts.</i>) It must be Cæsar: he is coming -this way. Be not seen talking with me: go you that -way: I will remain. Farewell.</p> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poetry"><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pr.</i> Farewell, Thrasea.<span class="indent45">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Thr.</i> Young blood, hot blood and true:</div> - <div class="verse">Yet is his energetic patriotism</div> - <div class="verse">Useless,—nay, like a weapon out of date,</div> - <div class="verse">Looks not to be a warlike weapon more.</div> - <span class="linenum">60</span><div class="verse"> - I think in me it had been truer wisdom,</div> - <div class="verse">Knowing the forces of this drowning time,</div> - <div class="verse">To have said outright—Good, honest Priscus, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">Be good no longer, let thine honesty</div> - <div class="verse">Rot, it can stead thee nothing; there’s no man</div> - <div class="verse">Will be the better for it; there’s no field</div> - <div class="verse">Where thou canst exercise it, not a place</div> - <div class="verse">In all the world where in secure possession</div> - <div class="verse">Thou mayst retire with it: cast it away;</div> - <div class="verse">For ’tis a burden far beyond thy freight.</div> - <span class="linenum">70</span><div class="verse">If thou wilt swim at all, swim with the times,</div> - <div class="verse">An empty bottom on a shallow tide:</div> - <div class="verse">Be that thy seamanship—No; I am bold to say</div> - <div class="verse">Our virtue hath the topmost vaunt of honour;</div> - <div class="verse">Seeing we are true to it in spite of shame,</div> - <div class="verse">When its incompetence before the world</div> - <div class="verse">Gives it the lie; nor can the fawning curs,</div> - <div class="verse">That bask in Cæsar’s sunshine, when they mock us,</div> - <div class="verse">Dream that we wish them other than they are.</div> - <div class="verse">I give them joy. See here is folly’s king,</div> - <span class="linenum">80</span><div class="verse">The hare-brained boy to whom injurious fortune</div> - <div class="verse">Has given the throne and grandeur of the world:</div> - <div class="verse">Now if I bow my head ’tis in thy game,</div> - <div class="verse">Ridiculous fate; and my soul laughs at thee.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Retires aside.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i>Enter Nero, Otho, Lucan, Tigellinus, and Paris.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">NERO.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">This is the place: enlarge it on this side</div> - <div class="verse">To take in all the hill. That house of Rufus -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">That blocks the way must down, and all the piles</div> - <div class="verse">On the south slope. Now say, is’t fine or no?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">LUCAN.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Magnificent.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">OTHO.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent12">It shows the mind of Cæsar.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">TIGELLINUS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Splendid.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent5">At least the best: we still regret</span></div> - <span class="linenum">90</span><div class="verse"> - A better than the best; and I can see</div> - <div class="verse">These possibilities. Think if the hill</div> - <div class="verse">Were raised some hundred feet, till it o’ertopped</div> - <div class="verse">The Capitol—eh! lords. And so ’twere best;</div> - <div class="verse">But still ’twill pass for good.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Luc.</i> <span class="indent30">’Twill be a palace</span></div> - <div class="verse">For site and size the first in all the world.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> To kill the Jews’ brag of Jerusalem?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i> I think it.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent15">You, my friends, who know my scheme,</span></div> - <div class="verse">May mete and judge my general scope in this,</div> - <span class="linenum">99</span><div class="verse"> - A sample of my temper coined and uttered</div> - <div class="verse">For the world’s model, that all men’s endeavours</div> - <div class="verse">May rise with mine to have all things at best,</div> - <div class="verse">Not only for myself but for the world;</div> - <div class="verse">Riches and joy and heart’s content for all. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">It may be done, and who should do it but I?</div> - <div class="verse">See now my years at best, my youth and strength</div> - <div class="verse">With form and gifts agreeing, and my power,....</div> - <div class="verse">Know’st thou my power?—Oh! Otho, I tell thee</div> - <div class="verse">The Cæsars which have been have never known</div> - <div class="verse">What ’tis to be full Cæsar. Dost thou think?</div> - <span class="linenum">110</span><div class="verse"> - There’s nothing good on earth but may be won</div> - <div class="verse">With power and money; and I have them both;</div> - <div class="verse">Ay, and the will.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent15">Much may be done, no doubt.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Much! Why there’s nothing, man, may not be</div> - <div class="verse indent4">done.</div> - <div class="verse">The curse of life is of our own devising,</div> - <div class="verse">Born of man’s ignorance and selfishness.</div> - <div class="verse">He wounds his happiness against a cage</div> - <div class="verse">Of his own make, and only waits the word</div> - <div class="verse">For one to set his door open,—and look,</div> - <div class="verse">Having his liberty is he not glad</div> - <div class="verse">As heaven’s birds are?—Now when fate’s ordinance</div> - <span class="linenum">121</span><div class="verse"> - Sends him a liberator, ay, and one</div> - <div class="verse">Not to cajole or preach, but, will or nill,</div> - <div class="verse">Who’ll force him forth and crush up his old cage,</div> - <div class="verse">With all who would hang back and skulk therein,</div> - <div class="verse">How shall he not be happy?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Luc.</i><span class="indent28">This shall be</span></div> - <div class="verse">The world’s last crown, by man with utmost power -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">Endowed to drive him to the good he shuns.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Ay. Be all human hopes summed up in mine</div> - <div class="verse">And reach their goal. I say there shall be peace,</div> - <span class="linenum">130</span><div class="verse"> - There shall be plenty, pleasure, and content:</div> - <div class="verse">The god on earth shall work the good whereof</div> - <div class="verse">The folly of man hath baulked the gods in heaven:</div> - <div class="verse">And good that men desire shall be as common</div> - <div class="verse">As ills they now repine at. When I say</div> - <div class="verse">There shall be justice, see, even at my word</div> - <div class="verse">Injustice is no more.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">PARIS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent14">The house of Rufus,</div> - <div class="verse">Standing on justice there, will mar thy palace.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Fool. Why, I say to Rufus—I am Cæsar,</div> - <div class="verse">And need thy house.—Says he—It cost my sire</div> - <span class="linenum">140</span><div class="verse">Ten million sesterces.—A trifle that,</div> - <div class="verse">Say I, and give him twenty: and down it goes.</div> - <div class="verse">Is not this more than justice?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i><span class="indent35">Ay, ’tis power.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Thou quibbling meddler, learn this point of wit,</div> - <div class="verse">To keep thy sphere; answer in that: last night</div> - <div class="verse">Sang I divinely? Wert thou envious</div> - <div class="verse">When I put on the lion’s skin, and did</div> - <div class="verse">The choice of Hercules?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i><span class="indent25">Most mighty Cæsar,</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">I wished that I had asses ears to hear;</div> - <div class="verse">Mine are not long enough.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent28">Plague on thy jesting.</span></div> - <span class="linenum">150</span><div class="verse"> - See static virtue stalks with folded arm</div> - <div class="verse">To set thee down.<span class="indent20">[<i>Thrasea comes forward.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Thr.</i><span class="indent15">Hail, Cæsar!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent30">Thy opinion,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Thrasea, come, thy opinion. What dost thou think</div> - <div class="verse">If I extend my palace to take in</div> - <div class="verse">The hill whereon we stand?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Thr.</i><span class="indent30">The plan no doubt</span></div> - <div class="verse">Is worthy of the site, and for the site,</div> - <div class="verse">Why, ’tis the darling spot of Rome.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent42">Well said.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Stay. I would ask my fellow senator</div> - <div class="verse">Wherefore he left the house three days ago</div> - <div class="verse">Without his voice or vote.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">159</span><div class="verse indent2"> - <i>Thr.</i><span class="indent28">I judged the time</span></div> - <div class="verse">Unmeet to speak; and, for my vote, the senate</div> - <div class="verse">Was of one mind: a vote was of no count.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Thou show’dst a sense against us in not voting.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Thr.</i> That must thou look for, Cæsar, in the senate.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Well, I would have thee speak. We are not full</div> - <div class="verse">Without thy voice: nay more, such conduct makes</div> - <div class="verse">The senate but a name; for times have been</div> - <div class="verse">When silence was well justified by fear. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">Now we court criticism, ay, and look ill</div> - <span class="linenum">169</span><div class="verse"> - On those that grudge their approbation.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Thr.</i> Cæsar commands my service and my praise;</div> - <div class="verse">I shall not lack.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent12">We look for much from thee.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Thr.</i> Long live your majesty.<span class="indent32">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent35">There’s something good</span></div> - <div class="verse">In that man, Otho; spite of his dry mien</div> - <div class="verse">And Stoic fashion.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent15">Nay, I like him not.</span></div> - <div class="verse">He’s hardly flesh and blood. Old Seneca</div> - <div class="verse">Is stiff and prosy enough; but if you pinch him,</div> - <div class="verse">You find he yields, shows softness here and there.</div> - <div class="verse">This man is merely stone, foursquare by rule.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Do you despise divine philosophy?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">180</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i> Well, as I take it, all philosophy</div> - <div class="verse">Is questionable guessing, but the sense</div> - <div class="verse">A man grows up with bears the stamp of nature.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> How mean you that?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent30">At best this fine-spun system</span></div> - <div class="verse">Is but a part of man’s experience</div> - <div class="verse">Drawn out to contradiction of the rest.</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis a fool’s wisdom.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Luc.</i><span class="indent22">’Tis a form of pleasure.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i> True. Though there be no theory of life</div> - <div class="verse">That’s worth a button, yet the search for one -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">Seems to content some men better than life.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Call him not fool, Otho!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent38">Unless I wrong him,</span></div> - <span class="linenum">191</span><div class="verse"> - I speak as well of him as he of me.</div> - <div class="verse">Or if he say nothing, his guarded manner</div> - <div class="verse">Covers, be sure, a more unkind contempt.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> (<i>apeing Thr.</i>). That must thou look for, Cæsar, in the senate.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Tig.</i> Ha! ha! Excellent!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent28">Paris would make a senator.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i> Well, give me life.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent28">Ay, that is wisdom. Live.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Enjoy the hour; which minds me, for to-night</div> - <div class="verse">I have time well disposed: we sup with Actè;</div> - <div class="verse">She will inaugurate the new pavilion,</div> - <span class="linenum">200</span><div class="verse"> - And after, there are masks and clubs provided.</div> - <div class="verse">Thou’lt join us, eh!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent20">With all my heart.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> (<i>to Tig. and Luc.</i>).<span class="indent15">And you.</span></div> - <div class="verse">And you. And, Paris, see Petronius comes,</div> - <div class="verse">And Anicetus. Hence, and bid them now.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exit Paris.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Good news for them I think; pleasure in store.</div> - <div class="verse">We’ll make a merry night. Now tell me, Otho,</div> - <div class="verse">You’re a good judge, have you ever seen a woman</div> - <div class="verse">Fit to compare with Actè? -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent28">I say no.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> I mean not, man, for what our grandsires praised,</div> - <span class="linenum">209</span><div class="verse"> - Who knew no better; I mean the perfect art</div> - <div class="verse">Which makes each moment feverous.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent50">I know none.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> ’Tis spoke as if thy judgment or thy envy</div> - <div class="verse">Grudged me the word.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent20">Nay, Cæsar.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent38">O, I know</span></div> - <div class="verse">Thou’rt a good husband, thy good wife commands thee.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i> Say, my good fortune, Cæsar.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent45">Now if thy boast</span></div> - <div class="verse">Be true as it is rare, thy lady’s presence</div> - <div class="verse">Would add much spirit to our gaieties.</div> - <div class="verse">I have never seen Poppæa, say that to-night</div> - <div class="verse">Thou bring her.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent12">In this thing, for friendship’s sake,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Hold me excused.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent15">Nay, no constraint; thy wish</span></div> - <span class="linenum">220</span><div class="verse"> - Is all in all. Wrong me not; I would not have,</div> - <div class="verse">And least to thee, my pleasures a command;</div> - <div class="verse">But my commands are pleasures. Let us go.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exeunt.</i> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span></p> - -</div><div class="stanza"> -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_003d.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> -<h4>SCENE · 2</h4> - -<p class="center"><i>A room in the palace. Enter OCTAVIA -and BRITANNICUS.</i></p> - -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">BRITANNICUS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Why art thou weeping, dearest? Has Nero been</div> - <div class="verse">Again unkind?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">OCTAVIA.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent10">Most unkind.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent30">Weep not so.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Octavia, weep not so.</div> - <div class="verse">Count but my tears as thine, so shall my pity</div> - <div class="verse">Comfort thy wrongs. Nay, wert thou not my sister,</div> - <div class="verse">How must I feel to see so base a rival</div> - <div class="verse">Honoured before thyself in Cæsar’s palace!</div> - <span class="linenum">230</span><div class="verse">Why even his mother could not grant him that</div> - <div class="verse">Unmoved, but wept with rage: while he himself,</div> - <div class="verse">I saw, was touched with shame.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent35">Hush, hush! nay, ’tis not that;</span></div> - <div class="verse">I mind not that: at least they tell me now</div> - <div class="verse">I must not mind; and since he never loved me</div> - <div class="verse">It matters little. ’Tis not that at all.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i> Then something fresh; what more?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent48">I scarce dare tell.</span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">What hast thou said or done, Britannicus,</div> - <div class="verse">That so could anger him?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent28">Ah! is’t with me then</span></div> - <div class="verse">He is angry? Dost thou weep for me?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent45">For both.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i> Now tell me all, sister.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">240</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent35">O, ’tis the worst.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Here as I sat this morning strode he in,</div> - <div class="verse">More fired with rage than ever I have seen him,</div> - <div class="verse">More like his wicked mother, when her fury</div> - <div class="verse">Has made me tremble. All he said I heard not,</div> - <div class="verse">But this, that I, his wife, had turned against him</div> - <div class="verse">To plot with thee, and led thee on to boast</div> - <div class="verse">That being of age thou wert the rightful heir,</div> - <div class="verse">And more: what is his meaning?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent38">’Tis his spite</span></div> - <div class="verse">To seek my fault in thee.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent28">Nay, that were nothing.</span></div> - <span class="linenum">250</span><div class="verse">Brother, I fear thou wilt be sent from Rome.</div> - <div class="verse">He dare not face the truth. He cannot brook</div> - <div class="verse">Thy title: thou must go, ay, thou wilt go</div> - <div class="verse">And leave me in my prison.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent30">’Twas last night</span></div> - <div class="verse">I vexed him suddenly in his cups, but thought</div> - <div class="verse">’Twould be as soon forgotten.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent32">Say, how was it?</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br</i>. It was the feast of Saturn,—and as it chanced</div> - <div class="verse">(Or rather, I should say, ’twas so arranged</div> - <div class="verse">To please him, at his own desire) he drew</div> - <div class="verse">The lot of king of the feast, and when the company</div> - <span class="linenum">260</span><div class="verse">Were drunk he used his silly privilege</div> - <div class="verse">To have me be their fool.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent28">Didst thou rebuke him?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i> It happened thus. When all the guests in turn</div> - <div class="verse">Had answered to their forfeit, as his humour</div> - <div class="verse">Prescribed to each, he turned on me, and bade me</div> - <div class="verse">Show them a tragic scene, foreseeing how</div> - <div class="verse">The incongruence of time and place, the audience</div> - <div class="verse">Of drunken sots would turn my best to worst,</div> - <div class="verse">And smother passion in a sea of laughter.</div> - <div class="verse">But, for the wine I had been constrained to taste</div> - <span class="linenum">270</span><div class="verse">Had mounted to my head, I felt at heart</div> - <div class="verse">A force to wither up their sottish jeers,</div> - <div class="verse">And ere I knew my purpose I was sitting</div> - <div class="verse">Upright upon the couch, and with full passion</div> - <div class="verse">Singing the old Greek song thou saidst so well</div> - <div class="verse">Suited our fortunes.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent20">O, would I had been there!</span></div> - <div class="verse">They could not laugh at thee.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent35">They did not laugh.</span></div> - <div class="verse">The sadness and the sweetness of the music, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">After their low hoarse songs, startled to sense</div> - <div class="verse">Their sodden, maudlin brains: they listened all</div> - <span class="linenum">280</span><div class="verse">To the end, and then with daunted appetite</div> - <div class="verse">Sat in constraint and silence.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent35">Oh! well done!</span></div> - <div class="verse">And what said Nero?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent20">He but smiled until</span></div> - <div class="verse">The tale tells how the poor child disinherited</div> - <div class="verse">Was put to death by his usurping brother;</div> - <div class="verse">Then his eye sank; and last, when Paris rose</div> - <div class="verse">At the end and praised my acting, he grew wild,</div> - <div class="verse">And said the feast was o’er, and bade us go.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i> Alas! ’twas done too well.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent42">I mind it not:</span></div> - <div class="verse">I wear no mask: and manifold occasion</div> - <span class="linenum">290</span><div class="verse">Will oft surprise our closest guard, provoking</div> - <div class="verse">Unbidden motions that betray the heart:</div> - <div class="verse">’Twere vain to seek to quell them: they are like our shadows,</div> - <div class="verse">Which, if the sun shine forth, appear and show</div> - <div class="verse">Our form and figure. Such haps cannot be helped.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i>Enter Agrippina and attendants.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">ATTENDANT.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">The Augusta, your royal mother. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">AGRIPPINA.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Good day, my son.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent15">Good morrow, mother.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Octavia still here! Child, why, know you not</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis long past noon, and Dionysius</div> - <div class="verse">Waits in the library? Begone, begone!</div> - <span class="linenum">300</span><div class="verse">What! crying? Here’s a picture to recover</div> - <div class="verse">A husband’s favour!—Fulvia, attend my daughter</div> - <div class="verse">Into my tiring-room, and treat her eyes</div> - <div class="verse">To hide these scalded rings: and then, Octavia,</div> - <div class="verse">Go to the library, talk thy full hour;</div> - <div class="verse">Thy Greek is shameful. The rest go.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exeunt Octavia and attendants.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent35">My son,</div> - <div class="verse">I’d speak with thee.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i> My mother’s pleasure?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent30">Thou art my pleasure, child.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Fear me no more. I can be kinder to thee</div> - <span class="linenum">309</span><div class="verse">Than ever I have been to my own true son.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i> I thank your majesty.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent30">Nay, now ’tis spoilt.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Best call me mother. Thou hast need of me.</div> - <div class="verse">I have heard all; what happed last night at supper.</div> - <div class="verse">Thou hast offended Cæsar.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent30">He does wrong</span></div> - <div class="verse">To use the freedom of the feast to insult me, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">And then resent my freedom in repelling</div> - <div class="verse">His right-aimed insult.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent25">True; the liberty</span></div> - <div class="verse">Should cover it: but in thy veins there runs</div> - <div class="verse">That which outcries thy speech; which, wert thou dumb,</div> - <div class="verse">Would speak thee guilty, and being tongued proclaims</div> - <span class="linenum">320</span><div class="verse">Thy needful sentence. ’Twas done bitterly.</div> - <div class="verse">I know thy song. Dost thou believe, Britannicus,</div> - <div class="verse">That I could give the tale another ending?—</div> - <div class="verse">—Suppose, I say, I read it in some book</div> - <div class="verse">Writ differently: how that the proud usurper,</div> - <div class="verse">Owing all to his mother—dost thou follow me?—</div> - <div class="verse">How, when he came to power, instead of sharing</div> - <div class="verse">With her who had toiled for him, and in her love</div> - <div class="verse">Had parted from all praise, looking to reap</div> - <div class="verse">In him the fuller recompense of glory,</div> - <div class="verse">How he, when time came he should make return,</div> - <span class="linenum">331</span><div class="verse">Denied her even the common duty owed</div> - <div class="verse">By son to mother, set her will aside,</div> - <div class="verse">Laughed at her, added to her shames, reproached her,</div> - <div class="verse">Mocked her with presents taken openly</div> - <div class="verse">Out of her treasures,—as to say outright,</div> - <div class="verse">All now is mine, thou hast no claim at all;</div> - <div class="verse">See what I choose to give, thank me for these—</div> - <div class="verse">Held her as nothing, hated her, brought in</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> - <div class="verse">His strumpet to her chamber,—that was the sum—</div> - <span class="linenum">340</span><div class="verse">And she then, when she saw her love derided,</div> - <div class="verse">I say, repented, came to the boy she had wronged....</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i> I know, I know.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent25">Then, if thou knowest, say;</span></div> - <div class="verse">What said he, when she told him she would turn</div> - <div class="verse">Her love on him, would set him in the place</div> - <div class="verse">Whence she had thrust him out? What said he?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent60">Nothing.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Nothing!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent15">Nay, I remember he said thus:</span></div> - <div class="verse">Wronged have I been by all, and none can right me;</div> - <div class="verse">All hath been false to me save sorrow only;</div> - <span class="linenum">349</span><div class="verse">Justice and truth forsworn: There is no word</div> - <div class="verse">That I dare speak; yet if thou stoop to insult me</div> - <div class="verse">My tongue will show my wrongs are not forgotten.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> My dearest boy, believe me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent45">The last time</span></div> - <div class="verse">Thou call’dst me thus ’twas when my father died.</div> - <div class="verse">I thought then ’twas in kindness, afterwards</div> - <div class="verse">I found the meaning.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent22">Yea, I confess I wronged thee;</span></div> - <div class="verse">That is my meaning now: had I not wronged thee,</div> - <div class="verse">My speech would have no sense at all: ’tis this</div> - <div class="verse">I come to urge: in this thou must believe me.</div> - <div class="verse">Canst thou not see, had I no pity in me,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> - <span class="linenum">360</span><div class="verse">No true remorseful pangs, yet still my wrongs</div> - <div class="verse">Would move me thus? Though thou trust not my love,</div> - <div class="verse">Read in these tears of anger and despair</div> - <div class="verse">The depth of my set purpose, my revenge.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i> I partly do believe thee.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent35">Believe me wholly,</span></div> - <div class="verse">And my revenge is thine.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent28">Nay, think not so.</span></div> - <div class="verse">There’s blood in thy revenge; I’ll none of it.</div> - <div class="verse">What are my private wrongs to Rome? If Cæsar</div> - <div class="verse">Stablish the empire, where’s the citizen</div> - <div class="verse">Will take exception that he hath wronged his brother?</div> - <span class="linenum">370</span><div class="verse">Since were I Cæsar I would vail my rights</div> - <div class="verse">To theirs, I still will act as I were Cæsar.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> O could’st thou see this offer as thy last</div> - <div class="verse">And only safety thou would’st not refuse me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i> I rather hope to be forgiven the thing</div> - <div class="verse">I never thought, than win by doing it.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Thou wilt not join with me?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent40">There’s nought to join,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Save to thy will to right me I might join</div> - <div class="verse">A hope of justice, to vain will vain hope.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Think for thy sister, boy. She cannot long</div> - <div class="verse">Be Cæsar’s wife. Then, were her brother Cæsar,</div> - <span class="linenum">381</span><div class="verse">She might be matched with any excellence.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Octavia’s happiness lies on thy word.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i> Octavia, dear Octavia—Now if thou’rt true</div> - <div class="verse">There is a way. This matter’s full presentment</div> - <div class="verse">Hath not been strange to me, though I have barred the thought</div> - <div class="verse">And held no purpose in it; there’s one way:</div> - <div class="verse">Those that have wronged can right. If thou would’st speak</div> - <div class="verse">With Burrus, he is plain and honourable,</div> - <div class="verse">And if he think there’s gain in the exchange,</div> - <span class="linenum">390</span><div class="verse">And his heart goes with it, he has the guards,—my name,</div> - <div class="verse">The sense of right, the promise of a largess,</div> - <div class="verse">Will win them to a man. The senate follows:</div> - <div class="verse">In a day, an hour, without a drop of blood</div> - <div class="verse">My wrongs are righted. Wilt thou speak with Burrus?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> I dare not.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent18">Then do nothing. Or if thou canst,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Assure thy son that from my helpless state</div> - <div class="verse">And suffering spirit he has nought to fear.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Nay, thou wert right: and though ’tis difficult,</div> - <div class="verse">I’ll speak with Burrus. ’Tis a most bold stroke,</div> - <div class="verse">But I can dare it. Good Burrus owes me much.<span class="indent22">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">401</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i> Strange, strange indeed. I have heard it said that murder</div> - <div class="verse">Falls on itself: that in the guilty breast</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> - <div class="verse">The implacable crime ploughs up with rooting tusk</div> - <div class="verse">The bleeding strings of nature: and in this woman</div> - <div class="verse">Of no remorse hath fated vengeance stirred</div> - <div class="verse">Her heart to hate her son. O, I did wrong</div> - <div class="verse">Yielding a little. Yet, since Burrus loves me,</div> - <div class="verse">That he should rule my fate is my best safety.</div> - <div class="verse">For her, if she’s my foe, he may work on her.—</div> - <div class="verse">These days have brought much change and food for</div> - <span class="linenum">410</span><div class="verse indent2">fear.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_023.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_003c.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - -<h3 id="ACT_II">ACT · II</h3> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_003d.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - -<h4>SCENE · I</h4> - -<p class="center"><i>A room in Seneca’s house, SENECA and BURRUS.</i></p> - -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">SENECA.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse"><span class="xl smcap">The</span> Armenian papers came through me last evening;</div> - <div class="verse">I sent them on at once.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> BURRUS (refusing a seat).</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent22">Nay, thank ye, Seneca:</div> - <div class="verse">I have been two hours in the saddle.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent45">’Tis a matter</span></div> - <div class="verse">Of heavy import.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent15">I demanded audience.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Well?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> All is settled.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent25">And who has the commission</span></div> - <div class="verse">To undertake the Parthian?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent28">Corbulo.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> ’Tis good. I like the choice. And what said Nero?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> He told me well and wisely what to do,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> - <div class="verse">When I had shown him all that must be done.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">420</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> I wish his judgment were as tractable</div> - <div class="verse">With me. Took he your word?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent32">The affair went pat.</span></div> - <div class="verse">What luck for Corbulo!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent22">Pray sit, good Burrus,</span></div> - <div class="verse">And let us talk: my thought is most at ease</div> - <div class="verse">When I am sitting.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent15">I pray you then be seated.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> (<i>sitting</i>). Burrus, my difficulties day by day</div> - <div class="verse">Increase. The cares of empire are as nothing</div> - <div class="verse">To managing an emperor.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent25">Why, what’s the matter?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Give but attention to me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent38">I attend.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Do so most carefully: ’tis not a business</div> - <div class="verse">That may be brushed aside.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent28">I am all attention.</span><span class="linenum">430</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Nero has broken with Britannicus:</div> - <div class="verse">Heard you of that?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent15">Heard of it? I was there.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Well, that has brought to head the jealous difference</div> - <div class="verse">’Twixt Cæsar and his mother. Since he first,</div> - <div class="verse">At our advice, as was most fit, denied her</div> - <div class="verse">A place in power, she has striven to force a title</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Out of her power for mischief: this you have seen:</div> - <div class="verse">But now to hear how she hath edged her practice;</div> - <div class="verse">She overskins her old accustomed hate</div> - <span class="linenum">440</span><div class="verse">Of young Britannicus, speaks kindly of him,</div> - <div class="verse">Hints of his right; nay, even hath dared upbraid</div> - <div class="verse">Cæsar with usurpation. This was matched</div> - <div class="verse">With words from him, which she no sooner heard</div> - <div class="verse">Than in her rage disordered flew she hither</div> - <div class="verse">To win me to her part; when seeing that I</div> - <div class="verse">Stood firm, she fled in furious passion, saying</div> - <div class="verse">That I should learn what temper she was of.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> I would that all the gods and goddesses</div> - <div class="verse">Might burn them up to cinders.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent35">Peace, I say.</span></div> - <span class="linenum">450</span><div class="verse">Cannot you sit? I need your best advice.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> Except the lad.—Advice concerning what?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen</i>. Why this new phase of court affairs. See you,</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Takes a paper.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">’Twas my just counterpoise of warring forces</div> - <div class="verse">Ensured stability. Here Agrippina,</div> - <div class="verse">Saved from her own ambition in the splendour</div> - <div class="verse">Of her son’s estate, serves in his interest</div> - <div class="verse">To guard Britannicus, whom else he had feared.</div> - <div class="verse">The boy, in favour of his sister’s title,</div> - <div class="verse">Sinks his own right. Then Nero’s youthful passions,</div> - <span class="linenum">460</span><div class="verse">Growing to hatred of Octavia’s bed,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Are stayed at equilibrium, as my judgment</div> - <div class="verse">And knowledge of the world enables me;</div> - <div class="verse">And all goes well, when an important factor,</div> - <div class="verse">The empress, rounds, and plays me false to her motive,</div> - <div class="verse">As here assumed, and vitiates with that flaw</div> - <div class="verse">The nice adjustment of each several item.—</div> - <div class="verse">I go to expound you this; you scarce attend,</div> - <div class="verse">Or answer with an oath.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent25">A pious prayer</span></div> - <div class="verse">To extricate you from a world of trouble.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">470</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> O, I can do it, Burrus, trust to me.</div> - <div class="verse">I place them all as chessmen, and I find</div> - <div class="verse">Delight in difficulty: but ’tis hard,</div> - <div class="verse">When one has chosen, strengthened a position,</div> - <div class="verse">To change the value of a piece. I think</div> - <div class="verse">Much of your judgment, and I ask you now</div> - <div class="verse">What you would do. I must decide to-day.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> Why must?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent15">As if you knew not.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent42">If your art</span></div> - <div class="verse">Be to adapt yourself to every change ....</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> You know ’tis not. I say, should Nero now</div> - <div class="verse">Banish his mother?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent15">Hark ye, Seneca,</span><span class="linenum">480</span></div> - <div class="verse">If you remember, I foresaw this trouble.</div> - <div class="verse">I know no remedy, nor is’t my office</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> - <div class="verse">To arrange the affairs of the palace, gods be praised.</div> - <div class="verse">But this is clear to me, that our three friends</div> - <div class="verse">Will never live together: what I urge</div> - <div class="verse">Is, separate them: if you cannot that,</div> - <div class="verse">We must not stick in balance when they break.</div> - <div class="verse">Whene’er that happens, our pre-eminent duty</div> - <span class="linenum">489</span><div class="verse">Lies in our oath to Cæsar, and our second</div> - <div class="verse">May be his mother’s pleasure, to whose schemes</div> - <div class="verse">We owe our place.<span class="indent45">[<i>Knocking heard.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent15">Who’s there? come in.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Servant.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">SERVANT.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent40">The Augusta</div> - <div class="verse">Has come in private, and desires an audience.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Again, you see, the Augusta.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent45">Eh! I’ll be off.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> One moment, pray. (<i>To Servt.</i>) Beg her be</div> - <div class="verse indent4">pleased to enter.<span class="indent45">[<i>Exit Servt.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Burrus, I adjure you not to go, your presence</div> - <div class="verse">May moderate her passion: or, if not,</div> - <div class="verse">’Twere best you saw it.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent25">Well, all’s one to me.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Agrippina.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">AGRIPPINA.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Be not surprised that I so soon return:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> - <div class="verse">I have repented. Ha! the general here!</div> - <span class="linenum">500</span><div class="verse">Thou seest me, Burrus, on a woman’s errand.</div> - <div class="verse">Nay, no apology; thou hast o’erheard</div> - <div class="verse">My merit, not my fault.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent25">I thank your majesty.</span></div> - <div class="verse">I will withdraw.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent15">Nay, I desire thee stay.</span></div> - <div class="verse">I came not here to find thee; but thy presence</div> - <div class="verse">Mends my intention. Let us hold a council.</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis not the first time our triumvirate,</div> - <div class="verse">Secretly gathered in the nick of time,</div> - <div class="verse">Hath preordained the changes which should fall</div> - <div class="verse">Upon the earth like fate. To-day’s decree,</div> - <span class="linenum">510</span><div class="verse">If we combine, will be as big with action</div> - <div class="verse">As any we have uttered.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent25">I fear I stand</span></div> - <div class="verse">In ignorance of the question.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent32">I will explain.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Listen to me. We three who here are met</div> - <div class="verse">Stand in such place, that, if we but unite,</div> - <div class="verse">There’s none can say us nay. I do not ask</div> - <div class="verse">Who raised thee, Burrus, or thee, Seneca,</div> - <div class="verse">To where ye are: nay, if I asked you that</div> - <div class="verse">I’d look for no more answer than if asking</div> - <div class="verse">What two and two make; ’tis self-evident,</div> - <span class="linenum">520</span><div class="verse">Unquestioned; it was I; and if you owe</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Allegiance to another, ’tis to one</div> - <div class="verse">Whom I made more than I made you; ay, one</div> - <div class="verse">Who has nothing but what was mine, and is mine:</div> - <div class="verse">His body mine, his life and being mine,</div> - <div class="verse">His power, his place, his honour mine, my son,</div> - <div class="verse">My Nero, who, when my husband late deceased,</div> - <div class="verse">The honest Claudius, passed to join the gods,</div> - <div class="verse">Was raised and set by me under your guidance,</div> - <div class="verse">To share with me the empire of the world.</div> - <span class="linenum">530</span><div class="verse">Now what it may be that hath warped his heart</div> - <div class="verse">Is from the matter: enough that so it is.</div> - <div class="verse">I might blame one of you, sure not myself,</div> - <div class="verse">Who have ever held in love and kindness towards him</div> - <div class="verse">The same intention; nay, and from my kindness</div> - <div class="verse">I swerve not now, though for a wholesome end</div> - <div class="verse">I mask that kindness in severity.</div> - <div class="verse">There’s but this choice, I must withdraw my favour,</div> - <div class="verse">Or suffer my disgrace: ay, and for you,</div> - <div class="verse">Burrus and Seneca, be sure, the same.</div> - <span class="linenum">540</span><div class="verse">If I fall, ye will fall. Therefore being one</div> - <div class="verse">In interest with me, I look to find you ready</div> - <div class="verse">To stand by me in any scheme of action</div> - <div class="verse">Which may preserve our station, while we may.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Your majesty says well. We have hitherto</div> - <div class="verse">All held one purpose, and if now we are foiled</div> - <div class="verse">Or thwarted, none is thwarted more than I.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> - <div class="verse">And since it is my pride, in the high place</div> - <div class="verse">Whereto your judgment called me, to exceed</div> - <div class="verse">The measure which might justify your choice,</div> - <span class="linenum">550</span><div class="verse">I shall not fail. In these new difficulties</div> - <div class="verse">I would make no display of fresh resource;</div> - <div class="verse">Full means there will be, yet what means it is</div> - <div class="verse">I am not ripe to say.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent22">What say’st thou, Burrus?</span></div> - <div class="verse">The matter Seneca avoids is this:</div> - <div class="verse">Shall I be driven to exile, or will ye</div> - <div class="verse">Join with me to forbid it?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent28">Hath your majesty,</span></div> - <div class="verse">In urging opposition, any scheme</div> - <div class="verse">That might give life to policy?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent38">Ay, something.</span></div> - <div class="verse">I would protect Britannicus: his claim</div> - <span class="linenum">560</span><div class="verse">And popularity being pressed, must drive</div> - <div class="verse">Nero upon my side.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent15">Such act were merely</span></div> - <div class="verse">The boy’s destruction, were’t not done in earnest</div> - <div class="verse">And backed by force.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent20">Then, since the case demands</span></div> - <div class="verse">All earnestness, and since we lack not force .....</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> Between your son’s rule and your stepson’s claim</div> - <div class="verse">There lies no middle way.</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span></div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent28">I never held</span></div> - <div class="verse">That a stout purpose chose a middle way.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> What, what! Consider, madam, what you urge</div> - <div class="verse">Is to dethrone your son.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent25">I am desperate.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Indeed, indeed!<span class="linenum">570</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> What say’st thou, Burrus? Hast thou not a hope</div> - <div class="verse">The rightful heir might prove the better Cæsar?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> Were this in earnest, yet my oath to Cæsar</div> - <div class="verse">Forbids me even to think the thing you say.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Thy oath to him! Rather to me ’twas sworn;</div> - <div class="verse">Who raised thee up to swear, and made the Cæsar</div> - <div class="verse">For thee to swear to? I can dispense your oaths:</div> - <div class="verse">Or rather, since they were unjustly sworn,</div> - <div class="verse">Justice dispenses them. ’Twould be a deed</div> - <span class="linenum">580</span><div class="verse">Truer than oaths to break the oaths ye swore.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> Justice is still against you. ’Twas unjust</div> - <div class="verse">To burn the will of Claudius; ’twas unjust</div> - <div class="verse">To hide Britannicus, and to bring forth</div> - <div class="verse">Your own son in his place: these things were wrongs,</div> - <div class="verse">And these old wrongs would you redub with new.</div> - <div class="verse">For when upon your wrongs Rome set her seal,</div> - <div class="verse">Her choice made right of wrong, and we that swore,</div> - <div class="verse">Swore not to Nero or Britannicus,</div> - <span class="linenum">589</span><div class="verse">But unto Rome and to her chosen Cæsar.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Nay, Seneca, I think, will scarce say thus.</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Burrus is right; and were he wrong, your scheme</div> - <div class="verse">But complicates the mischief.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent32">Then ye desert me?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Nay, nay, in other ways I may do much.</div> - <div class="verse">I may win Nero back.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent22">The thought is folly;</span></div> - <div class="verse">We fight against him.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent22">Oh! ’tis open treason.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Eh! Why, I think my son’s ingratitude</div> - <div class="verse">Is nought to this; he had the right to expect</div> - <div class="verse">My favours: but for you, whom I chose out</div> - <div class="verse">And set above the rest because I chose,</div> - <span class="linenum">600</span><div class="verse">Made you my friends because I chose, for you</div> - <div class="verse">There is no excuse. Had ye no motive, yet</div> - <div class="verse">To see a woman in distress like mine,</div> - <div class="verse">Wronged by her son, and injured as no woman</div> - <div class="verse">Has ever been, should rouse a manly spirit,</div> - <div class="verse">Ay, make a coward burn to do me right.</div> - <div class="verse">But ye stand there aloof, and not a word.</div> - <div class="verse">O good Seneca,</div> - <div class="verse">Rememberest thou thy days in Corsica?</div> - <div class="verse">The stoic letters of thine exile, writ</div> - <span class="linenum">610</span><div class="verse">With Naso’s pang, and that exuberant page</div> - <div class="verse">To me, at the first tidings of recall.</div> - <div class="verse">I have it still, the letter, superscribed</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> - <div class="verse"><i>Your most devoted slave.</i> Was not that felt?</div> - <div class="verse">Had’st thou not cause? Now is the opportunity</div> - <div class="verse">Of my distress, now I stand to lose all,</div> - <div class="verse">All that those hard times strove for, all they won.</div> - <div class="verse">The faith thou owest me, still may make all mine;</div> - <div class="verse">Wilt thou deny it me?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent22">Alas, good lady!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent45">Alas!</span></div> - <div class="verse">Is this the vein? Think you I come to hear</div> - <span class="linenum">620</span><div class="verse">Your lamentations? Ah! ye dare, I see,</div> - <div class="verse">Pity me while ye wrong me: but the truth</div> - <div class="verse">Ye dare not say. Ye dare not say, Lo, we,</div> - <div class="verse">Raised by your clemency, sworn to your service,</div> - <div class="verse">Seeing your fair wind is changed, and there’s no hope</div> - <div class="verse">Left to your following, do as all knaves do,</div> - <div class="verse">Leave you to perish. Ah, all’s lost, all’s lost!<span class="indent15">[<i>Weeps.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> (<i>to Sen.</i>). Business attending me at home, I go.<span class="indent10">[<i>Going.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Thou goest! Then go, thou wooden counterfeit.</div> - <div class="verse">Nay, I’ll be with thee yet. (<i>Exit Bur.</i>) Pooh! let him go,</div> - <span class="linenum">630</span><div class="verse">An ugly, one-armed, upstart, sneaking knave:</div> - <div class="verse">A title seeker, a subservient villain.</div> - <div class="verse">And thou,</div> - <div class="verse">Philosopher! come, teach me thy philosophy.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Tell me how I may be a dauntless Stoic</div> - <div class="verse">And a most pitiful ass. Show me thy method</div> - <div class="verse">Of magnanimity and self-denial,</div> - <div class="verse">Which makes of slaves the richest men in Rome.</div> - <div class="verse">Philosopher! Ay, thou that teachest youth</div> - <div class="verse">Dishonesty, and coinest honied speeches</div> - <span class="linenum">640</span><div class="verse">To gloss iniquity, sand without lime.</div> - <div class="verse">Out, out upon thee!</div> - <div class="verse">Thou miserable, painful, hackney-themed</div> - <div class="verse">Botcher of tragedies, that deem’st thyself</div> - <div class="verse">A new Euripides, a second Cato:</div> - <div class="verse">A pedant rather, pander and murderer.</div> - <div class="verse">I’ll let Rome know how pumpkin Claudius died;</div> - <div class="verse">I’ll not be ashamed to say, ’twas I that spiced</div> - <div class="verse">His fatal mushroom. Honest Seneca</div> - <div class="verse">Stood by and smiled. True, true! I’ll be true yet;</div> - <span class="linenum">650</span><div class="verse">I’ll right Britannicus. I’ll tell the soldiers</div> - <div class="verse">What they should look for. Hear’st thou not their shouts?</div> - <div class="verse">Seneca to the Tiber! the philosopher,</div> - <div class="verse">The murderer to the Tiber! Fulvia, Fulvia!—</div> - <div class="verse">Fulvia, I go. Come, I will leave; lead on.<span class="indent5">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> And I to train the cub of such a dam!<span class="indent10">[<i>Exit.</i></span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span></div><div class="stanza"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_003d.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - - <h4>SCENE · 2</h4> - - - <p class="center"><i>Room in Domitia’s house. Enter DOMITIA -and SELEUCUS.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">DOMITIA.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">’Tis a most shrewd surmise, but nothing more;</div> - <div class="verse">I cannot listen to it. Though I hate</div> - <div class="verse">My sister, and would take some risk to crush her,</div> - <div class="verse">Yet must I set my foot on surer ground.</div> - <span class="linenum">660</span><div class="verse">My better engine is Poppæa’s dream,</div> - <div class="verse">Of which thou’st told me: I can build on that.</div> - <div class="verse">Thou should’st be there, I think, to-night.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">SELEUCUS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent40">Ay, madam.</div> - <div class="verse">I go at once.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent10">Speak nothing waveringly.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i> Nay, madam.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent15">’Tis her fate to marry Cæsar.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i> My art needs no instruction.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent42">It must be so.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i> It is so, madam.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent25">See, thy prophecy</span></div> - <div class="verse">Is that which should determine it. Go now.<span class="indent20">[<i>To door.</i></span></div> - <div class="verse">Her purse will satisfy thee well.</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span></div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i><span class="indent40">Yet once</span></div> - <div class="verse">Ere I be gone, madam, I’ll make a stand</div> - <span class="linenum">670</span><div class="verse">To win thy credit.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent15">Thou must show me cause.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Thou say’st the Augusta plots against her son,</div> - <div class="verse">Supports Britannicus, tampers with Burrus.</div> - <div class="verse">How know’st thou this?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i><span class="indent22">Why should I lie?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent45">I think</span></div> - <div class="verse">There may be some who make it worth thy while.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i> I would not meddle in this thing for money.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> Why tell me then at all?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i><span class="indent38">To win thy help.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> To what?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i><span class="indent10">To save the prince.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent38">If thou’rt in earnest,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Where is thy confidence? Assure me first,</div> - <span class="linenum">680</span><div class="verse">At least, of what thou say’st. Whence know’st thou this?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i> Fulvia, thy sister’s maid, rewards my love</div> - <div class="verse">With many trifles: what she overhears</div> - <div class="verse">I piece together.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent12">What of this was heard,</span></div> - <div class="verse">And how much pieced?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i><span class="indent22">The Augusta sent all out,</span></div> - <div class="verse">And spake long time in private with the prince.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> - <div class="verse">What passed I guess from this; that ere she left,</div> - <div class="verse">Being risen to go, as Fulvia at the door</div> - <div class="verse">Stood just without, she heard her voice most plainly</div> - <div class="verse">Angrily entreating, saying, that though he doubted,</div> - <span class="linenum">690</span><div class="verse">Yet she would still with him regain her power:</div> - <div class="verse">If he held off yet he so far was right,</div> - <div class="verse">As that ’twas best to speak with Burrus first.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> And has she since seen Burrus?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i><span class="indent50">I think she hath.</span></div> - <div class="verse">He lately came from Seneca’s, and there</div> - <div class="verse">The Augusta must have met with him.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent45">What passed?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i> I know not yet. Fulvia will know and tell me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> But can’st thou trust her?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i><span class="indent40">Ay, she hath no purpose.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Whate’er she hears is mine.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent30">Then make this thine.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Her tampering with Britannicus is nought:</div> - <span class="linenum">700</span><div class="verse">But if she speak with Burrus, there is matter</div> - <div class="verse">That I can work on. Ay, if that should be—</div> - <div class="verse">Make sure of that, and bring me word at once.</div> - <div class="verse">To-night thou hast thy business; go and do it.</div> - <div class="verse">Poppæa marries Cæsar.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i><span class="indent25">Madam, I go.</span><span class="indent28">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> Now, my good sister, if this tale is true,</div> - <div class="verse">Thy fortune turns: I trample on thee now.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Ay, if she have spoke with Burrus, then one word</div> - <div class="verse">To Nero, and she is doomed. Patience and time</div> - <div class="verse">Bring us all opportunities: we need</div> - <span class="linenum">710</span><div class="verse">But watch and wait. The way I least expected</div> - <div class="verse">She runs within the reach of my revenge.<span class="indent28">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_003d.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - - <h4>SCENE · 3</h4> - - - <p class="center"><i>Room in Otho’s house. Enter POPPÆA.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> POPPÆA.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">My dream was strange: but why of all strange dreams</div> - <div class="verse">Stands forth this dream, to say it hath a meaning?</div> - <div class="verse">There lies the mystery: the dream were nothing.</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis such a dream as I have prayed to dream.</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis such a dream as an astrologer</div> - <div class="verse">Must love to interpret. Nay, there’s but one way</div> - <div class="verse">Seleucus can explain it.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Seleucus.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent22">I looked for thee</div> - <div class="verse">An hour ago: thou’rt late.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">SELEUCUS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent25">The seasons, lady,<span class="linenum">720</span></div> - <div class="verse">Of divination are determinate</div> - <div class="verse">By stars and special omens: ’tis our skill</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> - <div class="verse">To observe their presage. The hour is favourable.</div> - <div class="verse">Thy dream ...</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent10">Is’t good?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i><span class="indent25">Beyond thy hope.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent50">Then tell it.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i> Two thousand sesterces ....</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent40">I have it here.</span></div> - <div class="verse">See! I was ready for thee.<span class="indent30">[<i>Gives him a purse.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i><span class="indent28">I thank thee, lady.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> Now for thy message.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i><span class="indent32">I have sought out thy dream</span></div> - <div class="verse">By every means our art ....</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent28">Mind not the means.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i> There is one interpretation clear throughout....</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> And that?<span class="linenum">730</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i><span class="indent15">Thou shalt be wife unto two Cæsars.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> Two! Now be Isis praised. Two! O, Seleucus,</div> - <div class="verse">Thou’rt an astrologer. Two! this is life,</div> - <div class="verse">Seleucus; this is life as well as fortune.</div> - <div class="verse">What are the names?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i><span class="indent18">There ends my message, lady.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> ’Tis good so far, but stays unkindly. Search,</div> - <div class="verse">I must know more. Above all things, the affair</div> - <div class="verse">Is secret. (<i>Knocking heard.</i>) I will send my servant to thee.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Thou must be gone: our business will not suffer</div> - <div class="verse">My husband stumbling on thee here. This way.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exit Seleucus, being put out.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">My dream was true: my hopes and schemes inspired</div> - <span class="linenum">741</span><div class="verse">Of heaven; yet this is far beyond them all.</div> - <div class="verse">Wife to two Cæsars; maybe, mother of Cæsars.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Noise at door.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">To sit upon their rare, successive thrones,</div> - <div class="verse">A manifold Augusta! Here’s my husband.</div> - <div class="verse">What would he say? Two Cæsars, ay, two Cæsars!</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Laughing heard without.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="verse center"><i>Enter Otho.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">OTHO.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Good evening, love.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent18">Who laughed with thee without?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i> Lucan. He walked with me from Cæsar’s supper.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> Was Cæsar riotous?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent28">Beyond all bounds.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> See what you husbands are. You go abroad</div> - <span class="linenum">750</span><div class="verse">For pleasure, and when met among yourselves</div> - <div class="verse">Push all to excess, and never think how patiently</div> - <div class="verse">Your wives must mope at home, and wait your coming.</div> - <div class="verse">And when you do return, up to the door</div> - <div class="verse">You bring your merriment; but at the door</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> - <div class="verse">’Tis left, and in you come, in solemn glumness,</div> - <div class="verse">To vent the sour reaction of your revels</div> - <div class="verse">Upon your housekeeper.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent25">Enough, Poppæa;</span></div> - <div class="verse">I would be cheered.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent18">Then I will cheer thee, love.</span></div> - <div class="verse">But what’s the matter?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent22">Listen. Thou hast reproached me</span></div> - <span class="linenum">760</span><div class="verse">With going forth alone. What else could be?</div> - <div class="verse">Would’st thou consent to sit there at my side,</div> - <div class="verse">Where I, a man, am oft ashamed to sit?</div> - <div class="verse">Would’st thou, could’st thou be one among the women</div> - <div class="verse">Of Cæsar’s fancy?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent15">I spake not seriously.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i> See, but I do. I tell thee, love, this night</div> - <div class="verse">Thou wert invited.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent15">I!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent18">He would have pressed it.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> Who would have pressed it?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent42">Cæsar.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent50">What dost thou say?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">(<i>Aside.</i>) He treads on prophecy.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent38">Knowing thy mind,</span></div> - <div class="verse">And mine, I begged him for our friendship’s sake</div> - <div class="verse">Urge me no further.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent18">Thou did’st well, and he?</span><span class="linenum">770</span></div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span></div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i> Again to-night he asked for thee. ’Twas this</div> - <div class="verse">Which made me sad and thoughtful.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent42">Why be sad?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i> The meaning, love, the meaning: thou must guess it.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> The very reason, Otho, which thou urgest</div> - <div class="verse">Against my going, is in truth the reason</div> - <div class="verse">Why such as I should go. As Cæsar’s friend,</div> - <div class="verse">Thou would’st do well to save him from the slough</div> - <div class="verse">He daily sinks in.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent15">Nay, but such a stake</span></div> - <div class="verse">For such a flimsy hope.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent25">I see a hope</span></div> - <span class="linenum">780</span><div class="verse">In the invitation. Otho, let us see</div> - <div class="verse">What may be done among his friends.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent45">Poppæa,</span></div> - <div class="verse">’Tis generously thought, but ’tis a thing</div> - <div class="verse">Must not be thought. Trust to my judgment, love.</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis Cæsar’s love of power that threats us here;</div> - <div class="verse">He would have nought held from him. Thee I hold,</div> - <div class="verse">And most because I know thou would’st be mine.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> Then thou must trust me, Otho.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent50">And so I do.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> Why, I were well his match. Let us go in.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exeunt.</i> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_003d.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - - <h4>SCENE · 4</h4> - - <p class="center"><i>Room in the Palace. Enter AGRIPPINA and -PALLAS.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">AGRIPPINA.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">Pallas, thy date is out: thou art dismissed;</div> - <span class="linenum">790</span><div class="verse">Thou goest from the court: yet what thou takest</div> - <div class="verse">May soften thy regrets. Thy shiny days</div> - <div class="verse">Were not misspent, and thou may’st live like Cæsar.</div> - <div class="verse">Farewell, we still are friends: the debt I owe</div> - <div class="verse">I shall remember: ’twas thy power that first</div> - <div class="verse">Gave root to mine: for thee, I think my favours</div> - <div class="verse">Were once thy pleasure. If those days are gone,</div> - <div class="verse">We can look time in the face; we have not wasted</div> - <div class="verse">The days that flew: ’tis now with what remain</div> - <div class="verse">Still to be careful. Friends and firm allies.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pal.</i> Ay, firm as ever.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent25">Nay, though thou goest first,</span></div> - <span class="linenum">801</span><div class="verse">That is not much: even that I cannot save thee</div> - <div class="verse">Is sign that I am fallen ere thou could’st fall:</div> - <div class="verse">A deeper, deadlier fall, unless indeed</div> - <div class="verse">My wit can save me still.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pal.</i><span class="indent28">Alas, dear queen,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Fear makes this parting sad. But if there’s hope,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> - <div class="verse">’Tis this, to gain thy son.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent30">Ay, till our schemes be ripe;</span></div> - <div class="verse">And even though Seneca betray me,—and that</div> - <div class="verse">Is sure,—I fear not him. I know my son</div> - <div class="verse">Better than he, and I shall win him yet.</div> - <span class="linenum">810</span><div class="verse">My plan is now to seem resigned to all:</div> - <div class="verse">I will pretend my purpose is to leave him,</div> - <div class="verse">And fly from Rome to voluntary exile.</div> - <div class="verse">’Twill work upon his fear and duty both,</div> - <div class="verse">To cut himself quite off from me, and all</div> - <div class="verse">That goes with me. He will entreat me stay;</div> - <div class="verse">And if I stay—</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pal.</i><span class="indent10">Ay, if this storm go by,</span></div> - <div class="verse">The turns of time may offer us reprisals.</div> - <div class="verse">At present use all means to gain thy son.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> I shall. Farewell.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pal.</i><span class="indent28">Be bold. The gods protect you.</span></div> - <span class="linenum">820</span><div class="verse">Farewell.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent5">Farewell.</span><span class="indent32">[<i>Exeunt severally.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Tigellinus and Paris.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">TIGELLINUS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Look from the window: thou wilt see ’tis true;</div> - <div class="verse">He takes all with him.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">PARIS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent18">Nay, if this is all.</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span></div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Tig.</i> This much were all: and yet this caravan</div> - <div class="verse">Is but the least of six; His monstrous Grace</div> - <div class="verse">Brings up the rear.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i><span class="indent18">’Tis nobly done of Cæsar.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Tig.</i> ’Tis noble, say you, that the thief go quit</div> - <div class="verse">With all his plunder from the house he plundered?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> Hark how the weasel can upbraid the fox!</div> - <div class="verse">Good Tigellinus, there’s no need to grudge</div> - <span class="linenum">830</span><div class="verse">Pallas his scrapings; the sea is full of fish:</div> - <div class="verse">Rather thou should’st rejoice because thou seest</div> - <div class="verse">Thy probable hap. Pray that as many mules,</div> - <div class="verse">Litters and bags and bales, women and slaves</div> - <div class="verse">May comfort thee.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i>Enter Nero with Domitia.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">NERO.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent14">Paris, what do you here?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> I comfort Tigellinus on the fate</div> - <div class="verse">Of his predecessor.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse"><i>Ner.</i> (<i>at window</i>). Gods! see what a train</div> - <div class="verse">Drags out the very bowels of the palace.</div> - <div class="verse">No wonder my good mother’s man resigns</div> - <div class="verse">With resignation.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Tig.</i><span class="indent15">Ha! ha!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent25">I seek the Augusta.</span></div> - <span class="linenum">840</span><div class="verse">She late was here; go find her; say I wait her.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exeunt Tigellinus and Paris.</i> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i>DOMITIA.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">Through my discovery, Nero, thy good fortune</div> - <div class="verse">Lifts thee a corner of the veil whereunder</div> - <div class="verse">Thy mother plots. Be not thou now deceived</div> - <div class="verse">To further trust. She is bent upon thy ruin.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Though it be true she urged Britannicus</div> - <div class="verse">Even in those words, we lack the surety yet</div> - <div class="verse">She spoke them in good faith.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> <span class="indent30">O, there’s no doubt.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> My mother is very deep, and often looks</div> - <div class="verse">Far from her meaning. She will use this way</div> - <span class="linenum">850</span><div class="verse">To worm a confidence.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent20">She did not then.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Ner. Yet must the boy have thought so, for you said</div> - <div class="verse">That what she urged he took not all in kindness.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> He bade her speak with Burrus.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent40">The villainous brat!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> Drive not the fault on him. Did Burrus waver,</div> - <div class="verse">Nothing could save thee. And it seems thy mother</div> - <div class="verse">Had hope to win him. She comes; now be thou firm.</div> - <div class="verse">I will be gone.<span class="indent50"><i>[Exit.</i>.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> (<i>solus</i>). Now she cannot deceive me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i>Enter Agrippina.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> My son, thy mother comes at thy command.</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span></div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> O excellent mother!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent10">What would’st thou with me, son?</span></div> - <span class="linenum">860</span><div class="verse">I come to hear, and yet I scarce am fit</div> - <div class="verse">For banter or abuse. I am ill to-day.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> No wonder; ’tis you do too much. ’Twere better</div> - <div class="verse">You spared yourself. Go rest; my business</div> - <div class="verse">Will not cure headaches.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent20">Speak whate’er it be.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Nay, if you’re ill—</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent22">My sickness will not pass.</span></div> - <div class="verse">To-morrow I shall leave thee; that last grief</div> - <div class="verse">Will soon engulph the rest: speak while thou may’st.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> What’s this! leave me to-morrow?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent40">I would spare thee</span></div> - <div class="verse">That worst disgrace of sending me away.</div> - <span class="linenum">870</span><div class="verse">I go of myself.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent5">What now?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent15">’Tis well resolved.</span></div> - <div class="verse">I have been foolish; ’twas a mother’s fault,</div> - <div class="verse">A tender fault: forget it, and hereafter</div> - <div class="verse">Know my love better. If my presence bred</div> - <div class="verse">Dislike, thy kinder mind may yet return</div> - <div class="verse">When I am gone.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent10">Why, what has happed, I pray?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Nothing. I have only come to see my error.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> - <div class="verse">I thought, ’twas I that gave him all....</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent40">Tut! tut!</span></div> - <div class="verse">’Tis the old story told a thousand times.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Ay, and forgot as oft. Thy constant wrongs,</div> - <div class="verse">I think, have dug my grave. Dost thou remember</div> - <span class="linenum">881</span><div class="verse">What answer once I made the sorcerer</div> - <div class="verse">Who prophesied thy fortune? Thy son, he said,</div> - <div class="verse">Shall reign, and kill his mother. Let him kill me,</div> - <div class="verse">So that he reign, I cried. He spake the truth,</div> - <div class="verse">But ’tis by grief thou slay’st me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent38">That old rubbish</span></div> - <div class="verse">Were best forgotten.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent18">Indeed, I had forgot it:</span></div> - <div class="verse">But yesternight I dreamed it all again;</div> - <div class="verse">A frightful dream: plain as I see thee now</div> - <div class="verse">Stood’st thou before me thus, with angry words</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="psig">[<i>She acts.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">890</span><div class="verse">Mocking, until I wept for shame; but thou</div> - <div class="verse">Did’st only laugh the more. Then ran I to thee,</div> - <div class="verse">And bared my breast, and cried, Kill me, O son!</div> - <div class="verse">And thou fastened’st thy snaky eyes upon me,</div> - <div class="verse">So that I could not see what thy hand did.</div> - <div class="verse">But, oh! I knew. I heard thy weapon grate</div> - <div class="verse">Leaving the scabbard, and a fiery pang</div> - <div class="verse">Pierced through my heart. Ah!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> (<i>aside</i>). Heavens, is she mad?—</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> - <span class="linenum">899</span><div class="verse">Mother, good mother, mother!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> ’Twas nothing. Nay, where am I? I was come</div> - <div class="verse">To hear thy speech. What is’t thou hast to say?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> (<i>aside</i>). If this were trickery? Let the fact try.—</div> - <div class="verse">’Twas this: what speech you held the other morning</div> - <div class="verse">With young Britannicus.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> (<i>aside</i>).<span class="indent8">Ah! knows he that?—</span></div> - <div class="verse">Thy spies are most alert. This time, at least,</div> - <div class="verse">I praise their zeal: though thou art slow to thank me</div> - <div class="verse">For my kind service done to thee and him.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Whether is it kinder, say you, to him to urge him</div> - <div class="verse">To embrace the desperate plot, of which already</div> - <span class="linenum">910</span><div class="verse">He stood suspected, or more kind to me</div> - <div class="verse">To water this rebellion with the tears</div> - <div class="verse">Of your insidious passion?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent28">Your man’s a fool: I heard</span></div> - <div class="verse">Your quarrel, and took pains to sound the boy.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Next you saw Burrus.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent32">Well, and what said he?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Nay, that’s for you to tell.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent42">’Twas this: Britannicus</span></div> - <div class="verse">Most truly said that nought could help his claim,</div> - <div class="verse">Except the guards and Burrus: at which word</div> - <div class="verse">I flew to Burrus, offered him the bait;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> - <div class="verse">And when he showed the scruple of his oath,</div> - <span class="linenum">920</span><div class="verse">Three words from me confirmed him.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent45">If this were true!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> How much you need me, Nero, will be plain</div> - <div class="verse">When I am gone. Who has deceived you now?</div> - <div class="verse">Who works this madness in you, to conceive</div> - <div class="verse">That your disaster could be gain to me?</div> - <div class="verse">Have you believed what angry words I spoke</div> - <div class="verse">Were born of purpose, that my threats against you</div> - <div class="verse">Were aught but passion? You count not the tears,</div> - <div class="verse">The bitter, secret tears, for every pang</div> - <div class="verse">Your wrongs have wrought in me; and bitterer far,</div> - <span class="linenum">930</span><div class="verse">The sharp remorse for each retaliation</div> - <div class="verse">Of speech provoked in anger. Let it end;</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis best I go.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent10">See! if you had gone before</span></div> - <div class="verse">We had never quarrelled; now there’s nought to lose</div> - <div class="verse">By going, ’tis a quarrel that you go.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> No quarrel, nay. ’Tis only this: I thought</div> - <div class="verse">That in your love I held perpetual office.</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis not so. Now my time is out: I go</div> - <div class="verse">As Pallas goes.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent10">The sleek, extortionate Pallas,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Dost thou defend the despicable Pallas?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">940</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> I would be kind to friends; none will stand by you,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> - <div class="verse">If you cast off those to whom most you owe.</div> - <div class="verse">’Twas first through him I came to seize the power</div> - <div class="verse">That made you Cæsar. Look! you have lost a friend.</div> - <div class="verse">Be wiser when I am gone.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent25">I have good friends,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Burrus and Seneca: I trust them both.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Cannot you read the cause why still they urge you</div> - <div class="verse">To cast me off?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent10">’Tis the disgrace they feel</span></div> - <div class="verse">To see the empire managed by a woman.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> ’Tis the constraint they feel in all their actions</div> - <span class="linenum">950</span><div class="verse">Being overruled by me. Do you not see</div> - <div class="verse">They are my ministers, and you are ruled</div> - <div class="verse">By them in all they counsel? Rid of me,</div> - <div class="verse">They rule the world. Think you, when they have cast</div> - <div class="verse">What was above them underneath their feet,</div> - <div class="verse">They will have care to exalt what was below?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> They both are honest men; you chose them well.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> You are too trustful, Nero. As you love</div> - <div class="verse">Your life, I say, be jealous of these men;</div> - <div class="verse">These men that now would rule thee but to take</div> - <span class="linenum">960</span><div class="verse">The empire from thy hands. They may speak ill</div> - <div class="verse">Of me,—believe that if thou list,—but oh!</div> - <div class="verse">If once they seem to encroach, delay not then;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Hear no excuse nor explanation; strike,</div> - <div class="verse">Kill them, I say, before they murder thee.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> But, mother, Seneca loves me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent45">As a master</span></div> - <div class="verse">Will love a pupil while he takes instruction.</div> - <div class="verse">He’ll love you while you let him reign. Alas!</div> - <div class="verse">I scarce dare leave you to him. You are too kind;</div> - <div class="verse">Will shrink to use the sword as it is needful</div> - <div class="verse">For one who rules to wield.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent32">You cannot think</span><span class="linenum">970</span></div> - <div class="verse">These men would serve me so.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent32">What is my purpose?</span></div> - <div class="verse">My life’s one object, my supreme ambition?</div> - <div class="verse">Was’t not to raise thee where thou art, and now</div> - <div class="verse">Is’t not to keep thee there?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent32">So once I thought.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> O think it yet. Look! there is none can love you,</div> - <div class="verse">Nero, as I must love you; there’s not one</div> - <div class="verse">Can guard you as I can. Have I not proved</div> - <div class="verse">My power? While I am by you, it is yours.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Stay then.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent15">O that it might be!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent42">Thou shalt not go.</span></div> - <span class="linenum">980</span><div class="verse">Resign thy outward power; be in all else</div> - <div class="verse">As heretofore. Forget what I suspected.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Be still my mother.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent18">Alas!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent25">Yea, I will have it.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> It cannot be.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent20">Why not?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent32">Seneca, my son,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Will not permit it.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent18">Who is Seneca</span></div> - <div class="verse">To say me nay?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent10">Unless you join with me</span></div> - <div class="verse">He will o’errule you.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent22">He shall not o’errule me.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> For that I’d stay. I would give up all else</div> - <div class="verse">To stand by you: ay, and be happy so.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> And so it shall be. Have thy private fortune,</div> - <div class="verse">Remain in Rome.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent12">But can you trust me, Nero?</span><span class="linenum">990</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Nay, I will never more suspect thee. Kiss me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> O, now you are good and kind. Tell me, who was it</div> - <div class="verse">Did me this wrong?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent15">It was Domitia told me.</span></div> - <div class="verse">She spied on thee.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent15">My sister! ha! you know not</span></div> - <div class="verse">The grudge between us?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent22">Yes, I know of that.</span> - <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></div> -<div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> And not suspect her slander? Did she also</div> - <div class="verse">Commit Britannicus?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent18">She cast all blame</span></div> - <div class="verse">On thee.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent5">I feared she might have wronged the boy.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Is he, then, innocent?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent32">I went so far</span></div> - <span class="linenum">1000</span><div class="verse">In sounding him as even to risk my credit.</div> - <div class="verse">Let not unjust suspicion add a weight</div> - <div class="verse">To the just blame we bear. You must protect him.</div> - <div class="verse">Promise me that.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent15">I will ask Seneca.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Forgive, at least, his foolish indiscretion.</div> - <div class="verse">He begged me make his peace. Now have I made it?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> I’ll think no more of that.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent40">My dearest son,</span></div> - <div class="verse">The joy of a good action will be yours</div> - <div class="verse">As well as mine. O, I am happy now—</div> - <div class="verse">Indeed, most happy now.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent25">Come then, dear mother.</span></div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exeunt.</i></p> -</div> -</div></div></div> -<div class="stanza"> - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_003c.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - -<h3 id="ACT_III">ACT · III</h3> - -<div class="figcenter" > -<img src="images/i_003d.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - -<h4>SCENE · 1</h4> - -<p class="center"><i>The same. SENECA.</i></p> - -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">SENECA.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse"><span class="xl smcap">Burrus</span> was right. The more I think of it,</div> - <div class="verse">The time has come that one or both must go;</div> - <div class="verse">So the more dangerous first, then are we quit</div> - <span class="linenum">1013</span><div class="verse">At once of all our mischief and disgrace.</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis past belief that she who plunged in crime</div> - <div class="verse">To enthrone her son should now plot to dethrone him.</div> - <div class="verse">There is no bridle for a wicked woman.</div> - <div class="verse">Men may despise the venerable path</div> - <div class="verse">Of virtue, and refuse the wholesome laws</div> - <div class="verse">Of plain philosophy, but still they lean</div> - <span class="linenum">1020</span><div class="verse">Towards reason, even in their wickedness.</div> - <div class="verse">There’s an accountable consistency</div> - <div class="verse">Found in their actions; but if once a woman</div> - <div class="verse">Throw off, as men soon do, the first restraints</div> - <div class="verse">Of credulous childhood; if her nature lack</div> - <div class="verse">Tenderness, modesty, and that respect</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> - <div class="verse">To self which sees in self a thing to guard</div> - <div class="verse">From passion and caprice, and in the pleasure</div> - <div class="verse">Of fitness finds a law,—if she lack that</div> - <div class="verse">Or overpass it,—there’s no further bound:</div> - <span class="linenum">1030</span><div class="verse">All things are mixed together; virtue, crime,</div> - <div class="verse">Wisdom and folly. For they have a spirit</div> - <div class="verse">Of infinite wrong genius. Rule, I say,</div> - <div class="verse">Such women if you can; rule them with iron.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Nero.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">NERO.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Good-morrow, Seneca. Thou comest in time;</div> - <div class="verse">I need thy counsel.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent18">I am here to give it.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Then tell me: Where I have been lately threatened,</div> - <div class="verse">Am I in danger? I will use thy judgment.</div> - <div class="verse">Is’t needful for my safety to remove</div> - <div class="verse">Britannicus?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent5">I have well considered all.</span></div> - <span class="linenum">1040</span><div class="verse">You must dismiss your mother.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent35">Not so, Seneca.</span></div> - <div class="verse">She now resigns all power and sign of empire,</div> - <div class="verse">And is content to live in quiet, retired</div> - <div class="verse">With few attendants and contracted state.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> She offered terms?</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span></div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent28">See, since she now concedes</span></div> - <div class="verse">All reasonable claims, my duty towards her</div> - <div class="verse">Patches our quarrel.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent20">Whence this newborn trust?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> She must remain. What of Britannicus?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> He need not trouble you.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent38">So said my mother.</span></div> - <div class="verse">I had thought differently, and even had made</div> - <span class="linenum">1050</span><div class="verse">Full preparation for his going hence.</div> - <div class="verse">Would’st thou too bid me think there is no danger?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> None, if your mother goes.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent40">But nay, she stays.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> That makes him dangerous.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent40">Thy reason, Seneca?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> I well can guess, Nero, your mother’s vein</div> - <div class="verse">With you in private: but ’twould much divert</div> - <div class="verse">Your inclination from it, could you know</div> - <div class="verse">Her latest way with me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent25">What hath she said?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Will you now think she hath urged Burrus and me</div> - <div class="verse">To set our honoured oaths and firm allegiance</div> - <span class="linenum">1060</span><div class="verse">To you aside, as being unjustly sworn;</div> - <div class="verse">To undo all she has done, and bring Britannicus</div> - <div class="verse">Back to the people as Rome’s rightful heir?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> I knew this, Seneca; and if ’twere meant, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">Where lies the danger?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent22">True; but then she vows</span></div> - <div class="verse">Plainly that, rather than resign her power,</div> - <div class="verse">She will make known her crimes, nor spare herself,</div> - <div class="verse">If in the implication of her ruin</div> - <div class="verse">She may involve us too. Know you of that?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> She could not mean it.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent32">Certainly ’twas in passion</span></div> - <span class="linenum">1070</span><div class="verse">Spoken, and fury: but ’tis such a thing</div> - <div class="verse">As might be done in passion.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent32">And what says Burrus?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> He too would urge, as I, the Augusta’s exile.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Yet must she stay.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent28">Nay, Nero, she must go.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> I bade thee, Seneca, to counsel me:</div> - <div class="verse">Call’st thou this counsel? ’Tis in the exigence</div> - <div class="verse">Of such affairs that their necessity</div> - <div class="verse">Precludes the true decision: this thou’st taught me:</div> - <div class="verse">And that the man of counsel is but he</div> - <div class="verse">Who handles best the circumstance, most gently</div> - <div class="verse">Resolves the knot, not cuts it. In this difficulty</div> - <span class="linenum">1081</span><div class="verse">Is there no course?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent18">I go not back from this;</span></div> - <div class="verse">If both remain there’s none.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent32">Is my life threatened?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Ay.</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span></div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent5">Then Britannicus must go, and shall go,</span></div> - <div class="verse">As first I purposed.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent20">Whither will you send him?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Far out of hearing of his claim. ’Tis not</div> - <div class="verse">A trifling matter.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent15">See now to the other extreme</span></div> - <div class="verse">How you o’erleap the mean from wrong to wrong!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Such wrongs the title of my power condones.</div> - <div class="verse">Shall I at the outset of a world-wide policy</div> - <span class="linenum">1090</span><div class="verse">Stick at a household scruple, and for fear</div> - <div class="verse">To do a private wrong forfeit the power</div> - <div class="verse">Which makes me Cæsar? See my glory trip</div> - <div class="verse">At a little ill because I will not level</div> - <div class="verse">My safety with the welfare of the world?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> But what you must not, that you cannot do.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Rather what Cæsar must do, that he may.</div> - <div class="verse">Rome understands not empire yet: we learned</div> - <div class="verse">Something of Herod.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent18">O the injustice, Nero!</span></div> - <div class="verse">The wrong! How! Will you sooner spill a life</div> - <span class="linenum">1100</span><div class="verse">So innocent, your creditor in kindness,</div> - <div class="verse">Than do disgrace to another, one so guilty</div> - <div class="verse">As to deserve, sinking all exigency,</div> - <div class="verse">The fearful penalty you now misplace?</div> - <div class="verse">Think twice.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Why, if I think of it again,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Is not thy error fourfold more than mine?</div> - <div class="verse">This need is granted to all tyrannies,</div> - <div class="verse">To slay pretenders, ay, and most of all</div> - <div class="verse">Those of the family: but for a mother,</div> - <div class="verse">The very Persian or the unrivalled Jew</div> - <span class="linenum">1110</span><div class="verse">Would shrink from her dishonour.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> (<i>aside</i>). What to say?</div> - <div class="verse">Being out of kinship ’twere the lesser blot—</div> - <div class="verse">Yet there’s his innocence. Necessity</div> - <div class="verse">Cannot suborn morality so far</div> - <div class="verse">As such confusion,—nor the alternative</div> - <div class="verse">May yet be shunned,—and when the best is wrong ...</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> What thinkest thou?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent28">Wait: it shall be my office</span></div> - <div class="verse">To find some better means.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent28">’Twill be thine office</span></div> - <div class="verse">To show in such a speech as I may make</div> - <div class="verse">After his death, that, howsoe’er he died,—</div> - <div class="verse">Which you shall know no more than shall my hearers,—</div> - <span class="linenum">1121</span><div class="verse">’Twas for the general good.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent30">Be counselled, Nero.</span></div> - <div class="verse">This is not my advice.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent22">Thou offerest none</span></div> - <div class="verse">Which can be taken.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent18">See, I have brought your speech</span></div> - <div class="verse">Touching the Parthian war.</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span></div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent28">’Tis long.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent42">The matter</span></div> - <div class="verse">Being very weighty, ’twill be looked for from you</div> - <div class="verse">To say thus much: but if it seem too long,</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis so composed that with these brackets here,</div> - <div class="verse">Skipped as you list, the speech is any length.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> I thank thee. I shall need that other speech.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">1130</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> I pray you may not need it. My advice</div> - <div class="verse">Is wait.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent5">Is it? Stay—Seneca, dost thou think</span></div> - <div class="verse">My mother was in earnest when she urged</div> - <div class="verse">Treason on thee and Burrus? And dost thou think</div> - <div class="verse">She fooled me in saying that she made proposal</div> - <div class="verse">To Burrus but to sound his honesty?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Eh! with that tale she took you?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent50">Is’t not true?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> That true!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent15">She was in earnest though in passion?</span></div> - <div class="verse">Answer me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Ay, she was.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent22">I pray thee leave me.</span></div> - <div class="verse">I shall not wait.<span class="indent50">[<i>Exit Seneca.</i></span></div> - <span class="linenum">1140</span><div class="verse">I stand alone. Such officers as share</div> - <div class="verse">The functions of tyrannic government</div> - <div class="verse">Cannot be looked to for a policy</div> - <div class="verse">Of personal security; they lack</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> - <div class="verse">The motive that abates the fear of crime.</div> - <div class="verse">Britannicus must go, and ’tis my hand</div> - <div class="verse">Must aim his death. I have a medicine</div> - <div class="verse">Which he must drink for me, to save my life.</div> - <div class="verse">To-night shall do it. But for my other enemy,</div> - <div class="verse">My mother, who with such dissimulation</div> - <span class="linenum">1150</span><div class="verse">Won me, spite of foreknowledge of her deeds,</div> - <div class="verse">And judgment of her purpose—Ha! indeed;</div> - <div class="verse">Seneca’s laughing-stock! Now, what I do</div> - <div class="verse">Will much surprise her. If it kill her hope</div> - <div class="verse">And prove my temper towards her, ’twill be well.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exit.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<img src="images/i_003d.jpg" width="450" height="27" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - - <h4>SCENE · 2</h4> - - <p class="center"><i>Room in Domitia’s house. Enter DOMITIA - and PARIS.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">DOMITIA.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Come hither, Paris!</div> - <div class="verse">Thou art my freedman.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">PARIS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent14">Ay, madam.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent35">Hitherto</span></div> - <div class="verse">Thou hast served me well.</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span></div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i><span class="indent28">Ay, madam.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent42">Would’st thou now</span></div> - <div class="verse">Retrieve thy purchase money?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i><span class="indent35">Dost thou say</span></div> - <div class="verse">Thou wilt restore me that for any service</div> - <div class="verse">I can perform?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent10">I do.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i><span class="indent15">But name the deed.</span><span class="linenum">1160</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> Dost thou remember Crispus Passienus?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> Could I forget thy honoured husband, madam,</div> - <div class="verse">That was my master?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent18">Paris, thou hast a wife,</span></div> - <div class="verse">And thy wife hath a sister ..</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i><span class="indent32">Ay.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent35">How think’st thou</span></div> - <div class="verse">Thy wife would love her sister, if that sister</div> - <div class="verse">Supplanted her with thee, sowed seeds of hate,</div> - <div class="verse">Contrived divorce, and when thou wert divorced</div> - <div class="verse">Should marry thee herself?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i><span class="indent28">Madam, I know</span></div> - <div class="verse">Thy wrong, and share thy hate.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent35">That was not all.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> Not all?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">1170</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent10">Nay, listen, Paris: if I forget</span></div> - <div class="verse">My kinship in my hatred, I have cause.</div> - <div class="verse">I loved him, and have now no thought in life</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> - <div class="verse">But to avenge his murder.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i><span class="indent28">Why! can’st thou think?...</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> Think! do I think? I cannot speak of it.</div> - <div class="verse">If ’tis suspicion, be it so—and yet ...</div> - <div class="verse">Well, thou hast seen my heart—even were my sister</div> - <div class="verse">Kind I should not forgive: but seeing she works</div> - <div class="verse">Against me still to drive me from the court,</div> - <div class="verse">I put my strength with Cæsar, to disbarrass</div> - <span class="linenum">1180</span><div class="verse">The palace of this plague. Say wilt thou aid me?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> The favour Cæsar shows me binds me, lady,</div> - <div class="verse">To have no thought but his; and if his mother</div> - <div class="verse">Misses his love, ’tis not made up by mine.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> I’d have thee on my side whate’er I do.</div> - <div class="verse">I have now contrived a scheme which hangs on thee</div> - <div class="verse">To bring it home.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i><span class="indent15">I will do anything</span></div> - <div class="verse">That will not touch my life.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent32">She is hard to catch.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Late, when she plotted with Britannicus,</div> - <div class="verse">Though ’twas as clear as day, when brought to question</div> - <div class="verse">She quite out-faced us all.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Servant.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">SERVANT.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent20">Madam, Seleucus<span class="linenum">1190</span></div> - <div class="verse">The astrologer would speak with you.</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span></div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent45">Admit him.</span><span class="indent10">[<i>Exit Servt.</i></span></div> - <div class="verse">Paris, I’ll tell thee later of my plans.</div> - <div class="verse">Meanwhile keep close with Nero: let me hear</div> - <div class="verse">Aught he lets fall that might advance our matter:</div> - <div class="verse">Seleucus’ visit is a part of it;</div> - <div class="verse">I’ll speak with him alone.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i><span class="indent28">Madam, I go.</span><span class="indent30">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Seleucus.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> How now, Seleucus? Foiled!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">SELEUCUS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent24">I warned you, lady,</div> - <div class="verse">How impotent and vain an arm hath truth</div> - <div class="verse">Unhelped by art.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent15">Thou did’st but well, and now</span></div> - <span class="linenum">1200</span><div class="verse">I shall lean more on thee. Hast thou persuaded</div> - <div class="verse">Poppæa of her fortune?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i><span class="indent22">Ay, my lady,</span></div> - <div class="verse">I promised her two Cæsars.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent28">Two! how two?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i> A secret that of art; our divination</div> - <div class="verse">Hath many such. The gods are favourable.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> Talk not to me of gods. One was enough;</div> - <div class="verse">Yet the other matters not. Two Cæsars indeed!</div> - <div class="verse">Most favourable gods!—See, here I give you</div> - <div class="verse">Two hundred sesterces: but for that sum</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Require another service.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i><span class="indent25">I thank you, madam.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> Locusta hath been seen with Nero.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i><span class="indent50">Ah,</span><span class="linenum">1210</span></div> - <div class="verse">How knew you that?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent15">Attend to what I say.</span></div> - <div class="verse">I fear ’tis for Britannicus: the Empress,</div> - <div class="verse">Ridding herself, cannot have quitted him.</div> - <div class="verse">If ’tis his death is aimed at—and ’tis for thee</div> - <div class="verse">To probe and reach the truth—then if ’tis possible</div> - <div class="verse">Thou must prevent it. Go, give him a message,</div> - <div class="verse">He must not sup with Cæsar if he is bid.</div> - <div class="verse">Find you the probabilities, and lay</div> - <div class="verse">The warning where is need.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i><span class="indent28">’Twere a good office, lady.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> Go quickly then. If thou do well in this,</div> - <span class="linenum">1221</span><div class="verse">I will reward thee well.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sel.</i><span class="indent25">I will deserve it.</span><span class="indent22">[<i>Exeunt.</i></span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span></div> -<div class="stanza"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_003d.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - - <h4>SCENE · 3</h4> - - <p class="center"><i>The room in Otho’s house. Enter POPPÆA -and MAID.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">MAID.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Madam, the litter waits.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> POPPÆA.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Give me my mirror, miss.</div> - <div class="verse">Why, see how slovenly thou’st done my hair;</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis out already.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Maid.</i><span class="indent12">With your pardon, madam,</span></div> - <div class="verse">’Tis very well. Nay, ’tis as firm as a rock.</div> - <div class="verse">You look your best to-night.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent32">Where is the flower</span></div> - <div class="verse">I gave thee?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Maid.</i><span class="indent5">Here, my lady.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent30">Put it in.</span></div> - <div class="verse">There, there. Ay, that will do. Now where’s my</div> - <div class="verse indent4">cloak?<span class="indent60">[<i>Exit Maid.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Otho.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">OTHO.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">So then you are going?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent22">Yes, I go alone,</span><span class="linenum">1230</span></div> - <div class="verse">Since you will not come with me.</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span></div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent38">You are always free</span></div> - <div class="verse">To have your way; but when your wish is mine,</div> - <div class="verse">It is twice yours. This time you know ’tis not:</div> - <div class="verse">And were I used to set constraint upon you,</div> - <div class="verse">Could it be said Otho e’er crossed his wife</div> - <div class="verse">With a command, it should be now: I’d say</div> - <div class="verse">This I forbid.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent10">And why?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent22">I entreat you, dearest.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> I am pledged to go.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent28">Go not.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent38">There’s now no choice.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i> A light excuse would serve: a sudden sickness,</div> - <div class="verse">A cold, a headache. Do not go.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent35">Why, look!</span><span class="linenum">1240</span></div> - <div class="verse">If you are not jealous, Otho! jealous, jealous.</div> - <div class="verse">You see not straight.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent20">I see you smile on Cæsar.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> And think you, then, I must have turned my love</div> - <div class="verse">Where I have smiled? that I would play you false</div> - <div class="verse">For the pleasure of it?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent22">Why then sup with Cæsar?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> A trifle hangs upon him I would wear,—</div> - <div class="verse">The world.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent5">So dazzled by the imperial splendour!</span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">Think: to be Cæsar’s mistress for a year</div> - <div class="verse">Is not to rule the world.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent25">I will be Cæsar’s wife.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i> Ah! look you then so high?<span class="linenum">1250</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> Who shall be called my rival?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent45">Cæsar’s wife.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> She hinders not.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent25">Oh, thou would’st never dare it,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Did’st thou not love him.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent28">What should I not dare?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i> Hast thou considered well the ambiguous style</div> - <div class="verse">Thou goest to take, and yet determined?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent50">Ay.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i> ’Tis death, ’tis death. I speak now but for thee:</div> - <div class="verse">Not for myself. The cup Octavia drinks</div> - <div class="verse">To quit thy place thou too wilt come to taste.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> That is my risk. The sport were tame without it:</div> - <span class="linenum">1260</span><div class="verse">The game can boast a sting.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent30">Weigh well the danger:</span></div> - <div class="verse">Think of it thus; to live on a caprice</div> - <div class="verse">Whose jealousy is death; where for the reason</div> - <div class="verse">One seems to love thee will be ten to hate thee;</div> - <div class="verse">Where not to be beforehand with a treachery</div> - <div class="verse">Is to be victim.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent12">I can steer my way.</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></div></div> -<div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i> And for this desperate venture wilt cast off</div> - <div class="verse">My love, our love?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent15">What is love?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent35">Art thou Poppæa?</span></div> - <div class="verse">Wer’t any else but thou that questioned thus,</div> - <div class="verse">My answer then were ready: I should say</div> - <span class="linenum">1270</span><div class="verse">Ask of Poppæa, ’tis the thing she knows;</div> - <div class="verse">Ask Otho’s wife what love is, she can tell.</div> - <div class="verse">And thou to ask! as if ’twere some strange matter</div> - <div class="verse">Wide of experience, and to ask of me</div> - <div class="verse">Who won thee for my teacher!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent32">’Tis true the impeachment</span></div> - <div class="verse">I make of love is that he hath exhausted</div> - <div class="verse">His treasure rather than denied us aught.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i> Exhausted love! how mean you?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent50">See! I am made</span></div> - <div class="verse">Of other stuff and passions besides love.</div> - <div class="verse">You cannot wish that all my life should move</div> - <span class="linenum">1280</span><div class="verse">Pent in this narrow circle, day by day</div> - <div class="verse">Keeping the pretty game up which I learned</div> - <div class="verse">When I was green: that I should ne’er do else</div> - <div class="verse">Than this one thing, and that so constantly</div> - <div class="verse">That even the habit and the practice of it</div> - <div class="verse">Are scarce employment; that I should grow grey,</div> - <div class="verse">And see the wide and seasonable field</div> - <div class="verse">Of life’s exertion and excitement fallow</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> - <div class="verse">With this one weed of love?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent30">A weed, you say!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> I have other motions in me. I’ve an itch</div> - <span class="linenum">1290</span><div class="verse">Men call ambition, and I see a prize</div> - <div class="verse">Looks worth the having.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent25">’Tis not worth the having.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> Why, what were I to thee, could’st thou be Cæsar?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i> Even all thou art; I have no itch to rule</div> - <div class="verse">Merely to see that game played out, and cry</div> - <div class="verse">At the end—what is ambition?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent32">It hath no end.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i> ’Tis plain love hath an end.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent40">Nay, as I love thee,</span></div> - <div class="verse">I still shall love thee. Only, Otho ....</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent45">What?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> I thought your eye was open to perceive</div> - <div class="verse">The grandeur of my scheme.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent30">Thou wert mistaken.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> Upon what falls to-night, let us decide.<span class="linenum">1300</span></div> - <div class="verse">I have no secrets from you: if I prosper,</div> - <div class="verse">Desert me if you will, but blame me not:</div> - <div class="verse">For dared I combat Cæsar’s inclination</div> - <div class="verse">There were as much to lose. The thing I do</div> - <div class="verse">Will be your safety.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent20">Rather would I die,</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">Ay, rather far that thou should’st die than do</div> - <div class="verse">This baseness willingly.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent25">Nay, speak not so.</span></div> - <div class="verse">I shall do nothing base.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent25">Thou must succeed.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Only before thou goest I’ll kiss thee once.<span class="indent15">[<i>Kisses Pop.</i></span></div> - <span class="linenum">1310</span><div class="verse">Otho’s last kiss. Farewell.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent30">Good night. I go.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Lesbia, my cloak! I shall have news ere morn.<span class="indent22">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i> Gone! With a grace</div> - <div class="verse">As firm, as pleasant, gay and self-possessed</div> - <div class="verse">As that with which she hath come a thousand times</div> - <div class="verse">To meet me, kiss me, and call me hers, she goes</div> - <div class="verse">To change her husband .. gone! and not a sign</div> - <div class="verse">To show that leaving me was losing aught!</div> - <div class="verse">Fool that I was! To the soul I knew her vain,</div> - <div class="verse">Self-seeking, light, petulant at the breath</div> - <span class="linenum">1320</span><div class="verse">Of contradiction, and yet I trusted. What,</div> - <div class="verse">Asks she, is love. Ay, what? I love my dog;</div> - <div class="verse">He is devoted beyond reason, pitiful</div> - <div class="verse">In his dependence; he will scarce reproach me</div> - <div class="verse">With some short wondering sorrow, if I strike him—</div> - <div class="verse">I love my horse; he bears me willingly,</div> - <div class="verse">Answering spiritedly; with all his strength</div> - <div class="verse">Generous and gentle. But woman, if man love her,—</div> - <div class="verse">Seeing she is less devoted than the hound,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Less noble than the horse,—’tis that we deem,</div> - <span class="linenum">1330</span><div class="verse">That being human she can gauge the worth</div> - <div class="verse">Of our intensity, and in kind somewhat</div> - <div class="verse">Repay it: ’tis a delusion; spite of shew,</div> - <div class="verse">She hath not in her heart that which her eyes</div> - <div class="verse">Fondly declare. There is no passion possible</div> - <div class="verse">Which beauty can interpret or soft speech</div> - <div class="verse">Express, which was not mine; ay, by that title</div> - <div class="verse">O’er and o’er; yet I think no dog in Rome</div> - <div class="verse">Would leave the meanest slave that fed him once,</div> - <div class="verse">As hath this woman left the man that loved her.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Knocking.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Lucan and Petronius.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">LUCAN.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Ha! here he is. We have come to fetch you, Otho.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i> I do not go to-night.<span class="linenum">1341</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">PETRONIUS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Not go! What is’t, man?—ill?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i> My wife has gone, therefore I do not go:—</div> - <div class="verse">You see the matter, maybe have foreseen it;</div> - <div class="verse">I was too blind. Spare me your condolence;</div> - <div class="verse">I do not wish even sympathy. You know</div> - <div class="verse">I loved her, but ’tis over. Let me give you</div> - <div class="verse">Such knowledge as I wish my friends to have,</div> - <div class="verse">Else might they mistake somewhat. See! she is gone</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> - <span class="linenum">1350</span><div class="verse">To-night against my wish: ’tis nothing more:</div> - <div class="verse">But this will lead to much. I let my house;</div> - <div class="verse">Sell you my wine, Petronius, if you wish it,</div> - <div class="verse">And take—I shall not want for interest—</div> - <div class="verse">The Lusitanian proconsulate.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Luc.</i> You go from Rome?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent30">I do.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i><span class="indent32">Break not with Cæsar.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i> I’ll take employment.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i><span class="indent32">Jove! I think you’re wise,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Otho; you’re wise. I’ve half a mind myself</div> - <div class="verse">To give my friends the slip. But as it is,</div> - <div class="verse">Well..come, I’ll take the wine; what is your price?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">1360</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i> The price I gave.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i><span class="indent25">A bargain. I shall send for it.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Luc.</i> (<i>to Otho</i>). Otho, I will not go. Although thy wrong</div> - <div class="verse">Cannot be stayed, yet would I rather die</div> - <div class="verse">Than sit and smile on it.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i><span class="indent28">I thank thee, Lucan.</span></div> - <div class="verse">I’d ask thee rather look upon the matter</div> - <div class="verse">As on a thing of course: I think it is.</div> - <div class="verse">Go, take no note of it.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Luc.</i><span class="indent25">If ’tis thy wish.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oth.</i> It is. Good night.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Luc. and Petr.</i><span class="indent10">Good night.</span><span class="indent18">[<i>Exeunt.</i></span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span></div> -<div class="stanza"> - - <h4>SCENE · 4</h4> - - - <p class="center"><i> A room in the Palace. Enter AGRIPPINA.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">AGRIPPINA.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Thus must it be then. I must be cast out,</div> - <div class="verse">Turned from the palace, lodged in a private house,</div> - <span class="linenum">1370</span><div class="verse">Retired, reduced, forgotten, like any relic</div> - <div class="verse">Of barbarous royalty, caged out of reach</div> - <div class="verse">Of good or ill; my state just so much show</div> - <div class="verse">As has no meaning. Now may some god of mischief</div> - <div class="verse">Dare set me in the roll of puny spirits.</div> - <div class="verse">Ah!—Hath this my seal, seemeth it? O may my foes</div> - <div class="verse">Be fooled so far to think that guile will stay</div> - <div class="verse">First in catastrophe. Nay, if I crouch,</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis but to plant a foot whence I may bound</div> - <div class="verse">With braver spring.—I am clear; the right’s my hope.</div> - <span class="linenum">1380</span><div class="verse">Right against blood hath still been honourable.</div> - <div class="verse">Men love the name of Brutus. The first Brutus</div> - <div class="verse">Slew his own son; the last his Cæsar. Ha!</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis madness; nay, that’s not my thought, not that.</div> - <div class="verse">’Twould fright the world that there should be a woman</div> - <div class="verse">Who could slay Cæsar and son in one. Nay, nay,</div> - <div class="verse">That lies beyond all fate. Yet, short of that,—</div> - <div class="verse">O blood, thou sacrament and bond of nature,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Look to the strain: summon thy best allies,</div> - <div class="verse">Thy yearnings and thy shudderings, thy terrors</div> - <div class="verse">And dreams of dread; marshal the myriad fingers</div> - <span class="linenum">1391</span><div class="verse">Of scorn and hate: else, O thy rottenness</div> - <div class="verse">Will out. Indeed I think thou’rt a weak thing,</div> - <div class="verse">Bred of opinion; when I would have trusted thee,</div> - <div class="verse">Hath not that other rivet of thy chain</div> - <div class="verse">Snapped at the mutual end? Thy boasted anchor</div> - <div class="verse">Drags on the bottom, and my ship drifts on</div> - <div class="verse">To the rocks, to the rocks: missing that hold, the sense</div> - <div class="verse">Is dizzy with madness; ay, and whither I go</div> - <div class="verse">Is hidden; nor aught I know, save that the future,</div> - <span class="linenum">1400</span><div class="verse">Whate’er it be, I shall do much to make.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Britannicus.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Ah! ah! ’tis thee.</div> - <div class="verse">Speak softly, for these walls have ears.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">BRITANNICUS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent24">Thou thinkest</div> - <div class="verse">That Cæsar watches me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent25">To-day thy spies</span></div> - <div class="verse">Are mine, but must not hear.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent35">Hast thou seen Burrus?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> He is thine enemy: no hope from him.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i> I would not have this spoken of as my hope.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> True, boy. I mentioned not thy name, and Nero,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Being now persuaded thou art innocent,</div> - <div class="verse">Forgives thee. Let the risk I ran for thee</div> - <span class="linenum">1410</span><div class="verse">Be earnest of more good.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent28">I thank thee for it.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> ’Tis nothing, this. Thou yet shalt reign.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent60">I pray thee</span></div> - <div class="verse">Draw me not into thy deep-plotted schemes</div> - <div class="verse">That rush on guilt. If I have hope or wish,</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis but to live till the divorce be writ</div> - <div class="verse">’Twixt Cæsar and my sister: that is not long</div> - <div class="verse">To wait; and then her exile, which must follow,</div> - <div class="verse">If I may share, I think some days of peace</div> - <div class="verse">May be in store for both. That is my hope,</div> - <div class="verse">Not Rome, nor empire, but some tranquil spot</div> - <span class="linenum">1420</span><div class="verse">Where innocence may dwell, and be allowed</div> - <div class="verse">To be its own protection.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent28">Are you that fool?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i> I would none doubted it.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent35">Can it be possible</span></div> - <div class="verse">That thou, who in thy veins hast the best blood</div> - <div class="verse">Of Rome, should’st own so beggarly a spirit,</div> - <div class="verse">And being the heir of all the world should’st wish</div> - <div class="verse">Only to hide thy claim, so thou may’st live</div> - <div class="verse">The life which broken-hearted slaves, and men</div> - <div class="verse">Diseased and aged scarce prize?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent38">I hear, I hear,</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">And am not shamed.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent18">Nay, then I have more to say.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i> I too might say somewhat. Is it not strange,</div> - <span class="linenum">1431</span><div class="verse">Thou being a lady, should’st possess a heart</div> - <div class="verse">So fond of wrong, and blood, and wrathful deeds?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Ah, ah! Thou thinkest that thou know’st me rightly,</div> - <div class="verse">And yet would’st dare to taunt me, and to thwart</div> - <div class="verse">My stablished purpose? Child, I say, remember</div> - <div class="verse">The deeds thou castest in my teeth, and think</div> - <div class="verse">Whether it were not much better now at last</div> - <div class="verse">To side with me, and take the help I proffer.</div> - <div class="verse">I have sworn to set thee on the throne; think twice</div> - <div class="verse">Ere thou oppose my will.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent28">Did’st thou not say</span><span class="linenum">1440</span></div> - <div class="verse">Thou had’st persuaded Nero of my innocence?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Say I was wrong.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent25">Nay, thou wert right in that,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Wrong now returning on disclaimed ambition.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Art thou content to see thyself deposed,</div> - <div class="verse">Thy sister thus dishonoured ....</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent38">Say no more.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Consider!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent15">Nay, I’ll not consider.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent45">Now</span></div> - <div class="verse">This once again I bid thee, child, consider.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Doubt not my power.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent20">No more. I will not join thee.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Then hear me, child. Whether thou join or not,</div> - <span class="linenum">1450</span><div class="verse">Whether thou wilt be Cæsar, or refusest,</div> - <div class="verse">Thou shalt be Cæsar. If thou wilt not plot,</div> - <div class="verse">It shall be plotted for thee: in my hands</div> - <div class="verse">I hold thy life, and guard it but for this,</div> - <div class="verse">To make thee Cæsar. Ay, and if thou shrinkest</div> - <div class="verse">When the day comes, I’ll have a doll made like thee;</div> - <div class="verse">My men shall carry it about, and style it</div> - <div class="verse">Britannicus, and shout to it as to Cæsar.</div> - <div class="verse">I say thou shalt be Cæsar, think it o’er.</div> - <div class="verse">Dare not refuse me: ’tis not yet too late;</div> - <span class="linenum">1460</span><div class="verse">To-morrow I will speak with thee again.</div> - <div class="verse">Now to thy better thought.<span class="indent45">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent30">O murderess!</span></div> - <div class="verse">And for this last turn must I thank my folly,</div> - <div class="verse">That partly trusted her. Now would to heaven,</div> - <div class="verse">If live I must, that I might change my lot</div> - <div class="verse">With any man soe’er, though he be chosen</div> - <div class="verse">And picked for misery. Surely there’s none</div> - <div class="verse">In all the empire can show cause to stand</div> - <div class="verse">And weigh his woe with mine. Find me the man,</div> - <div class="verse">If such there be, that hath an only sister</div> - <span class="linenum">1470</span><div class="verse">’Spoused to a murderer and adulterer,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Who hates her virtue, since it shames pretext</div> - <div class="verse">To cast her off: or, if such man be found,</div> - <div class="verse">Hath he for mother one that slew his father,</div> - <div class="verse">And threats him with like death? or if all this</div> - <div class="verse">Be matched in one, hath he no remedy?</div> - <div class="verse">Is his speech treason? Is his silence treason?</div> - <div class="verse">Is he quite friendless, helpless?</div> - <div class="verse">Forbidden to budge a foot from the dread focus</div> - <div class="verse">Of crime and anguish? ’Mongst his lesser wrongs</div> - <div class="verse">Hath he this brag, that he hath been robbed, as I,</div> - <span class="linenum">1481</span><div class="verse">Of the empire of the world? O happy hinds,</div> - <div class="verse">Who toil under clear skies, and for complaint</div> - <div class="verse">Discuss long hours, low wages, meagre food,</div> - <div class="verse">Hard beds and scanty covering: ye who trail</div> - <div class="verse">A pike in German swamps, or shield your heads</div> - <div class="verse">On Asian sands, I’d welcome all your griefs</div> - <div class="verse">So I might taste the common nameless joys</div> - <div class="verse">Which ye light-heartedly so lightly prize,</div> - <div class="verse">And know not what a text for happiness</div> - <div class="verse">Lies in a thoughtless laugh: what long, impassable,</div> - <span class="linenum">1491</span><div class="verse">Unmeasured gulfs of joy sunder it off</div> - <div class="verse">From my heart-stifling woe.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Octavia.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent25">Thou art welcome, sister.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">OCTAVIA.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Brother, a request you must grant.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent42">Anything,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Dearest, to thee.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent15">Sup not to-night with Cæsar.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i> I must. Yet what’s thy reason? Thou art moved</div> - <div class="verse">Strangely beyond the matter.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent32">Read this paper.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i> (<i>reads</i>). <i>Britannicus, sup not to-day with Cæsar.</i></div> - <div class="verse">How came you by it?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent18">’Tis from Fulvia,</span></div> - <div class="verse">The maid that loves Seleucus; whence ’tis his.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i> Most like; I know the turbaned mountebank</div> - <span class="linenum">1500</span><div class="verse">Keeps an old kindness for me. Yet nay, nay—</div> - <div class="verse">If this should now be found—nay, he’s too shrewd</div> - <div class="verse">To put himself in writing.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent28">He might dare</span></div> - <div class="verse">With Fulvia.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent10">Nay. I cannot think ’tis his.</span></div> - <div class="verse">And were it, what’s his credit? I do not trust</div> - <div class="verse">These fellows far. They trade in mystery,</div> - <div class="verse">And love to thicken water,—and if there be</div> - <div class="verse">A plot to poison me, to-day’s occasion</div> - <div class="verse">Offers no easier vantage than to-morrow’s.</div> - <div class="verse">My safety lies elsewhere.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent28">O do not go.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">1510</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i> Fear not, Octavia, I am very careful,</div> - <div class="verse">And eat but sparingly of any dish,</div> - <div class="verse">Nor aught but what goes round. To stay away</div> - <div class="verse">Might show suspicion, and could serve no end.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i> Brother, be warned, go not to-night;</div> - <div class="verse indent4">to-morrow</div> - <div class="verse">We may learn more. I beg ...</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent32">Nay, urge me not,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Since with this warning I am doubly safe.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i> Oh, I dread Nero’s anger; ’tis most certain</div> - <div class="verse">That ill will come of it.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent28">Nay, fear him not.</span></div> - <span class="linenum">1519</span><div class="verse">Let us go sup. I will use all precaution,</div> - <div class="verse">Thou may’st be sure, since for thy sake I do it:</div> - <div class="verse">And while thou livest I shall have both reason</div> - <div class="verse">And wish to live. Have care, too, for thyself;</div> - <div class="verse">I think thy peril is no less than mine.<span class="indent28">[<i>Exeunt.</i></span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - -<div class="figcenter" > -<img src="images/i_003d.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - - <h4>SCENE · 5</h4> - -<p class="center"><i>Supper-room in the Palace. All are reclined at two -tables, thus</i>:</p> - - -<div class="center small"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr> - <td class="tdlbr" colspan="2"><i>Agrippina</i>, <i>Nero</i>, <i>Poppæa</i>.</td> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>A gentm.</i>, <i>Octavia</i>, <i>A lady</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left"><i>Tigellinus</i>,</td> - <td class="tdlbr"><i>A gentm.</i></td> - <td align="left"><i>Britannicus</i>,</td> - <td align="left"><i>Paris</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left"><i>A lady</i>,</td> - <td class="tdlbr"><i>Domitia.</i></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left"><i>Petronius</i>,</td> - <td class="tdlbr"><i>Lucan.</i></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="center" colspan="4"><i>Waiters, tasters, etc. Some are talking.</i></td> -</tr> -</table></div> - -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">NERO.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">I will propose a question to the table:</div> - <div class="verse">Which of the arts is greatest? Lucan, these sausages</div> - <div class="verse">Are something new: try them.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="heading1"><i>POPPÆA.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent28">You question, Cæsar,</div> - <div class="verse">Which of the arts is greatest? I would answer</div> - <div class="verse">The one which Cæsar honours.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">TIGELLINUS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent28">But if Cæsar</div> - <div class="verse">Should honour more than one?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">PETRONIUS.</p> - <div class="verse indent2"></div> - <div class="verse indent25">The sausages<span class="linenum">1529</span></div> - <div class="verse">Are good enough. As for the arts, here’s Lucan</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Can speak for poetry.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent22">If any man</span></div> - <div class="verse">Could prove one art beyond contention first,</div> - <div class="verse">I would reward him excellently. With me</div> - <div class="verse">To know the best and follow it are one:</div> - <div class="verse">Success being easy in all, my difficulty</div> - <div class="verse">Lies in distraction: show me then the best,</div> - <div class="verse">I’ll perfect that.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent15">What! Cæsar give up singing?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> For better things.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Tig.</i><span class="indent28">Which be the arts?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i> (<i>to servants</i>).<span class="indent30">Here, vermin,</span></div> - <div class="verse">This wine’s half-way to vinegar.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent38">Who will name</span></div> - <span class="linenum">1540</span><div class="verse">The arts? There’s sculpture, painting, poetry,</div> - <div class="verse">Singing ..</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">PARIS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent8">And acting.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent20">Well, what more?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Tig.</i><span class="indent45">Horse-racing.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> (<i>across</i>). Ruling I think’s an art.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>AGRIPPINA</i> (<i>across</i>).</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent40">And making love.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> ’Tis of the fine arts we would speak.</div> - <div class="verse indent28">(<i>To servants</i>) Ho! fellows,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Pour out the wine! Ah, here’s a lovely mullet.</div> - <div class="verse">Has this been tasted?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">TASTER.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent16">Ay, Cæsar. ’Tis stuffed with truffles.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner</i>. A mullet stuffed with truffles. Now, Poppæa,</div> - <div class="verse">Will not this please?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent22">I thank you.—(<i>aside</i>) Prithee, bid</span></div> - <div class="verse">Lucan to speak for poetry.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="heading1"><i>BRITANNICUS</i> (<i>to servant</i>).</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent28">Nay, the mullet.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Lucan, what say you for your art?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">LUCAN.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent40">I claim</div> - <span class="linenum">1550</span><div class="verse">The first place for it, and I say ’tis proved</div> - <div class="verse">Nobler than any plastic art in this;</div> - <div class="verse">It needs not tools nor gross material,</div> - <div class="verse">And hath twin doors to the mind, both eye and ear.</div> - <div class="verse">Nay, even of drama Aristotle held,</div> - <div class="verse">Though a good play must act well, that ’tis perfect</div> - <div class="verse">Without the stage: which shows that poetry</div> - <div class="verse">Stains not her excellence by being kind</div> - <div class="verse">To those encumbrances, which, in my judgment,</div> - <div class="verse">Are pushed to fetter fancy.—Then hath our art</div> - <span class="linenum">1560</span><div class="verse">Such strong and universal mastery</div> - <div class="verse">O’er heart and mind, that here ’tis only music</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Competes, and she is second far in scope,</div> - <div class="verse">Directness, and distinction.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent32">You think that?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Luc.</i> Ay, Cæsar.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent15">Do you! you who have ever been</span></div> - <div class="verse">More gracious to my voice than to my pen!</div> - <div class="verse">Am I a better singer then than poet,</div> - <div class="verse">Think you?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Luc.</i><span class="indent5">Nay, Cæsar; but ....</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent28">Ha! then you are envious.</span></div> - <div class="verse">You would not have me write because, forsooth,</div> - <div class="verse">You write yourself. Now, by the god, I swear</div> - <span class="linenum">1570</span><div class="verse">Thou shalt not publish nor recite a verse</div> - <div class="verse">Within my empire till I give thee leave.</div> - <div class="verse">One man to keep the muses to himself!</div> - <div class="verse">Monstrous!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent5">And serve him right.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Luc.</i> (<i>aside</i>). Monstrous indeed!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> (<i>to servants</i>). Heat me some wine.</div> - <div class="verse">Come, lords, ye drink not. Eh! what have we here?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Servant.</i> Cherubim, Cæsar.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent32">What is Cherubim?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i> The gods of the Jews.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent35">Hoo! let us eat their gods.</span></div> - <div class="verse">They are much like pheasants.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Servt.</i><span class="indent32">’Tis a pheasant, Cæsar,</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">And stuffed with woodcock.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i><span class="indent30">Cæsar, there’s one art</span></div> - <div class="verse">Has not been mentioned; though I think at table</div> - <span class="linenum">1581</span><div class="verse">It should not be passed o’er.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent32">What art is that?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i> I shall contend it is the first of all.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Name it.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i><span class="indent10">It hath no name. It scarce exists.</span></div> - <div class="verse">I think the goddess never walked the earth.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> Ranks she with poetry?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i><span class="indent32">I avouch above.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> Cæsar, if this be proved, thou must rescind</div> - <div class="verse">Thy poet’s sentence.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent20">Let him prove it first.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i> I see in other arts some wit or fancy</div> - <div class="verse">Extrinsical to nature. I can find</div> - <span class="linenum">1590</span><div class="verse">No ground of need in any, save maybe</div> - <div class="verse">In architecture,—which ranks not so well</div> - <div class="verse">As to be mentioned by you.—Now, if I</div> - <div class="verse">Show you an art whose matter every day</div> - <div class="verse">Is life’s necessity, which gives more scope</div> - <div class="verse">To skill than any other, which delights</div> - <div class="verse">Among the senses one which the other arts</div> - <div class="verse">Wholly neglect, would you not say this art</div> - <div class="verse">Hath the first claim? See, I could live without</div> - <div class="verse">The joys of harmony, colour, or form,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> - <span class="linenum">1600</span><div class="verse">But without this it were impossible</div> - <div class="verse">To outlast the week.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i><span class="indent20">Oh! Cookery.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Several.</i><span class="indent30">Cookery, cookery!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i> There’s the mistake I gird at. None of you</div> - <div class="verse">But thinks this art I speak of, which includes</div> - <div class="verse">Pleasures of entertainment, ease and elegance,</div> - <div class="verse">The mind’s best recreation, the satisfaction</div> - <div class="verse">Of the body’s nearest needs, the preservation</div> - <div class="verse">Of health, and with all this, the gratifying</div> - <div class="verse">Of that one sense, which above all the senses</div> - <div class="verse">Is subtle, difficult, discerning, ticklish,</div> - <span class="linenum">1610</span><div class="verse">And most importunate,—that this great art</div> - <div class="verse">Is a cook’s province.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent22">True, Petronius, true;</span></div> - <div class="verse">There’s room for bettering these things.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i><span class="indent50">Why, wine—</span></div> - <div class="verse">Just think of wine. A hundred vintages</div> - <div class="verse">Lie in my cellar; by my taste I tell</div> - <div class="verse">Each one; are eye or ear so delicate?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> Here’s half a case already.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i><span class="indent40">Then again,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Look on this side. You bid your friends to supper:</div> - <div class="verse">That is a promise; and hath all your life</div> - <span class="linenum">1619</span><div class="verse">An hour more suitable for skilful kindness?</div> - <div class="verse">They come perturbed, fatigued, hungry and thirsty;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Nature exhausts them for you, drains them empty</div> - <div class="verse">To take all kinds of pleasure; their grated nerves</div> - <div class="verse">Ask music, their wearied limbs soft cushioned couches,</div> - <div class="verse">Their harassed mind wise cheerful conversation,</div> - <div class="verse">Their body’s appetites fawn at the word</div> - <div class="verse">Of food and wine: and yet we see these things,</div> - <div class="verse">Which should be studied, ordered, suited, measured,</div> - <div class="verse">All jumbled in confusion, till a feast,</div> - <div class="verse">Instead of relaxation and renewal,</div> - <span class="linenum">1630</span><div class="verse">Becomes, I say, for body and for mind</div> - <div class="verse">The worst discomfort and the stiffest trial</div> - <div class="verse">That life can show.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i><span class="indent18">Bravo! bravo!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent38">For one,</span></div> - <div class="verse">I am converted. Thou shalt be henceforth</div> - <div class="verse">Arbiter of my table.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i> (<i>to servt.</i>) ’Tis boiling hot;</div> - <div class="verse">Taste it.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> (<i>to Petron.</i>) Accept you the office?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i><span class="indent50">This would make me</span></div> - <div class="verse">A Cæsar above Cæsar.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent22">In the province</span></div> - <div class="verse">Of imperial æsthetics.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Servt. to Brit.</i><span class="indent5">Pardon, your highness,</span></div> - <div class="verse">I will add water to it: ’tis yet unmixed.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>They pour in the poison.</i></p> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span></div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i> ’Twill be a tyranny. For look, I hold</div> - <span class="linenum">1640</span><div class="verse">Man’s stomach is not to be trifled with.</div> - <div class="verse">Not only should your table give delight</div> - <div class="verse">Even to the ravishment of every palate,</div> - <div class="verse">But since the end and final cause of food</div> - <div class="verse">Is not to breed diseases in the flesh,</div> - <div class="verse">Nor heat the spirits more than they can bear,</div> - <div class="verse">But rather to build up and comfort health,</div> - <div class="verse">I’d order first that there be served at table</div> - <div class="verse">Nothing but what is wholesome.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i> (<i>after drinking nubile Petr. speaks</i>). Ah!</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Falls back.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i> The wine, the wine!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Br.</i><span class="indent32">Ah!</span><span class="indent40">[<i>Dies.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i> He is dead. O dead! O dead!<span class="linenum">1650</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lucan, Petronius and Paris go to Britannicus</i>.</div> - <div class="verse"><i>Domitia follows.—All rising.</i></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> What is this?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent20">He hath a fit.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i><span class="indent38">He doth not breathe.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i> (<i>has come round to front</i>). Alas, alas! my brother; he is dead.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Nay, sit you down; look not aghast, I say.</div> - <div class="verse">He hath the falling sickness, and will oft</div> - <div class="verse">Faint on a sudden, as ye see. He lies</div> - <div class="verse">An hour as dead, and then awakes again</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> - <div class="verse">With nought amiss. Best take him out in quiet.</div> - <div class="verse">(<i>To servants.</i>) Carry him from the room.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Luc.</i><span class="indent38">Lift you his feet, Petronius.</span></div> - <div class="verse">We two will take him.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent22">Let him be, I say.</span><span class="linenum">1660</span></div> - <div class="verse">His servants will attend him. Return to table:</div> - <div class="verse">We cannot spare you.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> (<i>to Oct.</i>)<span class="indent10">Honoured lady, be hopeful:</span></div> - <div class="verse">For hath your noble brother e’er been taken</div> - <div class="verse">Like this, he may recover.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i> (<i>to Par.</i>)<span class="indent5">Never—</span></div> - <div class="verse">Never! O never! he is dead! I knew it!<span class="indent32">[<i>Going.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> (<i>to Oct.</i>) Heh, sit you down. What could you do, I pray?</div> - <div class="verse">He will come round.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent18">Oh! I will follow him.</span></div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exit with servants who are carrying Brit.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i> (<i>to Par.</i>) How happened it?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> (<i>to Petr.</i>)<span class="indent25">He drank a draught of wine</span></div> - <div class="verse">Fresh mixed, and then fell back just as you saw.</div> - <div class="verse">What think you?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i> (<i>to Par.</i>) Think you ’twas aught?<span class="linenum">1670</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> (<i>to Luc.</i>)<span class="indent35">What think you?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Luc.</i> Impossible.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> (<i>aside</i>). He is poisoned. Yet my sister</div> - <div class="verse">Was nothing privy to it. She is pale.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Come, sit you down, aunt: come, Petronius,</div> - <div class="verse">Lucan, be seated. Let not the horrid sight</div> - <div class="verse">Unwhet your appetites.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i> (<i>to Luc.</i>)<span class="indent5">That was no fit.</span><span class="indent25">[<i>To Par.</i></span></div> - <div class="verse">He is dead. What if ’twere poison? Where’s the drink?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> ’Twas hurried out.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Luc.</i><span class="indent28">O God!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> (<i>to servts.</i>) Serve out the wine.</div> - <div class="verse">We all must need a bumper; ’tis most natural.</div> - <div class="verse">I have known the mere revulsion to provoke</div> - <span class="linenum">1680</span><div class="verse">In a strong man a seizure similar</div> - <div class="verse">To that which frighted him.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> (<i>aside</i>). ’Twould not amaze me,</div> - <div class="verse">Had he such drink to cheer him.<span class="indent25">[<i>All refuse drink.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> (<i>to Nero</i>).<span class="indent20">I will not drink.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> From my cup.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent18">Well, from thine.</span><span class="indent30">[<i>Drinks.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Luc.</i> (<i>aside</i>).<span class="indent28">He is self-betrayed.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Where were we?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i><span class="indent20">At the point where Cæsar made me</span></div> - <div class="verse">Arbiter of his table. I shall ask</div> - <div class="verse">To inaugurate my office.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent25">Do so, Petronius.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i> Then know you are all dismissed. Let all go home,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> - <div class="verse">And for the prince’s safety offer up<span class="indent28">[<i>All rise.</i></span></div> - <div class="verse">What vows ye may unto the gods. Myself,</div> - <div class="verse">I set the example, and go first. Come, Lucan.<span class="indent18">[<i>Going.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Eh! eh! yet thus ’tis best. Good night, Petronius,<span class="linenum">1691</span></div> - <div class="verse">Thou hast spoken well; may the gods hear thy prayers.</div> - <div class="verse">I wish you all good night.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i>In disorder of going curtain falls.</i></p> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_003c.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - - -<h3 id="ACT_IV">ACT · IV</h3> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_003d.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poetry"><div class="stanza"> -<h4>SCENE · 1</h4> - -<p class="center"><i>The same. A public place. THRASEA and PRISCUS -meeting.</i></p> - -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">PRISCUS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse"><span class="xl smcap">I was</span> coming to your house.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">THRASEA.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent25">’Tis well we meet.</div> - <div class="verse">How went it in the senate?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pr.</i><span class="indent30">As you said.</span></div> - <div class="verse">A message read from Nero.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Thr.</i><span class="indent28">Seneca?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pr.</i> No doubt.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Thr.</i> And in what terms touched he the murder?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pr.</i> With double tongue, as being an ill which none,</div> - <div class="verse">And Cæsar least, could have desired; and yet</div> - <div class="verse">A good none should lament.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Thr.</i><span class="indent28">He is very prompt.</span><span class="linenum">1700</span></div> - <div class="verse">What glozing for the hasty burial?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pr.</i> The speech was thus; that ’twas the better custom</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Of simple times to shun all vain parade:</div> - <div class="verse">That private grief was mocked by frigid pomp,</div> - <div class="verse">And public business and quiet thereby</div> - <div class="verse">Idly disturbed;—<i>Then for myself</i>, it ran,</div> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>To have lost the aid and comfort of a brother</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>Demands your sympathy. Of your goodwill</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>I make no doubt; the more that my misfortune</i></div> - <span class="linenum">1710</span><div class="verse"><i>Throws me upon it, seeing that all my hopes</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>Now anchor wholly on the commonwealth.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>Wherefore to you, my lords, and to the people,</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>I look so much the more for maintenance</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>And favour, since I now am left alone</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>Of all my family, to bear the cares</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>Your empire throws upon me.</i></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Thr.</i><span class="indent32">This was well.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pr.</i> Then were there gifts decreed to all his friends.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Thr.</i> Hush-money. Did none murmur?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pr.</i><span class="indent45">There were none</span></div> - <div class="verse">So much as frowned.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Thr.</i><span class="indent20">See, Lucan! let us speak with him.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Lucan.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">1720</span><div class="verse">If now he be not shaken, I mistake</div> - <div class="verse">His temper.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">LUCAN.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent10">Good day, Thrasea.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Thr.</i><span class="indent35">A dull morning.</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Luc.</i> Comest thou from the house?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Thr.</i><span class="indent42">Nay, more’s the pity.</span></div> - <div class="verse">There was a distribution, as I hear,</div> - <div class="verse">To friends of order. Say, how didst thou fare?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Luc.</i> In many things, Thrasea, I hold not with thee,</div> - <div class="verse">Nor will pretend that I can see in virtue</div> - <div class="verse">A self-sufficiency invulnerable</div> - <div class="verse">Against the crime of others. I believe</div> - <div class="verse">The world is wronged, and burn to avenge the wrong.</div> - <span class="linenum">1730</span><div class="verse">But, as an honest man, I take thy hand.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Thr.</i> I looked for this, Lucan, and take thy hand.</div> - <div class="verse">Frivolity and crime are most unworthy</div> - <div class="verse">Of thy companionship.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Luc.</i><span class="indent22">My uncle’s hope</span></div> - <div class="verse">Tainted my judgment. I have been blind, and wronged thee.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Thr.</i> Where I am misconceived I blame myself.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Luc.</i> Hear me abjure.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Thr.</i><span class="indent22">Spare words. There’s no more fear</span></div> - <div class="verse">Thou wilt be duped. Cæsar, in slaying his brother,</div> - <div class="verse">Has doffed the mask.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Luc.</i><span class="indent15">The heart of Rome must swell</span></div> - <div class="verse">To put the monster down.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Thr.</i><span class="indent25">We have our part:</span></div> - <span class="linenum">1740</span><div class="verse">But in the sorry tragedy he makes</div> - <div class="verse">We can be but spectators. On his stage</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> - <div class="verse">There’s nought but folly. Come thou home with me:</div> - <div class="verse">I’ll show thee how we may regard this play,</div> - <div class="verse">Take note of all the actors, and watch the end.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exeunt.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - - <h4>SCENE · 2</h4> - - <p class="center"><i>The room in Domitia’s house, Enter DOMITIA and -PARIS.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">DOMITIA.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">’Twas a most shameful deed; we take upon us</div> - <div class="verse">A just revenge.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">PARIS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent14">But ’tis the general thought</div> - <div class="verse">That Nero killed his brother; that his mother</div> - <div class="verse">Had no hand in it, rather would have saved him.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> ’Twas her intrigues determined him, and they</div> - <span class="linenum">1750</span><div class="verse">Who egg on others are the real movers.</div> - <div class="verse">Now will he hate her more a thousand-fold</div> - <div class="verse">For driving him to crime. She will not ’scape:</div> - <div class="verse">Our plot will stand.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i><span class="indent20">Is it thy scheme to push</span></div> - <div class="verse">Silana’s accusation?</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent20">Ay, ’tis that.</span></div> - <div class="verse">We shall accuse the Augusta of intent</div> - <div class="verse">To marry Plautus, to assert his claim,</div> - <div class="verse">And thus assail the throne.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i><span class="indent30">How wilt thou broach it?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> We have fixed to-night. Cæsar will dine at home,</div> - <div class="verse">And with convenient company. ’Tis agreed</div> - <div class="verse">When he’s well drunk, you enter, announce the plot</div> - <span class="linenum">1761</span><div class="verse">As freshly hatched, and so unmask the affair</div> - <div class="verse">That he shall be persuaded.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i><span class="indent30">How glibly, madam,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Speech can glide o’er the hitch; I must feel flattered</div> - <div class="verse">That just in the awkward place I am shovelled in</div> - <div class="verse">To carry it through, who have no heart in the matter.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> No heart! had you no ear then to my promise?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> ’Tis little for the risk. But what of Burrus?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> Seeing that without his name the plot were weak,</div> - <div class="verse">And that to avouch his treason would discredit it,</div> - <div class="verse">We say he is suspected.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i><span class="indent25">’Twill not stand.</span><span class="linenum">1770</span></div> - <div class="verse">We lack confederates.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent22">You forget Poppæa.</span></div> - <div class="verse">I have sent for her to try her. If I mistake not,</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis she that knocks. Get you behind the door,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> - <div class="verse">And watch what passes. There!<span class="indent35">[<i>Paris hides.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Poppæa.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent40">Now this is kind.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> POPPÆA.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">I am bounden, lady, to wait on Cæsar’s aunt.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> I count the days, Poppæa, when you yourself</div> - <div class="verse">Will call me aunt: and in that happy hope</div> - <div class="verse">I’ll stand thy friend.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent22">I shall have full need, madam,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Of all good offices.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent20">Maybe: my sister</span></div> - <span class="linenum">1780</span><div class="verse">Is an unscrupulous enemy. Beware!</div> - <div class="verse">She stole from me a husband, and will now</div> - <div class="verse">Keep you from winning one.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent28">She doth not hide</span></div> - <div class="verse">Her disapproval of my love to Cæsar,</div> - <div class="verse">And thus appears my foe; but in truth, madam,</div> - <div class="verse">Half of my heart sides with her, and the fear</div> - <div class="verse">Lest the full passion which I bear your nephew</div> - <div class="verse">May shame his rank, conquers my love so far</div> - <div class="verse">That oft I doubt if I have a heart to bear</div> - <div class="verse">The honour I have dreamed of, or a love</div> - <span class="linenum">1790</span><div class="verse">Worthy of him, since it so much can fear.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> Tut, tut! if you’re the woman that I think</div> - <div class="verse">You’re just what I would wish his wife to be.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Wronged in his marriage, he since hath wronged himself:</div> - <div class="verse">Octavia is a ninny, but his low</div> - <div class="verse">And last intrigues have scandalized the court:</div> - <div class="verse">Our family is hurt. You are his equal</div> - <div class="verse">In wit and manners, and can hold your place;</div> - <div class="verse">Nor in opposing you is it his good</div> - <div class="verse">His mother weighs: rather it suits her schemes</div> - <span class="linenum">1800</span><div class="verse">To have his wife a fool. ’Tis not unknown</div> - <div class="verse">What lately she had dared to keep her place,</div> - <div class="verse">But that Britannicus’ so sudden death</div> - <div class="verse">Blasted her plots: now in her constant project</div> - <div class="verse">Your marriage threatens her.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent32">The more I see</span></div> - <div class="verse">It blackens more. May I dare ask you, madam,</div> - <div class="verse">To tell your sister that I willingly</div> - <div class="verse">Retire, if she prevail upon her son</div> - <div class="verse">Quite to forget his love and put me by?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> Which side to take? that must you first determine;</div> - <span class="linenum">1810</span><div class="verse">’Tis Cæsar or his mother. I supposed</div> - <div class="verse">’Twas him you loved, not her. Now should I tell you</div> - <div class="verse">That she is deeply pledged to take his life,</div> - <div class="verse">And seize the empire ...</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent25">Oh! what wicked crimes!</span></div> - <div class="verse">Impossible!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent5">But if I prove it to you?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> I could not hear it.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent30">Nay, but if ’tis true,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Side you with us who hinder it, or her</div> - <div class="verse">Who pushes it?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent10">O madam, ’tis incredible.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> Ay, and to-night, as Nero sits at supper,</div> - <div class="verse">When Paris brings the news he’ll not believe it.</div> - <span class="linenum">1820</span><div class="verse">But then a word from you might turn the scale,</div> - <div class="verse">And rouse his better judgment.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent35">The very thought</span></div> - <div class="verse">That her destruction were my safety, madam,</div> - <div class="verse">Would hold my tongue. Indeed you have wronged me much,</div> - <div class="verse">Telling me this.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent12">Why, such things you will hear.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> Nay, let me go.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent22">Ay, go, but think upon it.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> Farewell.<span class="indent40">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> (<i>sola</i>). Was I mistaken?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> (<i>re-entering</i>).<span class="indent12">My mind is changed.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i> How now! what say you?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> Madam, the plot will stand.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent40">Did you hear all?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> And saw.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent10">All that compunction ...</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> Ay, be sure of it.</div> - <span class="linenum">1830</span><div class="verse">Why she and I could carry anything.</div> - <div class="verse">She’s a born actress: we must keep good friends</div> - <div class="verse">With her.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dom.</i><span class="indent5">Then this is well; go learn your part.</span></div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exeunt.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_003d.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - - <h4>SCENE · 3</h4> - - <p class="center"><i>At the tomb of Britannicus, Enter OCTAVIA and -ATTENDANTS.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">OCTAVIA.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Hang there, sweet roses, while your blooms are wet,</div> - <div class="verse">Hang there and weep unblamed; ay, weep one hour,</div> - <div class="verse">While yet your tender, fleshly hues remember</div> - <div class="verse">His fair young prime; then wither, droop, and die,</div> - <div class="verse">And with your changèd tissues paint my grief.</div> - <div class="verse">Nay, let those old wreaths lie, the shrivelled petals</div> - <div class="verse">Speak feelingly of sorrow; strew them down</div> - <span class="linenum">1840</span><div class="verse">About the steps: we mock death being trim.</div> - <div class="verse">Now here another. Ah! see, set it you:</div> - <div class="verse">I cannot reach. Have you not thought these roses</div> - <div class="verse">Weave a fit emblem—how they wait for noon</div> - <div class="verse">That comes to kill their promise, and the crown</div> - <div class="verse">Is but a mock one?</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">ATTENDANT.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent14">’Tis a good custom, lady,</div> - <div class="verse">To honour thus the tombs of those we love.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i> Custom! Is this a custom? Then I think</div> - <div class="verse">I wrong my sorrow in such common shows.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Att.</i> Nay, it doth ease affliction to be busy;</div> - <span class="linenum">1850</span><div class="verse">And grief, that cannot reckon with a mystery,</div> - <div class="verse">Is comforted by trifles.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent25">Why, thou’rt wrong;</span></div> - <div class="verse">It brings no comfort.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Att.</i><span class="indent22">And ’tis kindly done</span></div> - <div class="verse">To hide the fresh-cut stone. Death is hard featured</div> - <div class="verse">In a new-built tomb.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent20">O, hold thy peace! I see</span></div> - <div class="verse">Thou canst not be my comforter. Alas,</div> - <div class="verse">I blame thee not. But yet, whate’er be said,</div> - <div class="verse">Think not our gracious deed finds its account</div> - <div class="verse">In the honour done: the wreaths I bring were woven</div> - <div class="verse">More for myself; the tears I shed, I shed</div> - <span class="linenum">1860</span><div class="verse">The more abundantly that they are crimes</div> - <div class="verse">In the sight of him that slew him.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Att.</i><span class="indent40">Speak not so,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Lady; thou’rt o’er-distraught.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent35">What would’st thou have me?</span></div> - <div class="verse">Knowing my sorrow thou should’st rather wonder,</div> - <div class="verse">And think it well that I speak sense at all.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Att.</i> Let not such passion kill thy courage, lady;</div> - <div class="verse">The greatest die. There stands the tomb of Julius,</div> - <div class="verse">Whose mighty march was no less foully stayed</div> - <div class="verse">At noon of power: there is Augustus’ tomb,</div> - <div class="verse">Wherein so many lie ...</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent22">Why, what are they</span></div> - <span class="linenum">1870</span><div class="verse">To me? Is’t not my brother that is dead?</div> - <div class="verse">Whose life was mine, as needful to my day</div> - <div class="verse">As is the sun; as natural, old a want</div> - <div class="verse">To very life as is the bathing air</div> - <div class="verse">That my blood battens on. Take these away</div> - <div class="verse">And give him back; it then were likelier</div> - <div class="verse">I should not gasp, fret, pale, nor starve, nor pine.</div> - <div class="verse">He is gone! O miserably, suddenly,</div> - <div class="verse">For ever; alas! alas!—See, who comes hither?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Att.</i> ’Tis Agrippina, lady; and she carries</div> - <span class="linenum">1880</span><div class="verse">Wreaths such as ours.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent22">Let us begone in haste.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Att.</i> Alas! she hath seen us, lady: ’tis too late.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i> I’ll but salute her. I pray you all keep back,</div> - <div class="verse">Nor speak with her attendants.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Agrippina, Fulvia, and Attendants.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">AGRIPPINA.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent30">My dearest daughter,</div> - <div class="verse">I have longed for this embrace. Where else but here</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Beside this sacred tomb should we have met?</div> - <div class="verse">I should have been much with thee in thy sorrow,</div> - <div class="verse">But am forbidden the palace.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent32">I must thank thee</span></div> - <div class="verse">Doing this grace to my unhappy brother.</div> - <div class="verse">The gods grant thee kind messages. Farewell.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Nay, go not thus. See how I hang these garlands.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i> Not there, nay, not on mine; not there! thy grief<span class="linenum">1891</span></div> - <div class="verse">Must own a lower place; mix not its show</div> - <div class="verse">With mine. He was my brother.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent35">Thou art right.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Set them here, Fulvia. If my heart is wronged,</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis done unwittingly; thou canst not know.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i> I leave thee.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent20">Grant one word.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent45">Would’st thou be kind</span></div> - <div class="verse">’Twill be but one.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent15">’Tis this then: I am kind.</span></div> - <div class="verse">In sum ’twas this I came to say.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent38">If hither</span></div> - <div class="verse">Thou didst but come to seek me, know I had chosen</div> - <div class="verse">The hour to be alone.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent22">My dearest child,</span><span class="linenum">1900</span></div> - <div class="verse">My injured child! See, I would have thee trust</div> - <div class="verse">My friendship. ’Twas my constant, loving wish</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> - <div class="verse">To right thy brother’s wrongs, and now my heart</div> - <div class="verse">Is wholly turned on thee.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent28">Think not of me.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Am I not past all help? nor do I crave</div> - <div class="verse">The help that leads to death.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent32">O never dream</span></div> - <div class="verse">That I had hand in that accursèd deed.</div> - <div class="verse">The terror of it rather hath possessed</div> - <span class="linenum">1909</span><div class="verse">My purpose with the justice of revenge.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i> I cannot thank thee, and from thy messengers</div> - <div class="verse">Have gathered all. There’s nought to say. Farewell.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Thou dost not know Poppæa marries Cæsar.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i> Ay.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Thou consentest?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i><span class="indent25">Say, would my refusal</span></div> - <div class="verse">Or my consent be counted?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent28">It shall not be.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i> It matters not.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent22">Thou lookest for divorce?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i> Can I remain his wife who killed my brother?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Thou art the last branch of the house of Claudius,</div> - <div class="verse">And if thou wilt forget the hurt now done thee,</div> - <div class="verse">May’st yet retrieve thy blood; but being too proud,</div> - <div class="verse">Wilt more dishonour what thou seemest to honour.</div> - <div class="verse">If now thou’rt brave, and wilt join hands with me ....</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Oct.</i> O never, never! was it not that hand</div> - <div class="verse">That .... O my brother, with thy trait’rous foe</div> - <div class="verse">Make peace, and at thy tomb! Ask clemency</div> - <div class="verse">Of him that murdered thee! O never.—</div> - <div class="verse">Thou most dear shade, who wast too mild and kind,</div> - <div class="verse">If death seal not thy spiritual sense</div> - <div class="verse">To my loud sorrow, hear me! O thou my joy,</div> - <div class="verse">By whom the bitterness of life, my lot</div> - <span class="linenum">1930</span><div class="verse">Of horror, was quite sweetened,—cruelly,</div> - <div class="verse">Most cruelly slain. Ay, I will all forget</div> - <div class="verse">When he who wrought this thing can bring again</div> - <div class="verse">Out of thy cold unmotionable ashes</div> - <div class="verse">The well-compacted body and grace of life.</div> - <div class="verse">Ay, if he make one smile of thine, although</div> - <div class="verse">It last no time, I will forget: but else,</div> - <div class="verse">I say, the thing he hath done, since so ’tis done</div> - <div class="verse">That he cannot undo it, he must o’er-do</div> - <div class="verse">Ere I forget.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent10">I will be yet thy friend—</span></div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exit Oct. with Attendants.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">There comes no help from her. Maybe her grief</div> - <span class="linenum">1941</span><div class="verse">Is yet too fresh. Come, Fulvia, let us go.</div> - <div class="verse">She would not speak with me. Now on all hands</div> - <div class="verse">Thou seest I am set aside, and count for nought.</div> - <div class="verse">Yet not for this am I a whit discouraged;</div> - <div class="verse">I shall rise yet. Am I not Agrippina?<span class="indent32">[<i>Exeunt.</i></span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_003d.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - - <h4>SCENE · 4</h4> - - <p class="center"><i>A room in the Palace. Enter through a door from the -supper-room NERO and POPPÆA.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">NERO.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Now ere they follow, Poppæa, ease my heart,</div> - <div class="verse">And tell me thy request.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> POPPÆA.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent22">Thou’lt grant it me?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Whate’er it be, if thou wilt come to Baiæ.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> I’ll have it without bargain or not at all.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">1950</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> I grant it: ask.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent22">’Tis that you give my husband</span></div> - <div class="verse">The post in Lusitania which he begs.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> ’Tis his. Would he were there.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent45">My thanks.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent60">I prithee</span></div> - <div class="verse">Call him not husband.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent22">Ah, now I pierce this veil</span></div> - <div class="verse">Of generosity: why, when he goes</div> - <div class="verse">I must go with him.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent18">Eh! if that’s the case</span></div> - <div class="verse">I grant not his commission.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent30">’Tis a promise.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> I had a promise once.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent32">That was conditioned.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> And what condition have I not fulfilled?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> Heavens! is’t forgotten?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent38">Say, what have I lacked in?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> Or did I dream ’twas promised me? ’Twas this;<span class="linenum">1960</span></div> - <div class="verse">Marriage.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> By Juno, I will marry thee.</div> - <div class="verse">But come to Baiæ.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent15">Nay; thine oath is vain</span></div> - <div class="verse">Upon the point of honour. There are things</div> - <div class="verse">Idle and ceremonial, and that count</div> - <div class="verse">In love as nought, but which alone can make</div> - <div class="verse">Divorce from Otho honourable, nay,</div> - <div class="verse">To me, I say, possible. Till the day</div> - <div class="verse">Octavia is divorced I am Otho’s wife,</div> - <div class="verse">Ay, and am well content to be: he loves me,</div> - <span class="linenum">1970</span><div class="verse">And lacks in nothing that a gentlema.</div> - <div class="verse">And lover should observe. I sometimes think</div> - <div class="verse">That you mistake ...</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent20">Ah!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent22">But to mistake in that!</span></div> - <div class="verse">Seem to forget! I fly.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent22">O most impatient!</span></div> - <div class="verse">I have yet no pretext.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent22">Nay, nor ever will.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Besides, your mother rules: she would not suffer it.</div> - <div class="verse">I have no desire to taste her dishes.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent45">Hush!</span></div> - <div class="verse">They come.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i>Enter through the door Petronius, Tigellinus and</i><br /> - <i>Anicetus.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent8">Where be the others?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">TIGELLINUS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent28">They have taken</div> - <div class="verse">Cæsar’s gracious permission, and gone home.</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis late.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent5">Why, who art thou to say ’tis late?</span></div> - <span class="linenum">1980</span><div class="verse">Be seated, be seated. I’ll tell thee, Anicetus,</div> - <div class="verse">More of my scheme anon; but for the present</div> - <div class="verse">We keep Minerva’s feast at Baiæ; thither</div> - <div class="verse">Must thou convey the court. Combine high pomp</div> - <div class="verse">With masterly dispatch; our games shall reach</div> - <div class="verse">The limit of invention, and ourselves</div> - <div class="verse">Take part. To thee I say, come not behind.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">ANICETUS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Grant me the means to be great Cæsar’s herald,</div> - <div class="verse">I’ll make a wonder that shall fetch the nymphs</div> - <div class="verse">From their blue depths in ravishment to see</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> - <span class="linenum">1990</span><div class="verse">His ships upon the waters.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent28">I shall be liberal,</span></div> - <div class="verse">And give thee full instruction. (<i>To Pop.</i>) Think, my love,</div> - <div class="verse">What could be pleasanter, now spring is come,</div> - <div class="verse">Than to confide our vexed and careful spirits</div> - <div class="verse">To nature’s flush; to leave our memories</div> - <div class="verse">With the din and smoke of Rome, and force a pageant</div> - <div class="verse">Upon the lazy mirror of the bay,—</div> - <div class="verse">One to make Venus jealous, and confound</div> - <div class="verse">The richness of the season. Thou dost not guess</div> - <div class="verse">What I can do. Say, would’st thou miss the seeing</div> - <span class="linenum">2000</span><div class="verse">Of my magnificence?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Paris.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent18">See, here is Paris.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> He comes to make us merry. The gods defend us!</div> - <div class="verse">He has seen a ghost.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent20">He has something to deliver.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Patience! I know his mood: he will be tragic;</div> - <div class="verse">And you shall see the severe and tearful muse</div> - <div class="verse">Outstride her dignity, and fall along.</div> - <div class="verse">(<i>To Paris</i>) Begin!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">PARIS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent16">Most mighty and most honoured Cæsar,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> - <div class="verse">I cannot speak for shame.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i><span class="indent25">Why, man, thou’st spoken.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> He opens well.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i> Like the nurse in Seneca’s tragedy.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> The tale I bring, my lords, is little suited</div> - <div class="verse">To make your sport.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i><span class="indent15">No?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent22">This is excellent.</span><span class="linenum">2011</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> I think he is in earnest.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent38">’Tis his art.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> I am a messenger now, and no actor,</div> - <div class="verse">Sent by your royal aunt Domitia</div> - <div class="verse">To unmask a thing, which, though the gods be praised</div> - <div class="verse">That in discovery have wrought prevention,</div> - <div class="verse">Is yet a damnèd plot ....</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> (<i>rising</i>). A plot, a plot!<span class="indent15">[<i>All rise.</i></span></div> - <div class="verse">Stand off; stand off! a plot, thou say’st? a plot?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> (<i>aside to Nero</i>). Pray heaven this prove not now</div> - <div class="verse">some fresh contrivance</div> - <span class="linenum">2020</span><div class="verse">Of the empress.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent10">Stand all aside. Art thou in earnest?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> Pardon me, Cæsar. Did this plot concern</div> - <div class="verse">Less than thy life ....</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent22">My life! by all the gods,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Speak but his name who dares.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i><span class="indent32">Will Cæsar’s ear</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">Grant me indulgence?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent20">Speak, fool, or thou diest.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> The matter is disclosed by certain freedmen</div> - <div class="verse">Engaged by the empress.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent25">Ah!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> (<i>to Nero</i>).<span class="indent12">Said I not so?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Be this proved, ’tis the last.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> (<i>to Nero</i>).<span class="indent20">Ay, till the next.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Paris, as thou would’st live another moment,</div> - <div class="verse">Speak now but truth.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> (<i>shows a paper</i>). See here the evidence.</div> - <span class="linenum">2030</span><div class="verse">If Cæsar read this, ’twill give certain colour</div> - <div class="verse">To worst suspicion. Here are writ the names.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Read me the names.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i><span class="indent28">Rubellius Plautus.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent60">Ha!</span></div> - <div class="verse">Enough. I know ’tis true the villain’s blood</div> - <div class="verse">Hath from Augustus equal claim with mine.</div> - <div class="verse">Who else?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> Balbillus and Arruntius Stella,</div> - <div class="verse">With Fænius Rufus, and your royal mother,</div> - <div class="verse">And some who ’scape the crime disclosing it.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> I’ll have their lives to-night.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Tig.</i><span class="indent45">I pray now, Cæsar,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Grant me this order.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Anic.</i><span class="indent18">Or me.</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent28">Nay, who are ye?</span></div> - <span class="linenum">2040</span><div class="verse">Go, Tigellinus, fetch me Burrus hither.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> I have his name set down with the conspiracy.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Burrus?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i><span class="indent10">’Tis question of him, nothing certain.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Escort him here unarmed; I’ll speak with him.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Tig.</i> Cæsar, I go.<span class="indent60">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent18">Give me thy paper, sirrah.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">What have we here?<span class="indent60">[<i>Reads.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i> (<i>to Servt.</i>) Call me my servant there.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Anic.</i> Wilt thou go?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i><span class="indent20">Ay, ’tis sadly out of place,</span></div> - <div class="verse">This business at this time. Look, Anicetus,</div> - <div class="verse">Thou’rt new to Cæsar’s suppers; let me tell thee</div> - <div class="verse">There’s ever something wrong. See how he takes it!</div> - <span class="linenum">2050</span><div class="verse">Mad, mad!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> (<i>aside</i>). I see. Plautus. This hits my life:</div> - <div class="verse">Britannicus being dead, that hope cut off,</div> - <div class="verse">She looks to Plautus’ claim: and I to be</div> - <div class="verse">Poisoned or what appears not: yet I doubt not</div> - <div class="verse">Poisoned. ’Tis found in time. Now ’tis plain war;</div> - <div class="verse">The strongest wins. Poison! ’Tis life for life.</div> - <div class="verse">Nay, maybe already I have swallowed down</div> - <div class="verse">Some death-steeped morsel; ay, this very night</div> - <div class="verse">Have tasted of it, and the subtle drug</div> - <div class="verse">Runs in my veins concocting: my spirit sickens,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> - <div class="verse">I faint and tremble. What is it?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Anic.</i> (<i>advancing</i>).<span class="indent15">Cæsar, a word.</span><span class="linenum">2060</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> What would’st thou say?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Anic.</i> (<i>to Ner.</i>)<span class="indent15">’Tis I can do this thing.</span></div> - <div class="verse">None that be here lack will: I have the means.</div> - <div class="verse">’Twere easy, would you give me the command.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> What would be easy?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Anic.</i><span class="indent28">Why, this thing that hangs,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Which you for Rome so wisely, and for you</div> - <div class="verse">Rome and your friends have wished. If but your foe</div> - <div class="verse">Step on a ship of mine, I’ll beg my death</div> - <div class="verse">If it touch land again. We go to Baiæ,</div> - <div class="verse">And there upon the hazard of the sea</div> - <div class="verse">May this disorder sleep.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Burrus with Tigellinus.</i></p> - -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> (<i>to Anic.</i>)<span class="indent10">I thank thy zeal;</span><span class="linenum">2070</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">There is no need; give way.—Burrus, thou’rt called</div> - <div class="verse">Upon a stern occasion. Is’t not death</div> - <div class="verse">To any man or woman whosoe’er</div> - <div class="verse">That plots to murder Cæsar?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">BURRUS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent24">Death deserved.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Here be the names of some who thus offend.</div> - <div class="verse">Thine is amongst them: of thine honesty</div> - <div class="verse">I am too well persuaded to demand</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> - <div class="verse">More proof than this, that thou do execute</div> - <div class="verse">All these conspirators to-night.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent38">—Cæsar</span></div> - <span class="linenum">2080</span><div class="verse">Is not mistaken in me. Let me see</div> - <div class="verse">The names.<span class="indent45">[<i>Takes paper and reads.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> (<i>aside</i>). Now may Jove blast the general’s wits,</div> - <div class="verse">Else we be lost.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i> (<i>to Anic.</i>) Take my advice. (<i>going</i>).</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Anic.</i> (<i>to Petr.</i>)<span class="indent22">Nay, nay,</span></div> - <div class="verse">I’ll see it out.<span class="indent50">[<i>Exit Petronius.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> (<i>aside</i>). What’s this? Why, ’tis mere nonsense.—</div> - <div class="verse">What evidence hath Cæsar of this plot?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Confession of the traitors. Paris brings it</div> - <div class="verse">Fresh from Domitia.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent18">Now, with your permission,</span></div> - <div class="verse">I’ll question Paris.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent20">Question! why, is’t not plain?</span></div> - <div class="verse">Question is treasonous; and thou to question,</div> - <div class="verse">Whose name the black suspicion pricks! wilt thou</div> - <span class="linenum">2090</span><div class="verse">Question?—who hast the deepest cause of all</div> - <div class="verse">For sure conviction? Is’t not horrible</div> - <div class="verse">That I, to whose security the empire</div> - <div class="verse">Looks for stability, should most of all</div> - <div class="verse">Live an uneasy and precarious life,</div> - <div class="verse">And find no remedy because my ministers,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Who should be over-zealous to protect me</div> - <div class="verse">Even from imagined danger, shut their eyes</div> - <div class="verse">And ears to plots and perils which I hear</div> - <div class="verse">My slaves and women prate of?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent32">Cæsar, the matter</span></div> - <div class="verse">Demands inquiry. That you have been much wronged</div> - <span class="linenum">2101</span><div class="verse">Is clear: by whom is doubtful. Let me pray</div> - <div class="verse">You save your judgment from reproach of haste,</div> - <div class="verse">And hear what I advise.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent25">Speak; I will hear.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Speak.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> First dismiss the company: ’tis ill</div> - <div class="verse">To have had this audience.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent28">Friends, you are all dismissed.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Begone without a word: this business presses.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> (<i>to Nero</i>). Have some one with you, Nero; are you advised?</div> - <div class="verse">Keep a guard while you can.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> (<i>to Pop.</i>)<span class="indent12">Nay, have no fear.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> I would not trust him. Did not Paris say</div> - <div class="verse">His name was with the rest?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> (<i>to Pop.</i>)<span class="indent10">Be not afraid.—</span><span class="linenum">2110</span></div> - <div class="verse">Good night, my lords. (<i>To Bur.</i>) Shall Paris stay?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent60">No, none.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Paris, await without; the rest go home.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent40">[<i>Anic. Tig. and Par. go out: Poppæa tarries.</i></div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> (<i>to Nero</i>). Oh, do not trust this man!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> (<i>to Pop.</i>)<span class="indent40">He’s not my enemy.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> I fear to leave thee with him.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent45">Have no fear.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> Could he not kill thee?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent35">Nay, nay.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent45">Oh, he will.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Alas! alas! Oh! oh!<span class="indent60">[<i>Faints.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent18">Why, thou must go.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exit Nero carrying out Poppæa.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> (<i>solus</i>). Be hanged! the fool’s gone too.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Re-enter Nero.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent38">Now, Burrus, now.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Art thou my friend?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent18">—We are alone, and while</span></div> - <div class="verse">There’s none to hear, you must excuse a soldier</div> - <div class="verse">If he speak plainly, Cæsar.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent30">Indeed, Burrus,</span><span class="linenum">2120</span></div> - <div class="verse">Thou art my only friend; speak as a friend.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> I have heard it said the German warriors,</div> - <div class="verse">Meet o’er their cups, and, hot with wine, resolve</div> - <div class="verse">Matters of state; but ere they put in act</div> - <div class="verse">Their midnight policy, they meet again</div> - <div class="verse">In morning hours to see if sober sense</div> - <div class="verse">Approve what frenzied zeal inspired. The custom</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Has been applauded. Chance has given to you</div> - <div class="verse">The one half of the method: use the other.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">2130</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> I am not drunk.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent22">Such wandering judgment, Cæsar,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Asks such excuse.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent15">My judgment wanders not.</span></div> - <div class="verse">I am cool. My face is flushed?....</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent40">How will this look</span></div> - <div class="verse">If, sitting here at table, at a breath</div> - <div class="verse">Of hearsay you commit to instant death</div> - <div class="verse">Your mother and four noble citizens,</div> - <div class="verse">With others of less note?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent28">Choose I the time?</span></div> - <div class="verse">Shall the conspirators be pardoned then</div> - <div class="verse">’Cause Cæsar sups? or say Cæsar must fast</div> - <div class="verse">And touch no wine, lest when his blood be warm</div> - <span class="linenum">2140</span><div class="verse">Some treasonous practice creep into his ears,</div> - <div class="verse">And they who would befriend conspiracy</div> - <div class="verse">May point suspicion on his judgment! Now</div> - <div class="verse">Is a good hour for treason; Cæsar sups,</div> - <div class="verse">And must not credit it.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent25">I do not blame</span></div> - <div class="verse">Your feast.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> No more then: let it be to-night.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> What! on a charge unproven?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent40">Thou may’st prove it.</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> See, you acquit me; why not then the rest?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Acquit my mother! would’st thou persuade me, Burrus,</div> - <div class="verse">She can be acquitted?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent22">Of the deeds she has done</span></div> - <div class="verse">She is guilty; for this action charged against her,</div> - <div class="verse">It is not hers.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent10">Oh, more, much more is hers</span><span class="linenum">2151</span></div> - <div class="verse">Than thou dost dream. The crime men charge on me,</div> - <div class="verse">My brother’s death, Burrus, indeed, I swear,</div> - <div class="verse">Though thou believe me not, yet if my part</div> - <div class="verse">In that were separate and weighed ’gainst hers ...</div> - <div class="verse">I would not tell thee... Oh, I had been happy had I</div> - <div class="verse">But heard thee then.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent20">Your peace even now as much</span></div> - <div class="verse">Hangs on good counsel. You are hot: be guided, Cæsar.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Nay, now thou’rt changed, thou’rt wrong: thou goest round</div> - <div class="verse">To the other side. If thou would’st give the advice</div> - <span class="linenum">2161</span><div class="verse">I need, I’d take it gladly. Listen, Burrus:</div> - <div class="verse">I have another secret; if I tell thee</div> - <div class="verse">Thou may’st befriend me. I will tell thee. Hark!</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis this: I fear my mother; I cannot sound</div> - <div class="verse">Her heartlessness; my terror shames the shows</div> - <div class="verse">And feeble efforts of my trust and love.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> - <div class="verse">I have read her eyes—</div> - <div class="verse">Oh, there’s no tenderness, no pious scruple</div> - <div class="verse">Writ in my favour there; nothing but hate.</div> - <div class="verse">To think that I am her son but whets to fierceness</div> - <span class="linenum">2171</span><div class="verse">Her fury, and her hellish plots are laid</div> - <div class="verse">More recklessly and safely that she deems</div> - <div class="verse">I am not knit of that obdurate nerve</div> - <div class="verse">To sear the tender place of natural love.</div> - <div class="verse">I would not do it, Burrus, though I fear her</div> - <div class="verse">And hate her, as I must; but let it end</div> - <div class="verse">Ere it be worse. I pray thee do it, Burrus.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> The cause of fear is magnified by terror:</div> - <div class="verse">The present circumstance were amply met</div> - <span class="linenum">2180</span><div class="verse">By Agrippina’s exile, which I urge,</div> - <div class="verse">As ever, now. But let such sentence rest</div> - <div class="verse">On proven crime.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent15">Oh, thus were ne’er an end.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Done, we stand clear.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent22">Thus done, ’twere a foul crime:</span></div> - <div class="verse">And if you have found remorse in what before</div> - <div class="verse">Was schemed in fear and haste, consider, Cæsar,</div> - <div class="verse">If you would thank me for subserviency</div> - <div class="verse">Did I obey; for your sake I refuse.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Eh!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent5">I refuse.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent15">I have other friends.</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent45">So be it.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Take my demission. But remember, Cæsar,</div> - <span class="linenum">2190</span><div class="verse">That he who fills my place, handles the power</div> - <div class="verse">That holds you up; he that hath strength to help</div> - <div class="verse">May find the will to hurt you.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent35">I meant not that.</span></div> - <div class="verse">I trust thee, Burrus: I’ll be guided by thee.</div> - <div class="verse">What wilt thou do?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent15">The wisest course is thus:</span></div> - <div class="verse">To-morrow Seneca and I will go</div> - <div class="verse">With chosen witnesses to Agrippina,</div> - <div class="verse">And lay the charge. If she draw quit of it,</div> - <div class="verse">Well; but if not, I promise that her place</div> - <div class="verse">Shall not win favour of me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent30">Dost thou promise?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> I promise that.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent22">And if there be a doubt,</span><span class="linenum">2200</span></div> - <div class="verse">Thou’lt wrest it to my side?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent32">I promise that.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> ’Tis death.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent15">Ay, death.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent30">If that be thy last word</span></div> - <div class="verse">I am free. I would I had more such friends as thou.</div> - <div class="verse">But bring it not back; take all my power. Thou saidst</div> - <div class="verse">I had no cause for fear?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent25">What should you fear?</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> I think thou’rt right.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent32">Now, Cæsar, I will leave you.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Your spirits are much moved.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent32">Indeed I swear</span></div> - <div class="verse">I am not moved. There was no need to blame</div> - <div class="verse">My supper, Burrus.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent15">Nay, I blamed it not.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">2210</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> I am not sensible to wine as others.</div> - <div class="verse">Of all I meet there’s none, no, not the best,</div> - <div class="verse">Can eat and drink as I. There’s something, Burrus,</div> - <div class="verse">In that. I think if I, who rule the world,</div> - <div class="verse">Could not enjoy my wine, that were a blemish</div> - <div class="verse">Which scorn might hit.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent22">I never blamed your supper.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Hadst thou been there, thou would’st have praised it well.</div> - <div class="verse">I have learned much lately in these things. Petronius,</div> - <div class="verse">Ay, he’s the man—I’m blessed in this Petronius.</div> - <div class="verse">Thou know’st him?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent15">Ay, and would not keep his hours.</span></div> - <div class="verse">’Tis late, to bed.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent15">Well, Burrus, I’ll to bed.</span><span class="linenum">2220</span></div> - <div class="verse">But thou must sup with me. I’d gladly have thee</div> - <div class="verse">One of our party. I shall tell Petronius.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> Cæsar, good night.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent28">By heaven, I had forgot;</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">Where did I leave Poppæa? I remember.</div> - <div class="verse">Good night, Burrus, good night.<span class="indent42">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent38">Now may brave Bacchus</span></div> - <div class="verse">Reclaim the field; for me, I’ll gather up</div> - <div class="verse">This quenched brand, and be off. What must men think</div> - <div class="verse">Of Cæsar, who would fetch him with such trash?</div> - <div class="verse">The Augusta marry Plautus! Master Paris</div> - <div class="verse">For this will need his wit to save his skin.<span class="indent22">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_003d.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - - <h4>SCENE · 5</h4> - - <p class="center"><i>A small room in Agrippina’s house. Enter AGRIPPINA -and FULVIA.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">AGRIPPINA.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">2231</span><div class="verse">My days are weary, Fulvia. Know you not</div> - <div class="verse">Some art to make time fly? another month</div> - <div class="verse">Of prison and neglect would kill me quite.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">FULVIA.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Is’t not the change more than the solitude</div> - <div class="verse">Vexes your majesty?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent18">Nay, I was never made</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">For isolation, and even by my friends</div> - <div class="verse">I am utterly forsaken.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i><span class="indent22">Junia Silana</span></div> - <div class="verse">Was very constant, tho’ we have not seen her</div> - <div class="verse">Now for four days.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent15">Bah! she’s my foe. I wronged her</span></div> - <span class="linenum">2240</span><div class="verse">That way a woman ne’er forgives. ’Twas I</div> - <div class="verse">Broke off her match with Sextius, you remember.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i> Your true friends dare not come: they stand aloof,</div> - <div class="verse">Watching the time to do you service, madam.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> You speak of Pallas: there’s none else.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i><span class="indent60">The lot</span></div> - <div class="verse">Of late befallen your majesty is such</div> - <div class="verse">As all our sex have borne, who have not raised</div> - <div class="verse">Nor much demeaned themselves beyond the rest.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> True; but ’twas never mine; I made escape.</div> - <div class="verse">They that would lock us up in idleness,</div> - <span class="linenum">2250</span><div class="verse">Shut us from all affairs, treat us as dolls</div> - <div class="verse">Appointed for their pleasure; these but make it</div> - <div class="verse">The easier for a woman with a will</div> - <div class="verse">To have her way. Life lacks machinery</div> - <div class="verse">To thwart us. Had I been a man, methinks</div> - <div class="verse">I had done as well, but never with the means</div> - <div class="verse">I have used. Nay, nay, ’tis easy for a woman,</div> - <div class="verse">Be she but quick and brave, to have her will.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i>Enter Servant, who speaks to Fulvia, and she to<br /> - Agrippina.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Burrus and Seneca you say! Admit them.</div> - <div class="verse">Fulvia, here’s one apiece: make your own choice;</div> - <span class="linenum">2260</span><div class="verse">I’ve none, and can be generous. Pray come in.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Burrus and Seneca with two others.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Come in, my lords, come in. You are very welcome.</div> - <div class="verse">Look, Fulvia, now if Mercury have not heard</div> - <div class="verse">Our prayers and sent us noble visitors!</div> - <div class="verse">Pray you be seated. Alas, in this poor house</div> - <div class="verse">I fear I cannot show you the reception</div> - <div class="verse">You and your gallant followers deserve.</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis not what thou’rt accustomed to at home,</div> - <div class="verse">Seneca, I know: pardon it. Thou lookest cold.</div> - <div class="verse">Come near the fire: pray heaven this bitter weather</div> - <div class="verse">May not have touched thy chest. A Gallic winter!</div> - <span class="linenum">2271</span><div class="verse">I can remember no such fall of snow</div> - <div class="verse">In March these twenty years; but looking back,</div> - <div class="verse">I find one noted in my journal then.</div> - <div class="verse">How goes your health, my lords?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">SENECA.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent30">Well, thank you, madam.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> I am very glad: your visit is well meant;</div> - <div class="verse">It cheers me much.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">BURRUS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent16">The truth is, madam, we come</div> - <div class="verse">At Nero’s order.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent15">Ha! then I strike you off</span><span class="indent22">[<i>Rising.</i></span></div> - <div class="verse">My list of friends again. I thought as much;</div> - <div class="verse">I wondered how you dared me this affront</div> - <span class="linenum">2280</span><div class="verse">In my last poor retreat, here where I sit</div> - <div class="verse">Alone and friendless, in the worst disgrace</div> - <div class="verse">Woman can suffer;—ay, and caused by you.</div> - <div class="verse">But learn that, if nought else, this house is mine;</div> - <div class="verse">If ’tis so small that it can welcome little,</div> - <div class="verse">It can exclude the more. At Cæsar’s order</div> - <div class="verse">Ye have forgot your manners, now at mine</div> - <div class="verse">Resume them. Ye have done his hest, begone!</div> - <div class="verse">Begone!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent5">I pray you, madam, hear the message;</span></div> - <div class="verse">We may not leave without delivering it.</div> - <div class="verse">Burrus will speak it.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent22">Oh—Burrus speak it.</span><span class="linenum">2290</span></div> - <div class="verse">If Burrus speak, the affair is mighty black.</div> - <div class="verse">There’s none like him to break an ugly business.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Sitting.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Hey! Well, we have nought to do, so let us hear</div> - <div class="verse">The last of the court. Octavia’s divorce?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Believe me, lady, I feel much aggrieved</div> - <div class="verse">In all that hurts you here.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent20">Stranger than fiction.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Now what’s the matter?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent22">There has been information</span></div> - <div class="verse">To Cæsar of plots against his life, the which</div> - <div class="verse">The informers charge on you. This the chief item,</div> - <span class="linenum">2300</span><div class="verse">That you have entered with Rubellius Plautus</div> - <div class="verse">Into conspiracy to set him up</div> - <div class="verse">In Nero’s place, and to dethrone your son.</div> - <div class="verse">I come with Seneca and these witnesses</div> - <div class="verse">To hear the answer, which your majesty</div> - <div class="verse">No doubt hath very ready, and accordingly</div> - <div class="verse">To acquit you of the charge.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent32">—Excellent!</span></div> - <div class="verse">Now, Seneca, ’s thy turn; or will these gentlemen?</div> - <div class="verse">Fulvia, we have depositions to be made:</div> - <div class="verse">Fetch pens and paper; all shall be in order.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Madam, remember on what past occasions</div> - <span class="linenum">2311</span><div class="verse">Cæsar hath shown suspicion, and believe,</div> - <div class="verse">Whate’er your innocency, there is cause</div> - <div class="verse">To make it clear.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent15">Thy prudence, Seneca,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Is vanity, not kindness; spare it, pray.</div> - <div class="verse">Here is your paper, gentlemen: I’ll give you</div> - <div class="verse">Matter for Cæsar’s reading. Tell me first</div> - <div class="verse">Who’s my accuser?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent15">There are two—the first</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">Junia Silana, the other is your sister</div> - <div class="verse">Domitia: they bring forth as evidence</div> - <span class="linenum">2320</span><div class="verse">The informers, certain freedmen, Atimetus,</div> - <div class="verse">Iturius, and Calvisius, who affirm</div> - <div class="verse">That you have lately been on terms with Plautus,</div> - <div class="verse">Stirring him up to make an enterprise</div> - <div class="verse">Against the state; that you, by marrying him</div> - <div class="verse">(Who by the mother’s side may claim a line</div> - <div class="verse">As rightly from Augustus as doth Nero),</div> - <div class="verse">Might reinstate yourself, dethrone your son,</div> - <div class="verse">And bring disaster to the commonwealth.</div> - <div class="verse">That is the charge, of which we are come to hear</div> - <span class="linenum">2330</span><div class="verse">The refutation, not to press the count.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Pah! You’re a brace of idiots, if ye think</div> - <div class="verse">This needs refuting. Who’s Silana, pray,</div> - <div class="verse">That if she speak, the very bonds of nature</div> - <div class="verse">And heaven must be repealed to give her credit,</div> - <div class="verse">Saying a mother plots to kill her son?</div> - <div class="verse">I marvel not that she, being childless, dares</div> - <div class="verse">Avouch such madness, never having known</div> - <div class="verse">How near the affections of all mothers are,</div> - <div class="verse">Nor that a mother cannot shift her love</div> - <span class="linenum">2340</span><div class="verse">Like an adulteress;—nay, nor do I wonder</div> - <div class="verse">That she should find among her freedmen those,</div> - <div class="verse">Who, having in luxury spent all their substance,</div> - <div class="verse">Will for the promise of the old lady’s purse</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Sustain the accusation: but that for this</div> - <div class="verse">I should be seriously held suspect</div> - <div class="verse">Of the infamy of parricide, or Cæsar</div> - <div class="verse">Of giving ear to it, this I marvel at.</div> - <div class="verse indent2">As for Domitia, I would thank my sister</div> - <span class="linenum">2349</span><div class="verse">Even for her jealousy, were but the strife</div> - <div class="verse">One of good will and kindness towards my Nero.</div> - <div class="verse">But now she wastes her time with her man Paris,</div> - <div class="verse">Composing as ’twere fables for the stage.</div> - <div class="verse">Let her go back to Baiæ and her fishpools;</div> - <div class="verse">They kept her trifling spirit well employed,</div> - <div class="verse">When by my efforts Nero’s first adoption,</div> - <div class="verse">Proconsular authority, consulate,</div> - <div class="verse">And other steps to empire were procured.</div> - <div class="verse">Are ye now answered?—</div> - <div class="verse">Or is there any can be brought to show</div> - <span class="linenum">2360</span><div class="verse">That I have practised with the city cohorts,</div> - <div class="verse">Corrupted the loyalty of the provinces,</div> - <div class="verse">Solicited the freedmen to rebellion?</div> - <div class="verse">Or to what purpose think ye? Had Britannicus</div> - <div class="verse">Been Cæsar, then I grant I might have lived;</div> - <div class="verse">But if ’tis Plautus, or whoever else</div> - <div class="verse">Should get the power, how should I lack accusers</div> - <div class="verse">To charge me, not with words escaped in passion,</div> - <div class="verse">But deeds and crimes—crimes—ay, Seneca, crimes,</div> - <div class="verse">Of which I could not hope to be acquitted</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> - <span class="linenum">2370</span><div class="verse">Save as a mother by her son? And ye</div> - <div class="verse">Think I shall here defend myself to you!</div> - <div class="verse">Send Cæsar to me. By the gods I swear</div> - <div class="verse">I’ll be revenged on all who have had a hand</div> - <div class="verse">In this most cowardly and senseless plot.</div> - <div class="verse">I wait him here: tell him that to none other</div> - <div class="verse">Will I resolve this matter.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent30">Be content</span></div> - <div class="verse">To say so much in form, that our report</div> - <div class="verse">Suffice for your acquittal.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent30">I bid you go.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> Cæsar shall hear your message.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent45">Madam, we go.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Ay, go, good fellows; though ye have roused</div> - <div class="verse indent4">my passion,<span class="linenum">2380</span></div> - <div class="verse">Your coming here hath cheered me wondrously.</div> - <div class="verse">Nay, if ye have ever such another matter,</div> - <div class="verse">Bring it again; be not abashed, but come;</div> - <div class="verse">Or send your wives, and those two gentlemen,</div> - <div class="verse">Whose names I know not. My lords, your humble servant.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exeunt Burrus and Seneca and two Gentlemen.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Plautus! now is it possible I was wrong</div> - <div class="verse">Not to have thought of Plautus? No, I laugh,</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis merely laughable. At forty-five</div> - <div class="verse">To marry a pretender; and Plautus too!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> - <span class="linenum">2390</span><div class="verse">He would not have me. Fulvia, do you think</div> - <div class="verse">That Plautus wants to marry me? Ha! ha!</div> - <div class="verse">Is it my beauty, think you, or my virtue,</div> - <div class="verse">Or my good fortune tempts the stoic? Oh,</div> - <div class="verse">Domitia, oh, you are dull. I cannot fear</div> - <div class="verse">This plot. We shall retire with more than honour.</div> - <div class="verse">’Twas strange, I think, that Pallas was not struck;</div> - <div class="verse">His name escaped.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i><span class="indent15">There is ample reason, madam.</span></div> - <div class="verse">They say that in his house he holds such caution</div> - <div class="verse">As not to speak before his slaves. His orders</div> - <span class="linenum">2400</span><div class="verse">Are given by nod and sign, or if there’s need</div> - <div class="verse">He writes: there’s none can say they have heard him speak.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> May good come of it. ’Twould be hard indeed</div> - <div class="verse">If they should exile Plautus for a fear</div> - <div class="verse">Lest I should marry him. That were a fate</div> - <div class="verse">Of irony. Why, give the man his choice</div> - <div class="verse">Of marrying me and exile, would he not</div> - <div class="verse">Fly to the pole? Poor Plautus! marry Plautus!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Both.</i> Ha! ha! ha! he! he!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Nero. Agrippina is seated.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">NERO.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">I find you merry, mother; the gods be praised</div> - <div class="verse">That you deny the impeachment.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent35">Really, Nero,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Burrus’ memory is getting very short</div> - <div class="verse">If he said I denied it. I did not.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> You did not?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent18">Nay, I’d not be at the pains.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Called you me hither?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent32">Ay, you seem misled.</span></div> - <div class="verse">I guess who ’tis. But let that pass. I hoped</div> - <div class="verse">I might advise you privately; I knew</div> - <div class="verse">You would not wish it known. Now, was I wrong?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Do you deny what is affirmed against you?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> No, son: for if you wished to take my life,</div> - <span class="linenum">2420</span><div class="verse">Why should I rob you of this grand pretence?</div> - <div class="verse">Yet since you cannot, and the charge itself</div> - <div class="verse">But moves my laughter, as you overheard,</div> - <div class="verse">My only wish is you should now retire</div> - <div class="verse">With dignity, and act as Cæsar ought.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> (<i>aside</i>). This then is added to my shames.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent60">What say you?</span></div> - <div class="verse">Fulvia, await without. [<i>Exit Fulvia.</i>] Who brought this to thee?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Paris.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent10">The player! when?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent38">Last night at supper.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Tell me, didst thou believe it? is it possible?</div> - <div class="verse">Thou didst! Whence gottest thou thy wits I wonder;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Certain they are not mine, no, nor thy father’s:</div> - <span class="linenum">2431</span><div class="verse">I think they came of Claudius by adoption.</div> - <div class="verse">Dost thou believe it still?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent30">Whate’er I have done</span></div> - <div class="verse">Was on advice.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent10">A pious caution truly.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Is this thy trust? Yet, yet I must forgive thee.</div> - <div class="verse">See, I was angered. Nay, ’twas not thy judgment:</div> - <div class="verse">I know who leads. But for these foolish women</div> - <div class="verse">I sentence exile.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent15">Sentence whom to exile?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> The two devisers. Yet I think my sister</div> - <div class="verse">Is harmless; but the other, that Silana—</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Silana must be banished?<span class="linenum">2440</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent38">Judge her, Nero,</span></div> - <div class="verse">When thou hast heard. She and thy aunt Domitia</div> - <div class="verse">Have been the two who, in my sad retirement,</div> - <div class="verse">Have visited me most. Day after day</div> - <div class="verse">They have made a show of kindness, finding joy</div> - <div class="verse">In my disgrace, to view it; and have but left me</div> - <div class="verse">To try this trick.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> (<i>aside</i>). ’Tis plain I have been fooled.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> For those that brought the tale, thou knowest that they</div> - <div class="verse">Must taste the penalties they sought to inflict;</div> - <div class="verse">That thou must know; but ’tis not all. The acquittal</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> - <span class="linenum">2450</span><div class="verse">Of those accused will not be full without</div> - <div class="verse">Some honour shown them. Best among the names</div> - <div class="verse">Stand Fænius Rufus and Arruntius Stella,</div> - <div class="verse">Who may have city posts: gentle Balbillus,</div> - <div class="verse">Who has long deserved it, must be paid at last</div> - <div class="verse">With a proconsulate. For myself, thou knowest</div> - <div class="verse">I have taken all disgrace so patiently</div> - <div class="verse">That I expect some boon, though yet I fear</div> - <div class="verse">To ask; but when I have seen my slandered friends</div> - <div class="verse">Honoured, I’ll write it thee.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent32">I shall be quick</span></div> - <span class="linenum">2460</span><div class="verse">To punish and to make amends. ’Tis just</div> - <div class="verse">Towards Burrus, I should tell you from the first</div> - <div class="verse">He took your part.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent15">What could he else? Now, Nero,</span></div> - <div class="verse">I have done: go home, and there resolve the matter</div> - <div class="verse">With common sense; take Burrus into counsel</div> - <div class="verse">As to what penalties and what promotions</div> - <div class="verse">Shall be distributed. Before the people</div> - <div class="verse">Remember that some feeling must be shown,</div> - <div class="verse">And anger for effronteries attempted</div> - <div class="verse">Against your majesty. Now go, the affair</div> - <span class="linenum">2470</span><div class="verse">Has somewhat tired me.—Nay, touch me not; farewell.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> I see you are right; farewell.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent45">I have more advice,</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">Which I will write to thee.<span class="indent42">[<i>Exit Nero.</i></span></div> - <div class="verse">Excellent this—I have not had my way</div> - <div class="verse">Thus for a long long while: ay, now is my time</div> - <div class="verse">To strike. I’ll venture with a letter to him</div> - <div class="verse">And claim my boon, that he dismiss Poppæa.</div> - <div class="verse">There’s much to say on that which may seem aimed</div> - <div class="verse">More at his good than mine; and if she have plunged</div> - <span class="linenum">2479</span><div class="verse">In this false step, his vanity being touched</div> - <div class="verse">May shake his liking. I will do it at once.<span class="indent25">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_003d.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - - <h4>SCENE · 6</h4> - -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> A room in the Palace. Enter NERO and POPPÆA.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">NERO.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">All for thy sake was planned, and now my pleasure</div> - <div class="verse">In scheming thine is fled; for what is Baiæ,</div> - <div class="verse">And what Minerva’s feast, blue skies and seas,</div> - <div class="verse">Or games, or mirth, or wine, or the soft season,</div> - <div class="verse">If thou deny me? Prithee say thou’lt come.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> POPPÆA.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Nay, I’ll not go.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent15">Thou wilt not?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent35">Nay, I cannot.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Cannot to Cæsar?</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent25">Prove me then thou’rt Cæsar,</span></div> - <div class="verse">And not a ward.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent10">A ward!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent22">I said a ward.</span></div> - <div class="verse">May I not see thee vexed? ’Tis what men whisper,</div> - <div class="verse">Who dare not vex thee. Well, thy mother’s child,</div> - <span class="linenum">2491</span><div class="verse">So much that at her beck thou forfeitest</div> - <div class="verse">Empire and liberty.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent18">Wouldst thou enrage me!</span></div> - <div class="verse">What dost thou mean, Poppæa?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent32">Deny not that:</span></div> - <div class="verse">If ’tis not that hinders our marriage, then</div> - <div class="verse">The case, I fear, blackens. I, who can smile</div> - <div class="verse">At that, must weep another cause. I’ll think</div> - <div class="verse">Thou’rt tired of me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent20">Now by what sign?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent45">Maybe</span></div> - <div class="verse">Thou hast seen a better beauty, and repented</div> - <div class="verse">The promise given to me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent25">O treason, treason!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">2500</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> Thinkest my blood unworthy of alliance</div> - <div class="verse">With thine—tho’, truth, my ancestors have triumphed.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Who dares that lie shall bleed.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent45">Or that our bed</span></div> - <div class="verse">Is not like to be blest.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent25">The fruitful gods</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">With all their oracles avert the omen.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> Or that I urge my marriage for advancement;</div> - <div class="verse">And thou, doubting my love, pressest denial</div> - <div class="verse">To proof of faith.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent15">Ay, that is it; thou’st hit it.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> Or that I, once thy wife, would cross thy mother,</div> - <div class="verse">Divulge her crimes, the hate the senate bear her,</div> - <div class="verse">And last, though that’s well known, how she hates thee.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Speak of this once for all, then let the jest</div> - <div class="verse">Be dead.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent5">Nay, ’tis no jest, for Agrippina</span><span class="linenum">2512</span></div> - <div class="verse">Will never love a daughter who loves thee.</div> - <div class="verse">Restore me to my husband. I were happier</div> - <div class="verse">In any place, howe’er remote from Rome,</div> - <div class="verse">Where thy disgrace and wrongs can but be spoken,</div> - <div class="verse">Not seen and felt as here. See why I go.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Poppæa, since I have never hid from thee</div> - <div class="verse">My quarrel with my mother, thou mayst know</div> - <div class="verse">It draws to end.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent15">Oh, is’t the turn for kindness?</span><span class="linenum">2520</span></div> - <div class="verse">Hath she been kind again? Why, ’tis deception.</div> - <div class="verse">When her plot failed she cast it off, and now</div> - <div class="verse">Exults: ’tis her fresh confidence seems kind.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> ’Twas not her plot. Or else I’d rather think</div> - <div class="verse">She put the snare to catch my foolish aunt,</div> - <div class="verse">Who blindly took the bait.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent28">Then she pretended</span></div> - <div class="verse">Treason, that she might better hurt her sister:</div> - <div class="verse">And yet can win thy trust!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent28">Nay, heaven forbid;</span></div> - <div class="verse">I trust her not.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent15">She hates me.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent32">Nay, her kinship</span></div> - <div class="verse">Is jealous for Octavia; but ...</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent35">Ah, true!</span><span class="linenum">2530</span></div> - <div class="verse">To kill one’s husband, plot against one’s son,</div> - <div class="verse">Should leave unsatisfied some tender feelings</div> - <div class="verse">To spend upon a step-child. Why, she knows</div> - <div class="verse">Those arts which manage you would not gull me,</div> - <div class="verse">A woman not her child. Her whole design</div> - <div class="verse">Is bent to thwart our marriage; and she will.</div> - <div class="verse">I know it.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> I swear that were this proved against her,</div> - <div class="verse">Came it to a question ’twixt herself and thee,</div> - <div class="verse">Which to take, which to lose, then not a moment</div> - <span class="linenum">2540</span><div class="verse">Would I delay: the blow I have often sworn</div> - <div class="verse">To strike should fall.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Messenger.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">MESSENGER.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent20">A letter from the Augusta.<span class="indent18">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> Now, as she loves me, this is mine.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent50">Not so.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> Then as thou lovest me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent35">Well.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> (<i>reading</i>).<span class="indent15">Ho! ho! ho! ho!</span></div> - <div class="verse">Now shines the sun at noon.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent30">What is’t?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent45">I read?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Read then.</div> -</div></div></div> - - <div class="prose"> - <p><i>Pop.</i> (<i>reads</i>). <i>To her dearest son</i>. Ha! ha! ha!<br /> - <i>When last we met thou wilt remember to have confessed - some shame for wrong done to me. The wrong I forgive, - but eagerly seize on thy sorrow to ask of thee, in regard - for thine own happiness, this only favour. ’Tis my earnest - prayer and advice that thou dismiss Poppæa.</i> - <span class="prlinenum">2551</span></p> - - <p><i>Ner.</i> Ha! writes she so?</p> - - <p><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent30">Attend, the reasons follow.</span><br /> - (<i>Reading.</i>) <i>Beware of her: nor think that I grudge thee - the happiness which thou now findest in her. Marriage - with her can lead only to thy misery. I know her well.</i><br /> - Now hear my character.</p> - - <p><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent22">Give me the letter.</span></p> - - <p><i>Pop.</i> <i>She is vain, deceitful, self-seeking, and, being by - nature cold, hath the art to assume the mask of passion; - and ’neath the show of virtue designedly conceals her - wickedness and mischief. She loves thee no better than - she loves Otho.</i> -<span class="prlinenum">2561</span></p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span></p> - - <p><i>Ner.</i> Give me the letter.</p> - - <p><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent28">Nay, one sentence more.</span><br /> - <i>Believe a woman sees further than a man, since to her eyes - beauty is no veil.</i><br /> - She grants me beauty then.<span class="indent20">[<i>Gives letter to Nero.</i></span></p> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poetry"><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> (<i>reading</i>). ’Tis so, ’tis so. Ye gods! and thou</div> - <div class="verse indent4">wert right.</div> - <div class="verse">Poppæa, this is the end. Come not to Baiæ.</div> - <div class="verse">Wait my return.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent10">What’s now to do, I pray?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Ask not: when I return I shall be free.</div> - <div class="verse">We will be married.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent18">Will you banish her?</span><span class="linenum">2570</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Ask nothing.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent18">From her exile still her plottings</span></div> - <div class="verse">Will reach to Rome.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent18">Not so, for she shall go</span></div> - <div class="verse">Whence nothing reaches Rome.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i><span class="indent32">Oh, now I fear</span></div> - <div class="verse">I have said too much; let not my love o’ercome thee.</div> - <div class="verse">Maybe she meant not this.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent28">Thou meddle not!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> Oh, but at least no crimes, Nero, no crimes!</div> - <div class="verse">Promise me that; rather I’ll fly to-night.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Poppæa, in earnest of the happy day</div> - <div class="verse">When thou wilt be my wife, I bid thee now</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> - <span class="linenum">2580</span><div class="verse">Depart.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Pop.</i> (<i>kissing him</i>). Husband, I go.<span class="indent40">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent45">What ho! what ho!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter a Servant.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Is Anicetus in the palace?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">SERVANT.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent25">Ay, Cæsar.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Go, bid him hither straight.<span class="indent28">[<i>Exit Servant.</i></span></div> - <div class="verse indent35">It shall be done.</div> - <div class="verse">Ay, now it shall be done. Let me consider;</div> - <div class="verse">I must be cool, lest I be foiled once more.</div> - <div class="verse">Where lies my hindrance? not in her; she has twice</div> - <div class="verse">Deceived me and escaped: now in my turn</div> - <div class="verse">I steal her weapon, and can use it better,</div> - <div class="verse">Having been plain before. Then Seneca ...</div> - <div class="verse">He shall not know, so are his scruples quiet.</div> - <div class="verse">For mine, they are hushed already; but ’twere best</div> - <span class="linenum">2591</span><div class="verse">Recount the terms which reason can oppose</div> - <div class="verse">To too rebellious nature: first there’s my motive,</div> - <div class="verse">Huge as the earth; liberty, happiness,</div> - <div class="verse">Empire: that cannot slide, I fear not that.</div> - <div class="verse">Then there’s the ground of justice; Claudius’ death,</div> - <div class="verse">O’er which the executive too long hath slept</div> - <div class="verse">In Cæsar’s piety: the sentence now</div> - <div class="verse">O’ertakes the murderess with a double score,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Since she by her conspiracy contrived</div> - <span class="linenum">2600</span><div class="verse">Britannicus should die ... ay, for his death</div> - <div class="verse">The heavy penalty hangs o’er some head;</div> - <div class="verse">Now let it fall on hers,—so I am quit.</div> - <div class="verse">All this condemns her, long-expected justice</div> - <div class="verse">Cries, and occasion hurries on the hand.</div> - <div class="verse">Ay, ay, I am clear. Poppæa being my stake,</div> - <div class="verse">I cannot shrink nor swerve. What was’t she wrote?</div> - <div class="verse">Why here is more.<span class="indent60">[<i>Reads.</i></span></div> - <div class="verse indent16"><i>Be with me in this matter,</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>But if thou should’st refuse, we are worse foes.</i></div> - <div class="verse">She dares the threat.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i>Enter Anicetus.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">ANICETUS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent18">Cæsar hath summoned me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">2610</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Good Anicetus, tell me, is there none</div> - <div class="verse">Greater than Cæsar?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Anic.</i><span class="indent15">Nay, Cæsar, there is none.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> But were there one to whom it might be said</div> - <div class="verse">Cæsar owed life and fortune—dost thou take me?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Anic.</i> Cæsar would say the Augusta.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent45">Nay, thou’rt dull:</span></div> - <div class="verse">’Twas thee I meant.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Anic.</i><span class="indent18">Me, Cæsar!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent32">Dost remember</span></div> - <div class="verse">Boasting to me that thou hadst sailor means</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> - <div class="verse">To do a certain thing?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Anic.</i><span class="indent22">Ay.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent28">Do it now.</span></div> - <div class="verse">I’ll owe thee life and fortune. Canst thou be trusted?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Anic.</i> My love for Cæsar follows hand in hand</div> - <div class="verse">With his command in this.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent28">Then do it, I say;</span><span class="linenum">2620</span></div> - <div class="verse">No words, no explanation. Agrippina</div> - <div class="verse">Will come to Baiæ: there have thou thy ship.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Anic.</i> I will have one at Bauli, one at Baiæ:</div> - <div class="verse">If she take either it shall serve the turn.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Go now contrive thy means; let nothing ’scape thee</div> - <div class="verse">To me or any other: when ’tis done</div> - <div class="verse">Hold thy head high.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Anic.</i><span class="indent15">Cæsar, I go to do it.</span><span class="indent22">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Now comes my part: ay, though it vex my soul</div> - <div class="verse">To stoop; tho’ this be Cæsar’s greatest wrong,</div> - <div class="verse">That he must patch his faultless power with guile,</div> - <span class="linenum">2631</span><div class="verse">And having all command, miss of his will</div> - <div class="verse">But for a subterfuge .... yet for this once</div> - <div class="verse">I’ll do it—’tis little; but to write a letter,</div> - <div class="verse">Feign to discard Poppæa, as mistrusting</div> - <div class="verse">Her love and character; and from that vantage</div> - <div class="verse">I surely win my mother to come forth</div> - <div class="verse">And join the court at Baiæ—she will come.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" > -<img src="images/i_003c.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - -<h3 id="ACT_V">ACT · V</h3> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_003d.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poetry"><div class="stanza"> - -<h4>SCENE · 1</h4> - - <p class="center"><i>Baiæ. A room in Agrippina’s villa; the back gives out - on the sea, where a galley is seen moored to quay of - villa. AGRIPPINA and FULVIA.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">AGRIPPINA.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Is not this charming, Fulvia? what a day!</div> - <div class="verse">I feel I have never breathed spring air before.</div> - <span class="linenum">2640</span><div class="verse">And how the people cheered! it did me good.</div> - <div class="verse">Here’s my old seat. The villa’s looking well.</div> - <div class="verse">Could but Domitia see us now! How smoothly</div> - <div class="verse">Her little plot went off! My first suspicions,</div> - <div class="verse">Fulvia, I am sure were wrong: this invitation</div> - <div class="verse">Was most well meant; and see the tenderness</div> - <div class="verse">Has even called up my tears. You cannot know</div> - <div class="verse">What fond associations make this house</div> - <div class="verse">A home indeed. I wish I had not refused</div> - <div class="verse">To take the yacht at Bauli: ’twas an error,</div> - <div class="verse">Over-precaution.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">FULVIA.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent15">Madam, I but told you<span class="linenum">2650</span></div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> - <div class="verse">The very words Seleucus ....<span class="indent28">[<i>A noise without.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent30">What is that noise?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i> ’Tis Cæsar coming with a company.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Oh, I will see. (<i>Looking forth.</i>) And there is</div> - <div class="verse indent3">Seneca</div> - <div class="verse">And Burrus. There’s much meaning in this visit.</div> - <div class="verse">How grand he looks with all his lords about him!</div> - <div class="verse">There never was a Cæsar like him: others</div> - <div class="verse">Have been but Cæsars; he’s an emperor,</div> - <div class="verse">And wears the full magnificence of state</div> - <div class="verse">In beardless boyhood.—Fulvia, I do love splendour.</div> - <span class="linenum">2660</span><div class="verse">To be so young and rule the world!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Nero, Seneca, and Burrus.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent32">Now, welcome,</div> - <div class="verse">Welcome, my son!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">NERO.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent15">Welcome to Baiæ, mother.</div> - <div class="verse">We are come the first day of the feast to pay you</div> - <div class="verse">The season’s compliments.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent28">A prompt return.</span></div> - <div class="verse">What pleasure ’tis, Nero, I cannot say.</div> - <div class="verse">Welcome, my lords.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">SENECA.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent16">My loving service, lady.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Crossed you the bay from Bauli?</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent45">Nay, you’ll laugh;</span></div> - <div class="verse">’Twas foolish; but I wished the folk to see</div> - <div class="verse">My joy and reconcilement, and in the thought</div> - <div class="verse">To please so many friends I kept my litter.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> You’ll all sup with us?<span class="linenum">2670</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent32">I look for nothing better.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Whom will you bring?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent28">I have no one with me here</span></div> - <div class="verse">But Polla Acerronia.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent20">And where is she?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> She took the yacht, and so arrived before us,</div> - <div class="verse">But has not left it: like the child she is,</div> - <div class="verse">The new toy quite distracts her: she is there.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Row you this afternoon upon the bay?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> I had thought of it; and now, if you would come</div> - <div class="verse">That were a double pleasure.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent32">I am sorry, I must go</span></div> - <div class="verse">Order to-morrow’s games.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent25">Your lords mayhap</span></div> - <span class="linenum">2680</span><div class="verse">Will join me. I can take them to your villa.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> I’ll gladly come: the dust the crowd treads up</div> - <div class="verse">Has filled my throat and set me coughing shrewdly.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Nay, I shall want you both.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent40">Some other time</span></div> - <div class="verse">I hope, my lords.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">BURRUS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent15">I thank your majesty.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Farewell till supper.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent32">Why! so short a visit!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> We shall meet soon.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent28">Well, I will sail alone</span></div> - <div class="verse">With Polla; ’tis her wish. Escort me, Nero?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Ay.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent5">For the sake of that I’ll go at once.</span></div> - <div class="verse">I love the sea.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exeunt Nero with Agr. and Fulv. down the quay,</i></p> - <div class="verse indent35"><i>where they are still seen.</i></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent10">Burrus, what say you now!</span></div> - <span class="linenum">2690</span><div class="verse">Has not the thing I looked for come to pass?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> There’s as you say a most astounding change;</div> - <div class="verse">Can you explain it?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent18">Well, you see it, Burrus.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> How came it all about?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent32">See now how tenderly</span></div> - <div class="verse">They both embrace.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent15">Who would have thought it?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent50">I;</span></div> - <div class="verse">I should have thought it: and I point to this</div> - <div class="verse">To justify my words those many times</div> - <div class="verse">Our speech has come to difference.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Re-enter Nero. Fulvia goes into house.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent38">Now, lords,</span></div> - <div class="verse">I go.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur. and Sen.</i> We follow, Cæsar.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent28">I have changed my mind;</span></div> - <div class="verse">I want you not.<span class="indent60">[<i>Going.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent10">Will Cæsar name the hour</span></div> - <span class="linenum">2700</span><div class="verse">When we shall wait on him?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent28">Why, come at once.</span></div> - <div class="verse">I cannot tell what hour I may not want you.</div> - <div class="verse">Attend me at my villa.<span class="indent50">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent22">Of a sudden</span></div> - <div class="verse">He is changed again.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent20">You see how easily</span></div> - <div class="verse">He is overcome with kindness. Would you know</div> - <div class="verse">The noble sacrifice he has made?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent38">What’s that?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Why, he has renounced Poppæa.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent45">Nay!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent45">Ay.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent50">Who told you?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> I saw the letter.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent25">How! Poppæa shows it?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> ’Twas writ his mother.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent32">Then he has deceived her.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Can you think that?</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent28">The letter makes all plain.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Why did he write it?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent20">Why?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent25">Well, well.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent40">Oh, Burrus,</span><span class="linenum">2710</span></div> - <div class="verse">I have every cause for hope; and here to-day</div> - <div class="verse">The meeting in this house more than assures me</div> - <div class="verse">He must redeem the promise of his youth.</div> - <div class="verse">’Twas in this very room, ten years ago,</div> - <div class="verse">I first saw Nero—Ay, ’tis now ten years—</div> - <div class="verse">I was arrived from Corsica at Rome,</div> - <div class="verse">And there found summons to attend the Augusta</div> - <div class="verse">At Baiæ: hither in all haste I came.</div> - <div class="verse">The yearnings and the miseries of exile</div> - <span class="linenum">2720</span><div class="verse">Would make a mean deliverer seem a god,</div> - <div class="verse">And my return drave me half mad with joy.</div> - <div class="verse">I entered: in that chair sat Agrippina,</div> - <div class="verse">My kind deliverer, my friend, the empress.</div> - <div class="verse">Time had not marred her beauty, and as she spake</div> - <div class="verse">Impatience flushed her cheek—she shared my joy.</div> - <div class="verse">I knelt in tears there, nor ashamed of tears,</div> - <div class="verse">Though at her side I was aware was standing</div> - <div class="verse">A boy of some twelve years; whom, when I rose,</div> - <div class="verse">She then presented as her son, and bade me</div> - <span class="linenum">2730</span><div class="verse">Take him for pupil. As I saw him then</div> - <div class="verse">In fullest grace of boyhood, apt in all</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Boys should be manly in, and gifted further</div> - <div class="verse">Than boys are wont with insight, and the touch</div> - <div class="verse">Of human sympathy and learned taste,</div> - <div class="verse">Proficient in some arts and dull in none,</div> - <div class="verse">But coy withal and generous, ’twas no wonder</div> - <div class="verse">If ere that evening passed I had admitted</div> - <div class="verse">The schemes his mother had laid, which in short time</div> - <div class="verse">Were brought to pass.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent22">’Twas a black day.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent45">And yet,</span></div> - <span class="linenum">2740</span><div class="verse">Burrus, if after you had seen how kindly</div> - <div class="verse">He took instruction, how he came to love me,</div> - <div class="verse">You would not wonder—nay, I can remember</div> - <div class="verse">Claudius himself was shamed if his Britannicus,</div> - <div class="verse">Being younger but by some two years, were by</div> - <div class="verse">Where Nero was: and had I been the father</div> - <div class="verse">I might have wished, I think, to have done as he,</div> - <div class="verse">And called the best my son.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent32">He killed Britannicus.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Burrus, if as it seems you quite distrust him,</div> - <div class="verse">Why hold you still the office which establishes</div> - <div class="verse">His power?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent5">Because it is an office, Seneca,</span><span class="linenum">2750</span></div> - <div class="verse">The top of my profession: yet, by the gods,</div> - <div class="verse">Find you a better man, and I’ll be gone.</div> - <div class="verse">But, as a soldier, I’ll not see the guards</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Commanded by some brute like Tigellinus.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Nay, be not angry.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent28">Would not you be angry</span></div> - <div class="verse">Thus to be questioned?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent22">Nay, indeed, by habit</span></div> - <div class="verse">I question oft myself.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent22">Then, for one question</span></div> - <div class="verse">I’ll be appeased. I know you, Seneca,</div> - <div class="verse">For a man of many parts, a scholar, poet,</div> - <span class="linenum">2760</span><div class="verse">Lawyer, and politician, what you will;</div> - <div class="verse">A courtier too besides, a man of business,</div> - <div class="verse">A money-maker; in short, a man of the world,</div> - <div class="verse">That like a ship lifting to every wave,</div> - <div class="verse">Heeling to every blast, makes good her way</div> - <div class="verse">And leaves no track. Now what I ask is this:</div> - <div class="verse">How ride so lightly with the times, and yet</div> - <div class="verse">Be the unbending stoic, the philosopher,</div> - <div class="verse">The rock, I say, that planted in the deep</div> - <div class="verse">Moves not a hair, but sees the buffeting breakers</div> - <div class="verse">Boil and withdraw? Which is the matter, Seneca?</div> - <span class="linenum">2771</span><div class="verse">Nay, ’tis a pertinent and friendly question—</div> - <div class="verse">I’ll take your answer as we go along.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exeunt Burrus and Seneca.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Re-enter Fulvia.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i> Of all delights I think that liberty</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Is the prime element: nothing is pleasant</div> - <div class="verse">Joined with a must. Why, even this journey hither</div> - <div class="verse">That has so cheered my mistress, all the talk</div> - <div class="verse">Of sky and fields and trees, tired me to death.</div> - <div class="verse">I’m sick of servitude, with ’time for this’</div> - <div class="verse">And ’time for that’: I’d give my ears for freedom;</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>She sits in Agrippina’s chair.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">To have my servants, and say—Prithee, Fulvia,</div> - <div class="verse">What is o’clock?—Fetch me the little kerchief</div> - <span class="linenum">2782</span><div class="verse">I left upon my bed—Come, Fulvia, quick;</div> - <div class="verse">I want you—Fulvia, go, order my litter—</div> - <div class="verse">Fulvia, be gone; we’ve business—Fulvia, stay,</div> - <div class="verse">Amuse me for a while.—I would to heaven</div> - <div class="verse">I were in Rome again! (<i>Shouts heard.</i>) Hey, what a noise!</div> - <div class="verse">Cheering my lady! here’s a change indeed.</div> - <div class="verse">Well, I shan’t lose by that. Gods, how they cheer!</div> - <div class="verse">She might have taken me with her. I know well</div> - <span class="linenum">2790</span><div class="verse">I shan’t see the outside of these villa walls</div> - <div class="verse">Till bound for home. And here no visitors,</div> - <div class="verse">At least for me. Cheer on, my lads! and yet</div> - <div class="verse">If I should get the chance I’d like to see</div> - <div class="verse">These famous Neapolitans: I’m told</div> - <div class="verse">They’re wondrous saucy, and ingenious singers.</div> - <div class="verse">What’s that? a boat! my lady! gracious heavens!</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>A boat rows up to quay.</i></p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">My lady, O my lady, what’s the matter?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i>Enter Agrippina up from the quay, clothes dripping; the - boat remains.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> An accident, and I am escaped by swimming:</div> - <div class="verse">Yet thou must know, Fulvia, ’twas a contrivance</div> - <div class="verse">To take my life—the kindness was all hollow—</div> - <span class="linenum">2801</span><div class="verse">A dastardly contrivance: ’twas the ship</div> - <div class="verse">Seleucus spoke of. Look, I am hurt in the shoulder,</div> - <div class="verse">Yet ’tis not much.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i><span class="indent15">Alack, alack, my lady!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> I am cold and faint. I must at once go shift</div> - <div class="verse">These dripping habits. When I am rested somewhat</div> - <div class="verse">Thou shalt hear all: meanwhile, call in the sailors</div> - <div class="verse">Who rowed me hither: get from them whate’er</div> - <div class="verse">They saw or know, and promise a reward</div> - <div class="verse">Worthy of my deliverance.<span class="indent45">[<i>Going.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i><span class="indent28">Praised be the gods,</span></div> - <div class="verse">My lady, that thou’rt safe.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i> Agr.</i> (<i>turning</i>).<span class="indent10">Polla is killed.</span><span class="indent25">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i> What, Polla! Killed! she said killed. Polla killed!<span class="linenum">2811</span></div> - <div class="verse">Ho! fellows, come within, nay, come within.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Sailors enter.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">SAILOR.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">We are not fit, my lady. By thy leave,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> - <div class="verse">We are poor fishermen.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i><span class="indent22">Come, fellows, come.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Which is the captain?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sail.</i><span class="indent20">Me, so please thee, lady.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i> Ye have brought the empress safe, and for that service</div> - <div class="verse">Shall have a good reward. But, tell me now,</div> - <div class="verse">How came she in your boat?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sail.</i><span class="indent28">’Twas thus, my lady.</span></div> - <div class="verse">It being the feast, we smartened up the boat</div> - <span class="linenum">2820</span><div class="verse">And pulled her close along the shore, to find</div> - <div class="verse">A party of landsmen, such as love to visit</div> - <div class="verse">Misenum, or be rowed across the bay</div> - <div class="verse">To Pausilypum, lady, and Virgil’s villa.</div> - <div class="verse">When, as we lay, the Augusta’s galley passed,</div> - <div class="verse">Not half a cable’s length, and then we cheered,</div> - <div class="verse">And after took no note of her, till Gripus,</div> - <div class="verse">He cries, Look! see the galley. And there she was</div> - <div class="verse">Laid on her beam-ends in the offing. Ho!</div> - <div class="verse">We cried, and gave the alarm, and led the chase</div> - <span class="linenum">2830</span><div class="verse">To reach her first: when presently she righted,</div> - <div class="verse">Steadied, and trimmed her oars, and drew away.</div> - <div class="verse">While we were wondering and talking of it</div> - <div class="verse">I spied a something floating, and again</div> - <div class="verse">Putting about, saw ’twas a swimmer’s head.</div> - <div class="verse">Four other boats with ours made for it too;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> - <div class="verse">But we gave way with a will and held our own,</div> - <div class="verse">And coming alongside, found ’twas the Augusta.</div> - <div class="verse">I reached her out an oar, and I and my mate</div> - <div class="verse">Lifted her in handsomely. Then she bad us</div> - <div class="verse">Straight row her hither. She’s a most brave lady,</div> - <span class="linenum">2841</span><div class="verse">Ay, and can swim.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i><span class="indent15">Know you no more?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sail.</i><span class="indent38">No, lady.</span></div> - <div class="verse">We looked, but saw naught else, not even a spar.</div> - <div class="verse">The Augusta told us there was none but she.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i> What was the reason why the galley heeled?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sail.</i> I cannot tell.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i><span class="indent22">What could it be?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sail.</i><span class="indent45">D’ye see,</span></div> - <div class="verse">My lady, ’tis the Admiral’s boat, this galley.</div> - <div class="verse">It’s not for me ....</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i><span class="indent18">There’s not a breath of wind.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sail.</i> The mischief was aboard.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i><span class="indent38">You know no more?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sail.</i> Nothing, my lady.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i><span class="indent28">Then begone; to-morrow</span></div> - <span class="linenum">2850</span><div class="verse">Come for your recompense. I know not yet</div> - <div class="verse">The Augusta’s pleasure.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>The Sailors.</i> Thank thee, thank thee, my lady.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exeunt Sailors.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i> ’Tis plain the men know nothing.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sailor</i> (<i>returning</i>). Please thee, lady,</div> - <div class="verse">If not too bold, we’ll ask thee if the Augusta</div> - <div class="verse">Has taken harm from being so long in the water.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i> Thank you, my men. I pray she’s none the worse.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sail.</i> ’Tis bitter cold, indeed. But I can tell</div> - <div class="verse">She’s of good stuff; ay, and can swim.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i><span class="indent45">Be sure</span></div> - <div class="verse">You are fortunate to have done her this good service.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sail.</i> I make my humble duties.<span class="indent40">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i><span class="indent38">Alas, alas!</span></div> - <span class="linenum">2860</span><div class="verse">What can this mystery mean? I die to hear.</div> - <div class="verse">I must now go attend her; ah! here she comes.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Agrippina.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> Fetch me some wine and a warm coverlet;</div> - <div class="verse">The fur one from my bed.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i><span class="indent25">Ay, madam, quickly.</span><span class="indent28">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> I have no friend here but her and the few servants</div> - <div class="verse">Upon the place: ’tis plotted well indeed</div> - <div class="verse">To catch me thus alone: Mistress Poppæa</div> - <div class="verse">Is seen in this. Yet being escaped, I think</div> - <div class="verse">I yet will prove her match.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Re-enter Fulvia.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent25">Ah, thank you, so.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i> Are you recovered, madam, from the shock?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> I am warm again. I think too that my hurt</div> - <span class="linenum">2871</span><div class="verse">Is very little: but I am somewhat shaken.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i> What is it that hath happed? The sailors knew</div> - <div class="verse">Nothing but that they found you.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent38">Did they see</span></div> - <div class="verse">Nothing?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i> They saw the galley lurch, and say</div> - <div class="verse">The Admiral must know.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent22">’Tis likely enough</span></div> - <div class="verse">’Twas his contrivance. Now I’ll tell thee all,</div> - <div class="verse">Fulvia, and thou must help me all thou canst</div> - <div class="verse">When thou hast heard: indeed I tell thee partly</div> - <div class="verse">To clear my judgment.—We had rowed about a mile,</div> - <span class="linenum">2880</span><div class="verse">Polla and I, and sat upon the poop,</div> - <div class="verse">Taking our pleasure, when, all on a sudden,</div> - <div class="verse">Darkness; the awning fell, with such a crash</div> - <div class="verse">As took away my spirits, and Polla and I</div> - <div class="verse">Were thrown down from our couches by the weight</div> - <div class="verse">Of falling cloth and spars: one heavy beam</div> - <div class="verse">Grazed my left shoulder, and we lay crushed down</div> - <div class="verse">Upon the deck. Then I heard Polla laugh,</div> - <div class="verse">Finding we were not hurt, and she crept forth</div> - <div class="verse">Forward, beneath the curtains; the oars stopped:</div> - <span class="linenum">2890</span><div class="verse">I heard a rush of feet, and presently</div> - <div class="verse">Came Polla’s voice, ’Hold, slay me not, ye villains,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> - <div class="verse">I am Agrippina.’ Then, ’Ah me, I am slain!’</div> - <div class="verse">And one long deathly groan. This, when I heard,</div> - <div class="verse">Taught me my part, and towards the other side,</div> - <div class="verse">Crawling, I came to the window o’er the stern,</div> - <div class="verse">Where lay my only escape; and silently,</div> - <div class="verse">Feet foremost, I crept out, and by the ladder</div> - <div class="verse">Slipped down without a sound into the sea.</div> - <div class="verse">The galley still held way, and in few strokes</div> - <span class="linenum">2900</span><div class="verse">I saw that I was left and unperceived;</div> - <div class="verse">And so swam on until the fishermen</div> - <div class="verse">Hailed me by name, and took me in their boat.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i> Who can have laid this plot to kill you, madam?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i> ’Tis Nero, Fulvia, he who seemed but late</div> - <div class="verse">So kind and dutiful: ’twas all hollowness,</div> - <div class="verse">Part of the plot, to bring me here alone,</div> - <div class="verse">Away from friends: ay, and perceive this too,</div> - <div class="verse">To lay my death to charge of an accident,</div> - <div class="verse">And hide, maybe, even my dead body, drowned</div> - <div class="verse">And lost in the depths of the sea. Now, being alone,</div> - <div class="verse">I shall need thee to aid me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i><span class="indent32">Dearest madam,</span><span class="linenum">2911</span></div> - <div class="verse">What can I do?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent10">Thou must be faithful to me</span></div> - <div class="verse">Whatever happens. Hearken, I said ’twas Nero</div> - <div class="verse">Had done this: ’tis not so; my real enemy,</div> - <div class="verse">The mover, is Poppæa. I blame not Nero:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> - <div class="verse">I bade him to discard her: he was driven</div> - <div class="verse">To choose between us: she hath carried it.</div> - <div class="verse">But being escaped, and she not here, I yet</div> - <div class="verse">Can right myself with him. ’Tis not too late;</div> - <span class="linenum">2920</span><div class="verse">Nay, I can amply trust those broad affections,</div> - <div class="verse">Which ’twixt a mother and her son remain</div> - <div class="verse">At bottom, spite of all. Ay, they remain.</div> - <div class="verse">The common knowledge of this guilty attempt</div> - <div class="verse">Will clear the way: and when I show the path,</div> - <div class="verse">He will be glad to escape. I have writ a letter,</div> - <div class="verse">Which, if he read, will work. ’Tis pure submission.</div> - <div class="verse">Remember, we must ever speak of this</div> - <div class="verse">But as an accident. Here is the letter;</div> - <div class="verse">Send Agerinus with it straight to Cæsar;</div> - <span class="linenum">2930</span><div class="verse">Of all my servants he’s the one must bear it:</div> - <div class="verse">Nero has known him from a child, will trust him;</div> - <div class="verse">Nay, he hath rid so oft upon his shoulders</div> - <div class="verse">That he is half a brother, half a father.</div> - <div class="verse">Send him at once: I have bidden him await:</div> - <div class="verse">He should be here.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i><span class="indent15">Alas, this is a day</span></div> - <div class="verse">Of sorrow indeed. I pray Minerva guard</div> - <div class="verse">Her feast from ill.<span class="indent42">[<i>Exit with letter.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent18">Indeed I have little fear,</span></div> - <div class="verse">If he but read. Yet now, after this warning,</div> - <span class="linenum">2939</span><div class="verse">I must beware. ’Tis plain the people love me;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> - <div class="verse">They cheered me so. My escape will add to favour.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ful.</i> (<i>re-entering</i>). He waited at the gate, and with</div> - <div class="verse indent4">full speed</div> - <div class="verse">Runs with the letter.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Agr.</i><span class="indent22">Come; one business</span></div> - <div class="verse">Must now be not neglected; there’s poor Polla.</div> - <div class="verse">Bring pens and ink and wax: we will seal up</div> - <div class="verse">All her effects, and make an inventory</div> - <div class="verse">In proper form, and do whate’er we may</div> - <div class="verse">While we have time. Let us go see to it.<span class="indent28">[<i>Exeunt.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_003d.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - -<h4>SCENE · 2</h4> - - <p class="center"><i>A room in Nero’s villa. A table with papers. Enter - NERO, SENECA, BURRUS, and TIGELLINUS.</i></p> - -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">NERO.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">We have an hour: sit down, my lords, we’ll hold</div> - <div class="verse">A privy council. I have in my mind a matter</div> - <div class="verse">Touching the subsidies.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">BURRUS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent22">The day is good<span class="linenum">2950</span></div> - <div class="verse">For market matters, ’tis Minerva’s peace:</div> - <div class="verse">The sword is sheathed.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> (<i>to Servants</i>). Set light upon the table.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">SENECA.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">To talk of subsidies hurts no man’s conscience.</div> - <div class="verse">What is the business, Cæsar?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent32">I am vexed</span></div> - <div class="verse">By the complaints against the imperial household</div> - <div class="verse">In the gathering of tolls.—Here in these papers</div> - <div class="verse">Are weighty charges ’gainst Pomponius</div> - <div class="verse">Silvanus, and Sulpicius Camerinus:</div> - <div class="verse">Read them at leisure. But I ask you first</div> - <span class="linenum">2960</span><div class="verse">Whether there be not cause for discontent</div> - <div class="verse">In present management?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent22">’Tis a deep evil.</span></div> - <div class="verse">But never was the empire better governed;</div> - <div class="verse">Nor is there more extortion now, I think,</div> - <div class="verse">Than ever was.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent10">And were there no extortion?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Nay, while you farm the taxes there will be</div> - <div class="verse">Extortion still.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent15">You all think that, my lords?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Ay, ay.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent10">And so say I. You have my grounds.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Now hear my scheme, by which for once and all</div> - <div class="verse">I rid the empire of this blot. ’Tis this.</div> - <span class="linenum">2970</span><div class="verse">I will have no more tolls or tallages,</div> - <div class="verse">Customs or duties levied: nay, not one</div> - <div class="verse">Through all the empire. I will make this present</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> - <div class="verse">To the human race: I say, their old vexation</div> - <div class="verse">And burden shall away.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">TIGELLINUS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent22">Magnificent.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> ’Tis generously meant, most generously.</div> - <div class="verse">But is it possible?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent18">Why not?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent28">The treasury,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Eased of this sum, must fill the deficit</div> - <div class="verse">By other means. If you cut off the customs,</div> - <div class="verse">You must increase the tributes, rates, and rents.</div> - <span class="linenum">2980</span><div class="verse">If one shoe pinches, ’tis no remedy</div> - <div class="verse">To stuff both feet in the other.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent38">But my scheme</span></div> - <div class="verse">Has precedent; there was no tallage taken</div> - <div class="verse">Throughout all Italy for some six years</div> - <div class="verse">Ere Julius.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Ay, but he restored the customs</div> - <div class="verse">As needful.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Whence they seemed the price of empire.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Unjustly. In the times of greatest liberty</div> - <div class="verse">Consuls and tribunes have ordained new customs,</div> - <div class="verse">Which yet remain.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Tig.</i><span class="indent15">I praise the scheme.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> (<i>to Bur.</i>)<span class="indent25">And you?</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> Where look you then for revenue?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent45">The rents,</span></div> - <span class="linenum">2990</span><div class="verse">We’ll have the rents. The land ....</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Messenger with Officer of the Guard.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent32">Why, who is this?</div> - <div class="verse">Whence come you, man?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">MESSENGER.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent20">Cæsar, from Anicetus.</div> - <div class="verse">He asks great Cæsar’s pardon ere I tell.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Thou’rt free to speak.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Mess.</i><span class="indent32">There has an accident</span></div> - <div class="verse">Befallen the Augusta’s yacht.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent32">Hey! what was that?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Mess.</i> At a lurch of the ship the awning fell and dragged</div> - <div class="verse">The Augusta overboard.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent22">Speak, man, speak on.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Mess.</i> We thought her drowned.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent38">Ha!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Mess.</i><span class="indent38">But by the grace of the gods</span></div> - <div class="verse">She is escaped.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent10">Escaped!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Mess.</i><span class="indent22">She swam to shore unharmed.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent60">Thou wretch,</span></div> - <span class="linenum">2999</span><div class="verse">And comest thou here in thy master’s place</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> - <div class="verse">To bate mine anger? Forth and send him hither.</div> - <div class="verse">Fly, or I kill thee.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Mess.</i><span class="indent18">Pardon, great Cæsar, pardon.</span></div> - <div class="verse">The Admiral follows and will straight be here.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Runs out.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> (<i>aside</i>). Escaped! after such boast, escaped!</div> - <div class="verse indent4">I am lost.—</div> - <div class="verse">To have done this thing had tried me; to have attempted it</div> - <div class="verse">And failed is ruin.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> (<i>aside from Nero</i>). What is this?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> (<i>to Sen.</i>)<span class="indent32">’Tis clear</span></div> - <div class="verse">Cæsar knows what: and her escape not being</div> - <div class="verse">His pleasure tells us that ’twas not his purpose.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> (<i>aloud</i>). Alas, alas!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent40">What friend there cries Alas?</span></div> - <div class="verse">Who now stands by me? who will aid me now?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Tig.</i> If Cæsar make his will but known ...</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent45">Thou dullard!</span></div> - <span class="linenum">3011</span><div class="verse">I need the brains of them that know my will.</div> - <div class="verse">Now is no time for parley. Seneca,</div> - <div class="verse">Speak what thou thinkest.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Cæsar, I am so much grieved that ...</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent45">What’s thy pain</span></div> - <div class="verse">To mine? Speak, man!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent20">Alas, what shall I say?</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> How hast thou guessed this thing without a word,</div> - <div class="verse">And yet hast not foreseen it?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent32">Oh, is’t then true?</span></div> - <div class="verse">The letter false; the Augusta hither brought</div> - <div class="verse">But to be drowned!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent15">See if ye know it not.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">3020</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Let her escape belie thy guilty purpose.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Why, nay, the failure damns a thousand-fold</div> - <div class="verse">More than her death—I am henceforth the man</div> - <div class="verse">Who would have killed his mother, and could not.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> Alas, alas!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent15">Hast thou no word but that?</span></div> - <div class="verse">Thou that hast ever warned me, ay, and gone</div> - <div class="verse">So far upon this path that thou hast sought</div> - <div class="verse">To dull the natural feeling which so long</div> - <div class="verse">Held off my hand, hast argued ’gainst repugnance,</div> - <span class="linenum">3029</span><div class="verse">Crying, ’tis she that is the guilty one,</div> - <div class="verse">The dangerous one, there is no peace with her:</div> - <div class="verse">And now the day the thing thou hast foreseen,</div> - <div class="verse">Ay, and hast led me to, is done, thou’rt silent.</div> - <div class="verse">Hast thou no word?—Thou that wast ever ready,</div> - <div class="verse">Hast thou no word?—What strikes thee on a sudden</div> - <div class="verse">Dumb? Be my counsellor now that I need thee.</div> - <div class="verse">Speak now! Why, thou dost weep! surely thou weepest!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Burrus, what sayest thou?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent28">This mischief, Cæsar,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Being thus arisen is the Augusta’s death.</div> - <div class="verse">Though I bewail the occasion, yet I say</div> - <span class="linenum">3040</span><div class="verse">’Twere most untimely justice to endanger</div> - <div class="verse">The public peace for her whose life hath been</div> - <div class="verse">So long the shame of justice. Since the sentence</div> - <div class="verse">We know is just, and that necessity</div> - <div class="verse">O’errides the common forms, the less delay</div> - <div class="verse">The better. Let her die.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent25">I thank thee, Burrus.</span></div> - <div class="verse">How were this best performed?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Tig.</i><span class="indent32">Now, if none speak,</span></div> - <div class="verse">I’ll say that Burrus, being the advocate</div> - <div class="verse">Of what is planned, and as pretorian prefect</div> - <div class="verse">Possessed of means, is fittest for the work.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">3050</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> Look not on me, Seneca, as if to say</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis well; as if ’twere thy thought that my office</div> - <div class="verse">Covered this deed. I pardon Tigellinus,</div> - <div class="verse">That, unacquainted with a soldier’s honour,</div> - <div class="verse">He thinks it passable in time of peace,</div> - <div class="verse">Entering in private houses there to slay</div> - <div class="verse">Defenceless citizens. But that the guards</div> - <div class="verse">Would thus lay hands on one that bears the name</div> - <div class="verse">Of Agrippina, that they could forget</div> - <div class="verse">Their loved Germanicus, who would think this?</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> - <span class="linenum">3060</span><div class="verse">To such a deed they would not follow me,</div> - <div class="verse">Far less another; and if Cæsar now</div> - <div class="verse">Look for it from me, lo, I here throw down</div> - <div class="verse">My prefecture to any man soe’er</div> - <div class="verse">Who durst with this condition take it up.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Nay, Burrus, I’ll not ask thee that. Thou’rt right.</div> - <div class="verse">And yet, if thou could’st do it— See here the man.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Anicetus in haste, Paris following.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Thou hast been my ruin!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">ANICETUS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent22">Pardon, Cæsar, pardon.</div> - <div class="verse">I am strangely foiled. Give me one hour, and yet</div> - <div class="verse">I’ll make amends.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent15">If thou canst make amends,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Come hither, speak with me.<span class="indent22">[<i>They go aside to front.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent22">Is the thing known?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">PARIS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Ay ay.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> (<i>to Anic.</i>) What canst thou do?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ani.</i><span class="indent45">I have set a guard</span><span class="linenum">3071</span></div> - <div class="verse">Around her villa, fearing lest the people</div> - <div class="verse">Should force their way within, or she escape.</div> - <div class="verse">Give me the word and I will slay her there.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> Fool, I can give no word. Think when ’tis done,</div> - <div class="verse">If I should punish thee less for that deed</div> - <div class="verse">Than for thy late misdoing. What is this?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Officer of the Guard. Petronius follows.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">OFFICER.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">The Augusta, Cæsar, sends a freedman hither,</div> - <div class="verse">One Agerinus, with a letter.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> (<i>to Anic.</i>)<span class="indent15">Now</span></div> - <div class="verse">What to do?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ani.</i><span class="indent5">Bid him enter: when he comes</span><span class="linenum">3080</span></div> - <div class="verse">I am prepared. Lend me thy dagger, friend (<i>to Tig.</i>).</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Takes Tigellinus’ dagger.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Agerinus, who runs to Cæsar.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">AGERINUS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Lo, Cæsar, I am sent ...</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ani.</i><span class="indent25">Ha! where’s thy hand?</span></div> - <div class="verse">Ay, as I thought, a dagger well concealed</div> - <div class="verse">Under his cloak.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Age.</i><span class="indent15">Indeed, indeed, good sir,</span></div> - <div class="verse">I have no dagger.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ani.</i><span class="indent15">How no dagger? See!</span></div> - <div class="verse">Had I not caught thee! Ho! the guard, the guard!</div> - <div class="verse">Take him to prison till he can be questioned.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Age.</i> You do force treason on me. Cæsar! Cæsar!</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>He is borne off by Guards.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ani.</i> This villain having come, as he confessed,</div> - <div class="verse">From the empress armed, will Cæsar leave the enquiry</div> - <div class="verse">Now in my hands?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i><span class="indent15">I do.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ani.</i><span class="indent20">With me who will!</span><span class="linenum">3091</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Tig.</i> I follow, lead the way.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exeunt Anicetus and Tigellinus. Paris follows</i><br /> - <span class="indent20"><i>them. Exit Nero within doors.</i></span></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">PETRONIUS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">What will they go to do?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent25">’Tis thus: the Admiral</span></div> - <div class="verse">Has gone to kill the Augusta.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i><span class="indent32">Gods forbid!</span></div> - <div class="verse">His orders?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> Humph!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i><span class="indent10">Why, men, what thing ye do!</span></div> - <div class="verse">He is shamed for ever.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent22">Ay, and were’t not done</span></div> - <div class="verse">Were shamed no less.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent20">Alas! ’tis true, ’tis true.</span></div> - <div class="verse">And thou wert right, Burrus; but dost thou well</div> - <div class="verse">Permitting this?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent15">I see ’tis necessary,</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span></div> - <span class="linenum">3100</span><div class="verse">And am not shamed to say I think the thing</div> - <div class="verse">Itself is good. As for the motives, Seneca,</div> - <div class="verse">Ay, and the manner of it, to defend them</div> - <div class="verse">I shall not meddle.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i> (<i>to Sen.</i>) And thou wilt take thy share?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> ’Tis not my counsel.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i><span class="indent28">’Twill be held as thine,</span></div> - <div class="verse">And rightly, seeing that thou let it not.</div> - <div class="verse">I could have stayed it.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent25">Nay, be not so sure.</span></div> - <div class="verse">And if thou could’st have let it, could’st thou too</div> - <div class="verse">Prevent the consequences?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i><span class="indent25">But remember,</span></div> - <div class="verse">She is his mother. Oh, I thought him better.</div> - <span class="linenum">3110</span><div class="verse">Is it too late now think you, if I ran ...</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i> They are there by now. Believe ’tis for the best.</div> - <div class="verse">If she should live but till to-morrow morn,</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis civil war. Consider what a party</div> - <div class="verse">Would stir upon the tale of Claudius’ death,</div> - <div class="verse">Or to revenge Britannicus. I say</div> - <div class="verse">There’s nought to gain.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i><span class="indent22">Why, ’tis his mother, Burrus,</span></div> - <div class="verse">His mother. I’ll be sworn he had not dared</div> - <div class="verse">Thus to commit himself had I been by.</div> - <div class="verse">He that should be a model to the world,</div> - <span class="linenum">3120</span><div class="verse">The mirror of good manners, to offend</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Thus against taste!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent18">If ’twere no worse ...</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i><span class="indent45">Why, see,</span></div> - <div class="verse">There are a hundred subtle ways by which,</div> - <div class="verse">Had Cæsar done the thing, he had not been blamed.</div> - <div class="verse">This vulgar butchery displays to all</div> - <div class="verse">The motive, which so hurts your sense of right</div> - <div class="verse">That ye neglect the manner. Why, I say,</div> - <div class="verse">A just attention to the circumstance</div> - <div class="verse">Would hide the doing; but thus done, the doing</div> - <div class="verse">Proclaims the deed. And is’t not plain that ye</div> - <span class="linenum">3130</span><div class="verse">Must share the guilt? Seneca, look for that.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i> ’Tis very well for you, Petronius,</div> - <div class="verse">To take upon yourself the criticism</div> - <div class="verse">And ordering of appearances, and say</div> - <div class="verse">’If aught goes ill, blame me.’ You lay your hand</div> - <div class="verse">On any object you mislike, remove it,</div> - <div class="verse">Replace it as you will, can please yourself:</div> - <div class="verse">Nay, you can blame their taste who are not pleased.</div> - <div class="verse">But he who deals with men, and seeks to mould</div> - <div class="verse">A character to that high rule of right</div> - <span class="linenum">3140</span><div class="verse">Which so few can attain, he works, I say,</div> - <div class="verse">With different matter, nor can he be blamed</div> - <div class="verse">By any measure of his ill success.</div> - <div class="verse">His best endeavours are like little dams</div> - <div class="verse">Built ’gainst the ocean, on a sinking shore.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Nature asserts her force—and the wise man</div> - <div class="verse">Blames not himself for his defeat. For me,</div> - <div class="verse">Much as my soul is grieved, ay, and my pride</div> - <div class="verse">Wounded—tho’ yet, I thank philosophy,</div> - <div class="verse">I can be glad for that,—my hopes—for this</div> - <div class="verse">I mourn—my hopes blasted; yet, hear me say,</div> - <span class="linenum">3151</span><div class="verse">I take unto myself no self-reproach,</div> - <div class="verse">Nay, not a tittle of the part of mischief</div> - <div class="verse">A vulgar mind might credit to my score.</div> - <div class="verse">I have done my best, and that’s the utmost good</div> - <div class="verse">A man can do; and if a better man</div> - <div class="verse">Had in my place done more, ’tis perverse Fortune</div> - <div class="verse">That placed me ill. Thus far I argue with you,</div> - <div class="verse">Who look on me askance, and think my heart</div> - <div class="verse">Is tainted; as if I would in such case</div> - <div class="verse">Do such thing, as—poison my brother at table,</div> - <span class="linenum">3161</span><div class="verse">Contrive to kill my mother: ’Tis so far</div> - <div class="verse">From possible, that to my ears the words</div> - <div class="verse">Carry no sense: nay, and I think such crimes</div> - <div class="verse">May seem more horrible to other men,</div> - <div class="verse">Whose passions make them fear them, than to me</div> - <div class="verse">Who cannot think them mine. As for the rest,</div> - <div class="verse">I stand with you, and never from this hour</div> - <div class="verse">Shall mix with Cæsar more with any hope</div> - <div class="verse">Of good. Indeed I have hoped too long, and yet</div> - <span class="linenum">3170</span><div class="verse">The end has come too soon.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Re-enter Anicetus, Tigellinus, and Paris.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Tig.</i> ’Tis done, ’tis done.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ani.</i> Where is Cæsar?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent22">Within.</span></div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Anicetus and Tigellinus hurry within.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i> Paris, is it true?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i><span class="indent28">The Augusta lives no longer,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Most brutally and miserably slain:</div> - <div class="verse">Yet died she bravely.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Petr.</i><span class="indent20">And why wentest thou</span></div> - <div class="verse">To soil thy hand?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i><span class="indent15">I went not to take part:</span></div> - <div class="verse">But Fortune holding nature’s ruffians up,</div> - <div class="verse">I took their pattern.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent22">Say, who did the deed?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Par.</i> I’ll tell thee what I saw. As forth we went,</div> - <div class="verse">The coward Tigellinus, pale as death,</div> - <div class="verse">In needless haste foremost where was no danger,</div> - <span class="linenum">3181</span><div class="verse">Hurried us on so fast, that thro’ the street</div> - <div class="verse">We scarce kept pace, but when he reached the wall</div> - <div class="verse">Of the garden, and saw there the soldiers placed</div> - <div class="verse">By Anicetus, knowing not their purpose,</div> - <div class="verse">He shrank behind. These men being bidden seized</div> - <div class="verse">The servants; then we entered, and with us</div> - <div class="verse">Came the centurion. Within the room</div> - <div class="verse">Sat Agrippina with a single maid,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Who seeing the Admiral’s sword fled past us out:</div> - <div class="verse">At which the Augusta called to her, ’Dost thou,</div> - <span class="linenum">3191</span><div class="verse">Fulvia, desert me too?’ Then to the Admiral</div> - <div class="verse">She spoke. ’If here thou comest to enquire</div> - <div class="verse">From Cæsar of my health, know I am well,</div> - <div class="verse">Recovered from my shock, and little hurt.</div> - <div class="verse">But if, as your men’s looks would mean, ye are come</div> - <div class="verse">Deeming that Cæsar wills that I should suffer</div> - <div class="verse">The like I late escaped, know you mistake.</div> - <div class="verse">’Twas not of his contrivance, and my foe</div> - <div class="verse">In this is his.’ None answered, and awhile</div> - <span class="linenum">3200</span><div class="verse">Was such delay as makes the indivisible</div> - <div class="verse">And smallest point of time various and broad;</div> - <div class="verse">For Agrippina, when she saw her lie</div> - <div class="verse">Fail of its aim, ventured no more, as knowing</div> - <div class="verse">There was no wiser plea; but let her eyes</div> - <div class="verse">Indifferently wander round her foes,</div> - <div class="verse">Counting their strength. Then looked I to have seen</div> - <div class="verse">Her spring, for her cheek swelled, and ’neath her robe</div> - <div class="verse">Her foot moved; ay, and had she been but armed,</div> - <div class="verse">One would have fallen. But if she had the thought</div> - <span class="linenum">3210</span><div class="verse">She set it by, choosing to take her death</div> - <div class="verse">With dignity. Then Anicetus raised</div> - <div class="verse">His sword, and I fled out beyond the door</div> - <div class="verse">To see no more. First Tigellinus’ voice,</div> - <div class="verse">’To death, thou wretch!’ then blows, but not a groan;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Only she showed her spirit to the last,</div> - <div class="verse">And made some choice of death, offering her body,</div> - <div class="verse">’That bare the monster,’ crying with that curse,</div> - <div class="verse">’Strike here, strike here!’</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Sen.</i><span class="indent30">Alas, poor lady,</span></div> - <span class="linenum">3219</span><div class="verse">Was that the end of thy unscrupulous,</div> - <div class="verse">Towering ambition? Thou didst win indeed</div> - <div class="verse">The best and worst of Fortune.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Bur.</i><span class="indent35">Give her her due,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Such courage as deserved the best, such crimes</div> - <div class="verse">As make her death seem gentler than deserved.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Nero between Anicetus and Tigellinus.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ner.</i> My lords, ’tis done. Nay, look not grieved. There’s none</div> - <div class="verse">Suffers as much as I; all share the good.</div> - <div class="verse">And think not that to keep the world at peace</div> - <div class="verse">I grudge this sacrifice: the general care</div> - <div class="verse">I set before my own, and therefore bid</div> - <div class="verse">There be no public mourning, nay, to-morrow</div> - <span class="linenum">3230</span><div class="verse">We shall attend the spectacles and games,</div> - <div class="verse">Appear as usual before the people:</div> - <div class="verse">Ay, and I partly look, my lords, to you</div> - <div class="verse">That I be well received. Good night to all!</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="figcenter" > -<img src="images/i_177.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a> -<a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a id="p179"></a> -<a name="ACHILLES" id="ACHILLES">ACHILLES -IN -SCYROS</a></h2> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_001b.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_180.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - - -<p class="center">DRAMATIS PERSONÆ</p> - - -<div class="center small"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td align="left"><i>THETIS</i></td><td align="right"><i>Mother of Achilles</i>.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><i>ACHILLES</i></td><td align="right"><i>disguised as PYRRHA</i>.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><i>LYCOMEDES</i></td><td align="right"><i>King of Scyros</i>.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><i>ULYSSES</i></td><td align="right"><i>Prince of Ithaca</i>.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><i>DIOMEDE</i></td><td align="right"><i>compassion of Ulysses</i>.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><i>ABAS</i></td><td align="right"><i>servant to Ulysses</i>.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><i>DEIDAMIA</i></td><td align="right"><i>daughter of Lycomedes</i>.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center" colspan="2"><i>CHORUS of SCYRIAN MAIDENS.</i></td></tr> -</table></div> - -<p class="center"><i>The scene is on the Island of Scyros, in the gardens of the -palace.</i></p> - - -<p class="center"><i>Thetis prologises.</i></p> - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span></p> - - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_181.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - -<p class="center xl">ACHILLES</p> -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_003c.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poetry"><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">THETIS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse"><span class="xl smcap">The</span> deep recesses of this rocky isle,</div> - <div class="verse">That far from undersea riseth to crown</div> - <div class="verse">Its flowery head above the circling waves,</div> - <div class="verse">A home for men with groves and gardens green,</div> - <div class="verse">I chose not ill to be the hiding-place</div> - <div class="verse">Of my loved son. Alas, I could not take him</div> - <div class="verse">To live in my blue caverns, where the nymphs</div> - <div class="verse">Own me for queen: and hateful is the earth</div> - <div class="verse">To me, and all remembrance, since that morn,</div> - <span class="linenum">10</span><div class="verse">When, in the train of May wandering too far,</div> - <div class="verse">I trafficked with my shells and pearls to buy</div> - <div class="verse">Her fragrant roses and fresh lilies white.</div> - <div class="verse">Accurst the day and thou, ah, wretched Peleus,</div> - <div class="verse">Who forcedst me to learn the fears that women</div> - <div class="verse">Have for their mortal offspring: who but I,</div> - <div class="verse">Thetis, Poseidon’s daughter, who alone</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> - <div class="verse">But I of all the immortals have known this,</div> - <div class="verse">To bear and love a son in human kind?</div> - <div class="verse">And yet not wholly ill is the constraint,</div> - <span class="linenum">20</span><div class="verse">Nor do I pity mortals to be born</div> - <div class="verse">Heirs of desire and death, and the rich thought</div> - <div class="verse">Denied to easy pleasure in the days</div> - <div class="verse">That neither bring nor take; tho’ more to me</div> - <div class="verse">Embittered with foreknowledge of a doom</div> - <div class="verse">Threatened by fate, and labour how to avert.</div> - <div class="verse indent2">For to me, questioning the high decrees</div> - <div class="verse">By which the sweetly tyrannous stars allot</div> - <div class="verse">Their lives and deaths to men, answer was given</div> - <div class="verse">That for my son Achilles there was ruled</div> - <span class="linenum">30</span><div class="verse">One of two things, and neither good; the better</div> - <div class="verse">A long and easy life, the worse a death</div> - <div class="verse">Untimely-glorious, which should set his name</div> - <div class="verse">First of the Greeks;—for so must seem to me</div> - <div class="verse">Better and worse, so even an earthly mother</div> - <div class="verse">Had for him chosen, tho’ for the right he died,</div> - <div class="verse">And conquered all the gods that succour Troy.—</div> - <div class="verse">But when I, thinking he must share my fear,</div> - <div class="verse">Showed him the choice, he made a mortal plunge</div> - <div class="verse">For glorious death, and would have straight gone forth</div> - <span class="linenum">40</span><div class="verse">To seek it; but in tenderness for me,—</div> - <div class="verse">Whom without shame he honours, and in this</div> - <div class="verse">My love repays,—he to my tears consented</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> - <div class="verse">To hide him from his fate; and here he dwells</div> - <div class="verse">Disguised among the maidens like a maiden;—</div> - <div class="verse">For so his beauty and youth permit,—to serve</div> - <div class="verse">The daughter of the king of this fair isle,</div> - <div class="verse">Who calls him Pyrrha for his golden hair,</div> - <div class="verse">And knowing not prefers him o’er the rest.</div> - <div class="verse">But I with frequent visitings assure me</div> - <span class="linenum">50</span><div class="verse">That he obeys; and,—for I have the power</div> - <div class="verse">To change my semblance,—I will sometimes run</div> - <div class="verse">In likeness of a young and timorous fawn</div> - <div class="verse">Before the maiden train, that give me chase</div> - <div class="verse">Far in the woods, till he outstrip them all;</div> - <div class="verse">Then turn I quick at bay with loved surprise,</div> - <div class="verse">And bid him hail: or like a snake I glide</div> - <div class="verse">Under the flowers, where they sit at play,</div> - <div class="verse">And showing suddenly my gleaming eyes,</div> - <div class="verse">All fly but he, and we may speak alone.</div> - <span class="linenum">60</span><div class="verse">Thus oft my love will lead me, but to-day</div> - <div class="verse">More special need hath brought: for on the seas</div> - <div class="verse">I met at dawn a royal ship of Greece</div> - <div class="verse">Slow stemming toward this isle. What that might bode,</div> - <div class="verse">And who might sail thereon, I guessed; and taking</div> - <div class="verse">A dolphin’s shape, that thro’ the heavy waters</div> - <div class="verse">Tumbles in sport, around the labouring prow</div> - <div class="verse">I gambolled, till her idle crew stood by</div> - <div class="verse">To watch me from the wooden battlements.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> - <div class="verse">And surely among them there full soon I saw,</div> - <span class="linenum">70</span><div class="verse">Even as I feared, the man I feared, agaze</div> - <div class="verse">With hypocrite eyes, the prince of Ithaca,</div> - <div class="verse">That searcheth for Achilles: of all the Greeks</div> - <div class="verse">Whom most I dread, for his own endless wiles,</div> - <div class="verse">And for Athena’s aid. Him when I saw,</div> - <div class="verse">Lest I should be too late, I hither sped</div> - <div class="verse">To warn my son, and here shall meet him soon,—</div> - <div class="verse">Tho’ yet he hath not come,—for on these lawns</div> - <div class="verse">The damsels of the court are wont to play,</div> - <div class="verse">And he with them. Hark! see! even now. Nay, nay.</div> - <span class="linenum">80</span><div class="verse">Alas! who cometh thus? Ah, by that gait</div> - <div class="verse">Crouching along, it is my persecutor,</div> - <div class="verse">Ulysses. Woe is me! I must fly hence.</div> - <div class="verse">Tho’ he should know me not, I fear to face him,</div> - <div class="verse">My hated foe, alert, invincible</div> - <div class="verse">Of will, full of self-love and mortal guile.<span class="indent22">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i>Enter Ulysses from the bushes, followed by Diomede, who - wears a Lion’s skin.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">DIOMEDE.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">We have made the circuit of the hill, and here</div> - <div class="verse">Into the gardens are come round again.</div> - <div class="verse">What now?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">ULYSSES.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Hush thou! Look there! Some one hath seen us.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> - <div class="verse">He flies.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dio.</i><span class="indent5">I see not.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent18">Where the myrtle tops</span></div> - <span class="linenum">90</span><div class="verse">Stir each in turn. He goeth toward the shore.</div> - <div class="verse">I must see him that seeth me. Bide thou.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exit among the bushes.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dio.</i> Were I a dog, now, I might learn. Heigh ho!</div> - <div class="verse">Two hours and more we have wandered on this mountain,</div> - <div class="verse">Round and round, up and down, and round again,</div> - <div class="verse">Gardens, and lawns, meadows, and groves, and walks,</div> - <div class="verse">Thickets, and woods, the windings of the glades,</div> - <div class="verse">I have them all by rote. Each petty rill</div> - <div class="verse">We have tracked by rocky steps and paths about,</div> - <div class="verse">And peeped into its dank and mossy caves.</div> - <span class="linenum">100</span><div class="verse">What sort of game should this Achilles be,</div> - <div class="verse">That we should seek him thus? Ah! back so soon?</div> - <div class="verse">What sport?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i> (<i>re-entering</i>). Well hit. ’Twas but a milk-white doe,</div> - <div class="verse">Some petted plaything of the young princess,</div> - <div class="verse">That fled our stranger steps.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dio.</i><span class="indent32">And whither now</span></div> - <div class="verse">Turn we to seek Achilles?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent32">Hark, Diomede:</span></div> - <div class="verse">My plot is laid and ready for thine ears.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Thou madest offer of thine aid; be patient,</div> - <div class="verse">And hear me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dio.</i> I will hearken.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent30">First, thou knowest</span></div> - <div class="verse">How since the day the Danaan kings took oath</div> - <span class="linenum">110</span><div class="verse">To avenge the wrong done by the Trojan Paris</div> - <div class="verse">Against his host, the Spartan Menelaus,</div> - <div class="verse">One oracle hath thwarted us, which said</div> - <div class="verse">Our purpose should not prosper with the gods</div> - <div class="verse">Unless Achilles the young son of Thetis</div> - <div class="verse">Should lead our armies.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dio.</i><span class="indent25">Certainly, so far</span></div> - <div class="verse">I am with you.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent10">Next, when he was sought in vain,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Men looked to me; ay, and to me it fell</div> - <div class="verse">To learn that he was lurking in this isle</div> - <span class="linenum">119</span><div class="verse">Of Scyros, in the court of Lycomedes.</div> - <div class="verse">The king denied the charge, adding in challenge,</div> - <div class="verse">That I might come and make what search I pleased;</div> - <div class="verse">Now mark ...</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dio</i>.<span class="indent5">I listen, but thou tellest nothing.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Why search we not the court if he be there,</div> - <div class="verse">Instead of this old hill?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent28">’Tis that I come to.</span></div> - <div class="verse">King Lycomedes hath been one of those</div> - <div class="verse">Who have held their arms aloof from our alliance,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> - <div class="verse">On the main plea of this Achilles’ absence.</div> - <div class="verse">What if he play the game here for his friends,</div> - <div class="verse">And hide the lad lest they be forced to fight?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">130</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Dio.</i> That well might be. And if the king would hide him,</div> - <div class="verse">Thy hope would hit upon him thus at hazard?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i> Call me not fool. Attend and hear my plot:</div> - <div class="verse">Nor marvel, Diomede, to learn that he,</div> - <div class="verse">Whom the high gods name champion of the Greeks,</div> - <div class="verse">Lurks in the habit of a girl disguised</div> - <div class="verse">Amid the maidens of this island court.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dio.</i> That were too strange. How guess you that?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent40">My spies,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Who have searched the isle, say there’s no youth thereon,</div> - <div class="verse">Having Achilles’ age of sixteen years,</div> - <span class="linenum">140</span><div class="verse">But is well known of native parentage.</div> - <div class="verse">Now Thetis’ son must be of wondrous beauty,</div> - <div class="verse">That could not scape inquiry; we therefore look</div> - <div class="verse">For what is hid, and not to be disguised</div> - <div class="verse">Save as I guess.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dio.</i><span class="indent15">If this be so, thy purpose</span></div> - <div class="verse">Is darker still.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent15">I lead thee by the steps</span></div> - <div class="verse">I came myself to take, slowly and surely ..</div> - <div class="verse">And next this, that ’twere dull to ask the king</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> - <div class="verse">To help to find the thing he goes to hide:</div> - <div class="verse">Therefore the search must be without his knowledge.</div> - <span class="linenum">150</span><div class="verse">’Twas thus I sent up Abas to the court,</div> - <div class="verse">Idly to engage him in preliminaries,</div> - <div class="verse">The while I work; my only hope being this,</div> - <div class="verse">To come myself to parley with the maidens;</div> - <div class="verse">Which to procure I brought with me aboard</div> - <div class="verse">A pedlar’s gear, and with such gawds and trinkets</div> - <div class="verse">As tickle girlish fancies, I shall steal</div> - <div class="verse">Upon them at their play; my hoary beard</div> - <div class="verse">And rags will set them at their ease; and while</div> - <div class="verse">They come about me, and turn o’er my pack,</div> - <span class="linenum">160</span><div class="verse">I spy. If then Achilles be among them,</div> - <div class="verse">The lad’s indifference soon will mark him out;</div> - <div class="verse">When, watching my occasion, I’ll exhibit</div> - <div class="verse">Something that should provoke his eye and tongue.</div> - <div class="verse">If he betray himself, thou being at hand ....</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dio.</i> Why, ’tis a dirty trick.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent38">Not if it wins.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dio.</i> Fie! fie!</div> - <div class="verse">In rags and a white beard?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent30">No better way.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dio.</i> The better way were not to lose the hour</div> - <div class="verse">Hearkening to oracles, while our good ships</div> - <div class="verse">Rot, and our men grow stale. Why, you may see</div> - <span class="linenum">171</span><div class="verse">Imperial Agamemnon in the eyes</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Of all his armament walk daily forth</div> - <div class="verse">To take fresh note of sparrows and of snakes:</div> - <div class="verse">And if he spy an eagle, ’twill make talk</div> - <div class="verse">For twenty days. Would you have oracles,</div> - <div class="verse">Give me the whipping of the priests. Zeus help me!</div> - <div class="verse">If half the chiefs knew but their minds as I,</div> - <div class="verse">There’d be no parleying. I’ll to war alone</div> - <div class="verse">And with my eighty ships do what I may</div> - <div class="verse">’Gainst gods and men. Ay, and the greater odds</div> - <div class="verse">The better fighting.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent22">Now ’tis thou that talkest.</span><span class="linenum">181</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dio.</i> Tell me then why we are prowling on this hill.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i> Excellent reasons. First that when I come</div> - <div class="verse">I may know how to come, and where to hide</div> - <div class="verse">From them I would not meet: and thereto this,</div> - <div class="verse">That if Achilles fly, he should not take us</div> - <div class="verse">At too great disadvantage: thou mayst head him,</div> - <div class="verse">Knowing the ground about, while I pursue.</div> - <div class="verse">He must not scape. But hark, ’tis time the plot</div> - <span class="linenum">190</span><div class="verse">Were put to proof; already it must be noon;</div> - <div class="verse">And I hear steps and voices. Let us return</div> - <div class="verse">To the ship. If they that come be those we seek,...</div> - <div class="verse">Hark, and ’tis they,—we can look back upon them.</div> - <div class="verse">I’ll be amongst them soon.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dio.</i><span class="indent28">’Tis a girl’s game.</span></div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exeunt into the bushes.</i></p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i>Enter Deidamia, Achilles as Pyrrha, with the chorus of - maidens.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>DEIDAMIA</i> (<i>without</i>).</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Follow me, follow. I lead the race.<span class="indent32">[<i>Enters.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">CHORUS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Follow, we follow, we give thee chase.<span class="indent25">[<i>Entering.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Follow me, follow.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> We come, we come.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Here is my home;</div> - <span class="linenum">200</span><div class="verse">I choose this tree: this is the ground</div> - <div class="verse">Where we will make our play. Stand all around,</div> - <div class="verse">And let us beg the dwellers in this glade</div> - <div class="verse">To bear us company. Be not afraid,</div> - <div class="verse">(I will begin) sweet birds, whose flowery songs</div> - <div class="verse">Sprinkle with joy the budding boughs above,</div> - <div class="verse">The airy city where your light folk throngs,</div> - <div class="verse">Each with his special exquisite of love,—</div> - <div class="verse">Red-throat and white-throat, finch and golden-crest,</div> - <div class="verse">Deep-murmuring pigeon, and soft-cooing dove,—</div> - <span class="linenum">210</span><div class="verse">Unto his mate addrest, that close in nest</div> - <div class="verse">Sits on the dun and dappled eggs all day.</div> - <div class="verse">Come red-throat, white-throat, finch and golden-crest,</div> - <div class="verse">Let not our merry play drive you away.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> And ye brown squirrels, up the rugged bark</div> - <div class="verse">That fly, and leap from bending spray to spray,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> - <div class="verse">And bite the luscious shoots, if I should mark,</div> - <div class="verse">Slip not behind the trunks, nor hide away.—</div> - <div class="verse">Ye earthy moles, that burrowing in the dark</div> - <span class="linenum">219</span><div class="verse">Your glossy velvet coats so much abuse;—</div> - <div class="verse">Ye watchful dormice, and small skipping shrews,</div> - <div class="verse">Stay not from foraging; dive not from sight.—</div> - <div class="verse">Come moles and mice, squirrels and skipping shrews,</div> - <div class="verse">Come all, come forth, and join in our delight.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Enough. Now while the Dryads of the hill</div> - <div class="verse">Interpret to the creatures our good will,</div> - <div class="verse">Listen, and I will tell you a new game</div> - <div class="verse">That we can play together.—As hither I came,</div> - <div class="verse">I marked that in the hazel copse below,</div> - <div class="verse">Where we so oft have hidden and loved to go</div> - <span class="linenum">230</span><div class="verse">To hear the night-bird, or to take unseen</div> - <div class="verse">Our noontide walks beneath the tangled screen,</div> - <div class="verse">The woodcutter hath been with cruel blade,</div> - <div class="verse">And of the tasselled plumes his strewage made:</div> - <div class="verse">And by the mossy moots the covert shorn</div> - <div class="verse">Now lieth low in swathe like autumn corn.</div> - <div class="verse">These ere he lop and into bundles bind,</div> - <div class="verse">Let us go choose the fairest we may find,</div> - <div class="verse">And of their feathered orphan saplings weave</div> - <div class="verse">A bowery dome, until the birds believe</div> - <span class="linenum">240</span><div class="verse">We build a nest, and are come here to dwell.</div> - <div class="verse">Hie forth, ye Scyrian maids; do as I tell:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> - <div class="verse">And having built our bower amid the green,</div> - <div class="verse">We will choose one among us for a queen,</div> - <div class="verse">And be the Amazons, whose maiden clan</div> - <div class="verse">By broad Thermodon dwells, apart from man;</div> - <div class="verse">Who rule themselves, from his dominion free,</div> - <div class="verse">And do all things he doth, better than he.</div> - <div class="verse">First, Amazons, your queen: to choose her now:</div> - <div class="verse">Who shall she be?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i><span class="indent15">Thyself, thou. Who but thou?</span></div> - <div class="verse">Deidamia.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent5">Where then were the play,</span><span class="linenum">250</span></div> - <div class="verse">If I should still command, and ye obey?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> Choose thou for all.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent28">Nor will I name her, lest</span></div> - <div class="verse">Ye say my favour sets one o’er the rest.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> Thy choice is ours.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent25">If then I gave my voice</span></div> - <div class="verse">For Pyrrha?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> Pyrrha, Pyrrha is our choice.</div> - <div class="verse">Hail, Pyrrha, hail! Queen of the Amazons!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> (<i>To Ach.</i>). To thee I abdicate my place, and give</div> - <div class="verse">My wreath for crown. Long, my queen, mayst thou live!</div> - <div class="verse">Now, fellow-subjects, hie we off at once.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">ACHILLES.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">260</span><div class="verse">Stay, stay! Is this the privilege of the throne?</div> - <div class="verse">Am I preferred but to be left alone?</div> - <div class="verse">No guard, no counsellor, no company!</div> - <div class="verse">Deidamia, stay!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent10">Thy word must be</span></div> - <div class="verse">My law, O queen: I will abide. But ye</div> - <div class="verse">Forth quickly, as I said; ye know the place.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> Follow me, follow: I lead the race.</div> - <div class="verse indent6">Follow, we follow, we give thee chase.</div> - <div class="verse indent12">Follow me, follow.</div> - <div class="verse indent12">We come, we come.<span class="indent32">[<i>Exeunt Chor.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">270</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> I could not bear that thou shouldst strain thy hands</div> - <div class="verse">Dragging those branches up the sunny hill;</div> - <div class="verse">Nor for a thousand honours thou shouldst do me,</div> - <div class="verse">Making me here thy queen, would I consent</div> - <div class="verse">To lose thy company, even for an hour.</div> - <div class="verse">See, while the maids warm in their busy play,</div> - <div class="verse">We may enjoy in quiet the sweet air,</div> - <div class="verse">And thro’ the quivering golden green look up</div> - <div class="verse">To the deep sky, and have high thoughts as idle</div> - <div class="verse">And bright, as are the small white clouds becalmed</div> - <span class="linenum">280</span><div class="verse">In disappointed voyage to the noon:</div> - <div class="verse">There is no better pastime.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent28">I will sit with thee</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">In idleness, while idleness can please.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> It is not idleness to steep the soul</div> - <div class="verse">In nature’s beauty: rather every day</div> - <div class="verse">We are idle letting beauteous things go by</div> - <div class="verse">Unheld, or scarce perceived. We cannot dream</div> - <div class="verse">Too deeply, nor o’erprize the mood of love,</div> - <div class="verse">When it comes on us strongly, and the hour</div> - <div class="verse">Is ripe for thought.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent18">I have a thought, a dream;</span></div> - <div class="verse">If thou canst keep it secret.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent22">I am thy slave.</span><span class="linenum">290</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Suppose—’tis more than that, yet I’ll but say</div> - <div class="verse">Suppose—we played this game of Amazons</div> - <div class="verse">In earnest. What an isle this Scyros were;</div> - <div class="verse">Rich and wellplanted, and its rocky coast</div> - <div class="verse">Easy of defence: the women now upon it</div> - <div class="verse">Could hold it. Nay, I have often thought it out:</div> - <div class="verse">The king my sire is threescore years and more,</div> - <div class="verse">And hath no heir: suppose that when he dies,—</div> - <div class="verse">The gods defer it long, but when he dies,</div> - <span class="linenum">300</span><div class="verse">If thou and I should plan to seize this isle,</div> - <div class="verse">Drive out the men, and rule it for our own ...</div> - <div class="verse">Wouldst thou work with me, Pyrrha, the thing could be.</div> - <div class="verse">Why shouldst thou smile? I do not say that I</div> - <div class="verse">Would rate my strength with men; but on the farms</div> - <div class="verse">Women are thicker sinewed; and in thee</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> - <div class="verse">I see what all might be. I am sure for speed</div> - <div class="verse">No man could match thee, and thou hast an arm</div> - <div class="verse">To tug an oar or hurl the heaviest spear,</div> - <div class="verse">Or wrestle with the best. Why dost thou smile?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> When thou art queen, I’ll be thy general.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> That was my thought. What dost thou think?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent60">I think</span></div> - <span class="linenum">312</span><div class="verse">That Fate hath marked me for a general.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Nay, but I jest not.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent32">Then shall I forecast</span></div> - <div class="verse">And weigh impediments against thee? as men</div> - <div class="verse">Will in like case, who think no scheme mature</div> - <div class="verse">Till counsel hath forestalled all obstacles.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> If thou canst think of any.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent42">First is this,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Whence shall we get our subjects when our isle</div> - <div class="verse">Is peopled but by women?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent25">Fairly asked,</span></div> - <span class="linenum">320</span><div class="verse">Had I not thought of it. We shall import them</div> - <div class="verse">From other isles. Girl children everywhere</div> - <div class="verse">Are held of small account: these we will buy,</div> - <div class="verse">Bartering for them our fruits and tapestries,</div> - <div class="verse">And chiefly from the country whence thou comest;</div> - <div class="verse">For there I think the women must be taller</div> - <div class="verse">And stronger than with us.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent28">And who will act</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">Persuader to the maidens of the isle</div> - <div class="verse">To banish all their lovers?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent28">O Pyrrha, shame!</span></div> - <div class="verse">Man’s love is nothing; what knowst thou of it</div> - <span class="linenum">330</span><div class="verse">To magnify its folly? ’Tis a mischief</div> - <div class="verse">To thwart our good: therefore I banish it.</div> - <div class="verse">A woman’s love may be as much to woman</div> - <div class="verse">As a man’s love can be. ’Tis reasonable</div> - <div class="verse">This, and no dream. ’Tis my experience.</div> - <div class="verse">When I am with thee, Pyrrha, I want nothing.</div> - <div class="verse">No woman sitting by her silly lover</div> - <div class="verse">Could take such pleasure from his flatteries</div> - <div class="verse">As I from thy speech. When thou lookest on me</div> - <div class="verse">I am all joy; and if ’tis so with thee,</div> - <div class="verse">Why need we argue? Tell me, when I am with thee</div> - <span class="linenum">341</span><div class="verse">Dost thou lack aught, or wish I were a man?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> In truth nay, but ...</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent30">A wretched but: I know</span></div> - <div class="verse">What that would say; this thing cannot be done</div> - <div class="verse">Because ’twas never done. But that’s with me</div> - <div class="verse">The reason why it should be done.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent40">I see.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Yet novelty hath no wear. Remember too</div> - <div class="verse">We must grow old. The spirit of such adventure</div> - <div class="verse">Tires as the body ages.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent22">For that I think</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">I make the best provision. Nay, I have seen</div> - <span class="linenum">350</span><div class="verse">Full many an old dame left in last neglect,</div> - <div class="verse">Whose keen gray eye, peaked face, and silver hair</div> - <div class="verse">Were god-like set beneath a helm of brass.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Here be the maids: ask them their mind at once.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Nay, for the world no word.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Chorus, with flowers.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Why run they breathlessly in merry fear?</div> - <div class="verse">What have ye seen? What now?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i><span class="indent32">The king. Fly, fly!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Why should we fly the king?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> A man is with him, and they come this way.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Who is it?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i><span class="indent18">Nay, we know not.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent40">What hath happed?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> We went forth as ye bade, and all together</div> - <div class="verse">Ran down the hill, the straightest way we might,</div> - <span class="linenum">362</span><div class="verse">Into the copse, and lo! ’twas as thou saidst;</div> - <div class="verse">The hazels are all felled, but on the ground,</div> - <div class="verse">That ’neath the straight trunks of the airy trees</div> - <div class="verse">Lies in the spotted sunlight, are upsprung</div> - <div class="verse">Countless anemones, white, red, and blue,</div> - <div class="verse">In the bright glade. Forgetting why we came,</div> - <div class="verse">We fell to gathering these. I chose the blue,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> - <div class="verse">As ye may see, loving blue blossoms best,</div> - <div class="verse">That are content with heaven.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>2nd Speaker.</i><span class="indent22">And I the red,</span><span class="linenum">370</span></div> - <div class="verse">Love’s passionate colour; and the love in these</div> - <div class="verse">Is mixed with heavenly to a royal purple.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>3rd.</i> And I the white: whose praise I will not tell,</div> - <div class="verse">Lest it should blush.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>4th.</i><span class="indent22">And I have mixed together</span></div> - <div class="verse">The red and white.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>5th.</i><span class="indent15">And I the red and blue.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>6th.</i> And I the blue and white.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent38">Well, but the matter.</span></div> - <div class="verse">What happened next, tell me?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> (<i>1st.</i>)<span class="indent20">Still at this game,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Like to a hungry herd that stops and feeds,</div> - <div class="verse">Snatching what tempts it on, we made advance</div> - <div class="verse">To the entrance of the combe; and then one cried,</div> - <div class="verse">Look up! Look there! And from the open brow,</div> - <span class="linenum">382</span><div class="verse">Whence we looked down upon the sea, we saw</div> - <div class="verse">A great war-ship in the harbour: and one said,</div> - <div class="verse">She comes from Athens; and another, nay,</div> - <div class="verse">Her build is Rhodian: when as there we gazed,</div> - <div class="verse">Counting her ports, and wondering of her name,—</div> - <div class="verse">We heard men’s voices and beheld the king</div> - <div class="verse">Mounting the hill-side, with a stranger clad</div> - <div class="verse">In short Greek robes. Then ran we back to thee,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> - <span class="linenum">390</span><div class="verse">Ere we were seen, in haste; that we may hide,</div> - <div class="verse">And not be called within to attend the guests.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> So did ye well, whoe’er it be, and best</div> - <div class="verse">If ’tis the prince of Melos, as I fear:</div> - <div class="verse">Who late my father said would come to woo me:</div> - <div class="verse">But he must find me first.<span class="indent45">[<i>Going.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent28">I’ll be thine eyes</span></div> - <div class="verse">And take his measure. Let me lurk behind,</div> - <div class="verse">I’ll learn his height, the colour of his beard,</div> - <div class="verse">And bring thee word.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent18">I pray, no beards for me.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Those that love beards remain. The rest with me.</div> - <div class="verse indent6">Follow me, follow: I lead the race.<span class="indent25">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> Follow, we follow. We give thee chase—</div> - <div class="verse indent6">Follow me, follow—<span class="linenum">402</span></div> - <div class="verse indent6">—We come, we come.<span class="indent35">[<i>Exeunt Chor.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> I wish I had had Apollo for my sire;</div> - <div class="verse">Or that old Cheiron, when he taught me arms,</div> - <div class="verse">Hunting the beasts on bushy Pelion,</div> - <div class="verse">Had led and trained me rather, as well he knew,</div> - <div class="verse">In that fair park of fancy and delight,</div> - <div class="verse">Where but the Graces and the Muses come.</div> - <span class="linenum">410</span><div class="verse">For he could sing: and oft took down at eve</div> - <div class="verse">From the high pillar of his rocky cave</div> - <div class="verse">The lyre or pipe, and whiled the darksome hours.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Which would I had learned, to touch the stops and strings,</div> - <div class="verse">Nor only harked thereto: for nought he sang,</div> - <div class="verse">Whether of gods or men, of peace or war,</div> - <div class="verse">Had any theme of sweetness to compare</div> - <div class="verse">With my new world, here, where I am king, and rule</div> - <div class="verse">The sweetest thing in nature. Had I skill</div> - <div class="verse">To give translation to my joy, I think</div> - <div class="verse">I could make music that should charm the world.</div> - <span class="linenum">421</span><div class="verse">O Deidamia, thou Queen of my heart,</div> - <div class="verse">I would enchant thee and thine isle. Alas!</div> - <div class="verse">How wilt thou learn thou art mine? How can I tell</div> - <div class="verse">And with the word not lose thee? Now this suitor</div> - <div class="verse">Threats my betrayal ... He comes. I’ll watch. Yet not</div> - <div class="verse">With jealous eyes, but heedful of my fate.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Hides in bushes.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Lycomedes and Abas.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">LYCOMEDES.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">’Tis folly and impertinence. I say it</div> - <div class="verse">With due respect unto the prince, thy master,</div> - <div class="verse">Who am as much his elder as the king</div> - <div class="verse">His father is. He ne’er would so have wronged me,—</div> - <span class="linenum">431</span><div class="verse">The mild and good Laertes.—In this isle</div> - <div class="verse">Think’st thou ’twere possible a man should hide,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> - <div class="verse">And I not know it?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p class="heading1">ABAS.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent16">My Lord Ulysses, sire,</div> - <div class="verse">Bade me assure your majesty he came</div> - <div class="verse">More with the purpose to acquit your honour,—</div> - <div class="verse">Which suffers greatly in the common tongue,—</div> - <div class="verse">Than with a hope to find what he pretends</div> - <div class="verse">He comes to seek.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i><span class="indent15">Why should he come at all?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ab.</i> Taking your invitation in the sense</div> - <div class="verse">That I have spoken ...</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i><span class="indent22">Thinks he, if I chose</span><span class="linenum">440</span></div> - <div class="verse">To hide the man in Scyros, that a stranger</div> - <div class="verse">From Ithaca could find him?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ab.</i><span class="indent22">Nay ...</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i><span class="indent28">It follows</span></div> - <div class="verse">Your search can never quit my honesty,</div> - <div class="verse">Where I am held accomplice; but no less</div> - <div class="verse">Must put a slight upon my wits, implying</div> - <div class="verse">Me the deceived.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ab.</i><span class="indent15">Your invitation, sire,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Covers that charge.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i><span class="indent18">My invitation, sir,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Was but my seal of full denial, a challenge</div> - <div class="verse">For honour’s eye, not to be taken up.</div> - <div class="verse">Your master hath slipped in manners: yet fear not</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> - <span class="linenum">451</span><div class="verse">But I will meet and treat him as his birth</div> - <div class="verse">And name require. Speak we no more of this.</div> - <div class="verse">What think’st thou of our isle?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ab.</i><span class="indent38">The famed Ægean</span></div> - <div class="verse">Hath not a finer jewel on her breast.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i> Come, come! you overpraise us: there’s no need.</div> - <div class="verse">We Scyrians are contented.—Now we are climbed</div> - <div class="verse">Above the town to the east; and you may see</div> - <div class="verse">The western seaboard, and our other port.</div> - <div class="verse">The island narrows here to twenty stades,</div> - <span class="linenum">460</span><div class="verse">Cut like a wasp; the shoulder where we stand</div> - <div class="verse">Is its best natured spot: It falls to the sun,</div> - <div class="verse">And at this time of the year takes not too much.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ab.</i> ’Tis strange how in all points the lie of the land</div> - <div class="verse">Is like our Ithaca, but better clothed.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i> And larger, is’t not?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ab.</i><span class="indent32">Past comparison.—</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i> What navy bring ye to the war?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ab.</i><span class="indent45">Ah, sire!</span></div> - <div class="verse">We have no ships to boast of—with our own</div> - <div class="verse">Zakynthus, Cephallenia, and the rest,</div> - <div class="verse">Joining their numbers, raise but ten or twelve.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i> And these your prince commands?<span class="linenum">470</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ab.</i><span class="indent45">Such as they be.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i> Tidings come slowly to us here. I pray you</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Tell me the latest of your preparations.</div> - <div class="verse">The thing must drag: there was some talk awhile</div> - <div class="verse">Of coldness ’twixt the chiefs: ’twould be no wonder.</div> - <div class="verse">They that combine upon one private grudge</div> - <div class="verse">May split upon another.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ab.</i><span class="indent25">Still their zeal</span></div> - <div class="verse">Increases: ’tis as fire spread from a spark.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i> A spark? well—Menelaus. At this time</div> - <div class="verse">What numbers hath he drawn, and whence?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ab.</i><span class="indent40">The ships</span></div> - <span class="linenum">480</span><div class="verse">Number above a thousand: a tenth of these</div> - <div class="verse">Are sent by Corinth, Sicyon and Mycenæ;</div> - <div class="verse">Sixty are Spartan, and king Agamemnon</div> - <div class="verse">Provides as many as these all told together.</div> - <div class="verse">Then from Ægina, Epidaurus, Argos,</div> - <div class="verse">And Tiryns Diomede brings eighty: Nestor</div> - <div class="verse">Ninety from Pylos; from Bœotia</div> - <div class="verse">Come eighty; Phocis and Phthiotis each</div> - <div class="verse">Send forty; Athens fifty; and Eubœa</div> - <div class="verse">Forty; from Salamis Ajax brings twelve;</div> - <span class="linenum">490</span><div class="verse">Oilean Ajax with the Locrians</div> - <div class="verse">Forty more; from our neighbours in the west,</div> - <div class="verse">Dulichium and Ætolia, eighty sail;</div> - <div class="verse">Again as many from hundred-citied Crete</div> - <div class="verse">Under the king Idomeneus, and nine</div> - <div class="verse">From Rhodes: All these, with others that escape</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> - <div class="verse">My hasty summing, lie drawn up at Aulis.</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis such a sight as, I am bold to say,</div> - <div class="verse">If but your majesty could see it, would move you</div> - <div class="verse">To make a part of the splendour.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i><span class="indent38">Nay, I have seen them.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ab.</i> Your majesty hath been at Aulis?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i><span class="indent45">Nay,</span><span class="linenum">500</span></div> - <div class="verse">Nor yet at Aulis: but the tale thou tellest</div> - <div class="verse">Coming unto my ears a month ago,</div> - <div class="verse">Some of my lords and I one idle morn</div> - <div class="verse">Crossed to Eubœa,—’tis a pleasure trip,</div> - <div class="verse">On a clear day scarce out of sight of home—</div> - <div class="verse">We landed ’neath Œchalia by noon,</div> - <div class="verse">And, crossing o’er the isle on mules, were lodged</div> - <div class="verse">That night at Chalcis. The next day at dawn</div> - <div class="verse">I played the spy. ’Twas such a breathless morning</div> - <span class="linenum">510</span><div class="verse">When all the sound and motion of the sea</div> - <div class="verse">Is short and sullen, like a dreaming beast:</div> - <div class="verse">Or as ’twere mixed of heavier elements</div> - <div class="verse">Than the bright water, that obeys the wind.</div> - <div class="verse">Hiring a fishing-boat we bade the sailors</div> - <div class="verse">Row us to Aulis; when midway the straits,</div> - <div class="verse">The morning mist lifted, and lo, a sight</div> - <div class="verse">Unpicturable.—High upon our left</div> - <div class="verse">Where we supposed was nothing, suddenly</div> - <div class="verse">A tall and shadowy figure loomed: then two,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> - <div class="verse">And three, and four, and more towering above us:</div> - <span class="linenum">521</span><div class="verse">But whether poised upon the leaden sea</div> - <div class="verse">They stood, or floated in the misty air,</div> - <div class="verse">That baffling our best vision held entangled</div> - <div class="verse">The silver of the half-awakened sun,</div> - <div class="verse">Or whether near or far, we could not tell,</div> - <div class="verse">Nor what: at first I thought them rocks, but ere</div> - <div class="verse">That error could be told, they were upon us</div> - <div class="verse">Bearing down swiftly athwart our course; and all</div> - <div class="verse">Saw ’twas a fleet of ships, not three or four</div> - <span class="linenum">530</span><div class="verse">Now, but unnumber’d: like a floating city,</div> - <div class="verse">If such could be, with walls and battlements</div> - <div class="verse">Spread on the wondering water: and now the sun</div> - <div class="verse">Broke thro’ the haze, and from the shields outhung</div> - <div class="verse">Blazed back his dazzling beams, and round their prows</div> - <div class="verse">On the divided water played; as still</div> - <div class="verse">They rode the tide in silence, all their oars</div> - <div class="verse">Stretched out aloft, as are the balanced wings</div> - <div class="verse">Of storm-fowl, which returned from battling flight</div> - <div class="verse">Across the sea, steady their aching plumes</div> - <span class="linenum">540</span><div class="verse">And skim along the shuddering cliffs at ease:</div> - <div class="verse">So came they gliding on the sullen plain,</div> - <div class="verse">Out of the dark, in silent state, by force</div> - <div class="verse">Yet unexpended of their nightlong speed.</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Those were the Cretan ships, who when they saw us</div> - <div class="verse">Hailed for a pilot, and of our native sailors</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Took one aboard, and dipping all their oars</div> - <div class="verse">Passed on, and we with them, into the bay.</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Then from all round, where the dark hulls were moored</div> - <div class="verse">Against the shore, and from the tents above</div> - <span class="linenum">550</span><div class="verse">A shout of joy went up, re-echoing</div> - <div class="verse">From point to point; and we too cheered and caught</div> - <div class="verse">The zeal of that great gathering.—Where man is met</div> - <div class="verse">The gods will come; or shall I say man’s spirit</div> - <div class="verse">Hath operative faculties to mix</div> - <div class="verse">And make his gods at will? Howe’er that be,</div> - <div class="verse">Soon a swift galley shot out from the rest</div> - <div class="verse">To meet the comers. That was Agamemnon’s,</div> - <div class="verse">They told me; and I doubt not he was in it,</div> - <div class="verse">And gave his welcome to Idomeneus,</div> - <span class="linenum">560</span><div class="verse">And took him to his tent. On such a day</div> - <div class="verse">Our little boat rowed where we would unmarked:</div> - <div class="verse">We were but Chalcian pilots. So I saw</div> - <div class="verse">Whate’er I wished to see, and came away</div> - <div class="verse">Across the strait that night, and the next day</div> - <div class="verse">Was home by sundown.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ab.</i><span class="indent22">All this could you see</span></div> - <div class="verse">Without the wish to join?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i><span class="indent28">I say not that;</span></div> - <div class="verse">For wish I did that I was young again.</div> - <div class="verse">Then, sir, I would have left whate’er I had,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> - <div class="verse">My kingdom to another, for the pride,</div> - <span class="linenum">570</span><div class="verse">Of high place in such war; now I am old.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ab.</i> But older men than thou have joined us, sire.</div> - <div class="verse">War needs experience.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i><span class="indent22">Concerning war</span></div> - <div class="verse">I am divided in opinion, Abas:</div> - <div class="verse">But lean to think it hath a wholesome root</div> - <div class="verse">Supportive to our earthly habit. I see</div> - <div class="verse">The noblest beasts will love to fight, and man</div> - <div class="verse">Is body as well as spirit: his mind that’s set</div> - <div class="verse">In judgment o’er those twain must oft admit</div> - <div class="verse">The grosser part hath a preponderant claim.</div> - <span class="linenum">580</span><div class="verse">But I regret this, and my discontent</div> - <div class="verse">Puts me this question, Shall man never come</div> - <div class="verse">To a better state with his desire? What think you?</div> - <div class="verse">What if our race yet young should with the time</div> - <div class="verse">Throw off the baser passions, as I find</div> - <div class="verse">Myself by age affected? I know not ...</div> - <div class="verse">I have a little statue in my house,</div> - <div class="verse">Which, if you look on’t long, begets belief</div> - <div class="verse">Of absolute perfectionment; the artist</div> - <div class="verse">Should have been present when man’s clay was mixed.</div> - <span class="linenum">590</span><div class="verse">Prometheus, or whoever ’twas that made us,</div> - <div class="verse">Had his head turned with natural history:</div> - <div class="verse">All excellent contrivance, but betraying</div> - <div class="verse">Commonness and complexity. Well! well!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> - <div class="verse">No need of my philosophies in Scyros—</div> - <div class="verse">War must have motive, and the men I rule</div> - <div class="verse">Are simple and contented with their lot.</div> - <div class="verse">None in my land would wish an atom changed:</div> - <div class="verse">Were even Achilles here ’twould be no wonder</div> - <div class="verse">If he had caught our temper.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ab.</i><span class="indent32">All men witness</span></div> - <span class="linenum">600</span><div class="verse">To thy good rule, O king: but in the wars</div> - <div class="verse">Fame may be won.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i><span class="indent15">Nor do I ask for fame.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Come that to whom it will; to Agamemnon,</div> - <div class="verse">To Ajax or Ulysses or Achilles.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ab.</i> To Achilles no: ’tis not in the gods’ grace</div> - <div class="verse">To succour pigritude. To him, a lad,</div> - <div class="verse">The prize of honour above all the Greeks</div> - <div class="verse">Was offered: by the poor effeminacy</div> - <div class="verse">With which he hath rejected it, he is judged</div> - <div class="verse">Meanest of all. But since we cannot win</div> - <span class="linenum">610</span><div class="verse">Without him, we must have him. Little glory</div> - <div class="verse">To him, except to be Fate’s dullest tool.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i> Maybe. Now come we on. I had thought to find</div> - <div class="verse">My daughter and her train. I’ll take thee round</div> - <div class="verse">Another way to the palace: thither no doubt</div> - <div class="verse">She is now returned.<span class="indent50">[<i>Exeunt.</i></span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Achilles from the bushes.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Villain, I thank the gods that sent thee hither.</div> - <div class="verse">But thou wast near thy death. Walk off secure,</div> - <div class="verse">Not knowing that I heard. <i>Effeminate!</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>The meanest of the Greeks!</i> were he the best,</div> - <span class="linenum">620</span><div class="verse">I’d slay him in this garment. Yet he is but</div> - <div class="verse">A tongue to troll opinion of me, a slave,</div> - <div class="verse">Fetcher and carrier of others’ tales, and doth</div> - <div class="verse">The drudgery honestly; for that I’ll thank him</div> - <div class="verse">And profit by his slander. Ay, so I’ll do—</div> - <div class="verse">Now in good time—I’ll get me a man’s dress</div> - <div class="verse">And meet them here, ere they suspect me:—or, stay!</div> - <div class="verse">I can outwit them better. I’ll take a boat,</div> - <div class="verse">Cross o’er to Aulis, like good Lycomede,</div> - <div class="verse">This very night, and there to Agamemnon</div> - <span class="linenum">630</span><div class="verse">Declare myself; and men shall never know</div> - <div class="verse">How I was hid, nor whence I came.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Thetis.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i><span class="indent40">My son!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> My goddess mother, welcome! yet I am shamed</div> - <div class="verse">That thou shouldst find me thus.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i><span class="indent40">How art thou shamed?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> This dress. O thou canst help me: thou art ready</div> - <div class="verse">At every need. And here hath been a man</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Who, thinking not I heard, spake to the king</div> - <div class="verse">Of thy Achilles with such scorn, that I</div> - <div class="verse">Should have leaped forth upon him in my rage,</div> - <div class="verse">And strangled him, but that he seemed to be</div> - <span class="linenum">640</span><div class="verse">Another’s servant.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i><span class="indent18">Then thou hast seen them, son?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Who are they?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i><span class="indent22">Those I came to warn thee of;</span></div> - <div class="verse">Ulysses and his friends. Knowst thou ’tis they</div> - <div class="verse">Are come unto the isle to seek thee?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent45">Ay.</span></div> - <div class="verse">But thou art ready to outwit their wile.</div> - <div class="verse">As thou didst bring me hither on that night</div> - <div class="verse">When all thy nymphs, assembling ’neath the moon</div> - <div class="verse">Upon the Achæan shore, bore me away</div> - <div class="verse">Across the sea, even so to Aulis now</div> - <div class="verse">Convey me secretly, and set me there,</div> - <div class="verse">Ere men know whence I come.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i><span class="indent32">What hear I, son?</span><span class="linenum">650</span></div> - <div class="verse">To Aulis? to thy foes?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent22">A thousand ships</span></div> - <div class="verse">Moored idle in the bay wait but for me:</div> - <div class="verse">And round the shore the captains of the Greeks</div> - <div class="verse">Impatient in their tents but call for me.</div> - <div class="verse">Be they my foes to speak or wish me ill,</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis only that I come not. I must go.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i> There let them tarry till the sea-worm bore</div> - <div class="verse">Their ships to rottenness; or, sail they forth,</div> - <div class="verse">Let them be butchered by the sword of Hector,</div> - <span class="linenum">660</span><div class="verse">Ere thou be snared to serve their empty pride.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> But louder than their need my honour calls:</div> - <div class="verse">Hast thou no thought of this in all thy love?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i> Who then is honoured more or more desired</div> - <div class="verse">Than thou art now? but they, if once they had thee,</div> - <div class="verse">Would slight thee, and pretend they were the men.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> But those are honoured best that hear their praise.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i> Is not high Zeus himself, holding aloof,</div> - <div class="verse">Worshipped the more? Let the world say of thee,</div> - <div class="verse">When these have perished, that they went their way</div> - <span class="linenum">670</span><div class="verse">Because the son of Thetis would not aid them.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> But if ’twere said because he feared to die?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i> Fearst thou reproach of fear that fearst not death?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> I fear not, but by proof would shun reproach.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i> Men, son, are what they are; and thou art brave.</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis asked of poor and questionable spirits</div> - <div class="verse">To prove their worth.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent22">I prove myself a coward.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i> How! when it needed heavenly prayers and tears,</div> - <div class="verse">The force of duty and a goddess’ will</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> - <div class="verse">To keep thee back from death! when all the joys</div> - <span class="linenum">680</span><div class="verse">That I have set about thee, and a love</div> - <div class="verse">More beautiful than Helen’s cannot hold thee!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Fate, that from men hideth her pitiless face,</div> - <div class="verse">Offered to me this kindness, that my will</div> - <div class="verse">Should be of force in predetermined deeds:</div> - <div class="verse">Allowing me to take which life I would</div> - <div class="verse">Of two incomparable lots; I ever</div> - <div class="verse">Leaned one way, the other thou; and still at heart</div> - <div class="verse">I hold to my first choice.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i><span class="indent30">O child of man,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Though child of mine, wouldst thou know wisdom’s way,</div> - <span class="linenum">690</span><div class="verse">Learn it of me. If I had said to thee</div> - <div class="verse">Thou being a mortal shouldst love death and darkness;</div> - <div class="verse">For in the brief date of thy heedless term</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis vain to strive with evil: and since the end</div> - <div class="verse">Cometh the same, and at the latest cometh</div> - <div class="verse">So soon, that there’s no difference to be told</div> - <div class="verse">’Twixt early and late, ’tis wisdom to despair:</div> - <div class="verse">Then would thy tongue have boldly answered me,</div> - <div class="verse">And said, Man hath his life; that it must end</div> - <div class="verse">Condemns it not for nought. Are rivers salt</div> - <span class="linenum">700</span><div class="verse">Because they travel to the bitter sea?</div> - <div class="verse">Is the day dark because the gorgeous west</div> - <div class="verse">Must fade in gloom, when the ungazeable sun</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Is fallen beneath the waves? Or hath the spring</div> - <div class="verse">No charm in her pavilions, are her floors</div> - <div class="verse">Not starred, for that we see her birth is slow</div> - <div class="verse">Of niggard winter, and her blossoms smirched</div> - <div class="verse">By summer’s tyranny? Hadst thou said this,</div> - <div class="verse">And that Earth’s changeful pride, the life of man,</div> - <div class="verse">Is exquisite in such a quality</div> - <div class="verse">To make the high gods envious could they guess:</div> - <span class="linenum">711</span><div class="verse">Then had I found no answer: but when I</div> - <div class="verse">Told thee of joy, and set thee in the midst,</div> - <div class="verse">That thou shouldst argue with me that ’tis best</div> - <div class="verse">To die at once, and for an empty name</div> - <div class="verse">Pass to the trivial shades; then must I fear</div> - <div class="verse">I have as thankless and unwise a son,</div> - <div class="verse">As disobedient.—Yet when first I taught thee</div> - <div class="verse">Thou gav’st me promise to be wise.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent40">But never</span></div> - <div class="verse">Wilt thou then free me from my promise given?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">720</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i> Not to thy hurt.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent22">See now what shame I bear!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i> Why make so much of shame? If thou despise</div> - <div class="verse">The pleasure of the earth, why not the shame?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> I wrong, too, this old king.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i><span class="indent45">His daughter more,</span></div> - <div class="verse">If thou desert her.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent18">But ’twould hurt her less</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">To lose me now than know me when disgraced.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i> I plead not in her name, nor charge thee, son,</div> - <div class="verse">With loving her in my contempt. A dream</div> - <div class="verse">Of mortal fancy or honour may becloud</div> - <div class="verse">Thy mind awhile, but ne’er canst thou forget</div> - <span class="linenum">730</span><div class="verse">Thy bond to me; the care that never left thee</div> - <div class="verse">Till thou wert out of hand; the love that dared</div> - <div class="verse">To send thee from my sight when thou wast able,</div> - <div class="verse">And to strange lands; my secret visitings</div> - <div class="verse">There, and revisitings; the dreams I sent thee,</div> - <div class="verse">Warnings of ill, and ecstasies of pride;</div> - <div class="verse">The thousand miracles I wrought to save thee,</div> - <div class="verse">And guard thee to thy prime;—and now men say</div> - <div class="verse">Thou art the first of the Greeks: their homaged kings</div> - <span class="linenum">739</span><div class="verse">The gods condemn to death if thou withhold</div> - <div class="verse">Thy single arm. Why so? What hast thou done?</div> - <div class="verse">Where have men seen thee? Hast thou ruled like Nestor?</div> - <div class="verse">Conquered like Agamemnon, fought like Ajax?</div> - <div class="verse">What is thy prowess, what thy skill but this,</div> - <div class="verse">That thou art son of Thetis? Disobey not,</div> - <div class="verse">Nor question now my bidding. Must I kneel,</div> - <div class="verse">Embrace thy knees, or melt before thy face</div> - <div class="verse">In supplicating tears? O if thy birth</div> - <div class="verse">Did cost the tenderest tears that god e’er shed,</div> - <div class="verse">Make not those bitter drops to have flowed in vain.</div> - <span class="linenum">750</span><div class="verse">Whate’er fate portion thee my joy is this—</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> - <div class="verse">That thou dost love me. Dost thou cease to love,</div> - <div class="verse">I am most miserable.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent20">O fear not that,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Mother and goddess! Pardon me, weep not.</div> - <div class="verse">Let all men curse me, be my name abhorred,</div> - <div class="verse">Rather than thou be grieved. ’Twas anger moved me:</div> - <div class="verse">I will forget this, and obey thee. Say</div> - <div class="verse">What I must do, how best avoid these men:</div> - <div class="verse">And how refuse their call if I be found.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i> Kiss me, my son. By the gods’ life, I love thee:</div> - <span class="linenum">760</span><div class="verse">My grief is to deny thee. But there’s need</div> - <div class="verse">Of counsel, for the day is critical</div> - <div class="verse">And glides apace. And first if they should find thee,</div> - <div class="verse">Then ’tis thy fate to go: I cannot stay thee.</div> - <div class="verse">And since to bear thee hence were sure betrayal,</div> - <div class="verse">I urge thee to be true to thy disguise.</div> - <div class="verse">And better to escape thy foes, learn now</div> - <div class="verse">Whom most to dread. Of all the Argives shun</div> - <div class="verse">Ulysses; come not near him in the halls;</div> - <div class="verse">And should he speak to thee, answer no word.</div> - <span class="linenum">770</span><div class="verse">Him thou wilt know by his preëminence:</div> - <div class="verse">In person he is beardless yet, and smooth</div> - <div class="verse">Of face and tongue, alluring, gentle in voice</div> - <div class="verse">But sturdy of body, and ’neath his helm his locks</div> - <div class="verse">O’er a wide brow and restless eye curl forth</div> - <div class="verse">In ruddy brown; nor less for his attire</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Notable is he, wearing the best of all,</div> - <div class="verse">His linen broidered, and broad jewels to hold</div> - <div class="verse">A robe of gray and purple.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent28">He shall not spy me.</span></div> - <div class="verse">But if by any warning from the gods</div> - <span class="linenum">780</span><div class="verse">He know and call to me, how then to escape</div> - <div class="verse">The shame of this Ionian skirt?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i><span class="indent40">That chance</span></div> - <div class="verse">I can provide for, and shall give thee now</div> - <div class="verse">A magic garment fitting to thy body,</div> - <div class="verse">Which worn beneath thy robe will seem as weft</div> - <div class="verse">Of linen thread, but if it meet the light</div> - <div class="verse">’Twill be a gilded armour, and serve well</div> - <div class="verse">In proof as show. Come, I will set it on thee.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exeunt.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Deidamia and Chorus.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> The ground is clear, we have deceived them mightily,</div> - <div class="verse">Running around.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i><span class="indent15">Where is our queen?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">(<i>2</i>)<span class="indent45">Not here.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> I’ll call her. Pyrrha!—Call all together.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i><span class="indent60">Pyrrha!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> She will come presently.—Did ye not mark</div> - <span class="linenum">792</span><div class="verse">How resonant this glade is? that our voices</div> - <div class="verse">Neither return nor fly, but stay about us?</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> - <div class="verse">It is the trunks of the trees that cage the sound;</div> - <div class="verse">As in an open temple, where the pillars</div> - <div class="verse">Enrich the music. In my father’s hall</div> - <div class="verse">The echo of each note burdens the next.</div> - <div class="verse">’Twould be well done to cut a theatre</div> - <div class="verse">Deep in some wooded dale. Till Pyrrha come,</div> - <div class="verse">Alexia, sing thou here.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i><span class="indent25">What shall I sing?</span><span class="linenum">800</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> There is a Lydian chant I call to mind</div> - <div class="verse">In honour of music-makers: it beginneth</div> - <div class="verse">With praise of the soft spring, and heavenly love—</div> - <div class="verse">’Twill suit our mood, if thou remember it.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i>Chorus.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent4">The earth loveth the spring,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Nor of her coming despaireth,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Withheld by nightly sting,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Snow, and icy fling,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">The snarl of the North:</div> - <div class="verse indent4">But nevertheless she prepareth<span class="linenum">810</span></div> - <div class="verse">And setteth in order her nurselings to bring them forth,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">The jewels of her delight,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">What shall be blue, what yellow or white;</div> - <div class="verse indent4">What softest above the rest,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">The primrose, that loveth best</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Woodland skirts and the copses shorn.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - - <p class="center">2.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">And on the day of relenting she suddenly weareth</div> - <div class="verse">Her budding crowns. O then, in the early morn,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Is any song that compareth</div> - <div class="verse">With the gaiety of birds, that thrill the gladdened air</div> - <div class="verse indent4">In inexhaustible chorus<span class="linenum">821</span></div> - <div class="verse indent4">To awake the sons of the soil</div> - <div class="verse">With music more than in brilliant halls sonorous</div> - <div class="verse indent4">(—It cannot compare—)</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Is fed to the ears of kings</div> - <div class="verse indent4">From the reeds and hirèd strings?</div> - <div class="verse indent4">For love maketh them glad;</div> - <div class="verse indent4">And if a soul be sad,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Or a heart oracle dumb,</div> - <span class="linenum">830</span><div class="verse">Here may it taste the promise of joy to come.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - - <p class="center">3.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">For the Earth knoweth the love which made her,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">The omnipotent one desire,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Which burns at her heart like fire,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">And hath in gladness arrayed her.</div> - <div class="verse indent4">And man with the Maker shareth,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Him also to rival throughout the lands,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">To make a work with his hands</div> - <div class="verse indent4">And have his children adore it:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> - <div class="verse">The Creator smileth on him who is wise and dareth</div> - <div class="verse indent4">In understanding with pride:<span class="linenum">840</span></div> - <div class="verse">For God, where’er he hath builded, dwelleth wide,—</div> - <div class="verse indent4">And he careth,—</div> - <div class="verse indent4">To set a task to the smallest atom,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">The law-abiding grains,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">That hearken each and rejoice:</div> - <div class="verse">For he guideth the world as a horse with reins;</div> - <div class="verse indent4">It obeyeth his voice,</div> - <div class="verse">And lo! he hath set a beautiful end before it:</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - - <p class="center">4.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent4">Whereto it leapeth and striveth continually,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">And pitieth nought, nor spareth:<span class="linenum">850</span></div> - <div class="verse indent4">The mother’s wail for her children slain,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">The stain of disease,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">The darts of pain,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">The waste of the fruits of trees,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">The slaughter of cattle,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Unbrotherly lust, the war</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Of hunger, blood, and the yells of battle,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">It heedeth no more</div> - <div class="verse">Than a carver regardeth the wood that he cutteth away:</div> - <div class="verse indent4">The grainèd shavings fall at his feet,<span class="linenum">860</span></div> - <div class="verse indent4">But that which his tool hath spared shall stand</div> - <div class="verse indent4">For men to praise the work of his hand;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> - <div class="verse indent4">For he cutteth so far, and there it lay,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">And his work is complete.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - - <p class="center">5.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">But I will praise ’mong men the masters of mind</div> - <div class="verse indent4">In music and song,</div> - <div class="verse">Who follow the love of God to bless their kind:</div> - <div class="verse indent4">And I pray they find</div> - <div class="verse indent4">A marriage of mirth—</div> - <div class="verse indent4">And a life long<span class="linenum">870</span></div> - <div class="verse indent4">With the gaiety of the Earth.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> There stands an old man down beneath the bank,</div> - <div class="verse">Gazing, and beckoning to us.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent30">He is a stranger,</span></div> - <div class="verse">That burdened with some package to the palace</div> - <div class="verse">Hath missed his way about, and fears to intrude.</div> - <div class="verse">Go some and show him.<span class="indent45">[<i>Some run out.</i></span></div> - <div class="verse indent22">Meanwhile what do we?</div> - <div class="verse">We have no sport when Pyrrha is away.</div> - <div class="verse">Our game is broken. Come, a thought, a thought!</div> - <div class="verse">Hath none a thought?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i><span class="indent22">We have never built the bower.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Ye idled gathering flowers. Now ’tis too late.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> Let us play ball.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent22">The sun is still so high.</span><span class="linenum">881</span></div> - <div class="verse">I shall go feed my doves.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">(<i>Re-enter one of Chorus.</i>)</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i><span class="indent22">The old man saith</span></div> - <div class="verse">That he is a pedlar, and hath wares to sell</div> - <div class="verse">If he may show them. Shall he come?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent40">Now Hermes,</span></div> - <div class="verse">The father of device and jugglery,</div> - <div class="verse">Be thanked for this; ’tis he hath sent him.—Call him.</div> - <div class="verse">His tales may be good hearing, tho’ his pack</div> - <div class="verse">Repay not search. But be advised: beware,</div> - <div class="verse">Lest he bear off more than he bring: these fellows</div> - <span class="linenum">890</span><div class="verse">Have fingers to unclasp a brooch or pin</div> - <div class="verse">While the eye winks that watches. There was one</div> - <div class="verse">Who as he ran a race would steal the shoes</div> - <div class="verse">Of any that ran with him. The prince of all</div> - <div class="verse">Was merry Autolycus.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter, with those who had gone out, Ulysses as a pedlar.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent18">Good day, old man.</div> - <div class="verse">Come, let us see thy wares.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent32">I have no breath left,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Wherewith to thank you, ladies; the little hill</div> - <div class="verse">Has ta’en it from me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent20">Rest awhile, and tell us</span></div> - <div class="verse">Whence thou art come.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent22">In a Greek ship this morn.</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">I pray you, that I lack not courtesy,</div> - <div class="verse">Art thou the princess of this isle?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent40">I am.</span><span class="linenum">900</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i> My true and humble service to your highness.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> In turn say who art thou, and whence thy ship.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i> Fair, honoured daughter of a famous king,</div> - <div class="verse">I have no story worthy of thine ear,</div> - <div class="verse">Being but a poor artificer of Smyrna,</div> - <div class="verse">Where many years I wrought, and ye shall see</div> - <div class="verse">Not without skill, in silver and in gold.</div> - <div class="verse">But happiness hath wrecked me, and I say</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis ill to marry young; for from that joy</div> - <span class="linenum">910</span><div class="verse">I gat a son, who as the time went on,</div> - <div class="verse">Grew to be old and gray and wise as I;</div> - <div class="verse">And bettering much the art which I had taught him</div> - <div class="verse">Longed to be master in my place, for which</div> - <div class="verse">He grew unkind, and his sons hated me:</div> - <div class="verse">And when one day he wished me dead, I feared</div> - <div class="verse">Lest I should kill myself; and so that night</div> - <div class="verse">I made me up a pack of little things</div> - <div class="verse">He should not grieve for, and took ship for Greece.</div> - <div class="verse">There have I trafficked, lady, a year and more,</div> - <span class="linenum">920</span><div class="verse">And kept myself alive hawking small ware</div> - <div class="verse">From place to place, and on occasion found</div> - <div class="verse">A market for my jewels, and be come here</div> - <div class="verse">Making the round of the isles in any ship</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> - <div class="verse">That chances: and this last I came aboard</div> - <div class="verse">At Andros, where I was: but whence she hailed</div> - <div class="verse">I have even forgot. May it please thee see my wares?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Thy tale is very sad. I am sorry for thee.</div> - <div class="verse">Why would thy son, being as thou sayst so skilled,</div> - <div class="verse">Not ply his trade apart?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent28">My house in Smyrna</span></div> - <span class="linenum">930</span><div class="verse">Was head of all the goldsmiths: ’twas for that,</div> - <div class="verse">Lady, he envied me. See now my wares.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> What beauteous work! I’m glad thou’rt come. I’ll buy</div> - <div class="verse">A trinket for myself, and let my maids</div> - <div class="verse">Choose each what she may fancy. Hear ye, girls?</div> - <div class="verse">I’ll make a gift to each.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i><span class="indent28">O thanks.—To all?—</span></div> - <div class="verse">And may we choose?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent15">Yes.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i><span class="indent22">Anything we please?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Why, that is choosing.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i><span class="indent38">O we thank thee.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent60">Now</span></div> - <div class="verse">I see, princess, thou’rt of a bounteous blood,</div> - <div class="verse">To make all round thee happy.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent32">What is this brooch?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i> If for thyself thou fancy a brooch, I’ll show thee</div> - <span class="linenum">941</span><div class="verse">The best jewel in my box, and not be shamed</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> - <div class="verse">To say I have no better.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i><span class="indent28">See, oh, see!</span></div> - <div class="verse">What lovely things!—A rare old man!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent45">Here ’tis.</span></div> - <div class="verse">What thinkest thou?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent15">Is’t not a ruby?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent42">And fine!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> I think thy son will have missed this.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent60">Nay, lady:</span></div> - <div class="verse">I had it of a sailor, who, poor fool,</div> - <div class="verse">Knew not its worth; and thou mayst buy it of me</div> - <div class="verse">For half its value.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent15">May I take these two</span></div> - <div class="verse">To view them nearly?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent22">All take as ye will.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Ye do me honour, ladies.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent25">Hear ye, girls,</span><span class="linenum">950</span></div> - <div class="verse">Make each her choice. I will o’erlook your taste</div> - <div class="verse">When all is done.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent15">Come, buy my wares: come buy.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Come, come buy; I’ve wares for all,</div> - <div class="verse">Were ye each and all princesses.</div> - <div class="verse">Clasps and brooches, large and small,</div> - <div class="verse">Handy for holding your flowing dresses.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> What is this little box for?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent42">Open it.</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> What is this vial?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent28">Smell it. Buy, come buy!</span></div> - <div class="verse indent4">Charms for lovers, charms to break,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Charms to bind them to you wholly.<span class="linenum">960</span></div> - <div class="verse indent4">Medicines fit for every ache,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Fever and fanciful melancholy.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> O smell this scent.—Here be fine pins.—See this!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i> (<i>aside</i>). I spy none here to match my notion yet.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> I have found amber beads.—What is it is tied</div> - <div class="verse">In little packets?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent18">Toilet secrets those,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Perfumes, and rare cosmetics ’gainst decay.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> (<i>to one apart</i>). Alexia, see. I will buy this for Pyrrha.</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis pity she is not here. What thinkest thou of it?</div> - <span class="linenum">970</span><div class="verse">He said it was his best. This other one</div> - <div class="verse">I’ll give to thee if thou find nothing better.</div> - <div class="verse">Go see. I will seek Pyrrha.<span class="indent45">[<i>Exit.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent32">Buy, come buy!</span></div> - <div class="verse indent4">Tassels, fringes, silken strings,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Girdles, ties, and Asian pockets,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Armlets, necklaces and rings,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Images, amulets, lovers’ lockets.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> Pray, what are these, good man?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent45">Of soft doe-skin</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">These gilded thongs are made for dancers’ wear,</div> - <div class="verse">To tie their sandals.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i><span class="indent22">And is this a pin,</span></div> - <div class="verse">This golden grasshopper?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent28">Ay, for the hair.</span><span class="linenum">980</span></div> - <div class="verse">The Athenian ladies use nought else. See here</div> - <div class="verse">This little cup.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i><span class="indent15">Didst thou make that?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent45">Nay, ladies.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> Show us some work of thine which thou didst make</div> - <div class="verse">Thy very self.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent10">See then this silver snake.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Fear not. Come near and mark him well: my trade is,</div> - <div class="verse">Or was, I should say, in such nice devices.</div> - <div class="verse">’Twill coil and curl, uncoil, dart and recoil.<span class="indent15">[<i>Showing.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i>The Chorus crowd about him, when enter unperceived - by him Achilles and Deidamia</i>.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Come, come, there never hath been one like him here.</div> - <div class="verse">Hark! see the girls: they crowd and chatter round</div> - <div class="verse">As greedily as birds being fed. I bade them choose</div> - <span class="linenum">991</span><div class="verse">Each one a present, but I took the best,</div> - <div class="verse">This ruby brooch. Look at it: ’tis for thee.</div> - <div class="verse">Let me now put it on thee. I’ll unclasp</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Thy robe and set it in the place of the other.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Nay, Deidamia, unfasten not my robe!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Why, ’twould not matter if he looked this way.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Nay, prithee.—</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent22">Well, thou must take my gift.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Then must I give thee somewhat in return.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> But ’tis my will to-day to give to all.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">1000</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Then let me take my choice, some smaller thing.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Come then ere all is ransacked.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> (<i>aside</i>).<span class="indent35">I scarce escaped</span></div> - <div class="verse">The uncovering of my magic coat.—<span class="indent20">[<i>They go to Ulysses.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent42">Come buy,</span></div> - <div class="verse indent4">Needles for your broideries rare,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Dainty bodkins silver-hafted.</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Pins to fix your plaited hair,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Ivory-headed and golden-shafted.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> What hast thou in thy pack for me, old man?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i> There’s nought but trifles left me, lady, now,</div> - <div class="verse">As dice and dolls; the very dregs of the box.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Athenian owls. And who’s this red-baked lady</div> - <div class="verse">Clothed in a net?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent15">Princess, ’tis Britomartis,</span><span class="linenum">1011</span></div> - <div class="verse">The Cretan goddess worshipped at Ægina.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> This little serpent too?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent40">Nothing to thee:</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">But the Erechtheidæ use to fasten such</div> - <div class="verse">About their children’s necks. Nay, not a babe</div> - <div class="verse">Is born but they must don him one of these,</div> - <div class="verse">Or ever he be swaddled or have suck.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> This blinking pygmy here, with a man’s body</div> - <div class="verse">And a dog’s head, squatting upon a button ...</div> - <div class="verse">What’s he?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i> ’Tis an Egyptian charm, to ban<span class="linenum">1020</span></div> - <div class="verse">The evil spirits bred of Nilus’ slime.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> And this?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent15">That. See, ’tis a Medusa, lady,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Cut in an oyster-shell, with flaming snakes.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> These are all nothings. Thou must have the brooch.</div> - <div class="verse">See, now ’tis thine; thou hast it. (<i>Pins it upon Achilles’ robe.</i>)</div> - <div class="verse indent24">(<i>To Ul.</i>) What is its price?</div> - <div class="verse">(<i>To Ach.</i>) Nay, be content.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent30">To thee I’ll sell it, lady,</span></div> - <div class="verse">For a tenfold weight of gold.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent32">Oh! ’tis too much.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Spend not such store on me. And for the ruby,</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis dark and small.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent22">The purple is its merit:</span></div> - <span class="linenum">1030</span><div class="verse">Were it three times the size and half the tint,</div> - <div class="verse">’Twere of slight cost.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent22">So might I like it better.</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span></div> - <div class="verse">And that—what’s that, which thou dost put aside?</div> - <div class="verse">Is that a toy?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent10">Nay, lady; that is no toy.</span></div> - <div class="verse">’Tis a sharp sword. But I will show it thee</div> - <div class="verse">For its strange quality: the which methinks</div> - <div class="verse">Might pass for magic, were’t not that an Arian,</div> - <div class="verse">Late come to Sardis, knows the art to make it.</div> - <div class="verse">Tho’ wrought of iron, look ye, ’tis blue as flint,</div> - <div class="verse">And if I bend it, it springs back like a bow:</div> - <div class="verse">’Tis sharper too than flint; but the edge is straight,</div> - <div class="verse">And will not chip. Nay, touch it not; have care!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Pray, let me see it, and take it in my hand.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Takes it and comes to front.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i> (<i>aside</i>). This should be he.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> (<i>aside</i>).<span class="indent25">My arm writhes at the touch.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i> There is a hunter, with his game, a lion,</div> - <span class="linenum">1045</span><div class="verse">Inlaid upon it: and on the other side</div> - <div class="verse">Two men that fight to death.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent32">’Tis light in the hand.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> (<i>to Ach.</i>). Canst thou imagine any use for this?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> (<i>to Deid.</i>). Not when thy father dies?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent60">Ladies, have care.</span></div> - <div class="verse">For if the sword should wound you, I were blamed.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Why, thinkest thou ’tis only bearded men</div> - <div class="verse">Can wield a sword? The queen of the Amazons</div> - <div class="verse">Could teach thee something maugre thy white hair.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i> (<i>aside</i>). The game hath run into the snare;</div> - <div class="verse">He is mine.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> See, Deidamia, here’s my choice; buy this</div> - <span class="linenum">1055</span><div class="verse">If thou wilt give me something; thou dost like</div> - <div class="verse">The ruby; if thou wilt let me give thee that,</div> - <div class="verse">Thou in return buy me this little sword.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Such presents are ill-omened, and ’tis said</div> - <div class="verse">Will shrewdly cut in twain the love they pledge.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> But we may make a bond of this divider.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Wilt thou in earnest take it for thy choice?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> If thou wert late in earnest, thou couldst do</div> - <div class="verse">No better than arm all thy girls with these.</div> - <div class="verse">The weapon wins the battle, and I think</div> - <div class="verse">With such advantage women might be feared.</div> - <div class="verse">(<i>To Ul.</i>) Old man, I like thy blade; and I will have it.</div> - <div class="verse">I see ’twould thrust well: tell me if ’tis mettle</div> - <div class="verse">To give a stroke. Suppose I were thy foe,</div> - <div class="verse">And standing o’er thee thus to cut thee down</div> - <span class="linenum">1070</span><div class="verse">Should choose to cleave thy pate. Would this sword do it?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i> (<i>aside</i>). He knows me!</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Pulling off his beard and head-dress and leaping up.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent22">Achilles!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid. and Ch.</i><span class="indent20">Help! help! treachery!</span></div> - <p class="psig">[<i>They fly.</i></p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i>Diomede comes out of bushes where he stands unseen - by Achilles.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Beardless—and smooth of face as tongue:</div> - <div class="verse">In voice</div> - <div class="verse">Gentle, but sturdy of body: ruddy locks,</div> - <div class="verse">And restless eye .. Ulysses!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent35">Thou hast it.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">1075</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> I knew that thou wert here, but looked to meet thee</div> - <div class="verse">Without disguises, as an honest man.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i> Thou needest a mirror, lady, for thyself.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Ach.</i> (<i>suddenly casts off his long robe and appears in</i></p> - <div class="verse indent4"><i>shining armour, still holding the sword</i>).</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Behold!.... Be thou my mirror!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent35">If I be not,</span></div> - <div class="verse">’Tis shame to thee, the cause of my disguise.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> I own thee not. I knew thee for a prince,</div> - <div class="verse">But seeing thee so vilely disfigured ...</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent50">Stay!</span><span class="linenum">1081</span></div> - <div class="verse">We both have used disguise: I call for judgment</div> - <div class="verse">Upon the motive. Mine I donned for valour,</div> - <div class="verse">And care for thy renown; thine was for fear.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Fear! By the gods: take up thy beard again,</div> - <div class="verse">And thy mock dotage shield thee.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent40">Nay, Achilles;</span></div> - <div class="verse">If I spake wrong I will recall the word.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Thou didst unutterably lie. Recall it.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i> Wilt thou then sail to Aulis in my ship?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> I can sail thither and not sail with thee.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i> But wilt thou come?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent28">I answer not to thee</span></div> - <div class="verse">Because thou questionest me: but since I know</div> - <div class="verse">What will be, and hear thee in ignorance</div> - <div class="verse">Slander fair names, I tell thee that Achilles</div> - <div class="verse">Will come to Aulis.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent20">Wherefore now so long</span><span class="linenum">1095</span></div> - <div class="verse">Hast thou denied thyself to thy renown?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Thou saidst for fear; nor hast recalled the word.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i> ’Twas first thy taunt which drew my mind from me:</div> - <div class="verse">But, if it wrong thee, I recall the word.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> I think thou hast judged me by thyself, Ulysses.</div> - <div class="verse">When thou wast summoned to the war,—who wert</div> - <div class="verse">Not free to choose as I, but bound by oath</div> - <div class="verse">To Menelaus to help him,—what didst thou?</div> - <div class="verse">Why thou didst feign; and looking for disguise</div> - <div class="verse">Thy wit persuaded thee that they who knew thee</div> - <div class="verse">Would never deem that thou wouldst willingly</div> - <div class="verse">Make mock of that: so thou didst put on madness,</div> - <div class="verse">Babbling and scrabbling even before thy friends:</div> - <div class="verse">And hadst been slavering on thy native rocks</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> - <span class="linenum">1110</span><div class="verse">Unto this day, had not one fellow there</div> - <div class="verse">Lightly unravelled thee, and in the furrow,</div> - <div class="verse">Which thou with dumb delusion, morn and eve,</div> - <div class="verse">Didst plough in the sea sand (that was thy trick),</div> - <div class="verse">He placed thy new-born babe. That thou brok’st down</div> - <div class="verse">Then in thine acting, that thou drav’st not on</div> - <div class="verse">The share thro’ thine own flesh, is the best praise</div> - <div class="verse">I have to give thee.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent22">Distinguish! if I feigned,</span></div> - <div class="verse">’Twas that I had a child and wife, whose ties</div> - <div class="verse">Of tenderness I am not ashamed to own.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">1120</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> I say thou wentest not unto this war</div> - <div class="verse">But by compulsion, thou, that chargest me</div> - <div class="verse">With fear. ’Tis thou that art the stay-at-home,</div> - <div class="verse">Not I; my heart was ever for the war,</div> - <div class="verse">And ’gainst my will I have been withheld: that thou</div> - <div class="verse">Mistakest in this my duty for my leaning,</div> - <div class="verse">Is more impeachment of thy boasted wits,</div> - <div class="verse">Than was thy empty husbandry. Are not</div> - <div class="verse">The Argive chiefs more subject, one and all,</div> - <div class="verse">To this reproach of fear? Why need they me</div> - <span class="linenum">1130</span><div class="verse">A boy of sixteen years to lead them on?</div> - <div class="verse">Did they lack ships or men, what are my people</div> - <div class="verse">In number? who am I in strength? what rank</div> - <div class="verse">Have I in Hellas? Where’s the burly Ajax?</div> - <div class="verse">Where is the son of Herakles? and Nestor</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> - <div class="verse">The aged? Teucer and Idomeneus?</div> - <div class="verse">Menestheus, Menelaus? and not least</div> - <div class="verse">Where’s Diomede?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dio.</i> (<i>coming forward</i>). By chance he’s here.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent60">Ah! now</span></div> - <div class="verse">I hear a soldier’s voice. Brave Diomede,</div> - <div class="verse">I give thee welcome, tho’ thou comest behind.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dio.</i> Hail, son of Thetis, champion of the Greeks!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Anon, anon. What dost thou here? Wert thou<span class="linenum">1141</span></div> - <div class="verse">Sat in an ambush or arrived by chance,</div> - <div class="verse">As thou didst say?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dio.</i><span class="indent15">By heaven I cannot tell.</span></div> - <div class="verse">I serve Ulysses, and he serves the gods:</div> - <div class="verse">If thou’rt displeased with them, gibe not at me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> I see the plan—The pedlar here in front,</div> - <div class="verse">The lion behind. And so ye thought to seize me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i> Have we not done it?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent28">Nay.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent35">Thou canst not scape.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> I give that back to thee.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent40">What wilt thou now?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">1150</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Diomede and I have swords: thou mayst stand by</div> - <div class="verse">Until ’tis time thou show me how to escape.</div> - <div class="verse">I’ll drive you to your ship.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i> (<i>aside to Dio.</i>).</div> - <div class="verse">Answer him not. He cannot leave the isle:</div> - <div class="verse">When the king learns of our discovery</div> - <div class="verse">He must deliver him up. Let’s to the palace.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dio.</i> (<i>to Ul.</i>). Nay, I must speak—</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent45">Thou wilt but anger him.</span></div> - <div class="verse">He will yield better if we cross him not.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dio.</i> (<i>to Ach.</i>). Brave son of Thetis, I’d not yield</div> - <div class="verse indent4">to thee</div> - <div class="verse">In any trial of strength, tho’ thou be clad</div> - <span class="linenum">1160</span><div class="verse">In heavenly armour; but I came not here</div> - <div class="verse">To fight, and least with thee: put up thy sword.</div> - <div class="verse">And since I heard thee say thou wilt to Aulis,</div> - <div class="verse">Our mission is accomplished, nought remains</div> - <div class="verse">But to renounce our acting, and atone</div> - <div class="verse">For what we have ventured. First I speak thee free</div> - <div class="verse">To follow thine own way. Unless the king</div> - <div class="verse">Or other here be in thy secrecy,</div> - <div class="verse">None know but we, nor shall know: be it thy will,</div> - <div class="verse">My lips are sealed, and in whatever else</div> - <div class="verse">Thou wilt command me, I shall be glad to obey.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Thank thee, good Diomede. What saith Ulysses?<span class="linenum">1171</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i> I’ll do whate’er will knit thee to our cause.</div> - <div class="verse">(<i>Aside.</i>) Yet shall men hear I found thee.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Return then to your ship; and when Ulysses</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Is there restored proceed ye to the court.</div> - <div class="verse">But what in the surprise and consequence</div> - <div class="verse">Of my discovery to the king, as well</div> - <div class="verse">As to some others may arise, I know not;</div> - <div class="verse">Nor can instruct your good behaviours further.</div> - <span class="linenum">1180</span><div class="verse">Time grants me but short counsel for myself.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i> We too should study how to meet the king.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Stay yet, Ulysses. Thou hast parted here</div> - <div class="verse">With goods appraised to them that meant to buy.</div> - <div class="verse">I have a full purse with me. Be content,</div> - <div class="verse">Take it. I’d give as much for the little sword.</div> - <div class="verse">Now let me do this favour to the ladies.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i> (<i>taking</i>). ’Tis fit, and fairly done. I did not think</div> - <div class="verse">To go off robbed. The sword is worth the gold.</div> - <span class="linenum">1189</span><div class="verse">We part in honest dealing. Fare thee well.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dio.</i> (<i>aside</i>). Thrashed like a witless cur!</div> - <div class="verse">(<i>To Ach.</i>)<span class="indent50">Farewell, Achilles.</span></div> - <div class="verse">An hour hence we will meet thee at the palace.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exeunt Ul. and Dio.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> In spite of warning taken in a silly trap,</div> - <div class="verse">By the common plotter! Thus to be known Achilles—</div> - <div class="verse">To have my wish forced on me against my will</div> - <div class="verse">Hath rudely cleared my sight. Where lies the gain?</div> - <div class="verse">The dancing ship on which I sailed is wrecked</div> - <div class="verse">On an unlovely shore, and I must climb</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Out of the wreck upon a loveless shore,</div> - <div class="verse">Saving what best I love. ’Tis so. I see</div> - <div class="verse">I shall command these men, and in their service</div> - <span class="linenum">1201</span><div class="verse">Find little solace. I have a harder task</div> - <div class="verse">Than chieftainship, and how to wear my arms</div> - <div class="verse">With as much nature as yon girlish robe:</div> - <div class="verse">To pass from that to this without reproach</div> - <div class="verse">Of honour, and beneath my breastplate keep</div> - <div class="verse">With the high generalship of all the Greeks</div> - <div class="verse">My tenderest love. ’Tis now to unmask that,</div> - <div class="verse">And hold uninjured. I’ll make no excuse</div> - <div class="verse">To the old king but my necessity,</div> - <div class="verse">And boldly appease him. Here by chance he comes.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter hurriedly Lycomedes and Abas.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i> Was it not here, they said?<span class="linenum">1211</span></div> - <div class="verse">An insolent ruffian: Let me come across him!</div> - <div class="verse">By heav’n, still here! And armed from head to foot!</div> - <div class="verse">(<i>To Ach.</i>) Young man,—as now thou’lt not deny to be—</div> - <div class="verse">Thou’st done—ay, tho’ thou seem of princely make—</div> - <div class="verse">Dishonour and offence to me the king</div> - <div class="verse">In venturing here to parley with the princess</div> - <div class="verse">In mock disguise, for whatsoever cause,</div> - <div class="verse">Strangely put on and suddenly cast off,</div> - <span class="linenum">1220</span><div class="verse">I am amazed to think. I bid thee tell me</div> - <div class="verse">What was thy purpose hither.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent32">O honoured king,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Tho’ I came here disguised I am not he</div> - <div class="verse">Thou thinkest.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i><span class="indent10">Nay I think not who thou art.</span></div> - <div class="verse">All wonders that I have seen are lost in thee.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Thou takest me for Ulysses.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i><span class="indent40">Nay, not I.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> I am Achilles, sire, the son of Thetis.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i> Achilles! Ah! Thou sayst at least a name</div> - <div class="verse">That fits thy starlike presence, my rebuke</div> - <div class="verse">Not knowing who thou wert. But now I see thee</div> - <span class="linenum">1230</span><div class="verse">I need no witness, and forget my wonder</div> - <div class="verse">Wherefore the Argives tarry on the shore</div> - <div class="verse">And the gods speak thy praise. Welcome then hither,</div> - <div class="verse">Achilles, son of Thetis; welcome hither!</div> - <div class="verse">And be I first to honour thee, who was</div> - <div class="verse">Most blamèd in thine absence.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent32">Gracious sire,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Thy welcome is all kingly, if it bear</div> - <div class="verse">Forgiveness of offence.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i><span class="indent25">To speak of that,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Another might have wronged me, but not thou.</div> - <span class="linenum">1239</span><div class="verse">Tho’ much I crave to learn both how and why</div> - <div class="verse">Thou camest hither. Was’t in the Argive ship?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Nay, king, I came not in the Argive ship:</div> - <div class="verse">Nor am I that false trespasser thou seekest.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i> Whether then hast thou mounted from the deep,</div> - <div class="verse">Where the sea nymphs till now have loved and held thee</div> - <div class="verse">From men’s desire; or whether from the sky</div> - <div class="verse">Hath some god wrapt thee in a morning cloud,</div> - <div class="verse">And laid thee with the sunlight on this isle,</div> - <div class="verse">Where they that seek should find thee?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent45">A god it was</span></div> - <div class="verse">Brought me, but not to-day: seven times the moon</div> - <div class="verse">Hath lost her lamp with loitering, since the night</div> - <span class="linenum">1251</span><div class="verse">She shone upon my passage; and so long</div> - <div class="verse">I have served thee in disguise, and won thy love.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i> So long hast thou been here! And I unknowing</div> - <div class="verse">Have pledged my kingly oath—The gods forbid—</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Yet was I here because a goddess bade.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i> Have I then ever seen thee?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent40">Every hour</span></div> - <div class="verse">Thou hast seen me, and sheltered me beneath thy roof.</div> - <div class="verse">But since thou knewest me not, thy royal word</div> - <div class="verse">Was hurt not by denial.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i><span class="indent25">Who wert thou? Say.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">1260</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> I was called Pyrrha.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i><span class="indent30">O shame.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent40">Yet hearken, sire!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i> Wast thou the close attendant of my daughter,</div> - <div class="verse">Her favoured comrade, and she held it hid</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> - <div class="verse">’Neath a familiar countenance before me,</div> - <div class="verse">So false unto her modesty and me?</div> - <div class="verse">Alas! alas!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> O sire, she hath known me but as thou, and loved</div> - <div class="verse">Not knowing whom.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i><span class="indent15">Thou sayst she hath not known?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> For ’twas a goddess framed me this disguise.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i> And never guessed?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent28">Nay, sire. Nor blame the goddess</span></div> - <div class="verse">Whom I obeyed: nor where I have done no wrong,</div> - <span class="linenum">1271</span><div class="verse">Make my necessity a crime against thee.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i> Can I believe?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent22">’Tis true I have loved her, sire:</span></div> - <div class="verse">And by strange wooing if I have won her love,</div> - <div class="verse">And now in the discovery can but offer</div> - <div class="verse">A soldier’s lot,—she is free to choose: but thee</div> - <div class="verse">First I implore, be gracious to my suit,</div> - <div class="verse">Nor scorn me for thy son.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i><span class="indent28">My son! Achilles!</span></div> - <div class="verse">This day shall be the feast-day of my year,</div> - <div class="verse">Tho’ I be made to all men a rebuke</div> - <span class="linenum">1280</span><div class="verse">For being thy shelter, when I swore to all</div> - <div class="verse">Thou wert not here. Now I rejoice thou wert.</div> - <div class="verse">Come to my palace as thyself: be now</div> - <div class="verse">My guest in earnest: we will seal at once</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> - <div class="verse">This happy contract.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent20">Let me first be known</span></div> - <div class="verse">Unto the princess and bespeak her will.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i> She is thine, I say she is thine. Stay yet; that pedlar,</div> - <div class="verse">Was he Ulysses?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent10">So he stole upon us;</span></div> - <div class="verse">And when I bought this sword he marked me out.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i> I cannot brook his mastery in deceit.</div> - <div class="verse">Where is he now?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent15">I sent him to the ship,</span><span class="linenum">1290</span></div> - <div class="verse">To find a fit apparel for thy sight.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i> Would I had caught him in his mean disguise!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> So mayst thou yet. Come with me the short way</div> - <div class="verse">And we will intercept him.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i><span class="indent28">Abas, follow.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Thou too hast played a part I cannot like.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ab.</i> My liege, I have but unwittingly obeyed.</div> - <div class="verse">I have no higher trust.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i><span class="indent25">Now obey me.</span><span class="indent22">[<i>Exeunt.</i></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Deidamia and Chorus.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Pyrrha, where art thou, Pyrrha?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i><span class="indent45">She turned not back.—</span></div> - <div class="verse">They are not here.—She would not fly.—</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Pyrrha, Pyrrha!<span class="linenum">1300</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> She hath driven the ugly pedlar and his pack</div> - <div class="verse">Home to his ship—would we had all been by!</div> - <div class="verse indent8">Would we had joined the chase!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> He was no pedlar: I could see his face</div> - <div class="verse indent8">When he pulled off his beard.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i><span class="indent5">There as she stood,</span></div> - <div class="verse indent8">Waving the sword, I feared</div> - <div class="verse indent8">To see a mortal stroke—</div> - <div class="verse indent8">He hath fled into the wood—</div> - <div class="verse indent8">Had he no sword too, did none spy,<span class="linenum">1310</span></div> - <div class="verse indent8">Beneath his ragged cloke?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Alas, alas!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i><span class="indent5">What hast thou found?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Woe, woe! alas, alas!</div> - <div class="verse">Pyrrha’s robe torn, and trampled on the ground.</div> - <div class="verse indent10">See! see! O misery!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> ’Tis hers—’tis true—we see.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Misery, misery! help who can.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> I have no help to give.—</div> - <div class="verse indent8">I have no word to say.<span class="linenum">1320</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Gods! do I live</div> - <div class="verse indent8">To see this woe? The man</div> - <div class="verse">Like some wild beast hath dragged her body away,</div> - <div class="verse">And left her robe. Ah, see the gift she spurned,</div> - <div class="verse">My ruby jewel to my hand returned;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> - <div class="verse indent6">When forcing my accord</div> - <div class="verse indent6">She chose the fatal sword.</div> - <div class="verse indent4">The fool hath quite mistook her play.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> He will have harmed her, if she be not slain.</div> - <div class="verse indent6">Ah, Pyrrha, Pyrrha!<span class="linenum">1330</span></div> - <div class="verse indent6">Why ran we away?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Why stand we here?</div> - <div class="verse indent6">To the rescue: follow me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i><span class="indent5">Whither—our cries are vain.</span></div> - <div class="verse indent6">Maybe she lieth now close by</div> - <div class="verse indent6">And hears but cannot make reply.</div> - <div class="verse indent6">’Tis told how men have bound</div> - <div class="verse indent6">The mouths of them they bore away,</div> - <div class="verse indent6">Lest by their cry</div> - <div class="verse indent6">They should be found.—<span class="linenum">1340</span></div> - <div class="verse">Spread our company into the woods around,</div> - <div class="verse">And shouting as we go keep within hail.—</div> - <div class="verse">Or banding in parties search the paths about:</div> - <div class="verse indent6">If many together shout</div> - <div class="verse indent6">The sound is of more avail.</div> - <div class="verse">Once more, together call her name once more.</div> - <div class="verse">(<i>Calling.</i>) Pyrrha—Pyrrha!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Thetis</i> (<i>within</i>).<span class="indent15">Ha!</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> An answer. Heard ye not?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> ’Twas but the nymph, that from her hidden grot</div> - <span class="linenum">1350</span><div class="verse">Mocks men with the repeated syllables</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> - <div class="verse indent6">Of their own voice, and nothing tells.</div> - <div class="verse indent6">Such sound the answer bore.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent38">Nay, nay.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Hark, for if ’twere but echo as ye say</div> - <div class="verse">’Twill answer if I call again.</div> - <div class="verse">(<i>Calls.</i>) Pyrrha, come! Pyrrha, come!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Thetis</i> (<i>within</i>). I come, I come.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Heard ye not then?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> I heard the selfsame sound.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> ’Twas Pyrrha. Why she is found.</div> - <span class="linenum">1360</span><div class="verse">I know her voice. I hear her footing stir.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> True, some one comes.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent28">’Tis she.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Thetis.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Pyrrha! O joy.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i><span class="indent10">Why call ye her?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent32">Pyrrha! Nay.</span></div> - <div class="verse">And yet so like. Alas, beseech thee, lady</div> - <div class="verse">Or goddess, for I think that such thou art,</div> - <div class="verse">Who answering from the wood our sorrowing call</div> - <div class="verse">Now to our sight appearest,—hast thou regard</div> - <div class="verse">For her, whom thou so much resemblest, speak</div> - <span class="linenum">1368</span><div class="verse">And tell us of thy pity if yet she lives</div> - <div class="verse">Safe and unhurt, whom we have lost and mourn.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i> ’Tis vain to weep her, as ’twere vain to seek.</div> - <div class="verse">Whom think ye that ye have lost?</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent38">Pyrrha, my Pyrrha.</span></div> - <div class="verse">As late we all fled frighted by a man,</div> - <div class="verse">Who stole on us disguised, she stayed behind:</div> - <div class="verse">For when we were got safe, she was not with us.</div> - <div class="verse">So we returned to seek her; but alas!</div> - <div class="verse">Our fear is turned to terror. Lady, see!</div> - <div class="verse">This is her garment trampled on the ground.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i> And so ye have found her. There was never more</div> - <div class="verse">Of her ye have callèd Pyrrha than that robe.</div> - <span class="linenum">1380</span><div class="verse">The golden-headed maiden, the enchantress,</div> - <div class="verse">And laughter-loving idol of your hearts</div> - <div class="verse">Had in your empty thought her only being.</div> - <div class="verse">When ye have played with her, chosen her for queen,</div> - <div class="verse">And leader of your games, or when ye have sat</div> - <div class="verse">Rapt by the music of her voice, that sang</div> - <div class="verse">Heroic songs and histories of the gods,</div> - <div class="verse">Or at brisk morn, or long-delaying eve,</div> - <div class="verse">Have paced the shores of sunlight hand in hand,</div> - <div class="verse">’Twas but a robe ye held: ye were deceived;</div> - <span class="linenum">1390</span><div class="verse">There was no Pyrrha.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i><span class="indent22">What strange speech is this?</span></div> - <div class="verse">Was there no Pyrrha? What shall we believe!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Lady, thy speech troubles mine ear in vain.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i> ’Tis then thine ear is vain; and not my speech.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> My ears and eyes and hands have I believed,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> - <div class="verse">But not thy words. A moment since I held her.</div> - <div class="verse">What wilt thou say?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i><span class="indent20">That eyes and hands and ears</span></div> - <div class="verse">Deceived thy trust, but now thou hearest truth.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Have we then dreamed, deluded by a shade</div> - <div class="verse">Fashioned of air or cloud, and as it seems</div> - <div class="verse">Made in thy likeness, or hath some god chosen</div> - <span class="linenum">1401</span><div class="verse">To dwell awhile with us in privity</div> - <div class="verse">And mutual share of all our petty deeds?</div> - <div class="verse">Say what thy dark words hint and who thou art.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i> I Thetis am, daughter of that old god,</div> - <div class="verse">Whose wisdom buried in the deep hath made</div> - <div class="verse">The unfathomed water solemn, and I rule</div> - <div class="verse">The ocean-nymphs, who for their pastime play</div> - <div class="verse">In the blue glooms, and darting here and there</div> - <div class="verse">Checquer the dark and widespread melancholy</div> - <span class="linenum">1410</span><div class="verse">With everlasting laughter and bright smiles.</div> - <div class="verse">Of me thou hast heard, and of my son Achilles,</div> - <div class="verse">By prescient fame renowned first of the Greeks:</div> - <div class="verse">He is on this island: for ’twas here I set him</div> - <div class="verse">To hide him from his foes, and he was safe</div> - <div class="verse">Till thou betray’dst him—for unwittingly</div> - <div class="verse">That hast thou done to-day. The seeming pedlar,</div> - <div class="verse">To whom thou leddest Pyrrha, was Ulysses,</div> - <div class="verse">Who spied to find Achilles, and thro’ thee</div> - <div class="verse">Found him, alas! Thy Pyrrha was Achilles.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Chorus.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent8">O daughter of Nereus old,<span class="linenum">1420</span></div> - <div class="verse indent8">Queen of the nymphs that swim</div> - <div class="verse indent8">By day in gleams of gold,</div> - <div class="verse indent8">By night in the silver dim,</div> - <div class="verse indent8">Forgive in pity, we pray,</div> - <div class="verse indent8">Forgive the ill we have done.</div> - <div class="verse indent8">Why didst thou hide this thing from us?</div> - <div class="verse indent8">For if we had known thy son</div> - <div class="verse indent8">We had guarded him well to-day,</div> - <div class="verse indent8">Nor ever betrayed him thus.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent8">For though we may not ride<span class="linenum">1430</span></div> - <div class="verse indent8">Thy tall sea-horses nor play</div> - <div class="verse indent8">In the rainbow-tinted spray,</div> - <div class="verse indent8">Nor dive down under the tide</div> - <div class="verse indent8">To the secret caves of the main,</div> - <div class="verse indent8">Among thy laughing train;</div> - <div class="verse indent8">Yet had we served thee well as they,</div> - <div class="verse indent8">Had we thy secret shared:</div> - <div class="verse indent8">Nor ever had lost from garden and hall</div> - <div class="verse indent8">Pyrrha the golden-haired,</div> - <div class="verse indent8">Pyrrha beloved of all.<span class="linenum">1440</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i> (<i>to Deid.</i>). Dost thou say nought?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent45">Alas, alas! my Pyrrha.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i> Art thou lamenting still to have lost thy maid?</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> I need no tongue to cry my shame; and yet</div> - <div class="verse">Thy mockery doth not grieve me like my loss.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i> I came not here to mock thee, and forbid</div> - <div class="verse">Thy grief, that doth dishonour to my son.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Nay, nay, that word is mine: speak it no more.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i> Weepest thou at comfort? Is deceit so dear</div> - <div class="verse">To mortals, that to know good cannot match</div> - <span class="linenum">1450</span><div class="verse">The joy of a delusion whatsoe’er?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> What joy was mine shame must forbid to tell.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i> Gods count it shame to be deceived: but men</div> - <div class="verse">Are shamed not by delusion of the gods.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Then ye know nothing or do not respect.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Th.</i> Why what is this thou makest? the more ye have loved</div> - <div class="verse">The more have ye delighted, and the joy</div> - <div class="verse">I never grudged thee; tho’ there was not one</div> - <div class="verse">In all my company of sea-born nymphs,</div> - <div class="verse">Who did not daily pray me, with white arms</div> - <span class="linenum">1460</span><div class="verse">Raised in the blue, to let her guard my son.</div> - <div class="verse">And for his birthright he might well have taken</div> - <div class="verse">The service of their sportive train, and lived</div> - <div class="verse">On some fair desert isle away from men</div> - <div class="verse">Like a young god in worship and gay love.</div> - <div class="verse">But since he is mortal, for his mortal mate</div> - <div class="verse">I chose out thee; to whom now were he lost,</div> - <div class="verse">I would not blame thy well-deservèd tears:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> - <div class="verse">But lo, I am come to give thee joy, to call</div> - <div class="verse">Thee daughter, and prepare thee for the sight</div> - <span class="linenum">1470</span><div class="verse">Of such a lover, as no lady yet</div> - <div class="verse">Hath sat to await in chamber or in bower</div> - <div class="verse">On any wallèd hill or isle of Greece;</div> - <div class="verse">Nor yet in Asian cities, whose dark queens</div> - <div class="verse">Look from the latticed casements over seas</div> - <div class="verse">Of hanging gardens; nor doth all the world</div> - <div class="verse">Hold a memorial; not where Ægypt mirrors</div> - <div class="verse">The great smile of her kings and sunsmit fanes</div> - <div class="verse">In timeless silence: none hath been like him;</div> - <div class="verse">And all the giant stones, which men have piled</div> - <div class="verse">Upon the illustrious dead, shall crumble and join</div> - <span class="linenum">1481</span><div class="verse">The desert dust, ere his high dirging Muse</div> - <div class="verse">Be dispossessèd of the throne of song.</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Await him here. While I thy willing maids</div> - <div class="verse">Will lead apart, that they may learn what share</div> - <div class="verse">To take in thy rejoicing. Follow me!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> Come, come—we follow—we obey thee gladly—</div> - <div class="verse">We long to learn, goddess, what thou canst teach.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exeunt Th. and Chor.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Rejoice, she bids me. Ah me, tho’ all heaven spake,</div> - <div class="verse">I should weep bitterly. My tears, my shame</div> - <span class="linenum">1490</span><div class="verse">Will never leave me. Never now, nevermore</div> - <div class="verse">Can I find credit of grace, nor as a rock</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Stand ’twixt my maids and evil; even not deserving</div> - <div class="verse">My father’s smile. Why honour we the gods,</div> - <div class="verse">Who reck not of our honour? How hath she,</div> - <div class="verse">Self-styled a goddess, mocked me, not respecting</div> - <div class="verse">Maidenly modesty; but in the path</div> - <div class="verse">Of grace, wherein I thought to walk enstated</div> - <div class="verse">High as my rank without reproach, she hath set</div> - <div class="verse">A snare for every step; that day by day,</div> - <span class="linenum">1500</span><div class="verse">From morn to night, I might do nothing well;</div> - <div class="verse">But by most innocent seeming be betrayed</div> - <div class="verse">To what most wounds a shamefast life, yielding</div> - <div class="verse">To a man’s unfeignèd feigning; nay nor stayed</div> - <div class="verse">Until I had given,—alas, how oft!—</div> - <div class="verse">My cheek to his lips, my body to his arms;</div> - <div class="verse">And thinking him a maid as I myself,</div> - <div class="verse">Have loved, kissed, and embraced him as a maid.</div> - <div class="verse">O wretched, not to have seen what was so plain!</div> - <div class="verse">Here on this bank no later than this morn</div> - <span class="linenum">1510</span><div class="verse">Was I beguiled. There is no cure, no cure.</div> - <div class="verse">I’ll close my eyes for ever, nor see again</div> - <div class="verse">The things I have seen, nor be what I have been.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Covers her face weeping.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Achilles.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> The voices that were here have ceased. Ah, there!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Not gone. ’Tis she, and by my cast-off robe</div> - <div class="verse">Sitting alone. I must speak comfort to her,</div> - <div class="verse">Whoe’er I seem. O Deidamia, see!</div> - <div class="verse">Pyrrha is found. Weep not for her. I tell thee</div> - <div class="verse">Thy Pyrrha is safe. Despair not. Nay, look up.</div> - <span class="linenum">1519</span><div class="verse">Dost thou not know my voice? ’Tis I myself.</div> - <div class="verse">Look up, I am Pyrrha.—Ah, now what prayer or plea</div> - <div class="verse">Made on my knees can aid me—If thou knowst all</div> - <div class="verse">And wilt not look on me? Yet if thou hearest</div> - <div class="verse">Thou wilt forgive. Nay, if thou lovedst me not,</div> - <div class="verse">Or if I had wronged thee, thou wouldst scorn me now.</div> - <div class="verse">Thou dost not look. I am not changed. I loved thee</div> - <div class="verse">As like a maiden as I knew: if more</div> - <div class="verse">Was that a fault? Now as I am Achilles</div> - <div class="verse">Revealed to-day to lead the Greeks to Troy,</div> - <div class="verse">I count that nothing and bow down to thee</div> - <span class="linenum">1530</span><div class="verse">Who hast made me fear,—</div> - <div class="verse">Let me unveil thy eyes: tho’ thou wouldst hide me,</div> - <div class="verse">Hide not thyself from me. If gentle force</div> - <div class="verse">Should show me that ’tis love that thou wouldst hide ...</div> - <div class="verse">And love I see. Look on me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> (<i>embracing</i>). Ah Pyrrha, Pyrrha!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Thou dost forgive.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent25">I never dreamed the truth.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> And wilt not now look on me!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent40">I dare not look.</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> What dost thou fear? A monster! I am not changed</div> - <div class="verse">Save but my dress, and that an Amazon</div> - <div class="verse">Might wear.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent5">O, I see all.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent25">But who hath told thee?</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <span class="linenum">1540</span><div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> There came one here much like thee when we called,</div> - <div class="verse">Who said she was a goddess and thy mother.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> ’Twas she that hid me in my strange disguise,</div> - <div class="verse">Fearing the oracle.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent15">She praised thee well,</span></div> - <div class="verse">And said that thou wouldst come...</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent42">What didst thou fear,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Hiding thine eyes?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i><span class="indent15">I cannot speak the name.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Be Pyrrha still.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent15">Be that my name with thee.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Yet hath thy father called me son Achilles.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> He knows?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent15">There’s nought to hide: but let us hence.</span></div> - <div class="verse">He is coming hither, and with him my foe.</div> - <span class="linenum">1550</span><div class="verse">Let them not find us thus, and thee in tears.</div> - <p class="psig">[<i>Exeunt.</i></p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Lycomedes, Ulysses, Diomede, and Abas.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i> It may be so, or it may not be so:</div> - <div class="verse">You have done me an honest service ’gainst your will,</div> - <div class="verse">And must not wrest it to a false conclusion.</div> - <div class="verse">I bid you be my guests, and with your presence</div> - <div class="verse">Honour the marriage, which ye have brought about.</div> - <div class="verse">Ye need not tarry long.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent25">Each hour is long</span></div> - <div class="verse">Which holds the Argive ships chained to the shore.</div> - <div class="verse">This is no time for marriage.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i><span class="indent32">There’s time for all;</span></div> - <div class="verse">A time for wooing and a time for warring:</div> - <span class="linenum">1560</span><div class="verse">And such a feast of joy as offers now</div> - <div class="verse">Ye shall not often see. Scyros shall show you</div> - <div class="verse">What memory may delight in ’twixt the frays</div> - <div class="verse">Of bloody battle.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dio.</i><span class="indent15">I am not made for feasts.</span></div> - <div class="verse">I join the cry to arms. But make your bridal</div> - <div class="verse">To-night, and I’ll abide it.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i><span class="indent32">I’ll have’t to-night.</span></div> - <div class="verse">So shall Achilles’ finding and his wedding</div> - <div class="verse">Be on one day. And hark! there’s music tells me</div> - <div class="verse">That others guess my mind.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Enter Chorus with Ach. and Deid. following.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Chorus.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">Now the glorious sun is sunk in the west,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">And night with shadowy step advances:<span class="linenum">1570</span></div> - <div class="verse indent2">As we,—to the newly betrothed our song addrest,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">With musical verse and dances,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">In the order of them who established rites of old</div> - <div class="verse indent4">For maidens to sing this song,—</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Pray the gifts of heaven to gifts of gold,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Joy and a life long.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Good king and father, see thy daughter come</div> - <div class="verse">To hear thee call me son.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i><span class="indent28">Son if I call thee,</span></div> - <span class="linenum">1579</span><div class="verse">I understand not yet, and scarce believe</div> - <div class="verse">The wonders of this day. And thou, my daughter,</div> - <div class="verse">Ever my pride and prayer, hast far outrun</div> - <div class="verse">My hope of thy good fortune. Blessed be ye both:</div> - <div class="verse">The gods have made your marriage; let the feast</div> - <div class="verse">Be solemnized to-night; our good guests here</div> - <div class="verse">Whose zeal hath caused our joy, I have bid to share it.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i> Chorus.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent4">We live well-ruled by an honoured king,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Beloved of the gods, in a happy isle;</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Where merry winds of the gay sea bring</div> - <div class="verse indent4">No foe to our shore, and the heavens smile</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> - <span class="linenum">1590</span><div class="verse">On a peaceful folk secure from fear,</div> - <div class="verse">Who gather the fruits of the earth at will,</div> - <div class="verse">And hymn their thanks to the gods, and rear</div> - <div class="verse">Their laughing babes unmindful of ill.</div> - <div class="verse">And ever we keep a feast of delight,</div> - <div class="verse">The betrothal of hearts, when spirits unite,</div> - <div class="verse">Creating an offspring of joy, a treasure</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Unknown to the bad, for whom</div> - <div class="verse indent4">The gods foredoom</div> - <div class="verse indent4">The glitter of pleasure,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">And a dark tomb.<span class="linenum">1600</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Blessèd therefore O newly betrothed are ye,</div> - <div class="verse">Tho’ happy to-day ye be,</div> - <div class="verse">Your happier times ye yet shall see.</div> - <div class="verse indent4">We make our prayer to the gods.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">The sun shall prosper the seasons’ yield</div> - <div class="verse">With fuller crops for the wains to bear,</div> - <div class="verse">And feed our flocks in fold and field</div> - <div class="verse">With wholesome water and sweetest air.</div> - <div class="verse">Plenty shall empty her golden horn,</div> - <div class="verse">And grace shall dwell on the brows of youth,</div> - <span class="linenum">1611</span><div class="verse">And love shall come as the joy of morn,</div> - <div class="verse">To waken the eyes of pride and truth.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Blessèd therefore thy happy folk are we.</div> - <div class="verse">Tho’ happy to-day we be,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> - <div class="verse indent4">Our happier times are yet to see.</div> - <div class="verse indent8">We render praise to the gods;</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent4">But chiefest of all in the highest height</div> - <div class="verse indent4">To Love that sitteth in timeless might,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">That tameth evil, and sorrow ceaseth.</div> - <div class="verse indent8">And now we wish you again,<span class="linenum">1620</span></div> - <div class="verse indent8">Again and again,</div> - <div class="verse indent8">His joy that encreaseth,</div> - <div class="verse indent8">And a long reign.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> Stay, stay! and thou, good king, and all here, hear me.</div> - <div class="verse">I would be measured by my best desire,</div> - <div class="verse">And that’s for peace and love, and the delights</div> - <div class="verse">Your song hath augured: but to all men fate</div> - <div class="verse">Apportions a mixed lot, and ’twas for me</div> - <div class="verse">Foreshown that peace and honour lay apart,</div> - <span class="linenum">1630</span><div class="verse">Wherever pleasure: and to-day’s event</div> - <div class="verse">Questions your hope. I was for this revealed,</div> - <div class="verse">To lead the Argive battle against Troy:</div> - <div class="verse">Thither I go; whence to return or not</div> - <div class="verse">Is out of sight, but yet my marriage-making</div> - <div class="verse">Enters with better promise on my life</div> - <div class="verse">Thus hand in hand with glorious enterprise.</div> - <div class="verse">After some days among you I must away,</div> - <div class="verse">Tho’ ’tis not far.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i><span class="indent18">Well said! So art thou bound.</span></div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dio.</i> The war that hung so long will now begin.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lye.</i> I ask one month, Achilles: grant one moon:</div> - <span class="linenum">1641</span><div class="verse">They that could wait so long may longer wait.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <p class="center"><i>Chorus.</i></p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - - <p class="center">1.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent4">Go not, go not, Achilles; is all in vain?</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Is this the fulfilment of long delight,</div> - <div class="verse indent6">The promise of favouring heaven,</div> - <div class="verse indent6">The praise of our song,</div> - <div class="verse indent6">The choice of Thetis for thee,</div> - <div class="verse indent6">Thy merry disguise,</div> - <div class="verse indent6">And happy betrothal?</div> - <div class="verse indent4">We pray thee, O we beseech thee, all,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Son of Thetis, we counsel well,<span class="linenum">1650</span></div> - <div class="verse indent6">Do not thy bride this wrong.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - - <p class="center">2.</p> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent4">For if to-day thou goest, thou wilt go far,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Alas, from us thy comrades away,</div> - <div class="verse indent6">To a camp of revengeful men,</div> - <div class="verse indent6">The accursed war</div> - <div class="verse indent6">By warning fate forbidden,</div> - <div class="verse indent6">To angry disdain,</div> - <div class="verse indent6">A death unworthy.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> - <div class="verse indent4">We pray thee, O we beseech thee, all,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Son of Peleus, we counsel well,<span class="linenum">1660</span></div> - <div class="verse indent6">This doom the oracle told.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i> What said the oracle?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent32">It darkly boded</span></div> - <div class="verse">That glory should be death.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i><span class="indent30">And so may be:</span></div> - <div class="verse">Nay, very like. Yet men who would live well,</div> - <div class="verse">Weigh not these riddles, but unfold their life</div> - <div class="verse">From day to day. Do thou as seemeth best,</div> - <div class="verse">Nor fear mysterious warnings of the powers.</div> - <div class="verse">But, if my voice can reckon with thee at all,</div> - <div class="verse">I’ll tell thee what myself I have grown to think:</div> - <span class="linenum">1670</span><div class="verse">That the best life is oft inglorious.</div> - <div class="verse">Since the perfecting of ourselves, which seems</div> - <div class="verse">Our noblest task, may closelier be pursued</div> - <div class="verse">Away from camps and cities and the mart</div> - <div class="verse">Of men, where fame, as it is called, is won,</div> - <div class="verse">By strife, ambition, competition, fashion,</div> - <div class="verse">Ay, and the prattle of wit, the deadliest foe</div> - <div class="verse">To sober holiness, which, as I think,</div> - <div class="verse">Loves quiet homes, where nature laps us round</div> - <div class="verse">With musical silence and the happy sights</div> - <span class="linenum">1680</span><div class="verse">That never fret; and day by day the spirit</div> - <div class="verse">Pastures in liberty, with a wide range</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> - <div class="verse">Of peaceful meditation, undisturbed.</div> - <div class="verse">All which can Scyros offer if thou wilt.—</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ul.</i> This speech is idle, thou art bound to me.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i> I hear you all: and lest it should be said</div> - <div class="verse">I once was harsh and heedless, where such wrong</div> - <div class="verse">Were worse than cowardice, I now recall</div> - <div class="verse">Whate’er I have said. I will not forth to Troy:</div> - <div class="verse">I will abide in Scyros, and o’erlook</div> - <span class="linenum">1690</span><div class="verse">The farms and vineyards, and be lessoned well</div> - <div class="verse">In government of arts, and spend my life</div> - <div class="verse">In love and ease, and whatsoever else</div> - <div class="verse">Our good king here hath praised—I will do this</div> - <div class="verse">If my bride bid me. Let her choose for me;</div> - <div class="verse">Her word shall rule me. If she set our pleasure</div> - <div class="verse">Above my honour, I will call that duty,</div> - <div class="verse">And make it honourable, and so do well.</div> - <div class="verse">But, as I know her, if she bid me go</div> - <div class="verse">Where fate and danger call, then I will go,</div> - <span class="linenum">1700</span><div class="verse">And so do better: and very sure it is,</div> - <div class="verse">Pleasure is not for him who pleasure serves.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Deid.</i> Achilles, son of Thetis! As I love thee,</div> - <div class="verse">I say, go forth to Troy.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent25">Praised be the Gods,</span></div> - <div class="verse">Who have made my long desire my love’s command!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ch.</i> Alas! We have no further plea. Alas!</div> - <div class="verse">Her ever-venturous spirit forecasts no ill.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i> Go, win thy fame, my son; I would not stay thee.</div> - <div class="verse">Thou art a soldier born. But circumstance</div> - <div class="verse">Demands delay, which thou wilt grant.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Ach.</i><span class="indent45">And thus</span></div> - <span class="linenum">1710</span><div class="verse">To-night may be the feast. To-morrow morn</div> - <div class="verse">Do thou, Ulysses, sail to Aulis, there</div> - <div class="verse">Prepare them for my coming. If, Diomede,</div> - <div class="verse">Thou wilt to Achaia to collect my men,</div> - <div class="verse">The time thou usest I can fitly spend,</div> - <div class="verse">And for some days banish the thought of war.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Dio.</i> I will go for thee, prince.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>Lyc.</i><span class="indent40">’Tis settled so.</span></div> - <div class="verse">Stand we no longer here: night falls apace.</div> - <div class="verse">Come to the palace, we will end this day,</div> - <div class="verse">As it deserves, never to be forgot.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_177.jpg" alt="Decoration" /> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a> -<a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a> -<a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a> -<a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2 id="NOTES">NOTES</h2> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h3 id="THE_FIRST_PART_OF_NERO">THE FIRST PART OF NERO</h3> - - -<p>This play was not intended for the stage, as the rest of my plays are. -It was written as an exercise in dramatic qualities other than scenic; -and had its publication been contemplated, I should have been more -careful not to deserve censure in one or two places: these however -I have not thought it worth while to erase or correct. Owing to its -inordinate length I have found it necessary, so that the volumes of -this series might be of uniform size, to couple with it the shortest of -the other plays. Hence</p> - - -<h3 id="ACHILLES_IN_SCYROS">ACHILLES IN SCYROS</h3> - -<p>is here out of order. Instead of standing second it should come fifth, -that is after <i>The Christian Captives</i>. The following note is taken -from the first edition.</p> - -<p><i>Note to</i> Achilles in Scyros.—After I had begun this play I came by -chance on <i>Calderon’s</i> play on the same subject, <i>El Monstruo de los -Jardines</i>. The monster is <i>Achilles</i>; the gardens the same. Excepting -an expression or two I found nothing that it suited me to use, and -I should not have recorded the circumstance, if it were not that -<i>Calderon’s</i> play seemed to me to contain strong evidence that he had -read <i>The Tempest</i>. This observation cannot be new, but I have never -met with it; so I offer it to my readers, thinking it will interest -them as it did me.</p> - -<p><i>El Monstruo de los Jardines</i> opens with a storm at sea, and shipwreck -of royal persons, similar as it is inferior to <i>Shakespeare’s</i> (but -compare also the Devil’s shipwreck in the second act of <i>El magicio -prodigioso</i>, which may be read in <i>Shelley’s</i> translation). <i>Stephano</i> -has his counterpart,</p> - -<span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Un cofrade de Baco, que ha salido,</i></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Por no hacerle traicion, del mar á nado</i></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Pues el no beber agua le ha escapado,</i></span><br /> - -<p>and the whole play is then on a supposed desert island, which turns -out to be strangely peopled. There is the monster <i>Achilles</i>, who in -many respects remembers <i>Caliban</i>, and is even addressed as <i>Señor -monstruo</i>: ’<i>Monsieur Monster</i>.’ There is <i>Thetis</i>, who is to her -nymphs as <i>Prospero</i> to his spirits; with musical enchantments, and -voices in the air, and even a <i>fantastico bajél</i>. <i>Calderon</i> has -moreover hit upon the same device of imitative fancy as tempted -<i>Dryden</i> in like sad case, and pictured a man who had never seen a -woman. The island is wandered on by the prince and his suite, and one -of them says of it <i>Republica es entera</i>, &c. A curious reader might -find more than I have here noticed: but <i>Calderon</i> is as far from -sympathy with <i>Shakespeare</i>, as he is from the Greek story, with his -drums and trumpets and <i>El gran Sofí</i>.</p> - -<p>There is a passage in my <i>Achilles</i> (<i>l. 518 and foll.</i>) which is -copied from <i>Calderon</i>: but this is after <i>Muley’s</i> well-known speech -in the <i>Principe Constante</i> (see note to <i>The Christian Captives</i>); -which is quoted in most books on <i>Calderon</i>. In my short play, which -runs on without change of scene or necessary pause, I have had the -act and scene divisions indicated by greater and lesser spaces in the -printing.[A]</p> - -<p class="psig">R. B., 1890.</p> - -<p class="center small">[A] Not followed in this edition. 1901.</p> - - -<div class="transnote"> - -<h4>Transcriber’s Notes</h4> - -<p>Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. All other -spelling and punctuation remains unchanged.</p> - -<p>Line 1374/5 of The First Part of Nero “Now may some god of mischief -Dare set me in the roll of puny spirits.” Roll could be a misprint for -role but has not been changed.</p> - -<p>The varied ellipses remain unchanged.</p> - -<p>The variation in fonts, sizes etc in e-book displays makes accurate -reproduction of verse indents and caesuras impossible. The approach -used should give a reasonable approximation in most cases.</p> - -</div> -</div></div> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Poetical Works of Robert Bridges -(Volume 3), by Robert Bridges - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POETICAL WORKS--ROBERT BRIDGES, VOL 3 *** - -***** This file should be named 55294-h.htm or 55294-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/5/2/9/55294/ - -Produced by Larry B. 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